Compare and Contrast Health and Wellness

Essay Rough Draft COM/155 March 24, 2013 Essay Rough Draft Today, everybody wants to lose weight and look better, but there are safe ways such as diet and exercise, and other ways such as high potency diet pills and gastric bypass surgery. I bring this up because I have witnessed firsthand what the difference in the weight loss methods has done to people. Some were my friends, and some were my family. Anybody who wants to lose some weight, could benefit from this essay, and possibly keep from making a bad or possibly even fatal decision.People need to know what they are getting themselves into if they take over-the-counter weight loss supplements. Dieters need to know things about weight loss supplements that the nutrition centers don’t want them to know. Diet and exercise are the only way to safely lose excess weight, and if truly committed to it, people will find an amazing sense of pride and accomplishment fallowing each workout. Taking a prescription for a weight loss pill is a much safer route than going to your local drugstore and getting one that no one knows anything about.Working with a doctor or physician who knows the person and their weight loss needs is the safest way. Even with FDA (food and drug administration) approval, the long term effects of these pills are unknown. This is really an option only looked at for those considered to be â€Å"obese† and with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or greater. It is also called upon when the BMI is 35 or greater and someone has a life threatening disease such as type II diabetes, and cannot manage their weight on their own. These pills are usually amphetamine-based and are therefore addictive.They are only meant to be used for a short period of time. If you have any history of addiction in your family or carry any addictive traits, a person should consult their physician before taking these pills. Side effects include, but are not limited to, high blood pressure, dry mouth, constipation, and in somnia. Surgery, such as Gastric Bypass surgery, has its pros and cons as well, but is a safer alternative to taking pills. In this surgery, a person is cut open in one of two ways. One way is to make a large cut in the stomach area big enough to open up and work inside.The other is to use today’s technology to go in through a small incision and use cameras to perform the procedure. What is taking place here, is most of the stomach is being eliminated, and tied directly into the midway point of the small intestine. The size of the stomach is reduced to about the size of an egg. The egg-sized stomach, combined with bypassing the portion of the small intestine that pulls all of the nutrients from the food eaten to fuel your body, are in turn going to cut weight. It will take much less food to feel full. This is a good procedure for those considered to be obese, or morbidly obese.It has positive effects in that a person will lose the weight they are looking to lose. Some of the negative side effects are that people often have to watch their vitamin and nutrient levels closely because they are no longer allowing the small intestine to pull them from the food that is ingested. Even after all of the weight loss, one will still have to figure out what to do with the extra skin that is now hanging from the body. This will inevitably call for another surgery. I have a friend who went through this and said that he was happier with himself when he was overweight and didn’t have the extra skin to deal with.The only 100% safe way to lose weight and live a better life is to maintain a healthy diet and exercise program. I have been a person who could eat whatever I wanted at any time I wanted to. I would even have bets with people as to just how much food I could eat. That is all starting to change with my age. As I get older I find it harder to keep my body in shape. What used to be simply waking up and doing whatever it was that I wanted to do, would turn int o having to pay more attention to what I eat, and exercise on a regular basis.This is not something that was comfortable to me to do. I used to think that just doing my high intensity job was going to keep me lean. This is the common misconception of a high number of dieters today. A healthy life starts with examining what it is that is put into the body daily. A good way to start is to give up the simple â€Å"pleasures† such as soda, candy, junk food, and fast food. Replace these things with a packed lunch including a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of water. I began doing a workout program at home, and made a commitment to make myself better.I told close friends about what I was doing so that I had support, and as it turns out, they wanted in on the healthy lifestyle. There is no better motivator than knowing someone is counting on me being there to work out with them. I have often thought of taking the easy way out and turning to pills and surgery, but then think of the negative effects and consequences, and am turned back to the safe, healthy way. In conclusion, I want people to know that not only can they do whatever they want for their health and wellness, but also be the very thing that someone else needs to see in order to make the commitment to change their lives.Now knowing what some of the pros and cons of diet pills and surgery are, and the simple steps necessary to work a healthy diet and exercise into life, people can make a better, more informed choice. What are you going to do for yourself today? What are you going to show someone else? References 3fatchicks. com. (2008). Retrieved from http://www. 3fatchick. com/5-dangers-of-diet-pills/ WebMD. (2005-2013). Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. Retrieved from http://www. webmd. com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/gastric-bypass

Case Treetop Forest Products Essay

Identification (20%) Facts, assumptions and problem identification Building-grade lumber industry is competitive and product being sold is not differential; only differentiation is due to product packaging and presentation. Product packaging is biggest factor when buyers are making a purchasing decision between buying from Treetop or competitors. Over the last 2 years, Treetop has declined in ratings for package of lumber products as a result lost customers to competitors . Treetop has six departments: boom, sawmill, planer, packaging, shipping, and maintenance. All other departments have a supervisor; however, packaging department does not have one designated supervisor. Possible solution is to convert one of the workers to supervisor, or dedicate a supervisor 100% of the time to packaging To solve the issue supervisor from sawmill and planer deparments cover the shifts. Due to distance between sawmill and planing divisions, the supervisors are unable given full attention to the operations of the packaging division. (assumption) Distance cause the supervisor to visit the departments not as often as they should. Productivity in 3 divisions remained constant, Sawmill and planing division productivity increased; however, productivity decreased in packaging department and caused the following: Stockpile up Risk of damaged stock increased the inventory cost Cost Competitiveness suffered due to management placing additional employees from other divisions to solve the backlog issue faced by packaging department. Packaging department run two shifts – morning and afternoon Productivity level of afternoon shifts is less than morning shift employees Reason behind the decreased in productivity level in the department is due to following: Employees takes extended lunch and coffee breaks Leave few min early, specially afternoon shift Reallocation of temporary employees from different productive departments also follow the same practise after being in the packaging department for few days. Based on the case facts, organizational effectiveness and productivity is being effected by the in place practises of Packaging  Department. Following two major problems should be resolved to overcome the issues faced by Treetop: Packaging department’s employees are effecting the working habits of other department employees. Department wide meeting communicating the company values, performance issues of packaging department, statististics proving decline in packaging, and initiatives to stop extended lunches, coffee breaks, leaving few minutes early especially in afternoon shift Produce daily backlog reports showing increase in backlog and spoilage statistics. Use negative consequences (firing), within union contract. and positive rewards based on production and quality targets being met. Methods and implementation of rewards can be determined by using Nominal Group Technique (variation of brain storming)- 1)silently and independently document their ideas, 2)collectively describe ideas to other team members without critique, and 3)silently ad independently evaluate the ideas presented Packaging division does not have a supervisor to oversee the operation on daily bases. This needs to change immediately. If costs can’t be justified, perhaps  ½ time position added, that also is in production the other half , or Bal Resolving the issues The packaging department is mostly at fault for majority of the Treetop Forest Productions Ltd recent decline of organisational success, not only are the packaging employees at fault, but also management for not monitoring the situation more effectively. It’s vital for Treetop Forest Products to improve and maintain their competitive edge within the building grade timber industry to ensure future success of the organisation. If solutions are not implemented immediately, the success of the organisation will continue to decline, placing Treetop Forest Productions Ltd in an unfavourable position where recovery may be implausible. Tackling the major issues illustrated within the packaging department will commence a strong positive path towards the future success of the organisation, placing them in a competitive position once again. There are possible solutions that can assist with effectively and efficiently dealing with this issue. Firstly, supervision and leadership needs a major  improvement within the packaging sector. As illustrated within all other fully supervised departments, work is completed efficiently and to a high quality standard. By providing packaging employees with the same supervision and leadership, near guarantees a positive change within the packaging department. Employing a leader with a with a transformational approach to leadership concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards and long term goals will help to improve the work ethic within the packaging department. A supervisor with transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more that what is usually expected of them. Furthermore, by introducing a new leader, costs will decrease due to supervised workers and the decrease of overtime; it can be implemented quickly, improv e productivity and increase the equity of work. As also explained within the issues of the packaging department, there is a lack of employee motivation. This is demonstrated through the low quality of work produced, longer breaks and early finishing times. Its important for managers to understand that each and every individual employee will have a set of drives, needs, decisions and behaviours to be motivated. By following the below diagram, Treetop Forest Products managers can use this to understand different emotional responses and resulting needs in the same situation. promote group cohesiveness and a pleasant working environment. In the short term, upper management could host a meeting or assembly between all departments to make them feel interrelated and important to the company. This could be a great motivation for the employees. In the long term, group evaluations could be necessary to measure the group’s performance and to see if the actions taken are resolving the problems. supervisor of the department. Learned Needs Theory: The Learned Needs Theory has three â€Å"learned needs† that can be defined as the â€Å"Need for Achievement†, â€Å"Need for Power†, and the â€Å"Need for Affiliation†. A need is amplified or suppressed through self-concept, social norms, and past  experiences (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc., 2002), although needs can also be learned through training whether it be strengthening or weakening the need. The members of the packaging department could have been more aware of their needs whether it is affiliation, power, or achievement and if they were more aware of what was there, there could have been more motivation on the part of the members to excel. Also, with the appointment of an actual supervisor, instead of taking them from other departments, it could have ensured that these needs be amplified through some forms of friendly competition or rewards. The â€Å"Need for Power† is stated as the need to make an impact on others, influence others, change people or events, and make a difference in life. If this need was taught to the members of the packaging department by the supervisors of the other departments, there could be a chance someone internally would strive so much for the need of power that he or she would emerge as the leader in a department with a declining productivity level. Having the ability to control others is a very powerful characteristic which everyone strives for internally, so if this need was brought forward by executives there would be an increase in competition and drive between the members to claim that position of hierarchy in the department. The â€Å"Need for Achievement† is the need and desire for excellence, competition, challenging goals, and overcoming difficulties. With the simple action as a reward put forth throughout the company internally that the employees of each section could enjoy, it could ignite an employee’s need for achievement and desire for excellence which in turn could ignite the competition in every employee to achieve success like his or her fellow employee has. People strive for recognition and success and if this need was amplified in the employees who have made it clear that they want to enjoy the benefits that come from a high productivity level, and brought out of those who believe that they don’t need success, Treetop Forest Products could internally enjoy success of their own making their business profit at its maximum rate. The â€Å"Need for Affiliation† is defined as the need for individuals maintain close, intimate relationships, or approval of other people. If Treetop Forest Products could bring out this need in the packaging department by showing them how the other departments in the company get along which in turn brings the productivity level up within the  department. Although, the employees of the packaging do well of getting along with each other by performing bad habits such as leaving early or extending their breaks, if that could be  transformed through the training of good habits such as exceeding expected productivity levels and working hard, the affiliation that is present now could be that much stronger and emphasized in the department. Also, in addition to affiliation within the department, there is also the possibility with the rise of productivity level and affiliation within the The team has strong cohesion, but needs to be turned around. (employees transferred are confor ming to the team norms of lack of punctuality)† Norms are the informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the bahavour of their members.† Padge 225 chapter 8 Canadian Org Behaviour . It has to be set as a rethink to the department and communicating the new norms and aligning the norms with the company goals and objectives is critical. Through these simple needs that can be taught or learned, Treetop Forest Products could experience not only success from their five already successful departments but from the packaging department as well. If amplified the packaging department would benefit from the affiliation they would gain from the other departments, the power that employees could possibly gain with the increase of productivity via promotions or recognition, and the rewards that the employees of the packaging could gain through increased productivity levels. If Treetop Forest Products were to implicate these two simple theories there is a possibility that the packaging department would no longer be a harmful unit but instead an asset that Treetop can rely on. Through the Situational Leadership Theory, Treetop has the opportunity to find a leader that can adapt to the group and individuals and convert the now declining productivity level of the packaging department to an increasing level of productivity like the f ive other departments in the company. With the Learned Needs Theory, Treetop has the ability to install the needs for achievement, power, and affiliation to the packaging department to encourage friendly competition between the employees while still steadily increasing the productivity levels of the  department. Conclusion: Treetop Forest Products and Westboard Co have been suffering the consequences of the lackluster performance from their packaging department since there is no authority figure to keep the employees on task and working hard to produce sellable products for Westboard. With the packaging department not having their own supervisor, Treetop has appointed the supervisors of the sawmill and planing department as the supervisors of the packaging department during their shifts. With the packaging department being in a different location then the sawmill and planing department, it has caused the supervisors to make the packaging department an afterthought and with the productivity levels of the packaging department decreasing it has shown. After evaluating the case of Treetop Forest Product and the issues with their packaging department, they have been using the Contingency Theory which states that there is no one best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others and that while a leader may be very effective at one place and point in time may become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when factors around t hem change. This was clear in the case of Treetop Forest Product’s case because  although the leaders were very effective with their own departments, increasing the productivity levels of their respective departments, when transferred over to the packaging department their effectiveness did not follow. Each leader has their own key characteristics that play a major part in how they lead, whether it is their personality, drive, emotional intelligence, self-concept, etc. so what may be high and effective in one leader and his or her department may not be high and effective in a different department’s leader. Since the sawmill and planing departments were so successful when implanted into a failing department, the situation as well as the effectiveness of the leader changed. Instead of the Contingency Theory, there were others that if Treetop were to implement it could have made the productivity level of the packaging department go up while creating a better atmosphere within the company. If Treetop were to take the leader who was most able to conform his or her leadership style to that of the packaging department instead of just taking the top two  departments supervisors without considering the important variables such as distance and drive, Treetop could have improved the situation within the packaging department. With these simple changes to the company, Treetop could have quite easily changed the atmosphere and effectiveness of the packaging department to better the profits and trust gained from Westboard. If Treetop were to dedicate an individual supervisor based on performance and authoritative qualities within the department instead of having an external employee take on the responsibility of turning the packaging department around, the chances of increasing the productivity level of the packaging department would increase which would not only benefit the department but Treetop Forest Products and Westboard Co. respectively.

All About Eve and the Roles that Women Play

All About Eve and the Roles that Women Play Joseph Mankiewicz’s All About Eve explores the inability of women to find fulfillment in the roles offered by the theater. For a â€Å"true star† like Margo or simply a â€Å"carbon copy† like Eve or Phoebe in the harsh world of the theater, Mankiewicz suggests that it is almost impossible for a woman to reach fulfillment. This dilemma is largely due to the transitory nature of success, and the possibility of another star constantly in the making. As a result, only the role of the self-effacing and docile female can succeed in the world of theater. Mankiewicz suggests that women can only find fulfillment in the role of a docile and humble housewife, while the men must be the breadwinners of the family. This is exemplified by Karen, the ideal female spouse whom supports her husband’s endeavors and does not cultivate a separate image apart from that of being his wife. Moreover, whilst Karen may be the â€Å"lowest form of celebrity†, she enjoys an ostentatious and lavish lifestyle, as indicated by her array of magnificent costumes throughout the film. Unlike Margo, Karen yields no anxieties nor any â€Å"paranoiac insecurities†, but rather displays undying devotion to both her friend and husband, and is thus praised by Lloyd as his â€Å"loyal little woman†. Not only does this reflect the paternalistic values eminent in society in the 1950s, but is also an endorsement, on behalf of Mankiewicz, for those female characters who accept their subservient roles. It is through Karen that Margo realizes her desire to play the role of a humble housewife is greater than that of a professional woman. Such two roles are constantly conflicting in Margo’s life, and are the primary cause of her deep rooted anxieties. Whilst seemingly at the height of fame and power, she expresses her discomfort in the incongruity of playing women who are half her age when revealing to Lloyd that she has reached the big â€Å"four-oh,† at Bill’s birthday party. Moreover, as Margo wearingly sits by the piano brooding, requesting for Liebestraum to be played on repeat, close ups of her face reveal her fear of becoming an ageing actress capable of being marginalized by a younger and attractive understudy. Ultimately, and despite her numerous accolades, Margo finds her professional career to be unfulfilling, as she reveals to Karen with an air of resignation that â€Å"nothing is good unless you can look up just before dinner†¦and there he is.â €  To reinforce his ideal that women must sacrifice their professional careers for a happy domestic life, Mankiewicz juxtaposes Margo’s anxieties with her genuine happiness when casting Bill adoring looks in the Cub Room, the night before their marriage. The role of the â€Å"carbon copy† as played by both Eve and Phoebe, reveal both the exclusivity of the theater and the transitory nature of success. Eve’s introduces herself to Margo through playing the role of the wounded war widow, literally climbing the theater’s stairs in an attempt to reach the top of the professional ladder. At the height of her deceptive powers, she begins by makes herself indispensable to Margo, adopting the roles of her â€Å"sister, lawyer, mother, friend, psychiatrist and cop† in an attempt to ingratiate herself to her, and ends by blackmailing Karen in the ladies’ room to obtain the role of Cora in Lloyd’s play. However, when accepting the Sarah Siddons Award, close ups of Eve’s expressions reveal her disappointment at Margo and Karen refusing to congratulate her, Margo instead prodding her with the trophy, murmuring, â€Å"Go put that where your heart ought to be.† Furthermore, Mankiewicz’s introduction of Phoebe through the reflection of Eve’s mirror, suggests to the audience that there will always be an infinite reflection of â€Å"carbon cop[ies]† willing to do â€Å"all that, just for a part in a play†. Therefore, in the viperous and competitive world of theater, Mankiewicz infers that success is transitory, and that the demise of one star will lead to the birth of another. Therefore, despite being at the height of their fame and success, both Eve and Margo suffer in the professional world of the theater. This is a result of the infinite role of the â€Å"carbon copy† which leads to their demise, and therefore revealing the transient nature of success. It is only Karen, who vicariously lives through her husband and accepts her subservient role as a docile housewife, who is content with the role that she plays.

Conflict between Turkey vs. PKK (Kurdish terrorist group) within Research Paper

Conflict between Turkey vs. PKK (Kurdish terrorist group) within 1992-2002 - Research Paper Example The PKK is a recognized Kurdish terrorist group. Before September 11, 2001, it might have been considered a rebel group, but following the events of that day an international effort was put in place to try to limit and disrupt such organizations and cut off their financing. Lists were drawn up by the United States and its allies. Turkey was given the go ahead to taker serious actions against the PKK and eventually arrested its leaders. Today the PKK is still a threat, but its significance is limited. The current Turkish government is more liberal than many have recently been on the Kurdish questions and has been more open to the Kurds. New freedoms have taken some of the sting out of the PKK and turned ordinary Kurds away from them. The creation of de facto Kurdistan state in northern Iraq has also released pressure. The world has changed a lot over the last century. Terrorism has shifted too. It is now a global phenomenon motivated by a distorted global ideology. The PKK has lot a lot power because of this in recent

Social networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social networking - Essay Example However, the impact of using these websites is both positive and negative on the users and it mainly depends on the way people use them and the level of addiction to these websites. Facebook is one of such social networking websites that are being commonly used by the people of all age groups. Although this website provides many communication benefits to people, such as, social interaction with people from different societies, entertainment facilities, information sharing, developing kinship and other relationships, and facility to find old friends, but some harms are also associated with it if one becomes addicted to the use of such websites. Some of those harms or negative effects include wastage of time, development of unhealthy relationships, and threat to personal privacy. This is the problem which needs to be discussed in some detail. Therefore, in this study, the aim of the researcher will be to discuss the negative effects of making heavy use of social networking media, such as, Facebook. The researcher will base the judgments on the research findings. The researcher will also provide some recommendations to reduce the negative consequences of social media. Review of Research Literature As Rennie and Morrison (2013) state, â€Å"social networking has become an addictive pastime for many young people as they keep monitoring their site for new activity or comments† (p. 126). Facebook is one of the main examples of such social networking websites that have intruded itself in office, as well as in the home of almost every person. Alba and Stay (2008) state, â€Å"Facebook is a networking platform† (p. 24). It is true that Facebook connects people from different parts of the world and helps them in forming communities. Users of Facebook can form communities with no boundaries and geographical limitations. Along with this, Facebook has also made people less individualistic (Miller, 2011, p. 190). However, with all benefits of using this website, there also exist some negative points associated with addiction or heavy use of such websites particularly for teenagers and young adults. Addiction to social networking websites has a number of negative effects (Hargrave & Livingstone, 2009, p. 150). One of the main negative aspects of being addicted to Facebook is that it has reduced interactions between close family members. The reason is that when a person makes use of this website all the time, he/she finds no time to interact with his/her own family members. In many homes, both children and parents stay on their computers (mostly on social networking sites), which causes less face to face interactions between the people living under the same roof. Heavy users of such websites prefer to remain online to chat with others. Excessive use of Facebook has a negative impact on ethics and moral development of young people (Maurieni, 2012). Some other serious concerns regarding heavy usage of Facebook and other social networking websi tes include decreased affection for close family members, interaction with strangers, and decreased interest in studies (Papacharissi, 2011, p. 74). Increased addiction to internet and social media is becoming a concern in the United States though it is not widely publicized (Lancelot, 2011, p. 92). Users of social networking websites develop relationships with strangers that increase the threat to personal privacy. Posting

Political action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political action - Essay Example Firstly, by joining a national citizen activist group called Americans for Responsible Solutions, the intention was to take head on the influential gun lobbyist in terms of their coverage and resources. This involved constantly getting on the phone and email to contact legislators, engaging in online discussions, blogs, as well as twitter communications. The objective was to act serenely and rationally in order to make the legislators understand that there will be electoral repercussions of not voting for meaningful gun control measures. Secondly, before the congressional votes on existing plans took place, there was massive and coordinated booking of appointments from the representatives and senators office. The intention was to let them know the feelings and emotions driving genuine gun control measures. Thirdly, protest march also formed a major aspect of demanding meaningful legislation, and with the support of citizen activist groups referred to as Washington CeaseFire, protest marches and demonstrations were organized near Capitol Hill and state legislators’ buildings to commemorate victims while demanding legislative responses so as to transform the tears into concrete action. Furthermore, television ads urging Congress to take steps without delay were prepared from state to state, and this involves contributing amount s even less than $5 per person. Signing of online petitions calling for enactment of gun laws was meant at augmenting social media campaign as it is a useful resource for dealing with anticipated counter-petition (Carroll, 20). Hence, lawmakers should be made to understand that assault weapons or any high-capability ammunition magazines, does not have any place in the streets and communities The key issue driving such approaches is that the loopholes within current gun ownership and registration laws have enabled criminals and individuals with suicidal mental health to acquire

Hiroshima and nagasaki bomb Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hiroshima and nagasaki bomb - Research Paper Example Waves of fire and flash burns devoured people (Richard Minear, 1990). In Hiroshima, firestorm wind made the structures burn and people highly affected. Trees got uprooted and fire debris and other remains flew here and there. Hazardous radiation added to the causalities. Immediately after the explosion temperature rose to millions of degrees and light emitted to a level exceeding the brightness of sun (Richard Minear, 1990). Deadly radioactive particles affected the people and atmosphere in such a way that it wouldn’t t be healed even after centuries. Both the cities and the neighboring areas suffered from radiation sicknesses and death for several decades. Hiroshima and Nagasaki before the bombing – brief information Hiroshima with its dense population was a city of high military importance to Japan. Almost three-fourth of the city’s population was concentrated on the densely populated well-built centre portion of the city. Having the 2nd Army headquarters and c rucial communication points, the city was a major assembling point for the troops. Hiroshima contained few large industrial plants, reinforced concrete buildings, wooden houses, wooden workshops and numerous industrial buildings (Dower, 1995). Because of the risk of earthquake majority of the houses and industrial buildings were wooden built and reinforced concrete constructions were strong. ... The major part of the population lies along the heavily build-up area which is concentrated to very few kilometers. Numerous industries that produced military equipments, war accessories, ships and other materials made Nagasaki a crucial city for Japan. Buildings, structures and houses were made of wood, with no plaster or roof tiling. Most of the industries were also houses in wooden buildings. It would be best to call Nagasaki and industrial valley with thickly populated industries and houses built close to the industrial buildings. The effects of bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – People and economy The bombing completely paralyzed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Cities were destroyed, people were killed, affected and stranded, and environment was polluted to a level that even the future generations could not escape from the aftereffects of the bomb.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The atom bomb had numerous long term effects on the health and well being of the affected people. Majority of th e people in the affected area were heavily exposed to radiation and developed different types of cancers, including leukemia. Children who were exposed to radiation became highly susceptible to cancer and other radiation sicknesses (Kodansha, 1993). Almost all living victims of the bomb were in the risk of getting myoma, cancers, hepatitis, thyroid problem, liver problem and several other health issues (Kodansha, 1993). Eyesight was affected and cataract problem was encountered by numerous survivors who were exposed to radiation (Kodansha, 1993). Apart from this, people suffered heavy loss; they lost their family members, house, property and all belongings (Lifton, 1967). This had numerous long time consequence including sufferings and pain. Orphans and elderly

Compare and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Compare and Contrast - Essay Example They bring with them different cultures, values and religions. It is considered to be a good aspect by the sociologists and the educated groups but there is a different picture to it as well. Immigration serves to provide immigrants with an opportunity to move ahead but at the same time it is also disliked by many people and immigrants are often criticized and subjected to racist sentiments and discriminated against. Immigrants come with the hope of getting better opportunities in the more developed nations of the world like people move from Mexico and cross the border to the enter the United States or they may come from Asia or the Middle East to the U.S. The purpose may be to acquire better education, to lead a comfortable life, gain security, or to earn a good living. Most work hard to achieve their goals. Many universities in the United States have immigrants as students. Most work hard because they have to adapt to a new atmosphere and learn new ideas and things. The racism against Asians in particular Muslims is also an example to support the difficulties faced by this group in the United States. They face difficulties in universities where the nationals do not like mingling with them. The new environment is alien to them but still they try their best to adjust. They leave their culture and move to a totally different place. The immigrants also start working and they even take up blue coll ar jobs if they cant get the jobs of their choice. They hence serve as a workforce to fill in the gaps of jobs that nationals of the developed nations wouldnt do. For example, many Mexicans are seen working as laborers and farmers. Thus they bring about profits and revenue for the country where they migrate. It is also beneficial for the immigrants and their families because in this way they can also send back money to their homelands and support their families living over there. Another very important and interesting aspect of immigration

Compose a Training Manual For Diversity in The Workforce Assignment

Compose a Training Manual For Diversity in The Workforce - Assignment Example Discrimination is a vice against humanity. Nobody should be discriminated based on their characteristics such as color, ethnic background, race or gender. Until recently, the working population consisted of mostly non-Hispanic whites. But of late, marginalized groups that were regarded as inferior have started taking up formal employment (Newbold, 2010). There have been several studies into the composition of the American population and this information has been used to predict current and future trends in regards to work place composition. These changes will not only be presented in the society but will also manifest themselves in the work place. When there is an increase in the population of a certain ethnic group, for example the Asians, this implies that the same group will be available in all spheres of life. As a result, there will be an increase in Asians in the work force as well. Supervisors play a key role in this project because they are at the front line when dealing with employees. They are at the front when it comes to implementation of the demands of the management and therefore they play a key role in regards to upholding the correct behavior among the employees. In that regard, dealing with the issue of work place discrimination will not be useful until we first of all look at the current population trends and the projected future trends so that we can compare and come up with a plan of how we are going to deal with this influx of foreigners in our country. The work place forms a very important role in the American society. Industries form the backbone of the American society and as such should be as stable as possible (Bean, 1987). The American work force has over the years consisted pre dominantly of non-Hispanic whites. However, due to immigration this trend has begun to change and will change further in the years to come.

Bloomberg Help Essay Example for Free

Bloomberg Help Essay Introduction In this tutorial I will provide an outline to the Bloomberg Essentials On Line training Program also known as BESS. The Bloomberg Essentials program provides a convenient way to learn the basics of Bloomberg Professional financial information system. The training consists of a series of videos (with scrolling transcripts), on-line Help screens and supporting documents. The video tutorial materials are organized into 8 modules as follows: 1. Bloomberg Core 1. Getting Started 2. Bloomberg News 3. Market Monitors and Launchpad 4. API (Bloomberg Data in Excel) 2. Bloomberg Market Sector 1. Equity Essentials 2. Fixed Income Essentials 3. FX (Foreign Exchange) Essentials 4. Commodity Essentials To earn a certificate or Acknowledgement of Completion, you must view the four Bloomberg Core videos and pass the Bloomberg Core Exam, then view at least one of the Bloomberg Market Sector videos and pass its corresponding exam. For example if you are interested in foreign exchange markets, you might consider viewing the FX Essentials training video and then taking the FX Essentials exam. Keep in mind that you only get two chances to take each exam so you need to put in some serious time and effort into the training materials and mastering the concepts before you take the exam. To get started with the BESS training, you should first create your own Bloomberg login. Bloomberg tracks your progress and exam scores using your unique login. A brief tutorial on creating a Bloomberg login can be foundhere. You may also wish to have a set of headphones or ear buds handy for listening to the Bloomberg videos without distracting others around you. The Bloomberg keyboard has a headphone jack th at (if configured properly) should allow you to listen to the videos in privacy. As you are viewing a video, open up an additional Bloomberg window and type in the commands as they are described. You can also pause the video to do more exploration of a particular function  or rewind the video to listen and watch an example again if you did not understand it the first time. Once the video is over, challenge yourself to run through all of the commands just introduced and then practice them to make sure they stay fresh in your memory. THE BLOOMBERG ESSENTIALS ON LINE TRAINING PROGRAM (BESS) Accessing BESS on Bloomberg To get started, log in to the Bloomberg Professional software using your own Bloomberg login account. If you do not have a Bloomberg account, click here for a brief tutorial on creating a new login. In any window, type in BESS (type the letters BESS followed by the Enter key) to display the Bloomberg Essentials screen as shown below: As you can see from the BESS screen, the videos for each of the modules can be launched by clicking on their titles. Along the bottom of the screen there are links to view and take exams, as well as a link to request the Acknowledgement of Completion. On the following pages, each of the videos is introduced along with some pointers for getting most out of your studying time. Bloomberg Getting Started Essentials The Getting Started Essentials training video is approximately 18 minutes long and provides a basic introduction to the Bloomberg including how the Bloomberg Terminal software is organized, key terms used throughout the Bloomberg system and the basics ways of navigating through the system. Some specific topics include broad market analysis, single security analysis, browsing News and obtaining help. When viewing this video pay particular attention to the key terms and definitions, the various ways of obtaining help, and the special function keys available on the Bloomberg keyboard. The video tutorial begins with a high level overview of Bloomberg’s menu based navigation system starting with the MAIN menu function. This function shows how Bloomberg’s data and screens are organized into market sectors, trading systems, customization and settings tools, Bloomberg Law and Government and Help and Support. The next section of the tutorial introduces the Bloomberg keyboard. The keys are color coded according to their overall purpose such as: Red Keys are used to log into the system (the Red DFLT key) and to cancel a current function(red Cancel key in the upper left corner). Green keys are used for navigation and obtaining help such as the block of green navigation keys on the right for Page Up, Page Down, End, Menu, etc. and the Green Help, Search, News, etc. keys along the top of the keyboard. Yellow keys are the market sector keys. Each one helps in identifying financial instruments or market sectors. These yellow market sector keys include Govt (for Government debt), CORP (for Corporate debt), MTGE for Mortgages, M-MKT for Money markets, MUNI for Municipal securities, PFD for preferred, EQUITY for equities, CMDT for Commodities, INDEX for indexes, CRNCY for currencies (foreign exchange) and finally CLIENT for portfolio management functions. Obtaining Help in Bloomberg There are a number of ways to obtain help in the Bloomberg system. As the tutorial continues, note that Pressing the green HELP key while on any screen will bring up a help screen that explains the function the screen is implementing as well as tips on using the screen and what each field or area of the screen represents. The picture below shows the help screen for the MOST function (Most active equities). Another way to obtain interactive help is to press the HELP key two times. This will open up a chat session with the Bloomberg help desk. Type in any question you might have and a Bloomberg help desk representative will walk you through any functions or screens to answer your question. The third way to obtain help is to press HELP key after typing in the name or ticker symbol of a financial instrument (or any word for that matter). The result will be a list of different search categories matching your query. For example, typing in BOB EVANS provides the search results that follow. Note Bloomberg found results in categories such as Companies, People, News, Law, Equities and Fixed Income.: Content Areas: News, Economics and World Indices The next section of the video tutorial focuses on four major content areas: News, Economic Calendar, World Equity Indices, and Economic Statistics. Bloomberg Top News To access Bloomberg Top News press the green NEWS key or type N . Bloomberg Economic Calendar The Bloomberg Economic calendar displays prior and announced economic report releases. To access Bloomberg Economic Calendar type ECO . Bloomberg World Equity Indices The Bloomberg World Equity Indices screen displays leading indices from equity markets around the world. This screen allows you to compare both current market levels as well as historical levels. To access the Bloomberg World Equities Indices screen type WEI . Bloomberg Economic Statistics The Bloomberg Economic Statistics screen can be used to display economic indicators such as Consumer Price Index (CPI), unemployment, housing, consumer confidence and many others for dozens of countries around the world. To access the Bloomberg Economic Statistics screen type ECST . Single Security Analysis The next set of functions demonstrated all work on a single security. So to get started with each one, we type in the ticker symbol of a company, then press the EQUITY (F8) key. Then follow this up by typing in the name of the function. Company Description The company description screen provides an overview of the company including its industry, current and historical price chart and data, recent searching and dividend data and other summary information. There are a total of 4 screens (press PG DOWN for additional screen). For example, assuming the target company is IBM, the command would be: IBM DES Bloomberg Historical Prices The HP function can be used to view a set of historical equity prices. For  example, assuming the target company is IBM, the command would be: IBM HP Bloomberg Graph Prices The GP function can be used to create a price graph of a security. Assuming the target company is IBM, the command would be: IBM GP Bloomberg Company News The CN function can be used to search for news articles mentioning a specific security. Assuming the target company is IBM, the command to search for news would be: IBM CN Bloomberg â€Å"Cheat Sheets† In addition to the help screens that Bloomberg provides, there are also â€Å"Cheat Sheets† – one or two page documents – that provide quick access to many of the different Bloomberg functions organized by asset type or by job function. To get started viewing Cheat sheets, use the function ttCHEAT to bring up the screen: For example given the above CHEAT screen, click on the link 1) Getting Started to view the Getting Started cheat sheets as shown below: Clicking again on the 1) Getting Started link will display the actual cheat sheet for getting started. Various language versions are presented. Click on the link for the desired language and the two page PDF will be downloaded and open in Adobe Acrobat. Bloomberg Messaging System The last portion of the Getting Started tutorial video introduces the Bloomberg Messaging system. This is basically an e-mail system built into the Bloomberg software that allows you to send messages, screen captures and other materials to others on the Bloomberg network. To get started with the Bloomberg Messaging system, simply press the green MSG button or type in the function: MSG Messages are listed in the inbox click on a message to view its contents. There is a yellow text box used to search for messages and buttons to create new messages, etc. Bloomberg News Essentials The Bloomberg News Essentials video is approximately 20 minutes long and focuses exclusively on the Bloomberg News functionality. Specific topics include drilling down from the top level news function N down through different news categories to specific news articles. Custom news searches, screens and alerts are also covered. When going through this material pay particular attention to how the Bloomberg news is organized and the various methods used to browse and search for news articles. The Bloomberg Top News Screen The video tutorial begins with a review of the BLoomberg Top News screen. To access Bloomberg Top News press the green NEWS key or type N or you can type TOP . The default top news screen shows top news world wide. There are a set of Topic heading along the left side in the gray colored sidebar. Clicking on any one of those topics narrows the news search down. Clicking on any news headline will bring up the full news article. Once the news story is displayed, it can be printed, bookmarked by clicking on the star icon (or option 91)), or forwarded to a colleague using the Send Story feature. These are shown in the upper right corner of the screen. If the news story has an attachment it will be available under the 97) selection. In this example there is a chart attached to the story. The search field is in the upper left corner and allows you to search for keywords within the story. Note that this story has 3 pages. By scrolling to the end of the story you can view a section of Related News and Information in addition to the author’s contact information. Customizing Top News The Top news screen can be customized to filter and display only those news headlines relevant to the user. For example, the Top News pages by including only relevant topics selected form the list of categories on the right as  shown here: Bloomberg News Advanced Search The Advanced Search feature can be used to build up a sophisticated search on Bloomberg news (beyond looking for simple keywords). From the Top News screen (N ), pull down the 97) Actions screen and click on the Create Advanced Search menu item. Searches can be saved and associated with alerts so that any new news article matching the advanced search criteria will be brought to your attention. For example, the advanced search below is set up to look for the phrases â€Å"Share Buyback† or â€Å"Stock Buyback† that appear in stories related to the Information technology and Telecommunications industries. The source of the news story should be Bloomberg News (BN). Bloomberg Launchpad Essentials The Bloomberg Launchpad is a graphical user interface that can be customized to create multiple screens or â€Å"Views† made up of market data, charts, news and other components. A view can consist of multiple pages that can be created, customized and saved. While going through this 30 minute video, it is easy to create your own Launchpad views along side the instructional video. Pay particular attention to the types of components (watch lists, news minder, etc.) that can be added to the Launchpad view and the different ways in which these components can be linked. For example, the Monitor (watch list) component has a number of ways in which individual and collections of securities can be added to the watch lists and then linked to other components such as News. Below is an example of a Bloomberg Launchpad view showing a number of different components (click for a larger image). A Market Monitor is in the upper left corner showing major market indexes for North America, Latin America (LATAM), Europe and Asia/Pacific. This monitor is linked to the News/Research pane below such that clicking on a market index will bring up Bloomberg News filtered for that specific index and region. The monitor is also linked to the line chart in the upper right corner so clicking on one of the indexes causes the chart to display. An Economic Calendar is displayed below the line chart showing historical economic indicator  releases. An intraday Market Map is displayed in the lower right corner and is also linked to the Market Monitor. The Market Map is an interactive map showing stocks by market capitalization broken down by industry and sector and colored according to their price gains (green) or losses (red) during the current trading day. Bloomberg API Essentials The Bloomberg API is a spreadsheet Add-in module for Microsoft Excel that provides various methods for bringing Bloomberg data directly into Excel. The Excel API video is the longest and probably the most detailed tutorial in the Essentials collection. Highlights of this 30 minute video include working with the different Wizards that are available to fetch different types of data. These wizards include: Data Navigation – Download data for a single security from a set of categories including Company Summary, Financial/Valuation, Consensus Estimates, Ownership, Peer Group Analysis, Options Credit and FX. Real-Time / Historical Navigation – Fetch real-time and historical market data including intraday and end-of-day data. Equity Screener – The Equities Screen feature allows you to screen stocks based on different criteria. Financials / Estimates – Provides the means to retrieve historical balance sheet and analyst estimates data. Technical Analysis navigator – Similar to the historical data wizard but includes a collection of technical analysis indicators. Ultimately given a description of the final data set required, you should be able to identify the appropriate Wizard to run and/or or Bloomberg Excel function to use to fetch that data. Other features described in the video are the Template Library which is a collection of pre-designed spreadsheets that can be further customized. Below is a picture of the Bloomberg Ribbon bar running in Microsoft Excel 2010. Bloomberg API – Data Navigation The Data Navigation wizard provides a convenient way to download a set of related data for a single security. After launching the wizard and selecting a security (Apple (AAPL) in this example), a list of categories are presented including Company Summary, Financial/Valuation, Consensus  Estimates, Ownership, Peer Group Analysis, Options Credit and FX as shown below: After navigating from Company Summary to Overview, the resulting data can be dropped into Excel using the â€Å"Drag to Excel† button as shown below: Bloomberg API – Real Time / Historical Data The Real Time / Historical data wizard provides a set of steps to ultimately create a formula (or set of formulas) in Excel that will fetch real-time data from the Bloomberg network or populate the spreadsheet with rows of historical data. The icon and drop down menus for the Import Data function are shown below: For example, the Real-Time/Current wizard prompts for a security (AAPL in this example) and then a set of fields (PX_LAST for last price, PX_BID for Bid Price and PX_ASK for Ask price were selected). the result is a set of three Bloomberg BDP functions (Bloomberg Data Point functions) that pull the data from the Bloomberg network into Excel as shown below (note the formula in cell B2): Additional Resources for the Bloomberg Excel API Bloomberg offers additional tutorials and other resources to help you learn even more about the API. An interactive Bloomberg Excel tutorial can launched using command function : XATP XAPI This tutorial launches MS Excel and provides a collection of example worksheets that document the various features of the Bloomberg Excel Add-in. Of particular interest are the large collection of BLoomberg-specific functions such as BDP, BDH, BDS, BCURVE, BEQS, and others. Bloomberg Equity Essentials The Bloomberg Equity Essentials video covers one of the four alternate Market Sectors for the Bloomberg Essentials program. This 35 minute video covers the main functions for researching equities (stocks) using the Bloomberg terminal. Bloomberg Fixed Income Essentials The Bloomberg Fixed Income Essentials video is 25 minute in duration and covers the main functions for searching and analyzing fixed income instruments such as corporate bonds, municipal bond and government treasuries. The Fixed Income video is one of four alternate Market Sector areas. Bloomberg Foreign Exchange (FX) Essentials The Bloomberg Foreign Exchange (FX) Essentials video is 35 minutes in length and covers various foreign exchange instruments such as spot FX, forwards, swaps and interest rate products. Bloomberg Commodities Essentials The Bloomberg Commodities Essentials covers the use of Bloomberg to monitor and analyze the spot and futures commodities markets. This video is 27 minutes long and represents one of the four alternate Market Sector specialties in the Bloomberg Essentials program. In the next pages I will provide some tips on taking the exams. Taking the Bloomberg Essentials Exams Once you have reviewed the four Core videos you will be eligible to take the Core Essentials exam. From the BESS screen click on the link to View and Take Exams. The Master Exams screen will appear as shown below: Usually the first exam to be taken will be the Core Essentials exam with Mnemonic COREESS. When you are ready to take the exam click on this link and the exam will launch. Taking the Bloomberg Essentials Core Exam When the Bloomberg Core Essentials (COREESS) exam launches it will present a notice about the grading policy for the exam. Note that the exam is not graded until answers to all 30 questions have been submitted. Pressing the Menu button will close this notice screen and the exam will start off with question number 1. Below is an example question and answer format (the actual question and answers have been obscured). Answering a question is a two step process: First click on your answer choices, and then click on the red Submit button at the bottom of the screen. You cannot proceed to the next question until the current question is submitted. Note also that the entire exam’s answers are not checked until the last question is submitted. Continue answering questions and Submitting answers until you reach the last (30th) question. Bloomberg University Bloomberg University is a collection of help and documentation guides along with schedules and sign-up sheets for Bloomberg training events. To access Bloomberg University use the code BU to bring up the screen: Of particular interest to new Bloomberg users are the various â€Å"Cheat Sheets† – one or two page documents that provide quick access to many of the different Bloomberg functions. TO get started viewing Cheat sheets, use the code CHEAT to bring up the screen: For example given the above CHEAT screen, click on the link 1) Getting Started to view the Getting Started cheat sheets as shown below: Clicking again on the 1) Getting Started link will display the actual cheat sheet for getting started. Various language versions are presented. Click on the link for the desired language and the two page PDF will be downloaded and open in Adobe Acrobat. Conclusions In this series of posts I have covered a very basic introduction to Bloomberg including creating your own Bloomberg account and going through the Bloomberg Essentials training.

Role of Schedules of Reinforcement

Role of Schedules of Reinforcement To what extent are schedules of reinforcement more than just rules governing which responses will be reinforced? Illustrate your answer with basic and applied research examples. I am writing this essay in order to illustrate the role of schedules of reinforcement; basic and applied research examples provide evidence that schedules of reinforcement are more than just rules governing which responses will be reinforced. A schedule of reinforcement is defined as a rule that describes a contingency of reinforcement, those environmental arrangements that determine conditions by which behaviors will produce reinforcement (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2007). There are two basic types in a schedule of reinforcement: a continuous reinforcement schedule (CRF schedule) is one in which each occurence of a response is reinforced, and an intermittent reinforcement schedule where each occurence of the response is not reinforced; rather, responses are occasionally or intermittently reinforced (Miltenberger, 2008). Ferster and Skinner (1957) studied various types of intermittent reinforcement schedules and described four basic types in this category: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, variable interval. In a fixed ratio (FR) schedule, a specific or fixed number of responses must occur before the reinforcer is delivered; in a variable ratio (VR) schedule, delivery of a reinforcer is based on the number of responses that occur, but in this case, the number of responses needed for reinforcement varies each time, around an average number; in a fixed interval (FI) schedule, the interval of time is fixed, or stays the same each time; in a variable interval (VI) schedule of reinforcement, the reinforcer is delivered for the first response that occurs after an interval of time has elapsed (Miltenberger, 2008). There are also some variations on the basic intermittent schedules of reinforcement: a) the schedules of differential reinforcement of rates of responding and, b) the progressive schedules of reinforcement. Differential reinforcement provides an intervention for behavior problems associated with rate of response and that means that it is a variation of ratio schedule; delivery of the reinforcer is contingent on responses occuring at a rate either higher than or lower than some predetermined criterion (Cooper, 2007). The reinforcement of responses higher than a predetermined criterion is called differential reinforcement of high rates (DRH); when responses are reinforced only when they are lower than the criterion, the schedule provides differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL). There is also the differential reinforcement of diminishing rates (DRD) schedule that provides reinforcement at the end of a predetermined time interval when the number of responses is less than a criterio n that is gradually decreased across time intervals based on the individuals performance (Cooper, 2007). Progessive schedules of reinforcement by contrast, systematically thin each successive reinforcement opportunity independent of the participants behavior (Cooper, 2007), Progressive ratio (PR) and progressive interval (PI) schedules of reinforcement change schedule requirements using a) arithmetic progressions to add a constant amount to each successive ratio or interval or b) geometric progressions to add successively a constant proportion of the preceding ratio or interval (Lattal Neef, 1996). Additionally, applied behavior analysts combine the elements of continuous reinforcement, the four schedules of reinforcement, differential reinforcement of various rates of responding and extinction to form compound schedules of reinforcement. Concurrent schedules of reinforcement occur when a) two or more contingencies of reinforcement b) operate independently and simultaneously c)for two or more behaviors (Cooper, 2007). Discriminative schedules of reinforcement consist of a) multiple schedules -present two or more basic schedules of reinforrcement in an alterating, usually random, sequence; the basic schedules within the multiple schedule occur successively and independently and a discriminative stimulus is correlated with each basic schedule; the stimulus is present as long as the schedule is in effect- and b) chained schedules -the multiple and chained schedules have two or more basic schedule requirements that occur successively and have a discriminative stimulus correlated wi th each independent schedule (Cooper, 2007). Nondiscriminative schedules consist of a) mixed schedules -use an identical procedure to multiple ones but, without discriminative stimuli- and b) tandem schedules -identical to chained schedules, but also without the discriminative stimuli (Cooper, 2007). Now through basic and applied research examples from all types of schedules of reinforcement, it is going to be shown the role of schedules of reinforcement; the schedules of reinforcement play a major role in a behavior change program, and also in the acquisition and maintenance of a behavior. In the study of Kirby and Shields (1972), a systematic measure of changes in academic response rate and accuracy through a more direct approach to academic performance was conducted. The study was designed to measure the combined effects of an adjusting fixed-ratio schedule of immediate praise and immediate correctness feedback on the arithmetic response rate of a seventh- grade student and to measure possible collateral changes in study behavior. The study was divided into four phases: baseline, treatment 1, reversal, treatment 2. Using an adjusting fixed-ratio schedule, delivery of reinforcement was initially given for every two problems completed; then, the experimenter gradually increased the units of work or number of problems completed before delivering reinforcement. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the fixed-ratio schedule of praise and immediate correctness feedback in increasing the subjects arithmetic response rate and associated attending behavior. When students rate of correct problem solving was increased through systematic reinforcement, incompatible behaviors of non-attending decreased. It was also noted that during reversal, when all praise and immediate correctness feedback was withheld, the subject maintained a much higher level of arithmetic achievement and attending behavior than before treatment 1. The adjusting ratio schedule of reinforcement frequent contact with the student during early ph ases requiring small units of work, it requires no extra effort during later phases when large units of work are assigned. In the study of De Luca and Holborn (1992), the effects of a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement on pedaling a stationary exercise bicycle were examined. A changing-criterion design was used in which each successive criterion was increased over mean performance rate in the previous phase by approximately 15%. The participants were 3 obese and 3 nonobese boys. The experimental phases were: baseline, VR-first subphase (the VR schedule of reinforcement was introduced after a stable baseline had been achieved), VR-second subphase (stability had been achieved in the first subphase), VR-third subphase (stability was achieved for the second subphase), return to baseline and return to VR third subphase. All participants had systematic increases in their rate of pedaling with each VR value, meaning that the larger the variable ratio, the higher the rate of response. The results indicated that the rate of exercise can be increased using a VR schedule of reinforcement. The introduction of the initial VR subphase of the changing-criterion design produced marked increases in the rate of exercise for all subjects. Rasmussen and Oneill (2006), examined the effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of students with emotional-behavioral disorders in a clinical day-treatment classroom setting. The participants were three elementary-aged students and the dependent variable for all 3 participants was the frequency of verbal disruptions. The study employed an ABAB withdrawl design, alternating between baseline and FI conditions -verbal praise and pats on the arm were provided, with a final brief schedule thinning phase for each participant. All participants exhibited variable but relatively high rates during baseline. Implementation of FT schedules resulted in immediate, substantial, and stable decreases for all participants. The results of this study demonstrate the use of FT schedules and their implementation in a day-treatment classroom setting with children with clinically diagnosed emotional or behavioral disorders. These procedures were effective in reducing disruptive verbal behavior and these reductions were maintained while the FI schedules underwent initial thinning. The effectiveness of fixed-time schedules has also been evaluated through data on both appropriate and inappropriate responses. In the study of Roane, Fisher and Sgro (2001), fixed-time schedules were used in order to reduce destructive behavior but also, to increase adaptive behavior. The participant was a 12-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder and traumatic brain injury. There were two conditions: control condition and FT condition; with the exception of the FT schedule of reinforcement, the FT condition was identical to the control condition. During the FT condition, increases in two adaptive responses were observed, even though neither response was reinforced through direct contingencies. Similarly, decreases in destructive behavior were obtained under the FT schedule. The results suggest that, in addition to suppressing inappropriate behavior, FT schedules may also increase and stabilize adaptive behavior. Austin and Soeda (2008), validated the use of fixed-time reinforcer delivery with typically developing population. A fixed-time teacher attention was used to decrease off-task behavior in two third-grade boys. An ABAB was used with two phases: baseline (the teacher interacted with the boys in her usual manner) and noncontingent reinforcement-NCR (the teacher provided attention on an FT schedule). The findings indicated that NCR was an effective strategy for reducing the off-task behaviors of both boys, as immediate and sustained reductions in the percentage of intervals with off-task behavior were observed. Van Camp, Lerman, Kelley, Contrucci and Vondran (2000), evaluated the efficacy of noncontingent reinforcement with variable interval schedules in reducing problem behavior maintained by social consequences, comparing the effects of VT and FT reinforcement schedules with 2 individuals who had been diagnosed with moderate to severe mental retardation. Baseline and treatment conditions -with FT and VT sessions- were conducted in both participants. Although previous studies on the use of NCR as treatment for problem behavior have primarily examined FT schedules, results of this study indicated that VT schedules were as effective as FT schedules in reducing problem behavior. Carr, Kellum and Chong (2001), examined the effects of fixed-time and variable-time schedules on responding with 2 adults with mental retardation. Multielement and reversal designs were used to compare the effects of FT and VT schedules previously maintained on variable-ratio reinforcement schedules. The target behavior for the first participant was defined as making a penci mark on his name and placing the paper into the receptable. The target behavior for the second participant was defined as picking up a paper clip and dropping it in the receptable. The experimental phases were: baseline, FR 1 reinforcement, VR 3 reinforcement, FT, VT. The results showed that both FT and VT schedules were equally effective in reducing the target behaviors. Wright and Vollmer (2002), used a treatment package that involved an adjusting differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate responding (DRL) schedule, response blocking and prompts in order to reduce rapid eating. The participant was a 17-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with profound mental retardation. The experimental phases consisted of baseline and treatment condition, where an adjusting DRL procedure was introduced, along with blocking and prompts. The DRL intervals were determined by calculating the average IRT from previous sessions. The results showed that the treatment package was effective in increasing the IRTs between each attempted bite of food. The treatment package also resulted in an increase in the negative side-effects (increase in the levels of SIB and tantrums). However, the treatment continued despite these side-effects, which eventually decreased. In the study of Dietz and Repp (1973), a differential reinforcement of diminishing rates (DRD) schedule was used in order to decrease classroom misbehavior. The procedure that was followed was that reinforcement was produced when responding was less than a limit for a period of time, rather than when a response followed a specified period of no responding. Three experiments were conducted. In the first experiment DRD schedule was implemented to reduce the talking-out behavior of one 11-year old boy, classified as trainable mentally retarded (TRM) in a special classroom. The second experiment involved the reduction of talk-outs in a group of ten TRM students in an also special classroom, and the third experiment involved the use of a DRD schedule to reduce the verbal behavior of a group of 15 high school students in a regular class. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of DRD schedules in reducing classroom disruption both in individual and in group behaviors. In addition, the success with both TRM students and with high school students suggests the efficacy of DRD schedules across widely divergent groups. In the present study the use of positive reinforcement suggests also a nonpunitive method of classroom control. Roane, Lerman and Vorndran (2001), tried to examine if the reinforcing stimuli can be differentially effective as response requirements increase by evaluating responding under increasing schedule requirements via progressive-ratio schedules and behavioral economic analyses. In experiment 1 (reinforcer assessment), four individuals with developmental disabilities, who had been referred for the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems, participated. The findings showed that one stimulus was associated with greater response persistence under increasing schedule requirements for all participants. Results also suggested that progressive schedules allow a relatively expeditious examination of shifts in reinforcer preference or value under increasing schedule requirements. In experiment 2, the correspondence between responding under progressive schedules and levels of destructive behavior under various reinforcement-based treatments was examined in order to evaluate the utility of the reinforcer assessment. Three interventions were selected: noncontingent reinforcement, DRA and DRO. Results indicated that the high-preference stimuli identified via this assessment were more likely to reduce problem behavior or increase adaptive behavior than stimuli identified as less preferred. In summary, results of this study suggest that stimuli identified as similarly preferred via a commonly used preference assessment were differentially effective under increasing schedule requirements. Additionally, stimuli that were more effective under progressive schedules were more likely to produce decreases in problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. The influence of concurrent reinforcement schedules on behavior change without the use of extinction was examined by Hoch, McComas and Thomson (2002). Two responses were measured: problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement, and task completion in three children with autism. Moreover, the maintenance of behavior change was evaluated under conditions of increased response requirements and leaner schedules of reinforcement. The results showed that immediate and sustained decreases in problem behavior and increases in task completion occurred when task completion produced both negative reinforcement and access to preferred activities and problem behavior continued to result in negative reinforcement. The findings demonstrated that concurrent schedules of reinforcement can be arranged to decrease negatively reinforced problem behavior and increase an adaptive alternative response without the use of escape extinction. Tiger and Hanley (2004), described a multiple-schedule procedure to reduce ill-timed requests, which involved providing children with two distinct continuous signals that were correlated with periods in which teacher attention was either available or unavailable. Cammilleri, Tiger and Hanley (2008), conducted a study in order to assess the efficacy of a classwide application of the multiple-schedule procedure described by Tiger and Hanley when implemented by teachers during instructional periods in three elementary classrooms. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of a classwide multiple-schedule procedure when implemented by teachers in a private elementary school classroom. Conclusively, schedules of reinforcement are not only rules that govern which responses will be reinforced; they are substantial components of a behavior change program. CRF schedules are used in the acquisition of a behavior -when a person is learning a behavior or engaging in the behavior for the first time. Once the person has acquired or learned the behavior, an intermittent reinforcement schedule is used so that the person continues to engage in the behavior -maintenance of behavior (Miltenberger, 2008). In this way, schedules of reinforcement help in the progression to naturally occurring reinforcement, which is a major goal for most behavior change programs. It was shown that schedules of reinforcement can be applied effectively in different settings, behaviors, populations. They have been used to decrease inappropriate behaviors such as rapid eating (Wright Vollmer, 2002) or classroom misbehavior (Dietz Repp, 1973); to increase appropriate behaviors such as arithmetic response rate and attending behavior (Kirby Shields, 1972). They have also been applied in both typically developing children (e.g. Austin Soeda, 2008), and in children with behavior problems (e.g. Rasmussen ONeill, 2006). Schedules of reinforcement can have great effects in a behavior change program, but it is also very important to know how and when to apply the most appropriate schedule or a combination of them in a specific behavior. References Austin, J. L., Soeda, J. M. (2008). Fixed-time teacher attention to decrease off-task behaviors of typically developing third graders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 279-283. Cammilleri, A. P., Tiger, J. H., Hanley, G. P. (2008). Developing stimulus control of young childrens requests to teachers: Classwide applications of multiple schedules. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 299-303. Carr, J. E., Kellum, K. K., Chong, I. M. (2001). The reductive effects of noncontingent reinforcement: Fixed-time versus variable-time schedules. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 505-509. Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.), Schedules of reinforcement (pp. 304-323). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. De Luca, R. V., Holborn, S. W. (1992). Effects of a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule with changing criteria on exercise in obese and nonobese boys. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 671-679. Dietz, S. M., Repp, A. C. (1973). Decreasing classroom misbehavior through the use of DRL schedules of reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 457-463. Hoch, H., McComas, J. J. and Thomson, A. L., Paone, D. (2002). Concurrent reinforcement schedules: Behavior change and maintenance without extinction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 155-169. Kirby, F. D., Shields, F. (1972). Modification of arithmetic response rate and attending behavior in a seventh-grade student. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 79-84. Lattal, K. A., Neef, N. A. (1996). Recent reinforcement-schedule research and applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 213-220. Cited in Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.), Schedules of reinforcement (pp. 304-323). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Rasmussen, K., ONeill, R. E. (2006). The effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of children with emotional and behavioral disorders in a day-treatment classroom setting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 453-457. Roane, H. S., Fisher, W. W., Sgro, G. M. (2001). Effects of a fixed-time schedule on aberrant and adaptive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 333-336. Roane, H. S., Lerman, D. C. and Vorndran, C. M. (2001). Assessing reinforcers under progressive schedule requirements. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 145-167. Tiger, J. H., Hanley, G. P. (2004). Developing stimulus control of preschooler mands: An analysis of schedule-correlated and contingency-specifying stimuli. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 517-521. Cited in Cammilleri, A. P., Tiger, J. H., Hanley, G. P. (2008). Developing stimulus control of young childrens requests to teachers: Classwide applications of multiple schedules. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 299-303. Van Camp, C. M., Lerman, D. C., Kelley, M. E., Contrucci, S. A., Vorndran, C. M. (2000). Variable-time reinforcement schedules in the treatment of socially maintained problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 33, 545-557. Wright, C. S., Vollmer, T. R. (2002). Evaluation of a treatment package to reduce rapid eating. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 89-93.

Lycidas: Poetry and Death Essay -- Milton Lycidas Essays

Lycidas: Poetry and Death  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Living in a period of important religious and cultural flux, John Milton's poetry reflects the many influences he found both in history and in the contemporary world. With a vast knowledge of literature from the classical world of Greek and Roman culture, Milton often looked back to more ancient times as a means of enriching his works. At other times, however, he relies on his strong Christian beliefs for creating spiritually compelling themes and deeply religious imagery. Despite the seemingly conflicting nature of these two polarized sources of inspiration, Milton somehow found a way of bridging the gap between a pagan and a Christian world, often weaving them together into one overpowering story. The pastoral elegy Lycidas, written after the death of a fellow student at Cambridge, exemplifies this mastery over ancient and contemporary traditions in its transition from a pagan to a Christian context. Opening the poem in a setting rich with mythological figures and scen ery, then deliberately moving into a distinctly Christian setting, Milton touches upon two personally relevant issues: poetry and Christian redemption. In this way, Lycidas both addresses the subject of being a poet in a life doomed by death and at the same time shows the triumphant glory of a Christian life, one in which even the demise of the poet himself holds brighter promises of eternal heavenly joy. Confronted with the drowning of contemporary Cambridge student and fellow poet Edward King in 1637, John Milton faced the daunting subject of making sense of an existence that inevitably culminates in the ultimate destruction of human life. As M. H. Abrams states in his prefatory notes to Lycidas, Milton took part... ...hes, David. "A Study of Literature." Milton's Lycidas: The Tradition and the Poem. Ed. C. A. Patrides. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1983. 92-110. Hanford, James H. "The Pastoral Elegy and Milton's Lycidas." Milton's Lycidas: The Tradition and the Poem. Ed. C. A. Patrides. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1983. 31-59. MacCaffrey, Isabel G. "Lycidas: The Poet in a Landscape." Milton's Lycidas: The Tradition and the Poem. Ed. C. A. Patrides. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1983. 246-66. Milton, John. "Lycidas." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams. 6th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. 646-51. Tayler, Edward W. "Lycidas in Christian Time." Milton's Lycidas: The Tradition and the Poem. Ed. C. A. Patrides. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1983. 303-18.

The Narrative Voice in Araby, Livvie and The Yellow Wallpaper

The Narrative Voice in Araby, Livvie and The Yellow Wallpaper I hadn't really considered the importance of the narrative voice on the way the story is told until now. In "Araby", "Livvie" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" the distinctive narrative voices and their influences shed light on hidden meanings and the narrator's credibility. In "Araby" the story is told from the point of view of a man remembering a childhood experience. The story is told in the first person. The reader has access to the thoughts of the narrator as he relives his experience of what we assume is his first crush. We do not know how the girl feels about him. The narrator's youth and inexperience influence his perspective. His love for her is deep and innocent. As an adult, the narrator recollects his emotions for the girl with fondness, but the reader also detects a hint of regret as well. The narrator tells us that their first communication takes place when he goes to the back drawing room where the priest had died. There, in that sacred place, he spoke with the girl and made a promise that he would get her a gift if he was able to go to Araby. Soon after, "as a creature driven by vanity", he fails to retrieve a gift for her and is humiliated. I wonder if the narrator is implying that his true devotion to her was somehow blessed in the room where the priest died and when he allowed his sinful vanity to penetrate that love, he lost her. In "Livvie" the story is relayed by an omniscient third person narration. The narrator in this case provides insight into each of the characters, yielding to no one inparticular. The narrator uses subtle patterns in association wit... ...ten seen as representing an imaginative or "poetic" view of things that conflicts with (or sometimes compliments) the American male's "common sense" approach to reality". When society "values the useful and the practical and rejects anything else as nonsense", (feminine) imagination and creativity are threatened. Much like our narrator, women of that time were directed to suppress their creativity as it threatened the dominating male's sense of logic and control. "Perhaps the story was unpopular (at first) because it was, at least on some level, understood all too clearly, because it struck too deeply and effectively at traditional ways of seeing the world and woman's place in it". Works Dited Shumaker, Conrad. "'Too Terribly Good to Be Printed': Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." Journal of American Literature 57.4 (1985): 588-599.

The Psychology of Racism :: essays research papers

The Psychology of Racism Segregation has and still affects perceptions of Blackness inside and outside the Black community by making Black people see themselves as White people see them. Many of Black people have accepted the fallacy that they were inferior to White people at a young age, and Whites learned that Blacks were lower then Whites at a young age as well. Perceptions of Blackness within the Black community have been witnessed and lived by W.E.B. Dubois and many other Black writers and movie directors such as Spike Lee. W.E.B. Dubois wrote many pieces of literature that have been noticed. Spike Lee Directed many movies but only a handful showed perceptions of Blackness within the Black community. In the film Bamboozled by Spike Lee, he creates a show within the movie. The show is basically Black actors who paint themselves Blacker and their lips redder than they really are. This is to show the current audience how Whites saw Blacks during the Jim Crow era. W.E.B. Dubois states in all of his pieces that the White man see all Black people the same way. W.E.B. Dubois and Spike Lee are two Black men that have accepted the facts of White America but overcame the prejudice remarks. Dubois and Lee both in writing and film showed perceptions of the Blackness within the Black community by showing segregation, and racism. ?The Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, --a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world.? W.E.B. Dubois explains that the Black man is born with the gift of second sight meaning they can see themselves in the manor that White folks do. Dubois also states that Black people have no self identity, which means to me that they didn?t think they had as much power as the White people. Perceptions of Blackness outside the Black community include speeches from Government officials and documentaries. In the documentary ?A Class Divided? we see that young White children are raised with a racist mentality. In the Government, George Wallace, Governor of Alabama (1962-1966, 1970-1974) we see the support of segregation. George Wallace states ?and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.? This quote shows the perceptions of Blackness outside the Black community. In the documentary A Class Divided a teacher conducts a study on racism on her elementary class.

Should Mental Illness Be Taken Into Account in Determining Punishment

The penal system has been no help in alleviating the stigma attached to mental illness, routinely and historically treating mentally unstable inmates with just the same harsh approach as their criminally insane counterparts. Indeed, the distinction between these two populations is significant; however, authorities have long been reluctant to entertain such a concept. Similar to the treatment availed to them in institutions, mentally ill inmates have a history of being shackled, beaten and deprived of the most basic human needs.One might readily argue how state and federal penitentiaries exist for one reason and one reason only: to lock up the criminal and throw away the key. The conspicuous absence of rehabilitation programs speaks to the attitude society openly harbors about its convicted felons – keep them out of sight forever. Only recently has the idea of rehabilitation over incarceration been considered throughout contemporary correctional institutions as an alternative t oward addressing the imprisoned mentally ill, a population many believe are deserving of this option because of their blatant lack of free will in making morally responsible choices.The perpetuation of criminal activity, coupled with the severely limited resources availed to the state and federal criminal justice system, has made it almost compulsory for the penal system to implement comprehensive mental health programs not only to help alleviate prison overcrowding but also to rescue those inmates who do not belong in the penal system. Most people like to think that human beings possess free will, at least with regard to a wide range of actions.In contrast, however, some believe that certain people lack the aspect of free will. Many great theorists have contended that the reason some people may, indeed, lack free will is not so much due to the determined nature of their choices and behavior, but rather due to the fact that their behavior is not responsive to their choices in such a manner as to reflect those who do possess free will.When examining this viewpoint in further detail as it relates to mental illness playing an integral role in punishment, it is important to consider whether or not an individual can truly possess free will while at the same time having one's choices and behaviors determined by a greater force, as well. When one attempts to distinguish the principle essence of such theorists as David Hume, it is essential that one understand the difference between free will and determinism. When one is cast forward by ay of determinism, it is as though one has absolutely no control over the various and sundry occurrences that take place during one's life. Free will, on the other hand, speaks to the concept of having full authority over one's aspirations and ultimate direction, reflecting the exact opposite of those ruled by determinism. Having grasped the difference in meaning, the student may then want to argue that Hume's position was more than si gnificantly biased toward the concept of determinism.One might readily surmise how an individual whose life is ruled by determinism could realistically become void of any moralistic tendencies, inasmuch as one can claim that responsibility for any action would not fall upon the individual but rather the fateful path his is forced to follow. The manner in which this concept relates to Hume's radical principle is such that one might not be compelled to fight his own destiny, choosing instead to follow a path that is not always pristine and virtuous.The message that Hume is trying to convey is one of responsibility – all man's ideas come from impressions of things that have occurred before. Contrarily and without assuming responsibility for one's own actions in light of this assertion, the world would be nothing if not a jumble of adulterated confusion. By acting upon a basis of Hume's principle, one effectively relinquishes all accountability for his actions and – in the case of considering mental illness when doling out punishment – does not deserve the option of rehabilitation over incarceration.A world without moral liability, according to Hume, is certainly no place for a civilized being. â€Å"There is a species of skepticism, antecedent to all study and philosophy, which is much inculcated by Descartes and others as a sovereign preservative against error and precipitate judgement. It recommends a universal doubt, not only of all our former opinions and principles, but also of our very faculties; of whose veracity, say they, we must assure ourselves, by a chain of reasoning, deduced from some original principle which cannot possibly be fallacious or deceitful† (Hume PG).Characteristic of humanity's constant quest for the concept of meaning, the journey of understanding has come to represent myriad things to myriad people, ultimately rendering any universal explanation virtually impossible. The problem with meaning as it relates t o free will's impact upon one's moral responsibility is attempting to successfully pinpoint a single yet comprehensive connotation to its overall concept; however, this cannot be achieved as long as any two individuals harbor decidedly different interpretations, which is usually the case when debating this highly controversial subject matter.Critics have long questioned the theory of free will existing within the shadow of determinism, arguing how difficult it is to realistically determine if people exhibit certain behaviors out of fear of consequence or because they have the power to take control of their own lives, often causing them to become neglectful and unwise. Unlike other living beings, for what is possible is pretty much fixed by instincts and reflexes, one may argue how people initiate much of what they do, whether that means for better and for worse.Clearly, the connection one might make between free will and behavior based upon Hume's conjecture leads one to believe tha t people are much more likely to act out in such a manner that is motivated only by their personal desire to do so, rather than depending upon automatic reaction or stimulation. â€Å"The skeptic, therefore, had better keep within his proper sphere, and display those philosophical objections, which arise from more profound researches† (Hume PG).Society has not been very successful in addressing its mental illness problem; one only has to witness the nation's tremendous homeless population, obtain criminal justice statistics and examine the number of people currently taking psycho tropic medication in order to underscore the prevalence of mental illness. Understanding the origins of mental health is paramount to gaining further understanding of how to address punishment issues directly associated with mental illness, which requires the examination of myriad cultural and genetic elements that have been suspect in the study of human behavior.Recognition and treatment of mental i llness has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis over the past three centuries, with the very definition of â€Å"insanity† having encountered a most significant evolution. What was sane and what was normal was completely left open for interpretation by the powers that be, ultimately sealing the fate of many a mentally unbalanced individual whose only crime was chemical disparity. Institutional inmates were forced to live out their lives in formidable surroundings where they were cloistered in small, dark, dank rooms accommodated with one floor mattress for some half a dozen people.Chained in place, the inmates were forbidden to enjoy any of what one would consider necessary daily elements for sustaining sound mind and body: fresh air, sunlight and nutritional sustenance; along with regular beatings, the unfortunate victims of ignorance were deprived of virtually every common decency known to man. A handful of professionals from the medical community sought to defend the legit imate nature of insanity and tried to explain the need for medical attention; however, their attempts fell upon deaf ears, and their reputations were immediately tainted.The mentally ill were lumped together with the criminally insane, with officials making no distinction whatsoever between the two, inasmuch as the former â€Å"were not recognized as sick people and were accused of having abandoned themselves to shameful and forbidden practices with the devil, sorcerers and other demons† (History of Mental Illness). Ancient Egyptians understood the inherent connection between the body and mind, supporting the notion that if something was amiss in one's life it could easily cause one a bout of mental instability.Their approach was simple and straightforward: talk it out and rejoice in religion. The combination of these two elements was believed to empower the individual with internal strength that would ultimately overrule the continuation of any mental imbalance. Similarly, A ristotle and Socrates – the logical beings that they were – also recognized mental illness for what it truly was and prescribed such cures as soothing music to help alleviate melancholia.Hippocrates followed suit by prescribing a natural vegetable diet and exercise as a means by which to overcome mental illness (History of Mental Illness). It was not until the concept of the â€Å"mind† began to overtake such simplistic approaches, along with blaming the victim for such a disgraceful downfall, that the entire notion of mental illness began to shift for the worse. Dual diagnosis presents yet another concern where mentally ill offenders are concerned, a situation where an individual is diagnosed as being both mentally ill and a drug addict.While it is wholly possible to be dually diagnosed with a different secondary disease, drug abuse ranks high on the list. Research findings indicate that mental illness leads into drug abuse, inasmuch as the mentally ill partake of recreational drugs no differently than their mentally stable counterparts. What does separate the two groups, however, is what is termed downward drift, meaning that â€Å"as a consequence of their illness they may find themselves living in marginal neighborhoods where drug use prevails† (Dual Diagnosis).In these cases, it is customary to address the drug problem before approaching treatment for mental illness. There are a number of social and environmental factors that encourage criminal delinquency – one in particular is overlooked more than the rest when it comes to, for example, juvenile delinquency: mental illness. Indeed, an adolescent who is suffering from any one of many forms of mentally illness can display myriad socially unacceptable behaviors; within this mindset, juvenile delinquency has been found to be a prevalent occurrence.Considered for decades to be a disease of the insane, mental conditions like depression that intensify juvenile delinquency hav e finally been recognized for the debilitating and emotionally unbalancing illnesses they truly are. With an astounding nineteen million Americans suffering from clinical depression, the disease can no longer be looked upon as nothing more than merely the blues. Additionally, another five percent are victims of occasional despondency, with one of every six people succumbing to a serious or major depressive episode at some point in life (Clinical Depression).Depression often hits the elderly more than any other age group; however, with each passing year the average age of sufferers continues to drop as depression in young people is on the rise. Indeed, mentally ill offenders have much to contend with in their own way; as such, their punishment needs to fit their mental stability. If an offender is convicted of aggravated assault yet lacks the capacity to ascertain that he actually committed a crime, then it would seem prudent that he be given the right to appropriate counseling as a means by which to overcome his tendencies.However, the implementation of the insanity plea has allowed for perfectly normal criminals to reap the rehabilitative benefits typically bestowed upon the mentally ill, which has served to compromise the very foundation of this legal loophole (Harley 45). The theoretical implications contend that far too many people are crying insanity as a means by which to evade punishment for a crime they willfully committed, knowing full well that if they can achieve an insanity status, the penalty they receive will be significantly less overall, if they receive any.Clearly, intent does not have any relevance to its determination; as such, the tactics and strategies of both the prosecution and the defense have little, if any, bearing on how insanity is determined. The implications of such a problem speak to the overall distortion of insanity, as well as illustrate how much more difficult it makes it for the truly mentally ill to secure a legitimate insa nity plea (Harley 45). Re-training the mentally ill offender to become positive, contributing members of society has always proven to be a challenge for officials in charge of rehabilitation.Myriad programs have been implemented throughout history to achieve this goal but according to those in the field, none have proven as effective as the treatment approach. In attempting to put back the missing elements of a stable and productive person, such programs as behavioral therapy have been said to be instrumental in realigning otherwise maladjusted individuals as opposed to the harsh approach of boot camps and shock incarceration programs. Critics of such programs contend that such brutal methods do nothing but instigate more of the same behavior the recovery programs seek to overcome.If delinquency is â€Å"rooted in personality characteristics rather than in external forces† (Banks et al 49), then it does not make sense to employ this type of rehabilitation. Implementing behavi or therapy is one way of addressing the issue of mentally ill offenders whose deviant tendencies lead to criminal activity. With the help of professional therapists, law enforcement agencies are learning the art of behavior therapy as a means by which to control otherwise unreachable mentally ill delinquents.The objective of behavior therapy is to first assess and then treat mental problems that cause people to act abnormally. The current consensus among mental health professionals is that behaviors responsible for causing distress or preventing normal functioning in daily life are considered abnormal. There is a social standard by which all members are expected to abide; however, when an individual shows a propensity for straying from that social norm, behavior therapy theories are more than likely applied to determine the problem's origin and ultimate treatment.There exist myriad influences that can prompt a person into sidestepping what is considered to be normal behavior, includ ing mental disorders, physical diseases and stress-related issues. Experts report successful treatment outcome and maintenance for dealing with mentally ill offenders, inasmuch as behavior therapy theories focus upon unconscious conflicts that cause anxiety or maladaptive behavior. In effect, these myriad theories represent the means by which therapists are able to assess, diagnose, treat and finally heal their mentally ill patients. News reports that usually frame mental illness in the context of violence and crime are giving rise to stereotypes which stigmatize de-institutionalized mentally ill people. Thus, the challenge facing journalists is addressing deep-rooted and largely unjustified public perceptions about mental illness and violent crimes† (Smellie 25).In order to work toward a solution to the overwhelming inadequacy of mental health resources in contemporary penal systems, grants must be both created and obtained to address the following issues: Housing the mentall y ill in places other than jail and prison †¢Revisiting community mental health centers from the 1960s and 1970s †¢Assembling a task force of researchers to undertake myriad projects †¢Assessing mental health issues in minority communities †¢Exploring mental health issues in African-American communities †¢Providing a more active role by the clergy in reference to mental health issues, especially in African-American communities †¢Researching the correlation between mental health, crime and recidivism, with particular emphasis upon minority populations Conducting ongoing research for early identification programs, prerelease programs, transitional care management programs and effective parole/probation programs †¢Maintaining consistency in all programs from start to finish (Clinical Depression and African-Americans). Clearly, continuum of care is the key for the incarcerated mentally ill, a model consisting of three distinct phases: jail/prison; comm unity mental health programs; and probation/parole. Within this continuum resides effective pre-release programs for all incarcerated mentally ill inmates; ongoing substance abuse and literacy programs; and behavior modification programs.Activities for daily living would include employment, job training and retraining through vocational rehabilitation programs, state employment services, adult ex-offender job programs and effective communication programs; and alternatives to incarceration programs for the mentally ill and dual diagnosis. Are all delinquents created equal? Indeed, there are myriad levels of criminal activity that land offenders in jail, with a percentage of those criminals committing their crimes under the duress of mental illness. These prisoners, who many believe are deserving of severe punishment, often do not have full control of their faculties.These orphans of society are compelled by an emotional or mental imbalance that provokes them to display deviant behavi or toward society and their fellow human beings. Clearly, such individuals need treatment, not prison; rehabilitative help is in order for these offenders, not a lifetime behind bars. By placing the criminal into long-term therapy, there is at least a chance of rehabilitation there likely would not be in a full security prison. To stray from the norm is to deviate from socially acceptable behavior; when one is deviant, he goes against the very essence of what society has deemed acceptable.One of the easiest things in life is to deviate from what is considered by the masses to be normal; in fact, Morpheus points out that it is often considerably more difficult to remain upon a straight and narrow path with the myriad obstacles that appear in daily life. Therefore, one can readily argue how deviant behavior has found its niche within contemporary society, even to the point of infiltrating what is considered to be a standard of normalcy; as such, appropriate corrective measures must be applied in order to expect any semblance of rehabilitation for the mentally ill criminal.WORKS CITED Banks, Terry & Dabbs, James M. , Jr. â€Å"Salivary testosterone and cortisol in a delinquent and violent urban subculture. † The Journal of Social Psychology 136, (1996): 49. Clinical Depression. 25 April 2004 http://www. nmha. org/ccd/index. cfm Clinical Depression and African-Americans. 25 April 2004 http://www. intelihealth. com/specials/depression/htmDeprAfrAmer. html Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse And Mental Illness. 25 April 2004 http://www. schizophrenia. com/family/dualdiag. html Harley, Debra A.