Personal Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Self-awareness Plan - Essay Example In an examination to recognize the impacts of culture stun on minority understudies, Ostrove and Long (2007) and Greenfield (1994) discovered that culture stun contrarily influences scholastic execution of the understudies. The examination concentrated on the dark understudies who were the original understudies. Additionally, Grossmann and Varnum (2011) believed school to be an outsider planet where youngsters from both poor and working class families are the first to go to college.â Consequently, the social air results to culture stun on the dark understudies from the said foundations, and it impacts their change in accordance with college.â Inherently, the new social climate likewise effectsly affects ones personality.â The contrast between the social class between the original understudies and the proceeding with age is likewise accepted to impact scholastic execution (Phinney and Haas, 2003). Induction experience and focuses for improvement When I was enlisted in Wolver hampton College, I discovered that the social environment was very not the same as my previous college, in America where I examined my college degree. Right off the bat as an understudy I came to know correspondence between the grounds individuals in Britain was a great deal. The college pushed understudies to converse with one another and create fellowship which gave me a feeling of belongingness when I began my program here. Besides, I went to the college with the thought that it was an intense organization of learning. Another huge change that I had to go.... The examination concentrated on the dark understudies who were the original understudies. So also, Grossmann and Varnum (2011) believed school to be an outsider planet where youngsters from both poor and white collar class families are the first to go to school. Therefore, the social air results to culture stun on the dark understudies from the said foundations, and it impacts their change in accordance with school. Characte ristically, the new social environment likewise effectsly affects ones character. The contrast between the social class between the original understudies and the proceeding with age is likewise accepted to impact scholarly execution (Phinney and Haas, 2003). Enlistment experience and focuses for development When I was accepted in Wolverhampton College, I discovered that the social air was very not quite the same as my previous college, in America where I examined my college degree. Right off the bat as an understudy I came to knowâ communication between the grounds peopleâ in Britain was a great deal. The college pushed understudies to converse with one another and create companionship which gave me a feeling of belongingness when I began my program here. Also, I went to the college with the idea that it was an intense establishment of learning. To my mistake I discovered that most the college understudies favored celebrating more than considering. Shockingly, attempting to beat t his will just make one to lose companions, and therefore, one needs to figure out how to adapt to such a circumstance. Hence, because of time devoured in celebrating and really, to adjust to these progressions my general execution was really influenced in by first year in

When should the State become involved in family life Essay

When should the State become engaged with family life - Essay Example planned for recognizing and securing kids at risk.4 It is accordingly acknowledged and comprehended that states ought to have the position to intercede for the insurance of youngsters who are powerless against disregard and misuse. This paper investigations the present condition of law, arrangements and practices that address a general support for state intercession in family life for the security of kids. In such manner, this exploration study is partitioned into two sections. The initial segment of this examination recognizes the state operators that are approved to mediate in family life for the security of youngsters. The second piece of this paper investigations the laws, practices and strategies empowering state intercession by means of state specialists. ... The government assistance state by suggestion serves the aggregate needs of all and simultaneously presents virtual self-rule on the state over its residents. Neoliberalism takes the position that social administrations are a vital part of the free and open market economy. It is for the most part assumed that the state bears some obligation regarding addressing social needs while simultaneously perceiving that people are allowed to deal with themselves and their families. So as to accomplish social equity, social majority rule government orders that the state execute measures and strategies for advancing and authorizing social justice.7 Pursuant to neoliberal hypothesis and ideas of social vote based system, the state develops rules recommending how the state and its different operators capacity to accomplish social equity. In light of a legitimate concern for accomplishing social equity, states may hold for themselves some proportion of coercive power which allows the state to deny some conduct with respect to its residents. States in neoliberal settings react to the requests of social equity by watching society, social foundations and execute or alter open approaches that are steady with their observations.8 in such manner, social equity as for youngsters in the UK was initially educated by the passing of Maria Colwell which was brought about by her stepfather while under the oversight of social administrations in 1973. In the course of the most recent 15 years, there have been various prominent requests about the adequacy of social administrations and in this way the state in recognizing and shielding youngsters from kid misuse and disregard. While a large portion of the prominent requests include the disappointment of the state by means of its social administrations operators to

Yoga

Yoga (I can file an entry on Yoga under Academic right?) Today I received this email from the Committee on Academic Performance (links are all mine) According to our records, you have not completed the General Institute Requirement in Physical Education. The requirement includes successful completion of the swim test (or beginning swimming class) and a total of 8 Physical Education points. It was your responsibility to fulfill this requirement by the end of your sophomore year. (Mitra note: WHATEVER) It is imperative that you take steps to complete this requirement as soon as possible or you will place your graduation status in jeopardy. If you have special needs, such as gender specific swim environment or modifications due to a disability, please notify the physical education office 8 weeks in advance of registration, so that arrangements can be discussed. Include Physical Education classes in your IAP or spring schedule to ensure completion of this General Institute Requirement. The physical education lottery can be found online at: http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/physed/index.html The registration dates are: IAP December 5 December 13 3rd Quarter January 30 February 6 4th Quarter March 13 March 20 Looks like DAPER doesnt believe that I care about physical education, despite my previous entry on PE classes and my previous entry on training for the Boston Marathon. Eh, I always knew Sams Blog was more popular anyway. WELL turns out I am in fact taking Beginners Yoga this quarter. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 1, I am in the T Club Lounge, sprawled on purple yoga mats that probably havent been cleaned for years, trying to undo the damage of 20 years of yoga-less life. See below for some exciting photographs of what weve learned so far: First, we start out with a few minutes of controlled breathing. (Note the flowers and lava lamp) Then we work on stretching our legs Balance! (Honestly, this is so hard to do. In class, I cant stand like this for more than 30 seconds or so. Try it yourself and see how it goes!) Our kitchen floor is really dirty Remind you of anything? (JK)

The 10 Most Important Slavic Gods

Despite many Slavic areas being heavily Christian, there is still an interest in the old Slavic folk gods. In Slavic mythology, the gods and spirits are polarized, and typically represent opposites—darkness and light, masculine and feminine, etc. Many of these old gods have been folded into Slavic Christianity. Around the different Slavic regions, religious beliefs tend to vary. Much of what scholars know about ancient Slavic religion comes from a 12th-century document called the Novgorod Chronicle, as well as the Primary Chronicle, which details the beliefs of the Kievan Rus. Key Takeaways: Slavic Gods There are no surviving writings of Slavic prayers or myths, and what is known of their gods comes from Christian chroniclers. No one knows if Slavic religion had a universal pantheon of gods like other Indo-European people, but we do know that the gods were honored in different ways around the Slavic world.Many Slavic gods had dual aspects, representing different parts of a single concept. Perun, the God of Thunder In Slavic mythology, Perun is the god of the sky and of thunder and lightning. He is associated with the oak tree, and is a god of war; in some respects, hes a lot like the Norse and Germanic Thor and Odin combined. Perun is heavily masculine, and is representative of the most active parts of nature. In Slavic legend, a sacred oak tree was the home of all beings; the top branches were the heavens, the trunk and lower branches the realms of men, and the roots were the underworld. Perun lived in the highest branches, so that he could see all that happened. Perun was honored with shrines and temples in high places, such as on mountain tops and groves of oak trees. Ukranian Pagans make an offering to Perun. kaetana_istock / Getty Images Dzbog, the God of Fortune Dzbog, or DaÃ… ¾dbog, is associated with both fire and the rain. He gives life to the crops in the fields, and symbolizes bounty and abundance; his name translates to the giving god. Dzbog is the patron of the hearth fire, and offerings were made to him so that the fires would keep burning through the cold winter months. All of the various Slavic tribes honored Dzbog. Veles, the Shapeshifter Like Dzbog, Veles the shapeshifting god is found in the mythology of nearly all Slavic tribes. He is an arch enemy of Perun, and is responsible for storms. Veles often takes the form of a serpent and slithers up the sacred tree towards Peruns domain. In some legends, he is accused of stealing Peruns wife or children and taking them down into the underworld. Veles is also considered a trickster deity, like Loki in the Norse pantheon, and is connected with magic, shamanism, and sorcery. Belobog and Czernobog Slavic pagan god carved of wood. Antonius / Getty Images Belobog, the god of light, and Czernobog, the god of darkness, are essentially two aspects of the same being. Belobogs name means white god, and experts are divided on whether he was worshiped individually, or merely in tandem with Czernobog. Little is known about the two of them from primary sources, but its generally agreed that Czernobog, whose name translates to black god, was a dark and possibly cursed deity who was associated with death, misfortune, and overall calamity. In some legends, he appears as a demon, and symbolizes all things evil. Because of the duality of Slavic gods, Czernobog is rarely mentioned without the inclusion of Belobog, who is associated with light and goodness. Lada, Goddess of Love and Beauty Belarussians in traditional dresses put candles in the water while celebrating a traditional Slavic holiday. AFP / Getty Images Lada is a spring goddess of beauty and love in Slavic mythology. She is a patron of weddings, and is often called upon to bless a newly married couple, along with her twin brother Lado. Like many other Slavic deities, the two of them are seen as the two parts of a single entity. She is believed to hold a role as a mother goddess among some Slavic groups, and in others Lada is simply referred to as great goddess. In some ways, she is similar to the Norse Freyja, because of her association with love, fertility, and death. Marzanna, the Goddess of Winter and Death Marzanna is the deity associated with the death and dying of the earth as winter moves in. As the soil goes cold and the crops die, Marzanna dies as well, only to be reborn in the spring as Lada. In many traditions, Marzanna is represented as an effigy, which is typically burned or drowned as part of the cycle of life, death, and eventual rebirth. Mokosh, the Fertility Goddess Another mother goddess figure, Mokosh is a protector of women. She watches over them in childbirth, and is associated with domestic duties such as spinning, weaving, and cooking. Popular among Eastern Slavs, she is connected to fertility; many of those who participated in the cult of Mokosh had large, breast-shaped stones that were used as altars. She is sometimes portrayed holding a penis in each hand, because as the goddess of fertility, she is the overseer of male potency — or the lack thereof. Svarog, the Fire God Russian neo-pagans play with a fire celebrating the summer solstice festiva. Konstantin Zavrazhin / Getty Images The father of Dzbog, Svarog is a solar god and is often paralleled with the Greek Hephaestus. Svarog is associated with smithcraft and the forge. Perhaps most importantly, he is a powerful god who is given credit for creating the world. In some parts of the Slavic world, Svarog is blended with Perun to form an all-powerful father god. According to legend, Svarog is asleep, and it is his dreams that create the world of man; if Svarog awakens from his slumber, the realm of men will crumble. Zorya, the Goddess of Dusk and Dawn Representing both the Morning Star and the Evening one, Zorya is, like other Slavic gods, found with two or sometimes three different aspects. She is the one who opens the gates of heaven every morning, as Zorya Utrennjaja, so that the sun can rise. In the evening, as Zorya Vechernjaja, she closes them again so dusk will take place. At midnight, she dies with the sun, and in the morning, she is reborn and awakens once more. Sources Denisevich, Kasya. â€Å"Who Invented the Ancient Slavic Gods, and Why?†Ã‚  Russian Life, https://russianlife.com/stories/online/ancient-slavic-gods/.GliÅ„ski, MikoÅ‚aj. â€Å"What Is Known About Slavic Mythology.†Ã‚  Culture.pl, https://culture.pl/en/article/what-is-known-about-slavic-mythology.Kak, Subhash. â€Å"Slavs Searching for Their Gods.†Ã‚  Medium, Medium, 25 June 2018, https://medium.com/subhashkak1/slavs-searching-for-their-gods-9529e8888a6e.Pankhurst, Jerry. â€Å"Religious Culture: Faith in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia.†Ã‚  University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2012, pp. 1–32., https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article1006contextrussian_culture.

Virtual Key Codes Used by Windows

Windows defines special constants for each key the user can press. The virtual-key codes identify various virtual keys. These constants can then be used to refer to the keystroke when using Delphi and Windows API calls or in an OnKeyUp or OnKeyDown event handler. Virtual keys mainly consist of actual keyboard keys, but also include virtual elements such as the three mouse buttons. Delphi defines all constants for Windows virtual key codes in the Windows unit. Keyboard and VK Codes Here are some of the Delphi articles that deal with the keyboard and VK codes: Keyboard SymphonyDelphi For Beginners:Â  Get familiar with the OnKeyDown, OnKeyUp, and onKeyPress event procedures to respond to various key actions or handle and process ASCII characters along with other special purpose keys. How to Translate a Virtual Key Code into a CharacterWindows defines special constants for each key the user can press. The virtual-key codes identify various virtual keys. In Delphi, the OnKeyDown and OnKeyUp events provide the lowest level of keyboard response. To use OnKeyDown or OnKeyUp to test for keys the user presses, you must use Virtual key codes to get the key pressed. Heres how to translate the virtual key code to the corresponding Windows character. Touch Me - Im UntouchableIntercepting keyboard input for controls that cannot receive the input focus. Working with keyboard hooks from Delphi. ENTERing TabUsing the Enter key like a Tab key with Delphi controls. Abort a Loop by Pressing a KeyUse the VK_ESCAPE to abort a (for) loop. Use Arrow Keys to Move Between ControlsThe UP and DOWN arrow keys are virtually useless in edit controls. So why not use them for navigating between fields. Simulating Keystrokes from CodeA handy function to simulate the pressing of keyboard keys.

The Most Popular Scholarship Essay Topics 2018

The Most Popular Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 But What About Scholarship Essay Topics 2018? Some prompts specify educational ambitions, but others concentrate on employment. Among the most debated topics in the us is the way to give affordable healthcare to the masses. It may be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma anything that's of personal significance, regardless of the scale. The potential for facing a war. Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 - What Is It? The absolute most important part of your scholarship essay is the subject issue. You don't need to possess the ideal writing skills to be able to be creative and compose an effective essay. You won't have the ability to compose an outstanding essay in case you don't devote your soul to it. Persuasive essays are an excellent approach to encourage the reader to check at a particular topic in a different light. Have a peek at the illustration of a superior scholarship essay conclusion. When you're prepared to start writing, an excellent structure can help you strengthen your case of why you need to be awarded the scholarship. Another good idea is to receive some completely free essay examples of different kinds and on various subjects to find a general idea of the way in which a prosperous debatable paper looks. Another outstanding idea is to complete the paper with an easy action to earn the end opened. Each calendar year 1 topic is going to be posted. These essay topics will serve a crucial role to fetch you a nice scholarship. Any or all these topics could possibly be fitting based on the essence of your scholarship. Share an essay on any subject of your pick. The Basics of Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 Do everything you can to be among the most creative and memorable applicants. Probably you're going to apply for many studies abroad scholarships. By accentuating your strength s by your writing, you will have the ability to effectively communicate that you're a deserving candidate for their award. All applications have to be submitted in English. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 Without knowing good essay making, your probability of going into a very good college are slim. Remember, every group of admission committee is seeking something new and different. If you're asking for a scholarship, odds are you're likely to should compose an essay. The scholarships you find are likely to fit into specific themes that you must have the ability to identify as a way to save your family time, frustration, stress, and above all money. The Argument About Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 Now it's possible for you to learn how to write a scholarship essay. If no, you should learn to compose an essay for scholarship. There are more than a few reasons why you might want to read sample scholarship essays. They are a serious matter. If you haven't written any narration essays before, you ought to read works of different students to fully grasp how to develop a structure, the way to use your private narrative ideas, and what topics you're able to utilize. This topic may be used for any form of essay like argumentative or persuading essay too. There are a lot of intriguing topics that could be become a persuasive essay if you take the opportunity to think about doing it. Locate an instance of a fantastic topic of narrative essays of different students. New Step by Step Roadmap for Scholarship Essay Topics 2018 The subsequent easy scholarships have application processes which are a little more manageable. Therefore, if you're considering applying to college within the next calendar year, you will probably complete the typical application. A scholarship essayis part of ascholarship application. 3 scholarships awards will be granted dependent on the amount in the fund and the consequence of the investment th e prior calendar year.

Arranged marriage for america Essay Example For Students

Arranged marriage: for america? Essay Arranged marriage: for america? Essay Both arranged marriages and romantic marriages have good and bad points. Cultures such as India, Japan, and Ethiopia have had arranged marriages since the dawn of time. In America we allow our young adults to make their own decisions on whom to marry. Would Americans accept the practice of parents deciding whom they are going to marry without considering their wants or feelings? The answer is an emphatic NO! Americans are hopelessly romantic and fiercely believe in freedom of choice. Arranged marriages would never be accepted in American culture. Most of the time, if not all, the decisions we make concerning marriage are based on the concept of romantic love. Most young people tend to believe the only way to choose a mate is to date until you fall madly in love, plan a wedding, and get married. We follow our hearts even if it is impractical and doesnt really make any sense. We do not feel that we need the wisdom and experience of anyone, let alone our parents, to make such an important decision. Love is more important and powerful than practical issues. However, by relying on our hearts, and not the wisdom and experience of others, we risk what could be the disastrous consequences of making an emotional decision instead of a rational one. Go back a few years (for some of us, many years) and think about how much stress we felt trying to make ourselves attractive to the opposite sex. We spent most of our days worrying about our looks and what we could do to change them to get the look. Were our clothes chic enough to be cool? Dating was awkward and time consuming. Think of all the time wasted concerning ourselves with the rules and necessities required to maintain a relationship the effort involved in looking for the right someone to spend the rest of our lives with. Think of all the time that was wasted if they were the wrong person the anguish endured while married to the wrong person. All that time, effort, and emotional stress could certainly have been put to better use by studying and preparing for the responsibilities of life. Our mating rituals seem flawed and risky compared to those cultures that practice arranged marriages. For most young Americans, relationships are a part of everyday life. However, for the majority of Indians, they are only an afterthought. More attention is given to studies than the opposite sex. The practice of arranging marriages has both practical and cultural rationales. Marriages are meant to carry on a familys status and secure the familys financial future. Many Indians are not concerned that love is absent at the onset of marriage. They feel it will happen along the way. Love is not a major factor. Stability is the concern. Education and careers come first so there is not a lot of time for the opposite sex. Trust is put in the wisdom of parents who rely on their life experiences to ensure that a partner is socially and economically suitable for the family. American marriages are based on the dream of meeting someone and falling head over heels in love. Americans rely on emotional senses and physical attraction to ensure that they have found the one. We crave the excitement of this ritual. We let our hearts and other body parts over-ride our common sense. Many times our education suffers, or is completely set aside, to facilitate a relationship. We overlook flaws and things that we dont like. .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .postImageUrl , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:hover , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:visited , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:active { border:0!important; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:active , .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133 .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud0a1ac3f23949b2bf90be7b456930133:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Odysseus (1054 words) Essay More often than not, these flaws surface down the road and the relationship suffers or fails completely. We often dislike any interference or help from our parents in choosing our mate. Why dont we rely on their experience to make our decision? Why should we? The divorce rate in our country is approximately fifty percent. Obviously, most of our parents did not have the ability to choose the right mate. Why should we trust their judgment? We shouldnt. I believe we do have some arranged marriages in this country. Let me explain. Dont some of us put a lot of emphasis on what our parents will think of .

Quinton Richards Essays (1034 words) - Las Vegas Strip,

Quinton Richards Professor Bell Sociology 101 October 9, 2017 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES Deadly wildfires roared across California on Monday, forcing evacuations and destroying homes and businesses in their paths. The biggest fires burned in the wine country of Napa and Sonoma counties. The fires ignited Sunday night and Monday and spread with alarming speed because of dry conditions California Fire Director Ken Pimlott said at a news conference more than 20,000 people evacuated some with little notice. These fires have destroyed structures and continue to threaten thousands of homes necessitating the evacuation of thousands of residents the governor's emergency proclamation said. These fires have damaged and continue to threaten critical infrastructure and have forced the closure of major highways and local roads. According to social media postings the fire spread smoke across the San Francisco Bay area and the Anaheim area fire turned the sky red over Disneyland. The National Weather Service in San Francisco on Sunday issued a "red flag warning" for the Bay Area becaus e of current or impending critical fire weather conditions. The warning cited dry windy locations through the Napa Valley and northern Sonoma County valleys. Gusts ranging from 35 mph to more than 60 mph were recorded. But the winds and the fire weather threat will decrease Tuesday in the north, but a threat will remain in Southern part of California the weather service said. Forecasters said the warning will likely remain in effect because of the warm and dry conditions and the presence of wildfires. US Warship Approaches Korean Peninsula for Drills with South Korea The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier along with a guided-missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine are on their way to the Korean Peninsula to prepare for a potential war with North Korea, while Pyongyang reportedly plans new missiles tests. As of Friday afternoon, the USS Ronald Reagan with nearly 80 aircraft on board, was in the South China Sea on its way to the shores of US ally South Korea. The two allies will conduct joint drills to detect, track, and intercept ballistic missiles in addition to anti-submarine warfare training. North Korea has carried out a series of nuclear tests over the past few months, in response to which the UN Security Council imposed several rounds of harsh sanctions against Pyongyang. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader have since exchanged a series of threats, with Trump saying the US coulddestroythe North if attacked and that Kim Jong-un who he often refers to as Rocket Manwon't be around much longerPyongyang responded in kind ca lling it a declaration of war and threatening to shoot down American planes and unleash a nuclear attack on the US and its allies. Hurricane Maria Leaves Puerto Rico Facing Months Without Power Hurricane Maria the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. territory in almost a century ravaged the island demolishing homes and knocking out all electricity. It could take half a year to restore power to the nearly 3.5 million people who live there. The eye of the storm moved offshore overnight but the danger remained Thursday Intense flooding was reported particularly in San Juan where many residential streets looked like rushing rivers. The storm has been blamed for the deaths of 18 people including two in Puerto Rico but many fear that toll could climb as authorities were beginning to assess the extent of the damage and search for survivors. Las Vegas Shooting On the night of October 1, a gunman opened fire on a large crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip killing 58 people and injuring 489. Between 10:05 and 10:15 p.m. PDT 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada fired thousands of rifle rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel. About an hour after firing ceased, he was found dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His motive is unknown. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the United States. The crime reignited the debate about gun laws in the U.S. with attention focused on bump firing, a technique Paddock used to allow his semi-automatic rifles to fire at a rate like that of a fully-automatic weapon. Country

Summary-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn essays

Summary-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn essays In the beginning of the story Huckleberry Finn, a young teenaged boy, gets kidnapped by his drunken father, Pap. Pap beats him and locks him in a cabin. Huck then fakes his own death and runs away. He not only runs away to avoid Pap, but also to avoid being "sivilized." Along the way, he meets up with Jim. Jim is a black runaway who had overheard his owner, Miss Watson, talking about selling him to a plantation. Jim wants to find his wife and children, and by his conversations with Huck, it is apparent that Jim is also a human being with feelings. Though the present-day reader realizes this, it is something Huck has to become conscious of along the journey. The two become companions and find a raft and a house floating during a flood by the island on which they were hiding at. There is a shot man inside the house, but Jim doesnt let Huck see the mans face. They start downriver on the raft in search of the Ohio River, so that from there they can get on a steamboat to the free states. There is so much fog that they miss the opening to the river. There are distractions, also. That didnt help. A few days later, they encounter a pair of conmen. They introduce themselves as a Duke and a long-lost heir to the French throne. Huck sees through their act early on, but Jim doesnt. The men try to rob everyone they meet and after many scams their most awful one comesselling Jim to a farmer saying that there is a huge reward for him. Huck finds out where Jim is being held and it is none other than his best friend Tom Sawyers relatives home. They mistake Huck for Tom so he plays along pretending to be Tom. Then Tom actually arrives but Huck informs him of his situation and his plan to free Jim. Tom surprisingly and suspiciously agrees to help free Jim. He creates an elaborate way of doing so that it would maybe get them all killed. Jim manages to escape finally but in doing so, T...

Interpersonal Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interpersonal Skills - Essay Example (Haar, Retaining Experienced, Qualified Teachers: the Principal’s Role). These effective teachers can help the students to adopt their skills and learn many things from them; things that are not taught by them verbally. Among these skills, teachers can teach the students to develop their interpersonal skills, so that the students can interact or deal with others in a better way. Teachers should educate the students to build their interpersonal skills so that these skills can help them to build their confidence and improve their relationship with each other. To embed positive interpersonal skills in the students, teachers can use number of role plays that can help the students to polish their skills to this extent that it becomes part of their life. My strengths as a communicator Anything that is done by a person affects another person emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually is called communication. Communicating with one another is the main skill on which the entire l iving thing relies, to fill their special and daily needs. Since communication is a two way process therefore I understand that if one is a good speaker as well as a good listener only then the person can prove himself as a good communicator. As a communicator few of my strengths include; my willingness to listen to other people. As a person I prefer to listen to others so that I can understand them better and make them comfortable. I am also careful about other’s emotions; my sensitivity has also helped me become a good communicator. Other than this, my friendly personality also helps me to become more approachable for others and they feel free to talk to me in any regard. These were my strengths that I possess as a listener. As a speaker few of my strengths include; effective speaking, I am very comfortable in talking to others. At one time I can listen to others, while at the same time I can also make them understand my stance very easily. Moreover, I am also a confident i ndividual who is able to communicate with others and can adjust with them in no time. Other than this, I am also a quick thinker who can comprehend the situation comfortably, thus can act accordingly. However, though I possess all these strengths but unfortunately, I am only able to perform these tasks effortlessly when I am communicating in my first language, Arabic. When it comes to express myself or communicate with others in any other language, or in English for that matter, the problem arises as I do not have enough command on it. What do I yet need to develop in myself? The area that I find I need to develop as a communicator is my body language. Since the body language helps one improve their communication skills, the way one holds oneself also has an impact on how others perceive them and treat them. This shows that the body language helps others make decision on how to treat people in public and in person. As a communicator a major problem that I faced was poor eye contact with others. I understand the importance of having an eye contact while talking to anyone in order to prove your words and let others have interest in your conversation. Even though, I can contentedly make eye contact with the other person when I am talking in my native language, however, in second language the same task seemed difficult to me. In addition to this, I had weak listening skills for a foreign

The New Synagogue, Berlin, Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The New Synagogue, Berlin, Germany - Essay Example The building has defied time, having been constructed in early 20th century, following its demolition in the Second World War. Otto Von Bismark, the Prime Minister of Prussia by then, opened the building in 1866. It is one of the few synagogues that survived Kristallnatch-a revenge attack that involved the Nazi youths. The current building is a reconstruction of the former building. Its street frontage was ruined and the current building is a renovated version of the older building. The entrance has a new outlook; the domes and the towers have been repainted and redesigned, perhaps using the newest architectural designs, this time round blending modern designs and architecture with the mediaeval Roman architecture used before the demolition (Simms 43). Only some few rooms were left behind. The synagogue was meant to serve the growing Jewish population in Germany, especially the immigrants who came from the East. The building had a capacity to house 3000 worshipers in one sitting. The building was also used for public concerts; the most notable being the violin concert featuring Albert Eistein in 1930. The religious services included organ and choir, reflecting liberal developments among the Jewish community then. The building was set ablaze in the infamous Kristallnatch on November, 1938, in the e vent that saw the Torah scrolls debased, furniture destroyed, and combustible property within the building set ablaze (Simms 98). A brave police officer, Lieutenant Otto Bellgardt, arrived on 10th Nov, the following day and ordered the Nazi mob to disperse, arguing that the building was a historical landmark that was protected. He upheld the law to protect the synagogue from further damage by the Nazi youths. Therefore, the fire was distinguished before it could spread to other parts of the buildings. The New Synagogue remained intact and was rebuilt by the congregation who used the building up until 1940. Apart from prayers, the

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn In his episodic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain fabricates a journey as the platform for the narrators symbolic rite of passage. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, discovers the true colors of his individuality, as he voyages through his many adventures and gains priceless experiences. While he matures and advances, Huck discards his disposition as an ignorant and juvenile adolescent craving for joy and peril and becomes a man, being able to firmly identify and establish his morals and ethics. During this intricate process, he develops a comradeship with a Jim, a runaway slave, ultimately learning the true horrors of the flawed society, in which he lives in. As a role in Hucks learning process, Mark Twain realistically utilizes the social perception of whites during the time period to assist Huck in discovering the blemishes of slavery, rejecting many critics assumption that he is a racist. Huck, a thirteen-year-old son of a drunkard, is recurrently strained to survive on his own wits where sometimes it contradicts societys standards and laws. As he seems to trek down the Mississippi River, he also journeys down his inner mentality, as Huck encounters challenges between his social conscience and individual conscience. Huck always seems to look up to the educated, the high and mid-class. He appeared to make himself believe that his judgment was inferior or abased to theirs because he was illiterate, and not truly part of society or a civilized human being. He blindly follows Tom Sawyer, due to the fact that he was educated and brought up in a refined urbane setting. As the novel opens, Huck is forced to be integrated in society and civilization. Though he struggles, he persuades himself to sublime in. In the beginning, Huck is perplexed by the fatuous purpose of religion. As Widow Douglas and Miss. Watson try very hard to reform Huck to become sivilize, he doesnt see the purpose of heaven and hell. Its these first signs of society (religion) that plays an impact on Huck, where he makes a connection that his actions will determine his destination after death. Huck also can be portrayed as an innate philosopher, where he is very skeptical of the societal dogmas (religion) and in fact perceives these ideas in his own ways, as he tries to reform. This is seen with Hucks idea that hell might actually be a better place than the Widow Douglass heaven. Thus this issue only engenders Hucks moral development. When Huck encounters Jim on Jacksons island, and attends his story of a runaway slave, Huck sees Jim as a human being rather than a slave. Huck feels empathy and remorse, as he hears Jims sad tale of his family being ripped apart. Huck, who just wasnt able to properly fully mold with society, and Jim, a run-away slave, both were alienated from society in fundamental ways. Both now in some form freed from the insincerity and injustice of society, but knew this would not last long. When Huck realizes that his fate was wrapped around Jims, he questions the morality of helping a run-away slave, this in which was against law, and breaking a law would lead him to hell. More subtly, Twain criticize the American South for its phony romanticism and hypocritical Christianity. Huck decries the idea that the Christianity of the South is a living contradiction. Huck does not comprehend the fact how society accepts slavery yet ignores the Biblical notion of the equality of all believers. (The Adve ntures of Huckleberry Finn pg1). Nonetheless, Huck conceded and acknowledged that he would go to hell, in which a sacrifice he was willing to make. In further context, Twain in his works is not a racist. In the manner he depicts Jim as a real person, who carries feelings and emotions, shows in fact that Twain is an opponent of slavery. Huck had the common sense to see how slavery was a genuine blight to humanity. Contrarily the so called sophisticated society accepted it, even the good people such as Miss. Watson. Huck matures further as he breaks that mask that society gave Jim, and accepts him as a normal person. Huck refers to Jim, I knowed he was white inside. (Twain, pg 46). It shows how Huck, who was brought up in a very bigoted section of the country, that ingested all the hypocrisy of slavery, was still able to transcend it by just knowing this one nigger, Jim. Furthermore, Hucks character changes as Jim teaches him about friendship. Their relationship becomes tighter, after the Hucks joke about him never had gone missing in the fog. Huck learns that Jim is a person is with feelings, and ultimately Jim induces this movement into Hucks maturity. This is the critical point of Hucks transformation, where Huck apologizes to Jim. Hucks voyage down the Mississippi taught him much, but was mainly a frolic. But once it resumes, when Huck is taken up the Grangerfords, he journeys to the dark side of American civilization. The benevolent family who offer Huck to stay is in a burning feud between another family, the Shepherdsons. Twain uses these two families to employ in some deriding absurdity and to mock an overly romanticizes ideas about family honor. Ultimately, the families sensationalized feud gets many of them killed. Huck truly refutes society once he saw his new friend Buck, be shot and killed. Twain uses this incident to comment on all systems of principle that rebuffs the humanity of another set of people. Huck becomes befuddled in this episode. The Grangerfords are a mix of contradictions where they treat Huck well, but they own slaves and behave more foolishly with other family by killing one other. Is this what society dawns upon? In the denouement, Huck transmogrifies into a full adolescent who now truly believes in his values, and deems that it should not be tractable and tarnished by societys laws. Near the conclusion of the novel, Huck and Tom make an attempt to free Jim who is held captured. After Toms ludicrous plan fails, everyone learns that Jim was actually a free man for weeks (because Miss. Watson, in her will, allow Jim to be free when she died). This idea of freeing a free black man had a special resonance at the time Twain wrote this novel. Blacks during this time had much trouble integrating with society because of the racial subordination that was still present preceding the Civil War. Work Cited The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay. Novelguide.com. December 14, 2009. . Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United States: Bantum Books, Inc., 1884.

Impact of Society in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay

Impact of Society in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman      Ã‚  Ã‚   Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman examines outside influences on the individual.   These influences include society as a whole, the family as a societal unit and beliefs which the individual thinks he should espouse. In order to understand Willy Loman and the struggles with which he is dealing, the society in which he exists must first be understood.   He is relying upon a slightly different set of values and motivations than everyone else seems to be, and this sets him apart.   A prime example of the rest of society is Willy’s brother, Ben. In sociological terms, Ben is a classic representative of the old, 19th century middle class, while Willy represents the new, dependent, salaried, pathetically other-directed middle class.   Ben’s character is clearly inner-directed†¦ While Willy stresses the importance of personality, of being ‘well-liked’ and acceptable to the world, of pleasing others, while insisting on proper form, dress, manner, and style, Ben ignores all of this.   (Martin 56) Willy is looking to the rest of society for guidance, to see how he needs to act in order to be successful by their terms.   Yet he cannot fully let go of the belief that his way of trying to â€Å"please all of the people all of the time† is right. Society is made up of people like Ben who are focused on getting ahead.   It is an industrial society which is quickly expanding; people have to move quickly to stay on top.   They do not have time for the old ways anymore.   Willy has been working for many years, but he has not been able to keep up.   Ultimately, this is why he is let go from his job.   His boss, Howard explains it to him. Howard: I don’t want you to represent us.   I’ve ... ...4) While there is some disagreement as to what the effect of Willy’s actions ultimately will be on Biff after the curtain goes down, it is clear that Willy’s behavior destroyed the family unit as the Loman’s knew it and destroyed Willy as well.   The play does, however, end with the focus on the remaining member of the Loman family.   They are still a societal unit, and they must continue to live in the material modern world as best they can. Works Cited Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds.   The Norton Anthology of American Literature.   4th ed.   New York: Norton, 1994. Costello, Donald P. â€Å"Arthur Miller’s Circles of Responsibility: A View From a Bridgeand Beyond.† Modern Drama. 36 (1993): 443-453. Martin, Robert A., ed. Arthur Miller.   Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982. ---.   Eight Plays.   New York:   Nelson Doubleday, 1981.

Desistance

Criminology & Criminal Justice  © 2006 SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi) and the British Society of Criminology. www. sagepublications. com ISSN 1748–8958; Vol: 6(1): 39–62 DOI: 10. 1177/1748895806060666 A desistance paradigm for offender management FERGUS McNEILL Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, UK Abstract In an in? uential article published in the British Journal of Social Work in 1979, Anthony Bottoms and Bill McWilliams proposed the adoption of a ‘non-treatment paradigm’ for probation practice.Their argument rested on a careful and considered analysis not only of empirical evidence about the ineffectiveness of rehabilitative treatment but also of theoretical, moral and philosophical questions about such interventions. By 1994, emerging evidence about the potential effectiveness of some intervention programmes was suf? cient to lead Peter Raynor and Maurice Vanstone to suggest signi? cant revisions to the ‘non-treatme nt paradigm’.In this article, it is argued that a different but equally relevant form of empirical evidence—that derived from desistance studies—suggests a need to re-evaluate these earlier paradigms for probation practice. This reevaluation is also required by the way that such studies enable us to understand and theorize both desistance itself and the role that penal professionals might play in supporting it.Ultimately, these empirical and theoretical insights drive us back to the complex interfaces between technical and moral questions that preoccupied Bottoms and McWilliams and that should feature more prominently in contemporary debates about the futures of ‘offender management’ and of our penal systems. Key Words desistance †¢ effectiveness †¢ ethics †¢ offender management †¢ nontreatment paradigm †¢ probation 39 40 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) IntroductionCritical analysts of the history of ideas in the probati on service have charted the various reconstructions of probation practice that have accompanied changes in penal theories, policies and sensibilities. Most famously, McWilliams (1983, 1985, 1986, 1987) described the transformations of probation from a missionary endeavour that aimed to save souls, to a professionalized endeavour that aimed to ‘cure’ offending through rehabilitative treatment, to a pragmatic endeavour that aimed to provide alternatives to custody and practical help for offenders (see also Vanstone, 2004).More recent commentators have suggested later transformations of probation practice related ? rst to its recasting, in England and Wales, as ‘punishment in the community’ and then to its increasing focus on risk management and public protection (Robinson and McNeill, 2004). In each of these eras of probation history, practitioners, academics and other commentators have sought to articulate new paradigms for probation practice. Though much of the debate about the merits of these paradigms has focused on empirical questions about the ef? acy of different approaches to the treatment and management of offenders, probation paradigms also re? ect, implicitly or explicitly, developments both in the philosophy and in the sociology of punishment. The origins of this article are similar in that the initial impetus for the development of a desistance paradigm for ‘offender management’1 emerged from reviews of desistance research (McNeill, 2003) and, more speci? cally, from the ? ndings of some particularly important recent studies (Burnett, 1992; Rex, 1999; Maruna, 2001; Farrall, 2002).However, closer examination of some aspects of the desistance research also suggests a normative case for a new paradigm; indeed, some of the empirical evidence seems to make a necessity out of certain ‘practice virtues’. That these virtues are arguably in decline as a result of the fore-fronting of risk and public protect ion in contemporary criminal justice serves to make the development of the case for a desistance paradigm both timely and necessary. To that end, the structure of this article is as follows.It begins with summaries of two important paradigms for probation practice—the ‘nontreatment paradigm’ (Bottoms and McWilliams, 1979) and the ‘revised paradigm’ (Raynor and Vanstone, 1994). The article then proceeds with an analysis of the emerging theoretical and empirical case for a desistance paradigm. This section draws not only on the ? ndings of desistance studies but also on recent studies of the effectiveness of different approaches to securing ‘personal change’ in general and on recent developments in the ‘what works’ literature in particular.The ethical case for a desistance paradigm is then advanced not only in the light of the empirical evidence about the practical necessity of certain modes of ethical practice, but also in th e light of developments in the philosophy of punishment, most notably the ideas associated with the work of the ‘new rehabilitationists’ (Lewis, 2005) and with Anthony Duff’s ‘penal communications’ theory (Duff, McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management 2001, 2003).In the concluding discussion, I try to sketch out some of the parameters of a desistance paradigm, though this is intended more as an attempt to stimulate debate about its development rather than to de? ne categorically its features. 41 Changing paradigms for probation practice Writing at the end of the 1970s, Bottoms and McWilliams declared the need for a new paradigm for probation practice, a paradigm that ‘is theoretically rigorous, which takes very seriously the limitations of the treatment model; but which seeks to redirect the probation service’s traditional aims and values in the new penal and social context’ (1979: 167).Bottoms and McWilliams proposed their paradigm against the backdrop of a prevailing view that treatment had been discredited both empirically and ethically. Though they did not review the empirical case in any great detail, they refer to several studies (Lipton et al. , 1975; Brody, 1976; Greenberg, 1976) as establishing the broad conclusion that ‘dramatic reformative results are hard to discover and are usually absent’ (Bottoms and McWilliams, 1979: 160). They also stressed the theoretical inadequacies of the treatment model, noting several ? aws in the analogy between probation interventions and medical treatment; ? st, crime is voluntary whereas most diseases are not; second, crime is not pathological in any straightforward sense; and third, individual treatment models neglect the social causes of crime. Worse still, neglect of these ? aws produced ethical problems; they argued that over-con? dence in the prospects for effecting change through treatment had permitted its advocates both to coerce offenders into interventions (because the treatment provider was an expert who knew best) and to ignore offenders’ views of their own situations (because offenders were victims of their own lack of insight).Perhaps most insidiously of all, within this ideology coerced treatment could be justi? ed in offenders’ own best interests. Bottoms and McWilliams also discerned an important ‘implicit con? ict between the determinism implied in diagnosis and treatment and the frequently stressed casework principle of client selfdetermination’ (1979: 166). How can offenders be simultaneously the objects on whom psychological, physical and social forces operate (as the term diagnosis implies) and the authors of their own futures (as the principle of self-determination requires)?Bottoms and McWilliams’ hope was that by exposing the weaknesses of the treatment paradigm, they would allow for a renaissance of the probation service’s traditional core val ues of hope and respect for persons. They suggested that the four primary aims of the service ‘are and have been: 1 2 3 4 The provision of appropriate help for offenders The statutory supervision of offenders Diverting appropriate offenders from custodial sentences The reduction of crime’ (1979: 168). 42 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) It is their discussion of the ? rst and second of these objectives that is most relevant to the discussion here.However, it is worth noting ? rst that, for Bottoms and McWilliams, the problem with the treatment model was that it assumed that the fourth objective must be achieved through the pursuit of the ? rst three; an assumption that they suggested could not be sustained empirically. 2 With regard to the provision of help as opposed to treatment, Bottoms and McWilliams rejected the ‘objecti? cation’ of offenders implied in the ‘casework relationship’, wherein the offender becomes an object to be treated, c ured or managed in and through social policy and professional practice. One consequence of this objecti? ation, they suggested, is that the formulation of treatment plans rests with the expert; the approach is essentially ‘of? cer-centred’. Bottoms and McWilliams (1979: 173) suggested, by way of contrast, that in the non-treatment paradigm: (a) Treatment (b) Diagnosis (c) Client’s Dependent Need as the basis for social work action becomes becomes becomes Help Shared Assessment Collaboratively De? ned Task as the basis for social work action In this formulation, ‘help’ includes but is not limited to material help; probation may continue to address emotional or psychological dif? ulties, but this is no longer its raison d’etre. Critically, the test of any proposed intervention technique is that it must help the client. Bottoms and McWilliams (1979: 174) explicitly disavowed any claim that the help model would be bene? cial in the reduction of cr ime. 3 Having reconceived of probation practice as help rather than treatment, Bottoms and McWilliams’ discussion of probation’s second aim, the statutory supervision of offenders, explored the implicit tensions between help and surveillance.Accepting that probation of? cers are ‘law enforcement’ agents as well as helpers, they drew on an article by Raynor (1978) that argued for a crucial distinction between coercion and constraint; ‘choice under constraint is morally acceptable; manipulative coercion is not’ (Bottoms and McWilliams, 1979: 177). Following Raynor, they suggested that making this distinction meaningful required probation of? cers actively to seek, within the constraints of the probation order, to maximize the area of choice for the offender.Their paradigm therefore invoked a distinction between the compulsory requirements imposed by the court (with the offender’s constrained consent) and the substantive content of the hel ping process. In the latter connection, the ‘client’ should be free to choose to accept or reject help without fear of further sanctions. Put another way, the authority for supervision derives from the court but the authority for help resides in the offender. For Bottoms and McWilliams this required that the (then) legal requirement of consent by defendants to probation and community ervice should be taken much more seriously; indeed, they suggested that so as to avoid compulsory help McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management arising from a probation recommendation, defendants’ consent to such recommendations should be required. Where consent was absent, no such recommendation should be made. Fifteen years later, Peter Raynor and Maurice Vanstone (1994) argued that the non-treatment paradigm—a paradigm that they clearly regarded as being well worthy of the in? uence that it had exercised in the intervening years—was none the less in need of revision.The resurgence of optimism about the potential effectiveness of some forms of ‘treatment’ led Raynor and Vanstone to argue that the foundations of the non-treatment paradigm, ‘built as they were out of a mixture of doubt and scepticism about the crime-reducing potential of rehabilitation, have produced cracks in the structure’ (1994: 396): By uncoupling ‘helping offenders’ from ‘crime reduction’, the paradigm is prevented from exploring whether work with individuals on their thinking, behaviour and attitudes has any relevance to crime reduction. Current knowledge of research into effectiveness necessitates, therefore, a rede? ing of the concept of appropriate help in a way that retains the principle of collaboration, and the stress on client needs, but which incorporates informed practice focused on in? uencing and helping individuals to stop offending . . . This should not detract from the need to address the s ocial and economic context of crime. (Raynor and Vanstone, 1994: 398) 43 It is clear that Raynor and Vanstone (1994) were not advocating a return to a treatment paradigm; rather, in their discussion of intervention ‘programmes’, they explicitly rejected Bottoms and McWilliams’ dichotomization of treatment and help.More speci? cally, Raynor and Vanstone questioned the assumption that critiques of psychodynamic approaches as ‘involving disguised coercion, denial of clients’ views, the objecti? cation of people, and a demonstrable lack of effectiveness when applied to offenders’ (1994: 399) could be equally applied to all forms of treatment. This false assumption, they argued, led Bottoms and McWilliams to ‘ignore other possible bases for intervention outside the â€Å"medical model† and encouraged the reader to identify all attempts to in? uence offenders as ethically objectionable treatment’ (Raynor and Vanstone, 1994: 400). A further crucial problem with the ‘non-treatment paradigm’ rested in its neglect of victims. The arguments of left realist criminologists (Young, 1988) persuaded Raynor and Vanstone (1994) that the traditional probation value of ‘respect for persons’ had to include the actual and potential victims of crime. This in turn implied that the extent to which client (that is, offender) choice could be respected and unconditional help could be offered had some necessary limitations; essentially, probation had to accept an obligation to work to reduce the harms caused by crime, as well as the ills that provoke it.Thus: Compensatory help and empowerment of offenders are a proper response to situations where individuals have had few opportunities to avoid crime, but 44 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) their purpose is not simply to widen offenders’ choices: it includes doing so in a manner consistent with a wider goal of crime reduction. Such a goal is not simply in the interests of the powerful: although criminal justice in an unequal society re? ects and is distorted by its inequalities, the least powerful suffer some of the most common kinds of crime and are most in need of protection from it. This includes, of course, many offenders who are themselves victims of crime . . . ) (Raynor and Vanstone, 1994: 401) Raynor and Vanstone (1994: 402) concluded by adapting Bottoms and McWilliams’ (1979) schematic summary of their paradigm: (a) Help becomes Help consistent with a commitment to the reduction of harm Explicit dialogue and negotiation offering opportunities for informed consent to involvement in a process of change Collaboratively de? ned task relevant to criminogenic needs, and potentially effective in meeting them b) Shared assessment becomes (c) Collaboratively de? ned task becomes In terms of both organizational change and practice development, the 10 years that followed the publication of Raynor and Vanstone’s (1994) article have been even more tumultuous than the years between the publication of the non-treatment paradigm and its revision. It is beyond the scope of this article to give an account of these changes (see Nellis, 1999; Raynor and Vanstone, 2002; Mair, 2004; Robinson and McNeill, 2004).Indeed, since the purpose of this article is to consider how the practice of offender management should be reconstructed in the light of the desistance research, there is some merit in ignoring how it has been reconstructed for more political and pragmatic reasons. That said, two particular developments require comment. The ? rst relates to changes in formulations of the purposes of probation since the publication of the earlier paradigms.Without entering into the ongoing debates about the recasting of probation’s purposes south of the border (see Robinson and McNeill, 2004; Worrall and Hoy, 2005), it is suf? cient to state that, in contrast to the four aims outlined by Bottoms and McWil liams—aims which were still uncontested by Raynor and Vanstone in 1994—the new National Offender Management Service, incorporating prisons and probation, exists to manage offenders and in so doing to provide a service to the ‘law-abiding’ public. Its objectives are to punish offenders and to reduce re-offending (Blunkett, 2004: 10).The second development concerns the application of a particular approach to developing effective probation practice in England and Wales in McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management the form of the ‘what works’ initiative (McNeill, 2001, 2004a). In effect, this initiative involves the imposition from the centre of an implicit ‘what works’ paradigm for probation practice. Once again the debates about the characteristics, implications and ? aws of this paradigm are complex (see Mair, 2004). Perhaps he easiest way to summarize the paradigm however, is to suggest a further revision to Ray nor and Vanstone’s (1994) adaptation of Bottoms and McWilliams’ (1979) schematic summary: (a) Help consistent with a commitment to the reduction of harm (b) Explicit dialogue and negotiation offering opportunities for informed consent to involvement in a process of change (c) Collaboratively de? ned task relevant to criminogenic needs, and potentially effective in meeting them becomes Intervention required to reduce reoffending and protect the public Professional assessment of risk and need governed by the application of structured assessment instruments 5 becomes becomes Compulsory engagement in structured programmes and case management processes to address criminogenic needs – as required elements of legal orders imposed irrespective of consent Theoretical and empirical arguments for a desistance paradigm4 A fundamental but perhaps inevitable problem with the non-treatment paradigm, the revised paradigm and the ‘what works’ paradigm is that they b egin in the wrong place; that is, they begin by thinking about how practice (whether ‘treatment’, ‘help’ or ‘programmes’) should be constructed without ? rst thinking about how change should be understood.For Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) this omission makes some sense, since their premise was that the prospects for practice securing individual change were bleak. However, for Raynor and Vanstone (1994) and for the prevailing ‘what works’ paradigm, the problem is more serious; given their reasonable optimism about the prospects for individual rehabilitation, the absence of a well-developed theory of how rehabilitation occurs is more problematic. 5 Understanding desistance The change process involved in the rehabilitation of offenders is desistance from offending.The muted impact that desistance research has had on policy and practice hitherto is both surprising and problematic because 46 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) knowledge about processes of desistance is clearly critical to our understandings of how and why ex-offenders come to change their behaviours. Indeed, building an understanding of the human processes and social contexts in and through which desistance occurs is a necessary precursor to developing practice paradigms; put another way, constructions of practice should be embedded in understandings of desistance.The implications of such embedding are signi? cant and far-reaching. Maruna et al. (2004) draw a parallel with a related shift in the ? eld of addictions away from the notion of treatment and towards the idea of recovery, quoting an in? uential essay by William White (2000): Treatment was birthed as an adjunct to recovery, but, as treatment grew in size and status, it de? ned recovery as an adjunct of itself. The original perspective needs to be recaptured. Treatment institutions need to once again become servants of the larger recovery process and the community in which that recovery is nested and sustained . . (White, 2000, cited in Maruna et al. , 2004: 9) Although the language of recovery may be inappropriate in relation to offenders, given both that it implies a medical model and that it suggests a prior state of well-being that may never have existed for many, the analogy is telling none the less. Put simply, the implication is that offender management services need to think of themselves less as providers of correctional treatment (that belongs to the expert) and more as supporters of desistance processes (that belong to the desister).In some respects, this shift in perspective, by re-emphasizing the offender’s viewpoint, might re-invigorate the non-treatment paradigm’s rejection of the objecti? cation of the ‘client’ and of the elevation of the ‘therapist’. However, it does so not by rejecting ‘treatment’ per se, but by seeing professional intervention as being, in some sense, subservient to a wider proce ss that belongs to the desister. Before proceeding further, more needs to be said about how processes of desistance should be understood and theorized.Maruna (2001) identi? es three broad theoretical perspectives in the desistance literature: maturational reform, social bonds theory and narrative theory. Maturational reform (or ‘ontogenic’) theories have the longest history and are based on the established links between age and certain criminal behaviours, particularly street crime. Social bonds (or ‘sociogenic’) theories suggest that ties to family, employment or educational programmes in early adulthood explain changes in criminal behaviour across the life course.Where these ties exist, they create a stake in conformity, a reason to ‘go straight’. Where they are absent, people who offend have less to lose from continuing to offend. Narrative theories have emerged from more qualitative research which stresses the signi? cance of subjective cha nges in the person’s sense of self and identity, re? ected in changing motivations, greater concern for others and more consideration of the future. Bringing these perspectives together, Farrall stresses the signi? cance of theMcNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management relationships between ‘objective’ changes in the offender’s life and his or her ‘subjective’ assessment of the value or signi? cance of these changes: . . . the desistance literature has pointed to a range of factors associated with the ending of active involvement in offending. Most of these factors are related to acquiring ‘something’ (most commonly employment, a life partner or a family) which the desister values in some way and which initiates a reevaluation of his or her own life . . (Farrall, 2002: 11) 47 Thus, desistance resides somewhere in the interfaces between developing personal maturity, changing social bonds associated with certain li fe transitions, and the individual subjective narrative constructions which offenders build around these key events and changes. It is not just the events and changes that matter; it is what these events and changes mean to the people involved. Clearly this understanding implies that desistance itself is not an event (like being cured of a disease) but a process.Desistance is necessarily about ceasing offending and then refraining from further offending over an extended period (for more detailed discussions see Maruna, 2001; Farrall, 2002; Maruna and Farrall, 2004). Maruna and Farrall (2004) suggest that it is helpful to distinguish primary desistance (the achievement of an offence-free period) from secondary desistance (an underlying change in self-identity wherein the ex-offender labels him or herself as such). Although Bottoms et al. 2004) have raised some doubts about the value of this distinction on the grounds that it may exaggerate the importance of cognitive changes which ne ed not always accompany desistance, it does seem likely that where offender managers are dealing with (formerly) persistent offenders, the distinction may be useful; indeed, in those kinds of cases their role might be constructed as prompting, supporting and sustaining secondary desistance wherever this is possible.Moreover, further empirical support for the notion of secondary desistance (and its usefulness) might be found in Burnett’s (1992) study of efforts to desist among 130 adult property offenders released from custody. Burnett noted that while eight out of ten, when interviewed pre-release, wanted to ‘go straight’; six out of ten subsequently reported re-offending post-release. For many, the intention to be law-abiding was provisional in the sense that it did not represent a con? dent prediction; only one in four reported that they would de? itely be able to desist. Importantly, Burnett discovered that those who were most con? dent and optimistic about de sisting had greatest success in doing so. For the others, the ‘provisional nature of intentions re? ected social dif? culties and personal problems that the men faced’ (Burnett, 2000: 14). That this implies the need for intentions to desist to be grounded in changes of identity is perhaps supported by Burnett’s ? ndings about different types of desisters. She discerned three 48Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) categories: ‘non-starters’ who adamantly denied that they were ‘real criminals’ and, in fact, had fewer previous convictions than the others; ‘avoiders’, for whom keeping out of prison was the key issue; and ‘converts’ who appeared to have decided that the costs of crime outweighed the bene? ts. Indeed, the converts were: the most resolute and certain among the desisters. They had found new interests that were all-preoccupying and overturned their value system: a partner, a child, a good job, a new vocat ion.These were attainments that they were not prepared to jeopardize or which over-rode any interest in or need for property crime. (Burnett, 2000: 14) Although Burnett notes that, for most of the men involved in her study, processes of desistance were characterized by ambivalence and vacillation, the over-turning of value systems and all pre-occupying new interests that characterized the ‘converts’ seem to imply the kind of identity changes invoked in the notion of secondary desistance.Maruna’s (2001) study offers a particularly important contribution to understanding secondary desistance by exploring the subjective dimensions of change. Maruna compared the narrative ‘scripts’ of 20 persisters and 30 desisters who shared similar criminogenic traits and backgrounds and who lived in similarly criminogenic environments. In the ‘condemnation script’ that emerged from the persisters, ‘The condemned person is the narrator (although he o r she reserves plenty of blame for society as well). Active offenders . . . argely saw their life scripts as having been written for them a long time ago’ (Maruna, 2001: 75). By contrast, the accounts of the desisters revealed a different narrative: The redemption script begins by establishing the goodness and conventionality of the narrator—a victim of society who gets involved with crime and drugs to achieve some sort of power over otherwise bleak circumstances. This deviance eventually becomes its own trap, however, as the narrator becomes ensnared in the vicious cycle of crime and imprisonment.Yet, with the help of some outside force, someone who ‘believed in’ the ex-offender, the narrator is able to accomplish what he or she was ‘always meant to do’. Newly empowered, he or she now seeks to ‘give something back’ to society as a display of gratitude. (Maruna, 2001: 87) The desisters and the persisters shared the same sense of f atalism in their accounts of the development of their criminal careers; however, Maruna reads the minimization of responsibility implied by this fatalism as evidence of the conventionality of their values and aspirations and of their need to believe in the essential goodness of the ‘real me’.Moreover, in their accounts of achieving change there is evidence that desisters have to ‘discover’ agency in order to resist and overcome the criminogenic structural pressures that play upon them. This discovery of agency seems to McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management relate to the role of signi? cant others in envisioning an alternative identity and an alternative future for the offender even through periods when they cannot see these possibilities for themselves.Typically later in the process of change, involvement in ‘generative activities’ (which usually make a contribution to the well-being of others) plays a part in testifying to the desister that an alternative ‘agentic’ identity is being or has been forged. Intriguingly, the process of discovering agency, on one level at least, sheds interesting light on the apparent theoretical inconsistency that Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) inferred from the treatment paradigm; that is, an inconsistency between its deterministic analysis of the causes of criminality and its focus on self-determination in the treatment process.Arguably what Maruna (2001) has revealed is the role of re? exivity in both revealing and producing shifts in the dynamic relationships between agency and structure (see also Farrall and Bowling, 1999). Supporting desistance The implications for practice of this developing evidence base have begun to be explored in a small number of research studies that have focused on the role that probation may play in supporting desistance (for example Rex, 1999; Farrall, 2002; McCulloch, 2005). In one study of ‘assisted desistance’ , Rex (1999) explored the experiences of 60 probationers.She found that those who attributed changes in their behaviour to probation supervision described it as active and participatory. Probationers’ commitments to desist appeared to be generated by the personal and professional commitment shown by their probation of? cers, whose reasonableness, fairness and encouragement seemed to engender a sense of personal loyalty and accountability. Probationers interpreted advice about their behaviours and underlying problems as evidence of concern for them as people, and ‘were motivated by what they saw as a display of interest in their wellbeing’ (Rex, 1999: 375).Such evidence resonates with other arguments about the pivotal role that relationships play in effective interventions (Barry, 2000; Burnett, 2004; Burnett and McNeill, 2005; McNeill et al. , 2005). If secondary desistance (for those involved in persistent offending at least) requires a narrative reconstruction of identity, then it seems obvious why the relational aspects of practice are so signi? cant. Who would risk engaging in such a precarious and threatening venture without the reassurance of sustained and compassionate support from a trusted source?However, workers and working relationships are neither the only nor the most important resources in promoting desistance. Related studies of young people in trouble suggest that their own resources and social networks are often better at resolving their dif? culties than professional staff (Hill, 1999). The potential of social networks is highlighted by ‘resilience perspectives’, which, in contrast with approaches that dwell on risks and/or needs, consider the ‘protective factors and processes’ involved in positive adaptation in spite of adversity.In terms of practice with young 49 50 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) people, such perspectives entail an emphasis on the recognition, exploitation and development o f their competences, resources, skills and assets (Schoon and Bynner, 2003). In similar vein, but in relation to re-entry of ex-prisoners to society, Maruna and LeBel (2003) have made a convincing case for the development of strengths-based (rather than needs-based or risk-based) narratives and approaches.Drawing on both psychological and criminological evidence, they argue that such approaches would be likely both to enhance compliance with parole conditions and to encourage exprisoners to achieve ‘earned redemption’ (Bazemore, 1999) by focusing on the positive contributions through which they might make good to their communities. Thus promoting desistance also means striving to develop the offender’s strengths—at both an individual and a social network level—in order to build and sustain the momentum for change.In looking towards these personal and social contexts of desistance, the most recent and perhaps most wide-scale study of probation and de sistance is particularly pertinent to the development of a desistance paradigm. Farrall (2002) explored the progress or lack of progress towards desistance achieved by a group of 199 probationers. Though over half of the sample evidenced progress towards desistance, Farrall found that desistance could be attributed to speci? c interventions by the probation of? cer in only a few cases, although help with ? ding work and mending damaged family relationships appeared particularly important. Desistance seemed to relate more clearly to the probationers’ motivations and to the social and personal contexts in which various obstacles to desistance were addressed. Farrall (2002) goes on to argue that interventions must pay greater heed to the community, social and personal contexts in which they are situated (see also McCulloch, 2005). After all, ‘social circumstances and relationships with others are both the object of the intervention and the medium through which . . . change can be achieved’ (Farrall, 2002: 212, emphases added).Necessarily, this requires that interventions be focused not solely on the individual person and his or her perceived ‘de? cits’. As Farrall (2002) notes, the problem with such interventions is that while they can build human capital, for example, in terms of enhanced cognitive skills or improved employability, they cannot generate the social capital that resides in the relationships through which we achieve participation and inclusion in society. 6 Vitally, it is social capital that is necessary to encourage desistance. It is not enough to build capacities for change where change depends on opportunities to exercise capacities: ‘. . the process of desistance is one that is produced through an interplay between individual choices, and a range of wider social forces, institutional and societal practices which are beyond the control of the individual’ (Farrall and Bowling, 1999: 261). Barry’ s (2004) recent study provides another key reference point for exploring how themes of capital, agency, identity and transition play out speci? cally for younger people desisting from offending. Through in-depth interviews with 20 young women and 20 young men, Barry explored why they started and stopped offending and what in? enced or inhibited them McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management in that behaviour as they grew older. The young people revealed that their decisions about offending and desisting were related to their need to feel included in their social world, through friendships in childhood and through wider commitments in adulthood. The resolve displayed by the young people in desisting from offending seemed remarkable to Barry, particularly given that they were from disadvantaged backgrounds and were limited in their access to mainstream pportunities (employment, housing and social status) both because of their age and because of their social class. B arry recognizes crucially that: Because of their transitional situation, many young people lack the status and opportunities of full citizens and thus have limited capacity for social recognition in terms of durable and legitimate means of both accumulating and expending capital through taking on responsibility and generativity . . .Accumulation of capital requires, to a certain extent, both responsibilities and access to opportunities; however, children and young people rarely have such opportunities because of their status as ‘liminal entities’ (Turner, 1969), not least those from a working class background. (2004: 328–9) 51 It is interesting to note that similar messages about the signi? cance both of the relational and of the social contexts of desistance have emerged recently from ‘treatment’ research itself.Ten years on from McGuire and Priestley’s (1995) original statement of ‘what works’, these neglected aspects of practic e have re-emerged in revisions to and re? nements of the principles of effective practice. One authoritative recent review, for example, highlights the increasing attention that is being paid to the need for staff to use interpersonal skills, to exercise some discretion in their interventions, to take diversity among participants into account and to look at how the broader service context can best support effective practice (Raynor, 2004: 201).Raynor notes that neglect of these factors may account for some of the dif? culties experienced in England and Wales, for example, in translating the successes of demonstration projects to general practice. He suggests that the preoccupation with group programmes arises from their more standardized application, which, in turn, allows for more systematic evaluation than the complex and varied nature of individual practice. However, this pre-occupation (with programmes), ironically perhaps, is undermined by the literature on treatment effectiven ess in psychotherapy and counselling; arguably the parent discipline of ‘what works’.Here, the evidence suggests that the most crucial variables of all in determining treatment outcomes—chance factors, external factors and ‘client’ factors— relate to the personal and social contexts of interventions rather than to their contents (Asay and Lambert, 1999). Moreover, in terms of those variables which the therapist can in? uence, it is a recurring ? nding that no method of intervention is any more effective than the rest, and, instead, that there are common aspects of each intervention that are responsible for bringing about change (see Hubble et al. , 1999; Bozarth, 2000). These 52Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) ‘core conditions’ for effectiveness—empathy and genuineness; the establishment of a working alliance; and using person-centred, collaborative and ‘client-driven’ approaches—are perhaps familiar to probation staff, but not from earlier reviews of ‘what works? ’. 7 With regard to the probation paradigms reviewed earlier, these ? ndings are particularly signi? cant because, despite the disciplinary location and positivist approaches of these studies, the forms of treatment that they commend seem to be some way removed from those criticized by Bottoms and McWilliams (1979).Indeed, the notion of therapeutic or working alliance implies, as Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) advocated, that the worker and client share agreement on overall goals, agreement on the tasks that will lead to achievement of these goals and a bond of mutual respect and trust (Bordin, 1979). This seems explicitly to preclude the kind of attitudes and practices that Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) associated with treatment and that arguably characterize the prevailing ‘what works’ paradigm (McNeill, 2004b). Ethical arguments for a desistance paradigmLeaving aside these emerging empirical ? ndings and theoretical issues, desistance research has some clear ethical implications for the practice of offender management. The ? rst of these implications is perhaps already obvious. Rex’s (1999) research, reviewed in the context both of Maruna’s (2001) account of narrative reconstruction and of the evidence from psychotherapy research about the critical signi? cance of certain core conditions for treatment, points to the importance of developing penal practices that express certain practical virtues.Virtue-based approaches to ethics have experienced something of a resurgence in recent years (Pence, 1991), suggesting a shift in moral thinking from the question ‘what ought I to do? ’ to the question ‘what sort of person should I be? ’ In this context, one of the merits of desistance research is that by asking offenders about their experiences both of attempting desistance and of supervision, progress is made towards answering the questi on that a would-be ‘virtuous’ offender manager might ask: What sort of practitioner should I be?The virtues featured in responses from desisters might include optimism, hopefulness, patience, persistence, fairness, respectfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, wisdom, compassion, ? exibility and sensitivity (to difference), for example. The practical import of the expression of these virtues is suggested by recent discussions of the enforcement of community penalties, which have emerged particularly (but not exclusively) where community penalties have been recast as ‘punishment in the community’. This recasting of purpose has increased the need for effective enforcement in order that courts regard community penalties as credible disposals.Though the language of ‘enforcement’ implies an emphasis on ensuring the meaningfulness and inevitability of sanctions in the event of non-compliance, Bottoms (2001) has argued convincingly that attempts to encour age or require compliance in McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management the criminal justice system must creatively mix habitual mechanisms, constraint-based mechanisms, instrumental mechanisms and normative mechanisms (related to beliefs, attachments and perceptions of legitimacy).What seems clear from the desistance research is that, through the establishment of effective relationships, the worker’s role in supporting compliance is likely to be particularly crucial to the development of these normative mechanisms. It is only within relationships that model the kinds of virtues described above that the formal authority conferred on the worker by the court is likely to be rendered legitimate in the mind of the offender. Just as perceptions of legitimacy play a key role in encouraging compliance with prison regimes (Sparks et al. 1996), so in the community legitimacy is likely to be a crucial factor both in preventing breach by persuading offenders to comply with the order and, perhaps, in preventing recidivism by persuading offenders to comply with the law. This notion of moral persuasion (and modelling) as a role for offender managers resonates with some aspects of Anthony Duff’s penal communications theory (Duff, 2001, 2003). Duff (2003) has argued that probation can and should be considered a mode of punishment; indeed he argues that it could be the model punishment.However, the notion of punishment that he advances is not ‘merely punitive’; that is, it is not concerned simply with the in? iction of pain as a form of retribution. Rather it is a form of ‘constructive punishment’ that in? icts pain only in so far as this is an inevitable (and intended) consequence of ‘bringing offenders to face up to the effects and implications of their crimes, to rehabilitate them and to secure . . . reparation and reconciliation’ (Duff, 2003: 181). The pains involved are akin to the unavoidable pains of repentance.For Duff, this implies a role for probation staff as mediators between offenders, victims and the wider community. Though developing the connections between Duff’s theory and desistance research is beyond the scope of this article, Maruna’s (2001) study underlines the signi? cance for desisters of the ‘redemption’ that is often achieved through engagement in ‘generative activities’ which help to make sense of a damaged past by using it to protect the future interests of others. It seems signi? ant that this ‘buying back’ is productive rather than destructive; that is, the right to be rehabilitated is not the product of experiencing the pains of ‘merely punitive’ punishment, rather it is the result of evidencing repentance and change by ‘making good’. In working to support the reconstruction of identity involved in desistance, this seems to underline the relevance of the redemptive opportunitie s that both community penalties and restorative justice approaches might offer.No less obvious, by contrast, are the futility and counter-productiveness of penal measures that label, that exclude and that segregate and co-locate offenders as offenders. Such measures seem designed to con? rm and cement ‘condemnation scripts’ and thus to frustrate desistance. However, as well as highlighting the importance of encouraging and supporting offenders in the painful process of making good, the desistance 53 54 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) research at least hints at the reciprocal need for society to make good to offenders.Just as both Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) and Raynor and Vanstone (1994) recognized the moral implications of accepting the role that social inequalities and injustices play in provoking offending behaviour, so Duff (2003) argues that the existence of social injustice creates moral problems for the punishing polity. The response must be ‘a genuin e and visible attempt to remedy the injustices and exclusion that they [that is, some offenders] have suffered’ (Duff, 2003: 194). Duff suggests that this implies that: the probation of? cer . . . ill now have to help the offender negotiate his relationship with the polity against which he has offended, but by whom he has been treated unjustly and disrespectfully: she must speak for the polity to the offender in terms that are censorious but also apologetic—terms that seek both to bring him to recognise the wrong he has done and to express an apologetic recognition of the injustice he has suffered: and she must speak to the polity for the offender, explaining what is due to him as well as what is due for him. (2003: 194, emphasis added)Thus the help and practical support advocated in the non-treatment paradigm can now be re-legitimated both empirically, in terms of the need to build social capital in supporting desistance, and normatively (even within a punishment disc ourse) as a prerequisite for making punishment both intelligible and just for offenders. Recognition of interactions between, on the one hand, exclusion and inequalities and, on the other, crime and justice, also lies behind some of the arguments for rehabilitative approaches to punishment. Such arguments tend to lead to rights-based rather than utilitarian versions of rehabilitation.For McWilliams and Pease (1990), rights-based rehabilitation serves a moral purpose on behalf of society in limiting punishment and preventing exclusion by working to re-establish the rights and the social standing of the offender. By contrast, Garland (1997) describes how, in late-modern penality, a more instrumental version of rehabilitation has emerged in which the offender need not (perhaps cannot) be respected as an end in himself or herself; he or she has become the means to another end. He or she is not, in a sense, the subject of the court order, but its object.In this version, rehabilitation is not an over-riding purpose, it is a subordinate means. It is offence-centred rather than offender-centred; it targets criminogenic need rather than social need. The problem with this version of rehabilitation, however, is that it runs all the same moral risks that led Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) to reject treatment; it permits, in theory at least, all of the same injustices, violations of human rights and disproportionate intrusions that concerned, for example, the American Friends Services Committee in 1971, and led ultimately to the emergence of ‘just deserts’ (von Hirsch, 1976; Home Of? e, 1990). Indeed, in England and Wales, the current situation is worse in one respect: McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management the removal of the need for offenders’ consent to the imposition of community penalties (under the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997), which made some sense in the context of the move towards seeing probation as a proportionate punishme nt, means that offenders can now be compelled to undertake ‘treatment’ in the form of accredited programmes.In a recent article, Lewis (2005) has drawn on the work of the ‘new rehabilitationists’ (Cullen and Gilbert, 1982; Rotman, 1990) to revive the case for a rights-based approach to rehabilitation; meaning one which is concerned with the reintegration of offenders into society as ‘useful human beings’. According to Lewis, the principles of the new rehabilitationists include commitment to, ? rst, the state’s duty to undertake rehabilitative work (for similar reasons to those outlined above); second, somehow setting limits on the intrusions of rehabilitation in terms of proportionality; third, maximizing voluntarism in the process; and, ? ally, using prison only as a measure of last resort because of its negative and damaging effects. In exploring the extent to which these principles are articulated and applied in current penal policy, she reaches the conclusion that ‘current rehabilitative efforts are window-dressing on an overly punitive â€Å"managerialist† system’ (Lewis, 2005: 119), though she retains some hope that practitioner-led initiatives at the local level might allow some prospect that these principles could be applied.The value of the desistance research may be that just as the evidence about ‘nothing works’ allowed Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) to make a theoretical and empirical case for more ethical practice, and the evidence that ‘something works’ enabled Raynor and Vanstone (1994) to revise that case, so the evidence from desistance studies, when combined with these constructive developments in the philosophy of punishment, might do a similar job in a different and arguably more destructive penal climate. 55 Conclusions: a desistance paradigmThis article has sought to follow the example offered by Bottoms and McWilliams (1979) and Raynor and Vanstone (1994) by trying to build both empirical and ethical cases for the development of a new paradigm for probation practice. In summary, I have suggested that desistance is the process that offender management exists to promote and support; that approaches to intervention should be embedded in understandings of desistance; and, that it is important to explore the connections between structure, agency, re? exivity and identity in desistance processes. Moreover, desistance-supporting interventions need to respect and foster agency and re? xivity; they need to be based on legitimate and respectful relationships; they need to focus on social capital (opportunities) as well as human capital (motivations and capacities); and they need to exploit strengths as well as addressing needs and risks. I have also suggested that desistance research highlights the relevance of certain ‘practice virtues’; that it requires a focus 56 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) on the role of legiti macy in supporting normative mechanisms of compliance; that it is consonant in many respects with communicative approaches to punishment which cast probation of? ers (or offender managers) as mediators between offenders, victims and communities; and that it suggests a rights-based approach to rehabilitation which entails both that the offender makes good to society and that, where injustice has been suffered by the offender, society makes good to the offender. Like the authors of the earlier paradigms, I do not intend here to offer a detailed account of precisely how a desistance paradigm might operate in practice (for some initial suggestions see McNeill, 2003). That task is one that could be more fruitfully undertaken by those working in the ? ld, preferably in association with offenders themselves. However, in an attempt to suggest some direction for such development, Table 1 summarizes the contrasts between the constructions of practice implied by the nontreatment, revised, â₠¬Ëœwhat works’ and desistance paradigms. Unlike the earlier paradigms, the desistance paradigm forefronts processes of change rather than modes of intervention. Practice under the desistance paradigm would certainly accommodate intervention to meet needs, reduce risks and (especially) to develop and exploit strengths, but Table 1.Probation practice in four paradigms The non-treatment paradigm Treatment becomes help The revised paradigm Help consistent with a commitment to the reduction of harm A ‘what works’ paradigm Intervention required to reduce re-offending and protect the public A desistance paradigm Help in navigating towards desistance to reduce harm and make good to offenders and victims8 Explicit dialogue and negotiation assessing risks, needs, strengths and resources and offering opportunities to make good Collaboratively de? ed tasks which tackle risks, needs and obstacles to desistance by using and developing the offender’s human and social cap ital Diagnoses becomes shared assessment Explicit dialogue and negotiation offering opportunities for consensual change ‘Professional’ assessment of risk and need governed by structured assessment instruments Client’s dependent need as the basis for action becomes collaboratively de? ned task as the basis for action Collaboratively de? ed task relevant to criminogenic needs and potentially effective in meeting them Compulsory engagement in structured programmes and case management processes as required elements of legal orders imposed irrespective of consent McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management whatever these forms might be they would be subordinated to a more broadly conceived role in working out, on an individual basis, how the desistance process might best be prompted and supported.This would require the worker to act as an advocate providing a conduit to social capital as well as a ‘treatment’ provider building human capit al. Moreover, rather than being about the technical management of programmes and the disciplinary management of orders, as the current term ‘offender manager’ unhelpfully implies, the forms of engagement required by the paradigm would re-instate and place a high premium on collaboration and involvement in the process of co-designing interventions.Critically, such interventions would not be concerned solely with the prevention of further offending; they would be equally concerned with constructively addressing the harms caused by crime by encouraging offenders to make good through restorative processes and community service (in the broadest sense). But, as a morally and practically necessary corollary, they would be no less preoccupied with making good to offenders by enabling them to achieve inclusion and participation in society (and with it the progressive and positive reframing of their identities required to sustain desistance).Perhaps the most obvious problem that might be confronted by anyone seeking to envision further or even enact this paradigm, is that the communities on which its ultimate success would depend may lack the resources and the will to engage in supporting desistance, preferring to remain merely ‘punishing communities’ (Worrall and Hoy, 2005). This is, of course, an issue for any form of ‘offender management’ or reintegration.However, rather than letting it become an excuse for dismissing the paradigm, it should drive us to a recognition of the need for offender management agencies to re-engage with community education and community involvement and to seek ways and means, at the local level and at the national level, to challenge populist punitiveness (Bottoms, 1995) and to offer more progressive alternatives. 57 NotesI am very grateful to Steve Farrall and Richard Sparks for their hospitality in hosting the seminars through which this article was developed and to all of the contributors to the semi nars both for their helpful and encouraging comments on earlier versions and for the stimulation that their papers provided. I am also grateful to Monica Barry, Mike Nellis and Gwen Robinson for comments on the draft version of this article. Though I have grave reservations about the term ‘offender management’ (relating to its obvious inference that the offender is a problem to be managed rather than person to be assisted and that the task is technical rather than moral), I use it here, not just because of its contemporary relevance, but also because it refers both to community disposals and postprison resettlement. 8 Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(1) 2 Owing to their pessimism about the prospects for treatment delivering their fourth aim (the reduction of crime), Bottoms and McWilliams turned their attention to other crime reduction strategies and in particular to crime prevention. Their argument in this connection was essentially that because ‘crime is predomi nantly social . . . ny serious crime reduction strategy must be of a socially (rather than an individually) based character’ (Bottoms and McWilliams, 1979: 188). 3 That said, they allowed that: ‘there is, ironically, at least a tiny shred of research evidence to suggest that, after all, help may be more crime-reducing than treatment’ (Bottoms and McWilliams, 1979: 174). To support this claim they referred to two studies that presaged later desistance research; the ? st suggested that although intensive casework treatment had no apparent impact, changes in the post-institutional social situations of offenders (for example, getting married or securing a job) were associated with reductions in recidivism (Bottoms and McClintock, 1973); the second suggested that treatment did demonstrate lower reconviction rates where the ‘treatment’ involved primarily practical help which was given only if and when offenders asked for it (Bernsten and Christiansen, 1965 ). 4 This section of the article draws heavily on McNeill et al. (2005). 5 It may be that this gap in theory s in part the product of the incremental and quasi-experimental character of ‘what works’ research; indeed it might even be said that the ‘what works’ philosophy is anti-theoretical in that it is more preoccupied with identifying and replicating successes than in explaining and understanding them (Farrall, 2002). 6 Signi? cantly, Boeck et al. ’s (2004) emerging ? ndings suggest that bridging social capital in particular (which facilitates social mobility) seems to be limited among those young people in their study involved in offending, leaving them ill-equipped to navigate risk successfully. That said, some recent studies have begun to explore the contribution of particular practice skills to effectiveness. Raynor refers in particular to a recent article by Dowden and Andrews (2004) based on a meta-analysis examining the contribution of certa in key staff skills (which they term ‘core correctional practices’ or CCPs) to the effectiveness of interventions with offenders. 8 It is with some unease that I have merely mentioned but not developed arguments about the importance of making good to (and for) victims in this article.I am therefore grateful to Mike Nellis for highlighting the contingent relationships between offenders making good and making amends to victims. There is little empirical evidence that desistance requires making amends or making good to particular victims, although there are of course independent and compelling reasons why this matters in its own right. As Nellis suggests (personal communication, 18 August 2005), the case for making amends requires separate justi? cation. He further suggests that from the point of view of interventions with offenders, it may be important not so much as an enabling factor in desistance as a signifying factor.Drawing on this distinction, my own view is that a lthough making amends is neither necessary nor suf? cient for desistance to occur, it may be useful none the less in consigning the past to the past (for victims and offenders) and thus in entrenching redemption scripts (for offenders). McNeill—A desistance paradigm for offender management References American Friends Services Committee (1971) Struggle for Justice. New York: Hill & Wang. Asay, T. P. and M. J. Lambert (1999) ‘The Empirical Case for the Common Factors in Therapy: Quantitative Findings’, in M. A. Hubble, B. L. Duncan and S. D.Miller (eds) The Heart and Soul of Change: What Works in Therapy, pp. 33–56. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 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