No description available.

In recent years, animal cruelty has stirred into the limelight as society has given the issue further consideration. State and federal laws as well as the establishment of diverse non-governmental organizations exist to abate animal cruelty, but such institutions have lagged in creating effective control mechanisms in spite of the growth of this modern day pandemic. This thesis will discuss animal cruelty, the types of cruelty, legislative developments, correlation of animal cruelty to violence among humans, and ways to strengthen control mechanisms. Credible findings have indicated a propensity for offenders of animal cruelty to escalate their acts of violence towards a human. Although animal cruelty has made a modest impression on society, a significant segment of our population nevertheless shares the belief that animals are property lacking a holistic set of basic rights, which in turn perpetuates egregious forms of abuse towards animals. Said abuses will be thoroughly reviewed in this thesis with the intent of bringing a collective consciousness to the reader of the extensive types of abuses animals are subjugated to by some of the most heinous offenders. Then, a discussion will proceed of the hoisting impact animal cruelty has in galvanizing violence towards humans. By meticulously analyzing a variety of empirical research showing the overarching effects of animal cruelty as well as by analyzing state and federal laws that have been hindered tepid enforcement control mechanisms over the years, this thesis will argue for an overhaul of enforcement mechanisms so as to cause broader circumvention of animal cruelty. While research shows that there has been a growth in awareness by another significant segment of the population as to gravity of the situation dealing with the mistreatment of animals in our society, there still remains insufficient societal awareness and governmental power to abundantly curtail this imminent problem. Only when society is enlightened with the dangers of animal cruelty and how it can have dire undulating effects within the community, will substantial advancements be made to give animals the wide spectrum of rights they deserve. After conveying the societal necessity for change in constructively protecting animals, a discussion will ensue on the inadequacy of animal laws today. Then, a discussion will proceed on ways to strengthen animal rights in a manner that is reflective of the general cultural norms and values in this modern age. It is the intent of this thesis to affect change and begin a constructive discourse in society of how to mend the preceding errors of prior generations when dealing with animal abuse. While for a significant segment of the population the merit of such argumentation may rest solely in the notion that animals deserve certain basic rights, this thesis widens the purview of consciousness with the empirically-proven affirmation that animal violence can potentially lead to attacks against humans by people who progressively engage in anti-social acts. Thus, the nexus between admonishable violent acts and sanctionable criminal acts is intrinsically intertwined in the notion that animal abuse is a potential precursor to human abuse. In this light, even that segment of the population apathetic towards the plight of animals may not refute the importance of impugning any and all admonishable violent acts against animals into the realm of punitive criminal sanctions orchestrated by a governmental body empowered with seeking the common good--for to otherwise refute animal rights through this newly-endowed lens would be to refute human rights as well.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate Mark Twain's awareness of and sensitive reaction to the cruelty which surrounded him throughout his lifetime, and to evaluate his literary use of cruelty for both comic and satiric effects.

I argue here that the practice of penal torture is not intrinsically wrongful. A common objection against the practice of penal torture is that there is something about penal torture that makes it wrongful, while this is not the case for other modes of punishment. I call this claim the asymmetry thesis. One way to defend this position is to claim that penal torture is intrinsically wrongful. It is the claim I argue against here. I discuss and reject three versions this claim. I first address a version that is based on the idea that penal torture, unlike other modes of punishment, is intrinsically wrong because it is inhuman. I then address a version grounded on the claim that, because penal torture is an assault upon the defenseless, it is morally impermissible. Finally, I discuss a version that concerns the idea that penal torture attacks human dignity and undermine agency.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Cleveland State University, 2008. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 14, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 35). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, May 2009. / Electronic version restricted until 12th May 2014.

This study aims to investigate and directorially apply Antonin Artaud's concept of The Absolute in order to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between the characters Beth and Jake in Sam Shepard's play text, A lie of the mind (1986). Previous theoretical analyses of Beth and Jake in A lie of the mind frame them as victims of their circumstances and as victims and perpetrators of violence (Bottoms 1998:16). I will explore the violent relationship between them in the context of the victim/perpetrator binary set up in the original play and re-imagine this binary by creating a radical reinterpretation of the relationship between the characters in a theatre production titled ? (2015). I argue that a directorial treatment of The Absolute assists in destabilising the victim/perpetrator binary present in Beth and Jake's relationship. To reinterpret Beth and Jake's relationship, I explore René Girard's notions of violence, victimisation, and scapegoating, as well as the Artaudian notions of Cruelty, The Absolute, and the Theatre of Cruelty. I apply the Girardian concepts and vocabulary to a reading of the relationship between Beth and Jake. I also discuss the ways in which Artaud and Girard conceptually relate to one another. I then provide a practical exploration within the framework of the Theatre of Cruelty by creating an original production, ? (2015), in which The Absolute facilitates the destabilisation of the victim/perpetrator binary that exists between Beth and Jake. In ? (2015), the relationship between Beth and Jake is reconceptualised and reinterpreted through taking cognisance of the Artaudian-Girardian framework. This dissertation concludes that Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and the notion of The Absolute are able to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between Beth and Jake by replacing sexual desire in their relationship with transcendental love, and reconstructing and reimagining their relationship accordingly. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Drama / MA / Unrestricted