Criminal Justice System of Argentina Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Justice System of Argentina - Assignment Example Earlier, on 2nd September 2007, it had ratified the Second Optional procedure to the International Covenant targeting the suspension of the death penalty, which dealt with civil and political rights (adopted in 1989) which served to abolish the death penalty on ordinary crimes (Ebbe, 2013). With this, Argentina became the seventh nation to amend all human rights regulations in the Inter-American system. On 7th August 2007, a law that saw the removal of the 1951 Military Code of Justice was unanimously passed by the country’s Senate (Amnesty International, 2008). This meant that the death penalty had been removed from all crimes including those committed during military operations, hence removing the military Court (Amnesty International, 2008). In recent times, capital punishment has not been practiced in Argentina, the last one having been implemented in 1916. Given that the death penalty is unlawful in Argentina following a series of legislative amendments in recent times, the use of methods such as torture, hanging, flogging, lethal injection and others for execution no longer apply. Certain other methods have been adopted to deal with crimes that would otherwise warrant the death penalty. In some cases, sentences have been reduced to life imprisonment while in others sentences have been reduced to a jail term of several years, depending on the nature of the case. A few examples of how serious crimes have been punished recently follow hereunder. In the case of Mario Ferreiro who was accused of murdering his wife after a quarrel in 1998, the judge passed a life imprisonment on November 26th2007 (Ebbe, 2013). In another case, an ex-army officer accused of kidnapping, torturing, and killing four reformists before dumping their bodies in the streets to simulate death in a shootout in 1977 was also sentenced to life imprisonment.  

Organic project Essay Example for Free

Organic project Essay Given the current condition of organic products in the United Arab Emirates, increasing the level of promotion for organic products will increase the awareness of the product. The paper shall look at a definition of organic products, identify some of its users and develop a questionnaire for tackling the issue of promoting awareness in the United Arab Emirates market. (Consumer’s Union, 2000) These assertions come against the background of the speech made by the country’s Minister for Health – His Excellency Humeid Al Quttami. He claimed that organic products were healthy options and that they would promote safety this was the reason why the Minister made a call to the country’s producers and marketers to make organic products more available and present them at much lower prices than they were currently going for. Definition of organic products Products can either be conventionally made/ grown or they can be organically grown. Products that are made organically are those ones that exert minimal influences on their surrounding environments or those ones with very low levels of additives / artificial additives during the process of production. What most people fail to realize is the fact that there is a distinct difference between natural products and organic ones. Natural products do not adhere to certain international or national standards. Consequently, the definition of natural products varies from place to place. However, most people agree that natural products are usually those kinds of products that have not been processed or those ones that have not undergone any artificial processes. (Stolze et al, 2001) Organic products from plants are usually grown in such a manner that no chemical fertilizers are applied during their growth phase. Instead, natural fertilizers made in farmer’s backyards are used to add nutrients to soil. Additionally, organic products are different from conventional products because when the latter plants are grown in the fields, they usually entail the use of insecticides to get rid of harmful insects. However, in the former category, this is done through natural mechanisms such as disruption of mating patterns among other things. Besides these, when organic farmers are tackling weeds, they normally do this through natural processes such as mulching or crop rotation instead of the use of herbicides. Organic products derived from livestock products such as cheese, milk and the like are usually obtained from animals that are exposed to the outdoors. Additionally, diseases in these livestock are managed through the process of rotational grazing or cleaning one’s shelter, providing the animals with nutritional food among other methods. The purpose of doing this is to ensure that diseases are prevented rather than dealt with when they have occurred. On the contrary, conventional products derived from animals are usually obtained from animals that have been injected with growth hormones or those eons that are given processed medication to tackle diseases outbreaks. (Eskenazi, 1999) Organic products are normally those ones that have been certified internationally or nationally. Consequently, this is an indication that the products have met certain criteria laid out for organic foods. Besides this, it should also be noted that organic products either fall in three categories †¢ One hundred percent organic †¢ Organic †¢ Products made with organic ingredients When products are one hundred percent organic, they usually contain one component or if they contain more than one, then it is likely that all these ingredients are organic. When a product is classified as organic, then chances are that the product has been made from organic ingredients that take up about ninety five percent of that product. Besides these, some products may be categorized as those ones that have been made with organic ingredients. In this case, these are products that have approximately seventy percent of their products covering them. Users and uses of the products Most people buy organic products in the form of food. In other words, they purchase them so that they can eat them. There are a series of products that fall under this category. Organic foods derived from plants are the most common and some of them include vegetables, fruits and even spices. There are those organic foods that are derived from animals and these include, milk, cheese or butter. The other category is that of processed organic foods some of them include items such as breakfast cereal, corn chips or pastas. It should be noted that the last category may not be fully or one hundred percent organic. (Hansen, 2001) In other instances, people use organic products as forms of medicines. In this regard the product is a form of treatment. Usually, most organic medicines are used as alternative sources of treatment from herbalists or alternative medical practitioners. These products are largely exported from China and other similar countries. Other people use organic or natural products for beautification purposes. For instance, other may use natural products such as honey as a form of facial treatment. Additionally, we also have organically processed or created shampoos for enriching hair. These and many more uses are available to organic or natural product consumers. There are various types of Organic consumers in the United Arab Emirates. There are those that purchase the commodity once a week while there are others who do this on a daily basis. Additionally, others do this occasionally. However, statistics indicate that numbers are rising day by day. Consequently, if more marketing or promotion is done, then chances are that the number of persons who are using or purchasing organic products will increase tremendously. It has also been shown that the highest forms of organic consumers are those who buy organic foods. Most of the products chosen by such individuals include †¢ Fruits †¢ Vegetables Meats †¢ Breads †¢ Juices †¢ Some prepared foods It should be noted that many people who are purchasing these natural or organic products are also concerned about their environments. Most of them tend to be inclined to use products that place less artificial fertilizer in the soil, products that leave fewer residues of herbicides in the air or also those ends that do not require greater amounts of processing that will eventually use up too much electricity. Also, many people who utilize organic products are also cautious about the excessive artificial processes such as radiation that may require too much use of the latter process. Consequently, they look for such eco friendly products. It should be noted that natural products within the UAE have a larger percentage of the market share than organic products. Consequently, much has to be done to promote this kind of product. (Consumer’s Union, 2000) A large percentage of organic consumers are concerned about their health. Some of these concerns may actually be real in their lives. For instance, some people opt not to eat non-organic foods because they react to chemically processed ones. For instance, it is possible to find that these people have allergies against the ingredients in non-organic ones. It should also be noted that the largest percentage of individuals who buy organic foods for health reasons are those ones who are scared of the effects that the product might have on them. Some people believe that organic products will sustain agriculture and therefore buy organics to support UAE farmers. However, others may oppose genetically modified foods and thus opt to buy natural or organics, besides this, many organic or natural food consumers are those ones who are conscious about their nutritional needs. They usually believe that these products have more nutrients and would therefore be more beneficial to them. Also, others purchase organic products so as to avoid negative effects associated with products that have been injected with hormones. (Stutchbury, 2008) Questionnaire design of testing the hypothesis The first process of the questionnaire will be identification of the objectives of the questionnaire. In this case, the questionnaire will be: â€Å"To assess whether there is relationship between promotion of organic products and awareness of the product. If there is a positive correlation between these products, then chances are that it can be done. However, if there seems to be no positive correlation, then another method needs to be used to promote awareness. The second aspect of the questionnaire design is identification of the population size. In this case, since the questionnaire is being done about the level of awareness of organic food, then it will imperative for those persons who will be considered in the research to represent the views of all food consumers. They need to be persons who have either heard about organic food or those who have not. Consequently, this is a large population size. Thereafter, there is a need to look into the sampling strategy. Since the population size will be very large, it is essential to use a sampling strategy that will ensure accurate representation of the views among the UAE people. Also, it is essential to find people who belong to both categories being investigated. I. e. those who have already been exposed to promotional strategies about organic foods and those who had not. This means that fifty percent of the sample of the participants will come from one group and vice versa. The sample needs to come from areas that are likely to have these promotions for instance, though persons who purchase foods in the organic sections of supermarkets or those who go to organic stores. In order to access this information, it will be essential to select these organic stores. Three of them will be selected randomly and the consumers who buy commodities from those areas will also be chosen for the questionnaire. (Paddock, 2007) In order to access people who have little information about organic food, it will be wise to select people randomly in the street and then ask them whether they have heard about organic products. If they respond in the affirmative then they will not be considered. However, if they respond negatively, then there is a need to look for other people, who have not heard about. Questions within the questionnaire will first be tried among a small sample size so as to ascertain that they can be easily understood. This questionnaire will be a combination of ten questions and the questions will be structured. The reason behind choosing a structured interview is that it is easier to do analyses. Answers are preset and participants can be guided by them. If open ended questions had been used, then chances are that the responses would be too varied and that most of them would be very difficult to quantify. The other reason why this approach was chosen was that most participants may not have any idea about the issue under discussion. Consequently, giving them multiple choices will go a long way in enhancing the response rates. However, it should be noted that there are certain problems that may rise out of this issue. For instance, care should be taken to ensure that participants are not biased towards certain responses by the nature of the questions. Also, in certain circumstances, participant responses may not be found among the list. In order to minimize the chances of this occurrence, then one should first test the questionnaire among a pilot group (as mentioned earlier) and then look for ways of rectifying mistakes. Other mechanisms that can be used to test the hypothesis One method that could replace the use of structured questionnaires is personal interviews. This method could be effective if both sides of the coin were examined. In other words, if there was equal representation from the side of people who had received information about organic product promotions with those ones who had never heard of organic foods. This will go a long way in ensuring that the issues that have not been addressed will be tackled. It can also be possible to ascertain this method using secondary research. In other parts of the world such as the United States and Europe, consumption of organic products keeps rising from day to day. Many pieces of literature have indicated that the reason why this has occurred is that there is continuous marketing and promotion on the part of the organic producer. It would therefore be useful to examine the consumption of organic products prior to intense promotion; this could be during the nineteen nineties. Thereafter, one can compare this with the figures currently being consumed today. If there is a gradual increase of consumption rates in those years to the present day, then one can assert that promotions do increase consumption of the product. (Chensheng, 2006) Conclusion Organic foods boost the level of health for any particular individual. Some UAE consumers have already realized this. It is therefore imperative to look for methods that can boost awareness of organic products. Consequently, the research above has looked at one of the mechanisms which is through questionnaires. Others include personal interviews and secondary data from other countries.

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Homosexuality and the Media Essay

Homosexuality and the Media      Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many different aspects of life that Americans are exposed to on television each day. Some examples are things such as violence, sex and alcohol and in today's more accepting society, the issue of alternative lifestyles. This issue was not as predominant ten years ago as it is today. Yes, for many years there have been sexual undertones in many popular television shows or movies, but it was not until recently that these actors and actresses were actually said to be living an alternative lifestyle.    What exactly is an alternative lifestyle? According to Encarta's Online World Dictionary, "an alternative lifestyle is one of abnormal circumstances, a way of living adopted by people who reject the prevailing lifestyle, for example, because they consider it to be too materialistic, to dependent on technology or simply living outside of the basic ways of life"(Encarta Online World Dictionary). This term, alternative lifestyle, is one that is often used to describe people who engage in homosexual relationships. The true definition seems to fit, but today this lifestyle is not as out of the ordinary as it was in the past.    Many people think that homosexuality is an old trend that has been around since the beginning of time. In reality, homosexuality is still a relatively new idea in many cultures. This idea is also relatively new for the mass media and Hollywood. "In a hundred years of movies, homosexuality has only rarely been depicted on the screen. When it did appear, it was there as something to laugh at, to pity, or even something to fear. Hollywood, that great maker of myths, taught straight people what to think about gay people... and gay people what to think about... ...on 2). With this in mind Jacobson explains, "now that changes are finally being made in the way that people are raised, people will also be able to accept changes easier than they did in the past" (Jacobson 2). If this is the way that society actually operates then homosexuality should not be as hard to accept as it was in the past.    Works Cited Bantam Publishing. "Encarta Online World Dictionary." Issue 23, Vol. 43 page 121. Bishop, Alfred. "Homosexuality and Life." Dec. 5th 2001.   http:<www.seuxallife/lt.ctrl.article45/23-tglm_bish.htm> Encarta Publishing. Encarta Online World Dictionary. 1999  Ã‚   http:/</Encartaworld/dictionary/alternativelifestyle.ht/htm> Jacobson, Alexander. "Society and Our Lives." Stanford University. 1999 The Celluloide Closet. Dec. 3rd 2001.  Ã‚   http:<celluloidecloset.net.art-10_life/sex/23htm.>

Osmosis and celery lab experiment Essay

Diffusion is simply the net movement of atoms or molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. The force behind the movement is heat or kinetic energy (also called Brownian motion). Diffusion occurs when you spill water on the carpet floor and it spreads out, or when you open a bottle of perfume and it leaves the bottle and spreads throughout the air in the room. Osmosis is a similar phenomenon that moves water from a region of high water concentration to a region of low water concentration. Imagine that a cell from your body is placed in a solution of water. If the concentration of the water inside the cell is the same as the concentration of water in the solution, then we describe the water solution as being â€Å"isotonic† or having the same concentration as the water inside the cell. In this case, net movement of water will be zero and the cell will not swell or shrink. In other words, the same amount of water will move in the cells as will move out. On the other hand, if the cell is placed in a solution of water that has a higher concentration (of water) compared to the concentration of water inside the cell, then osmosis will cause more water to move into the cell than will move out and this will cause the cell to swell. In this case, we say that the solution of water is â€Å"hypotonic†. Now imagine that the cell is placed in a solution of water that has a lower concentration (of water) compared to the concentration of water inside the cell. In this case osmosis will cause more water to move out of the cell than will move in the cell and the cell will shrink. In this case, we say that the solution is â€Å"hypertonic†. Learn more about osmosis and diffusion from Chapter 3 of your textbook. CELERY EXPERIMENT We can place celery in three different water solutions to observe the effects of osmosis on the celery stalks. Salt will serve as our solute to mix with water to make the water either hypotonic, hypertonic or isotonic. The hypotonic solution will contain less salt so that the amount of water compared to salt will be greater than the amount of water inside the cells (compared to the salt and other solutes inside the cell.) The hypertonic solution will contain more salt so that the amount of water compared to the  salt will be less than the amount of water inside the cells (compared to the salt and other solutes inside the cell.) The isotonic solution will contain an amount of salt that will be similar to the amount of salt and other solutes inside the cells of the celery. Materials: knife measuring cup and spoon two stalks of celery (they should be fresh and firm, not bend like rubber) table salt three containers with lids (or something to cover the containers) to hold the solutions and the celery stalks filtered or soft water, distilled water works best, tap water will work if it the mineral content is not too high (tap water with high mineral content is called â€Å"hard† water) Procedures: 1. cut four pieces of celery that are each two inches long (be sure they are all the same length) 2. make four vertical slices or cuts into the celery but make the cuts only three fourths of the length or 1.5 inches; space the vertical cuts as evenly apart as possible 3. label the three containers A, B and C 4. add one cup of water to each container 5. add NO salt to container â€Å"A† 6. add  ½ teaspoon of salt to container â€Å"B† and stir well 7. add 2 teaspoons of salt to container â€Å"C† and stir well 8. place one of your 2 inch cut pieces of celery into each of the three containers and keep the fourth piece as a control for comparison 9. cover the three containers with the lid or cover that you are using, you could use a cling plastic wrap as well 10. wrap the fourth control celery piece tightly in plastic wrap 11. leave the celery pieces in the three containers and the fourth wrapped (control) piece for 6 hours or overnight at room temperature 12. remove the pieces from the containers and bend them while observing how firm or flexible they are 13. record your observations of each of the four pieces of celery below Observations: Solution Flexibility compared to the control stalk (less flexible, similar, more flexible) More water moved into or out of the cells? Indicate which solution was isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic A When the celery stalk was placed in solution A. The water moved through and in the cells of the celery which is an example of osmosis. Water moves through the cells. The stalk was firm and less flexible. More water moved into the celery’s cells. The celery stalk was nice and firm after the allotted time. More water and less to no solute, is an example of hypotonic solution. Which means there is â€Å"less† osmotic pressure. B In solution B the celery became a little more flimsy. Solution has a little salt. Slightly less water moved into the celery’s cells. The reason the water didn’t move as freely through the cells is due to the small amount of solute. This is an example of hypertonic, or greater osmotic pressure. This solution has a higher concentration of solute than the hypotonic solution. C In solution C the salt/ solute is very present. The celery became very flimsy after 4 hours. Even less water moving into cells. The celery became â€Å"very† flexible and very flimsy. The water was not moving through the cells even at a higher rate. This solution is a full example of osmosis. In osmosis the solute is of greater concentration of the solute. The diffusion of pure solvent across a membrane in response to a concentration gradient,

Greenpeace International: On the Forefront of Environmental Activism Essay

Perhaps the most notable obstacle that Greenpeace International faced during the course of its existence as an environmental activist organization is the time when the Rainbow Warrior was struck down by two underwater mines. The incident led to the discovery of the involvement of the French Government through its network of spies overseas. Eventually, the ordeal became a high-profile case that involved international bodies which also took its toll on Greenpeace International. Not only did the organization had to face the need to finance a replacement for Rainbow Warrior, they also had to take more caution in ensuring the safety of their personnel despite intimidations and threats to life and property (20th Anniversary of the Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, 2005). The bombing of Rainbow Warrior became a precedent for Greenpeace International to further strive to achieve its goals of promoting the welfare of the environment for the benefit of humanity. The organization is currently facing the challenge of proving the innocence of Greenpeace Japan Campaigns Director Junichi Sato together with Toru Suzuki before the theft charges filed against them. If proven guilty, both accused members of the organization may face jail time for a maximum of ten years. In the long run, the possibility of having a decision unfavorable to the interests of the organization may eventually adversely affect the safety of the whales situated in the marine waters of Japan. On the other hand, the case, if the accused individuals are proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt, can serve as a future deterrent to whaling expeditions in Japan guised under the rug of scientific research. Embezzlement of whale meat may no soon become a footnote to written history as far as the environmental concerns in Japan go (Justice for the Tokyo Two – Justice for Whales, Coming Our Way? 2009). There are a few more obstacles that the organization is currently facing and has dealt with in the past. For the most part, none of these obstacles have struck down the efforts of the group. Despite the growing number of people hurling both legal and extra-legal impediments to the activities of Greenpeace International, it remains fervent in its aim to protect the natural environment. (2) Social justice is a very broad concept and, therefore, it should encompass all possible aspects of the society. Part of its concerns should be the protection of the natural environment. Environmental protectionism ought to be a major concern especially today since the erosion of the natural environment across continents has direly affected the lives of countless people. With a huge number of the global population dependent on the resources taken from the environment, it is easy to understand why the imperative to protect it is urgent and called for. A society existing under the helm of justice is secure insofar as its continued survival is concerned. Depriving the environment of the rightful protection it deserves diminishes the available source of natural wealth for the people. In the end, the lack of concrete protective measures for the environment can lead to the collapse not only of the environment but also of the entire human civilization (Kuzmiak, 1991). The premise is simple: we cannot live without the ample resources provided by nature. To neglect the need to protect the environment is to neglect the welfare of our generation and the generations that will soon follow. Similarly, to destroy it is to destroy our own lives and our hopes for a world devoid of the hazards of the hustle and bustle in the ever expanding concrete jungles of cities. (3) Environmental protectionism is necessary in achieving social justice because the environment is the foundation of everything else that we know of in this planet. The absence of such protective measures, no matter how radical they may stand in contrast to the status quo, will certainly reduce our chances of surviving as a race. The social perception of Greenpeace International is the idea that there is an urgent need to actively promote and protect the environment amidst the different social forces that seek to use environmental resources to great lengths without even giving sufficient room for environmental concerns. People should actively engage themselves in efforts to curb the disintegration of the natural environment as a direct result of human factors. Human beings alone have the power to effect change in their natural surroundings especially when taken in the context of the use and abuse of the environment by several public and private entities. Protecting the environment can go to great lengths especially in the form of directly meddling with the private activities of private groups, to the point of causing harm, financial or physical, to those who are at the wrong side of the fence. The political perception of the organization is the idea that governments should prioritize environmental concerns. For instance, the organization has recently called upon United States President Barack Obama to reassess the so-called bogus climate bill released in Congress (Democrats Pass Bogus Climate Bill, 2009). It serves as a concrete example of the political pressure being exerted by the organization on the upper branches of the government. With that in mind, it is easy to understand that the organization very well considers political avenues in meeting their goals to protect the environment. With the growing environmental concerns throughout the years of the organization’s existence, it is apparent that the organization itself has dramatically changed through time. For the most part, the organization has grown more active than what it used to be in the later parts of the twentieth century. Moreover, the organization has become more actively involved in directly meddling with the activities of individuals and groups which they see as threats to the environment. (4) There are several previous actions of Greenpeace International which have been politically adapted. For example, the supporters of the organization heeded the call to write to their Representatives in Congress and inform them of the people’s clamor for safer toys for children up to 12 years of age. Eventually, the US Congress passed a law that will ban children’s products that contain the toxic chemical â€Å"phthalates† (US Congress Announces Ban on Toxic Chemicals, 2008). Another example is the organization’s victory during the early parts of the 1970s, especially the cases of protesting US nuclear testing at Amchitka Island in Alaska and France’s efforts to do atmospheric tests of their weapons somewhere in the regions of the South Pacific. In December 2007, the Irish government listened to the call of the organization to end the use of incandescent light bulbs and acted accordingly; the government announced its move to ban the use and production of incandescent light bulbs in Ireland which became the first country to do so among the European Union members (Greenpeace Victories, 2008). The latter example is a turning-point in history precisely because it marks the initial departure from the long-standing practice of using light bulbs on a massive scale that are not friendly to the environment. These examples, among others, present the idea that Greenpeace International has been successful in some of its efforts to protect the environment. Several laws were passed in favor of the environmental concerns of the organization. Also, several protests resulted to drastic changes in the activities of sovereign governments. References 20th Anniversary of the Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior. (2005). Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www. greenpeace. org/international/press/releases/20th-anniversary-of-the-bombin Democrats Pass Bogus Climate Bill. (2009). Retrieved May 24, 2009, from http://www. greenpeace. org/international/news/waxmanbill-180509 Greenpeace Victories. (2008). Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www. greenpeace. org/international/about/victories Justice for the Tokyo Two – Justice for Whales, Coming Our Way? (2009). Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www. greenpeace. org/international/news/justice-for-the-tokyo-two-ju Kuzmiak, D. T. (1991). The American Environmental Movement. The Geographical Journal, 157(3), 265-278. US Congress Announces Ban on Toxic Chemicals. (2008). Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www. greenpeace. org/international/news/congress-announces-ban-on-toxi