Significance of the Exclusionary Rule-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the significance of the Exclusionary rule that has been developed to safeguard the protection guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment in the US Constitution. Answer: Introduction The exclusionary rule is considered as a legal rule that is used in the US Constitution, which states that any evidence seized by the police illegally against the defendant, such evidence shall not be submitted during the criminal trials. Evidence is permitted to be presented before the court during trials of the criminals. The evidence that are relevant are only admissible in the court, which implies that the evidence must be such that it establishes the existence of any material fact related to the case. The exclusionary rule has been sanctioned to enforce the right of the citizens to be secure in their homes against the any illegitimate governmental interference (Kerr, 2016). However, the rule has been restricting the application of this rule only to evidences that have been obtained illegally by the police. This rule has been considered a deterrent to police misconduct. The Exclusionary Rule The exclusionary rule prevents the US government from submitting any evidence in trial that has been obtained illegally in contravention of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment ensures protection against illegal seizure and search. The doctrine of exclusionary rule used in the US courts has been sanctioned to deter police and other law enforcement agents from obtaining evidence unreasonably and illegally (Cole, 2015). This rule has been sanctioned in protection of the right of the people to be secured in their homes and to be protected against illegal search and seizures. If an evidence is banned or forbidden from being submitted to the court, it implies that the evidence collected against the defendant cannot be used against him during his trial, provided such evidence has been collected illegally. Background of the Exclusionary Doctrine At Common law, the legitimacy of the method to collect evidence had no relevance with the admissibility of such evidence that is, the court was not concerned whether the evidence submitted was obtained legally or illegally neither it formed any issue with respect to the determination of the question. However, in 1886, the Supreme Court paved the way for the establishment of the exclusionary rule in Boyd v United States [1886] 116 US 616. In this case, the court held it is important to ensure that a liberal approach should be applied while interpreting the constitutional provisions pertaining to security of person and property (Cole, 2015). The liberal construction principle led to the way establishment of the exclusionary rule that was ultimately brought up in the landmark case of Weeks v United States [1914] 232 US 383. In this landmark case, a US Marshall seized evidence from the home of the defendant without any arrest or search warrant against Mr. Weeks. Moreover, such evidence was seized without the consent of Mr. Weeks, the defendant. The court held that if evidence is seized in this manner and used against the defendant, it should amount to a contravention of the protection guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment; therefore, such evidence shall have no value. The court further reasoned that the Fourth amendment subjects the Federal and US officials to restrictions with respect to the exercise of their authority and power. Hence, the Court established that the evidence obtained by the Federal agents in a manner that contravenes the Fourth Amendment rights should not be included in the criminal prosecution against the defendant. Further, in Mapp v Ohio [1961] 367 US 643, the Supreme Court held that the exclusionary rule is applicable to the states. Furthermore, the decision in Miranda v Arizona [1966] 384 U.S. 436 established that the exclusionary rule is applicable to self-incriminatory statements that have been obtained improperly, resulting in contravention of the Fifth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment and the Exclusion rule The Fourth Amendment under the US Constitution was enforced with the objective of ensuring security of every person in his or her respective homes. The underlying principle of this amendment is that each mans castle is his home and every man is safeguarded from arbitrary and illegal police arrests (Kerr, 2016). The Fourth Amendment ensures that no person is subjected to unreasonable seizures and searches of their respective properties by the US government. This Constitutional amendment is based on the law regarding stop-and-frisk, search warrants and any other forms of safety inspections, wiretaps etc. the Fourth Amendment is fundamental to privacy law and other aspects of criminal law. This legal provision stipulated under the Fourth Amendment aims at safeguarding the privacy right of the people by deterring unnecessary and illegal intrusion from the US Government. In other words, the Fourth Amendment does not ensure safety for search and seizures that the governmental officials carry out legally and on a valid legal ground. Therefore, in order to claim contravention of the Fourth Amendment, the court shall determine whether such intrusion has violated any of the rights of the claimant, where the claimant expected privacy and such intrusion has violated the privacy right. Significance of the Exclusionary rule The introduction of the exclusionary rule in the Fourth Amendment has been made to deter police misconduct and enables the courts to exclude admissibility of any incriminating evidence during trial provided the defendant establishes that the evidence was obtained in violation of a constitutional provision (Kerr, 2016). This doctrine permits the defendants to challenge the evidence obtained illegally by initiating a pre-trial motion in order to suppress the evidence. However, if the court permits the evidence to be submitted during trial and the jury votes in favor of conviction, the defendant is entitled to prefer an appeal to challenge the correctness of the decision taken by the court regarding denial of the motion to suppress. Although the Supreme Court had established in Lockhart v Nelson [1988] 488 USS 33 that the defendant is not barred from the retrial, however, if the defendant is convicted in the second trial and the evidence suppressed by the applying the exclusionary rule is crucial to the prosecution. The doctrine of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree This legal doctrine Fruit of the Poisonous tree states that an evidence obtained through illegal search, seizure, interrogation or arrest is not admissible before the court as the evidence is tainted due to the illegal method in which it has been obtained. In other words, this doctrine is considered as a companion to the exclusionary rule, as this doctrine not only excludes evidence from trial that has been obtained in contravention of the Constitution but it also excludes any other evidence that has been obtained through the illegal search or seizure (Kerr, 2016). For instance, police put a wiretap on a drug-dealers phone without obtaining any warrant for the same. Now, the suspect discloses that he has drugs hidden under a dumpster and the buyer picks it from the dumpster. The police finds the place and seize the drugs and such illegal phone calls shall not be admissible to the court which is signified as the poisonous tree and the drugs seized as the outcome of the illegal phone call shall not be admissible either as it is signified as the fruit of the poisonous tree. Exceptions to the Exclusionary Rule Although the rationale behind the establishment of the exclusionary rule is to deter the law enforcement officers from conducting illegal searches and seizures contravention of the Fourth amendment, thus, providing remedies to the defendants whose rights have been infringed. However, since this doctrine is a court made rule unlike an independent constitutional right, hence, courts have provided with exceptions to the application of this rule. The exceptions are enumerated as below: Good faith- if a police officer relies on search warrant and collect evidence but such search warrant turns out to be invalid, under such circumstances, the evidence shall not be excluded from being admissible (Kerr, 2016). This exception as established in the landmark case United States v Leon [1983] 104 S Ct. 3405 and in Arizona v Evans [1995] 514 US1. Further, in the case Illinois v Krull [1987], the court held that evidence is admissible if the officers rely on nay statute that has been later repealed. Furthermore, in Herring v US [2009], the Court found that the good faith exception should be applicable against the exclusionary rule when the police employees mistakenly failed to maintain warrant database records. Doctrine of Independent source- any evidence that has been excluded initially for being obtained illegally may be later admissible provided the same evidence has been obtained after lawful seizure or search. This exception was established in the case of Nix v Williams [1984] for the first time and then this rule has been interpreted in Murray v US [1988]. Doctrine of Attenuation under circumstances where the challenged evidence and the unconstitutional conduct is not directly related and attenuated, the evidence shall become admissible as was established in Utah v Strieff [2016] and Brown v Illinois [1975]. The court shall determine three essential factors to apply this exception: presence of interference, temporal proximity and purpose of official misconduct. Doctrine of Inevitable Discovery in Nix v Williams it was established that any evidence discovered illegally shall be admissible if it is clear that such evidence would otherwise have been discovered even if the investigations were carried out lawfully. Evidence admissible for Impeachment- In Harris v New York [1971], the Supreme Court established that this exception shall be used as truth-detecting factor to avert perjury but such evidence shall be admissible only for impeachment and not to establish guilt. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be inferred that the exclusionary rule that has been developed to allow the defendant to suppress certain evidences that are admitted against them on the ground that such evidence has been collected through illegal means and violates their rights guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment. A motion to suppress evidence is a request that is made by the defendant before the court to exclude such evidences from the trial proceedings for the illegal manner it has been obtained by the law enforcement officials (Kerr, 2016). The exclusionary rule has been subjected to limited applications as this rule merely deters the police officers from using illegal means to collect evidence and use it against the defendant, violating the legal provision of the Fourth Amendment and the rights of such defendants. If any police officers or law enforcement officers do not have a search or seizure warrant against any person, the rule prohibits such officers to search or seize any property of such person rendering such search or seizure as well as the evidence obtained through such illegal procedures as invalid and unlawful. The rule though safeguards the rights guaranteed to the people by the Fourth amendment but not the extent that justice cannot be administered. Reference list Arizona v Evans [1995] 514 US1 Boyd v United States [1886] 116 US 616 Brown v Illinois. [1975] 422 U.S. 590 Cole, S. C. (2015). De-Clawing Katz: Emerging Technology and the Exclusionary Rule.SMU Sci. Tech. L. Rev.,18, 47. Harris v New York [1971]. 401 U.S. 222 Herring v US (2009) 555 U.S. 135 Illinois v Krull (1987) 480 U.S. 340, Kerr, O. S. (2016). The Effect of Legislation on Fourth Amendment Protection.Mich. L. Rev.,115, 1117. Lockhart v Nelson [1988] 488 USS 33 Mapp v Ohio 367 US 643 Miranda v Arizona [1966] 384 U.S. 436 Murray v US (1988) 487 U.S. 533 Nix v Williams (1984),467 U.S. 431 United States v Leon [1983] 104 S Ct. 3405 Utah v Strieff (2016) 579 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 2056 Weeks v United States [1914] 232 US 383

Redneck Culture

Socio-Economic Status of Slum Dwellers

Socio-Economic Status of Slum Dwellers Free Online Research Papers The study region is municipal area situated in dist. Pratapgarh, which sites in Gangetic plain in UP. It spreads over 12 km2 with total population of 71999 persons. In the age of urbanization in developing countries like India, the slums are like white spot on the body which is caused by uneven development. To sort out the urban problems, socio-economic study of the city is necessary and if we want to have clean cities in near future, the studies of slums are not only important but demand of time also. Therefore a sample area has been randomly taken for the socio-economic study. The parameters for demarcation slums are water supply condition, sanitation and road, employment, housing condition, sufficient living area. To sum up, the study reveals that a particular caste resides in a particular slum and these castes are related to either Pal or Harijan and Muslims. The slums lack with water, sanitation, road facility and it also denotes that the slum dwellers are unaware of programs launched by the Government. Pratapgarh District, one of the oldest Districts of UP, which came into existence in the year 1858, is situated in eastern part of UP. According to JNU’s development list based on socio-economic-agricultural, Pratapgarh stands in last category. So it is an undeveloped district. Pratapgarh district famous for its Aonla and people gives alias â€Å"AONLA NAGRI†. The district, which forms from a part of Faizabad division, is named after it headquarter town Bela Pratapgarh commonly known as Pratapgarh. When district was constituted in 1858 it’s headquarter established at Bela which come to know as Bela Pratapgarh. The name Bela presumably being derived from the temple of â€Å"Bela Bhawani†, sites on the bank of river SAI. The study region districts headquarter; Bela Pratapgarh is situated at Allahabad-Faizabad national highway no. 96, at a distance of 39 km from Sultanpur and 60 km from Allahabad. Bela Pratapgarh city is a secondary town and spreads over 12 km2 with total population of 71999 persons (as per 2001 census). It is municipal area, which is divided in 25 wards so far. In total population of Bela Pratapgarh, percentage of OBC population is 31.58% and SC is 7.97%. The percentage of male and female population is 52.67% and 47.32%. The SEX ratio of Bela Pratapgarh is 898 which are quite lower than the district ratio (1004) and literacy rate is 71.039% which is higher than the district literacy ratio (58.67 percent). In Bela Pratapgarh, male literacy rate 77.03 percent followed by female 64.36 percent and district male literacy rate 74.61 percent followed by female literacy rate 42.63 percent. The Study Area: Study area of slums spread in all over the city in small patches. In 1997 District Urban Development Agency (DUDA) was stabilized and DUDA has declared 3 slum areas, these registered slums are Patkohli, Padawa and Karanpur. But there are some unregistered slum areas like Azadnagar, Khuskhuswapur, Pitai-ka-purwa, Bholiapur etc. Among these slum areas Patkoli ward is largest slum area with the 160 households. In Patkoli ward slum area is found in 3 patches- Ziriyamau, Patkoli and Bela Ghat; Pitai-ka-purwa with 2 patches- pitai-ka-purwa and nai-basti. Other slum areas have 30 to 60 households. Ward-name Basti name No of households Patkoli ziriyamau, patkoli, bela gaht 160 Aspatal ward Azadnagar 60 Bali Pur Khuskhuswapur 35 Pitai ka Purwa Nai basit, pure pitai 60 Padawa harizen basti 30 Karanpur Karanpur 35 Bholiapur Bholiapur 25 Objective of the Study: Every citizen has the right to live in a good living condition with employment, safety and other facilities. If any area left undeveloped, creates crisis in the mode of crime, unsocial activities, uneducated and unaware persons, low-level living condition, inadequate housing condition, unmoral citizens and unhealthy children with the unhealthy future of city and country. Now governments aware of the slum Basties of cities and launched many programmes to improve the condition of slum dwellers and his proficiency. But the game does not over, commonly seen that unregistered slums site over Urban Fringe area or at inner border of city, because of special spatial condition policies never imposed its effect in full fledged from. In city area, which is defined by the municipality area, plans take its own time to produce its impacts. Since, slums are present before the executions of development plans; therefore many problems stand in front of city and the citizens in form of crime, violence, poverty etc. These causes also exist in the study area. The objective behind the study aimed at to evaluate the socio-economic condition and to access the impact of government programmes upon slum dwellers of Pratapgarh City (Bela). Methodology: Every city has two types of slum areas i.e. registered and unregistered. The parameters for demarcating the slum are water supply condition, sanitation and road, housing condition. After that, to study the socio-economic status, a random sampling method has been adopted. For the survey and sample collection, a questionnaire has been prepared and door to door survey has been done. Because, Patakoli ward has large number of households, so, in this area 20 households were randomly selected for the study and in other areas 8 households have randomly taken. To evaluate the condition of dwellers, center tendency method is used. Social Status: In Bela Pratapgarh, slum dwellers are Hindus (64.44 percent) and Muslims (35.64 percent). In the total population of slum dwellers OBC with 57.14 percent, are in majority followed by SC with 33.65 percent and General with 9.2 percent. Religion CATEGORY PERCENTAGE HINDU GENERAL 2.955 OBC 47.783 SC 49.261 MUSLIM GENERAL 20.595 OBC 74.107 SC 5.357 Among Hindus, SC population is 49.261 percent and followed by OBC with 47.783 percent and General with 2.955 percent. In Muslims, OBC population is in majority with 74.107 percent followed by General 20.595 percent and SC with 5.357 percent. In slum areas sex ratio is 944 is greater than the Bela Pratapgarh sex ratio (898) and State sex ratio (898) but lower than district sex ratio (1004). In slum areas Hindus sex ratio (1071) is higher than Muslim sex ratio (778). Literacy: The overall literacy rate in slum areas is 56 percent with male and female literacy 65 percent and 46 percent against 71.039 percent in Bela Pratapgarh with male and female literacy 77.03 percent and 64.36 percent. Literacy rate of slum areas, near to district rate (58.67 percent) and UP state rate (57.36 percent) but it lower than the National rate (64.8 percent). The male literacy rate of slum areas 65 percent is quite lower to district rate (74.61 percent), national rate (75.8 percent) and state rate (70.23 percent) but female literacy rate 46 percent is near to district rate (42.63 percent), state rate (42.98 percent) and lowers than the national ratio (53.7 percent). In slum areas Primary educated persons are in majority with 60.71 percent followed by Madhyamic (28.27 percent), Inter (5.089 percent), Graduate (2.68 percent) and Post-Graduate (1.071 percent). The vocational trained persons are 1.09 percent. Income: Total working people percentage of slum dwellers is near about 24.14 percent. Among these persons, 60 percent people do not know the nature of day’s work. The average of working day in a month stands between 16 to 20 days. Over all average income of slum dwellers is quite lower with 13.03 Rs a day/person against the urban poverty line, which is near about 17 Rs. Average income of a working people 55.98 Rs for doing work 7 hour and 36 min in a day, which is quite lower than the UP Government regulation. Housing condition: In slum areas housing conditions are found in a very poor position. In sample area 46.34 percent of Kchcha houses made by mud, plastic and bamboo, 21.95 percent of Pakkaa houses made by bricks and 31.71 percent houses made by mud and bricks which have greater part Kachcha and smaller part Pakka. So, 78 percent of households face problem of housing. Sanitation, Water, Road and Health: In slum area sanitation and road facility are totally unavailable, for example except karanpur, ziriyamau, ptakholi, bela ghat, padava have Kaccha road and azad nagar, khuskuswapur, nai basati and pitai ka purwa have Kharanja road. In these areas drinking water facilities totally unavailable, except Azadnagar, in other ward water source is well or government hand pump, at per 25 households. Also in Azadnagar drinking water facilities totally unavailable and dwellers get drinking water from hand-pumps of rich neighbors. In other areas, if there is water supply, its condition is very poor. Generally water supply pipes are sunk in drain water. Hence, the water can not be used being coal black. In slum area latrine facilities are in poor condition, only 20% households have own latrines and other 80% uses the open lands. The wastages of households dump by householder near the open land or the path. As far as, the total environment of slums does not good, in all these areas children are suffering from viral infections, boils, fever etc for ever. Social Activities: -In crime, violence and immorality slum areas are leading portion of the city. In study area violence seems as quarrel, fight or abuse in home with wife, children, parents etc. or with the neighbors. The day life of the dwellers start and end with the quarrel and it happens because of drinking liquor. Immorality can be seen in the form of gambling. A sentence told by an old man to me in zriyamau about the gambling, pinched me a lot. He told, â€Å"He bhaiya agar in nanha-nanha larikan ka juaa chudawai detya tau enkar kalyan hoi jaatai.†(If you can escape younger Boys from gambling, then they would lead a good life). In these areas some families are vagabonds. Police keeps an eye over them, arrest and warn. Because most of them many times involved in unsocial and immoral activities like snatching, thieving, gambling etc. Government Plans and Awareness: District Urban Development Agency is the coordinating agency at district level for formulating different developmental schemes in urban areas. The following schemes/programmes are being implemented under the supervision of DUDA. Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rojgar Yojana, which is currently in operation with effect from 1.12.97, is a substitution of the earlier programmes like Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP), Prime Minister Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Yojana (NRY), Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUs). Under the scheme SJSRY, the following programmes are being implemented in all the ULBs of this district. Community structure (Information Education and Communication (IEC) Component. Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP) (subsidy) Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) Thrift and Credit Society Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP) U.S.E.P (Skill up gradation Training) Administration and Office expenses (A O.E.) About these programmes and DUDA slum dwellers unaware and in sample area only one person know about DUDA and its U.S.E.P. programme. It shows the lack of publicity of programmes and unawareness of slum dwellers. Some advantages they gain from common programmes like Antyodaya yojana, Mid-day-Meal programme and Scholar-Ship programmes. Conclusion: To conclude; we can say that a big number of people, known as slum dweller, are forced to live below poverty line. The main reason of their poverty is illiteracy and lack of will power to improve his condition. They always look for the government helps; debt, relief etc. and wait for them, this type of mentality and government plans make them paralyzed instead of self reliance. They lack behind good education, health, sanitation and economy. There are Governments plans to improve their poor condition. But these programmes are executed half heartedly. There is need to focus their problems and a strong heart and mind to execute these programmes. If it happens so, the day will come with hope for them and for the people who are affected by these slum dwellers. Research Papers on Socio-Economic Status of Slum DwellersInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Effects of Illegal Immigration19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraResearch Process Part OneThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Relationship between Media Coverage and Social andAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeWhere Wild and West Meet

Dissolved Oxygen Content and Fish Populations in Water Coursework

Dissolved Oxygen Content and Fish Populations in Water - Coursework Example 6. Analyze results – Assume that your experiment produces results identical to those seen in Table 4, what type of graph would be appropriate for displaying the data and why? 6. Analyze results – Assume that your experiment produces results identical to those seen in Table 4, what type of graph would be appropriate for displaying the data and why? The best type of graph to be used will be a line graph. This type of graph best illustrates trends or behavior of the dependent variable (fish) against varying oxygen levels. The line graph helps the researcher easily monitor increases and declines in the variable over time.   7. Analyze results - Graph the data from Table 4 and describe what your graph looks like (you do not have to submit a picture of the actual graph!). For oxygen levels of between 0 and 4 ppm, the graph rises steadily but for values between 4 and 12 ppm, there is a sharp rise. However, there is a significant drop between levels of 12 and 14ppm, before again showing a steady rise between levels of 14 and 18ppm.   8. Draw conclusions - Interpret the data from the graph made in Question 7.   What conclusions can you make based on the results of this graph? Based on the results, fish thrive well in water with dissolved oxygen concentrations of about 12ppm. However, when the oxygen level is raised above this level, there is no significant increase in the number of fish but instead; a drop in fish populations may be witnessed. Therefore, 12ppm is the optimal level of dissolved oxygen for fish survival.  9. Draw conclusions – Assuming that your experiment produced results identical to those seen in Table 4, would you reject or accept the hypothesis that you produced in question 3?   Explain how you determined this. If my experimental results were to be identical to the above, I would accept my hypothesis. This is because the highest population of fish is witnessed at 12ppm dissolved oxygen level. This means that any values below the 12ppm will lead and this supports my hypothesis.

Employee Relations and Employee Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employee Relations and Employee Law - Essay Example The latter was largely unpopular with employers and some employees but provided a lot of billing time to the legal fraternity due to its intricate and indefinite procedures that were wrought with problematic clauses. An Associate at Mogers Associates, Tim Gofton observed that, ‘The complexity of the SDRP and the wide interpretations given by Tribunals to important areas of the SDRP (such as supposedly straightforward issues such as what constitutes a ‘grievance’) pushed employees towards seeking legal advice. This in itself pushed parties further away from resolution’ (Gofton, 2009 p.2). For the second time in five years, dispute resolution between employers and employees will be radically overhauled through an introduction of a process that has less stringent measures to the defaulting persons or entities when compared to the earlier process. While a majority of the players have welcomed the new forum for resolution of grievances, others have questioned the ambiguities encompassed in the new code which might lead to further escalation of grievance claims like in the earlier process (an increase by 40 - 65 percent within the last two years). Tynan (2009), however asserts that ‘the code is certainly less prescriptive than the old statutory dispute resolution procedures (SDRPs) that promoted fixation on procedural compliance rather than working actively to resolve the dispute.’(Tynan, 2009, p. 1). The formation of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in 1975 was preceded by a period of great turmoil in the relationships between employers and their staff. Large-scale industrial unrest in the late 1970s and 1980s was widespread due to lack of an agreeable dispute or grievance resolutions mechanism between the employers and employees. The government as a result formed ACAS through the Employment Protection Act to act as the arbitrator in the many highly volatile national strikes that were paralysing the nation hence sabotaging

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay In a world that has come so far ahead in evolutionary terms, what is it that makes us, human kind, so different from other animals. It has been said that chimps are our nearest evolutionary cousins, roughly 98 to 99 identical to humans at the genetic level. Any differences are said to come from the transmission of culture and our ability to build societies. Godelier stated that human beings, in contrast to other social animals, do not just live in society; they produce society in order to live. In this essay I will be looking to explore cultural and linguistic aspects which seek to differentiate us between other animals. Humans seem to encompass a culture which is not seen in any other animal. In Lewiss lecture (15.10.12), culture was referred to as seas of history which bind humans together. In DAndrades article of culture and language, he refers to culture as being a social heritage of learning which includes a number of things such as beliefs and techniques which are independent of biological processes. For him, there are two sides to culture, one being a physical manifestation and the other side, a mental manifestation. Both sides need to be present in order for culture to be passed on from generation to generation. For this to happen, culture needs to comprise of meaning and be symbolic, culture must be also external in the form of actions and signs (1995:223). Boesch and Tomasello (1998:602) note that human cultural traditions have had modifications over generations also known as the ratchet effect. The ratchet effect requires that humans imitate from one another. This is what sets us apart from other animals and is so unique to us. Humans have cumulative cultural evolution, the ability to accumulate over time results in complex tools and languages in modern time (Tomasello et al. 2003:121). The use of tools as technical intelligence is an evolutionary advantage which humans have. Washburn (1959) argued that selective pressure resulted in physical changes in the hand. Over generations, the uses of tools became part of our culture, as humans were required to use precision grip, the consequence of which changed the human hand. However, it cannot be said that the modifications of the human cultural artefact, such as tools, are the creation of one individual human brain. Modifications over generations were made to aid change and therefore inv entions are transmissions of accumulative knowledge, which is a characteristic of all human cultures. (Lewis 2012) In comparison, animals such as chimpanzees experience slippage, whereby chimpanzee traditions are often lost as a consequence of drift, inventing constantly and branching. (Lewis 2012). Tomasello et al. have hypothesized that chimpanzee cultural traditions and artefacts do not show the ratchet effect. This is because the ratchet effect depends of innovations and imitative learning (1993: 603). Even though chimpanzees are innovators they lack uniformity and the active teaching of such cultures, so culture is lost. Lewis states that the ratchet effect is ruined through emulative learning (2012). Therefore the transmission of chimpanzee culture can be seen to be as ineffective. However, it could be deemed that any assumptions made about chimpanzees and their lack of cumulative cultural evolution is problematic. Boesch and Tomasello argue that 30 years is not long enough to make the judgement that chimpanzee practices do not show the ratchet effect. And even if evidence suggests that chimpanzees do show this cumulative cultural evolution, it may be restricted to a small population or to certain cultural traditions (1998:602). In Tomasello and Rakoczys study into human cognition, they explain that the most fundamental cognitive skill, are those that involved the understanding of persons, also known as the theory of mind (2003:122). According to the American Psychological Association  (APA) theory of mind is the ability to imagine or make deductions about the mental states of other individuals. Humans have an innate capacity to mind-read, the capability to understand one another is necessary in order for language to progress, complex co-operation in situations such as at school or work requires this ability to mind read, which makes culture possible (Lewis 2012). If humans did not have theory of mind, it would be impossible for society to exist as it does presently, humans heavily rely on this ability everyday unknowingly. However although this mind-reading attribute is a fundamental skill in humans, Call and Tomasello in answer to Premack and Woodruff, have found that chimpanzees do in fact encompass what is known to man as theory of mind (2008:190). They argue that studies of chimpanzees showed that they were able to not only understand human goals (which was the original aim of Premack and Woodruffs study), but were able to understand human intentions. However it cannot be said that chimpanzee understanding can be compared to that of a fully fledged human. In my opinion, animals such as chimpanzees must acquire the minimum amount of theory of mind for evolutionary reasons within their own animal kingdom. Animals, on a smaller scale, most likely understand thoughts and emotions of others within their species, otherwise relationships between animals would be unheard of. Vilensky et al. (1982) state that, the human brain differs from those of other animals. This is due to humans having a greater capacity for complex language and an innate interest in speaking language. According to Nowak, in his study into the biology of language, Language is the most important evolutionary invention of the last few million years. Language allows humans to express their ideas and for the exchange of information. The evolution from animal communication to human language is an adaptation that has been necessary in order for our species to pass on culture and efficiently aids survival (2000:1615). According to Miller (1981), the ability to speak is the most complex mechanical motion the human body can perform. Speaking requires the synchronisation of various parts of the vocal chord within a few hundredths of a second. Nowak suggests that the reason that primates, our closes living relatives, do not have complex language is due to our ancestral lines. As a consequence of evolution, generations were able to build our language instinct from material that was already present in our ancestor species at that time (2000:1616). Therefore, the ability to form language has been firmly set in our genome and is part of our biology. Many anthropologists argue that language ability is selected because language increases the potential for cooperation, manipulating other creatures, or dealing with large groups. However, it could be argued that if language was selected based on these reasons, then why dont other animals have the ability to speak. Therefore it must be that the reasons for humans having the ability to speak are unexplainable (Nowak 2002). Language is therefore unique to humans and therefore distinguishes them from other animals. In conclusion, it has been shown that culture and language is what seems to differentiate humans from other animals. Although animals seem to show evidence of having theory of mind, they cannot express this understanding the way humans can. So it can also be said that humans uniquely acquire theory of mind. However, in many areas it is not possible to see any clear cut answers due to lack of information. The fact that we have not studied chimpanzees or any other animals in their natural environment for long enough, means that it is likely that any comparisons made will be lacking in validity. Looking at humans and other animals comparatively, it seems that it is difficult to clearly differentiate humans from other animals. The overlapping features that we come across shows that although humans may have evolved there are aspects of man that will link them to other animals.

Identify a personal hero and articulate the influence this person has h

Identify a personal hero and articulate the influence this person has had on you I learn Spanish literature from a petite, sophisticated woman who has yet to appear in anything less that pearls, a well-cut suit and carefully scraped-back hair. Nevertheless, not one class has gone by without her eventually sitting cross-legged on her desk, eyes intent behind wire-rimmed glasses, hair slipping from her ponytail as if in agreement with her insistence that Spanish is exciting and all-encompassing, that Spanish literature is life reflected. At first, I thought she was a lunatic, ranting about "El simulo," "las metaforas," and "el tema." I spent the first week getting accustomed to her quick Iberian way of speaking, catching every other verb or noun, frantically trying to piece together what exactly she wanted from me. Each time she would veer her gaze in my direction, I would bend my head down to my note pad, furiously scribbling down some non-important point in the hopes that she wouldn't call on me....