Sociology of Deviance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sociology of Deviance - Essay Example As such, being a victim of these petty and big crimes can be truly devastating and traumatizing as well. On the other hand, if one tries to set aside angry feelings and desires to get back at the enemy, then he may start to wonder how such a person can do harm to another. The first thing that may come to mind is that the perpetrator is simply a selfish person who will do anything to satisfy himself at the expense of the victim. For people who can go deeper than this thinking, they will start to reflect on the person and what factors could have made him do such a terrible thing. It is always possible that the person may have some form of psychological illness that he is unable to resolve and thus have resulted in a behavior void of any form of guilt or remorse. Aside from this, one may have the thinking that the perpetrator could have experienced some really painful events in his life to make him really angry at the world and does everything to destroy the same environment in order to get back at it. Whatever the reason is behind the deviance is a concept that is very interesting to explore. This time however, the focus will not be in sympathizing with the victim but in trying to get to know the aggressor more deeply and see what is behind the hostility that has driven him to become the person that he probably could not imagine to develop or become. This paper intends to present the hypothesis that deviance is a result of environmental factors that have a major influence in the formation of one’s attitude towards the society but the individual still has the power to imbibe this influence or not. Those who get involved in deviant behavior have done so because it was the society that has taught them to act in this manner in the first place. Each child is born in this world armed with his genetic structure. However, it is not only genetics that plays a major role in this phenomenon.

Why Disney Is Doing Better Than Any Other Animation Company Case Study

Why Disney Is Doing Better Than Any Other Animation Company - Case Study Example e of communication, i.e., Computer, First multimedia software was Microsoft PowerPoint that was easy to use and allows integration of different media to present. Microsoft power point combines animation, flashing text, colors, sounds, music, videos etc. to convey the information. Later flash and other languages are being developed to communicate as a multimedia agent. The interactive media explores up the advertising, moral displays and other presentations electronically on Internet known as Websites. These websites use to commercialize a product or convey different kinds of information. To attract the audience / users, these websites are made more and more interactive and attractive using different media scales on a dingle page. Different animated (.gif files) images, flashing, colorful and special effects text, sounds, videos, and music are embedded to develop multimedia website. Moreover, these interactive multimedia website development is not only highly expensive but also they are heavy to load on user end and requires a good bandwidth Internet connection along with different plugins installed on the computer that allows website to be displayed. Besides this drawback the advantage of using multimedia websites is that it attracts the audience and makes them learn more quickly about whatever the information conveyed. Though, commercially this r eason is enough to over come expensive development as it is helping the business to earn more and fast. Getting in more detail, its one more advantage counted as if the audience is unable to listen, one can read the text and if on is un able to read, he/ she can of course listen to the attractive music and publicizing words for the product. It may takes much time to develop but once it is developed it maximizes the level of... Disney features to be cartoon character creators. It was founded in 1923 and since then it is best for their entertainment, experiences and quality. It is well known for its creative story telling ideas. Now a days Company is divided almost in four groups; The Entertainment Studios, The Parks and Resorts, The Consumer Products and The Media Networks. Disney Studios are the same place where Disney actually started. Creation of Mickey Mouse and Snow White and Seven Dwarfs fame the Disney in a manner it is best for cartoons till now. Disney studios work for different purposes; Work done with hands is a work that can’t be replace by any other thing.That what Disney is famous for? Flash animations, and other Computer Generated Imagery animations no doubt ruling the world now a days but still hand made cartoons like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck are still simple, sophisticated, humorous and colorful. The world of CGI, leads to new innovative to the entertainment on television and theatres. The 2D and 3D animations adds special effects in the movies and make them costly and money earning product. This CGI technology allows us to visualize those things on television screens which are not real infarct nothing in them is real except the voice. Full environments may created, the weather, the sunny rainy day and nights, nature, green and dull, moods and emotions on faces, dresses and surroundings everything. Even every step of the character taking is worked closely on using this technique. It’s less costly for commercials as only a good graphics person is required rather than the shooting utensils, actors and models, along with their beauty staff and beauty accessories. But on the other way, that is true as well that hand drawings are still famous to earn entertainment.

Nonstop of Musical Innovation Essay Example for Free

Nonstop of Musical Innovation Essay In recent times, pop culture had been one of the most evident products of media which had strongly influenced many, many generations including our present society. Legions of different rock bands from the very famous groups such as Beatles, The Who, Metallica and Aero Smith and other different bands and artists have sprung out through the years and have influenced the kind or genre of music that can be currently heard by many people. Different age groups had been affected the lyrics, rhythm, and trends that all the bands had brought to the public. The popularity of the pop culture had spread in different parts of the United States as well as other countries. Aerosmith: In the early times of rock music artist such as Elvis Presley and the band called Beatles had been invading the airwaves. Most of the albums made by these artists had been best sellers in the world having sold millions and millions of copies in every record that they have made. Because of the uniqueness and charm of these artists many people had been captivated by them. Millions of fans adores and put them in a pedestal like they were gods. Devotion to these people was too much that there were horrendous acts done by people just in order to see them live. The frenzy of admiring rock and roll bands had been absorbed by the next generation and was passed to the incoming rock bands of the next generations. In the 1970’s a new rock band paved its way in the rock music scene called the Aerosmith. This group became the most popular hard rock band of the 70’s that have set the sound and style of heavy metal and hard rock for two decades given their rough bluesy attitude. This Boston based group of five discovered a sound between the menace of the band Rolling Stones and campy, grubby grandiosity of the punk rock band called the New York Dolls. In the flowery words of writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine Aero Smith â€Å"developed a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging and as hard as a diamond† (Erlewine n. p. ). The rock band was originally from Boston and was also known as â€Å"The Bad Boys of Boston† and â€Å"The Greatest Rock and Roll Band† due to their attitude on stage and the transform that they have contributed to the American music and its society. The band had mixed the sound of hard rock, metal, and RB which was imitated by many artists and bands of the following generations. The band have musically innovated this type of music which had been their signature sound. However, this band did not start from the top of the music industry thus they started in Massachusetts, Boston and eventually they were able to acquire supporters that followed them through out their career. The band Aerosmith is composed of 5 group members with Steve Tyler as the lead vocalist, Joe Perry and Ray Tabano as the guitarists, Tom Hamilton as the bassist, and Joe Kramer as their drummer. After a few months of playing together, Ray Tabano was replaced by another guitarist named Brad Whitford. After only 2 years of continuous gigs the band already has recorded songs for Columbia Records and their album was first release in 1973. Their album was entitled Aerosmith which already sold millions of records. Their following album was released and became successful. In 1976, their album Rock has made their existence in the music industry stable. Due to this album, the band had been named as one of the most significant artists that are in the hard rock genre. Through the continuous rise of the band’s career, conflicts within the groups have risen. Misunderstanding among its group members became a problem that they needed to face. Another issue that they have to overcome was the drug addiction of members of their group Due to these concerns two of the band members Perry and Whitford left the band in 1979 and 1981. In the following years of Aerosmith’s career, they have received nominations and gained more fans through the years. Due to the unchanging popularity of the band and their songs, the new generations of listeners were grabbed by this band gaining more support and influence unlike other band did. The ability of the band to relate their lyrics to the current listeners and their talent to mix genres of music had been very helpful for the group because they had been flexible for all their listeners. Though the years, many different songs had been popularized by the band. Many songs made by Aerosmith have topped the charts of MTV, Billboard and the likes. They were also nominated in different parts of the world and had performed in different stages may it be in Europe, Asia, or Latin America. Their songs had been soundtracks for different movies like Armagedon, Charlie’s Angels and other long list of other movies. All the songs that were done by the Aerosmith had been a hit for most people and one of the most popular songs that they had made was â€Å"Walk this Way. † The song was made in 1970s and became one of the most popular songs at that time. The heavy rock blues of the song became one of the most significant symbols of the era due to the honestly of the lyrics and the upbeat rhythm of the song. It had captured the ears of mostly the teenagers who would definitely relate to the lyrics of the song. Walk this Way: Aerosmith and Run DMC In the August of 1975, the song â€Å"Walk this Way† was released by Aerosmith that was in the â€Å"Top of the Attic† album. The song itself had topped the Billboard Charts 100 and America’s top ten (Power 22) when it was released. Based on Maury Dean the author of the book â€Å"Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-cyclopedia,† said that the song â€Å"Walk this Way† of the year 1975 said that â€Å"its lyrics get often smushed by screeching guitars, smashing crash drum thunder, whooshing keyboards, and keening guitar phrasers. Then the bass uppercuts the overwhelmed singer off an amp the since of a Rolls-Royce† these were that words expressed by the author as he describes the song launched by the Aerosmith. In another book written by Martin Power, he also described the song and said that the song â€Å"Walk this way† is a â€Å"wise –cracking tale of lost virginity† (Power 22). In Songfacts. com, it was understood that the song was about a â€Å"promiscuous cheerleader who leads a school boy through his first sexual experience. † In the following facts, it was said that the song was inspired by the movie â€Å"Young Frankenstein. † In the movie, Igor tries to teach Frankenstein to â€Å"walk this way. † Franskenstein then imitates the walk of Igor and learns how to walk. Aerosmith finds Frankenstein’s walk funny and then they decided to make it as the title of the song. Immediately, the song was written by Steve Tyler however, when they were about to record the song, he left the lyrics in the cab that they rode. Steve Tyler immediately ran outside of the studio but he was not able to neither call the cab nor obtain the lyrics again. In the last minute, Tyler wrote the lyrics on the wall. A fresh material such as the talk box was used in making this hit song. For your added information, a device box is used by guitarists to create vocal sounds through a vinyl tube that is fastened to the unit that is attached to the output/speakers of the guitar amplifier. An example is in the video of the Bon Jovi â€Å"It’s My Life,† where in the guitarist was controlling the sound of the guitar to create new dynamics of sounds being radiated by the guitar. In the continuing years, the song â€Å"Walk this Way† was stuck into the minds of people as well as many artists. The song was well appreciated by many and due to this a remake of this song was made in 1986 by a group called Run DMC. The group is composed of 3 African-American men that had made a mark in the musical industry similar to Aerosmith. The genre of this group is Rap and Hip-Hop which is very different from the genre of the rock band. Parallel to the rock band Aerosmith, Run DMC are legendary in their specialized genre. They had also won awards in the MTV music awards and Billboard Awards. Currently they are seen as hip-hop legends and an inspiration for many aspiring artists of the present time (Sony BMG Music Entertainment n. p. ). The remake of the song â€Å"Walk this Way† by Run DMC made a unique strike in the music industry. The two very different musical genres have come together in one song without over powering or overlapping the unique sounds of the two bands. The rugged sound of Aerosmith and the upbeat tempo of Run DMC were both evident and enjoyed by their followers. Due to remake and the collaboration of the song, the lyrics of the next version were changed to fit the rap part of Run DMC which elaborated the theme of the song. In the book written by Anthony De Curtis, he stated that â€Å"it was one of the first rap videos to get heavy play on MTV† (DeCurtis 248). In another phrase stated in the book of DeCurtis he said that, â€Å"the video was a successful attempt to introduce rap music to the white audiences† (De Curtis 248). In the point of view of DeCurtis, he sees that the collaboration of these two legendary artists have opened up the white Americans and African-American supporters of these groups to open up the minds of in the types of music that they are hearing. Although in the 1990s, racism was not a big issue unlike in the history of the United States, the types of music that person chooses reflects of the cultural background of the listener. The labeling of the hard rock genre is the type of music that white Americans wants to hear while the African-Americans listen to rap and hip hop music. Through this song, the strictly limited genres of hard rock and hip hop opened up to the whole society while showing that White American music and African-American music could be combined and eventually creating a new type of music. In addition, the video of the song was very symbolic in a sense that the video showed a wall separating the two artists—which were purely whites (Aerosmith) and purely African-Americans (Run DMC) on the other side. In reality, the invisible wall that is separating the two races was very present due to many factors of the society. As mentioned earlier, the connotation of white Americans as listeners of the hard rock genre and the African-Americans as listeners of the hip hop culture. In the conservative view, any person that is showing interest in a genre not usually appreciated by his/her race is seen as unfaithful to his/her community but through the music made by these artists. In some sense, the capability to hatch up the two very different musical genres was made possible. Aerosmith and Run DMC were able to reach the masses and were able to communicate their intentions. The successful collaboration of these two legendary artists led the way for the younger generations to appreciate the new genre created by these artists. In much recent times, the very obvious collaborations of various artists with different types of genres had somehow been a trend. Current artists such as Linkin Park, Limp Biscuit, Korn, Papa Roach, Incubus and Blink 182 are some of the most popular bands who had been exemplifying the great influence Aerosmith and Run DMC. The mixture of hip-hop, rap and rock is in fact manifest in the music made by these artists. Still, the upbeat tempo of rhyming words and the heavy screeching of the guitar had been a great influence for many artists today and is continuously developed to create new genres of music. Looking at the current music industry, more and more artists had been collaborating with one another. One example is Mariah Carey which never fails to include collaborations in her album and it eventually became her signature style. Artists such as the Black Eyed Peas have collaborated with a couple of various artists that has different genres such as Sergio Mendez (Bossa Nova) , Justine Timberlake (pop/ RB) just to name a few. Jack Johnson an acoustic artist allows his music to be mixed which house music in order to create new a fresh sound out of the old ones. Timbaland a very well known producer and artists is one of the most famous individuals in Hollywood that made collaborations of artists. Most of the collaborations that he produced topped the charts in different parts of the country and the world. Through the continuous creativity, innovation and talent of the current generation as well as the influences that they had in the past, the simple genres of pop, rock, rap, had became much more diverse and fluid. The conservative notion of just following the current trend in music, brave souls that are willing to be rejected and ridiculed by the society due to the music that they believe is beautiful are very well known and very much appreciated by the listeners not only in the United States but also in various parts of the world. Conclusion: Through the analysis of the artists: Aerosmith and Run DMC, the song: Walk this way (1975) and Walk this Way (1986), the video of the song, the current artists and their new innovation in their music, it is evident that the song and the legendary artists who bravely produced this song made a history in the music industry. The groups have opened up the creative minds of the new generation in creating new types of genres which could be more appreciated by various types of people because of the diverse mixture of sounds and rhythm. The one-time collaboration of Aerosmith and Run DMC have paved the way to many artist not to fear in creating the type of music that they really believe is striking and also be appreciated by many people. The constant innovation of music creates diversion of the music appreciated by everyone. The social construct of limiting a person or a race with the type of music that she or he should listen is now gone. The racial separation within the choice of music within the society had now been lessened. This creates a more diversified society and limits the barriers that are restrain the society from totally mixing with one another. Music is evidently one of the strongest influences that the society has. The wide scope of media and technology has allowed everyone to listen, and watch how various artists live their lives and inspire themselves in creating good music. The availability of the internet had created a much more intimate relationship between the artists and their supporters which creates much stronger connection between them. More and more artist had been influencing the people and society which creates more power and persuasion towards the people. WALK THIS WAY Aerosmith feat. Run DMC (1987) Theres a backseat lover, thats always undercover and I talked till my daddy say, said ya aint seen nothin till your down on a muffin, and theres sure to be a change in way now theres a cheerleader, thats a real big pleaser as far as I could reminice and the best thing lovin was you sister and your cousin and it started with a little kiss, like this She start swingin with the boys in school and her feet are flyin up in the air singin hey diddle diddle with the titty in the middle, and you swingin like you just dont care so I took a big chance at the highschool dance with a lady who was ready to play it wasnt me she was foolin cause she new what she was doin when she told me how to walk this way, she told me to CHORUS walk this way, talk this way (x2) she told me to walk this way, talk this way (x2) just give me a kiss like this school girl sleezy with a classy kinda sassy little skirt hangin way up her knee there were three young ladies in a school gym locker and I find there were lookin at D I was a highschool loser never made it with a lady till the boys told me somethin i miss then my next door neighbor had a daughter, had a favour and I gave the girl a little kiss, like this she start swingin with the boys in the school, with your feet flyin up in the air singin hey diddle diddle with the titty in the middle I was swingin like I didnt care so I took a big chance at the highschool dance with the miss who was ready to play wasnt me she was foolin, cause she knew what she was doin when she told me how to walk this way, she told me to CHORUS Works Cited Aerosmith, â€Å"History. † 2 July 2008. Aerosmith. com. 2 July 2008. http://www. aerosmith. com/index. cfm/pk/content/pid/400028. Aerosmith and Run DMC, â€Å"Walk this Way (AeroSmith Run DMC). †2 July 2008. Lyrics007. com. 2 July 2008. http://www. lyrics007. com/Aerosmith%20Lyrics/Walk%20This%20Way%20(Aerosmith,%20Run%20Dmc)%20Lyrics. html. Dean, Maury. â€Å"Rock ‘N’ Roll Gold Rush A Singles Un-cyclopedia. † Newyork: Algora Publishing, 2003. 380. Power, Martin. â€Å"The Complete Guide To the Music of Aerosmith: The Complete Guide. † New York: Omnibus Press, 1997. 22. Rubey, Dan. â€Å"Voguing at the Carnival: Desire and Pleasure on MTV. † Present Tense: Rock Roll and Culture. Ed 1992. DeCurtis, Anthony. United States of America: Duke Publishing Press, 1992. 248. Run DMC Featuring Aerosmith. â€Å"Walk this Way. † Posted on: 2 February 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2008. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=o8A0rhVG91U. Song Facts. â€Å"Walk this Way† 2 July 2008. Songfacts. com. 2 July 2008. http://www. songfacts. com/detail. php? id=1295. Sony BMG Music Entertainment. â€Å"Bio. † 2 July 2008. Run DMC. 2 July 2008. http://www. rundmcmusic. com/.

Contemporary Indian Theatre And Habib Tanvirs

Contemporary Indian Theatre And Habib Tanvirs Habib Tanvir and Naya Theatre are two inseparable names which will always be remembered in the modern theatrical scenario in India. Its been a year since the death of Habib Tanvir, one of the most popular Indian Hindi, Urdu playwrights, a poet, a theatre director, and an actor, but still the majority of theatergoers in India remember his famous artworks like Agra Bazar and Charandas Chor. The country will always recall this man as the founding father of contemporary theatre of India. But before we go into his life and work details we will have a quick understanding of the evolution of contemporary theatre in India. The traditional theatre, The classical or Sanskrit theatre and The Modern theatre. Contemporary Indian theatre, as we know it today, has been widely influenced by the change in the political scenario in India. During the 200 years of British rule Indian theatre came in direct contact with western theatre. With the union of power by the British Raj in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bengal, it was in the metropolises of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta that they first introduced their style of theatre, primarily based on London concept. This genre of theatre began to expand in the 1850s as more enthusiasts started to perform their own play on different languages based on western style. Due to the growth of this new form of the theatre the other conventional form of theatre felt the heat. Theatre started being ticketed from the 1870s. By the 20th century and First World War, it became a product for sale and was restricted into the auditorium. As the Indian freedom movement picked momentum, the creative side of the theatre took a setback. In 1922, the Indian Communist Party was founded and along with it came the Indian People`s Theatre Association (IPTA), which worked as its cultural wing. They took the initiative of portable theatre and these were based on various political agenda primarily against the British Rule. Indian theatre was turning out as a medium of social and political change that would be more concerned about reaching out to the common people. Post-Independence, Indian theatre got a fresh and broader outlook from appropriate mixing of various styles from medieval, Sanskrit, and western theatre. This newly found entity was further enhanced by the formation of Sangeet Natak Academy in Jan 1953 and the National School of Drama, New Delhi under Ebrahim Alkazi in 1959. This dramatic revival brought many pioneers in the theatrical front among which Habib Tanvir was one of the most popular theatre playwright-director in Hindi and Urdu. Along with B.V. Karanth (1928-2002), Ibrahim Alkazi (born 1923), Utpal Dutt (1929-1993) Satyadev Dubey (born 1936), Tanvir shaped the structure of modern theatre in India. The individuality in Tanvirs form of theatre was that it showed how Indian theatre could be simultaneously blended with traditional and contemporary aspects. His theater was not fixed to any one form as a whole. His works reaped the skills, energies of folk performance and made them relevant to the secular and democratic perspective. The effect was that his artwork was as challenging as it was entertaining. During the five decades of his stint in theatre, Tanvir gave such memorable productions as Agra Bazar[1954], Mitti ki Gari[1958], Gaon ka Naam Sasural Mor Naam Damaad[1973], Charandas Chor[1975], Jis Lahore Ni Dekhya[1990], and Rajrakt[2006], of which many are renowned as classics of the contemporary Indian stage. In popular culture, the name of Habib Tanvir is closely related to the concept of the folk theatre. However, Habib Tanvirs appeal with the folk was motivated by the folk performers who brought their own styles along with them. Habib Tanvir plays involved actors who can sing and dance. His project from the start had been to utilize elements of folk as an instrument to produce theater to appeal general masses. Habib Ahmed Khan was born in Raipur, Chhattisgarh to Hafiz Ahmed Khan, who belonged to Peshawar. Tanvir was a pen-name he took later when he started writing poetry. Raipur, during that time was a small town surrounded by villages. As a child, Tanvir too had many opportunities to visit villages, interact with the residents and listen to the songs of the locals. He was so attracted by those melodies that he even memorized some of them. Tanvir completed his schooling from Laurie Municipal High School in Raipur and his BA from Morris College Nagpur in 1944. After pursuing his Masters for 1 year at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Tanvir moved to Bombay in 1945 and joined All India Radio (AIR). He also joined the PWA (Progressive Writers Association) and became an essential part of IPTA (Indian Peoples Theatre Association) as an actor. When the Communist Party of India was banned many IPTA members were jailed or went underground. From 1948-50, Habib solely handled the responsibility of running the organization. In 1954, Tanvir moved to Delhi, and worked with Hindustani Theatre formed by Qudsia Zaidi and authored many plays. It was in this period he met Moneeka Mishra, also an actor-director, whom he later married. In the same year, he produced Agra Bazar, based on the times of the 18-th-century Urdu poet, Nazir Akbarabadi, an older poet in the generation of Mirza Ghalib. He used students of Jamia Millia Islamia and local residents and folk artists from Okhla village and created an ambience never seen before in Indian theatre. The play was not staged in a restricted space, but in a bazaar, a marketplace. Later, On a Govt of India scholarship, Tanvir went to England in 1956. He received training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the British Drama League, and having exposure to Western drama and production styles. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, watching theatre. In 1956 he spent about 8 months in Berlin and saw numerous productions by Bertolt Brecht. Being Tanvirs first experience with the German playwright-directors work he was quickly influenced by it. Simplicity and directness were the benchmark of Berliner Ensemble productions, and Tanvir was reminded of Sanskrit drama, about its simplicity in technique and presentation. By the time he got back to India, he was determined to unlearn much of what he had learnt at RADA. Thus following a path of development opposite to that followed by other Indian directors trained in Britain. Soon after returning from Europe, he worked with some folk artists of Chhattisgarh and tried to understand their forms and techniques. His first production, Mitti ki Gadi, included 6 folk actors from Chhattisgarh in the cast. Besides, to give a distinct Indian form and style, he used the conventions and techniques of folk stage. This play though is now performed entirely by village artists, but it is still considered as one of the best modern portrayal of the classic. Tanvir and his wife Moneeka Misra founded Naya Theatre in 1959. During this stage of career, Tanvirs interest in the folk traditions and performers continued to grow. But, it was not until the early 1970s that this association reached a new and more sustained phase. Tanvir wasnt entirely satisfied with the working of folk actors. He identified two faults in his approach to tackle them. Firstly, the problem with the rural artists was they not only could read or write but couldnt even remember what way they needed to move in the stage. So, it wasnt wise enough to pre-define their movements in advance. Secondly, making these people speak standard Hindi in Hindustani plays created a severe handicap for them and restricted their freedom of expression and creativity in performance. To improvise on these faults, the folk actors were allowed to speak in their native Chhattisgarhi dialect. He also worked intensively with rural performers in their language delivery and style of performance. Also, to make them feel stage worthy, he allowed them their own portion of delivery in their own traditional way. The second breakthrough came when Tanvir conducted a nacha workshop in Raipur in 1972 where more than a hundred folk participants were involved in a month-long exercise. During this workshop, three different traditional comedies were selected and combined to form a full length play. Further improvisations linked them up to a full story, leading to a stage play called Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damaad. This play marked a turning point in Tanvirs career, not only because the play was a grand success in Delhi but that he finally found the form and style he was searching since his directorial debut. Since then, he continued his construction and casting of play through improvisations. Through this method, at that time he produced his best work Charandas Chor(1975). This play is still the evergreen favorite for most theatre goers. Tanvirs Naya Theatre worked almost entirely with folk actors. But, his occasional productions with other theatre groups were also marked by the style he developed through his work with folk artists. But, this newly developed style was not folk theatre by any sense. He was still an urban artist with sensibility, modern outlook and strong sense of history and politics. His unique style and content in theatre always reflected his commitment to common people and their causes, primarily due to his involvement with the leftist cultural movement in early years. Tanvirs fascination with the folk was motivated by the fact that he believed there is a huge artistic and creative energy inherent in these traditions. He always borrowed techniques, music and themes from these traditions as and when required. His theatre never belonged to any one form or tradition wholly. His plays, from the beginning, have been utilizing elements of folk traditions as a tool and make them give new, contemporary meanings, and to create an art form which has that touch of soil in it. The performance styles of the actors were always in their conventional nacha background, but the plays were not original nacha productions. While the number of actors in a nacha play is usually 2 or 3, the rest being background dancers and singers, Tanvirs plays used to involve a whole casting of actors, some of whom could sing and dance. His productions always had a structure which one doesnt associate with the original form of the nacha. Another significant difference is that while the nacha songs are mostly used as intermediate musical delays, in Tanvirs plays they were closely embedded as an important part of the theme of the play. This is best displayed in some his adaptations like The Good Woman of Szechwan (Shaajapur ki Shantibai) and A Midsummers Night Dream (Kamdeo Ka Apna, Basant Ritu Ka Sapna). Tanvir not only gave his poetic compositions the freshness of the original but has also used his words to fit native tunes with ease and skill. However, Tanvir was always conscious not to create a difference between his own educated minds over the uneducated creative mind of his actors. An example of this approach is the way Tanvir mixed his poetry to the traditional tribal and folk music, retaining its own imaginative power without in any way less valuing the latter. Another example is the way he allowed his actors and their skills to be projected by less complicating the lighting stage design. Therefore in contrast to the stylish genre of drama on one side and the traditional theatre on the other, Habib Tanvir, with his own blend of tradition, folk creativity and critical consciousness, offered a fresh and innovative model of field of dramatics. It is this rich blend which made his art so memorable. Even after Tanvirs death, his innovative art form and style is still being carried forward through newer productions of Naya Theatre. Seeing recent performance of Naya Theatre actors in movie Peepli Live we can probably comment that Tanvirs art form is gradually crossing the barriers of contemporary theatre and exploring newer towards mainstream cinema.

Edgar Allen Poe :: essays research papers

Edgar Allan Poe Overview On January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts one of the world’s most distinguished writers was born. This writer’s name was Edgar Allan Poe, he was born the son of an actress and an actor . At the age of three, Poe’s mother gave him up to a prosperous merchant by the name of John Allan who took care of him until he began running into gambling problems at the school which he attended in Virginia. He only attended for one year due to these troubles. Poe than began to continue his studies in England and began to write. After Poe had finished his studies in England he came back to the States to enlist in the army. There he wrote and published his first book called Tamerlane and Other Poems at his own expense. After Poe’s leaving the army, with the help of John Allan and his fellow cadets he wrote his second book. In 1837, Poe went to New York in search of work and this is where he not only marries his cousin Virginia, but is also the p lace in time when his writing courier really launches. In 1847 Poes’ life becomes a disaster due to the death of his beloved wife, Virginia. Poe become absent minded and began drinking heavily. Edgar Allen Poe’s life experiences, particularly his repeated substance abuse and the loss of the women he loved, are evident in the stories that he wrote. Edgar Allan Poe Pg.1 On January 29, 1845, Poe’s most mystifying poem appeared, The Raven. This was a story that Poe wrote that helped us understand his feelings that were felt due to the loss of his wife(Double Day & Company). The words used to describe the raven in the story make the raven up to be death coming for him. The words such as "so faintly you cam tapping, tapping at my chamber door" show how the raven resembled death which took his wife away and will soon take him. Poe also described his heart ache by describing the ravens eyes as burning through his chest. Alcohol and drugs played a key role in the deep dark setting of this story. Also Poe had a fixation with the name Lanoro but nobody ever found out who she was, but men believe that it was Poe’s secret lover after the death of his wife. Edgar Allen Poe :: essays research papers Edgar Allan Poe Overview On January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts one of the world’s most distinguished writers was born. This writer’s name was Edgar Allan Poe, he was born the son of an actress and an actor . At the age of three, Poe’s mother gave him up to a prosperous merchant by the name of John Allan who took care of him until he began running into gambling problems at the school which he attended in Virginia. He only attended for one year due to these troubles. Poe than began to continue his studies in England and began to write. After Poe had finished his studies in England he came back to the States to enlist in the army. There he wrote and published his first book called Tamerlane and Other Poems at his own expense. After Poe’s leaving the army, with the help of John Allan and his fellow cadets he wrote his second book. In 1837, Poe went to New York in search of work and this is where he not only marries his cousin Virginia, but is also the p lace in time when his writing courier really launches. In 1847 Poes’ life becomes a disaster due to the death of his beloved wife, Virginia. Poe become absent minded and began drinking heavily. Edgar Allen Poe’s life experiences, particularly his repeated substance abuse and the loss of the women he loved, are evident in the stories that he wrote. Edgar Allan Poe Pg.1 On January 29, 1845, Poe’s most mystifying poem appeared, The Raven. This was a story that Poe wrote that helped us understand his feelings that were felt due to the loss of his wife(Double Day & Company). The words used to describe the raven in the story make the raven up to be death coming for him. The words such as "so faintly you cam tapping, tapping at my chamber door" show how the raven resembled death which took his wife away and will soon take him. Poe also described his heart ache by describing the ravens eyes as burning through his chest. Alcohol and drugs played a key role in the deep dark setting of this story. Also Poe had a fixation with the name Lanoro but nobody ever found out who she was, but men believe that it was Poe’s secret lover after the death of his wife.

Heracles: A Primary Example of Joseph’s Campbell’s Hero’s Journey Essay

THESIS STATEMENT Heracles favorite of the Greeks is a primary example of Joseph’s Campbell’s hero’s journey, proven by all the actions that Heracles has done during the span of his Life. PURPOSE STATEMENT This paper is to show that Heracles is the prime example of a hero’s journey through his actions and the struggles that he faced during his life until he was about to die but instead of death, his father, Zeus, saved him and he conquered the mortal realm, to become a god. INTRODUCTION The story of Heracles that comes to people’s mind is not what Heracles had to do during his life. Throughout the life of Heracles, he has shown that he deserved to be remembered as a great hero, through the opposition that he faced from the husband of Zeus, the king of the gods, wife, Hera, because he was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. Hera is the main reason that Heracles had to complete the 12 labors. Hera caused Heracles to go mad and kill his family. The only way for Heracles to purify himself was to accomplish the 12 labors that was assigned to him by his cousin Eurystheus as the oracle described: â€Å"As atonement for the dreadful killings, the oracles put Heracles in to the servitude of his cousin, King Eurystheus, who would impose upon the young hero the Twelve Labors, seemingly impossible tasks† (Reference book 68). Heracles must have completed these difficult trials to help him return to his usual life The main reason that Hera hated Heracles is because he was the illegitimate son of her husband Zeus. Hera usually would show hatred for woman that Zeus had slept with, but in this case her hatred was for son of the woman. The hatred of Hera is also ironic because Heracles’ names even means â€Å"Glory of Hera†, but with Hera’s h... ...ro. In the Helicon Encyclopedia of Literature they interpret Heracles myth as â€Å"Viewed as the personification of strength, courage, and endurance, Heracles and his legends may have been regarded as an allegory of the triumph of good over evil† (Helicon Encyclopedia). Heracles can be viewed as a story of good vs. evil because Heracles had to overcome the struggles placed on him from his opposition. Some people will believe that Heracles is not a great hero and they criticize Heracles like the poet Tom Sleigh and in his poem. â€Å"[H]is own good opinion of himselfmirrored back indulgentlywhenever he committedsome indiscretion borne of selfishness:† (Sleigh C: 9 L: 12-16). Sleigh is showing that all people don’t have to like or admire Heracles. But according to the mono-myth Heracles is a hero and went through harder things that other heroes didn’t have to complete.

Overcrowding in America’s Prisons Essay

Abstract America’s prison system has become extremely overcrowded and managing it has become a job of staggering proportions. In 2001, there were 1.4 million men and women incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions. This overcrowding has increased the cost to operate prisons at alarming rates. Due to a high recidivism rate, many experts believe that lack of rehabilitation has played a great role in this increase. One of the major reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is that crime control strategies and legislative changes have favored longer sentences. These approaches have taken several forms that, when combined, have incarcerated people for longer periods of time with less possibility for early release. Many factors such as new offenses, mandatory sentences, lengthening terms, and habitual offender laws, have added to prison overcrowding. Although an exact cost can not be associated with overcrowding, we can look at present costs incurred in prison and anticipate their increase as the system takes on more and more inmates. When looking at the cost of overcrowding, we not only have to look at the cost to taxpayers per inmate but also construction cost needed to build the new prisons to relieve the overcrowding. The operating cost for a prison over its life span cost about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Overcrowding causes serious depravation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Overcrowding may cause a number of problems such as emotional stress, increase in disciplinary infractions, and some physical health problems. Overcrowding also causes litigation forcing the federal and state prisons to build new facilities to relieve overcrowding. Rehabilitation has been around for many years and throughout those years the chance to study models good and bad have given us much research to work with in knowing which rehabilitation models work and which do not. Rehabilitation programs should change or modify the offender or help them to modify themselves, as well as changing or modifying life circumstances and social  opportunities. Some types of rehabilitation programs in use are mental health and counseling programs, educational programs, and substance abuse programs. The results of many studies are statistically aggregated and assessed as one sample an their findings showed that effective programs reduced the reentry rate by approximately 36.4 percent in 1998. Generally 25 to 35 percent of the experimental treatment programs studied achieved favorable results. With statistics like these, I feel we can reduce the number of repeat offenders through the use of effective rehabilitation programs. Overcrowding in America’s Prisons Can rehabilitation help lower the growing numbers of repeat offenders? With overcrowding, managing America’s prisons has become a job of staggering proportions. As of December 31, 2001. Over 1.4 million men and women were incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions. Operating cost of U.S. prisons rose 224 percent between 1980 and 1994. The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimates that operating costs could grow $4.7 billion by 2006. Many factors have led tot this increase such as mandatory sentencing and recidivism of offenders. Many in the field believe that lack of rehabilitation training geared toward marketable skills, along with no treatment of substance abuse, have played a great role in this increase. One of the major reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is crime control strategies and legislative changes have favored longer sentences. These approaches have taken several forms that, when combined, have incarcerated more people for longer periods of time with less possibility for early release. There was a 22 percent increase in arrests from 1986 to 1997. Overcrowding has also created a problem with understaffing in the â€Å"job rich 1990’s†. However, as the crime rate increases and people become more frightened, the politician’s answer with â€Å"tougher sentencing legislation† and not rehabilitation. The desire to reform convicted offenders has a long history in policy and practice in the American correctional system. As early as the eighteenth century to the present, politicians, correctional professionals, religious leaders, scholars and prison inmates themselves have participated in an ongoing reform movement and experiments all designed to rehabilitate lawbreakers, towards being law-abiding, self supporting individuals. What I will look at in this paper is the overcrowding in today’s prison and some of the causes and costs of this overcrowding. I will define rehabilitation and what is has meant throughout history while exploring what options are available in today’s prisons and the effectiveness of those options. In conclusion, I will show that if we refocus the system on rehabilitation and not merely the warehousing of criminals; we could reduce the number of repeat offenders and relieve some of the overcrowding in America’s prisons. Overcrowding in the American prison system is a growing problem that we must tackle. The growth rate of the prison population since midyear 2002 was 3.8 percent that is 7.6 percent annually. The tremendous increase in the prison population has resulted in continuous overcrowding the last two decades. Neither prison construction not the availability of bed space to accommodate the growing prison population has kept pace. As state above, changes in sentencing legislation and crime control have played a major role in prison overcrowding. This is obvious because of the number of commitments to prison has grown disproportionately greater than increases in population, the number of crimes and the number of arrests or the number of convictions. To better understand how these changes have played such a major role in overcrowding we must look at changes that have occurred in most states. One change is the creation of many new offenses that can result in prison terms or the revocation of probation or parole, sending offenders from the community back to prison. Some examples would be the newly created laws against stalking, as well as laws that make it a felony to intentionally transmit Aids. There have also been new rulings regarding penalties that now make prison terms mandatory for some offenses not previously associated with incarceration, such as DWI or DUI and certain drug convictions. Judges can no longer use discretion in deciding which punishment the offender should receive. A finding of guilty mean that incarceration for a set term is automatic. These same laws prohibit probation for certain offenders. An example is in California, legislation has restricted or eliminated the possibility of probation for arson, specific sex offenses, not limited to child molestation and residential burglary. Most states have lengthened prison terms associated with some convictions, particularly if certain weapons (aggravated crimes), or types of victims (children, elderly, handicapped) were involved, or if certain quantitative amounts of drugs were present. These â€Å"special circumstances† are said to enhance the seriousness of the crime. We have also seen many laws directed toward repeat offenders, with the passage of the habitual felon laws in which life sentences are possible for offenders convicted for a third time of a similar felony. Previously, only the maximum sentence allowed for that particular felony was permitted. The life sentence is a cumulative punishment for what the courts have called a â€Å"criminal career†. Many modifications and alterations were made for other sentences as well. For example, felons may be given sentences of life in prison without parole. Previously, all prisoners, after a designated time, became eligible for parole, regardless of whether or not they were actually granted the release. Many modifications of existing parole eligibility requirement force offenders to serve more time before becoming eligible for parole. Alterations to the â€Å"good time† statues have occurred letting prisoners accumulate less time for good behavior and thus taking longer to acquire credits toward parole eligibility or discharge of the sentence. Although exact cost associated with overcrowding cannot be determined, we can look at present expenses incurred by prison and anticipate the increases as  the system takes on more and more inmates. Currently, taxpayers spend between $30,000 to $50,000 per inmate per year to maintain the state and federal correctional systems. That includes the operating costs and the cost of new construction. Depending on the level of security and the geographic region of the United States, it can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $130,000 to build each new bed space. The cost range was around $56,000 in 1992. Four out of five capital outlay dollars in construction, however, go for building expenses other than the housing area itself. Construction costs are only the down payment of a prison’s total cost to society. The Federal Bureau of Prisons explains the operating cost for a prison over its practical life span at about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Cost per inmate per day varies from state to state, and within each state from prison unit to prison unit. The units with greater security or larger amounts of medical and psychiatric treatment services will, of course, be more expensive to build and operate. Personnel is the major operating expense, usually accounting for an average of 75 percent of an agency’s total operating budget. The results of overcrowding are serious deprivation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Even though we have build hundreds of new prisons and expanded facilities in the last ten years, the average amount of space per inmate has decreased over 10 percent. Stretching resources beyond their capacity is something the courts watch carefully when monitoring prison conditions. Overcrowding may be measured in shortages of basic necessities, such as space, sheets, hot water, clothing and food. Vocational, educational, and recreational programs may become seriously overloaded. Medical services and supplies may be insufficient, thereby posing health risks. Throughout the total system, high inmate to staff ratios lead to poor supervision and scheduling difficulties, which result in less inmate activity and greater safety risks for both the employee and the prisoner. The nature of a crowded environment itself may have serious effect on the health and well being of inmates. Noise and the lack of privacy associated with crowding may contribute to emotional stress and the development of mental health problems. Studies have shown that crowding may increase the number of disciplinary infractions per inmate. Inmates in densely populated units may suffer from higher blood pressure. It has also been concluded that, as density of the population increases, so does the rate of mortality in inmates over the age of forty-five (Paulus 1988). Common conditions such as the spreading of colds, sexually transmitted diseases, and other infectious diseases are increased in overcrowded areas. Many studies have claimed the rate of psychiatric commitments and suicides reveal increases for inmate in crowded living areas. Research has also linked higher subsequent rates of criminal behavior to inmates from institutions that were overcrowded. Increases in violence, particularly staff and inmate assaults, are associated with overcrowded conditions as well. It is argued that living too close together heightens tempers and aggression, leading most likely to confrontations. The nation’s courts are sentencing and admitting more offenders in America’s prisons than the facilities can hold. The Government Accounting Office reported for fiscal year 1992-1993, twenty-five state correctional systems requested funds for eighty-five new facilities that would add over fifty-six thousand new prison beds. Texas alone asked for $600 million to finance the construction of twenty-five thousand new beds. The American Correctional Association guidelines call for a standard cell area of sixty square feet for inmates spending no more than ten hours per day in their cell. In many prisons, inmates are double bunked in cells designed for one or sleep on mattresses in unheated prison gyms or on the floors of dayrooms, halls or basements. Some are housed in tents, other sleep in the same bunk different times of the day. Many taxpayers do not consider overcrowding a problem because they believe that discomfort should be a part of the punishment. Research has only recently begun to explore the effects of crowding beyond those on individual inmates, groups of inmates and the programs and services they receive. Information is still needed on the effect crowding has on the  staff, on the management strategies, on budgeting and government responses, on facility and equipment durability, and on the cost of operations under various strategies to reduce overcrowding. In 1996, nearly half (48.4 percent) of the respondents surveyed by the Survey Research Program (College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University) thought that the most important goal of prison should be rehabilitation, while only 14.6 percent saw punishment as the most important goal of prison. One third thought that crime prevention/deterrence was the most important goal of prisons. Throughout most of American history correctional policy makers have positioned rehabilitation among the most important correctional goals. Treatment has appeared in many forms and clearly many ideas have proven ultimately to be unfounded. The earliest institutional treatment models, for example, place heavy reliance on the qualities of institutional life combined with spiritual contemplation as a source of individual reformation. The earliest penal facilities were founded under a Quaker influence supported either solitary confinement or a congregate model that imposed total silence upon its prisoners. It was assumed that in both systems would be isolated from the evil influences and subject to strong discipline. The outcome they believed would be a responsible citizen who had seen the error of their ways. More realistically, the practice of solitary confinement produced many instances of mental illness before its use was abandoned. Historians have referred to this period as a time in which harshness was too quickly assumed to be discipline, an abusive discipline that did more to breaks spirits rather than reform them. A more positive approach was introduced shortly after the Civil War and put into practice in 1876 at the Elmira Reformatory for youthful offenders in New York. That program used ideas that we recognize today a related to operant conditioning. Borrowing from earlier Australian reforms, know as the â€Å"mark†, system reformers planned a model in which inmates could earn transfers to less secure prisons and ultimately their release through good behavior and work performance. The reformatory system is known for the  contemporary introduction of the indeterminate sentence and post-release supervision or parole. This afforded the correctional professionals the opportunity to predicate a release decision based upon an inmate’s satisfactory rehabilitation. The Elmira Reformatory, and other built shortly after in other states, can be recognized for their educational and other programs designed to facilitate change instead of passively waiting for inmates to see the need for c hange. More intensive efforts appeared from 1900 to 1920, when progressive reformers seized upon the new clinical approaches offered by social and psychological sciences. The social wisdom of the day encouraged public education and the belief that social ills, including crime, could be prevented. Science, particularly social, medical and psychological sciences, also asserted that causes could be identified, diagnosed, and ultimately treated. The field of criminology during those years was characterized by the work of the positivists, researchers who found the roots of crime to be in biological traits and psychological ills, rather than in the rational choices made by offenders. The criminals, in other words, were ill. These progressive reformers sought to first diagnose the cause of crime and then treat them. They envisioned prisons like hospitals and diagnostic centers. Perhaps the greatest impact the progressive reformers had was in the development of a less adversarial and more rehabilitative ideology. While more treatment staff was later added, prisons did not become hospitals; maybe because public investment in treatment was never sufficiently achieved. Nevertheless, the goals of individualized treatment, classification, and community corrections, and substitution of humane, reform oriented programs of punishment dominated correctional policy throughout the first half of the twentieth century as rehabilitation enjoyed unchallenged status until mid-century as the correctional priority. Rehabilitation was also helped by two presidential crime commissions and resulting legislation that provided state and federal seed money for many new crime prevention and treatment initiatives. These promotions, however, were short lived. Conservatives were lamenting a high crime rate and asserting that deterrence and incapacitation, the â€Å"get tough† approaches to  crime, were more effective. In the mid 1970’s a review of the treatment evaluation literature by Robert Martinson (1974) concluded that rehabilitation had achieved â€Å"no appreciable effect on recidivism†. The Martinson report was indeed supportive of the subsequent swing to a far more conservative crime agenda. Over the next twenty years there was a move away from indeterminate sentencing toward determinate or presumptive sentencing models or guidelines. A drop in available money for new demonstration programs and cuts in many existing correctional treatment budgets only added to the conserva tive appeal. American prisons became frightfully overcrowded growing by 168 percent from 1980 to 1991 largely on the political promises to â€Å"get tough† on crime. However, correction agencies did not totally give up on rehabilitation. A growing drug problem required new strategies for dealing with drug and alcohol addictions. Treatment research and evaluation efforts continued and began to show more favorable results. While current use of treatment and rehabilitation technology is not what it should be in actual practice, most rehabilitation scholars conclude that a good deal has been learned over the past decades about specific strategies that work. Rehabilitation is synonymous with interventions or treatment. Sometimes rehabilitation might more accurately be called â€Å"habilitation†. â€Å"Habilitation†, in this sense refers to the offender whose behavior is the result of not having received the skills or personal qualities needed to live a life free from crime. The Palmer Model (1992) is a rehabilitation program model, which has shown favorable results. Whether speaking of rehabilitation, habilitation, intervention services, or treatment we are referring to distinct, correctional programs that a) change or modify the offender or help them modify themselves or b) change or modify life circumstances and improve social opportunities. Such methods should utilize, develop or redirect the powers and mechanisms of the individual’s mind and body in order to enhance the ability to cope and grow. Palmer excludes from his definition any correctional options that try to reduce, physically traumatize, disorganize or devastate the mind or body by means such as dismemberment or electroshock techniques. He includes measures that try to  affect the individual’s future behavior, attitudes toward self, and interactions with other by focusing on such factors and conditions as the individual’s adjustment techniques, interest, skills, personal limitations and/or life circumstances. Often correctional options are put forward as measures toward reducing future crime, while most options offer no real plan to change targeted criminal behavior. Halfway houses by themselves do not constitute treatment unless there is a treatment program in place. The distinction between treatment, control and custody may be a confusing one for policy makers and others, because one seldom hears of new correctional options put forward without some promise, to either solve the crime problem, or reform the offenders. Boot camps, for example, have been touted as short-term treatment programs for first time offenders, particularly drug offenders. But the military regimen has little basis in any treatment model, and often no interventions are specifically targeted to the drug problem. In the same fashion, intermediate sanctions such as intensive probation, house arrests, and electronic monitoring serve a custody and control function rather than one of treatment. There are many types of correctional rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation may occur in mental health and substance abuse, educational or vocational programs. Some might also include spiritual programs, although there is very little research devoted to religious programs used for rehabilitation. Mental health programs comprise a wide array of strategies. In rare cases, an institution may provide in-depth psychotherapy for seriously troubled inmates. Such approaches would deal with internalized conflicts, anxieties, phobias, depression, uncontrollable anger, neurosis and other serious mental health problems. Many factors such as early abuse, trauma, abandonment or dysfunctional family like could cause these problems. Strategies known as â€Å"here and now† treatment models are however far more common approaches to treating or counseling prison inmates. As the names suggests â€Å"here and now† programs assist clients in dealing with  current issues in their lives, such as how poor attitudes might influence work performance. â€Å"Here and now† strategies include behavioral programs, social learning approaches and cognitive therapies. The â€Å"here and now† approach is preferred for a number of reasons. One is cost; much less the in-depth psychotherapy and does not require the use of highly skilled clinicians. Correctional personnel holding a bachelor’s or a master’s degree can be trained to use Reality Therapy and behavioral approaches. Also â€Å"here and now† strategies are more apt to deal with observable behavior that with the more abstract, subconscious processes that are the subject of psychoanalysis. Finally, â€Å"here and now† strategies work well in-group settings. In fact, most treatment approaches in the corrections area are group-counseling programs, necessitated by the large prison population and the limited resources. This is not necessarily a disadvantage, because group treatments offer more than just money savings. Group cohesiveness and peer influence can be vehicles for change in themselves. One other thing is group approaches afford an opportunity for social interaction that cannot take place in individual counseling situations. Education and competence of prison inmates speaks strongly of the need for prison educational programs. In 1984 a staggering forty-two percent of the incarcerated adult population functioned below a sixth grade academic level. Over half of the inmate population appears to lack basic reading skills. Many would qualify for special educational programs, especially those for the learning disabled. Even with these tragic statistics and the fact that academic and vocational education has long been identified as an important goal of correctional agencies and correctional professional organizations, the status of educational programs in American prisons is not a commendable one. Adult populations are largely under-served and program effectiveness is questionable. The most common programs in today’s prison are those that address academic deficiencies. Adult basic literacy programs or Adult Basic Education programs for example promote literacy and address the basic academic  deficiencies. Such programs can be self-paced and require the use of programmed materials rather than classroom instruction, thus are cost efficient by using outside volunteers and other inmates to facilitate instruction. General Education Diploma (GED) classes are available in most adult correctional settings. Participation in these programs for adults is usually voluntary and part time. Both the GED and the basic education programs are sometimes criticized for their failure to stress important like skills and competencies. GED for example is said to be a test-driven model used to certify rather than to educate. This criticism extends to other areas of prison education. Vocational education programs are faulted for their failure to teach inmates marketable job skills; those that would prepare inmates to enter the work force. Many of today’s fields have become much more technical in recent years, and the correctional agencies cannot afford to keep up. These advances and the machinery needed to train inmates in their applications is cost prohibited. Women’s programs are also criticized for emphasizing traditional women’s jobs, which usually equate to lower pay. Many of the women prisoners are single mothers with a real need for higher paying non-traditional jobs. Finally, careers that require licenses or apprenticeships are not well suited to prison, because prison terms are often too short to meet a typical apprenticeship period. By 1978, the federal prison system was operating thirty-three drug treatment units. Although many programs today have been severely limited by budget cuts, attempts have been made to involve not only those inmates under court order to receive treatment but also those who volunteer for treatment. Still, only eleven percent of federal inmates are involved in drug abuse programs. A survey of 277 prison facilities in 1991 determined that about one-third of all inmates participated in some type of drug treatment program. Most had been involved in-group counseling; others were in self-help programs, and some received in-patient services. In prison most common program formats are group therapy, self-help, and drug education programs. Education programs can be offered in short segments, and  reach large audiences for a lower cost. But these programs have been criticized for using scare tactics or for not acknowledging the realities that make drug use attractive to those with troubled lives. Drug education is most effective on a very young population who has not yet used drugs, and this profile does not describe most incarcerated offenders. One of the biggest criticisms of prison treatment programs is that they offer fewer services for shorter periods of time than those of outside programs. Outside programs are more likely to involve family and to provide follow up referral as well as components for instance as job counseling, education, and vocational training. When paroled, continued drug use many result in re-incarceration. In 1990 drug related parole violations in California accounted for thirty-two percent of returns to prison. Several studies have linked substance abuse treatment while incarcerated with later success on parole. Unfortunately many programs do not follow up on their participants to evaluate their success. Four programs that have had a relatively low rate of recidivism were reviewed in 1989. The shared characteristics included offering a wide range of activities, teaching practical life skills, using nontraditional correctional employees who were realistic about the program goals, and formal and informal follow up with participants after release. Spending more time in treatment also appeared to be related to lower arrest rates and successful completion of parole. Recent correctional history shows us that treatment endeavors can be toppled quickly by those who question their effectiveness. When these doubts are voiced in the context of an unfavorable political climate, the results can be devastating. Yet one favorable outcome of the discouraging setbacks to correctional rehabilitation has been approximately two decades of research designed to check the accuracy of the unfavorable reviews. Clearly the most valuable contribution to our knowledge in this area comes from the advent of meta-analyses, in which the results of many studies are statistically aggregated and assessed as one sample. Across these studies, findings typically show that effective programs reduced recidivism rates by  approximately twenty percent. Generally, 25 to 35 percent of the experimental treatment programs studied achieved positive results. The meta-analyses, along with several extensive reviews of the literature, also identify the treatments most likely to succeed. These include behavioral, cognitive behavioral, life skills, family intervention and some multi-modal approaches. The meta-analyses also show us that the treatment modality is only one of the factors that differentiate a successful intervention from an unsuccessful one. Programmatic characteristics also have an impact. These characteristics include: 1. Whether the program is well matched to its clients. 2. Dosage, or how much of an intervention is received. 3. Therapeutic integrity. 4. Administrative management style. 5. Provision of a relapse prevention component. 6. Whether the program was designed according to theoretical model. In an unfavorable, punishment-focused political climate, the relative success of rehabilitation appears to go unnoticed. Politicians quell the public’s fear of crime with promises of yet stricter incarceration policies, more police officers, and occasional digressions into the latest correctional fad. Sadly, the singular focus on punishment is not purely representative of public sentiment. While it is true that the public favors â€Å"get tough† policies, support for rehabilitation is also strong. A series of surveys conducted on the past decade show that indeed the public is punishment oriented, but, the surveys also clearly show the public experts treatment-oriented programs to accompany incarceration. In other words, â€Å"Get tough on crime† does not mean â€Å"to warehouse† or to ignore treatment and  education. As we continue in this new millennium we must make some important choices about what we want our prison system to be. It is clear to me that we can no longer sit back and continue to let our prisons mainly be â€Å"warehouses† for keeping those individuals whose problems we choose not to recognize or treat. The reduction in the recidivism rate by twenty percent when effective programs are used is reason enough for the American public to demand that rehabilitation become more of a focused priority to prison officials as well as politicians and also a priority with the politicians. We are incarcerating large numbers of people who actually have a disease, since most experts consider substance abuse a disease and not criminal behavior. Until we concentrate on curing the problems of society that cause most of these criminals to adopt behavior that they are being punished for, we will continue to see a rise in the numbers incarcerated. I believe rehabilitation can lower the number of repeat offenders if we are willing to redirect the focus of our prisons. It will not be easy and it will not be cheap; but it will be worth it for the good of society as a whole. Rehabilitation of criminals can be greatly improved, and the successful measurement documented by implementing a very old but successful scientific theory of â€Å"cause and effect†. Work Cited Begun, Abbey M. B.A. ed., Jacobs, M.A. ed., Quiram, Jacquelyn F. B.A. ed. Prisons and Jails a Deterrent to Crime? Information Plus 1999 ed. Davis, Bertha. Instead of Prison. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Franklin Watts publishing 1986. Lacayo, Richard, â€Å"Law and Order, Crime rates are down across the U.S.-Some dramatically. Is this a blip or a Trend? With so many factors in play, it may be a bit of both. 15 January, 1996 Volume 147, No. 3 (http://www.time.com/time/mag/†¦e/1996/dom/960115/cover.html) McShane, Marilyn. D. ed., Williams III, Frank P. ed. Encyclopedia of American Prisons. New York and London, Garland Publishing,Inc., 1996 Menninger, Karl. The Crime of Punishment. New York, Viking Press, 1968 Oliver, Marilyn Tower. Prisons, Today’s Debate. New Jersey, Enslow Publishing, 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Programs and Services. (http://www,bop.gov) United States. Prison Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics (http://www/ojp.usdoj-gov/bjs/prison.htm)