Monday, September 30, 2019

Sleep Terrors

Sleep terrors are commonly known by a few terms, including sleep terrors, night terrors, sleep terror disorder, and pavor nocturnus. The person having a sleep terror will awaken from a dream crying or screaming, which may last for minutes. The person is difficult to awaken and confused. There is no recollection of the dream once awake. Sometimes the person can be violent by swinging their fists or punching. This paper will look in depth at sleep terrors and give a concise review of the causes, prevalence, treatment, symptoms, and safety measures in the sleep lab when dealing with sleep terrors. Definition The definition of sleep terrors is â€Å"a sleep disorder involving abrupt awakening from sleep in a terrified state† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). â€Å"The cause is unknown but night terrors are commonly associated with periods of emotional tension, stress, or conflict† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005). Overview To understand sleep terrors, you first need to understand normal sleep patterns. â€Å"Normal sleep cycles involve distinct stages from light drowsiness to deep sleep† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). These include REM and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep involves four stages. The normal sleeping person will have several cycles of REM and non-REM sleep through the night. Night terrors occur during deep sleep, which occurs during stages 3 and 4 of non-REM sleep, beginning approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep (Connelly, 2003) and they generally have a duration of 10 to 20 minutes. The patient usually screams in panic, but there is no memory of what caused them to be scared. (Kiriakopoulos, 2005) Sleep terrors are like nightmares but with certain distinct differences. Nightmares normally occur during REM sleep vs. sleep terrors occurring during deep sleep. Nightmares are most common in the early morning vs. sleep terrors occurring during the first one-third of the night. The sleeper can remember the details of a nightmare vs. a sleep terror, which cannot be remembered. Sleep terrors are not normal, but â€Å"nightmares are normal on occasion, especially after frightening movies/TV shows or emotional situations† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). â€Å"The sleep disorder of night terrors typically occurs in children aged 3-12 years, with a peak onset in children aged 3? years† (Connelly, 2005, p. 1). Boys, girls, and children of all races are equally affected by sleep terrors. An estimated 1-6% of children experience night terrors† (Connelly, 2005,p. 1). Sleep terrors can be familiar. By adolescence, most children have outgrown sleep terrors. (Connelly, 2005) Sleep terrors can run in families. Although uncommon, adults may have sleep terrors but they are associated â€Å"with emotional tension and/or the use of alcohol† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). Although sleep terrors are â€Å"not directly caused by a general medical condition or substance use, including medications and drugs of abuse, these symptoms cause clinically important distress or impair work, social or personal functioning† (Narcolepsy Association UK, 2003). Diagnosis â€Å"Usually, a complete history and a physical examination are sufficient to diagnose night terrors† (Connolly, 2003, p. 6). Review of symptoms is necessary for accurate diagnosis of all sleep disorders. In many cases, considering the symptoms, no tests are necessary. (Kiriakopoulos, 2005) It is important to rule out seizure disorders and nightmares when making the differential diagnosis of sleep terror. (Narcolepsy Association UK, 2003) This may include an electroencephalogram (EEG) which measures brain activity and can rule out a seizure disorder, or a sleep study to rule out other sleep disorders. Other tests such as CT Scans and MRI’s are unnecessary. (Connelly, 2003) The cause is unknown. Sleep terrors are frequently brought on by â€Å"stress, fever, sleep deprivation, and medications that affect the central nervous system† (Connelly, 2003, p. 2). Symptoms Symptoms of sleep terrors include sudden awakening from sleep. â€Å"During each episode the patient shows evidence of marked fear and autonomic arousal, such as rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat and sweating† (Narcolepsy Association UK, 2003). When awakened from the sleep terror, the person is difficult to comfort and is unable to explain what happened or recall the dream, though they may have a sense of being frightened. â€Å"They will have no memory of the event on awakening the next day† Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). Thankfully, sleep terrors generally only occur once per night. (Narcolepsy Association UK, 2003) Treatment, Prognosis, And Prevention There is no true treatment for sleep terrors. It is important to â€Å"educate the family about the disorder and reassuring them that the episodes are not harmful† (Connelly, 2003, p. ). â€Å"Comfort and reassurance are the only treatment required† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). It is important for parents of children with sleep disorders to take the following precautions. â€Å"Make the child’s room safe to prevent the child from being injured during an episode, eliminate all sources of sleep disturbance, and maintaining a consistent bedtime routin e and wake-up time† (Connelly, 2003, p. 7). When medication is used, it is benzodiazepine or benadryl given just prior to or at bedtime. These medications will reduce sleep terrors. Although rare, â€Å"in severe cases, in which daily activities (for example, school performance or peer or family relations) are affected† (Connelly, 2003, p. 8), the person may require antidepressant therapy. â€Å"Minimizing stress or using coping mechanisms may reduce night terrors. The number of episodes usually decreases after age 10† (Sheth, 2005, p. 1). Most children outgrow night terrors. When this does not occur, â€Å"stress reduction and/or psychotherapy may be helpful for sleep terror in adults† (Kiriakopoulos, 2005, p. 1). â€Å"Night terrors may also be treated with hypnosis and guided imagery echniques† (Narcolepsy Association UK, 2003, p. 1). There are also support groups available. Role of the Polysomnographic Technologist The sleep technologist is responsible for the patient during the polysomnography study. The technologist needs to have reviewed the patient’s questionnaire and be prepared for the outburst and confusion that may occur during a sleep terror event. The technologist needs skills to comfort and protect the patient during a terror. The patient may be combative so the technologist would need to be able to protect the patient and any near him from hitting and punching that could occur. It would be important to be able to gently restrain them so they are both comforted and safe. Polysomnographic Record Of A 3 Year Old With Sleep Terror Disorder Summary/Conclusion Sleep terror disorder is a sleep disorder that involves waking from deep sleep in a panic. The person is difficult to arouse and confused. If they can recall any of the dream at that time, when they wake then next day, they will not remember that the terror even occurred. The disorder occurs mostly in young children before their teen years begin. Most children out grow the disorder, but some adults are affected. Diagnosis is simple, requiring few tests. Treatment is mostly supportive requiring education of the family and comfort of the individual with the sleep terror disorder. In rare cases, psychotherapy and/or counseling may be necessary if it affect the persons daily functioning and relationships. Sleep terrors are very interesting to me. I have never even known anyone with terrors, and but the prevalence is enough that most people should know someone with the disorder. Although the diagnosis is usually easy, the sleep technologist has a role in the diagnosis when more than the patient’s symptoms are needed.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Bipolar Disorder Essay

What is Bipolar Disorder? A Brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in moods Also known as manic-depressive disorder It consists of manic episodes, depressive episodes, and/or hypomanic episodes People with bipolar disorder are also usually diagnosed with anxiety, attention deficit disorder, substance abuse, or physical health problems There are three types of bipolar disorder: Bipolar I Disorder – diagnostic criteria At least one manic episode May or may not have had a depressive episode There are more specific subcategories because it varies from person to person Bipolar II Disorder – criteria At least one hypomanic episode (not fully manic) At least one major depressive episode There are also more specific subcategories Cyclothymic Disorder – criteria Numerous hypomanic episodes Periods of depression Never have a full manic or major depressive episode Symptoms must last 2 yrs. or more and they can’t go away for more than 2 months What is a manic episode? A manic episode is a period of abnormally and persistently elevated, irritable, or expansive moods that last at least one week. To be considered a manic episode the mood disturbance must be severe enough to cause noticeable difficulty at work, school, or social activities Symptoms are not due to the direct effects of other things like drug use, other medications, or having a medical condition What is a hypomanic episode? A hypomanic episode is a distinct period of elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts at least 4 days. The mood disturbance must be severe enough to cause a noticeable change in functioning The episode is not severe enough to cause significant difficulty at work, school, or in social activities Symptoms are not due to the effects of something else such as drug use or other medications What is a depressive episode? A depressive episode is a period of major depression not caused by grieving Major depressive episode usually occurs directly after the manic episode ends Treatment Bipolar Disorder requires lifelong treatment – even during times when there are no symptoms Treatment is typically guided by a psychiatrist Primary treatment includes medications, individual counseling, and support groups Risk Factors Blood relative with Bipolar Disorder Periods of high stress Teens through mid-20s Drug and alcohol use Major life changes Statistics on Bipolar Disorder Bipolar Disorder affects about 5.7 millions adults in America (about 2.6% of the U.S. population) Median age of onset is 25 years old It is seen almost equally in men and women More than 2/3 of people with Bipolar Disorder have at least one close relative with the disorder Bipolar is the 6th leading cause of disability in the world 1 in 5 patients with Bipolar Disorder commits suicide 9.2 year reduction in expected life span

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business report - Essay Example As for printing, the companys range of activities range from printing of flyers and insert; catalogues, books, financials; its printing plant in North America, as well as key accounts such as SFC, the New York Times, G&M, Metro and others (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. offers marketing products and services that range from direct marketing, website development, database analytics, and fulfillment mailing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). II. Describe its domestic and global operations, including sales or revenue generated in each geographic area and the corresponding percentage generated in each geographic area (e.g., by country, region, economic community, etc.) In 2008, Transcontinental, Inc. has a reported revenues amounting to $2,429.3 million (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Of this, $2051.8 million or 84.86% represents the companys operations in Canada. 75.61% of this sales, or $1,836.8 million are sales within Canada, while 8.85% represents exports. The remaining 15.54% represents sales in the United States and Mexico (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. has three strategic business units—marketing services, publishing and printing. According to the companys annual report, in 2008, the companys marketing services has reaped an amount of $1,252.2 million in sales; the publishing has $647.5 million ; and $624 million for printing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). In 2007, the companys sales from its marketing services strategic business unit amounts to $1150.1 million, with $634.7 million in printing and $633.5 million in publishing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. has posted $2,282.3 million in its revenues in 2006; where its marketing services amount to $1082.2 million, its printing has earned $714.7 million, and its publishing business unit has reaped $579.8 million. In 2006, the company has earned a net

Friday, September 27, 2019

Organization Improvement Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organization Improvement Project - Essay Example essful organization leading in the business of water, gas and electricity, Enron was transformed into a credit laden and failed company due to unaccountability, corruption and failure to apply ethical principles (Gutman, 2002). Unethical and corrupt leadership was the greatest recipe for Enron’s collapse, which for years, the company tried to hide from the public domain. Coupled with dubious retirement plans and stocks, this culminated in disastrous consequences for the company, downgrading what it had achieved in 15 years, whereby it had established itself as a giant in the business world in the US (Gutman, 2002). Measures that the company would have instituted to ensure that the company did not collapse include; inculcation of organizational ethical cultures in company operations and the management; institution of trade-offs between individual actions and positive actions; Encouraging leaders to have ethical consciousness and to ensure leaders are accountable in their actions. Most important, there should be a complete overhaul of corporate and fiscal systems so that transparency and ethics are injected into corporate business practices at Enron. A potent and noteworthy plan needs to be put in place so that improvement can be achieved in the organization. This plan, the Ethical Leadership Decision Making Model, must always expect leaders to exhibit moral awareness before undertaking tasks. In so doing, leaders would be able to gauge the extent of their actions. It is important for every leader to weigh the end results of issues before undertaking them In conclusion, The Enron Scandal illustrates what unethical business practices can do to a successful; company. Once a successful organization, Enron collapsed as a result of unethical decisions, dubious business practices and lack of accountability by its leaders (Gutman, 2002). Had the company instituted business ethics in its practices, it would still be the successful company that ruled America for 15

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Critical paper for the film Lars and the real girl Essay

Critical paper for the film Lars and the real girl - Essay Example The other important thing in the film is the relationship between Lars and his family members who are also supportive of Bianca. Everyone within the family and in the workplace is supportive of Lars and Bianca to an extent of recognizing their relationship. The interesting thing in the film is that Lars’ co-worker Margo, who was admired him felt jealous of the doll. This is evident when Margo indicates that her boyfriend has broken up with her. This is interesting because Lars had ignored her and opted to stay with Bianca, instead of a real woman. The other interesting thing in the film is the doctor’s direction that everyone should support with Lars’ rehabilitation by treating Bianca as if she were a real female. The doctor discovered that Lars was undergoing an underlying problem that required the support of the family members to help overcome it. It is also exciting that Bianca was taken to the hospital after being â€Å"unresponsive.† The news moved across the town and the townspeople sent flowers to console Lars. The people’s behavior towards Bianca and Lars is strange and sounds interesting since this was a unique thing to them. Margo was among the people who had sent the flowers, though she fel t the urge of dating Lars after the misfortune of losing Bianca. The provocative aspect in the film is the way Lars idolization of Bianca at the expense of other women like Margo. This shows that the real women do not deserve the respect and support that Bianca received in the town. It would be appropriate if Lars gave the attention to real women instead of a life-size doll. The lowered the dignity of Margo and other women within the town to play second fiddle to a doll. Another provocative thing in the film is the way Lars lives in the garage, yet Gus had invited him to join them in the main house. Lars lives in solitude and do not appreciate social interactions with other family members or co-workers. This is provocative

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Climate change and Emission Trading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Climate change and Emission Trading - Essay Example In October 2006, Nicholas Stern, head of the United Kingdom's government economics services presented his report on the economics of climate change to the British Government [Stern, 2007]. The stern Report estimates that "if we don't act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to loosing at least 5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more. "In contrast, the cost of action-reducing GHG emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change-can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year". These conclusions are in sharp contrast to the implicit assumptions in public statements on climate change. The stern report finds that climate change is not just a nuisance, but can significantly reduce economic growth. And that mitigating climate change is not all that expensive. The stern report concludes, "The benefits of st rong, early action considerably outweigh the costs". The impacts of climate change are, not evenly distributed. The poorest countries and people will, suffer earlier and most. And if when the damages it will be too late to reverse the process. Thus we have to look ahead. This is because the countries which have less resources to counter their impact of climate change and also because developing countries are often heavily dependent on agriculture-the most climate sensitive of economic sectors. The stern report finds that while "emission have been, and continue to be driven by economic growth; yet stabilization of GHG concentration in the atmosphere is feasible and consistent with continued growth". The report recognizes that achieving large emission reductions will have a cost. The estimated annual cost of stabilization at 500-550 PPM CO2 will be around 1% of GDP by 2050- a level that is significant but manageable. Climate change mitigation normally involves reducing GHG emissions. Mitigation can also involve removing CO2 from the atmosphere, usually through a forestation and reforestation; such activities are called CO2 sinks. Improved efficiency in the use of fossil fuels and increased use of renewable energy sources are among the most promising option for reducing CO2 emissions. The lowest cost mitigation options generally involve energy efficiency improvement. Energy saving opportunities is often higher in developing countries and is especially large for buildings and in transport (Enqvist, Naucler & Rosander, 2007). Climate change first gained significance in 1988. Not long afterwards, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted by various governments in May 1992, and came into force, in 1994, (UNFCCC, 1994). Today the UNFCCC is one of the widely supported international environmental agreements ratified by 188 states and the European community. The ultimate aim of the UNFCCC is to achieve stabilization of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Diabetic Retinopathy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diabetic Retinopathy - Essay Example Results from numerous clinical trials of laser photocoagulation and various other treatments and a good understanding of the pathogenesis would have a huge impact on blindness in the diabetic population. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] The prevalence of retinopathy is strongly linked to the duration of diabetes. A stringent control of blood sugar levels delays the onset of diabetes. Vision loss with diabetic retinopathy may occur from several different mechanisms such as Macular oedema or ischemia which may impair central vision. Extensive studies have reported the cost effectiveness of screening for diabetic retinopathy as it saves vision at reduced costs. The cost of screening modalities depends largely on various factors such as trained professionals and accessibility of screening equipment. Current management of diabetic retinopathy includes systematic control of blood pressure and glucose levels, surgery including laser photocoagulation or pars plana vitrectomy; and currently developed pharmacologic interventions. Vitrectomy is capable of restoring useful vision to patients suffering from severe diabetic retinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage either with or without an accompanying traction retinal detachment. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Systemic Control: Development and progression of diabetic retinopathyis delayed by glycemic control. Laser photocoagulation, which represents the only treatment modality in large, controlled, prospective randomized, clinical trials, shows limited efficacy. Currently, new pharmacologic modalities now being evaluated show promise, but should undergo rigorous prospective randomized clinical trial in order to gain widespread acceptance. Intensive therapy brought down the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy by 76% and reduced the risk of progression of already existing retinopathy by 54%. Maintaining a strict and systematic control of blood pressure and glucose has proven to be difficult for many patients with diabetes. A good number of them will still develop progressive retinopathy and would require either vitrectomy or laser photocoagulation [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Surgery: The latest in surgical techniques is the use of the "Pulse Electron Avalanche Knife" (PEAK-fc, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) (British Journal of Ophthalmology 2007;91:949-954) which is a new pulsed electrosurgical device that helps in the precise "cold" traction- free tissue dissection. It is very useful in all complicated eye surgeries. For late stages of retinopathy, current laser or surgical treatments are applicable. It also includes proliferative diabetic retinopathy or sight-threatening ME. The study that was conducted proved that photocoagulation can reduce the risk of severe visual loss by about 50%. [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]In this process, laser photocoagulation leads to decreased oxygen levels by the retina due to the destruction of the photoreceptor. Anakinra, which is a drug used in arthritis has tested favorably for reducing blood sugar levels. Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 has proved effective by reversing the damage done to the retina due to high blood sugar in the cells. Another surgical research is the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Theists and atheists often debate whether the existence of God is Essay

Theists and atheists often debate whether the existence of God is relevant to ethics. Does morality require a theological foundation Take the position that mor - Essay Example Godless ethics and morality have left the hearts and minds of Russian people empty and void. People, who believe that God is unnecessary, argue that morality is the basically the humanitarian issue that has to be resolved at the level of humanity. And that god should not come in between. Whereas, as a matter of fact, belief in God is the essence of ethics. These ethics are universal and bind the people in one rope of morality. God is one, whether this is Christianity (trinity), Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism. All the divine and non-divine religions believe in the concept of one God, who commands the humanity for peace, tranquility, love and cordiality unto each other. All the principles of morality are derived from the belief in God, the day of resurrection, reward and punishment. In this world, no person can get enough rewards for his good moral deeds or punishment for his bad moral deeds. For instance, a man who kills 100 people can only be hanged once and the punishment ends. But in the day hereafter, the murderer will be punished for death, forever. A man, who inv ented aspirin medicine, has to be rewarded by God in haven, forever, and a worldly a cash prize cannot be enough reward. Therefore, mundane rewards and punishments are not enough for the good and bad people in this world and all these things have to be left to God, the Day of Judgment, haven and hell. Friedrich Nietzsche theory, that God is dead and man is free from the metaphysical demands of God is itself dead. Because value of morality on the base of love for oneself could no more hold the ground. The later sages have already countered the arguments of Greek philosophers against God as giver of ethics and morality. "The truth is we have no reference point about morality except as God reveals it. For us to argue with the source of morality is for the clay to argue with the potter" (Timothy J. Madigan.1997). God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He has all the potency and ability to guide us in matters of morality. Human is bound to err and sin and he seldom knows what is good and what is bad. He has always a limited scope of reason (Rom. 7:18-21). God is the only universal and absolute ori gin of morality.According to naturalists, the human being is born with ethical framework in his mind and heart. And they believe there is no further need to groom the human beings in morality on the basis of religion or any other theology. This point is not valid and historically, not proven. Morality on the foundations of religion has evolved over the centuries since unknown time. Man has been brutal, savage and untamed like any other beast in the forests. Religion has always been a source of guidance to him. This is the divine revelation that has always tamed him and removed cruelty, and incivility from his personality. Therefore, scientific naturalistic discourses cannot be an alternate source of morality for the human being. As the God cannot be proved through scientific discussion, therefore reliance on naturalists claim is counterproductive for source of guidance in morality and ethics.Holy Bible has proved that man is born as a bare creature with human instincts of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Walden by Thoreau, a Satirical criticism Essay Example for Free

Walden by Thoreau, a Satirical criticism Essay Walter Harding is most accurate when he said you could read Walden as a satirical criticism of modern life and living. Another way of saying this would be that Thoreau writes in a way that he is criticizing the way modern people are living. In fact, he believes, that we could be living in a different way, which would ideally be a more nature-oriented and simplistic form of living. In other words, Thoreau thinks the best way to live is to abandon all materialistic things and live in nature. His reasoning leads to the conclusion that you can be closer to the universal soul and fulfill more of a spiritual life. So, in this sense, we can look at the book in a way that Thoreau seems to criticize the civilization. One thing we can be sure about is that whenever Thoreau speaks of the positive points of living in nature, he is in some way criticizing nature because he claims he his nature has a better method of functioning. Although he does not insist that people remove to nature, he encourages people to do so because he believes thats the best way for them to learn about themselves and the world. One of the lessons he learns involves some criticism on modern society and possessions. An example that Thoreau brings up involves how farmers are chained to their farms as much as a person would be to jail. This can be explained by saying if you work to own things, you will restrict your freedom because you need to work to be able to own things. If you work to gain materialistic things, then you will not be able to gain personal freedom because you consume so much time with it. Thoreaus solution is that you have to realize what you need and what you want. Once you do this, then you are able to work less and work for only the necessary things. Since he is making this suggestion, he is also putting down the way society works. Secondly, Thoreau thinks the modern society has too much excess and should be simpler. A good quote to support this statement would be that he says, Most of the luxuries and many of the so called comforts of life are not only dispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. Basically he is saying that the more comfortable we get, the lazier we become,  therefore slowing down the growth and development of society. This is easily stated in the first chapter of Walden. Another example of Thoreaus criticism of the society is about how we do not simplify, like we should, because our life (society), Is frittered away with detail. Things we can simplify even include the four basic necessities. For instance, clothing isnt important, it is the man behind the clothing. Shelter is important for withstanding the weather, but good shelter doesnt take more than a few days or weeks to create. Thoreau is saying that society lives materialistic lives of excess and in the end it is better off that you arent that way. Lastly, Thoreau believes that we do not spend enough time in solitude. Solitude, to Thoreau is a person that accompanies him. In his opinion, solitude does him more good than any other company. When with solitude, he can think more clearly and deeper to learn more about himself. He believes living in nature is preferable to living in a town. Thoreau is criticizing modern living because he says we have too much work and things to think about and flood our minds with. We arent spending enough time in solitude, and we should be. We are given these four basic needs (food, fuel, clothing, and shelter) but we do not pay enough attention to simplifying our lives down to these necessities. Moreover, Thoreau feels strongly on the importance of time for solitude, so if we arent following that plan, then we arent experiencing what Thoreau thinks is essential to being complete. In conclusion, I believe that Thoreau is criticizing the modern society in many ways, which have been proven to you. Thoreau always has the words must and need in his lectures, and this must obviously mean that he is implying we are lacking something (which to him is contact with nature and spirit). If he says we as modern society are lacking something, then it is a criticism. I must also let you know that the examples I provided were chosen out of many possible ones, so there is always more evidence to prove that Thoreaus purpose was to criticize. Also Thoreau is very justified in his points, and it is easy to understand these ideas that he gives. Society is getting lazier and considering this literature lets us take a step back and look at where we are headed in this world.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Narrative style of the novel Essay Example for Free

Narrative style of the novel Essay Comment on how the language contributes to the understanding of the character, plots, theme and narrative style of the novel Chapter 6 is presented to the audience entirely in the past with no hindsight. Once again it develops the plot showing the children developing closer to adulthood, yet still not quite there, not understanding the consequences of their actions : was it you two? , I look away. The language from the passage in the hard back page 111 to 113 contributes to the understanding of the characters, plots, themes and narrative style of the novel. The section about the hierarchy in trees only further reinforces the naivety and stupidity to the character Stephen. Stephen has an obvious sense of hierarchy and in this case the sour smell of the elders and its humiliating position at the very bottom of the hierarchy of trees. This continues into the familiar world out here at the end of the Lanes, ie: the hierarchy of humans where the levels convey Stephens actual opinion of the concept of hierarchy and social status. This shows how immature Stephen is and however evident is his naivety. See more: what is a narrative essay In hindsight Frayn exposes the audience to the intentional irony of the sliver framed heroes at the highest to the lowest an old derelict taking refuge who are the same person. Frayn has emphasised this hierarchy from the beginning. Stephen feels in triumph that for once he perceives himself higher than someone else in the human precedence and the language emphatically robusts this. This only reinforces that younger is obsessed with hierarchy only after the discussion of hierarchy is there a sense of realisation. The language in this passage contributes the understanding in the theme of mystery and adventure. Stephen relies on this adventure to prove himself to Keith and in doing so show Keith that hes not the only one who can think of plans and projects. The use of personal pronoun I used more frequently than other times (7) conveys Stephens awareness that at this point in the adventure, wherein he can contribute, is a way he can gain approval of others even at the exploitation of the tramp. The passage for the first time shows an all time low in the adventure and rain blows as deliberate violence. This marks a key turning point in the plot as they have to fine some reason for their expedition as they have lost Mrs Hayward. The language used to describe the old mans feelings are just some of the feelings evoked that explain exactly what the boys have been doing bullying, and in doing so, the language also introduces the theme of memory. Frayn draws attention to this key theme by making older Stephen interrupt his story to remind the audience that the Stephen who was once a victim of bullying is now the perpetrator. This narrative style is a device that suggests implausibly that older Stephen is telling the story and also draws attention to memory as a concept and theme. Not only that, but it helps the reader understand that the reason I (Stephen) throw down my iron bar, is to reflect what Stephen knew at that point in time is that what he was doing was bullying. In this passage Frayns presents the language as a way of children going on to do adult things but without adult hindsight and therefore reminds the audience that they are still developing unable to foresee the consequences of their actions. The language is deceptively simple in style, but the passage in Chapter 6 shows a subtlety in language. From the beginning of the passage Stephen shows this middle class social ranking which leads him into his so called heroism that is particularly associated with middle class values. This duty he is estranged with towards Keith was particularly powerful conception in times of war and for Stephen it shows a development in his character and what he is prepared to do out of duty for Keith. Thus, Frayn cleverly uses linguistic devices and in this case exploits the language in order to contribute to the understanding of the characters, plot, themes and narrative style of the novel.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Tinnitus: Causes and Treatments

Tinnitus: Causes and Treatments What is Tinnitus? Tinnitus is one of the most common conditions, 1 of every 5 persons suffers from it, but despite of popular belief it is not a disease. So, what is really tinnitus? Tinnitus is a condition that makes the patient hear a sound like ringing, buzzing, hissing or other sounds, when they aren’t really made by any exterior factors. The noise can have different levels of volume, and it is usually easier to notice in a silent environment when there are no other sounds. Most people are concerned that this condition could cause hearing loss. The people who have this condition have no hearing problems; in rare cases some of the people even develop a hypersensitive sense of hearing. Tinnitus can be persistent or it can come and go, it can affect just one ear or both. Even though it doesn’t cause hearing loss and it is not a serious condition, it still is a matter of concern for some people, sometimes they find it hard to concentrate because of the high-pitched noise they hear, and it even interferes with their sleep. When the condition reaches a level when it affects the patients sleep and concentration the patient must definitely take action. The causes of tinnitus are many, but the condition manifests when the inner cells of the ear are damaged. One of the most commonly experienced causes for tinnitus is the loud noise/sound exposure. Depending on the period of the loud noise exposure, the tinnitus can last from a few hours to many days, weeks, or until treated if a person has been exposed to loud noise for a long amount of time. Another common cause for tinnitus is the hearing loss due to age. Yes, even though tinnitus doesn’t cause hearing loss, hearing loss can cause tinnitus, especially amongst elders. The blockage of the earwax is also a common cause for tinnitus. The earwax is produce naturally by the ear for protection, but sometimes, it forms a blockage that can irritate the eardrum, or cause hearing loss, both of them leading to tinnitus. The good news in this case, is that if the tinnitus is caused by blockage, it can be easily taken away with a visit to the doctor. The first step toward healing the tinnitus is a visit to the doctor. Because it can have many causes, it is important to pay a visit to the doctor, and not just visit the pharmacy. Only the doctor can determine the cause of the condition and offer proper medication for it. The doctor can also provide more information about the condition according to the patient’s questions. Signs and symptoms of tinnitus Tinnitus is not a serious condition but it can cause complication on some patients, mostly because in some cases it affects the sleep or the concentration. Even if it does not cause hearing loss, it is very important to treat it, and the first step towards treatment is knowledge. The first thing everyone should know about tinnitus is how to recognize the signs of this condition. Knowing the signs may help determine earlier if the condition exists and get treatment. One of the earlier signs of tinnitus, and the most easily to notice is a ringing sound the patient hears. Most of the time the ringing can be a high pitched sound, but it can also be a low pitched sound. It can sound as a buzz, a hiss, a ringing or a whooshing. The sound can be persistent or not, it may progress or begin suddenly and it can best be observed in quiet places, when no other sounds interfere. Another sign of tinnitus is sleep deprivation and lack of concentration, all of this being caused by the noise the patient hears, regardless of the fact that the patient is or not fully aware of it at all times. The symptoms of the tinnitus depend on the type of tinnitus the patient has. There are two types of tinnitus: subjective and objective. The subjective tinnitus is very common, 95% of the patients suffering from tinnitus have this type of condition. The symptoms of the subjective tinnitus are often associated with many other ear afflictions and disorders. The most common symptom is the hearing of a buzzing, hassle or ringing but there are other symptoms as well, which may vary from one patient to another, according to their condition and the patient’s reaction to it. Therefore, a patient with subjective tinnitus may also have some of the following symptoms: stress, inducted by the lack of sleep or lack of concentration and in some cases even anxiety. The other type of tinnitus is the objective tinnitus, and this type is only affecting 5% of the persons who suffer from tinnitus. This type of tinnitus is rare and it is often related to a muscular disorder or a vascular disorder. The patient suffering from objective tinnitus can be cured; this type may be observed by the doctor, who can hear with the stethoscope the ringing or buzzing in the patient’s ears. In some cases a sign of objective tinnitus is observed when the ringing sound in the ears is synchronized with the patient’s heartbeat. In both the cases of tinnitus, the signs and symptoms vary from one patient to another, which is why a person should visit the doctor at the first sign of ringing in their ears, in order to determine what condition they have. Learn how to treat tinnitus in a few steps Tinnitus is most of the time nothing serious and it is in fact a condition, not a disease. Tinnitus is, in many cases the condition of another underlying condition and it can be easily cured. There are a few simple steps which every patient has to follow in order to get better: The first and most important step towards healing tinnitus is a visit to the doctor. By taking this step the patient is going to find out the cause of the tinnitus and the underlying condition and get the proper treatment for it. Counseling. Regardless of the cause and treatment for tinnitus, a patient should get counseling from a specialist, to understand tinnitus, talk about it and learn how it affects them as well as how to cope with the condition. Sound. Since tinnitus is most easily observed in silent environments, sound therapy has been proved to be a very efficient way to deal with it. The patient can use a sound generator to be able to sleep, or a distraction from the tinnitus. Relaxation. The patients who suffer from stress because of tinnitus may find it helpful to do some meditation, exercise or even take yoga classes to relax and take their mind of the condition. Earwax removal. There are many cases of tinnitus caused by excessive earwax, and fortunately this can be easily cured with a quick visit to the hospital. Once the earwax is removed the tinnitus will go away, if earwax is the only cause for it. Medication. The tinnitus condition has no known medication cure, but depending on the cause of the condition, some medication can be taken to ease the symptoms. For example, if one of the symptoms is depression, the doctor will recommend antidepressants. Avoid certain substances. If one of the causes for tinnitus is blood flow associated, the patient must avoid substances rich in caffeine and alcohol. Supplements and vitamins. There are some supplements and vitamins that are known to ease the tinnitus symptoms such as magnesium, zinc and B vitamin. The doctor can recommend on or more of them, according to the patients needs. Music. A pleasant and simple way to make the tinnitus less disturbing is music. It can calm and relax the patient, as well as help with sleep and meditation. Avoid loud sound. Whenever possible, loud sound must be avoided, for it is one of the main causes for tinnitus. Even though not all of the patients suffering from tinnitus can be cured, there are a lot of ways to deal with the condition. The treatment is different for every patient, which is why a visit to the doctor is a must in order to get proper care. Learn to prevent tinnitus Tinnitus is not a serious condition, and it can sometimes be cured, by dealing with the underlying health problem that caused it, but it is always easier to prevent than deal with, which is why is important to learn how to prevent tinnitus. There are a few methods and precautions that can be used to prevent the tinnitus. Hearing protection. One of the most common causes for tinnitus is exposure to loud noise, which is why in order to prevent tinnitus one must wear protection when exposed to loud noises. Check your medicine. Some medicines have been known to have tinnitus as a side effect, so a patient must ask their doctor to check the medicine their using. There have been cases when the patient’s tinnitus has been cured when their medication was changed, because the tinnitus was only a side effect of the previous medicine. Stay healthy. Tinnitus is often a condition associated with blood vessel disorders, so a way to prevent tinnitus is to stay healthy with proper exercise, meditation and nutrition. Lower the headphones volume. It is well-know that many people use headphones for music, phone conversation, and radio and so on. Long exposure to loud volume can damage the hearing, thus causing tinnitus. The proper way to use headphone without getting tinnitus and hearing problems is to set the volume as low as hearing what goes around you as well. Avoid places with loud sound or loud music. Exposure to loud sounds and music can cause tinnitus. In most cases the tinnitus induced by loud sound exposure is temporary, but if the ears are exposed to loud sound for large periods of time, then the tinnitus may become permanent. Ease up on caffeine and alcohol. If a person has a blood vessel condition that person is more likely to develop tinnitus when consuming large amounts of caffeine and alcoholic beverages. Hearing aids. Most of the persons who have hearing problems may develop tinnitus, so that case it is important to use hearing aids for tinnitus prevention. Watch your weight. Tinnitus is more likely to develop if the person is obese because obesity is often related to heart problems. Proper alimentation can help maintain a healthy weight, as well as exercise. Tinnitus may not be a serious condition but it is, however unpleasant, and in certain cases it can be complicated, which is why it is better to prevent it. A healthy lifestyle and alimentation, exercise and proper care will definitely help you prevent tinnitus. All you need to know about tinnitus Tinnitus is a very spread condition. Despite to popular belief it is not a disease, but a condition often induced by other health problems. Most of the time the health problems that induce the tinnitus condition are ear related or blood vessel related. Even though in most of the cases the tinnitus is not a serious problem, it is important to stay informed and learn about it. One of the most important things to know about tinnitus is that up to this day there is no cure or medicine for it. However, depending on the case, the tinnitus can go away. If the tinnitus is cause by an earwax blockage, once the blockage is removed, the tinnitus will fade. Also if the cause of the tinnitus is another health issue, when that issue is solved the tinnitus may disappear as well. When the tinnitus cannot be healed, it is imperative to know that its symptoms can be diminished. Depending on the type and cause of the tinnitus, a set of measures may be taken to relieve the patient’s symptoms and help him cope with the condition. If one of the patient’s symptoms is depression, antidepressants may help with the condition, as well as meditation and exercise may help in case of stress. Another important thing to know about tinnitus is that every case is different, so a visit to the doctor should be the first thing on the list. The doctor can set the diagnosis, find the cause of the tinnitus, and cure it in case it is possible, or provide methods of help in case the condition cannot be cured. Preventing is easier than curing, so it is important to know that tinnitus can be easily prevented by following a few steps: avoid loud noise exposure or use hearing protection when exposed to loud noise, avoid long term use of the headphone with a loud volume, exercise, eat healthy, prevent obesity. It is vital to know that tinnitus is not a serious condition and that it can’t affect your life, abilities or personal relationships. Many people have had complications with tinnitus because they worried too much about it, instead on learning how to cope with it, thus leading to depression, stress and lack of sleep. Tinnitus can be easily prevented, however if you do get it remember that even if it can be cured all you have to do is be calm about it and remember it is not a serious issue and it can be easy to deal with. Country Comparison of Prices: Rice and Cocoa Country Comparison of Prices: Rice and Cocoa Surname: KAREKLA Name: MARIA Subject 1: As noted by Thompson (2001) absolute advantage occurs when a good is produced with the lower labor input per unit and comparative advantage â€Å"when relatively less of other goods must be sacrificed to produce a unit of the specialized good†(1). So, in this case, the amount of labor requirements per unit of output are: RICE COCOA NORWAY 1 1/3 ARGENTINA 3/2 3/2 So, Norway has an absolute advantage in producing both products, since its labor requirements are lower both in rice, 1 Furthermore, in the following table Opportunity cost table RICE COCOA NORWAY =3 =1/3 ARGENTINA =1 =1 it is shown that for Norway the opportunity cost for producing 1 ton of rice is =3 tons of cocoa and the opportunity cost for producing 1 ton of cocoa is =1/3 tons of rice. In Argentina, the opportunity cost for producing 1 ton of rice is =1 ton of cocoa and the opportunity cost of producing 1 ton of cocoa is =1 ton of rice. So, Norway has a comparative advantage in producing cocoa, since it has a lower opportunity cost in producing it (1/3 b) In autarky the Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) is the same with the Consumption Possibility Frontier(2). So, henceforth, LN and LA is the labor endowment in Norway and Argentina respectively, aNLR, aNLC and aALR, aALC is the amount of labor per unit of rice and cocoa in Norway and Argentina respectively, R and C is the quantity of rice and cocoa respectively(3). In Norway the PPF is: LN=aNLR ·R+aNLC ·C 130=1 ·R+1/3 ·C It takes 1 worker to produce a unit of rice and 1/3 to produce a unit of cocoa. As noted by Thompson (2001) employment in rice production plus employment in cocoa production sums the labor force of Norway(3). If 0 cocoa is produced: 130=(1 ·R)+(1/3 ·0) R=130/1=130 If 0 rice is produced: 130=(1 ·0)+(1/3 ·C) C==390 So, the autarky PPF,CPF diagram of Norway is as follows: As noted by Thompson (2001) Norway produces at the two endpoints of the PPF, (130,0) or (0,390) or at any other point between them(3). In the same way, in Argentina the PPF is: LA=aALR ·R+ aALC ·C 390=(3/2 ·R)+(3/2 ·C) If 0 cocoa is produced: 390=(3/2 ·R)+(3/2 ·0) R==260 If 0 rice is produced: 390=(3/2 ·0)+(3/2 ·C) C==260 So, the autarky PPF,CPF diagram of Argentina is as follows: Furthermore, the relative price of rice in Norway is 3 and of cocoa is 1/3, the opportunity cost of one relative to the other. The relative price of rice and cocoa in Argentina is 1 for each one of them. So, in autarky cocoa is relatively cheaper in Norway, since 1/31. Consequently, as noted by Agiomirgianakis, and Vlassis (2005) the international relative price of rice will be between 1 and 3. If it’s above 3 both countries produce rice. If it’s below 1, both countries produce cocoa. Since the international relative price of rice is 3/2, between 3 and 1, Argentina specializes in rice, producing 390.000.0001=390.000.000 tons of rice, and Norway in cocoa, producing 130.000.0003=390.000.000 tons of cocoa(4). Continuing, in free trade and since the world equilibrium price of rice is Pr/Pc=3/2. This is the Norway’s new Consumption Possibility Frontier(5): PrΆ¡qr+PcΆ¡qc=PcΆ¡390 (PrΆ¡qr+PcΆ¡qc)/Pc=390 (PrΆ¡qr/Pc)+(PcΆ¡qc/Pc)=390 [(Pr /Pc)Ά¡qr]+qc=390 qc=390-[(Pr /Pc)Ά¡qr] and since Pr/Pc=3/2 (the world equilibrium relative price of rice) qc=390-(3/2Ά¡qr) The slope of the free trade CPF is -3/2 and the diagram as follows: This is the Argentina’s new Consumption Possibility Frontier(5): PrΆ¡qr+PcΆ¡qc=PrΆ¡260 (PrΆ¡qr+PcΆ¡qc)/Pr=260 (PrΆ¡qr/Pr)+(PcΆ¡qc/Pr)=260 [(Pc /Pr)Ά¡qc]+qr=260 qr=260-[(Pc /Pr)Ά¡qc] and since Pr/Pc=3/2 and Pc/Pr=2/3 qr=260-(2/3Ά¡qc) The slope of the free trade CPF is -2/3 and the diagram as follows: As noted by Karagiannis, Katranidis, Palivos and Stoforos (2014) under free trade both countries can â€Å"consume combinations of the two goods that are not produced within the country†(5). c) As noted Karagiannis, Katranidis, Palivos and Stoforos (2014) the wage rates in Argentina can be calculated by WA=Pr/aALR and the wage rates in Norway by WN=Pc/aNLC. So, the wage in Argentina relative to wage in Norway can be calculated as WA/WN=(Pr/Pc)x(aNLC/aALR)=3/2x=x==1/2.(6) So, the wages in Argentina are the  ½ (half) of the wages of Norway and Argentinian workers would want to immigrate to Norway. Furthermore, as noted by Agiomirgianakis, and Vlassis (2005) one of the factors that affect the wage rates of the countries is the terms of trade, which is actually the world equilibrium price of the traded goods(7). d) As explained by Thompson (2001)(8) when a country opens to free trade and due to comparative advantage specializes in one good, importing another, the domestic firms that produced this other product in autarky but at higher prices than the world price, would have reasons to object to free international trade, since they would go out of business. Their stockholders and investors would strongly oppose to such an opening to free trade since they would lose their money. Also, a lot of specialized workers would also object to free international trade since they would have to retrain to find a job in the firms of the good their country specializes from now on. However, even though the cost of retraining workers and reforming the firms to the new specialised market will be considerable, it will also be temporary and the economy, after a small transition period, will readjust to the new conditions and in long term the gains from free trade will prevail. The producers will see their market and income increase and consumers will enjoy more cheaper goods. SUBJECT 2(9): a) In autarky the equilibrium price and quantity is where the supply and demand curve intersect, where Qs=Qd. So, Qs=Qd 2P=600-P 2P+P=600 3P=600 P=600/3=200 â‚ ¬ is the autarky equilibrium price. Having found the price, we can find the equilibrium quantity: Qd=Qs=2P=2200=400 b) On free trade the world price is Pw=125, the quantity supplied (QSw) and demanded (QDw) in the country is: QDw=600-P=600-125=475 QSw=2P=2125=250 The country’s quantity demanded of steel is 475, which is less than the quantity supplied (250), and consequently there will be QDw-QSw=475-250=225 imports. c) Tariff=T and price under the tariff is the world price plus the tariff: P2=Pw+T So, the new quantities supplied(Qs2) and demanded(Qd2) are: Qs2=2P2 Qs2=2x(Pw+T) Qs2=2x(125+T) Qs2=250+2T Qd2=600-P2 Qd2=600-(Pw+T) Qd2=600-(125+T) Qd2=600-125-T Qd2=475-T The amount that the government wants to raise, 3,750 Euros, equals the tariff times the imports(10), which are the quantity demanded(Qd2) minus the quantity supplied(Qs2), 3,750=T x (Qd2-Qs2) So, T=3,750/(Qd2-Qs2) T=3,750/[(475-T)-(250+2T)] T=3,750/(225-3T) T x (225-3T)=3,750 -3T2+225T-3,750=0 [With Δ=2252-(4 ·-3 ·-3,750)=50,625-45,000=5,625 and since it is positive:] T1=(-225-) /(2x-3)= -300/-6=50 T2=(-225+) /(2x-3)= -150/-6=25 So, the government can raise 3,750 â‚ ¬ by imposing a tariff on imports of either T1=50 or T2=25. Which one the government should choose depends on the consumers and producers gains and losses and the net effect of each tariff, relative to which part its politicians wants to protect the most. So, for tariff T1: The new price is PT1=PW+T1=125+50=175 and the quantity supplied and demanded is: QST1=2PT1=2175=350, QDT1=600-PT1=600-175=425. So, the change in consumer surplus is the difference between consumer surplus with the tariff minus the consumer surplus on free trade and can be seen on the diagram as -(a+b+c+d) areas(9). So,{[(600-175)x425]/2}-{[(600-125)x475]/2}=90,312.50-112,812.50= -22,500 â‚ ¬ the money consumers lose due to the tariff. The change in producers surplus is the difference between producers surplus with the tariff minus producers surplus on free trade and can be seen on the diagram as the scheme a(9). [(PT1-PW) ·QST1]–([(PT1-PW) ·(QST1-QSW)]/2}=[(175-125)x350]-{[(175-125)x(350-250)]/2}=17,500-2,500=15,000 â‚ ¬ the producers gain. The net effect of tariff T1=50 can be seen on the scheme by the two triangles b and d and is calculated as –(b+d), being actually the deadweight loss for society(9): -(b+d)= -{{[(QST1-QsW)xT1]/2}+{[(QDW-QDT1)xT1]/2}}= -{{[(350-250)x50]/2}+{[(475-425)x50]/2}}=-(2,500+1,250)= -3,750 â‚ ¬ the net effect. So, for tariff T2: The new price is PT2=PW+T2=125+25=150 and the quantity supplied and demanded is: QST2=2PT2=2150=300, QDT2=600-PT2=600-150=450. So, the change in consumer surplus is, as can be seen on the diagram, -(a+b+c+d) (9). So,{[(600-150)x450]/2}-{[(600-125)x475]/2}=101,250-112,812.50= -11,562.50 â‚ ¬ the money consumers lose due to the tariff. The change in producers surplus is the difference between producers surplus with the tariff minus producers surplus on free trade and can be seen on the diagram as the scheme a(9). [(PT2-PW) ·QST2]–([(PT2-PW) ·(QST2-QSW)]/2}=[(150-125)x300]-{[(150-125)x(300-250)]/2}=7,500-625 =6,875 â‚ ¬ the producers gain. The net effect of tariff T2=2 is as before –(b+d) (9): -(b+d)= -{{[(QST2-QSW)xT2]/2}+{[(QDW-QDT2)xT2]/2}}= -{{[(300-250)x25]/2}+{[(475-450)x25]/2}}=-(625+312.50)= -937.50 â‚ ¬ the net effect. Consequently, if the government wants to protect the consumers more than the producers, it should impose tariff T2=25 since consumers will lose less and the net effect is smaller, but if it prefers to protect producers it should impose tariff T1=50 since they gain more with it (15,000>6,875), even though the net effect is bigger. d) As noted by Thompson (2001) â€Å"a quota is a quantitative restriction on the level of imports†(10). So the quota is the difference between the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied under new price. Quota =QDq-QSq and the new price under the quota is the world price plus q: Pq=Pw+q So the new quantities supplied and demanded are: QSq=2Pq =2 ·(Pw+q)=2 ·(125+q) QSq=250+2q QDq=600-Pq=600-(Pw+q) QDq=600-(125+q) QDq=475-q The amount that the government wants to raise, 3,750 â‚ ¬, equals q (the price raise due to the quota) times the imports [the quantity demanded (QDq) minus the quantity supplied (QSq)], 3,750=q ·(QDq-QSq) So q=3,750/(QDq-QSq) q=3,750/[(475-q)-(250+2q)] q=3,750/(225-3q) q ·(225-3q)=3,750 -3q2+225q-3,750=0 [With Δ=2252-(4 ·-3 ·-3,750)=50,625-45,000=5,625 and since it is positive:] q1=(-225-) /(2x-3)= -300/-6=50 q2=(-225+) /(2x-3)= -150/-6=25 With q1=50, Pq1=125+50=175, and QSq1=2Pq1=2175=350, QDq1=600-Pq1=600-175=425 and so the Quota=QDq1-QSq1=425-350=75 With q2=25, Pq2=125+25=150, and QSq2=2Pq2=2150=300, QDq2=600-Pq2=600-150=450 and so the Quota=QDq2-QSq2=450-300=150 As in the previous answer (c), the government can choose between a quota of 75 and 150 imports, with the same result for its income. If the government wants to protect its consumers, it will impose a quota of 150 imports since it will set a smaller price than with a quota of 75 imports (150425. But if the government wants to protect producers it will impose a quota of 75 imports, since with it the producers sell more (350>300) and gain more (350175=61250 > 45000=300150)]. Subject 3: a) In autarky the equilibrium price (P) and quantity (Q) can be found setting quantity supplied and demanded equal: QD=QS 180-30P=20+10P 180-20=30P+10P 160=40P 160/40=P Since P=4, quantity is Q=QD=QS=20+10P=20+(104)=60 On free trade price=Pw=2 and the quantities supplied(QSw) and demanded(QDw) are: QDw=180-30Pw=180-(302)=120 QSw=20+10Pw=20+(102)=40 The export subsidy would put the price Ps=PW+2.5=2+2.5=4.5 â‚ ¬ and the quantities supplied and demanded: QDs=180-30Ps=180-(304.5)=45 QSs=20+10Ps=20+(104.5)=65 On free trade 40 units are supplied but 120 units are demanded, so (120-40=) 80 units are imported. The price is the world price, 2 â‚ ¬. With the export subsidy 65 units are supplied but only 45 are demanded in the country, so (65-45=) 20 units are exported. The new price is 4.5 â‚ ¬. Consumers consume less units that are more expensive. The consumers lose from the export subsidy and their income decrease can be calculated by ΔCS= -(a+b+e+f+g) areas of the diagram(11): a+e=(PS-PW)xQDS=(4.5-2)x45=112.5 b+f+g=[(PS-PW)x(QDw-QDs)]/2=[(4.5-2)x(120-45)]/2=187/2=93.75 So, -(a+b+e+f+g)= -(112.5+93.75)= -206.25 â‚ ¬ Producers gain from the export subsidy. On free trade they sell 40 units for only 2 â‚ ¬, but with the export subsidy they sell 65 units, (65-40=) 25 units more, for 4.5 â‚ ¬. The producers gain (income increase) can be calculated by ΔPS=a+b+c areas on the diagram(11): [(PS-PW)xQSs]–{[(QSs-QSW)x(PS-PW)]/2}=[(4.5-2)x65]-{[(65-40)x(4.5-2)]/2}=162.5-31.25=131.25 â‚ ¬ The government loses from the export subsidy. Its loss is the budget effect and can be calculated by –(b+c+d+f) areas of the diagram(11): –(b+c+d+f)= -[(PS-PW)x(QSs-QDs)]= -[(4.5-2)x(65-45)]= -50 â‚ ¬. The net effect, the deadweight loss of society, can be calculated by adding consumers lose+producers gain+budget effect= -206.25+131.25-50= -125 â‚ ¬ b) With the production subsidy the producers gain 2 (the world price) +2.5 (the subsidy)=4.5 â‚ ¬ per unit of output, which is the new price (PS) for them only(12). Consumers buy still at 2 â‚ ¬. The new quantity produced with the new price is Qs=20+10P=20+(104.5)=20+45=65. The quantity demanded didn’t change(120), so if there in no imports prohibition, consumers buy 65 from the country’s producers and (120-65=)55 are imported, all for 2â‚ ¬. So, consumers have no gains or loss from the production subsidy(12). The government loses the amount of the subsidy: 65unitsX2.5â‚ ¬= -162.5 â‚ ¬, the –(a+b+c+d) areas of the diagram(12). The Net effect can be calculated by the –(c+d) areas of the diagram(12): -(c+d)= -{[(QS-QSw)x(PS-PW)]/2}= -{[(65-40)x2.5]/2}=-(62.5/2)= -31.25 â‚ ¬ Producers gain from the production subsidy and their gains can be calculated by the a+b areas of the diagram(12): a+b= (a+b+c+d)-(c+d)=162.5-31.25=131.25 â‚ ¬ Subject 4: Several politicians in developed countries are in favor of free trade of goods between countries but strongly against immigration and free exchange of workers among countries. The question is whether one can be in favor of the first and against the second, especially since they are actually against free trade of the production factor of labor. According to the supporters of the above, immigration is created due to the differences of wages among countries and a certain equalization of wages would eliminate that reason, ignoring actually that a large part of immigration is due to asylum seekers. Continuing, according to them, free trade of goods between countries can provide the less developed ones with a really large market, the international one, to which they could export the goods at which they have a comparative advantage due to cheap labor, creating the conditions for the price of those goods to rise in a long term base due to the increasing demand for the exporting good. Increased demand for the good leads to an increased demand for labor and consequently, a raise on wages. In that way, free trade would eliminate the abovementioned reason for immigration. Based on that, for example Mundell (1957) sees free trade and immigration as substitutes, arguing that restrictions on free trade create immigration and restrictions of labor factors promotes free trade (13). According to the supporters of the above idea, immigration also reduces the labor endowment of the home country of the immigrants, and consequently the number of consumers. The market of the home country is in other words shrinking. In the same time, immigration increases the host country’s costs for health, security and other public services. Finally, some support that a large amount of foreign workers in a country might create serious unemployment problems to its citizens(14). However, the above arguments are not generally accepted. Markusen (1983) has proved that free trade and immigration are actually complements in cases where international trade is created for example due to differences in technology, preferences or lack of perfect competition(14). There are also others who argue that immigrants in a free trade environment create a whole new market for trade with goods for which there was no demand before immigration(15). Immigrants also pay taxes in the host country(14). In conclusion, the idea that a country should promote free international trade and prohibit immigration isn’t always the best solution, since it can be beneficial only under certain circumstances that are not always attainable. BIBLIOGRAPHY: (1) THOMPSON, H. (2001) â€Å"International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition†. Singapore: World Scientific, p.29,48. (2) KARAGIANNIS, G., KATRANIDIS, S., PALIVOS, T., STOFOROS, C. (2014) International Economics. 2nd Tutorial Meeting, MBA50: Economics for Managers, Hellenic Open University, 6th December 2014,p.10. (3) THOMPSON, H. (2001) â€Å"International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition†. Singapore: World Scientific,p.29,40-41. (4) AGIOMIRGIANAKIS, G.M., VLASSIS, M. (2005) Economics for Managers: Volume 1 International Economic Environment. Patras: Hellenic Open University, p.41. (5) KARAGIANNIS, G., KATRANIDIS, S., PALIVOS, T., STOFOROS, C. (2014) International Economics. 2nd Tutorial Meeting, MBA50: Economics for Managers, Hellenic Open University, 6th December 2014,p.15. (6) KARAGIANNIS, G., KATRANIDIS, S., PALIVOS, T., STOFOROS, C. (2014) International Economics. 2nd Tutorial Meeting, MBA50: Economics for Managers, Hellenic Open University, 6th December 2014,p.18-19. (7) AGIOMIRGIANAKIS, G.M., VLASSIS, M. (2005) Economics for Managers: Volume 1 International Economic Environment. Patras: Hellenic Open University, p.45. (8) THOMPSON, H. (2001) â€Å"International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition†. Singapore: World Scientific,p.89-91. (9) THOMPSON, H. (2001) â€Å"International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition†. Singapore: World Scientific,p.117-8. (10) THOMPSON, H. (2001) â€Å"International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition†. Singapore: World Scientific,p.121-2. (11) KARAGIANNIS, G., KATRANIDIS, S., PALIVOS, T., STOFOROS, C. (2014) International Economics. 2nd Tutorial Meeting, MBA50: Economics for Managers, Hellenic Open University, 6th December 2014,p.39. (12) SURANOVIC, S.M., (2003) International Trade Theory and Policy. [Online], Chapter 95-1B, Available from: http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch95/T95-1B.php[Accessed: 9th January 2014]. (13) AGIOMIRGIANAKIS, G.M., VLASSIS, M. (2005) Economics for Managers: Volume 1 International Economic Environment. Patras: Hellenic Open University, p.138-150. (14) SCHIFF, M., Migration, Investment and Trade: Substitutes or Complements?.[Online] Agent Franà §aise de Dà ©veloppement. Availlable from: http://www.afd.fr/webdav/shared/PORTAILS/PUBLICATIONS/EUDN/EUDN2006/Schiff.pdf[Accessed: 14th January 2015]. (15) MARJIT, S., BELADI, H. Complementarily between Trade and Factor Movement: Revisiting Mundell-Markusen Propositions. KeiO Associated Repository of Academic Resources. Available from: http://koara.lib.keio.ac.jp/xoonips/modules/xoonips/download.php/AA00260492-20020001-0057.pdf?file_id=28397[Accessed: 14th January 2015].

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): World Without Purpose

World Without Purpose in Camus' The Stranger (The Outsider)   In The Stranger, Albert Camus misleadingly portrays his existentialistic views of life, death, and the world.   Camus portrays the world as absurd or without purpose Meaursalt, who, as a reflection of Camus, is foreign and indifferent to his own life and death.   Meaursalt eventually senses guilt for his crime, not because of the remorse of taking someone else’s life, but because it means he would lose the little things that he considers important in his life.   Meaursalt is a puzzling character, who leaves readers to be uncertain about Camus’ views of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meaursalt is a simple and ordinary man living in French Morocco.   Neither intellectual nor emotional, when his mother died, he did not feel or show any sorrow.   He is a character rather distracted by his surrounding, such as people walking by and nature.   He would feel much irritation whenever the sun would shine red and bright.   On a thoughtless walk on the beach, he ends up killing an Arab (who had a hostile relationship with his friend) for no apparent reason, but because his [Arab] blade light reflected by the sun.   In addition, for no good reason he shoots four more times, the body lying on the ground.   He is tried in court, during which he feels he is his own spectator.   Meaursalt gets convicted of murder and sentenced to death.   Before execution, he feels guilt for the first time because he would miss the simple things in life.   However, he is never scared to die, because for him death comes eventually.   Just before the execut ion, a chaplain tries to make him believe in God, but Meaursalt angrily defends his atheistic views.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meaursalt is an uncommon character that prefers simpl... ...t sure whether to say it is objective or subjective.   The novel itself is a puzzle to me and I’m not in any pursuit to figure it out.   I’m not refusing to, but I find no point in doing so.   The same way Meaursalt treats life as meaningless, I treat it the same way, but that life is meaningful.   We don’t need to go searching too hard that in the process we give up on life, as I see Meaursalt as.   I think you could have a meaningful life without knowing the meaning.   I can’t accept Meaursalt’s values, because I do believe in a God and an afterlife.   That is the difference between him and me.   I would not recommend this book to anybody who is in the process of soul searching.   It is a confusing yet an unique story to be regarded only as Camus’ point of view of life. Works Cited: Camus, Albert. The Stranger, trans. Mathew Ward. New York: Random House, Inc., 1988.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essay --

†¢ O Insulin: O In T1D, the body does not produce insulin. O Insulin is a hormone, needed for converting sugar, starches, and other food into energy. O Insulin is a polypeptide hormone, made by the beta cells in the pancreas. These regulate the metabolism of glucose and other nutrients in the body. O Insulin causes cells in the liver, skeletal muscles, and fat tissue to absorb glucose from the blood. O Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease. O Inheritance: O Inheritance patterns in T1D are not clearly known, although they are passed down through generations in families. O Its is not known if it is dominant or recessive, because of too many variables. O T1D is both considered pleiotropic and mitochondrial. O This is a polygenetic disease; any of a group of genes that each produce a small quantitative effect on a particular characteristic of the phenotype. O Although it can be inherited, some environmental factors can lead to T1D. O Genotypes: O Certain risk factors are not known specifically, but certain variants can be identified. O Three main genes have been identified: HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DRB1. O These genes belong to the human leukocyte antigen family, or HLA. O HLA genes separate good proteins made by the body, from bad proteins such as those made by viruses and bacteria. O Commonality: O Previously known as juvenile diabetes, Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but is typically diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. O 1 in every 500 children or adolescents are diagnosed with T1D. O By age 18, 1 in 300 people develop T1D in the United states. O About 285 million people world wide suffer from diabetes. O By 2030, it is estimated that 435 million people will have been diagnosed wit... ...y injections and insulin pump therapy. O Pricking the finger several times a day monitors blood-glucose levels. O T1D patients are encouraged to eat healthy and stay active. O Food is most concerning because of how fast glucose levels can rise and fall, considering sugar content in food. O Life with Diabetes Type 1: O â€Å"Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dietitians all rolled into one. We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive.† O Limitations: O Food consumption! O Calories and carbs. Are calculated every day, just to try and keep vital organs from failing. O Others: Cold, sunburn, stress, and too much or too little excersize. O Organizations:

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Discussion of Issues Surrounding the Classification and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

One issue related to classification and diagnosis is reliability. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measuring instrument, such as DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) that is used when diagnosing schizophrenia. Reliability can be measured in terms of whether two independent assessors give similar scores (inter-rater reliability). High reliability is indicated by a high positive correlation. Inter-rater reliability has been assessed for diagnoses of schizophrenia and found to be relatively low.This was especially true for earlier versions of DSM but it was hoped that later revisions of DSM would prove more reliable. However, more recent versions have continued to produce low inter-rater reliability scores. For example, Whaley (2001) found only a small positive correlation of +0. 11 between different raters. Differences in cultural interpretations also pose a threat to the reliability of the diagnosis of schizophrenia. A research study by Copeland et al. (1971) gave a d escription of a patient showing clinical characteristics associated with schizophrenia to US and UK psychiatrists.Of the US psychiatrists, 69% diagnosed schizophrenia, whereas only 2% of the UK psychiatrists gave the same diagnosis. This suggests that the diagnostic criteria had quite a different meaning in different cultures and therefore are not reliable when used in different cultural settings. Reliability is also an issue for diagnosis. This was raised by Rosenhan (1973) who claimed that situational factors were more important in determining the ultimate diagnosis of schizophrenia, rather than any specific characteristics of the person. Rosenhan demonstrated this in his well-known study called ‘Sane in insane places’.He arranged for ‘pseudopatients’ to present themselves to psychiatric hospitals claiming to be hearing voices (a symptom of schizophrenia). All were diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted, despite the fact they displayed no further sympt oms during their hospitalisation. Throughout their stay, none of the staff recognised that they were actually normal. The unreliability of diagnosis was further demonstrated in a follow-up study by Rosenhan. Psychiatrists at several mental hospitals were told to expect pseudopatients over a period of several months.This resulted in a 21% detection rate by the psychiatrists, even though none were actually sent. This shows that the diagnostic criteria used by psychiatrists could not reliably identify a person with schizophrenia. A second issue is validity which concerns both classification and diagnosis. For example, there is the issue of comorbidity which is related to the validity. Comorbidity refers to the extent that two (or more) conditions co-occur (such as schizophrenia and depression) and therefore the extent to which the condition is ‘real’ and distinct.One way to avoid the issue of comorbidity is to just use first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia when diagnosing ( e. g. delusions or hallucinations). However, Bentall et al. (1988) claim that many of the first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia are also found in other disorders (e. g. depression and bipolar disorder). This makes it difficult to separate schizophrenia as a distinct disorder from other disorders and suggests that schizophrenia is not a distinct condition. It may be more realistic to suggest that there is no such discrete disorder as schizophrenia but instead there is a spectrum of psychotic symptoms.Allardyce et al.  (2001) claim that symptoms used to characterise schizophrenia do not define a specific disorder because its symptoms are also found in other categories of psychosis described in DSM and therefore there should just be a psychotic spectrum. Another aspect of validity is predictive validity. Predictive validity demonstrates the validity of a diagnosis by demonstrating that it can predict scores on some criterion measure. If a disorder has high predictive validity then it should be clear how the disorder would develop and how people would respond to treatment. Research has found low predictive validity for schizophrenia.Some patients (about 20%) do recover their previous level of functioning but 40% never really recover. This much variation in the prognosis suggests that the original diagnosis lacked predictive validity. It means that diagnosis was not helpful in dealing with the course of schizophrenia. Research has shown that other factors may be more influential on the ultimate outcome of having schizophrenia. For example, it seems more to do with gender (Malmberg et al. , 1998) and psychosocial factors, such as social skills, academic achievement and family tolerance of schizophrenic behaviour (Harrison et al. , 2001).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Social Work

Social work is a profession in which it is important to have a set of rules to follow while working with clients. In the social work field, the code of ethics, values and use of supervision are important keys in how licensed social workers should handle their clients' private documents and other information in association with having skilled attitudes towards their work as well as in their personal life. The code of ethics is a set of rules set by the National Association of Social Workers made order for a social worker to follow while being a professional. These principles could also be considered universal in social work practice across the nation. Furthermore, these principles are further explain the six core values that licensed professional social workers understand must be upheld daily in their career. According to NASW (1996), the six core values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the individual, importance and centrality of human relationships, integrity and competence (NASW, 1996). The value of service highlights the ethical principle of serving the community by addressing social issues that may be seen in certain communities. An example of service while being a social worker would be to helpa client who may be homeless find resources to enable him or her to get back on their feet. This could entail assisting the client with being put on the Housing Authority waiting list. The value of social justice is in relation to being an advocate for a client who may be treating unfairly and getting them into a situation in which he or she may have equal rights as others do. As a professional social worker, I feel like that it is only right to be a part of at least one organization that would assist me in learning how to take be an advocate and stand up against various laws that can work against the progression of the community that I may be serving as a professional social worker. By joining educational organizations, I won't just be able to join in activities that would educate and bring awareness to such issues but I would also be building my continuing education that a social worker take part in. The ethical principle defined by the National Association of Social Workers, for dignity and worth of the person is being able to respect clients no matter his or her situation. I believe that this is important as a social worker because this will help in growing trust and a relationship with the client. This shows a client that just because they are the ones needing help that they will still be treated with dignity and respect. By being polite and treating them as a person and not as someone who is looked at as being a bad person would open the door for more opportunities and resources that could be beneficial to the well-being of the client and situation. The importance of human relationships as an ethical principle is understanding that relationships are important while being a professional. This would help the client in building new relationships and build a social worker's expertise to be able to work more effectively with their clientele. Human relationships allow a person to be able to bond more. Integrity and competence is a social worker understanding that he or she must act in a professional way and continue learning daily. As a licensed social worker and student, I am expected to become educated through professional development workshops. Within the State of Alabama, a social worker is to maintain these core values and ethical standards while practicing in the field. The use of supervision is not only an obligation but it is quite beneficial to a licensed social worker. In order for a social worker to keep his or her license, he or she must undergo hours of required supervision. Supervision is beneficial in that it assist a social worker in their ethical conduct. Under State of Alabama laws, a social worker would have to experience a minimum of 4 hours monthly for a continuous period of 24 months within a 36 month timeframe. Supervision would occur starting with having an occupation. Supervision is only completed by licensed professionals who are qualified as a Licensed Master Social Worker or Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. The first requirement of supervision is for a Licensed Bachelor Social Worker. If a social worker decides to no longer practice in a specific area, then he or she must complete a minimum of 4 hours monthly for a period of 6 months. Supervision is discontinued upon records and a contract is signed stating the type of supervision and conditions. Social Work Licensure and LawsWhile researching Social Work Licensure and Laws, I learned more about how the state of Alabama follows a standard guideline for the licensure and laws of social work. According to to the Alabama Legislature (1977), Title 34 Section 30 states that a person is not able to give themselves the title or practice social work unless they have been licensed and passed the social work exam (Alabama Legislature, 1977). In order to apply to take the exam, a candidate must be a graduate of an accredited BSW or MSW educational program. The applicant must be 19 years of age, have paid the initial examination fee of $250, passed the examination, signed a notarized statement and sworn of the professional code, and meet any additional requirements based on the level of licensure. In the state of Alabama, there are three types of licensure that are given to those who meet the above requirements. A person can be licensed as a Bachelor Social Worker, Master Social Worker, or an Independent Clinical Social Worker. In order to receive a license for BSW, a person has to have a bachelor degree from an accredited college or university. Furthermore, a person has to show that he or she has a completion of the social work major and completed two years of continuous full-time employment in a social work position under supervision. If a person does not have a Bachelors in social work, a person who has a Bachelor's in a related field, such as sociology, rehabilitation counseling, psychology and guidance counseling is eligible to apply for a MSW program or have a social worker job but will not be titled a social worker. In order to receive an LMSW, a person must have completed the Master or Doctorate of Social Work from an accredited or approved college or university. An exclusion to this requirement is a person who has candidacy that is granted by the Council on Social Work Education. After I graduate with my MSW, I will be seeking my LMSW. I believe that by going further in my education will not only make me more marketable in the social work field, but it will allow me to be more knowledgeable as how to work with clients. To become a LICSW, a person would need either a master's or doctorate of Social Work. A person would also need at least two years of supervision by after graduation, and be a U.S. citizen with appropriate documentation. When and if a person is issued a license from another state, he or she would be required to meet state requirements if qualifications from the other state are not equal to the qualifications of Alabama. However, this is with the exception that the application fee and exam has not been paid or passed. Those persons who are seeking exemption from the Board's examination must meet all qualifications for that specific license and also have completed six years of continuous supervised full-time employment approved by the Board or seven years of continuous full-time employment with a public agency on or before May 1, 1977. In the State of Alabama, a social work license must be renewed every 2 years. The fee for a license renewal is $100. If applicant fails to renew within a 60-day time frame of the expiration date, then the license is either terminated or suspended. Per state of Alabama law, any licensed professional who is actively practicing social work cannot be denied for license renewal. If the applicant would like to remain inactive, then that person may write a request to the Board Examiners to be placed on the inactive list.Social Work Practice Stages The Social Work practice stages are also known as the Generalist Intervention Model (GIM). According to Miller, Tice and Hall (2008), the Generalist Intervention Model is a method of practice that integrates casework, group work, and community organization, and focuses on the interaction between persons and their environments (Miller, Tice and Hall, 2008). The GIM uses engagement, assessment, intervention planning and implementation, evaluation and termination as a way to better assist clients to planned change. An example of utilizing the GIM would be first greeting and welcoming the client. For the purposes of this assignment, we will call the client- Client A. Client A is a female coming to a social worker in efforts of having planned change from her addiction of abusing alcohol. In efforts of demonstrating engagement, the social worker would use proper body language to show that he or she is listening to the client, using appropriate hand gestures and making good eye contact. The social worker would ask Client A to tell her what she thinks her needs are and what resources in the community may be beneficial to assisting her with changing. This would allow Client A to provide detailed information about her current situation and what she thinks about her surroundings. It is important for the social worker to take notes to assist Client A after the initial meeting. However, before taking notes, the social worker should ask Client A for their consent before taking notes. After asking open-ended questions through engagement, the social worker should go over with Client A how the social service agency works and the services that we will provided. Any questions that may be asked of Client A will assist the social worker with assessing Client A's needs. During the assessment portion, the social worker should assess Client A's mental/emotional state, appearance/ mobility, ability to perform her activities of daily living, her environment, health, economic status, education status and transportation needs. The social worker could utilize the tool of an Ecomap to assist her in assessing Client A's needs. For planning and implementation, the social worker should work with Client A regarding a plan that is real and attainable. Client A must believe that the plan will work and must desire to reach goals that will be made together with the social worker. The social worker should prioritize the importance of change and helping Client A understand that change is a good thing. The social worker should assist Client A in understanding how this could benefit her socially. Once the goals are established, the social worker should address the objectives of each task given and how to proceed with actions towards those goals. Since client A is struggling with alcohol abuse, the social work should assist Client A with establishing the goal of: Lessening her urge to drink alcohol. The objective would be for her go to an Alcoholic's Anonymous support group once a week for 6 weeks. The social worker will encourage Client A to keep a journal of her progress and Client A must write in her journal after each support group session and describe her experience. This will assist Client A as well as the social worker in understanding her growth.As a form of evaluation, the social worker will obtain Client A's journal that she has been writing her experience in and Client A will also complete a questionnaire on her progress. Client A would complete the questionnaire two weeks before her last appointment. The questionnaire would ask her about how she thinks she has progressed, services that were rendered, and about the social worker's expertise. Once she has successfully completed her goal, the social worker will talk with Client A about termination two weeks after the last meeting. During this, the social worker will also discuss with Client A her progression. The social worker should encourage Client A to continue with the progress she has made. If needed, the social worker should refer Client A to additional services that may be beneficial to other issues that she may face following termination. It is important for the social worker to follow-up with Client A once services are terminated. Follow-up can help Client A from relapsing or even coming back for services. However, the social worker should give Client A the phone number to the agency in case services may be needed again.Intervention and Developmental Theories for Direct Practice with Individuals, Families and GroupsThere are several theories that are used to explain the behaviors of an individual, and has provided the framework for various models and interventions. One theory that can be utilized is Conflict Theory. Conflict Theory focuses on the structure in an individual's life. This theory would showcase issues that could have occurred through a power struggle between family members or friends as well as in various stages of the individual's life. The conflict theory would then consider the familial structure, and if there is a continuous cycle that may be from the past. There is also the Systems Theory. According to Gibson (2016), Systems theory, also called social systems theory, in social science, is the study of society as a complex arrangement of elements, including individuals and their beliefs, as they relate to a whole (Gibson, 2016). The Systems Theory would show how the individual interacts with others and if there is any correlation between the influences in the client's life and their behavior. The last theory is practice models that focuses on creating an intervention through consultation and assessment of the individual. There are an array of interventions that may be completed, such as the Solution-Focused model, Crisis model, Task-centered model, and the Problem-solving model. The practice models would require more interaction with the client. Life stages would play an important role in each model especially when it comes to understanding what to focus on and what not to focus on. For example, a 50 year old is not at the same stage as a 20 year old because the 50 year old is more experienced with life. Therefore, it is key that the social worker understand this before using the practice models. Diversity/ Social Justice/ Advocacy/ Rural and Urban Communities Diversity, social justice, advocacy for rural and urban communities are at the core of social work. I believe that diversity is more important in urban communities rather than rural communities because individuals are looking for employment and better opportunity for school, homes, and the quality in urban areas. As a social worker working mostly with the older adult population, I work in both urban and rural areas. I observed that the services are limited in rural areas and is especially harder for my clientele to receive the necessary resources, such as transportation to and from their doctor's appointments. I observed that there is a need for more rural social workers to assist clients in obtaining more resources to a better quality of life. Social justice in both rural and urban communities is beneficial as there are most likely political and social issues faced by persons who live there. Some people in rural areas may not even have an opportunity for their social injustice issues to be addressed due the scarcity of resources. As a social worker, it is important to be an advocate for those who may not be heard. Advocacy for rural and urban communities varies due to the resources that the community may be lacking. Sometimes a social worker will have to be an advocate for those living in a rural area for there to be more resources, such as additional transportation for the aging to be able to get to their doctor's appointments that are located in urban communities. The lack of services delays certain individuals from getting the appropriate assistance, and as a result can place the community in a mentality that they are not able to be helped and their voices will never be heard. Policy and Policy Analysis Policy and policy analysis refers to the guidelines that are set to uphold the welfare and good of the clients. Policies are ever-changing and revised in accordance with time. An analysis is completed before a policy is written. The analysis helps in the development of the policy that is brought forth through careful research, surveys, case studies and other tools. It is crucial to have an analysis completed because it provides a thorough evaluation of any revisions or changes that need to be made. It also shows how useful the policy is to the population that is should protect. Understanding the efficiency and the worth of a policy helps lawmakers and other important decision makers. Research, Program Evaluation/Needs Assessment Research, program evaluation, and needs assessment are mainly targeted, not at the needs of one client, but of a client base. A single subject design is conducted for understanding the needs of an individual. In order to conduct research on a specific group of people, there must be an Institutional Review Board. The IRB is also known as a human subject committee is used to oversee research to ensure that it is following the proper guidelines set forth to be able to conduct the research. According to Royse, Thyer, and Padgett (2016) the guidelines include: the research participants must be volunteers, the participants should be given sufficient information about the study to determine possible risks or discomforts as well as benefits, no harm shall result from the study, and sensitive information should remain protected (Royse, Thyer and Padgett , 2016, pp. 45-46). According to Royse, Thyer and Padgett (2016) A program evaluation is conducted to understand if the services are really helping the clients that they are intended to serve (Royse, Thyer and Padgett , 2016, p.During this process, information is gathered to see if the social worker and/or agency are the best fit for the client.According to Royse, Thyer and Padgett (2016), The mission of program evaluation in social work is to provide information that can be used to improve social programs (Royse, Thyer and Padgett , 2016, p.Evaluation can range from a series of open-ended questions to observation of the client base in various environments.According to Royse, Thyer and Padgett (2016), Needs assessment are attempts to identify and document unmet needs, gaps in services, or problems in a community (Royse, Thyer and Padgett, 2016, p. 6The assessment used would be dependent on how severe the clients' needs are and the type of resources that can be used to assist the clients.The individual c onducting the needs assessment can utilize tools, such as surveys, personal interviews, focus groups and etc. to perform a needs assessment. Social Work

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Politics, Policy, and Change in Nigeria Essay

Volumes have been written on the subject of politics, policy, and social change. In this section, I will offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and ‘common sense. I will emphasize the important roles of leadership and group cohesiveness to effect change. Because the direction of change in a society depends on the manner in which resources are mobilized by the leader, and the attitude of the people toward change. The ruler must be concerned with the needs of the ruled, and must strive to gain their support. But with long-standing ethnic prejudice in a multi-ethnic society such as Nigeria, this has not been very easy. The concept of politics is diverse. Aristotle and Plato defined politics as a concern with general issues affecting the whole community. This involves the pursuit of the public interest, the operation of the state, and the formulation and execution of public policy. Contrasting public concern with private matters, they viewed the public concern as morally superior. Thus, political leaders have the responsibility to conform to constructive ideas and actions with â€Å"perfect goodness† (Andrain 1975, pp.12-20). In addition, It is the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government. It involves competition between various interest groups (parties) or individuals for power and leadership in a government or other group. The winning party guides or influences policies, and the distribution of resources in that polity (Dike (forthcoming) August 1999). In other words, politics does involve the struggle for power and wealth – that is, the production, distribution, and use of scarce resources. Historically, some leaders have sought the common good and others a private good. But without the ‘politics of virtue’ (that is, doing what is right), a leader may not bring about the necessary changes that would benefit the general public. How does one differentiate actions that are for common from those that are for private? The effects of a particular policy decision are the determining factors. The process of making and implementing decisions involves cooperation and competition, both of which may lead to social change. As many writers have noted, many factors are involved in social change; no single factor can adequately account for it (Lauer 1982, p. 37). And as a society, our needs can be fulfilled only through the cooperative efforts of everyone. Change or social change is defined as â€Å"significant alteration of social structures.† And social structures here mean the â€Å"patterns of social action and interaction,† which include norms, values, and cultural phenomena (Moore 1967, p.3). Others have defined change as â€Å"variations or modifications in any aspect of social process, pattern, or form;† it is also â€Å"any modification in established patterns of inter-human relationships and standards of conducts† (Fairchild, ed. 1955, p.277, as cited in Lauer 1982, p.4). As we have seen, change can start anywhere. In fact every system is to some extent altered by changes in any of its parts. Given our leaders’ penchant for corruption, Nigerians are cautiously optimistic about the positive changes that are presently taking place in Nigeria. And since what has been on the minds of the world is that Nigeria is bad, we have to get our act together. After that we can say to the world, ‘You held me in contempt, now look at me. Am I so contemptible?’ (Allport 1979). Can the present political leadership maintain the tempo of positive social re-engineering going on in the nation? For any intended change to occur in a society the people must be convinced by the leaders that such a change is both possible and desirable. Hence the need for systematic set of ideology that reflects the feasibility and desirability of particular change. Ideology interprets the past, make meaningful the present, and portray an ideal future. Lack of political ideology is a serious problem in Nigerian politics. Strangely, some politicians are known to have discounted the importance of ideology in politics. And since some of them are not committed to politics or democracy ideologically, they tend to waffle on issues. Consequently, nobody is held responsible for any policy failure in the society. For our politicians to behave, we should device means to hold them responsible for their actions or in-actions. In an educated and politically mature society the vote is the ultimate weapon of the people. But we must positively change our personal attitudes to be able to change the social structure. â€Å"For in part, at least, the structure is the product of the attitudes of many single people† (Allport 1979, p.507). Why is good value and virtue essential for the survival of a polity such as Nigeria? Can a leader successfully govern a vibrant society without an ideological compass? Policies and decisions constitute a crucial part of political leadership. Usually when the majority of a population refuse to accept certain policies as binding, this would move committed leaders to make changes in the various parts of the system: the content of the policies, the ruling personnel, the governing structures, or even the society over which the policies have jurisdiction. This is a democratic process that Nigeria should strive to adopt, if it needs to survive as a democratic nation. In a democracy there is no room for arbitrariness. Policies must be debated, and exhaustively too before implementation. To underscore the feelings of many well-meaning Nigerians, we cannot afford to fail this time around. Policy represents a set of decisions taken in response to specific problem. Some good examples are the recent actions of President Obasanjo: the setting up of a panel to probe the human rights abuses since 1993; to probe abandoned projects since the mid-1970’s; the termination of the contracts and the major appointments made by the Abubakar military regime. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa is the chairman of the human rights panel, while Alhaji Iguda Inuwa is the chairman of the committee on abandoned projects. Let’s not neglect the present favorable and inviting period in Nigeria. Instead of gazing at each other with ‘suspicious or doubtful curiosity,’ let’s unite and expose those who have dragged us to the mud. The civil rights panel will identify the persons involved in the various abuses, the nature of the abuses, and the policy responsible. It will also recommend measures to ameliorate the problems and formulate strategies to forestall incidence of human rights abuses in the society in future. All these policy actions have drawn praises from within and outside Nigeria. However, all these probes will not have the desired effects if their recommendations are not implemented. Legal action, proper reparation, and exposure in the press may be the better ways to curb corruption, and moderate social discontent. Perhaps nothing frightens politicians more than chastisement in the press. President Obasanjo’s boldest policy decision so far has been the retirement of 149 political-senior military and police officers – an apparent purge of those who participated in the autocratic and atrocious regimes of Generals Babangida and Abacha. His spoke person, Doyin Okupe, was quoted as saying that â€Å"In future, all officers of our armed forces must recognize that the ultimate reward for participating or benefiting from coups will be premature or forced retirement from service in the minimum† (Cindy Shiner, June 16, 1999). Nevertheless, I would recommend death sentence as the minimum punishment for benefiting or participating in military coups in future, and for the politicians who should conspire with other government officials to loot the national treasury. There should be no sacred cows here. Any person found guilty after a due process should be given the stated punishment. The consistency and enforceability of this consequence will ensure discipline and professionalism in the Armed Forces. It will also guard against the excesses of our civilian politicians – many of whom are in office to acquire wealth illegally, and not to serve the public. In particular, this will ensure the survival of democracy, and an antidote to corruption in Nigeria. For the actions to be legitimate, the Congress should haste and insert the appropriate provisions in our constitution. Corruption is widely known as the bane of Nigeria. This construct, corruption, has been defined as â€Å"†¦a behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private [gains] – regarding (personal, close family, private clique [cohorts], pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of [duties] for private [gains] – regarding influence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Nye 1967, p.419). In fact, many writers have noted that it is probably the only viable industry in the society (Dike, forthcoming, August 1999). This covers â€Å"grand† corruption, at senior levels, and â€Å"petty† corruption, when junior officials take facilitation payments. The abysmal failure of military rule and our previous civilian administrations is associated with huge corruption in the state and the economy. Like other problems in the society, this essay cannot fully address the problem of corruption because of its limited focus. As Kofo Awosika pointed out in his recent piece â€Å"A President’s responsibilities†: â€Å"People are poor because they are being denied access to opportunities. People steal because they are hungry and destitute. People are hungry and destitute because they cannot earn wages. They have no wages because they have no work. They have no work because they have been retrenched. They have been retrenched because industries cannot cope with their wage bills. Industries can not cope with their wage bills because production costs have increased. Production costs have increased because our infrastructures have died. [The infrastructures have died because the funds meant for their upgrading, repairs, maintenance and installations of others meant for the common good end (up) in private pockets]† (The Guardian, June 17, 1999). President Olusegun Obasanjo must not stop at his first salvo. The people’s enthusiasm and interest in the administration should not be allowed to die down. He should establish a forum for people to voice out dissent on controversial issues in the society, and procedures under which ordinary citizens can sue for any infringement on their civil rights. More importantly, a general public sector reform is apropos. Reform here refers to large-scale and comprehensive change in the role, structure, values, staffing, or size of the public sector. This should also involve privatizing our ill-managed government corporations, and contracting out services in the domain of inefficient and corrupt corporations to the private sector for greater efficiency and accountability. International blueprint in the process could be adopted, but it should be adjusted to meet local conditions. The struggle for survival As psychology has noted, to redouble one’s efforts is a healthy response to an obstacle. For Nigeria to survive as a nation, we have to remain vigilant and intensify our efforts in areas of deficiency. And our ‘value-violators’ should be punished. In addition, our negative frame of references (e.g. the advance fee fraud – â€Å"419†) that are anchored in our social environment should be dismantled. We should be realistic in our struggle for survival, because the world is watching. President Obasanjo should wage war on ethnicity and nepotism, which are inimical to the unity of this great nation. This does not mean that groups would not retain their identity and work for their progress. But this should not be carried out in a manner that would undermine the unity and stability of the nation. And in future politicians who are pandering to ethnic interests should be rejected at the polling boot. It is imperative that Nigeria is re-structured into a mobile society; a nation where one could live in any state of his choice, secure employment at the state and local levels without limitations, and participate meaningfully in the affairs of the community of his abode (see Umez June 11, 1999). And ‘hard work, good skills and intelligence’ should be rewarded strictly on merits, without regard to ethnicity and religion. This will help to tame the dangerous trend of ‘brain-drain’ in the nation. It will also motivate people to give their undivided loyalty to the central government. At last, this will mean unity and the establishment of a common identity for Nigeria. But given Nigeria’s cultural diversity, this may not be an easy undertaking. Instead of setting up programs to encourage national unity, our leaders are dismantling or weakening the few programs that are in place. For instance, the recent reduction of the age group for prospective ‘youth service members’ from 30 years to 25 years by General Abubakar is a step toward scrapping the program. The National Youth Service Corps program was designed by General Yakubu Gowon after the civil war to foster national integration and reconciliation (The Post Express, June 11, 1999). One problem with our leaders is policy instability. We need more programs like the NYSC to facilitate and encourage inter-cultural interaction in the nation. President Obasanjo and his civilian administration should not allow this program to die. However, the program could be redesigned if it has not been achieving its purpose. The problem of secret cults or youth gangs in our tertiary institutions is a serious threat to the survival of Nigeria. Our universities have been turned into killing fields, instead of places of learning. The most recent incident was the killing of the principal assistant registrar at the Delta State University, Abraka (The Guardian of June 13, 1999). The congress should institute appropriate and enforceable laws against cult activities on university campuses. It is recognized that there are laws around to this effect. But these laws have either not been enforced, or they have not been effective. Unenforceable laws are only good on the book. The leader who can only give orders but cannot enforce them is not a leader by the standard of many societies. And to restore quality education in our educational institutions, the Congress and Prof. Tunde Adeniran (the recently appointed education minister), should increase funding for education and institute policies that will improve the low moral and motivation of professors and the support staff. Sound economic policies should also be instituted to diversify the nation’s mono-product economy. The diversification of the economy would help reduce Nigeria’s dependence on the outside world for her basic needs (food, etc), and lend credibility to claims that the country could someday join the ranks of superpowers. In particular, it will create employment for our burgeoning population. Among other measures to stimulate employment in the society is to give aid to state and local governments and accelerate public works. Our social problems (poverty, diseases, illiteracy, prostitution, crime, etc), are in one way or another related to the sour state of the economy. These things can all be done with proper leadership in Abuja. Economic development or growth (increase in an economy’s capacity to generate more goods and services) requires changes in human skills, attitudes, values – and people have to be formally educated; construct an economic infrastructure – basic transportation, communication, irrigation, and other power facilities; maximize agricultural productivity; increase capital accumulation – that is, tangible physical goods that will serve as means of production. These include machinery, technological innovations, buildings and equipment (Andrain 1975, pp.284-288). Therefore to survive, we need a strong ethic – to save and invest, not simply to consume; to develop sophisticated skills, with an educated and a highly motivated work force. As John Stuart Mill has said: â€Å"What a country wants to make it richer is never consumption, but production. Where there is the latter, we may be sure that there is no want of the former†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Mill, as cited in Bartlett 1981, pp.1-2). A democratic political system seems best suited to achieve this. Nigeria has been doing poorly in these areas, despite her enormous oil wealth. For our economic revival efforts to be successful, the civilian administration should axe those corrupt and inefficient managers of our public utilities and facilities – NEPA, NNPC, NIPOST, NITEL, the Refineries, the Ports, and other establishments that are the hub of our economy. How does one justify the payment of monthly salaries to the executives of these corporations that are not performing? No serious society can afford to do that. The salaries of our executives should be tied to their productivity – that is, the effectiveness of their policies. It is imperative to understand that the â€Å"underdevelopment of a country is the result of its deficient value system and economic structure† (Chirot 1977, pp.2-3). It is equally important to understand that the key social forces that have fostered democracy in the United States and other stable democratic nations are not yet in Nigeria. Our deficiencies are many; but we must have to give democracy a chance to survive in the society. For this, the present socioeconomic re-structuring in Nigeria should be pursued with speed and sincerity. Summary Leadership commitment is essential to the survival and progress of Nigeria. The people have an important role to play too. But the people’s commitment would be difficult to secure if the leaders who are calling on them for sacrifice do not themselves make any sacrifices. To stamp out corruption in the country, Nigerians should always elect or appoint people of probity to manage the affairs of the nation. This group must analyze each situation in the society critically, in order to determine appropriate target of change, who should be involve in the effort, and what method will most likely lead to the desired outcome. The majority of Nigerians are pleased with the initial policy actions of the civilian administration. Nevertheless, we should keep an eagle’s eye on the legislature, because some of them are corrupt. Nigeria still lives in the history of the future. The way our history will be written depends upon the extent to which and the manner in which we – leaders and the people – strive to shape our future. There is a lot of unknown in the society. But since we cannot foresee what the remote future has in store for us, we can only hope for a better tomorrow. Nigeria, the world is still watching! References Achebe, Chinua (1983);The Trouble with Nigeria, Enugu, Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983, p.1. Akintoye, Seth, et al (June 13, 1999); â€Å"Cultists At Work Again In Varsities;† the Guardian, June 13, 1999. Allport, Gordon W. (1979); The Nature of Prejudice; 25th Anniversary Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, p.507 Andrain, Charles F. (1975); Political Life and Social Change: An Introduction to Political Science, 2nd Edition, Duxbury Press, Belmont, California (1975); pp.284-288. Apter, David (1960); â€Å"The Role of Traditionalism in the Political Modernization of Ghana and Uganda,† World Politics, XII. Awosika, Kofo (June 17, 1999); â€Å"A president’s responsibilities;† the Guardian, June 17, 1999. Bienen, Henry (1993) â€Å"Leaders, Violence, and the Absence of Change in Africa† Political Science Quarterly Bartlett, Bruce (1981); Reaganomics: Supply Side Economics in Action. Arlington House Pub., 1981, pp.1-2. Bretton, Henry L. (1967); The Rise and Fall of Kwame Nkrumah. London: Pall Mall Press. Chirot, Daniel (1977); Social Change in the Twentieth Cenry; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, pp.2-3. Dike, Enwere (1990); â€Å"Nigeria: The Political Economy of Buhari Regime,† Nigeria Journal Of International Affairs, Vol. 16, No.2, pp.94-95. Dike, Victor (Forthcoming, August 1999); Leadership, Democracy, and the Nigerian Economy: Lessons from the Past and Directions for the Future.(Forthcoming) August 1999.