Ethical Theories and Criminology

Ethical Theories and Criminology Four Ethical Theories and How They Relate to Criminology This paper will cover four ethical theories and how they relate or dont relate to the field of criminology today. The four theories deal with ethically making the right decisions and what influences the actions. Every action has a reaction and the reaction is the consequences of every action. The outcome of the consequences can dictate whether or not a theory can be justified as moral or immoral. The four theories are Utilitarianism, Virtue ethics, Divine command theory, and Hedonism. These fore are very important in the world we live in each in its own decision making process, but the main question that this paper will answer is does these theories have a strong impact in the field of criminology. The first theory is Utilitarianism. The way Utilitarianism is measured is solely by how useful or helpful an action is. How does an action contribute to all peoples pleasure or happiness determines the moral worth of the action. The problem with Utilitarianism is when a person does not do what is right even if doing so causes pain or does not make the recipient feel better or does not bring the recipient pleasure at the end of the action. The principle of Utilitarianism demands to approve or disapprove every action, according to the affects of the action if it appears to improve or reduce the happiness of the person or persons that are at interest. According to Mill (1861) he believes that acts should be classified as morally right or morally wrong only if the consequences are of such significance that a person would wish to see the acting person required, not merely influenced when acting in the preferred manner. What this means is that every act should be measured by its consequences and the recipient of the action would wish or want the acting person to make the same choice without being influenced by outside sources. In the notion of consequences the Utilitarianism includes all of the good and bad produced by the act, whether the consequences occur after or durin g the action is being performed. Summary In the field of criminology Utilitarianism occurs on both sides of the law-enforcement. If I was to look from the side of law-enforcement there are many situations were Utilitarianism is affective. First, the main role of law is to serve the community and provide help and safety to the public. When something goes wrong and the outcomes of the actions from the law are not pleasing to the public then that action is not considered to be moral. On the other hand if a person is killed in order to save others by the justification of the law, this makes the outcome pleasing to the majority and so the action could be seen as morally correct. Secondly, I will look at how helpful the public is to the success of the law. This could be seen as a form of Utilitarianism or not, depending on the situation. For example a crime happens and members of the community are called as witness, this would be looked at as a moral action. There is another side to this, the person who committed the crime is not getting any pleasure or happiness from the witness and so on the criminal side this action is not Utilitarianism. The second theory is Virtue ethics. Virtue ethics focuses or highlights moral character of a person depending on a persons job or requirements. In some ways Virtue ethics has a close relationship with Utilitarianism, because Virtue ethics also emphasizes on the consequences of actions. The differences is that Virtue ethics is not measured depending on the consequences, but Virtue ethics says that all acts are either good or evil, regardless of the consequences that follow. The main focus of Virtue ethics is helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity and less on what rules should we follow. By developing these traits it will allow people to make the correct decisions without having to be in a role or job. Virtue theorists work with people to help them break bad character vices such as anger or selfishness which stand in the way of becom ing a good overall person. With every theory there are problems that arise and with Virtue Ethics the problem is that developing character traits is not as simple as it may seem. Although the common moral decisions may come easily to people as to doing what is right, but there are many moral dilemmas that require a person to take careful reasoning and thinking before committing to a decision. According to Cline (2009) having the right character traits is just not enough for a person to make the right decisions, there are just no guarantees. There is nothing that shows that a person with good character is more likely to make the right decisions. In the field of criminology Virtue ethics has a major role, because every decision made within the law is viewed on the action itself regardless of the consequences. If the action was within the law and of good judgment then regardless of the consequences of that action it can still fit within the ramifications of being Virtue ethics, because the act is viewed as moral. Whenever you work in any field of criminal justice I believe that you have to develop good characteristics, because you deal with peoples lives. And as Cline said it takes more than good character to make the right decisions it take good morals. The third theory is called the Divine command theory. Just by the name it lets me better understand how decisions are measured as wrong or right. When I hear divine I think of higher power or God is in control of the situation. According to Austin Divine command theory includes the claim that morality is ultimately based on the commands or character of God, and that the morally right action is the one that God commands or requires (Austin, 2006, pg 1). What this means is that mankind is in some ways dependent on God and our moral responsibility consists in obedience to Gods commands. Also, Austin believes that within the divine command theory of ethics that an act cannot be said to be either moral or immoral, bec ause God either commands us or prohibits us from doing it. So the only way to classify an act as being morally wrong is by committing an act that God prohibits us from doing. Conclusion According to Augustine, (2008) the form of Divine command theory can be characterized by pointing out two major features. First, it is an analysis of only one set of moral concepts to be specific; it is an analysis of right, wrong, ought, and the other concepts that figure in the branch of normative ethics known as the theory of moral obligation. Second, not all uses of the terms right, wrong, etc., are linked to divine command; and, of those that are, not all are linked to the same set of commands (Augustine, 2008 pg 1). In the field of criminology Divine command theory really does not apply to the law, because it is more of a persons personal religious beliefs. When I think of criminology, I dont think that every decision being made is viewed as being based on Gods commands and being obedient to what God permits or prohibits. The fourth and final theory that this paper will cover will be Hedonism. There are two types of hedonism that I will talk about in order to give an overall ex planation of what hedonism means. Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do (Bentham 1789). Hedonism is a philosophy that says that pleasure has an ultimate importance in humanity. The first from of hedonism is motivational hedonism. Motivational hedonism claims that only pleasure or pain is what motivates a person. Bentham (1789) believes that if pain and pleasure determines what a person will do that makes them a hedonist when it comes to the determination of their actions. The second type of hedonism is normative hedonism. Normative hedonism says that only pleasure has value and only pain has disvalue, but anything that might cause or prevent the pleasure or pain is independent of normative hedonism. In the field of criminology Hedonism I believe does play a small part, more on a personal effect. I think that we act out of what feels go od to ourselves and to make others feel good, while moving away from pain or what does not feel good. In law when decisions are made they are made based on previous pain or unpleasantness that had been inflicted on other. And to stop the pain of innocent people members of the law make decisions based on what will eliminate pain and cause happiness

Film Noir and Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard Essay -- Film, Movies, d

Film Noir, a term coined by the French to describe a style of film characterized by dark themes, storylines, and visuals, has been influencing cinematic industries since the 1940’s. With roots in German expressionistic films and Italian postwar documentaries, film noir has made its way into American film as well, particularly identified in mob and crime pictures. However, such settings are not exclusive to American film noir. One noteworthy example is Billy Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard, which follows the foreboding tale of Joe Gillis, the desperate-for-success protagonist, who finds himself in the fatal grips of the disillusioned femme fatale Norma Desmond. Not only does the storyline’s heavy subject matter and typical character structure suggest the film noir style, but also Wilder’s techniques of photography and empty, worn-down settings make for a perfect backdrop for this dark approach at filmmaking. Often, films made in the style of film noir present audiences with a rugged, cynical, and disillusioned protagonist. While Joe Gillis of Sunset Boulevard does not necessarily match up to this persona at the beginning of the film, the arc of his character eventually molds him into such traits through his hopeless situation and building encounter with Norma. At the start of his story, Joe is depicted by a desperation intense enough that he is willing to give up his own dignity and respect by first lying to bill collectors and fleeing them in his unpaid car, then proceeding to beg for a Hollywood producer to buy his trite stories, and upon the failure of that attempt, stoops so low as to ask this same producer for money. It is this series of actions which eventually lead Joe up to the doorstep of this film’s femme fatale—a frequ... ... undoubtedly makes for a more somber tone to any scene. It is undeniable that from the first scene in which the audience is presented with Joe Gillis’s corpse to the last, where Norma walks boldly into the midst of newscasters, lost in her deranged world of eternal stardom, Sunset Boulevard was filmed with the technique of film noir. Overall, it is conclusive that Wilder’s picture Sunset Boulevard can accurately be recognized as a piece done in film noir style. With the customary cynical and brute protagonist that is discovered in the character of Joe Gillis, and the infamous presence of an unsuspecting femme fatale in the character of Norma Jean, it is evident that such archetypes belong in that style of film. Furthermore, the storyline which is fraught with dismal themes and gloomy, sinister visual effects make for the ideal film noir-styled motion picture.

Midsouth Chamber of Commerce Essay

Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A) Wednesday August 24, 2010 Brian Putallaz Midsouth Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit, member driven, business advocacy group is in the processes of upgrading their current information system. Midsouth has decided they need to upgrade their information system to a more currently system, in order to increase revenue producing opportunities. Their original IS system was built by an outside consultant (who is no longer in business) on a departmental need base, rather than a company wide need. The original system was put into place in 1987, with modifications done in 1993, and 1995. During this time all IS decision were made by outside consultants, since there were no in house IT personnel. During the spring of 1996 the decision was made to hire Simon Kovecki as a systems analysis. Simon came to MSCC straight out of college and without every working with a membership organization or working with accounting software. He was placed in a difficult position since the company which originally built the system, was out of usiness so he had no ‘road map† on how the software was built. In 1998 there was reorganization and all computer system was put under Jeff Hedges domain. This again placed Simon in difficult position because Mr. Hedges was as Vice President of Public Finance. Mr. Hedges lacked a technology background and often found himself wrapped up in other projects and too busy to attend to the technology side of his duties. The reorganization would have been a perfect opportunity to add a IS manager to the ranks of upper management, but MSCC declined to do so. Later in 1998 a decision was made to move to a complete new system, an AS 400 system called UNITRAK. This particular company was chosen by Leon Lassiter and was poorly vetted. The software was in its infancy, they had only sold 1 copy, and changes were still being made to the software. During the selection process the MSCC IS analysis Mr. Kovecki, was largely ignored, as well as end users of the system. In early 1999 the decision was made by the board to move forward with purchasing and implementing the UNITRAK system. Thing did not go well, Kovecki lacked project anagement skills and proper guidance from above. Due to the lack of an IS manager in the ranks of upper management there was no one to keep the project on track. This resulted in a poor migration that was months to late, data was corrupted and os an the new system NITRAK was inoperable. Jack Wallingford: President of Midsouth Chamber of Commerce Ed Wilson: Vice President Public Affairs Did not seem to be interested in IS side of organization. Later was key in pulling away the lone IS employee during a key time of the implementation. Leon Lassiter: Vice President of Marketing/ Membership Wore many hats for the organization. While he seemed to have a vision as to what he wanted in an IS system, he was unclear on how to go there. He made decision to go with UNITRAK and made some key mistakes during his decision making process. Ted Vassici: Initial information systems person for MSCC, as an outside consultant He built and made all IS recommendation for MSCC until 1996. His company later went out of business and he was not available for questions on his custom developed oftware. Simon Kovecki: Information Systems Analysis Kovecki was the lone IS employee, though his concerns with UNITRAK were largely ignored, he was tasked with the migration to the new system. Jeff Hedges: Vice President of Public Finance Though he lacked a technology background, during the reorganization in 1998 was placed in control for all computer systems within the organization. He had a very lackluster interested in the new UNITRAK system. Greg Grinder: President UNITRAK Perhaps his software was to new and not quite ready to be used. Out of all of these roles I believe the biggest mistake the company made was placing computers systems under Jeff Hedges. He lacked the background for it and did not have the proper vision for it. Although he was in charge of information systems, he was not involved in choosing a new system, and seemed mostly concerned with keeping their old accounting system intact. Even went as far as calling the system â€Å"Lassiter’s system†, although he was in charge of IS. Hedges did not buy into the UNITRAK system and he was not a champion of it. However he is tasked to implemented for the organization. UNITRAK was a software company in their infancy and had only sold and implemented their software once prior to MSCC. Although they were new, they seemed excited at the chance to work with organization such as MSCC and seemed very willing to adjust their software fit the end user. A big win for them, a chance to see and learn how their software would work in the field. One issue was Lassiter acting as the primary contact for UNITRAK, although the employees in charge of the

Leading The Fight Against Aids Epidemic Global...

Leading the Fight Against the AIDS Epidemic: Global Achievements of Dr. Helene Gayle Rebecca A. Abbott Northern Arizona University Abstract This paper examines the international health threat posed by AIDS and HIV. Utilized were resources accessed online (Internet) as well as printed publications. Research focused on the efforts made by international humanitarian, Dr. Helene Gayle, to make a difference in a lot of people’s lives. Realizing the need for action, this physician and epidemiologist had a vision of eradicating those threats and saving lives. She spent years researching accompanying components of this disease while working within various low-income communities of foreign countries. Her efforts provided services with information of how AIDS is contracted and spread as well as education in prevention and treatment. Combining her medical expertise with her wide range of leadership skills, she made a profound and distinct difference in the lives of millions. This paper examines and outlines some of the political hurdles she encountered, two political force fields she faced, explanations of individual power bases, and how she overcame obstacles of the â€Å"coordination crisis.† Keywords: AIDS, political hurdles, force fields, individual powers, coordination crisis Overview AIDS is a disease that no one wanted to talk about years ago. It was not a popular topic to discuss in public, and it carried the social stigma of shame and embarrassment. As the AIDS