Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 58

Discussion - Assignment Example The drum-kit is focused lightly, and the choruses added in the song bring tune and music. As far as the folk version of the song is concerned, the lyrics are more appreciable, and the background music provides an ominous melody as it is a song in a low moan. Examining the history of the song, it is seen that the version shows more sentimental side of music, which was present in Anglo and African American roots showing broken, hearted country ballad. The Leadbelly’s version makes the music cover horrific conjecture of the time of the music at the time of wake of Southern racism in America (Garofalo and Waksman). Hence, the songs follow the tastes of consumers at the time of their emergence. The Leadbelly’s versions take you at the time of Depression and unplugged version follows the tastes of current consumers. The emergence of different versions has made the music business enjoyable as people relate the music to their lives and their time (Garofalo and

Buseness plan( Gym with nursery ) in Saudi Arabia to met mother needs Essay

Buseness plan( Gym with nursery ) in Saudi Arabia to met mother needs - Essay Example With nothing to do, most of them are encouraged to live sedentary lives. Most women have weight issues after they have a baby. For Saudi women losing weight has been a problem because there are not many designated gyms for women. The few that are there do not provide child care for their clients. The establishment of gyms has been a long way coming. The strict rules against gender interaction at work places has made it difficult for investors to set up gyms given that women are not allowed to leave the home without permission or un accompanied by a male relative. Gym Halima intends to fill this gap and offer a place where women can work out and at the same time have their children taught and taken care of. This will enable them work out without any worries of going to pick their children from school and concentrate on their workout. Sedentary lifestyles have led to an all-time high number of lifestyle diseases. People are beginning to live a healthy lifestyle and workout and fitness is part of this healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle does not only involve being conscious about what you eat, it also involves a conscious decision to live an active life. Traditional stringent laws of Saudi Arabia have kept women out of the gym. Women are only allowed to exercise in aprivate place which are mostly frequented by men whom they are not supposed to be mingle with in such places. When the idea of female gyms came to Saudi Arabia, it was welcome by most women. However the prices charged by these gyms way too high and most women could not afford them. To date, the prices of these gyms are still too high for most women. Halima’s gym brings quality and affordability to the market of female gyms. With qualified instructors who have worked in the industry for over five years, Halima’s gym is poised to be a leader in female fitness inSaudi Arabia.The nursery that the gym intends to add to its service offeringgives it an added advantage over it competitors. The

The Terrorism In Pakistan Politics Essay

The Terrorism In Pakistan Politics Essay Land trembled followed by an ear deafening noise. Smoke and dust caused an unpleasant darkness, people were shouting and crying in pain, blood was everywhere. This was a dreadful scene of a bomb blast. Terrorism, you may have heard this word many times especially in recent years. So what is terrorism? What is its origin? How can it be defined? These are common questions which arise in a person mind when he hears word Terrorism. The word terrorism origins from the French word terrorisme.(Online etymology definition) Before I can explain terrorism in Pakistan I will try to establish what terrorism and terrorists are. Terrorism in simple words can be described as systematic use of terror to cause uneasiness in the society. Terrorism has no legally accepted criminal law definition. Common definitions of terrorism describe it as the violent acts carried out in order to cause dismay, and these acts based on religious, political or ideological goals as their motives. Definition of terrorism has proven to be a controversial matter. Many governments and states use their own legislating definition of terrorism which is different from other definitions due to colliding ideology. Many religious and social factions also have their own beliefs about it. Research has found about more than 100 definitions of terrorism. (Jeffrey Record, (2009). But there isnt even a single definition which is accepted by everyone. Some points differ in every definition of terrorism, yet there is one thing which is common in every definition as Walter Laquer said the only general characteristic of terrorism generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence. (Centre for strategic and statistical studies) In this regard Angus Martyn said in Australian Parliament. The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive definition of terrorism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations attempts to define the term floundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and  self-determination. Hence it can be concluded that there is no legitimate definition of terrorism accepted by everyone. What is a terrorist? In simple words a person who commits an act of terrorism is called terrorism. He may be a single person or a group of people sharing common ideals. There is a lot of controversy about it; it all comes down to how a person ideology allows him to see things. As David Hanny said One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.(David Hanny, 2005) I can easily correlate this argument with help of an example, when Soviet Russia attacked Afghanistan the resistance group was called Afghan Mujahedeen (Freedom fighters) by almost all the world. And after 20 years later when these men tried to fight off American forces to save their homeland, they were crowned as Taliban (A terrorist Group). A liberal person working for the betterment of the society may be called terrorist by some people while others may call him a patriot or statesman. An example would be Martin Luther King although he worked all his life for liberty of black people; he was called a terrorist by west media and politicians for a long portion of his life. Now I will try to establish some of the common type of terrorism types. Violent acts carried out in order to disturb the peace of society pertaining to cause disorder can be classified as civil terrorism. A common example of it can be target killing. Sometimes terrorists perform violent actions in order to achieve some political agenda; this can be labeled as political terrorism. Perpetrators of this type of terrorism have some political aim as their motive. Death sentence of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is considered as political terrorism by some idealists. Sometimes terrorist will work as a lone wolf, he doesnt has any ideal or a political agenda behind it. He will just do it for fun; he doesnt even intend to cause uneasiness in the society nor is it his aim to destroy peace. Common example can be of a target killer. State terrorism is type of terrorism in which a nation will violate other nation right of freedom, invade it and continue to capture and rule it by fear. There is a lot of con troversy involved about what is in boundary of state terrorism and what is not. Some people consider American aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq to be state terrorism, while some consider this aggression to be justified on grounds of eradicating terrorists. Another controversial example of state terrorism will be of Israeli aggression on Palestinian home. It was strongly condemned by the Arab world but was supported by America. Many Muslim countries still hasnt accepted Israel and war still rages on. Yet there are some examples of state terrorism accepted by most of ideologies around the world. Indian reign of Jammu Kashmir is prime example of this kind of terrorism. Soviet Russian aggression on Afghanistan can also be placed into state terrorism. Religious terrorism is terrorism performed by a group or a single person, motivation of this type of terrorism is rooted in ethics and religious understanding of the group or individual. These types of terrorist acts have been perform ed since old time in order to enforce a system of belief. A religion cannot be necessarily held responsible for it; it all comes down to the understanding and interpretation of individual. Deadly operations such as 11 September World trade centre attack, London underground bombings and 2002 Bali Bombings are prime examples of this type of terrorism. (Sageman, Mark 2005) Bomb blasts, target killing, murders, and drone attacks unfortunately these topics are the headlines of news nowadays in Pakistan. Pakistan has been target of constant terrorist activities since its birth, it has been challenged by various group on basis of nationalism, religious segregation and political ideology. 1947 separation, 1971 civil war are biggest examples of this kind. Even today Pakistan is facing several distinct conflicts, both national and international. The annual death toll from recent terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in 2009, massing up to 35,000 Pakistanis being killed as of 2010. According to Government of Pakistan estimates the total economic damage caused by terrorism directly or indirectly masses up to 68 billion dollars. (Mohsin Hameed, 2011) These statistics gives us the idea of how gravely these terrorist activities are hurting Pakistan. Now I will try to narrow down the causes of terrorism. Unemployment is one of the biggest primordial of terrorism. Many people engage into terrorist activities because they dont have other means to realize their basic needs. Perpetrators approach these people and ask them to carry out their hideous missions in exchange for large sums of money. Sometimes these people have to comply to perpetrator demands because they have no alternate route to make money. Another big cause of terrorism is illiteracy and lack of awareness. Many people of tribal areas are tending to be brainwashed by terrorists because they lack education and awareness. These people then indulge into terrorist activities while believing that what they are doing is right. Exploiting religion is also one of causes of terrorism. Religious doctrine in our view is a justification for terrorist activities. Religious extremists are tending to indulge in terrorism because they are discontent with the political and economic status quo. Religious justifications are often combined wit h other, explicitly political, goals, such as nationalism or self-determination. (Martha chensaw, 2005). These religious extremists then make use of innocent people by brainwashing them, making use of false religion facts. Politics also causes terrorism in some form or other, target killing nowadays is comprised of political enviousness. These are the main causes which make up the roots of terrorism in Pakistan. Now I will try to illuminate about the effects of terrorism in Pakistan. Terrorism in itself causes the loss of life and money. It also has various other related effects which cause problems for Pakistan and its people. Terrorism directly or indirectly embodies fear into mind of the people. People tend to stay at homes and avoid public gatherings. It has changed the lifestyle of people mostly in big cities. People arent certain whether they will return from work alive or not. People are abandoning their homes in tribal areas where war against terrorism is being fought. Due to fear of terrorism foreigners are avoiding to visit Pakistan and it has drastically declined our tourism industry. Foreign companies hesitate to make investment in Pakistan. Pakistani Governments has made efforts towards ending terrorism in Pakistan. Pakistani army is at war against rebel groups in tribal areas. But is this enough? Government efforts to decrease target killing in Karachi and Baluchistan have all been in vain. What does this tell us? Government efforts most certainly arent enough to end terrorism. These efforts may have decreased terrorism but are tending to fail in the long run. If Governments efforts arent enough to end terrorism then what should be done about it? Everyone in the society has an obligation to eradicate terrorism. Government should hold seminars to spread awareness about terrorism. It needs to educate people of tribal areas and spread the true knowledge and spirit of Islam so that perpetrators cant exploit our beloved religion. It should provide adequate jobs to people so that people wont tend to indulge in criminal activities. Government needs to have talks with terrorist groups and try to talk them out of it. It should listen to their reasonable desires. Government should also make efforts to stop drone attacks. Killing innocent people of tribal areas cant be justified by labeling them terrorists. People whose loved ones are killed by these horrendous attacks wont stay silent. They will indulge in terrorist activities to take revenge for their loved ones. Violence begets violence. We cant stop violence using violence. Media also has a huge role to play if we want to end terrorism. Foreign Media blames Islam for terrorist activ ities, which is a blatant accuse. It is our media duty to prove the World that Islam is a religion of peace and harmony and strongly condemn terrorist acts. If Pakistani media is able to show the bright side of Islam and Muslims foreigners will stop hating us. This will break the cycle of hate and if we are able to break cycle of hate, terrorism will be uprooted from the world. Terrorism is a grave problem world is facing at the moment. We can end terrorism and eradicate the perpetrators with mutual understanding and harmony. It is everyones duty in the world despite which religion or faction you belong to make efforts towards ending it. All Globally conflicted issues should be dealt with dialogue and talk.

Flowers For Algernon :: essays research papers

Flowers for Algernon The main characters of the story are Charlie, who is a mentally retarded person involved in a remarkable experiment which increased his I.Q. Alice, a teacher at the Adult Basic Education Facility at Beekman College who taught Charlie how to read and write, the professors who operated on Charlie. Fay who appeared toward the end of the book , and last but not least Algernon. The novel is exciting and has an original idea. The moods That I felt in the story are ones of sorrow, anger, and guilt. In the story, Charlie, is the subject of an experiment which increases his intelligence. Charlie originally wants the operation to look intelligent and get friends. Unfortunately some of his hopes were not met. The main characters in the novel include Charlie, Alice, Algernon, and Fay, a character who did not make much of an appearance, but he thought that he played an important part in Charlie trying to sort out his past and figure out his present and future plans. Charlie is a mentally retarded person who has impressing people and gaining friends as one of his top priorities. He then hears of an experiment which could possibly make him smart. He makes himself a subject to this human experiment with the hopes of gaining knowledge in a sole purpose of gaining friends. As the book goes on, Charlie goes through dramatic changes mentally, and instead of making him gain friends he actually is looked on in the same way if not worse. For example, at Charlie's old work his "friends" made fun of him and enjoyed his company just because Charlie had amused them. Yet after the operation, Charlie finds out that he had not made his friends like him more, but had pushed them away. Charlie understood now what his friends did to him in the past, and starts to look down upon them. Alice, Charlie's teacher, is the person who gave Charlie to the idea to give the experiment a chance. She thinks that Charlie has the determination and will power to ma ke the experiment work. Then, later on in the book, she gets emotionally involved with Charlie and helps Charlie learn more about himself. Algernon, is a lab animal who also had the experiment done on him and as result makes him smarter than the average mouse. Algernon plays a very important part in the novel because he foreshadows what will happen to Charlie later on in the book.

ICAS Report Planning Template Essay

ABC Ltd supplies a complete range of carpets and furniture to the general public. ABC Ltd has over 75 nationwide high street shops in all major UK cities and many large towns. ABC Ltd also has a 24/7 online shop which is on the head office site in Aberdeen. Over the past seven years the company has grown steadily and now has revenue of over  £29 million. It employs around 400 full-time staff. Who are the businesses major stakeholders (internal and external) and why? Major stakeholders of the business could be anyone who has an interest in the business. The business is the sole supplier of a range of furniture. The relationship with this supplier is crucial to the success of the business due to the competitive advantage that it offers ABC. Accounts Department (PIC 1.1, 1.4) How big is the Accounts department? What is the purpose of the accounting function? What type of organisational structure is there? Where does the accounts department get its information from? How does the accounts  department inter-relate with other departments within the business? At ABC Ltd the accounts department consists of the Finance Director, Company Accountant, General Ledger and Inventory Clerk, Accounts Payable Clerk, accounts receivable clerk, costing technician As well as payroll and personnel database clerk. The departments deal with the payments of invoices, comparing them to the  purchase orders and the stock receipts. They also monitor the stock and requirement for purchase orders. The department is also responsible for the credit control function, monitoring customers and the payment of the staff wages. In order to carry out these roles Accounts are forced to interact with the whole of the organisation to gather information. ABC use an account spackage which is fully integrated with the rest of the business software. The use an Enterprise Management System called PRONTO. This software allows for multi user access which can be restricted based on job roles. Non accounts users can see, but not change essential financial data, such as supplier and customer balances. Describe (in relation to the organisation) the 3 main financial statements – Income statement, SOFP and Statement of Cashflow. (PIC   What do they show? Who uses them? What decisions are made based on them? Income Statement SOFP Statement of Cashflow Income statements illustrate ABC Ltd profit or loss over a certain periods of time. The income statement records all revenue, losses and operating expenses for the business. The IS can be used to show profitability of the  company. Income statements are used by stakeholders, company accountants, financial directors and  managing directors. The income statements compared with other income statements within ABC Ltd over a period of time or  companies within the same sector will be able to determine the operating performance of ABC Ltd. Managers and the company accountant may be able to find out what areas of the business are over budget or under budget and make necessary changes. Statements of Financial Position (SOFP) illustrate a snap shot of the business financial condition. The SOFP includes the assets and liabilities of ABC Ltd. This is ia good indicator of the liquidity of the business. This statement will again be used by stakeholders, company accountants, financial directors and managing directors. Managers and the company accountant may be able to quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of the business, it’s also demonstrates if ABC ’s assets is enough to cover its liabilities, how liquid its assets are if ABC was to declare bankruptcy, if the business is in a position to expand etc. Statements of Cash flow illustrate the amount of cash generated and used by the business in a given period of time. Again this gives an indication of liquidity and working capital management. This statement will again be used by stakeholders, company  accountants, financial directors and managing directors. Managers  and the company accountant may be able to determine whether the business has enough cash to cover payroll and other immediate expenses or liabilities, as well as allow potential lenders to decide whether or not ABC Ltd is able to pay of its liabilities. What accounting regulations cover the preparation of the above financial statements? (PIC 2.1) In the UK, financial statements are governed by UKGAAP (UK Generally Accepted  Accounting Principles). They are also governed by the Companies Act What other accounting regulations and industry specific regulations does the company have to comply with? Does the company have to deal with Money-Laundering regulations? Does the company come under Sarbanes-Oxley? (PIC 2.1) The company also has to comply with the data protection act as they hold customer and staff information. Non compliance with this act can have severe financial and reputational implications. They are also required to comply with any rules set out by HMRC when paying employees and also calculating the tax liability of the business. The company does not have to comply with Sarbanes Oxley as this only affects companies registered with the New York Stock Exchange When the company has to deal with a change to the above regulations how does it organise this? In what way are system users affected by the change How do they get to find out about the change? (PIC 1.5) The Finance manger and HR manager monitor all regulations and alert the business when changes are made that will affect how the business operates. Changes are implemented by ensuring all staff are made aware of the change via internal communication methods. If need be employees are trained to ensure they fully understand the changes taking place.

1% of Local Police Departments

Reflections from the One-Percent of Local Police Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements For New Hires: Are They Diamonds in the Rough? Diana Bruns Bacone College ***Contact information Diana Bruns, Ph. D. Department Chairperson and Professor, Criminal Justice Studies Bacone College 2299 Old Bacone Road Muskogee, OK 74403 [email  protected] edu cell: 918-781-7295 office: 918-781-7295 **Diana Bruns is the Department Chairperson and Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at Bacone College in Muskogee, OK.Reflections from the One-Percent of Local Police Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements For New Hires: Are They Diamonds in the Rough? Abstract Countless studies have permeated the literature regarding the utility of a bachelor’s degree for police officers. Local law enforcement agencies with mandatory four-year degree requirements serve as the population for this study relative to the current status of college degreed officers, as well as pop ulation demographics and commonalities among such departments.The utility of college degree requirements, choice of academic discipline and why four-year degree requirements nationwide are merely a preference, not a standard mandatory hiring requirement is discussed. Current minimum educational requirements for local and state police agencies and implications for the future of the college-degreed officers are explored. Hiring college-educated candidates in the law enforcement field does not guarantee they will be good officers.Being a police officer is hard and to be successful, you have to want to be a police officer. Individuals who receive the required degree in law enforcement have demonstrated their desire. Desire is something very hard to evaluate, but such an important trait. If all other qualities are equal—the college graduate with a four-year degree in criminal justice or related field should be hired as police officers before one who doesn’t have the degree. Police Chief from department with mandatory degree requirement Introduction and Background The relevance of a college degree for police officers has been debated for decades. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the importance of the degreed officer, while others have described how a college degree is not an essential or important ingredient for success among police officers. That precise debate—the worth of the bachelor’s degree for police officers is not the focus of this endeavor.The focus here is central to three vital panels’ recommendations from 1967-1974 proclaiming that police officers obtain baccalaureate degree—the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, and the American Bar Association Project on Standards for Criminal Justice—and why so few local and state police departments have followed suit in requiring tha t police officers hold baccalaureate degrees, as less than 1% of such departments require a four-year degree (Hickman and Reeves, 2006).It is evident that leaders in law enforcement are hesitant to embrace the educational movement. Roberg and Bonn (2004) reiterated the nearly nonexistent numbers of police departments requiring degrees. Although leaders in law enforcement continue to hesitate the implementation of educational requirements (Carlan, 2007; Roberg and Bonn, 2004; Breci, 1997;Remington, 1990), recruitment for college graduates continues to increase. Carlan (2007) examined the worth of the criminal justice degree as valued by police officers and found that In this study, police officers (n=299) with varying levels of experience and riminal justice education revealed positive attitudes concerning the degree’s value with regard to conceptual development for employment purposes. The positive assertions in this study reflect well on the ability of criminal justice progr ams to prepare its clientele for meaningful employment challenges (p. 616). Johnston, Cheurprakobkit, and McKenzie (2002) revealed that law enforcement administrators stressed that the role of education should place importance in aiding police officers with knowledge of the legal aspects of policing as well as report writing, ethics, and procedures.The President’s Commission (1967) reported that without higher educational requirements, quality in police services could not be achieved or attained. However, over forty years later, in 2009, although most police agencies do report that they prefer a college-degreed officer, the majority of police agencies (local, state and special jurisdiction) do not require anything more than a high school diploma or equivalent. Upon reviewing 36 departments that require a four-year degree, this exploratory analysis attempts to reveal and explore the reasoning behind the small number of police departments actually requiring the degree.Results o f this analysis will describe the departments with four-year mandatory degree requirements and characteristics of such departments will include opinions of police chiefs regarding why a college degree is important to police. Qualitative explanations will yield information regarding how explemplary practices of a few departments should serve as role models and guides for departments across the nation in the one-hundred year quest to professionalize the policing field. As the literature suggests, police administrators do prefer police officers to hold a baccalaureate degree, but do not require it.Verrill (2007) called for the need to determine why the select one-percent of local police departments who require the degree actually do so. This study attempts to answer that question. As stated previously, debates pertaining to the usefulness and value of a college degree for police officers have been commonplace in criminal justice literature for decades. However, at the outset, it is unc lear how many police departments actually require a four-year degree and the location of such departments. This lack of clarity is further exemplified by ncertainty as to how many police officers and police agencies there actually are the in U. S. , leads to difficulty in counting police agencies (Maguire, Snipes, Uchida, and Townsend, 1998). Whatever the case, we can be assured that few police agencies (non-federal) actually require a bachelor’s degree. Is the Type of Degree Important? Verrill (2007) described the sparse amount of literature concerning the advantage or worth of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and whether criminal justice employers give preferentiality to vocational over theoretical degrees or vice versa.Verrill’s study reviewed entry-level educational requirements for criminal justice agencies in Florida, where only two local police departments out of N=261 sampled required a bachelor’s degree. Realistically, Verrill’s sam ple is indicative of local police departments nationwide, as less than one-percent require a bachelor’s degree as a prerequisite for employment. It is unclear at this point, from the literature, whether those one-percent of police departments who require four-year degrees specify which discipline they prefer.This analysis reveals striking information regarding the few police departments that require the degree and their preferences regarding the discipline as well as if they prefer that police candidates have degrees pertaining to either vocational or theoretical orientations. Bostrom (2005) addressed differences in levels of performance and work habits among officers who had obtained Bachelor of Arts degrees and Bachelor of Science degrees, finding that officers with Bachelor of Arts degrees have better work habits (measured by sick time usage, traffic collisions, discipline) than officers with a Bachelor of Science degree.Although results were detailed with caution, as this was an exploratory study at one large police department, Bostrom called for future research in this area. Schafer and Castellano (2005) attempted to extricate the relationships that subsist among work experience, educational background and attitudes toward criminal justice education, once again finding, â€Å"the quality of police service will not significantly improve until higher educational requirements are established for its personnel† (p. 300). Research Questions 1. What is currently known about educational requirements for local and state police departments/agencies? 2.How many police departments (local) have a four-year degree requirement and where are those departments? Who makes up the one-percent of police departments that the literature refers to as requiring four-year degrees? What is the range in size of police departments that have the four-year degree requirement? Are they large departments or small departments? 3. How many departments that have the four-year degree requirement will waive the requirement, and under what conditions can the educational requirement be waived? 4. What are the education levels of chiefs of police in departments that have a four-year degree requirement? . What are the mean starting salaries for the departments that require a four-year degree? Are the starting salaries for police officers in police departments with four-year degree requirements higher than salaries for police officers in departments without four-year degree requirements? 6. Do police chiefs in departments with four-year degree requirements prefer that officers have a degree in criminal justice? 7. Do police chiefs in departments with four-year degree requirements have a preference of vocational (hands-on) orientation rather than an academic (theoretical) orientation? . Have applicant pools increased, decreased or stayed the same since their four-year degree requirement was mandated? 9. Do the police chiefs believe the degree requirement will c hange in time, or will it remain a mandate, with no exceptions? 10. Regarding police departments with the four-year degree requirement, why does their respective department require a four-year degree? 11. Regarding police departments with the four-year degree requirement, why do police chiefs believe so few departments across the nation actually require the degree?Current Knowledge About Educational Requirements for US Police Departments According to the U. S. Department of Justice (2004), there are 12,766 local police departments with 3,067 sheriff’s offices, 49 primary state law enforcement agencies, 1,481 special jurisdiction agencies, and 513 ‘other’ agencies totally 17,876 law enforcement agencies. As of 2003, in a sample of 3000 police departments, 98% of local police departments had an educational requirement for new recruits; 18% had ‘some type’ of college requirement; ine percent required a two-year degree and less than one-percent required a four-year degree (Hickman and Reaves, 2006). Another source, The International Association for Chiefs of Police (2008) announced that 16% of state police agencies require a two-year degree, while four-percent require a four-year degree; 13% of county police agencies require a two-year degree and an unknown percentage of county police agencies require a four-year degree. Nine percent of local police departments require a two-year degree and two-percent require a four-year degree.However, it was unclear the name and location of the departments that required a two or a four-year degree. Furthermore, it is unclear as to where that two-percent was derived. Overall, scarce information is available regarding which departments require a two or a four-year degree. By searching state police agency and state highway patrol websites, it is evident that only three state police departments require officers to hold four-year degrees—Illinois State Police, New Jersey State Police, and Nort h Dakota Highway Patrol. All three agencies, however, will waive educational requirements.Regarding the New Jersey State Police’s minimum qualifications, An applicant must have (1) a bachelor’s degree, signifying completion of the undergraduate curriculum and graduation from an accredited college or university or, (2) alternatively, an associate’s degree or have complete 60 college credits from an accredited college or university, plus at least two years of satisfactory employment, or (3) alternately, have completed 30 college credits from an accredited college or university, plus at least two years of active duty military service with an honorable discharge (http://www. jsp. org/recruit/qual. html). The Illinois State Police has the following minimum educational requirement: Option 1). An Associate of Arts Degree or equivalent coursework and must meet one of the following two job experience requirements: Three consecutive years of continuous, full-time service as a police officer, with the same police agency or three consecutive years of active military duty. Option 2). An Associate Degree of Science or equivalent coursework and meet one of the following two job experience requirements: three onsecutive years of continuous, full-time service, as a police officer, with the same agency or three consecutive years of active military duty. Option 3). An Associate of Applied Science Degree, only if the degree is in Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice and meet one of the following two job experience requirements: Three consecutive years of continuous, full-time service as a police officer, with the same agency, or three consecutive years of active military duty. Option 4). A Bachelor’s Degree (https://www. illinoisstatetrooper. om/requiremnents. html). Lastly, North Dakota Highway Patrol’s minimum educational requirements are: An Associate degree with two years of work-related experience or a Bachelor’s degree (http://nd. gov/n dhp/employment/qualifications. html). Upon review of each state police or state highway patrol website, the following requirements by state were revealed: presently, ten states require an Associate’s Degree or 60 hours of college credit (PA, TX, KY, MN, MO, OK, DE, CN, WI, LA). The remaining states require a high school diploma or equivalent.However, one state– Nevada, stipulates no educational requirement. Out of the 100 largest cities in the United States, only four police departments require a four-year degree (Jacksonville, FL, Arlington, TX. , St. Paul, MN, and Tulsa, OK). Upon looking at the 100 largest police departments in the United States by number of sworn officers (list provided by the Police Executive Research Forum), only 3 of the largest police departments require a four-year degree (New Jersey State Police, Illinois State Police, and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office).After reviewing each of the 100 largest cities websites, it was determined that 67% of such departments require a police officers to have a high school diploma or equivalent; 6% require a high school diploma plus 12 hours college credit; 4% require between 30-40 hours of college credit, 19% require an Associate’s degree or 60 hours of college credit, with 4% requiring a four-year degree.Again after searching agency websites regarding career opportunities, the percentages were similar upon reviewing the largest 100 departments by number of sworn officers: 68% required a high school diploma or equivalent; 4% required a high school diploma or equivalent plus 12 hours of college credit; 4% required between 30-54 hours of college credits; 21% required an Associate’s degree of 60 hours of college credit, and 3% of the 100 largest police departments (by number of sworn officers) currently require a four-year degree.Once again, even the few that require the degree; the majority will waive the requirement, with certain stipulation—which will be discuss ed. To estimate whether or not the one-percent of police departments with degree requirements were actually large or small departments necessitated reviewing the LEMAS report (2003), concluding that Seventy-four percent (74%) of all local police departments served fewer than 10,000 residents, these agencies employed just 14% of all offices. About half of all officers served a jurisdiction with 100,000 or more residents.While departments serving the largest cities had thousands of officers on average, those serving fewer than 2,500 residents have an average of just four full-time employees, including three sworn officers. The Arguments: Pros and Cons of the College-Educated Police Officer The idea surrounding the purpose of college-educated officers has stemmed from two sources: the alleged importance of professionalism for the police force and to change officer attitudes (Shernock, 1992). Friedmann (2006) made an excellent point,When police officers try to do their job today without a degree, their already difficult task is made more difficult. However, chiefs who mandate the degree requirement should be aware that the transition period—where the police department does not already have a clear majority of officers with degrees—could be difficult. Police officers sometimes resist higher education requirements. Despite this resistance, police officers need higher education for the good of the profession† (p. 23). Chief of Police Hawkins (2006) reiterated his department’s four-year requirement in Burnsville, MN. ,Burnsville’s four-year degree requirement helps recruit big-picture thinkers who are creative, culturally aware, and technically sound in constitutional law, and who look for the best solution to the multitudes of challenges they encounter. An officer’s well-rounded background enhances his or her ability and desire to partner with community members, use the vast resources both the residents and business owners pos sess, and make them part of the problem-solving process. The synergy created between the community and the officers is the basis foundation of Burnsville’s community policing efforts. Friedman, 2006, p. 28). As the debate over the need for an educated police officers has demonstrated contradictory evidence concerning college educated police officers—meaning that although many studies are supportive that officers need a college education, there is also conflicting evidence. Baro and Burlingame (1999) disputed recommendations that officers need a baccalaureate degree to increase levels of police professionalism, stating that officers need no more than a high school diploma or equivalency.Sherman and McLeod (1979) speculated that higher education for officers may be irrelevant because the education officers receive in higher educational institutions is quite similar to training officers receive in police academies. Critics of higher educations believe the â€Å"college-e ducated officers are more likely to become frustrated with their work, with restrictions imposed by supervisors, and with limited opportunities for advancement† (Worden, 1990, p. 567). Hudzick (1978) found that officers with an education place less value on obedience to supervisors and are less satisfied with their careers.Other are concerned that â€Å"college-educated officers will quickly tire of the irregular hours, constant pressures, and relative low pay of policing† (Varricchio, 1988, p. 11). Whetstone (2000) acknowledged that, â€Å"hiring candidates with improved credentials also invites eventual problems such as greater job dissatisfaction and personnel turnover† (p. 247). Kakar (1998) further demonstrated that a college education might decrease officer’s quality of service because police work does not offer opportunities to stimulate the college-educated mind.Furthermore, because police performance measures differ in studies, no real consensus e xists on exactly how police performance should be defined and measured. Carter and Sapp (1990) indicated that regardless of degree requirements, 23% of police officers had obtained a four-year degree and 65% of police officers had at least one year of college. Peterson (2001) gave somewhat higher estimates, in that 30% of police officers sampled from ten medium-sized departments in the Midwest had four-year degrees.Mayo (2006) estimates between 25-30% of police officers have a four-year degree, which realistically nearly mirrors the percentage of U. S. population over age 25 who have obtained a bachelor’s degree. According to the US Census Bureau (2005) 28% of the US population over the age of 25 has obtained a bachelor’s degree, which is an all-time high. Common sense dictates that those percentages of police officers with four-year degrees are representative of the education levels of the communities they serve, if we utilize such figures and that line of reasoning.H owever, the small number of departments requiring degrees necessitates attention to raise awareness to the fact that less than 100 police departments, including special jurisdiction police, state police, county and local police departments mandate degrees, and whether this will change in the future. Little information exists regarding the 1% of police departments that require the four-year degree. Mayo (2006) revealed several case studies of departments with four-year degrees regarding the question of the degree and its importance to the sites’ organizational success in the communities they serve.One of the departments that was highlighted, the Dover Police Department in N. J. , which is now the Toms River Police Department, has changed its language to relax its mandatory four-year requirement, the current ordinance: requires candidates to possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or, the candidate must possess a minimum of 64 college credits combined with two (2) full years of military experience or full time work experience (http://www. rpolice. org/Recruitment. html). Other than a list of departments that require four-year degrees recently made available on-line by the Police Association for College Education, no other list is available to reveal the one-percent of police agencies that require the four-year degree. Unfortunately, many of the departments listed on that site that have a four-year degree requirement no longer have the requirement, but have relaxed it or waived it all together.After contacting all of the departments by email or phone, the following departments on PACE’s list no longer require a four-year degree: Vallejo, CA. ; Boulder, CO. ; Peach Tree, GA. ; Holden, MA. ; St. Cloud, MN. ; Eagan City, MN. ; Borough of Gettysburg, PA. ; Edinboro, PA. ; Appleton, WI. ; Flint, MI. ; Milford, MI. ; Montvale, NJ. ; University Park, TX; Whitefish Bay, WI; and Upper Moreland, NJ. The Chief of Police, Tho mas Nestle, III. , of Upper Moreland, NJ, responded via email that Upper Moreland only requires 60 hours of college credit.Nestel (2009) offered his opinion, via email, as to why the degree requirements was relaxed at his department, The applicant pool that is suited for this position frequently does not possess the educational pedigree you describe (a four-year degree). Law enforcement tends to draw military veterans and sons/daughters of existing officers. Neither group has a high rate of college graduates. Recruiting on college campuses has proven to be very unsuccessful. Policing doesn’t seem to be an appealing direction for the college graduate.In recent years, other departments (Memphis, TN, Plano, TX, Portland, OR) once known to have had a four-year degree requirement, further made national headlines regarding the choice to relax their respective educational requirement. Interestingly, many other police departments were found that were not included in the Police Associ ation for College Education’s (PACE) list regarding police departments that require four-year degrees as of 2006. A massive Internet search was undertaken to locate local police departments that currently require a four-year degree for new patrol officers.Additionally, numerous contacts via telephone to police chiefs and recruits were attempted to uncover additional police departments with four-year degree requirements. However, most of those attempts were unsuccessful for little knowledge exists as to whom the police departments requiring four-year degrees actually were in the U. S. Therefore, it was necessary to rely on departmental websites in attempts to discover who indeed mandated the baccalaureate degree requirement. Problematically, many departmental websites lacked clarity regarding educational requirements.Therefore, if relevant information could not be obtained via websites, many telephone contacts to police departments led to the discovery of 60 local police depar tments, including local police departments and county sheriff offices that require a four-year degree for police officers. However, there are several special jurisdiction police agencies that also require officers to hold a baccalaureate degree and will not waive educational requirements, including the Missouri Department of Conservation (law enforcement) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.However, special jurisdiction police agency degree requirements are not the focus of this analysis. Sixty police agencies (local and county) were unearthed to indeed have the requirement–Illinois has the greatest number of police departments requiring a four-year degree, with eleven; New Jersey has seven; Ohio has eight; Pennsylvania has six; Michigan has 5; Texas has four; Wisconsin has 4; Colorado has 3; South Carolina has 2; Florida has 2; Minnesota has 2; Oregon, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Missouri each have one local police department that has a four-year degr ee requirement.Special jurisdiction police agencies aside, caution however, that of those 60 police departments, only 37 will not waive or relax their educational requirements for any exception. Therefore, there are 37 local police departments that will not waive their educational requirements on any grounds. Table 1 contains the 37 local departments that will not waive educational requirements. Population size, gathered from Sperling’s Best Places (www. bestplaces. net) follow to demonstrate the size of each city in which the respective department is located.Regarding county police departments, population size was not included. Table 1 Note: N=37. This may not be the complete list. However, no other such list is available. Simple computations reveal the Mean for the population size of local police departments with mandatory degree requirements is (X=61,911), with the Median (MD=31,891). Due to the reality that there are so few local police departments mandating degrees, it i s relevant to include examples of specific educational requirements for such departments regarding their policy regarding mandatory four-year degree education requirements in Table 2.Local Police Departments Requiring Four-Year Degrees, No Exceptions Police DepartmentLocationPopulation Size Arvada Police DepartmentCO104,838 Arlington Police DepartmentTX367,197 Bethel Park Police Department PA 31,891 Bloomfield Township Police Department MI 65,796 Canfield Police Department OH 7,061 Centerville Police Department OH 23,046 Cleveland Heights Police Department OH 47,097Deer Park Police Department TX 29,748 Burnsville Police Department MN 59,321 Eatontown Police Department NJ 14,022 Elgin Police Department IL 98,846 Gaston County Police Department NC Flint Township Police Department MI 32,753 Green Tree Borough Police Department PA 4,396 Lakewood Police DepartmentCO140,024 Leonia Police DepartmentNJ 8,799 Mahwah Police DepartmentNJ 24,560 Middleburg Heights Police DepartmentOH 15,237 Mt. Lebanon Police DepartmentPA 5,481 Multnomah County Sheriff’s DepartmentORNaperville Police DepartmentIL140,633 Norton Shores Police DepartmentMI 23,429 Novi Police DepartmentMI 52,621 Owasso Police DepartmentMI 15,388 Palatine Police DepartmentIL 66,596 Platteville Police DepartmentWI 9,748 Pueblo Police DepartmentCO103,730 Peters Township Police DepartmentPA 4,683 Richmond Heights Police DepartmentMO 9,228 Schaumburg Police DepartmentIL 73,890 Smithfield Police DepartmentRI 21,863 South Park Township Police DepartmentPA 14,647 Strongsville Police DepartmentOH 43,347 Sugar Land Police DepartmentTX 79,943 Tulsa Police DepartmentOK385,486 Wheaton Police Department IL 54,611Wilmette Police Department IL 26,737 Table 2 Examples of Educational Specification Per Department That Have Mandatory Four-year Degree Requirements PoliceEducational Requirement Specification Department Arvada PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university (final semester seniors are eligible). This requirement will not be waived for any reason† (http://arvadapd. org/join-our-team/requirements/. html). Arlington PDâ€Å"Possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Education is not waived for prior military service or prior experience† http://www. rlingtonpd. org/index. asp? nextpg=recruiting/require. asp). Centerville PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s Degree Required† (http://ci. centerville. oh. us/index. php? option=com). Deer Park PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s degree by hire date† (http://www. ci. deer-park. tx. us/department/index. php? fDD=15-0 Eatontown PDâ€Å"Effective September 1, 2008, applicant must have a bachelor’s degree, signifying completion of the undergraduate curriculum and graduation from an accredited college or university† (http://www. nj. com/police/careers. html).Lakewood PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s degree in any discipline—no exceptions† (http://www. ci. lakewo od. co. us/index. cfmp). Tulsa PDâ€Å"Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree with a C+ average or better at an accredited college. No military hours or credits are acceptable unless they are received from or converted through an accredited college† (http:/www. tulsapd. ord/recruiting/requirements. htm Note. This is not an exhaustive list. Examples of Specific Educational Requirements Per Departments Regarding Mandatory Four-Year Degree Education Requirement, With Waiver ExceptionsAs stated previously, only 37 local police departments require a four-year degree with no exceptions allowed. However, 23 other local police departments require a four-year degree, but will waive the requirements with certain exceptions, as do the Illinois State Police and the New Jersey State Police. Therefore, those 23 departments with similar wording or language embedded in their respective specific job requirements or career opportunities containing ‘require a four-year degree, but will relax requirements,’ will be included in departments that require four-year degrees.The Toms River Police Department provides a good example of ‘waiver exceptions,’ The current ordinance requires candidates to possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or the candidate must possess a minimum of 64 college credits combined with two (2) full years of military experience or full-time regular police experience† (http://www. trpolice. org/Recruitment. html). Other specific examples of police department requirements with waivers include: Charleston Police Department, Bachelor’s degree and above or Associate degree with four years of prior law enforcement experience or military experience† (http:www. charlestoncity. info/dept/content. aspx? nid=817&cid=9931). Coral Springs Police Department’s requirements are similar, â€Å"Applicant must possess: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited c ollege or (4) years law enforcement experience and at least 60 credits from an accredited college, or (4) years military experience and at least 60 credits from an accredited college† (http://www. theblueline. com/feature/Flcoralsprings. html). Other examples include: 1.Highland Park Police Department â€Å"Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university—consideration may be given for applicants who possess at least 60 credit hours† (http://www. hptxorg/index. aspx? page=233). 2. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office â€Å"Must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or possess an accredited Associate’s degree or equivalent (60 semester hours/90 quarter hours) with four (4) years prior active military or law enforcement experience or possess 90 semester/135 quarter hours with two (2) years prior active military or law enforcement experience† http:www. coj. net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/About+ the+JSO/default. htm). 3. Livonia Police Department â€Å"Have been awarded an Associate Degree in Law Enforcement or Public Administration or a Bachelor Degree in any non-Criminal Justice discipline† (http://www. ci. livonia. mi. us/default. asp? area2=departments%2Fcivil+service) 4. Osh Kosh Police Department â€Å"Associate degree—In Criminal Justice/Police Science; Bachelor degree—in any field† (https://wilenet. org/html/employment/showopportunities. jsp). 5. Tinley Park Police Department All applicants must have completed 2 years satisfactory experience as a certified sworn law enforcement officer in the state of Illinois or posses an Associates Degree with at least a C average (or its equivalent) with an emphasis in criminal justice, or possess 60 college credit hours with at least a C average (or its equivalent) with an emphasis in criminal justice, or possess a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from a four year college or university† (http:www. tinleyparkpolice. org/police. html).Haddon Township Police department is another that was included in the list of police departments that require a four-year degree, however, their exception has somewhat different specifications: â€Å"Applicants must make a pre-employment agreement to achieve a Baccalaureate Degree within eight years from the time of employment. † (http://www. haddontwppolice. com/). Table 3 includes Police Departments that require four-year degrees, with exceptions or waiver conditions. Table 3 Police Departments that Have Four-Year Degree Requirements, With ExceptionsPoliceLocation Departments Bath Police Department OH Bainbridge Township Police Department OH Charleston Police Department SC Cherry Hill Police Department NJ Coral Springs Police Department FL Haddon Township Police Department NJ Highland Park Police Department TX Hinsdale Police Department IL Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office FL Langlade County Sheriff’s Department WI Livonia Poli ce Department MI Kettering Police Department OH Montgomery Township Police Department NJ Osh Kosh Police Department WIPlano Police Department TX Richland County Sheriff’s Office SC River Forest Police Department IL Shaler Police Department PA St. Paul Police Department MN Tinley Park Police Department IL Toms River Police Department NJ (Formerly Dover PD) Vernon Hills Police Department IL Willowbrook Police Department IL Note. N=23. Methodology Regarding the 1% of local police departments that require a four-year degree at the time of hire, it was noted previously that little information exists about the location of such departments.Intensive Internet searches, email and telephone contacts with multitudes of police recruiters and chiefs yielded 60 departments with four-year degree requirements, although only 37 of such departments had mandatory educational requirements resulting in no educational waivers. As it was unclear which department had mandatory requirements at the ou tset, 45 questionnaires were mailed to police chiefs at departments, which were believed to have mandatory requirements.Of those 45 questionnaires mailed, 40 were completed and returned–which was an excellent overall response rate of nearly 89%. Four of those surveys revealed that the departments surveyed did not require the four-year degree requirement; therefore, the results were not utilized. Thirty-six (36) returned questionnaires remained, revealing both important and relevant information about departments with mandatory requirements and were the subjects for this study. Thirty-seven (37) departments overall were found with mandatory requirements.Items on the questionnaires pertained to a wide range of subjects including the year in which such departments implemented their degree requirement; number of sworn officers; the chief’s education level; mean starting salaries for police officers; whether or not police chiefs had a preference in degree discipline; whether the chiefs preferred their officers had degrees that were vocational or theoretical in nature; whether chiefs preferred bachelor or arts degrees over bachelor of science degree; if officers who were hired before the degree requirement was established were required to complete respective degrees; whether they believed the degree requirement would be altered in the future; if applicant pool had increased, decreased or remained the same since the establishment of the degree requirement; the requirement’s impact on minority recruiting, and whether police chiefs believed officers with a college degree perform better than officers without a college degree.Additionally, two questions qualitatively regarding why police chiefs believed their respective departments had the mandatory requirement and why police chiefs believe only 1% of other departments have followed suit in mandating the requirement. Although glaring limitations to this analysis stem from the fact the little informati on exists regarding the reality of those one-percent of police departments that mandate a four-year degree, this is an exploratory step enabling further exploration into this important issue. Ultimately, the future professionalism of the policing field does hinge on raising degree requirements across police departments in America. Although only 36 police chiefs were surveyed, their information speaks volumes as to the need for other departments to follow their lead.As one chief eloquently stated: It is evident that society has become more complex. Problem solving skills along with communication skills are even more important today for police officers. A college education gives a foundation and more importantly legitimizes police work as a profession The instrument utilized has not proven reliable. However, this began a process of raising issues regarding the importance and the future of the college-degreed officer. At the outset, many officers are obtaining four-year degrees regardl ess of whether the degree is required or not. Results Information regarding the analysis of data is organized according to the research questions.For each question, the results are followed by an explanation and discussion of the findings. Only descriptive statistics were utilized, as there was no need for making inferences in this analysis. Eleven research questions were addressed in attempts to determine how departments that require four-year degrees are different from departments that have the requirement, and will waive it, or do not have such requirements. Descriptive data from the surveys revealed that the first department implemented their mandatory degree requirement in 1963. One chief responded, Our degree requirement was implemented in 1990. We changed the entry-level minimum educational requirement from a high chool diploma to a bachelor’s degree over the course of seven years. Research indicates police agencies should require a four-year degree. Table 4 describes the year departments implemented their mandatory degree requirement, with a range from 1963-2008. Table 4 Frequencies and Percentages for the Year Degree Requirements were Implemented Year Degree Requirement Implemented f% 1963 12. 8 1969 38. 3 1975 25. 6 1976 12. 8 1981 12. 8 1984 12. 8 1986 38. 3 1987 12. 8 1990 4 11. 1 1991 12. 8 1992 1 2. 8 1993 12. 8 994 12. 8 1995 12. 8 1996 12. 8 1997 25. 6 1998 38. 3 2000 12. 8 2005 12. 8 2006 1 2. 8 2008 12. 8 Note. N=36 It was apparent from the literature that only three of the largest police departments (by sworn officer) required a four-year degree. Tulsa Police Department is the largest department in this study, with 844 sworn officers. However, Tulsa is not the norm regarding departments with degree requirements and number of sworn officers, as results will show that most police departments with degree requirements have less than 100 sworn officers.However, of the 36 respondents in this particular study, the range of number of sworn of ficers was 15 at the smallest department to 844 sworn officers at the largest department included. The mean number of sworn officers was 127. 20 (SD=171. 46, MD=70). Table 5 illustrates the frequencies and percentages of sworn officers in departments with mandatory degree requirements, demonstrating that most of the departments with the requirement have fewer than 100 sworn officers; 16 departments have fewer than 50 sworn officers. Table 5 Frequencies and Percentages of Number of Sworn Officers in Departments with Mandatory Degree Requirements Number of Sworn Officers f % 1512. 8 2025. 6 2112. 8 212. 8 2512. 8 2712. 8 2912. 8 3112. 8 3412. 8 3725. 6 4012. 8 4312. 8 4612. 8 4812. 8 5412. 8 7025. 6 7212. 8 7412. 8 7512. 8 9812. 8 10312. 8 11225. 6 13712. 8 16012. 8 16512. 8 18912. 8 20012. 8 20512. 8 28212. 8 34012. 8 61512. 8 84412. 8 Note. N=36. Regarding the police chief’s level of education, Table 6 contains the frequencies and percentages associated with levels of educati on broken down into five categories: Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree; One Master’s Degree; Multiple (2) Master’s Degree’s, and Doctorate Degree. One of the departments where the chief had an Associates degree, the mandatory requirement was implemented in 1981.Furthermore, in all 36 departments surveyed, no officer was on the force without a degree before the educational mandate has implemented was required to obtain a four-year degree. In essence, the grandfather clause was utilized. The same was true with the chief’s who did not meet the degree requirement, as they were not required to meet new degree requirements. Table 6 Police Chief’s Level of Education in Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements Degree Type Earnedf% Associate’s Degree25. 6 Bachelor’s Degree 10 27. 8 One Master’s Degree 22 61. 1 Two Master’s Degrees12. 8 Doctorate Degree12. 8 Note.N=36 Regarding the mean starting s alaries for the departments that require a four-year degree, the mean starting salaries for police officers in police departments with four-year degree requirements are higher than salaries for police officers in departments without four-year degree requirements. City data was additionally gathered (www. bestplaces. net) regarding median household income for the 37 original locations of departments with mandatory degree requirements. The median household income for city residents pertaining to this sample was $61,330. According to the U. S. Census Bureau (2008) the median household income reached $50,233 in 2007.Therefore, it was likely that mean starting salaries for police officers in these locations would also be higher. According to one police chief surveyed: It’s all about tradition, size of city and location. The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics On-line (2006) states that the mean starting salary for police officers ranging from populations from 10,000 to over 1,000,000 was $38,569. As shown in Table 7, the mean starting salaries for police officers in police departments with mandatory four-year degree requirements was quite higher. A striking example of this is illustrated in one chief’s words, Thirty-nine percent of our residents over the age of 25 have an advanced collegiate degree.Our population is 27,000. Our residents are university professors, attorneys, medical doctors, CEO’s. Our village is considered upper class economically and home values are quite high. Many well-known people live here. Our police officers are comfortable inter-acting in our residents’ homes, even on the most sensitive matters. We don’t feel inferior. We belong here. Our residents value us. The four-year degree requirement helps us significantly in recruiting. We provide an average of more than 100 hours of training annually to our officers. Our ‘brand’ is that we are the ‘education and training’ departmen t. This has been very effective for us. Table 7Means and Other Statistics Concerning Salaries for Police Officers in Departments With Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements Starting Salary Mean $47,222 Median $46,786 Mode $40,000 SD $6,024 Minimum $34,901 Maximum $58,931 Note. N=36. Only two of the departments surveyed required that officer possess a four-year degree in Criminal Justice or Law Enforcement. It is common that police departments requiring Associate’s degrees are specifically looking for their police candidates to have an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice or a closely related field. However, upon surveying police chiefs in departments with mandatory four-year degree requirements, only seven or 19. 4% preferred criminal justice or closely related degrees. Seventy-five ercent (75%) of police chiefs in this study believed that a four-year degree in any discipline was acceptable. Two police chiefs in this sample were uncertain as to whether they preferre d a criminal justice degree to a degree in any other discipline. When asked whether the police chiefs preferred a practical/vocational degree or a degree that was theoretical/academic in nature, or if they had no preference, the majority (63. 9%) of chiefs had no preference–either orientation was acceptable, stating that was precisely the four-year degree in itself that mattered. Table 8 illustrates the frequencies and percentages of practical versus theoretical orientations. Table 8Frequencies and Percentages of Degree Orientation Preference: Practical v. Theoretical Degree Orientation Preferencef% Prefer practical/vocational orientation822. 2 Prefer theoretical/academic orientation411. 1 No preference, either acceptable 2363. 9 Uncertain 1 2. 8 Note. N=36. The results of this study lend little support either way to Bostrom’s (2005) finding. Although several police chiefs could break down the percentage of their officers who had a Bachelor of Arts degree or Bachelor o f Science degree, only one respondent believed that officers with a Bachelor of Science perform better than officers with a Bachelor of Arts degree.Seventy-five (75%) or 27 police chiefs believed there is no difference in work habits or performance regarding whether an officer has a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The remaining respondents (25%) were uncertain as to whether there was a true difference among the types of degree. Whatever the case, a common theme emerged, We believe the quality of our officers and the services provided are enhanced by a better-educated workforce. Policing is an extremely complex profession, requiring individuals who can apply abstract concepts within difficult situations. We can also assign more complex duties to our officers. Table 9 reviews the police chief’s opinions regarding the future of the degree requirement, and whether they believed it would be altered in the future.It was clearly apparent that in these departments, th e degree requirement is a fixed quality. Table 9 Chiefs’ Opinions Regarding the Future of Their Degree Requirement Future Expectations f% Expect to retain requirement Indefinitely3391. 7 Expect requirement to be altered In future 2 5. 6 Uncertain 1 2. 8 Note. N=36. We hope to keep our degree requirement forever. With the high percentage of college graduates in today’s society, I don’t believe this requirement is unreasonable. It’s our goal to continue to pursue the ‘most qualified’ applicants for our police department. Many police departments are hesitant to adopt a mandatory educational requirement due to fears that applicant pools will dwindle if requirement is enforced.According to this sample, nearly 64% of police chiefs reported that their respective applicant pools have indeed decreased due to their educational mandate. However, others felt different. The four-year degree requirement has served us well. We typically receive about 70 app licants for every 1-3 openings we try to fill. All of which have the four-year degree and either enrollment or completion of the police academy. Another responded in a way to overcome the issue of lower applicant pools, cautioning a reason why this will not happen at large, Yes, the requirement decreases this applicant pool. In my opinion, for a department to have an educational requirement such as ours, a strong recruitment effort is necessary.We recruit over 15 northern Ohio colleges that have law enforcement majors programs to get an adequate number of participants to take our civil service tests. That is an expensive endeavor, one that most cities won’t make. † Table 10 reviews police chief’s opinions regarding application pools and their particular educational requirement. Table 10 Stability of Application Pools in Police Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirement Level of Police Applicants f% Application pool has increased With degree requireme nt25. 6 Application pool has decreased With degree requirement 23 63. 9 Application pool has stayed the same 10 27. 8 Uncertain 12. 8 Note. N=36.One of the predominant reasons offered as to why more police departments do not have a mandatory degree requirement is that enforcing such a mandate would have a negative impact on recruiting. One chief replied, it’s ‘politically correct’ to lower education standards to avoid the wrath of the special interest-minority groups who wish to lower educational standards to increase the minority population in the applicant pool. Table 11 describes frequencies and percentages of police chiefs’ opinions regarding their requirement’s impact on minority recruiting. Interestingly, only 11% of respondents believed the requirement had a positive impact on recruiting minorities.Two interesting responses emerged regarding the process of calming the regarded negative impact on recruiting: If I can keep the requirement a few more years, we will have a majority of officers with degrees and there will be less internal pressure to lower standards. As long as we hire a significant percentage of minorities, there will be less claims of adverse impact—nine are female, five are Hispanic. We will evolve to the point that candidates for promotion with degrees are more likely to get the appointment. Lack of applicant pool and minorities. While this is true, it can be overcome. We have fewer applicants, but they are higher quality. Our recruitment methods continually change to reach our target audience. We work with many minority groups to reach out to minority populations. One respondent was adamant regarding this issue,The minority community that believes there would be an ‘adverse impact. ’ There isn’t. Table 11 Requirements Impact on Recruiting Minorities Level of Impact f % Requirement has had a positive Impact on recruitment of Minorities411. 1 Requirement has had a negative impac t on recruitment of minorities1027. 8 Requirement has had no impact on recruitment of minorities1130. 6 Uncertain 1130. 6 Note. N=36. Another important issue addressed concerns that highly relevant debate: Does a college degree make for a better police officer? The answer to that question among the 36 police chiefs was not unanimous, but the majority (80. 6%) indeed believed that officers with a degree perform better.In efforts to once again address this century-old debate, Table 12 describes the realities of police chiefs’ opinions on this theme. Table 12 Do Officers with a College Degree Perform Better? Police Chief’s Opinions f% Yes, officers with a degree perform better2980. 6 No, officers with a degree do not perform better 411. 1 Uncertain 3 8. 3 Note. N=36. In an attempt to dig deeper into the above issues and subjects, a qualitative approach was utilized to uncover themes predominant to this analysis. Although important descriptive information has been revealed , few attempts have been taken to qualitatively explore the two important issues relevant here—opinions of police chiefs from that one-percent of police departments with mandatory degree requirements.Herein, two final questions needed exploration: Why do their departments actually have their mandatory degree requirement and why they believe so few departments actually require the degree? After careful thought and consideration, they shared their opinions and beliefs—those of which should be held in high regard, as they are the select few who have shown to be pioneers in their concrete efforts to bring about professionalism to the policing field. Police Chief’s Explanations as to Why Their Respective Departments Have the Four-Year Degree Requirement Aside from stern recommendations encouraging police administrators and community leaders to adopt educational standards,Our department adopted the requirement based Carter, Sapp and Stephens findings and the recommend ations of the 1967 Presidential Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals that said that a four-year degree should be required by all law enforcement by 1981 six themes emerged from analyzing the data regarding why these departments actually have the degree requirement. 1. It is our tradition and part of our institutional, organizational and community culture and we are valued. It’s our tradition. We are the only agency in the state that still requires a four-year degree. We have always required this and I believe we hire exemplary people with more maturity and a strong sense of direction than those without the degree. It’s really a huge part of our culture. We hope to keep our four-year educational degree requirement forever.With the high percentage of college graduates in today’s society, I don’t believe this requirement is unreasonable. It’s our goal to continue to pursue the ‘most qualified’ applicants for our dep artment One of the best things I did 17 years ago was to convince the governing body to pass the four-year degree requirement. Since then the department has hired 140 of our 160 officers (bright, educated and professional). After becoming Chief in 1992, I felt strongly that this would have a very positive impact on the department and it has. Very well-respected, very few discipline problems or concerns. 2. The degree carries with it a level of expertise, knowledge and perseverance that represent us in our communities well.The requirement for a bachelor’s degree generally assures that an applicant can read and write; has been exposed to complex written materials requiring some level of analysis; has developed some level of critical thinking and communication skills, and has achieved at least some measurable relatively long-term goal in their lifetime. A bachelor’s degree limits the number of applicants who, most probably, would not be selected anyway. It also increases the quality of the applicant pool (education-level wise), which makes for a better police officer and increases the minimum age of the applicants, making them more experienced in life. It also shows that you have people at the very least, had the ‘stick-to-it-ivness’ to persevere through four years of college. It also eliminates the need for education reimbursement for officers pursuing bachelor’s degrees. We believe that it provides us with a more mature, well-rounded and worldly candidate who has more experience interacting with many different people from all walks of life† 3. Education levels of the police force should mirror the education level of the communities they serve. To reflect the demographics of the community we serve. According to the Census, Wilmette has one of the highest education levels in America. We want to be representative of those we serve in race, gender, education level and foreign language. This is also a successful strategy for m aintaining high salaries and benefits. We wanted to ensure our police officers’ education level closely mirrored the education level and demographics of our community. Over 70% of adult residents in our community have a bachelor’s degree. 4.A belief in excellence and quality—the degree makes a difference in performance. The department instituted this educational requirement in 1993 due to the belief that educated officers will be better decision makers and have better communication skills, both in oral and written form Department belief of excellence—higher quality of service to community, being leaders in profession Quality candidate, self-thinking and less supervision. Enhanced knowledge, skills and abilities as well as communications skills (oral and written); critical thinking and analytical skills; broader viewpoints; more tolerant; foundation of criminal justice concepts; self-discipline; and time management.We believe that a better educated work-fo rce is necessary in dealing with the public and are higher educated. We also believe that education enhances communication skills which are necessary in police work. A higher educated person is a more rounded individual, which leads to a better police officer To have a better qualified work force 5. A belief that the mandatory degree promotes professionalism both in their communities and for the entire police field. We believe that this should be the standard if we are to continue to develop and promote a professional police organization Academics have pushed our department to a new level of professionalism and innovationTo significantly improve the quality of police services via intelligent, articulate and professional personnel To establish professional standards at entry-level We are located in a city with a university with a strong criminal justice program. We have several members of our police and fire commission who are affiliated with the university. The four-year degree requ irement enhances our professionalism. 6. Officers with a college degree are more mature and have stronger goal- reaching abilities. I feel that a person demonstrates his/her desire to be a police officer by completing four year of study in criminal justice. They prove not only a strong desire to become a police officer, but possess the ability to set a goal and achieve it.It also demonstrates that ability to learn. That is why a four-year bachelors degree in criminal justice, criminology or law enforcement exists. It is specific to those who set a goal for law enforcement and achieve it. Increases odds of mature/smart candidate. Maturity, dedication, experience and age of applicants are more suitable for employment. Police Chief’s Explanations as to Why They Believe So Few Departments in the U. S. Actually Require a Four-Year Degree Only three out of the 36 police chiefs surveyed stated that they were not satisfied with their department’s educational policy. However, o ver 90% were satisfied with their departmental policies requiring college degrees.Aside from the following two realities many police leaders encounter–one being that the college degree is not mandated as a requirement by most licensing boards, and it may be prevented because of civil service regulations–five themes emerged regarding police chiefs explanations as to why they believe so few departments actually require degrees: 1. It’s all about money and over-all job satisfaction that one perceives a college-degree should bring. We have issues retaining officers and we frequently lose them to higher paying positions outside the field of policing. University instructors, technical school instructors, social work have all been attractive to our officers.Governments are reluctant to pay the higher wages for an applicant with a degree. Most agencies cannot pay adequate salaries for advanced degrees. Higher degreed people are not satisfied being a police officer. Mone y. Most departments cannot afford to start our a patrol officer at what a college graduate could make It certainly can hurt the applicant pool, depending on the salary Possibly they believe their pay-rates are not high enough to attract college graduates. Lack of pay for many smaller agencies 2. The degree requirement decreases applicant pools. Although some did not agree, the majority of police chiefs surveyed stated their department’s mandatory degree equirement has reduced applicant pools. It reduces the pool of potential applicants at a time when suitable applicants are hard to find. There remains a high percentage of law enforcement executives and government officials who believe a four-year degree is not a necessity in preparing an individual for a law enforcement career. Because of the difficulty in finding a sufficient number of qualified candidates Reduction in applicant pool is significant 3. The chiefs in this studied strongly valued education, however education ov erall is under-valued in policing. Most chiefs say they value education, but stop short of making it a requirement. Education is under-valued in policing.The four-year degree requirement make recruiting tougher and it creates challenges for retaining personnel. † I still believe that the majority of police leaders are, as a law-enforcement culture, anti-education for police officers 4. Police leaders who have not attained a college degree may not find one necessary. Therefore, this presents itself as a great challenge, one of increasing overall education standards. Administrators may not believe a college degree is necessary, especially if they have not earned one

Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States

Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States Melania Trump is a former model, businesswoman and the first lady of the United States. She is married to Donald Trump, the wealthy real estate developer and reality television star who was elected the 45th president in the 2016 election. Born Melanija Knavs, or Melania Knauss, in the former  Yugoslavia, she is only the second first lady to have been born outside the United States.   Early Years Mrs. Trump was born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, on April 26, 1970. The nation was then part of communist Yugoslavia. She is the daughter Viktor and Amalija Knavs, a car dealer and a childrens clothing designer. She studied design and architecture at the  University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia. Mrs. Trumps official White House bio states that she â€Å"paused her studies† to advance her modeling career in Milan and Paris. It does not state whether she graduated with a degree from the university. Careers in Modeling and Fashion Mrs. Trump has said she began her modeling career at age 16 and signed her first major contract with an agency in Milan, Italy, when she was 18.  She  has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, GQ, In Style and New York Magazine. She has also modeled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Allure, Vogue, Self, Glamour, Vanity Fair and Elle.   Mrs. Trump also launched a line of jewelry sold in 2010 and marketed clothing, cosmetics, hair care and fragrances. The line of jewelry, Melania Timepieces Jewelry, is sold on the cable television network QVC. She was identified in public records as the CEO of Melania Marks Accessories Member Corp, the holding company of Melania Marks Accessories, according to The Associated Press. Those companies managed between $15,000 and $50,000 in royalties, according to the Trumps 2016 financial disclosure filing. Citizenship Mrs. Trump moved to New York in August 1996 on a tourist visa and, in October of that year, obtained an H-1B visa to work in the U.S. as a model, her attorney has said. H-1B visas are granted under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. Mrs. Trump  obtained her green card in 2001 and became a citizen in 2006. She is only the second first lady born outside of the country. The first was Louisa Adams, wife to John Quincy Adams, the nation’s sixth president. Marriage to Donald Trump Mrs. Trump is said to have met Donald Trump in 1998 at a New York party.  Numerous sources have said she declined to give Trump her telephone number. Reports The New Yorker: â€Å"Donald saw Melania, Donald asked Melania for her number, but Donald had arrived with another woman - the Norwegian cosmetics heiress Celina Midelfart - so Melania refused. Donald persisted. Soon, they were falling in love at Moomba. They broke up for a time in 2000, when Donald toyed with the idea of running for President as a member of the Reform Party - â€Å"TRUMP KNIXES KNAUSS,† the New York Post declared - but soon they were back together.† The two married in January 2005. Mrs. Trump is Donald Trumps third wife. Trumps first marriage, to  Ivana Marie Zelnà ­Ã„ kov, lasted about 15 years before the couple divorced in March 1992. His second marriage, to  Marla Maples, lasted less than six years before the couple divorced in June 1999. Family and Personal Life In March of 2006 they had their first child, Barron William Trump. Mr. Trump had four children with previous wives. They are: Donald Trump Jr., with his first wife Ivana; Eric Trump, with his first wife Ivana; Ivanka Trump, with first wife Ivana; and Tiffany Trump, with second wife Marla. Trumps children to previous marriages are grown. Small Role in the 2016 Presidential Campaign Mrs. Trump largely remained in the background of her husbands presidential campaign. But she did speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention - an appearance that ended in controversy when part of her remarks were found to be very similar to those in a speech delivered previously by  then-First Lady Michelle Obama. Nonetheless, her speech that night was the biggest moment of the campaign and Trumps first term for her. â€Å"If you want someone to fight for you and your country, I can assure you he’s the guy,† she said of her husband. â€Å"He will never ever give up. And most importantly, he will never ever let you down.† Disagrees With Trump On Occasion Mrs. Trump has kept a relatively low profile as first lady.  In fact, a controversial 2017 report in Vanity Fair magazine claimed she never wanted to the role. This isnt something she wanted and it isnt something he ever thought hed win. She didnt want this come hell or high water. I dont think she thought it was going to happen, the magazine quoted an unnamed Trump friend as saying. A spokesperson for Mrs. Trump denied the report, stating it was riddled with unnamed sources and false assertions.   Here are some of the most important quotes from Mrs.Trump: On talking politics with her husband: â€Å"Do I agree with everything he says? No. I have my own opinions too, and I tell him that. Sometimes he takes it in and listens, and sometimes he doesn’t.†On how she talks to her husband about politics:  I give him my opinions, and sometimes he takes them in, and sometimes he does not. Do I agree with him all the time? No.On her relationship with her husband: We know what our roles are and we are happy with them. I think the mistake some people make is they try to change the man they love after they get married. You cannot change a person.†On her husbands controversial positions: â€Å"I chose not to go into politics and policy. Those policies are my husband’s job.†On her own political beliefs and how she advises Trump: â€Å"Nobody knows and nobody will ever know. Because that’s between me and my husband.†On her appearance:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I didn’t make any changes.  A lot of people say I am using all the procedures for my face. I didn’t do anything. I live a healthy life, I take care of my skin and my body. I’m against Botox, I’m against injections; I think it’s damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It’s all me. I will age gracefully, as my mom does.† On her husbands temper: When you attack him, he will punch back ten times harder. No matter who you are, a man or a woman. He treats everyone equal.†On her husbands presidency:  He is not politically correct, and he tells the truth. Everything is not roses and flowers and perfect, because it is not. He wants America to be great again, and he can do that..  He is a great leader - the best leader, an amazing negotiator. America needs that, and he believes in America. He believes in its potential and what it can be, because it is now in big trouble.  On why she didnt campaign more for her husband: â€Å"I support my husband 100 percent, but ... we have a 9-year-old son together, Barron, and I’m raising him. This is the age he needs a parent at home.On the naturalization process and becoming an American citizen: I came here for my career, and I did so well, I moved here. It never crossed my mind to stay here without papers. That is just the person you are. You follow the rules. You follow the law. Every few months you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001. After the green card, I applied for citizenship. And it was a long process. Takes On Bullying and Opioid Abuse It is tradition that the first lady of the United States use the platform of the highest office in the nation to advocate for a cause during their tenure in the White House. Mrs. Trump took up child welfare, particularly around the issues of cyberbullying and opioid abuse. In a pre-election speech, Mrs. Trump said American culture had gotten â€Å"too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked †¦ It is absolutely unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet. We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other.† In a speech to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, she said â€Å"nothing could be more urgent nor worthy a cause than preparing future generations for the adulthood with true moral clarity and responsibility. We must teach our children the values of empathy and communication that are at the core of kindness, mindfulness, integrity, and leadership which can only be taught by example.† Mrs. Trump led discussions on opioid addiction in the White House and visited hospitals caring for babies who were born addicted, as well. The well-being of children is of the utmost importance to me and I plan to use my platform as first lady to help as many kids as I can, she said. Like her predecessor, First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Trump also encouraged healthy eating habits among children. I encourage you to continue and eat a lot of vegetables and fruits so you grow up healthy and take care of yourself. ... Its very important, she said. Mrs. Trump memorialized those goals, or pillars, in her Be Best campaign, which among other things called on adults to serve as role models for how to treat others, particularly on social media. It is our responsibility as adults to educate and reinforce  to them  that when they are using their voices - whether verbally or online - they must choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion, she wrote. References and Recommended Reading Archived Official Bio: MelaniaTrump.com  Official White House Bio: Whitehouse.govThe Model American: The New YorkerFrom Small-Town Slovenia to the Doorstep of the White House: The New York TimesMelania Trumps Childhood in Sovenia: ABC NewsMelania Trump Juggles Motherhood, Marriage, and a Career Just Like Us: ParentingMelania Trumps American Dream: Bazaar

I.R.I.

I.R.I. There are four parts to the I.R.I. theme. The first part is illusion (what seems to be.) The next one is reality (what is.) The last part is ideal (what should be.) It should be perfect, moral, and be in God's way. The fourth part is the artist. The artist exposes illusion by showing the reality. Their disillusions can be either bad or good. When they are bad, we don't like it and it tends to make life harder. When it is good it moves us toward the idea and makes us better people.Romanticism is emotion as opposed to reason. Characters act out of emotion instead of reason. We approach the story on a level of emotion not realistically. We suspend disbelief. Nature can effect our emotions as in storms and foggy weather. It can also speak to us through symbols that are tangible. This represents something abstract, or ideal.We also experience these through our senses. The third part of romanticism is supernatural, unusual, gothic, exotic, and grotesque. The fourth is mythology and folklor e (Greek and Roman). The fifth part is emphasis on self reliance and independence. Which are the characters. The last part is nationalism. We use these themes to comprehend the story we read better.

An Analysis of the Anti-Utopian Notion in “Notes from Underground”

An Analysis of the Anti-Utopian Notion in â€Å"Notes from Underground† Notes from Underground, completed in 1864, is considered one of Dostoevsky’s most deviously insightful works, famous for its gloomy description of not only the dark historical period but also the dark environment in which the protagonist lives. This is a novel that attacks moralism, rationalism, utilitarianism and utopian idealism. After a thorough reading, one can locate abundant clues and evidence to support that one of the core themes of Notes from Underground is the fight against the world that people would call civilized, i.e. the ideal world that people are longing for, and the world that â€Å"I†, the protagonist of the story, will deny. The opening paragraphs of the story clearly convey the protagonist’s view of life, personality and the status of his rationality. Almost immediately, we learn that the protagonist is afflicted by illness but refuses to receive medical treatment. He says, â€Å"My liver hurts; well, then let it hurt even worse†(3). He interprets medical treatment as â€Å"harming only myself and no one else.† This reveals how clearly he understands his illness. That he chooses not to see a doctor proves the protagonist’s advocacy for free will and the power of this free will could make him choose to tolerate the pain rather than seek a cure. Well-being and happiness are desirable goals, and also the features of the utopian world, but he chooses to deny these notions and suffer in order to prove his views. Furthermore, his monologue also implies his championing of rationality over morality and how he escapes from the control imposed by morality. He says: â€Å"What was the main point about my wickedness? The whole thing precisely was †¦ that I was simply frightening sparrows in vain, and pleasing myself with it.†(4) This excerpt shows how powerfully moral judgment suppresses a person’s anger. It changes a person in rage into a timid sparrow.Moreover, simple comfort like a doll or sugar could assuage him. Closely following the above quote is the protagonist’s confession, â€Å"an intelligent man of the nineteenth century must be and is morally obliged to be primarily a characterless being; and a man of character, an active figure – primarily a limited being† (5). When everybody is calling for a higher standard of morality, the protagonist expresses the idea that morality makes people characterless. When morality is considered a social progress towards utopian idealism, the protagonist chooses to avoid it and live out his life outside of this movement, behaving in a way that society would deem wicked. He dislikes s ociety, so he stays away from it, and he remains â€Å"wicked† so as not to become characterless. The protagonist clearly knows that he could not blend in with society because of his wickedness, but upon facing their derision, he could do nothing but fight back in protest. This is illustrated by his encounter with an officer in the street. In thinking about how to deal with the superior officer, he says, â€Å"it tormented me that even in the street I simply could not be on an equal footing with him.† (48) He thought it humiliating and unequal that he would have to step aside in deference to the officer even though the man had no authority on the street. He even imagines, â€Å"what if I meet him and do not step aside? Deliberately do not step aside, even if I have to shove him?† (48) The key word here is equality, in that the protagonist does not want to exist in a system where an officer is perceived to have more value than the common man. He just would not swerve to obtain his sense of being treated equally, and all the theory of equality comes from western enlig htenment. As an intellect influenced by it, he becomes oversensitive after he spends too much of his energy focusing on it.Equality is a concept that exists in the description of ideal interpersonal relationships and, crucially, in the utopian world. It is a social state that everybody desires. However, that he emphasizes the notion of equality with such vehemence indicates that it has influenced and changed his personality and social behavior, which implies that he is a rebel of idealism. Ultimately, the narrator rejects blending in with society, and does not seek the same sense of happiness that others yearn for. His love affair with Liza is another example that proves he avoids the notion of happiness as interpreted by others. In chapter six, he says, â€Å"I grew up without a family: that must be why I turned out this way†¦feeling† (84). This personal judgment of himself prepares him for his later escape from Liza. His emotional confession of his situation touched his sensitive nerve to love, but as his confession echoes Liza’s misfortune, Liza started to pay special attention to him. However, after â€Å"seeing her suddenly blush† for what could happen next, he abruptly starts to defend himself by saying, â€Å"I am not ashamed of my poverty,† â€Å"I look upon my poverty with pride† (106) Poor but noble this is his self-evaluation which reveals his sensitiveness. Then he â€Å"jumped up and ran to Apollon,† and he t hinks he â€Å"had to vanish somewhere† (106). His sudden departure finally ends his love of Liza, which also proves that he is not only sensitive but also lacks confidence. He is poor, but he finds reasons and defends his poverty, which proves that he is afraid of his future with Liza. Because love is considered a blissful thing and a symbol of an ideal world, he chooses to avoid it and escape. The Underground Mans failed relationship with Liza, when considered together with his attitude of his life and his social behavior helps to conclude that he staunchly refused to pursue what others would perceive as an ideal world. Everything that marks idealism and betterment he choose to escape from in order to preserve his worldview of free will over happiness. As a philosophical and psychological statement, Notes from Underground expresses an anti-utopian tendency. Work Cited: Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes From Underground. New York: Bantam. 1983