How the American media influenced Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How the American media influenced Japan - Essay Example as well as political effects on a society, and thus, a huge number of scholars and experts are putting efforts to understand the influence and effects of media on its own society, as well as societies around the globe. In particular, this paper will be endeavor to analyze the role of American media in the Japanese society, and will attempt to identify different aspects of the American media that is playing a crucial role in altering the Japanese culture and society. In sociology, experts (Richardson, pp. 23-25) consider American media as a powerful body that has the command of influencing nations globally, and they often term American media as ‘pop culture.’ In specific, American media is a wide sector involving huge range of components, such as television, films, newspapers, and radio; however, experts believe that only television and films have the ability to influences masses due to their long-ranging availability as compared with newspapers and radio that confront limitation of national, as well as educational boundaries. Interestingly, the two components of the American media: television and films have yet been successful in promoting individuals in other countries to think, behave, act, and respond in an American way, and that is visible in most of the countries, especially the Asian countries that are already under influence of American politics and power. It is an observation that sociologists (Porter, pp. 12-13) in Japan are now afraid of cultural homogenization in the country due to increment in the influence of American pop culture globally. In this regard, they are putting efforts to prevent such cultural deterioration in a significant manner by putting barriers. Still, the American media has been successful in acquiring mass audience in Japan, and nowadays, MTV, Star World, Hollywood, etc have now become a part of Japanese society, especially young members of Japan that will be the future leaders of Japanese culture and society. A number of

Love fashion Essay Example for Free

Love fashion Essay In the early 90’s, Kate Spade began what would soon be an illustrious career that spurred thousands of women into a deep love affair with handbags and accessories. Born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Missouri, Kate is a journalism graduate who began to love fashion at her job in Madamoiselle magazine. Being adept at her work, Kate quickly rose as the senior fashion editor of accessories and in her six years of working at the magazine, Kate saw a need for practical yet stylish handbags for ordinary women. Realizing this need, she quit her job in 1991 and went on creating her own line of handbags. With her husband Andy Spade, who became the creative director and advertising manager, Kate Spade hand bags, was born. The secret behind Kate Spade are the classically shaped bags that were extremely appealing to a wide class of women. Kate Spade Hand bags are lauded for its simplicity in construction, elegant and timeless designs and enduring quality. At the start of their company, Kate and her husband Andy first created six simple shapes that emphasized utility, color, and fabric. These original boxy designs would eventually be the building blocks of an empire. Since then, more variety was created using innovative fabrics and vibrant colors with inspirations from the op art movement of the sixties. Kate Spade easily became a fashion staple all over the world. [1] From the bag revolution that Kate Spade initiated, the company went on to produce other accessories as well. Today, the company prides itself with well crafted shoes, accessories, apparel, jewelry, baby items, fragrance, glasses and even a paper line that included stationery, organizers and pencil cases. Kate Spade at home is a collection that includes wallpaper, bedding, china, bath items, and other various items for the home. The company also launched kate spade beauty along with Estee Lauder in the spring of 2002. [2] Kate Spade is highly patronized by celebrities and models such as Vikki Eichmann [3] and Taylor Swift [4]. Even Sarah Palin, amidst the election ruckus, is spotted wearing Kate Spade shoes [5]. The ever famous bags have also made their way into TV series such as Just Shoot Me [6] and the more recent and widely popular Gossip Girl with Blake Lively. [7] References [1] http://www. katespade. com/ [2] http://www. top-fashion-designers. info/kate-spade. html [3] http://www. observer. com/2007/spokes-models [4] http://www. iheartthat. com/2009/01/29/taylor-swift-in-kate-spade/ [5] http://coolspotters. com/political-figures/sarah-palin/and/shoes/kate-spade-gesture [6] http://www. twirlit. com/2008/11/25/kate-spade/ In the early 90’s, Kate Spade began what would soon be an illustrious career that spurred thousands of women into a deep love affair with handbags and accessories. Born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Missouri, Kate is a journalism graduate who began to love fashion at her job in Madamoiselle magazine. Being adept at her work, Kate quickly rose as the senior fashion editor of accessories and in her six years of working at the magazine, Kate saw a need for practical yet stylish handbags for ordinary women. Realizing this need, she quit her job in 1991 and went on creating her own line of handbags. With her husband Andy Spade, who became the creative director and advertising manager, Kate Spade hand bags, was born. The secret behind Kate Spade are the classically shaped bags that were extremely appealing to a wide class of women. Kate Spade Hand bags are lauded for its simplicity in construction, elegant and timeless designs and enduring quality. At the start of their company, Kate and her husband Andy first created six simple shapes that emphasized utility, color, and fabric. These original boxy designs would eventually be the building blocks of an empire. Since then, more variety was created using innovative fabrics and vibrant colors with inspirations from the op art movement of the sixties. Kate Spade easily became a fashion staple all over the world. [1] From the bag revolution that Kate Spade initiated, the company went on to produce other accessories as well. Today, the company prides itself with well crafted shoes, accessories, apparel, jewelry, baby items, fragrance, glasses and even a paper line that included stationery, organizers and pencil cases. Kate Spade at home is a collection that includes wallpaper, bedding, china, bath items, and other various items for the home. The company also launched kate spade beauty along with Estee Lauder in the spring of 2002. [2] Kate Spade is highly patronized by celebrities and models such as Vikki Eichmann [3] and Taylor Swift [4]. Even Sarah Palin, amidst the election ruckus, is spotted wearing Kate Spade shoes [5]. The ever famous bags have also made their way into TV series such as Just Shoot Me [6] and the more recent and widely popular Gossip Girl with Blake Lively. [7] References [1] http://www. katespade. com/ [2] http://www. top-fashion-designers. info/kate-spade. html [3] http://www. observer. com/2007/spokes-models [4] http://www. iheartthat. com/2009/01/29/taylor-swift-in-kate-spade/ [5] http://coolspotters. com/political-figures/sarah-palin/and/shoes/kate-spade-gesture [6] http://www. twirlit. com/2008/11/25/kate-spade/

Health and Safety Management in Health and Social Care

Health and Safety Management in Health and Social Care Review and assess the management of health and safety. According to Health and Safety Executive (2008), Health and Safety is the protection of workers from harm or ill health by appropriate precaution and provision of satisfactory work environment.To implement the accountable, adaptable and aggressive standards towards the organization`s goal and to motivate employees to work towards achieving this goal , our organization used the strategy of adding value and sense in ways of communicating information towards the employees. In our multidisciplinary team are people having some disabilities and come from different culture and background. To keep a good two-ways communication between staff and visitors (families, friends, relatives, inspectors),before searching for answers or documents in the office, the information are provided using video and audio-posters, sign symbols, picture, boards. This is intended to increase the understanding and performance of employee full potential in benefits of the organization regarding new changes occurred in place. A simple way of using quotes to proper body hygiene and stop spreading infection, by showing how to wash your hands as an understanding way in which our health or hygiene might put a risk the persons we support or other people at work. Pictures on the meniu board, showing what next meal will be as a easier way to choose one of them for people having hearing, speaking disability. Safe handling of infected or soiled linen and clinical waste by using a labeling colored code or shape of bags, bins, box. Some time the lack of time, lack of enthusiasm or lack of confidence to take responsibility due lack of motivation in learning process of changes can create conflicts between team members. To eliminate this barriers, ensuring compliance with the law, employer make sure that signs are posted that inform of dangers, temporary diversions, hazardous operations or anything that might affect general safety. A mandatory thing in regard to health and safety is to ensure the legalisation in force are followed and completed such as fire exits labelled health and safety policy clearly shown to all employees in the workplace. Everyone in their workplace had to provide protection, using protective equipment provided pursuant to requirement under the Health and Safety Act, for securing his health and safety while working and co-operate with line manager or colleagues to comply with the provisions of care. To eliminate or minimize the risks can occur in workplace, employer must suited to their particular situation –workplace- in order to achieve desired safety outcomes and preventing accidents for poor safety and health management. Allocation of responsibilities for health and safety done at every level within the organisations. Communicate effectively providing information about hazards, risks and outlining preventative measures,ensuring competencies means that an employer should have access to knowledge regarding health and safety regulations, skills and experience. Health and safety is everyone responsibility, wild dispensed throughout the hierarchy some roles take more responsibilities than others. Specific responsibilities will be given to specific persons at specific level, all individuals have to control their responsible areas. Health and Safety responsible employee have to check and control all the safety equipments and make sure that all the standards meant for Health and Safety controlled and maintained by employees and all the employees working according to tasks assigns. Periodical reviews and audits should be implemented from within an organisations Health and Safety department and externally from the HSE. Ensuring all employees keeps up to date in training and health and safety, use of safety audits, hazard checks, seminar and training. This will help to maintain and improve the ability to manage risks by learning from experience. Health and safety priorities in health and social care setting In our Rehab Home the management has the responsibility of protecting everybody in the work setting against health and safety issues that may occur during their duties, visit or living setting .Specially for employees start from training and basic regulation such as cleaning to avoid infection spreading, food poisoning or contamination ; making sure that the equipments are working and are kept in designated area; trained to used fire extinguishers in case of fire and to use of first aid kit things that are critical helpers in case of accident and hazards what can occurs. Any new employee or new patient in our Rehab Home, changes in equipment used or changes in technology with direct implication on health and safety indicate the need for training and appraisal .The training will help staff to carry out their duties efficiently by acquiring skills and knowledge required by the workplace and affect in positive way the life of patients in our setting. An important fact of health and safety at work is managing time and this is affecting our workers too. When working overtime occurs because of shortages staff, sicknesses or annual leave, the errors are increased by omitting some important tasks .A poor management in work planning and correct prioritization lead to disorganization and chaos which lead to stress and ineffectiveness for everyone in workplace patients and multidisciplinary team. HSE said that stress is it not a disease but can lead to one when is going for a long period of time or if is excessive. To reduce the stress and increased the work related performance in Rehab Home our team manager done a risk assessment which identified the problems which have led to stress : lack of information and communication, working alone, using inadequate equipment or not using personal protective equipment , confusion about each member of staff role , team working. Some of those barriers were eliminated by involving staff in mandatory training, supervision, and additional mentoring. Were made a one to one supervision to identify the reason which involves sick leave and find modalities to reduce the shortness of staff and overtime work. In the last century health practices were considered a hazardous environment. Because of not application of basic principles of hygiene and infection, many factors appear to have lead to this situation, patients coming from wild areas, sore pressures by staying longer immobile in beds, infections transmitted by pets were other influencing factors. Using sterilizing equipment to reduce cross infection and meet best practice standards, making strong control of following infection control policies decreased over the time spreading of infection in health care setting. An example of infection control is Methicillin-resistant-Staphylococcus Aureus known as MRSA, an antibiotic resistant organism which occurred lately in our Rehab Home too. Patients having regular checking in hospitals, visitors, inadequate use of drugs, misuses of PPE are the main causes which enable Rehab Home to keep this infection under control. Been known since 1960s, MRSA has an epidemic began in Kettering Hospital in 1990. NINSS report for 1997-1999 done after checking 96 English hospitals. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents) Regulations from 2013(S.I. No.572 of 2013) sets minimum requirements for protection of workers from health risks associated with biological agents in the workplace. A list of biological agents, classification and containment measures and levels are provided in relevant Code of Practice. The Health and Safety requirements impact on patients Care plans are a form of patient-friendly roadmap that records the relevant information about patients, and should enable all professionals to develop a knowledge of patient social, psychological and physical wellbeing of individual and those are the main reasons why communicating correct information on individual health and safety in accordance with the law enables professionals to deliver care and planned throughout information provided by organization. Care planning is a process which never completed until the individual in care is discharged from the setting or die. In this order the care plan needs to be re-evaluated, to have continuity and daily update made, as patient status changes. Care planning is the most important aspect of holistic care even though it is highly underestimated and often neglected. More often a nursing assessment is based on the medical side of the patient rather than the holistic approach. Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or will experience health effect if exposed to a hazard, property or equipment loss. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for ensuring by putting in place health and safety strategies of work. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (the Management Regulations) has the main requirement on employers to carry out a risk assessment. Risk Assessment is part of Risk Management and is part of organizations insurance that will not expose people to unnecessary risk, offer and keeping up to date staff training and up keeping of their skills. Management of health and Safety at work regulations 1999 makes sure that employers carry out risk assessments and appoint a competent person to assist the employer in Health and Safety, and to establish procedures and provide training and information to employees. Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 ensure that employer provide adequate and appropriate welfare facilities for employees while they are at work. In making a risk assessment we take in consideration factors that influence the level of risk such as: the level of exposure to a hazardous thing or condition; how is it exposed and the degree of effects in condition of exposure. A risk assessment process has to: Identify the hazards; Decide who might be harmed and how; Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution; Record your findings and implement them; Review your assessment and update if necessary. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™Needs assessments as part of risk assessment, used to determine what is missing between the fact situation and what is want or what ‘ought’ to be. For example, in our Rehab Home we have to do assessment of long-term medical and psychosocial care needs and services for a patient who refused regularly to take his medication and must be made to determine if there are adequate services provided. That will determine us on expanding/ trained/enhancing/ installing the lacking professional services. Our mental healt h setting support individuals who have complex needs because of the co-existence of disability, physical illness or social problems and their main problem is refusing medication. Certain needs are postulated to be ‘universal’ in humans generally (Maslow, 1954), each area or group of the individual will have more specific types of need. As an example, elderly people with dementia may have specific and unique needs related to their disabilities but their range of general needs is the same as everyone elses (Murphy, 1992).There is an issue of mental health needs and the assessment has many opinion and has been wild researched in the UK, special after introduction of legislation (National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990) which tend to generate more coordinated and comprehensive service provision by social services and the National Health Service. Basically the monitoring involves review of practices, auditing of risks and threats, updating the procedures and policies, and learning from experience. An organization can only be effective if it takes note of past threats and develops strategies that can minimize recurrence. In the health and social care settings, difficulties may arise when trying to implement ant-discriminatory practices. These problems may interfere with staff or with patients making them think they might be being discriminated against, put the service users in situation to feel unworthy and lower their confidence and self esteem. As a professional when this happening, it is our duty to challenge our colleague. It is important that when implementing anti-discriminatory practise because there are different factors that could affect different people. Is it vital the care that patients receive, and should be met at a higher standard and not given by judging service users background, upbringing, race, culture, religion and even sex. If some of the staff member is it make responsible for the care may treat patients differently or having a problem with the person’s views the management has to take act of it and offer extra training and counselling to staff involved. Compliance in hea lthcare, used to assure that the service is handled in the most ethical fashion in accordance with legal requirements. In our health care setting every individuals has their own rights to be treated fairly. The rights are based upon on the principles of care value base, such as: promoting anti-discriminatory practice, maintaining confidentiality, promoting and supporting individuals rights to dignity, needs (which is included physical, emotional, environmental, social, cultural, mental health, spiritual etc) choices, preferences, independence and safety, equality, diversity and human rights, acknowledging an individual’s personal beliefs and identity, protecting individuals from abuse, promoting effective communication and relationships and providing individualized patient care. The main concern of the principles is to ensure that service users and careers are treated with respect and to protect the safety of service users. Service users by law are allowed to access their records Data Protection Act 1998 Freedom of Information Act 2000, therefore clients should be allowed to read information and contribute to the development, review of their care plans. Service users need to know who you need to share their information with and why. Their consent is important or else the confidentiality policy will be breached, but in cases where if information is withheld it could put the individual at risk then information needs to be passed on. The law made our nursing homes to be part of the only sector of the entire health care industry to have an explicit statutory requirement for providing what is now called person-centred care†. Patient centred care is the right care, the highest quality care and the most cost effective care for that one patient. References : Coles, C. (1996) Approaching Professional Development; Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. 16; 152-158. Curtis, K. (1999) The Physical Therapist’s Guide to Health Care. New Jersey; SLACK Inc. Maslow, A. H. (1954) Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper Row. Springer, K., Murphy, G. L. (1992). Feature availability in conceptual combination. Psychological Science, 3, 111-117. Shortell, S. Singer, S. (2008) Improving Patient Safety by Taking Systems Seriously; The Journal of the American Medical Association. 299(4); 445-447. Links: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4060875.pdf, accesed 30.03.2014 http://www.nice.org.uk/niceMedia/documents/wphealth_goodpractice.pdf , accesed 24.03.2014 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg220.pdf, accesed 24.03.2014 http://www.compactlaw.co.uk/free_legal_articles/health_and_safety.html, accessed 15.04.2014 http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics, accessed 15.04.2014 http://www.hse.gov.uk/, accessed 22.04.2014 http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/index.htm, accessed 22.04.2014

Community Service: We Must All Give Back to the Community Essay

I earned volunteer hours as a member of the County High Students in Philanthropy organization. I joined Students in Philanthropy my junior year in high school mostly because I wanted it on my college applications but partly because my mom has a part of the organization when she was getting her degree. My mom loved being a part of Students in Philanthropy and so I thought it would be the best choice for me. I had no clue just how much fun I would have over the course of two years. I definitely did not expect to become a member of State College’s Students in Philanthropy when I started college two years ago, however I am now a member and I love it. Through being a part of such an incredible organization, I volunteered with the Life Skills students at County High, helped build a house ...

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The death penalty SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The judicial decree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally â€Å"regarding the head† (referring to execution by beheading). 1] Capital punishment has, in the past, been practised by most societies (one notable exception being Kievan Rus);[2] currently 58 nations actively practise it, and 97 countries have abolished it (the remainder have not used it for 10 years or allow it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime). [3] It is a matter of active controversy in various countries and states, and positions can vary within a single political ideology or cultural region. In the European Union member states, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment. 4] Currently, Amnesty International considers most countries abolitionist. [5] The UN General Assembly has adopted, in 2007, 2008 and 2010, non-binding resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, with a view to eventual abolition. [6] Although many nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's population live in countries where executions take place, such as the People's Republic of China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia, the four most-populous countries in the world, which continue to apply the death penalty (although in India, Indonesia and in many US states it is rarely employed).Each of these four nations voted against the General Assembly resolutions. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Contents [hide] 1 History 1. 1 Ancient history 1. 2 Ancient Tang China 1. 3 Middle Ages 1. 4 Mod ern era 1. 5 Contemporary era 2 Movements towards humane execution 3 Abolitionism 4 Contemporary use 4. 1 Global distribution 4. 2 Execution for drug-related offences 4. 3 Juvenile offenders 4. 3. 1 Iran 4. 3. 2 Somalia 4. 4 Methods 5 Controversy and debate 5. 1 Human rights 5. 2 Wrongful execution 5. 3 Retribution 5. 4 International views 6 Religious views 6. 1 Buddhism 6. 2 Christianity 6. 2. 1 Roman Catholic Church 6. 2. 2 Protestants 6. . 3 Mormonism 6. 3 Hinduism 6. 4 Islam 6. 5 Judaism 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links 10. 1 Opposing 10. 2 In favour 10. 3 Religious views History Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In most places that practise capital punishment it is reserved for murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery, incest and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy in Islamic nations (the formal renunciation of the state religion).In many countries that use the death penalty, drug trafficking is also a capital offence. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offences such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny. [16] Anarchist Auguste Vaillant guillotined in France in 1894 The use of formal execution extends to the beginning of recorded history. Most historical records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system.Communal punishment for wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment and execution. Usually, compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice. [17] The response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities included formal apology, compensation or blood feuds. A blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of an arbitration system based on state or organised religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour. Acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies (as well as potential allies) that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished. â€Å"[18] However, in practice, it is often difficult to distinguish between a war of vendetta and one of conquest. Severe historical penalties include breaking wheel, boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, decapitation, scaphism, necklacing or blowing from a gun.The Christian Martyrs' Last Pray er, by Jean-Leon Gerome (1883). Roman Colosseum. Islam on the whole accepts capital punishment,[19] and the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad, such as Al-Mu'tadid, were often cruel in their punishments. [20] Nevertheless, mercy is considered preferable in Islam,[citation needed], and in Sharia law the victim's family can choose to spare the life of the killer, which is not uncommon. citation needed] In the One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, the fictional storyteller Sheherazade is portrayed as being the â€Å"voice of sanity and mercy†, with her philosophical position being generally opposed to punishment by death. She expresses this through several of her tales, including â€Å"The Merchant and the Jinni†, â€Å"The Fisherman and the Jinni†, â€Å"The Three Apples†, and â€Å"The Hunchback†. [21] The breaking wheel was used during the Middle Ages and was still in use into the 19th century. Ancient historyElaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context and compensation system. Compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material (for example, cattle, slave) compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, or transfers of property or blood money or in some case an offer of a person for execution. The person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the system was based on tribes, not individuals.Blood feuds could be regulated at meetings, such as the Viking things. [22] Systems deriving from blood feuds may survive alongside more advanced legal systems or be given recognition by courts (for example, trial by combat). One of the more modern refinements of the blood feud is the duel. Giovanni Battista Bugatti, executioner of the Papal States between 1796 and 1865, carried out 516 exec utions (Bugatti pictured offering snuff to a condemned prisoner). Vatican City abolished its capital punishment statute in 1969. In certain parts of the world, nations in the form of ancient republics, monarchies or tribal oligarchies emerged.These nations were often united by common linguistic, religious or family ties. Moreover, expansion of these nations often occurred by conquest of neighbouring tribes or nations. Consequently, various classes of royalty, nobility, various commoners and slave emerged. Accordingly, the systems of tribal arbitration were submerged into a more unified system of justice which formalised the relation between the different â€Å"classes† rather than â€Å"tribes†. The earliest and most famous example is Code of Hammurabi which set the different punishment and compensation according to the different class/group of victims and perpetrators.The Torah (Jewish Law), also known as the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Christian Old Testa ment), lays down the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, magic, violation of the Sabbath, blasphemy, and a wide range of sexual crimes, although evidence suggests that actual executions were rare. [23] A further example comes from Ancient Greece, where the Athenian legal system was first written down by Draco in about 621 BC: the death penalty was applied for a particularly wide range of crimes, though Solon later repealed Draco's code and published new laws, retaining only Draco's homicide statutes. 24] The word draconian derives from Draco's laws. The Romans also used death penalty for a wide range of offenses. [25][26] Ancient Tang China Although many are executed in China each year in the present day, there was a time in Tang Dynasty China when the death penalty was abolished. [27] This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (r. 712–756). When abolishing the death penalty Xuanzong ordered his officials to refer to the nearest regulation by analogy when sentencing those found guilty of crimes for which the prescribed punishment was execution.Thus depending on the severity of the crime a punishment of severe scourging with the thick rod or of exile to the remote Lingnan region might take the place of capital punishment. However the death penalty was restored only 12 years later in 759 in response to the An Lushan Rebellion. [28] At this time in China only the emperor had the authority to sentence criminals to execution. Under Xuanzong capital punishment was relatively infrequent, with only 24 executions in the year 730 and 58 executions in the year 736. [27]Ling Chi – execution by slow slicing – in Beijing around 1910. The two most common forms of execution in China in the Tang period were strangulation and decapitation, which were the prescribed methods of execution for 144 and 89 offences respectively. Strangulation was the prescribed sentence for lodging an accusation against one's parents or grandparents with a ma gistrate, scheming to kidnap a person and sell them into slavery and opening a coffin while desecrating a tomb. Decapitation was the method of execution prescribed for more serious crimes such as treason and sedition.Interestingly, and despite the great discomfort involved, most Chinese during the Tang preferred strangulation to decapitation, as a result of the traditional Chinese belief that the body is a gift from the parents and that it is therefore disrespectful to one's ancestors to die without returning one's body to the grave intact. Some further forms of capital punishment were practised in Tang China, of which the first two that follow at least were extralegal. The first of these was scourging to death with the thick rod which was common throughout the Tang especially in cases of gross corruption.The second was truncation, in which the convicted person was cut in two at the waist with a fodder knife and then left to bleed to death. [29] A further form of execution called Li ng Chi (slow slicing), or death by/of a thousand cuts, was used in China from the close of the Tang dynasty (around 900) to its abolition in 1905. When a minister of the fifth grade or above received a death sentence the emperor might grant him a special dispensation allowing him to commit suicide in lieu of execution.Even when this privilege was not granted, the law required that the condemned minister be provided with food and ale by his keepers and transported to the execution ground in a cart rather than having to walk there. Nearly all executions under the Tang took place in public as a warning to the population. The heads of the executed were displayed on poles or spears. When local authorities decapitated a convicted criminal, the head was boxed and sent to the capital as proof of identity and that the execution had taken place.In Tang China, when a person was sentenced to decapitation for rebellion or sedition, punishment was also imposed on their relatives, whether or not t he relatives were guilty of participation in the crime. In such cases fathers of the convicted under 79 years of age and sons aged over 15 were strangled. Sons under 15, daughters, mothers, wives, concubines, grandfathers, grandsons, brothers and sisters were enslaved and uncles and nephews were banished to the remotest reaches of the empire. Sometimes the tombs of the family's ancestors were levelled, the ancestors' coffins were destroyed and their bones scattered. 29] Middle Ages In medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, the death penalty was also used as a generalised form of punishment. During the reign of Henry VIII, as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed. [30] Despite its wide use, calls for reform were not unknown. The 12th century Sephardic legal scholar, Moses Maimonides, wrote, â€Å"It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent man to death. He argued that executing an accused criminal on anything less than absolute certainty would lead to a slippery slope of decreasing burdens of proof, until we would be convicting merely â€Å"according to the judge's caprice. † Caprice of various sorts are more visible now with DNA testing, and digital computer searches and discovery requirements opening DA's files. Maimonides' concern was maintaining popular respect for law, and he saw errors of commission as much more threatening than errors of omission. [31]

The Myth of Cupid and Psyches Forbidden Love

The Myth of Cupid and Psyche's Forbidden Love The great Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, was born from the foam near the island of Cyprus, for which reason she is referred to as the Cyprian. Aphrodite was a jealous goddess, but she was also passionate. Not only did she love the men and gods in her life, but her sons and grandchildren, as well. Sometimes her possessive instincts led her too far. When her son Cupid found a human to love one whose beauty rivaled hers Aphrodite did all in her power to thwart the marriage. How Cupid and Psyche Met Psyche was worshiped for her beauty in her homeland. This drove Aphrodite mad, so she sent a plague and let it be known the only way the land could get back to normal was to sacrifice Psyche. The king, who was Psyches father, tied Psyche up and left her to her death at the hands of some presumed fearsome monster. You may note that this isnt the first time in Greek mythology that this happened. The great Greek hero Perseus found his bride, Andromeda, tied up as prey for a sea monster. Andromeda was sacrificed to appease Poseidon who had ravaged the country of Ethiopia, which was ruled by her father after Queen Cassiopeia had boasted about her own beauty. In the case of Psyche, it was Aphrodites son Cupid who released and married the princess. The Mystery About Cupid Unfortunately for the young couple, Cupid and Psyche, Aphrodite was not the only one trying to foul things up. Psyche had two sisters who were as jealous as Aphrodite. Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband to Psyche, but there was one odd thing about their relationship: He made sure Psyche never saw what he looked like. Psyche didnt mind. She had a fulfilling nightlife in the dark with her husband, and during the day, she had all the luxuries she could ever want. When the sisters learned about the luscious, extravagant lifestyle of their lucky, beautiful sister, they urged Psyche to pry into the area of his life that Psyches husband kept hidden from her. Cupid was a god, and gorgeous as he had to have been with Aphrodite for a mother, but for reasons known best to him, he didnt want his mortal wife to see his form. Psyches sister didnt know he was a god, although they may have suspected it. However, they did know that Psyches life was much happier than theirs. Knowing their sister well, they preyed on her insecurities and persuaded Psyche that her husband was a hideous monster. Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since shed never seen him, even she started having doubts. Psyche decided to satisfy the girls curiosity, so that night she took a candle to her sleeping husband in order to look at him. Cupid Deserts Psyche Cupids angelic form was exquisite, so Psyche stood there gawking at her husband with her candle melting. While Psyche dawdled, ogling, a bit of wax dripped on her husband. Her rudely awakened, irate, disobeyed, injured husband-angel-god flew away. See, I told you she was a no good human, said mother Aphrodite to her convalescing son Cupid. Now youll have to be content among the gods. Cupid might have gone along with the de facto divorce, but Psyche couldnt. Impelled by the love of her gorgeous husband, she implored her mother-in-law to give her another chance. Aphrodite agreed, but ungraciously, saying, I cannot conceive that any serving-wench as hideous as yourself could find any means to attract lovers save by making herself their drudge; wherefore now I myself will make trial of your worth. The Epic Trials of Psyche But Aphrodite had no intention of playing fair. She devised 4 tasks (not 3 as is conventional in mythic hero quests; this is a feminine story), each task more exacting than the last. Psyche passed the first 3 challenges with flying colors, but the last task was too much for Psyche: Sort a huge mount of barley, millet, poppy seeds, lentils, and beans. Ants (pismires) help her sort the grains within the time allotted.Gather a hank of the wool of the shining golden sheep. A reed tells her how to accomplish this task without being killed by the vicious animals.Fill a crystal vessel with the water of the spring that feeds the Styx and Cocytus. An eagle helps her out.Aphrodite asked Psyche to bring her back a box of Persephones beauty cream. Going to the Underworld was a challenge for the bravest of the Greek mythical heroes. Demigod Hercules could go to the Underworld without much bother, but even Theseus had trouble and had to be rescued by Hercules. Psyche barely batted an eye when Aphrodite told her she would have to go to the most dangerous region known to mortals. That part was easy, especially after the tower told her how to find the entryway to the Underworld, how to get around Charon and Cerberus, and how to behave before the Underworld queen. The part of the fourth task that was too much for Psyche was the temptation to make herself more beautiful. If the perfect beauty of the perfect goddess Aphrodite needed this Underworld beauty cream, Psyche reasoned, how much more would it help an imperfect mortal woman? Thus, Psyche retrieved the box successfully, but then she opened it and fell into a deathlike sleep, as Aphrodite had secretly predicted. And by and by shee opened the boxe where she could perceive no beauty nor any thing else, save onely an infernall and deadly sleepe, which immediatly invaded all her members as soone as the boxe was uncovered, in such sort that she fell downe upon the ground, and lay there as a sleeping corps.William Adlington Translation (1566) Reunion and Happy Ending to the Myth of Cupid and Psyche At this point, divine intervention was called for if the story were to have an ending that made anyone really happy. With Zeus connivance, Cupid brought his wife to Olympus where, at Zeuss command, she was given nectar and ambrosia so she would become immortal. Incontinently after Jupiter commanded Mercury to bring up Psyches, the spouse of Cupid, into the Pallace of heaven. And then he tooke a pot of immortality, and said, Hold Psyches, and drinke, to the end thou maist be immortall, and that Cupid may be thine everlasting husband. On Olympus, in the presence of the other gods, Aphrodite reluctantly reconciled with her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth to a grandchild Aphrodite would (obviously) dote on, named Pleasure. Another Story of Cupid and Psyche C.S. Lewis took Apuleius version of this myth and turned it on its ear in Till We Have Faces. The tender love story is gone. Instead of having the story seen through the eyes of Psyche, its seen through her sister Orvals perspective. Instead of the refined Aphrodite of the Roman story, the mother goddess in C.S. Lewis version is a far more weighty, chthonic Earth-Mother-Goddess power.