The United States of America Essay Example for Free

The United States of America Essay Write a letter to the documentary maker, Paul Hamann, explaining how effective you thought the film Fourteen Days in May was as an illustration of issues surrounding the use of capital punishment in the United States of America. Dear Mr Hamann, I am writing to you regarding the documentary that you made on Edward Earl Johnson called Fourteen Days in May. I overall found your documentary very informative and useful. However I personally thought that there are some things that you could of changed to make it better. At the beginning I think that the voice over off the radio, which informs us of all the information, is very useful. Edward Earl Johnson was convicted of the 1979 shooting death of Walmet Grove Marshall J. P. Crest. Johnsons attorneys say theyve got a strategy to save the inmate from execution on the 20th May. You get the initiative that you are there in Mississippi going to see the Edward Earl Johnson. Before I watched your documentary I had my own preconceptions about death row and the people who were on it. I thought that it was a place where very evil people were put when they have committed a serious offence, I felt that all the people here deserved to die and that I had nothing against them being executed. When the helicopter is circling over the prison where Johnson is being held I think it would be a better idea to have a view of where the murder takes places. Then the narrator could read the information to the viewers. They would be able to see the place of the murder. Also during this it could show a view of the grave where the Marshall is buried. This would add an extra effect, letting viewers see the crime scene and then the grave. Furthermore when you are still having the view that you are I the car you can see black prisoners digging at the side of the road. I individually think that this is a good idea since we are all quite aware that places such as Mississippi in the South of America are still prosperous Ku Klux Klan areas. The things that I would change are first when you interview Edward Earl Johnson I think it would be better to have him in a cell. At the beginning of the interview you zoom in through the window of the cell into him as he is sat alone. Possibly having him sat in the room where he will be executed would be a very good effect, but this would be unfair on Johnson going to the place where soon he may be killed. He may become even more defensive about the murder, stating even more that he is not guilty because seeing where he may die could frighten him. If you were however allowed to do this and Johnson did not decline this then it would have a very good effect, it would make people understand the seriousness, that he will die here if justice is not done correct. I also would not let the interviewer be seen. You could also have a view of Edward Earl Johnson through the bars of the cell. This would let people see him in prison behind bars as he is, and I also think that it would give a mysterious effect, did he do it or didnt he? If it was necessary to see the interviewer then you could see him while he asks a question but then go back to focusing on Edward Earl Johnson while he answers. This is an effect used often on television shows, and in my opinion looks good for interviewing a person.

Technical Writing and Test Prep: An Examination of Technical Writing in

Developed in the 1950s as a response to an increased interest in post-secondary education due to the G.I. Bill, the American College Testing Program, known today as ACT, was a non- profit, tax-exempt organization which provided standardized testing services meant to â€Å"help students make better decisions about which colleges to attend and which programs to study, and provide information helpful to colleges both in the process of admitting students and in ensuring their success after enrollment† (â€Å"ACT.org†). Historically, the ACT has played an integral role in the developing the realms of education and the workforce, and it continues to support both education and workforce development in the 21st century. In 2002, the ACT organization announced a new corporate structure, comprised of â€Å"two divisions: Education and Workforce Development. The new governance structure consists of a 14-member Board of Directors, and the expanded advising structure retains the A CT State Organizations but now also includes two distinct Advisory Boards, one for each of the new divisions† (â€Å"ACT.org†) calling into question the company’s â€Å"non-profit† title. Adorning a corporate title, however, suggests that the role of the ACT organization and its purpose of standardized testing persist as an economic enterprise whose sole purpose is to create revenue. The ACT organization relies heavily on economic and technical developments that help sustain productivity and reliability of a product. In the case of the non-profit, tax exempt entity of ACT, standardized testing is big business as â€Å"every year Americans spend millions on the tests they are required to write in order to be evaluated for admission into undergraduate and graduate programs, and many millions mor... ...valuation of a text designed by, marketed by, and sold by ACT Incorporated. Ultimately, connecting the history of ACT testing, the creation of a test preparation study guide distributed by a non-profit â€Å"corporate† entity, and a qualitative study of technical design is undoubtedly a challenge. However, the findings of such research will potentially challenge or strengthen notions about the validity of both standardized test and test prep materials with respect to technical writing. Works Cited Works Cited "ACT: The First Fifty Years, 1959-2009." ACT.org. Act, Inc., 2009. Web. 1 Oct 2010. . Carter, Chris. The Case Against Standardized Tests. 6 Oct. 2009. testcritic.homestead.com. 23 Sep. 2010 .

12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose

The movie â€Å"Twelve Angry Men† by Reginald Rose is a drama that displays twelve jurors' in-depth reasoning to decide a unanimous decision on the defendant's sentence. There are many assets and liabilities of the group that play a role in their decision making. The jurors are all defined in terms of their personalities, backgrounds, prejudices and emotional tilts. This paper will argue that when pride, jealousy, frustration and prejudice all emerge we see irrational and rational decision making methods.The assets of group is shown when juror#8 starts a different approach to evidence by showing the knife that was thought to be rare. It starts the process of participation in problem solving by other jury members who may have made up their mind or were just feeling conformity pressure. Greater sum of individual's total information starts to helps jury make a better decision. Liabilities of a group are show when every one except juror# 8 raise their hand feeling conformity press ure. There is desire of individual shown by juror# 3 to dominate and win the argument rather than finding a best solution.Lack of interest is shown by juror# 7 to reason or spend time to solve problem. There are prejudice feelings shown by juror# 10 and 7, they think juror# 5 and 11 do not know much because of their backgrounds. Each group determines assets and liabilities of their group's problem solving. As long disagreement is not personal and is in interest of best solution it's healthy. Time required to solve a problem is uncertain, members might get impatient and solve problem without reasoning. Risk taking is either good or bad depending on how a group uses it.Each group has a different problem to solve and different personalities to work with which is why each group can use assets and liabilities positively and negatively. Throughout the film, Juror Ten is violently prejudiced against anyone who comes from a slum. â€Å"You can't believe a word they say,† he declares – take note that Juror Ten does not say â€Å"he,† meaning the defendant, but â€Å"they,† the group of slums as a whole. This proves that he cannot make a fair judgment about individual guilt.Juror Nine, the senior man with accumulated life experience, notices this and rebukes immediately saying â€Å"Since when is dishonesty a group characteristic? † The intolerance of Juror Ten continues before finally erupting in a long speech that leads the other jurors to reject him. The message is clear that such irrational prejudice is incompatible with justice. Juror Four also shows signs of such prejudice, though he couches it in more acceptable words: â€Å"The children who come out of slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society. When a person hears the word prejudice, he or she might think it only refers to the racial prejudice often found between those with light skin and those with dark skin. However, prejudice runs much deeper than a person's color. Prejudice is found between gender, religion, cultural and geographical background, and race. People have discriminated against others based upon these attributes from the beginning of time. Prejudice has become a complex problem in our society; for example, if someone were to walk in a secluded area at night and pass a group of senior citizens, he or she will, most likely, not feel threatened.However, if instead of senior citizens, three teenagers dressed in ripped jeans and t-shirts wearing metal chains around their necks passed the person is more likely to feel threatened. Prejudice is the sad truth of today’s society. Whether it’s from watching the local news or reading the newspaper, many people base stereotypes on the media or personal experiences. Although these are the most convenient ways to judge someone, they are also the worst. Whenever dealing with the media, events are dramatized and slowly build into the subconscious. The affects of prejudice then influen ce our decisions without us even realizing it.

Plato s The Republic Socratic Dialogue And Tsugmi Ohba...

†¢ Introduce the texts being discussed and their author’s. †¢ Then identify the main themes/ideas being compared. E.g. Justice (and the idea) and the noble lie(and idea) †¢ State the key features each author uses to convey to the reader (in similar/different ways) †¢ How as a result of these features, the perspective of the reader is formed. Throughout Plato’s The Republic a Socratic dialogue and Tsugmi Ohba and Takeshi Obata Death Note a psychological/thriller, the issues of what constitutes as justice and the implications of noble lie are heavily debated between the characters and within their ideologies in each text respectively. Both texts use justice to convey unanswerable but necessary questions on what constitutes as justice, how the†¦show more content†¦This story raises multiple queries about the idea and constitution of justice and its connection the character of Glaucon uses this fable to argue that justice is a kind of socially constructed contract which keeps people from harming one another. Glaucon’s thought experiment is supposed to demonstrate the fact that people really only value justice because doing so benefits their perception in the public’s image. In other words, it would be more beneficial for someone in Gyges’s position to act as they like because people only value justice or morality when their actions can be scrutinised, Light from the death note acknowledges this face and states â€Å"Humans will all ways try to maintain appearances when there in public that’s just how we are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  however, when they are given anonymity and the risk of damaging ones reputation is gone so is all their sense of justice â€Å"†¦But this is how they really feel most are too afraid to support me as they a worried about what others will think; Many would rather deny my existence, but on the internet where you can remain anonymous support for KIRA is growing†. Glaucon states it doesn’t matter whether or not you are just or unjust before putting on the ring the power of temptation will inevitably lead you to corruption. When