Saturday, August 31, 2019
Police Perception In My Community Essay
INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE Community Oriented Policing is a philosophy and not a specific tactic, It is a proactive, decentralized approach, designed to reduce crime, disorder, and by extension, fear of crime, by intensely involving the same officer in the same community on a long-term basis, so that residents will develop trust to cooperate with police by providing information and assistance to achieve those three crucial goals (Trojanowicz and Carter,1988) The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Crime Act) is widely recognized as a significant milestone in community policing. It was intended by President Clinton and Attorney General Reno as the â€Å"changing of policing.†The legislation provided the funding vehicle for an additional 100,000 police officers to boost law enforcement efforts in a climate of nationwide anxiety about crime. The Act gave the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (OCOPS) the task of supporting a major drive toward rooting community policing in solid foundations to become the prevailing orthodoxy in American law enforcement. (Nicholl, 1999) Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the country look to Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to improve their own services. According to OCOPS, â€Å" Community policing focuses on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships. The community policing model balances reactive responses to calls for service with proactive problem-solving centered on the causes of crime and disorder. Community policing requires police and citizens to join together as partners in the course of both identifying and effectively addressing these issues.†           It is important to note then the Public’s Perception of the Police is an essential element for the success of Community Policing-based strategies. Throughout the country, studies have been made that correlate Police Perception and Community Policing. During the past 20 years, there has been an expanding body of research examining citizens’ attitudes toward the police. Most of this research has been directed at assessing the determinants of these attitudes. In contrast, less attention has been focused on the reasons why citizens hold certain attitudes (Frank et al,2005) The author then, as a member of the Chesterfield Police Department, has a special interest in Community Policing and Police Perception, most especially in his own community. This research them aims to study Police Perception particularly in the Community of Chesterfield Township, a part of The County of Macomb in the state of Michigan.  It is worth mentioning that The Chesterfield Police Department ‘s aim is embodied in its mission statement: it is committed to providing the highest quality of public service and crime prevention while maintaining the public’s respect and protecting the rights and dignity of everyone. The Chesterfield Police Department is dedicated to strong community relationships while providing a safe environment to enhance the quality of life for our citizens and visitors, which is very much in line with the concept of Community Policing. This is further supported by this Police Department’s value statement , abbreviated as POLICE, which includes developing an everlasting PARTNERSHIP between the Community, having a dedicated to the OATH of protecting and serving all people ,recognizing the importance of all Department members and Citizens, treating each other with fairness, LOYALTY and respect , maintaining the highest degree of INTEGRITY, being responsible and accountable for their own actions and decisions , believing that COOPERATION and teamwork will enable them to achieve all goals of this Department and having a commitment to EXCELLENCE in the performance of their duties (http://www.chesterfieldtownshippolice.com/values.htm)            The Chesterfield Police Department’s Mission and Value statements share the same elements with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services which aims â€Å"to help law enforcement agencies implement and enhance community policing, defined as â€Å"a policing philosophy that promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem-solving tactics and police-community partnerships.††(C.O.P.S. http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=36/ )            Chesterfield Township is located in Macomb County, Michigan and encompasses an area of approximately 26 square miles. The population at the 2000 census was 37,004.  This increased to 446,962 in the year 2006. (Muller, 2006) The Township was established in 1842 and became a Charter Township in 1989 by Resolution. (Pall, 2002)  In Chesterfield, The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 28. The number of murders and homicides was 1. The violent crime rate was 0.7 per 1,000 people.  Meanwhile, in the whole Macomb county, of which Chesterfield is included, a total of  22,395 were reported for the year 2000 , a majority of reports were for Larceny and Motor vehicle theft. Sixteen of the reports for that year were on murder, 309 for rape and 384 reports on robbery for that year (Federal Bureau of Investigation to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, University of Michigan)            It is in from scope then that the author gathered data for the completion of this research Guided by feedback from other researches undertaken on Police Perception of the community such as these:   â€Å"Gathering data on crime and community policing at the local level not only supplements our national data, but also allows local officials to identify their particular crime control needs,†said Bureau of Justice Statistics Director Jan Chaiken. â€Å"As part of the Justice Department’s emphasis on police working with residents in their neighborhoods, we are giving local law enforcement agencies tools to learn more about crimes and public opinion that may not be reported to the police.†Community policing is a crime fighting strategy that encourages law enforcement to work in partnership with the community to solve crime problems. The high degree of citizen support for America’s neighborhood police officers is a testament to the dedicated men and women who work day in and day out to establish relationships with residents in their communities,†said Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder. â€Å"These relationships help citizens and police work together to promote community safety.†(Smith et al, 1999)†           In light of these statements, this research was undertaken to determine the Police Perception in the Community of Chesterfield Township, whether it is positive or negative through the use of a Police Perception survey adapted from earlier studies made by other police department in certain cities, particularly Portland (Campbell De long, 2005) , Pasadena (Police Assessment Resource Center, 2006). Chicago (The Chicago Community Policing Evaluation Consortium, 2004) and Kentucky (Kentucky Crime Prevention Coalition) it also aims to provide demographic breakdown of survey respondents in relation to their Police Perception in Chesterfield Township.            Such information will enable the Chesterfield Police Department to continue living out their mission statement and embody the philosophy of Community Policing by either maintaining or improving their performance based on their community’s police perception, as will be determined by the survey done for this study.            It is the hope of this author that this research will also lead to the initiation of other studies concerning his community and the other areas in the County of Macomb, and even the State of Michigan to further improve the Police Departments public service performance to ensure the safety of the citizens. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The idea of examining Police Perception is not new. The community’s perception of the police department has been linked to the success of police programs to promote safety in the neighborhood. A study made by Gallagher. Et al in 2001, summarizes the studies made regarding Police Image and Community’s perception of the Police in a â€Å"The Public Image of the Police: Final Report to The International Association of Chiefs of Police. Research findings point out that : â€Å"Polls of the adult population in the United States since the 1960s show that the majority of the public has an over-all positive view of the police. Depending on the year and the particular measure used, the percentage of respondents with a positive assessment of police has been between 51 and 81 percent. When asked to assess service to their own neighborhoods, respondents tend to produce even higher evaluations. Relatively few citizens offer a negative assessment of police. (Gallagher et al. 2001).            Research also recognizes that Police Perception has a great impact on the success of the promulgation of Community Policing. Trojanowicz & Carter( 1991) discuss the philosophy and role of community policing. It points out that â€Å"Community Policing’s unique contribution is a radical departure from the past and the present. While today’s community policing efforts retain the best elements of the foot patrol programs of the past, they are intended to avoid both the old system’s abuses and shortcomings.†           In â€Å"Community Policing, Community Justice, and Restorative Justice: Exploring the Links for the Delivery of a Balanced Approach to Public Safety†Nicholl in 1999 with a report funded by Grant No. 98-CK-WX-0059 awarded to the National Victim Center by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. It discusses the concept of Community extensively, in a policy-maker’s perspective.  Liou & Savage make the connection between Community Policing Strategies and Public Perception of Police through their research â€Å"Citizen Perception of Community Policing Impact†This study examines the impact of community policing by analyzing citizens’ perception of crime and police work before and after implementation of a community-oriented policing program in three neighborhoods in the city of West Palm Beach, Florida. The study reveals very positive findings about the community policing, including: perception of decreased local crime, increased perception of police performance, neighborhood improvement, and police-community relationship. Implications concerning the relationship between the community and the police, and citizen satisfaction and public services are discussed.( Liou & Savage) Many other studies have been done to examine Police perception and these take into consideration different variables, being done in various settings.            Frank, Smith and Novak (2005) focused on the reasons why citizens have certain attitudes towards police officer. Their study â€Å"uses the survey responses of 613 residents of a Midwestern city to examine the information accessed by citizens when responding to questions regarding their general and specific attitudes toward the police. The findings suggest that citizens focus on attributes of agencies and encounters, some focus on the behavior of officers during interactions, and others base their attitudes on general perceptions of the occupation of policing.†           A comprehensive look at Police perception issues can be found in Brown & Benedict’s article â€Å"Perceptions of the police: Past findings, methodological issues, conceptual issues and policy implications†which is a research updates and expands upon Decker’s article â€Å"Citizen attitudes toward the police: a review of past findings and suggestions for future policy†by summarizing the findings from more than 100 articles on perceptions of and attitudes toward the police. Initially, the value of research on attitudes toward the police is discussed. Then the research pertaining to the impact of individual level variables (e.g. race) and contextual level variables (e.g. neighborhood) on perceptions of the police is reviewed. Studies of juveniles’ attitudes toward the police, perceptions of police policies and practices, methodological issues and conceptual issues are also discussed. This review of the literature indicates that only four variables (age, contact with police, neighborhood, and race) have consistently been proven to affect attitudes toward the police. (Brown & Benedict,2002)            In terms of application, several police departments have made their own studies on Police Perception. â€Å"Community Policing in Chicago an Evaluation of Chicago’s Alternative Policing Strategy† Prepared by The Chicago Community Policing Evaluation Consortium was done in through a grant awarded to award to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority in 2004. The â€Å"Portland Police Bureau 2005 Community Assessment Survey†was conducted for: City of Portland, Bureau of Police by Campbell de long resources Inc in August 2005 Police Assessment Resource Center and Vera Institute of Justice completed â€Å"Assessing Police-Community Relations in Pasadena, California†in 2006 . The Kentucky Crime Prevention Coalition, meanwhile, adapted the use of a Community Policing Survey. HYPOTHESIS H0= There is no significant percentage of Chesterfield Residents who have a have a positive perception of the Chesterfield Police Department H1= There is a significant percentage of Chesterfield Residents who Have a positive perception of the Chesterfield Police Department METHODOLOGY:            Taking into consideration the limitations in man power and resources for this research, a simple random sampling method was applied to come up with the survey results.            Based on the calculation for a 95 per cent confidence level and confidence interval of five, the sample size was 275.  The survey was conducted by distributing survey forms in several households around the Township of Chesterfield. Respondents were limited to Chesterfield residents above 18 years of age. Only one respondent per household was accepted.            These survey forms, consisting of eight simple questions pertaining to the residents’ perception of the police, which was based on survey forms used by other Police Departments as stated in the literature review. Only eight questions were included in the survey, because these questions focused on Police Perception. This is due to the scope and resource limitation stated earlier. A copy of this questionnaire is included in the appendix section of this paper            This study’s objective is to present data about Police Perception of the residents of the Township of Chesterfield in Macomb County in the State of Michigan. This research is done to show that the general perception of police in the sample population perceive the police positively.            The sample size was 275 respondents in the township of Chesterfield, which has a population of 446,962 in the  latest census in the year 2006. Based on a confidence level of 95 and a confidence interval of 5, the sample size is sufficient to estimate the response of this community regarding their perception of the Chesterfield Police Department.            Figure 1 shows the demographic breakdown of respondents by race. More than half of the respondents were Caucasians, which also reflected the actual population of Caucasians, 93 % of Chesterfield population, in the 2000 Census made by the US Census Bureau. In the sample population, 61 per cent was composed of Caucasian or white residents. Other races composes 14.5 percent and 12 percent were of African-American descent. Asians comprised 5.5 per cent and 4.4 % of sample population were Hispanics/Latino. Meanwhile, 1.1 per cent was American Indians and Pacific islanders compose on 0.7 per cent. Based on these figures, it can be surmised that the Chesterfield Township was predominantly Caucasian, in terms of the population. The relationship of this data to the results concerning Police Perception will be discussed later.            The study only included residents who were 18 years old of age and above. The data shows that majority of respondents were from the 18-29 age group, with a percentage of 39 of the sample population. The age group with the least number of respondents was that of residents 50-59 years old, representing only 9 per cent of the sample population. This signifies that the Chesterfield township has fairly young residents, as seen by the larger percentage of those below middle age.            Given the limited man power and resources, the author opt to estimate Police Perception using only eight questions adapted from other studies stated earlier. The first three questions were on how the community perceived police officers, based on their encounters. The fourth question estimated the residents’ opinion about the adequacy of the number of police officers in the community. The fifth, sixth and seventh questions estimated residents’ perception of police based on three parameters- behavior, ability to assess needs and relationship of police officers to residents themselves. The last question asked the residents to give their over-all perception by indicating their rating for the Chesterfield Township Police Department.            Figure 3 Police Perception Responses in Chesterfield Township Community shows the relationships of responses of residents to the first three survey questions. As evident in the chart, answers for the questions on police perception based on encounters follow a similar pattern, indicating that most respondents agree that police officers are prompt, professional and fair.            Figure 4 represents the respondent’s opinion on the need for more police officers in the community. Based on the results gathered, majority, 36.4 per cent , slightly agree that there is a need for more police officers in the community. As a whole, though, it can be seen that more residents disagreed and strongly disagreed, 14.5 and 7.3 per cent respectively, that there was further need for more police presence as compared to respondents who agreed,9.1 per cent, and strongly agreed,1.8 per cent to the augmentation of police visibility.            With regard to the Chesterfield community’s perception of Police based on three parameters, their responses follow a similar trend, as evident in Figure 5. In terms of behavior, 49 . 5 per cent rated police â€Å"Good†. 32. 7 % gave Chesterfield police officers a rating of â€Å"excellent†. â€Å"Fair was how 14. 5 per cent rated police in the community while 3.6 per cent did not know how to answer this question. In their ability to address the need of the community, Chesterfield police officers were again rated â€Å"Good†by 54 . 5 per cent of the residents.  An â€Å"Excellent†rating was given by 29.1 per cent, while â€Å"Fair†was what 11. 6 per cent deemed appropriate. There were 4.7 per cent of the population, though, that didn’t know how to rate their police officers. When it comes to relationships between Chesterfield residents and their community’s police, majority, 43.6 per cent chose to rate this, as â€Å"Good†, Fair was give as rating by 27. 3 per cent of the population and 21.8 gave an â€Å"Excellent†mark. There were 7.3 residents, though that were still unsure how to rate the Chesterfield community’s relationship with its police officers.            Based on this information, Police perception in the areas specified were rated â€Å"Good†by a majority of Chesterfield residents. This point out a positive view of the township’s police officers.            In relation to this positive response, the over-all rating of Chesterfield township community residents is seen in Figure 6. However, here, we see a shift of the rating from â€Å"Good†to Fair†. Apparently, most residents, 40.4 per cent particularly, perceive the Chesterfield Police Departments’ performance as â€Å"Fair†. Thirty two per cent believe that the township’s police deserve a â€Å"good†rating. Approximately 25 per cent believe their Police force is â€Å"Excellent†HYPOTHESIS TESTING            This limitation of this study has been presented in the previous chapters. It is important to reiterate that this is mainly, a descriptive study. However, for research purposes, the Hypothesis that â€Å" There is a significant percentage of Chesterfield Residents who Have a positive perception of the Chesterfield Police Department†has been stated, with its corresponding null hypothesis â€Å" There is no significant lower percentage of Chesterfield Residents who have a have a positive perception of the Chesterfield Police Department†. Based on the data presented, there is evidence to believe that on all eight questions, the community’s police perception leaned towards a positive image of the members of the Chesterfield Police department.            Although specific statistical tools were not applied on the data, the descriptive statistics show that the Hypothesis should be accepted and the null hypothesis are rejected. CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS            This study aims to observe the Chesterfield community’s perception of its police officers. Based on the data present, it is evident that most residents of this community hold a positive perception of their police officers. Descriptive Statistics show evidence of these, based on the percentages of positive responses.            This study, however is simplistic and there are a lot about Police perception these communities that should be evaluated so that they are translated into information that can improve the services of the Police Department.            The data gathered for this research however, can be a guide to others who will pursue such inquiry on Police Perception and who are interested in this area as a means on evaluation of Community Policing Programs, much like what other police departments have done in their respective communities.            It is important to point out, however, that more resource be invested in such an endeavor to be able to come up with data that is comprehensive and more accurate.            It is the hope of this author, though that this simple research has given a glimpse of the Chesterfield’s community’s perception of its police officers, and serve as a spring board to more advanced and relevant research.  REFERENCES: Annan, Sampson O.(1995) NATIONAL SURVEY OF COMMUNITY POLICING STRATEGIES, 1992-1993 [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Washington, DC: The Police Foundation [producer], 1994. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], Brown, B. & Benedict W. (2002) Perceptions of the police: Past findings, methodological issues,           conceptual issues and policy implications Policing: An International Journal of Police              Strategies & Management, 25,543 – 580 Campbell Delong Resources, Inc.(2005) Portland Police Bureau 2005 Community Assessment  Survey Conducted for: City of Portland, Bureau of Police RETRIVED 27 APRIL 2008 from http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=105839 Chesterfield, Michigan. Podunk, The Power of Place retrieved 29 April 2008 from http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=21700  Frank, J, Smith, B.W., Novak, K.J. (2005)Exploring the Basis of Citizens’ Attitudes Toward                the Police Police Quarterly 8, 206-228 Gallagher, Maguire, E., Mastrofski, S., Reisig, D.(2001) â€Å"The Public Image of the Police:                     Final Report to The International Association of Chiefs of Police By The Administration                    of Justice Program George Mason University†. International Association of Chiefs of       Police retrieved on  28 April 2008 from      http://theiacp.org/profassist/ethics/public_image.ht Liou,K.T.& Savage,E.G. â€Å"Citizen Perception of Community Policing Impact†                          Public Administration and Management: An Interactive Journal. Retrieved on                           28 April 2008 from http://www.pamij.com/liou1.html Mission Statement. 2007. Chesterfield Township Police Department, retrieved 27 April 2008 from http://www.chesterfieldtownshippolice.com/mission.htm Nicholl, Caroline G. (1999).Community Policing, Community Justice, and                                             Restorative Justice: Exploring the Links for the Delivery of a Balanced Approach to Public Safety. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Police Assessment Resource Center & Vera Institute of Justice. (2006) â€Å"Assessing Police-Community Relations in Pasadena, California.†retrieved on 28 April 2008 from http://www.parc.info/client_files/Pasadena/Assessing%20Police%20Community%20Relations%20in%20Pasadena%20California.pdf Scaglion , R. & Condon, R. (1980) Determinants Of Attitudes Toward City Police.                              Criminology 17, 485–494 Sims, B., Hooper,M., Peterson S.A. (2002)  Determinants of citizens’ attitudes toward police:               Results of the Harrisburg Citizen Survey – 1999 Policing : An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 25, 457 – 471 The Chicago Community Policing Evaluation Consortium ( 2004 ) â€Å"CAPS at Ten :Community Policing in Chicago An Evaluation of Chicago’s Alternative Policing Strategy†.       Institute for Police Research retrieved 27 April 2008 from            http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/policing_papers/Yr10-CAPSeval.pdf Trojanowicz R.C. & Carter, D. The Philosophy and Role of Community Policing.                    The National Center for Community Policing, Michigan State University.                                             retrieved on 28 April 2008. fromhttp://www1.cj.msu.edu/~people/cp/cpphil.html
Friday, August 30, 2019
Central Dogma Paper
The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology was founded by Francis Crick in 1958. A central dogma of biology provides an explanation as to how gene expression occurs. The central dogma is the main thesis of molecular inheritance. It states that DNA makes RNA, which makes protein. Genes control the traits by controlling which proteins are made. The process of Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is when DNA transcripts into RNA and then translates into protein. Transcription is the transfer of genetic information from DNA forming into RNA.The differences between DNA and RNA are the sugar that’s in DNA which is called deoxyribose and ribose for RNA which does not have sugar. When DNA replication begins, it begins at a specific point in the DNA molecule called the origin of replication site. The enzyme helicase unwinds and separates a portion of the DNA molecule. After the DNA polymerase separates a portion of the molecule it then initiates the process of replication in which DNA polyme rase can add new nucleotides to a pre-existing chain of nucleotides.Therefore, replication begins as an enzyme called primase and it assembles an RNA primer at the origin of the replication site. The RNA primer consists of a sequence of RNA nucleotides, complementary to a section of the DNA strand that is being prepared for replication. The RNA primer is then removed and replaced with a sequence of DNA nucleotides. Then Okazaki fragments are synthesized and the RNA primers are replaced with DNA nucleotides and the individual Okzaki fragments are bonded together into a continuous complementary strand.During transcription deoxyribose nucleic acid is formed into another nucleic acid which is ribonucleic acid or RNA. Transcription begins when RNA polymerase binds onto the double stranded DNA molecule. RNA polymerase moves along the strand of DNA making a complementary single stranded RNA molecule. Here’s a good thing you could remember, take the root word ‘scribe’ ou t of transcription and think of it was a person who writes copies of important documents because that is what scribe means.Next is translation, it is the process of using the code in RNA to put together the protein and translation is a word that describes the transfer of information from one to another. Translation begins when messenger RNA binds to the ribosome. The RNA passes along the ribosome and brings out 3 nucleotides at a time. While that’s happening the amino acid that is being carried is also being transferred to the amino acid chain. After that is done the ribosomal complex falls apart and the protein is released into a cell.During protein synthesis, amino acids build a protein molecule that’s, of course, called protein synthesis. Synthesis means ‘putting together’, so that is a good way to remember protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is the cellular process of building proteins. Translation has a part of the central dogma that is also included in protein synthesis and transcription is not. Translation is just the decoding of RNA to make a chain of amino acids that will then, later, turn into protein. Overall in central dogma, DNA is simply the instructions to making proteins.
Nursing questions Essay
The nurse is performing her admission assessment of a patient. When grading arterial pulses, a 1+ pulse indicates: Above normal perfusion. Absent perfusion. Normal perfusion. Diminished perfusion. Murmurs that indicate heart disease are often accompanied by other symptoms such as: Dyspnea on exertion. Subcutaneous emphysema. Thoracic petechiae. Periorbital edema. Which pregnancy-related physiologic change would place the patient with a history of cardiac disease at the greatest risk of developing severe cardiac problems? Decrease heart rate Decreased cardiac output Increased plasma volume Increased blood pressure The priority nursing diagnosis for the patient with cardiomyopathy is: Anxiety related to risk of declining health status. Ineffective individual coping related to fear of debilitating illness Fluid volume excess related to altered compensatory mechanisms. Decreased cardiac output related to reduced myocardial contractility. A patient with thrombophlebitis reached her expected outcomes of care. Her affected leg appears pink and warm. Her pedal pulse is palpable and there is no edema present. Which step in the nursing process is described above? Planning Implementation Analysis Evaluation An elderly patient may have sustained a basilar skull fracture after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. The nurse knows that basilar skull factures: Are the least significant type of skull fracture. May have cause cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks from the nose or ears. Have no characteristic findings. Are always surgically repaired. Which of the following types of drugs might be given to control increased intracranial pressure (ICP)? Barbiturates Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors Anticholinergics Histamine receptor blockers The nurse is teaching family members of a patient with a concussion about the early signs of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following would she cite as an early sign of increased ICP? Decreased systolic blood pressure Headache and vomiting Inability to wake the patient with noxious stimuli Dilated pupils that don’t react to light Jessie James is diagnosed with retinal detachment. Which intervention is the most important for this patient? Admitting him to the hospital on strict bed rest Patching both of his eyes Referring him to an ophthalmologist Preparing him for surgery Dr. Bruce Owen, a chemist, sustained a chemical burn to one eye. Which intervention takes priority for a patient with a chemical burn of the eye? Patch the affected eye and call the ophthalmologist. Administer a cycloplegic agent to reduce ciliary spasm. Immediately instill a tropical anesthetic, then irrigate the eye with saline solution. Administer antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection The nurse is assessing a patient and notes a Brudzinski’s sign and Kernig’s sign. These are two classic signs of which of the following disorders? Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) Meningitis Seizure disorder Parkinson’s disease A patient is admitted to the hospital for a brain biopsy. The nurse knows that the most common type of primary brain tumor is: Meningioma. Angioma. Hemangioblastoma. Glioma. The nurse should instruct the patient with Parkinson’s disease to avoid which of the following? Walking in an indoor shopping mall Sitting on the deck on a cool summer evening Walking to the car on a cold winter day Sitting on the beach in the sun on a summer day Gary Jordan suffered a cerebrovascular accident that left her unable to comprehend speech and unable to speak. This type of aphasia is known as: Receptive aphasia Expressive aphasia Global aphasia Conduction aphasia Kelly Smith complains that her headaches are occurring more frequently despite medications. Patients with a history of headaches should be taught to avoid: Freshly prepared meats. Citrus fruits. Skim milk Chocolate Immediately following cerebral aneurysm rupture, the patient usually complains of: Photophobia Explosive headache Seizures Hemiparesis Which of the following is a cause of embolic brain injury? Persistent hypertension Subarachnoid hemorrhage Atrial fibrillation Skull fracture Although Ms. Priestly has a spinal cord injury, she can still have sexual intercourse. Discharge teaching should make her aware that: She must remove indwelling urinary catheter prior to intercourse. She can no longer achieve orgasm. Positioning may be awkward. She can still get pregnant. Ivy Hopkins, age 25, suffered a cervical fracture requiring immobilization with halo traction. When caring for the patient in halo traction, the nurse must: Keep a wrench taped to the halo vest for quick removal if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary. Remove the brace once a day to allow the patient to rest. Encourage the patient to use a pillow under the ring. Remove the brace so that the patient can shower. The nurse asks a patient’s husband if he understands why his wife is receiving nimodipine (Nimotop), since she suffered a cerebral aneurysm rupture. Which response by the husband indicates that he understands the drug’s use? â€Å"Nimodipine replaces calcium. †â€Å"Nimodipine promotes growth of blood vessels in the brain. †â€Å"Nimodipine reduces the brain’s demand for oxygen. †â€Å"Nimodipine reduces vasospasm in the brain. †Many men who suffer spinal injuries continue to be sexually active. The teaching plan for a man with a spinal cord injury should include sexually concerns. Which of the following injuries would most likely prevent erection and ejaculation? C5 C7 T4 S4 Cathy Bates, age 36, is a homemaker who frequently forgets to take her carbamazepine (Tegretol). As a result, she has been experiencing seizures. How can the nurse best help the patient remember to take her medication? Tell her take her medication at bedtime. Instruct her to take her medication after one of her favorite television shows. Explain that she should take her medication with breakfast. Tell her to buy an alarm watch to remind her. Richard Barnes was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis. What response by the patient indicates that he understands the precautions necessary with this diagnosis? â€Å"I’m so depressed because I can’t have any visitors for a week. †â€Å"Thank goodness, I’ll only be in isolation for 24 hours. †â€Å"The nurse told me that my urine and stool are also sources of meningitis bacteria. †â€Å"The doctor is a good friend of mine and won’t keep me in isolation. An early symptom associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) includes: Fatigue while talking Change in mental status Numbness of the hands and feet Spontaneous fractures When caring for a patient with esophageal varices, the nurse knows that bleeding in this disorder usually stems from: Esophageal perforation Pulmonary hypertension Portal hypertension Peptic ulcers Tiffany Black is diagnosed with type A hepatitis. What special precautions should the nurse take when caring for this patient? Put on a mask and gown before entering the patient’s room. Wear gloves and a gown when removing the patient’s bedpan. Prevent the droplet spread of the organism. Use caution when bringing food to the patient. Discharge instructions for a patient who has been operated on for colorectal cancer include irrigating the colostomy. The nurse knows her teaching is effective when the patient states he’ll contact the doctor if: He experiences abdominal cramping while the irrigant is infusing He has difficulty inserting the irrigation tube into the stoma He expels flatus while the return is running out He’s unable to complete the procedure in 1 hour The nurse explains to the patient who has an abdominal perineal resection that an indwelling urinary catheter must be kept in place for several days afterward because: It prevents urinary tract infection following surgery It prevents urine retention and resulting pressure on the perineal wound It minimizes the risk of wound contamination by the urine It determines whether the surgery caused bladder trauma The first day after, surgery the nurse finds no measurable fecal drainage from a patient’s colostomy stoma. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention? Call the doctor immediately. Obtain an order to irrigate the stoma. Place the patient on bed rest and call the doctor. Continue the current plan of care. If a patient’s GI tract is functioning but he’s unable to take foods by mouth, the preferred method of feeding is: Total parenteral nutrition Peripheral parenteral nutrition Enteral nutrition Oral liquid supplements Which type of solution causes water to shift from the cells into the plasma? Hypertonic Hypotonic Isotonic Alkaline Particles move from an area of greater osmelarity to one of lesser osmolarity through: Active transport Osmosis Diffusion Filtration Which assessment finding indicates dehydration? Tenting of chest skin when pinched Rapid filling of hand veins A pulse that isn’t easily obliterated Neck vein distention Which nursing intervention would most likely lead to a hypo-osmolar state? Performing nasogastric tube irrigation with normal saline solution Weighing the patient daily Administering tap water enema until the return is clear Encouraging the patient with excessive perspiration to dink broth Which assessment finding would indicate an extracellular fluid volume deficit? Bradycardia A central venous pressure of 6 mm Hg Pitting edema An orthostatic blood pressure change A patient with metabolic acidosis has a preexisting problem with the kidneys. Which other organ helps regulate blood pH? Liver Pancreas Lungs heart The nurse considers the patient anuric if the patient; Voids during the nighttime hours Has a urine output of less than 100 ml in 24 hours Has a urine output of at least 100 ml in 2 hours Has pain and burning on urination Which nursing action is appropriate to prevent infection when obtaining a sterile urine specimen from an indwelling urinary catheter? Aspirate urine from the tubing port using a sterile syringe and needle Disconnect the catheter from the tubing and obtain urine Open the drainage bag and pour out some urine Wear sterile gloves when obtaining urine After undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy, a patient is retuned to the room with continuous bladder irrigation in place. One day later, the patient reports bladder pain. What should the nurse do first? Increase the I. V. flow rate Notify the doctor immediately Assess the irrigation catheter for patency and drainage Administer meperidine (Demerol) as prescribed A patient comes to the hospital complaining of sudden onset of sharp, severe pain originating in the lumbar region and radiating around the side and toward the bladder. The patient also reports nausea and vomiting and appears pale, diaphoretic, and anxious. The doctor tentatively diagnoses renal calculi and orders flat-plate abdominal X-rays. Renal calculi can form anywhere in the urinary tract. What is their most common formation site? Kidney Ureter Bladder Urethra A patient comes to the hospital complaining of severe pain in the right flank, nausea, and vomiting. The doctor tentatively diagnoses right ureter-olithiasis (renal calculi). When planning this patient’s care, the nurse should assign highest priority to which nursing diagnosis? Pain Risk of infection Altered urinary elimination Altered nutrition: less than body requirements The nurse is reviewing the report of a patient’s routine urinalysis. Which of the following values should the nurse consider abnormal? Specific gravity of 1. 002 Urine pH of 3 Absence of protein Absence of glucose A patient with suspected renal insufficiency is scheduled for a comprehensive diagnostic work-up. After the nurse explains the diagnostic tests, the patient asks which part of the kidney â€Å"does the work. Which answer is correct? The glomerulus Bowman’s capsule The nephron The tubular system During a shock state, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system exerts which of the following effects on renal function? Decreased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Decreased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water While assessing a patient who complained of lower abdominal pressure, the nurse notes a firm mass extending above the symphysis pubis. The nurse suspects: A urinary tract infection Renal calculi An enlarged kidney A distended bladder Gregg Lohan, age 75, is admitted to the medical-surgical floor with weakness and left-sided chest pain. The symptoms have been present for several weeks after a viral illness. Which assessment finding is most symptomatic of pericarditis? Pericardial friction rub Bilateral crackles auscultated at the lung bases Pain unrelieved by a change in position Third heart sound (S3) James King is admitted to the hospital with right-side-heart failure. When assessing him for jugular vein distention, the nurse should position him: Lying on his side with the head of the bed flat. Sitting upright. Flat on his back. Lying on his back with the head of the bed elevated 30 to 45 degrees. The nurse is interviewing a slightly overweight 43-year-old man with mild emphysema and borderline hypertension. He admits to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. When developing a teaching plan, which of the following should receive highest priority to help decrease respiratory complications?
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Learning to Listen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Learning to Listen - Essay Example Ramin tells the readers how she has grown up with inquisitive behavior and become curious of everything happening around her. To this extent, the author reveals that the culture of one’s family influences his or her behavior. Further, the author reveals that one’s family can make him or her develop poor or good listening skills, which she emphasizes by reveling to the readers that she learnt about her poor listening skills from her family. Good listening demands that one be keen and completely identify with the speaker. Ramin emphasizes that great listening involves â€Å"deeply identifying with the person you’re speaking with, when their story becomes so vivid that your world becomes less about you and more about them†(Para 2). The author further makes it clear that hearing is different from listening. Hearing simply means making no sense of what the speaker says. Good and effective listening requires an individual to focus more on the speaker rather tha n himself. A good listener is one who identifies with and become part and parcel of the story. Ramin also reveals that poor listening skills can lead to communication barrier and increases one’s likelihood to miss important things said by the speaker. Ramin also reveals that listening skills can be learnt when she says â€Å"I might have missed that, had I not learned to listen†(Para 5) in reference to â€Å"I love you†whisper from an orphaned girl to her at Noah’s community center. Ramin’s claim that one should learn when to speak and when to listen is very true. I particularly had poor listening skills, but learnt a lesson that changed my listening skills completely. I had gate-crushed a certain wedding in the neighborhood. At the door of hall where the occasion was scheduled, a security guard instructed me that empty blue seats were reserved for some special people invited to the wedding. Unfortunately, I was simply nodding and talking at the same time, while my
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
A Strategic Plan for Personal Development Research Paper
A Strategic Plan for Personal Development - Research Paper Example Though the general notion is to think that leadership and power are synonymous, to me what Martin Luther King Jr. said makes more sense, â€Å"I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right, and that is good†(as cited in Ng, 2012, p.88). I look up to Gandhi as a model in this respect though I can in no way put a claim to achieve the level of his leadership legacy. It is important for my quest to find a leadership model that combines business or politics with personal integrity, that I learn what kind of a leader Gandhi was. As put by Nair (2010), â€Å"Gandhi wore no resplendent uniform, commanded no armies, and held no government position,†yet he had a whole nation behind him, ready to respond to his every uttered word (p.2). All this was achieved through non-violent means, which is nothing less than a miracle. Renowned leadership expert, Karl Moore has observed two key leadership qualities in Gandhi and added that they are also what many leaders of today lack- â€Å"leadership by example†and â€Å"persistence†(2011). It is the high standard of leadership practiced by Gandhi that I would like to set as my notion of perfect leadership, and aspire to at least work towards it with the self-reassurance that Gandhi was also an ordinary human being like I am. I believe, towards building and maintaining a peaceful world, which is day by day becoming a distant mirage, I owe this quest to myself, my future generations, and to my society. I envisage finding a high standard of leadership using the model of Gandhi as my idealized and ultimate paradigm. As a path for traveling in this direction, it is necessary that I seek the support of already evolved and well-defined paradigms for leadership. The leadership qualities that I look forward to cultivate include an ability to lead from the forefront yet walk with the group, exercise power where necessary yet make that power emerge from a common will, a vision of a world that is a more equal and just society, and the willingness to let others grow and become leaders themselves. Given the present situation where idealism looks good on paper but is mocked when it becomes real, I understand that it is a quite challenging task ahead of me. To make creative use of the scholarship on leadership that has been built by great academicians and visionaries, will be the best possible option for me to begin with. Hence I searched for theories, paradigms and models put forth by scholars in the field in an attempt to locate a paradigm that genuinely moves me and synchronizes with my vision of leadership. The paradigms that I found to be having the closest potential to achieving my end are, transformational, transactional and servant leadership paradigms. This is also in view of the fact that Gandhian model of leadership has been already described as transformational and transactional (Moore, 2011). Before I go deeper into the rele vance of these paradigms for me, I need to consider some definitions of leadership. Academic definitions go as follows: â€Å"
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Essay Example Unleaded gasoline has at least 15 hazardous substances including toluene (35%) and is classified as highly volatile and will result in vapour lock where combustion does not take place1. When mixed in water, most of the gasoline could evaporate if the water is open, but much of it cannot evaporate in underground water making a big proportion to dissolve and this will be absorbed by sediments. For aquatic organisms, this product will be quite toxic, depending on their size and resistance capability. Corrective action is necessary starting with site investigation. Hydrocarbon contamination with the groundwater should be stopped immediately. Its discharging point should be plugged and the nearest drains, water bodies should be sealed off, so that further contamination to distant water bodies does not happen. Residents could be evacuated if gasoline has already spread into drinking, using and sewage water or if that is not the case, water supply should be disconnected immediately and alternative water source should be provided. Complete groundwater monitoring should start immediately. Instead of one single action, it is better to perform by-monthly actions to remove all traces of gasoline from ground water, to ensure that dissolved contaminants are effectively vanishing. And groundwater sampling should be done on a regular basis through tracer testing. If widespread presence is detected, human exposure to it should be suspended immediately. Dissolved contamination level should be identified and ecological profile should be drawn, followed by remedial programme identified with the Corrective Action Plan. Public participation may be necessary in the entire operation to some extent. http://www-1.llnl.gov/IPandC/technology/profile/environment/DynamicUndergroundStripping/index.php This method is called Dynamic Underwater Stripping, in which steam drives contaminated water towards extraction wells. Where steam cannot penetrate, electrical heating dries and distils the clays, volcanic rocks and limestone. Heating of the soil also could do the same. It is very difficult to clean the underground contamination and this process is accepted as cost worthy, less cumbersome and minimum time consuming. Cleaning has to be done both above and below the water table. Clay has very low permeability, and the usual pump-and-treat method would be time consuming and more expensive and might not work below water level. Dynamic stripping could work even below water table, and by vacuum extraction, it could remove the gasoline and contaminated water2. This method relies on Steam Injection, Electrical heating, and underground imaging and all have proved very effective and reasonably cheaper. It has many additional advantages like being effective in low permeable soils, being capable of removing contaminant below and above water table. It is not risky to population, because the action is quick and decisive. Question 2: Gasoline (one of the Volatile Organic Compounds) contamination in ground water can cause major health hazards to people and ruin the river and water bodies' ecosystems completely. It can contaminate soil with hazardous results. MTBE in it creates alarming tension whenever leaks happen. Health of all 5,000 populations could be at risk by this environmental hazard, while the
Monday, August 26, 2019
The differences and similarities between the Christian and Muslim Research Paper
The differences and similarities between the Christian and Muslim faiths - Research Paper Example In order to understand the two religions, this paper will discuss the differences and similarities between the Christian and Muslim faiths. The first main difference between Christian and Muslim faiths has to do with the recognition of Jesus. Even though both faiths recognize Jesus, their beliefs on him greatly differ. Both faiths believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that he was infallible and sinless; however, while Christians see Jesus as God Himself, Muslims view Jesus a prophet of high regard (Renard, 2011). Christians are of the view that Jesus was a spiritual and not a political leader, and this is why most dominantly Christian nations practice separation of state and church. To Muslim, however, Muhammad was both a religious and political leaders, and this explains the integration of state and Islam religion in many Muslim countries. Related to this difference is believe in the Holy Trinity; Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, that is three persons in one divi ne nature, while Muslims believe that God is one person only. To Muslims, Jesus was not divine but was a human prophet who was sent by God just like prophets Moses and Muhammad (Riley-Smith, 2011). It is for this reason that Muslims are of the view that since these prophets were human beings, they should not be worshipped directly or indirectly. The other main difference between the two religions is in regard to their founders. To Christians, Jesus is the founder of Christianity and they ought to live according to His teachings. However, to Muslims, Muhammad is the founder of Islam; he was both the religious and political leader (Rousseau, 1999). It should be noted that both religions believe their founders are sinless and infallible. In addition, Christian and Muslim faiths differ on the idea of how salvation is obtained. On one hand, Christians believe that Adam and Eve committed sin and that all people, aside from Jesus, were born with this original sin (Al-Moghamis, 2002). They also believe that human beings are imperfect, and therefore man can only earn salvation through God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice. Besides, Christians believe that they can earn reparation and indulgences for their sins, through the saints’ good works (Riley-Smith, 2011). On the other hand, Muslims believe all humans are born sinless, and therefore they are responsible in maintaining this state throughout their life. Muslims also believe that all individuals are responsible for their individual salvation, and that no individual can receive an indulgence. The Quran cites two reasons why Muslims do not believe in the Original sin: God forgave Adam for his sin; and no one should bear the mistake or sin of someone else because it is unfair (Renard, 2011). In spite of the aforementioned differences between Christian and Muslim faiths, there are a number of identifiable similarities. The both have similar beliefs regarding what will happen at the end of time. They beli eve that all human beings will be judged and will go either to heaven or to hell (Rousseau, 1999). In addition, they both believe that heaven is eternal and all human beings should strive to go to heaven. Both Christianity and Islam have certain similar religious aspects: almsgiving, fasting, and prayer. They both have particular holy day where followers are obligated to prayer and engage in other religious rituals.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3
Taxation - Essay Example The taxation of household savings gives five reasons for this. The first point he gives is that the way savings are taxed is an important mode of the tax base. 1If individuals savings are taxed together with incomes and toil wages and all the elements of the tax base are evenly taxed, it leads to what is called comprehensive income tax. On the other hand, if wages are not taxed till when they are utilized, then the yielding tax structure will be a consumption tax. The next reason that is stated is that the manner in which tax is levied on savings is a key factor which determines the way tax structure identifies various relational in life income, contrary to the yearly revenue. Taxation of savings separates individual wage taxation and taxation of cooperate profits. The way in which savings are taxed can effect the independent business people, small businesses and disbursement of capital to huge companies. Taxation of savings can have an impact on summation of savings in the economy as well as, apparently more vital, the manner in which those sa vings are distributed across various capitals. This can have an effect on the total sum of main money invested and how well it is invested. Savings taxation influences individuals resolution on the amount of money they want to save, the time to save and the risk they are willing to incur when apportioning their savings among assets.2 Hence it directly have an impact on their well-being especially in retired times or economic decline, when they may have a need depend on savings they have gathered. The current taxation system is based on peoples real saving action. People save so that they can be able to use their saving at a later time or during the time of need. They deny themselves the use of their money today so that they can save for a rainy day in future as well as accumulate wealth. The case of not taxing the normal
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Management information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Management information system - Essay Example Confidentiality ensures that the information is not accessed by any person who is not authorized. Integrity ensures that the data is not modified or altered by unauthorized users and authentication deals with ensuring that the user is actually the person he claims to be. These days computers are used by everyone from banking to shopping and communicating with others. Though there might not be any secret information in your data but one would not want a stranger getting access to his/her information. Intruders often gain control to anyone’s computer so that they can use it for their attacks on other confidential systems. According to (Caldwell 175) computer security has five fundamental functional areas which are listed below: Risk Avoidance This is a basic security fundamental which deals with questions like unrestricted internet access, business engaging in risky activities and standardization on a desktop operating system. Prevention This consists of implementing security to the system in order to avoid any attacks. Complete prevention is desirable but not achievable. Deterrence It deals with the threats to information assets, consisting of communication strategies which are developed and designed to catch the intruders when they attack the system. Detection It works well with preventive measures. When prevention fails, detection should be started in order to minimize the damage. It also includes activities like log-keeping and auditing. Recovery When all measures fail and the intruder has successfully attacked the system and nothing has worked, it is important to focus on recovery. Includes backing up servers, internet connections and other similar recovery activities. Attacking Techniques There have been various techniques used by intruders these days to attack a single computer or a network. Some of them are listed and described briefly below: Viruses A virus is such a program that when it is executed it works within the security policy completely. When a virus is activated, that is when it becomes a part of a process; it makes use of a Trojan horse to look for the authorized environment for executable programs which are modifiable and then attaches itself with all such programs. Hence, when these programs are executed, the virus activates and spreads throughout the executable code of the computer. Viruses can create, modify, move, replicate and erase the files on a computer in order to engage much of the computer’s memory and causes the system not to function properly. Some viruses even have the ability to duplicate themselves and attack to other programs. An infected email attachment is one of the most common and easy ways to get a virus. (Caldwell 212) Trojan Horse A Trojan horse attack can be designed to attain any desired goals by the attacker. Trojan horse attacks are one of the most serious threats to computer security. If a computer has been attacked with a Trojan horse, it may not be the only computer under att ack but unknowingly it is used to attack several other computers. Trojan Horses are usually built and attached to the source code of an original program and is made to remain dormant until an attempt is made to overcome security. For example a Trojan horse may appear in the form of a computer game, which once double clicked, starts writing on parts of your hard drive, corrupting the data. Trap door A trapdoor is normally an entrance to the
Friday, August 23, 2019
Jane's Asylum Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Jane's Asylum Research - Essay Example Jane does not wish to do this because her father is abusive to her. She wishes to remain a resident of the U.S., and her uncle in California will become her legal guardian. In order for this to occur, a petition for asylum will need to be filed. While we know that this is the course of action that needs to be taken, there are some present issues that need to be addressed. First, there is the issue of how the petition will need to be filed. According to the Department of justice and other reliable sources, only the parent can file the petition (2002; the City University of New York, 2008; Migration & Refugee Services, 2010). Then, there is the issue of whether or not her uncle can serve as her legal guardian, as refugees under the age of twenty-one are still considered to be children (Refugee Info, 2010; Immihelp ®.com, 1999-2010). Finally, there is the issue of misrepresentation. If a case involving an immigrant is misrepresented, there will be severe consequences for the misrepresentation (Honore, 2005; U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs, 2009). To be sure that we carefully address each of these issues, a thorough research plan will need to be put into place, making sure that each issue is given careful considerati on. This will be done in the following ways: www.refugeeinfo.org Being that this site is devoted to helping refugees, this will be an excellent resource, since Jane is considered to be a refugee and will need to follow the same process that refugee’s do, in order for her to continue to reside in the U.S. legally. Jane’s rights will only be best defended if we have the proper information about the laws regarding the petition of asylum, as well as concerning the proper processes that will need to be followed. Because knowledge is power, it is important that we have as much of it as possible to insure success of this case. Such knowledge can
Thursday, August 22, 2019
The Secret of Samsung's Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Secret of Samsung's Success - Essay Example Samsung claims to have the largest share in the global smart phone market, which is because of the Galaxy smart phones by Samsung. In 2012 it was awarded as a world’s ninth best brand (Tek, n.p). Samsung now stands among the top tier global corporations, possesses good ranking in the superior management, and provides innovation in design along with improving its sales and earnings (Lee, 9). In 2012, the company’s sales were about $ 42 billion and it made a 50% profit in the same year making Samsung the best electronic company amongst its potential competitors Apple and Sony. This paper puts across the secrets of the success of Samsung Company over the years. Samsung’s goal is to establish every inch of customers starting from their homes, new phones, tablets, televisions, washing machines, cameras, dryers, refrigerators, computers among others unlike Apple that focuses on laser electronics. Samsung does a variety and it does it very well. In 2011, Samsung was the world’s top television maker with a market share of 22%. It also had grown in washing machines from 7% to 9% in 2009 and 2011 respectively. The company introduces a variety of products that best serve the customers. Samsung Corporation has successfully blended speediness, imagination and affordability in their offerings to capture the consumers’ attention. It has invested huge sums on extensive research and development to gain and maintain competitive market, Samsung spent around US$ 2.3 billion on research and development (Roll, 154) while its competitors Apple used only 2.4 percent of its revenues on innovation (Roll 154). Focusing on research and development of a variety of products such as refrigerators, tablets, televisions, cameras, new phones, washing machines with features that best suit public demand is the secret behind the success of Samsung. The secret of Samsung’s success is attributed to quality investment and manufacturing. Samsung introduced Sam sung galaxy, Smart TV, Smart Phones each with a new feature. The Smart Phones had quality Cameras, enabled the user to access information faster and used a variety of font sizes as preferred by the user. The problem of their competitor Apple has been lack of constant innovation. It has been around 3 years since Apple released the iPod, the company’s last breakthrough product. Its latest products have been iterations of existing gadgets. The iPad Mini is just a smaller iPad and not something new. Samsung’s success is therefore because of its constant innovations of new products such as galaxy S II. Samsung poses great motivation to its employees that make them work even harder for the achievement of the company’s success. It manages the working hours of its employees to ensure no worker is overworked. Their system tallies overtime hours daily by individuals and communicates to the human resource managers. Samsung SDI recommends employees to take leaves available for them. The leave- use record is controlled at the individual level by the system and the employees are only allowed to take their leaves as indicated in the system. To domestic employees, the company provides pension scheme, health insurance, industrial accident insurance, employment insurance, mortgaging support, medical expense support, personal scheme assistance, fitness facilities and recreation facilities
Probable Cause and Arrest by Private Citizens Essay Example for Free
Probable Cause and Arrest by Private Citizens Essay The US Constitution states that probable cause is a standard allowing police officers to make an arrest, to obtain a warrant and to conduct property search or personal search. Probable cause suggests that a person has already committed crime or about to do it. Actually, probable cause is situation when a person is reasonably suspected. Grant jury believes that a crime is committed and particular person is suspected. For example, if police officer reasonably suspects that that a person is illegally sells drugs, there is a probable cause to stop him and to conduct personal search. Nevertheless, it is necessary to underline that people are secured by the Constitution from unreasonable searches because it is violation of their human rights. It is necessary to note that probable cause is stronger than simply reasonable suspicion. (Schwegel 2006) Arrest by private citizens or citizen’s arrest is any arrest which is performed by a civilian person. Moreover, the arresting person may not be the citizen of the country where his actions are made. For example, North Caroline permits arrest by private citizens in case if citizens witnesses a felony crime and when a person is asked for help by police officers. Citizens may detain suspicious person is there is a probable cause for committing crime, breach of peace, or physical injuries to another person. In such situation arresting person is responsible for delivering the suspected person to police officer. US Constitution states that arrest is legal action, but it should avoid abusing power if evidence isn’t enough. Probable cause and arrest by private citizens are interrelated because probable cause is the ground for arresting person who has committed a felony or offense. Often suspects are released due to lack of evidence and, therefore, before arresting a police officer or civilian should consider whether there is a reasonable cause of making arrest. (Grossack 1994) Works Cited Schwegel, Theresa. Probable Cause. USA: St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2006. Grossack, David. Citizen’s Arrest. 1994. Available at http://www.constitution.org/grossack/arrest.htm November 18, 2007.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Satows Perception of the Meiji Revolution
Satows Perception of the Meiji Revolution Between 1853 and 1868, Japanese society underwent a profound and violent societal, economic, and cultural upheaval, the likes of which it had not seen in over 200 years. The ruling military government of Japan, the clan-pure Tokugawa Shogunate and its ancient feudal system of governance, disintegrated under internal pressure to reform to meet the challenges of the Industrial Age, embodied by foreign interests, particularly that of the United States and England, which used the threat of their military and technological superiority to force the Japanese to accept trade agreements. In doing so, the Shogunate wrote its final chapter and set the state for a return to power of the Emperor, a quasi-religious position which since the 1600s had been relegated to ceremonial duties as the spiritual godfather of Japan, while the Shogunate and its samurai warrior culture administered the country’s affairs. TheBritish Empire of the time was preoccupied initially with wars with Russia and China, but observed with keen interest the initial rumblings of discontent and reform within Japan, precipitated by the bold moves of the United States to establish relations with Japan. Once the British wars had been concluded and Americans had done the proverbial dirty advance work of opening Japan up, the British established their own presence within Japan as it underwent a rapid societal metamorphosis. Over time, various representatives of foreign governments, most notably the eminent British interpreter and diplomat Ernest Satow, went beyond active interest to active involveme nt in the internal affairs of the Japanese transformation from Tokugawa Shogunate rule to restoration of the power of the Emperor, known as the Meiji revolution. Some of this involvement was self-serving and destructive; some of it was noble, altruistic, and reflected a genuine appreciation and compassion for the Japanese and their unique, noble, and astonishingly complex culture. As with most chapters in history, it is often difficult to discern in retrospect where altruism and self-interest intersected and diverged; the history of Japan’swrenching introduction into the modern age is particularly messy, but only more fascinating for being as such. In order to explore this era, some chronological narrative is of course required, but a strictly linear structure is not necessarily the most effective way to approach the issues. Therefore, this dissertation will alternate between historical narrative and cultural explication, sometimes moving backwards and forwards in time, and indulging in anecdotal tangents as well as delvings into the personal histories of some of the players in question, all in hopes of painting a full and complex picture of the interlocking forces – Japanese, American, and British, which turned this tiny country upside down in the short space of 15 years and set the stage for its rise to global power. (A full investigation of the Japanese relations with Russia, China, and the Dutch could easily comprise a dissertation of its own, but we will limit most of our focus here to the often tragic, but often edifying interaction of the Japanese with the two aforementioned Western powers.) Lastly, it is importan t to note that no exploration of Japan’s relations with the West during the Tokugama Shogunate /Meiji Revolution era, or any era for that matter, is complete without dwelling occasionally in details of Japanese culture, which are alternately arcane and compelling. Such moments will be interwoven with the historical narratives and observations as required. In 1854, the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened up Japan economically and culturally to the West for the first time. Up until this point in time, ancient Japanese law forbade trade with any foreign nations other than China and the Dutch, the latter of which were allowed to visit Japan twice a year to do business solely at the port of Nagasaki; even then, the foreigners’ presence was confined to the small island of Deshima. The signing of the treaty was a momentous occasion for both the United States and Japan, but it was not necessarily an egalitarian or mutually beneficial agreement, nor did both parties come to the signing ceremony of their own free will.Commodore Matthew Perry, representing the United States, essentially forced the Japanese into signing the treaty by virtue of the threat of his heavily armed four-warship fleet which arrived in Edo Bay (Tokyo’sharbor; Tokyo was known as Edo during Tokugawa Shogunate dynasty) – a port forbidden to foreigners in July 1853 and refused to depart until the Japanese consented to enter into a trade and peace agreement between the two nations. Perry was acting under orders from the highest authority in the United States, his Commander in Chief, President Millard Fillmore. Perry arrived bearing a letter fromPresident Fillmore to Emperor KÃ…Â mei (who reigned from 1831-1867 and was the 121st imperial ruler of Japan). The letter was an eager one, and contained several passages full of obsequious language: I entertain the kindest feelings toward your majestys person and government, and that I have no other object in sending [CommodorePerry] to Japan but to propose to your imperial majesty that the UnitedStates and Japan should live in friendship and have cornmercial intercourse with each other†¦ The Constitution and laws of the UnitedStates forbid all interference with the religious or political concerns of other nations. I have particularly charged Commodore Perry to abstain from every act which could possibly disturb the tranquility of your imperial majestys dominions†¦ We have directed Commodore Perry to beg your imperial majestys acceptance of a few presents. They are of no great value in themselves, but some of them may serve as specimens of the articles manufactured in the United States, and they are intended as tokens of our sincere and respectful friendship.(Fillmore, 1852) However, the letter also contained notable amounts of braggadocioregarding the economic and technological might at the disposal of theUnited States: The [territories of the United States of America reach from ocean to ocean, and our Territory of Oregon and State of California lie directly opposite to the dominions of your imperial majesty. Our steamships can go from California to Japan in eighteen days†¦ Our great State of California produces about sixty millions of dollars in gold every year, besides silver, quicksilver, precious stones, and many other valuable article†¦ America, which is sometimes called the New World, was first discovered and settled by the Europeans. For a long time, there were but a few people, and they were poor. They have now become quite numerous; their commerce is very extensive. (Fillmore, 1852) The subtext was clear. Though polite and solicitous to almost comic fault, Fillmore made it clear that it was in Japan’s best interests to cooperate with the United States in opening itself up to foreign trade, or Japan might meet the same fate as Mexico, which the United States had obliterated and territorially eviscerated in a warning just four years prior to Perry’s visit to Japan. To punctuate the subtext of his letter, Fillmore did not send Perry across thePacific Ocean in a yacht armed only with flowers; Perry sailed into Yedo Bay with an unmistakable symbol of United States might, his state-of-the-art mini-fleet. Why the particular interest in Japan, a relatively small nation? Itwas strategically located, a gateway to the Far East, and influence over/in, and/or control of Japan would greatly expand American’smilitary and economic power. Japan was also a nation of important natural resources that could be used to feed the hungry monster of theWest’s burgeoning Industrial Revolution. As samurai scholar MarcelThach notes, â€Å"after the colonization of China, the Western Powers America in particular turned their eye towards Japan and saw a country rich with coal deposits, one which they could colonize and exploit as they had China and other East Asian nations such as India.†(Thach, 2002) The Japanese were initially unmoved by President Fillmore’s letter, leaving Commodore Perry to stew in the harbor with the expectation that he would simply tire and go home. This was not to be the case, however, as Perry quickly saw fit to turn up the proverbial heat on the Japanese by sending a letter of his own to the Emperor. In it, Perry reiterated some of the niceties expressed by President Fillmore, but then delivered some language of a level of candor to which the Japanese were not accustomed: [I] hope that the Japanese government will see the necessity of averting unfriendly collision between the two nations, by responding favourably to the propositions of amity, which are now made in all sincerity†¦ Many of the large ships-of-war destined to visit Japan have not yet arrived in these seas, though they are hourly expected; and the undersigned, as an evidence of his friendly intentions, has brought but four of the smaller ones, designing, should it become necessary, to return to Edo in the ensuing spring with a much larger force. (Perry, 7 July 1853) The Japanese remained unmoved, provoking Commodore Perry’s temper. Diplomatic subtleties were abandoned, and on July 14, 1853, he delivered an imperious admonishment accusing the Japanese of a sin against God, in effect, and threatened to fire upon the harbor:You have †¦ acted against divine principles and your sin cannot be greater than it is†¦ If you are still to disagree we would then take up arms and inquire into the sin against the divine principles†¦When one considers such an occasion†¦ one will realize the victory will naturally ours. (Perry, 14 July 1853) At this juncture, the virulent and ingrained xenophobia of the Japanese culture was forced to yield to common sense. The Japanese had no navy to speak of, and though Perry’s four ships were unlikely to comprise enough force to cause the Japanese to comply, the threat of an imminent arrival of a bona fide armada induced the Japanese to capitulate and sign the treaty of Kanagawa. (In the wake of the capitulation, the Japanese dispatched an order to their Dutch trading partners to commission the building of a warship, which was named theKanrin-maru and was 49 meters in length, with 12 canons and three masts. It was delivered somewhat belatedly in 1857, but was put to good use as a military training vessel.) It is important to pause here to explicate the amorphous term â€Å"the Japanese.†At the time of Perry’s arrival in Tokyo, Japan was indeed technically ruled by an Emperor, but he was largely a spiritual and traditional figurehead who wielded minimal political power. The locus of decision-making was controlled by a chief shà ´gun (which in Japanese means â€Å"great general†), a direct descendent of Tokugawa leyasu, who in1603 defeated rival warlords to bring a semblance of organizational coherence to a Japanese society dominated by the fractious conflicts between feudal warlords. (In fact, the Tokugawa Shogunate, as the organization came to be known, ruled in relative peace for the next 250 years in what was called the Edo Period, after the ancient name for the city of Tokyo.) From 1603 on, the chief shà ´gun henceforth always carried the Tokugawa clan title, and maintained power by executing rivals and replacing them with family members and trusted allies, w ho were forbidden to marry outside the Tokugawa clan and allowed to rule their individual local dominions with a relatively free and arbitrary hand as long as they loyally served the chief shà ´gun. Furthermore, all other shà ´guns and feudal lords were forced to attend a grand gathering in Tokyo / Edo every other year under the watchful eye of the Tokugawas hà ´gun, where loyalties were reinforced and tested, and suspected traitors ferreted out. Additionally, other lords were required to keep heirs or wives in Tokyo while they were administering to their duties in their respective feudal domains, which was another powerful tool of the Tokugawa clan to maintain its control. A strict hierarchical caste system had also established by the Tokugawa Shogunate; atop this pyramid was the infamous warrior class of the samurai, the subjects of much awe and reverence among Western cultures. Below the samurai were farmers, artisans, and traders. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself resided in Kyoto, accompanied by a few servants and bureaucrats to tend to his ceremonial needs, but he exercised virtually no governing power at all. It was under this repressive cloak that the xenophobic culture ofJapan was cultivated and its restrictive trade policies enacted into law. The third in the Tokugawa shà ´gun lineage, Tokugawa Iemitsu, established the rules forbidding almost all foreign trade and interaction. Only inbound trading ships were permitted, and of the visitors, the Dutch and the Chinese were the only ones allowed. This was not merely an exercise in preserving Japanese culture purity, however. Tokugawa Iemitsu was keenly concerned with maintaining his clans power over the opposing feudal warlords, and he knew that cultural, religious, military, and economic influences from other countries could destabilize the already precarious balance of power.The economic and cultural modernization and maturation within the large cities was, by the 19th century, starting to create conflict within the caste system, which began to teeter under the weight of its own stubborn antiquity. This was the complex environment into which Commodore Perry sailed his four ships in July 1853: a paranoid, secretive, and warlike culture steeped in Byzantine traditions but also militarily and technologically steeped in the past, and thus unable to defend its sovereignty. The forced signing of the treaty was the beginning of a long road of resentment towards the United States and the West that culminated in Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the immediate meantime, however, the Treaty of Kanagawa was finally signed on March 31, 1854 after Commodore Perry’s return toJapan. It stipulated that the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate would be opened to American ships seeking supplies, that American sailors who had been shipwrecked would be rescued and well-treated, and agreed that an American consulate would be established in Shimoda for the purposes of negotiating a further and more comprehensive trade agreement. This treaty was the beginning of a succession of agreements forced upon the Japanese that brought about a great influx of foreign investment, trade, and business into Japan, but the economic effects of this phenomenon were not all salutary. One such deleterious effect was massive inflation of the Japanese currency. The caste system under the Tokugawa Shogunate mandated a rigid system of taxation on the peasantry; the taxes were fixed and not fairly tied to inflation or other economic vagaries, and thus the taxe s gathered by the rulingshà ´guns fell steeply in the wake of the Treaty of Kanagawa, causing ironic clashes between the well-to-do working class and their rulers.Arguably better warriors than macro-economists, the shà ´gun were unable to curtail this inflation, and the resultant economic instability and hardships inflicted on the Japanese people caused a popular unrest that could not be quelled for very long, and fact led to civil war. By1867, the Shogunate had been overthrown in what became known as the Meiji Rebellion, which restored the Emperor to true power beyond the ceremonial, and brought about a thorough reform of the organization of Japanese government and society. One of the intermediary steps on the way to the weakening of the Shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor’s rule was another treaty between the United States, The Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between theUnited States and Japan, better known historically as the Treaty of Townsend Harris, named after the persistent American diplomat who persuaded the Japanese to sign it. As alluded to previously, the Treaty of Kanagawa had stipulated the creation of an American Consulate in Japan, which would open up negotiations on the specifics of trade negotiation. President Franklin Pierce, who had replaced President Fillmore in March 1853, dispatched Townsend Harris from New York in November 1855 to establish the Consulate and coax the Japanese into actual trade, not simply the intent to trade. Harris arrived in Shimoda in August 1856, having cannily brought along a Dutch-speaking secretary and interpreter named Henry Heuksen to facilitate the difficult and delicate nuances of discourse with the Japanese.However, the Japanese, in a typical stalling maneuver, asked Harris to leave and return in a year. He refused; the Japanese asked him to proceed to Nagasaki, which he declined to do; then, in a final – and rather creative – attempt to rid themselves of Harris, they asked him to write a letter back to the President James Buchanan (who had succeeded Pierce in the November 1856 election) requesting a cancellation of his diplomatic mission. The indefatigable Harris refused this request as well, and eventually the Japanese allowed him to set up an office at the port of Shimoda. Nonetheless, they continued to stonewall Harris by referring any request or question, whether trivial or consequential, to the Emperor’s palace in Edo.Harris demanded an audience with the shà ´gun in the capital, but over a year passed before Harris received permission to travel to Edo. Harris did not sit idly by, however; he used the intervening time to cultivate favor and good will with the powers-that-were in Shimoda, the local members of the Tokugawa bafuku. (Bafuku is a Japanese word loosely translated to mean â€Å"tent government†and is an arm, during this historical period, of the Tokugawa Shogunate) Harris was well aware that the British had paid a visit to the Japanese in 1854 that did not go well and left a bitter taste in the proverbial mouths of both parties. The British, mired in a conflict with the Russians that led to the Crimean War (1854-1856) had dispatched Sir James Stirling fromChina in 1855 to request that the Japanese deny Russian ships access to their ports and attempt to secure some sort of initial trade understanding with the Japanese. Stirling did conclude a treaty, but it was hopelessly vague and of limited utility, in part because of an incompetent translator (a hitch keenly noted by Harris) and was sent on his way. The British l urched from the Crimean War to the Second OpiumWar with China in 1856, distracting them from immediate focus on Japan,but Harris correctly surmised it would only be a matter of time before the British turned their attention to Japan again, and used it, albeit with some fictional license, as leverage in his negotiations against the Japanese. Despite managing to offend the chief shogun, the aged TokugawaIesada, and his Court by wearing shoes during his visit to the Palace in Edo in December 1857, Harris’ otherwise impeccable statesmanship impressed the Shogunate sufficiently that they gave their blessing for the treaty negotiations, and they gave permission for Bakufu GrandCouncillor Hotta Masayoshi, with whom Harris had been negotiating, to continue working with Harris to complete the treaty. Harris immediately set to work convincing Masayoshi with a combination of exaltations of American good intentions and fears of an inevitable British arrival on Japanese soil which would demand treaty terms far less generous than that ‘suggested’ by the American. Specifically, Harris preyed on the fears of the Japanese that the only thing standing between Japan and the imperial pressure of the British was their soon-to-be-concluded war against China. The Japanese had long heldChina in a place of cultural reverence in the Far East and had been profoundly shocked at the relative ease with which the French and British were defeating the Chinese in the Second Opium War. Aware of this, naturally, Harris used it to his advantage. In his December 12, 1857 audience with Masayoshi, Harris had this to say: On my way to Japan I met the English governor of Hong-Kong, JohnBowring, who told me that he was about to be appointed an ambassador to go to Japan, and I have received four letters from him since my arrival in Japan. Our conversation was of course private, but in his letters he discusses Japanese Government matters. He says he intends to bring with him a larger fleet than the Japanese have ever seen, and anchor at Yedo, {Edo] where the discussions will be carried on. He says also that Yedo is the only place to hold consultation with the Japanese; that his object is, first, to get permission for a minister or agent of England to reside in Yedo, and, secondly, to get permission to carry on free trade at several places in Japan. If these two things are not granted war will be declared at once. The sending of this ambassador he says is delayed by the war in China. He said he would be in Yedo in the third month, but he has been detained by the war. (Harris, 1857) In another dramatic touch, Harris also asserted that the British intended to addict the entirety of the Japanese population to opium: It appears that the English think the Japanese are fond of opium, and they want to bring it here also. If a man use opium once he cannot stop it, and it becomes a life-long habit to use opium; hence the English want to introduce it into Japan. The President of theUnited States thinks that for the Japanese opium is more dangerous than war. (Harris, 1857) What Harris neglected to mention was that in truth, the British were loathe to try to force an opening into Japan at this particular juncture in time. They had squandered vast military and political capital in pursuit of their war with China, and there was domestic unrest to contend with as well: Despite popular perceptions of British imperialism at this period, official British policy was in fact against the use of force in opening up Japan and British Ministers were mindful of humanitarian considerations that might lead to criticism in Parliament. They instructed British representatives to avoid provocative acts and the threat or use of force. (Cortazzi, 1999) Nonetheless, Harris then went on to claim that the United States had studiously avoided joining Britain in the war against China, despite the fact that newly elected President Buchanan was a veteran diplomat and former Secretary of State who, in his former diplomatic position,and now, as President-elect, was actively working towards mending old grievances with Britain. Harris suggested that if the Japanese come to mutually satisfactory terms with the United States, particularly with respect to the issue of opium trade – Harris suggested that the Japanese could burn any opium which American traders might bring to ports in the future – then in effect, the United States would form a defacto protective buffer between Japan and the European powers, and at the very least, treaty terms with Britain or France could be no worse for the Japanese than the benevolent terms of a treaty with the UnitedStates. In fact, the treaty proposed (in Article II) that in any dispute between Ja pan and European powers, the United States president would serve as mediator. Hotta Masayoshi was no fool, and despite the fact that the Shogunate had responded to Commodore Perry’s presence by commissioning military vessels from its Dutch trading partners, Masayoshi knew the Japanese had little choice at this particular juncture in time but to accede toHarris’ terms. Negotiations on Treaty of Townsend Harris were concluded in February 1858 and the treaty was signed on July 29, 1858.(Ironically, Commodore Perry died in New York City the same day.)Harris, never one to miss an opportunity for some patriotic public relations, ensured that the treaty was stipulated to take effect on July 4, 1859, on American Independence Day. Little did the Japanese know that they had taken another ominous step towards the erosion of their own cultural-economic independence. The treaty provided for the opening of four additional ports to American trading ships: Kanagawa and Nagasaki, on July 4, 1859;Niigata, on the January 1, 1860; and Hyogo, on the January 1, 1863; the port of Shimoda would be closed to American beginning in January 1860.Starting on July 4, 1862, Americans would also be allowed to take up residence in Edo. It provided for tariffs to be applied to American goods imported into Japan and exported to the United States, and forbade the trade of opium between the Unites States and Japan. The tariffs – unsurprisingly favored imported American products with a five percent tax on most goods and raw materials. The treaty stipulated that this tariff was fixed until the treaty came up for revision and renegotiation in 1872, sowing the seeds for the economic instability, alluded to above, that led to the downfall of the Shogunate. In particularly surprising concession, the treaty stipulated that Americans in Japan would be allowed free exerc ise of their religious beliefs, which extended to permission to construct places of worship. This was a significant break with Japanese tradition, which had long been steeped with animosity towardsChristianity. In fact, Christianity was essentially forbidden, andHarris had taken a considerable personal risk by making a show of his Christian beliefs when he visited the Shogunate in Edo in 1858.Despite a clause in the treaty that seemed to forbid Christian proselytizing (â€Å"The Americans and Japanese shall not do anything that may be calculated to excite religious animosity†(Article VII), the influx of Christianity into the Japanese homeland was deeply offensive to many traditionalist and contributed to the erosion of support for the Shogunate. Another interesting stipulation of the treaty is that diplomatic envoys from Japan would be sent to the United States for the purposes of cultural exchange and for a ‘formal’ treaty-signing ceremony. Three Japanese were selected for the journey: Shimmi Masaoki, the senior ambassador, who was only 35 years of age; Oguri Tadamasu, who carried the title of ‘official inspector’ for the diplomatic mission; andMurgaki Norimasa, who kept a detailed diary of the delegation’s visit.Each were samurai warriors, consistent with the ruling class from which they came, and knew next to nothing of American culture or the peculiarities of Western culture, much less the American government;for example, the Japanese found it bizarre that the Americans had gone through three elected leaders in a peaceful transition of power between the time Commodore Perry had paid his infamous visit and the Japanese delegation left to visit the United States. In an attempt to show stren gth and regal power, the three Japanese did not travel alone –their party numbered 77, including six cooks, 51 guards and servants, three doctors, and three interpreters. It was quite a showcase: On February 13, 1860, the ambassadors and their staff sailed from Yokohama with 50 tons of Japanese baggage (including the treaty in its special box), 100,000 readily negotiable Mexican dollars, and a large supply of Japanese food. Appropriately, perhaps, the vessel that carried them from Japan to San Francisco was the navy frigate Powhatan, one of the steam-powered paddle-wheelers Perry had employed inopening Japan. (Finn, 2002) The America into which the Japanese were received in May 1860, was teetering on the precipice of a civil war which would forever alter its destiny, mirroring the dark seeds of revolution which were germinating back home in Japan. To say that the Japanese experienced culture shock was an understatement; it was a precursor to the shocks that would reverberate through Japanese culture in their homeland due to the floodgates of external Western cultural influence that were being opened by the Harris Townsend Treaty that the Japanese envoys signed with President Buchanan on May 18. Upon their return home in November 1860, the Japanese delegation was greeted coolly, as the elements in the Shogunate that had approved the treaty had begun to fall from favor. Murgaki Norimasa and ShimmiMasaoki received promotions but were soon forced into retirement.Oguri Tadamasu went on to become a powerful military leader for theShogunate, but he refused to accept their downfall and the eventual re-ascension of the Emperor; he and his son were executed in 1868. The interior map of Japanese political and cultural power was a tumultuous mess by the time the delegation returned to Japan. The Tokugawa Shogunate had splintered into two warring factions due to the controversy regarding the signings of the two treaties with the UnitedStates and fears of imminent meddling by the British into Japanese affairs. Tokugawa Iesada had become an old and infirm man and was barely able to carry out his duties during the negotiations over the Townsend Harris Treaty. Compounding the fractious debate over whether or not to agree to the treaty was a struggle brewing over who would succeed Iesada, as Iesada had no natural heir. The two leading contenders were Tokugawa Yoshinobu (aka Keiki), and a 12-year old boy, the Daimyo of Kii. In an attempt to solidify the ebbing power of the Tokugawa clan and to end the debate over the the treaty signings, the latter of which he had brokered, Hotta Masayoshi broke with precedent and traveled to Kyoto to visit Emperor Komei to seek his approval for the Harris Treaty and for the ascension of the Daimyo of Kii to head the Shogunate. Unfortunately for Hotta, his gamble backfired. TheEmperor communicated his unhappiness with the treaties and refused to offer his support for Tokugawa Yoshinobu / Keiki. Hotta was humiliated and was replaced in April 1858 by Ii Naosuke, who was appointedTokugawa Regent, making him the effective military leader of Japan and head of the shogun council. Ii immediately approved the Townsend Harris Treaty, effectively snubbing the Emperor, which caused a widespread rebellion amongst Imperial Japanese loyalists who literally revered the Emperor as a god and who viewed action against his wishes to be a mortal sin.Undaunted, Ii then proceeded to arbitrarily appointed the boy Daimyo of Kii as the Shogunate heir, spawning a massive rebellion. Those who opposed his sanctioning of the Treaty and/or his appointment of theShogunate heir were executed en masse, in a bloodbath dubbed the AnseiPurge. Being of tender age, naturally, the Daimyo of Kii – who assumed the name Tokugawa Iemochi was unable to assert his sovereign will or assume his duties, leaving Ii firmly entrenched in power, or so he thought. His rule did not last long; he was beheaded by anti-foreigner, pro-Emperor elements in March 1860. After Ii was assassinated, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who had been Tokugawa Iemochi’searlier rival for the position of Shogun, assumed eff ective control of the Shogunate by assuming a position of power similar to the one held by Ii and Hotta before him. After Tokugawa Iemochi’s death in 1866, Tokugawa Yoshinobu assumed the official ceremonial title and power of Shogun. He was to be the fifteenth and last Shogun in Japanese history. Certainly, the arrival of the Americans and the treaties they forced upon the Shogunate were a leading cause of their downfall, but the Shogunate was already weakening under its own antiquated weight by the time Commodore Perry arrived in Japan in 1853. Though very stable and consistent, the philosophy and structure of the Shogunate government was change-averse to a fault; it was 200 years old, and had simply outlived its usefulness: The simple concept of the division of classes into rulers, warriors and commoners had little relation to Japan of the 19th century with its teeming cities, rich merchants, restless samurai, and discontent peasantry†¦ Despite the division of the land into a large number of feudal fiefs, the people had developed a strong sense of national consciousness. The growth of nationalism and the development of a modern commercial economy had made Japan ready for the more efficient political forms of the modern nation. (Norman, 1940) To some degree, the nationalism of the Japanese was reflective of the psychology of isolation, i.e., the Japanese,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)