Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 18

Ethics - Essay Example Syria’s situation was different because it was complex. It would take much monetary help through the use of militia. â€Å"Rwanda involved the use of small arms.† (The Gurdian) According to Gilligan, care ethics is a normative theory. This means it is a theory about what makes right or wrong of ones actions. It is known as moral theory. The contrast between ethics of care and ethics of justice is clear when one seems to incorporate moral reasoning to professional discipline substances. The Western morality concept is dominant of rights and justice in its basing. Other principles are formal rationality, impartiality, and impersonality which are universal. They form the basis of moral development and are the bedrock of the dormant Western morality conception. â€Å"Gilligan’s concept contrast with ethic of justice based of relationship and care.† (Virginia) Walzer’s version of dirty hand theory is based on ethics of war in the political sphere’s quest for power. â€Å"He argues that if distributive justice is based on the standards of complex equality then manager selection is the entity of the employees.† (Baarda A and M) This is contrary to the experience of the vast majority in today’s economy that justifies an actor that causes some suffering for the greater good. Mill’s principles bring a different perspective because it gives the idea that happiness is promoted by any action that does not produce pain. Both pain producing and non-pain producing actions contribute to the overall level of society’s happiness. Mills principles do not engage in evil practices to attain happiness. Identical victims are known to be survivors of a scene who possess injuries in their bodies. These injuries are used to separate them from the rest who are in the scene. Therefore the injuries are signs for identity that is clear and easy to detect. Statistical victims are known to be the collective identity

Greetings in Brazil Essay Example for Free

Greetings in Brazil Essay Like any southern nation, the Brazilians are very opened, warm and friendly people. They enjoy big companies and are always glad to get together, socialize and discuss the latest events in the country’s political life or talk about national Brazilian passion: soccer. At that, any communication, especially informal, is based on very close and literally fraternal relationships. That is why greeting in Brazil is never limited to saying â€Å"Hello† or â€Å"Good Morning† and always goes far â€Å".. beyond looking and listening, (Flitter, 2007). In an informal environment, men greet each other with a handshake, a strong hug and sometimes a check-kiss. Women always greet each other with a peck-cheek and a warm hug. When people are introduced to each other for the first time, young men and women always greet each other with a peck on each cheek and an embrace. When meeting a group of people, it is very important to make a physical contact with everybody and give a greeting to every single person in the group. Undoubtedly, this free and friendly style of interpersonal communication has a tremendous influence on Brazilian business culture. Before starting certain business activities, it is absolutely essential to establish friendly relationships with your Brazilian partners. In such circumstances, a simple handshake as a greeting is considered to be too formal and conservative. Men can greet each other with a handshake followed by a friendly embrace or back-clapping, and women can give each other a cheek-kiss. It is also considered to be polite to accompany greetings with special expressions. The most popular terms when greeting Brazilian people can be: â€Å"Como Vai? † (How are you? ) or â€Å"Tudo Bem? † (Is everything all right? ). Good friends can use the word â€Å"Oi† (â€Å"Hi†) for greeting each other. When a person is leaving, it is also necessary to give everyone a handshake, a hug or a back-clap accompanied with such expressions as â€Å"Tchau† (â€Å"Good-bye†) or â€Å"Ate logo† (â€Å"See you†). References Flitter, E. (2007, December 12). Touchy Subject: Doing Business Where Hugs Replace Handshakes. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB119799543096137027. html. Profile of Brazil. (1999, September 15). Limiar. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from the World Wide Web: http://www. limiar. org/brazil/profile. html.

Personal Narrative: Harsh Criticism of my Writing Essay -- Narrative E

There are certain moments in my writing process, even more than twenty years later, that I can still imagine hearing that sharply critical voice striking a deep and lasting blow as the journalism assignment replete with bloody red ink landed on my desk. â€Å"This is all wrong,† were the words my high school journalism teacher stabbed me with as she passed down the aisle pausing only long enough for me to catch a whiff of her nicotine breath. At the very same moment my stomach muscle knotted, my face burned as if with fever, and those four words echoed out of control over and over again in my ears. Notoriously late for class due to her love of smoking cigarettes in the teacher’s lounge (in those days smoking was allowed in school buildings), Ms. B’s entrance into the class on this particular day was no exception. With a flurry of authority, arrogance, and impatience, she appeared before me-the subservient and humble student. Her disdain for my writing was obvious in her written comments on the returned assignment. But it was the spoken word about my writing that intimidated and humiliated me, even to this very day when I allow myself to think back on the incident. Hearing that my work was â€Å"all wrong† in the presence of other students was the worst embarrassment I could imagine as a shy and overly sensitive teenager. I wanted to crawl under my desk and hide. I managed to fight back tears until my retreat to the lavatory at the end of the period. Any confidence I had in my writing died that day. From that moment on my dreams of being a writer were severely compromised. Ms. B had taken advantage of her position of power over my writing. Whether this was intentional on her part or just a case of insensitivity or carelessness has no bear... ...well, it is difficult for me to do so. Perhaps it is his never-failing encouragement and my appreciation of his teaching methods that won’t allow me to take the role of an English teacher when reading his work. It has been my experience that young student writers can be very vulnerable to harsh criticism from a teacher or person in authority. And in my own case, that criticism didn’t disappear at the end of the semester but in fact, stayed with me for many years. I still have to push that ghost of criticism out of my head when I sometimes have difficulty with my writing. For the most part, the wounds from the red pen have healed and the scaring has been greatly reduced. Since the process of writing is difficult enough without discouraging words from teachers, it is imperative that harsh criticism be chased out of the writing classroom for the good of all students.

Humor in War Movies Essay

There is more than one way to get a point across in the movies. Movies based on actual events, movies made using actual facts but not always about true events, documentary films and those films that use humor or satire to get their point across. I think the three films that I chose fall into the last category. The first film (released in 1953) is Stalag 17, a film about American prisoners of war being held in a German prison camp. This film seems to follow the typical war movie theme, group unity for a common cause and no single hero. The movie stars William Holden who as Sergeant Sefton, a wheeler-dealer who doesn’t hesitate to trade with the guards and who has acquired goods and privileges that no other prisoner seems to have is accused of being a German spy by his fellow prisoners. The Germans always seem to be forewarned about escapes and in the most recent attempt the two men, Manfredi and Johnson, walked straight into a trap and were killed. For some in Barracks 4, especially the loud-mouthed Duke, the leaker is obvious. An officer is passing though on the way to another camp, tells of how he sabotaged an ammunition train by luck using matches. The Germans find out and now he has to hide so he can escape to avoid being shot. The director Billy Wilder created a popular film loaded with subversive subtexts, his signature cynicism and humor (although it’s sometimes a feeble attempt at humor it is humor just the same). WW II wasn’t even a decade old yet and maybe it wasn’t the right time to make a movie depicting the conditions of the German prisoner camps in such a realistic manner, but there seem to be a goldmine of possibilities within that setting for the directing genius of Wilder. By today’s standards it may be difficult to appreciate Stalag 17 as a classic film due to the TV show Hogan’s Heroes that it inspired. Wilder’s directing style, wit and perception are lost in the interpretation, but the films humor still remains. Another reason for lack of appreciation the basics of the Stalag 17’s plot have become the staple in terms of wartime incarceration and general prison-break films. Still, it is interesting to see the matter-of-fact style in an escape film. Most focus on the details of the laborate plan, but Stalag 17 follows the most practical route make a run for the fence while the guards are diverted which, when you think about it, is a more likely scenario besides how easy do you think it is to lay your hands on a pair of wire cutters in a prison camp. Broadly played, the humor, serves as a good method for getting away with the more subtle subversive aspects of the film. As Wilder once was quoted â€Å"that if one was going to tell the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you. † There is a long musical scene as one of the POWs sings while the rest celebrate Christmas by dancing with each other. The men are nice and toasted after having raided Sefton’s booze and Animal is desperately pining over Betty Grable. When Shapiro stuffs yellow straw under a bonnet as a gag, Animal thinks his dream girl has come to life and starts to dance and come on to Shapiro as he thinks Shapiro is Betty Grable. You can’t say that Sgt. Sefton is the hero of the movie, even Holden sited the unlikeability of the character, but his vicious, sharp and charismatic demeanor was enough for you to forgive him and root for him anyway. Holden’s character doesn’t change his wheeling and dealing ways at the end of the movie and one of his fellow prisoners remarks as Sefton is escaping â€Å"Maybe he just wanted to steal our wire cutters. You ever think of that? † Wilder had little use for such sentimentality and it is reflected in Stalag 17 because it’s an examination of the human condition not a moral tale. Such a cynical perspective in the depiction of actual combat would have to wait another twenty years and the dismal aftermath of two unpleasant wars to have the American audience fully ready for it. While a number of novels about World War II were able to capture such themes, Wilder was ahead of his time. Film critic Richard Corliss once suggested that, Wilder may have been â€Å"less a cynic than a premature realist. † Stalag 17’s dramatic scenes seem to hold up much better than the comedic scenes, considering many of people in the original audience had fought in the WWII and that American POWs were then being held in the current military conflict going on in Korea. It seems that the extensive comic segments might have been a used to defuse scenes that would have hit home more then than it would now. Back then I don’t think that many Americans audiences would have been willing to sit through an insistently grim POW drama. The bit about the soldier, his wife, and the baby on the doorstep must have made a few people in the audience very uneasy. It’s important to remember that this film was made and released in the early 1950’s. It is no mistake that the real traitor to American values was the head of â€Å"security† Price. At the time of the films release the congressional members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was busy protecting American security by depriving citizens of their right to be different in very much the same ways as those depicted in the film. Like Sefton, however, Wilder is no hero. It can be argue that this is very much the film’s real message, Wilder cleverly hides it under enough comedy and plot that he runs no risk of offending Sen. McCarthy’s communist hunters. The next film Mister Roberts released in 1955 is about life on a Navy supply ship the â€Å"Reluctant† dubbed the â€Å"Bucket† by its crew. The Reluctant is commanded by an oppressive Captain Morton, who takes sadistic pleasure in undermining the crews’ morale. Lt. Doug Roberts (aka Mister Roberts) intervenes on the crew’s behalf as much as possible and watching him butt heads with the captain seems to lift the crew’s spirits while providing most their entertainment. This film doesn’t seem to follow the war movie theme. The main character Mister Roberts seems to be out for himself, with the war drawing to an end he wants to see some action. His weekly requests to be transferred are always turned down by Capt. Morton, who according to Roberts is using Roberts to promote himself. The fact that the crew is not happy with their situation is secondary to Roberts’ problem. One of the more sympathetic and insightful films from the 1950s to deal with World War II was Mister Roberts. It was an indication of the distance the public as well as filmmakers had come from the war. This distance would allow for a more sophisticated and dramatic treatment of the conflict and the people involved. Of all the films during this time that also reflect the new maturity, Mister Roberts was the most successful of them all, though getting it made properly took real work. Director John Ford was perfect for the project; he retired from the reserves as a rear admiral. Ford may have been too close to and slightly too old to do justice to the script to this subject, also he was up against the competing personality of star Henry Fonda. Fonda had scored a huge hit with the Broadway version of Mister Roberts and he had given up any hope of ever doing the movie version since he hadn’t been on-screen in eight years. Ford insisted on Fonda to star as a condition to directing the film, but the two were at odds from the beginning over the production, mostly over the director’s tendency to inject rough-house comedy into his movies. Ford used such an approach to breathe life into some of his other movies like Fort Apache. However, Mister Roberts was a character-driven film with very little real action and Fonda thought the Fords’ emphasis on laughs would destroy the integrity of the material. Ford’s demanding dictatorial directing style combined with his excessive drinking created tension between the two. Ford left the production, he was replaced by director Mervyn LeRoy who basically asked the cast to use their best judgment and make the kind of movie Ford would’ve made. The result is a finely textured character study that captured the best dramatic moments of the play. Some of the comical scenes in the movie were when the sailors discover that they can have a clear view of the nurses’ shower room in a hospital on the nearby coast by looking through binoculars. This provides them with their first release from drudgery in over a year. The ship’s morale officer, young Ensign Pulver, is also aware of the nurses and finagles a trip to the hospital to pick up aspirin for Doc. While there, he convinces head nurse, Lt. Ann Girard, to come to the ship later by promising to share a bottle of scotch with her. Back on board, Pulver is distressed to learn that Roberts, the owner of the scotch, has used it to bribe an official to send the Reluctant to a liberty port. Roberts and Doc mix up simulated scotch, called â€Å"jungle juice,† from alcohol, Coca-Cola, iodine and hair tonic for Pulver to use in place of the scotch. When the nurses appear, Pulver, With Roberts’ permission, pretends to be the ship’s cargo officer and shows them around. The nurses, who are undeceived by his pretensions, discover the sailors’ view of their quarters and leave immediately to hang curtains. Another humorous point happens during a night onshore, the men unleash all their pent-up energy, they crash an Army dance, fight with soldiers, terrorize women, steal an admiral’s goat and mistake the French Colonial governor’s mansion for a bordello. Roberts hopes the night will give them strength for the â€Å"miserable, endless days ahead of them. The next day, the ship is banished from the port. Mister Roberts also made two appearances as a TV series, once in 1965 and again in 1984. As far as public was concerned enough time had passed that most Americans were able to laugh at some of the kookier aspects about military life and Hollywood provided just the right amount of seriousness and irreverence with this 1955 hit. The third film I chose is M*A*S*H released in 1970. The movie is about a mobile army surgical hospital set in the Korean War conflict (1950-1953). This movie breaks from the traditional war theme movies. It not about any one person at any given time but it’s not about the unit as a whole either. The plot in M*A*S*H is not defined; instead the unusual characters are involved in a sequence of darkly comic episodes. M*A*S*H is a black comedy about life in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit located only three miles from the front lines. The mission of any MASH unit is to provide immediate medical treatment to those wounded in combat, and the young surgeons are always up to their elbows in blood and guts for long periods of time. When they’re off duty, the MASH unit personnel keep their sanity by pursuing a wacky, irreverent lifestyle that leads to some hilarious adventures. Some of the hilarious scenes in the movie are; they sneak a microphone under the bed of Major â€Å"Hot Lips† Houlihan, and broadcast her lovemaking to the entire camp, a tent that is pulled away from the showering Major Houlihan an attempt to settle a bet about her being a natural blonde, they drug a general and photograph him in a brothel, a Last Supper parody where a man whose impotency has made him despondent is duped into a faux suicide and a rather lengthy football game sequence. The way they present humor in â€Å"M*A*S*H,† is almost metaphysically cruel, there is something about war that inspires practical jokes and the heroes (if you can call them heroes (Donald Sutherland (Hawkeye), Elliot Gould (Trapper John) and fellow camp members) are inspired and utterly heartless. We laugh because it is so true to the sadist in all of us. There is perhaps nothing so wonderful as achieving sweet mental revenge against someone we hate with particular enthusiasm. And it is the flat-out, poker-faced hatred in â€Å"M*A*S*H† that makes it work. Most comedies want us to laugh at things that aren’t really funny; in this one we laugh because they’re not funny. We laugh, so that we do not cry. This movie depends upon timing and tone to be funny. Hawkeye, Trapper John and the members of their merry band of pranksters are offended because the Army regulars Major Burns and Houlihan who don’t feel deeply enough. They are only concern is with Army protocol and not with war. Hawkeye and Trapper John dancing on the brink of crack-ups, dedicate themselves to making them feel something. Their facade offends them; no one could be that unaffected by the work of this hospital. And so if they can crack their defenses and reduce them to their own level of dedicated cynicism, the number of suffering human beings in the camp will go up by two. Even if they fail, they have a hell of a lot of fun trying and of course, it’s a distraction to the war. Although the movie is set in Korean War, no one seeing â€Å"M*A*S*H† in 1970 confused the film for anything but a sarcastic comment on the Vietnam War. This is one of the counterculture movies that exploded into the mainstream at the end of the ’60s. Altman wanted his 1970 audience to think in terms of Vietnam, where another unpopular war was still in progress. Altman’s style of cruel humor, overlapping dialogue, and densely textured visuals brought the material to life in an all-new kind of war movie (or, more precisely, antiwar movie). Audiences had never seen anything like it: vaudeville routines played against spurting blood, fueled with open ridicule of authority. The film’s huge success spawned the long-running TV series, a considerably softer take on the material. The concept of war comes in three parts, the training, the actual combat and the repair of the casualties of the combat. Each part has it’s critics and it’s supporters, both championing for their side. Not seen in the earlier combat films was the concept of why we fought. Those wars before the Korean War were world wars with many countries involved being fought in many different countries. The Korean War and all those that followed up to the present were mostly two sided with the Americans at the spearhead of each. Yes, the United Nation forces were involved in many of these wars, but it was the Americans leading the way. After such a history, Americans could very well sustain their unity against the Axis Powers during WW II, but they could not readily accept a limited war such as the Korean War, in which negotiations with the enemy to bargain for objectives far short of his destruction accompanied the very fighting of the war. Dissents against the Korean War also were encouraged by an uneasy political atmosphere troubling the United States in 1950. WW II had produced not a satisfactory peace but an ongoing Cold War with communism led by the Soviet Union, to which the United States held out the prospect of no more triumphant but an outcome of containment. Such a change in the ways of war was perceived by Americans were truly visible in a lot of modern day war films. Reference http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359 http://www.amazon.com/Mister-Roberts-Henry-Fonda/dp/6305225761 http://www.fandango.com/misterroberts_v64788/summary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066026 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/40812002/1023

Senior Year – Memory Book

The final year of high school has now come. When my parent's told me that high school would fly by, they weren't kidding. I never put much thought into the fact that high school is a mere four years of my life. In the grand scheme of things, it's hardly any time at all. Although It really did fly by, I have enough memories to last a lifetime. I remember walking through the doors on my very first day of school as a freshman. I walked into room 315 and sat down in my first period class. It was world history and Mrs.. Francis was my teacher. I sat down, scared out of my mind, and waited for the bell to ring.That first bell tone signified the beginning of my high school career. My schedule was extremely easy first semester. I had Foods, Business Management, Consumer De, Lunch, Gym, Warrior Warehouse, English and Algebra 2. I had some incredible teachers, which included Mrs.. Tradeoff, Mr.. Gross, Mrs.. Burr, Mrs.. Chart and Mr.. Mere. I have had so much fun and I loved having each of the m. When second semester rolled around, It wasn't so easy. I only had four real classes, but a few of them were tough. My schedule went along the lines of Foods, Government, College Com H, Lunch, CICS, Warrior Warehouse, Gym, and Algebra 2.This year I was lucky enough to have Mrs.. Tradeoff, Mr.. Burr, Mrs.. Myers, Mr.. Hosking's and Mr.. Myrrh. They have been one amazing group of teachers. I learned so much from each and every one of them and I could not thank them enough. The beginning of my senior year, I was asked to be in the warrior warehouse Instead of having a study hall. Mr.. V called me down to his office and I remember being so scared because I never even knew where his office was. He then asked me to be In there and I said yes. I was thrilled because I have always thought I was a great leader and knew that I had a full Job to take on.It was my responsibility to make ere I did not let anyone steal and when a problem occurred I let Mr.. V know Immediately. It was such an ho nor that he asked me to be In there and let alone ask me again for the rest of the year. High school has been an emotional roller coaster for me. Eve stayed up until two a. M. Working on assignments, crying over boys, and deciding what to wear for picture day. I have met and lost friends throughout my four-year Journey, and I have changed more than I ever thought I would. However, the most important part of high school has been learning who I am. As clichà ©Ã‚ © as it may sound, high school is the place whereI found myself. Eve flourished with my strengths and struggled with my weaknesses. Though it was difficult at times, and I wanted to give up often, It was all worth It. High school has been full of crazy events, From the SST. Baldric's day rallies to the four and a half hour ACT, it has been one memorable journey. T Off It seems like only yesterday I was reading Romeo and Juliet in Mr.. Rebecca English class. Now, I am Just months away from graduating and starting my life. My g randpa once told me that I would spend four years trying to get out of high school, and the rest of my life trying to get back in.He was exactly right. I thought high school would be a drag and I would never get out. Being Just months away from graduating, I wish I could start all over. Although it has been an incredibly dramatic and emotional Journey for me, I don't regret a single moment of my high school career. I have had the chance to meet some amazing students and teachers. I have coasted through classes, and I have been pushed to my limit. I learned that learning has no boundaries and the things I learn in school will definitely come into play later in life. I Just wish I had taken a second to stop and look around. High school really did fly by.

Explain The Specific Argument Against Evolutionary Theory Coursework

Explain The Specific Argument Against Evolutionary Theory Coursework Explain The Specific Argument Against Evolutionary Theory – Coursework Example Argument against evolutionary theory Dr. Jerry Coyne is one of the leading evolutionary biologists across the G lobe and has written the book â€Å"why evolution is true† however a closer look of his argument indicates various flaws in his work on the theory of evolution.One of the deficiencies, which come clearly in his arguments of evolution, is the way in which he beat around the bush on the term evolution. There is a lot of equivocation in his work. Equivocation is a tool of dishonest argument whereby a person uses multiple definitions of a term and then uses the same term in another sense that is correct (Coyne 129).Throughout his work, Coyne abuses the meaning of the term evolution and defines it in multiple ways. For instance, he states that evolution is a fact. In some places, he defines evolution as the idea that all life came into existence through naturalistic processes from a single replicating model (Coyne 233).In other places; he defines the term in ways that a c reation scientist would freely acknowledge to be true. Coyne asserts that evolution is a process by which organisms change slightly so as to adapt their surrounding environment. Few creationists if any would believe his argument that animals do not adapt depending on the environment and the genetic flexibility. The idea that animals are able to adapt to a certain level is different from the fact that life started from a single molecule (Shubin 95).Coyne’s use of the fallacy of equivocation shows the inbuilt weakness of the evolutionary theory which he attempts to defend in his book (Coyne 121).No genuine evidence ever been produced to substantiate the idea that human life evolved from a single replicating molecule over a million years ago (Coyne 213). Coyne, J. Written in Rocks. In Why Evolution is True? New York: Penguin Group. 2009.Shubin, N. Your inner fish. New York, NY: Vintage Books. 2008.

CCTV and Crime Reduction

CCTV and Crime Reduction The Role of CCTV Surveillance Systems in Reducing Crime in Town Centres Introduction The use of closed – circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems to curtail burgeoning crime rates in the United Kingdom has resulted in the rapid proliferation of such systems in almost all town centres in the country, making it practically ubiquitous. This system was first established in Bournemouth town centre in 1985 and according to Armstrong and Norris (1999), following that 300000 cameras where installed annually (cited by Davies Thasen, 2000). Consequently, †¦the citizenry of the UK have become the most watched, catalogued and categorized people in the advanced world (Coleman, 2004, p. 3). The rapid proliferation of CCTV is largely on account of the faith reposed in its ability to reduce crime by the government and the majority of its citizens. In the words of Alun Michael, Minister of State: The advantages of CCTV, properly managed, speak for themselves: crime prevention, the deterrent effect of knowing that there is observation, the alerting of police at an early stage to stop dangerous situations escalating, the operational assistance to the police in sizing up a situation, the safer convictions that can be obtained – and, above all, the fact that peoples confidence is renewed, which has led to many town centres being revitalized (cited by Goold, 2004, p. 1). Despite such overwhelming enthusiasm, critics have pointed out that there is little concrete scientific evidence that proves the positive effect of CCTV surveillance systems in reducing crime. Therefore an evaluation of the exact role of CCTV in reducing crime in town centres is called for as it will provide a comprehensive analysis of the existing situation and help ascertain the future of such systems in the fight against crime. CCTV Surveillance Systems These systems usually consist of cameras with monitors and video recorders. The cameras may be fixed or they may literally have a roaming eye. Nowadays, cameras have sophisticated features like pan, tilt and zoom which may be used as per the need. Images may thus be captured and stored and retrieved anytime in the future. The quality of the equipment used is a chief determinant of efficiency and outcomes. It also follows that the more cameras are used the more security is afforded, as a larger area comes under scrutiny. Positioning is also important in providing maximum security. All these factors need to be taken under consideration while installing the CCTV surveillance system. The efficient working of these systems is subject to variations. Sometimes the cameras are allowed to do the job as everything will be recorded and particular incidents can be viewed based on the offences that have been perpetrated. At other times surveillance takes place round the clock and the monitored im ages are viewed constantly by hired staff or police operators. When incidents of crime are reported, police are able to rush to the scene as quickly as possible, and they will have access to pertinent information that will enable them to narrow down the list of suspects and give them a head start on the investigation. In this respect, Gill and Hemming (2006) stress the importance of planning and design for purposes of maximum efficiency. The positioning of the cameras is vital, and it should be such that it allows for maximum coverage of the area that is under surveillance. Due considerations must be given to lighting as otherwise, images are likely to be blurred and grainy making positive identification extremely difficult. The manner in which the system is operated also determines outcomes. Operators must be trained to extract the best possible results from such a system and the element of human fallibility must be taken into consideration and sufficient measures must be taken to counter it. CCTV and Crime CCTV came to be closely associated with crime following the infamous James Bulger murder case (cited by Goold, 2004; Newburn Hayman 2002; Coleman Norris, 2000). CCTV had captured images of the toddler being led away by ten – year olds Thompson and Venables and in the aftermath of the killing the images sent shockwaves rippling through the world and strengthened the position of CCTV as a crime fighting tool. The images did little to prevent the heinous crime but it did prove useful in identifying the perpetrators. For the first time government officials as well as the majority of the populace sensed that CCTV could be a powerful weapon against crime. And the muted arguments against its use on the grounds of civil liberty and a right to privacy were silenced. Before evaluating the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing crime, it is necessary to understand the theory behind its use. According to Weiss, one of the types of crime prevention has particular relevance with regard to the use of CCTV – Primary Crime Prevention is focussed on the offence rather than the offender, and is often associated with situational crime prevention strategies which focus on the immediate and localised context of the offence (cited by Coleman Norris, 2000, p. 146). This type of crime prevention is based on rational choice theory and assumes that the individuals most likely to commit crimes are the ones who believe that they can get away with it. Thus by employing CCTV, the confidence of aspiring criminals is shaken as they are cognizant of the fact that they may be apprehended or they may feel the   cameras are watching their every move , and are loathe to risk capture and consequently they may refrain from committing the crime. Criminal recklessness is r eplaced by fear. As Tilley (1993) puts it, CCTV could reduce crime by increasing the likelihood that present offenders will be caught, stopped, removed, punished and therefore deterred (cited by Gill Spriggs, 2005, p. 7). Thus when used in this particular context, CCTV seeks to reduce the opportunity to commit crime and thereby deter the potential criminal, by increasing the chances of getting caught. Situational prevention can also cause a reduction of crime, by means of diffusion of benefits. According to Clarke and Weisburd (1994), The term refers to the fact that situational prevention can often bring about reductions in crime beyond the immediate focus of the measures introduced (cited by Clarke, 2005, p. 52). This additional benefit was demonstrated with regard to the use of CCTV in a case described by Poyner (1991), where CCTV cameras used to prevent theft in the car park at the University of Surrey not only reduced theft in the three areas being monitored, but in one not under surveillance (cited by Clarke, 2005, p.52). Considerable publicity was generated for CCTV surveillance systems following the identification and successful capture of dangerous criminals. CCTV footage helped in the capture of two men who had planted a bomb outside the Harrod’s department store in London (cited by Coleman Norris, 2000, p.150). In another highly publicised case, another London bomber was identified using images captured on CCTV (cited by Norris, 2003, p. 260). These cases served as examples for other criminals and served to deter them to an extent. Because of the large – scale installation of CCTV in town – centres everywhere, more effort had to go into planning crimes and to escape the watchful eye of the camera. Moreover, people tended to be more cautious and stick to areas under surveillance in order to decrease their vulnerability as victims. People also started to feel more secure in their newly protected environments. All these factors served to deter criminals at least theoretically a nd offered a positive scope for reducing crime. The Effectiveness of CCTV in Reducing Crime The theoretical possibilities for CCTV as a means of reducing crime appeared optimistic, however with regard to practical application the use of CCTV has fallen far short of expectations. Brown conducted a study on the use of CCTV in the town centres of Newcastle, Birmingham and Kings Lynn. According to Goold (2004, p. 37), He â€Å"concluded that CCTV is generally much more effective at reducing property – related crime than it is at combating problems associated with anti – social behaviour and public order†. It must be conceded that CCTV does help the police in gathering evidence but as a deterrent to crime it is something of a failure. Hardened criminals can easily work their way around the surveillance, by simply altering their appearance, preventing the camera from getting a good shot of their face or relying on the operators to notice nothing untoward or suspicious. The latter is a good possibility as most operators find continuous monitoring of the screen s a monotonous and trying chore and are likely to be slipshod in their task. Thus Brown’s study is discouraging with regard to the use of CCTV in town centres as a means of reducing crime. While many have pointed to the use of CCTV as a means of providing security and a feeling of safety to citizens who fear the rising rates of crime, the role of CCTV in actually alleviating fear is questionable. In fact, contemporary studies have concluded that there is little evidence to suggest that CCTV reduces fear of crime or crime itself (Gill Spriggs, 2005).   People who were unafraid in the first place are likely to report that they are not scared, while others continue to feel threatened. It may even have the counter effect of exacerbating fear and contributing to the waves of panic that often grip the populace, following particularly gruesome crimes. The cameras take on a menacing air as they stand tribute to the rising rates of crime and the perceived helplessness of the police. As Ellin (1996) puts it, increased CCTV surveillance can also contribute to accentuating fear by increasing paranoia and distrust among people (cited by Fyfe Bannister, 1998, p. 256). This perva sive atmosphere of paranoia and ill – feeling is itself conducive to crime as it serves to ferment   all the noxious elements that facilitate it. A study conducted in the town centre of Sutton by Sarno (1995) was initially encouraging (cited by Fyfe and Bannister, 1998, p. 262) as it showed a reduction in crime rate by 20 per cent in the two months following the installation of CCTV. But unfortunately it was revealed that crime had merely been displaced to areas that were not under surveillance. This finding is particularly disturbing as it seems to imply that CCTV surveillance systems merely give the impression of reducing crime, while indirectly leading to its increase under a false cover of security. While displacement is one of the problems that stems from the use of CCTV, it does not always occur and it can be countered by undertaking suitable measures. It is believed that CCTV surveillance is invaluable to the criminal investigator, as it is possible to identify perpetrators from the video footage. However the actual procedure is far more complicated and calls for plenty of man – power, entails hours and hours of sifting through multitudes of videotapes and finally careful analysis of the footage is called for before the identity of the criminal can be established. This is painstaking labour and often, owing to the amount of time that elapses in the course of the procedure, the criminal remains loose on the street, and is at liberty to wreak havoc on innocent citizens. Furthermore in recent times it has been determined that the cumbersome process of identification using CCTV is susceptible to error and inaccuracy. According to Davies and Thasen (2000, p. 412), a series of studies by Bruce and colleagues has reported high rates of failure to identify targets from CCTV footage. Consequently, convictions secured solely on the b asis of CCTV footage have been questioned. This was apparent in the case of R versus Church (1995), reported by Braman (1999), where   the accused was convicted on the strength of the physical resemblance between him and the suspect caught on tape. Experts in image processing were able to overturn the verdict during the appeal. At the retrial the experts for the prosecution once again succeeded in getting a conviction (cited by Davies Thasen, 2000, p. 424). Thus such legal wrangling reduces the credibility of CCTV in securing convictions and thereby reducing crime. Some studies pertaining to the role of CCTV in reducing crime have yielded positive results. Armitage et al (1999) found a sustained reduction of crime rates by 25 per cent   in Burnley; moreover, there was no sign of displacement (cited by Coleman Norris, 2000, p. 167).   Similarly Short and Ditton (1995) reported a 21 per cent decrease in crime at Airdrie and again there was no evidence of displacement (cited by Coleman Norris, 2000, p. 167). Studies such as these reveal that with proper implementation CCTV surveillance systems may prove to be effective in reducing crime. But in light of the majority of studies showing ambiguous or downright negative results, the role of CCTV in fighting crime remains questionable. While the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing crime in town centres may be deemed a failure, it remains a fact that CCTV surveillance is more effective under particular circumstances than in others. In general crimes which occur at the spur of the moment that are prompted by violent outbursts of passion or fuelled by excess alcohol are less likely to be reduced than crimes that are planned with any degree of precision. Consequently it is harder for this system to actually reduce violence but crimes such as theft may be deterred. According to Gill and Hemming (2006, p. 35), impulse crimes such as alcohol – related crimes were less likely to be reduced than premeditated crime such as theft. Violence against the person rose and theft of motor vehicles fell in the majority of projects. Thus there is scope for CCTV to serve effectively in the fight against crime, in certain contexts. Conclusion CCTV may not be able to reduce crime or even deter criminals; however it may used effectively to target specific offences. There is no doubt that it is a powerful and innovative weapon in the police arsenal and it may be employed to monitor town centres and help in controlling crime and upholding the letter of the law.