From the Paper "Throughout history, the struggle for equality and human rights is a central element in many eras. During times of revolution where the people join together to fight for a common cause, usually for freedom and equality, basic human rights stand as the main drive. The English and French Revolutions both show how oppressed people of almost every group came to change their status. There is one motive that causes revolution; inferiors revolt to be equal, and equals so that they may be superior."
Tags: charles, convention, enlightenment, james, king, national, women
An examination of the government's continued attacks on the company and exploration of possible consequences of the government's decision to prosecute Microsoft.
2,147 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 0 sources, 2000, $ 67.95
From the Paper "The word Microsoft has become synonymous with Windows, Internet Explorer, and basically the entire computer industry. The government believes this to be a "monopoly" by their standards; in fact they specifically brought the case against the forced usage of Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system."
An argument which shows that Needle Exchange Programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing either the injection of illegal drugs among drug addicts or the number of new initiates to injection drug use.
1,368 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 8 sources, 1999, $ 45.95
From the Paper "AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), is one of the leading killers in the United States of America. HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) attacks and destroys white blood cells while weakening the body's immune system, making it susceptible to common infections and diseases. HIV, which eventually leads to AIDS, is passed through the exchange of blood or semen. There is no cure for AIDS at this time. People that are diagnosed with AIDS are affected for life. AIDS can also be transmitted through needle sharing used by heroin and other drug addicts. By sharing needles, drug addicts have a high risk of passing blood left on the needles from the previous user that might contain the HIV virus. This has made drug addicts one of the fastest?growing groups suffering from HIV infection and AIDS (Siegel 24). Injection of illegal drugs has become a primary source of new HIV infection in the country. AIDS has devastated addicts who inject drugs, due to the high risk of needle contamination and HIV infection. One way to decrease the speed, in which the disease spreads, is to give addicts clean needles in exchange for used ones that can be contaminated. This is the main goal of needle exchange programs. Needle exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing either the injection of illegal drugs among drug addicts or the number of new initiates to injection drug use."
A look at the law regarding Internet censorship and tools that are used to censor, as well as a debate about the extent of censorship that should be in place.
1,040 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 4 sources, 2000, $ 36.95
From the Paper "Countries with a history of limiting free expression, such as China and Singapore, are seeking to extend their controls into cyberspace. Meanwhile, countries with more democratic traditions, such as the United States and members of the European Union, are considering policies that seek to control problems like racism and pornography, which could end up restricting speech on the Internet."
From the Paper "The legal system in Britain is predicated on common law. Common law is a system of laws originated and developed in England and based on court decisions, on the doctrines implicit in those decisions, and on customs and usage rather than on codified laws. In contrast, most European legal systems are based on civil law."
Abstract This paper analyzes Vincent Bugliosi's "Outrage", who recounts and attacks all the problems and mistakes he believes were made in the trial of OJ Simpson, and the reasons why Simpson was not convicted for the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend.
From the Paper "Author Vincent Bugliosi states that O.J. Simpson's acquittal is one of the most gross cases of injustice in the history of the legal system. He claims that O.J. walked not because he is innocent of the murders, but rather, that the circumstances surrounding the evidence, the weak and flawed case presented by the prosecution, the legal gaffs made my Judge Lance Ito, and that pertinent and damaging evidence was left out of the court proceedings all contributed to Simpson's verdict of innocent. The result is that O.J. ?walked.? "
Tags: justice, outrage, Christopher, Reeve, Simpson, Ito
Abstract This paper looks at the issue of campaign finance. The common argument is that people who can?t afford to pledge money to a political campaign are being left out of the political process, thus restricting their voice on issues.As most of the "big money" in political campaigns is coming from the increasingly elite, the paper questions how much power this group gains above other groups in society. The issues surrounding this are discussed.
From the Paper "Another problem with the status quo that people are trying to change is the fact that people from districts other than the candidate's are contributing to a candidate's campaign. Theoretically, someone can only contribute to a political campaign to help a candidate for his or her cause. One must ask why someone would want to fund a political candidate if he/she is not even in his or her voting district. Somewhat of a paradox exists in this gray area. Congress at one point banned campaign contributions from outside the country because the argument was that ?"they cannot vote in our elections so why should we allow them to finance our elections"?? (PIRG) This argument extends to special interest groups who allegedly, "buy" votes of senators and representatives by funding a campaign that they cannot vote in."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the connection between automobile emissions and the problem of air pollution.
From the Paper "Pollution from automobile emissions has become over the past few decades an issue of great concern. With a growing number of motor vehicles on our roads, great concern has been attributed to the effects of these emissions to our health and to the environment. Several of the gases emitted, which when present in certain concentrations in our atmosphere, can be toxic, therefore these ultimate concentrations must never be achieved. Strict legislation, as well as sophisticated control technology, has been implemented in the automotive industry in order to limit the pollution caused."
Abstract This paper discusses Plato's famous work "Republic" and how it relates to the idea of justice in society. The author analyzes some key concepts of the book and the principles of justice and examines their connection.
From the Paper "If asked to define justice, every individual would have a different answer to that question. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion; but in the case of trying to figure out something that can have an effect on society, either positively or negatively, one should have a basic understanding of some sort of definition of this quality. The people of a society need to live together in peace and harmony for a society to thrive and survive."
Abstract A detailed examination of the U.S. Supreme court and the type of matters it addresses. The author argues that issues of politics and political controversies should be taken into account by the supreme court as often they form constitutional issues, and supports this view by emphasizing the chief objective of the U.S. supreme court: to preserve the principles and rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. The paper includes an analysis of various politicians and an explanation of the roles of the supreme court and judiciary.
From the Paper "When political beliefs and thoughts evolve into law, often times, constitutional issues arise alongside. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has the license to decide whether or not to adjudicate matters involving hot political topics, past history has indicated that the Court has not been inclined to evade such questions, but rather, to thoroughly delve into such controversies. As a staunch Federalist, Alexander Hamilton had strong beliefs and ideas as to how the infant U.S. government should be set up and efficiently run. As opposed to Thomas Jefferson's notions on the importance of strong state governments, Hamilton believed in the superiority of a powerful central government body. He set forth his political views in the Federalist papers, examining all aspects of government and focusing on the role of the judicial branch in numbers 78, 79 and 80."
Abstract This paper examines the practice of profiling by looking at the psychology that underlies it, which is the habit of people to use stereotypes to set off one group of people from another. The author mainly discusses cases of racial profiling amongst policemen in the United States.
From the Paper "Few issues provoke more intense controversy within minority communities than the police practice of profiling. If a single arena of society could be singled out to demonstrate the inequalities faced by African-Americans ? especially in public life ? it might be in the treatment of blacks by police officers engaged in racial profiling. A great deal of the controversy that has swirled around a number of recent police incidents involve accusations of institutional and embedded racism in the police departments as officers in a number of cities have come forward to say that racial discrimination is an integral element of the daily practices of the police force, with training officers instructing rookies to routinely stop minorities ? such as Latinos with old cars or black men with their hair in corn rows ? and invent after-the-fact justifications, such as a cracked windshield (Harris, 1997, p. 545). It will be useful at this point to define what exactly we mean by racial profiling.
"Racial profiling" occurs when the police target someone for investigation on the basis of that person's race, national origin, or ethnicity. Examples of profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations ("driving while black") and the use of race to determine which motorists or pedestrians to search for contraband.
Racial profiling is prevalent in America. Despite the civil rights victories of 30 years ago, official racial prejudice is still reflected throughout the criminal justice system. For people of color in cities large and small across this nation, north and south, east and west, Jim Crow "justice" is alive and well (www.aclu.org)."
Abstract This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the African American boxer who was falsely accused, convicted, and imprisoned in reference to the Bob Dylan song. . The author examines the movie "Hurricane" and how it portrayed the racism in America that condemned a successful black man in the worst way.
From the Paper "Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was born on May 15, 1937 in New Jersey . He was a rough street kid from a lower-class family in the inner city. After having run-ins with the law at an early age, he joined the Army and later became one of the greatest boxers of all time. He should have been the middle weight boxing champion of the world, but instead spent almost 20 years in a New Jersey prison for a triple homicide that he was falsely accused of in 1976."
Abstract This paper addresses the issue of conflict between the U.S. President and Congress. It provides an historical overview of the establishment of these two institutions. It lists a number of factors which are cause for conflict such as public opinion, budget restraints, security concerns and split government.
From the paper:
"Having just rid themselves of one tyrant, the framers of the United States Constitution were reluctant to create another to take his place. Therefore, in developing a new government, they devised three separate branches of government with a complex series of checks and balances so that no one person or branch could ever claim the power of a king. Two of these branches of government, the Congress, or legislative branch, and the President, or executive branch, were given the task of working together to shape the laws and policies of the country. A certain amount of conflict between these two branches of government would not have surprised or distressed the founding fathers in the least (Heineman, Peterson, & Rasmussen 33-36). The amount of the conflict and some of its causes, though, probably would have amazed them."
Abstract This essay is an in-depth analysis of file-sharing technology (Napster, Kazaa) and its relation to modern intellectual property laws. In order to structure the analysis, theoretical work from two prominent communications scholars - Harold Innis and James Carey - is employed. These authors divided media into two types: Innis categorized media as either time-biased or space biased, while Carey said media was either ritual or transmission. Ritual/time-biased media resist control and intellectual property laws, and file-sharing networks are ritual and time-biased. This essay defines the medium of file-sharing networks, intellectual property, the terms used by Innis and Carey, and shows how the nature of the medium explains why intellectual property laws are ignored on file-sharing networks.
From the paper:
"From a modern, literate, perspective the current economic and legal debate over file-sharing is a teeming with contradictions. Most people find the thought of shoplifting a CD repugnant, yet many of those same people wouldn"t hesitate to borrow a copy from a friend or download a song from a complete stranger. What is the cause of this dichotomy" Can one be a consumer and a thief at the same time? This essay proposes that answers can be found by examining the media in question. Most modern investigation of this subject, critical and legal, is rooted in one specific perspective, but media scholars like Harold Innis and James Carey have in fact proposed two. Logically and historically, intellectual property rights appear in one and not the other. The following pages will define the medium in question and the two perspectives. Next these definitions will be used to place the medium in the most appropriate frame. Once the medium is categorized, the work of Innis and Carey will be applied to show how the nature of the medium determines the role of intellectual property."
Abstract The following paper discusses theories of criminal punishment and examines the advantages and disadvantages of incapacitation. The advantages and disadvantages of community programs are also reviewed and crime prevention strategies that work, do not work, and that are promising are also discussed. Finally, this paper concludes with a proposal to improve the effectiveness of incapacitation and community programs.
From the paper:
?Supporters of deterrence believe that if punishment is imposed upon a person who has committed a crime, the pain inflicted will dissuade the offender (specific deterrence) and others (general deterrence) from either repeating the crime or from committing similar crimes. Incapacitation deprives offenders of the ability or opportunity to commit further crimes that harm society. Rehabilitation seeks to prevent future criminal behavior by providing offenders with the education and treatment necessary to eliminate criminal tendencies, as well as the skills to become productive members of society.?
