Will Evolving Forms of Journalism Be an Improvement Essay

Will Evolving Forms of Journalism Be an Improvement - Essay Example The growth of the Internet has had far reaching effects on almost all industries. In journalism, the internet has expanded the opportunities for individuals to generate content and disseminate it to potentially millions of users at a low cost. Participatory journalism takes two forms; civic journalism and independent journalism. The former is most suited to improve the field of journalism. In civic journalism, media outlets give their audience an avenue to comment and report on public matters concerning them. Social media provide a gathering place for a broad range of people to participate in a discourse on everyday issues. During the Arab Spring, Social media played a large role in informing the public and gathering support for civil disobedience efforts. While traditional media remained gagged by Arab governments, social media sites of both regional and international media were alive with thousands of user-generated reports. Even when Arab governments shut down internet access, citizens worked to provide alternative internet access. Alex Jones claims that the collapse or diminishing popularity of traditional news media has the potential to impact negatively on democracy (Alexander and Hanson 169). His argument is valid to some extent as the verification of news that traditional media offers ensure that the information provided to the public is free and fair to all parties and devoid of irregularities. However, throwing a blanket condemnation on participatory journalism ignores evidence that do not support Jones’s argument. Jones mistakenly believes that quality journalism is entirely responsible for democracy. In 19th Century America, while most newspapers openly favored particular parties, voter turnout was considerably higher than modern day America where journalism could be considered to be of a higher quality than in the past. The impact of social media on audience levels are seen in two approaches. The first approach is that through

Is Murdoch empire will collapse Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Murdoch empire will collapse - Article Example Although she was born in the year 1968, nevertheless, her association with the use of psychology for the purpose of governing the masses relates back to the nineteenth century. She got married to the great grandson of Sigmund Freud – a psychoanalyst who is well-known for his work on transference, unconscious mind and sexual drive. Her husband, Mathew Freud, is PR tycoon as well. This marriage related Elizabeth Murdoch to the Freud’s cousin, Edward Bernays who is known as the father of public relations and propaganda. The organizations of the Murdoch family are based upon that premise as their personal and professional agenda is one of manipulating minds through maintaining public relations and thereby, controlling the news. They transformed the information in to entertainment for the purpose of distracting the people for their own interest. The Rupert’s holdings have been tainted in three continents, so far. He had to be testified in front of the British Parliame nt. Some members of the inner circle of the New Corp have resigned or been arrested. Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia has declared that News Corp’s Holdings could possibly have to face an inquiry in her country.

Effect of Policy on Youth Offending Rates

Effect of Policy on Youth Offending Rates Introduction The purpose of this dissertation is to see if the government policy for youth offending has reduced the amount of youth offenders and also if government’s strategies are affective in order to tackle youth offending. Chapter 1 Define youth offending; what are youth offending and what crimes are classified as youth offending and what the major of youth crime activity is taken place. The change of crime in youths before and now. What is youth offending and what policies are used to deal with criminal activity youth offender. What types of crime are considered as offending for youth? What is Youth Offending?, Who Are Youth Offenders? Youth is considered in the criminal justice system a young person or child age from 10-17 as stated by the Youth justice board .A child or young person who breaks the Law and is guilty is classified as a youth offender. Youth crime can consist of different types of criminal actively such as anti- social behaviour, theft, assault and even murder. This is similar to adult crime as breaking the Law is considered as a criminal offence no matter the age. Youth crime can be proven to harm and be dangerous to the community. It could damage the future of the youth by having a life of crime. According to the House office Youth crime â€Å"harms communities, creates a culture of fear and damages the lives of some of our most vulnerable young people† (www.homeoffice.gov.uk) .The impact of youth crime has caused a disturbance within society which has resulted in policies changing quite often in order to overcome youth crime. Out of the youth justice system young could be a different margin for example from seventeen to twenty-one in general terms is classified as young In many countries crime committed by young people and children has become a major battle of politicians. Many politicians believe that youth offenders should be prepared to receive the punishment for the crime they have committed. According to (Simon,2000) â€Å" politicians across the political spectrum have demanded that if a young offenders are prepared to ‘do the crime’ they should also be prepared to ‘do the time’ and that in some cases they should do this ‘time in the same place as adults† (Pitts,J. (2003).) The government have become aware of youth offending and are taking it much more seriously the previously. Punishment has been considered is the main way youths should suffer the same as adults for the actions. Young people and crime have many similarities with the adult offenders. Both adult and youth may have a balance between â€Å"punishment, rehabilitation and deterrence and that between the rights and responsibilities (including the victims) of offender†. ( Pitts,J. (2003). p71) there are different types of sentences from discharges to custody and fines depending on the offence. The England and Wales criminal justice system identifies young people aged between ten and seventeen are classified as youth and are dealt with in a different justice system which is called the youth justice system. Youth offenders have its â€Å"own courts, custodial institutions, professional personnel and in many cases sentences† ( Kirton, D. (2005)) This has become the main part in the youth justice system as children and young people’s mentality and understanding are different to adults so therefore children and young people may not be fully aware and fully at fault for the offence. Youth justice system is a system created so treatment is the main priority of young people and children who are suffering from welfare and other problems as educational, poverty and drugs etc. The youth justice system would consider that the evidence regarding the youth offender and decided what is the best punishment or treatment need which is going to benefit the youth. This is done mainly to prevent the youth from offending again by tackling the problems before it could mean the youth is less likely to offend again. Some organisations consider twenty one year olds or even up to twenty five or thirty as young but according to the youth justice system over seventeen years of age is considered full responsible for the offence so the criminal justice system would deal with the case of over seventeen people. The youth justice believe that youths aged from ten to seventeen are not in the full state of mind compared to an adult for example if a ten year old was to kill someone they would not be liable for a first degree murder due to they cannot distinguish between right and wrong. some groups believe that youths who commit a offence should have the same punishments as adults and others believe that youths at ages from ten to seventeen cannot full be responsible for the action (Jamie bugler case two ten years old killed a child younger then them) Youth policies in the justice system regarding youth offending are mainly set by the government which have installed the youth justice board during the years of 1998 and 1999. Policies were set before by the government and still are mainly but the youth justice board is there to make sure organisations who are trying to prevent youth offending are doing their jobs. Policies such as the Crime and Disorder act in 1998 which was a policy set by the government to create multi-agency panels in order to achieve effectiveness and efficiency. Standards had to be achieved as it was consider as the biggest â€Å"shake up† in the youth justice system according to â€Å"Jack straw† (Pitts,J. (2003). P88). Policies could benefit for and against for example policies regarding social, economical, health and welfare were seen as the main policies for organisations who worked for youth offenders to apply such as the Treatment of youth offenders. Then policies regarding tougher punishments were put in to action now a more multi-agency with treatment and also punishment depending on evidence policy is present. Were it would be considered by a panel which would decided what would be the best method for the youth offender not to re-offend. The main policies regarding youth offenders are introduced by the government s rules and regulations for youth organisations, new legislations and Laws. The youth justice system was introduced policies in force were changing quite often as punishment was the main type of sentence but due to children and adults having their differences (mental, economical, knowledge). Duty of care for children and young people should be considered as from research according to Derek Kirton it could be said that many youth offenders suffer from poor welfare, economical issues, family, health and educational problems. Accoutring to the Home office statistics levels of youth offenders you have these problems are quite high. Punishment may not be considered the best method to help youths in welfare problems. As a result of this future policies changed in order to prevent youth offending by offering treatment instead of punishment. Policies may change depending on research and results as improvement may not be visible. The youth justice system is a system that is created to deal with young people who have offended as it is believed that the young should be treated differently for the offence as young people are not fully aware and knowledgeable as an adult. This system was first introduced in the nineteenth century as pressure from groups by the media, religious, and welfare believed that children are less aware of the offences they commit then an adult. Before the youth justice system was developed young people and children were no different to adults as youths would also be sentenced to the adult jail. After a short period of time when there was no differences for youths and adults, â€Å"industrial schools were introduced for seven to fourteen year olds convicted of vagrancy†( Pitts,J 2003).) as â€Å"Newborn 1995 † stated .these industrial schools were to keep youths out of adult prisons due to the level of corruption and brutality in the adult prisons. Youths and children would stay in the industrial school like it was a jail just for young people and children. The system for youths started to change even more as industrial schools started to expand and more children and young people were held there. As a result of this pressures from political groups due to the increasing level of crimes among youths was getting out of control and media and many off the public became aware of this. â€Å"Informal social controls and the drunkenness, vice, violence and crime to which gave rise† (Pitts,J 2003). It became a major scare as many believed that the justice system and other groups cannot control this crisis. As this crisis was mainly for social controls the media, police and politicians main priority was to control and to remove the crisis. As the level of crime was rising the method of the industrial schools should how unstable the policies and strategies were. it shows that the strategies and the policies of punishment is clearly not working as crime is escalating . During this time punishment was tough unlike today where children and young people have they own justice system and are not as tough on punishment as it was around two centuries ago. Then youths and children were punished similar as how adults were .The social controls were out of hand and it was decided by the government to create committees which would concentrate on the â€Å"treatment† (Pitts,J 2003)of the youth offender instead of punishment. The government created two committees which were â€Å"Gladstone committee and the Lushingto committee† (Pitts,J 2003) these committees were created to be less–tough on youths offenders as they believed that treatment instead of punishment would reduce crime. This may perhaps be that what the government wants to do deal with the problem before it occurs for example a child or young person may offend due to problems at home or even educational problems as a result the committees would try to help children or young people over come this problem as if not treated then a youth may be in a condition where they are not fully aware of offending (need example to back me up) custody was also introduced by the government as the offender could be confined. Treatment was also only offered if there was enough evidence to support the fact that the child was affected by any of the following sciences consisting of paediatrics, child psychology, criminology and penology. This was a newer form of youth justice introduced by the youth justice system, but responsibility was held by the juvenile courts according to (Pitts,J 2003). Chapter 2 Historical context of youth offending, what were the previous strategies and how were they implemented? What are the current strategies (ones that are used now) and what strategies are being considered for the future. What are the objectives of the strategies? The Youth Justice System. What it is, how it is used, the benefits and the weakness of the system. What are the objectives of the governments youth justice strategies. What objectives have been achieved and what are the aims of the government to achieve the target. Have the government met the objectives if so how The aim of the youth justice system is to reduce this major problem of youth crime by building safer communities and to tackle the problem of social exclusion (Home Office, 2008). Social exclusion has led individuals and groups to suffer as it has partitioned them to participate with society activities due to their socioeconomic factors. Chapter 3 What and How effective are the current strategies in place to deal with youth offenders.figures that show Yots etc are working , Talk about organisations such Yots, parenting schemes and other methods used by the government .. The positives and negatives, such as cost etc. what they are doing to try and achieve their aim. Talk about some youth programmes set up in order to reduce crime. Yots mainly but look at other services . In order to tackle youth crime the government introduced the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 where Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) where introduced. These teams are multi-agency bodies with the primary aim of preventing offending by children and young people†. Their aim is also to prevent young people from re-offending in which support is given to them by the YOTs (Bateman et al, 2005). One of the areas covered by youth offending teams is to tackle anti-social behaviour which includes â€Å"harassment of residents or passers-by verbal abuse, criminal damage, vandalism, noise nuisance, graffiti, engaging in threatening behaviour in, large groups, smoking or drinking alcohol under age, substance misuse, joy-riding, begging, prostitution, kerb-crawling, throwing missiles, assault† and â€Å"vehicle-related nuisance† (YJB, 2005 pg 5). The old youth justice, proved by the Audit Commission (1996) caused high levels of crime such as â€Å"vandalism†, â€Å"thefts and burglaries†. This system was confirmed to be â€Å"inefficient and expensive† as it resulted to a little being done to tackle youth crime and showed high levels of re-offending. The Audit Commission in 1996 established a report ‘Misspent Youth’ where many recommendations were highlighted for the new youth justice (Goldson, 2000). The key recommendation in the report was to carry out â€Å"intervening† with youth in the early stages of their career so that their offending behaviour can be targeted. The White Paper ‘No More Excuses’ also stated that YOTs will need to, â€Å"Deliver community intervention programmes to make youngsters face up to the consequences of their crimes and learn to change the habits and attitudes which lead them into offending and anti-social behaviour. The programmes might adopt techniques such as: group work; family group conferencing and mentoring† (Home Office, 1997) Chapter 4 Is the emphasis tough on crime or tough on comers of crime? Look at the punishment and sentencing, public perception look at differences like police want tougher laws on youths but social workers think education and rehabilitation programmes are better .look at the Hansard arguments and news articles to see. How effective are the current strategies in place. Are they reducing the level of crime among youths? Are there different punishments for youths? Level of youths reoffending. Look in to Suggestions instead of punishments Chapter 5 Which interest groups are involved in creating youth offending policies, look at statistics from 2002/03and 2006/07 and compare the data see if the rates are falling etc and which crimes where low and high. Argue for and against punishment and prevention and punishment and rehabilitation. See in the results if punishment becoming harsher is better than the welfare state before and what is happing now such as Multi –Agencies. Also look at which types of youth offend and reoffend the reasons behind this. The statistics from 2002/03 compared with 2006/07. What is found and where should the YJS change and forces on etc. The main aim of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is to prevent crime, â€Å"the police alone have been relatively ineffective agents of crime prevention† due to crime being a â€Å"multi-faceted in both its causes and effects† (Bateman, 2007). Multi-agency is a process that the Audit Commission believed would play a vital role to divert young people from the courts and prevent them from re-offending in which programmes set up by the Youth Offending Teams which will help them to change and also to face up to the harm caused due to their behaviour (Goldson, 2000). Local authorities (LA) gained a huge statutory responsibility in which they had to implement a multi-agency response to youth crime; previously it had been up to the LA to determine how they did so. The Crime and Disorder Act (CDA) â€Å"required all local authorities with social services and education responsibilities to replace social services youth justice team† (Burnett, 2005 pg 106) with Youth Offending teams. Each team consisted of â€Å"representatives from the local probation and police services, health, education and social services† (Burnett, 2005 pg 106). 14 pilot Youth Inclusion and Support Panels (YISPs) were set up in April 2003 by the Youth Justice Board. This was to target those who were likely to be at the risk of offending, the age range targeted was 8-13 year olds (Youth Justice Board, 2003). The Youth Justice Board (YJB) was first established in 1998 by the Labour Government in which their focus was on the Youth Justice System. YOTs are monitored by the YJB where their performance is measured and aims and objectives are given to them resulting to broad range of expectations that YOTs are supposed to fulfil hence a need for a broad range of expertise within the teams. It is essential for YOTs to develop â€Å"efficient administration of justice† so that when a young person breaks the law; their case is handled and dealt effectively and efficiently. It is vital for the offender to take responsibility for their offence so therefore the YOTs aim is to confront the individual in an appropriate manner so that effective communication is implemented. This will enable them to intervene with one another and discuss factors which causes the individual at a risk of offending. Punishment must be given to the offender which is proportionate to the seriousness of their crime and encouraging reparation to the victims by the offender. Parent responsibilities are also taken account of by the YOT’s and are reinforced. YOTs work with a range of services and interventions such as, â€Å"housing authorities, social services, housing providers and voluntary groups† (http://www.yjb.gov.uk ). The YJB sets out corporate targets for YOTs annually. The corporate objectives for 2006/07 to 2008/09 are divided into 3 sections: Reduce offending and the use of custody Support the youth justice system to reduce the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system by 5% by March 2008 compared to the March 2005 baseline. Support the youth justice system to protect victims and communities by reducing re-offending by young offenders by 5% by March 2008 compared with the 2002/03 baseline, working towards a 10% reduction by the end of the decade. Support the youth justice system to, between 31 March 2005 and 31 March 2008, reduce the size of the under-18 custodial population by 10% through the implementation of the minimising the use of custody work programme. Improve outcomes for children and young people Support the youth justice system to improve the assessment of risk and need for young people who have offended, and improve their access to specialist and mainstream services that will address the factors identified. To ensure that YOTs have action plans in place to achieve equal treatment at local level for comparable offences by different ethnic groups and to deliver targeted prevention activity that substantially reduces local differences by ethnicity in recorded conviction rates, by March 2008. Safe and appropriate use of custody To ensure that all girls under 18 years of age who are remanded or sentenced to custody are accommodated in secure establishments that are separate from adults by October 2006, and replace 250 places for boys in shared adult sites with separate facilities by March 2008. (source: YJB, 2005 pg 6) These aims will help the members in the youth offending team to stay focus on the targets and will direct them to meet them, they are also able to carry out an effective service by â€Å"monitoring the treatment of young offenders and reducing inequalities†, â€Å"improving access to mainstream services† which will help to â€Å"increase confidence in the youth justice system† (YJB, 2005 pg 6). There are key aims that Rose Burnett has identified that underpin Youth Offending Teams that focus on preventing offending and effective practice is made easier by a multi-agency approach, that can respond to young people in an holistic fashion. â€Å"Youth justice workers should join forces with other professionals† this explored the argument regarding young people being related to problems such as â€Å"truancy, drug abuse and family breakdown† each being handled by â€Å"separate agencies† (Burnett, 2005 pg107). Due to YOTs this would prevent a â€Å"duplication of effort, inconsistencies and differences in emphasis† if the team worked effectively together tackling these problems (Burnett, 2005 pg107). â€Å"All parties should share the aim of preventing offending† as over time the approaches to the youth justice have altered which has caused a lot of confusion regarding the purpose and function of the youth justice system. The government established the paper â€Å"No More Excuses† in which they have stated their â€Å"intention to break with the previous culture of youth justice† where young people’s offending was exempt due to a concentration being on their â€Å"needs rather than their deeds† (Burnett, 2005 pg 107). The paper clearly identified the aims of â€Å"reducing crime by young people† which were given to the members of the Youth Offending Team (Burnett, 2005 pg 107). YOT’s work in partnership who works in conjunction with all other departments in order to achieve the aims set out. The youth offending teams work in a range of services such as, courts and the prison services, they are also involved in complementary inter-agency initiatives, such as child protection committees and community safety partnerships. The goal is to provide a â€Å"joined up†, corporate approach to preventing youth offending. Both the Government and the youth justice board emphasised that YOT’s were not intended to belong to any of the individual agencies. This is a partnership approach which is between all the parties (Burnett, 2005). There are many advantages of multi-agency working within a Youth Offending Team alongside disadvantages which cause areas of concern and which will have to be taken account of. To begin with the advantages of multi- agency working, by working within a Youth Offending Team will result to knowledge and skills being shared. Each member of the team will provide one another with the required information on an â€Å"informal, ad hoc basis† therefore there will be no need for them to â€Å"write off for information or wait for a return phone call† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109). This saves time and communication will be more effective and efficient. By working in the same office was believed to be a great advantage due to a quick access to information and advice (Burnett, 2004). A holistic approach is achieved due to all the representatives of â€Å"all the relevant disciplines† being under â€Å"one room† (Bateman et al, 2005 pg 109). If however, cases do arise which â€Å"lay outside the expertise of the responsible officer† then there is usually someone with the required â€Å"experience, â€Å"knowledge† and skills in the particular area to handle the problem and also recommend suggestions (Burnett, 2005 pg 109). This therefore portrays that multi-agency teams appear to be very beneficial as they bring together â€Å"seamless youth justice service closer† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109). The â€Å"availability of representatives from different services facilitate the referral of young people to those services† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109. This reduces lengthy waiting lists and also â€Å"complicated referral procedures† that are likely to occur. Opportunities of â€Å"having the right person in the right place at the right time† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109) are increased which is hassle free and more convenient for individuals. For instance young people who offend and get into trouble, frequently may have mental health problems for this reason having a health worker in the Youth Offending Team, who is an employee of Children and Adolescent mental health services would improve the access of YOT kids to such mainstream services. The same theory can be applied with education and children out of school. This illustrates that multi-agency teams are well placed to reintegrate socially excluded young people into mainstream provision. Focusing on the disadvantages of multi-agency working shows that, a YOT consists of people from different occupational backgrounds; therefore, this may cause cultural differences especially in the process of decision making and may result to conflicts and misunderstandings between the staff. This will have a negative impact upon the service of the YOT and cause implications for effective practice. Each member of the Youth Offending Team is recognised as a team and not an individual therefore when problems do arise there will be a high risk on the group as a whole for example on effective communication amongst the individuals. Looking at recent statistics the â€Å"Let’s Talk about It† report states â€Å"for youth Offending Teams to work effectively, there needs to be effective joint working across specialities†, 15% of the YOTs consisted of problems due to joint working between the specialist health and substance misuse workers and case managers. The reason for these problems was due to â€Å"the lack of adequate procedures for the sharing of information that affected many Youth Offending Teams† (Healthcare Commission, 2006). The multi-agency members may be part of one team but may receive different conditions to their service. For instance the â€Å"operational managers might receive lower salaries than some of the practitioners under their supervision† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109), this shows that conflicts may arise between the staff regarding different rewards being attained. This is also explored by Sampson et al (1988) where it can be seen that the police are often more dominating which results to them ignoring the multi agency team which may cause conflicts among the members of the team and shows how tensions between partners with different priorities can arise. â€Å"The police are often enthusiastic proponents of the multi-agency approach but they tend to prefer to set the agendas and to dominate forum meetings and then to ignore the multi-agency framework when it suits their own needs† (Sampson et al, 1998). There has been a debate whether the team members in a Youth Offending Team should be generalist or specialists. Research carried out on behalf of the YJB found out that, in practice â€Å"many specialist health, education and substance misuse staff are under pressure to undertake generic youth justice duties†. This shows an ongoing â€Å"difficulty of obtaining specialist services from outside of the YOT and contributes to a dilution of specialist provision within it† (Pitcher et al, 2004). A Youth Offending Team consists of members from different occupations for example a â€Å"police officer† or an â€Å"education worker† (Burnett, 2005 pg 109), by working in a YOT the members may lose their real identity and profession and for this reason they may not be able to bring their â€Å"distinctive professional contribution† into the YOT. There is a problem about generic versus specialist work, this looks at whether members in the YOT do a bit of everything or do work relating to their specialism therefore causes identity confusion. The work of multi-agency partnerships sounds good but the main question is does it work once it’s put in practice? Data from the ‘Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report 2005/06’ (pg 21) shows five years on from the implementation of the Criminal Justice and Courts’ Services Act 2000 which established the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, also known as MAPPA. Within the five years (2001-2006) multi-agency partnerships have gained an achievement on employing a safer society for all however there is still a lot for them to do and to ensure that â€Å"arrangements are fit for their purpose and are applied across England and Wales†. The main aim of the MAPPA is to make the â€Å"communities safer and reducing re-offending† (National Offender Management Service, 2005/6 pg 21). Multi-agency is something which was created by the government in order for public services could work together to reduce costs, crime and create a more organised justice system. multi agency is the way forward according to the government who believe authorities such as police, social workers , welfare and Yots will work together this is to have a better understanding of the situation and there for make a more accurate decision. Punishment, prevention and rehabilitation issues would descused regarding the youth offender. It would depend on the crime, social wellbeing, education, poverty etc. Although research shows that multi agency partnership works but there are also many areas and cases created that should be looked into for improvement. This can be seen through the case of Victoria Climbie which took place in February, 2000. Victoria aged eight was living with her aunt Marie-Therese and her aunt’s boy friend Carl Manning in London. Victoria’s parents had sent her with her aunt due them believing she would gain a better future but instead she was suffering abuse by Carl Manning that led to her death. Inquiries after her death took place by Lord Laming which showed that multi-agency partnerships are partly responsible for the death due to the doctors, police and social workers being aware of the situation which could have been tackled and could have saved a life but instead there was a lack of communication amongst the multi-agency’s which caused them to be under the assumption that another agency had taken control of the case. For this reason Victoria was unable to gain the support and treatment that she required. This case allowed the work of multi-agency partnerships to be looked into to point out the areas of concern that had to be developed upon. One of the major concerns was the lack of staff. New approaches were introduced regarding children which is evident in the Green paper in 2003 where there government established ‘Every child matters’ that enabled children to retrieve a better and healthier life, it also addressed many changes to the work of multi-agency partnerships work such as data being accessed by all members in the agencies and recorded accurately, finance was also given ( £100,000) in order for them to develop upon sharing information between each profession. Children were also give more rights in which they were able to contact more than one service at anytime and there was also a need for assessments to be carried out which would require multi-agency teams to share data. These points will enable each member of the team to work more effectively alongside one another (www.community-care.co.uk). Another problem that has encountered can be seen through a recent report called â€Å"Let’s talk about it† by the Healthcare commission (2006) which shows that there is a problem with health and education not meeting standards. The report shows that â€Å"children and young people who offend have more health needs than the non-offending population of childrenThe provision of healthcare for them has improved, but it remains inadequate†. Therefore the healthcare organisations are required to contribute to youth justice in their area in order to reduce the factors that play a part in offending. The report portrays findings from 50 Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales carried out from September 2003 to April 2006. The findings illustrate that services should be made more accessible for children aged 16 and 17 as this is the age where individuals are likely to carry out serious crimes. Healthcare workers within the multi-agency partnerships provided services for the offender based on their â€Å"experience† and â€Å"specialities† rather than the needs of the individual which can have a positive and a negative response. Data shows that from â€Å"2004 onwards, CDRPs required to undertake an annual appraisal of their health. To be changed to 6 months following a review†, however out of the â€Å"20 projects studied over 18 months: 4 had completed, 6 still aiming to implement plans, 6 had abandoned some of their plans and 4 had made very little progress† (Hedderman e

African-American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968 Essay -- Black Civi

The series of African-American Civil Rights movements, which stretched from 1955 to 1968, aimed at restoring the rights of African-American people and liberating them from social and racial discrimination. This movement changed the social and political structure of the United States. The main catch was that the movement accomplished successful results following the ‘nonviolent resistance’, establishing the fact that the Christian religion believed in peace and equality. BIRTH OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS United States, since its foundation has endured racial inequality. The government and other major institutions were administrated by the ‘whites’ and the ‘black’ Americans lacked behind in every aspect of life. The reconstruction period, that started after the defeat of the Confederate States of America, lasted for twelve years starting from 1865 to 1877.The elections of 1876 brought an end to this era in which the whites of the Democratic party gained political control in the south while the Republican Party, which mainly constituted of the Blacks, lost terribly because blacks were not allowed to register their votes. By the early 20th centaury, majority of the elected officials in the south were Democrats, the white domination caused increase in the violence on African Americans and they were detained from their rights of education, employment and religion. The consequence was the emergence of the ‘Jim Crow’ system which suppressed and violated the racial and social rights of the African Americans. The conditions in the North and West were comparatively better so most of the African people seek refuge in migration. Previously, the Civil rights movement of 1955 – 1968, with the help of organizations like NAACP (National... ... which was responsible was the division of equal power, took no practical measures in that regard. All in all, this movement was very successful in the general populous and managed to give them a sensation of separate and distinct identity but didnot achieve any remarkable results in the political domain. Conclusion To conclude, Civil Rights Movement of 1955 – 1968 has been the turning point not only in the history of African – American but has also been a source of inspiration and motivation for the further Civil Rights movements, that strived for the equality of gays, women and other minority nations. The key points of the movement were derived from the teachings of Jesus and Mohandas Gandhi and perhaps it was the result of such remarkable teachings that the movement managed to attain triumphant results and turned around the life of the people of America.

Pragmatism and the Environment Essay

The environment is at stake. The world we live in is a state of slow death—that the world is dying everyday just as the human body loses body cells every minute. Every natural resource of the world is continually abused without thought of the consequences. In a way, human beings are that of a virus, a systemic biological specie that consumes an abundant and relatively beneficial part, destroys it, moves on to another area, and leaves the consumed, worthless, and decimated. However, human experience teaches us that we cannot always deny the natural law because as intelligible beings capable of understanding, we have the natural ability to adapt to any environment given and finding ways and means to survive. As such, the development of the human race is not possible if not for our natural inclination of adaptability, protection of species, and survival. In the essay Pragmatism and Environmental Thought by Kelly Parker (1996), she mentions â€Å"what we must not try to do is not to master the natural world, but to cultivate meaningful lives within various environments. † This coincides with the natural law of adaptability, in which human beings need not defy standards as defined by nature but to harness it and provide necessary means of survival. Pragmatic Knowledge and Environmental Issues Pragmatism heavily relies on factual understanding rather than the complete belief in the innate ideas of the human mind. William James, John Dewey, Charles Pierce, among other founders of American pragmatism during the start of the century, argued that there are no innate beliefs in which knowledge is based. This means that knowledge is not innately transposed upon the human mind. Rather, experience confirms this â€Å"baseless† knowledge through factual and concrete understanding—that an ideology is only accepted as true if it is to be found practical in application. Human experience is then the basis of such practicality and its truthfulness is defined through practical solutions. The environment is not detached from the pragmatist or any other being. The environment is part of the experience, that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two biological systems as well as other life systems. Parker (1996) emphasized this point in her essay: â€Å"environment, in the most basic sense, is the field where experience occurs, where my life and the lives of others arise and take place† (p. 29). Every circle must have definite bounds in which it interacts and from that interaction is where experience revolves. Through these experiences, there have been developments in the field concerning the environment, especially on ethics. The development of environmental ethics is based on the pragmatic movement. More specifically, the interaction between the two different world views of nature leads to the eventual development of these ethics. These ethics later become moral standards for people until they become a â€Å"norm† of living for most. Based from these practical experiences, these social norms transform into methods of newer forms of social responsibility and enhance environmental awareness such as new laws and legislations concerning the environment, grassroots activism, among others. The Ethical/Global Problem As inferred by the pragmatic view, pragmatism’s role with the environment is more on application rather than theorization. In a more general perspective, human beings have the natural tendency to abuse their surrounding and not to take into account their own actions against different ecological systems around them. This coincides with the debate on moral pluralism and anthropocentrism. Moral pluralism specifies â€Å"no single moral principle or over-arching theory of what is right can be appropriately applied in all ethically problematic solutions† (Parker, 1996, p. 31). There is no ultimate and essential set of moral laws governing every scenario of moral problems. Because of the subjectivity of experience, it cannot be applied to any moral problem because of the lack of objectivity. In relation to environmental cases, there are different moral standards (i. e. , culture, geographical location) that must be taken into account in order for a set of moral/environmental laws to be applied. These different subjective inquiries on what should be protected, allowed, or banned come into a moral dilemma—whether it would be practical or not. Moral pluralism is also related to the problem of anthropocentrism—the prioritization of values for human beings. Human life is placed on greater importance rather than other outside factors. In her article, Parker (1996) further explains this line of reasoning: Again, this is not to say that human whim is the measure of all things, only that humans are in fact the measurers. This must be a factor in all our deliberation in all environmental issues. We can and should speak on other’s behalf when appropriate, but we cannot speak from their experience (p. 2). The essay proposes that we create standards and laws by speaking for ourselves and for the things that we want to protect based on our own experiences and judgment. For instance, the advocates of endangered species or an ecological subsystem represent their â€Å"party† to other human being. It is through the advocates that these creatures are represented in the debate over human need. The Global Challenge With the looming threat of global warming, greenhouse gas, and other ecological concerns, what we should do is concentrate more on proper action and proper representation of all the numerous aspects of the environment. We have already identified several problems that cause environmental distress recently and from these problems, there should be a formulation of steps to quickly counteract these issues. If left ignored or continually debated upon without any concrete formulas of implementation, these problems will continue to grow until they become uncontrollable. The proper need of identifying these problems will help in creating different strategies as well as formulating legal actions that will help protect and preserve environmental issues. The factual and general perspective is the world is dying and it continues to deteriorate as the number of human population increases. The matter of proper action comes into play through the environmental advocacies all around the world that supports of revitalizing planet earth. However, there remains the fact that human beings generally view the environment as something that can be planted, created, destroyed, and recreated again. This cycle implies that even with human intervention, the natural law of nature will still take its place. Society, especially today, should learn to adapt and live harmoniously with the environment in order to create a symbiotic relationship between the two. We also have to address the apathy of humans towards its environment. We should remove from the human mindset that the ecological system that we live in is not infinite and it will soon vanish if we are to let our actions not reflected upon. By examining our actions, we may come to a realization that everything that we do may affect the environment in ways that we might not even know. Removing this unconscious reinforcement may well be one of the keys in solving our environmental problem. The depletion of our natural resources, the unnatural effects of greenhouses gases and the growing number of human population are just a few of many environmental issues that should be given importance. Although these problems are already experiencing drastic developments for the last six years, we already have the initiative and the technology to somehow lessen its steady increase and may eventually, although not essentially eradicate, balance the gap between human state of living and the environment. Living with an ecological system, we must learn how to balance our actions and lifestyles in order to build a beneficial relationship. In this way, everybody wins. Reference Parker, K. (1996) Pragmatism and Environmental Thought. In A. Light & E. Katz (Eds. ) Environmental Pragmatism. London and New York: Routledge (21-37).

Irish Immigration

When the Irish immigrated to the United States in 1850 after the great potatoes famine in Ireland, the Irish natives were poor and without money, although prejudice did not seem to affect the Irish they were subjected to prejudice and segregation. Because the Irish fit in with the white race upon entry to the United States they were not discriminated against like the African Americans and Asian immigrants who were often denied entry into the United States because of their color and ethnic characteristics.However the Irish were poor and forced to live in the filthiest neighborhoods and alleys most lived in basement or apartments that were not properly ventilated and damaged by sewage. The social status of the Irish forced them to take job that were often dangerous like building railroad, these people were forced to take these jobs because no employer would give an Irish man or women a decent job. At this time in history cites needed hard manual laborers because the Irish were unskille d and poor they worked for the lower wages other ethnic groups would not.People were threatened by the Irish because of their hard working ethnics and because of their catholic religion signs for employment would often say â€Å"Irish need not apply. † (Hy Kinsella, 1996-2010. para3. ) Catholic Churches were often burnt down and riots occurred protesting Irish Immigrants, America in the 1850’s recognized the Irish as poor, filthy criminal who would work for pennies, many feared their upward movement in society, but eventually the Irish overcame the new world that showed then so much prejudice and discrimination.After entering the county the Irish were not only affected by poverty and prejudice other events also plagued the Irish but some things moved the Irish up in society. The dual labor market affect the Irish, because employers were not willing to give uneducated and unskilled people†¦ During the 1800’s the Irish began arriving in the United States. In the 1820s there were 5 million Irish immigrants living in the United States. By the 1840s, almost half of all immigrants residing in the United States were Irish and only one-third by the 1850s (Kenny, 2008).The reception of the Irish from the native-born Americans was not one of warmth and acceptance. Fleeing Ireland was a matter of life and death for some. The quest for a better life was hindered by the â€Å"unwelcome† mat placed before them when they arrived (The History Place). During 1845 – 1849 was a period known as â€Å"The Great Famine† or â€Å"Great Hunger† in Ireland (University College Cork, Ireland). The potato, a main staple on which more than one-third of the Irish population relied upon to survive, was overcome by a fungus known today as â€Å"potato blight. Between 1846 and 1851 over 1 million Irish died of starvation and various hunger-related infectious diseases. Many of those deaths were of the poor. It was believed that the Ireland ’s Government had abandoned the people by not helping the hungry, yet continuing the exportation of food (University College Cork, Ireland). The Irish entered the United States through various routes. Some took the expensive US ships to Boston and some gained access by walking over the border into New York from Canada (University College Cork, Ireland).It was mostly poor refugees who were fleeing their famine stricken homeland and their slums of Ireland to come to America, only to face prejudice, discrimination, and hostile American nativists. (The History Place). Forced to live in basements, cellars, or one-room apartments, the Irish lived in their own section of each town, often referred to as Irish slums (The History Place). Landlords victimized the Irish settlers by charging $1. 50 a week for a small room. Single family homes were sub-divided into nine-by-eleven foot rooms with no water,†¦ Remember, remember always, that all of us†¦ are descended from immigrants and revolutionists. Franklin D. Roosevelt] Other factors that increased and reinforced this inflow were the decline in the birthrate as well as an increase in industry and urbanization in the United States. The United States, in the 19th Century, remained a strong magnet to immigrants, with offers of jobs and land for farms. Earlier immigrants considered that in America, the streets were, â€Å"paved with gold,† and at the same time as well as offerings of religious and political freedom. A German immigrant to Missouri wrote home about: â€Å"[The] abundance of overbearing soldiers, haughty clergymen, and inquisitive tax collectors†¦ During the years 1890-1924 the reasons for the immigration had a change from the past trends. The kinds of immigrants also changed. Jews came for religious freedom, Italians and Asians came for work and Russians came to escape persecution from the powers in their home country. The reason that America had jobs was still prevalent in this pe riod. America had religious freedom for the many people around those who were facing tyrannical situations from their respective countries. All these reasons were the cornerstone of the fact that America was called the â€Å"Land of Opportunities†. The Immigrants to the U. S. uring 1870 – 1920s There were mainly the Irish and British who immigrated to America during this time period. The circumstances in which the Irish immigrated to America were quite different from those of the British and they also differed in their impact on the U. S. One of the reason why the Irish immigrated to U. S was the potato famine that killed over a million. Apart from the famine conditions, the Irish were tired of the British rule in their country. The ordinary Irishman was under the tyrannical control of the British landlords. Ireland was a country of prolonged depression and social hardship during this period.Ireland was so ravaged by economic collapse that in rural areas, the average a ge of death was 19. Miller, Mulholland & Patricia show through intimate letters, journals, and diaries of actual immigrants, in the Journey of Hope how the Irish in America and their triumphant rise from adversity and prejudice to prosperity and prominence. The social class of majority of the Irish immigrants was tenant farmers. They did not have any expertise for farm work and were quite poor to but any land for themselves in America. They aged from teenager to young adult mainly from the Roman Catholic.The second largest inflow into America was from the British. The British immigrated to America for various reasons. Mostly professionals, independent farmers, and skilled workers, the British came to simply look for better opportunities of work. Most immigrants from Britain were fairly young and Protestant. Cinel has noticed that return migration to Italy from the United States from 1870 to 1929 took place. A large number of Italians did not intend to settle permanently in the Unite d States. Rather, they immigrated temporarily to the United States to make money in order to buy land in Italy.Order Your Custom Term Papers, College Essays and Research Papers After the Civil War of 1861, the immigration agents went to Europe to enlist recruits for the American Industrial army. In 1864 they legalized contracts by which immigrants pledged the wages of their labor for a term not to exceed twelve months to repay expenses of their journey to the U. S. This and other such moves were made to encourage the immigrants. But the year 1868 saw a repeal of the law. Even under the repeal of the law, the American Emigrant Company still imported laborers until 1865 when Congress made it unlawful.The immigrants who expected great work opportunities on American soil were also looked upon by the politicians as potential voters. There were classes of immigrants who were considered â€Å"voting cattle†. These cattle were used by their bosses to milk the plant of politics. Altho ugh the immigrant vote did not seriously affect the outcome of elections but it gave rise to a serious debate over the rights and interests of the immigrants. Telushkin states that the Jews first arrived to New Amsterdam in 1654 and then to the Lower East Side in the early 20th century. It was the diversity of the immigrants that J.Hector St. Josh de Crevecouer said, â€Å"What, then, is this new man, the American? They are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race, now called Americans, have arisen. † Unique Characteristics of America for the immigrants The main reason why most of the immigrants migrated was the tyrannical situations in their homelands. America was attractive because of the fact that young men were not forced to serve long years in the army. The immigrants had a genuine likeness for the land of opportunities, the U.S, since they could achieve what their parents could not. They also found i n America, a place where they could do whatever they wanted in the ideas of religion and politics. Laws Restricting Immigration There was a propaganda spread in the favor of laws restricting immigration as a means of protecting the American wage earned. The restrictions on the immigration started coming in from 1875. The first restriction of immigration was that of prostitutes and felons. In 1882 the government reacted to the anti-immigrant feelings and made more restrictions barring the insane, the retarded, and people likely to need public care.In 1892 the U. S further restricted the immigration of convicts, polygamists, prostitutes, people suffering from diseases, and people liable to public charges. Another reason that the leaders might have judged in those olden times is pointed out by Patrick J. Buchanan in his work. According to the author in The Death of the West is that the United States is no longer a healthy melting pot, but instead a confused, tottering â€Å"conglomera tion of peoples with almost nothing in common. † BIBLIOGRAPHY â€Å"America must be kept American† Quoted. President Coolidge signing Immigration Quota Law in 1924Quote on immigrant’s importance by Franklin D. Roosevelt The National Integration of Italian Return Migration, 1870-1929 by Dino Cinel The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization by Patrick J. Buchanan The Golden Land: The Story of Jewish Immigration to America: An Interactive History With Removable Documents and Artifacts by Joseph Telushkin Journey of Hope: The Story of Irish Immigration to America by Kerby Miller, Patricia Mulholland Miller, Patricia Muholland Miller Quote by J. Hector St. Josh de CrevecouerI chose the Italin ethnicity as the ethnic group that I feel like I am most related to. I researched determined that the itialins immigrated to the United States. I would her my great aunts and uncles talking about our family â€Å"com ing over on the boat† and I was so young I never really understood that saying until I was in school and learned about those type things. The Irish immigrated to the United States of America with promises of a better life. That was not the case upon arrival for the Irish settlers. They faced prejudice, segregation, and many other forms of discrimination.Their treatment was very poor and unwelcoming to say the least. The moment they stepped off the ships from Ireland, they were segregated into the most impoverished areas to seek shelter in slums and attempted to fit their entire families into rooms no bigger than today's average bedroom. As a group, the Irish were shunned and turned away from many job opportunities being confronted by signs which stated â€Å"Irish need not apply†. Being that the British still dominated the â€Å"New World†, the Irish was also prosecuted because of their Catholic religion.The Irish Americans were subjected to a dual labor market. During the late 1800's, after the first large Irish immigration into America, Irish immigrants were considered to be the poorest of all the immigrants coming into the United States. Because of the constant prejudice against Irish, they were kept at this poor standing by only being offered the lowest paying, and the most backbreaking jobs available, leaving the higher paying jobs for natural American citizens. â€Å"During the 1850's there was no group who seemed lower than the Irish.Some of this was due to poverty but the Irish were also considered bad for the neighborhood. The term Redlining did not come into use until after the Fair Housing Act of 1934. During the 1800's you could easily say the Irish were redlined. During the mid-1850's there was the Know Nothing movement. This movement was designed to keep Irish Catholics from holding public office; the opposition was by Irish Protestants. † (Kinsella, 1996) http://www. squidoo. com/irish-history-and-immigration-to-the-un ited-states Home  » Culture ; Society  » History Irish History and Immigration to the United StatesRanked #3,915 in Culture ; Society, #82,887 overall Through Their Eyes Shared, first-hand liver cancer  survivor stories through their eyes CancerCenter. com/CareThatNeverQuits Grants for Women You May Qualify for Grants to Earn  a Degree Online. Search Schools. EducationConnection. com/GrantsInfo UNICEF USA Monthly Giving Pledge Your Monthly Support and  Help UNICEF Save Children's Lives! www. unicefusa. org Explore Irish History and Cultural Values This page is an exploration of Irish culture and history, particularly in relation to the immigration to the United states.It includes documentaries about the motivating factors behind many Irish people immigrating to America during a relatively short period of time. This page focuses on some of the struggles that faced many immigrants, and how that has become a part of the American melting pot of cultures. The Irish people faced extreme difficulties moving across the ocean and setting up new lives in a new land. Despite many challenges, immigrants to the United States from Ireland and their descendants have made a rich and positive impact on US culture at large.Using both academic resources in cultural anthropology as well as entertaining and informative documentaries and music videos, you will find this lens interesting if you are doing research about Irish history. This lens contains many links and resources of interest to anyone doing genealogy research about Irish Americans. It's for Irish Folks, College and High School students writing papers, and anyone else interested. If you have related information or links you would like me to consider adding, feel free to comment or send me a message! 🙂 The image of the crowned harp is an Irish symbol I found on Wikimedia commons, attributed to Thomas Gun. Important! Economic and religious factors were the primary reasons for mass immigration from Irela nd to the united states, and the potato famine was an additional significant factor that helped trigger the sense of urgency to make the journey to America. Videos About Immigration to the United States from Ireland Over only a decade which followed the famine in the mid 1800s, more than a quarter of the Irish population left their homelands and relocated to the US, and many more followed.Despite hardships they made many great contributions to society in the U. S. . Irish Immigration by dudeguy006 | video info 65 ratings | 26,284 views A brief documentary on Irish Immigration to America, Reasons for leaving, life upon arrival, cultural contributions, and current immigration. curated content from YouTube The Primary Factors the Motivated Irish Immigration to the United States Desperate economic factors in Ireland made employment opportunities in a new land look golden. Religious persecution towards the Roman Catholic majority of Irish citizens inspired a desire for religious freedom and acceptance.Political unrest in Ireland made American democracy look attractive to Irish immigrants who hoped for a more fair political system in the US. The possibilities for the common man to become a land owner seemed more promising in the US to Irish immigrants. The Impact of The Potato Famine This single event triggered a mass imigration from Ireland to the United States. Poverty to a level of desperation and starvation became worse and worse during the 19th century in Ireland, which began to motivate large waves of immigration from Ireland to the united states in the mid 1800s.These economic conditions in Ireland were the result of a variety of factors, most importantly political domination by Britain and a dependency on one significant crop, the production of potatoes. The potato had become increasingly popular and created some significant population growth dispute political unrest and religious persecution. Potatoes became the center of Irish agriculture, because it was d iscovered that about twice as many potatoes could be grown in the same sized area as other crops might have been planted in.This allowed for the production of a healthy amount of food for the farmers, and a surplus that could be used as an economic asset. By 1830 35% of the irish population depended on the potato harvest, both as their primary food source and their source of work. This economic dependence on a particular crop led to a collapse in the economy of Ireland during the Potato Famine. This blight on the Irish potato crops was caused by an airborne fungus which caused the potatoes to become diseased. In September 1844 the potato crops were first discovered to be infected. By 1854 ? of Irish population had immigrated to the United States.This wave of mass immigration was given its sense of urgency by the potato famine; with underlying factors of poverty, religious persecution and political unrest. America must have seemed to faraway immigrants leaving from Ireland as a true chance at a decent life. It was believed that they could find good work in the United States, although arriving immigrants found it difficult to gain employment in many fields due to cultural prejudices. Still, in a land with no jobs and no food, the possibility of any hope in a new land seemed to many better than suffering the circumstances of life in Ireland at the time.It was believed that the common man had better possibilities not only in terms of gainful employment, but as future land owners. The United states was also seen as a place of religious freedom, and many immigrants left hoping to create a better life for themselves by escaping religious intolerance and persecution. Democracy, freedom of speech, and religious tolerance were factors that went beyond the purely economic I motivating the search for a new home in a new land. . Scholarly articles and Research about Irish Immigration The American WakeImmigrants leaving Ireland for the United states knew that they would pro bably never see their families or homeland again. The Irish Potato Famine One of the most signifigant social conditions in Ireland which increased the need for Irish citizens to seek a better future in another land. An Artice on Irish Imigration to the US on associated content Irish Famine A LOT of information The Journey to America A sholarly discussion on Irish Immigration. The Severity of the Famine was Devistating, and Could Have been Entirely Avoided The devastation of the potato famine is almost indescribable.There had been eight million people in Ireland at the time farmers began to discover that all but ten percent of their food crops had been infected. Most of their primary food source was simply gone, and by 1847 more than half of the population was entirely reliant on this crop. Soon, about three million people became dependent on government run soup kitchens for food. people began to starve to death. Because poverty was so severe, many of the families of the deceased cou ld not afford to bury their loved ones in coffins, and so they were laid to rest in shallow graves.The situation was so severe that countries all around the world heard of the plight of the Irish, and began to send aid. In a day and age without the means to communicate quickly over great distances, far away places like Barbados, Jamaica, Italy, and France began to get word, and tried to help the starving people. The gifts were many and generous, including over 200,000 pounds from the Quakers alone. With so much of the population affected by the potato famine, the donations were only able to go so far. People ate stale bread, and a little soup, if anything.An eighth of the population actually slowly starved to death, and not all nations were as kind and generous. Britain had political domination over Ireland. Absentee landlords from England owned much of the land that the Irish people lived and worked on. Rents were high, wages were low, and a significant portion of the crops were â €˜money crops' and belonged to the absent landlords. The most terrible and ironic fact about the potato famine is that during the blight Ireland still grew and was compelled to ship out enough food that the food needs of the whole country could have been covered by it.While the country was so desperately poor and without food, some ships cam filled with supply, but even more left with the meager good portions of the crops. This is one of the major factors in the animosity between the Irish and the English. Religious persecution had been a significant factor in the poverty and living conditions of the Irish, and was used as a form of political domination. Roman Catholics were forbidden by English law to do many things that might make them more able to become self-sufficient and rise up against the protestants who had allied themselves with the British.To retain economic control, the British contrived laws meant to keep the majority of the Irish people who were Roman Catholic from improving their lot. Roman Catholics were forbidden to read and write, or educate their children with any more skills than necessary to perform the laborious jobs the dominating overloads expected. Many of them chose to educate themselves in secret, at great risk. There are some letters from that time which survive, and those that took the risk to attempt to write and send them have created some surviving historical documentation the presents a bleak picture.The people were impoverished to begin with, and so the effects of the famine were disastrous. Many families had been struggling to pay their high rents to begin with, and had to go without many things to continue to have shelter. They had to kill what livestock they had for food, or sell it to come up with money for rent. There clothing was tattered, and poor protection during the colder months. When their crops failed, they often looked for more laborious jobs in work houses and on larger farms. In a weakened physical condition from lack of food, many became sick and unable to perform heavy labor.This led many of the people to become homeless. They were often evicted when they became unable to pay their rent, and often under dramatic circumstances. Sometimes the landlord would pull them out of their homes and destroy the house in front of them. These things happened even at the height of the potato famine, when many of the people forcefully thrown out of their homes were already starving and sick. Not only did the majority of the Irish suffer starvation and sickness, but in desperation many were convicted of small crimes such as poaching or stealing food from storehouses.This was treated as a very serious offense, without much leniency or understanding for the starving people who were being denied basic human rights. As a result, many of those convicted of these â€Å"crimes† were convicted and sent forcefully to Australia to do hard labor in prison camps. Most of those who were separated and sent away on Australian bound convict ships never saw Ireland or their families again. The English might have moved to aid faster as other countries did, but were reluctant. Not only were they importing food from a starving country, they declined to give much assistance for the people growing the food.It was believed that if they gave the Irish money, they would use it to buy weapons and revolt. The idea of providing them free food out of soup kitchens was also not popular with the English, who were concerned that they would become accustomed to the free food and become lazy and overly dependent. All the while, the Irish peasant farmers carried carts full of potatoes to be collected for the British, pulling them by hand without the aid of livestock. They suffered hard labor with little or nothing to eat, and had to deliver food to others while watching their families and their animals slowly starve to death.It was in this atmosphere that many chose to leave for other countries, knowing t hey would probably never see their families or their homeland again. . Videos About the Potato Famine in Ireland Warning, this stuff may make you weep, particularly the third video with the letters from the young Irish girl about the famine. Irish Famine film by worcesterjonny | video info 123 ratings | 69,939 views A short film produced by Pathe News around 1905 that brought attention to famine in Ireland in that year.The film has been altered and is used to draw similarities to the early famine of 1846-50. curated content from YouTube The American Wake An unusual tradition known as â€Å"the American Wake† happened daily across Ireland and continued for about 75 years. It was a somber fair well, among friends and loved ones before embarking on the journey of immigration across the ocean. Often more of a funeral than a celebration, the wake was held in order for adult children who were leaving to be able to mourn their parents funerals while they were still living.The emigra nt who was leaving would have visited friends and relatives prior to the wake, to tell the news of their plan for departure. All who were close would come the night before the immigrants departure, to say final goodbyes knowing that they would probably never see each other again. On the night of the wake, relatives and friends would spend time trying to impart their wisdom to the immigrant. They hoped life in the new land would be better for the person who was departing, but knew that the journey was risky and becoming established with little resources would be hard.Elder relatives took this moment to advise the emigrant, many of who were fairly young, on how to survive and make a life for themselves. In the most impoverished areas food sharing and refreshments were not offered, but a small amount of poteen might be brought and shared on rare occasions. In those areas worst effected their was generally no singing and dancing, and these gatherings were often filled with the wailing a nd lamenting of the women. Women were called upon to say a lament for the departing person and their families, much like one might speak of the departed in a modern funeral.In a wailing kind of speech, a woman would aquatint the listener with the personal story of the virtues of the departing person, how sadly their skills and virtues will be missed, and how terrible the grief and suffering of the parents and relatives is because of this need to say goodbye. In areas that were less poverty stricken, the American Wake included all of those elements, but was also a more festive occasion. There might be baking, cleaning, and preparation beforehand for a nice gathering. Visiting neighbors might also bring food, tea, stout, and other libations to share.The lamentations continued, but were also sometimes mingled with dancing and singing to celebrate the life of a loved one and hope for the future. These festivities would continue late into the night, when older people would sit near the h earth and tell stories to the young seated on the floor around them. The next morning they would accompany the young emigrant to the docks for their departure. Travel by sea was risky, and known to be frought with the potentials of sickness or shipwreck. Traditionally, relatives left behind promosed to pray for their safe passage and opportunities in America.Those departing promised to pray for a good harvest, for restoration of health and better times to their families and loved ones, and that they would keep Ireland forever in their hearts. Some found ways to communicate via letter across the expansive ocean, but with a high rate of illiteracy and the distance involved that only happened in the rarest and luckiest of cases. After a long trip by sea, the Irish found life in a new land to be difficult. Life in a new land was not easy for the Irish immigrants that made it across the ocean. Many of them, sadly, did not make it.Already in poor health and with little money, the conditio ns of travel were bad. The ships were overcrowded, didn't have enough supplys, and sickness took many of the passengers durring their three month journey. Many of the people who left Ireland never made it to the United States, in such grat numbers that the vessels carrying the immigrants became known as coffin ships. During the years of the famine boats constantly brought more refugees seeking a new home, the numbers totalling around a million within a decade. During the same period, around a million and a half died from starvation in Ireland.Upon arrival, the new immigrants had to find places to live and work. This was challenging, because the American people were overwhelmed with the volume of very poor newcomers. The Irish imigrants were primarily farm workers who were not accustomed to or prepared for the industrialized cities they came to settle in. Many potential employers hung signs that said things like â€Å"No Irish Need Apply†, because of prejudices against the Iri sh people who they believed to be lazy and unskilled. The work these immigrants had in Ireland had been primarily agricultural, while the American culture was focused on industrialized production of goods.The Irish were forced to take jobs that involved hard labor for low wages, usually in industries that were dangerous. After immigrating and setting up a meager home, many of the new immigrants died in jub related accidents while working in industries such as railroad building. This is a Verry Beautiful and Deeply Inspiring Book Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by: John O'Donohue Amazon Price: $8. 51 (as of 01/15/2012) The Irish People Have Made Many Great Contributions to American Society Music is one of the first things that may come to mind when you think of the impact of Irish Culture in America.There are many beautiful Irish songs, and the Irish people culturally are known to have produced many talented musicians and songwriters. One thing the Irish seem to value culturally m ore than some other peoples is music, and it's ability to carry a story in a memorable and beautiful way. For Irish immigrants, preserving and performing music from their country of origin was both a way to feel at home and to share a sense of that with others. This tendency to appreciate and cultivate musical and artistic talents also helped to pass down historical lessons and cultural perspectives from one generation to the next.Irish music is known for rich artistic imagery, and storytelling in both serious and comic ways. This first video of ‘Oh Danny Boy' shows some very beautiful photography of the Irish countryside. Can you imagine the newly immigrated people, remembering these places and knowing they would probably never see them again? Wanting to share these memories with their children in a new country was part of what motivated this sharing of oral history in song. The second version, chillingly beautiful and different, features Johnny Cash. . Danny Boy Ireland by t ubelookjohn | video info ,010 ratings | 5,170,337 views http://www. lookaroundireland. com see the beautiful scenery of Ireland while listening to the tenor voice of Michael Londra http://www. michaellondra. com curated content from YouTube Johnny Cash and Jimmie Rodgers : Danny Boy Johnny Cash & Jimmie Rodgers – Danny Boy by Carters01 | video info 470 ratings | 564,898 views Johnny Cash & Jimmie Rodgers – Danny Boy curated content from YouTube Books About Irish History Top of Form Search Amazon. com Bottom of Form Showing 1 – 6 of 50 results A Reading Book in Irish History P. W.Joyce (Paperback – Sep 19, 2010) $18. 88 A Reading Book in Irish History Irish history and the Irish question Goldwin Smith, Hugh J McCann (Paperback – †¦ $21. 85 In Search of Ireland's Heroes: The Stor†¦ Carmel McCaffrey (Paperback – Oct 26, 200†¦ $14. 68 Irish History and the Irish Question The History of the Great Irish Famine of†¦ John O'rourk e (Paperback – Sep 5, 2010) $39. 35 12345> Privacy Like Music, Dance is an Art form that can Share a Story with Feeling The Irish have made significant contributions to the arts not only in music, but in writing, theater, and dance.As another art form, dance can be unique and expressive, and may tell a story and share feeling and ideas. Even now, the Irish influence on dance and storytelling can be strongly felt in America. The popularity of dance troupes that do Irish style dancing has only increased over time. Modern groups like River Dance sometimes retell moment in Irish history, such as in this clip, which shows a dance about the â€Å"American Wake† and immigration to the Americas as the potato famine effected Ireland. Riverdance American Wake by thunderceltic | video info 418 ratings | 182,462 views riverdance live from geneva urated content from YouTube Other Great Lenses about Irish History and Immigration to the U. S. The Great Irish Famine A Monument to the Great Famine IN THE shadow of Ireland's â€Å"holy† mountain, Croagh Patrick, stands a most unusual ship. It looks like a small 19th-century sailing†¦ Guestbook submit Reply JoshK47 Oct 17, 2011 @ 11:32 pm | delete Great work on this lens! Very good information! Reply kimmanleyort Aug 20, 2011 @ 7:54 am | delete Very thorough lens on Irish immigration and the potato famine. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as my ancestors came from Ireland to Quebec in the mid-1800's.Have you read the historical novel, Galway Bay? It gives a look at one family's experience and is riveting. I even did a lens on it. Well done and blessed! Reply GetSillyProductions Apr 18, 2011 @ 1:40 pm | delete accurate history and great video of Johnny Cash. two thumbs up Reply jackiebolen Mar 21, 2011 @ 9:26 pm | delete Very informative! Well done 🙂 Reply KEELACOM Mar 20, 2011 @ 9:43 am | delete That was one of the most informative pieces I have come across on Irish Immigration to th e US. I have you as a link on my lens (http://www. squidoo. com/videos_of_Ireland) in the hope others will read it.As an Irishman living in Co Clare where the famine did untold damage, I just want to say keep up the great work. Reply LadyJasmine Mar 20, 2011 @ 2:12 pm | delete Thanks very much, I appreciate it. 🙂 Reply SquidooKimberly Mar 17, 2011 @ 11:38 pm | delete I never understood the facts but the movies always made it seem like Irish immigrants had it rougher than other cultures. Thanks for all the great history! Congrats on being on the Best of St. Patrick's Day lenses 2011! http://www. squidoo. com/monsterboards/best_st_patricks_day_2011 Reply LadyJasmine Mar 20, 2011 @ 1:55 pm | delete Oh, wow, cool! :- Thanks Kimberly!Reply KimGiancaterino Mar 17, 2011 @ 11:19 pm | delete My great-great grandparents were Irish immigrants and times were very tough for them. It's hard to even read about what those people endured. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Reply d-artist Mar 11, 2011 @ 3:30 pm | delete Very interesting lens, being an immigrant myself I understand struggles, but this is heart wrenching†¦ I just recently saw on TV a documentary about this very subject Load More Show All Share this Guestbook Stumbleupon Facebook MySpace Twitter Digg Delicious RSS Email Donations WiserEarth is the online social forum and directory for  sustainability.We help the global movement working toward social  justice and environmental stewardship collaborate, share knowledge,  and build alliances. Our tools and resources are all free to u We at Squidoo passionately believe in creating new ways to support good causes online. By making a donation to Wiser Earth from this page, you are sending money directly to that organization, in whatever amount you want. We don't touch it. We don't even see it. The author of this page doesn't either. And if you made it this far, thanks for caring. Top of Form Choose an amount: Donate Cancel Bottom of FormSpecial Thanks to my roo m mate Jean Marie Carrier for co-authoring this page, and allowing me to include excerpts from a college research paper she did this semester for a history class. Ads by Google NC Immigration Lawyer Contact An Experienced Lawyer for  Business, Family ; Individual Visas www. edgertonimmigration. com K-12 Homework Help Tutors ; Learning Centers Near You. Contact K-12 Homework Help Programs Tutor. Schools. com Like 39 RSS by LadyJasmine LadyJasmine I play piano,guitar, write music and sing. I am also a Wiccan, a tarot reader, a freelance writer, a student, a teacher, a traveler, and a wandering s†¦ ore  Ã‚ » 65 featured lenses Winner of 23 trophies! Top lens  » The Best and Most Beautiful Tarot Decks Feeling creative? Create a Lens! Explore related pages The Importance of Integrity The Importance of Integrity Top Research Paper Websites for Kids Top Research Paper Websites for Kids The Great Irish Famine The Great Irish Famine Irish Slaves in the Caribbean Irish Slaves in th e Caribbean Unique Gift Ideas for Teachers 2012 Unique Gift Ideas for Teachers 2012 Irish Fiddle: Traditional Irish Instrumental Music Irish Fiddle: Traditional Irish Instrumental Music Beautiful Claddagh RingLWRS043-7 Nickel Free Sterling Silver Irish Claddagh Friendship and Love Band Polished Finished Ring Size 7 Amazon Price: $16. 99 (as of 01/15/2012) Saphire Claddagh Ring Sterling Silver Blue Sapphire Heart CZ Claddagh Ring Sizes 4 to 9, 7 Amazon Price: $34. 99 (as of 01/15/2012) Anam Cara by John O'Donohue Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by: John O'Donohue Amazon Price: $8. 51 (as of 01/15/2012) Related Tags Irish History history college college writing cultural anthropology emmigration history immigration immigration history rish irish dancing irish immigrants irish immigration to the united states irish music irish people melting pot potato famine reaserch writing research paper scholarly research LadyJasmine more†¦ TOS Originality Pact About Us SquidooHQ Charity Rep ort Abuse Feedback ; Bugs Copyright  © 2012, Squidoo, LLC and respective copyright owners This page and all the pages on Squidoo generate income for lensmasters and charities based on affiliate relationships with our partners, including Amazon, Google, eBay and others.Have fun. Want our Newsletter? Top of Form Sign up! Bottom of Form Sorry, lens owners cannot vote for their own lenses. close Top of Form Visitor Squidoo Twitter Name: Login (email address): Password: Posting comment as Twitter user Tweet this comment! Posting comment as Facebook user (disconnect) Post this comment to Facebook! Notify me by email when new comments are added. Email: CancelSubmit Bottom of Form John O'rourke (Paperback – Sep 5, 2010) John O'rourke (Paperback – Sep 5, 2010) back – Sep 5, 2010)