The Evolution of Genres free essay sample

My proposition Is for an essay based around the hypothesis that It Is getting increasing difficult to categories music due to its evolution over time. My essay is going to be split in to six main parts; the introduction/proposal, separate analyses of each genre, and a final conclusion. As this assignment is purely an aural assessment of each genre, each analysis section will remain separate, I will not be comparing genres or critically commenting on them. Three out of the four given genres are very broad categories by which to label music.Jazz, Classical and Country music all have a long history, In which the characteristics of their music have changed over the years. I plan on identifying these characteristics, identifying whats changed and, possibly more importantly, identifying whats stayed the same, as it usually this that enables us to tell these different genres apart. Unfortunately for me, asss Rock is quite a limited genre and is not the greatest genre of choice to help prove my hypotheses correct. We will write a custom essay sample on The Evolution of Genres or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thankfully, there were a great number of technological advances throughout the offs and this allowed people to become more creative and experimental with their music.So even though let on a much shorter time scale, there still should be apparent differences throughout the decade. I will be investigating what makes asss rock different to asss or asss rock, how technological/ creative advancements changed the music and whether or not the keyset is the worst musical instrument ever invented. The conclusion of my essay will be a brief overview of the piece, highlighting the exponential evolution of music today and the creation of the new genres, which allow people to experiment with the traditional characteristics of classic genres.This essay Is going to serve as an Investigation Into the different characteristics that make up the basis of different genres of music. These chosen genres are; Jazz, Country, Classical and asss Rock music. I intend to analyses a number of songs/pieces from each of these genres and see whether or not certain trademark characteristics are present in all of the pieces from that genre. I also intend to investigate whether or not the characteristics by which we identify a piece of musics genre have changed over time.Jazz I will have to try my utmost not to offend any Jazz fans by trying to categories and fine Jazz music In only a few hundred words. They teach you theres a boundary line to music. But, man, theres no boundary line to art. Charlie Parker (Raiser, 1977, p. 27) Jazz has always been a very expressive and artistic genre of music and when you combine that with a history that spans over a century, it makes it very difficult to pin point Its key characteristics. If I had to list some of the characteristics of a progression, a syncopated/swing feel rhythm and, possibly most importantly, improvised solos.Many Jazz standards, such as Theologies Monks Round Midnight ND Johnny Greens Body and Soul, abide by these rules. Having this predetermined structure provides soloists with a great deal of freedom but could be considered restrictive for other the musicians, but this is not the case. The use of 7th and 9th help give the chord progression a fresh feel, chord substitutions are often used, commonly trio-tone substitutions, and changes in key and/or tempo are also highly attractive and provide a large degree of improvisational freedom. (Wilson, 2002) The music has gotten thick. Guys give me tunes and theyre full of chords.I cant play hem. .. think a movement in Jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords Miles Davis (Davis, 1958) The question is; are these characteristics still visible in Jazz music today? Unfortunately, its hard to tell. Over the years many different Jazz hybrid genres have been created such as; acid Jazz, cool Jazz, free Jazz, Jazz-rock fusion, bebop, post-bop, jazz-funk, punk Jazz The list goes on. It is rare nowadays for an artist to solely play one style of Jazz, it is an extremely diverse genre and it is therefore pretty much impossible to define Jazz music today.If forced, I would say there are two things by which I identify Jazz, both past and present, and those are improvisation and instrumentation. Improvised solos are still a big part of many genres of Jazz, in fact, its the entire basis of free Jazz and, although many different instruments have been added and taken away over the years, its not quite Jazz unless it has a brass section. Saxophone and trumpet have been the defining characteristics of Jazz for one hundred years and, I think, they always will be. Move got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice.And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and Just wail. Charlie Parker (Pugnacity, 2006) Country Fortunately for me, country music also has a long and rich history. Country music began in the southern states of America in the sasss and was for many years considered to be hillbillys music and by some people it still is but this is not the case. l think it speaks to our basic fundamental feelings, you know. Of emotions, of love, of breakup, of love and hate and death and dying, mama, apple pie, and the whole thing. It covers a lot of territory, country music does. Johnny Cash (Cash, 2002) Country music first evolved from folk music and in turn inherited many of its traits. Country music was originally very simple; three chord structures, relatable topics and simple instrumentation made songs catchy and memorable. As with folk music, Country music songs often told stories with their lyrics that include characters, dialogue, plot twists and climaxes. Rather than being sung, action will sometimes be spoken. While sometimes country artists will be the stars of their stories and sing them from the first person, other times they will function simply as a narrator.Wolfe, 1999) The instrumentation of a country band we be similar to that of standard rock or harmonica and steel guitars would help give the music its distinctive twangs sound. I-IV-V and I-II-V were popular, the pieces were not often very structurally complex as the main feature of the song was the lyrics. Country music has changed greatly over the years, considering Taylor Swift is a modern example of a country star, youd struggle to find similarities between her music and that of a traditional country music singer such as Jimmie Rodgers.Instruments such as the banjo and the fiddle would mound out of place in one of Swifts chart topping hits but it can be argued that the message and emotions that her songs purvey are that of a country music song. In an interview on The Douglas Show in 1971 , Johnny Cash said that country music was like soul music because it came from the heart and I think that modern country music qualifies by that definition. l think if you sit there and think I have to put this instrument on this song because if I dont people will think that Im in a different genre, then I think that is possibly overthrowing what you do Taylor Swift (Hansel, 2013)Classical We rather incorrectly generalist classical music. Google defines classical music as Serious or conventional music that follows long-established principles rather than a folk, Jazz, or popular tradition, by this definition classical music spans from way back to medieval times right up to modern day. Whereas technically, classical music is music that was composed in the classical era (1730-1820). The music composed in this relatively short period of time abided by a set list of characteristics.Classical music had a lighter, clearer texture than its predec easing era, it utilized a slightly argue orchestra, replaced the formerly popular harpsichord with the recently developed piano and was mainly homophobic. Comparing early and later classical music by this definition would make for short reading as, by the nature of having musical periods, no drastic changes occurred until the next musical age (the romantic period 1815-1910). I regard any music that is played on acoustic orchestral instruments to be classical music.If we were to compare music over the years that fits this description, the change is huge. Considering that the triton was once thought of as the devils interval shows how the opinion of music has changed. Some of the modern experimental uses of tonality, harmony, instrumentation and rhythm in the works of John Cage or Stravinsky would appear like madness to the likes of Beethoven and Bach. l cant understand why people are frightened of new ideas. Im frightened of the old ones -John Cage (Satellite, 2003) Despite all this, classical music is seen as a form of music for a certain class of people.Traditionally, the only people that could afford to go see a live classical performance were wealthy and the people who were wealthy were usually middle class or higher and unfortunately this stigma has stuck. Gs Rock You may think that not much could have changed in the space of a decade but youd be wrong. Due to the nature of modern life and the exponential growth of technology, new musical trends seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. The asss was no rose to fame and some faded away.The asss saw the creation and rise of the power ballad, bands such as Bon Jove and Defy Leopard first mastered the art in the early asss which resulted in lengthy successful careers but the power ballad didnt reach its peak until the latter half of the asss. By 1987 almost every band was impelled to include at least one or two ballads on an album to ensure decent sales. Once bands such as Skid Row and Poison established their dominance, the power ballad had nearly run its course, and a certain blandness became all too commonplace. Peak, 2012) Punk Rock was created in the late asss and rose had to mainstream popularity by the asss. It was a heavily distorted, emotionally charged sub-genre of rock that opposed the asss synch pop of the time with stripped down instrumentation and often politically charged, anti-establishment lyrics. This new, rebellious genre of music paved the way for new sub-genres of rock such as alternative rock. The name alternative rock was given to a new form of rock created in the late sasss that didnt fit in with any other mainstream genres.New sub-genres were cropping up so quickly, they were running out of names. Alternative rock bands such as The Cure, R. E. M and the Smiths had all rose to fame by the asss. The rapid development of music technology had a massive impact on music in the sasss. The creation of electronic music had become much easier by the sasss with some bands completely replacing all instruments with synthesizes sounds. Bands such as The Human League, Duran Duran and the Rhythmic found success using electronic sounds but people soon became bored and popularity fell by the late asss.

Its Me vs It is I

Its Me vs It is I Its Me vs It is I Its Me vs It is I By Maeve Maddox Reader Ali Abuzar wants us to: elaborate the difference and usage of 1.It is me. 2.It is I. 3.This is me. 4.This is I. 5.This is Mr. XYZ. Items 1. and 2: It is me. It is I. Back in the 18th century, when scholars were fiercely debating English grammar in an effort to ascertain and fix it, one of the proposed rules relating to pronouns was that a pronoun in the nominative case (what we now call a subject pronoun) must follow a form of to be: It is I. It is we. It is they. This rule is based on a rule that exists in Latin. The existence of this rule in any language, however, does not prevent most English speakers from saying Its me. When someone phones me and says Is Maeve Maddox there? my response is always This is she. Thats the way my momma brought me up to answer the phone. She also taught me to say To whom do you wish to speak? However, in face to face conversation, Im much more likely to say Its me. Its me is idiomatic English. It is I is not. Thats not to say that the usage of to be followed by a nominative pronoun is either dead or deserves to be. Its just not used by all speakers on all occasions. Theres a familiar hymn whose chorus contains the line Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? Writers of fiction often use the differing forms as character tags. Items 3. and 4: This is me. This is I. The only context for This is me that I can think of (except maybe in answering the telephone) would be in describing photos to another person: This is me the summer after I graduated. This is me when I joined the Marines. This is I would sound strange in this context. Item 5: This is Mr. XYZ. This is the normal construction for such a statement. Ex. This is the author of my favorite novel. This is Mr. Biceps, my gym teacher. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund PhrasesAt Your Disposal90 Verbs Starting with â€Å"Ex-†

Evolving Public Health Nursing Role Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evolving Public Health Nursing Role - Article Example Evolving public health nursing practice is demonstrated by the community participation and ethnographic model. The model is built on the assumptions related to community based participatory research (CBPR) and encourages the community members and trusted community leaders to be engaged in problem identification, project evaluation and dissemination processes. The critical and social action theory provides the philosophical basis for CBPR approach. It creates partnerships with members from different social economic status and maintains balance between community members and researchers through shared leadership, teaching and learning between each group. Public health nurses and community partners are able to be sensitive to ecological context and culture which is important in health promotion since community participation and ethnographic model builds upon local community knowledge for public health nurses. An approach that is ethnographically informed to community and population assessment involves collection and analysis of data allowing socio-cultural contexts, systems and meaning. These assumptions are useful in the steps and processes of action research. Planning actions can be made by the community and the nurses through data collection. Participatory action research emphasises the involvement and action of the community. This design was appropriate for this study since drug and substance abuse does not only affect the individuals involved but also the community as a whole. Participatory action research is based on reflection, data collection and action particularly on public health nursing. It also focuses on research whose purpose is to enable action. In this case, action was data collection and was done by displaying socio-economic information about teenagers in the community and the places that were associated with substance use and disuse. The data was collected through interviews and photovoice. GIS mapping was used by the public health

As I visualize in five years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

As I visualize in five years - Essay Example Life as we know it today will be totally different by the time the year 2017 rolls around. To begin with, computer technology and usage will continue to become an even more important and time consuming part of our daily lives. With our internet connected appliances, we will rely on the computer to keep tabs on our daily needs by gently reminding us of whatever life sustaining needs we may be falling short of already. Our refrigerators will be able to instantly compile our grocery list and place that order for delivery or pick up from our local grocery store. Cellular phones will be totally merged with the tablet PC by then and no longer exist as the small hand held devices that we are currently familiar with. Social networking via social media websites will take over our social lives by the year 2017. This means that man will sadly, no longer have the ability, or have a totally diminished physical and mental ability to interact with one another on a personal basis. Man will be mental ly affected by the advent of social media networking as a way to meet and interact with people because he will have a total distrust of the people that he has the opportunity to meet face to face and have physical contact with. So most of the social and business interaction of that time will already be done via virtual office meetings using Skype and similar technology. As much as possible, people will not want others to know how they truly look because the avatars that they create to represent themselves will look better than the actual person. Thus nobody will know what the other people in their environment will look like anymore, nor will they care about what they can actually see, touch, and feel. Medical technology will be totally automated by that time as well. I envision the field of patient care to have machines and robots doing most of the jobs that human beings are currently undertaking in the hospital setting. This means that no human being will ever be seen on the floor. Instead, the human operators will be hidden in the back office of hospitals where their physical participation can be limited and the possibility of malpractice suits can be brought down to a minimum. The human touch, that has slowly been diminishing from the actual world at the moment due to overworked and underpaid health care workers at the moment will be a thing of the past for they shall no longer exist in the shape and form that we currently know them to have. Money in terms of physical dollars and cents will also cease to exist as we know it. With people opting for a cashless society that uses the scanning technology of their tablet PC to access virtual cash that can be used to pay for goods and services. People shall no longer working from real offices. Rather, telecommuting will be the way of the future and people shall all work from home where, future scientific studies about workman effectiveness will show, people can function much better in a professional setting due to the lack of stress and personal comfort that being able to work from anywhere provides for the worker. Religion in itself will probably be a dying institution by that time as science continues to uncover the facts that disprove the religious beliefs and traditions that are written in the bible and advocated by evangelists and preachers. As people turn more and more towards science to explain the life cycle of man, religion shall become irrelevant in the daily lives of

Illuminati and New World Order Essay Example for Free

Illuminati and New World Order Essay Conspiracy theories have been around forever, but today there seems thousands of them. These theories are developed over time, by looking at past and current events throughout time. When we look at these events, we reanalyze them and question whether or not there is more to the story. This is done because we like to create ideas and seek the truth. One of the most well known conspiracy theories is the secret group known as the Illuminati. The Illuminati in modern times is thought of as a secret group, whose members are made of the worlds most influential and famous. These members include world leaders such as presidents, prime ministers and dictators. Even many celebrities are mentioned, mostly being well known song artist. The goal of the Illuminati is to control the economy and use mind control to establish a new world order. All the members involved are rumored to be self-seeking opportunist who perform satanic rituals to bring harm to the masses for their own spiteful desires. Even though This might be just another bogus theory, it is important to be aware of it, otherwise we are doomed because We cant allow ourselves to be blind to the truth and the rich will take advantage of us. Since the Illuminati has control over world finance, politics and media they control a lot of the way we live, but not how we live. Ive looked into the Illuminati for almost five years now and its crazy how much of a stir this idea has caused and how many people talk about it. To me this just gives the theory strength and once an idea has enough believers to back it up, thats when the threnody is no longer just a thought, its a reality. With an idea like this becoming so powerful, its common sense we need to keep our eye open especially with crazy people who will try to attack influential people whom page they believe to be members of the Illuminati. Either way its always nice to be open minded and aware in your approach to life. Now as for the legitimacy of the Illuminati, its real and refers to a very old group called the Bavarian Illuminati, founded by Adam Weishaupt. The term Illuminati comes from the Latin word illuminatus, meaning â€Å"enlightened†. The members of the group were known as the enlightened ones. The Illuminati in the 1700s had a goal to eradicate superstition and the Roman churches domination over science and philosophy. Even though the group only gathered 2,000 members within the span of ten years, keep in mind it was the 1700s and all the members where very influential people. Those influential people were literary men who were attracted to the group because of they faced the same opposition. Eventually Karl Theodore became ruler of Bavaria and he decided to put a ban on all secret groups like the Illuminate, due to his ties with religion. This is where the original Illuminati was supposed to have been disbanded, but throughout time former members who spread their influence and rose back to power. This is where the conspiracy theory starts and the modern day Illuminati begins to rise to power. How they kept communication is widely argued about, the only thing that is consistent is that the old members that were cast out from the original group scattered out and recruited new influential members across the globe from Napoleon Bonaparte to George Washington. Eventually the American Revolution happens and America gains its independence. With George Washington leading this new born nation, this country was being guided by a man who pledged his allegiance to Lucifer in order to gain wealth and fame, at the cost of the suffering of others. With so much power the Illuminati began to rise and never stopped, due to how great a nation America became. Today America is arguably the lone super power nation, filled with the most diverse population and greatest minds from everywhere, we have found a home. The only problem is the Illuminati is a guest in our home and will make it their own if were not aware. Most people would say if secret page organizations like this were so powerful, it would be obvious to spot out and destroy it. This is half true, they are powerful, but with media distracting us everywhere we go, its easy to blend in. The Illuminati will remain hidden until they want to make their big move for world domination. In order to survive we must keep track of its active members and try to limit their growth as much as we can. This theory has been going around ever since the first group broke up in the 1700s and the theory has only continued to grown due to its infamy and signs of credibility. The theory has been presented from everyone all over the world. With a theory as big as this one has become, there are going to be a lot of issues and there needs to be some proof to back its claim. Now its time to show all the symbolism the Illuminati uses to communicate with each other right under the publics nose. They control the currency and the bills we use in America. On the one dollar bill there are so many coincidences. The main one being the eye in the pyramid on the back of the dollar bill. The Illuminatis main symbol the all seeing eye staying true to their original symbol back in the 1700s. Now this may seem like an extremely far fetched coincidence, but theres more. The latin words above and below the pyramid. Above the pyramid it says Annuit Caecares, in latin this means annoucing the birth. then below the pyramid it says nuevos ordo seclorum meaning New world order. Announcing the birth of a new world order seems fitting because America gained its independence, but the next part is where you start to question whats really going on. Below the pyramid is a date May 1st, 1776. The birth of the original Illuminati, not America. It doesnt stop there even the Eagle holding 13 olive branches and 13 arrows. This goes along with 13 stripes on the American flag and the 13 stars above the eagles head. Finally another latin phrase above the eagles head E plubus unum meaning one out of many because thats exactly who controls the worlds money, the 1%. The eagle itself isnt based on the bald eagle, its based on a phoenix. The 1782 seal depicts a Phoenix holding arrows and an olive branch. The same seal the original Illuminati used. Theres just too many obvious signs that some thing is going on with American power in relation to the Illuminati. page Another Illuminati symbol is the owl because of its the symbol of Mivera, the goddess of wisdom. The owl is shown as well in the upper right corner of the face on the one dollar bill. Supposedly many US presidents have bowed down to a giant Owl statue locatin at the bohemian grove. The Bohemian Grove located in Monte Rio, California is a major planning and meeting place of the secret group. The manhattan project was rumored to have been planned there. Also Nixon and Reagan decided who would run for president in that spot as well-(herbs 21). Symbolism is a very important thing when it comes to the illuminati to stay alert of its presence. Especially when it comes to the media and people we look up to.

Jean Luc Godard?s Weekend as Didactic Self-Reflexive Cinema Essay

According to Stephen Prince in Movies and Meaning: an Introduction to Film, Screen Reality is a concept that pertains to the principles of time, space, character behavior and audiovisual design that filmmakers systematically organize in a given film to create an ordered world on-screen in which characters may act and in which a narrative may unfold.(262) One mode of cinematic screen reality is self-reflexivity. While the other three modes of screen reality seek to sway the audience into accepting the authenticity of the world and the story that are on screen, the self-reflexive style deliberately attempts to tear down the illusion of the cinema. In doing so, it reinforces the awareness that film is socially and culturally constructed and that at its core, film is art, not reality. There are two purposes in using self reflexive techniques, either for comedy or with the hope of addressing a social or cultural issue. (Prince 290) The more familiar of the two modes of self-reflexive cinema make use of a comedic style, and what's more, many contemporary comedies embody comedic self-reflexivity (Prince 291). These comedies do so because it facilitates a more personal rapport between the characters and the audience, thus amplifying the humor that can be seen in the narrative. However, there are certain limitations to comic self reflexivity. By presupposing the audience’s familiarity with the humor or references in the narrative, the mode risks reaching an audience that does not relate to the material presented. Some films are unable to meet a large audience because their narratives are constructed from â€Å"inside† jokes that can not be understood by all who will see it. (Prince 290) The other mode of self-reflexive cinema that addresses an issue of importance is commonly known as didactic self-reflexivity. Beginning in the 1920s with Bertolt Brecht, a playwright who wanted to craft plays that were reflective of society and that made sure the audience was aware of this. He wished that his work inform the public and impact social change, to share his perception without a screen. Seeing realism as an impediment that kept the audience from perceiving the message of the art, Brecht sought to devise theater that was uncompromisingly revolutionary and candid. This new style was characterized by the employment of titles to reveal the next action, in the way tha... ...aken from a scene. For instance, a title passes on screen reading "World / 3", just before the African and Arab workers explain their optimism and their reasons for accepting the necessity for violence. As seen throughout the film, Godard uses these titles as a device to: Introduce and set off a given scene from the surrounding context of the narrative, tell viewers what it is they are about to see, remind viewers of the filmmakers intrusion on the narrative, and emphasize the way the filmmaker has chosen to shape and organize the structure of the film. Filmmakers like Jean Luc Godard employ the devices of the self-reflexive mode of screen reality because they do not value the mode of realism or expressionism to adequately convey some social truth or ideal. In choosing a didactic style of representational reality, he sought to guide and direct the viewer through the key representations and dialogues within the film. Godard believes that it is necessary for the audience to read the film as it must be without misinterpretation and as such has employed didactic self-reflexive devices which facilitate a clear reading of the film. The film is the message for Godard.

Importance of fault-based liability in English law Essay

Fault is regarded as blame, or responsibility for doing something wrong. The concept of fault is integral to the English legal system when it comes to deciding guilt of liability. In fact, in many areas of law if fault could not be assigned, the system would fall apart as liability can only be found if fault is established first. Fault is particularly important in cases which require mens rea. In these cases it will have to be proven that a certain state of mind was present in the defendant. In criminal law the requirement that mens rea or a guilty mind be established amounts to saying that criminal liability is imposed on blameworthy activity. This close connection between fault and mens rea results in punishment being based on the degree of moral blameworthiness that the defendant is believed to have possessed. The fact that this degree of blameworthiness not only determines whether the defendant will simply be found guilty or not guilty, but is concerned with the punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation of individuals whose conduct is considered by the law to be not only wrongs against other individuals, but also against society as a whole, suggests fault is clearly an essential element. To determine fault the person in question must understand the nature of their actions, be able to exercise control over their actions and must have genuinely chosen to act as they did. These three requirements mean a person’s degree of fault can be reduced if it can be said they are insane, in doli capax (incapable of a crime i.e. a child under the age of ten), or have acted under duress. The recognition of being insane or in doli capax clearly means that they were not able to fully understand the nature of their actions, whilst acting under duress results in them not being able to choose to act as they did. It is also possible that they may not have the capacity to make a genuine choice. In these circumstances it can still be said that the defendant is at fault, but only partially. When dealing with criminal law fault is central to crime in the form of mens rea. Without this element being satisfied the defendant cannot be found to be criminally liable, with the exception of crimes of strict liability. There are three distinct degrees of fault in criminal law, namely, intention, recklessness and negligence. The more at fault a defendant is, the highest degree being intention, then the more they will be held responsible for their crimes. There is also evidence to support this when looking at the two broad categories of crimes; Specific intent crimes and basic intent crimes. Crimes of specific intent consist of those where the mens rea must be intention. Since these crimes hinge upon the highest degree of moral blameworthiness, the greatest degree of fault, they apply to the most serious crimes, such as murder, section 18 GBH and wounding offences, robbery and burglary for example. Subsequently, these crimes also carry the most severe sanctions. Basic intent crimes however require only recklessness to prove criminal liability. It can be considered then that a defendant in a reckless state of mind is less at fault than one possessing the necessary intention, so these crimes tend to carry less maximum prison sentences for example. Involuntary manslaughter, section20 GBH and wounding offence, assault and ABH are all included in the definition of basic intent crimes. The reasoning behind these categories can be understood using Oatley. The defendant here was suffering from severe postnatal depression when she killed her 11-day-old baby by swinging her head against the stairs. Although she was of sound mind this act would have been given a very severe punishment, probably a lengthy prison sentence, she was given a two year probation order and medical treatment. Clearly the defendant was at fault, but only partially due to the postnatal depression. The degree of fault that she possessed at the time of the actus reus was impaired and therefore the degree of punishment should reflect this. Civil law also incorporates the idea of fault into its system. Liability for negligence only arises when the defendant has breached his duty of care to his neighbour and harm occurs as a result of this. In these circumstances fault is defined as falling below a standard of conduct expected of the reasonable person in those circumstances. Although there is evidence to suggest that fault is in fact an essential element in liability, there is some evidence to weaken this theory. Firstly, it is possible that in practice, liability can hinge on chance as well as fault. This can be illustrated using a number of cases, including R v White. In this case the defendant tried to poison his mother but she ended up dying of natural causes before the poison could take effect. Because of this he was not able to be convicted of attempted murder. The defendant clearly had the necessary mens rea, he intended to kill his mother, but chance meant his mother died of natural causes, just a few moments later and maybe the poison could have had an input. However, the poison did not cause the prohibited result so he was not criminally liable. Also, in R v Mitchell, the defendant pushed a man in a queue, who in turn fell against another, who in turn fell against an elderly lady who had to have an operation from which she died. The Court of Appeal ruled that transferred malice applied to unlawful act manslaughter. Chance played in a part in this case too, as it just so happened that the elderly lady was in that queue, that the person he did push fell, not only falling onto someone else, but then that person falling onto the old lady. It was chance therefore in this case that enabled the defendant to be liable for the death of the lady, instead of maybe just for the battery of the first man in the queue. Both these cases illustrate that fault alone is not just what determines someone’s liability; chance can often play an essential part too. Indeed, sometimes fault may be left out altogether from the equation, in crimes of strict liability. Fault can be further understood when looking at negligence. Negligence is carelessness, the defendant wasn’t thinking like the ordinary reasonable person would have done, it’s a lack of thought as oppose to actual thought, not taking enough care that the ordinary reasonable person would have done. In the case of Gibbons and Proctor, Proctor actually wanted the girl dead and so she was convicted of murder as she intended to kill, however Gibbons was merely negligent he wasn’t taking enough care of the child thus he wasn’t convicted of murder he was only convicted of GNM. It must be questioned as to the importance of fault here, negligence is a very low level of fault, it’s not thinking of something you should have thought yet it can lead to a conviction of manslaughter, a homicide conviction. It would seem therefore that fault doesn’t seem to be that important here because you can still convict someone of manslaughter however if you are convicted of manslaughter the judge in that case has complete discretion over sentencing. However still should fault not be more important in this instance, should there not be a higher level of fault than mere negligence. The judge can give an absolute discharge if they chose to do so, if we take in to account proportionality, this is still recognised in the sentence however the defendant would still be labelled as a murderer. In cases involving negligence, the neighbour principal, established in Donoghue v Stevenson is used to determine whether or not the defendant was at fault. This involves looking at whether there a duty of care that was breached, causing the damage to occur, as it was deemed unfair to expect the individual to be liable for people to whom a duty of care cannot be found. The defendant will not be found to be at fault if they have taken reasonable steps to avoid damage occurring, which meet the standards of care that an ordinary and reasonable person would take. The concept of fault is also central to criminal law, for example at trial the prosecution will try to show that the defendant was at fault, whilst the defence aim to show that they were not at fault, and during sentencing the amount of fault which the defendant is considered to have will affect the severity of their sentence. The highest level of fault comes in crimes which were committed intentionally, with the defendant setting out to commit the crime, perhaps having planned it first. The next type of fault is recklessness, which following G v R will always be subjective, which is less serious as there was no intention to commit the crime. However this is still a serious form of fault as the defendant has foreseen a risk. The use of fault in strict liability crimes has been quite controversial as in these crimes the courts are able to assign fault without the presence of a mens rea, so long as the actus reus has been committed. For example, in The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Storkwain, a pharmacist was found guilty of supplying a drug to an addict on a forged prescription despite there being no fault on his part, which many would view as being overly harsh given that by the ordinary person’s standards he would not be considered to have been at fault. Strict liability offences are those where a conviction results from proof of mens rea alone. There is no actus reus requirement, and therefore no need for the defendant’s degree of fault to be established. For example, in the case of Callow v Tillstone, a butcher was convicted of selling meat unfit for human consumption even though it had been inspected and approved by a qualified vet before hand. Similarly, in Smedley v Breed, the defendant was found guilty of selling unfit food even though only four tins out of three million tested were found to contain caterpillars. One case that illustrates absolute liability is R v Larsonneur. The accused was an alien the subject of an exclusion order under which it would be an offence for her to enter the United Kingdom. She was brought to the United Kingdom handcuffed to the police and very much against her will and yet she was still convicted for violating the exclusion order. It is clear that in these examples from the criminal law there is some liability being imposed in the absence of fault. These exceptions can also be found in civil law, although limited. Perhaps the major instance of liability being imposed without fault in tort can be found in the area of vicarious liability. This is when one person is held liable for the tort of another person. This was a practical mechanism established to find someone who was able to pay for damages to the claimant, primarily in respect of the employer for the torts of the employee. Obviously it would be in the claimant’s best interest if they could obtain damages from a large employer for the actions of an individual employee. The justification for this is that the employer should be able to exercise control over their employees and so they can be held liable for the torts of their employees providing that the employee is not on a ‘frolic of his own’. This can be seen in Rose v Plenty where the employers were liable when an employee gave a lift to a person, who subsequently assisted with the deliveries that were the job of the employee and died. In some circumstance liability is still imposed even when the employer gave express and implicit instructions to the employee not to do the very thing that he then did so incurring vicarious liability on the employer. Therefore, whilst this handful of examples of some of the exceptions, both in criminal and civil law, to the general case, they are sufficient to show that the statement that there can be no liability without fault is too general to be true, thus weakening the argument that fault is an essential element in determining liability. Similarly controversial is the use of fault in State of Affairs crimes, where the defendant may have involuntarily committed an offence, yet are still guilty. One such example is Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent in which a drunken man was taken from a hospital onto a road outside by the police, and then arrested for being drunk on the highway, even though he would never have made it onto the highway without the â€Å"help† of the police. As with Strict Liability crimes, the ordinary person would not see the defendant as being at fault here, and may view the use of fault in this area of the law as being unfair. The issue of fault is even present in defences, in that aggravating and mitigating factors can be used to lessen the amount of fault which the defendant is thought of having. For example someone on bail who plans an attack on an old lady will be seen as being more at fault than someone committing their first offence and entering an early plea of guilty. The concept of fault therefore is present in many areas of law, both civil and criminal. In many cases, without the need to prove fault, system would not work as it is necessary for one party to be blamed for the criminal offence in order to settle it.