Thursday, April 30, 2020
Should Drugs Be Legalized Essays - Drug Culture, Drug Control Law
Should Drugs Be Legalized? For several decades drugs have been one of the major problems of society. There have been escalating costs spent on the war against drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation, but the problem still exists. Not only has the drug problem increased but drug related problems are on the rise. Drug abuse is a killer in our country. Some are born addicts(crack babies), while others become users. The result of drug abuse is thousands of addicts in denial. The good news is the United States had 25,618 total arrests and 81,762 drug seizures due to drugs in 1989 alone, but the bad news is the numbers of prisoners have increased by 70 percent which will cost about $30 million dollars. Despite common wisdom, the U.S isn't experiencing a drug related crime wave. Government surveys show between 1980 - 1987 burglary rates fell 27 percent, robbery 21 percent and murders 13 percent, but with new drugs on the market these numbers are up. One contraversial solution is the proposal of legalizing drugs. Although people feel that legalizing drugs would lessen crime, drugs should remain illegal in the U.S because there would be an increase of drug abuse and a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS. Many believe that legalizing drugs would lessen crime. They point out that the legalization of drugs would deter future criminal acts. They also emphasize and contrast Prohibition. When the public realized that Prohibition could not be enforced the law was repealed. From this, one may infer the same of legalizing drugs. Legalizing alcohol didn't increase alcoholism, so why would drugs increase drug abuse? However, drugs should not be legalized because there would be an increase in drug abuse due to its availability. Once legalized, drugs would become cheaper and more accessible to people who previously had not tried drugs, because of the high price or the legal risk. Drug abuse would skyrocket! Addicts who tend to stop, not by choice, but because the drugs aren't accessible would now feed the addiction if drugs were made legal. These drug addicts would not be forced to kick the habit due to the availability of the drug they would partake eagerly. The temptation to use drugs would increase when advertisements for cocaine, heroin and marijuana are displayed on television. Instead of money used by employed addicts, you will see welfare funds used to purchase drugs. If welfare funds were being misused, this would cause a major problem in the economy. Drugs must not be legalized. It puts our country at a terrible risk. Health officials have shown that the legalization of drugs would cause a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS. AIDS poses a growing threat to addicts, and thus to society as a whole. The virus that causes AIDS is growing, due to drug addicts who share needles and syringes. The sharing of such needles by intravenous drug users helps increase the spread of AIDS. "Infection among IV drug abusers is continuing to occur at a very steady rate," warn Richard E. Chaisson director of the AIDS service at John Hopkins University. In the U.S gay men still make up the primary risk group, although 750,000 to 1 million drug addicts are believed to be at risk to AIDS nationally. The problem here is the sharing of needles, which is causing the spread of AIDS. IV drug abusers are killing our nation at an amazingly fast speed. AIDS which surfaced in the 80's is now on the rise and even more deadly to IV drug users. The sharing of needles must be stopped. Drugs should not be legalized. Although people feel that legalizing drugs would lessen crime, drugs should remain illegal in the U.S because there would be an increase of drug abuse and a rapid increase of diseases such as AIDS. The United States can not afford this problem. It has become a world power by strengthening its people not by killing them. Drug abuse has gotten worse, with its effects on crack babies, drug addicts, and the I.V user. There must be education for the survival of this nation, not legalization.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Ridleys sea turtle essays
Ridleys sea turtle essays Each species of sea turtle is distinctive in appearance and behavior, all sea turtles have certain characteristics in common the shell consist of a carapace (upper part) and plastron (lower part), which are joined together by cartilage called a bridge. in most species with the exception of the leatherback scutes cover the carapace. Like all turtles sea turtles have no external ears, they hear best at low frequencies and their sense of smell is excellent. Though their vision underwater is good, on land they are nearsighted. Sea turtles spend most of their time underwater but must come up to breath. During routine activities sea turtles can dive for about three to five minutes. Sea turtles can sleep for several hours underwater, but their ability to hold their breath is shortened by high activity and stress. This is why sea turtles drown in shrimp nets and other gear in a short time. Adult sea turtles sleep near rocks or under ledges. Hatchlings and juveniles sleep on the surface with their front flippers pulled back over the carapace. Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempi) Ridleys are the smallest of the sea turtles. The Kemp's ridley is slightly larger than the olive ridley, measuring 24 - 28 inches in carapace length and weighing 78 - 100 pounds when mature. An adult is olive green on top and yellowish in color on the bottom, with a large head and powerful jaws. The carapace is circular to heart shaped. Hatchlings are dark gray and about an inch and a half long. Kemp's ridleys were first discovered and described in 1880 by Samuel Garman. But until the 1940's was not recognized as a species and was often confused with the olive ridley and the loggerhead. Confusion continued through the 1950's with many biologist convinced that the ridleys sea turtle was a sterile hybrid of the green and the loggerhead turtles. No one could find nesting beaches or an egg-bearing female. ...
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Write for Any Magazine
Write for Any Magazine Write-what-you-know has its purpose. Why bother gaining experience or studying anything new if you cant use it? Why become an expert? As a freelancer, if you limit your writing to only what you know, you become stale after a period of time. I profess that you can write about for almost any magazine. Here are three tricks to picking up a magazine and determining a pitch for the editor: 1) Interview an expert in a magazines field. You may not know squat about the subject matter of a magazine, but if you interview someone who does, you have the makings of a great profile piece. Sure, you need to read up on the individual so you dont sound completely naive, but youll learn soon enough that most experts thrive on explaining what they do. Ask a few pertinent, intelligent questions, and theyll take off like a rocket, feeding you all the information you need for a beautiful piece for magazines you never thought youd ever qualify to write for. 2) Study press releases. That means study ALL press releases. Go to prweb.com/ or prnewswire.com/ and read whats new. Not only will you find experts quoted who you can contact for item 1) above, but you can learn about new findings, studies, revelations, inventions, and happenings that make for great features. Whats fantastic about these releases is that they list names and contact information for the people who know the most about the topic matter. Right there in oneplace, you have the facts you need to outline a great feature. 3) Pitch something evergreen. A subject like How to make the most of a conference can apply to magazines for fishermen, golfers, doctors, teachers, writers, accountants, landscapers, or anyone who attends a professional conference. How to hire a great employee from a mediocre pool of applicants. How to make your website sticky and appealing.Ã How New Years resolutions really do work. Travel deals you never see in the ads. The list goes on and on about how to take a very general, how-to-live-better piece and apply it to most topics. So, take those three simple concepts, and unless the magazines require you have an advanced degree in the subject matter, you have an open door to endless material for all those magazines you see in Writers Market . . . and FundsforWriters.
Monday, February 17, 2020
On the Chesapeake Colonists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
On the Chesapeake Colonists - Essay Example On the Chesapeake Colonists On an angle, this could be true, considering the English colonists were not as experienced as their Spanish counterparts. They were just beginning their conquest to the New World years after hearing about the success of the Spanish government in sending colonizers to the famed nation rich in gold. They are so ignorant they sent very few people on such an important mission who have been exposed to atrocities and calamities. They probably have not been prepared physically, emotionally and socially. Their inspiration for the trip was the famous stories of the successes of their Spanish brothers so that they probably were just driven by the thought that what their neighbor was able to do, they could also succeed in. They knew pretty well the possible harsh relations they can get from the earlier colonists of other American soils so they prepared themselves for attacks from them. However, they did not seem to have been well-prepared for the attack of the Indians who claimed the lives of a part of the company. In addition, the ills brought about by diseases rampant during that time that killed most of the small company shows how unprepared they are for what should have been expected and prepared for. Such circumstances are pointed out to show the ignorance of the English settlers. Coming from one of the most civilized nations during that time, the English colonists are well-informed about the latest technological discoveries, modern inventions that made life easier and other information that shaped the English civilization.
Monday, February 3, 2020
THE GREAT GLOBAL WARNING SWINDLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
THE GREAT GLOBAL WARNING SWINDLE - Essay Example The relentless quest for the so called betterment of society has resulted in a drastic increase in the so called greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Many studies have shown that these gases that are released from factories and other manufacturing establishments have contributed to warming of the earthââ¬â¢s atmosphere. This factor could have far reaching consequences with regard to survival of the human species and other living organisms in the planet in the sense that increased temperature could result in rising of the levels of water bodies in the world. The argument is that polar ice caps will begin to melt resulting in rise in water levels of the oceans and seas across the globe. This rise in water levels can result in large areas of inhabited land being inundated by seas and oceans, ultimately resulting in destruction of human habitation (and other species). In effect, the layman is now presented with an apocalypse view of what might happen to Mot her Earth if this so called progress of technology is left unchecked. In fact, it is one of the most controversial and contentious issues that is probably facing the world in the long run. What is to be considered is that temperatures have risen overall that life in any form is precious and any activity that is detrimental to this should be stopped. This argument, primarily by environmentalists and those concerned with sustainability is that industrialization in its current form is a sure way to ensure destruction of life on planet earth. But other arguments by equally qualified scientists and other experts show that human activity does not have the capability to imbalance the power of nature. In other words, the so called pollution and the greenhouse gases is not a major factor in contributing to the future of life on earth for any species including human beings. One of the most controversial films regarding the
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Nucleus Real Time Operating System
Nucleus Real Time Operating System What is Real Time OS? An ongoing working framework (RTOS) is a working framework (OS) proposed to serve constant application process information as it comes in, ordinarily without buffering postponements. Preparing time necessities (counting any OS deferral) are measured in tenths of seconds or shorter. NUCLEUS RTOS: INTRODUCTON: The Nucleus RTOS is conveyed in more than 3 billion gadgets and gives a profoundly versatile small scale part based ongoing working framework intended for versatility and dependability. Framework dependability can be enhanced utilizing lightweight memory dividing bolster that can work with or without MMU/MPU helped security in frameworks spreading over the scope of aviation, modern, and restorative applications. Designers can make full utilization of multi-center arrangements over the range of Microcontroller and Microprocessor SoCs utilizing SMP and AMP designs to coordinate numerous working frameworks. To meet the force necessities of todays propelled outlines, designers can ease advancement with incorporated force administration in Nucleus that incorporates support for DVFS, profound rest modes, and force/clock gating. FEATURE AND BENEFITS: Stable deterministic portion. â⬠¢ Nucleus Process Model. â⬠¢ Power administration API for Low Power Design. â⬠¢ Connectivity (CAN, 12C, SPI). â⬠¢ USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 with Nucleus RTOS. â⬠¢ Fully Integrated Network Stack, Application Protocols, and Wireless. â⬠¢ Multicore Support. â⬠¢ File Systems and Storage with Nucleus RTOS. â⬠¢ Developing Secure Embedded Systems with Nucleus RTOS. â⬠¢ User Interface Development with Nucleus RTOS. â⬠¢ Integrated IDE for Nucleus RTOS Development. â⬠¢ Supported Processors. ARCHITECTURE SUPPORT: Tutor Implanted gives backing to driving processors, gadgets and stages. Custom processors are additionally bolstered yet may not show up on some rundown. FILE SYSTEM: Implanted framework originators can rapidly execute essential flaw tolerant capacity and information administration for a wide assortment of document arrangements and physical stockpiling gadgets. Designers can make utilization of on-chip recollections and also remotely joined physical and system stockpiling. SQLite sitting on top of the stockpiling subsystem gives database access to all information utilized by the application. Core document framework and capacity gives: â⬠¢ VFAT good document framework â⬠¢ Nucleus SAFE flaw tolerant glimmer document framework â⬠¢ Virtual Document Framework (VFS) interface for regular interface to any record framework â⬠¢ Tightly incorporated into all Core middleware organizing, USB, and so on â⬠¢ Scalable arrangement can design for foot shaped impression, execution, or usefulness â⬠¢ Numerous capacity media sorts bolstered: oSD/MMC oUSB Mass Stockpiling (Host and Gadget) oFlash memory: NAND, NOR, and DataFlash DETAILS: FAT backing : The MS DOS-perfect FAT document framework configuration has a huge introduce base, bolstered by every working framework being used today. Outlined from the beginning for inserted applications, the Core FAT document framework empowers various undertakings to get to record data at the same time and backings FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32 formats.An boundless number of drives and discretionary long document names are bolstered. Shortcoming tolerant glimmer stockpiling : The Core SAFE record framework gives a deficiency tolerant glimmer document framework with wear-leveling backing. The Core SAFE record framework is a safeguard arrangement that totally ensures against startling force disappointment or resets. Refined wear leveling and compose reserving components minimize keeps in touch with blaze notwithstanding when incessant information redesigns are needed. One Programming interface rearranges application improvement : A brought together Programming interface lessens unpredictability, offering a solitary approach to get to various record framework and media document. Support for industry principles : From the MS DOS-good FAT record framework to Blame Tolerant Frameworks, Core administrations influence industry guidelines to encourage quick organization of arrangements. 100% force come up short flexibility: Core SAFE document framework ensures the honesty of imperative data. Support for off-the-rack equipment : An extensive variety of standard media sorts and executions are upheld out of the case. Simple apportioning: Isolate and compose a solitary physical stockpiling gadget as per application needs including the capacity to make and evacuate parts at run time. SQLite : SQLite adds social database backing to Core applications. A totally capacity arranged Programming interface does not build application string check or oblige outside procedures. Information put away in this organization is promptly available by different frameworks of for all intents and purposes any OS. MEMORY: The Core RTOS is taking into account a miniaturized scale bit structural engineering that can dwell in as meager 2 KB of Blaze, yet grow to cover the greater part of the convention, gadget, and network bolster found in full highlighted working frameworks, including multi-center and applications obliging memory insurance for more noteworthy framework dependability. Sent in abundance of 3 billion gadgets throughout the most recent 20 years, Core has the long haul security and unwavering quality for the most requesting situations. Frameworks going all through the medicinal, modern, hand-held, car, security, aviation, and keen vitality markets have all depended on Core as their stage of decision. With the Core RTOS implanted framework fashioners can: â⬠¢ Rely on a demonstrated and stable RTOS bit with more than 3 billion gadget organization â⬠¢ Access very much reported source code â⬠¢ Deliver hard constant execution â⬠¢ Scale from a base memory foot shaped impression as meager as 2 kb â⬠¢ Design frameworks with low power utilization â⬠¢ Implement responsive frameworks with quick boot time and sub microsecond idleness for intrude on administration and connection exchanging â⬠¢ Maximize execution on multicore system. FEATURES: Application interface : â⬠¢ Familiar RTOS portion APIs for multi-strung application improvement â⬠¢ ANSI C â⬠¢ POSIX â⬠¢ C++ Center administrations : â⬠¢ Integrated force administration â⬠¢ Dynamic errand creation and erasure â⬠¢ Application clocks (One and multi-shot clocks) â⬠¢ Static and dynamic memory allotment Between assignment correspondences and synchronization : â⬠¢ Counting Semaphores and Mutexes (Need Legacy support) â⬠¢ Event Banners â⬠¢ Fixed and variable lines and channels â⬠¢ Mailboxes â⬠¢ UNIX-like signs Constant MMU administrations : â⬠¢ Deterministic level memory model supportGraceful treatment of slips in the field â⬠¢ Nucleus MMU empowers bit application, application-application memory insurance Upgraded administrations : â⬠¢ Powerful form and setup framework â⬠¢ Granular control of framework foot shaped impression, execution, and usefulness â⬠¢ Device chief for institutionalized driver interface â⬠¢ Automatic instatement â⬠¢ Portable reflection layer â⬠¢ Task stack-checking APIs for ideal run-time stack utilization â⬠¢ Two-level interfere with handling model for effective intrude on administration â⬠¢ No interfere with lock-out amid piece administration calls greatly responsive and low inertness Element stacking administrations : â⬠¢ Enables field overhauls â⬠¢ Supports insignificant RAM foot shaped impression â⬠¢ Integrated with MMU administrations Multicore support : â⬠¢ Inter-process correspondence through rpmsg over virtIO and MCAPI â⬠¢ AMP(asymmetric multi-preparing) for homogenous and heterogeneous centers in managed and unsupervised situations â⬠¢ Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) bit with backing for Bound Computational Space (BCD); delicate and hard liking, SMP proficient middleware SCHEDULING: The Core procedure model includes errand and library seclusion, and memory insurance, to the continuous implanted stage with either a MMU or Memory Security Unit (MPU, for example, ARM Cortex-An or ARM Cortex-M based gadgets. This outcomes in a huge increment in item unwavering quality because of quicker disengagement of programming deficiencies and the capacity of sent frameworks to self-analyze. Designers can powerfully upgrade application programming amid framework operation, permitting the objective to be stayed up with the latest, even in mission discriminating situations. â⬠¢ Isolate client assignments from portion and middleware assets â⬠¢ Isolate client assignments from one another â⬠¢ Enhance item solidness before item shipment â⬠¢ Allow after death examination of field disappointments â⬠¢ Perform agile, controlled framework restarts when a discriminating bug surfaces â⬠¢ Dynamically load and empty procedures from execution memory, sourced in Glimmer, document frameworks, and/or system DETAILS: Full separation of part and middleware assets Scribblers, stack floods, getting to rebel pointers, and so forth in application code can no more degenerate or meddle with framework programming operation. Independent client procedures and libraries When a client procedure or library module has been repaired, another client process cant destabilize it. Element stacking and emptying of client code modules Code modules can be stacked from nonvolatile stockpiling, document frameworks, and/or systems administration joins. Emptying discharges all code and information memory designated upon burden. AVAILABLE CONFIGRATION: Nucleus RTOS is available in the following configurations: Nucleus Source Code: Kernel, drivers and libraries An integrated Eclipse-based IDE (Sourcery CodeBench) and software trace with the Nucleus ReadyStart edition Nucleus Innovate Program provides free software for select hardware for companies with annual revenues under $1 million WHITE PAPER: Improving Embedded Systems reliability with a process model based RTOS Operating SystemPage 1
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Application of Forensic Psychology within a trial: R vs. Golds
Introduction Before delving into the applications and relevant theories in Forensic Psychology in this case, it is first necessary to summarise the particulars of this case. This will allow for the evidence to be objectively assessed, and then broken down as the empirical evidence provided by the field of Forensic Psychology pertains to specific points. This will allow for the value of various aspects of the evidence on both sides to be assessed, which may result in a re-evaluation of the overall verdict. The psychological evidence will then be evaluated within the relevant theoretical framework, and these theories will in turn be critically analysed so that the degree to which the relevant findings and theories of forensic psychology can be used to interpret the meaning and weight of evidence in this case can be evaluated. The defendant was convicted of murdering his wife, but appealed against conviction on the grounds that he was suffering from a mental illness and therefore was impaired substa ntially enough to meet the criteria for manslaughter, not murder. The appeal was dismissed. Although the defendant admitted killing his wife he did not give evidence at the trial, stating that he was not in a fit mental state. A voir dire by a medical expert, B, attested to the fact that the defendant ought not to give evidence due to his mental state, and when recounting this to the jury the judge ruled that no adverse inference should be drawn from this. The judge did however not allow evidence from B to be given at the trial. The evidence in support of the defence was given by three expert medical witnesses all attesting to the deteriorating mental state of the defence and that the criteria for diminished responsibility were satisfied. No medical testimony disputed this. Evidence admitted by the judge against the defence came from the defendantââ¬â¢s daughter, S, who recounted a conversation in which the defendant admitted assaulting the victim on a prior occasion. This was ta ken as evidence of the defendantââ¬â¢s bad character. During the trial there was some discussion of the definition of the term ââ¬Ësubstantially impairedââ¬â¢; the defence counsel defined the term as anything ââ¬Ëmore than trivial[ly impaired]ââ¬â¢ but the judge refused this definition and declined to give the jury any further guidance as to the legal definition of this term. A verdict of manslaughter would suggest that the defendant was not able to fully understand the nature of what he was doing, make a rational decision and exercise self-control (Morse, 2003). Of course the legal definition of ââ¬Ësubstantially impairedââ¬â¢ is also relevant; as it is defined by the English Homicide Act (1957) substantial impairment is constituted either by a ââ¬Ëcommon senseââ¬â¢ standard or by any degree of impairment which is more than trivial but less than total (Prevezer, 1957). Whether the defendant reaches the threshold for these definitions of substantially impa ired will decide whether he is convicted of manslaughter or murder. One issue raised by the defendant in the appeal was that although the judge did explicitly state that the jury was not to draw any condemning inference from the defendantââ¬â¢s lack of testimony, he failed to remind the jury that Sââ¬â¢s evidence should be considered with caution, because the defendant was not able to give any account of the alleged conversation. According to the literature in forensic psychology there could be valid grounds to this claim, however the claim itself could also be redundant entirely. This is because jurors do indeed evidently find it difficult to evaluate the weight of evidence and draw inferences appropriately (Thomas and Hogue, 1976). Thomas and Hogue (1976) developed a decision-making model for jurors, showing broadly that the weight jurors will ascribe to evidence varies across the population according to a variety of factors relevant to the characteristics of the jury. In th is model the decision threshold which defines whether the jury votes for the plaintiff or defendant varies little across the population but may vary between cases and be affected by factors such as instructions to jurors. This latter point is very important because it addresses the effect that instructions to the jury can have, even a small effect could have made a substantial difference to the way the jury regarded evidence. Evidence suggests that this is particularly the case with emotionally-charged evidence which is pertinent to this case, Cush and Delahunty (2006) found that mock jurors who received no pre-evidence instructions to consider emotionally evocative evidence (gruesome photographs) dispassionately or with caution gave more verdicts in favour of the victim and scored higher on measures of victim compassion and crime negativity than did jurors who did receive such instruction. Embedded within cognitive theory this evidence supports the defendantââ¬â¢s position on th is point; without all of the pertinent evidence with the appropriate weights the juror as a sense-making machine would not be able to reach an informed decision (Pennington and Hastie, 1991). The heuristics and biases approach (Griffin, Gonzalez and Varey, 2001) views decision-making, thought and perception as vulnerable to various cognitive biases and distortions from mental archetypes. One such source of bias has been dubbed ââ¬ËWYSIATIââ¬â¢, or ââ¬Ëwhat you see is all there isââ¬â¢. This notion is important in a forensic context because the jury will naturally find it difficult to take into account evidence that is not readily presented to them (Neal and Grisso, 2014) especially when presented with material evidence which contradicts it. Another point to consider is the value of Sââ¬â¢s evidence; factors which may be important to consider are the age of the witness (Ceci, Ross and Toglia, 1987), the power of hindsight and the nature of reconstructive memory (Leippe , 1980). According to a retrieval theory of memory, recognition and recall styles of memory are possible through a resonance-style spreading-activation pattern of retrieval attempts (Ratcliff, 1978). When a search of memory in this way is performed, certain archetypes or contextual information and assumptions about the objects in memory may fill in gaps or add meaning; depending on the age of the witness this may be even more important, because young children are more susceptible to such biases (Ceci, Ross and Toglia, 1987; Leippe, 1980). There may have been subtleties in the alleged conversation with the defendant which would reinterpret the meaning, especially in light of the defendantââ¬â¢s alleged mental illness which S could have missed in her memory of the conversation. Even if the judge had instructed the jury to treat Sââ¬â¢s evidence with caution though, the question is what effect would this have had on the verdict. The answer would seem to be that even though it may have changed the juryââ¬â¢s perception of the evidence (Cush and Delahunty, 2006), this would not have substantially affected the verdict because the evidence of S was of limited significance in the first place because of the strength of other evidence that the defendant had abused the victim. A cognitive decision-makin framework would see people evaluating this evidence overall in favour of the victim (Pennington and Hastie, 1991). In addition to this it was made clear to the jury that the case of the defendant was that he had not abused the victim. This makes it a somewhat trivial point in the overall case. Cognitive theory is useful in the context of forensic psychology because it provides a framework for the decision-making process to be understood, and an opportunity for the value of evidence to be quantified. The theory does view human beings as rational agents who are able to objectively consider evidence, simply adding additional weight to emotional evidence. This could be seen as reductionist as it ignores a wealth of human experience and much of the cultural meaning inherent in cases such as this one. The spreading-activation theory of memory also has its opponents. Some memory researchers prefer to view memory errors as arising from consolidation or encoding errors (Squire and Alvarez, 1995). Both are useful in a forensic psychology context but it is important to remember that the evidence is interpreted theoretically, and there must still be a weight assigned to evidence based on theory. It must therefore be acknowledged that the interpretation of evidence is at least somewhat arbitrary based on these theories. A second point in the appeal was that the judge was supposedly wrong to not allow the evidence of B to go before the jury. The value of expert witnesses is debateable in the literature, assuming that their professional opinions within their fields are valid and reliable, the problem arises with the effect their testimony has on the jury. Expert testimony usually affects the credence that the jury gives to the testimony or stance of the individuals being evaluated, and in this case the evidence of B may well have contributed to the judgeââ¬â¢s decision to instruct the jury to draw no condemning inference from the defendantââ¬â¢s lack of testimony. Due to certain cognitive biases, the message an expert tries to convey may not be received by the jury as intended, which may vindicate the judgeââ¬â¢s decision to not allow Bââ¬â¢s testimony. Jury members will often ascribe disproportionate impact to expert testimony (Krafka, Dunn, Johnson, Cecil et al., 2002), meaning the intended message is exaggerated or otherwise distorted resulting in jurors who may believe something contrary to what the literature on mental illness suggests. B had stated that the defendant was not in a fit state to give testimony, and attested to the reality of his mental illness and deteriorating mental state despite the usage of antips ychotic medication. This last point may be of particular importance because members of the general public may not have a full understanding of the research into the effects of antipsychotics (Jorm, Korten, Rodgers, Pollitt et al., 1997) which B presumably did have. If the jury believed that antipsychotics could cure the defendantââ¬â¢s mental illness then this could lead to them drawing a condemning inference. The weight that Bââ¬â¢s evidence would have had is in question though because of the already substantial amount of evidence in support of the existence and chronic worsening of the defendantââ¬â¢s mental illness. This is an issue because if the jury was already convinced that the defendant was indeed mentally ill at the time of the killing and still voted to convict the defendant of murder then the impact Bââ¬â¢s evidence may have had is a moot point. The only remaining question is whether Bââ¬â¢s testimony would have added anything to the testimony of the other experts due to the voir dire examination. It does seem unlikely that the testimony of B would have differed significantly from the other experts, and due to the evidence suggesting that the individual persuasive ability of experts has more of an impact on jurors than the content of their message (Bank and Poythress, 1982) the judge was probably right to not allow the additional expert testimony. A criticism of most of this research is that it mostly uses mock jurors, and also the mock cases obviously involved different experts and circumstances to the one in question. This means that the effect may be more or less pronounced in this scenario, but the evidence is from a very relevant context and is extremely likely to still be useful. The only potential problem lies in the participants not taking the mock case as seriously as they would a real case. The general population may not have a good understanding of mental illness or mental capacity as these terms are defined in legal disco urse (Jorm, 2000) which did necessitate at least some expert testimony. Another point is that the judge did not give any contrasting definition for the term ââ¬Ësubstantially impairedââ¬â¢ when the defence counsel offered the definition of ââ¬Ëanything impairment more than trivialââ¬â¢. Although this was submitted as grounds for appeal, the evidence suggests that if anything this point would have resulted in the jurors adopting a standard of impairment that was too liberal by legal standards. This is because jurors and indeed people in general are not as able to disregard presented information as readily as most people believe (Lieberman and Arndt, 2000). According to theories in social psychology, hindsight bias and belief perseverance can lead to jurors actually relying on inadmissible evidence more than other evidence (Lieberman and Arndt, 2000). This is very useful research in this context because it highlights the importance of presented information; the definition offered by the defence counsel will be given inappropriate attention. Since the verdict was still to convict, this suggests strongly that the court was right to dismiss the appeal. In light of the strength of the evidence and theory reviewed and the applications in this case, it is clear that the second and third points submitted by the defendant in the appeal were properly rebuffed by the judge, in fact the evidence suggests that these issues would have worked in the defendantââ¬â¢s favour if the judge had responded differently. As for the first point, it appears from the research that any effect on jury perception would be negligible, although there is some conflict in the literature as to the effect of instructions of limitation from the judge. References Morse, S. J. (2003). Diminished rationality, diminished responsibility. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 1, 289. Prevezer, S. (1957). The English Homicide Act: A New Attempt to Revise the Law of Murder. Columbia Law Review, 624-652. Thomas, E. A., & Hogue, A. (1976). Apparent weight of evidence, decision criteria, and confidence ratings in juror decision making. Psychological Review,83(6), 442. Cush, R. K., & Delahunty, J. G. (2006). The influence of limiting instructions on processing and judgments of emotionally evocative evidence. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 13(1), 110-123. Griffin, D., Gonzalez, R., & Varey, C. (2001). The heuristics and biases approach to judgment under uncertainty. Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intraindividual processes, 1, 207-235. Neal, T., & Grisso, T. (2014). The cognitive underpinnings of bias in forensic mental health evaluations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20(2), 200. Pennington, N., & Hastie, R. (1991). Cognitive theory of juror decision ma king: The story model, A. Cardozo L. Rev., 13, 519. Ceci, S. J., Ross, D. F., & Toglia, M. P. (1987). Suggestibility of childrenââ¬â¢s memory: Psycholegal implications. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 116(1), 38. Leippe, M. R. (1980). Effects of integrative memorial and cognitive processes on the correspondence of eyewitness accuracy and confidence. 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