Comparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bibles Noahs Ark

Comparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah's Ark Many cultures have stories of a great flood, and probably the best known story is of Noah's Ark. The next most notable is the Sumerian story of Ut-Napishtim found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the ancient Babylonian depiction of the flood story, the god Enlil creates a flood to destroy a noisy mankind that is disturbing his sleep. Gilgamesh is told by another god, Ea, to build an ark (Monack 1). The Epic of Gilgamesh has broadly the same structure and plot as Noah's Ark, suggesting the possibility that the Biblical account has drawn influence from the archaeologically older Sumerian depiction. University professor Alexander Heidel concludes that these accounts are undeniably related (Fowler 1). According to theological considerations, the Epic and the Biblical versions can be contrasted as well. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are depicted as lacking any moral or ethical purpose in their pronouncement of judgment (Fowler 2). In contrast, the Biblical record describes only one God who is just and moral. The archite...

Village Election and Corruption

Village election and Corruption in China Background (problem): In China,the election system refers to the election of deputies to the people’s congresses at various levels, which includes general local election and the election of deputies from the armed forces, in the special administrative regions. There are two kinds of election: direct election and indirect election. 1. Direct election means voters directly elect deputies to the people’s congresses by casting their votes.Direct elections are applicable to the election of deputies to the people’s congresses of the counties, districts, townships and towns, which China's authoritarian(the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) regime has allowed, encouraged, and required to be held at the village level,but not at higher levels. 2. Indirect election means deputies to the people’s congresses at the next higher level are elected by deputies to the people’s congresses at the next lower level. Indirect elections are applicable to the election of deputies to people’s congresses above the county level and deputies among the armed forces at the same level and deputies to the NPC(National People's Congress) elected from special administrative regions. In this essay, I will focus on the direct election(village election). Since the problem of corruption in the village election is very common in China,such as buying-votes, treating to dinner to persuade by promising private goods and so on. Mainly comes from the following aspects: 1. In a small electorate, campaigning is not an effective strategy to win an election.In contrast, vote buying—corruption—can easily be an effective means to win an election with a small electorate. A Chinese village is small enough a community for each villager to know all the other villagers in person as they interact with each other on a daily basis and voters may already know whether the candidate has the intention and ability to provide public goods, which could become the condition of perfect information, in other words,in a village election, voters and candidates know each other personally, and voters may easily acquire personal information about the candidates.Therefore, because under the conditions of perfect information, it is not costly for a candidate to seek office by treating a subset of the electorate to dinner or to give private goods to voters. On the other hand, it is relatively costly to attempt to sway voters by stating policy proposals that promise the provision of public goods for the whole electorate. 2.In China village elections, officials in the position of monitoring village elections do not have a strong incentive to regulate the elections because implementation of fair village elections is not considered an important criterion for the evaluation of local officials by higher authorities (Edin 2003; O‘Brien and Li 1999; but Kennedy 2007). 3. the cost of punishment for the corru pt act of buying votes is low in the case of China‘s village elections.Even with formal rules stipulating severe punishment, if people do not believe that cases of corruption are revealed and formal rules are enforced, the punishment will not be considered a cost of the illegal act and will not deter it (Tsebelis 1989). Therefore, it is not puzzling that candidates compete to buy votes by providing private goods in campaigns for Chinese village elections. Model setting: The model describes the electoral competition between two candidates as a noncooperative simultaneous-move game.In the model, two candidates compete to win an election,and at equilibriums, electoral competition would increase the probability of vote buying in electorate. In other words, electoral competition gives strong incentives for candidates to buy votes, but not to form an organization for mobilizing votes in a electorate. 1. The Candidates’ Choice of Strategies and Payoffs Assume: 1. If both candi dates adopt the same strategy, Candidate 1 will have a chance to win the election with the probability of p and Candidate 2 will have a chance to win the election with the probability of 1 – p (0 < p < 1).And we let 0 < p ? 0. 5,which means the candidate 1 is weaker. 2. if one candidate buys votes while the other candidate does not,the candidate that has bought votes will win. Utility: The utility of the candidate gaining from winning the election is denoted U (U > 0). Strategies: Each candidate has two strategies: buying votes (BV) and not buying votes (NBV). Cost of buying votes (C): the multiplication of the cost to buy one vote (? ) and the number of votes needed to buy (V). C= ?V suppose that C1>C2 (the cost of buying votes to win is higher as the candidate is weaker. ) Competitiveness:we can define the competitiveness of an election as the difficulty with which one can predict who will win, the election whose value of p is closer to 0. 5 will be considere d more competitive. candidate2 Buying votes candidate1 Buying votes Not buying votes (pU-C1), (1-p)U-C2 0, U-C2 Not buying votes U-C1, pU, 0 (1-p)U The matrix in shows the incentives affecting candidates in a village election. . Solution of the model Since assume that 0 < p? 0. 5 and assume without loss of generality that Candidate 1 is weaker. Candidates 1 and 2 must choose their strategies simultaneously. Thus, neither candidate is certain about which strategy the other candidate will take. (BV, BV) will be equilibrium if: U? C1/p (NBV, BV) will be equilibrium if: C1/p? U? C2/p (NBV, NBV) will be equilibrium if: U? C1/p (BV, NBV) can not be equilibrium, since we can not find any U that satisfies U? C1/(1-p) and U?C2/(1-p) as well. Because C1/(1-p)? C2/(1-p). As an election becomes more competitive(p is closer to 0. 5),the range where at least one candidate always buys votes,U? C2/p is larger. Moreover as p is larger,the range where neither candidate buy votes,U? C1/p is smaller . Overall, candidates are more likely to choose the strategy of buying votes as an election becomes more competitive. In the villages where each candidate's expected value of winning an election is high, the candidate is tempted to buy votes.Proposal: Would electoral competition prevent a corrupt candidate from being elected? From the model, we can see, candidates are more likely to choose the strategy of buying votes as an election becomes more competitive, which may generate the following new hypothesis: effective informal institutions would make it easier for villagers to reach a pre-electoral consensus, make a village election less competitive, and give candidates less incentive to promise the provision of private goods.How to reach a pre-electoral consensus? Since a Chinese village is enough small that could lead to kinship system in village. In multi-kinship villages, whether pre-electoral consensus is reached and hence an election is not corrupt would depend on the relationsh ip among kinship leaders.If the kinship leaders are in conflict, villagers would fail to reach pre-electoral consensus, an election would be competitive, vote buying would be more likely; meanwhile, if relations among kinship leaders are cooperative, the village would succeed in reaching pre-electoral consensus, an election would not be competitive, vote buying would be less likely, and public goods would be properly provided. Therefore,how to prevent a vote-buying candidate from getting elected is a major policy question for China's village elections.

Crime Ethical Issues - 4158 Words

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 5HYLVHG  WK Bureau of Justice Statistics Alcohol and Crime An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime 2Q DQ DYHUDJH GD\ LQ  FRUUHFWLRQV DXWKRULWLHV VXSHUYLVHG DQ HVWLPDWHG  PLOOLRQ FRQYLFWHG RIIHQGHUV 1HDUO\  PLOOLRQ DERXW  KDG EHHQ GULQNLQJ DOFRKRO ZKHQ WKH\ FRPPLWWHG WKHLU FRQYLFWLRQ RIIHQVH ULPLQDO MXVWLFH VWDWXV 7RWDO 3UREDWLRQ -DLO 3ULVRQ 3DUROH $OFRKRO UXJV .5 1 1.5 2 1XPEHU RI RIIHQGHUV LQ PLOOLRQV XVLQJ DOFRKRO RU GUXJV DW WKH WLPH RI WKH RIIHQVH [LL $OFRKRO DQG ULPH U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Alcohol and Crime An Analysis of National Data on†¦show more content†¦BJS has incorporated new questions into its surveys which will enable a more in-depth understanding of the alcohol use and abuse backgrounds of offenders and the nature of the treatment they receive while incarcerated. Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D. Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics Laurie Robinson Assistant Attorney General Office of Justice Programs Alcohol and Crime iii Highlights This report provides the most comprehensive analysis of statistical data on alcohol and crime published to date by BJS. Sources of information include the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), BJS self-report surveys of correctional populations, and the periodic BJS censuses of Federal, State, and local corrections facilities. In addition, arrest data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the most recent data available from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting Program are used to supplement national survey data. Finally, the report includes new analyses from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), a database providing detail on more than 2.1 million fatal motor vehicle accidents that occurred over the last two decades. The study provides the firstever estimates of the level of intoxication among drinking offenders at the time of the commission of the offense for which they had been convicted. The role of alcohol in crime victimizationShow MoreRelatedEthical Considerations in the Legal Prosecution of Robbery and Murder Cases926 Words   |  4 Pagesconsider the various ethical considerations and problems that will need to be addressed in the legal prosecution of a robbery and a murder case. This will include dealing with the ethical problems involved in the investigation of the crimes as well as prosecution problems that arise when the case is presented for trial if the investigator was unethical. Finally, we will examine the ethical issues that are directly related to the prosecutor in these cases. Analysis-General Issues Let us assume thatRead MoreComputer Ethics Awareness Among University Students Essay895 Words   |  4 Pagesuse of computer have created a whole new range of social problems, which include computer crime, software theft, hacking, the creation of viruses, invasion of privacy, overreliance on intelligent machines and workplace stress. This unethical behaviour related to Information System (IS) have caused significant losses to businesses and the society at large. Professional IT bodies are concerned about these ethical problems because of their potential harm to the society and to the integrity of the ITRead MoreIct Ethics Issues in Malaysia638 Words   |  3 PagesThe development of technology which is getting greater and advance often leads to complex ethical, illegal, and societal issues. Thus there were many ethic centers developed in order to examine the implication of the moral principles into various fields that raise throughout the development of the technology such business ethics, engineering ethics, computer ethics, and medical ethics. Computer ethics or ICT ethics are not so much different of the human ethics, the different is how it is performRead MoreEssay on The Unethical Nature of Operation Iron Triangle929 Words   |  4 Pagesunit at that time. This unit will need a new commander that can set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through his leadership. That new commander should resolve the issues that led to the reported war crime in order to establish a culture that perpetuates an ethical command climate. According to MCRP 4-11.8B, War Crimes, there are a number of factors that when present can lead to war crimes being committed. These factors include high friendly losses; high turnover rate in the chainRead MoreForensic Psychology And The Human Mind And Its Functions1627 Words   |  7 Pagesterms that seem to correspond with each other. One might even question why they would be mentioned in the same context. Crime has become a major issue within today’s society. It seems as though the only way to prevent most of them is to enforce the repercussions of the act and punish those that partake in it. Criminals often have motives or attributes that lead them into a life of crime. Forensic psychology is the cynosure that brings the association between psychology and law into perspective. The termRead MoreWhy People Commit Crimes And Explain How Judiciary Professionals Use Criminal Theory1734 Words   |  7 Pagesjob that they must perform, there are issues that must be resolved. Professionals in the judiciary branch of the government, including prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, they must execute justice by upholding the law in an ethical manner. In order to explain why people commit crimes and explain how judiciary professionals use criminal theory in their practice, The 4th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States are most relevant to the ethical standards judiciary professionals. WhileRead MoreWeek 1 Assignment – Ac5731459 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment – AC573 Trusted Criminals Text #5. Identify the principal agents who expose white collar crime in contemporary society. What factors motivate people to expose such crime, and what factors inhibit them from doing so? What specific policy measures can be adopted to encourage exposure of white collar crime? White collar crime, as a rule, is less visible than conventional crime. A white collar crime, by definition, is a non-violent act involving deception, typically committed by a business personRead MoreCybercrime And Internet Hacking And Its Effect On The Security Of The Internet1386 Words   |  6 Pageshacking has been an ongoing issue in contemporary life. â€Å"Internet hacking is the practice of modifying or altering computer software and hardware to accomplish a goal considered to be outside of the creator’s original objective.† (Merriam-Webster). Any individual, business, or even government with a computer is not safe from these computer criminals. So, the main question is: How do we fix this cybercrime that does millions of dollars in damage, and should we implement â€Å"ethical hacking† to improve theRead MoreThe Ethics Of Information Technology812 Words   |  4 PagesAs someone who’s major in Healthcare Administration, I would not have expected that one of the class where I will have to do extensive research on issues that cut across the board will be from a class such as Ethics in Information Technology. My first take away is that ethics cannot be defined narrowly. It is a broad topic that can be approached from many different perspectives. Frank Navran of the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) defines it as the study of what we understand to be good and right behaviorRead MoreCurrent Ethical Issues in Business Essay1266 Words   |  6 PagesCurrent Ethical Issue in Business Big Ben or Big Brother is an article that discusses a major aspect of todays ethical issues in the business world. This ethical issue has to do with invasion of privacy. Each year, the national members and affiliated organizations of Privacy International present the Big Brother awards to the government and private sector organizations which have done the most to threaten personal privacy in their countries. Big Brother awards are presented to the government