Law and Politics Essay Example for Free

Law and Politics Essay Murphy and selected internet and electronic readings Some journal articles will need to be accessed through the UVU Library Journal database. If the below links to internet sources do not work, you should first search Google for alternative links. If you are still unsuccessful, then contact Dr. Griffin. ? This schedule is only â€Å"tentative† and subject to change by verbal or written notification – stay tuned! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jan 8, 10 Introduction Introduction to course review of syllabus The Nature and Prominent Theories of Law (M) 3-12 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, 2 vols. , pp. 39-62 Introduction, Section II, â€Å"Of The Nature of Laws in General,† pp. 39-47 (scroll down). http://oll. libertyfund. org/? option=com_staticxtstaticfile=show. php%3Ftitle=2140chapter=198645layout=htmlItemid=27 ? ? ? Charles Grove Haines, A Survey of the Development of Natural law Doctrines, 1930 Chapter 1 Ancient and Medieval Natural Law Theories, http://www. constitution. org/haines/haines_001. htm King, Martin Luther Jr. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. In Why We Cant Wait, ed. Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1963. http://www. stanford. edu/group/King/liberation_curriculum/pdfs/letterfrombirmingham_wwcw. pdf Herbert Spiegelberg, Justice Presupposes Natural Law, pp. 343-348 http://www. jstor. org/sici? sici=0014-1704(193904)49%3A3%3C343%3AJPNL%3E2. 0. CO%3B2-6 Jan 15 Origins and Roles of Courts and Judges (M) 13-20, 22-46 Martin Shapiro, â€Å"The Logic of The Triad. † (UVU Canvas) John Underwood Lewis, Sir Edward Coke (1552-1564): His Theory of â€Å"Artificial Reason† as a Context for Modern Basic Legal Theory. (UVU Canvas) James Wilson, The Works of James Wilson, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court , Vol. 2, Chapter IV, â€Å"Of the Nature of Courts,† pp. 287-299. http://books. google. com/books? id=lIs0AAAAMAAJ;pg=PA1;dq=James+Wilson,+The+Works+of+James+Wilson,+volume+2;hl =en;ei=9bx1TIyKA4W6sQOEqL2hDQ;sa=X;oi=book_result;ct=result;resnum=2;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage;q;f=fa lse

Pain Perception And Processing In Alzheimers Disease

Pain Perception And Processing In Alzheimers Disease Alzheimers patients feel pain as powerfully as others. Pain perception and processing are not diminished in Alzheimers disease, thereby raising concerns about the current inadequate treatment of pain in this highly dependent and vulnerable patient group. Pain activity in the brain was just as strong in the Alzheimers patients as in the healthy volunteers. In fact, pain activity lasted longer in the Alzheimers patients. Pain may be even more bewildering to more severely affected patients. The experience of pain may be more distressing for these patients on account of their impaired ability to accurately appraise the unpleasant sensation and its future implications. Doctors can use a tool called the Pain and Discomfort Scale or PADS. Its a system for evaluating pain based on facial expressions and body movements. People caring for someone with Alzheimers disease or other dementias can do an even better job than doctors can. Caregivers have an incredible capacity even beyond doctors to know the behavior of the person they are caring for and to look for the times they are in discomfort or pain. The trick is to watch the facial expressions and movements of patients when they are not in pain, both during sleep and waking hours. Using this as a baseline, you should be attentive to circumstances where they seem agitated, where eye contact is altered, where there is grimacing or a facial expression indicative of discomfort. As Alzheimers disease progresses towards the later stages, the ability of the affected person to communicate becomes increasingly compromised. Caregivers can no longer ask are you comfortable? or, are you in pain? and get a reliable answer. A caregiver has to interpret what behavior means. Are shouts, screams, severe withdrawal, aggression, due to confusion, something else, or are they signs of pain?   The way in which a normal person experience pain differs. Pain is a subjective experience. People who have problems communicating are disadvantaged. Research into the prevalence of pain in elders in nursing homes is estimated at between 40 and 80 percent. There is evidence that people with cognitive disabilities may have an even higher risk of being under-medicated for pain. Painful conditions such as arthritis, cancer, urine infections are sometimes not treated with painkilling medications. Even when people can communicate effectively research suggests that observers tend to assume that people over-report pain either verbally or in their facial expressions.   Effective pain management for people with dementia is a complex issue. Families and health professionals caring for people with dementia have to acquire new skills and it can be a rather hit and miss situation. The first step in pain management is assessment of the discomfort. Acute pain syndromes commonly follow injuries, surgical procedures, etc. and require standard analgesic or narcotic management. Acute pain syndromes are expected to last for brief periods of time, i.e., less than six months. Pain that persists for over six months is termed chronic pain. Chronic non-malignant pain requires a more complex strategy to minimize the use of narcotics and maximize non- pharmacological interventions. Acute pain rarely produces other long-term psychological problems, such as depression, although acute discomfort will produce distress manifested by acute anxiety or agitation in the demented patient. Mildly demented patients can become agitated or anxious with pain because they rapidly forget explanations or reassurances provided by staff. Amnestic individuals may forget to ask for PRN non-narcotic analgesics such as acetaminophen and these patients need regularly scheduled medications. Disoriented patients do not realize they are in a health care facility and aphasic patients may not comprehend the staffs inquiry about pain symptoms. The symptoms of pain expressed by patients with moderate to severe dementia include anxiety, agitation, screaming, hostility, wandering, aggression, failure to eat, and failure to get out of bed. A small number of demented individuals with serious injury may not complain of pain, e.g., hip fractures, ruptured appendix, etc. Assessment of pain in the demented patient requires verbal questioning and direct observation to assess for behaviors that suggest pain. Standardized pain assessment scales should be used for all patients; however, these clinical instruments may not be valid in persons with dementia or psychosis. The past medical history may be valuable in assessing the demented resident. Individuals with chronic pain prior to the onset of dementia usually experience similar pain when demented, e.g., compression fractures, angina, neuropathy, etc. These individuals can be monitored carefully and non-narcotic pain medication can be prescribed as indicated, e.g., acetaminophen on a regular basis, anticonvulsants for neuropathy. The management of pain in any person requires careful consideration about the contribution of each component of the pain circuit to the painful stimulus. Neuropathic pain is produced by dysfunction of the nerve or sensory organ that perceives and transmits noxious stimulus to the level of the spinal cord. Persons with serious back disease may have herniated discs that compress specific nerve roots. This pain is often positional and produces spasms of the musculature in the back. The brain interprets pain in a highly organized systematic pattern. Discrete brain regions interpret and translate painful stimuli from specific body regions, e.g., arm, leg, etc., misfire in that discrete brain region will misinform the person that pain or discomfort is being experienced in that limb or part of the trunk. A person who loses a limb from trauma or amputation may continue to experience painful sensations in the distributions for that limb termed phantom limb pain. Management of chronic pain involves three elements (1) physical interventions, (2) psychological interventions, (3) pharmacological interventions. Physical interventions include basic physiotherapy that incorporates warm or cool compresses, massage, repositioning, electrical stimulation and many other treatments. Dementia patients need constant reminders to comply with physical treatments e.g., using compresses, sustaining proper positioning, etc., and many do not cooperate with some interventions, like nerve stimulators or acupuncture. Physical interventions are particularly helpful in older persons with musculoskeletal pain regardless of cognitive status. Psychological interventions usually require intact cognitive function e.g., relaxation therapy, self-hypnosis, etc. Demented patients generally lack the capacity to utilize psychological interventions; however, management teams should provide emotional support to validate the patients suffering associated with pain. Demented patients may experience more suffering from pain than intellectually intact individuals because they lack the capacity to understand the cause of their discomfort. Fear, anxiety, and depression frequently intensify pain. Pharmacological management begins with the least toxic medications and follows a slow progressive titration until pain symptoms are controlled. Clinicians must distinguish between analgesia and euphoria. Some medications that appear to have an analgesic or pain relieving effect actually have an euphoric effect, which diminishes the patients concern about perceived pain. The goal of pain management is to remove the suffering associated with the painful stimulus rather than making the patient euphoric or high to the point where they no longer care whether they experience pain. Euphoria-producing medications can cause confusion, irritability, and behavioral liability in patients with dementia. Narcotic addiction is not a common concern in dementia patients as these individuals have a limited life expectancy and rarely demonstrate drug-seeking behaviors. Pharmacological interventions always begin with the least toxic, i.e., least confusing, medications. A regular dose of acetaminophen up to 4 grams per day will substantially diminish most pain and improve quality of life. Clinical studies show that regular Tylenol reduced agitation in over half the treated patients. Chronic arthritic pain with inflammation of the joints may also respond to non- steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) or Cox-2 inhibitors. The gastrointestinal toxicity associated with NSAIDS is greater than that of Cox 2 inhibitor medications. Patients who fail to respond to non-narcotic analgesics should receive narcotic-like medications, i.e., Tramadol. Patients who fail to respond to maximum doses of Tramadol, i.e., 300 mgs per day, may require narcotic medications.  

Greed in The Pearl and The Red Pony :: Pearl Essays

Greed in The Pearl and The Red Pony The novels "The Pearl ," and "The Red Pony ," both portray a message about life. In The Pearl , Steinbeck tells about a great pearl that is found and lost by a Mexican villager. The value of the pearl is great, and with the value comes much greed from others and troubles for the villager. This is a tale that depicts human nature and the way of humanity. The Red Pony, is a story of a young boy and his great dreams. This book tells the reader about the dreams of a farm boy, the land and about the fulfillment of life. These two novels are both similar to each other, telling of humans strength, and the greed in life. In The Pearl , the Mexican fisherman, Kino is very poor, but relatively happy. Kino is very close with his wife Juana, his baby son Coyotito and with the other fishermen. While diving for pearls one day, Kino discovers an extremely old and large oyster. Inside the oyster Kino finds the great pearl. The pearl is worth much and with it comes the promise of a better life for Kino and his family. The life of Kino and his family are changed forever by the greed of other people who begin to want the pearl for themselves. After much hardship, Kino realizes that the pearl could only bring more trouble, and casts the pearl out to sea. The Red Pony tells of a young boy, Jody, and his life on a small ranch. Several big events in Jody's life are depicted in this novel, including a red pony colt, the last wishes of an old Mexican man, dreams of the great mountains, and his grandfathers reflections of the past. In both of the novels the characters are down to earth, real humans. They also have fortitude and are not weak minded. In The Pearl , Kino is pushed and badgered by people trying to steal his pearl and finally he stops running and kill before being killed himself. In the struggle, however Kino's' baby is killed, bringing much sorrow to the family. The boy Jody faces much temptation in The Red Pony . A person could deduce, after reading theses books that greed and selfishness can dramatically change people and their behavior. Some of the villagers with better morals ". Greed in The Pearl and The Red Pony :: Pearl Essays Greed in The Pearl and The Red Pony The novels "The Pearl ," and "The Red Pony ," both portray a message about life. In The Pearl , Steinbeck tells about a great pearl that is found and lost by a Mexican villager. The value of the pearl is great, and with the value comes much greed from others and troubles for the villager. This is a tale that depicts human nature and the way of humanity. The Red Pony, is a story of a young boy and his great dreams. This book tells the reader about the dreams of a farm boy, the land and about the fulfillment of life. These two novels are both similar to each other, telling of humans strength, and the greed in life. In The Pearl , the Mexican fisherman, Kino is very poor, but relatively happy. Kino is very close with his wife Juana, his baby son Coyotito and with the other fishermen. While diving for pearls one day, Kino discovers an extremely old and large oyster. Inside the oyster Kino finds the great pearl. The pearl is worth much and with it comes the promise of a better life for Kino and his family. The life of Kino and his family are changed forever by the greed of other people who begin to want the pearl for themselves. After much hardship, Kino realizes that the pearl could only bring more trouble, and casts the pearl out to sea. The Red Pony tells of a young boy, Jody, and his life on a small ranch. Several big events in Jody's life are depicted in this novel, including a red pony colt, the last wishes of an old Mexican man, dreams of the great mountains, and his grandfathers reflections of the past. In both of the novels the characters are down to earth, real humans. They also have fortitude and are not weak minded. In The Pearl , Kino is pushed and badgered by people trying to steal his pearl and finally he stops running and kill before being killed himself. In the struggle, however Kino's' baby is killed, bringing much sorrow to the family. The boy Jody faces much temptation in The Red Pony . A person could deduce, after reading theses books that greed and selfishness can dramatically change people and their behavior. Some of the villagers with better morals ".

Comparing Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady Essay

Fall from Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Bible, God created man pure and innocent, oblivious to good and evil. The serpent of evil lured them to the tree of knowledge, however, and its fruit proved too much of a temptation. With a bite, their "eyes... were opened," and the course of their lives, and the lives of mankind, were changed (Gen. 6-7, 22). Whether or not one accepts the Christian concept of creation, countless works of art are patterned on this account of the "fall from innocence." The novel Grendel by John Gardner shows us a side of the "beast" the epic Beowulf never considered - the child-like innocence before the brutality. The song "Country Girl" by Neil Young is a subtle commentary on the effect the sexual revolution had upon one woman. In addition, The Portrait of a Lady, a film by Jane Campion, an adaptation of Henry James's novel, shows the downward spiral of a headstrong American girl in the late 1800's. These three distinct pieces cut a swath through the art world, repre senting an established author, a modern musician, and a feminist filmmaker, yet central to their relevance is one theme: the fall from innocence.    Innocence? In Grendel? Grendel is a monster, right? Wrong, in the eyes of John Gardner. Taking the role of the Shaper, Gardner makes us see Grendel as an ostracized person, one so lonely he "relishes the thought of acceptance," even though the idiocy of their society repulses him at times (Milosh 221). He is just a naà ¯ve teenager, searching for his role in life.    In The Portrait of a Lady (POAL), Isabel is searching as well, traveling where her caprice leads her. "You're drifting off to some great mistake," her friend Henriett... ...    Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage Books, 1989.    Kneubuhl, James P. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Milosh, Joseph. "John Gardner's 'Grendel': Sources and Analogues." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 221-222.    Portrait of a Lady, The. Dir. Jane Campion. Gramercy, 1996.    The portrait of a lady production notes. [Online] Available http://www.hollywood.com/movies/portrait/text/1.html, April 13, 1998.    Strehle, Susan. "John Gardner's Novels: Affirmation and the Alien." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 218 -219.    Travirca, Chet. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Young, Neil. "Country Girl." Perf. Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Dà ©jà   vu. Atlantic, 1970. Comparing Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady Essay Fall from Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Bible, God created man pure and innocent, oblivious to good and evil. The serpent of evil lured them to the tree of knowledge, however, and its fruit proved too much of a temptation. With a bite, their "eyes... were opened," and the course of their lives, and the lives of mankind, were changed (Gen. 6-7, 22). Whether or not one accepts the Christian concept of creation, countless works of art are patterned on this account of the "fall from innocence." The novel Grendel by John Gardner shows us a side of the "beast" the epic Beowulf never considered - the child-like innocence before the brutality. The song "Country Girl" by Neil Young is a subtle commentary on the effect the sexual revolution had upon one woman. In addition, The Portrait of a Lady, a film by Jane Campion, an adaptation of Henry James's novel, shows the downward spiral of a headstrong American girl in the late 1800's. These three distinct pieces cut a swath through the art world, repre senting an established author, a modern musician, and a feminist filmmaker, yet central to their relevance is one theme: the fall from innocence.    Innocence? In Grendel? Grendel is a monster, right? Wrong, in the eyes of John Gardner. Taking the role of the Shaper, Gardner makes us see Grendel as an ostracized person, one so lonely he "relishes the thought of acceptance," even though the idiocy of their society repulses him at times (Milosh 221). He is just a naà ¯ve teenager, searching for his role in life.    In The Portrait of a Lady (POAL), Isabel is searching as well, traveling where her caprice leads her. "You're drifting off to some great mistake," her friend Henriett... ...    Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage Books, 1989.    Kneubuhl, James P. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Milosh, Joseph. "John Gardner's 'Grendel': Sources and Analogues." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 221-222.    Portrait of a Lady, The. Dir. Jane Campion. Gramercy, 1996.    The portrait of a lady production notes. [Online] Available http://www.hollywood.com/movies/portrait/text/1.html, April 13, 1998.    Strehle, Susan. "John Gardner's Novels: Affirmation and the Alien." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 218 -219.    Travirca, Chet. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Young, Neil. "Country Girl." Perf. Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Dà ©jà   vu. Atlantic, 1970.

Game Addiction Essay

Gamer Addiction is an obsession with video game playing that usually begins in elementary and middle school. By college, the individual progresses from simple to elaborate games and the student is game-hooked. An activity becomes an addiction when it is used to change an individual’s mood. It becomes abuse when it interferes with ‘one’s work or school, or disrupts personal or family relationships, and becomes increasingly necessary to feel good’ (Orzack, 2005a, p. 1). Addiction takes away from life and reduces motivation to do anything beyond the focus of the addiction (IGDA panel). Niolosi (2002) found that video games are part of the daily routine for 65% of American girls and 85% of American boys. NBC News ( 5-19-05 ) reported that one in eight gamers develops patterns similar to other types of addiction and abuse. Tournemillie (2002) noted that a survey of 1500 teenagers indicated 25% were compulsive video gamers. Fifty per cent of those surveyed used the word ‘addiction’ to describe a friend’s gaming behaviors. Today’s video games are available in a plethora of venues that draw individuals into the world of the game. Games are designed to keep the player riveted to action. Players experience a sense of control when they enter into the fantasy world of speed, realism, violence, new morals, and interoperability. Many games offer on-line anonymous interaction with other people; a ‘hook’ is a sense of family or belonging in the form of a pseudo persona the player develops when repeatedly playing the game. The longer the game is played, the more the pseudo persona can replace reality. – See more at: http://www. nacada. ksu. edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Gamer-Addiction. aspx#sthash. zdhglFnU. dpuf.

Management strategy and practice of the nokia corporation ltd

INTRODUCTIONNokia Corporation Ltd is one of the topmost mobile phone manufacturing companies. It manufactures a wide range of mobile phone handsets that befit and satisfy consumer demand. It is based in the South West part of Finland.ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREWith its headquarters based in Singapore, Nokia Corporation operates in various geographical locations. The enterprise is further categorized into different business segments with each specializing in specific operations:  Nokia Treasury Asia: – This is based in the headquarters and serves the corporation’s subsidiaries of the Pacific (Asian). This region serves as the banking unit by providing a wide range of financial services.Japan/ China region: – These regions specialize in Research and Development. It is the ‘epicenter’ of new innovations/technology and new brand implementation.  Within the America’s region, Nokia Corporation has assembly, IT solutions and program design business units.In general, the company has a flat organizational structure. This is because of few levels of management (about six). The chairman, who doubles as the President is deputized by the vice Chairman (Vice President). This Manager has only four executives below him. This structure is a form of strategy for the corporation as it reduces bureaucracy and enhances both the flow of information and the decision-making process.NOKIA’S INCOME STATEMENTSThe most recent quarte’s Revenue is â‚ ¬ 9,856 millionThe net income figure during the same period was â‚ ¬ 979 million.The company’s current stock price as at 11.03 AM, 07/19/07 is $ 29.81.The previous price was $29.73. I expect the stock price to grow in the next quarter. This is due to the high demand of the company’s stocks due to its high profitability and performance in the Stock Market.FINANCIAL STRATEGIESThe Corporation operates in patents and rights. These include the GSM/WCDMA and CDMA2000. These h ave led to advantages like reduction of production and operating costs. The management of the company uses internal growth/financing that is expensive in terms of interest charges. Because of this, it issues ordinary shares when finances have to be raised. It also uses its retained earnings which are sufficient owing to its optimal dividend policy.In order to increase its profitability and market share, Nokia Corporation has entered into a joint venture with other telecommunication companies like Sanyo.  And in order to attract a competitive advantage over other companies in the industry, Nokia Corporation has embarked on acquisitions. An example is Intellisync plc in February 2006.Another of the firm’s strategy is that of mergers with other telecommunication companies. This has seen the company merging with Siemens AG in June 2006. This according to the management will give the company enviable synergistic advantages such as reduction of operating expenses. It would also e nable the company tap more expertise as well as bar new entrants from joining the industry.The investment division carries out financial plans and analysis before undertaking any financial ventures. This is geared towards risk reduction and investments on projects that can only yield positive net benefits in present value terms.Through the Finance Department, the company also carries out sensitivity analysis to determine the effect of changing certain financial parameters on the outcomes. These include the discounting rates, economic life of projects,e.t.c.In order to reduce its financial risk Nokia corporation diversifies its investments by investing in a portfolio form. These range from treasury bills, to mutual funds and other long-term projects.MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.One of Nokia Corporation’s   management strategies is brand/design. The Corporation is the leading in in product modification, producing a wide range of Nokia handsets. It is through this that a company can gain the loyalty and confidence of the customers. The phones also have very fascinating ring tones, games and even internet solutions. They have designed them in a way that they are user friendly.The human resource department of the company comprises of experienced and highly skilled and motivated staff. The firm employs better recruitment and selection methods in fulfilling the staffing function.The management of Nokia carries out frequent environmental surveys to determine what they can be able to explore from the environment( opportunities) and what dangers the same environment poses on it (threats). This analysis is important because through it, Nokia corporation identifies the strengths at its disposal that can enable them make use of the opportunities. They also determine their   weaknesses   and how these are likely to hinder their success.In order to avoid high labor turnover especially skilled and expertise, the company adopts betters and attractive wage packages for it s employees and other perquisites. They are also actively involved in core decision making processes thus making them feel part and parcel of the organization. When it comes to conflict resolution, the management uses the collaborative style to resolve organizational conflicts. These tend to give both parties in conflict a win-win situation by giving every party equal satisfaction.Another Nokia’s management strategy is time management. In the Nokia working environment, time is the most essential asset. This resource is highly valued as idle capacity is   costly to the organization. The management, in a chart form has laid down ways in which staff and all other employees can be able to properly manage time. Every employee is required to set his/ her objectives which he/she wants to accomplish. The goals have to be prioritized   with each employee having his own individual working schedules.REFERENCEShttps://www.finance.com/credit-cards/compare-credit-cards/citi.action?ID=m ost-popular-credit-cards

How Important is Discipline in Society? Essay

Among those who work in difficult or dangerous jobs, for example in coal mines, there is often a discipline that comes not from being subject to the will of any person, however rational and well-intentioned, but from the work itself. If it is to be done successfully and with the minimum danger and discomfort to all those engaged in it, certain procedures must be followed and safeguards observed. Since the workers can see that the nature of the work demands this, there is correspondingly less need for discipline to be imposed on them by some other agency. This is an ideal situation, as far as discipline is concerned: where the discipline is inherent in the work or activity, and where rules and procedures are followed because they are perceived as appropriate if the work is to be done. In the same kind of way it does happen, and fortunately not all that rarely, that a society appears collectively to embrace the idea that behaving within the legal confines is in the public’s interest, and that if they are to be law-abiding, then various routines, such as remaining content with earning one’s own keep and not committing fraud, have to be kept to. How can â€Å"discipline† be defined? Some would reserve the word for the following of rules because the rules are seen appropriate to the task in hand, and would apply the adjective â€Å"disciplined† to the abovementioned society but not to another one which has been brought to order by some external force such as the government’s threats of punishment. Others take a more holistic view of discipline in which it is perfectly proper to speak of one person or group of persons being â€Å"disciplined† by another’s imposition of authority. It would be pointless to stipulate that the word should be used in one way or another. However, I wish to stress that whatever words we use, there are clearly differences among the following three cases: one, where we follow rules willingly because we perceive them as right or appropriate; two, where we follow them under manipulative coercion, such as when we are persuaded that there is no alternative to the rules; and three, where we follow them under what may be called punitive coercion, being threatened with punishment or in general some unpleasant consequences if we do not. In a narrow view of things, many of mankind’s achievements in education,  economics, culture, athletics and science can be attributed to the persistence of disciplined, and often self-motivated, individuals. Sterling examples would include Archimedes, the great mathematician, who before being killed by a Roman soldier was drawing symbols in sand; Marie Curie who dedicated her widowed years in continuing research in radioactivity and eventually died of a radiation-triggered illness; and Siddhartha Gautama who exercised strict discipline over himself to mediate under the pipal tree and eventually achieved enlightenment. Even in Singapore, we see a most disciplined mountaineer in Mr. Khoo Swee Chiow who genuinely believes in his cause. However, discipline in the populace would assume greater significance if we consider its polar opposite: civil disobedience, or the taking of a token action in defiance of the law for the purpose of changing the law. Those who act in a civilly disobedient manner have no respect for law (whereas discipline is the manifestation of a respect for law). It is impossible to have a law that authorises individuals to violate it. Respect for law is essential for any system to function. An effective system of law is possible only when appeals cannot be made to principles outside the legal system. Civil disobedients determine for themselves what laws to obey and what laws to violate. Without law, there will only be chaos as each individual and group decides unilaterally what is right. The victims in such a lawless society will probably be many of the very same people who argue so adamantly for the right of civil disobedience, namely, the advocates of civil rights, social justice, and peace. If one group can decide for itself which laws to obey, so too will other groups. A system of law protects all groups in society. Without it, anarchy prevails, discussion ceases and violence begins. Therefore, discipline is a form of civilly responsible behaviour which helps maintain social order and contributes to the preservation, if not advancement, of collective interests of society at large. Having said that, a society whose members are too self-disciplined to ever become civilly disobedient is likely to be a stagnant one. On the other hand, civil disobedience may be good in the sense that a tolerance of it strengthens democracy. For a system to be democratic, it must have broad  support among diverse elements of society. The processes of a representative democracy (with a system of representative government based on free elections and a system of limitations on state activity) work slowly, and often groups become disenchanted with the slow responsiveness of government. Groups subjected to discrimination or injustice cannot be expected to rely exclusively on constitutional processes, while remedies take years to be instituted. Faced with the problems deeply felt by a group, its leaders must have an alternative to dissent or resistance. In the 1960s, for example, black people in America felt that the processes of change, particularly social and economic change, were moving too slowly to produce tangible benefits. Most of them rejected extremist solutions as unsuitable for democracy but saw in civil disobedience a remedy that would allow them to accept the legitimacy of the system. Hence Martin Luther King’s policy of direct action – the taking of non-violent measures like boycotts and sit-ins – which was based on the necessity of violating unjust laws. Here, acts of civil disobedience were justified because racial segregation by law is morally reprehensible. Another of the twentieth century’s great proponents of civil disobedience was Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Indian leader. His policy of satyagraha (literally â€Å"firmness in the truth†) was often equated with passive resistance. He urged his partisans to take peaceful acts, such as marches and boycotts to achieve the independence of India from British colonial rule. Gandhi became famous for his hunger strikes and for other acts of non-violence. One of his tactics was to have his followers lie down on railroad tracks, thus preventing trains from moving. By taking such peaceful acts of civil disobedience, Gandhi contributed to the movement – both in India and in Great Britain – for the independence of his country. Although not sanctified by law, civil disobedients can strengthen democratic institutions because they channel their energies in directions that a broader segment would ultimately accept – the abolition of slavery and segregation laws, the expression of civil rights, the establishment of nation independence, and the promotion of peace. They bring about positive  social changes. Returning to the three cases I highlighted in the second paragraph, it seems clear enough that the first case, whether or not we call it â€Å"discipline†, is what any government would prefer to find in its people. After all, it guarantees smooth implementation of even the most unpopular laws and in extreme cases, enables social engineering to be carried out. The question is what we are to do when this ideal breaks down or has no chance to develop. What course of action can governments take to bring about the order necessary for the smooth running of society, and indeed for civilised relationsh ips in general, to take place? More than often, governments ensure discipline in the people by instituting a legal system. Undoubtedly, a legal system is a specialised system of rules, distinct from moral rules, which at the least provides a framework in which individual behaviour can be in some sense regulated and an element in certainty guaranteed, and which at the very most may provide a comprehensive framework of regulations covering nearly all aspects of the individual’s life. To discuss the importance of discipline, or rather disciplinary action, in society, we would need to validate the existence of legal systems. It is true that some political philosophers have toyed with the idea of the possibility of social order without law: indeed, the first major work on this subject, Plato’s Republic, describes a lawless utopia in which the free play of the intelligence of the philosopher-kings is allowed to proceed untrammelled by legal restraints. Also, Karl Marx’s future classless society would be free from the restraints of civil and criminal law because those very factors that give rise to the need for law – the institution of money, the social division of labour and the system of private property – would have been removed. What unites all the differing â€Å"lawless† utopias is the requirement that these desirable states of affairs can only be brought about by a fundamental change in human nature. Marx, for instance, stresses that the abolition of the social division of labour associated with the bourgeois mode of production would entail a change in human nature. Yet the most elementary of human nature would make these interpretations fantastically optimistic because it seems to indicate the necessity for some rules, many of which are bound to be backed by organised sanctions (these will come to  be known as â€Å"laws†). Other political theorists, perhaps with a less elevated view of human potential, have argued that individuals have found the best form of protection in the existence of general rules of conduct binding on all. It is ironic that in his Laws, a much later work, Plato describes a society under the rule of law. Many commentators have understood this striking change in viewpoint as a capitulation to hard facts. If so, the facts may be no more compelling than that a wise ruler can be effective only through the promulgation of general regulations. No ruler of a large society could make every critical decision and transmit it rapidly through the populace. The best one can do is to define general limits within which individual citizens make their own decisions. Likewise, in practice, Communist regimes have maintained some sort of court system. Indeed, as the dream of a stateless, coercionless society faded, the notion of â€Å"legality† crept back into Soviet jurisprudence. Constitution law was revived and made consistent with socialism; and even some Western legal concepts and practices which would previously have been denounced as bourgeois reappeared in the later development of the Soviet legal system. Thus there was a legal order in the Soviet system. From these illustrations, it becomes more difficult to conceive of a society in which the people are not disciplined by laws. A system of law provides three qualities for social life: stability, uniformity and cooperation. The type of social stability that law provides is reliability of expectation. When established laws exist, citizens know what they can expect from their fellow citizens and government officials. Criminal law is a system of rules that provides means for the apprehension of individuals who break the law and that circumscribe the procedures that the government must follow in arrest and seizure. Civil law defines the procedures required for legal status with respect to property, contracts, marriages and many other relations among individuals and institutions. To a great extent, the more persuasive is law throughout a society, and the more are social relations regulated by it, the more stable is the society and the more reliable are expectations of members of the society as to how others will act if they respect the law. The greatest virtue of law is that it  achieves an explicitness frequently absent from other regions of social life, say custom, preventing arbitrariness and caprice and making clear what is demanded of individuals. Next, the fundamental and persuasive feature of law is its promulgation of a general rule binding equally on everyone who fits the conditions prescribed. The principle that everyone is equal before the law is inherent in all laws, not just in a democracy. Uniformity is important for stability, cooperation and fairness. It expresses the heart of the principle of equality before the law. A stable society requires uniform procedures for regulating activities and for rectifying imbalances. Citizens must be informed by formal legislation that activities are prescribed and proscribed. Where cooperation throughout large groups and regions is pursued, stable and reliable expectations are required. Vehicle drivers cooperate at road junctions through the laws that regulate left of way. Finally, the urge towards fairness shared by everyone, even those who reject some laws, requires implementation in laws if it is to be effective. Thirdly, a society can be beneficial to its members only where it achieves cooperation among them. If all activities were wholly individual within a society, the society would exact the usual price for social life from its members without compensating benefits. Law provides a necessary organisational and structural force in cooperative ventures. Exchange and possession of property could not be as smooth as they are in many countries without rules regulating the flow of money, procedures for the exchange of property and so forth. The most obvious characteristic of laws is that they are enforced, involving the police, courts of laws, punishments and penal institutions. I accept that the general justifying aim punishment is to secure greater obedience to laws and rules by deterring offenders, both potential repeat offenders and those who so far have not offended but might if not deterred. If this seems too obvious a statement to be worth making, I do so at this point because different opinions have been offered, such as that the general purpose of punishment is to reform offenders, or to visit retribution on them or to  reveal the moral order. Judicial punishment is incurred for an offence against laws or rules, which can be inspected in statute books. The connection is that when a person can know in advance, because rules have been published, what he is liable to be punished for, it is possible for him to exercise the choice and live in the security that are supposed to be the advantages of order being maintained through punishment rather than manipulation or sophisticated bullying. Thus punishment is supposed to have the merit of respecting the individual’s responsibility, of giving him the choice of whether to offend and to pay the price or observe the rule and preserve his freedom, so conferring the benefit that he is in charge, in this respect at least, of his own life and destiny. To insist that it is precisely where matters of importance are concerned that people must be given significant responsibility may seem strange in the context of punishment, for what we want to do is to prevent crimes and offences, not leave people with the choice of whether to commit them or not. Punishments are not simply a scheme of fines and restrictions designed to put a price on certain forms of conducts; it would be far better if the acts proscribed by penal statutes were never done. The point of punishment is that while it aims to prevent offences, it does this in a way that leaves room for other principles and goods that we value, which a more simple-minded, draconian system of preventing offences would not. More is at stake than the maintenance of laws at their most efficacious level: if that were all we wanted, we would behave very differently. We might, for example, take measures to isolate or even exterminate those sections or age groups of the population statistically most likely to commit crimes and would no doubt institute curfews. Yet we have reservations about measures such as these because as well as freedom from crimes, we value other things like freedom of speech, of movement and association. In this light, punishment as a means of discipline is important in society. At the same time, this importance can be diminished in the view of the adverse effects of law and punishment. The value of law is so great and the reverence for law becomes so overpowering that it may become self-stultifying and destructive. Laws can make a society become too stable  and inflexible, incapable of adapting to new conditions. The laws of a society may represent social relations long out of date, promoting oppression and invasion of privacy. Law may impose too great a uniformity upon society, stifling creativity, originality, human variation and cultural heterogeneity. When the faults of law intrude, people become desperate. When injustices prevail within the ruling system of injustice, when society becomes too uniform, inflexible and oppressive, law can be viewed as an intractable evil. When the prevailing legal system is held up as worthy because it is the law, no matter how oppressive and unjust, people lose their respect for law without knowing any alternative. The most pernicious danger is that respect for law may be imposed and not earned, and may be assumed even when the law is unjust. Then we have the hidden oppression of Kafka’s â€Å"The Trial†, in which a man suffers under a system of Law that accuses and trials him but never explains why. That system should not merit such respect and must instead be condemned. In conclusion, I view discipline exercised by and over the populace as important in society; however, it should co-exist with an active civil voice. Can discipline be maintained by means other than law and punishment? Liberal-rationalists distinguish rule-governed behaviour from habitual behaviour on the premise that the former involves â€Å"internalisation†. A rule is internalised when it is understood by the participants in a social practice as indicating a right and wrong way of doing things. Unlike the carefully trained animal in the zoo who follows the keeper’s instructions automatically, individuals who are guided by rules regard them as expressing meaningful standards of behaviour. Furthermore, rules entail the idea of choice for, unlike well-trained animals, humans may disobey rules. Sanctions are needed to cope with the minority of rule-breakers but this does not mean that sanctions can replace internalisation as the guarantor of regularised behaviour. This concept of â€Å"internalisation† is reminiscent of Confucius’ teachings: â€Å"Guide them by the edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the  common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves.†