Assignment 1:
Ted Talk Reflection Assignment
Pick your favorite of the Ted talks within the playlist assigned, and read the comments attached. After reflecting on the text you read, the talks you heard, and the materials we have reviewed previously in this course, create your own comment. The comment should be at least two paragraphs and contain vocabulary and concepts from the course.
Ted talk link: https://www.ted.com/playlists/165/life_in_and_ after_prison
Discussion Board Topic: Law enforcement agencies often set up sobriety checkpoints on major roadways and highways – especially on weekends, holidays, and other times when people are more likely to be drinking. In theory, checkpoints can get unsafe drivers off the road, as well as deter would-be drunk drivers from getting on the roads. At the same time, some argue that checkpoints are not only inconveniences, but serious infringements on privacy rights. Who is affected by these checkpoints? For all affected, what good comes from checkpoints? What harms? Are there long-term consequences? Are there indirect or unintended consequences? Do the overall good effects outweigh the overall harm caused?
200-250 words. APA format.
Discussion Board Topic: Undercover police work necessarily requires that officers of the law participate in activities that would, under most circumstances, be deemed illegal. For example, police have been noted to transport drugs into prisons, launder drug money, fence stolen goods, and print counterfeit money. These and many other examples involve law enforcement officers’ willingly and knowingly engaging in behaviors that are legally prohibited for the sake of gathering evidence against other criminals. Except in cases in which officer behavior goes well beyond what is necessary for their role, they are immune from prosecution. Relying on one or more of the normative theories outlined in the text above, what moral issues are presented by undercover police work? Do the ends justify the means? Where might be draw the line between moral and immoral.
200-250 words. APA format.
