BLACKBERRY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BLACKBERRY - Essay Example BlackBerry Company has a vision of continuously providing wireless solutions sufficient to satisfy the needs of the global mobile communications market. The company has a mission of improving information access through the realization of innovative ideas. BlackBerry Company has several strategic objectives. The company aims to ensure the durability of its products. This entails production of commodities, which can withstand the wear and tear of constant usage. Attaining long battery life for its mobile phone products also forms part of its strategic objectives. BlackBerry Company also has a goal of achieving profitability from its operations as soon as 2016. The company aims to retain its respectable market position and recognition. In this regard, BlackBerry Company aims to guarantee the efficiency of its products, especially for the sake of its high-end clientele. BlackBerry Company has a strategic objective to provide quality products at affordable, competitive prices. Its pricing strategy has been set up in a manner that ensures retention of high quality customers. BlackBerry is a telecommunication company based in Waterloo since its foundation in 1984 (Kao, R. et al., 2011). This company was founded by Mike Lazard’s and Douglas Fregin, and operates as Research in Motion in the formal circles, although it is better known as BlackBerry (BlackBerry, 2014). The entity was well known for its production of pagers, functioning as a leading producer of high-end communication devices for more than two decades The BlackBerry was the first pager that could execute a dual way mode of communication. Since 1999, BlackBerry thrived on its introduction of durable smartphones to suit the intense Internet demand. The company operates under the brand symbol â€Å"BB† and â€Å"BBRY† under the Toronto stock exchange and NASDAQ respectively (Afuah &

The Future of Cloud Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Future of Cloud Computing - Essay Example In this report a discussion will be presented using the concepts provided in the chapter and in the scholarly articles about the increased use and advancements in the computer technologies. This report will analyze all three forms of the discussion and present agreements and disagreements with the authors about the future of these topics. This will reflect an individual understanding about the topic on which an appropriately structured conclusion will be developed. CHAPTER SUMMARY The findings proposed in the chapter show that the use of IT and advancement in the computer technologies require that new methods evolve. For ensuring the safety of the data providing non physical spaces to the users for storing the data have led to such innovations. The developments in mobile computing segments, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are the examples of the developments in the IT industry. These facilities provide safe storage of the data online and make accessibility easier. Associa ted to these advancements are several advantages and disadvantages. The examples of such systems are Google cloud storage, Apple’s cloud, Microsoft’s cloud and other facilities like Dropbox and Amazon. There are four forms of the information clouds namely, 1. Global information/ Internet 2. External information cloud 3. Local information cloud 4. ... The main reasons why users prefer using the cloud facilities are archiving the data in backup, store application data, computing, sharing data and building apps and websites. SCHOLARLY ARTICLE 1: MODELING AND SIMULATION OF CLOUD COMPUTING SOLUTION FOR DISTRIBUTED SPACE DATA STORAGE AND ACCESS IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS Then high bandwidth radio telescopes generate large amounts of digitized data. The challenge associated with this is to provide the ease of access with highest efficiency of the data which is recorded. The main emphasis of the topic is to understand the storage and the retrieval of the space signals. This requires advancement in setting the core technologies and implementing it completely within the cloud computing paradigm. The article is a proposition which suggests cloud computing solutions. Within the distributed space it is required that the data stored can be accessed and at the same time it can become a part of the mobile communication networks. The modeli ng and the simulation results of the processes assist in developing an understanding that the proposed solutions perform satisfactorily in extracting the data from the specified space. The future of this process shows utter reliance on the cloud computing processes for data storage. Verification of the importance of the process and implementation of the process shows its importance in the future (Kurmis, Dzemydiene, Didziokas, & Trokss, 2013). The author of the paper is suggesting that the cloud computing process is acquiring popularity and the ease of access is providing in setting the methods which can enhance the usage. He further suggests the methods which can lead to advancements of the process. SCHOLARLY ARTICLE 2: HEAD IN THE

Walmart Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walmart Company - Research Paper Example While the Walmart itself denies most of these charges, it does agree that these unethical practices may be happening at the store level without the knowledge of the top management. However, Walmart continues to prevent unionization of its workers which means that the employees are more vulnerable than employees of other organizations (Paul, 2012). Walmart is also found to discriminate against female workers as it follows an implicit policy of hiring mostly male workers (Kampf, 2007). However, I think the discrimination is more within the store where the female employees may be given lesser salaries and incentives and where they may not be given any opportunities to get promoted or move ahead in their careers. There have been several cases of sexual discrimination against the company which indicates that this discrimination is a fact. In fact, there is a class action suit pending related to sexual discrimination based on statistics and data collected from Walmart’s stores world wide, and this could result in billions of dollars of money lost for the company. The only answer that Walmart seems to have is that again, the top management was not aware of any discriminatory practices that may be happening at the store level. However, by simply stating that the top management was not aware of the unethical practices at the store level, the top management should not be allowed to shun responsibility. In fact, by stating that the top management is unaware of what happens at the store level.

Fitness & body Essay Example for Free

Fitness body Essay Concept in the olden days about being fit was just looking healthy. Today we know that there is a lot more required to be healthy. Just because a person looks healthy does not mean that his arteries are not clogged up with cholesterol. In the dictionary fitness is described as being in a good state of health due to exercise and proper nutritional habits (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000). Thus to be physically fit an individual needs regular exercise and a balanced nutritional diet. Just falling into the required body mass index does not certify an individual as fit. Current Fitness and Nutritional Habits My body mass index falls in the normal range but I do not feel as healthy as I should at my age. Breakfast consists of cereal with milk or sometimes fried egg with brown bread. Occasionally I have heavy foods such as French toast or sweet tea with fried paratha. Lunch has white meat and is usually a heavy meal of the day. The meat is cooked with oily gravy and is usually consumed with rice. Dinner also consists of similar type of food items. Vegetable are only consumed about two to three times a week. I consume a soft drink almost every day. Sometimes consume around three soft drinks in one day. Have about four glasses of water each day. Do not follow any regular exercise plan. Since I live on the first floor climbing about thirty stairs is a normal routine. Spend a lot of time in front of the television or computer so a sedentary type of lifestyle. Try to walk around the house as often as possible but walking in the university is exhausting enough. Have to sit in the car for about an hour to go back and fourth from the university. Health problems related to obesity: An obese person has the risk of developing many problems and diseases. There can be heart diseases such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, congestive heart disease, angina, sudden cardiac death and stroke. Cancers of the endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney and post-menopausal breast cancer are also more likely to occur. Fatty liver disease, chronic venous insufficiency, gall bladder disease, breathing problems, deep vein thrombosis and arthritis are also shown to occur more commonly in obese individuals (Collins, 2000-2007). Fitness Habits There are many changes I can make to my daily routine to improve my health. Some of these changes are: regular exercise, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and playing badminton at least once a week. Regular exercise has many benefits. It increases the efficiency of the heart and increases the cardio-respiratory system’s ability to carry oxygen to the body. It helps regulate the cholesterol in the blood thus leading to lower cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure and decreased risk of coronary artery blockage. During exercise endorphins are released. These are normal body hormones that decrease depression, lower pain and elevate the mood. It helps prevent injuries and lower back pain. Exercise is also associates with a decreased risk of developing cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. Due to these numerous benefits if I do about one hour of fast passed walking each day it will do wonders for improving my health. Regular exercise also ensures that a person sleeps more regularly and is more alert and active. Climbing stairs is a great exercise for the leg muscles. It helps increase the heart rate thus providing a work out. Stamina is also increased. Since we have to get from one point to another it is better to pick a route that will help burn more calories. This is why the escalators and elevators should be avoided since they deprive our body of much needed calisthenics. Badminton or any other sport for that matter is a great exercise. It is a good way to work out without losing interest in the exercise. Sports not only help increase team spirit and people interaction but they are also a great way to pass time and get healthier simultaneously. A sport such as badminton involves running around. This is a great exercise and helps build better muscle tone and interaction. When something such as exercise becomes a source of enjoyment it can be done for longer periods of time without feeling the strain. Exercise helps decrease weight since it burns calories very quickly. Thus playing a sport, climbing stairs or doing regular exercises everyday will help improve my general health since I will lose weight, sleep better and become more alert. Nutritional Habits Three nutritional habits I can acquire to improve my health are: eating more vegetables, cutting down on soft drinks and eating fewer processed food. Vegetables are something that our elders have been raving about for years. We have to acknowledge that there is some wisdom to their praising the greens. One of the main benefits that vegetables provide is fiber. Fiber is very important to maintain a healthy and toned digestive system. It is the indigestible content of the vegetables that helps prevent constipation. The calorie content of vegetables is also very low. This is why a greater quantity can be eaten without the risk of exceeding the daily required calorie content. Soluble fiber also makes you feel more full so the urge to eat can be resisted (Fisher, 2009). Vegetables will keep my weight in check since I can eat more and stay full for longer without consuming too many calories. Soft drinks are one of the leading causes of obesity today. It is a known fact that they contain huge amounts of refined sugar. This can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and premature aging. It also contains caffeine which is addictive and causes side effects such as jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer. Aspartame is a chemical used as a substitute of sugar in diet soda. It causes over 92 different health side effects including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. (Oleda and Company, 1996-2010). There may also be bone and teeth defects since soft drinks decreases the body calcium content. Cutting down on soft drinks will automatically help me reduce weight sinec it is such a fattening product. It will help improve my bones and teeth and my over all general health. Most of us usually prefer munching on junk food. Sometimes we become so addicted that we include junk food into our regular diet. Processed foods such as junk foods contain a lot of trans fats. This is a very harmful kind of fat and is not easily metabolized by the body. Avoiding junk food will help reduce weight since I will not be gaining too many calories from a very less quantity of food. General health will also improve since weight and digestive system will become healthy. Nutrition and exercise are the things that define us. As the saying goes: ‘you are what you eat’ we should be very cautious of the quality of nutrition we are providing our body. A balanced diet is essential to make our body keep working at it’s vital capasity. Over the decades exercise has proved to carry many benefits such as mood elevation and decreasing the possibility of many dieseases. If these two things are balanced we can truly become fit. This improvement will do wonders for our quality of life since everyone is well aware that a good life depends on quality and not quantity. References Collins, A. (2000-2007). Health Risks of Obesity. Retrieved july 10, 2010, from anne collins: http://www. annecollins. com/obesity/risks-of-obesity. htm Fisher, F. (2009, april 27). Benefits of eating vegetables cooked or raw. Retrieved july 10, 2010, from articles base: http://www. articlesbase. com/low-calorie-articles/benefits-of-eating-vegetables-cooked-or-raw-887732. html Houghton Mifflin Company. (2000). fitness . Retrieved july 10, 2010, from th efree dictionary by farlex: http://www. thefreedictionary. com/fitness Oleda and Company. (1996-2010). Dangers of Soda Pop (Carbonated Soft Drinks). Retrieved july 10, 2010, from oleda: http://www. oleda. com/oleda_tips/tips. asp? dept=48

Computers In Society :: essays research papers

Computers in Society My report is on the development of the computer for personal use by home consumers and their impact on society. Computers were being developed as early as the 1800’s and were more of a machine than a computer. The first digital computer that worked electronically was built by Clifford Berry and Dr. John V. Atanasoff in the late 30’s and early 40’s. The first computer as we know it was designed by Howard Aiken and built by IBM in 1944. This first computer was called the Mark I and was eight feet high and over fifty five feet long. It was made of steel and glass and was very unreliable and extremely noisy. The beginning of the commercial computer age was in June of 1951. This was when the UNIVAC (universal automatic computer) was delivered to a client. The client was the U.S. bureau of the census and was to be used for calculating the previous years census. This was the first time that a computer had been built for a business application rather than for the use of the military or for scientific or engineering use. These first computers came to be known as the first generation computers and used vacuum tubes, which were electronic tubes about the size of light bulbs as the internal computer components. However, due to the fact that literally thousands of these tubes were required, they generated enormous amounts of heat that caused many problems in the temperature regulation and climate control inside these computers. In addition every tube had to be working simultaneously in order for the computer to function and due to the short tube life (one failed every couple of hours) the compute r operators didn’t know if the problem was due to a programming error or the machine itself. These first generation computers also used a language called machine language that used numbers instead of today’s language’s that are more like English. In 1948 three Bell lab engineer’s John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, developed the transistor, which was a small device that transfers electric signals across a resistor. The transistor would replace the vacuum tube that was being used in computers. The engineer’s later received the Nobel Prize for their invention. The transistor revolutionized the computer industry, because they were much smaller than vacuum tubes and had numerous advantages as well. They didn’t require any warm up time, they consumed less energy, were faster, and more reliable.

Police: Racial Profiling in America

POLICE: RACIAL PROFILING IN AMERICA Naomi D. Hopkins Stevens-Henager College APP 101 9 February 2013 Abstract This paper will discuss the relationship between Fear and how it relates to Racial Profiling in Police Practices. We will also discuss and illustrate real life examples under which Racial Profiling has occurred and how it is scientifically defined. The communication between peace officers and ordinary everyday citizens will also be examined. Police: Racial Profiling in America The issue of Racial Profiling in America by our Police Force is an undeniable truth and tragedy.Steve Holbert and Lisa Rose in their book the color of Guilt & Innocence recount a story of a Caucasian woman who is forced to walk alone with her young daughter down dark unfamiliar San Francisco streets at night in the dark. We’ll call this woman Lisa. She had just exited a train car with her young daughter and was walking down the dark streets unsure of her surroundings when she noticed that a stran ger man, whose features she couldn’t make out, was following her and her daughter.Lisa had heard and seen reports about a young man in his mid-20s that was dark complected and had been robbing tourists. She felt her body tighten as she began breathing rapidly and she had quickened her pace pulling her daughter along without realizing it, until her daughter started pulling her in the opposite direction because she had dropped her candy cane that she had gotten from the cable car employee earlier that evening. After her experience in the city, she began to question whether the irrational fear of monsters conjured up in the mind of a four year old was so different from the â€Å"monsters in the closet† we perceive as adults, the only difference being that the â€Å"monsters† we see as adults have a face and the face is of those who are different or those whose skin color is darker than our own. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This begs the question, â€Å"Did she fear this man because it was nighttime and she couldn’t see him and was unsure of her surroundings?Or was it because the man following her reminded her of that minority man who had been on the news who was robbing tourists? This brings to mind another quote I found while writing this paper: â€Å"Rather, racial profiling is more about our human response to an instinctual and primitive fear buried deep in each one of us. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) On the subject of Fear and Racism, I’m led to another quote in the book used primarily for my research on this very subject as it relates to American Law Enforcement practices. When we ponder the concept of fear in the comfort of a classroom, almost all would agree that to fear a person because of skin color, religious affiliation, or appearance is irrational. In the phobic sense, this fear is xenophobia, the fear and/or hatred of foreigners or anything that is foreign. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). I would even go so far as to say that contempt prior to investigation is in itself, a form or fear and intolerance. How can we judge a situation, let alone a person, accurately without all the facts?Do we assume we are Gods or Goddesses that are worthy to judge our fellow men or women? If so, what makes us so different, or dare I say, â€Å"Superior† to another? I am reminded of my own feelings, when as a small child; I made the decision to say that â€Å"all white people are racist. † This statement in and of itself is in fact, a form or racial profiling. That is, I was judging a certain race of people, in this case, whites and assuming that I had gathered enough information to do so.This brings me to another quote out of my research, â€Å"To understand the complexities of prejudice, racism, and racial profiling, we must first explore the origin of fear and understand how it can dictate the way in which our body responds to outside stimuli long before we become consciously aware of the racial implications. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). In fact, the word â€Å"fear† comes from the old English word for â€Å"danger. † When we, as human beings, experience fear our brains respond to perceived danger by using three distinct systems.The first is called Primal or Primitive fear system, and is found in most animals and mammals. This system responds first by alerting the body to any danger. This reaction is automatic and triggers our â€Å"fight or flight† response. The second is triggered by the â€Å"fight or flight† response and is the mind’s Rational or logical fear system. â€Å"This system takes over in an effort to assess the potential danger and weighs options for survival or escape. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This system effectively plans possibilities we need to consider to escape an immediate or future threat.The third system is called a person’s Consciousness or Awareness, and acts as a mediator bet ween Primal Fear and Rational Thought. This system will strike a balance between the mind’s emotion and reason and will become the ultimate decision maker in the entire process. Now, let’s examine some history on racial profiling that is actually quite interesting. This thought brings me to another quote I pulled out of this book I used to research this topic/ â€Å"Start with a good idea. Test it thoroughly, and use it with care.Put it in the hands of those who don’t have the experience and training to apply it properly. Add a little discrimination and pressure, and turn up the heat for 20 years. What do you get? Racial Profiling. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). â€Å"In a nutshell, this is the story of Howard Teten, a former FBI Chief of research in the late 1950s who many criminologists credit with popularizing the concept of â€Å"criminal profiling. † A man who lived the best of both worlds, Mr. Teten studied psychology at the University of California at Berkeley while working crime scenes in San Leandro, California.Back in the 1950s, cops typically looked for clues at a crime scene to try to tie the crime to a particular suspect. Teten took this concept one step further by looking at the manner in which the criminal committed the crime in order to develop a psychological profile. This profile ultimately helped officers identify a criminal’s personality traits and mental state and led to a classification of potential suspects who could have committed the crime. † (Holbert S; Rose, L 2004). This very method, which is called â€Å"criminal profiling†, has been widely distorted, especially when it comes to the United States â€Å"War on Drugs. For example, it is assumed that if a person, particularly a person belonging to a minority group (that is not white or Caucasian), is seen wearing gold jewelry that is large in size, a â€Å"corn roll† hair style, baggy clothes, and perhaps gold teeth, Law Enforceme nt Officials automatically assume that this individual is a â€Å"drug courier,† or an individual that smuggles drugs or money into or out of the country. It can be said that a person’s appearance, jewelry, and travel habits can be used as a basis for identifying and prosecuting those involved in the â€Å"drug trade. The end result of these discriminatory attitudes is that these â€Å"profiles† do not demonstrate â€Å"good science† or offer sensible approaches to productive Law Enforcement procedures. Now, let’s examine the other side of the coin, as it were as it relates to basic race relations. When we all think of a police officer, we all have this stereotypical view that they are tough, intimidating, and very arrogant. In actuality, police officers have learned their very behavior and personality traits from the general public. Most people, when contacted by a police officer, become irritated, hostile, overbearing, and even belligerent.So, i n turn, officers have learned how to desensitize or become â€Å"numb† to their emotions and feelings. It wouldn’t be a far cry to say that they have learned to behave as â€Å"not human† just so that they can get through their day without having to worry about what they said, was it rude, right or wrong, what the repercussions might be, and so on. So it is accurate to say that the general public ourselves, have contributed to the attitudes and behaviors of our own Police Force in America. What we don’t hear about or realize often times is that when an officer goes on duty, he or she faces any number of different variables.For example, having a gun pulled on them, being attacked, being shot, taken hostage, being kidnapped, and any number of other things that would threaten or endanger their lives either mortally or fatally. I will illustrate an example of what ought to be advertised when hiring police officers: WANTED: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: Must be a social worker, mediator, a fighter, a priest. Must be savvy to the criminal element yet have an unblemished criminal background. Candidates should be compassionate yet distant. Intimidating yet gentle. Aggressive yet always in control. Daily risk of death.Low Pay. Must be willing to work all hours of the day and night in hazardous and extreme conditions. The Faint of Heart need not apply. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) WANTED: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: Must be a social worker, mediator, a fighter, a priest. Must be savvy to the criminal element yet have an unblemished criminal background. Candidates should be compassionate yet distant. Intimidating yet gentle. Aggressive yet always in control. Daily risk of death. Low Pay. Must be willing to work all hours of the day and night in hazardous and extreme conditions. The Faint of Heart need not apply. Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) Realizing these facts, we all ought to be a little gentler with the officer next time we are pulled over for speedi ng or contacted about a conflict resolution issue. Police Officers deserve respect, but they also do not have the right to demand respect, and it is the same with the rest of us. That being said, when we think of â€Å"use of force† by police officers, we all know the familiar image conjured up; the Rodney King beating on March 3 1991. In case you’re wondering, the case went to trial and all of the officers involved were NOT convicted. The result was the L.A. Riots of 1992. When we think of this case, we wonder, what could have gone so wrong in our justice system? The answer is not as clear as one might speculate. The â€Å"code of silence† is as much to blame as ignorant and wrong attitudes are to blame. â€Å"The Code of Silence† also known as â€Å"The Blue Wall of Silence† is based on the premise that an officer does not reveal negative information about a fellow police officer. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). I can recall an experience I had in Ca lifornia with an officer who responded to a call about me when I was homeless and sleeping in my vehicle.The officer responded alone, without backup, and contacted myself and two friends of mine. He falsely accused us of smoking weed, arrested my friend for a warrant she had, shined his flashlight deliberately in my face, and pulled his Taser on me when I reacted unfavorably to his â€Å"bullying behavior. † I then had to demand that he call his Watch Commander, or Supervisor out to the field to discuss what happened and what I wanted done about his misconduct. I told the Watch Commander that I wanted an apology, both written and verbal, but to my dismay, he responded and told me, â€Å"I’m sorry ma’am I cannot do that.If I promise to talk to him about this incident, will you refrain from reporting it? † I was appalled to say the least. I later had to go through the channels to report this incident at the Police Department in person, but this is a prime r eal-life example of â€Å"The Code of Silence† in action. How many times has this happened to other citizens, but for whatever reason, they are too afraid or intimidated to report such misconduct. If we as a society wish our Police Force to be more accountable, we must take the action to make sure that happens. Otherwise, we are just birds preaching to a choir with deaf ears.The sad fact is that many Police Departments still retain the right to â€Å"police† themselves on such issues of misconduct and â€Å"use of force† incidents. This is the main reason that the officers involved in the Rodney King beating of 1991 were cleared of guilt. First of all, to even file a complaint against a police officer, citizens must endure a lengthy and time consuming process that involves appearing in person at the police department, then weeding through the trouble and intimidation of even telling a department employee or filling out a report about the alleged incident, and so metimes are refused and intimidated out of that process.Second and most important, even after all that trouble has been endured by the complainant, little or nothing is ever done about the problem other than to refer it to the Internal Affairs Division of the police department and they in themselves have their own policies and procedures which may or may not include final review by the Chief of Police and even then, the issue may not be resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant. In conclusion, I have learned it is sometimes better to ignore arrogant and racist comments by officers unless I have the time to devote to a complaint and investigation process.I’ll end with this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. â€Å"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. † (King Jr. , Martin Luther 1963) References Holbert, S; Rose, L (2004) the color of GUILT & INNOCEN CE RACIAL PROFILING AND POLICE PRACTICES IN AMERICA King Jr. , Martin Luther (1963) â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† April 16, 1963 Retrieved from www. history1900sabout. com/od/martinlutherkingjr/a/mlkquotes. htm

Discuss the meaning of justice Essay

Critically analyse the extent to which the law is successful in achieving justice, and discuss the difficulties which is faces in seeking to do so. (30 marks + 5 AO3) Justice is central to our law. Most would agree the law should be just, but justice is not easy to define. The concept has been studied by many philosophers all of whom have their own theories of what a just society should be. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, was born 384 years before Christ (BC). He separated justice into two parts – distributive justice and corrective justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the fair distribution of society’s wealth. He went onto say that this wealth should be spread according to merit and an individual’s contributions into society. So this system relies on giving to those who have contributed in some way rather than to those who are needy. Aristotle said that distribution on the basis of people needs merely rewards the lazy and so would be unjust. Correctiv e justice he said, is needed to ensure that individuals can keep their entitlements. He believed that if someone is to steal from another the court should ensure that the offender does not gain and the victim does not lose out. This idea can still be seen in areas of law such as compensatory damages for negligence. Aristotle also had other controversial views. He believed that people where either suited by nature to be slaves or masters and this was seen by a matter of fit. He thought that children who were born into families of slaves were suited to carry out that role. Aristotle also believed that women where inferior to men as they are ‘colder’ and lack the ability to produce semen and so he viewed them as ‘infertile men’. He went onto say that women belong in the home and should be ruled by men who were superior. Our law today prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex so these ideas are no longer acceptable to us. Thomas Aquinas, born in 1225, was a theologian who also believed in distributive justice, but said that our society’s wealth should not be distributed just by merit, but also by rank and need – he stressed our moral obligation to look after the poor. Read more:  Justice Denied is Justice Delayed Essay Karl Marx, born in 1818, is widely regarded as the founder of communism. Marx developed a very different model of distributive justice which can be understood from his words ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. This requires that each should maximise their contribution to society by exercising full use of their abilities and secondly, each should receive in accordance with  need, regardless of what they have contributed. But if people are automatically given what they need, will they be motivated to work hard? Not only this, but how do we accurately determine what someone needs? Bentham, widely known for his development of the utilitarian approach to justice, said that maximising happiness is the object of justice. Utilitarianism is based on the doctrine that all actions should be judged in terms of their utility in promoting the greatest happiness for the largest number of people. John Stuart Mill, a 19th century liberal supported Benth am in his work of utilitarianism. He said that actions are right ‘in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness’. But unlike Bentham, Mill concentrated on the quality of happiness rather than merely the quantity of people who are happy. He also went onto say that justice ‘includes respect for people, for property and for rights, as well as the need for good faith and impartiality’. But the concept of utilitarianism can be heavily criticised. The greater good will not benefit the minority groups and ignores the feelings of individuals, as satisfying those needs may sacrifice happiness for the greater good. Under utilitarianism, torturing one person, even if it turns out that the person is not to blame, as an attempt to save the lives of others is considered to be just which some would consider morally wrong. So the expense of one innocent person or a minority group would justify the happiness of a greater number. John Rawls (1921-2002) was a professor of political philosophy at Harvard and set out in his book ‘Theory of Justice’ the concept of social justice. Rawls said that a just society is one in which rational people would choose to live if covered by a ‘veil of ignorance’. This meant without any bias towards their own situation i.e. their wealth, age, social class, gender, health intelligence and every aspect of their life. He said there are two basic principles of justice that would be chosen under these circumstances. Firstly, the principle of liberty, i.e. the maximum possible liberty for all. And secondly the principle of difference which says that goods should be distributed equally except where unequal distribution benefits those who are least advantaged. He also said they would choose equality of opportunities for social advancement which differs from Aristotle’s idea of people being born into or fitted to certain roles. Robert Nozick was a Harvard colleague of Rawls and developed an entitlement  theory of justice which had three elements. 1) A principle of justice in acquisition, dealing with how property is initially acquired. 2) A principle of justice in transfer, dealing with how a property can change hands. 3) A principle of rectif ication of injustice, dealing with injustices arising from the acquisition or transfer of property under then two principles above. This third principle, he said, would not be required if the world was entirely just. He said that where a person gains property in accordance with the principles of acquisition and transfer, they are therefore entitled to keep the property. But where people gain property due to wrong doing i.e. fraud or theft the third principle provides a remedy. Nozick’s ideas are consistent with right wing conservatism, but are diametrically opposed to the ideas of Marx. The term law can be defined as ‘the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom of the police, recognized and enforced by judicial decision’. Justice on the other hand is not as easy to define as we have discovered people have very different views of what a just society is, but I think we would all agree that the law should attempt to achieve justice as best it can. This view was expressed strongly by Lord Denning who said that law should always strive to achieve justice. He said that ‘the proper role of the judge is to do justice between the parties before him. If there is any rule of law which impairs the doing of justice, then it is the province of the judge to do all he legitimately can to avoid the rule or even change it so as to do justice’. But others views are slightly more restrictive. For example Sir Robert Megarry had said that it is the judge’s role to administer justice ‘according to the law’. But we have seen this will not always give a just result. Emily Andrews had told the police that she was repeatedly raped by her husband, but later withdrew the accusation because of great family pressure. She was then jailed for 8 months for perverting the course of justice and her guilty husband was able to walk free. After spending 18 days in prison her prison sentence was finally overturned by Lord Judge. She is now struggling to gain custody of her four young children. Lord Judge said ‘this is an exceptional case and we hope that it will be very exceptional for cases of this kind to be prosecuted to conviction in the Crown Courts’. So it seems as if Lord Judge was saying she should not have been prosecuted, but it would have been  a very bold person to not have imposed charges because the law is very clear. So this example clearly shows that justice cannot always be achieved by following the law. Justice is often sub divided into procedural and substantive justice. Procedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes of legal proceedings, whereas substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. One aspect of procedural justice is natural justice which has two basic principles. The first is the rules against bias (nemo iudex in causa sua). In the case of Rv Bingham Exparte Jowitt the defendant was on trial for a speeding offence, and his evidence was contradictory with that of the police officer’s. The magistrate said ‘my principle in such cases has always been to believe the evidence of the police officer’. This shows bias, and so it was not considered to be a fair trial – judges must be impartial. It was said by Lord Denning in Metropolitan Properties Ltd v Lannon that ‘justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: the judge was biased’. It also means that where a decision maker i.e. a judge has a connection with a part y or a witness they should stand down. In Re Pinochet Lord Hoffman should have done just that. Amnesty international gave evidence against Pinochet. Lord Hoffman was a non-executive direct of Amnesty so he had an undeclared link to the case. There had to be a second rehearing so justice was seen to be done. The second basic principle of natural law is the right to a fair hearing – the right to be heard (audi alteram partem). Both parties’ cases must always be put forward. This is illustrated in the case Re A where it involved a decision whether conjoined twins should be separated which would end the life of the weaker twin. Although the twins could not speak for themselves, both were represented at the trial. It also includes that a person should be given adequate prior notice of charges or allegations and a reasonable opportunity to put together his or her case. In R v Thames Magistrates’ Court ex parte Polemis a sea captain was not given adequate time to prepare his evidence for the case. He received his summons at 10.30am and the trial was heard that day at 4pm. Another difficulty in achieving justice is m oney. Although the legal aid budget is  £2 billion, legal aid was already very restrictive in civil cases. It is not available for personal injury cases so they usually run on a no win – no fee basis which means that  solicitors will only accept cases that they think are very likely to win. This means that a lot of personal injury cases will go unheard because of lacking representation. Not only this, but the current legal aid bill makes very severe cuts to legal aid.  £350 million will be cut from family and civil cases which will impact on the poorest in our society like those who are on benefits. Also legal aid will no longer be available for debt advice, benefit advice or housing. This means that more people will be forced to represent themselves at trial which will make trials much longer and less efficient therefore ultimately more expensive. It has also been proposed that legal aid is removed from medical negligence. This means that again, people will have to rely on a no win – no fee basis. So a lot of cases won’t reach court as solicitors will only take on cases that have a very high chance of winning. As a result of this, badly injured people will remain uncompensated. It is also important that rules of evidence are strictly followed to ensure that justice is served. After there has been a crime, especially if it is a high profile case, there is often a lot of pressure on the police to secure a conviction. This pressure may sometimes lead to unlawful behaviour in the way evidence is obtained. An example of this can be seen from the case of Paul Blackburn who was charged with the attempted murder and sexual assault of a nine year old boy at the age of 15. Paul Blackburn served his 25 year sentence and not until 2 years after he was released was it found that he was actually wrongfully convicted. The entire case against Blackburn rested on a confession he had handwritten, after more than four hours of intense interrogation. He finally gave into the two detectives and wrote a statement which was, he says, effectively dictated to him by the detectives. He said ‘they even helped me spell the words I didn’t know. My writing was quite basic at the time’. At the appeal in 2005 the three appeal judges heard expert testimony which questioned how a 15 year old, poor educated boy could have written a document which was punctuated and included technical terms, all of which spelt correctly. So it wasn’t until the 25th of May 2005, 28 years after the conviction that Paul Blackburn was finally acquitted. Some may argue that now Blackburn has been found to be not guilty at appeal, justice has finally been served. But 25 years of imprisonment down the line, not to mention the actual criminal walking free, can we really say justice has been served? Paul Blackburn is  now described as ‘an emotionally shattered man’. Another difficulty in achieving justice is unreliable expert evidence. When someone is up at the stand and introduces themselves as for example Professor Sir Roy Meadows a member of the general medical council the jury are likely to believe what they say. So in some way it must be checked upon that this evidence is reliable before it sways the decision of a jury in a serious criminal trial. An example of how unreliable expert evidence can affect a trial can be seen from the case of Sally Clark. Sally Clark was convicted for the murder of her two sons in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment even though she insisted it was caused by cot death. After spending more than 3 years in prison she was released in January 2003 after expert evidence given at the trial by Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a paediatrician, was discredited. During the trial he had said that the chance of having two cot-deaths in one family was 1 in 73 million, which undoubtedly and understandably lead the jury to convict. This evidence given by Sir Roy Meadow also lead to the conviction of Angela Canning who was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2002 for the murder of her two children which she insisted was caused by cot death. He had said that one cot death in a family was unfortunate, two was suspicious and three was murder. After 20 months in prison Canning was released in December 2003. Her case was re-opened after an investigation found three previous cot deaths in the family, suggesting a genetic cause. After investigation it was actually found that Sir Roy Meadow’s evidence had no statistical basis and ‘grossly misinterpreted the chance of two sudden deaths with in a family’ so Sally Clark and Angela Canning’s convictions were overturned. These two cases show the power and the effects of expert evidence given at a trial. I think that it is important for future cases that expert evidence is checked upon for its reliability to prevent more horrific miscarriages of justice like the cases of Angela Canning and Sally Clark. And in fact the Law Commission want to do just that. Their report in 2009: ‘The Admissibility of Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales’ said that expert evidence’s reliability should be assessed by the trial judges, their recent report published in 2011: ‘Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings’ makes recommendations to the original in light of the comments they have received. The repo rt proposes that there should be special statutory admissibility test for expert opinion evidence. However the courts will only apply the test if it appears that the evidence might be insufficiently reliable to be admitted. They also said that there should be a single list of criteria to help the trial judges apply the test. And finally that the party seeking to rely on the expert evidence should bear the burden of proof in demonstrating its reliability, even if that party is the accused. These proposals where agreed in February 2011 and I think would ensure a much fairer law on the admissibility of expert evidence and will help us to achieve justice in future criminal cases. Corrective justice is an aspect of procedural justice which involves rectifying mistakes. One way in which mistakes can be rectified in our law can be seen from our appeal system. Originally in our appeal system, a retrial was not permitted if the defendant was acquitted but the appeal system has now broadened and gives the prosecution a right of appeal against an acquittal if there is ‘new and compelli ng evidence’: Criminal Justice Act 2003 (part 10). For example in Rv Dunlop the defendant confessed to a police officer that he had murdered Julie Hogg in 1991 but as he had already been acquitted in 1989 so no further action could be taken. This meant that in 2006 Dunlop was retried and was convicted of murder. Another way in which our law seeks to ‘correct’ justice can be seen from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which was set up in March 1997 by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is an independent and impartial body that reviews the convictions of people who have been found, they think, wrongfully convicted or harshly sentenced and refers the appropriate cases to the appeal courts. The CCRC have had over 1,300 applications, 320 of which have been re-heard and the convictions quashed. An example of such is Rv Andrew Adams. The defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on the 18th of May 1993. The defendants appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in January 1998. The CCRC referred the case to the courts in 2005 on the basis that there was incompetent defence representation, material non-disclosure by the prosecution, errors in the summing-up and that the jury had received inadmissible evidence concerning the appellant’s bad character. An appeal was granted and at the trial, finally, after spending 14 years in prison, on the 12th of January 2007 the defendant’s conviction of murder was quashed. It could argued that because Andrews was convicted of murder and spent 14 years in prison, justice was not fully achieved for him. But at least  because of the CCRC he is now a free and proven to be innocent man. I do think that the CCRC do well to help us achieve justice in our society, but there are mixed opi nions about the body. It has been found that every year the CCRC reject 97% of applications from individuals who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Professor Michael Zander a member of the Runciman Royal Commission which recommended the setting of the body after cases the Birmingham Six, Guilford 4 and Maguire Seven, all of whom were wrongfully convicted. Zander believes that the CCRC need to use a little known power to refer cases to the court of appeal even when no new evidence has been uncovered, if there is serious doubt about the conviction. ‘They could use this power more’ says Zander. He also went onto say that ‘innocent people are in the greatest difficulties once they have been convicted. It is not always the case that something new can be found, even with the best will in the world and all the investigations that can be mustered’. He has also criticised the body for its overreliance on paper analysis of evidence and for not actually visiting the individuals in prison which is something that the Royal Commission had recommended. Also the body will only refer cases where they think there is a â €˜real possibility’ that the conviction will be overturned on referral to the court of appeal. But many have said that this is too restrictively interpreted by the CCRC. 45 cases listed by campaigners as having ‘plausible claims’ of innocence have been turned down by the body. So although the CCRC have been successful in overturning the convictions of some innocent people, there is still a long way to go. Just 3% of applications to the body are referred to the appeal court. So although the body is succeeding to help a small number of people who have been wrongfully convicted, which of course should be commended, there may still be a large of number of those who are not guilty whose cases are bit referred. Substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. Does the way we set out our law achieve justice as best it can? The law of murder is regularly criticised for being unjust as you can be guilty of murder with intending to kill or surprisingly, intending to cause serious harm, without knowing any risk of death (Vickers), both of course receiving the mandat ory life sentence. It seems unjust and extremely unfair, that a man who only intends serious harm and a man who sets out to kill are put in the same category of crime and both receive the same mandatory life sentence. In 2006  the Law Commission proposed that murder should be sub-divided into two categories. The first would be called ‘first degree murder’ and would cover defendants who intended to kill. And the second category would be called ‘second degree murder’ which would cover defendants who intended serious harm but were not aware there was a risk of death. By separating the offence, only defendants convicted of first degree murder would receive the mandatory life sentence and second degree murder would allow the judge discretion in sentencing. I think these proposals ensure a fairer law on murder and would help justice to be achieved. To conclude, I don’t think that anyone could say honestly, that we have a legal system that ensures that justice is always achieved, however much we aim to promote it. But I don’t actually believe that a law can ever be drafted that ensures justice for every individual. Even now, when wrongfully convicted people like the Birmingham Six, Paul Blackburn, Sally Clark and Angela Canning walk free, their lives are changed forever always hindered by the effects of a convicted of murder, justice doesn’t quite seem to be the word. It may be possible that someone is able to create a legal system that they believe will always achieve justice, but as we have seen people have very different ideas of a just society, so it is impossible that everybody’s needs are met. For our legal system to achieve justice, all members of that system have to be fair, unprejudiced and free from corruption, which we have seen is not always the case. The detectives who questioned Paul Blackburn, then a 15-year-old boy for over 4 hours and forced a conviction out of him, dictating the words for him to write in his statement were most definitely not fair. How can we ensure that every single person who in some way affects the course of justice is impartial, unbiased and honest? How can we ensure that a judge, an influential and important part of any trial is fair and non-discriminatory? Former Law Lord Tom Bingham said that perfect justice is an unattainable ideal. He said ‘a time is unlikely to come when anyone will ever be able to say that perfect fairness has been achieved once and for all, and in retrospect most legal systems operating today will be judged to be defect not yet recognized’. Unfortunately I think that these realistic words run true and although we can do everything possible to strive to achieve a just society, it will only ever be an unattainable ideal.