Illiberal Democracy Essay - 1911 Words

Erin Voss POS 2041 10-18-2011 Fareed Zakaria: The Rise of Illiberal Democracy Fareed Zakaria’s The Rise of Illiberal Democracy seeks to elucidate the reader on the rise of democracy around the world as well as the distinguishable difference between illiberal and liberal democracies as he sees them. Zakaria also describes how he believes democracy and liberalism joined together in synchronization to form what is our government today. Democracy is infamous for being arduous to define. Specifically speaking democracy has the tendency of being indicative of a government in which the people have a fair and equal say in the â€Å"procedures for selecting governmentâ€Å", but not necessarily afforded the protection of what we as Americans†¦show more content†¦In 1995 a movement known as the Civil Rights movement began in order to end racial discrimination and to restore the voting rights of the African American population within the United States. Since slaves became free their political rights have been trampled upon and denied. For over seventy years prior to the Civil Rights Movement, Jim Crow laws reigned over African Americans. They were unable to vote for any members in Congress that might embody their interests, were discriminated in public by being forced to use separate facilities, being differentiated against in a multitude of opportunities such as housing and that is only the beginning. Many blacks were denied economic opportunities forcing them far below the poverty line. They were the targets of mass racial brutality via law enforcement, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and several individual attacks. Legal action was the primary for utilized in the bringing about of desegregation prior to the movement. Their crowing achievement was the victory in the Brown V. Board of Education case in 1954 ending segregation in the school systems that set in motion the events of the Civil Rights movement. Following what most consider to be the biggest win legally for African Americans since being freed, many got restless and turned from the legal approach to what became known as civil disobedience. Through the end of the movement inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Fareed Zakaria s The Rise Of Illiberal Democracy1353 Words   |  6 Pages Fareed Zakaria’s The Rise of Illiberal Democracy is an article discussing his point of view about illiberal and liberal democracies. He explains how democracy is now simply viewed together with liberalism altogether and how they went hand in hand with the writing of our constitution. This article informs you about how the mix of liberalism and democracy seems to have affected the Civil Rights Movement. He informs the reader about how illiberal democracy can lead to disputes, and disagreementsRead MoreAnalysis Of Fareed Zakaria s The Rise Of Illiberal Democracy1330 Words   |  6 Pages Fareed Zakaria’s The Rise of Illiberal Democracy is an article discussing his point of view about illiberal and liberal democracies. He explains how democracy is now simply viewed together with liberalism altogether and how they went hand in hand with the writing of our constitution. This article informs you about how the mix of liberalism and democracy seems to have affected the Civil Rights Movement. He also explains how illiberal democracy can lead to civil war and genocide. With theRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement Of Fareed Zakaria s The Rise Of Illiberal Democracy 1548 Words   |  7 Pagesof Illiberal Democracy† details his view on elected governments and the ignorance and abuse of their power. He claims that they do not use their powers in the right way and instead deny basic civil rights and liberties. Democracy can be defined numerous ways in different countries. In Zakaria’s definition, to paraphrase, a democracy is viewed as a process of selecting government and is to always mean the rule of the people. In my opinion this definition is very true when associating democracy withRead More The Future of Freedom1081 Words   |  5 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In his book, The Future of Freedom, Fareed Zakaria writes that we must make democracy safe for the world. The American democracy sets the standard around the world for liberal democracies, but transitions across for other countries across the world toward a liberal democracy is often difficult and with poor decision making, close to impossible. Liberal democracies are the systems in which people choose their government and live in an environment of freedom. In Zakaria’sRead More The Rise of Universal Liberal Values? Essay1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe Rise of Universal Liberal Values? Democracy is one thing, and constitutional liberalism quite another. In the inexorable march of modernity, Fareed Zakaria argues in The Rise of Illiberal Democracy, the message of constitutional liberalism has gotten lost in the clamor for democracy. This is problematic because, without a strong foundation of pluralism and constitutional liberalism, the apparatus of democracy can easily be hijacked by forces that hardly espouse the liberal values that haveRead MoreThe And Of A Democracy2039 Words   |  9 Pagescountless other countries are democracies. In the same vein, political scientists are not wasting their breath arguing that China, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea are not democracies. But, between these obvious examples are countless examples of countries that fall somewhere in between. For political scientists, it is often impossible to distinguish which nations are democracies, which are autocracies, and where the line falls. There is no one agreed upon definition of a de mocracy, and no agreed upon setRead MoreConcetps of Democracy and South Africa1071 Words   |  4 Pagesconcepts of democracy are more narrow, whilst thick concepts of it take a much broader stance.(Democracy Index 2012:5) Both definitions include the fundamental electoral requirements of a democracy whilst the thin concepts seem to stay within this minimalist realm(Democracy Index 2012:5) and the thick definition encompasses more political freedoms, adding civil liberties to the list of requirements as well.(Democracy Index 2012:26) Dahls version of polyarchy and Freedom Houses electoral democracy are examplesRead MoreDemocracy And Violent Civil Conflict1666 Words   |  7 Pages Democracy and violent civil conflict Democracy is believed to have a pacifying power. With electoral processes, the rule of law and freedom from state oppression it makes sense that the populations has enough avenues to express grievances without resorting to full scale civil violence. Democracy beyond mutual democratic pacifism would thus have an impact on internal civil relations positively but this is not the case. There have been an increased number of cases of civil and ethnic violence inRead MoreThe United States Should Promote Democracy998 Words   |  4 PagesI affirm Resolved: The United States ought to promote democracy in the Middle East Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, and is one with representative institutions and a rule of law. Observation 1: when we talk about promoting democracy, there are many ways to carry out this promotion. The United States is not obligated to take one course of action. Rather, the US can alter and adjust its approach to what is most suitable for thatRead MoreAp Comparative Government Summer Assignment1107 Words   |  5 Pagesthe makers of public policy in free, competitive election. 2. Procedural Democracy: Countries with free and fair elections for the real policymakers and eligibility of all adults meet the minimum requirements for this. 3. Substantive Democracy: Procedural democracy + more political rights and civil liberties 4. Democratization: the transformation from a nondemocratic regime to a procedural democracy to a substantive democracy. Either as the first government in a newly independent country or by replacing

Analyzing the legalization of drugs Free Essays

Introduction The increase in the drug cases during the years has lead several propositions from various individuals, one of which is the legalization of drugs. Since the widespread use of illegal drugs has eventually persisted throughout the expanse of time, and with the failure to contain the issue of illegal drug use, one suggested solution is to amend the law by legalizing the use of drugs or by putting it finally under the control and mandate of the law. However, the judicial system has had to cope with the situation. We will write a custom essay sample on Analyzing the legalization of drugs or any similar topic only for you Order Now The need to reexamine the existing methods of managing and handling these drug cases proportionally rose with the persistence of illegal drugs amidst existing legal sanctions. This had led to the processing of drug cases not only in court but even outside the court. This is to cope with the great number of drug offenders of varying levels getting apprehended everyday. There were several judicial strategies conceived in order to deal with the massive amount of drug cases. These judicial strategies include the creation of specialized divisions of a drug court in some trial courts, sped-up case processing procedures, deferred prosecution programs requiring court-supervised treatment and counseling and more. There are also combinations of these strategies, all to speed-up the processing of these cases. These cases are screened beforehand in order to know what degree and what level of judicial supervisions would be applicable for the case. This is also essential for early treatment intervention and rehabilitation of the offenders, so as to stop the continued drug abuse and the likelihood of crimes. On the other hand, arguments for the legalization of drugs are constantly being hurled forward in order to finally resolve the existing contentions against the ill-effects of drugs as well as for the perceived benefits both the government and the individuals can actually obtain from legalizing these substances. Arguments for the legalization of drugs One of the most common drugs in the society today is Marijuana. It is known scientifically as the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, where the leaves are being dried up, rolled into sheets of paper and be smoked just like cigarette or tobacco. It is the most often used illegal drug in the world, known in various names all over, like â€Å"pot,† â€Å"herb,† and â€Å"Mary Jane.† Some users can make use of marijuana by mixing it into food substances or drink it by brewing it with tea. The addictive element of marijuana is its Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC content. The effect of marijuana would depend on how strong or how potent is its Tetrahydrocannabinol content, thus also giving various effects on the marijuana users (Dell and Snyder 630). One of the reasons for finally legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is founded on the historical context of the â€Å"illegal† substance. In America, for instance, those who lived in the area of Jamestown back in 1611 raised marijuana under the order of King James I for the purpose of crafting rope for the naval force of the British. The â€Å"herb†, as it has been called, also served as a medicinal substance specifically for George Washington who planted marijuana within the premises of Mount Vernon and that the plant was categorized as a prescription medicine until 1937 (Smith 101). Marijuana also has positive sides which can be used as an argument for its eventual legalization. One of the beneficial effects of the use of marijuana rests on its utility for the control of symptoms, especially in chemotherapy procedures, as an â€Å"effective antiemetic† among patients with health profiles such as cancer and â€Å"AIDS patients with wasting syndrome† which led to â€Å"a greater ability to cope emotionally with disabling or life-threatening illness (Gorman 23). Moreover, under the rule of Emperor Chen Nung of ancient China five centuries ago, marijuana has been declared as well as a plant that has medicinal value in terms of curing malaria, rheumatism, constipation, â€Å"absentmindedness† as well as the claims for mental and bodily disorders suffered by women (Grinspoon and Bakalar 3). There is also the contention for the prospect of establishing a regulated drug market which can be a profitable source of government tax. This idea illustrates the observation that the widespread use of illegal drugs and its potential to be a market commodity can overcome the legal restrictions ascribed unto it.   A controlled degree of the regulation of marijuana, for example, creates, instead, an increase in government revenues that may outweigh or, at least, come close to the actual government payments on law enforcement against the production, distribution and consumption of marijuana (Caputo and Ostrom 475). Refutations Drug Abuse is one of the most common criminal cases in the society today. It is a form of substance abuse, just like alcoholism, since these illicit drugs are actually addictive in nature. Because of this, many people who are hooked on drugs cannot easily let go of the addiction, and would often lead to drug-related crimes like robbery, physical assault, or even murder. Not only does these drugs dangerous to others, but it is also harmful in the drug users’ body, causing the body to take into negative turns, like deterioration and organ failures. When a person smokes or inhales marijuana smoke, he would usually feel rapid heart beats, loss of coordination and decreased sense of balance, slow reaction rate and a dry mouth. These are already signs of marijuana intoxication, along with the expansion of blood vessels in the eye, that’s why marijuana users usually have red eyes. The effects of marijuana would usually last two to three hours, where the marijuana user would usually tend to be sleepy. The negative effects of using marijuana would be hindering the user’s short term memory, wherein it would be difficult for him to remember recent events. This would usually lead to car crashes and other accidents, since their sense of coordination is greatly affected. Another dangerous drug would be cocaine. This drug’s effect on the body is really damaging, where addiction to cocaine could bring about permanent damages in one’s body or even death. Cocaine has both short term and long term effects. The short term effects are immediately noticeable, but not that damaging as compared to the long term ones. The common short term effects are a feeling of boosted energy, a decrease in a person’s appetite, and a rather hyped heart rate and blood pressure. There are still many other types of illegal drugs and similar forms of substances that create ill-effects to the overall health of individuals, oftentimes resulting for them to commit crimes that they could not have possibly committed had they not taken these illegal substances. Conclusion Although several illegal substances can actually bring forth benefits for individuals, the negative consequences outweigh these positive sides. Further, not all of these substances have positive effects when used, and that the negative consequences of illegal drug use oftentimes lead to crimes and violence. For these reasons along with the refutations against the legalization of drugs, it can be asserted that the legalization of drugs should not be taken as the ultimate measure for solving illegal drug issues. Rather, the reasons behind the legalization of drugs should be taken as a means in finding the deeper refutations against it. References Caputo, M. R., and B. J. Ostrom. â€Å"Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source.† American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.4 (1994): 475-90. Cocaine-Effects.com. â€Å"Cocaine Effects.† 2001. Dell, D. D., and J. A. Snyder. â€Å"Marijuana: Pro and Con.† The American Journal of Nursing 77.4 (1977): 630. Gorman, M. â€Å"Substance Abuse.† The American Journal of Nursing 97.11 (1997): 23. Grinspoon, L., and J. B. Bakalar. â€Å"The History of Cannabis.†Ã‚   Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine. London: Yale University Press, 1997. 3. Smith, G. R. W. â€Å"Possession of Marijuana in San Mateo County: Some Social Costs of Criminalization.† Stanford Law Review 22.1 (1969): 101.    How to cite Analyzing the legalization of drugs, Essay examples

Implications of Integrated Reporting †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Implications of Integrated Reporting. Answer: Introduction The integrated report of National Australia Bank for the year 2014 states the way in which NAB is working to generate value for their stakeholders through the business strategies, governance, operating environment, non-financial and financial activities. They continue to challenge themselves to look at the performance of the business as a whole through the framework as set by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) (Annual review 2014, 2017). NAB contributes to the economy through paying dividends to their shareholders, purchasing services and products, payment towards taxes and salaries and investment in the direct community. Their main objective is to improve the performance towards risk management with regard to protect the experience of the customers and assist in satisfactory, sustainable returns for the stakeholders (Adams et al., 2016). At NAB, their approach is to create social and shareholders value. They are aiming to generate more opportunities to create more successful communities, assist the people to experience a healthy relationship in terms of monetary factors and donate towards a future prospective society. In the last 5 years they made their target investment into the reputation, culture and people. Further, their objective is to provide value to the community, customers, people and shareholders of NAB. The governance framework of NAB strengthens the accountability and efficient decision making approach of the organization. It is the base for directing the operations, culture and business practices. It is essential to how they provide value to their business, customers and shareholders. The board of NAB is responsible for NAB groups governance as they represent the shareholders. The board also helps in performing the responsibilities that includes remuneration, nomination, and assessment of risk, information technology and audit. The remuneration policy of NAB is constructed to connect the rewards with the shareholders value, retain and attract the employees with high-performance and promotion of long-term growth. They offer suitable incentives through various elements of remuneration on the basis of organizational and individual performance (Healey, 2013). They are committed to uphold a disclosure level to provide all the shareholders with equal and timely access to the information. Further, the information is delivered regularly through various communication methods that include written communication and publication of all the relevant reports. NAB offers their shareholders with various options of dividends. Many shareholders are there who have selected to receive the electronic communication instead of the paper communication. Moreover, the shareholders are entitled to the financial report of 2014, annual review of 2014 and summary review of 2014, upon request (Potter, Singh York, 2013). However, NAB has failed to communicate the following important matters in their integrated report: Growth prospect in their integrated report the financial position of the company is mentioned for only two years. However, to assess the growth prospect of any company at least last five years financial information is required Dividend payment in their integrated report they only mentioned the date for interim and final dividend, however, they failed to mention the amount of dividend paid to the shareholders. Culture in the IR of 2014, they failed to outline the culture and value as the important part of implementing the strategies and developing the strong conduct of ethical issues. Disclosures and transparency they failed to mention the transparency level regarding the crucial decisions and th matters that have great impact on the shareholders, profitability and the sustainability (Feng, 2014). Arguments for integrated reporting against corporate social reporting The major arguments that the integrated report (IR) reveals the complete perspective from the materiality aspects is that it presents the spirit of integrating the financial information with non-financial information through the connectivity of the issues related to the material facts of the company. On the contrary, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report accounts that the company is responsible for their activities. The transparency from the governance prospect and composition is crucial to assure the responsibility of the specific body. The IR increases the accountability and transparency of the reports. Accountability is associated with the stewardship concept and the duties of the organization (Watson, 2015). Moreover, the CSR approach discloses the ethical behaviour that refers to the integrity and ethics principles of the organization. On the contrary, the IR framework states the governance and materiality aspects of the report. The IR framework states the term of common behaviours and values and the shared norms as part of the relationship and social capital. Although, it is not defined clearly by any of the principles of CSR, it requires that the issued report shall disclose the overall picture of responsibility and performance of the organization. While, the IR framework concentrate on two approaches with regard to create new significance on their principle of completeness and relevance. Further, an integrated report must include all the matters related to material facts, both in a negative as well as positive, in a balanced manner and without any material error (Martnez del Bosque, 2013). CSR argues for the balanced, comparable, accessible, and understandable, timely, balanced and accurate information and the characteristics that are materialized for the principles of comparability, timeless, balance, accuracy and clarity. However, the IR has considered these facts and made the necessary improvements through expressing the requirement for concise and clear annual reports (Prez del Bosque, 2014). Conclusion From the above discussion, it is concluded that most of the definitions, terms, principles and elements from the CSR are found within the IR framework, moreover, it provide in much wider sense and deliver deeper understanding with regard to the way in which the organizations shall report and disclose the information in the financial report. The primary driver the trend of IR is to increase the awareness in the environment of business on the accountability aspects towards the profit, people and shareholders. This will lead to greater focus on the requirements and expectations of the users and shareholders for the reports as are issued by the organizations. Therefore, it is found that the IR that is emerging from the CSR and the sustainability report provides the guarantee that the preparer of the annual reports of the organization is aware about the requirements of the information, concerns of the shareholders and are fully aware about the information included in the annual reports an d are thereby can be widely accepted as the alternative for the corporate social reporting. Reference Adams, C. A., Potter, B., Singh, P. J., York, J. (2016). Exploring the implications of integrated reporting for social investment (disclosures).The British Accounting Review,48(3), 283-296. Annual review 2014. (2017). www.nab.com.au/. Retrieved 30 April 2017, from https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/nabrwd/About-Us/2014-annual-review-2.pdf Feng, T. (2014).Revealing integrated thinking through Integrated Reporting-An exploratory study within an Australian context(Doctoral dissertation, Macquarie University). Healey, M. (2013). Integrated reporting-one company's experience.Keeping good companies,65(5), 262. Martnez, P., del Bosque, I. R. (2013). CSR and customer loyalty: The roles of trust, customer identification with the company and satisfaction.International Journal of Hospitality Management,35, 89-99. Potter, B., Singh, P. J., York, J. (2013, July). Corporate social investment through integrated reporting: Critical issues. InSeventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting ConferenceAsia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Prez, A., del Bosque, I. R. (2014). An integrative framework to understand how csr affects customer loyalty through identification, emotions and satisfaction.Journal of Business Ethics, 1-14. Watson, L. (2015). Corporate social responsibility research in accounting.Journal of Accounting Literature,34, 1-16.

White Essays (1570 words) - Tigers, Bengal Tiger, White Tiger

White Tigers White tigers are an endangered species and it is said that less than a dozen have been seen in India in about a hundred years. In fact no sightings have been reported since 1951. This may be caused by the fact that the Royal Bengal tiger population has dropped from 40,000 to 1,800 in the past ten years and as few as one in every 10,000 tigers is white (www.cranes.org/whitetiger). White tigers are neither albinos nor a special species. They differ from the normally colored tigers by having blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy white fur with black stripes. If they were albinos they would have pink eyes and a lighter nose color. A tigers stripes are just like human fingerprints meaning that no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. White tigers aren't necessarily born from other white tigers. White tigers get their color by a double recessive allele. A Bengal tiger with two normal alleles or one normal and one white allele is colored orange. Only a double dose of the mutant allele results in white tigers (www.cranes.org/whitetiger). In fact it is even normal to find normal colored cubs in a litter of white tigers (www.5tigers.org.com). The scientific name for a tiger is Panthera Tigris Tigris. It was initially felis tigris but the genus was changed to panthera because of the tiger's characteristic round pupils (www.geocities.com). The largest of the big cats may grow to over 12 feet long from its head to the tip of its tail, and weigh as much as 660 pounds (Cavendish,696). The white tiger has long been the focus of human fear and respect for years because of its powerful muscular body, loud roar, and frightening snarl revealing large, sharp teeth. Tigers spend all of their time alone which is very unusual (Thapar,115). Each tiger has its own territory, which it marks by scratching the barks of trees, spraying urine, and leaving piles of feces (Cavendish,696). Males are particularly aggressive toward other males and in some cases fights result in death of the weaker tiger. The territories may contain two or three female tigers but in most cases the area extends to over 40 square miles (DuTemple,15). Tigers are nocturnal animals and prefer to hunt their food under the cover of dense vegetation. They hunt by stealth, stalking their prey silently through the trees in a low crouch until it is within 66 feet (McClung107). The tiger then bounds forward, knocking its victim over with a swipe of its huge forepaw and pouncing on their victims back as it falls to the ground (Cavendish,696). Tigers never creep up on their prey in the same direction as the wind is blowing because the scent of the tiger will be carried to their victim (Morris,87). The tiger kills small prey by a single bite to the back of the neck with its large, powerful jaws and sharp teeth (Cavendish,696). It deals with larger prey by getting a suffocating grip on the throat. Once it has made a kill, the tiger usually drags the carcass under cover before beginning to feed (Morris,87). As the tiger eats it will make loud growling and snarling noises to warn the predators in the area (Thapar,52). If for some reason the tiger has to leave its dinner before it is done eating it will cover the body with twigs and leaves before leaving (Morris,88). Tigers need to eat about 40 pounds of meat a day and will commonly cover up to 12 miles every night in search of their prey (McClung,150). Tigers usually eat deer, wild pigs, wild cattle, young rhinos, baby elephants, domestic animals at near by farms, and occasionally leopards (Morris,88). Once in a while a tiger might eat a human but this is much less common than you would think, because tigers are very shy of human beings and try to stay away from them (Morris,88). Once tigers have reached three or fours years old they are old enough to breed. Tigers breed every two to three years and the female is the one that goes looking for a mate (McClung,212). The females will go around leaving their scents on bushes or rocks and wait for interested males to come. When the cubs are born, however, the male and female tigers go their separate ways and the female is left with the responsibility of raising the cubs. The average time that tigers are pregnant is usually about 108 days before the cubs are born (www.noahsays.com). The female usually has litters of

Why Is Writing an Essay So Difficult?

Why Is Writing an Essay So Difficult?Writing essays is difficult, but not impossible, if you know what are good essay topics. An essay is not merely the preparation of facts, it is the expression of ideas and views. This is why it is important to find the right essay topic.If you wish to get a good idea for a topic, look at the topics from the recent past. See how many of them have been accepted. For example, some recent subjects are: Richard Dawkins' A New Reason for God, the Dark Ages, President Kennedy's Farewell Address, and a new wave of personal computers. If you look at these subjects and think about which ones you could write about, you would see that there are a lot of topics that can be used to prepare the right essay topic.To select a topic, you have to check the length of the topic and the relevance of the topic. If the topic does not fit the topic you would like to do at school, then it is probably not suitable. Sometimes people may choose to take a topic that is not rel evant to their subject, which means that they are wasting time.What are good essay topics are ones that are useful and has a clear interest for students. For example, I was not interested in the topic of aliens until recently when I had to write an essay on my last day of school. In my last semester, we had many interesting topics, one of which was about aliens.My favorite topic during this period was the studies on either happiness or sadness. Another topic was the promotion of the study of beauty in art and in life. The list goes on.Essays need to be written in such a way that they are well researched. This involves giving references to what is known and what is believed. You will need to write an outline of the essay as well as writing the first few chapters. You can then use the outline to write the chapters, which are more detailed.The one thing that makes a good topic is being interesting and provides lots of information. It should be something that the student is interested i n. Once you start researching, you will be surprised at the list of topics that you could write about.

Gun Control misc3 essays

Gun Control misc3 essays A The place is a New York. The time is late at night. A man is walking alone on the sidewalk. A car slows down next to the man. The drive opens the widow, pulls out a gun and open fires. B This is an all too similar scene in big cities across the US. People shooting people for absolutely no reason or some stupid reason that could have been easily discussed. Gun Control is a necessity in controlling crime. However normal people should be able to own guns 1 government can/should regulate the sale, possession of any firearm. 1 crime can happen anywhere in the US. There are some things being done on this problem. Lets keep the guns out of the criminal hands and keep them in the normal people's hand 1 This is a bill that prevents people with a criminal record of purchasing a gun. 2 7 day waiting period before the purchase of a firearm 4 No criminals or people with a mental illness are prohibited. 5 20,000 laws in the federal, state and local sale distribution and use of firearms a Prohibit guns in city limits, vehicles, and concealed weapons. 2 Stiffer penalties for firearm violence a reduces gun crime by making punishments so sever that potential criminals either won't commit without the use of a gun or won't commit crime at all 3 Prohibiting high-risk groups from owning guns a prohibit criminals, the young, drug addicts, people with mental illness b if they own a gun they get stiff penalties. c in today's law system the purchaser need not to provide evidence that they belong in that class. Most homicidal ...

What Are the 7 Principles of Design

What Are the 7 Principles of Design SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re taking any of AP Art courses, like 2-D or 3-D studio art, you absolutely have to understand the core principles of design. That’s because the elements and principles of design are a foundational element of great art! In this article, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about the seven principles of design, including: An overview of the principles of design An introduction to key concepts An in-depth look at each of the principles one-by-one Three top tips for incorporating these principles into your own work Let’s get started! What Are the Principles of Design? If you’ve ever played a sport, then you know that there are some fundamental rules that you have to follow if you want to be successful. For example, if you play soccer, then you know that one of the rules is that you have to kick the ball into the opposing team’s goal in order to score a point! While you don’t have to follow this rule- your team could just kick the ball to one another for 90 minutes- you’ll have a much better chance of winning if you do. The principles of design are a lot like the rules of a sport. That’s because the principles of design are the rules and principles that artists and designers use to create visual compositions. Artists use these principles to make sure whatever they’re making accurately and effectively delivers their intended message to their audience. 2Key Concepts: Visual Language and Design In order to understand the principles of design, you first have to have a handle on two key concepts: visual language and design in general. Visual language is the idea that we communicate through visual symbols. For example, take a look at the clothes you’re wearing. Do they have a logo on them, like the Nike â€Å"swoosh† or the Ralph Lauren â€Å"polo pony†? If they do, you’re participating in visual language! Visual language is the way that designers and artists communicate messages and meaning through their work. They can use things like colors, lines, and shapes to make you feel or think a certain way. And since this is the ultimate goal of design, it’s important to understand how visual language works! The second key concept is the definition of design itself. You probably hear the term thrown around a lot, whether it’s about the design of the newest Tesla car or the launch of a new designer clothing label. But when it comes to principles of design, the term â€Å"design† has a very specific definition. In this case, design is the process of selecting and organizing elements or components in order to fulfill a specific purpose. This purpose may be functional, aesthetic, or both! So when we talk about design in this article, we’re specifically talking about how design elements are used to support the artist’s ultimate goal, whether that’s marketing a product, telling a story, or creating the next great artistic masterpiece. What Are the Principles of Design Used For? Artists use the principles of design to make sure that the work they’re creating...well, works. For instance, let’s say a graphic designer is supposed to create a poster for a presidential candidate. It’s going to be really important for the designer to use the principles of design during their design process to ensure the finished poster is visually communicating the right message to potential voters. The same holds true for fine art, too. Artists paint, sculpt, and create in order to communicate with their viewers. Let’s say an artist is worried about how much Americans consume on a daily basis. That may become the subject of their work, and they’ll pay close attention to how their finished piece speaks to viewers about issues of capitalism. (A good example of how opinions on topics like consumerism and capitalism can be expressed through fine art is the painting â€Å"Landscape,† by American painter Mark Tansey.) On the flip side, these principles are also used to determine whether a piece of art is a success or failure. When a visual composition uses the principles of design well, it will succeed in fulfilling its purpose (whatever that purpose might be). But just because a work is successful doesn’t mean you have to like it. That’s because liking or disliking a visual piece involves your personal taste. The difference between the principles of design and taste is important. As an artist, it's important to separate your work from taste. This is true for many commercial artists, where their clients’ tastes might not reflect their own. Even fine artists need to be able to do this so that they aren’t conforming their art to others’ tastes. For a critic, the separation helps them make better judgements. While there’s no real objective way to critique art, the principles of design provide a kind of rubric for assessing whether a piece of art functions. It might make more sense to think of this in terms of baking. Let’s say you’re judging a cookie baking contest, and when you go to taste one cookie, it’s actually a small, round pizza. The baker argues that you should consider it a cookie: it’s small, flat, round, and baked in an oven. But just because the pizza lines up with the qualifications of a cookie in some ways, it’s missing some other important criteria: it’s not sweet, it’s not cake-like, and it’s certainly not dessert. At the end of the day, a pizza just isn’t a cookie. The seven principles of design work the same way. Critics can use them as a measuring stick for art. If the goal of art is to communicate a message, then the fundamentals of design give critics a way of checking whether an art piece does so effectively. For critics, the seven principles of design also help ensure they aren’t labeling works as â€Å"bad† just because they don’t suit their personal tastes, too. The 7 Principles of Design: Explained Now that you’re familiar with the ideas behind the principles of design, let's take a closer look at each of the seven principles. How an artist uses these elements is important to the overall quality and effectiveness of their work. One quick note: if you Google the principles of design, you’ll find lists that feature five, six, or even eleven principles! That’s because there’s not 100 percent consensus on what the fundamental principles of design are. So to create our list, we picked the principles that appeared the most often across the widest variety of sources. Ginevra de'Benci by Leonardo da Vinci Principle 1: Contrast Just like in literature, visual contrast happens when different elements of a piece are noticeably different from one another. When contrasting elements are juxtaposed, or place next to one another, it draws the viewer’s attention. One of the common ways artists do this is by using contrasting colors close to one another. (These are colors that appear on opposite sides of the color wheel from one another.) But this can also be done through the size or types of objects, too. Take a look at Leonardo da Vinci’s work, Ginevra de’ Benci, pictured above. Notice the contrast of the woman’s skin against the dark background of the trees. Da Vinci uses contrast to draw your eye to what he considers to be the most important part of the piece- the woman’s face. Jurassic Park/Universal Pictures Principle 2: Emphasis Emphasis is important for helping viewers see the most important part of a visual design. Oftentimes, we don’t notice emphasis when it’s done well...but it definitely stands out when it’s done poorly! For example, think about the billboards you see when you drive down the highway. The best ones put the most important information in big, bold letters, or use a related image to capture your attention. But when the type is too small or the images are too cluttered, the advertisement doesn’t work as well. The movie poster for Jurassic Park is a great example of emphasis. It puts the most important information front-and-center: from a glance, you know that title and opening date of the movie. But the prominent outline of a skeleton also gives you a pretty good idea of what the movie is going to be about. (Spoiler alert: it’s about dinosaurs!) It’s important to note that emphasis is closely linked to other principles of design. For example, the Jurassic Park poster uses contrast and space to create emphasis. Other posters, like this one for Gravity, use movement, space, and contrast to do the same thing. Principle 3: Pattern Pattern happens when an object, image, or symbol is uniformly repeated throughout a visual composition. Anything can be turned into a pattern, though some classic examples include intersecting lines, shapes, and spirals. Patterns can do many things for a design. It can set the tone for the piece, like if the background features a 70s mod pattern or a repeating image, like an animal. A pattern can also set the stage for other design elements, like contrast or emphasis. In the image above, you can see how the star pattern combines with contrast to reveal a patriotic star, which becomes the emphasis of the advertisement. Principle 4: Repetition In design, repetition is used to unify and strengthen a design. Unlike a pattern, where one thing is repeated consistently throughout a design, repetition is the repeated use of certain elements, like color, shape, or font. When repetition is used correctly, it creates consistency in a design. As a brand, Target Stores are famous for their use of repetition. They use color repetition to help viewers immediately associate an advertisement with their store. A good example of this is the advertisement above, which uses the repetition of colors and shapes (the concentric circles of the Target logo) to reiterate their brand. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh Principle 5: Movement It can seem strange to talk about movement when some visual compositions are still images. But movement as a principle of design is about the movement of a viewer’s eye across a work. Good art leads the viewer from one important element to the next. If a viewer’s eye tends to get stuck in one place, it’s a sign that some of the principles of design aren’t working quite right! Using movement as a part of your design process has an added benefit: it helps viewers feel connected to what they’re seeing. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is an excellent example of movement in action. In this painting, the swirls of color in the sky carry the viewer’s gaze from left to right, which makes you feel like you’re experiencing the night breeze. But on a mechanical level, Van Gogh’s brush strokes create movement, too. The sweeping lines on the mountains, for example, help[ bring your eye to the village, and following the vertical lines on the plant in the foreground return your gaze back to the sky. Steve Jobs Tribute by Jonathan Mak Principle 6: Space In design, space refers to the area around different visual elements. There are two types of space: positive space and negative space. Positive space is the area that the subject of the composition occupies. If you go back to da Vinci’s portrait above, you’ll see that the woman occupies a lot of the portrait’s positive space. As a designer, you use positive space to display the most important elements of your design. On the other hand, negative space- which is sometimes called â€Å"white space†- is the space around objects! If you look back at the Jurassic Park poster, all of the black surrounding the central image and the other copy is a textbook example of negative space. Negative space can be tricky for designers since it seems empty, but it’s actually helping to create emphasis. It helps viewers quickly discern what’s important while also giving a design â€Å"room to breathe.† Positive and negative space work together to create emphasis and visual appeal. Check out the piece above by graphic designer Jonathan Mak, which he made as a memorial to Steve Jobs after his death. He plays with the negative space of the Apple logo, turning the normal bite mark into the profile of the company’s late founder. Principle 7: Balance Now it’s time to talk about the last (but perhaps most important) principle of design: balance. Every element in a visual composition carries weight. The more an element is emphasized, the heavier it is. A designer’s goal is to balance the weight of each object on the canvas in order to create a feeling of balance for the viewer. There are two ways to do this: through symmetrical balance and through asymmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance adds objects to both sides of the center of a work to create symmetry. You can think of this as balancing a set of old-timey scales. You have to add the same amount of weight to each side to keep them level! Asymmetrical balance happens when objects and elements aren’t spread evenly across the composition, but how they’re placed creates a sense of balance anyway. Oftentimes, asymmetrical balance helps create a sense of movement and draws your eye from one element to another. In the photo above, you can see asymmetrical balance at work. The hand and donut are in the bottom of the image, and there’s no identical image at the top! The balance here comes from the amount of negative space in the photo. By limiting the emphasized image to a small part of the picture, the photo maintains its balance. The 3 Best Tips for Using the Principles of Design So how can you use the principles of design in your own work? Here are our three top tips for using principles of design to take your art to the next level. Tip 1: Embrace Negative Space Like we mentioned earlier, it’s tempting to fill up every corner of a composition with something. After all, we often think of space as â€Å"wasted,† right? But remember: negative space is incredibly important to helping the more important elements of a work shine. A good way to do this is to follow the advice of Coco Chanel, the famous French fashion designer, who famously said: â€Å"Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.† Take a step back and look at your composition. Is there something you can take off, shrink, or move that will help create more balance and space in your work? Tip 2: Rethink the Axis of Symmetrical Balance When it comes to symmetrical balance, we sometimes think about it like a Rorschach test where the balance of an image is either left/right or top/bottom. But in fact, the axis of balance for a visual composition can bisect the image at any angle. Take a look at the picture above. The line of symmetry is on a diagonal from bottom right to top left. The image is still balanced, but the axis is tilted, which gives the image a lot more visual interest. It also comes across as more modern, too! Tip 3: Take a Step Back When you’re working on a composition, you’re normally pretty up close and personal with it. But that can sometimes skew your perspective of the piece as a whole. That’s why one of the best ways to see if a composition works is to view it from a distance. (This is especially true if your composition is meant to be viewed from a distance, like with a large painting or advertisement.) Backing away from the screen or canvas will blur the elements together and help you get a better sense of whether the contrast, movement, and balance of a piece communicates your message. What's Next? Are you looking for more AP classes to take before applying for college? Here’s a list of every AP class (and test!) But be careful: AP classes can be more challenging than their general education counterparts. Get the inside information on how hard AP classes really are so you can make sure you’re balancing a challenging schedule with making good grades. So what’s the benefit to taking AP courses? Well, most high schools in the United States add points to your final grade to create a weighted average. Learn more about weighted averages and how they affect things like your graduation rank and college admissions chances here.