Lost Boy Essays (877 words) - Dave Pelzer, Pelzer, South Carolina

Lost Boy Could you imagine your own mother beating you, burning you, and treating the family dogs better then you? Quite unimaginable to me, but that is what David Pelzer had to go through. My book is the second of a three book series about the true story of David Pelzer. Ever since David was the age of 5 years old to maybe nine, his mother started to hurt him. She told him that he was a "bad boy" and deserved it all; it was some kind of game to her. At times she would curse at him, beat him vigorously, burn him, make him eat out of the trash, and starve him for days. The only time he really ate was at school during lunch because he would just steal food. When he got home from school he was givin a long load of chores. Sometimes he got the scraps from dinner, but often times on weekends he didn't eat the whole weekend because there was no school. At night, he would sleep on an old army cot with no blankets. Very rough and harsh living conditions for a little boy, but he thought he deserved it because she [his mother] always said he did, and he had no one to tell him that she was wrong. Every night he would hear his parents after he was in "bed." He heard them fighting about him. His father knew little of what was going on because he was often at work. He noticed the significant difference in the way his mother treated David versus his other two brothers. He often told her she was wrong and she would just talk about David as if he was some kind of animal, only referring to him as "It" or "the boy." When things came down to it, however, David's father would always defend his mother. One incident was at about seven to eight at night, and David's parents began to fight once again. Them both being alcoholics did not much help the situation. David heard his mom screaming about how she wanted David just to leave. David took this as a chance of a lifetime, but still kind of risky, walked right out the door. He expected to get about a block away and hear his mom coming after him in her car, but nothing happened. He ended up getting picked up by the police that night, and David's father just told the police a fake story and took him home. About two to three months later, some of the teachers and staff of David's school caught on to what was happening and reported it to The Services of Children and Family; they took him away to a foster home. It was a great relief to David because he would no longer be hurt. Even though his mother had hurt him so much, he felt like a traitor for exposing the "family secret." He was not sure what to think; he diden't even know if wanted to be away from his mother. Soon after he received a social worker, Ms.Gold, who to David was an angel. He told her everything about what went on in "the House", so that when they went to court that they could file it against his mother, but David still felt horrible inside. About a week before the trial came, he got to have a visit with his mother. She told him that no matter what she would get him back. This scared him greatly and his story quickly changed. About four days before the trial, Ms. Gold came to visit him and to talk about the case and what he was going to have to do. David immediately started to claim that he started all the household problems, that he had fallen down the stairs, ran into doorknobs, beaten himself up, stabbed himself, and then he started saying how his mom was a beautiful, kind woman. Things like that could seriously put him back with his mother. When the court case came along, David realized that he did not want to go back to "The House." The court granted him as a legal ward to the court, but his mother would not let it stay like that. No way would she let him embarrass her like that. Soon after, David moved into his first real foster home. Over the next four to five years, David moved from foster home to foster home. When David was about 15, his

Canadian Economy essays

Canadian Economy essays 1. Why are small businesses important to the Canadian economy? Small businesses have a strong presence in the Canadian economy as well as most countries in Europe. The contribution of a small business can be measured in terms of its effect on financial aspects in the economy. For example small businesses create 8 out of every 10 jobs, this presence holds great strengths in our Canadian economy. 2. What are the characteristics of a small business? There are three characteristics of a small business: Job Creation, Innovation, and importance to big businesses. Small businesses construct job creation, as a matter of fact a widely circulated study showed that small businesses created 8 of every 10 new jobs. Small business especially in certain industries is an important source of new and well paid jobs in this country. Small firms are also the first to hire in times of economic recovery. Innovation is such a large part of our small businesses in Canada. History has shown that some of the most greatest inventions have come from small businesses. For example: Personal computers, the jet engine, the ball point pen, photocopy machine, etc. The wealth of a big business providing a product is extremely dependent on small businesses, most of the products made by big manufactures are sold to consumers by small businesses. 3. What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur? The characteristics of an entrepreneur can very, most successful have characteristics that set them apart from other business owners. Some of the characteristics include: a resourcefulness and a concern for good, often personal, customer relations, desire to be their own bosses, many express a need to gain control over their lives or build for their families, and believe that building a successful business will help them do that. Most common characteristics of an entrepreneur are as follows: Assertiveness, challenge seeking, charismatic, creative,...

Fashion Magazines as Influence of Female Body Image Assignment

Fashion Magazines as Influence of Female Body Image - Assignment Example Magazines such as Cosmopolitan use language which asserts that women are socially substandard and not acceptable without sustaining the good looks of other women utilized in the magazine’s imagery. Over time, after being exposed to these messages and innuendos, women believe in this propaganda (Lemberg, 1999). When fashion magazines use images of unattainable physical perfection, it is said that this imagery diminishes feminist ideologies and begins asserting to women that maintaining a similar physical exterior is the fundamental objective of being a woman (Cash, Gitter, Kogel and Zaphirpoulos, 1997). Hence, women begin to develop ideologies related to vanity and seeking a magazine-asserted perspective of body perfection in order to be considered socially-viable which supersedes feminist beliefs. Furthermore, Suls, Martin, and Wheeler (2002) suggest that most women in society look toward social reference group figures when assessing their identities. This well-respected psychological theory suggests that women’s sense of identity is constructed by conducting social comparisons with aspirational figures in society that have built a positive social reputation, achieved fashion sense, or have achieved the body image portrayed in fashion magazines. Magazines seem to understand this phenomenon, which is why these publications use celebrity imagery because of their aspirational traits. Therefore, women look toward these social figures as a means of making status comparisons to themselves and the celebrity. When women see that they have more curves or fatness as compared to these slender and popular famous persons, they begin to develop a negative body image and reduced self-esteem. A study was conducted in which researchers used MRI technology to reveal changes in the brain as a result of exposure to fashion imagery.

Competition law and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Research Paper

Competition law and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) - Research Paper Example On the other hand, the Clayton Act is an amendment to the Sherman Act used for placing restrictions on business mergers. The bill also puts restrictions on the acquisition of other companies that could in turn lead to monopolies or unfair commercial practices. The agency in charge of seeking out free and fair competition is the federal trade commission (Alexander, 2009). The department of justice carries out all investigations on matters concerning the competition also, and the law gives it the authority to call and gather a grand jury to indict a suspect. There are civil and criminal charges in place for any part found guilty of acting against the antitrust laws in the state. Civil consequences of the statues include among others injunctions, divestiture or even cancelation of contracts. The laws have the responsibility of ensuring that there exists a level playing ground for all parties involved. It also serves the function of protection of smaller firms from large enterprises that intend to run them out of business. Lastly the laws protect the final consumer by considering market condition so that they do not suffer high prices for commodities in the market (Mazzolini, 1980). State-owned businesses or the government-owned corporations are legal organizations that carry out commercial activities on behalf of the government. State-owned enterprises are common to natural monopolies and infrastructure. They have the task of providing services and products that are otherwise said to be expensive, and the private sector cannot offer them to the public. They provide goods and services such as railways and telecommunications, mail services and weapons for defense, energy and electricity, politically sensitive businesses, broadcasting, education and healthcare (Drew, 2006). State-owned enterprises have the responsibility of promoting the interests of the public, unlike other organizations whose objects are profit maximization (Thomas, 2005). They

The sustainable environment vs. the current growth of our human Essay

The sustainable environment vs. the current growth of our human popoulation - Essay Example Surely, there must be a limit to the amount of development and destruction of the natural resources that this planet can actually sustain before catastrophic events begin to happen. Sustainability entails the capacity for a people and an environment to endure the test of time. As there is still much we do not know about our current surroundings, there is a cause for concern as the population around us continues to mushroom. If there is no regard for the land among us, and there are no plans put into place for increased sustainability moving forward, the earth, as we know it today, could be severely altered in eras to come. With this reality in mind, it is important now to consider whether or not our environment can be sustainable in light of an increased population, and what needs to be to protect future evolutionary eras of mankind who will follow us. That is the focus of this paper. In ecological terms, sustainability refers to the unique nature that the earth’s environment has to remain diverse and productive over time (Yazdi and Shakouri 468). It is this diversity that has, to this point, allowed civilizations to flourish since the beginning of time, having access to sustainable resources that have enabled continued growth. Biologist’s wonder, however, if this ecological phenomenon that allows the biosphere to continue in its productive state can continue indefinitely in the face of continued growth and abuse. Wetlands and forests that represent the best of what a sustainable biological system entails have long dominated the earth, during the modern era. Many people believe that the wetlands continue to be healthy and productive, while forests provide much needed stability to the environment. Time will tell, of course, if these thoughts are correct, or whether we are truly destroying the sustainability of our planet. Throughout history, humans have talked about showing a respect for nature that has transcended time, yet this does not always eq uate into action. With continued population growth, however, this respect and admiration for the forests, wetlands, and other aspects of our sustainable environment has gradually decreased over time. Sustainability is vitally important to humans, however, in order to contribute to the long-term well being and ability to thrive in the midst of global change. Factors that impact this ability to sustain the productiveness of the earth for the long term include certain ecological, political, and cultural components. In essence, the needs of humans to grow and prosper on this earth must be balance with certain environmental values that cannot be compromised. Humans cannot fight the ecology of the world in the long-run and expect to win. The need for social equality and economic expansion must be balanced with the need to create a sustainable environment that will continue to support human expansion. It has long been known that a healthy ecosystem is necessary to not only the continued su rvival of living organism (humans included), but also to their ability to flourish as well (Omer 2268). In order to accomplish this feat, methods must be established in an effort to reduce any negative impact that humans have on the environment around them. In order for the earth to remain sustainable and stable, humans must allow it to

The Importance of Collection, Custody and Preservation of Forensic Evid

The collection, custody and preservation of forensic evidence is a vital aspect of evidence integrity, without proper adherence to these procedures, crucial evidence that could potentially have great impact on a court case could be rendered useless. In the case of criminal proceedings, a skilled defence lawyer will look to scrutinise every step taken by forensic practitioners’ involved within the case in regards to the continuity of the evidence, in doing this they attempt to undermine the practitioner’s ability to properly carry out strict evidence collection, protection and preservation procedures and also look to find fault in the techniques they used to carry out these procedures. Collection of evidence is usually a term designated to refer to the collection of physical evidence, government agencies such as police or environmental protection departments will have their own methods for the collection, storage and conservation of physical evidence and it is the responsibility of forensic personnel to adhere to these set guidelines. General principles which are shared amongst various agencies include, the creation of contemporaneous notes, recording the collection of evidence via photographing, videotaping and/or audiotapes, preserving the crime scene by sealing off the location and only allowing designated personnel to enter, avoiding contamination of the crime scene by investigators through the use of full body covering and also preventing cross-contamination with the scene and any suspects. An imperative aspect of the collection of physical evidence is the legal considerations involved with obtaining evidence, the law sets out strict guidelines which describe when evidence can be collected, who it can be obtained fr... ...y use the evidence to help uncover the truth. Works Cited Saferstein, R 2011, Criminalistics: an introduction to forensic science, 10th edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, p. 43 Anderson, T 2008, Defend yourself: facing a charge in court, 2nd edn, The Federation Press, Sydney, NSW, p. 7, viewed 25/03/2012, ?> Michigan v. Tyler et al (1978) 436 U.S. 499, viewed 25/03/2012, White, P 1992, Crime scene to court: the essentials of forensic science, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, p. 20-33. Chain of Custody n.d., viewed 25/03/2012,

Cry Freedom Essay

Cry Freedom was a movie that took place in South Africa in the 1970’s. It is a movie about a journalist, Donald Woods, and a black activist, Steve Biko. While Woods was around Biko reporting what was happening, Biko invited Woods to go see one of the impoverished black township so he could see where black people in South Africa lived. When they arrived, Woods was shocked. The black people of South Africa were living in terribly poor conditions due to the government imposed restrictions on their lives. Woods realizes how wrong the government is by putting these restrictions in place and begins to agree with Biko and his beliefs. Biko was a very outspoken activist for the rights of the black people in South Africa. The government had already banned him from leaving King William’s Town, his hometown, due to his past efforts for the cause. Latter on in the movie, Biko ends up getting arrested after a political speech which is outside of the area in which Biko is supposed to stay banned to. After being arrested, Biko is beaten to death. Since Woods had been reporting on the story, him and Biko had become good friends. After the death of his friend, Woods decided to work to expose the government’s part in the beating of Biko. After meeting with the South African Minister of Justice, Woods is banned by the government just as Biko was when the movie began. After being banned, Woods and his family are targeted and harassed by the government. Woods manages to escape the country of Lesotho disguised as a priest and the rest of his family joins him latter on. Woods escapes to Botswana with the help of an Australian journalist. Cry Freedom really shows us the issues of South Africa from the past. Black people from South Africa were severely discriminated against and were forced to live in terrible conditions. These terrible conditions were forced upon the black community by the government. This was the time of the apartheid system, so the government was the cause of much of the discrimination of the black people of South Africa. The movie really shows us the true face of the government. We see how the government was behind the terrible things that happened to black people during that time. Not only did the government  support this discrimination, but it also went as far as killing black people who were trying to speak out for their rights, just as they did to Biko. Cry Freedom shows us how horrible the government actually was in South Africa during the apartheid.