Double Jeopardy Clause of the U.S. Constitution Research Paper

Double Jeopardy Clause of the U.S. Constitution - Research Paper Example Many instances of confusion had risen from the interpretation of the words â€Å"same offense†, where at times the Court casually applies the Clause to offenses that are not the same but obviously different (Dibianco, 1995). For example, â€Å"premeditated murder is not the same as attempted murder or manslaughter; armed robbery is not the same as robbery; and yet under the so-called Blockburger test, the Court generally treats a greater offense as the same as each of its logically lesser-included offenses† (Amar, 1997). With lawyers, judges and juries expressing a wide range of opinions pertaining to the Double Jeopardy Clause, arriving at a robust framework of decision making is near impossible. Nevertheless, for cases of murder of a single person, the proper application of the Clause with regard to multiple trials at state and federal levels is relatively easier to ascertain. The following passages will illustrate this point by citing suitable scholarly sources. The words "life or limb" in the Clause connote all criminal sanctions but seldom covers a petty civil suit about money. Similarly, the words â€Å"same offense" should be taken literally - murder means murder, not attempted murder. And the time period in ‘Jeopardy’ effectively starts with an indictment and concludes with a suitably error-free verdict. As law expert Akhil Reed Amar observes, â€Å"the Double Jeopardy Clause itself does not exhaust the scope of constitutional principle involved in multiple prosecution and multiple punishment cases. Rather, the clean and simple rules of the Double Jeopardy Clause must be supplemented by several broader but more flexible commonsense principles protected by the Due Process Clause - and by certain other rules and principles rooted in the Sixth Amendment Jury Trial Clause.† (Amar, 1997) One of the mechanisms through which the judiciary ensures to provide the

United States Ambassador’s Speech to the United Nations Essay Example for Free

United States Ambassador’s Speech to the United Nations Essay Ladies and gentlemen and citizens of the world, my name is Susan Rice and I am honored to speak to you today. Our countries, which all embrace the United Nations’ quest for worldwide peace and stability, face many challenges that we can and must solve together. My nation, the United States of America, is prepared and determined to act constructively, responsibly and morally to contribute toward the realization of our shared goals. The United States of America has recently chosen a new and hopeful president who has bold, optimistic, and pragmatic ideas for his country and for our world. I am fortunate and privileged to have known and worked closely with Mr. Obama for the last several years, and I am honored that he nominated me for this post within this eminent organization. Working closely with all of you, I will strive to reflect and embody our country’s renewed principles of fairness, justice, respect for human rights, and love of freedom. Our individual homelands and our world as a whole face daunting challenges as we gather here today. Economic turmoil, security threats, political instability and human rights violations weigh on all our minds and on the minds of our respective countrymen. Let me assure each of you, and the people of your country by extension, that we are intent on charting a hopeful new path that will benefit us all. The United States is proud of our history of doing what’s right for our country and for the world of peace-loving nations as a whole. We believe that the vast majority of our actions over our more than 200 years have been just and beneficial for the free world. However, we know that our record is not perfect. Our new administration is committed to righting recent wrongs and working with our United Nations counterparts to face and conquer the issues and challenges that confront us today. I want to lay out some broad concerns and objectives that we believe must be addressed and confronted for the benefit of all our nations. Let me quote our United Nations charter. It â€Å"gives the Security Council primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security† (United Nations, 2009). As we all know, that objective is never easy to attain. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States holds a precious and weighty leadership role in helping to keep our world safe from those elements and regimes that plot every day against freedom and its enduring principles. We steadfastly and clearly say to those rogue elements that our nation and our allies cannot afford and will not allow your efforts to succeed. This body has the obligation and the ability to impose sanctions on those countries and factions that are intent on assailing peace and freedom. Within that framework for peace and worldwide security, the cessation of nuclear proliferation will continue to be an unyielding quest. We will strive to lower the number of nuclear weapons that exist across the world and we will tirelessly seek to thwart the development and deployment of nuclear warhead delivery systems. More specifically, let me address another security issue that threatens all our countries, directly or indirectly. Political instability is a major problem within many countries, particularly those who are engaged with us today, on their soil, in the fight against terrorism. Let me quote Mr. Obama directly as he engages our enemies of freedom. Our president stated yesterday â€Å"Let me be clear: Al-Qaida and its allies†¦are in Pakistan and Afghanistan and we have a clear and focused goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat (them)† (C-Span, 2009). In that vein, let me also assure each of your nations that our country will not engage in cruel or tortuous practices on any of the combatants that we capture and detain. Let me close by stating that United States foreign policy goals are consistent and congruent with the stated goals of the United Nations. We are honored, one nation in a sea of many, to contribute to the well-being and security of our world. References C-SPAN. (2009, March 27). C-span. org. United Nations. (2009, March). un. org.

Impact Of Self Help Groups Economics Essay

Impact Of Self Help Groups Economics Essay Self-Help Groups means a group of 10-20 members which may or may not be registered representing financial intermediation, but the financial intermediation is not the only primary objective of the groups. The motive is to combine the access to low-cost financial services with a process of self management and development. NGOs or Government agencies usually form and support these SHGs. The members of these groups save the amount which is used for loans. Inspite of considerable expansion in the branch network, a large share of Indias population continuous to remain outside the formal banking system. Due to widespread rural bank branch network, the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme is very suitable to the Indian context. Although various alternative ways are being experimented in order to meet the objectives of financial inclusion. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme is considered a most successful, promising and widely accepted model in India. Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme- a pilot project started by NABARD is widely accepted model as one of the largest and successful one in the world. The present study is analytical and based upon secondary data which has been collected from different published reports, journals and existing available literature. The objective of this study is to evaluate the progress and impact of self help group bank linkage programme. Key Words: Growth, Models, Self-Help Group, SHG-Bank Linkage Programme. Introduction The Self-Help Group (SHG) movement originated in Bangladesh under the Leadership of Noble Laureate Mohamed Yunus. It is a noble mission- an innovative concept that has its roots in Bangladesh and has touched every part of the globe. In order to achieve the mission of reaching those families who did not access to credit by any formal financial institution and, therefore, were dependent on informal sources and moneylenders, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) introduced the SHG Bank Linkage Programme as a pilot project in 1992. Thereafter, RBI had advised commercial banks to participate actively in this programme. Subsequently, this programme was further extended to all Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and cooperative banks. SHGs through the network of commercial banks, RRBs cooperative banks, NABARD and NGOs has been largely supply driven as well as a recent approach in the provision of financial services to the poor. This paper is an attempt to analyse the SH Gs movement in India as these are helpful in order to alleviate poverty and women empowerment. The present study is analytical and based upon secondary data which has been collected from different published reports, journals and existing available literature. The objective of this study is to evaluate the progress of self help group bank linkage programme. Self Help Group Self Help Group means a group of 15-20 members which have become a common vehicle of development covering various development programmes. Financial intermediation is not the only objective but the purpose behind this is to combine the access to low cost financial services with a process of self management and development. SHGs are usually formed and supported by NGOs or Government agencies. SHGs are small, informal and homogenous groups of not more than20 members each. Any group larger than the size of 20 members has to be registered under Indian legal system. So it is recommended to be informal to keep them away from bureaucracy, corruption, unnecessary administrative expenditure and profit motive. Groups are also expected to be homogenous so that members can participate freely without any fear as well as conflicting interest. SHGs have also emerged as a powerful device and an effective medium for delivering credit to the poor in the rural economy. It helps in poverty alleviation an d women empowerment. Self-help groups (SHGs) movement has triggered off a silent revolution in the rural credit delivery system in India. SHG Bank Linkage Programme The Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Programme (SHBL) which started as a pilot programme in 1992 has developed at a very fast rate with time. SHG-Bank Linkage Programme was started on the basis of the recommendation of S K Kalia Committee. While the SHG-bank linkage Programme has experienced exponential growth over the past decade, there remain large regional disparities in the growth of the SHG movement with limited progress in certain regions. Though the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme contributed to improve economic conditions, social change was not as apparent, and there are concerns of sustainability and further development of self reliance of the institutions. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme has the following objectives: To develop mutual faith and confidence between the rural poor and bankers To combine sensitivity, flexibility and responses of the informal credit system with the strength of administration capabilities, technical strength and the financial resources of the formal financial institutions. To expand credit flow/ financial services to the rural poor with less transaction costs. To alleviate poverty and empower the women. Models of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme The strategy behind these models is to form small, cohesive and participative groups of the poor and encourage them to pool their savings regularly and use the pooled savings in order to make small interest bearing loans available to the members. Bank credit also becomes available to the group to augment its resources for the purpose of lending to its members. The SHG-bank linkage program has proved to be the major supplementary credit delivery system with a wide acceptance by banks, NGOs and various government departments. There are three models of SHG-bank linkages that have evolved over time, especially in India. MODEL I. SHGs formed and financed by banks In this model, banks themselves take up the work of forming and nurturing the groups, opening their bank accounts and providing them with bank loans after satisfying themselves as to their maturity to absorb credit. Upto March 2006, about 20% of the total number of SHGs financed was from this category. This shows an increase of 61.63 percent in bank loan to SHGs over the position as on March 2005 reflecting an increased role of banks in promoting and nurturing SHGs. Here, the banks act as the SHGPI. MODEL II. SHGs formed by NGOs and formal organisations but directly financed by the banks In this model, groups are formed by NGOs (in most cases) or by the government agencies. The groups are nurtured and trained by the agencies. The bank then provides credit directly to the SHGs after observing their operations and maturity to absorb credit. While the bank provides loans to the groups directly, the facilitating agencies continue their interactions with the SHGs. Most linkage experiences begin with this model, where NGOs play a major role. This model has also been popular with and more acceptable to banks, since some of the difficult functions of social dynamics are externalized. This model continuous to have a major share. About 70 percent of the total number of SHGs is financed under this model. MODEL III. SHGs financed by banks using NGOs and other agencies as financial intermediaries   For various reasons, banks in some areas are not in a position even to finance SHGs promoted and nurtured by other agencies. In such cases, the NGOs act as both facilitators and microfinance intermediaries. First, they promote the groups, nurture and train them and then they approach banks for bulk loans for further lending to SHGs. In other words, banks take the sole responsibility for promoting, developing and financing SHGs. In fact, this programme requires considerable effort by the bank staff towards the formation of SHG. This model is not so encouraging. Models of SHG Linkages Bank Loans Model Number of Linkages % of Total Amount (Rs. In million) % of Total 1. 13561 14 339.79 18 2. 65636 70 1339.95 69 3. 15448 16 250.10 13 A major share of population in India continuous to remain outside the formal banking system inspite of considerable expansion in the branch network. And various alternative models are being experimented in order to meet the objective of financial inclusion. The SHG-Bank Linkage model is considered a most successful, promising and widely accepted model in India. This model was introduced in 1991-92 with a pilot project of linking 500 SHGs with banks and this figure has gone up to more than 34 lakh by the end of March 2008.Cummulatively, these SHGs have assessed credit of Rs. 22,268 crore from banks during the period. About 4.1 crore poor have gained access to the formal system through the programme. The number of SHGs linked to banks has increased from 32995 during 1998-99 to 3477965 during 2007-08 during the period of last about ten years. It means there is an impressive 68 percent compound annual growth rate. But the compound annual growth rate is almost double each year for the cum ulative bank loan to SHGs which is 94 percent. The faster growth in bank loans to SHGs has led to almost a four-fold increase in the average loans per SHG from Rs. 16,816 in 1999-2000 to Rs. 63,926 in 2007-08. These figures reflect the outstanding success of the programme in the Chart 1 given below. Chart I: Growth of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme 4 Progress of the SHG-Bank linkage Programme NABARD introduced an effective SHG-Bank Linkage Programme in order to provide credit to very small borrowers. The introduction of the SHG-Bank linkage Programme to discard the general perception of bankers that customers with no formal education or source of income or of no use to the bank and thus are not welcome. Since the year 2000, the statistical data show the rate of growth in SHGs linked under the programme is gradually falling in the year 1999-2000 the growth rate was more than 245% whereas it fell below 38.3% in 2005-06. However, the higher growth in the late nineties may be due to initial penetration of SHGs under the programme. With the formation of new SHGs, the scope is widened which will improve the condition of the poor households and it should be worked upon. Table 1 shown below the cumulative progress of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme. Table I: Cumulative Progress of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (INR in crores) Year SHGs Linked Bank Loan Refinance Assistance 1992-93 255 0.29 0.27 1995-96 4757 6.06 5.66 1998-99 32955 57.07 52.09 2002-03 461478 2048.67 796.50 2005-06 2238565 11397.46 4159.70 2006-07 2924973 17967.46 5452.56 2007-08 3477965 26816.72 7068.06 2008-09 4559443 39070.23 9688.09 Note: From 2006-07 onwards, data on number of SHGs financed by banks and bank loans are inclusive of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna(SGSY) SHGs and existing groups receiving repeat loans. Source: NABARD Annual Report 2008-09 The above table shows the cumulative progress in this area with the amount of refinance assistance during the respective periods. Disparity in the SHG-Bank linkage Programme SHG-Bank Linkage Programme was started with the objective of extending the outreach of banking the poor, who mainly comprise the marginal farmers, landless labourers, artisans and craftsmen and others engaged in the small businesses such as vending and hawking. Now the important point is that whether the programme has really made inroads into the regions where concentration of poverty is comparatively higher. And this can be found if we compare the poverty ratio at all India level with the ratio of various regions. Earlier, during 2004-05, the all-India poverty ratio stood at about 27.6 per cent while the Northern (15.7 per cent), North- Eastern (19.2 per cent), Southern (19.8 per cent) and Western region (25.8 per cent) had lower than the all-India poverty ratio, Central (35 per cent), and Eastern Region (36.2 per cent) had higher poverty ratios than at the all-India level. Now this variation is comparatively changed with the expansion of number of SHGs. Similarly, there has been skewed development of SHG-Bank linkage programme on geographical basis in India. There is wide regional disparity both in terms of the spread of SHGs linked to banks and cumulative bank loans disbursed under the programme. In March 2008, while the Southern Region accounted for 48.2 per cent of the total SHGs, the share of North- Eastern Region was just 3.4 per cent as depicted in table 2. In terms of share in the total bank loans to SHGs, the region-wise differential gets further magnified. So far, the SHG movement in the country is mostly south-centric and it is yet to take off in the real sense in other regions of India. Table II: Region-wise Progress of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (As on March 31, 2008) Regions Share (%) in Programme No. of SHGs Loans to SHGs (Rs. crore) Average Loans per SHG (Rs.) No. of SHGs Loans to SHGs SHGs per Lakh Population Northern 2,30,740 851 36,899 6.6 3.8 156 North Eastern 1,19,520 327 27,364 3.4 1.5 283 Eastern 6,72,626 2,372 35,268 19.3 10.7 274 Central 4,05,707 1,501 36,990 11.7 6.7 142 Western 3,74,561 1,320 35,254 10.8 5.9 229 Southern 16,74,811 15,896 94,915 48.2 71.4 703 All India 34,77,965 22,268 64,027 100.0 100.0 310 Source: NABARD While the Southern Region accounted for 71.4 per cent of the total loans to SHGs, the share of North-Eastern Region was just about 1.5 per cent. For all regions excluding Southern Region, even though the share of total SHGs linked to banks was close to 51.8 per cent, their share in total loans to SHGs was only 28.6 per cent implying that adequate credit is not being routed through SHGs in these regions. As the regions vary in geographical area and population, the number of SHGs is normalized by the population of the region and SHG per lakh population has been taken as a better indicator of SHG spread in the respective regions. The number of SHGs per lakh population for the Southern Region is 703, which is more than double the average at all-India (310) and almost five times of the Central Region (142). All these data given in the table shows an impressive growth in southern region followed by eastern, central and others. The SHG Bank Linkage Model has made considerable progress since its inception in the early 1990s and agency wise outstanding number of credit linked SHGs and amount of loans with Banks is presented in Table3 given below. Table III: Bank Loans Outstanding under SHG-Bank Linkage Programme Agency 2008 09 2009-10 No. of SHGs (in000) Amount (Rs. In Crores) No. of SHGs (in000) Amount (Rs. In Crores) Commercial Banks 2831 16149 3237 20165 Regional Rural Banks 978 5224 1104 6144 Cooperative Banks 415 1306 510 1729 Total 4224 22679 4851 28038 Source: Status of Microfinance in India 2009-10 Banks have financed 15.87 lakh SHGs, including repeat loan to the existing SHGs, with bank loans of Rs. 14,453 crores during 2009-10. Out of the total loans disbursed during 2009-10, SHGs financed under SGSY accounted for 2.67 lakh (16.9%) with bank loan of Rs. 2198.00 crore (15.2%). As on March 2010, the average loan amounts outstanding per SHG and per member were Rs. 57795 and Rs. 4128 respectively. The estimated number of households covered under the Self Help Group (SHG)-Bank Linkage Programme was 9.7 crores up to 31 March 2010. Current Position of SHG-Bank Linkage Programme Though there are different models for purveying micro finance, the Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Programme has emerged as the major programme in the country. It is being implemented by commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), and cooperative banks. In 2009-10, 1.59 million new SHGs were credit-linked with banks, and bank loan of 14,453 crore (including repeat loan) was disbursed to these SHGs. Further, about 6.95 million SHGs maintained savings accounts with banks at the end of March 2010. On an average, the amount of savings per SHG was 8,915 as compared to the amount of credit outstanding of 57,795 in 2009-10. While there was a continued increase in the amount of credit outstanding per SHG, there was a fluctuating trend in the amount of saving per SHG in the recent years. According to the Status of Micro Finance in India 2009-2010 released by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) there are 69,53,000 SHGs in the country savings linked with banks and 48,51,000 SHGs having loan outstanding as on 31 March 2010.   The estimated number of households covered under this model is about 970 lakhs.   The total savings amount of all the SHGs with banks as on 31 March 2010 amounts to Rs.6198.71 crore and the total amount of loans outstanding against SHGs as on 31 March 2010 is Rs.28038.28 crore. Table IV: New SHGs Financed by Banks during the Year   Year New SHGs Financed by Banks during the Year No. (lakh) Amount (Rs. crore) Growth (%) 2007-08 12.28 8,849.26 2008-09 16.09 12,256.51 38.50 2009-10 15.87 14,453.30 17.90 2010-11 11.96 14,547.73 0.65 Source: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Under the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme as on 31 March 2011, 74.62 lakh SHGs held savings bank accounts with total savings of Rs. 7,016 crores as against 69.53 lakh SHGs with savings of Rs.6, 199 crores as on 31 March 2010. By December 2011, another 2.98 lakh SHGs have come under the ambit of the programme, taking the cumulative number of saving-linked groups to 77.60 lakh SHGs. As on 31 March 2011, 47.87 lakh SHGs had outstanding bank loans of Rs. 31,221 crores, as against 48.5 lakh SHGs with bank loans of Rs. 28,038 crore as on 31 March 2010. This represents a decline of 1.3 percent in the number of SHGs and a growth of 11.4 percent in bank loans outstanding to SHGs as per table 4 given above. During 2011-12, (upto December 2011), 4.51 lakh SHGs have been financed with an amount of Rs. 6,791.46 crore. Thus, the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme is considered as the largest financial inclusion programme in the world.   Conclusion SHG-Bank Linkage Programme is developed in India to provide finance to the vast rural poor. In this programme, the informal SHGs are credit linked with the formal financial institutions. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme has emerged as a dominant, relevant and effective prorgramme in terms of borrowers and loans outstanding in India. It is flexible, independence creating, and imparts freedom of savings and borrowing according to the heterogeneous needs and requirements of the group members. Through this program, the Reserve Bank of India and NABARD has tried to promote relationship banking, i.e., Improving the existing relationship between the poor and the bankers with the social intermediation of the NGOs. The SHG-bank linkage program in India is rapidly expanding its outreach under the pioneering initiative of NABARD, the monitoring and supervision of RBI, and the promotional policies of the government of India. At the grass root level the program is being implemented by the commercial banks, cooperatives, and regional rural banks, with government agencies. Self-help groups (SHGs) play today major role in poverty alleviation in rural India. SHGs have changed the life of a particular individual or group for the better. This is considered not only a tool for poverty alleviation but also has proven to be relevant in offering women the possibility to break gradually away from the exploitation and isolation in India. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme has provided a more favor able environment for enhancing Indias potential for greater equitable growth with empowerment while considering the positive signs in their performance.

The Identity and History of the Caribbean Essay -- Caribbean History C

The Identity and History of the Caribbean The Caribbean is a vastly diverse area representing the effects of colonialism, slavery, and the combination of many cultures. Since the arrival of Europeans the Caribbean islands have been going through constant change. The loss of native peoples and the introduction of the plantation system had immediate and permanent reprocussions on the islands. The Plantation system set up a society which consisted of a large, captive lower class and a powerful, wealthy upper class. As the plantation systems became successful labor was needed in order to progress. Slavery became the answer to the problem. Slavery played an important role in the how the economy changed the islands because there was a shift on the main economic ingredient, Sugar. Section 2 of Caribbean Slave Society and Economy shows how the economy shifted during this expansion. Before sugar became the main export in 1643, tobacco, sugar, indigo and ginger were the main exports in the English and French Antilles. Tobacco and cotton became important in "pre-sugar era because it was easy to cultivate and did not need as much labor as the sugar plantations. Robert Carlylebatie in the essay "Why sugar? Economic Cycles and the Changing of Staples on the English and French Antilles, 1624-54" writes, "the mastery of the art of making sugar required time, skill and money. It is no wonder, then, that colonists waited until tobacco values reached very near their long-run levels before seriously committing themselves to learning how to produce muscovado, the common brown sugar later exported from the islands" (44). As sugar became difficult to cultivate with little labor more labor were needed. The sugar production lead to the core o... ...ings that Slavery created a transformation in the Caribbean’s identity and history. New societies, culture, identities, divisions between race and more were created. A social and political hierarchy was created which gave power to the whites while the blacks received no respect. Due to the emergence of the marroonage, revolts shows the slaves are becoming stronger as one and are revolting against their masters. New cultures are emerging and struggles for identity and rights are beginning to form. Bibliography Beckles, Dr. Hillary, Verene Shepherd. Caribbean Slave Society and Economy. The New Press, New York. New York, N.Y. 1991. Benitez-Rojo, Antonio: "The Repeating Island" Duke University Press Cliff, Michelle: "Abeng" Plume Books Knight, Franklin W. The Caribbean, The Genesis Of a Fragmented Nationalism. Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y. 1990

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Name: Soumya Prem Roll no: 20120119150 Uncertainty reduction theory – Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese This theory explains how communication is used to reduce the uncertainty among people when they meet each other for the first time. It is assumed that when strangers meet, their primary objective is to reduce uncertainty about the other person involved in the interaction. We always want to reduce the uncertainties about our surroundings and the people in it since being uncertain about anything is not a pleasant feeling to have.Berger proposed that there are 3 factors that influence whether people will want to work towards reducing uncertainties about a certain situation.1. Anticipation of future interaction – You will try to reduce uncertainties if you know there is a possibility of meeting this person again. Therefore, you are more likely to use uncertainty reduction behaviour when you meet someone at a party that you might be interested in.2. Incentive value – If this person is capable to doing something for you or against you even, then there are higher chances of yo u trying to reduce uncertainties.3. Deviance – If the person behaves oddly and shows some bizarre characteristics, you are likely to use uncertainty reduction. For example if you meet a new prospective client whom you have to meet in the future and could give your company a new project and has a strange fascination for the colour purple, you would be interested in communicating more to fit the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together to get to know who she really is. There are 3 ways to seek information from the other person-1. Passive Strategy – Observing someone without being observed2. Active Strategy – Asking a third party for more information3.Interactive Strategy – Obtaining information directly by asking questions and offering personal information about yourselfA demonstration of this can be seen in this scene from a very famous Hollywood movie ‘Hitch’ where Will Smith’s character tries to seek more information about Sara Melas at a bar where in he uses all the strategies mentioned above for interaction. Berger proposes a series of 8 axioms to explain the connection between uncertainty and eight key variables of relationship development which areVerbal communication -As the amount of verbal communication increases, the level of uncertainty decreases. As uncertainty decreases, the amount of verbal communication increases.Non verbal warmth – As nonverbal warmth increases, uncertainty levels decreases in a situation. In turn a decrease in uncertainty level will cause an increase in nonverbal warmth.Information seeking –When uncertainty is more, the tendency to seek information increases. As uncertainty decreases, information seeking behaviour decreases.Self disclosure – When uncertainty levels are high, the levels of intimacy in communication is less. As uncertainty reduces the level of intimacy increases.Reciprocity – Higher the uncertainty, higher the reciprocity. Lower the uncertain ty, lower the reciprocity.Similarity – Similarities between people decreases uncertainty, while dissimilarities increases uncertainty.Liking – Increase in uncertainty decreases liking and decrease in uncertainty increases liking.Shared networks – If there are shared networks among the two people like common friends then uncertainty is less and vice versa.Uncertainty reduction theory in movies – Meet the parentsMeeting someone for the first time can be a nerve racking experience for many. In this movie Greg is meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Jack, Pam’s father is overly protective of his daughter. He constantly mocks Greg’s choice of occupation as a nurse and makes him uncomfortable in a lot of situations with an intention to keep him away from his daughter. Greg tries to impress Jack from time to time but nothing seems to work in his favour because Jack does not show any liking towards him. Jack’s verbal ou tput, nonverbal cues and constant information seeking causes Greg to fear him.Consequently, there is never a stable interaction between Jack and Greg as there is a lot of uncertainty between them. Applications of Uncertainty Reduction theory In an article titled ‘Interactive Uncertainty Reduction Strategies and Verbal Affection in Computer-Mediated Communication’ published by Marjolijn L. Antheunis, Alexander P. Schouten, Patti M. Valkenburg and Jochen Peter, they investigated the language-based strategies that computer-mediated communication (CMC) users employ to reduce uncertainty in the absence of nonverbal cues.CMC condition had i. Higher levels of intimacy than face to face condition ii. More affection statements than face to face condition iii. There was no observed differences between text-only CMC and visual CMC condition In another article titled ‘The Acquaintanceship Process: An Examination of Uncertainty, Information Seeking, and Social Attraction durin g Initial Conversation’ published by William Douglas, the relationship between uncertainty reduction, information seeking, and liking during unstructured initial interaction was studied.Analyses showed that Significant linear and quadratic trends in the uncertainty scores. Global uncertainty-related to uncertainty about the specific person after interaction and the amount of uncertainty reduction that they achieved. Uncertainty and liking were inversely correlated both before and after interaction. Global uncertainty -predictive of amount of information seeking Specific uncertainty -unrelated to the frequency of both asking questions and disclosing. Critique point of viewIt can be argued that reducing uncertainty about the self and another in an initial encounter might not be an individual's primary concern. A more primary goal would be to maximize relational outcomes. It is not always necessary to reduce uncertainties for obtaining your incentive from the other person. Also a want for information rather than lack of information is what promotes information-seeking in initial encounters with other people. Also one of the axioms states that as the level of uncertainty reduces, liking increases.This may not be necessarily true since there can be a situation where in after communicating you come to realise that the other person possesses qualities that you are not fond of or comfortable about. In this case, there will not be an increase in liking rather there is a possibility of the opposite, i. e. a decrease in liking.Scholarly article sources: http://crx. sagepub. com/content/21/2/154. abstracthttp://crx. sagepub. com/content/early/2011/06/01/0093650211410420. abstractOther sources: http://www. wikipedia. org/http://wikis. lib. ncsu. edu/index. php/Uncertainty_Reduction_Theoryhttp://www. youtube. com/

Huckleberry Finn Essays - English-language Films, Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn Essays - English-language Films, Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn HUCKLEBERRY FINN The novel of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck goes through many adventures On the Mississippi river. He escapes from pap and sails down the Mississippi river where He meets a slave named Jim. Huck promised Jim he is going to keep his secret about men coming to look for him (Jim). They escape by going down the Mississippi river and decide to go down Ohio River. They decide to go north where all the free states are. One day Huck was climbing ashore and sees the Grangerford where they have trouble with the Shepherdson. Huck stays with them until he witnesses the death of many people. Huck feels he shouldnt be helping Jim to freedom and almost turns him in to slave but Huck begins to enjoy having Jims Company, and when Jim is sold by the duke and the king, Huck breaks down and cries while asking the duke where Jim is. Then Huck steals Jim from the Phelps farm. It was discovered that his owner, Miss Watson, already freed Jim just before she died.