Summary of Presentation

Education in Third-world Countries
I. Introduction
   A. What the current situation is. Disease, Poverty, Inability to function in glodal economy
   B. How it is effecting their ability to prosper
II. How Does that effect the rest of the world
  A. Global economy and their inablility to participate.
  B. Inability to escape vicious circle of no education leads to unemployment leads to crime 
  C. Prove the need to support education
III. How to Fix it
    A. Phase one- basic schooling
        1. need for donations and help
         2. Buying materials and finding convenient locations.
         3. What to teach: basic reading, writing, language classes, mathematics, science
    B. Phase two- first aid
        1. Why is it important? To better themselves and protect themselves. Also to help their communities
        2. Disease treatment and testing/ vaccinations to prevent spreading of disease in schools
   C. Phase Three- undergrad style education
        1. Unlike US undergrad, teaching skills to promote growth of city areas.
        2. What kinds of skills examples of police methods, ethics, business management etc.
   D. Examples of success in education in third world countries: Oprah's school

Blog 7: Forensic Science Mishaps

Forensic science is still a growing field. In the recent Casey Anthony trial forensic science was misused and construed. New forms of decomposition science were introduced, but not backed up with previous testings. There was no proof the tests were accurate. Other issues were the misuse of hair testing. They stated the hair sample from the trunk told them Caylee was in the trunk. When truly, there was no DNA sample on the hair. The follicle was not present. It is what contains the DNA in the hair sample. They could only limit where the hair came from. They also tried to tie together evidence even when expert testimony did not configure in that manner. Some wonder if the trial would have gone differently without the use of forensic science. Today's criminal court is too dependent on forensic evidence. The jury has become dependent on the DNA or fingerprints. Most crimes do not leave any DNA due to cleaning with bleach. Some criminals do not leave fingerprints due to gloves. Some trials will not have any forensics. One such example is murder with a knife where the killer uses a glove. The hit television series Dexter, although it is not a good source for forensic knowledge, shows that a murder can be done and leave no trace of a crime. Some cases that can be decided without forensic evidence may be misjudged by the jury due to the lack of forensic evidence. Television shows such as CSI could be to blame. They show that evidence is quickly processed and every crime has at least three pieces of hard evidence on their show. Where some crimes in real life may have one piece of evidence if they are lucky. Others may have quite a bit more. I do not wish to say that forensic evidence is unimportant, just that the lack or misuse of it should not "break" a case. In the case mentioned earlier,Time News Feed goes through the process in how the evidence was used inaccurately. I will enclose a few links to article they have prepared with a last comment on the situation. I am not to say that Casey was guilty of murdering her child, nor will I say she had no part in it. I only believe that this case proves  that forensic science used improperly will confuse a jury and destroy a case.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/27/casey-anthony-trial-forensic-evidence-comes-under-fire/
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2077937,00.html

My website creation

I wish that everything I wanted to do to the website would have worked. I had several photos I wanted to add, but the photo page is not cooperating with me. I will continue to add a few things as I learn more about how the site works. http://criminaljusticefsc.webs.com/index.htm

Job Search

I searched various websites looking for jobs available in my desired field only to be disappointed. There were no listings for the job I would like. Their were several openings in Mississippi and Tennessee for receptionist and file clerks at law firms, but none for secretaries, researchers, or assistants. I know that I need extensive knowledge of the criminal justice field. I will need adequate skills in Microsoft Office, Word, and Excel. I researched my future job previously and found a need for it in several areas of Tennessee. I have taken Forensic Science as a minor so that I will be able to understand expert witnesses and give some input to my employers. I am taking two years of Spanish to be able to translate documents from non-English speaking clients. I either want to be a secretary to a paralegal or a researcher for a criminal defense firm. Some of the bigger firms hire research assistants to look up current cases and information. They basically act like a secretary, but only focus on the law aspects and usually do not deal with the clients themselves. I could take an entire level position in order to get into the flow of an office. I can answer ten line phone systems, do demand packages, order medical records, use Microsoft Word, Excel,  and Works extensively, and have had some interaction with clients previously. I know most of the ins and outs of personal injury firms in Mississippi, but I wish to move on to a criminal firm. I hope more jobs open up before December when I graduate.
I have already began writing my resume. I have listed my experience from my previous employer and the classes I have taken in my major field at USM. I have listed several references and all of the computer programs I have experience with. I have a few more programs to learn about such as needles. It is a client program that takes paper files and turns them into a computer file that updates through out the office. I listed my skills under a single header. Since I want a professional job at a law firm, I need to keep my resume formal. I have Times New Roman font and a clean off-white background. I know that I will need to update my references from personal injury firm employees to those I know already in the criminal field.

Week Four

To: T. Leoni, Manager, Personnel Department
From: Donald Pryzblo, Manager, Data Processing Department
Subject:Payroll mistakes
Dear Mr. Leoni,
I have been reviewing the “errors” in the computer files.It has come to my attention that the issue with the tickets is not in the copying. It is rather in the original documents. It may have all started with one incorrect document that was copied over and over. We discussed the idea of all the employees comparing their entries against the time sheets. It would take clerics less time to do this since they know what they are looking for. Other employees may not know the errors they should be looking for. I would like to discuss having a training session to avoid this situation again. If all of the employees know what to look out for, this can be avoided in the future.
Thank you for your time,
Donald Pryzblo  


I made several corrections to the initial email. The original document sounded like a personal attack. I also changed the wording to make it sound more professional in comparison to saying my computer operators. This was unprofessional and lacked a company wide approach. I also avoided putting the blame on the clerks. Instead I pointed out that it could have been one mistake that went unnoticed long enough to be copied repetitively. Instead of saying that employees do not have the time to fix clerical errors, I stated that it would take them longer since they do not know what they are looking for. I also purposed a training session to avoid future conflicts. This would ensure that these issues would be handled and avoided in the future. The original email was angry in tone. I send out several memos at my previous workplace and I know that anger will not get anything accomplished. Anger and blame will only cause matters to get worse. Flattery will not get you anywhere either. Being profession and making things even will make the path much easier. Professional correspondence should be forward, but with basically no emotion. If there is emotion, it should be one of courtesy and willingness to move forward. One of my bosses send out an email similar to the original, and it almost cost her dearly. I learned that blame will not get things done, but admitting some fault will get things going in the right direction.

Analyzing a Rhetorical Situation

   In my Juvenile Justice class we were required to read several articles. We would read two opposing views and discuss the value and truth to each of them. Then we would compare them to what we learned in class. All of them were on controversial topics and could lead to heated debates if asked moral and social views, but we always stuck to the facts. Criminal Justice classes try to avoid going into to heated debates about opinions.

 One article we discussed was “The Juvenile Justice System Discriminates Against Minorities.” In this article, William Raspberry tries to encourage the restructuring of the juvenile justice system to be less racist.  He felt moved by other press releases to the extent he too wanted his views to be heard. While his language use is less than desirable, it is pointed toward creating a public outcry. One use of language that stands out was his use of “hitting up relatives to raise bail money.”  His point was to raise awareness that racial disparities still exist in the juvenile system and need to be noted by the community and corrected.  

 His use of facts and statistics are rough and not proven. He points out the difference in white and minority arrest rates and the rates of conviction. This data could be true, yet he does not mention the area of arrest or if the officers were the same.  In the criminal field arresting officers have a lot of leeway. They do not have to arrest unless it is a serious offense. In smaller towns an officer is less likely to arrest a first time offender and even less likely to arrest someone they know.  In larger cities, it is less likely that an officer will know the child personally.  Raspberry does bring valid points to consider and would have the public’s attention, but fails to prove his point to a criminal justice major. There were too many unproven ideas and statistics. 

    Raspberry could have strengthen his argument by stating  what areas the arrests were in and where he received those statistics from. Raspberry otherwise brought valid points to the table and wanted people to really think about the situation. He ended with a situation and a question. This left the audience to rethink the way they generally see things. He opened the  minds of the reader, but left those of us with a criminal justice background doubting his credibility on the subject. When researched one will find that Raspberry has won several awards for his writings and wrote for the Washington Press. I found his writings somewhat lacking a structural backbone, but he mentions another article several times in his piece that was not included in our class assignment. He did getting the class discussion going with his topic and use of examples. Arrests and treatment of two juveniles charged with similar crimes can be much different depending on the state and local authorities. It can also be effected by press coverage of the crimes themselves. He points out two different times that a minority was arrested for a crime similar to a white juvenile and was treated much differently. Overall the article did effectively make those in my class think more deeply on the topic, but it did not paint the clearest picture.

Week One

 Writing opens doors. It can also close them. I am a criminal justice major and writing in a formal setting is the key to success. Writing that is done at school is important to getting good grades. When I worked at my previous job, I proof read memos, subpoenas, depositions, and other law related documents. I often wrote letters to our clientele requesting information or their approval of negotiation offers. I also wrote letters to health care providers and insurance companies. I was expected to know that letters to clients used less legal terms than those to insurance companies. I hope to learn more ways that writing affects the work place in this class. I have already done several memos, letters to businesses, and resumes, yet it does not come naturally to me. I have always struggled with wording in my writing and readers tend to get confused. I hope to grow my knowledge of professional writing and learn more about writing in other areas of study. Criminal Justice writing is based on fact and has no real room for interpretation. There is usually one way to interpret laws and codes. I am a Forensic Science minor, and writing is similar in their area. Science is based on facts and statistics; forensic science is not an exception. Writing creatively has always been hard for me. I hope everyone will bare with me as I learn and grow in my writing over the next few weeks.