Chavez V. Romulo Case Digest Essay Example for Free

Chavez V. Romulo Case Digest Essay FACTS: This case is about the ban on the carrying of firearms outside of residence in order to deter the rising crime rates. Petitioner questions the ban as a violation of his right to property ISSUE: Whether or not the revocation of permit to carry firearms is unconstitutional and Whether or not the right to carry firearms is a vested property right HELD: Petitioner cannot find solace to the above-quoted Constitutional provision.In evaluating a due process claim; the first and foremost consideration must be whether life, liberty or property interest exists. The bulk of jurisprudence is that a license authorizing a person to enjoy a certain privilege is neither a property nor property right. In Tan vs. The Director of Forestry, we ruled that â€Å"a license is merely a permit or privilege to do what otherwise would be unlawful, and is not a contract between the authority granting it and the person to whom it is granted; neither is it property or a property right, nor does it create a vested right.† In a more emphatic pronouncement, we held in Oposa vs. Factoran, Jr. that:â€Å"Needless to say, all licenses may thus be revoked or rescinded by executive action. It is not a contract, property or a property right protected by the due process clause of the Constitution.†xxx In our jurisdiction, the PNP Chief is granted broad discretion in the issuance of PTCFOR. This is evident from the tenor of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of P.D. No. 1866 which state that â€Å"the Chief of Constabulary may, in meritorious cases as determined by him and under such conditions as he may impose, authorize lawful holders of firearms to carry them outside of residence.† Following the American doctrine, it is indeed logical to say that a PTCFOR does not constitute a property right protected under our Constitution. Consequently, a PTCFOR, just like ordinary licenses in other regulated fields, may be revoked any time. It does not confer an absolute right, but only a personal privilege to be exercised under existing restrictions, and such as may thereafter be reasonably imposed. A licensee takes his license subject to such conditions as the Legislature sees fit to impose, and one of the statutory conditions of this license is that it might be revoked by the selectmen at their pleasure. Such a license is not a contract, and a revocation of it does not deprive the defendant of any property, immunity, or privilege within the meaning of these words in the Declaration of Rights. The US Supreme Court, in Doyle vs. Continental Ins. Co, held: â€Å"The correlative power to revoke or recall a permission is a necessary consequence of the main power. A mere license by the State is always revocable.†

Overview of Leadership Styles

Overview of Leadership Styles Leadership Styles Democratic Leadership: In this approach the leader asks the group to become part of the decision making. The leader still has full control of the group and still has the final decision but decisions and input from the team is encouraged. This allows the leader to draw upon how good they are and their experience of a team in order to get the best results for everyone. This also helps them develop skills within the team.. This style of leadership isnt used very much within the public services, this is because the democratic leadership style takes time to discuss everything and public services may not always have the time to do this. Bureaucratic Leadership: The bureaucratic style of leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on rules and procedures to manage teams and projects. It is a style that is spread-out among some departments or people and there is a strict set of rules. This is a classic style of leadership and is used quite a lot in organizations that dont encourage invention of new things and change by leaders who may be insecure and uncertain in what their role may be. People that want to use this style of leadership are often familiar with the many policies and guidelines. This approach to leadership is commonly used in statutory and non-statutory services. Situations where the bureaucratic leadership style may be useful for example where in a job is something commonly done and doesnt change over a long period of time or either that a job needs/demands a definite set of safety rules or working guidelines in order to obey the law. Transactional: When group perform well, they receive a reward. When they perform poorly, they will be punished in some way. The transactional style of leadership is pretty straight forward but it uses rewards and punishments to motivate the team. This style of leadership is very similar to the autocratic style but it is not as extreme. Leaders of both the transactional and autocratic are very similar, they are direct and dominant and spend a great amount of time telling others what is expected from the team as a whole. There are many advantages and disadvantages of this style of leadership, for example some of the advantages are: the leaders monitors the work and each and every one individual performance, rewards, there is also a clear chain of command, not only these there are many other advantages. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages in this style of leadership: team members may not get job satisfaction but of the reward/punishment routine, it assumes that people are only motivated because of money and not because of the reason why they actually want to do it. Laissez-faire Leadership: The Laissez-faire approach of leadership can also be called the hands off, free reign and the delegate approach. This style differs from the other styles. The leader exercises very little and lets the members of the group to establish their own roles and responsibilities. The members of the group are given a very little direction but a lot of freedom and power. The power that they are given should be used to create goals, make decisions and resolve problems that should affect them. If all the members are highly motivated that the laissez-faire approach is the most effective leadership, experienced and well trained. It is very important that the leader can have full trust in the members of the team. An example of this style of leadership in the public services is if there was a murder investigation and someone gets sent to the scene of the crime, they know what they are there to do and they can then be left there to do it without any supervision needed. People Orientated Leadership: People Orientated is slightly similar but a bit different to the task-orientated leadership. Within this style of leadership, this style focuses on participation of all the team members, clear communication, supporting and developing the individual in order to improve their skills. The members of the team are very competent in their role and inspire other people by unlocking their own potential. They allocate others roles based on others strengths and individual skills. This style of leadership is participative and encourages good teamwork, loyalty and creativity. The key to this style of leadership is very good people power. People can be very successful if they use all the following: knowledge, skills, abilities, life experience and talents of all the individuals and of the group. Task Orientated Leadership: In this style of leadership its all about getting the job done. Its all about the key of the task rather than about everyone else in the team. Their main focus is just to get the task done weather it instructed or destructed. They will define the work and the roles that they are given and put structures of the task into place, plan and also organise the whole of the task. This style can have many difficulties such as difficulties of the lack of motivating and the retaining the team as a whole. Task orientated style of leadership is slightly different to people orientated, as an example, a police inspector organising crowd control at a football match may use a task-centred approach, but back at the police station when dealing with junior police officers, she might employ a people-centred approach. Transformational Leadership: The transformational style of leadership focuses on the teams performance as a whole; it encourages everyone to think of the group as a whole and rather not just themselves. It is all about moving forward as a team and not just several individuals in one group. Transformational leaders aim to make their team members better people by encouraging their self-awareness. They want team individuals to overcome self interest and focus on the goals and purposes that are shared as a team. Transformational leaders spend a lot of time communicating with the team to gain support through their enthusiasm. The transformational leadership style can have many advantages and disadvantages. To start of with there are a couple of advantages, for example, they have beliefs in others and themselves, they spend time coaching and supporting their team, people will follow their leader because of their energy, passion, commitment and enthusiasm for the team and finally, they care about their team a lot and work hard to motivate them, if they do this then this reduces stress levels and increases the well-being of the team. Not only are their advantages to this style of leadership, there are also disadvantages, in fact, there are more disadvantages then advantages to this style of leadership. Some of these disadvantages include, Leaders can only see the big picture but not all the details, leaders always believe that their vision is right when sometimes it isnt, large amounts of a lot of enthusiasm can tire the team out and last but not least, if the team is not convinced with everyone else they ma y not share the same vision as what everyone else has. Authoritarian Leadership: Authoritarian/Autocratic leadership is where someone tells you what they want done and how they want it accomplished without be able to get any advice from other people. It is good to use this style of leadership when you are either all well motivated, you know all the information to complete the task or you are short on time. This style of leadership is only used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation then you should use a different style of leadership. This style of leadership is used in some public services in the UK. The main of example of the use of this style of leadership is used in the army. For example, if you were fighting in the war and you were told to get down then you would have to get down, otherwise you may get shot. This style is used in most regiments of the army. Not only the army, this leadership is used in many other public services this is because most of the time you are told what to do and where to go.

Analysis Of Anne Franks Diary

Analysis Of Anne Franks Diary Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl takes place between June 12, 1942 and August 1, 1944 in Amsterdam, Holland. Specifically, it takes place in their Secret Annex which is hidden behind a bookcase in Mr. Van Daan and Mr. Franks office. The place is cramped with many people, and they must be very quiet so they do not blow their cover. There are workers working in the building where they are so any noise they make is a risk. Characters Anne Frank is the narrator of the book. She is a young, teenage girl of the Jewish faith. The story takes place during the holocaust, so Anne and her family are hiding in a Secret Annex. Anne was a very popular girl in school with both boys and girls. Wanting to be a writer when she grows up, Anne loves to read and write. Margot Frank is Annes sister and three years older. She is quieter and more serious than Anne. Margot gets along better with their parents and becomes closer with Anne throughout the book. Otto Frank is Anne and Margots dad. He is the one who arranges their hiding spot in the Secret Annex. Mr. Frank is modest and quiet with a very close relationship with Anne. He teaches her most of her subjects including Algebra and English. Edith Frank, Anne and Margots mother, has a horrible relationship with Anne. She does not fit the image of what a mother should be according to Anne. It seems as though she always takes Margots side which really ticks Anne off. Peter Van Daan is the son of another family hiding with the Franks. He appears to be boring at first to Anne, but soon enough they fall in love. Peter is a bit older than Anne, but that doesnt stop them from having a relationship. He starts to cling to her and Anne finds out he does not like religion. Both of these are reasons why Anne eventually dumps him. He does not even make the smallest attempt to change his ways which disgusts Anne. Petronella Van Daan is Peters mom. She does not get along with Anne at all. In fact, she criticizes Anne constantly and flirts with Mr. Frank which really gets Anne mad. However, Anne finds her easier to talk to than her own mother. Hans Van Daan is Peters dad and Mrs. Van Daans wife. He often criticizes Anne like most of the adults. Albert Dussel shares a room with Anne and is the last one to arrive in the Secret Annex. He was a dentist before he went into hiding. Anne likes him at first, but soon she discovers his true personality and has an opposite opinion of him. Occasionally, she would do things to annoy him on purpose. A secondary character in the book is Peter Wessel, a young man who Anne crushes on. Anne often dreams of Peter and once dreamt of him touching her cheek. She hopes that they can be together when it is safe to come out of hiding. Plot Anne Frank is a normal teenage girl living a perfectly normal life until she finds out that the dictator of Germany, Adolph Hitler, is executing all Jews for no good reason. Her and her family are forced to go into hiding so the Nazis dont take them away to concentration camps. They hide in an attic behind a bookcase in Mr. Franks office. They call it the Secret Annex. The three members of the Van Daan family (Petronella, Hans, and Peter) and Mr. Dussel, a former dentist, also hide with the Franks for their own safety. The rising action is when the family is sitting around the radio listening to the news about the ongoing war. They hear that things are getting better and the war is on the verge of ending. However, unknown to the Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel, things really arent getting better. The climax of the story is when Hitler was informed that there are Jews hiding in an annex. Hitler sends Nazis to go and find them. The eight of them are discovered and they are no longer safe. The falling action is when the characters were taken off to concentration camp. They knew they were probably going to die, but tried to look on the bright side. They all were separated except for Margot and Anne who stayed together. The resolution is when Miep finds Annes diary left in the annex. She was looking around in the room after they had been taken away. Miep saw a plaid cloth and went to pick it up. The diary, she soon learned, was under the cloth and an inspirational diary at that. Theme(s) I believe the main theme is isolation in two different ways. The first is physical because the Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel are physically cut-off from the rest of the world. It is just the eight of them cramped inside a small annex. They cannot go outside, they can barely even make noise, and they lived on the same foods for a while. They are isolated from the outside world. The isolation theme of this book is also mental because Anne feels isolated from her family and friends hiding in the secret annex. Even while all eight of them are in the same room, Anne feels cut-off from most of the people there, especially her mother. Inside Anne, she is as far away from her mother as she can be, even if theyre sharing a chair. Anne feels the same way about Mrs. Van Daan and others hiding with her: isolated. Conflicts The conflict of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl involves the Germans and the Jews. The story takes place in the middle of World War II and the Holocaust. The Germans, or Nazis, are executing all Jews under Adolph Hitlers command. Jews were sent to concentration camps, which is the same as saying death row. A lot of Jews were sent into hiding, but most were discovered by the German army. The Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel are hiding from the Nazis in this book. Those hiding in the Secret Annex were avoiding concentration camp, extreme torture, and death. They did not have a choice to hide unless they wanted to die, and would not have a choice to go to the camp if they were found. The Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel must keep their cover, stay quiet, and wait in hiding until the war is over and it is safe for a Jew to walk the streets in Holland. Important Passages Anne says, I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I think this is a very inspirational quote. Anne is facing death at an unknown time, yet she is still very positive. This should instigate use to stay positive. The next time we are faced with a difficult situation and are down with pessimism, we can think of Anne Frank. This innocent girls problem was probably ten times as worse as what we are facing; nevertheless she still looks on the bright side as should we when facing an obstacle. Anne also say, Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a persons character lies in their own hands. I think this is a good passage from the book because it explains that you should be your own person and you are in the drivers seat of your life. You can be whatever you want to be no matter what others tell you. I think this is good advice for a lot of kids. Even though others can guide you through life, ultimately you make your own decisions about your life. You control your life, use it wisely, do what you love, and have fun doing it! Vocabulary Florin: a cupronickel coin of Great Britain, formerly equal to two shillings or the tenth part of a pound and retained in circulation equal to 10 new pence after decimalization in 1971 Palpitation: an unusually or abnormally rapid or violent beating of the heart Gibe: to utter mocking or scoffing words Opklap: Dutch type of bed, which folds against the wall to look like a bookcase with curtains before it Wangle: to bring about, accomplish, or obtain by scheming or underhand methods Faze: to cause to be disturbed or disconcerted Calligraphy: highly decorative handwriting Finicky: excessively particular or fastidious Saboteur: a person who commits or practices sabotage Paragon: a model or pattern of excellence or of a particular excellence Universal Connection Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is about an entire race of Jews being executed just because they are Jewish. Racism in the world today is comparable to the Holocaust because they were both discrimination against a race for no good reason. Now in most cases racism today is not as extreme, but it is still racial discrimination. It was wrong back then and it is wrong now. This is a connection between the book and the world today. I can make a personal connection to this book because I sometimes feel as if adults are out to get me when they criticize me. All kids hate being criticized by adults and find at least one adult annoying, including me. Anne had bad relationships with the adults there and I know how she feels because Ive been there before. Sometimes, you just want to talk back to a teacher or scream at a coach, but what makes it worse is you know you cant. Anne felt this way in the book and Ive felt this way before in life. This is how I connect to this book personally. Reflective Questioning I would ask Anne Frank so many questions if I had the chance when she was alive. I would ask things like what was it like hiding for years, did you ever think you would be found, and what went through your mind when you were found. However, I think the first questions I would ask are, Did you ever think your diary would be published and have millions of copies sold? If you knew you did, would you have added anything or taken anything out before its publishing? I would ask that because a lot of what she wrote was personal and I would hate to share all of my personal feelings and thoughts with millions of strangers all around the world. I would like to know if she felt the same. I would rate this book a five of ten. It wasnt one of the worst books I have ever read, but it was clearly not one of the best. I do not like stories that date that far back; I like books that are more modern. Also, I found it boring that it was the same thing every day: they ate the same foods, she writes her adoration for Peter, she complains about the adults, and she writes that she will one day be free. Another reason I did not like it is that it was too slow and took too long to read. I understand it is a classic, and the fact it is a true story is unbelievable. However, it is just not my kind of book. I prefer a book easier to relate to, or a book about a subject I am interested in.

The Powerful Effect of Fake News Essay -- Media Today News TV Essays P

The Powerful Effect of â€Å"Fake News† Introduction From the beginning days of the printing press to the always evolving internet of present day, the media has greatly evolved and changed over the years. No one can possibly overstate the influential power of the new media of television on the rest of the industry. Television continues to influence the media, which recently an era of comedic television shows that specialize in providing â€Å"fake news† has captivated. The groundbreaking The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its spin-off The Colbert Report have successfully attracted the youth demographic and have become the new era’s leading political news source. By parodying news companies and satirizing the government, â€Å"fake news† has affected the media, the government, and its audience in such a way that Bill Moyers has claimed â€Å"you simply can’t understand American politics in the new millennium without The Daily Show,† that started it all (PBS). Old Media In order to understand new media, one must first have a solid background of the old media. The old media traces its origins back to the â€Å"elite or partisan press [that] dominated American journalism in the early days of the republic† (Davis 29). With the advent of the penny press around 1833, the press changed its basic purpose and function from obtaining voters for its affiliated political party to making profit (Davis 29). With more available papers, individual companies competed with each other with â€Å"muckraking journalism†Ã¢â‚¬â€investigative journalism exposing corruption—and â€Å"yellow journalism†Ã¢â‚¬â€sensationalist journalism that completely disregarded the facts (Davis 30). The press continued to evolve its journalistic approaches and next shifted to â€Å"lapdog journalism,† r... ...l Moyers. Originally broadcast July 11, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_stewart.html. Peyser, Marc. â€Å"The Truthiness Teller; Stephen Colbert Loves This Country Like he Loves Himself. Comedy Central’s Hot News Anchor is a Goofy Caricature of Our Blustery Culture. But he’s Starting to Make Sense.† Newsweek 13 February 2006: 50 Sabato, Larry J. Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics. Baltimore: Lanahan Publishers, Inc., 1991. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. â€Å"Laugh, and the Voters Laugh With You, or at Least at You.† New York Times 26 February 2006, New England ed.: Week in Review 1, 14. Wasserman, Edward. â€Å"Murder by Media: The Dean Scream.† Knight Ridder Newspapers 23 February 2005. Wolper, Allan. â€Å"Ethics Corner: Did Critical Media Send Dean Packing?† Editor & Publisher March 2004: 25.

Polyethylene and Polyterephthalate are Outdated Essay -- Polymer PET P

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Outdated: Is the World Ready for a New Plastic? Abstract: This paper explains the structure of polymer poly(ethylene terephthalate) also known as PET. It states the properties of the plastic as well recycling methods. My goal was to find out what makes PET the number one plastic, both in consumption as well as the most recycled. I also searched for new polymers that are being created by scientists and compare them to PET to see if there was a plastic out there that is better for the environment. I found a few alternatives that would be able to replace PET but aren’t being used. I also found a fire-proof polymer called BHDB which can replace the previously used polymer. Poly(ethylene terephthalate), a plastic found in soda bottles, peanut butter jars, and even pillow and sleeping bag filling [1], is the most used and recycled plastic. As Americans we use about 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour. Most of this plastic that we are using, though, ends up not only in land fields but in oceans and other undesirable places, only a small portion of it is actually recycled. Plastic are long chains of polymeric molecules. Unlike paper or other compounds, plastics are commonly used for their qualities such as durability weight, processibility, cost, corrosion, and impact resistance. 2 The basic composition of polymers includes oil, coal and natural gas though recently they have been more petroleum-based[1]. About 140 million tons per year are produced and a lot of that ends up as waste in land fields [1]. There are many characteristics PET has that contribute to the popularity of this polymer. Among those characteristics are lightweight, low density, low cost, mechanical toughness, dura... ...e motivated and helping me make my paper the best it can be. Thanks to Ryan Dill for the title idea and lastly the girls of Room 303, without them I’d still be writing the first sentence of my paper. 7 Works Cited [1] â€Å"Biotechnology Advances† Volume 26, Issue 3. ScienceDirect May-June 2008: Pages 246-265. 24 July 2008. 1&_user=4421&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059598 &_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4421&md5=34933854b44913198526946dc2afce 96> [2] â€Å"PET.† 24 July 2008. [3] â€Å"How to Recycle PET.† KenPlas. 24 July 2008. [4] â€Å"New Enviro-Friendly Flame-Retardant Synthetic Polymer† Posted 31 May 2007. 24 July 2008.

American Dream in Great Gatsby Essay

The Idea that Pervades Society The American dream is the longing of success that means a happy family and equal opportunity to go from rags to riches, through hard work. This idea is scene in a lot of places. On the picture by Margaret White, the poster proclaims: World’s Highest Standard of Living-There is no way like the American Way†. Or the headline of the newspaper story is â€Å"The American Dream, the subtitle is Doing Well by Doing Good. † Examples of the American dream are almost invisible when looking at average Americans. In the photograph, there are hungry people carrying buckets. None of them are white and none of them look remotely happy in front of the camera. This shows how not everyone can live the American Dream especially if they are barely getting by. Immigrants also failed to reach the American dream for reasons like not being able to speak English and lack of resources. Having a happy family is not easy either. There is lots of conflict at home over the dinner table and no time for American adults to have fun once they have kids. It is unrealistic to expect fun when there is housework, bills to pay, and more. Although it sounds good, it is a negative force in our society because it is just too good to be true. The American dream means equal opportunity to go from rags to riches. Sometimes, aggression may be necessary to get this â€Å"equal opportunity† due to circumstance. â€Å"At the time, most southern blacks could not share a water fountain, a beach, a bus seat, a school room, or a voting booth with southern whites. † (Moser, and Watters) This barrier to civil rights meant that many were considered inferior and could not succeed because they were separate from the average American. This shows that the American dream is unrealistic for blacks. Langston Hughes states how America should be a land â€Å"where Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. †(Hughes) However, he later asserts that â€Å"America never was America to me, And I swear this oath-America will be! † (Hughes) This reiterates how this equal opportunity will be there in the future. Thus, showing how the American dream is currently unrealistic for them. Immigrants who were not American tried to go from rags to riches as well. â€Å"Education was free. That subject my father had written about repeatedly, as comprising his chief hope for us children, the essence of American opportunity, the treasure that no thief could touch, not even misfortune or poverty. † (Antin) This shows his belief in the equal opportunity in America. In the end, many of this people did not fully realize the dream and may have ended up in a worse financial situation than before. The Antin’s wound up losing everything after the storm on Crescent Beach. They could not achieve the success that the American dream entitled. Her father was â€Å"master of no art, of no trade; that even his precious learning was no avail, because he had only the most antiquated methods of communicating it. † (Antin) They did not expect this would matter but being immigrants put them at a disadvantage. It is clearly not achievable for the poorer Americans and immigrants who probably worked very hard but live in an oppressive society that values background over hard work. You need to be a white American gentleman to succeed like Tom who lives in East Egg. The American dream means a happy family with a nice house and all the amenities of civilization. However, how can a family be happy when there is so much work to be done at home? â€Å"A good home life for a family of four took about 60 hours of nurturing work per week in 1982. That work may have been more physically arduous in the past, but never more complex than now. † (Hayden) Today, it’s nowhere near that amount but it is still quite a load. On top of that, people are picky meaning that â€Å"part of homemaking involved seeing that each family member’s myriad personal needs are fully met. For example, â€Å"Home cooking requires meals prepared to suit the personal likes and dislikes of family members.(Hayden) How can the American dream be achieved when you worry so much about homemaking? The idea of a happy family ceases to exist because of this. Even rich people with all the amenities like the laundry machine, dishwashers, refrigerators, and stoves still have a lot to worry about. Rich people still need to worry though about their kid’s educat ion and choose to private school their kids. However, â€Å"this puts more pressure on families, cutting them off from the diversity and connectedness of the proverbial village. Poorer families without the same resources to send their children to school worry even more about this. There are exorbitant rates for the top state universities and federal aid is hard to come by. The journal of health and Social behavior published her findings that â€Å"adults with children experience depression and unhappiness in greater numbers. Our expectations that children guarantee a life filled with happiness, joy, excitement, contentment, satisfaction, and pride are an additional source of stress for all parents. This shows that happiness is hard to achieve and many are dissatisfied because of the times when they have housework to do. A lot of the times, Mother’s in their sphere do not have many people to talk to except for other women. â€Å"Or it may come from husbands and children who finally notice when their wives and mothers break down. † (Hayden) For example, Daisy in the Great Gatsby had a hard time dealing with Tom, who had a bad temper. â€Å"You did it, Tom, she said accusingly. I know you didn’t mean to but you did do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen. † (Fitzgerald 16) During this incident, Tom intentionally broke Daisy’s finger for no reason. Daisy was very upset about having to put up with this. This shows how not everyone is happy all the time. Later on at the end, Daisy was so upset about Tom’s mistress and almost left Tom for Gatsby. She states, â€Å"Why, -how could I love him-possibly? † (Fitzgerald 139) This is in response to Gatsby telling her to state that she never loved him. In this case, â€Å"him† refers to Tom, who now desperately wants her back. Even if a family is wealthy or poor, there is so much going on at home that people are likely to be unhappy. Although it sounds good, there are lots of problems in life preventing the American Dream from happening. Every day, there is housework, kids to take care of, and bills to pay. This makes home life frenetic all the time. Unless you can afford a housekeeper and somehow have a perfectly content family, you should not wish for the American Dream. The American dream is the longing of success that means a happy family and equal opportunity to go from rags to riches through hard work. A lot of people decided to immigrate here in pursuit of this dream. Many of them were disappointed when it ended in failure although they worked hard. The American dream was simply out of their reach like with Mary Antin’s father. Therefore, the American Dream has a negative impact on our society because of its false promises that cannot be achieved by the overwhelming majority. So until you can guarantee equal opportunity, limited house work, and no home conflict the American dream will cease to exist.

Social Facts

A. Social Facts Durkheim defined social facts as things external to, and coercive of, the actor. These are created from collective forces and do not emanate from the individual (Hadden, p. 104). While they may not seem to be observable, social facts are things, and â€Å"are to be studied empirically, not philosophically† (Ritzer, p. 78). They cannot be deduced from pure reason or thought, but require a study of history and society in order to observe their effects and understand the nature of these social facts. In The Rules of Sociological Method, Durkheim begins by noting features such as the following (quote 3): Social Facts.When I fulfil my obligations as brother, husband, or citizen, when I execute my contracts, I perform duties which are defined, externally to myself and my acts, in law and in custom. Even if they conform to my own sentiments and I feel their reality subjectively, such reality is still objective, for I did not create them; I merely inherited them throug h my education. (Rules, p. 1). As examples of social facts, Durkheim cites religious beliefs, currency used to undertake transactions, and factors such as â€Å"the practices followed in my profession† (Rules, p. 2).These types of conduct or thought are not only external to the individual but are, moreover, endowed with coercive power, by virtue of which they impose themselves upon him, independent of his individual will. (Rules, p. 2). While obligations, values, attitudes, and beliefs may appear to be individual, Durkheim argues that these social facts exist at the level of society as a whole, arising from social relationships and human association. They exist as a result of social interactions and historical developments over long periods of time, and come from â€Å"varying collective representations and diverse forms of social organization† (Hadden, p. 04). As individuals who are born and raised in a society, these social facts are learned (through socialization) a nd generally accepted, but the individual has nothing to do with establishing these. While society is composed of individuals, society is not just the sum of individuals, and these facts exist at the level of society, not at the individual level. As such, these social facts do exist, they are the social reality of society, a reality that constitutes the proper study of sociology (Cuff et al. , p. 33). The study of social facts is the â€Å"distinct object or subject matter of sociology† (Hadden, p. 105). Durkheim istinguishes social facts from psychological, biological, or economic facts by noting that these are social and rooted in group sentiments and values. At the same time, he distinguishes the study of social facts from philosophy by noting that the real effects of social facts are â€Å"manifested in external indicators of sentiments such as religious doctrines, laws, moral codes† (Hadden, p. 105) and these effects can be observed and studied by the sociologist. The study of social facts is thus a large part of the study of sociology. In order to do this, the sociologist must â€Å"rid themselves of preconceptions† (Hadden, p. 07) and undertake objective study which can â€Å"focus on objective, external indicators such as religious doctrines or laws† (Hadden, p. 107). Each social fact is real, something that is constraining on the individual and external to the actor. The social fact is not just in the mind of the individual – that is, these facts are more than psychological facts. That these exist in society as a whole, over time, and sometimes across societies, provides some proof of this. At the same time they are in the minds of individuals so they are also mental states.Ritzer notes that social facts can be considered to be mental phenomena that are external to and coercive of psychological facts, such as human instincts. The individual mental state could be considered to intervene between social fact and action (Ritzer, p. 105). Durkheim may not have provided a sufficient analysis of the assumptions underlying, or the characteristics of, these mental states. For Durkheim the study of sociology should be the study of social facts, attempting to find the causes of social facts and the functions of these social facts.Social facts regulate human social action and act as constraints over individual behaviour and action. They may be enforced with law, with clearly defined penalties associated with violation of the sentiments and values of the group. Sanctions may be associated with social facts, for example as in religion, where resistance may result in disapproval from others or from spiritual leaders. Individuals may be unaware of social facts and generally accept them. In this case, individuals may accept the values and codes of society and accept them as their own.Two types of social facts are material and non-material social facts. Material social facts are features of society such as socia l structures and institutions. These could be the system of law, the economy, church and many aspects of religion, the state, and educational institutions and structures. They could also include features such as channels of communication, urban structures, and population distribution. While these are important for understanding the structures and form of interaction in any society, it is nonmaterial social facts that constitute the main subject of study of sociology.Nonmaterial social facts are social facts which do not have a material reality. They consist of features such as norms, values, and systems of morality. Some contemporary examples are the norm of the one to three child family, the positive values associated with family structures, and the negative associations connected to aggression and anger. In Durkheim's terminology, some of these nonmaterial social facts are morality, collective consciousness, and social currents. An example of the latter is Durkheim's analysis of s uicide. Social facts can also be divided into normal and pathological social facts (Hadden, pp. 08-9). Normal social facts are the most widely distributed and useful social facts, assisting in the maintenance of society and social life. Pathological social facts are those that we might associate with social problems and ills of various types. Suicide is one example of this, where social facts ought to be different. For Durkheim, the much greater frequency of the normal is proof of the superiority of the normal. Durkheim later modified the notion of a single collective consciousness, and adopted the view that there were collective representations as part of specific states of substrata of the collective.That is, there may be different norms and values for different groups within society. These collective representations are also social facts because they are in the consciousness of some collective and are not reducible to individual consciousnesses (Ritzer, p. 87). The social structu res, institutions, norms and values that have become part of the study of sociology can be derived from Durkheim's approach, and today there is little difficulty distinguishing sociology from psychology. B. SuicideAfter Durkheim wrote The Rules of Sociological Method, he tackled the subject of suicide as an example of how a sociologist can study a subject that seems extremely personal, with no social aspect to it – even being anti-social. It could be argued that suicide is such a personal act that it involves only personal psychology and purely individual thought processes. Durkheim's aim was not to explain or predict an individual tendency to suicide, but to explain one type of nonmaterial social facts, social currents.Social currents are characteristics of society, but may not have the permanence and stability that some parts of collective consciousness or collective representation have. They may be associated with movements such as â€Å"enthusiasm, indignation, and pity. † (Ritzer, p. 87). Hadden notes that Durkheim wished to show that sociological factors were â€Å"capable of explaining much about such anti-social phenomena† (Hadden, p. 109). In the case of suicide, these social currents are expressed as suicide rates, rates that differ among societies, and among different groups in society.These rates show regularities over time, with changes in the rates often occurring at similar times in different societies. Thus these rates can be said to be social facts (or at least the statistical representation of social facts) in the sense that they are not just personal, but are societal characteristics. This can be seen in the following quote (quote 12): Suicide Rates as Social Facts. At each moment of its history, therefore, each society has a definite aptitude for suicide. The relative intensity of this aptitude is measured by taking the proportion between the total number of voluntary deaths and the population of every age and sex.We wi ll call this numerical datum the rate of mortality through suicide, characteristic of the society under consideration. †¦ The suicide-rate is therefore a factual order, unified and definite, as is shown by both its permanence and its variability. For this permanence would be inexplicable if it were not the result of a group of distinct characteristics, solidary with one another, and simultaneously effective in spite of different attendant circumstances; and this variability proves the concrete and individual quality of these same characteristics, since they vary with the individual character of society itself.In short, these statistical data express the suicidal tendency with which each society is collectively afflicted. †¦ Each society is predisposed to contribute a definite quota of voluntary deaths. This predisposition may therefore be the subject of a special study belonging to sociology. (Suicide, pp. 48, 51). Durkheim takes up the analysis of suicide in a very quanti tative and statistical manner. While he did not have available to him very precise or complete data or sophisticated statistical techniques, his method is exemplary in showing how to test hypotheses, reject incorrect explanations for suicide, sort through a great variety of ossible explanations, and attempt to control for extraneous factors. Some of the factors that others had used to explain suicide were heredity, climate, race, individual psychopathic states (mental illness), and imitation. As an example of Durkheim's method, consider how he analyzes cosmic factors, such as weather or season. Durkheim (Suicide, p. 107) notes that in all countries suicide is greater in the summer months, that no country is an exception to this, and that the proportion of suicides in the six warmer months to the six colder months is very similar in each country.Durkheim notes that this has led some commentators to say the â€Å"heat increases the excitability of the nervous system† (Suicide, p. 108). But suicide may result from depression as much as from over-excitement, and heat cannot possibly act the same way on both causes. Further, a closer analysis by Durkheim considers temperature variations and shows that while suicides increase in number as temperature increases, suicides reach a peak before the temperature does. In addition, if temperature is a cause of suicide, warm countries might be expected to have more suicides than cold countries, but the opposite tends to be the case.A related explanation that Durkheim considers is that great changes in temperature are associated with suicide, but again he finds that there is no correlation between suicide rates and the fact of temperature change. Rather, the causes must be in some factor that has continuity over time. He then notes that the rates are more closely connected to the length of day, with suicides increasing as the days grow longer, and decreasing in number as the length of day declines. But it is not the su n itself which is the cause, because at noontime there are fewer suicides than at other times of the day.What Durkheim finds is that the factors associated with higher numbers of suicides must be those that relate to â€Å"the time when social life is at its height† (Suicide, p. 119). The time of day, the day of week, the season of the year, and so on, are not in themselves the reason for the changes in the number of suicides. Rather, the times when social life and interaction among people are greater, are also those associated with increased suicide. Durkheim concludes this section by saying (quote 13): Four Types of SuicideThe manner in which social integration and regulation work can be better seen by examining the four fold classification of suicides that Durkheim developed. Durkheim ends his discussion of the organic-psychic and physical environmental factors by concluding that they cannot explain â€Å"each social group[s] †¦ specific tendency to suicide. † (Suicide, p. 145). By eliminating other explanations, Durkheim claims that these tendencies must depend on social causes and must be collective phenomena.The key to each type is a social factor, with the degrees of integration and regulation into society being either too high or too low. (The following discussion is drawn from Ritzer, pp. 90 ff. ). 1. Egoistic Suicide. This is the type of suicide that occurs where the degree of social integration is low, and there is a sense of meaningless among individuals. In traditional societies, with mechanical solidarity, this is not likely to be the cause of suicide. There the strong collective consciousness gives people a broad sense of meaning to their lives.Within modern society, the weaker collective consciousness means that people may not see the same meaning in their lives, and unrestrained pursuit of individual interests may lead to strong dissatisfaction. One of the results of this can be suicide. Individuals who are strongly integrat ed into a family structure, a religious group, or some other type of integrative group are less likely to encounter these problems, and that explains the lower suicide rates among them. The factors leading to egoistic suicide can be social currents such as depression and disillusionment.For Durkheim, these are social forces or social facts, even though it is the depressed or melancholy individual who takes his or her life voluntarily. â€Å"Actors are never free of the force of the collectivity: ‘However individualized a man may be, there is always something collective remaining – the very depression and melancholy resulting from this same exaggerated individualism. ‘† Also, on p. 214 of Suicide, Durkheim says â€Å"Thence are formed currents of depression and disillusionment emanating from no particular individual but expressing society's state of disillusionment. Durkheim notes that â€Å"the bond attaching man to life relaxes because that attaching him to society is itself slack. †¦ The individual yields to the slightest shock of circumstance because the state of society has made him a ready prey to suicide. † (Suicide, pp. 214-215). 2. Altruistic Suicide. This is the type of suicide that occurs when integration is too great, the collective consciousness too strong, and the â€Å"individual is forced into committing suicide. † (Ritzer, p. 91). Integration may not be the direct cause of suicide here, but the social currents that go along with this very high degree of integration can lead to this.The followers of Jim Jones of the People’s Temple or the members of the Solar Temple are an example of this, as are ritual suicides in Japan. Ritzer notes that some may â€Å"feel it is their duty† to commit suicide. (p. 91). Examples in primitive society cited by Durkheim are suicides of those who are old and sick, suicides of women following the death of their husband, and suicides of followers after the d eath of a chief. According to Durkheim this type of suicide may actually â€Å"springs from hope, for it depends on the belief in beautiful perspectives beyond this life. † 3.Anomic Suicide. Anomie or anomy come from the Greek meaning lawlessness. Nomos means usage, custom, or law and nemein means to distribute. Anomy thus is social instability resulting from breakdown of standards and values. (Webster's Dictionary). This is a type of suicide related to too low a degree of regulation, or external constraint on people. As with the anomic division of labour, this can occur when the normal form of the division of labour is disrupted, and â€Å"the collectivity is temporarily incapable of exercising its authority over individuals. † (Ritzer, p. 92).This can occur either during periods associated with economic depression (stock market crash of the 1930s) or over-rapid economic expansion. New situations with few norms, the regulative effect of structures is weakened, and the individual may feel rootless. In this situation, an individual may be subject to anomic social currents. People that are freed from constraints become â€Å"slaves to their passions, and as a result, according to Durkheim's view, commit a wide range of destructive acts, including killing themselves in greater numbers than they ordinarily would. † (Ritzer, p. , 92).In addition to economic anomie, Durkheim also spends time examining domestic anomie. For example, suicides of family members may occur after the death of a husband or wife. 4. Fatalistic Suicide. When regulation is too strong, Durkheim considers the possibility that â€Å"persons with futures pitilessly blocked and passions v iolently choked by oppressive discipline† may see no way out. The individual sees no possible manner in which their lives can be improved, and when in a state of melancholy, may be subject to social currents of fatalistic suicide. Summary. Durkheim's analysis of suicide shows the manner n which the social as opposed to the psychological and biological can be emphasized, and how it results in some useful ways of analyzing the actions of individuals. Suicide rates as expressions of social currents are social facts that affect societies and individuals within those societies. The study of psychology is still useful in attempting to determine individual motives and the manner in which the specific circumstances can lead to an individual deciding to voluntarily end their life. But an analysis of these circumstances should be set within the context of the social currents to which that individual is subject.The method of analysis of Durkheim should prove useful even today. In terms of suicide, the social causes are now well recognized, and any analysis of suicide would have to include these. Some combination of egoistic, anomic, and fatalistic types of suicide may help explain and understand this phenomenon. More generally, the method of Suicide is exemplary in providing researchers with a means of understanding the social factors that are associated with particular phenomena. Durkheim examines patterns on the data in an attempt to determine how social factors can play a role in explaining these phenomena.This might be applied to sociobiological arguments today. The trends themselves are not the cause, but indicative of a cause, a social explanation has to be found. C. Conclusions about Durkheim 1. Contributions a. Social Facts and Social Aspects. These are real things that do affect people. He had a strong structural view of society, and the manner in which each of us is influenced by these social facts and how we must fit into these. Durkheim attempted to see a role for the social as distinguished from the economic, psychological and biological.This can be seen in his view of the social influences on suicide rates, where he takes a wide variety of factors and considers their influence on the tendency or aptitude for suicide. The effect of each of these factors is not a simple connection between the factor and the tendency to suicide, but must be mediated by social factors. In particular, the social factors that he identified were the degree of integration and the degree of regulation. For modern theories of sociobiology, and the influence of genetics, Durkheim's approach could prove a useful counter. References Cuff, E. C. , W. W. Sharrock and D. W.Francis, Perspectives in Sociology, third edition, London, Routledge, 1992. HM66 P36 1984 Durkheim, Emile, The Division of Labor in Society, New York, The Free Press, 1933. Referred to in notes as Division. HD 51 D98 Durkheim, Emile, The Rules of Sociological Method, New York, The Free Press, 1938. Referred to in notes as Rules. HM 24 D962 Durkheim, Emile, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, New York, The Free Press, 1951. Referred to in notes as Suicide. HV 6545 D812 Giddens, Anthony, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber, Ca mbridge, Cambridge University Press, 1971.HM19 G53. Ritzer, George, Sociological Theory, third edition, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1992. HM24 R4938. Social Explanation. If voluntary deaths increase from January to July, it is not because heat disturbs the organism, but because social life is more intense. To be sure, this greater intensity derives from the greater ease of development of social life in the Summer than in the Winter, owing to the sun's position †¦ , the state of the atmosphere, etc. But the physical environment does not stimulate it directly; above all, it has no effect on the progression of suicide. The latter depends on social conditions. Suicide, pp. 121-122). While this is not a proof or determination of what causes suicide yet, Durkheim notes that the causes must relate to collective life and must be such that these time factors can be incorporated into an explanation. But the explanation must be social in nature, and cannot be simply related to natural factors, these natural factors must work socially, and affect some social aspects which are related to suicide. Note that Durkheim ‘s method here is very empirical, and he searches through various sorts of data and evidence to find factors associated with suicide.But the explanation is not simply a relation between these data and suicides. Rather he is searching for social causes or conditions that are expressed through these. That is, he uses data to discover patterns, but the patterns themselves are not the cause of the phenomenon. Rather the cause is social, and the observed, empirical patterns constitute a means of finding underlying causes. Another factor that Durkheim considers is religion. While he does find that religion is associated with suicide, in the sense thatProtestant countries and regions have higher suicide rates than do Catholic ones, religious doctrines are not an important factor in explaining these differences. That is, suicide is condemned more or less equally i n each religion, and doctrinal statements concerning suicide are all negative. If there is a difference between the two religions with respect to suicide rates, it must be in some aspect of social organization that differs between the two churches. But if this is the factor related to suicide, then it is the social organization that is the cause of the difference, not religion in itself.Giddens notes (p. 83) that Durkheim finds further proof of this in other factors related to social organization, that is, family structure. Where there is more integration in family structure, the suicides are lesser in number. Durkheim argues that the most important aspects of social organization and collective life for explaining differences in suicide rates are the degree of integration into and regulation by society. For Durkheim, integration is the â€Å"degree to which collective sentiments are shared† and regulation refers to â€Å"the degree of external constraint on people. (Ritzer, p. 90). Catholicism is a more highly integrated religion than Protestantism, and it is in this that the difference in suicide rates is expressed. That is, it is not the religious doctrines themselves but the different social organization of the two religions. As Giddens notes (p. 83), degree of integration of family structure is related in the same way to suicides. Those in larger families are less likely to commit suicide, whereas those in smaller families, or single, are more likely. Over time, various social factors also make their influence felt.Durkheim notes that there was a decline in the number of suicides in all the European countries in 1848, a year of revolution and political change throughout Europe. Times of political crisis, war, and economic change are also associated with changes in the rate of suicide. Each of these great social movements could be considered to be examples of social currents that have widespread impact within and across societies. Ritzer (p. 89) not es that Durkheim was making two arguments. First, he argued that different collectivities have different collective consciousness or collective representation.These produce different social currents, and these lead to different suicide rates. By studying different groups and societies, some of these currents can be analyzed, and the effect of these on suicide can be determined. Second, changes in the collective consciousness lead to changes in social currents. These are then associated with changes in suicide rates (quote 14): Sociological Explanation. The conclusion from all these facts is that the social suicide-rate can be explained only sociologically.At any given moment the moral constitution of society established the contingent of voluntary deaths. There is, therefore, for each people a collective force of a definite amount of energy, impelling men to self-destruction. The victim's acts which at first seem to express only his personal temperament are really the supplement and prolongation of a social condition which they express externally. †¦ Each social group really has a collective inclination for the act, quite its own, and the source of all individual inclination, rather than the result.It is made up of the currents of egoism, altruism or anomy running through the society under consideration with the tendencies to languorous melancholy, active renunciation or exasperated weariness derivative from these currents. These tendencies of the whole social body, by affecting individuals, cause them to commit suicide. The private experiences usually thought to be the proximate causes of suicide have only the influence borrowed from the victim's moral predisposition, itself and echo of the moral state of society. (Suicide, pp. 299-300).