Essay The perfume Essay

Compare a book to its movie version. How are the two similar and different? Are the characters and the plot the same? Do you like the movie or the book better? Many works of literature or other genres are represented in films. Generally there are big differences because the movie version last a certain time, in addition to other limitations. The book The Perfume was written in 1985 by Patrick Sà ¼skind, born in 1949 and the film German film director Tom Tykwer, 2006. The drama is based on the novel by Patrick Suskind and was produced by, among others, studies Constantin Film, Castelao Productions, SA, Nouvelles Éditions de Films and VIP 4 Medienfond. These two are two completely different things with different meanings and different visions. We cannot say that the book is better than the movie because the adaptation of literature in film is the director’s understanding to put in a movie, for many can be bad as a disappointment to others can be incredible, my experience in reading the book was exciting achieves fully connect with the characters and plot. In the book the movie then create images in the images we face. in the book the story is much longer. Not only were you writing some more details if those little details make the story of the book much more interesting than the film will show details that make you delve much more to the story. These details give concise structure to the story and allow you to better compare the story that you can read in the book with which you can see in the film. In the book tell the story of jean baptize grenouille, is completely based on the life of him, since he was a baby until he is already an adult. In the book have lifelong jean cavern childhood baptize and also quite detailed. In the film tell the story of a murderer, from a guy who has a amazing smell that has â€Å"the best nose of paris† but that is a murderer. In the movie, the death of young women and virgins the show with an outstanding beauty, death acquires an incredible beauty, where in the book does not detail what death is really not kill their victims as nothing but the obsession of acquire that smell so indisputable that sought jean baptize. In the book I describe grenouille smell all throughout the novella, so much detail, as if everything was his nose in the movie is not as important to his nose and the immortal is lost because they show us the story of a murderer. Grenouille was born surrounded  by holores more rotten in the center of paris-france, so no literature describes it, a large emphasis on the putrefaction of where this great perfumer born. Grenouille’s birth really was the birth of death, so do not teach it in the book. In the movie do not describe different, if we show that was born in a place truly unpleasant but do much emphasis on holores surrounding the difficult birth of her mother in the room if so we can call where he sold fish. The book also details much as taking away women immortalize scent to their fragrance, in the movie shows the death once more the story of a murderer. The narrator in the novella was tersera omnisiente person and is also the narrator in the film is , in voiceover , music and editing are very important also because with the music of the movie we completely change the atmosphere depending on the song or the soundtrack to be playing the suspense sadness or fear change scenarios give us different feelings and supocisiones when you book you imagine your own soundtrack based on the descriptions the book presents us sounds we make , you imagine you all! From the characters to the place of history in the film and show us everything. The music of the film changes the entire meaning of a ECENA. In the story we can see that baldini is the only one who really understands grenouille , tries to help him with his nose to experience new things in the movie no, do not show that. The geographic location in the perfume is in Paris- France and psychic PSPACE in the book is when the narrator tells us that baldini really was not a great perfumer but rather a † con † because its two other perfumes were replicas of perfumes buyer had already , another example of the psychic space is life in the cavern of grenouille and we know who is jean concisely grenouille baptize in the movie do not show it , do not give so much importance in the book while the importance describe inmortalzacion grenouille the holores for what mattered to retain power holores of things, in this case the red -haired girl who cut plums. In the literature we know as baldini THROUGH grenouille and the narrator. The time of the story in the book is different from the movie, the pace because in the book begin to tell the story of grenouille from the day he was born and as the smell is amazing in the movie is the story of a murderer begin in the end of the book we find a murderer and they will kill and people send you this hating . Also returning to the subject of the difference between the book and the movie â€Å" The paradoxes of  Faithfulness † is a text which tells of how different the literature and film, neither is bad just different to like the perfume and the movie are two completely different things with different purposes and different key points, none is bad just different, then what I’m going with this cannot criticize any esque. Basing on grenouille Baptize Jean can say what is right and what is wrong? Everything has not given society and largely religion. The death of these women was wrong? in the book does not pose as the immortalization of women in the film is the story of a murderer and kills its victims as though show women in a divine show the beauty of death. If we think about the end of the day is not so crazy grenouille finally had well developed smell and could smell things beyond what the other people can, if we could all smell the beauty as it does maybe we would grenouille similar to the. Grenouille is a unique being, grenouille means frog and a toad in the animal kingdom is the only animal that has no tail that makes a being only as baptize jean. As I said before we cannot say that the book is very best that we can simply say the movie is different because it was the adaptation of the writer not what you fancied. The script of the film is written not by the writer of the book but by someone else, then we can understand why they are so different in so many ways and as emphasis to make things different and as for the writer gives less importance to things that the writer was key.

academic communication

IntroductionThis is about academic communicating procedure theoretical account and its constituents ; how they would breakdown into three different phases and stairss to avoid them. Communication is the most of import portion of our life. We begin to larn some of the accomplishments of communicating before we are born, and most of us will go on to utilize them until the twenty-four hours we die. We communicate with friends, household, workplace ; we may pass on indirectly: we watch films, and listen to music. These are all communicating procedure in different phases. We will discourse about it in this assignment. Harmonizing to Weick and Browning ( 1986 ) , communicating is the procedure of conveying information from one individual to another. Gerbner ( 1967 ) adds that communicating may be defined as societal interaction through messages. Another bookman Theodorson ( 1969 ) defines communicating as the transmittal of information, thoughts, attitudes, or emotion from one individual or group to another chiefly through symbols. Osgood et Al ( 1957 ) besides remarks that we have communication wherever one system, a beginning, influences another, the finish, by use of alternate symbols, which can be transmitted over the channel linking them. On the footing of above definitions, communicating is the sharing information between two or more people to make a common apprehension. However, making a common apprehension does non intend that people have to hold with each other. They should hold an accurate thought of what a individual or group is seeking to state them. Communication is besides a procedure, and like most procedures it can be usefully modelled. Gathering a theoretical account frequently helps in believing about and understanding procedures and systems. The basic communicating procedure starts when the transmitter formulates an thought or thinks of something to state. The thought is so encoded or transformed into meaningful symbols. Turning the formulated ideas into spoken or written words constitutes encoding. Thought and thoughts have to be in some signifier of codification to organize catching messages. These encoded messages are so transmitted via voice, missive, electronic mail, telephone or some other channel to the receiving system. Geting the message from the transmitter to the receiving system is really of import, unless the communicating goes from one individual to another there is no communicating. Messages transmit via a channel. Channel refers to the peculiar engineering or method used to acquire the message to the receiving system. Major communicating channels are letters, e-mail, face-to-face conversation, telephone, facsimile, newspapers, booklets, movie, picture, wireless, telecasting, web sites and postings. Then the receiving system decodes the message – interprets the message, and gives feedback to the transmitter. Feedback helps both transmitter and receiving system determine the lucidity of the message. Feedback is a response from the receiving system. With feedback, the procedure becomes a conversation or bipartisan communicating.Beginning: adapted from Himstreet, Baty and Lehman ( 1993 ) .However, a major progress in communicating theory came with Claude Shannon ‘s 1949 publication of his mathematical theory of communicating. He and other information theoreticians at the Bell Telephone Laboratories were concerned with the procedure of reassigning signals accurately from transmitter to receiver. Their concern was non with words or word significances but with coded stuff sent from one machine to another – from a orbiter to earth or from one computing machine to another. Shannon ‘s communicating theoretical account was critical for communicating research as Johnson and Klare ( 1961 ) say in their reappraisal of communicating theoretical accounts: â€Å"Of all individual parts to the widespread involvement in theoretical accounts today, Shannon ‘s is the most of import. For the proficient side of communicating research, Shannon ‘s mathematical preparations were the stimulation to much of the ulterior attempt in this area.†Beginning: adopted from Shannon and Weaver ( 1949 ) .Shannon and Weaver ‘s ‘mathematical theoretical account ‘ describes communicating as a additive, one-way procedure. Harmonizing to Shannon ( 1949 ) , communicating procedure consists of basically five constituents: 1. An information beginning which produces a message or sequences of messages to be communicated to the having terminus. The message may be assorted types such as a sequence of letters as in a telegraph or teletype system ; a individual map of clip. A message is composed of a set of symbols. These symbols can be verbal or gestural. Verbal symbols are words used when talking or composing. Letterss, memorandas, studies, booklets, catalogues, manuals, and one-year studies are composed of verbal symbols. These symbols are besides used when talking face-to-face or on the telephone, take parting in a conference or meeting, or presenting a address. Gestural symbols such as gestures, position, facial looks, visual aspect, and clip, tone of voice, oculus contact, and infinite ever accompany verbal symbols. All messages contain gestural symbols that help the receiving system interpret verbal symbols. If verbal and gestural symbols struggle, receiving systems by and large believe the gestural symbols over the verbal symbols. For illustration, a gross revenues representative may state that your history is really of import but so keeps you waiting. The representative ‘s gestural communicating may do you to oppugn the representative ‘s earnestness, and you may make up one's mind to take your concern elsewhere. 2. A sender which operates on the message in order to bring forth a signal suita ble for transmittal over the channel. 3. The channel is simply the medium used to convey the signal from sender to receiver. The manner a transmitter selects to direct a message is called the channel. Letterss, memorandas, and studies are the most common channels for written messages. One-to-one conversations, telephone conversations, and meetings are common channels of unwritten messages. Electronic mail, videoconferences and voice mail are common channels of electronic messages. Choosing the appropriate channel is important. 4. The receiving system normally performs the reverse operation of that done by the sender, retracing the message from the signal. 5. The finish is the individual for whom the message is intended. Here the finish is the receiver. A individual or things to whom a message is sent is the receiver. The receiver is responsible to give significance to the verbal and gestural symbols used by the transmitter. The significance receiving systems give to message depends on their several educational backgrounds, experiences, involvements, sentiments, and emotional provinces. Miscommunication consequences if the receiving system gives the message a different significance than the transmitter intended. As it is seen from the diagram, Shannon did non include feedback which is truly critical for effectual communicating. Shannon ‘s communicating procedure theoretical account was stimulus phase for other behavioral scientists ; because they developed his theoretical account more advanced and included feedback as an of import phase. Feedback is a message or portion of a message that the receiver returns to the transmitter so that the message may be modified or adjusted to do it clearer to the receiver. When one individual responds to another ‘s message, the response is called feedback. Feedback is the reaction of the receiving system to the message received. It may besides be gestural ( a smiling, a scowl, a intermission, etc. ) or it may be verbal ( a telephone call or a missive ) . Feedback is a critical constituent of effectual communicating because it helps find whether the receiving system has understood the message. These communicating procedure constituents may breakdown at different phases. First of wholly, we will specify the significance of dislocation or barrier. Breakdown to communication include anything that prevents a message from being received or understood. Barriers/breakdowns are, hence, synonymous in many ways with noise though technological noise ( e.g. inactive on telephone lines ) is less of a barrier and more of an obstruction. A technological job does non normally stop communicating, though it may barricade it temporarily. Technological jobs are besides possibly the easiest jobs to work out. When equipment fails, is unsuited to the undertaking for which it is used, or when the job is every bit simple as an wrong telephone figure, this can normally be rapidly identified and remedied. Technological jobs are, hence, a signifier of noise but they are an obstruction instead than a barrier to communicating. Barriers are normally of homo instead than technological beginning. Human barriers are frequently less seeable but by and large more eventful. These three barriers are: Socio-cultural barriers ; Psychological barriers ; Organisational barriers. Socio-cultural barriers. Communication ever involves other people. An person can be a bearer of civilization but one individual can non make civilization. Culture is a group or societal phenomenon. Culture is powerful. The linguistic communication we use, the nutrient we eat and how we eat it, how we dress, what we believe and so on, are all powerful cultural traits. We accept them as if they were non-confrontable and non-debatable. Culture occurs at national, cultural, regional and even organizational degree can be a barrier to communicating exactly because civilization is both powerful and shaping of groups. The cardinal socio-cultural elements that may be barriers are: Groupthink is the societal phenomenon which occurs when group behaviour dominates and stifles the decision-making procedure ( Janis 1982 ) . It occurs when societal norms or a group ‘s desire for consensus overwhelms its desire to make determinations that are in its best involvement. It is what happens when shared values and conformance get out of control. Group think is a major job in concern, where people work extensively in groups and squads. For case, group members over-communicate or emphasize their similarities in beliefs and values while, at the same clip, concealing or under-communicating their differences. This consequences in the visual aspect of tight similarity within the group. Another illustration, the group develops and maintains strong shared beliefs without oppugning their truth or their implicit in premises. Rather than acknowledging some direction or strategic mistake to explicate failure, the group will apologize or fault external forces. Conflicting values and belief. Culture is based on shared beliefs and values. When communicating occurs across cultural boundaries, the potency for misinterpretation is magnified. Cultural and societal norms are so deep-rooted that people act upon them without being consciously cognizant of making so. When cross-cultural concern ventures fail, the participants are frequently unable to understand why. It is normally a communicating failure stemming from a deficiency of cognition about each other ‘s basic values and norms. Administrations need to guarantee they are familiar with possible cultural differences before trying to make concern across civilizations. Languages and slang. Even when we ‘re pass oning in the same linguistic communication, words mean different things to different people. Age and context are two of the biggest factors that influence the linguistic communication a individual uses and the definitions he/she gives to words. When Michael Schiller, a concern adviser, was speaking with his 15-year-old girl about where she was traveling with her friends, he told her, â€Å"You need to acknowledge your ARAs and step against them.† His girl â€Å"looked at him like he was from outer space.† ARA stands for answerability, duty, and authorization. This point is that although we all can talk the same linguistic communication, but the usage of that linguistic communication is far from unvarying. If we knew how each of us modified the linguistic communication, communicating troubles would be minimized.Psychological Barriers are those associating to the person and the person ‘s mental and emotional province. Key psychological barriers are:Filtering. Peoples tend to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. For illustration, at Beacon Research Associates, a mid-sized, societal study company, leaders of each research squad were informed by missive of their budget allotments twice a twelvemonth. When the undertaking director received his allotment, he scanned the missive, took note of the sum of his budget and quickly filed the missive. What he did non notice was the paragraph which stated that the research allowance had to be used up in this budget period within six months. Any excess sum could non be carried frontward into the following period. The director selected from all of the information in the missive merely the informations in which he was interested – his budget allotment – and filtered out the remainder. The consequence was that six months subsequently he was really surprised to larn that the balance of his budget financess was recalled, which pu t terrible force per unit area on some undertakings. Often our consequences and prejudices are a consequence of personal value systems or our cultural backgrounds. The key to avoiding filtrating jobs is to listen carefully, to read carefully and to be cognizant that we all have a inclination to be selective about the information and information with which we are confronted. Percepts are how we view the universe. We choose our friends because they tend to believe like us, act like us, believe the things in which we believe and do the sorts of things we do. We frequently are non even cognizant that our perceptual experiences influence so many countries of our life. We have perceptual experiences of world that we trust and we behave harmonizing to those beliefs which, in bend, act upon our behavior. Our perceptual experiences can be barriers to communicating. We can decline to admit or go to to what is being communicated because we have preconceived thoughts about its relevancy to our lives. Faulty memory. Sometimes we do n't retrieve what has been communicated to us ; this will take to incomplete or uneffective communicating. Good memory accomplishments can be learnt and should be practised in order to go an effectual communicator. Poor listening accomplishments. Inadequate memory accomplishments can besides be attributed to hapless hearing. Day-dreaming, reading, listening to another conversation instead than the 1 in which we are engaged, looking around the room and merely by and large non concentrating on listening represent hapless listening accomplishments. Emotional intervention. Emotions can be a barrier to communication both in sending and receiving messages. When people are angry, fearful or sad their communicating accomplishments can be impaired. We can non command person ‘s emotions ; nevertheless we can command our ain emotions to a grade. How the receiving system feels at the clip of reception of a communicating influences how he/she interprets it. The same message received when we ‘re angry or distraught is frequently interpreted otherwise than it is when we ‘re happy. Extreme emotions such as exultation or depression are most likely to impede effectual communicating.Organizational barriers chiefly relate to the administration ‘s construction, civilization, forms of work and communicating flows. The most common organizational barriers are:Information overload. Persons have a finite capacity for treating informations. When the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity, the consequen ce is information overload. And with electronic mails, IM, phone calls, facsimiles, meetings, and the demand to maintain current in one ‘s field, the potency for today ‘s directors and professionals to endure from information overload is high. Message competition. Information overload leads to message competition. The sum of information we deal with every twenty-four hours forces us to do picks about what is of import and what can be ignored. A director can have a 100s of messages a twenty-four hours in different signifiers. Directors are put under more emphasis by the possible danger of losing or disregarding of import messages and therefore endanger their effectivity. Information deformation. A potentially bigger cost can be paid by administrations that suffer from information deformation. Taller structures mean that information has to go through through more sections and people before acquiring to its finish. This may do the information to be distorted due to misconstruing. Message filtrating. Directors select the communications to which they pay attending by filtrating or testing them. When go throughing on information directors one time once more filter information or reproduce it in brief signifier for the ingestion of others. This procedure happens at many degrees in administrations. Status differences. Directors tend to listen less carefully to subsidiaries. This will take dislocation of communicating. Structural jobs. Administrations can be structured with many beds and directors in the top would hold less communicating with the below employees of the hierarchal construction. The greater the distance – physical, societal or cultural, between two points, the longer it will take to acquire information from one point to the other. George Eliot says: â€Å"The people of the universe are islands shouting at each other across a sea of misunderstanding.† It is really critical to hold effectual communicating in order to be successful. It can be achieved by avoiding communicating dislocation. These stairss are: directing clear messages to the receiving system, and finish the message adequate to enable both the transmitter and the receiving system to make a common apprehension ; transmitter should avoid the specialized linguistic communication such as slang when composing to an foreigner ; message should be in platitude linguistic communication non cliches or local expressions that mean nil to a non-native talker ; the receiving system should besides be a good hearer by halt speaking, put the talker at easiness, keeping oculus contact, being open-minded, inquiring inquiry or giving a feedback. A communicator should digest bad wonts in order to set up good resonance sometimes ; should avoid accusals ; should concentrate on behavior non a individual ; should be specific instead than general ; should avoid defensiveness ; should portion in formation instead than giving advice ; should propose more acceptable options ; should give positive feedback. Deep external respiration, remaining entirely for a piece will assist get the better of emotional barriers. Administrations should concentrate on jobs and issues ; they should listen and promote subsidiaries efficaciously despite of their position. Employers should pay attending to the words and feelings of the employees that are being expressed. If an administration receives many messages from the clients, they should use excess staff for specifically looking after the messages and facsimiles. Communication is good or effectual when members of an administration portion information with each other and all parties involved are comparatively clear about what this information means.DecisionWe have discussed about communicating, Shannon ‘s mathematical communicating procedure and its constituents ; the barriers to communicating and steps how to avoid them. As discussed earlier we communicate because of a demand: a demand to acquire our thoughts across to others. Like animate beings, we communicate with sounds, although unlike animate beings, we have evolved address, which can convey complex thoughts. Unlike animate beings, excessively, we can encode these sounds into symbols, therefore giving the thoughts their ain extended and independent life crossing the coevalss. Communication can be seen as a round procedure. Person has an thought they wish to go through on. They determine who is to have the thought, and how it is to be recorded and transmitted. The chosen receiver becomes a transmitter when they deliver feedback to the conceiver of the thought to demo that is has been received and understood. Peoples engaged in communicating encode and decode messages while at the same time functioning as both transmitter and receiving systems. In the communicating procedure, feedback helps people resolve possible misinterpretations and therefore better communicating effectivity. Communication takes two signifiers – verbal and non-verbal. Although non-verbal is of import, verbal communicating is the manner that we communicate the thoughts, ideas or instructions we need to go through on. We do this in two ways: spoken and written. For a communicating to be effectual it has to be received and understood. There are two peculiar accomplishments concerned with apprehension: hearing efficaciously and reading attentively. Communication is one of the most of import procedures that takes topographic point in administrations. Effective communicating allows persons, groups, and administrations to accomplish their ends and execute at high degrees, and it affects virtually every facet of organizational behavior.Bibliographic MentionsForsyth, P. and Madden, D. 2005, Business Communications, ICSA Publishing Ltd, Norfolk. George, J. M and Jones, G. R. 2008, Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th ed. , US. Himstreet and Bary 1965, Business Communications, 2nd ed. , Wadsworth Publishing Company, California. Himstreet, Baty and Lehman 1993, Business communications, 10th ed. , Wadsworth Publishing Company, California. Judge, R. 2009, Organizational Behavior, 13th ed. , Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. McQuail, D. and Windahl, S. 1982, Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communication, 2nd ed. , Longman Publishing, New York. Rouse, M. J. and Rouse, S. 2002, Business Communications, Thomson Learning, Cornwall. Shannon, C. E. and Weaver, W. 1949, the Mathematical Theory of Communication, the University of Illinois Press, Urbana. Steil K. Lyman 1983, Effective Listening: Key to your success, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Canada. hypertext transfer protocol: //patchwork-st.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-avoid-communication-breakdown.html ( 13.04.2009 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coachingachievement.co.uk/overcoming_communication_barriers.htm ( 13.04.2009 )

Substance Abuse

This issue troubles me every time, even when I try not to think about it, and turn my mind away from it. Addiction is not what Just happened, it takes time, creep in slowly without you knowing you getting addicted to it. Most times people don't know they getting addicted to something, I believe everybody is addicted to something, I sometimes call love addiction because when you love somebody you will always want to be with that person. My immediate elder brother started smoking cigarette at age 17, and start smoking marijuana at age 19, and still smoke till this day.People always say â€Å"am not addicted to smoking or drinking†, and usually follow this sentence, I only take a glass of wine before going to bed, or I only smoke to relax myself. My community is drowning from substance abuse, drugs and alcohol. â€Å"People abuse substances such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco for varied and complicated reasons, but it is clear that our society pays a significant cost. The toll f or this abuse can be seen in our hospitals and emergency departments through direct damage to health by substance abuse and its link to physical trauma.Jails and prisons tally daily the throng connection between crime and drug dependence and abuse. Although use of some drugs such as cocaine has declined, use of other drugs such as heroin and â€Å"club drugs† has increased†(Reilly, 1989). Drugs has become a big part of our society, I was a auto-technician for a big car company that work with Bentley and Aerosols. I have to go into customers car to fix or diagnose the problem, 60% of the time I find or smell marijuana in the car. That is the rate this country is going, 1 out of 2 people smoke, at least cigarette.Many marijuana users believes smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different health problems. This always contribute to our society negatively, it make kids act up, make parents not function as paren ts, and eventually make the society slowdown. All this are happening without the drug being legalize, marijuana is always the focus point because it is the gate way drug to other substance. 2 Drugs are one of, and most epidemics in my community.Too months ago in my building, Just got home from school on a snowing, and cold day, I saw a lot of people adhered in from of the elevator, and was wondering why, I decided to ask somebody what's happening, she said mike was shot (14 year old boy on my floor) by somebody who he sold drugs for. This is the same boy the brother served 4 years in Jail, and just got home 4 months ago for possession of drugs. I see them every time, him and his friends. Age range from 12 to 16, smoking and drinking, and some of them don't go home for days, they skip school.Their parents don't talk to them thinking they can direct their own life. I see these things in my neighborhood every time, and wish I can urn it around in a day. They said Rome wasn't built in a day, and that's true. I plan to write an anonymous letter to some of the parents and the building manager concerning drugs, and how it affects the community, kids growing up around them, and the building it safe. After doing drugs they get wild and break things, my building has so many holes on the walls from their craziness.This is not fair to people in the building paying more expensive rent than them, they deserve clean and noise free environment. My hallway is packed with people all day for no reason, hey lay on the floor most times, and you have to walk across them. The elevator and stairways is full of graffiti, and gang sign on the wall, police is always in the building which is not good or fair to the tenants. I know is not going to be easy, everybody react to the same thing differently. I plan on being polite, positive.This are good kids, they Just need somebody to care about them, it don't really bother me because I grow up in a neighborhood like this, am only concern abo ut other tenants who are not used to it. I grow up in a big family, in a rough neighborhood. Almost 20 boys in and out of my house every day, most of them thugs, and they are all gang member. 3 They should be a program in poor neighborhood for kids and adult to tell them about them about their neighborhood, and the values.People won't respect or care for what they don't know, parent should learn to see their kids and as their kids and not their friends or buddies. Gang members claim neighborhoods saying is for the red or for blue side, because they don't know the real value of the neighborhood and nobody tell them. Illegal drugs have been around â€Å"since the 19th century when Americans iris discovered new wonder drugs like morphine, heroin, and cocaine, our society has confronted the problem of drug abuse and addiction.When the 20th century began, the United States–grappling with its first drug epidemic–gradually instituted effective restrictions: at home through d omestic law enforcement and overseas by spearheading a world movement to limit opium and coca crops. By World War II, American drug use had become so rare; it was seen as a marginal social problem. The first epidemic was forgotten. During the sass, drugs eke marijuana, amphetamines, and psychedelics came on the scene, and a new generation embraced drugs.With the drug culture exploding, our government developed new laws and agencies to address the problem. In 1973, the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration was created to enforce federal drug laws. In the sass, cocaine reappeared. Then, a decade later, crack appeared, spreading addiction and violence at epidemic levels. Today, the Idea's biggest challenge is the dramatic change in organized crime. While American criminals once controlled drug trafficking on U. S. Soil, today sophisticated ND powerful criminal groups headquartered in foreign countries control the drug trade in the United States†. DEAD, 13) This is the American so ciety we life in now, the earlier we do something the better it will be for everybody. You don't want your teenage kid sneaking out to go drink, smoke or do drugs, and thinking it's cool Just because she see her friends 4 or even her parent doing it. Some people say smoking or drinking is not bad but how you do it, or what you do it for. Drinking more than two times in a week is Just as bad a smoking, that's what I think, because for twice a week you will want to hang-out ore with boys/girls and get some more drink. Substance Abuse Impact of Psychiatric Disorders on Treatment Outcomes for Patients with Substance Abuse Daniel Painter Raritan Valley Community College Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 3 Abstract 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 4-5 Critique 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 5 Abstract 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦page 6 Critique 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 6-7 Abstract 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 8 Critique 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 9 IntroductionFor this research I selected the articles that concentrated on treatment outcomes for clients with addictions who also had a mental illness diagnoses (depression, anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, phobias). The first two research studies were conducted at different times but by the same researcher, Drar Charney, MD, and concentrate on outcomes of addiction treatment in patients with co-occurring disorders of anxiety and depression, or both at the same time. The last article by Wilson Compton, MD, focuses on drug dependence treatment outcomes in patient with a variety of mental llnesses. All three studies show similar results in predicting outcomes. Study #1 Abstract The first study that I selected, â€Å"Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment† conducted by Dara Charney, MD, et al, focuses the common problem of depressive or anxiety symptoms appearing together with drug abuse. The study was conducted for 6 months, used a sample of 326 patients that were assessed through semi structured interviews, ASI, BDI, and Symptom Checkli st 90 and then reassessed after 6 months.The objectives of the study were to assess rates of depression and anxiety in patients seeking addiction treatment and examine how the existence of concurrent psychiatric symptoms will influence treatment outcomes. The sample included 326 patients which was mixed population of adults with substance abuse disorder, who were predominantly white (93%) and male (64%) with a mean age of 41 years old. The sample included patients who were recruited upon entering treatment at the MUHC addictions unit.All patients were eligible for study – there were no exclusion criteria. 63% of patients had significant psychiatric symptoms at intake: 15% had depressive symptoms, 16% had anxiety symptoms and 32% presented with combined depressive and anxiety symptoms. During the six-month follow-up study, participants were offered standard treatment: outpatient detoxification, one or two 90-minute group therapy sessions per week, at least four 50-minute indiv idual therapy sessions and random urine drug screens throughout treatment.Follow up included even those participants who dropped out of the treatment (154 patients dropped out of treatment before 6 months mark) and all participants were asked about the outcome of treatment (abstinence status and duration of continuous abstinence), psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Results of the study revealed that those patients who were presented with few psychiatric symptoms on intake or presented with either depressive or anxiety symptoms on intake fared better than those who presented with depressive and anxiety symptoms together: 73% were still abstinent at 6 months.Critique of study #1 The study supported studied done earlier on the same subject and came up with similar results: patients with co-occurring depressive, anxiety symptoms and addictions fare worse at the end of the addiction treatment than those who do not present with co-occurring symptoms. There are several drawbac ks in the means this study employed. The sample was not representative of the community at large, because the majority of the participants were white males.It was not a random sample as well, because patients were recruited at the same facility. Half of the patients dropped out of treatment before the 6 month period, and were still evaluated at the end of the study regarding its objectives, which is not representative of treatment outcomes since they did not receive treatment. However, on the positive side, the study did include a large sample of patients and the outcomes were consistent with the outcomes of the similar studies. Study #2 AbstractThe second study that I selected, â€Å"The impact of depression on the outcome of addictions treatment† conducted also by Dara Charney, MD, Antonios Paraherakis, BSc, et al, focused on prevalence of depression among men and women who entered the outpatient program for substance use disorder treatment. The objectives of the study were to find out whether it was primary depression or substance-induced depression, presentation of specific features of depression and the impact of depression on treatment out comes. The research sample included 75 patients of the MGH addictions unit. 97% of the sample population was Caucasian, 61. 3% were male and 38. % were female, all of mean age of 40. 5 years old. Subjects were consecutively recruited upon entering treatment and no exclusion criteria were applied. At intake 22. 4% of patients exhibited primary depressive disorder, 8. 4% had substance-induced depressions. At 3 months follow up 93. 3% of patients were reinterviewed. Participants who dropped out of the outpatient treatment were also invited to participate in the interview (35% of the sample). The study concluded that patients, who in the beginning of the study presented with primary depressive disorder, had longer duration of abstinence and greater decreases in symptomatology.Patients with substance-induced depressi on almost completely stopped using their primary substance. Critique of study #2 One of the drawbacks of this study is a small sample size: only 75 patients participated. Sample population was not diverse either: the majority of participants were white males. The duration of the study makes the validity of the outcomes questionable, based on the recurring nature of depressive disorder. However, the results were consistent with the results of similar studies. Study #3 AbstractThe third study I selected, â€Å"The role of psychiatric disorders in predicting drug dependence treatment outcomes† conducted by Wilson Compton, MD, et al, examined what role co morbid psychiatric disorders played in the outcomes of treatment of drug-dependent subjects. The researchers used a sample of 401 subjects from a variety of facilities in the St. Louis area: public outpatient methadone clinics, two drug-free outpatient programs, two drug-free inpatient programs, an outpatient program for drug-ab using prostitutes, and a residential recovery shelter for women. The sample was diverse in that 61% were African Americans and 66% were men.The majority had graduated from high school, were unemployed and had never married. Alcohol dependence was the most common co-occurring psychiatric disorder with a prevalence of 63%. The subjects were interviewed upon admission into the study and then re-interviewed at follow-up 12 months later to determine their drug abuse status. The results of the study showed that several psychiatric disorders predicted worse outcomes at the follow-up. For instance, subjects with major depressive disorder showed using a larger number of substances and having more drug dependence diagnoses and symptoms.Subjects with alcohol dependence showed more dependent diagnoses. Outcomes predicted better abstinence results for women then for men. Critique of study #3 This is a thorough study conducted over a fairly long period of time (12 months at follow-up) that involv ed a large population sample (401 subjects) and was diverse in the facilities involved and demographically. It shows solid outcomes consistent with other research that focused on similar topics. Overall, the study is well designed and its outcomes have a high probability of being accurate.Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that all three research studies focused on drug abuse treatment outcomes for patients who have co-occurring mental disorder. The first two were done by the same researcher and consistently did not have a varied population sample (the majority of patients were male and white in study #1 and study #2) and were done over a period of time that was not long enough in the duration to accept the findings as truly valid, although, the results of these two studies were consistent with the results of similar studies.The last research study, however, employed a large enough and diverse enough population sample as well as long enough duration to validate the result s that were achieved. Overall, study #3 was designed best out of the three and the validity of its findings can be accepted as accurate with a good amount of confidence. Works Cited Charney, Dora, MD; Palacios-Biox, Jorge, MD, et al (2005). Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six-Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment.Psychiatric Services, 56, 8. Charney, Dora, MD; Paraherakis, Antonios, BSc, et al (1998). The Impact Of Depression On the Outcome Of Addictions Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15, 2, 123-130. Compton, Wilson, M; Cottler, Linda, Ph. D. et al (2003). The Role Of Psychiatric Disorders In Predicting Drug Dependence Treatment Outcomes. The Amercian Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 5. Substance Abuse Impact of Psychiatric Disorders on Treatment Outcomes for Patients with Substance Abuse Daniel Painter Raritan Valley Community College Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 3 Abstract 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 4-5 Critique 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 5 Abstract 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦page 6 Critique 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 6-7 Abstract 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 8 Critique 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 9 IntroductionFor this research I selected the articles that concentrated on treatment outcomes for clients with addictions who also had a mental illness diagnoses (depression, anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, phobias). The first two research studies were conducted at different times but by the same researcher, Drar Charney, MD, and concentrate on outcomes of addiction treatment in patients with co-occurring disorders of anxiety and depression, or both at the same time. The last article by Wilson Compton, MD, focuses on drug dependence treatment outcomes in patient with a variety of mental llnesses. All three studies show similar results in predicting outcomes. Study #1 Abstract The first study that I selected, â€Å"Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment† conducted by Dara Charney, MD, et al, focuses the common problem of depressive or anxiety symptoms appearing together with drug abuse. The study was conducted for 6 months, used a sample of 326 patients that were assessed through semi structured interviews, ASI, BDI, and Symptom Checkli st 90 and then reassessed after 6 months.The objectives of the study were to assess rates of depression and anxiety in patients seeking addiction treatment and examine how the existence of concurrent psychiatric symptoms will influence treatment outcomes. The sample included 326 patients which was mixed population of adults with substance abuse disorder, who were predominantly white (93%) and male (64%) with a mean age of 41 years old. The sample included patients who were recruited upon entering treatment at the MUHC addictions unit.All patients were eligible for study – there were no exclusion criteria. 63% of patients had significant psychiatric symptoms at intake: 15% had depressive symptoms, 16% had anxiety symptoms and 32% presented with combined depressive and anxiety symptoms. During the six-month follow-up study, participants were offered standard treatment: outpatient detoxification, one or two 90-minute group therapy sessions per week, at least four 50-minute indiv idual therapy sessions and random urine drug screens throughout treatment.Follow up included even those participants who dropped out of the treatment (154 patients dropped out of treatment before 6 months mark) and all participants were asked about the outcome of treatment (abstinence status and duration of continuous abstinence), psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Results of the study revealed that those patients who were presented with few psychiatric symptoms on intake or presented with either depressive or anxiety symptoms on intake fared better than those who presented with depressive and anxiety symptoms together: 73% were still abstinent at 6 months.Critique of study #1 The study supported studied done earlier on the same subject and came up with similar results: patients with co-occurring depressive, anxiety symptoms and addictions fare worse at the end of the addiction treatment than those who do not present with co-occurring symptoms. There are several drawbac ks in the means this study employed. The sample was not representative of the community at large, because the majority of the participants were white males.It was not a random sample as well, because patients were recruited at the same facility. Half of the patients dropped out of treatment before the 6 month period, and were still evaluated at the end of the study regarding its objectives, which is not representative of treatment outcomes since they did not receive treatment. However, on the positive side, the study did include a large sample of patients and the outcomes were consistent with the outcomes of the similar studies. Study #2 AbstractThe second study that I selected, â€Å"The impact of depression on the outcome of addictions treatment† conducted also by Dara Charney, MD, Antonios Paraherakis, BSc, et al, focused on prevalence of depression among men and women who entered the outpatient program for substance use disorder treatment. The objectives of the study were to find out whether it was primary depression or substance-induced depression, presentation of specific features of depression and the impact of depression on treatment out comes. The research sample included 75 patients of the MGH addictions unit. 97% of the sample population was Caucasian, 61. 3% were male and 38. % were female, all of mean age of 40. 5 years old. Subjects were consecutively recruited upon entering treatment and no exclusion criteria were applied. At intake 22. 4% of patients exhibited primary depressive disorder, 8. 4% had substance-induced depressions. At 3 months follow up 93. 3% of patients were reinterviewed. Participants who dropped out of the outpatient treatment were also invited to participate in the interview (35% of the sample). The study concluded that patients, who in the beginning of the study presented with primary depressive disorder, had longer duration of abstinence and greater decreases in symptomatology.Patients with substance-induced depressi on almost completely stopped using their primary substance. Critique of study #2 One of the drawbacks of this study is a small sample size: only 75 patients participated. Sample population was not diverse either: the majority of participants were white males. The duration of the study makes the validity of the outcomes questionable, based on the recurring nature of depressive disorder. However, the results were consistent with the results of similar studies. Study #3 AbstractThe third study I selected, â€Å"The role of psychiatric disorders in predicting drug dependence treatment outcomes† conducted by Wilson Compton, MD, et al, examined what role co morbid psychiatric disorders played in the outcomes of treatment of drug-dependent subjects. The researchers used a sample of 401 subjects from a variety of facilities in the St. Louis area: public outpatient methadone clinics, two drug-free outpatient programs, two drug-free inpatient programs, an outpatient program for drug-ab using prostitutes, and a residential recovery shelter for women. The sample was diverse in that 61% were African Americans and 66% were men.The majority had graduated from high school, were unemployed and had never married. Alcohol dependence was the most common co-occurring psychiatric disorder with a prevalence of 63%. The subjects were interviewed upon admission into the study and then re-interviewed at follow-up 12 months later to determine their drug abuse status. The results of the study showed that several psychiatric disorders predicted worse outcomes at the follow-up. For instance, subjects with major depressive disorder showed using a larger number of substances and having more drug dependence diagnoses and symptoms.Subjects with alcohol dependence showed more dependent diagnoses. Outcomes predicted better abstinence results for women then for men. Critique of study #3 This is a thorough study conducted over a fairly long period of time (12 months at follow-up) that involv ed a large population sample (401 subjects) and was diverse in the facilities involved and demographically. It shows solid outcomes consistent with other research that focused on similar topics. Overall, the study is well designed and its outcomes have a high probability of being accurate.Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that all three research studies focused on drug abuse treatment outcomes for patients who have co-occurring mental disorder. The first two were done by the same researcher and consistently did not have a varied population sample (the majority of patients were male and white in study #1 and study #2) and were done over a period of time that was not long enough in the duration to accept the findings as truly valid, although, the results of these two studies were consistent with the results of similar studies.The last research study, however, employed a large enough and diverse enough population sample as well as long enough duration to validate the result s that were achieved. Overall, study #3 was designed best out of the three and the validity of its findings can be accepted as accurate with a good amount of confidence. Works Cited Charney, Dora, MD; Palacios-Biox, Jorge, MD, et al (2005). Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six-Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment.Psychiatric Services, 56, 8. Charney, Dora, MD; Paraherakis, Antonios, BSc, et al (1998). The Impact Of Depression On the Outcome Of Addictions Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15, 2, 123-130. Compton, Wilson, M; Cottler, Linda, Ph. D. et al (2003). The Role Of Psychiatric Disorders In Predicting Drug Dependence Treatment Outcomes. The Amercian Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 5.

Auditing and Reporting of Business Performance Coursework

Auditing and Reporting of Business Performance - Coursework Example The Internal Auditing System need to follow a structured model within the organization's business framework that enables the business data to be fetched from various data sources such that they can be mapped with the Strategic Business Objectives within the auditing framework. Given that the strategic objectives of every business would be different, an empirical analysis pertaining to an industrial sector in general may not be completely useful to every company in that Industry. However, Organizations can definitely get the direction on the methodology that can lead to successful implementation of an Internal Auditing system which in turn can help in mapping the internal systems & processes of the organization with the strategic business objectives. This research is an attempt to establish such an empirical generalization pertaining to the modern practices in auditing and improvement of Business Performance (Hewitt, Bill. 2008. pp50; Pollieri, Maria. 2007. pp26-30; Boerner, Hank. 200 7. pp41-43; James, Mick. 2008. pp27-28) While an external auditor can add value to the internal auditing system of an organization, the actual contributions would be tangible from the internal auditing team only. ... This is because the reports being put forward to the executive management would be effectively modelled and consolidated by an internal team possessing in depth knowledge of the business system of the organization. Given the role & positioning of Internal Auditors, they are best placed to analyze and build these analytical models and generate audit reports that shall help the executive management to take timely proactive steps in order to protect the current competitive advantages as well as form new competitive advantages of the organization in new market segments, locations or countries. These models deliver intelligently analyzed reports pertaining to business performance and hence are commonly known as "Business Performance Management (BPM)" that is supported by the "Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)" systems. A BAM system has the potential to enable a business towards partial or full automation of business modelling & reporting thus ensuring better Process Efficiency, enhanced Employee Productivity, enhanced Customer satisfaction & retention, Transparency, Accuracy & Security of Business Information, improved compliance to Statutory Requirements & Regulations, and finally protection of Business & enhancement of Bottom Lines. The BPM practice essentially changes the way a business operates thus making it more structured, disciplined, informed and well aligned towards the business goals. Such a system unleashes a number of secrets of correlations and analysis pertaining to the business dynamics delivered with excellent levels of accuracy. The Internal Auditors are informed with accurate and consistent data from a tightly integrated and controlled system. (Landry, Steven. P, 2008. p218; April, Carolyn A. and Margulius David L. 2002. pp27) Table of

Barriers to Successful Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Barriers to Successful Strategy - Essay Example The paper tells that the implementation of strategies might turn out to be difficult given that the organization is large or complex but, in either case, monitoring and control the execution process of strategies is vital to the organization. Complex strategy implementation becomes a confusion to implementers and might also call for additional resources in forms of human, time and financial resources for successful implementation. Dyer and Singh refer to such situations as complex decision-making strategies which require being high attention during the implementation of strategies although it might take longer to implement and require more attention from employees and manager, its implementation will see the profit margin of an organization increase tremendously. Kaplan and Norton, also identify the importance of strategy execution and describe strategy execution as of equal importance to the strategy itself. Paul Nutt also studied the matter and explains that more than half of the d ecisions made in organization result in failure mainly due to wrong execution of a strategy in the implementation phase. BRF is one such company that has identified the importance of monitoring and controlling its strategy execution process. According to research by Kaplan and Norton, 70% of failures in the execution of a strategy is from the bad implementation, not the strategy itself. They identified four major barriers to the execution of strategies such as lack of vision, resource barrier, management barrier and people barrier. In addition to the four barriers, Jones and Kaplan and Norton emphasize the importance of a communicating strategy due to its critical value of aligning individuals and organizational units. In most organizations, managers are trained on how to plan strategies, not execute them. Managers in most organizations have the know-how on how to plan and develop strategies that would uplift an organization but mostly they lack the technical know-how of how to impl ement their strategies to achieve the intended organizational goals.

From Isolationism to Interventionism. America's evolution Essay

From Isolationism to Interventionism. America's evolution - Essay Example These guiding principles defended their homeland borders and remained self-sufficient and unconcerned with the rest of the world. The policies changed to interventionism, which was founded on the principle of directly intervening in the affairs of other nations. The change was because of the American’s perception of the most decent and had the proper way of living, governing and hence it would take measures to guide other nations towards the same direction. Initially, the nation was largely non-interventionist state, which preferred to focus on domestic affairs and pay attention to economic policies abroad. The change occurred after the Cold World War when America was forced to storm into the war when Japanese pilots bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. This changed the United States to an interventionist state. The idea of communism and the threat of Soviet Union influenced every foreign policy adopted by the U.S. A recovery program that was passed by Congr ess in 1948 sent relief funds into Western Europe and this created an influx of business in America. America later worked towards freeing nations referred to as the third world. They started practicing a policy of self-determination, not seeking conquest or economic control but instead instilling governments that were friendly. The United States through the United Nations intervened into the war between the communist government of Korea and the Republic of Korea since they saw that the Republic of Korea needed help to avoid being overrun. This war finally settled in 1953 and the borers were restored exactly as they were before the war broke. The conflict in Vietnam began in 1945 when the Vietminh declared Vietnam self-governing from France. The United States though had promised to accept the results of the elections, which were conducted in 1956 to unite the two separate nations under one democratically elected official later in 1956. They ignored it and provided weapons and trainin g for the friend faction in Vietnam and sent CIA Operatives to destabilize the Vietminh clandestinely. During the 1950s, the US government had supported a change in control of Cuba when Fidel Castro led the supporting revolution. After Castro came into power, he severed all ties with the United States and became more open about his socialist leanings. Later, the United States funded and trained troops that led a coup attempt to wrest control from Castro, which failed. John Blight said that the relation between Castro’s government and America was indirectly responsible for the alliance between Cuba and the USSR. President Harry S Truman (1945 to 1952) set before Congress his domino theory, which showed that if one pertinent nation fell into communism, it would drag all its neighbors. This led to the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which contributed to demolishment of communism (Patrick 111). Truman laid out is Point IV Program in 1949 which intended to give technical aid to third wor ld nations and also aided formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which intended to counter the Soviet threat in Western Europe. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in power between 1952 and 1960. He propagated the interventionist policies where in 1953 he used the CIA to stage coups and overthrow unfriendly governments in Iran and Guatemala. He helped to form the Southeast Asia Theory Organization after the fall of Vietnam from French control to Vietminh control in 1954. He acknowledged that there were background events and people involved in various aspects of American Interventionism. It became necessary to review the interventionism and look at different sides to debate. One of the issues was that getting involved

Multiple Intelligence in the Classroom Research Paper

Multiple Intelligence in the Classroom - Research Paper Example ng and considering all of these kinds of multiple intelligences and how teachers can deal with different kinds of intelligences in the classroom using a variety of teaching strategies. In this book, the reader can find the relationship between MI theory and special education, and MI theory and cognitive skills as well. It also discusses the relationship between MI theory and classroom environment. Critics’ opinion on this theory is also a part of the book. In one of its appendixes, related MI resources are given. Related books on MI teaching are also a part of the appendixes of this book. One of the appendixes presents examples of MI lessons and programs. In this way, this book presents a thorough study on MI theory, and its education related issues. The intent of the writer, Thomas Armstrong, of writing this book, is to emphasize on different kinds of intelligences, which different human beings are gifted with, especially the students; and to tell the ways to deal with people with a variety of intelligences to optimize the ratio of success in people and to minimize failures, because of their unrecognized potentials. Armstrong emphasizes that Gardener (1983) has rightly pointed out that Western cultures value linguistic intelligence and logical or mathematical intelligence only, and Armstrong says that Gardener has pointed out that other cultures value other types of intelligence as well. Thomas Armstrong has provided his readers with he idea that a variety of teaching strategies should be used in the classroom to help different kinds of intelligences grow and to assess them finally. Adapted from a checklist that is adapted itself from Armstrong, these are the habits and characteristics, that indicate some one with a particular intelligence - some one with linguistic intelligence would enjoy writing, speaking, communicating and reading. Some one with logical and mathematical intelligence would be interested in working of things; would enjoy puzzles,

How is the technologically mediated behavior driven by the low Essay

How is the technologically mediated behavior driven by the low fidelity public soundscape - Essay Example It is evident from the study that the idea of a public soundscape for instance, has only turn out to be important over the past few centuries, as sealed and enfolded buildings turned out to be more common. Previous to completely enfolded buildings, sound flowed mainly unrestrained from the private ball to the public, and vice versa which destined that, two persons in close proximity to each other experienced an analogous soundscape, despite of whether they occurred to be in the private or public realm. â€Å"R. Murray Schafer, one of the early pioneers of the study of soundscapes indicates that the rise of life spent primarily indoors gave way to two enduring phenomenon: the high art of music, and noise pollution† (Neudorf 3). The events of public soundscapes keep on developing in the current period of mobile phones and moveable music instruments. Nowadays it is possible, certainly general, to build ‘semi- private’ soundscapes (by way of make use of movable device of music and mobile phones) in public spaces, which highly block soundscapes in public. The idea of soundscape which represents a spatial implication no longer appears to fit in this circumstance; ‘sound experience’ may be a more suitable word given to the rising disconnect among site and audio perception. Second difference can be made among soundscapes in densely inhabited (urban) places and soundscapes in places that are less impacted by the activity of the persons. The density of the sound normally reflects the population compactness of the human being. However, there are numerous exemptions, where in high compactness places, sounds must contend  with each other with the intention to be heard. And also at the same time, sounds originate by human beings and their particular activities normally dominate urban soundscapes, as natural sounds hardly ever adjust to a louder soundscapes by raising their volume. Soundscapes, which are not conquered by activity of the huma n being, may have more moderate and reasonable, but they are distant (far) from unfilled. Even urban soundscapes which may not provide wealthy and rich environmental habitats frequently consist of impressive sounds.  Research method used to conduct the study is the primary research method. Primary research method used to acquire most authentic data directly from respondent. It is include survey method, interview method and Questionnaire Survey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a certain kind of risk in adopting the word soundscape which has a clear etymological debt to its progenitor landscape that a variety of suggestions from the visual world will also be adopted into the audio realm. Schafer builds the perceptive examination that unlike landscapes; soundscapes are concerning various activities and actions, not artifacts. In view of the fact that soundscapes are based on these activities, they are intrinsically unique at any of the specified point in time and space. â€Å"Scha fer suggests that there are two ways to improve the soundscape. The first is to increase sonological competence through an education program that attempts to imbue new generations with an appreciation of environmental sound. This he believes will foster a new approach to design - the second way - that will incorporate an appreciation of sound and thus reduce the wasted energy that noise represents† (Wrightson & Gil par. 24). Differentiation between Private and Public Soundscapes:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A soundscape is a kind of sound or amalgamation of sounds that shapes or occurs from an immersive

Liberal Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Liberal Studies - Essay Example this context, Banham’s (79) view towards morality parallel’s the Christian view regarding obedience to God’s commands, according to which the Christians obey God’s commands because God commands them and not because of fear of punishment in hell or for the sake of rewards in heaven after death. Hence the rationale is one does the right thing because he/she recognizes him/herself has a reason to do and not out of feelings. For most Americans, being successful is all about raising an being part of a loving family, about contributing something meaningful to their society and about maintaining healthy relationships with friends and colleagues. The worthwhile contribution may be local in scope, as in volunteering to assist school, charity or neighborhood church. Or it may involve wide social or political stage i.e. including national or even global movements like those trying to reduce world poverty, fighting the HIV pandemic or seeking greater equality for politically, socially or economically underprivileged groups. It is a fact that people have different views on success because our individual life experiences and genetic make-up combine to make our individual objectives unique. But in a broad sense, success is the same for all of us. To me, a successful life is a journey I choose along the path to fulfillment of my unique genetic ability as a human being (Scott, 26). Moral confusion is present today in the United States and it continues to escalate under Obama administration which widely supports the incongruous political combination of publicly funded gay marriage and abortion. The moral confusion undermines every of life in the United States, from uncouth local politicians to foreign policy to the teenagers whose social media accounts, which they can easily access, divulge bracing vulgarity and materialism. Without proper guidance, this generation of young people is putting their future in danger, posting all manners of rubbish on the web. The drift

Has Americas foreign policy been successful in the Middle East Research Paper

Has Americas foreign policy been successful in the Middle East - Research Paper Example The foreign policy of America represents the ways of interacting with different overseas nations of the world along with setting standards for interacting with the individual citizens, corporations and organizations. The prime goal of the US foreign policy is to establish a secure, prosperous and democratic world, which would serve beneficial for the people of America and others as well as who belong to various international countries. In this context, the US has separated foreign policies for the Middle East countries that determine its relation in terms of carrying out effective trade and foreign relations with the same. The strategic interest of the US over the Middle East countries is the major reason behind the formulation and the execution of the foreign policies. Justifiably, Middle East nations have huge deposits of oil and therefore acquiring this product is the main strategic interest of the US. The US foreign policy for the Middle East gained its significance after the end of World War II. During the Cold War, the American foreign policy aimed at preventing the anti-communist regimes of Soviet Union towards the Arab countries (Dow Jones & Company, 2015). However, after the attack of 9/11 in the year 2001, the US foreign policy started concentrating on addressing and mitigating anti-terrorism related activities (Johnson, 2015). The US possesses diplomatic relations with different Middle East countries apart from Iran, as this nation once went with anti-American regime in the year 1979 (Chomsky, 2010).

Race and Ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Race and Ethnicity Essay The ongoing struggle to fight the skin color prejudice in the contemporary American society is portrayed in Michael Jackson’s song â€Å"Black or White. † Whereas the racism is defined as a superior behavior against other race-thus making it inferior, the singer refers to this term as â€Å"See, it’s not about races, just places, faces, where your blood comes from is where your space is. † Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists in the music industry, calls for equality in how people view and behave towards each other. The question, which this master thesis investigates, does it matter if you’re black or white, is clearly answered by the singer: â€Å"It don’t matter if you’re black or white. † Jackson was trying to influence his society to act in a similar way and he calls for them to live their lives by Dr. Luther’s dream â€Å"†¦. judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. † However, almost thirty years later, it still seemed only as a dream because he sang: â€Å"I’m tired of this Devil†, where the bad is being represented by the prejudice. At the same time, he clearly states: â€Å"I’m not gonna spend my life being a color† – this is where he makes his conclusion. This can imply that even though he doesn’t discriminate and would like to see color prejudice gone, he is still being discriminated against. While being the most prominent artist in the music industry, he still calls himself â€Å"a color† and he rebuts against it and wants to be seen for the person he is and not the pigmentation of his skin. It is widely known that Michael Jackson had many facial plastic surgeries and it is controversial whether or not he altered his skin color by chemical peels or was it the disease called vitiligio that changed his face color to white. Therefore, it can be speculated that he modified skin to appear white, which ultimately is his vision. It can be further questioned – since Michael Jackon can’t win his struggle for racial equality, did he give up and go white – just to end his inner battle? Will all his suffering come to closure since now he looks white? Is this the true answer? It may be deemed as so since the skin color is the guide of one’s position in the society where being white claims supremacy-control and power. It should be noted that Michael Jackson is one of the greatest musicians of all times, having sold over 750 million records worldwide. He has accomplished so much in his life, yet still feels inferior and calls for racial equality in the world. His vision for a better world to live in, free of racism, ends on a sad note: â€Å"It’s black, it’s white†. To summarize, through decades, the blacks have fought to be equal, as the American nation shall guarantee those rights, yet, the society is still divided into the superior, the whites, and inferior- the blacks (and other people of color). Blacks have always been portrayed as the dirty, the poor, the lesser-of-a human type whereas the whites are seen as the dominant, the good type. Again, Jackson does not agree with this stereotype in saying: â€Å"I ain’t second to none. † Moreover, he claims that he will no longer be scared and mentions historical symbol of a KKK group: â€Å"I ain’t scared of your brother, I ain’t scared of no sheets. † With his passing in 2009, many of his inner struggles come to the end, but will the next generation start working on being color-free as the king of pop envisioned? America has always struggled with racial issues, especially those of black and white. Some them included racial segregation, education, workforce, banking and even seating on the bus. Black people continuously tried to â€Å"break thru† into community, but were always pushed aside as dirty, poor and unwelcome. We, in modern times, see the United States of America as a country that treats everyone equal. Americans should all be all equal, no matter what race, color, religion or any other characteristics they have. After all, we all remember year 2009, which is when Americans elected their first African American President. Question that comes to mind – why â€Å"first African American President,† not just simply their 44th President? So – the race and color of your skin does matter in modern times. My analyses of selected books, academic journals, films and music video will concentrate and argue if Americans indeed discriminate against race or if it is history and no longer exists in American life. First, I would like to take into consideration the iconic Michael Jackson, one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest singer and performer of the 21st century. Not only his songs deserve a closer look, but also his lifestyle – ideas, fears and the public opinion. â€Å"Black or White† by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell is a one of the greatest singles in Michael’s career. It was released on November 11, 1991. What inspired Michael to particularly select these two topics? Black or white – as implied in the song, he sings about skin color. Songs starts in Africa, possibly showing Jackson’s â€Å"beginning† – he is black. In one of the scenes, Michael sings â€Å"I ain’t scared of no sheets; I ain’t scared of nobody† while he is walking through fire images – which is being compared to KKK and its torch ceremonies. Here, he is portraying his painful vision of KKK and its vision. Later, the performers sing â€Å"I’m not gonna spend my life being a color. † What a great statement. Michael, throughout his whole life and his career, shows us his inner and constant fight for a non-racial America. Being black himself, he had struggled and finally came to the top, but still did not achieve the level of happiness – which is â€Å"no color† in his country. Later, Jackson sings on Statue of Liberty’s torch, again possibly reminding us about the KKK, and at the same time – the Statue symbolizes liberty, which for him will be color-free, no discrimination America. We shouldn’t forget about Michael’s actions in this video. In the original version, he is smashing the car, windows and the inn exploded. However, later he had to edit this version to minimize his violent behavior, however. He altered it by adding four racial graffiti messages onto the windows that he was smashing. As I suggested earlier, Michael Jackson is portrayed as an angry black man who simply hates the discrimination against black people and shows his feelings by destroyed his surroundings, as he was being destroyed himself –just for being of black color. In is interesting to observe, the Jackson, when asked to change his destructive aggressive music video, he indeed did change it, but didn’t forget about this hostility towards discrimination. He had just portrayed it differently (graffiti). First message reads: â€Å"Hitler Lives,† then â€Å"Nigger Go Home,† â€Å"No More Wetbacks,† and finally â€Å"KKK Rules. † It can be argued if Michael Jackson is simply smashing windows with those painful ideas – is destroying them – to make a better world? Finally, the song comes from the album â€Å"Dangerous. † What did the author have in mind? Are all of those issues, painful experiences and the fight for non-colored America dangerous? It can be argued that yes. Jackson showed us the dangerous side of being black, where he was always forced to fight and that causes different sorts of trouble. In â€Å"Black or White,† Michael brilliantly portrayed two core problems people were facing daily: black or white. As we look at his lifestyle and constant metamorphoses, Michael Jackson had numerous surgeries that altered the color of his skin and make him â€Å"white. † It is very controversial as many sources quote that Jackson had a condition where one looses a pigment of his skin, called vitiligo. However, Michael Jackson public image is seen as a person who constantly tried to be white, therefore, sought surgeries to help him attain this goal. Michael Jackson shows us that it could have probably been easier to make himself white and not struggle for color-free America, where everyone is equal, no matter of who there are or what they look like. It would also be important to analyze some of the lyrics from Jackson’s music video. He sings: â€Å"I had to tell them I ain’t second to none. † It can be understood that he no longer is accepting the fact that black is â€Å"second,† which is worse, just because of the color. He continues: â€Å"And I told about equality† – he tells us he wants to be considered equal, despite his skin color. Next verse, he has really had enough of being pushed around because he is black â€Å"I am tired of this devil, I am tired of this stuff, I am tired of this business. † Finally, he talks about racism in: â€Å"See, it’s not about races, Just places, Faces, Where your blood, Comes from, Is where your space is, I’ve seen the bright, Get duller, I’m not going to spend, My life being a color. † Here Michael Jackson compares himself to simply being a â€Å"color. † He is less than a human being only because he is not white. He is â€Å"black. † Again, he accents his refusal of living his life being black. He wants to be equal, equal to white. It should be also noted that throughout video, Michael Jackson is wearing black and white clothing (white shirt, black blazer, white accents on his right arm and nails, black shoes, white socks). He seems to be a person caught in a black-and-white world and struggles to change it, showing his pain. However, at the very end, he turns into a black panther. This transformation may symbolize him as a black man who will fight for his rights, yet, still remain black. In book â€Å"The Color of Credit: Mortgage Discrimination, Research Methodology, and Fair-Lending Enforcement† Stephen L. Ross and John Yinger present racial issues and argue the importance of skin color in banking. It should be noted that this book was published in 2002, year where we all think that American people are equal, especially on racial basis. Therefore, why and how does the skin color come into play in banking? First, the American lenders take many factors into consideration when disbursing the mortgage. Such factors include many details such as the creditor’s ability to repay the loan – where the lender accesses the potential risk of losing the loan. There are many different lenders and they base their information on statistics, demographics and make final decision based on the risk factors. Research showed that mainly blacks would seek loans, which are not favorable to all lenders. Therefore such bank does take race into consideration when reviewing for application for credit. It is also shown that blacks will most likely work with subprime lenders (44%) with comparison to whites (only 4%). Blacks generally cannot use the prime mortgage market due to their poor qualifications, thus creating the black to white ratio of getting the mortgage with figures of 2. 28 denial for prime market and 1. 27 for subprime. At the same time, limited research shows that blacks-even though have some qualifications as white – would remain in the subprime market and thus be charged higher fees. Equal Credit Opportunity Act says: It shall be unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction—on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract). (U. S. Code Title 15, Chapter 41, Section 1691) This would mean that all people should be treated equally in banks, when doing business in banks, no discrimination in credit transaction. However, authors argue that the bank may take a different look at the person and who they are in â€Å"business necessity† can be proved. Therefore, even while it is regulated by law, certain discriminatory practices can and do exist. Later, it would be rather hard to prove that the lender discriminated based for example on race. All regulations are not very clear and courts find it hard to find such a connection of discrimination. It is implied that blacks, with poorer ability to repay, living in lower income communities, must face subprime, expensive mortgages – to possibly make as much money as possible in the shortest time-so if the black borrower defaults on his payments, the lender wouldn’t lose its investment. This is to compare with the white borrower who lives in the richer-type setting, is more likely to meet his payments, therefore, he is offered a prime mortgage rate, without the necessity to further secure the loan. It can be argued if blacks and whites are treated equally, despite many regulations. On one hand, the lender must adhere to all necessary regulations, but on the other hand, such institution can make necessary decisions to make that mortgage profitable – thus, taking all factors into consideration in the application process. We can further analyze that race and color of skin does matter when one is being evaluated for such an application. It is believed that whites pose a lower risk to a financial institution than blacks. This also means, as authors point out, that black are less likely to be approved for a higher-priced home than a white person, which causes the real estate agents to discriminate and not show the more expensive houses to blacks. Maybe they don’t discriminate, they just know that lender is not likely to approve a black person in comparison to the same application of a white person? It is particularly important to note that authors point out that ‘‘on average, black mortgage applications have higher loan-to value and debt-to-income ratios than do white applications. ’’ In closing, it should be noted that while many regulations exist, there is no proof that racial discrimination has gone away and some research suggests that blacks still have lower approval rate in comparison to the whites. It is said that race does play a key role when the lender looks at your mortgage application.

Myth and Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

Myth and Thomas Jefferson Essay Essay: Topic: Compare and Contrast â€Å"Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address† (Chapter 15 in Readings in United States History) and â€Å"Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson†, (Chapter 14 in Readings in United States History) â€Å"Do you want to know who you are? Dont ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.† (By Thomas Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson, who was born on April 13 1743 and died on July 4 1826, was the son of a wealthy uneducated planter from Western Virginia. He was the first to go to College in his family and he attended the College of William and Mary. He was dreaming about a society where men would be judged by what they have accomplished and by their taste .He was the third president of the United States of America (From 1801 to 1809) and also the first United States Secretary of State (From 1790 to 1793 ).He was much more: founder of the University of Virginia. Philosopher, cofounder of the oldest political party in the nation, coauthor of the Declaration of Independence. In this essay, we are going to compare and contrast â€Å"Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address† (Chapter 15 in Readings in United States History) and â€Å"Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson†, (Chapter 14 in Readings in United States History). In his book â€Å"The Jefferson image in the American Mind (1960), the writer Merrill Peterson is basically showing how American’s people see Thomas Jefferson. They have always seen him as a particular man, a symbol for the United States of America .Therefore, many people took their time to find out something wrong about that man. The man who started criticizing him as probably the writer Leonard Levy’s in his Book â€Å"Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side†. In Chapter 14 â€Å"Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson†, Gordon Wood really talks about Jefferson’s personal life. Thomas Jefferson is described as someone who had passion for partisan persecution, someone who didn’t care about the civil liberties,  someone who thought he was morally perfect and used to judge people around him. In the chapter, they are comparing him to his friend James Madison. Thomas Jefferson wasn’t thinking about the country like Madison when he was taking decisions. While taking his decisions, he was mostly concerned about what his French friends would think of it than the needs of the American population. The main portion of Jefferson’s life, was his fight to abolish slavery. As it is written in this chapter, Thomas Jefferson hated slavery. He worked really hard to eradicate it in New Western territories. But apparently, he was never able to set all his slaves free. Many recent historians claimed that Jefferson’s acting toward Black people was very disgusting, revolting. Especially for someone who claimed that he wanted to eradicate slavery. During his life, he wanted to make sure that the eradication of slavery will be accompanied by the deportation of Back people of the country. For him, Black people living in a white’s man America was totally unbearable. He was â€Å"Racist†. In his mind, Black men were extremely inferior to White Not only in Body but also in mind. People were surprised to see hear him talk about freedom and control Black slaves at the same time. Most people started to think that he was a hypocrite. In 1802, James Callender, a political pamphleteer and journalist pointed the fat that Tomas Jefferson maintained Sally Hemings a Black Slave as a mistress and fathered her with various children. This was barely believable because everybody knew him as a man who always suppressed his passions. In addition to that, Thomas Jefferson was a man of the eighteenth century, an intelligent man, conventional, and enlightened. But he also had his own weaknesses. Jefferson was fully part of the Enlightenment in the United States of America. His desire to know everything and his open-minded character put him on the top of the American Enlightenment. Unlike in Chapter 14 (Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson), Chapter 15 (First Inaugural Address, 1801) is basically Thomas Jefferson’s speech which marks the abolition of one of the worst period in the United States of America. The First Inaugural Address of Thomas Jefferson is lionizing the most important election in the history as Thomas Jefferson was succeeding to John Adams as president. During 1790s, some divisions were created between the Federalists (Hamilton and Adams) and the Republicans (Jefferson and Madison) due to the opposition to Hamilton’s financial policies and polemics over foreign policy. Thomas Jefferson was  the first President to take office in the new capital city of Washington. In his speech, Thomas Jefferson says â€Å"Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.† He is basically telling his Fellow-Citizens that even though there are some differences, both Federalists and Republicans are serving the same constitution and following the same principles. What is different is the way each of them interprets and apply it. He is calling for Union. Jefferson wants a government when no one will injure another; where each citizen will work. In his partisanship, the First Inaugural of Jefferson mingles the American past of Washington and some heroes into his different principles .By making his party’s victory a victory for all the country, the speech sets the standard for inaugural addresses. In Conclusion, we were ask to compare and contrast â€Å"Thomas Jefferson’s Inaugural Address† (Chapter 15 in Readings of the United States History) and â€Å"Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson† (Chapter 14 in Readings of the United States History).We can undoubtedly say that Thomas Jefferson was a great Leader. It is therefore all the more important to see and distinguish where he had success and also where he failed. Whenever something is great, people will always try to find out the Bad in it and that’s what happened to Thomas Jefferson. But it doesn’t change anything to what he has accomplished for the United States of America. Till today, no other figure in the American history as reached that standard.

Impact of Foreign Aid on Nigeria Development

Impact of Foreign Aid on Nigeria Development CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary This study examined the extent to which Foreign aid; particularly the debt relief initiative has contributed to human development in Nigeria. It particularly sought to examine the relationship between Foreign aid and development considering the underlying political-economic conditions and the effectiveness of aid on human development. This work also sought to analyze how the World Bank’s Debt Relief initiative has enabled human development in form of better living standards and access to essential facilities in Nigeria. Finally, this research sought to evaluate the political-economic conditions particularly underlying the effectiveness of the World Bank’s Debt Relief initiative to Nigeria. Chapter one introduced the study introducing a general background to the study; the statement of problem; the research questions; objectives of the study; research proposition; significance of the study; scope and limitations of the study. Chapter two focused on the review of scholarly literature on the subject matter. The chapter illustrated the historical background to Foreign aid in the International system and its contributions to development in general. The chapter also included a theoretical framework examining the theory used for study review as well as the current trends regarding the subject. Chapter three in the other hand was devoted to the historical perspective of foreign aid in Nigeria. Chapter four attempts a critical discourse of the subject matter of debt relief and human development. The chapter reviewed and evaluated the debates on the effectiveness of the Debt Relief Initiative to Nigeria. It particularly sought to examine the impact and effect of the debt relief initiative on Human development in Nigeria. It started off examining the debt relief initiative, followed by the debates on its effectiveness and management in recipient states and concluded with a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the debt relief initiative on human development in Nigeria so as to determine if foreign aid in form of debt relief has contributed to human development in Nigeria. This chapter being the fifth summarizes the research and all findings carried out. It also includes recommendations and suggestions for further studies. 5.2 Recommendations One of the significant conclusions of the aid-effectiveness literature has been that aid is more effective when the recipient country’s policy and institutional environment satisfies some minimal criteria, and that aid should thus be allocated selectively on the basis of the quality (established policies and initiatives) of prospective recipients’ economic and social policies (World Bank, 1998). To buttress this assertion, Thomas (2001) points out that some Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) had no policy responses to poverty, HIV/Aids or corruption until they were required to do so as conditions for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. He concluded by suggesting that unless debt relief is effectively conditioned on the proper use of funds and the pursuit of structural reforms, it is unlikely to help the poor. This has been the Aid efficiency-conditionality debate –surrounding the subject matter. It is rather quite unfortunate that the afore mentioned assertion or debate was somewhat verified in Nigeria with the establishment of the Debt Management Office and the Virtual Poverty Fund – initiatives that were as a result of a desperate need for a debt relief. What is more reliving though is that the DMO is actually still in place and very much efficient in managing the Nation’s external and internal debt, and have shown certain level of accountability and transparency. This is seen with the up-to-the-minute information available on the Debt Management Office (DMO) website for Nigerians to familiarize themselves with the office and all that has been done to get a debt relief and all that there is to managing further debt both on the state level and the federal level. This research further recommends that revenues from oil be utilized appropriately to make resources available to finance investment that would in turn lead to growth. No doubt, there is the individual approach to office administration and policy initiation. But because the nature of Public administration allows for continuity even after the presiding officer or chair steps down, it is therefore appropriate to recommend that the established Debt Management Office and the Virtual Trust Fund (VPF) that was internationally commendable suggest that the Nigerian Government is competent enough to initiate functional approaches to challenges in the state and manage such initiatives effectively. It would be worthwhile therefore, to have our leaders put that same zeal and drive to initiating solutions to several other challenges facing the state and run it efficiently as the DMO was viciously run to get debt relief. Apart from debt relief being a form of aid; in Nigeria, the aid fund goes directly to the ministries, department or agency (MDA) that uses the fund. This is contrary to what happened in other Sub Sahara African Countries such as Kenya and Ghana in which foreign aid is treated as part of the budget. The Senate in Nigeria has warned against the disbursement of foreign aid coming into the country without National Assemblys involvement. The lawmakers are now insisting that such funds must henceforth be captured in the nation’s budget process for the purpose of tracking its flow and disbursement into Nigeria’s critical sectors (The Will, 2011). The idea is that by-passing budget will result in timely release of the aid to the critical sectors of the economy. Also, by-passing budget would ensure that aid money is not diverted to non-aided projects in the country. It is possible that there is the fear of embezzlement and mismanagement. And so I would recommend that the ministr ies, department or agency (MDA) that receive and utilize aid fund continue to do so but with a report to the National Assembly on a detailed account of aid fund. To effectively assess the effectiveness of the VPF or any aid fund for that matter, it is important for recorded projects to include the names or complete detail of projects so as to allow for complete evaluation. One may question if poor policy performance is a cause or a consequence of external debt or debt over hang for that matter. The debt overhang theory and the more general concerns of debt distorting incentives of the borrowing countries to reform imply that poor policy performance could be an outcome caused by external debt, at least in some of the HIPC countries, especially in the short run, as governments have much less incentive to absorb reform costs if they primarily produce income for foreign creditors. This should not be the case for Nigeria with the surplus revenue from oil does. It does not allow for the conclusion that poor policy performance could be an outcome caused by external debt. Rather, gross mismanagement of public fund, looting and perpetuated greed has caused poor policy performance. The civil society could have suppressed mismanagement to some extent but that is not really the case because what is seen is a state where there is minimal horizontal accountability and almost an invisible vertical accountability. In fact, the Nigerian citizens are negligent of the existence of the state and tend to survive with or without its input. This should not be the case. For Nigerian leaders to be accountable, citizens must actively participate in the politics of the state and make demands without fear. As many other reviews have recommended, this research would also recommend that Nigeria should diversify her economy to have multiple income streams. It is true that no state can be self-sufficient but the manner in which aid is given to Nigeria is very appalling and not needed. Least to say the food imported to Nigeria on a daily basis. If any state cannot feed itself and grow itself and its capacity, such state is bound to be underdeveloped of which Nigeria is not fit to be termed underdeveloped due to her vast riches in natural resources, man power, intellectual and industrial capacity, market and population. This research would therefore recommend a shift from a â€Å"Rentier mentality† to a self-reliant economy and state. 5.3 Conclusion In other research, the overall impact of debt relief continues to be unclear. Whereas there is little in the way of complete analysis or country case studies to compare the Nigeria case with. Chauvin and Kraay (2005) however, argue that debt relief has had no perceptible impact on the composition or effectiveness of public spending. Some skeptics, including Easterly (2002) and Jain (2007) have argued that debt relief, or the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries process can make public policy worse. On the other hand, Arslanalp and Henry (2005) argue â€Å"both borrowers and lenders can benefit from debt relief when the borrower suffers from debt overhang†, whilst World Bank (2006) paints a broadly positive tone as to the policy course of post completion point countries of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Against this mixed picture, the Nigerian analysis as summarized in the preceding chapter, suggests a success story. More so, it is important to note that debt relief is only a drop in the ocean of reform that is needed in Nigeria. Besides, debt relief was labeled as ‘special money’ that had political support, high visibility, and accountability processes surrounding it especially so as to gain credit from international donors (at the initial stages). Every other money is wasted, mismanaged or syphoned, as it has been the norm within public administrations. And because debt fund alone cannot lead to development in a state (even if well accounted for), development challenges still persist coupled with lack of devoted leaders to change. Such attitude keeps a state in a continuous spin within the dependency circle. So yes, political conditions do have effects on the effectiveness of foreign aid and much more, on the development of a state. 5.4 Suggestion for Further Research The decay in social services such as the education sector was not only because of inadequate financial allocation but also as a result of corrupt practices. What this work couldn’t cover adequately was to find out how possible it is that relief funds were not diverted, yet, the NAPEP estimated impact on human development is not all that visible. This is because diversion in funds impedes development. Or could it be that the infinitesimal growth experienced from the debt relief fund was all that there was and funds were not diverted, mismanaged or wasted? In other words, why didn’t the debt relief plan aid NEPAP in eradicate poverty before 2010?