Defense Attorneys Essay Example for Free

Defense Attorneys Essay Discuss the role of defense attorney’s in the courtroom workgroup. A defense attorney is a lawyer who provides legal representation for a person who has been arrested and charged for breaking the law or when an individual been served with a lawsuit. For example, when another individual filing the lawsuit goes after money for damages or justifiable relief of some sort. A very small portion of lawyers actually discuss that they work as criminal defense attorneys. This is because of the negative labeling assigned to the profession by American Social Forces. However defense attorneys are very important in the criminal justice system. They work to protect the innocent from being falsely convicted, and they work to protect the constitutional rights of all defendants. When a criminal defendant cannot afford to pay for the services of a private legal attorney, the United States Supreme Court requires that a defense attorney be appointed to represent the defendant. This expense is covered by taxpayers. There are three major categories of defense attorneys to help assist criminal defendants: * Private attorneys usually referred to as retained counsel.

Are Eyewitness Identifications Reliable?

Are Eyewitness Identifications Reliable? Eyewitness testimony is one of the most commonly employed forms of direct evidence presented in court and is often more persuasive to juries than circumstantial evidence. Memory is often defined as the processing, storage and retrieval of information acquired through learning. Throughout your day, thousands of sights, sounds, smells and other stimuli from the external environment flood your sensory receptors. All this information, whether paid attention to or not, is briefly held in your sensory memory. Sensory memory is the entry point of memory, where new incoming sense-based information is stored for a very brief period. Short-term memory is a memory system with a limited storage capacity (7 +/- 2 items) and duration. Information is stored temporarily, and assuming that no rehearsal process is used, can be retained fairly well for the first few seconds, but for a longer time than sensory memory. After about 12 seconds, however, recall starts to decline and by 18-30 seconds almost all information disappears if it has not been renewed in some way. The duration can be enhanced if some rehearsal is involved. Long-term memory refers to memory system that stores almost an unlimited amount of information, which can be stored over a lifetime with rehearsal. It comprises of two different systems called declarative memory (specific facts and events) and procedural memory (actions and skills that have been learned previously). Recall and recognition also play a role in the process of retrieving information. Recognition is the ability to elicit stored material (memory) through the use of a cue (Eg. A photo line-up). Recall on the other hand is the ability to elicit stored material without externally providing any type of cue. The reliability of information is an important factor when it comes to identifying suspects and alleged offenders and providing a testimony at trials. Factor One – Age: During circumstances in which a child is a witness to an event, the credibility of that child and whether their testimony is reliable, is often questioned. Young children are able to testify, however they must be found competent before they can do so. The child must be able to understand the obligation of telling the truth, and the effects of lying. If the child is deemed unfit to testify, their prior statements to counsellors, doctors, or law enforcement may be used at trial. Article one: The purpose of first study conducted was to determine whether children as young as 6 or 7 years of age could understand and perform the task of identification, and whether decisional bias and committing fewer false alarms increases with age. Forty eight children were recruited, twenty five male and 23 female. The children were separated into two groups, 2 separate conditions (stealing vs. helping). They were all shown a short video individually, showing four men, dressed in identical red shirts in a soccer locker room. At the end of the video it shows one of the men walking out with two sports bags, one with a New York Yankees logo on it, which had previously been brought in by one of the other men. Each child was given instructions before and after watching the video, which were designed to frame the act, as a moral transgression (stealing) or pro-social (helping). The participants in the stealing condition were asked to identify the man who stole the bag. The others in the helping condition were asked to help the owner of the bags find him to give him a reward. After seeing the film, the participants were asked to say what they had witnessed, what happened in the film, and if they failed to mention that nature of the act (stealing or helping), the experimenter did. The children were then shown a series of photographs, presented sequentially, and for each photo, they were asked to identify whether it was or was not the man. The photos were all taken against an identical neutral background, with them being head-and-shoulders shots with each individual earing the same red t-shirt. In the end the children were asked if they had any questions and were praised for their cooperation, they were then allowed to choose a coloured pen as a reward and given a certificate of appreciation. The data supported the performance hypothesis that, younger children would apply a more negligent criterion when making eyewitness judgements of moral transgressions. The results show th at children in the younger age groups were more prone to make false alarms than children in the 11-14 years age group, and children in the youngest age group were more likely to be very sure that a person was guilty of stealing when he was not, compared to those in the older age groups. In conclusion, younger children are not as reliable when it comes to being an eyewitness to an event. Article two: There is usually a delay from the time a crime is witnessed and a suspect being apprehended, this allows the suspect to undergo a change in appearance, for example changing their hairstyle or hair colour. It is unclear how adults’ and children’s identification abilities compare when the suspect changes their appearance. In a recent meta-analysis, with simultaneous presentation, it showed that children over 5 were as accurate as adults in producing comparable correct identification rates. This study manipulated a suspect’s appearance (hair colour style) to produce ‘no change’ conditions (line-up members match the suspect’s appearance at the time of the crime) versus ‘change’ conditions (line-up members do not match the suspect’s appearance at the time of the crime). Both children and adults were tested. 239 adults were recruited from the introductory psychology participant pool at a university in Eastern Ontario, Canada, an d 96 children recruited from local elementary schools in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Upper body photos were taken resembling the suspect with short, grey hair, or dark mid-length hair. From the assortment of photos, six photos of men that matched the suspect’s description with short, grey hair and six photos that matched the suspect’s description with longer, darker hair were selected to for the line-ups. Two target-present line-ups were conducted, one line-up consisted of six photos, which consisted of five line-up members who had short, grey hair and the suspect’s photo (with short, grey hair). The second line-up consisted of six photos, which consisted of five line-up members who had longer, darker brown hair and the suspect’s photo (with longer, darker, brown hair). There were also target-absent line-ups conducted, one line-up consisted of five foils with short grey hair, with the suspect’s photo replaced with a matching male. The other line-up co nsisted of five foils with darker brown hair with the suspect’s photo replaced with a matching male. The results show that in a meta-analysis comparing the children’s and adults’ correct identification rates, children as young as 5 years of age were found to be able to select the suspect from a group of photos containing the suspect, at a rate comparable to adults. This changed however, when the suspect’s didn’t match his appearance at the time of the crime. For both children and adults’, there was a decrease in their correct identification rates when the suspects appearance changed, they both had great difficulty in correctly identifying the guilt suspect. One reason for a decrease in correct identification following a change in appearance is that eyewitnesses may use hairstyle as a key marker for identification. Overall the elimination procedure is the most effective when it comes to identification rates for both children and adults. Factor two – Stress/Arousal Witnessing a disturbing event (an act of violence) is likely to elicit arousal and to be stressful. Being under stress at the time of encoding can have an effect on the memory process, typically enhancing or preserving memory for emotional information, this can have an interesting implication for eyewitness accounts. Research has found that in the area of emotion and memory has provided evidence that stress influences the long-term memory processes. Article one: The goal of this study was to examine the subsequent effects of misinformation exposure on memory for a negative arousing to-be-remembered event encoded under stress. They adapted a slideshow, with materials from Payne et al. (2006), then added a misinformation manipulation 48 hours after encoding and 48 hour prior to memory testing. Sixty-eight undergraduate students were recruited through the university of Arizona subject pool. Participants were instructed to abstain from alcohol, caffeine, and exercise on days of experimental sessions. Participants were randomly assigned to a two (stress vs. control) and two (misinformation vs. no misinformation). On the first visit, the participants were engaged in a psychosocial stress induction (control task), after they were escorted to another room to few a negatively arousing slideshow. Participants returned forty-eight hours later to the lab to complete the second experimental visit. Upon arrival, the participants were told that they would be asked a series of questions, a totally of 60, relating to the slideshow the view previously two days ago. The questions for the misinformation condition had false information embedded as factual elements of the slideshow (e.g. â€Å"What did the boy have in his hands?† versus â€Å"What did the boy have in his hands besides his lunch?†). The questions were identical in the misinformed and non-misinformed groups to avoid inadvertently cuing one group with information that could potentially benefit the memory performance. The questions asked in this session were designed to expose the participants in the misinformation group to false information. Participants returned another forty-eight hours later after questioning, to complete the third and final experimental session, they were told that their memory of the slideshow would be tested. This was assessed using a recognition test that consisted of 136 questions, administered over a computer. The results showed that bei ng under stress prior to encoding affects memory for a negative event by enhancing subsequent memory. This finding supports the notion that stress influences encoding of aversive events, although stress alone did not moderate misinformation endorsement. Participants were less likely to endorse misinformation for the most negatively-arousing portion of the slideshow if they were stressed prior to encoding, and reported that they were aroused by the negative event. These participants had a more accurate memory for items that had been misinformed with the slideshow phase. The results demonstrate that, in regards to eyewitness memory, arousal induced by an event, in combination with activations of a stressed state, result in an enhanced emotional memory that is less vulnerable to the incorporation of false details, despite being exposed to direct misleading information. Article two: The goal of this study was to investigate how post-encoding stress will affect memory, depending on the thematic arousal of the initial learning period. Predicted that under high thematic arousal, post-learning stress would enhance memory for the central elements of an event, for example a cashbox grabbed by the burglar. Participants were recruited from Bielefeld University, 88 males, ages ranging from 19 to 37. The experiment consisted of four main stages, encoding of an event, manipulation of psychosocial stress, rehearsal of the event information and a recognition test for the event. The first stage consisted of the participants viewing a video-filmed event depicting a burglary. Participants in the high arousal condition should have anticipated to see a distressing, possibily violent incident in the video shown. However those in the low arousal condition were exposed to an event that was unlikely to be as distressing. In second stage, after encoding has occurred, a stress manipula tion was applied. About half of the participants were administered the Trier Social Stress Test, this induced psychosocial stress, the remaining participants were exposed to a non-stressful situation. In the third stage, the participants read a narrative description of the witnessed event, the description did however include items not shown in the original event. In the final stage the participants were given a yes or no recognition test that contained items that did appear in the video and those that didn’t. This study showed that eyewitnesses’ memory for an event was influenced by the combined effect of arousal during encoding and subsequent social stress, which was not related to the event itself. The results indicate that eyewitnesses are likely to experience arousal during observation of an event, they also may be exposed to social stress shortly after, like during an interrogation for example. There was no evidence that thematic arousal and/or post-event stress a ffected the participants’ memory for false post-event information. It is shown that age can have an effect on an eyewitness’s reliability, children are prone to forget things or take into account misleading information and believe it is true. With that being said their credibility is often questioned. Results show that younger children are more prone to making mistakes, and saying someone is guilty, even when they’re not, overall young children are not as reliable. Being under stress at the time of an event can have an effect on memory, however it does not effect on an eyewitnesses memory of an event. These studies show that eyewitnesses are still able to recall the events that happened, even after experiencing pre or post-event stress. At the end of the day, both can have an effect of the recall of information, and identifying the correct perpetrator. Reference List: Echterhoff, G., Wolf, O. (2012). The stressed eyewitness: the interaction of thematic arousal and post-event stress in memory for central and peripheral event information. Front. Integr. Neurosci., 6. doi:10.3389/fnint.2012.00057 Hoscheidt, S., LaBar, K., Ryan, L., Jacobs, W., Nadel, L. (2014). Encoding negative events under stress: High subjective arousal is related to accurate emotional memory despite misinformation exposure. Neurobiology Of Learning And Memory, 112, 237-247. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2013.09.008 Pozzulo, J., Balfour, J. (2006). Childrens and adults eyewitness identification accuracy when a culprit changes his appearance: Comparing simultaneous and elimination lineup procedures. Legal And Criminological Psychology, 11(1), 25-34. doi:10.1348/13553250552626 Spring, T., Saltzstein, H., Peach, R. (2012). Childrens Eyewitness Identification as Implicit Moral Decision-Making. Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 27(2), 139-149. doi:10.1002/acp.2871

The Standard for Insanity :: Barker Regeneration Essays

"The Standard for Insanity" Since Pat Barker's Regeneration is set in a mental hospital, it seems fitting that questions about mental disease and the definition of sanity should be raised. At the very start of the book, Rivers and Bryce are discussing the case of Siegfreid Sassoon, a dissenting officer of the British army. As they discuss his diagnosis of "neurasthenia," Barker is laying the groundwork for one of Regeneration's many themes: no one is completely qualified to judge the sane from the insane, for insanity finds its way into us all. The ambiguity surrounding the definition and treatment of neurasthenia offers just a glimpse into the ever-changing and highly subjective world of mental evaluation. The history of neurasthenia traces back before World War I to a scientist by the name of George A. Beard. Beard coined the actual term "neurasthenia" which means nerve weakness (Marlowe). Neurasthenia was attributed rather vaguely to the stress of everyday life, or, for soldiers, the stress of the trenches. Many also felt it was a disease primarily of the upper class, which means it would apply more often to officers in the army than regular men. Andrew Scott Myrtle, who wrote on the validity of neurasthenia, believed like many medical professionals of the era that "it is not the machine workers, the factory workers, who suffer but 'the inventors of the machines'" (Gijswijt-Hofstra 145). Not only did neurasthenia come from the many stresses of daily life, but it also had a myriad of symptoms. Every article on neurasthenia offered a different set of acceptable symptoms, the most common being sleeplessness, headaches, and fatigue (Marlowe). Cures for neurasthenia were as varied as its symptoms. When working with one patient, Beard "promptly zapped the young doctor with a 'faradic current' from 'head to toe'" (Martensen 1243). Electric shock was still being used during World War I, as evidenced by doctors like Lewis Yealland, but other cures such as bed rest, sea-salts, and expensive cruises were also circulating (Gijswijt-Hofstra 145). The sense of ambiguity that surrounded neurasthenia had a large effect on society's views of neurasthenic patients. Although World War I was one of the first instances where people recognized that mental disorder or disease might be responsible for actions that were otherwise characterized as cowardly, there remained a strong sense that diseases like neurasthenia were ultimately the result of a weak will. Robert Martensen describes neurasthenia as giving people a "socially legitimate explanation of their inability to perform their expected roles" (1243).

An Unforgettable Teaching Experience :: Personal Narrative Essays

It was an extremely sweltering hot afternoon. I started my class with the three kids from a fairly big family. The kitchen was too noisy for me to conduct my class actually but I had adapted to this teaching atmosphere and as usual I started to teach their youngest sister Emily and later his two elder brothers John and Jack in turn. I was quite comfort with her demurely manner. John is a retarded child since he was born. He is still learning the very simple calculation of a year one's child and had difficulty in learning ABC. His brother is even worse off than him. Besides the mathematics that puzzling him forever, he has a very unusual habit that is he would sharpen his pencils up to two dozens before my class ended and he always lost his stationary or belongings after each school's day. He even past motion or urine in front of his classmates. I was once get annoyed when I accidentally stepped on his faeces. I personally considered myself a thoughtful and diligent teacher. I tried my best to open the generation-gap between us. I wish and try to keep on loving them . But today is a very unusual day . I blamed the hot weather that aroused his suspicion and despised his ability in the calculation given to him. He hanged my explanation and continued to ignore my teaching even though I hauled them over the coals. For nearly and hour , no sum nor words were written. Visibly the papers and his mind was blank too. In my mind, I am paid to conduct this class and I have to finish my designated assignments with them to be said as a diligent teacher. Without hesitation, I canned John's brother and he who seemed to be caring of his younger brother Jack started to mutter in a low voice complaining that I shouldn't beat his brother. On hearing his grumble, his mother who has mentally-illness too approached him and started to tease his son saying that he doesn't has the ability to do such an easy sum at the age of 17.

Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus

Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone A runner must use a strategy that is specific to that style of racing. If a distance runner attempts to apply pacing to a short sprint he has lost the race before approaching the start. Although racing strategies differ between every individual race it is possible to associate some basic strategies used in particular types of races. These techniques are common amongst the runners of a particular event but vary compared to runners of different types of races. Oedipus and Creon are two new rulers that seek to establish their legitimacy to the authority of the Thebes’ throne. Oedipus sought to find approval and identification with the people of Thebes by ending a plague. Creon emphasized national unity and obedience to laws that benefit the state. Similar to the runners of separate types of races Oedipus and Creon approach the problem of establishing authority in different ways. Oedipus has the mindset of a sprinter and approached each arising problem with the same tactics. Creon is likened to a distance runner that is trying to have his team win a track meet. Viewing the characters as different types of runners allows for insight as to justification why each character fails to gain the legitimate authority they desire. The 110m hurdles is a race that requires exactness. The runner must have solid technique in each aspect of the race including the start, stride length and rhythm developed in the race. The start of the race is explosive because every moment in a short race is tremendously important. The hurdler’s steps throughout the race are calculated; an exact number of stri... ...during a race. Team strategy limits potential star performances of individuals. Antigone did have a star performance and attracts the other members of society away from the idea of acting as a team. The tragic results of Oedipus and Creon are attributed to the weaknesses present in the style of racing the adapted to attain authority of Thebes. Works Cited Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. â€Å"Run With the Pack.† Runner’s World. October 30, 2003 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,4-95-103-284,00.html. Works Consulted Sparrey, Kathleen Raske. â€Å"Development of Elite Hurdlers: Assesment of the Individual Athlete From: Identifying and Training Elite Hurdlers in the United States.† October 29, 2003 http://www.coachr.org/shrthrd.htm. Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone A runner must use a strategy that is specific to that style of racing. If a distance runner attempts to apply pacing to a short sprint he has lost the race before approaching the start. Although racing strategies differ between every individual race it is possible to associate some basic strategies used in particular types of races. These techniques are common amongst the runners of a particular event but vary compared to runners of different types of races. Oedipus and Creon are two new rulers that seek to establish their legitimacy to the authority of the Thebes’ throne. Oedipus sought to find approval and identification with the people of Thebes by ending a plague. Creon emphasized national unity and obedience to laws that benefit the state. Similar to the runners of separate types of races Oedipus and Creon approach the problem of establishing authority in different ways. Oedipus has the mindset of a sprinter and approached each arising problem with the same tactics. Creon is likened to a distance runner that is trying to have his team win a track meet. Viewing the characters as different types of runners allows for insight as to justification why each character fails to gain the legitimate authority they desire. The 110m hurdles is a race that requires exactness. The runner must have solid technique in each aspect of the race including the start, stride length and rhythm developed in the race. The start of the race is explosive because every moment in a short race is tremendously important. The hurdler’s steps throughout the race are calculated; an exact number of stri... ...during a race. Team strategy limits potential star performances of individuals. Antigone did have a star performance and attracts the other members of society away from the idea of acting as a team. The tragic results of Oedipus and Creon are attributed to the weaknesses present in the style of racing the adapted to attain authority of Thebes. Works Cited Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. â€Å"Run With the Pack.† Runner’s World. October 30, 2003 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,4-95-103-284,00.html. Works Consulted Sparrey, Kathleen Raske. â€Å"Development of Elite Hurdlers: Assesment of the Individual Athlete From: Identifying and Training Elite Hurdlers in the United States.† October 29, 2003 http://www.coachr.org/shrthrd.htm.

On Arabian Culture Essay

The literature on social diversity and cleavages in Arab society and the Middle East as a whole suffers from several fallacies, two of which are most pertinent here. One is the tendency, particularly among Orientalists, to speak both of the mosaic nature of Arab society and of the existence of a unified mentality, or one Arab mind, without any awareness of the contradiction between these two abstractions. The other is the emphasis either on communal cleavages or on class conflicts, with the result that one becomes explanatory while the other is ignored. The interplay and coincidence of these two cleavages are rarely examined in their historical and social contexts. How can an individual define the diversity of Arab society? The diversity that characterizes Arab society needs to be analyzed within a three-dimensional framework: (a) a homogeneity-heterogeneity continuum; (b) the processes of conflict-accommodation-assimilation; and (c) social class cleavages. The continuum that covers the range from a completely homogeneous society to one of great heterogeneity encompasses a complex system of vertical loyalties and communal differentiations (ethnic, linguistic, sectarian, tribal, local, regional, and the like) that coincides as well as conflicts with social class cleavages. Arab society has historically been highly heterogeneous. Certainly, one may argue that there has recently been a resurgence of communal loyalties and mobilization, confirming the mosaic and segmentary structures of society. What cannot be granted is the static conception of these loyalties and cleavage as permanent, unchanging forms of differentiation. What is Arab society in general? The characterization of Arab society as heterogeneous, however, needs to be accompanied by an explicit clarification that not all Arab countries are similar in this respect. In fact, they differ widely in regard to their positions on the homogeneity-heterogeneity continuum. Compared to other Arab countries, Egypt and Tunisia, for instance, may be described as rather homogeneous as far as communal cleavages are concerned. These two countries tend to have fewer ethnic, religious, and tribal differences (and, hence, conflicts) than other Arab societies, and are characterized more by social complexity and social class cleavages. A second group of Arab countries, such as Lebanon and Sudan, occupy a position close to the opposite end of the continuum, each being more of a mosaic in structure and social composition. A third set, such as Syria, Algeria, Arabia, and Morocco, tend to occupy positions more in the middle of the continuum. Conventional Western literature on Arab and other Middle Eastern societies has persistently avoided any serious discussion of social class structure. Instead, it has conceived of Arab societies simply as a mosaic. At the margin of this mainstream discourse, however, there has been some occasional speculation on problems of social stratification. Whenever a discussion of this nature has taken place, it has evolved into a heated exchange. One point of view reaffirms the conclusions of the mosaic model and questions the relevance of class analysis. For instance, C. A. O. van Niewenhuijze and James Bill, in separate works, dismiss class analysis in economic terms and instead use Weberian concepts of status and power. Similarly, Iliya Harik has more recently dismissed the thesis put forward by some writers that the Lebanese civil war is actually a class struggle and expressed his â€Å"belief that class distinctions in Lebanon are too obscure to sustain the class struggle argument†. Bryan S. Turner, by contrast, has pointed out that anyone â€Å"who wants to develop a Marxist analysis of North Africa and the Middle East must start with a critique of the mosaic theory and all its related assumptions†. Such a critique, he explains, is required because mosaic analysts believe â€Å"that traditional Middle Eastern societies were not class dominated and that in the modern Middle East social class is only in the process of emerging alongside other forms of social stratification†. Nicholas S. Hopkins has applied ideas of class derived from the Marxist tradition to changes in the social structure of an agricultural town in Tunisia, concluding that essential changes in the mechanization of agriculture and in the improvement of communications â€Å"led to a shift in the organization of work away from a pattern based on mobilization of labor within the household or the extended kindred . . . and toward a pattern of labor determined by wage labor†. Consequently, this Tunisian agricultural town has shifted from a society in which rank was based â€Å"on vertical rather than on horizontal links† to one â€Å"based on class†. Hopkins argues further that not only is there class in the objective sense, â€Å"there is also class consciousness, at least in embryonic, symbolic form†. My own view is that the persistence of communal cleavages complicates rather than nullifies social class consciousness and struggle. This persistence of communal cleavages and vertical loyalties in some Arab countries is owing to the perpetuation of traditional systems in which communities are linked to their local za’ims (traditional leaders) through patron-client relationships. To the extent that constructive change can be introduced in these areas, such traditional systems will give way, increasingly, to other social and class relationships. Reference: Gutas, D. (1998). Greek Thought, Arab Culture : The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early Abbasid Society (2nd-4th & 8th-10th C. ): Routledge. Rejwan, N. (1998). Arabs Face the Modern World: Religious, Cultural, and Political Responses to the West: Gainesville University Press of Florida. Szarmach, P. E. (1979). Aspects of Jewish Culture in the Middle Ages: Albany State University of New York Press

Tourism: Brazil’s Location

Brazil which is the biggest country in the South America is a unique country with wonderful destinations and attractions. With half of South America’s land and one-third of the population of all Latin Americans, Brazil is a land of the marvelous, transcendent and the tragic. The gross area of Brazil covers approximately half of South America as it is the mainland's biggest nation. At just over 3. 3million square miles, it is slightly larger than the continental United States (Eakin 1997). It extends 4,772 km from North to South and 4,331 km from east to west. Also, border of Brazil meet other nations on the continent excluding Ecuador and Chile. The east side of Brazil is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The north side of Brazil is surrounded by Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela, and Suriname. On the northwest, Colombia edges Brazil. On the west, Brazil is edged by Bolivia and Peru. On the southwest, Argentina and Paraguay edge Brazil. On the south, Brazil is placing Uruguay (Infoplease 2000). The population composition of Brazil. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2013) which is the government statistical agency, Brazil's population had increased to approximately from139. 8m in 1990 to 175. 9m in 2003. Also, it is predicted to reach about 200. 3m in 2020. Thus, it is obviously that Brazil’s population has been continually increasing. Brazilian society progressed from succeeding waves of immigration from Europe and Africa. As illustrated by the 1996 census, 83m Brazilians are of European origin including about 60m of mixed race. The black inhabitants are of 7. m and Brazilians of Asian origins are about 700,000. Also, indigenous Indians who live in Brazil are about 162,000. Furthermore, the massive majority of research on racial dynamics in Brazil concentrates on the black-to-white variety. Brazil’s large-scale social surveys usually use three ethnic or color to capture the variety of identifications on this continuum including white (branco), brown (pardo, or â€Å"mixed†), and black (preto). It was surveyed that about 99% of the Brazil’s population included in one of these three classes in the three polls 1991, 2000, and 2010 (Stanley et al. 013). ?The cultural and economic features of Brazil Brazilian identity has been mainly formed by the Portuguese, who delivered its major language and religion. However, it has been shaped by also native indios, Africans and the many migrants from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. According to Burity (2008), even though Indigenous culture has frequently overlooked by urban Brazilians, it has assisted to shape modern Brazil and its traditional myth, dance as well as music. The influence of Afric an culture is also obvious, particularly in the Northeast. Portuguese brought not only a large number of black slaves but also their religion, music and cuisine which have developed a part of Brazilian identity. It is obviously that Brazil is a very racially and culturally compound nation. Brazil’s economy has become a major object of speculation for international stakeholders, researchers, specialists, and policymakers over the world. With filled natural resources, and gradually energetic global corporations, Brazil has been notably selected as BRIC which are the four very large, rapidly emerging economies countries including Russia, India and China. There are several major factors that Brazil can be emerged as a rising star. Those are the strong global demand for the country’s key products, wide-reaching successes for the country’s main corporations, and proper economic policies which have improved confidence. Although once Brazil’s economy stagnated with debt crisis, macroeconomic volatility and high inflation during the 1980s, today, Brazil is more intensely incorporated with the global economy than at any time in the past half century (Brainard & Martinez-Diaz 2009). Brazil’s economic management has been respectable however, public debt quiet remains high, which may pressure on government finances and menace social security. This is one of the major issues in Brazil’s sustained economic strength for the future and sustaining growth to generate employment and reducing government debt can be considered (St Louis 2010). ?Features of Brazil’s natural environment Brazil boasts some of the most marvelous plant and animal life in the world. Brazil has the world’s largest rain forest, as well as the greatest wetlands. Rain Forest covers much of the Amazon river drainage basin while Wetland which is the largest fresh water swamp in the world, is half the size of France. This is mainly flooded grasslands from the River Paraguay which starts in Brazil and flows south to Argentina. This area is called the Pantanal. In Brazil, around 55,000 species of plants, 3000 freshwater fish, 770 amphibians and 520 mammals are found. More than one-third of the reptiles and over half the amphibians take place nowhere else and new species are being discovered constantly. Brazil has five principal biomes which are Amazonia, Atlantic rain forest, Caatinga, Cerrado and the wetlands of the Pantanal. Brazil is huge country and its flora and fauna are scattered across vast regions (St Louis 2010). ?The history of tourism in Brazil Although Brazil is the biggest country in South America and has an abundance of cultural and environmental diversity, tourism has been generally ignored by both policy makers and the private division (Santana 2000). As the challenge of fostering the socioeconomic development by increasing the number of tourists, there was something the federal government took up only in the beginning of 1990s. Its application involved a series of public and private investments which have transformed both the region and social relationships in the areas directly influenced. Until the 1966 establishment of the Brazilian Tourism Institute named EMBRATUR, there was fundamentally no authorized policy of supporting tourism. EMBRATUR regulated several terms which can be considered as the creation of a national tourism policy. However, the initial role allocated to EMBRATUR was inadequate to consolidating the internal market and increasing external demand. In the beginning of the 1990s, an institute made the basic agent for developing official policies for the sector (Bartholo et al 2008). ?The place of tourism in the economic life of Brazil Although Brazil is not a tourism-dependent nation, tourism indicates one of the most vital areas for the successful Brazilian economy as well as the constant country's development. According to Santana (2000), the tourism industry in Brazil has also been generally recognized as a promoter of social and economic development by the introduction of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism. With supported by increasing economic development, most tourism indicators had experienced extraordinary growth by 1998. The deregulation of air transport helped out to raise domestic travel to record levels in 1998 the number of air passengers rose by 25 percent between 1997 and 1998. Also domestic travel increased by 43 percent over 1997, when 38. million Brazilians travelled within the country. The contribution to overall tourism receipts in 1998 was significant, with over US $6 billion. The economic stability and strong currency have also made it possible for Brazilians to travel abroad. In 1997 Brazil experienced an unprecedented tourism deficit that destabilized the country’s balance of payments. More than four million Brazilians went abroad compared to 2. 9 million international arrivals. According to the EMBRATUR, domestic and international tourism contributed over US $billion to the Brazilian economy, or 3. percent of the nation’s GDP (Santana 2000). Therefore, it is expected that there is a significant correlation ship between Brazilian tourism and Brazilian economic. Factors influencing tourists’ choice of Brazil as a destination ?Push factors that create tourist demand for tourism in Brazil Push factors refer to the fundamental necessary for engaging in tourism that is for using the facilities provided by the tourism industry (Weaver & Lawton 2006). There are several push factors that create a demand for tourism activity in Brazil. First of all, natural environment such as abundant natural resources are widely used to promote the nation’s tourism. International tourists inclined to be attracted by Brazilian regions which have various attractions such as rivers, waterfalls, national parks, beaches and native forests. These attractions strengthen Brazilian local economy. Also economic and technological development has made Brazil become the world’s fourth-largest internal flight market in terms of the number of travelers transported on scheduled airlines. The number of total internal air travelers in Brazil reached about 77. 4 million in 2011. Furthermore, infrastructure quality affects destination competitiveness in important ways. The quality of a destination’s infrastructure may serve to attract tourists. In the process of choosing a destination, the image of infrastructure will play important role. Another factor can be a political issue that tourists should have the approval of their government to enable them to travel to Brazil. The Brazilian government concludes a number of open skies contracts with several countries during 2009 and 2010 to open its air transportation provision and draw more foreign visitors into Brazil. Furthermore, the development of social tourism can be one of the factors. Vilela de Almeida (2011) mentions that in contemporary society, social tourism has been emphasized because, social tourism provides opportunities for travel and holidays for Brazilians who do not have access to large amounts of discretionary income. There have been attempts by the Brazilian government to provide holiday opportunities for low income local people, for elderly people and for students. Those mentioned factors can be significant roles to develop Brazilian tourism. Components of the tourism supply-side in Brazil ?The ways in which Brazil and its attractions are promoted and interpreted The Brazil’s military government created Embratur, the Brazilian Tourist Agency, with the purpose of reshaping the tarnished image of the country, caused by reports of torture and abuse by the dictatorship. Thus, Embratur became an important instrument for the formation of Brazil’s image abroad (Bandyopadhyay & Nascimento 2010). Also Filho (2005) mentioned that in its advertisements Embratur emphasized Brazilian woman’s physical assets such as big bottoms, their tanned skin and ease of being seduced. Furthermore, Alfonso commented that Embratur, the governmental body responsible for the regulation of the national tourist sector, disseminated images of almost naked women, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, in leaflets and banners. This city and symbols like the mulatta and samba, representing the beauties of Brazilian beasches and the national carnival were chosen to structure Brazil’s image in the international market between 1970s and 1990s. However, today public and private officials are trying to revitalize tourism image as part of more diversified tourist products which includes fishing within rural and eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is promoted in the media by marketing the Pantanal as a ‘paradise’, an ‘El Dorado’ and an ‘ecological sanctuary’. Officials are keen on developing ecotourism in a more planned way which would be coherent with maintaining local natural and cultural resources rather than encourage mass tourism which could provoke the opposite. The development of local rural and eco-tourism was first promoted by government tourist agencies and then taken up by the regional residents (Araujo& Bicalho 2009). ?Services available to tourists in Brazil including transport and hospitality Sustainable services which include transport and hospitality is one of the most significant component of the tourism supply-side in Brazil. Lowry (2012) reports that the tourism plan for the FIFA World Cup 2014 which is developed by the World Cup Executive Group (GECOPA), provide better tourism information to tourists. Also it offers quality services and accommodation, and promotes tourism destinations in Brazil. The plan provides for the construction, renovation or expansion of tourist service centers, the establishment of tourist signage, and civil construction projects to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities. Also Araujo and Bicalho (2009) mentioned that there has been constantly development of amenities for tourism in Pantanal. A new airport was constructed in Bonito municipality and another new airport is scheduled for Porto Murtinho municipality. A paved freeway was built across the Pantanal between Corumba and the state capital Campo Grande. Existing roads within the swamps have been converted into park routes. Also a historic railway between Campo Grande, Miranda and Aquiduana has been restarted as a tourist attraction since 2009. Also there is a network of tourist services in urban and rural areas which include hotels, restaurants, night clubs and other attractions. Furthermore, urban facilities were demanded by tourists so that since 1995, electricity has been available to remote rural areas. Most lodges started to install electric lighting, running water, air conditioning, cable television, internet and mini-refrigerators in the guest rooms and saunas and swimming pools for guests. Tourist facilities also include parking lots, public bathrooms, and access roads to lakes for recreation fishing so it allows tourists easy and safe access to natural attractions. Tourist experiences in Brazil ?performance experiences Many international tourists visit Brazil to get virtuous tourist experience and to gaze the Brazil’s image through Carnival which is the best well-known festival in Brazil and has developed a national event of huge sizes. The country breaks for almost a week and events inclined to be intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities. Carnival in Brazilian culture is considered as much more than a simple celebration. Delgado (2012) mentioned that it is one of the pieces that make up the Brazilian identity. To establish an identity is meaningful to Brazilian. It is through the difference with respect to each other that the idea of unity of the nation is built. Thus, the carnival is an element of differentiation with respect to each other, serving as a mark of a Brazilian. There was naturally basic characteristic change over time in terms of a traditional carnival; however, the contact with tourists as well as the growing popularity of communication, technologies and globalization has accelerated the process. There is plurality of identities, constructed by different social groups in different historical moments. Thus, similar to authentic identity, the original representations are built up and modified as changes social and historical moments. The importance for the Brazilian carnival is undeniable, most popular party in the country which is a place where the transgression is possible, the world of street is transformed temporarily into space. ?Photography Hillman (2007) defines that the photography generates and transmits images and tourist symbols such as sites, memorials and masterpieces and its important role is to construct and interpret the tourist destination image in special historic, social and cultural background. The use of postcards, tourist leaflets, and photographic evidence of journey by tourists is a way of justifying their journey and tourism experience through visual authentication. Also the expanding spaces of cameras and video increasingly are able to represent themselves both to tourist and academics. The best-known example is probably the Kayapo in Brazil. They were supplied with video cameras after work with visual anthropologists and Amazonian Indians in Kayapo are represented by broadcast (Crang 1997). The vivid images of life of Amazonian Indians makes people actually travel around the area. Then they will go back to home with the proof of travel to distant and exotic places, and visual authentic verification that they were actually present in the location. ?Slum experience In Brazil, there is a special place where tourists can have a slum experience. The name of place is Rocinha which is the largest favela in Latin America, and is located in Rio's South Zone. It has not been well-known since until slum tourism have become a recognized form of dark tourism. Ma (2010) contended that slum tourism provides a distinctive experience that today's traveler seeks meaning in their vacations and is moving away from the trend of fun and pleasure. Freire (2008) commented that one of the most popular slum tour organizations is Favela Tours which has seen an average of 3,000 tourists per month for the past ten years. A total of 98% of its market is foreigners, a trend seen across all organized slum tours. Also, Frenzel & Koens (2012) mentions that more than 50,000 tourists participated in organized favela visits in Rio in 2011. And a number of tourists will probably growth with the coming FIFA World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016. More recent year the favela tours are also offered in Sao Paulo and Salvador de Bahia. The figure from Brazil indicates that slum tourism is already a highly professionalized business in the country. Apart from guided tours, the destination also offer elements of adventure tourism such as bicycle and motorbike tours, accommodation in the slum and specialized tours focusing on music, food or ecological aspects. Therefore, it is expected that slum tourism stimulate local entrepreneurship and local economic development, and support poverty alleviation. Impacts of tourism on tourists and the host society ?Impact of tourism on Brazilians The impacts of tourism on Brazilians can be both a positive and negative. Tourism has increasingly become a key economic activity for Brazilian. According to Puppim de Oliveira (2003) especially Northeast region possesses a significant potential for the development of tourism such as a warm climate year round, cultural diversity and over 2. thousand kilometers of seashore with attractive beaches. Thus, tourism in this area improves the regional economy, attracting investments, creating jobs and generating income to diminish poverty. Similarly, tourism activities can bring positive externalities to society. For instance, the infrastructure for tourism can be used for other purposes as well. Airports can also be used by locals who want to travel. Roads can be used for transportation of local passengers, and agricultural or manufactured products. In the State of Bahia, Brazil, the paving of the touristic road connecting the small town of Itacare to the arger town of Ilheus allowed the creation of new bus lines. Before the construction, Itacare had only few bus routes so that there were always limited transportation options of the local population. The new road increased access by the local population to Ilheus for shopping, recreation and medical purpose. Therefore, it is clear that tourism industry can improve local economic and employment benefits. On the other hand, there is negative tourism impact on Brazilians. The local environment and society has a limited capacity to absorb and recover from impacts of tourism. If these impacts exceed the carrying capacity, their effects on the environment and local society can become permanent and cause serious environmental, social and cultural problems. Also uncontrolled competition within the tourism industry over environmental resources such as water, land, environmental amenities, can generate undesirable impact on the whole industry. An increasing demand for an attractive unexplored beach can produce a growing construction of hotels and houses at the sea side that can degenerate the primary environmental quality of the beach. This can also cause a series of environmental problems such as deforestation, air and water pollution, degeneration of the landscape, which can negatively affect the quality of tourism or even the whole tourism industry in a region. For example, the Pantanal wetlands face serious threats, including the rapid spread of intensive soy, cotton and sugarcane farming on Brazil’s central plains, which are the source of most of the Pantanal’s water. Furthermore, on Brazil’s coasts, growth of cities and growing tourism developments threaten many delicate coastal marine ecosystems (St Louis 2010). Thus, an uncontrolled growth of tourism in one region can potentially undermine its tourism by damaging its environmental or cultural resources, if proper intervention is not in place. Conclusion ?What are the prospects for the future of Brazil as a tourist destination and what should be done to ensure a successful future for Brazil? As it mentioned above, there is no doubt that Brazilian tourism already shows a major role in the Brazilian economy and that it also represents a substitute for development. There is a constant development of infrastructural in tourism area based on exotic natural environment to attract tourists. Therefore, it is boosting a significant increase of a number of international tourists in Brazil. With 2014 Brazil world cup and 2016 Brazil Olympic, it is expected that tourism industry will be more developed and a number of tourists will be more visited ever before. However, unfortunately, Brazil is now also renowned for the destruction of its natural environment that all of its major ecosystems are threatened and over 200 animal species are endangered. Thus, the amount of protected territory continues to grow. At least 20 new national parks have been created since the late 1990s (St Louis 2010). Also, there is also another negative issue that the sexual exploitation of women and children has made a Brazil portrayed as a sexual playground (Bandyopadhyay & Nascimento 2010). Likewise, the country's reputation as an erotic playground continues to attract the wrong type of tourist with special tour purpose. Thus, it is obvious that protecting Brazil’s natural wonders and changing tourism image should be resolved as essential for Brazilian tourism future. To ensure successful future for Brazil, all stakeholders of Brazilian tourism including government should have an important role to play that not only ensures tourism development which minimizes harm to the ecology, but also provides an economic incentive which encourages preservation and protection. Brazilian tourism has the potential to be beneficial in the several sectors in national economic and local development; however, the tourism also has the potential negative impacts such as some negative images and environmental issues. Thus, the tourism is needed several implications in order to be sustainable. Therefore, to improve Brazilian tourism, this report recommends that firstly it should be enhanced a destination’s competitiveness through the target market’s awareness of the destination and through its positive image. Also, it should be developed a desirable plan to adopt a comprehensive approach which integrates tourism economic development, international or inter regional trade, social development and other marketing goals into an integrated strategy. Secondly, the environmental problems can be minimized by the governments which generate governmental environmental organizations and educate government officials in environmental issues, and enforce environmental regulations. Furthermore, it is important to control of development and tourist flow and creation of protected areas by Brazilian governments which are responsible for creating protected areas for providing incentives for private actions towards environmental protection.