Complete Darkness - Original Writing :: Papers

Complete Darkness - Original Writing I woke up in complete darkness with an uncontrollable sharp stabbing pain in my jaw, it was the middle of the night and I was about ten, I had been sleeping in the top bunk bed in our Camper Van. I gave out a great cry of pain and I could hear my mum coming down the steps from her cabin bed. She switched on a light and I could see blood all over the camper vans lineal floor, I could hear my sister Jenna complaining about the bright light that had awoken her from her deep sleep, Mum told her to go back to sleep. My mum took me up of the floor and placed me into the bed and I can remember jumping up and down with the pain. Mum took me into the bathroom to clean up the blood and I remember her holding me on her knee while she sponged my face with a facecloth. I also remember the bathroom being very small for two people. My stepfather Davy was also at the door of the bathroom and then he turned to clean up the blood from the floor. Mum remarked that I must have put a tooth through my face, as there was a small hole above my lip. When the bleeding stopped Mum put me back into bed and I was still in a lot of pain but she stayed with me for a while and comforted me to try and make me go back to sleep. After some time Mum decided that she wanted to call the casualty department at Coleraine Hospital to ask their advice on my fall. When she came back I told her that I could feel a hole on the inside of my mouth - my tongue would have gone into it. Mum got a torch and looked in and said nothing. I could hear her going up the steps to the cabin bed and speaking with my stepfather. Next thing I knew was that Mum was telling me we were going to Coleraine Hospital.

Ex-convicts Re-entry into the Society Essay

The society treats the ex convicts with unfairness and injustice that they do not deserve. As much as they are responsible for all the deeds they do, the American society is not sorry for this treatment. It is envisaged that the purpose of any prison facility in the world is to correct the deviant behavior in a person in order to prepare the successful re-entry to the society a reformed person. However, this is does not seem to be the case for American ex-convicts in the 21st century. The ex-convict today is the neighborhood next door who we see daily and sometimes we have a relationship. The realization that one is a convict proves an insurmountable task to the individual to prove that he or she is a reformed person but the laws and policies do not recognize this. The biggest question that begs for an answer is why it is so such a serious matter? What is to be blamed or who is to be held culprit? Do we need a reformation of the current policies concerning life after prison? This research will concern on the reasons why ex-prisoners are not fully integrated back into the society even after prison and the factors lying behind such treatment from the society. The American prison today The concern lies on whether the prison today is doing the right work to bring the traits and qualities desired in the modern society in convicted persons. In America today, for one to achieve in life, education forms the most counting factor. It therefore means that securing a good job requires higher education while low education only warrants low and often stressful jobs. Prison statistics shows that about 75% of inmates did not complete high school and hence they lack the high school degree. In addition, there is an increase in the number of inmates who do not have high school diploma which means that an increase in crime is related to low education. This information means that for such convicts to be suited well in the society, one of the requirements in the prison is to offer education as the rehabilitative program. This ensures that recidivism is reduced by providing the required solution. Nevertheless, the prisons strategies of correcting the convict are different and emphasize on harsh and negative treatment. This deviates from the main purpose of prison. The Prison Commission on â€Å"Confronting Confinement† by Gibbons and Katzenbach (2006) report shows that, most of the prisons in America use excessive force in treating the inmates. The big picture is that the prison guards are just brutal enough to cause break of the heart even the hardiest of them. Bearing in mind that most of the inmates are convicted of rape, crime, robbery with violence, murder and drug abuse, the question of brutal and tough treatment does not make sense. This kind of correcting is opposite the logic of the actual reason of imprisonment. It only leads to a hardened ex-convict who feels that the society is against him or her. In fact, the situation in the prisons worsens the state of affairs. The â€Å"Prison nightmare† by Deparle (2007) clearly shows that the prison is a hell of a place that requires intervention from the state and the public. The life in prison is deplorable; conditions are inhumane, unhealthy, unproductive and violent. This really affects the staff and the inmates themselves due to the unending trauma and stress. The unfair treatment of inmates discriminating between race and class and the type of offence, makes the prison to be the devil rather than the savior to the community. The community must be protected from rogue persons who are not capable of maintaining the dogmas of the society. It is in this light that the prison must be seen as a failed system in our society. The rehabilitation programs like educational programs, drug rehabilitation and counseling programs were terminated in the twentieth century despite the increase in the population of prisons. Therefore, the fact is that most of the ex-convicts come back into the society to seek revenge armed wit nothing but hardness, pain, stress, trauma, mental disability and thus do not fit back in the society. The ex-convict life and its challenges It is clear now that the prison facilities are not living to their dreams as set to do by the constitution. The number of ex-convict is high today in comparison to the earlier centuries. The alarming news behind this large number is that they passed through the prison that we have already seen needs to do reforms, from the staff to the policies governing the correction and treatment of convicts. The persons with prison experience, due to lack of effective corrective measures, pose a threat to the community since they deviate more than the initial stage. In addition, most of the ex-convicts convicted of crime and drug are suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases which is an alarm to security due the attitudes of most of these ex- convicts. On the other hand, after prison, life is no better for most of them due to low education, drugs and restrictive laws and policies. The society does not really accept them back and thus re-entry and acceptance makes life hard. This leads to the rise of recidivism and increased rate of crime from the same ex-prisoners. The first of these injustices is restriction from voting known as felon disenfranchisement. This law date back to the founding years of America claiming the ‘spotlessness of the poll box’ in 1884 (Manza & Uggen, 2006). The argument was that, felons could use their votes unlawfully to corrupt the ballot box and that since already they have first violated the social contract, then they can also corrupt the franchise responsibility. The view of this time was the ‘excellent government’ meaning that all issues that seemed or were perceived to avert such causes, all measures would be placed to avoid that (Manza & Uggen, 2006). For the past years, this issue has not been much debated upon or given enough light until the twentieth century when it caused a major stir in 1998. Human rights watch revealed that 4 million people were locked out of voting and they were concerned that this could affect any election. Close monitoring by Uggen and Manza (2006) reveals a note of origination in discriminating against the blacks. The notion that blacks were the most felony convicted race due to poverty hence the likelihood was that they committed most crimes. This is strongly supported by the discrimination of the black man up to the twentieth century. The lack of access to employment is another major challenge that ex-convicts face in their journey towards re-entry and full rehabilitation into the society. Hull and Conyers Jr. in their book say that, two thirds of ex-convicts end up behind bars again within three years of release. The employers are keen on background checks meant to lock out the job seekers with felony conviction. There is no law that expressly prohibits ex-convicts from getting employment but the many bans across the board violate the civil rights act of 1964 as indicated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This reveals that, to solve this problem, one has to seek redress from the state law. Major tribunals have allowed employers to disqualify job seekers with felony conviction if it is related to the job being sought. Where corruption seems plausible, the background check proves crucial, and therefore any record of conviction disqualifies the person. Restrictions on occupational licensing is a major setback to the ex convicts life after prison. The fact that even setting up an own work is prohibited means that the government wastes money for the upkeep of prisoners in jail. It negates the logic why a person from a correction and rehabilitation center does not fit into the society. The lack of employment and the despair from job turning down by prospective employer causes recidivism (Hull & Conyers, 2006). This opposes the principles of fairness and justice if people cannot be treated fairly in matters of public or private. The democracy of a people involves giving equal chances to all without any prejudice. This is not the case for the ex-convict when it comes to search of funds for higher education when compared to other students. The Higher Education Act of 1965 is meant to aid needy and poor students with funds to acquire college education. However, the amendment by Congress in 1998 denies ex-convict of drug abuse the right to seek these funds for college education. In addition, under federal law, drug convict means that one cannot qualify for ‘Hope Credit’ leading to high number of students denied access to financial aid (Hull et al. , 2006). Helping the ex-convicts find back their lives and enjoy the full benefits of a citizen needs changing the status quo especially in the laws. The social welfare challenge is also another part that requires check up to give the ex-convicts a sense of belonging and their importance to the society. According to Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1956, ex-convicts who had been charged with drug possession are entitled to no temporary assistance for needy families, social safekeeping, Medicare, food aid and other health benefits. This infringes on the ex-convicts efforts to be best fit in the society. Ex-convicts feel that the social welfare part of their lives is curtailed which is equivalent to punishment which goes to great pains since it takes long to be paroled. The question whether ex-convicts can hold public office lies greatly to state and constitutional law. The constitutional law doe not bar ex-convict from holding a public office because of the malice that can arise if a president does not need a challenge from and opposing team. Despite this, the state law on the other hand bars a felony convict from holding or running for a public office. The fact is that the restriction of the ex-convict from holding public offices is much humiliating especially for people who are convicted while serving in public offices. Furthermore, most of the information about conviction is readily available to the public today especially on the internet. This is very restrictive and poses as a challenge to most of the ex convicts who are charged with minor felony. This also applies to ex-convicts who have not despaired and are determined to reclaim their lives back in the society after imprisonment. It is therefore stressful for them to find that their efforts are interrupted by the laws of the country and thus they question the principle of democracy. In this light, the function of the prison as a corrective and rehabilitative facility is questioned and the government spending on prison is ridiculed. Aside from ex-offenders being barred from holding public office, parenthood forms an insurmountable challenge to them. Besides family reunion being eventful and complicated, the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act require that parents abdicate parenthood if they do not spend 15 months with them. The imprisonment term average is 18 months implicating that family break up is real for those ex-convicts who are jailed for years. These are the challenges that can result to more crimes leading to a cycle of the same which means that recidivism is no near to ending. With this kind of a prison system, it means more problems will be created. On the other hand, the society’s reception and treatment of the ex-convict warrants a checkup and change to avoid punishing the ex convict (Thompson, 2008). Research shows that foster care after family break up leads to high cases of juvenile delinquency which dovetails to crime. This can only be interpreted that the protection of the community by these laws and policies provides an avenue for the next future generation of offenders. The issue of parenting is complicated and hurting when it is disconnected either to the father or mother, it is the most unique experience. Therefore, this law punishes the parents all their lives not to add that most are poor. It is an excusable path to mental anguish, stress and trauma to such ex-convicts citizens in this country. The issue of acquiring secure housing is just another restrictive issue concerning the affairs of ex-convict’s re-entry to the society. The local, federal and the state laws have three categories on barriers upon ex-convicts, the absolute statutory exclusions, denying and termination of housing for substance abuse and one strike you are out. The first concerns those instances that an ex-convict manufactures substance or has been convicted of sex offence. It means that the ex-convict is banned out for life on public houses. Secondly, if the ex convict is still using substances illegally and the third involves a case where an individual is denied admission due to activity of crime or substance abuse which might lead to disruption of other house occupants just slightly before occupying the house. These laws under PHA are directed by the Housing Opportunity Act destabilize the lives of ex-convicts who have so much to correct for their successful re-entry into the society. The changing wind When ex convicts experience a difficult and often barring life influenced by the laws and policies, they feel frustrated and rejected. The fact that one is expected to display good conduct to pay for health services, cater for the family despite having no job is overwhelming. These situations places the ex-convicts between a hard place and a rock and thus chances of getting back to crime or illegal substance abuse are imminent. The questions of giving the ex-convicts a second chance have arisen due the increased amount of people with felony records. The political, social and economic consequences related to the re-entry of ex-convicts into the society reveal high costs and disadvantages. The society is exposed to disrupted morals due to drug abuse culture. The lack of family role models and parents to guide the life of young people is an indication of a falling society. A community where most of the people are ex-convicts and majority fall under the category of those counted poor means that drug abuse, crime, increase in communicable diseases and unemployment can be the order of the day leading to recidivism. Today, this is the question that concerns the country’s change of policies at the twenty-first century. Despite other issues concerning war, terror and relations with other countries, America is faced by internal issues like these. Other countries like European countries have strategies to make sure that their prisons and justice department balance the whole picture for the benefit of all and maintain the best secure free society (Petersilia, 2000). Today, the stigmatization and citizen resistance to support ex-offenders is waning due to the introduction of productive restorative community justice approach that is meant to bring all people to work together for the benefit of the whole. The re-entry of ex-offenders to the society is a complicated issue that requires serious planning and change of policies. Looking for possible solutions to reintegration needs a change of the public attitude towards ex-convicts (Levinson, 2002). The message is that, the situation is not hopeless; America has not lost the battle what we need is changing the past and embracing the present for the well being of our future. Religious leaders, some politicians, organizations, radio talk shows and the general public have taken an active role in talking about the issue of prisons and ex convict’s lives. The fact that they are citizens just like any other has seen the rise of talks all over for their clearance in the eyes of the public. Although some of the politicians do not want to hear this, the campaign is rife and is gaining momentum. The century is turning tides to those who still hold bad attitudes towards ex-convicts. To support an ex-convict was a liability before but for today as Delgado puts it, it’s a launching pad for people with political ambitions. The conditions of deterioration of policies of prison and aggravation of issues pertaining ex-convicts have touched on the politics of the Republican Party hence a win to the Democrats. The meting out of harsh policies and stiff laws does not offer any solutions; instead it creates more problems to the society. The ex-convicts form a convict bloc that has connections to the high echelons of power and class and they form a formidable force which is capable of swaying the outcome of any election. In addition, the speaking out against corrupt policies held in prisons and courtrooms has brought justice to others who are convicted for fair hearings (Delgado, 2007).

Impact Of Internet Banking On Bankers Satisfaction Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1548 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? In last few years, Indias banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. Banks are now no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached each and every corner of the country. It has also helped in growth process of India. The first bank in India was established in 1786. Journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases- Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Impact Of Internet Banking On Bankers Satisfaction Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Phase -I Early phase from 1786 to 1969 In this phase deposit mobilization by banks was very slow. People preferred Postal Saving bank facility offered by Department of Post of Government of India as it was comparatively safer and convenient. Phase- II Nationalisation of Indian banks In July, 1969, fourteen major commercial banks in the country was nationalised. In 1980 seven more banks were nationalised. This step of Government of India brought 80% of the banking segment in India under its ownership. Nationalisation of banks had a very positive impact on their deposits and advances. Phase-III Indian Banking Sector Reforms (From 1991- Till Date) Indian Banking Sector reforms helped in introduction of many more products and facilities in the banking sector. In 1991, the process of liberalisation of banking practices was started. It resulted in entry of foreign banks in India. New services like mobile banking, Net banking, Phone banking, ATM services etc. was introduced for the first time in the country.The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. Introduction of concept of Information Technology helped banks in improving customer service, book keeping, MIS and productivity. RBI played very important role in insisting banks for adoption of Information Technology for its daily operations. It has helped banks in reducing their administrative costs. Online banking facility has enabled customers to access their accounts, take print out of bank statements and even transfer of money without leaving the comfort of their home or office. So we can say that in addition to its convenience, online banking also helps in savings time and money. Banks are using Information Technology to increase returns on investment, improve customer relationship management (CRM) and employee productivity. But, with reduction in cost of transactions, it has also brought certain risks to bank like Transactional risk which is the most common form of risk associated with internet banking. Security risk may also arise on account of unauthorized access to a banks critical information stores like accounting system, risk management system, portfolio management system, etc. In addition to these external attacks, banks are also exposed to certain security risk from internal sources e.g. employee fraud. Compared to banks in foreign countries, Indian banks offering online services still have a long way to go. LITERATURE REVIEW Balasubramanya S. (2002) in his study examined that the automation in the banking sector has come a long way starting with the Rangarajan Committee report on the banking sector reforms in the eighties, followed by reports of the Narasimhan Committee in the nineties. With more than 65,000 branches of the banks (public, private and the cooperative sector) in the India, the researcher have found that the percentage of branches enclosed by automation was not satisfactory and there is need to speed up process of automation. Vij Madhu (2003) in her study examined the varying profile of Indian banks with the help of a comparative study of three private sector banks in India namely ICICI bank, HDFC bank and IDBI bank. The comparative examination of the 3 private sector banks shows that HDFC is at number one, ICICI at number two and IDBI Bank at the bottom in area of usage of Information Technology. In the study the investigator emphasised that in future challenge would be to take maximum advantage of Internet Banking. Rajshekhara K. S. (2004), in his research concluded that at present IT has become an inseparable part of banking industry. The adoption of IT in the banking sector has resulted in the development of various concepts of banking such as Electronic banking, Internet Banking, Online Banking, Telephone Banking, ATM services etc. Information technology has helped in providing certain quick service with low transaction cost to the customers resulting in customers satisfaction. Security is also one important issue in the area of concern in E-banking. The development of technology for minimizing costs, reducing frauds in this sector. This study has not covered views of bank employees on computerization of banks. Ananthakrishnan G. (2005) in his study found that customers expectations are increasing. At the present time customers are no longer willing to wait in queues and want prompt services. Researcher found that banks must provide following services to its customers to retain them- Quicker payment/receipts in cash counter Optimistic attitude of the bank staff Proper attention to the customers and time bound services Sakalya Venkata (2007) in his study have identified 15 important factors for bank customers i.e. Safety of Deposits, Size and Strength of bank, Accuracy in transactions,General Service Quality, Speed of Delivery, Proximity, Security, attitude of Staff, Service Charges, Bank Product, Image in eyes of General Public, Bank image in eyes of Peer, Face Lift (Structural), friendship with Bank Employees and Advertisement and Publicity. According to the findings, based on the experimental study, the first six factors have the maximum influence, next four have moderate influence and the rest five have comparatively lower influence. Thus, retail banks must give due attention to these factors. Kamakodi et al.(2008) have done one survey and obtained views of 292 respondents on issues related to electronic banking channels. He concluded that beyond a point, IT along with personal touch will be essential for the banks to retain existing customers and to attract new ones and banks have to make strategy for the same. Sharma Himani, Aggarwal Vikrant (2010) The employment of the Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) Bancs Core Banking at the State Bank of India (S.B.I.) in addition to its affiliate banks symbolize the largest centralized core system implementation ever performed.The overall effort incorporated the conversion of about 140 million accounts held at 14,600 domestic branches of State Bank of India and its affiliate banks. This study outlines the history of the State Bank of India details the effort to modernize the banks core processing system. It also recognizes the drivers to modernization, the critical success factors, as well as the conversion method. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Objectives of the Study: The present study was undertaken with the following objectives: 1. To evaluate the impact of Internet banking services on bankers performance in terms of customer base, profitability, work pressure on staff, speed and correctness of work, customer relations, fraud control etc. 2. To evaluate the Impact of Internet Banking services on banks customer satisfaction in terms of saving of time, convenience etc. 3. To have a comparison between the Information Technology enabled services provided by selected public sector, private sector and foreign banks. 4 To suggest various measures regarding Internet banking through which performance and customer satisfaction can be improved. Hypotheses: The following Hypothesis would be tested- H1a: There is a significant difference between public, private and foreign banks on the basis of impact of Internet banking on Bankers Performance. H1b: There is a significant difference between public, private and foreign banks on the basis of impact of Internet banking on Customer Satisfaction. Data Collection and Analysis: In this study, total six banks i.e. State Bank of India ICICI Bank Ltd. Standard Chartered Bank,Punjab National Bank HDFC Bank Ltd. HSBC Ltd are identified for the study so that adequate representation to public sector, private sector and foreign banks could be given. Further two states i.e. Haryana and Punjab and two Union Territories i.e. Delhi and Chandigarh are identified for study. In next step Ludhiana of Punjab, Gurgaon of Haryana are identified where all six banks have their branches. Next step would be to select one branch of each bank from Ludhiana, Gurgaon, Delhi and Chandigarh using random sampling technique. Next step would be to select twenty five customers of each branch of the sample banks using convenience sampling. Structured Questionnaire would be made for them. Senior Manager of each selected branch would also be given Questionnaire to collect necessary data for research.Both primary and secondary sources of data would be used for analysis.The primary data would b e collected through two questionnaires i.e. one for customer and one for the bankers. The first questionnaire would be formulated to know the customers views and second questionnaire would be designed to study the opinion of bankers. The secondary data would be collected from the Reserve Bank of India publications and from the websites of the sample banks. For the analysis of the data, appropriate statistical techniques and tests like Chi Square test etc. would be used. Nature of the study This study is descriptive cum exploratory study. Sampling Technique- Radom Sampling Technique is used for selection of branches of selected six banks. Convenience Sampling would be used to select 600 customers of 24 selected branches i.e. 25 customers from each branch. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 1 Study is confined only to six selected banks. 2 Study is limited to only two states i.e Haryana and Punjab and two Union Territories i.e. Delhi and Chandigarh 3 Primary data would be collected only from 25 customers from each 24 selected branchs of 6 banks due to limited time and other resources