Atallah Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Atallah - Essay Example She says â€Å"I could not resist the soldiers because they might kill me. So what else could I do?† (Henson 36). She had to endure all the hardship together with other women who had been abducted. The Japanese Imperial army had set up com garrisons which housed sex slaves or comfort women, a term commonly used to refer to these women. Slavery as commonly known, the victim is always taken against their will and forced to work or perform acts against their will. Comfort women did not have any control over their sexual activity as all they had to do was to follow orders. These women had to endure painful ordeals of being raped and hit by soldiers. The trauma Maria experienced as a comfort woman affected her for the rest of her life. She notes that one day while she was hanging some clothes to dry, she heard a woman on the radio talking about women who had been raped and her body shook all over (Henson 83). Sexual slavery is a very profound theme in this book and given that it is a woman’s firsthand experience, one gets to see just how much it affects the

Characteristics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Characteristics - Term Paper Example This is the micro perspective which is embedded in its psychological genesis and emphasizes the fact that there are individual variations in attributes which impact individual responses (Klein & Kozlowski). Neither perspective is enough alone (Michalski & Tecuci, 1994, p.381). Aggregate perspective tends to ignore individual differences that make a person behave the way he does. A mere focus on aggregate characteristics poses risk of showiness and worthlessness in the organizational culture. Contrarily, when only individual level attributes are considered, this tends to ignore contextual aspects that lead to collective responses. Thus, aggregate perspectives lead to misspecifications because there is no generalization of lower levels which makes it impossible to formulate a meaningful policy. Also, individual-level perspectives lead to problems formulating human resource management policies. Hence, a combined approach is required that integrates both the perspectives (Cameron, Sutton & Whetten, 1988). References Cameron, K.S., Sutton, R.I., Whetten, D.A. (1988). Readings in Organizational Decline: Frameworks, Research, and Prescriptions.

The Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer General Studies Essay

The Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer General Studies Essay Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer also known as Milwaukee monster was a notorious American serial killer and sexual offender in the 1980s and early 1990s. Across states his surname is actually synonymous with monster and with good reason. His victims were usually raped, tortured, dismembered. Jeffrey was a troubled child psychologically and his social skills had a lot to be desired. All the way through his upbringing he was ignored and had queer fantasies of cadavers. In his adulthood this psychosocial status quo didnt change and was in fact aggravated. This paper uses two criminological theories to scrutinize the life, personality, crimes and criminal behavior of Dahmer hereinafter referred to as Jeffrey. Through the social control theory and psychological theory, the paper will analyze the life of Jeffrey with respect to his criminal life. It will go on to try and find out if Jeffreys personality imbalances and socialization determined the course of his life. The validity of the two theories w ith respect to Jeffrey Dahmer lies in their outlook on the of impact socialization and psychological state of mind on criminology. It ends at a note of asking was Jeffreys socialization the problem or was it his psychological imbalances or was it a little of both worlds. Biography Dahmer was born Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer on May 21st, 1960 in West Allis, Wisconsin. He was born to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer after a difficult pregnancy; with frequent morning sickness and muscle spasms that had Joyce on prescription drugs. His being a normal fundamental American family, his childhood was just like that of any other American child. He had two parents who dearly and loved their only son at the time. Joyce actually had a scrap book where she recorded the events of her sons life; his first accident, his first step, his first tooth and even his first scolding. During Dahmers very tender age, his father an analytical chemist used to work long hours in his laboratory while his mother was a teletype machine instructor (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). Due to their professional lives, Jeffrey did not have a strong bond with his family. From all accounts Dahmer was a happy child in a loving family who enjoyed typical toddler activities. Living with Lionels parents caused a lot of tension in the Dahmers marriage and they eventually moved to a place of their own in East Milwaukee. At the age of four, Jeffrey underwent a hernia operation which marked the beginning of his personality changes. He became less communicative and more isolated as the years dragged by. In 1966, the Dahmers moved to Bath, Ohio where his Lionel was supposed to further his chemistry studies. The house they lived in was surrounded by open forest and Jeffreys isolation grew as he could lose himself in his make believe world. During the move Joyce was pregnant and the marital problems recurred. In December of that year, Jeffreys little brother David was born just as the former was entering first grade (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). The following year, the family moved again to Barberton, Ohio. The marital tensions increased when David suffer ed from colic. According to press history, at the age of eight, Jeffrey called a probation officer with claims of sexual molestation from a neighbor. This was ignored, adding to his list of rejection. Jeffreys school years were marked with his collection of dead animals and conducting experiments on them due his lack of socialization. Jeffrey was exposed to the world of chemistry at a very tender age and he explored it with his animals. He moved on to Revere high school where his loneliness continued for no matter how hard he tried he always was an outsider. Though he worked on the school newspaper, his shyness denied him the opportunity of making many friends. As in social control theory, he continually engaged in antisocial behavior. His grades were average and it is during this period that he developed a drinking problem. Most of his neighbors however remembered him as a shy boy whose loneliness took a toll on him psychologically. When Jeffrey was almost eighteen, Lionel and Joyce went their separate ways and divorced. Joyce went with David and Jeffrey was left with his father (Dahmer, 1994). The divorce was in itself a bitter parting and communication lines were cut entirely that Jeffrey didnt even have his mothers forwarding address. He graduated from high school and went on ahead to join Ohio State University. To camouflage his loneliness, most of his time here was spent drinking and skipping majority of his c lasses. His classmates were noted to avoid him and the director of national honor society blacked out a picture of Jeffreys that was eventually used for psychiatric evaluation during his trial. He consequently dropped out after two semesters. During this period, specifically in 1978 he started his criminal life by killing Steven Hicks (Davis, 1991). Lionel did not take his dropping from college well and he offered Jeffrey an ultimatum: to join the army or get a job. In 1979, Jeffrey enlisted in the army for six years and was sent to Germany. His loneliness induced drinking however persisted and he was discharged only after two years in 1981. Afraid of facing his father and with a ticket to wherever he wanted to go in the country, Jeffrey headed to Miami Beach, Florida. In Florida he spent his time at a hospital but he didnt last as he was once again kicked out due to his alcoholism. He went back home and his alcoholism saw to it that he was arrested in 1981 for a drunk and disorderly charge. In 1982, he moved in with his paternal grandmother in West Allis. During this time, his behavior grew increasingly strange as told by his grandmother. She found a stolen mannequin in his closet and a 357 magnum. It is also during this time that he was arrested again in 1982 and in 1986 for indecent exposure. Tired of his late nights, foul basement smells and general weird behavior his grandmother asked him to move out in the summer of 1988 (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). Jeffrey moved to the west side of Milwaukee near his place of work, Ambrosia Chocolate Factory. Just a day after moving into his new apartment, Jeffrey was arrested for drugging and a sexually fondling a thirteen year old boy. He was sentenced to five years probation and was required to register as a sex offender. Shortly thereafter he began a string of murders that ended with his arrest in 1991 (Davis, 1991). After a two week trial, the courts found Jeffrey guilty of fifteen counts of first degree murder and convicted him for fifteen life terms a basic life sentence. Jeffrey served his time at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage Wisconsin. There were two attacks on his life the first in July 1994 where he was attacked with a razor blade and survived with shallow wounds. During the second attack in November 1994, Jeffrey and a fellow inmate were attacked with a bar from a weight machine and he succumbed to the head trauma (Davis, 1991). Personality Profile To discern what makes a serial killer like Dahmer function, it is necessary to look into their past particularly their childhood and puberty (Holmes Holmes, 1998). As revealed by his biography, Dahmer was a normal child who enjoyed the normal childhood activities. The social control theory and the psychological theory will thus be used to explain the metamorphosis in his character. The shift in his personality started when he was four and had to undergo a hernia operation. During this tough period of the surgery his mother was preoccupied with her own troubles and his father was busy building his career in chemistry. Jeffrey was left with no one to tell him what was going on with his life, why he was sick and why he had to go to the hospital for an operation. After the surgery, his personality began to change from being a jovial social child to a loner who was always withdrawn and uncommunicative. He rarely disobeyed his parents and as a result Lionel took this personality changes a s a sign of obedience. His happy facial expressions transformed from a happy childhood smiles to a motionless, blank stare he wore until the end of his time (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). Throughout his childhood his parents were always involved in squabbles and young Jeffrey took all this to heart. Eventually they ended up splitting up and with a bitter divorce Jeffrey lost contact with his mother and younger brother David. Dahmers history of desertion left him with feelings of loss and rejection. This rejection situation fueled the already withdrawn personality of Jeffrey. After they moved to Bath his insecurities were heightened and his shy nature ensured that he had few friends. When most people his age were playing video games and listening to last music, Jeffrey turned to his make believe world in the forest around their home. His favorite past time was collecting road kill, stripping the animal carcasses and saving the bones. This love of carcasses and bones had actually begun when he was four. His father took this as the love of chemistry and he took him to his lab where Jeffrey was clearly fascinated by the bones. Lionel went on ahead to get Jeffrey his first chemistry set when he was in elementary school. With the set he used acid to scrape the meat off dead animals noted his step mother Shari (Dahmer, 1994). As a teenager, Jeffrey had fantasies about killing and mutilating men. Unlike most serial killers Jeffreys fantasies revolved around passive sex leading to his necrophilia. This could be one of the reasons why he killed his victims. So any other idle time he had from collecting road kill, he spent it deep inside the world of his fantasies. In the neighborhood, Jeffrey was suspected of killing animals just to add on to his collection. Even in puberty his non confrontational attitude towards his parents was not taken as a sign of isolation (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). During his high school years, Jeffrey continued to be a loner. Unknown to anyone Jeffrey was slowly mentally disintegrating due to his loneliness and in 1978 he acted out his fantasies after high school. His first victim was Steven Hicks. As later told by Jeffrey, he killed Steven because the latter wanted to leave (Davis, 1991). It is however important to note that Jeffrey was a well spoken man who gave no indications of his criminal tendencies. During one of the near escapes of one of his victims Konerak, Jeffrey was seen by the police as intelligent, soft spoken and very calm. He was so smooth talking that the police believed his story that the young boy was his lover; he was just so drunk over the incoherent Konerak. He even went ahead to apologize to the police promising of avoiding a recurrence of his lover behavior. This could be a reason why it took so long before he was discovered. It has thus been noted that Jeffrey Dahmer was a very complex man suffering from mixed personalities (Stone, 2006) Criminal Behavior Criminal behavior comprises of a large number and diversity of acts. These ranges from actions that violate the law, violate morality, violate norms of religion or violate customs and tradition (Helfgott, 2008). In the context of this paper Dahmers criminal behavior include the actions that he did that were influenced by his psychological state of mind and his socialization. Dahmers psychological fantasies included a chain of crimes against his victims corpses. For most of his victims the scene was the same and it more often than not began with consensual sex. He would often meet his victims in gay bars and go with them to his apartment often after enticing them with free booze or money. Once the consensual sex was over, he would drug them, sometimes kill them and then kill them usually by strangulation or by stabbing (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2009). He would then masturbate over the cadaver or have sex with the dead body. His next step was usually dismembering where he cut up the corpse into parts using his power saw. With the use of acid he removed the meat from the skulls and kept them as achievement trophies of his collection . In addition to the skulls, he usually stored other body parts like the heart in his refrigerator or in vaults and he ate these parts on occasion. Their genitalia were also kept as memoirs while the muscles were kept for f uture use (Davis, 1991). Suffice to say Jeffrey also performed lobotomies on some of his victims. To some he went on ahead to drill a hole in their skulls and pour some acid. This made the victim stay alive but in a zombie like state for days. From the things found in his house on his arrest, it was found that Jeffrey used chloroform to drug his victims. The male genitalia were preserved in formaldehyde. Simply put, Jeffrey was a serial killer who killed his victims brutally, had sex with their corpses, dismembered them and later ate some of the parts (Davis, 1991). Crimes/ Murders Jeffrey Dahmer admitted to a series of gruesome murders of seventeen men during his thirteen years killing spree, spanning from 1978 to 1991 when he was arrested. Most of his victims were young and belonged to minority groups like people of color. Due to the number of victims and the complexities in each of the individual cases, this paper will give a general overview of the crimes. It is worth noting that in all his crimes, Jeffrey acted out his psychological imbalances which were influenced by his rejection by society. Jeffrey committed his first murder in the summer of 1978. His father and stepmother had gone away and he had the house to himself. Jeffrey picked up a 19 year old hitchhiker, Steven Hicks and invited him to his house. The two drank beer and had sex. However when Hicks was ready to leave, Jeffrey hit Hicks with a barbell and killed him. Jeffrey, acting out his sense of rejection later said that he killed Hicks because Hicks wanted to leave and Jeffey didnt want him to . He then cut up the body into parts which he put into garbage bags and buried around his fathers property. Years later he dug up the bag, crushed the bones covering his tracks (Davis, 1991). He went through a period of nine years without killing anyone but was arrested for sexual offences like indecent exposure. Because of the embarrassment he was causing Lionel sent him to his grandmother. In 1987 while on probation for his molestation charges, Jeffrey met Steven Tourmi at a gay club called 219. They went to the Ambassador hotel, got intoxicated and passed out. Dahmer claimed that when he woke Tourmi was dead and he wouldnt remember the events of the previous night. He subsequently put the corpse in a suitcase, took it to his grandmothers basement where he had sex with the corpse, masturbated on it and dismembered it. He then put the parts in garbage parts and threw them away (Davis, 1991). After Tourmi, Jeffrey struck twice in 1988 and once in 1989. In 1990 his grandmother asked him to move out. Once again rejected he had the domain of acting out his psychological fantasies. With his own place and no one to be bothered by his queerness and foul smells, the speed of his killing increased. As a result the murders of Eddie Smith, Ricky Beeks, Earnest Miller and David Thomas marked the christening of the infamous apartment in 1990 (Davis, 1991). Two more murders in 1991preceded the murder of Konerak Sinthasomphone. His story was probably one of the most covered in the press as he had gotten a chance of escaping. When the police arrived, Jeffrey was also there and he smooth talked the police into believing that Konerak was his lover. The police ignored the two women and went with Jeffrey to his apartment where he showed them pictures and clothes of Konerak. By virtue of this and not believing the incoherent Konerak the police left the boy with Jeffrey who later killed and d ismembered the boy (Davis, 1991). By summer of 1991, Jeffreys killings escalated with his sense of loneliness. He went to killing an average of one person per week. July nineteenth marked the last of victims who were to die by Jeffreys hand. His last murder victim was twenty five year old Joseph Bradehoft. Three days later, specifically on the twenty second of July, Jeffrey lured Tracy Edwards into his home; a man who turned out to be the end of Jeffreys killing spree. As later narrated by Edwards, Jeffrey tried to cuff Edwards but was unable to do so. Jeffrey proceeded to yield a butcher knife and force Edwards into the bedroom telling him how he will savor the latters heart (Davis, 1991). In the bedroom, Edwards saw pictures of assaulted men and took in the foul sense in the room. He thus punched Jeffrey and ran on to the streets where he flagged a police car and led them back to Jeffreys place. Once again, he tried playing his smooth talker card but Edwards remembered the butcher knife. The contents of the house led to the arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer (Davis, 1991). Policy Implications of the Jeffrey Dahmer Case Jeffrey Dahmers story is one of the stories that will be remembered millions of years for sparking debates on reviews of American policies. The core implications are on social and psychological principles. The social control theory and the psychological theory with respect to Dahmers life offers policy consequences that include education that helps kids in development of socialization skills through involvement, parenting programs aimed at proper creation of social bonds and diversion programs for delinquents to alter their psychosocial states. The significance of Jeffreys case awoke the debate on social implications due to the removal of the death penalty. The fact that Jeffrey was killed while serving his sentence raised questions on the ability of the American society to manage crime without capital punishment (Holmes Holmes, 1998). The case also highlighted a lot of policy reforms needed in the police sector. Many critics felt that Konerak could have been easily the killers last victim if the police had taken the time to carry more investigative work. In addition, by virtue of how Jeffrey disposed of his body it has been noted that in solving a serial killers cold case geographical profiling could be a step in the right direction. The policy implications of his case also spawned on lust killing and sexual disorders research. From the case, substantial progress has been made in the development of methods aimed at identifying sexual disorders at an early age. The causal link between lust killing and personality imbalances has also been further explored. The study of Jeffreys case has thus illuminated links between disorders like substance abuse and killing. This has served in the development of policies aimed at treating these disorders instead of dealing with their consequences (Silva, Ferrari, Leong, 1997). The opinions on how the criminal incidents of Jeffrey could have been prevented are many and varied. But one common factor is the Konerak story. In the minds of many people who have come across the young boys story is a picture of the boy running for his life. And many more people believe that his life could have been saved were the police more careful. The role of parents in the socialization process can thus be ignored only at the peril of the society. Conclusion The idea behind social control theory and psychological theory is that everyone has the capability to commit a crime and this could be very well influenced by their psychological state of mind. Jeffrey Dahmer was an intensely troubled child who grew up in an environment rejecting him fuelling his loneliness. As an adult his instability only escalated. This has revealed that parental upbringing is of core importance in a childs development of social skills. As seen with Jeffrey Dahmer he did not receive that socialization bond be it with his parent or other people in his life. All the way through his childhood, Jeffrey Dahmer was ignored and developed a way of perceiving himself as an outsider, rejected by society. This loneliness and sense of rejection grew until it aggravated his compulsion to commit the monstrous crimes of murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism. As seen from his biography he didnt have close relationships that could have deterred him from committing the crime as the social control theory suggests. In his loneliness Jeffrey filled that void with dismembering animals, a behavior later seen in his crimes. It can thus be concluded that creation and nurturing of social bonds are very essential in childhood socialization and in the development of stable psychological state of mind.

Robert Frost’s Fire and Ice Essay -- Fire and Ice Robert Frost Poems E

Robert Frost’s Fire and Ice Fire and Ice is a popular poem written in 1923 by Robert Frost. It is a very well known poem and is used in many high schools and colleges today. Many students along with various critics read this poem as Frost’s idea as to how the world is going to end. People also take this in a Biblical sense, because the passage that God states the next time he destroys the world, it will be in fire. He blatantly states in the first lines, â€Å"Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice†, which leads many critics to believe the simplicity of this poem was to be taken as simple and to the point. However, the poem was written in the roaring twenties, which is why I believe Frost had a deeper meaning attached than how the world was going to end. Opposing most critics with their view of this idea, I believe Robert Frost’s â€Å"Fire and Ice† is about love. Fire being the love itself along with passion, ice is the lack of love, rather than a view on the end of the world. Katherine Kearns states that although you have to make a decision between the language, it still seems as if Frost is trying to allude to the end of the world (Cambridge University). Frost often writes in a very simply form, which is why critics are constantly led to believe Frost had no double meaning out of the poem. The form of ‘Fire and Ice’ is again, simple in the writing, leaving it easy to see the surface meaning and not look any deeper. The form and simple rhyme scheme do not give readers the idea that the meaning would be so philosophical. Through a deeper reading of the poem, I think Frost is trying to discover the distinction between love and hate through symbolism. Fire is love or burning desire. The ice symb... ...rost was talking about love. In some sense, everyone has felt the effects of a burning love or lack of love, taken over by the feeling of coldness. Digging for a deeper meaning of the poem, it is evident Frost was not only talking about the end of the world, but also the end of a person. The effects of love and hate are enough to put an end to a person, as are the effects of fire and ice to put an end to the world. Works Cited Kearns, Katherine, â€Å"Fire and Ice†. On Fire and Ice. 1994. 17 September 2005. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/ Pobojewski, Sally. â€Å"This Is the Way the World Ends.† LSAmagazine 23.1 (Fall 1999): 28-29. Sangiorgio, Yvette. â€Å"Fire and Ice† Fire and Ice- Robert Frost. 12 May 2001. 17 September 2005. http://www.cs.rice.edu/ Serio, John N. â€Å"Fire and Ice†. On Fire and Ice. 1994. 17 September 2005. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/

Forensic Science: Evolution and how it has helped to solve many infamous crimes Essay

A murder mystery, an unidentified body, stab wounds to the chest, a pool of blood in a high end street in New York, photographers, police, investigators rush in to begin their course of work to solve the mystery of the dead body, to solve the puzzle, to tell the world the story of the dead body, to make sure the life they lived didn’t just vanish with their death in a split second. It may seem like a season premiere of the latest CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) season, within one hour you are presented with the murderer and how it occurred and why. But is it always that simple? Is it always that crystal clear? Forensic Science has never been under the eye of the public as it is right now. But the perception of what Forensics is to the public is not really what it seems to be in TV shows. Forensic Science is a much more vast collection of studies that helps put murderers and criminals behind bars. It has been present since a long time ago and its evolution from that time to now , has helped solve many infamous crimes that have shocked the world. It has become one of the most crucial elements in any trial to verify the accuracy of the evidence and to grant justice to the innocent and send the guilty behind bars. Forensic Science is known as the science of gathering evidence and establishing facts that can be taken as evidence in a court of law. (Rankin, 2013). The first use of Forensics has not been clearly mentioned, but it is evident that Forensics was used to solve cases even from long time ago. One of the most famous cases reported was the story of Archimedes, where he used his theory of buoyancy to prove whether the gold smith who built the royal crown for the king used 100% gold as he said or whether he mixed silver to it. (Rankin, 2013). From the old age, Forensics has been developing with time. Even before the invention of the microscope, people managed to link evidence and solve crimes. A few such cases include the matching of a torn piece of paper in a pocket to a gun  used in a homicide, developing the finger print system to verify and identify individuals and distinguishing the different blood categories which were some of the most basic techniques used in the early ages to dis tinguish evidence. (Rankin, 2013) With the development of technology, Forensic Science has blossomed immensely. From the use of fingerprint analysis to DNA testing, the advancement of this science has helped to solve many crimes and put criminals behind bars. It has also introduced various aspects of Forensic Science which gives importance to individual specialties and not as a whole, a few common aspects are: Pathology, Entomology, Toxicology and Anthropology. For the CSI fans, Dr. Al Robbins needs no introduction, to the others, he was the Medical Examiner in the series, a doctor who did autopsies and figured out the cause of death of the deceased. This is exactly what a pathologist does in real life even though not as sugar coated as on TV. Pathology is the study of diagnosis and disease and determining the cause of death. It involves gathering evidence from the crime scene and establishing a time of death, cause of death and identifying the body. In almost all cases, Pathology is used, as it is the factor that determines the cause of death. One case as such involves a 16 year old girl name d Leanne Tiernan. She mysteriously disappeared in November 2000 and sadly, her body was found in august 2001. According to evidence found around the crime scene- a dog collar, twine and a cable, they were easily linked back to the murderer John Taylor. But the main piece of evidence was strands of Leanne’s pink sweater which was found at John’s house which provided the final piece of evidence to link him to the murder. John was arrested in November 2001 and sentenced to life imprisonment. (Suzanne Elvidge BSc (hons), 2013) Even though Pathology is one of the main factors being exercised at a crime scene the other factors are equally essential to find out many other details about the crime. Another rather interesting method used by forensic scientist is Entomology which uses information from insects to establish the time of death and location. Naturally after death, the body goes through various stages of decay which attracts many insects in succession, scientists are then able to establish a pattern in which insects arrive at which stage; therefore, making it easy to establish a time of death. Some insects are unique to a certain region, which helps in distinguishing a location if they are found in places where they are not commonly found. Some insects suck out  blood which helps in analyzing if any toxics were involved in the death. Even though the toxicology report is a job for the toxicologist , the sample is taken out from the insect by the Entomologist. A case which used Entomology to a very high standard in the summer of 1997 was the case of Kevin Neal. A stepfather killed both his step children in an act of revenge. The Kevin Neal murder case used Entomology to great lengths. The children, 11 years and 4 years old, were both murdered by unidentified homicidal evidence, but with the help of the vast amounts of insects which gathered in the two bodies where they lay for weeks in a hot summer land, the entomologists were able to establish a rough time period of death and the cause of death to some manner of asphyxia. The fact that 3 different types of insects weren’t found to be acting in the same manner as they would on a normal body made them suspect the day which they first thought the children were murdered. Then a few weed seeds which were attached to Neal’s pants from the site, were found at his house linked him to the crime scene and after years of trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. (Gribben, n.d.) This also shows us how a simple factor such as insect succession which helped in determining the time of death which helped in forensics to form a timeline to figure the whereabouts of Neal at the time of death and link it to the murder of the children. Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects on the human body caused by toxics. It is mostly used to identify any chemicals present in the body after death to rule out foul play or suicide. Not only poisons toxicology is used to identify any foreign material that may have been become toxic while in the body. (Toxicolog y, 2013) The first use of toxicology occurred in 1751 where a woman named Mary together with her husband in need of her father’s estate gave him Arsenic in small dosages until he died. However the maid caring for Mary’s father realized what Mary did and she was accused of murdering her father. The autopsy done by 4 notable doctors at that time revealed that the cause of death was indeed arsenic poisoning and from the powder saved by the maid they conducted a very poor method of burning the powder and smelling it which confirmed it was arsenic. This was reported to be the first toxicology experiment conducted to convict a criminal. Even though the test conducted was purely vague, this incident made them develop more accurate tests to identify compounds and to make them pay attention to forensic toxicology.  (Ramsland, n.d.) If you have watched the hit TV series ‘Bones’ you probably understand what Forensic Anthropology is. The SWAGANTH (Scientific Working Group for Anthropology) defines forensic anthropology as â€Å"The application of anthropological methods and theory – particularly those relating to the recovery of analysis of human remains to resolve legal matters.† (Scientific Working group for Forensic Anthropology, 2013) Anthropology, jus t as the other sectors of Forensics, is a mystery itself. All human skeletal remains are very similar; therefore, identifying its owner can be a cumbersome task and not as easy as it looks on TV. From gathering bones to creating a three dimensional image of the individual, anthropologists have to first gather the bones, analyze it and then identify its origin. There’s a certain protocol which they follow to study their evidence and present it. The protocol is as such: Are the remains human? Do they represent one person or more? When did the death occur? How old was the descendant? What was the sex of the descendant? What was the race of the descendant? What was the descendant’s stature? Body weight? Physique? Does the skeleton present physical anomalies, signs of old disease and injuries or other characteristics which could give a positive identification? What was the cause of death? What was the manner of death? (natural, accident, suicide, murder or unknown) (Snow, Forensic Anthropology, 1982) This method was introduced after a high profile murder case which took place in the 1850’s at Harvard University. The case was called, The Parkman Murder after the murder of Dr. George Parkman. A Harvard alumnus, Parkman donated the land in which the Harvard medical school was built. Professor John Webster was a chemistry professor at the medical school his friend Parkman established. But due to hundreds of dollars Webster was indebted to Parkman, their friendship was heading downhill. Webster was a man with expensive taste that couldn’t suffice with the $4000 a year pay check he received, so  he has taken many loans over the couple of years when Webster and Parkman were friends. Parkman, let the debt go on until he found out that Webster was trying to sell off a valuable mineral collection which he put up as collateral on the loan. This made Parkman denounce Webster in public which may have been the cause for his dismissal from Harvard. Webster under false pretences then had requested Parkman to arrive at his laboratory to allegedly make a substantial payment of his debt, but little did Dr. Parkman know that, that it would be his final journey in life. Dr. Parkman was murdered that night and his body was burnt in a furnace to make him unrecognizable and if that was not gruesome enough, his body, or what was remaining, was thrown into the Charles River. The body was beyond recognition and a highly educated set of pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists who works in Harvard got together and distinguished it to be Dr. Parkman. In the following week, Webster was caught by bone fragments which were found at his home furnace. This case would go down in history as the first case to be solved down through Anthropology and a guiding stone to what Forensic Anthropology is today. (Snow, 1982) Most murder cases such as the Parkman Murder, Leanne Tiernan , are only a one time scenario. You have the murderer, the victim, the police, and the investigation. Some end up well, some end up bad, but either way, when the guilty party is charged, and the deceased family componsated, the story ends. But there are stories that don’t end that e asily. Stories which go on for years, with many people involved, many casualties that would terrorize whole nations in the matter of days and some to not be solved even after a century’s time – Serial Killings. These are killings that are premeditated and are carried out in a series over a period of time. (Jenkins, 2013) What triggers human beings to suddenly be as impulsive as to kill and mutilate their own beings, we don’t know. But fortunately Forensics has been a driving force behind bringing these notorius criminals to justice. Theodore Robert Cowell, notoriously known as Ted Bundy was one of the most gruesome and frightened serial killers in the USA. He used to pretend to have a broken arm and lured young women into his vehicle and horridly mutilated, raped and killed them. Known to be a handsome man, Bundy had no problems with making small talk to make young women comfortable around him, until he made his move. He is known to have murdered over 30 women and to date, the exact amount is unknown. A  known case, somewhat believed to be Bundy’s first, was the brutal rape of 18 year old Joni Lenz, she was found in her own basement with a bed rod savagely rammed into her ge nitals fortunately or unfortunately she was one of the very few people to have escaped the death sentence from Bundy’s terror. Bundy was not arrested for suspicion for murder, he was arrested for not stopping at a police blockade and after being stopped, the police were found suspicious items such as a ski mask, rope, crowbar and handcuffs in his car which lead to the initial suspicions. This lead to him being recorded and under surveillance for some time and after many times he was released due to lack of evidence. But due to his sadistic fantasies of biting his victims, it was Odontology that helped put Bundy away, Odontologists were able to associate his teeth marks with the bite marks of some of the victims, at the same time a few strands of hair found in his car linked him to the murders that lead to the final conviction of this mass murderer in 1989 January with his life ending in the electric chair. (Bell, 2012) The story of Richard Ramirez is quite intriguing. He was known as the Night Stalker due to his modus operandi which followed, jumping into houses and killing people inside the house. The metho d of his killings were gruesome. He would mutilate his victims by gouging their eyes out and mutilating their corpses. He was known to perform sexual activities with dead corpses as well. He was a self aclaimed satanist who had no remorse for the crimes he commited. His capture was with the help of fingerprinting techonology which was making quite a stir at that time. Ramirez’s fingerprint caught in a car was linked to him and his mugshot was sent to the police, in one weeks time, he was captured and sent to prison on the account of 13 murders. (Reporter, 2013) John Wayne Gacy Jr., a name that still sends chills down anyone’s spine was a serial killer who preyed on young boys. He would perform sexual acts on the boys who he caught and eventually murder them. Gacy was a man loved by everyone. He was a hard worker who was just trying to catch a break which he did, but would end up tarnishing his image due to his sadistic homosexual needs. Married twice, he would be no more different to your own friendly neighbor, as his close friends stated in court during his hearing. He would go on to murder more than 30 young teenage boys who he would perform sexual acts on and burying them in his own backyard. After going through the second divorce he started  his own business where he undertook work such painting, refurbishing and maintaining. H e hired young men under him to apparently lower the costs, but it was apparent that, that was a cover up to hide Gacy’s fantasies. One by one, the men at his workplace kept disappearing and after being questioned for suspicion of the disappearance of the men he hired to work for him, the sheriff in charge did a background check on Gacy and got to know about his previous acts of sodomy. He then got a search warrant to investigate his house when Gacy wasn’t in, he then went on to find many links that connected Gacy to many of the missing men and at that point he confessed to one of the murders thinking they would not dig the grave yard in his crawl space at that point. However the unbearable stench coming from Gacy’s crawl space would lead the police to dig up his backyard that would reveal the grave yard of the missing men, more than 30 bodies and of which, 7 have not been recognized up to date. Anthropology played a massive role in separating all the bone fragments gathered from his backyard and identifying their owners as well as determining their cause of death. When the final tally came up Gacy would only be second to Ted Bundy with the death toll. Even though it was one factor in forensics which helped in catching these murderers be it pathology, anthropology or odontology, all of the other factors help in verifying the data you gather. Therefore, it is not quite clear cut as to say that only one aspect of Forensics played the whole part in solving a murder. This is the reason as to the Medical Examiner is the head of the Forensic department. All the data is gathered by him and he makes the final judgment as to what the evidence shows. In forensics, the evidence is the bits and pieces of a story that is scattered around. The forensic examiner merely interprets what the evidence means to his area of expertise and delivers it to the Medical Examiner – the author. Here, the Medical Examiner gathers all the little stories scattered around and builds up the story that will be given out to the police – the publisher. In the same case, these results may turn out to not be what you expected. Sometimes, these results may interpret inconclusive results that would alter the final decision of the respected official therefore it is not always correct. Recently many scientific communities have been debating about the validity of Forensic Evidence in court due to various inconsistencies in the results that has been produced in labs. Not only scientists, many people are now questioning  the science of forensic evidence as at current, the evidence is taken for granted. With hit TV shows like CSI, Body of Proof, Bones, people are easily manipulated into believing the circumstantial evidence provided to judge a case, now called the CIS effect where people judgments are subconsciously questioned by TV shows than what is provided as evidence. Some juries who are fans of CIS have gone on to acquit obviously guilty criminals just because the investigators failed to test evidence â€Å"the CSI way†. (Cole & Diosso-Villa, 2009) These jurors are now known to rely on superficial evidence CSI has provided rather than the evidence provided. The most frightnening factor in this case is the evidence itself. Regardless of the jurors verdict, the results that have provided in some cases are now known to be inconclusive. A recent research found out that ‘identifications on the same fingerprint can change solely by presenting the print in a different context’. Called ‘conceptual biasing’ the report showed how previously identified finger print results of the samples changed when details about their arrest were told which is called conceptual biasing. (Jr. & B., 2009, 36-38p) Another case which was under the spotlight was th case of Brandan Mayfield. He was arrested with charges of being a material witne ss based on his fingerprints found in a bag where the detonation device of the terrorist bombing which occurred in Madrid, Spain which killed 191 people and injured thousands. The fingerprint of Mayfield was analyzed by an outside source by a different individual. The Spanish police then alerted the FBI regarding doubts with the findings of Mayfield and released him after 18 days with $2 million componsation. (Jr. & B., 2009) Many scholars have begun to question the accuracy of the evidence used in a court. The highly controversial Amanda Knox case was recently brought back to lime light with the Forensic Scientist in charge of the murder trial requested to retest the blood which was on the knife which was used to kill Meredith Kercher; however, the appeal judge thought the evidence was unreliable and hence dismissed the suggestion. This would have been a major point to rule out whether it was Kercher’s blood in the knife as statistically, if the testing was done more than 5 times, the results would have been more accurate with regard to whether the blood was actually from Kercher and would have either verified the unreliable evidence or dismissed it which would make a firm case for Knox’s release (Alexander, 2013) At points like   these the evidence is just put aside where it would have been of great resource. Since the inception of forensics, it has managed to send many criminals behind bars, as to whether the law decides if it is true or not is up for debate, but scientist today are trying to make the evidence they gather more reliable so that no such cases will arise in the future. The advancement of technology has helped to create many new methods of tests for the use of Forensics. A recently discovered method of finger printing was found in Australia at Curtin University using henna. The usual method of identifying invisible fingerprints were said to be by using nin-hydrin a volatile chemical, now they have been able to use henna to identify the finger prints which is not harmful at all and is available at ease. (Renee Jelly, Chris Lennard, Limc, & Almogd, 2008) Other findings include gunshot residual identification. The technology to identify minute residual materials on suspects is being developed. Earlier use, included the use of paraffin to make cast over the suspects hand and when sprayed with a reagent would turn into a specific colour, but due to cigarettes and urine also giving the same results, this method was dropped in the 1950’s, therefore this new method would be a new beginning for Gun Shot Residual identification. (Pilant, 2000) The hour of a purely fictional TV episode ends. What has is it done to you? What has it made you believe? If only forensics was as crystal clear as in TV, the police would have caught all the criminals and serial killers of the world if so, but unfortunately it is not. We have to slap ourselves back to reality and realize the situation at hand. Forensic Science has helped to imprison the demons in human form that have made you want to doubt if you will ever see your loved ones after they leave the comfort of your house. It might soon overcome the point where innocent children such as Madeleine McCann, Edward and Austin Bryant (Sampson, 2011) can be found by the use of new technology and reopen these cases and analyze the evidence recorded and stored. It would give peace to many parents who are mourning the disappearance of their loved ones not knowing whether they’re alive or not. Forensics has turned out to be a scientific breakthrough in the industry of crime. With the media attention it is getting, Forensics is at a point where it’s growing at a steady rate. It has brought a whole new era in to the cycle of forensics and what we will expect in the future will definitely be unimaginable and till then we will await. Bibliography Alexander, R. (2013, 04). Amanda Knox and bad maths in court. Retrieved 2013, from BBC News Magazine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22310186 Bell, R. (2012). Ted Bundy. Retrieved 2013, from Crime Library : http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/bundy/index_1.html Cole, S. A., & Diosso-Villa, R. (2009). INVESTIGATING THE ‘CSI EFFECT’ EFFECT: MEDIA AND LITIGATION CRISIS IN CRIMINAL LAW. The Stanford Law Review , 1335-1373. Gribben, M. (n.d.). Crime Library. Retrieved 2013, from Crime Library; crimina mindls and methods: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/kevin_neal/1_index.html Jenkins, J. P. (2013). Encyclopeadia. Retrieved 2013, from Encyclopaedia Brittanica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/863836/serial-murder Jr., D., & B., H. (2009). Forensic Science under the spotlight. Judges’ Journal , 48 (4), 36-38. Pilant, L. (2000). Forensic Science: Bringing New Technology. Ramsland, K. (n.d.). Crime Library; criminla minds and methods. Retrieved 2013, from Crime Library: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/toxicology/2.html Rankin, S. (2013). Forensic Science. Retrieved 2013, from Forensic Science Central: http://forensicsciencecentral.co.uk/history.html Renee Jelly, a. S., Chris Lennard, b., Limc, K. F., & Almogd, J. (2008). could henna help catch criminals. Retrieved from RSC publishing: http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2008/08/fingerprints.asp Reporter, A. P. (2013). Mail Online. Retrieved 2013, from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343661/California-serial-killer-self-confessed-Satanist-Richard-Ramirez-died-cancer.html Sampson, J. (2011, 07). 10 Tragic cases of lost children. Retrieved 2013, from Listverse: http://listverse.com/2011/07/11/10-tragic-cases-of-missing-children/ Scientific Working group for Forensic Anthropology. (2013). Retrieved 2013, from a forensic anthropoligical scientific group: http://www.swganth.org/ Snow, C. C. (1982). Forensic Anthropology. Annnul Review of Anthropology , 11, pp. 97-131. Suzanne Elvidge BSc (hons), M. (2013, 04 21). Explore Forensics. Retrieved 07 30, 2013, from Forensic Science exploaration: http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/forensic-cases-murder-leanne-tiernan.html Word Count – 3900

Allocating Scarce Resources and Alternative Medicine Essay

1. Sympathy Rule: Impartiality rule: â€Å"health care professionals should usually be impartial in helping patients† (p. 189) But the rules used must be appropriate for people with ordinary human sympathies and feelings, example, biases toward friends or relatives. So the rules should allow for some bias – It was okay for Alice to send her aunt in first. Argument for the sympathy rule * The sympathy rule would not permit HC providers to help their relatives/friends in any way they like. It would permit them to give priority to their relatives only in very extreme, life and death situations. * From society’s point of view this rule is okay b/c society values both impartiality and close ties between relatives and friends. The sympathy rule is a kind of compromise between the two. Objection to the sympathy rule * We know from experience that people will already be biased toward their relatives and friends, and will have a tendency to give them priority where possible. * So, to counteract this innate bias, there must be a very strict rule against nepotism. However difficult it may be to be completely impartial as between your mother and a perfect stranger, this is what morality requires of HC professionals. 2. Innocents First Rule: Was Alice justified in sending her innocent aunt in before Terrance who caused the accident by his negligence? â€Å"Patient A, who is innocent and who cannot wait for care, ought to be given priority over patient B, who is known to be at fault for the injury and who also cannot wait, other things equal.† (p. 206) Third Party Interests 1) Childless person vs. parent of young child (dependents case) 2) Drunk vs. doctor (the public good case) 3) Person with highly infectious disease vs. person without infectious disease (the innocent threat case) 3. Public Interest Rule â€Å"Where the public interest is great enough, a patient may be given priority over those who came earlier.† (p. 208) Example, treat the Pope or the Prime Minister before the ordinary person. Discussions: 1. My answer to your question is this: No, it is not ethical to use non medical â€Å"social worth† factors to favor one patient over another. The use of such a criteria to choose between candidates for scarce medical resources can be critiqued both from Kantian and Utilitarian perspectives. I believe the most basic and powerful objection to â€Å"social worth† is that such a criteria reduces patients to their potential for maximizing social benefit. Kantian ethics argue that people should never be treated merely as a means to an end. By selecting between patients based solely on their potential contribution to society, they are being reduced to merely a means of achieving the most possible social good. They are not regarded as people with basic intrinsic value that goes beyond their ability to contribute to society. Any patient that does not have the ability to contribute much to society, because they are elderly, mental, or physically handicapped, automatically is unfairly at a disadvantage. On the face of it, Utilitarianism would seem to favor the use of such a criteria. Choosing people to save based on their potential future contribution would seem to produce the most net benefit. However, the physican/patient relationship would suffer greatly if patients felt that their physicians were continually looking past their personal welfare to the potential for social benefit. Distrust and suspicion would result if patients perceive that physicians were making treatment decisions based on their potential social value. Thus, over a longer period of time, the eventual erosion of the physician/patient relationship could result in less net benefit for society, a result not favored by Utilitarianism. Additionally, there are a host of other practical difficulties with appalling a â€Å"social worth† criteria. Use of such a criteria would require some type of ranking of respective social worth. How does a professional athlete rank against a priest, or an insurance salesman, or a physician. How much should patients’ personal life be involved in selection decisions? Given the pluralism of our society, development of such a list is nearly impossible. And even assuming that such a list could be compiled, whose ideas of social value should we use to make the list? Inevitably, personal bias would influence the ranking of â€Å"social worth†. Ultimatley, the use of medical factors, such as need, amount of resources required, and potential for success, should be used for patient selection, not non mendical â€Å"social worth† criteria. 2. As a physician for 30 years, practicing medicine from a perspective of â€Å"hearing the story† of the person, trying to ascertain the depth of their understanding, what motivates them to live, go on, do the unfinished, resolve those difficult relationships, be productive, make a difference, I find that those patients who have had transplants as adults have risen above the flat line of their lives and choose to see life as something to be lived and not something to be chased. â€Å"Social worth† has the unfortunate connotation of value, of something to be contributed, something that inherently gives a sense of future. We the elders decide who and again unfortunately are imperfect yet our decisions are irreversible. Committees are convenient because the decisions take on a vote situation based on the facts of the particular case. Sometimes I think that we do too much cerebrating and not enough feeling and deciding from the heart. The heart knows, where the brain has too much debris and stereotype to render fair decisions in who gets what organ. The system is flawed because we try to make sense out of something that exceeds our understanding and we forget what our hearts are telling us.

Modern medicine helps to live a longer life Essay Essays

Modern medicine helps to live a longer life Essay Essays Modern medicine helps to live a longer life Essay Essay Modern medicine helps to live a longer life Essay Essay Modern medical specialty helps to populate a longer life. Make you hold? The modern medical specialty is really of import for populating a long life. It is depend on new engineering. Peoples take really easy and rapidly. Besides modern medical specialty is really speedy absorbing to human organic structure. It is helps to endorse to normal for people wellness status. Therefore I agree that the modern medical specialty is helps to populate longer. First of all. the modern medical specialty can forestall incurable diseases. Doctors can happen some diseases really early. Then physicians can give suited medical specialties to patients. New modern equipments are helpsdoctors is traveling to rectify manner. Besides intelligent people in the universe live a long life on aids from modern medical specialty. That is really of import in the human society because their originative things are coming with them and they can assist others for a longer clip when they are livingin long life with comfortably. Beside. old population is increasing in the state. It is severely consequence incountry’s economic system and particularly for 3rd universe states. But old people are really of import in human society because their experience decidedly helps to populate safely and be aftering to new undertaking. ‘Experience is better than qualifications’ However. old people are populating a long life ; it is assisting others to populate a long life because we can acquire advice from them and they are covering our civilization and society. Furthermore. modern medical specialty is being habit-forming for some people. so that they can non populate without medical specialty. They should take medicate all their lives. Besides modern medical specialty is really expensive. Therefore most of hapless states couldn? Ts take modern medical specialty and it has taken a commercial form. besides it is depending on money. In the modern medical specialty have non facts of human kindness. Peoples who have money can take modern medical specialty. But autochthonal medical specialty has good human friendly form. It does non depend on money. To sum up ; in my personal position. modern medical specialty is assisting to populate a long life with comfortably. Modern engineerings are being supported to happen unburnable diseases really early. So physicians can takecorrect way instantly. Therefore. may I non waver to hold with the above mentioned statement.

The Function and Location of the Pineal Gland

The Function and Location of the Pineal Gland The pineal gland is a small, pinecone-shaped gland of the endocrine system. A structure of the diencephalon of the brain, the pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin. Melatonin influences sexual development and sleep-wake cycles. The pineal gland is composed of cells called pinealocytes and cells of the nervous system called glial cells. The pineal gland connects the endocrine system with the nervous system in that it converts nerve signals from the sympathetic system of the peripheral nervous system into hormone signals. Over time, calcium deposits build-up in the pineal and its accumulation can lead to calcification in the elderly. Function The pineal gland is involved in several functions of the body including: Secretion of the hormone melatoninRegulation of endocrine functionsConversion of nervous system signals to endocrine signalsCauses sleepinessInfluences sexual developmentInfluences immune system functionAntioxidant activity Location Directionally the pineal gland is situated between the cerebral hemispheres and attached to the third ventricle. It is located in the center of the brain. Pineal Gland and Melatonin Melatonin is produced within the pineal gland and synthesized from the neurotransmitter serotonin. It is secreted into the cerbrospinal fluid of the third ventricle and is directed from there into the blood. Upon entering the bloodstream, melatonin can be circulated throughout the body. Melatonin is also produced by other body cells and organs including retinal cells, white blood cells, gonads, and skin. Melatonin production is vital to the regulation of sleep-wake cycles (circadian rhythm) and its production is determined by light and dark detection. The retina sends signals about light and dark detection to an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. These signals are eventually relayed to the pineal gland. The more light detected, the less melatonin produced and released into the blood. Melatonin levels are at their highest during the night and this promotes changes in the body that help us to sleep. Low levels of melatonin during daylight hours help us to stay awake. Melatonin has been used in the treatment of sleep-related disorders including jet lag and shift-work sleep disorder. In both of these cases, a persons circadian rhythm is disrupted either due to travel across multiple time zones or due to working night shifts or rotating shifts. Melatonin has also been used in the treatment of insomnia and depressive disorder. Melatonin influences the development of reproductive system structures as well. It inhibits the release of certain reproductive hormones from the pituitary gland that affect male and female reproductive organs. These pituitary hormones, known as gonadotropins, stimulate gonads to release sex hormones. Melatonin, therefore, regulates sexual development. In animals, melatonin plays a role in regulating mating seasons. Pineal Gland Dysfunction Should the pineal gland begin to function abnormally, a number of problems may result. If the pineal gland is not able to produce sufficient amounts of melatonin, a person could experience insomnia, anxiety, low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism), menopause symptoms, or intestinal hyperactivity. If the pineal gland produces too much melatonin, a person could experience low blood pressure, abnormal function of the adrenal and thyroid glands, or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a depressive disorder that some individuals experience during the winter months when sunlight is minimal. Sources Emerson, Charles H. â€Å"Pineal Gland.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/pineal-gland.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. â€Å"Melatonin.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/melatonin.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy ver Article

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy versus Unrestricted Services for Health Anxiety A Critical Review Affiliation A critical review The article reviewed in this paper is d â€Å"A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy versus unrestricted services for health anxiety (Hypochondriasis)† involving a study done by McManus, Surawy, Muse, Vazquez-Montes and Williams  (2012). The study was conducted to assess the influence of mindfulness-based cognitive treatment on patients with anxiety by relating the effects of MBCT when combined with additional usual amenities (unrestricted services). The research used 74 participants who were randomly picked to either MBCT adding to the US (n=36) or US alone (n=38). The participants were assessed before the intervention (MBCT) or (US), instantaneously following the intervention and one year post intervention. Independent valuations of diagnostic status, consistent self-report assessors and measures ratings of distress and severity were associated with the analysis of hypochondriasis. The results of the study indicated that MBCT participants had significantly lowered health anxiety that US participants both following the intervention. Mediational analysis indicated that the alteration in mindfulness intervened with the group modification in healthy anxiety symptoms. In that, fewer contestants assigned to MBCT than to US confirm with the principles for the identification of hypochondriasis, which occurred immediately following the intervention. The research concluded that MBCT could be used in addition to services for patients who suffer from health anxiety. The research used only 74 participants, which means that it does not give an accurate information or does not represent the United States population. Therefore, the research study has been said to be effective in patients with health anxiety it cannot be used independently. The research design used in this research study was longitudinal study, which is a correlation study that involves repeated observations over a period. In this case, the study was done for a period of two years. Although the participants were randomized, the study the researcher could conduct their research diligently without manipulating in the environment or the participants actions. The longitudinal design that was used in the research was appropriate because it allowed the researchers to distinguish the short and long-term phenomena’s when it comes to health anxiety in the United States. The study is weak in the sense that it has a small group of participants that are used to test to methods of dealing with health anxiety. Secondly, the intervals at which the results are taken is long meaning that the researchers should have should have chosen an interval of six months to ensure that they get proper information other than a one year follow up. The research design chosen by the researchers was expensive and time consuming in that, first it required the researchers to be trained before they went to observe the participants. Additionally, putting together the data might be a problem because it is collected during intervals of one year, which means that they can be distorted. Therefore, it is significant to ensure that the appropriate timing is used to ensure that the correct information is accurate. The information gained from the research can be used to help patients in the United States to deal with anxiety related issues, which can cause stress that leads to suicide. This is because mediational analysis identified that change in mindfulness helped the group changes in relation to health anxiety symptoms. Therefore, the research can play a significant role in the clinical field of psychology when it comes to dealing with health anxiety related issues. However, although MBCT cannot be sued on its own it is an additional provision for the patients with health anxiety. Reference McManus,  F., Surawy,  C., Muse,  K., Vazquez-Montes,  M., & Williams,  J.  M. (2012). A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy versus unrestricted services for health anxiety (hypochondriasis). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(5), 817-28. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028782

Effective Employee Job Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Effective Employee Job Satisfaction - Essay Example All the four example case studies are related to job satisfaction. It is true that global job market is highly competitive. On the other hand, organizations really want good workplace performances from their employees in return of given salary (Purdy, 2008, p.21). Investment banking and fundraising can be considered as difficult and stressful but adventurous job to do so. John Bishop generally works for more than 80 hours per week in his organization. In addition to this, he has to travel a lot during these times. Working for extra hours and constant traveling are the characteristics of these job roles. But, John Bishop and Tony Kurtz have accepted the level of work stress and constant engagement with clients quite significantly. Two aspects can contribute to high level of job satisfaction in these examples. Lucrative salaries and incentives can be considered as the most primary and fundamental reasons behind the job satisfaction (Kusluvan, 2003, p.78). It is known to each and every corporate executive that fund raisers and investment bankers are recognized as money man within this industry. The employees with these job roles have a significant opportunity to earn lucrative incentives against one portfolio. Therefore, salaries, incentives and financial rewards can be considered as the major contributors to the high level of job satisfaction (Shribman, 2008, p.9). Each and every employee needs professional growth in his or her corporate career. Therefore, everybody wants to work under prestigious organizations. David Clark works in MTV as vice-president of global marketing. On the other hand, Irene Tse works in Goldman Sachs as government bond-trading head.  

Formal Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Formal Education - Assignment Example This essay discusses that in a complex society, committed educational institutions are a requirement, even though Illich (1970) indicates persuasively that they are not. On the other hand, being taught something properly is never better than second-best. The error is always committed by people who recommend ever more accessions to the standard curriculum, like "citizenship", "managing personal relations†. "Pass/Fail† by Linda Pastan You will never graduate From this dream Of blue books. No matter how You succeed awake, Asleep there is a test Waiting to be failed. The dream beckons With two dull pencils, But you haven’t even Taken the course; When you reach for a book - It closes a door In your face; when you conjugate a verb - it is in the wrong language. The above lines from the poem reveal the concealed theme reflecting the real modern trend of learning. The poetess says that man can never free himself from the dreams of success and failure. Both are the two sides of a coin. One ceases to exist in the absence of the other. The dream of passing or failing is something from which we can never free ourselves. So, the right approach is to do and leave it to God. The situation of â€Å"To be or not to be†¦..† is to be entertained by all. Dwindling among things and hanging in the balance will not set us the right path. The subject of success and failure is such that even if we try to forget it and sleep, we are sure to dream about verbs, vocabulary, etc., which will boomerang only for the worst. However, the solution to such problem remains concealed.

London Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

London Economy - Essay Example This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. Since the implementation of the London Living Wage campaign in 2001, majority of the lowly paid employees have advocated for them to be paid the living wage. The living wage is not only of benefit to the employees, but also to the employers. In this study, we considered the impact of London Living Wage on the banking sector. Employers in this sector benefit by; improvement in the employees’ morale, recruitment and retention of workers, increase the overall productivity of the firm, workers motivation and also on the goodwill of the firm as a whole. Employees will also benefit through better working conditions and improved living standards and life styles. This has enabled them manage their bills accurately, pay for tuition and further training and have a better family life. Living wage can be defined as, a wage rate sufficient to provide and meet the necessities and other social amenities that are essential, at an acceptable standard of living. There is a distinction between living wage and minimum wage. Minimum wage is defined as a wage determined by the legal authority which employers cannot pay their employees below it (Waltman, 2008). On the other hand, the London Living Wage is the threshold at which individuals can live above the poverty line, and they can have sufficient net to provide and maintain a quality life (Luce, 2005). The first campaign of LLW was launched in 2001 by London citizens. They included; schools, faith organizations, community groups and trade union branches. They argued that low income had effects on the community as a whole. This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. The main aim of the campaign was to establish a living wage that was distinct from the already existing legal obligatory minimum wage. They argued that

The Parametric Curve Defined Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Parametric Curve Defined - Assignment Example B, C and D were held constant at 1. Plots of the various values of A are shown below to understand the resulting behavior using an increment of 0.5. At A = 0, the curve resembles a straight vertical line between y = -1 and y = 1. However, as A is increased to 0.5, the curve provides an elliptical shape that is skewed on the x-axis. At A = 1, the curve becomes a perfect circle. As A is increased to both 1.5 and 2, the curve gains greater elliptical nature on the x axis such that the ellipse’s major axis lies on the x-axis. Therefore, it could be surmised that variation in the amplitude constant for the x parametric curve (A) tends to produce elongation on the x-axis. The amplitude constant for the y parametric curve (C) was varied using default values in Microsoft Mathematics 4.0, which ranged between 0 and 2. Moreover, all other constants i.e. A, B and D were held constant at 1. Plots of the various values of C are shown below to understand the resulting behavior using an increment of 0.5. At C = 0, the curve resembles a straight horizontal line between x = -1 and x = 1. However, as C is increased to 0.5, the curve provides an elliptical shape that is skewed on the y-axis. At C = 1, the curve becomes a perfect circle. As C is increased to both 1.5 and 2, the curve gains greater elliptical nature on the y axis such that the ellipse’s major axis lies on the y-axis. Therefore, it could be surmised that variation in the amplitude constant for the y parametric curve (C) tends to produce elongation on the y-axis. The frequency constant for the x parametric curve (B) was varied using default values in Microsoft Mathematics 4.0, which ranged between 0 and 2. Moreover, all other constants i.e. A, C and D were held constant at 1. Plots of the various values of B are shown below to understand the resulting behavior using an increment of 0.5. At B = 0, the curve resembles a straight vertical line between y = -1 and y = 1 that crosses the x-axis at x = 1.

Legal Structure of Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Structure of Business - Research Paper Example There is no limit on the amount of stock a C Corporation can generate and there is a limited personal liability for stockholders which are also beneficial. The Internal Revenue Service lists various approaches to the taxation requirements for a C Corporation, part of the benefits of using the C Corporation is that the profit of a corporation is taxed when earned, and taxed to the shareholders when distributed. (Corporations, 2011 p 1) The elements most necessary in a General Corporation or C Corporation are three tiers of power, stockholders, directors and officers. Clear separation of responsibilities and rights for each position, no limit to size, directors run the company, directors are elected by stockholder vote, stockholders own the company, minority stockholders are not responsible for the company (clarify exactly what reflects a minor stockholder) and can be subchapter S if all the qualifications are met. (Incorporating 101, 2011 np) Being a subchapter S is a positive thing f or companies with fewer than 100 stockholders. They are allowed tax relief in the form of avoiding the double taxation that occurs with many public companies. (Subchapter S, 2011 p 1) This means that instead of the taxes being directed at the C Corporation they are directed at the dividends or earnings of the stockholders.

London Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

London Economy - Essay Example This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. Since the implementation of the London Living Wage campaign in 2001, majority of the lowly paid employees have advocated for them to be paid the living wage. The living wage is not only of benefit to the employees, but also to the employers. In this study, we considered the impact of London Living Wage on the banking sector. Employers in this sector benefit by; improvement in the employees’ morale, recruitment and retention of workers, increase the overall productivity of the firm, workers motivation and also on the goodwill of the firm as a whole. Employees will also benefit through better working conditions and improved living standards and life styles. This has enabled them manage their bills accurately, pay for tuition and further training and have a better family life. Living wage can be defined as, a wage rate sufficient to provide and meet the necessities and other social amenities that are essential, at an acceptable standard of living. There is a distinction between living wage and minimum wage. Minimum wage is defined as a wage determined by the legal authority which employers cannot pay their employees below it (Waltman, 2008). On the other hand, the London Living Wage is the threshold at which individuals can live above the poverty line, and they can have sufficient net to provide and maintain a quality life (Luce, 2005). The first campaign of LLW was launched in 2001 by London citizens. They included; schools, faith organizations, community groups and trade union branches. They argued that low income had effects on the community as a whole. This is because it had considerable impact on family life, health, civility, parenting and academic achievement. The main aim of the campaign was to establish a living wage that was distinct from the already existing legal obligatory minimum wage. They argued that

Legal Structure of Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Structure of Business - Research Paper Example There is no limit on the amount of stock a C Corporation can generate and there is a limited personal liability for stockholders which are also beneficial. The Internal Revenue Service lists various approaches to the taxation requirements for a C Corporation, part of the benefits of using the C Corporation is that the profit of a corporation is taxed when earned, and taxed to the shareholders when distributed. (Corporations, 2011 p 1) The elements most necessary in a General Corporation or C Corporation are three tiers of power, stockholders, directors and officers. Clear separation of responsibilities and rights for each position, no limit to size, directors run the company, directors are elected by stockholder vote, stockholders own the company, minority stockholders are not responsible for the company (clarify exactly what reflects a minor stockholder) and can be subchapter S if all the qualifications are met. (Incorporating 101, 2011 np) Being a subchapter S is a positive thing f or companies with fewer than 100 stockholders. They are allowed tax relief in the form of avoiding the double taxation that occurs with many public companies. (Subchapter S, 2011 p 1) This means that instead of the taxes being directed at the C Corporation they are directed at the dividends or earnings of the stockholders.

Capability Maturity Model Essay Example for Free

Capability Maturity Model Essay This report is split in to two parts, Part A of this report will aim to firstly define the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and secondly critically asses the importance of the model in relation to Software Quality Management. The aim of Part B will be to first assess the benefits of gaining accreditation against the CMM for software companies, secondly explain why the CMM is important for Indian outsourcing organizations and provide examples of companies, and lastly critically evaluate the differences between the CMM and the TickIT scheme by identifying the strength and weakness of both methods. PART A 2. Capability Maturity Model (CMM) The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) was developed at Carnegie Mellon University by the software Engineering Institute (SEI) and it provides a frame work for process improvement. (8) 2. 1 Five levels of (CMM) CMM has five maturity levels that lay successive foundations for continuous process improvement. Looking at figure1 in 2. 2, we can see that each maturity level comprises a set of process goals that when satisfied, stabilize an important component at the software process. (9). The Capability maturity model is organized in to five levels. Below is a description of each one: * Initial (Level 1): At this level the software process is ad hoc and projects succeed through individual heroism. ( 8) * Repeatable (Level 2): At this level basic project management processes are established to track schedule, cost, and functionality. (9) * Defined (Level 3): At this level the software process for both management and engineering activities is documented, standardized and integrated into a standard software process for the organisation. (9) Even though the Organization has a well defined process, it does not necessarily support it with quantitative measurements. (8) * Managed (Level 4): At this level detailed measures of the software process and product quality are collected and both the software process and product are quantitatively controlled and understood. (9) * Optimizing (Level 5): At this last level the organization makes quantitative measurements of its projects and makes use of those measurements to tune the process. (8) 2. 2 Diagram of the five levels Figure 1. CMM model (2) 3. Important of the model in relation to the SQM A lot of attention has been given to improving the process of designing, developing, and delivering software applications. The Software Engineering Institutes CMM Model is designed to help us evaluate the maturity of our Software development processes. The Capability Maturity Model recognizes that there are tools and processes that, while not directly involved in the production of code, aid in the overall Software Quality Management process. (1) The CMM is now popular and has been effective in emphasizing the importance of process improvement. Process improvement is an important Total Quality Management concept and significant research has focused on the design and evolution of the software development processes with the intent to enhance their capability and maturity. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed specific models to evaluate, diagnose, and evolve the capabilities of the software development process. (4) As mentioned in 2. 1, the SEIs Capability Maturity Model (CMM) defines an evolutionary path from ad hoc, chaotic processes to mature, disciplined processes. Process maturation, as assessed by the predictability of development outcomes in terms of quality, budget, and schedules is enhanced when feedback is meaningfully generated and utilized to recalibrate and fine tune the software process design. (4) Report evidence have suggested that organizations implementing a Capability Maturity Model-based software process improvement have realized gains in development cycle time and programmer productivity. (4) However Reports also suggest that organizations face difficulties in adhering to the sequence, as recommended by CMM, in which changes to the development process needs to be implemented. (4) In conclusion lack of theory informing the conceptualization of the Capability Maturing Model stages raises questions about the rationale for the suggested sequencing to develop process capabilities. Limited attention has been devoted to define process management, identify and define its constitutive dimensions, and develop reliable and valid measurement instruments for each of these dimensions. (4) Process improvement is one aspect of Total Quality Management that needs to be integrated with other core Total Quality Management principles, such as customer focus and viewing the organization with an integrated systems perspective. These essential aspects of Total Quality Management are currently missing in the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). (4) Integrative theory development is required to understand the relationships between process management practices and other elements of the development organization, which enable or constrain effective process management. (4) Generally the Capability Maturity Model recognizes that moving from a craft approach, where performance is largely a function of individual skills, to a factory approach, where the process plays a dominant role, is necessary to improve software development performance). Many Information System developers could perceive process-based approaches such as the CMM as deskilling their job and increasing managerial control over systems development tasks. Such a change is likely to be resisted by IS developers and could be a cause for failure of these approach. (4)

The Second Coming Of Christ

The Second Coming Of Christ Jesus said that he will come again with power and glory. He will return not as child rather as a judge and king of the world. He claimed that he will come again on the clouds of heaven when celestial bodies and powers will be shaken. Jesus reassured to his disciples that his return will be a phenomenon of swiftness and suddenness and of unexpected hour and day. Jesus clarified that he will come at the end of the tribulation. His coming will be in days like those of Lots and Noahs. His return, according to Jesus, is conditioned with preaching of Gospel to the entire world. He will come again to take the believers and to separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus return, as he said, will be at the time when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies. In this essay, I will focus on the return of Jesus Christs in the light of Christs own teaching and the implications of his teachings for the doctrine of eschatology in the Pentecostal church. DEFINITION OF PAROUSIA AND CHRISTS TEACHINGS ABOUT HIS RETURN: The return of Christ is often substituted with the word Parousia. The word Parousia can be defined as: The expected return or the second coming of Jesus Christ in which he will announce the last days and the final judgment by God of humanity. A comprehensive picture of eschatology is clearly visible in the synoptic gospels in Mathew: 24, Mark: 13 and Luke: 21 in Jesus own words. The synoptic Gospels present Jesus as the Son of Man who will return soon to take the believers with him as is also said by Christ: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matt 24:30 In contrast to his first coming as a little child and as a messiah, his second coming is significant as he will come as a judge and a king that he will come to judge the blessed and wicked i.e. to separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus spoke when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt 25:31 Jesus again highlighted that he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Matt 24:31 SIGNS OF CHRIST S SECOND COMING:- Jesus did not mention when he would exactly return to take his people. It is only known to God the Father because of His unlimited knowledge, sovereignty and omnipotence. Jesus said: No one knows about the day or hour ,not even the angels in the heaven , nor the Son but only the Father'(Matt.24:36).The suddenness of Christs return is explained in the synoptic gospels in line with the days of Noah , an unexpected time when people were doing normal activities of life like now-a-days. The second coming of Christ will coincide with the other events on the prophetic agenda of Christ. It will be an age and time of great destruction of the Holy city of Jerusalem and a horrible war between Christs army and Antichrists army. Jesus said when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Luke 21:20 Jesus used the fig tree as an illustration, saying that when the branch is tender and puts forth leaves, we know that summer is near means Christs return is soon. Even so, when you see that these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door Mark 13:28-29. Trask and Goodall expounded: Famine has come to Africa. Again, twenty-six million people are at risk in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Malawi, Angola, and Mozambique. In all these places .civil war conspires with drought in wiping out the human race. Particularly when Jesus emphasized that this generation or race or lineage will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened Mark13:30. Even since the restoration of Jews or Israel to the Promised Land in this century we have seen that generation .At the same time Jesus said that he will return when the Gospel is propagated in the entire world. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt 24:14 False prophets and false Christs as was prophesized by Christ are dominant in this world. A nuclear race has started which may lead to third world war. Jesus said to them, many will come in my name, claiming, I am he, and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed .Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. DIFFERENT VIEWS OF SCHOLARS REGARDING THE RETURN OF CHRIST:- But Rudolf Boltzmann suggests that, in Jesus mind there was to be no interval between his death and his second coming. Albert Schweitzer like Rudolf Boltzmann emphasised that Christs return was supposed by Christ during his own life. Similarly, C.H.Dodd opposed the idea of an interim between Christs death, resurrection and second coming on the clouds but highlighted that it is evident from the Christs own teachings as well as the Acts and Pauline epistles that kingdom of God is already very much in power. But in David E.Aunes sight, these passages of the gospels like Mathew: 24, Mark: 13 and Luke: 21and Mathew10:28) have been wrongly interpreted as is usually said that these passages of gospels describe those events that had occurred in Jesus own life. But a note of delay is highlighted in the parables of my master is delayed, the bridegroom was delayed as is illustrated by Jesus that The bridegroom was a long time in coming and After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. Matt 24:519. John Calvin affirmed that Christ would come again, and the renovation of the world had, in a manner already begun, in Christs glorified humanity. SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND ITS PENTECOSTAL IMPLICATIONS:- Firstly, alive believers will be taken up by Christ to receive him. The rapture is also considered essential in the Pentecostal church as being a sign of Jesus return. The Rapture is the term commonly used to designate the catching up of Christians at the second coming. Secondly, the devil will be trapped for a thousand years and those who died in Christ will be raised to rule over the world with Christ for a thousand years. Thirdly, Satan will be released after a thousand years rule of Christ and he will rebel against the dominion of Christ. Devil will deceive the nations and persuade them to war against God. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released. Persecution of the church must occur and borne by the believers before the consummation of the world. The tribulations will be a time of unparalleled horror for all those left behind to live through the final seven years of this age. Finally, the believers will be rewarded but wicked will be punished. Those who had been martyred for His name and Gospels sake will be privileged to share the throne with Christ after having a crown of life (James1:12, Rev 2:10).Every individual from all the nations is to be judged by God in accordance with their treatment with His disciples as well as their works. As Gray notes: the main point of the parables about his kingdom is the acceptance or the rejection of the Christian faith. Saints will also get a crown of glory as a reward in return of their service for God and His kingdom. CONCLUSION:- It can be said that Jesus will come again as he himself emphatically mentioned His return several times that he will come again with his angels and saints with the great sound of trumpet and with power and glory to reign on earth for a thousand years. He will come to bring justice for the righteous and unrighteous as well as living and dead on the earth as he will be a king of peace and justice. It is also evident from the signs of His second coming that His coming will be like the days of Noah. When lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Christ be. In the light of the sayings of Christ and stances taken by giants of theology it can be concluded that Christ will come again. In a nut shell, it cannot be ignored that the second coming of Jesus is a phenomenon of future which is visible from its various eschatological implications.

Admissions Essay - Providing Medical Assistance to the Homeless

Admissions Essay - Providing Medical Assistance to the Homeless    For me, the journey from child to medical school applicant has not been typical. It began on the damp side of a Washington bridge, where I lived when I was fourteen years old. What sparked my interest in medicine was the role I came to play among the homeless with whom I lived. It soon became apparent that I had certain knowledge that my peers lacked: Knowledge of the nature of infection and basic principles of hygiene. When Pat, a middle-aged transient with matted hair and a solemn disposition, arrived at the bridge one day, he could barely walk without assistance. Complaining that his feet hurt terribly, I removed his shoes. His socks had almost completely adhered to the skin of his feet, due to a long period of wear in his damp, poorly ventilated shoes. After a long, painful process of peeling off his socks, I immediately saw what was affecting Pat’s gait: his feet were pale and severely swollen, with spots of breakdown due to lack of circulation. He simply didn’t re alize his feet needed ventilation. For almost two weeks, ... ... tutoring, advising, and volunteer opportunities, I have developed a strong sense of leadership, confidence, and responsibility. A career in medicine will not only strengthen such attributes, but provide me with an ongoing opportunity to learn, not just from books, but also from patients; and to educate and serve those individuals as well. Though my journey began under dismal circumstances, I believe those experiences will specifically enable me to better understand quality of life issues in the under-served populations of my geographic region.   

Tools of the Trade :: Mother Tongue Amy Tan Language Essays

Tools of the Trade To many people, language was not seen as a form of communication, but as a barrier that cut them off from the world. This was a common problem for people coming from other countries or who grew up under privileged. Amy Tan and Jimmy Santiago Baca each tell a personal story of how they overcame their own language obstacles. Tan struggled with her mother’s â€Å"broken† English. Baca had to endure most of his young life facing prison and illiteracy. As they went through their experiences with speech, they defied stereotypes and became successful. Even though each story is told from a different situational point of view, they have a similar message. Amy Tan’s short article called â€Å"Mother Tongue† shows a limitation in speech does not necessarily mean a limitation on life. She tells the story of how her mother changed her view on language. While giving a well practiced speech, she realized that the speech sounded wrong. Having her mother in the audience gave her this feeling of doubt. â€Å"Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use† (Tan 35). Throughout Tan’s life she’s had to overcome several difficulties that her mother’s â€Å"limited English† have brought upon her. She would take on her mother’s responsibilities of communicating with other people. Her mother’s language dependency on Tan made her feel embarrassed. Most Asian people were advised to go into engineering because of their improper English. Tan felt this label was placed on her as well. As she grew up she saw her people’s stereotypes as a reason to try for something deemed unreachable. â€Å"Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me† (Tan 39). She became an English major her first year of college and started writing fiction in 1985. Tan conquered an assumption put on her by others and even herself. Tan’s article appealed to emotions and has logic because she shared her story and backed it up with how people treated her and her mother. She showed boldness by writing her article and giving her courage to others. Jimmy Santiago Baca wrote â€Å"Coming into Language† to send a message of encouragement to people who are facing illiteracy and are seeing it as a dead end.

Adverse Leadership Model

SOU 4: Adverse Leadership Model Jeff Mais Texas A & M University – Commerce Introduction During this semester we have looked at several positive leadership theories, from the most elementary to the more complex. Leadership takes on many different roles and responsibilities of both the leader and follower. Some leaders have the inherent ability to lead their followers successfully, however others cannot. Destructive leadership (Padilla et al, 2007) is such a theory that has been introduced with devastating follower outcomes. This could be viewed in several ways; a good leader with bad followers or bad leader with good followers.Bad or adverse leadership can affect the follower outcomes and ultimately create a terrible work environment for the followers. Poor leaders can have a negative impact on employees and might even damage the company’s bottom line (Leviticus, 2010). In this paper we will further examine the adverse leadership model in figure 1 and explain this model from the leader, follower, environment and outcomes. Adverse Leadership Model The Adverse Leadership Model (ALM) is a model that focuses primarily around bad leaders and subservient followers.Looking at Figure 1, we will start with explaining the various characteristics of the bad leader; poor communicator, micromanager, sets unclear expectations, uses intimidation, and poor people skills. These 5 characteristics define the bad leader and help create the poor environmental conditions examined further. * Poor Communication – Poor leaders don’t value communication with their employees. A poor leader might spend long periods of time away from his desk or office or might ignore staff emails and telephone messages.Listening to others is a low priority, and poor leaders disregard input from staff and might not seem to care about staff opinions (Leviticus, 2010). * Micromanager – Micromanagers are very involved in the smallest details of the follower’s jobs and /or projects. This type of leader behavior can make followers feel inadequate at their jobs and it typically due to insecurities of the leader. * Sets Unclear Expectations – Failing to set clear expectations by the leader can frustrate followers and hinder their ability to be successful.A leader who doesn’t set clear expectations might not give all of the details related to a project or suddenly move the due date creating a moving target for followers. * Uses Intimidation – Leaders might intimidate or bully their followers. Workplace bullying has been an ongoing discussion within the realm of leadership. This type of behavior can decrease worker morale and ultimately could increase turnover. * Poor People Skills – People skills are vital to becoming a great leader, however leaders can be negative people who don’t know how to motivate others.In addition, leaders with poor people skills cannot consider any other opinions but their own. Looking at the characteristics described above, they are all contradictory to the transformational leadership theory putting value into the followers’ opinions and helping employees complete their tasks. Often times the followers have characteristics that enable the leader to remain in an adverse leadership role. However, these followers might not understand how to recognize a good leader from a bad leader. Some of the characteristics include; Low self-esteem, Unambitious, Low maturity, little or no core values, and disengaged. Low self-esteem – Followers with low self-esteem might not have the skills necessary to confront a bullying leader or one that uses intimidation. * Unambitious – These followers have little drive and consider their current situation to be the best they will ever do. Having a follower that isn’t ambitious would be easy for the transformational leader to motivate, due to their ability to engage them and make them part of something larger. * Low ma turity – Often times a follower with a bad leader can be young and immature, lacking both self-esteem and confidence.This makes it easier for the bad leader to intimidate and control the follower. * Little or no core values – The follower must have some kind of core values in order to be a successful leader. If they do not, then the leader can often times take advantage of this and exploit the followers weakness in order to remain in control. * Disengaged – The disengaged follower treats their current position as a job. They are also known as clock punchers, only there to collect a paycheck and are not worried about the company in any way.Although these characteristics are not desirable in a traditional leadership example, they make it easier for the adverse leader to thrive creating a chaotic environment for the workplace. As we further examine figure 1, we can see a direct line between the leader and follower, but no line back from the follower to the leader. This is because in the adverse leadership model, the leader is primarily a dictator and doesn’t allow for a healthy leader-member exchange. This could be due to insecurities by the leader and fear of being out performed.Moving outside of the leader and follower characteristics, we can examine the environment created by this type of leadership. High stress, alienation, and segregation are all felt by the follower due to the dyadic relationship between the leader and follower. High stress can lead to disruption of productivity amongst the team members and other health related issues. Creating a negative atmosphere can backfire because fear can cause stress, and in extreme situations, reductions in performance and efficiency (Riggio, 2009).Alienation and segregation by the leader can also create a feeling of betrayal within followers; this can also allow the members to form sub-groups that become further alienated from the remaining followers. Segregation amongst other team memb ers removes the cohesive bond that should be cultivated by the leader. Further studies by Liu et al. (2012), have revealed a direct correlation between bad leadership and follower creativity. The final portion of the adverse leadership model has to do with follower outcomes, depression and worthlessness.These outcomes are detrimental to the company’s success, due to health related issues from depression alone. Approximately 18. 8 million American adults, or about 9. 5 percent of the U. S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder (depressionperception. com). This doesn’t include the other health related issues that could be a direct result of working in a stressful environment. In addition to being depressed, followers might feel worthless due to intimidating behavior by the leader. This could also come from bullying by other co-workers who choose to emulate the leader’s social cues.In conclusion, bad leaders can only breed more bad leaders and the only way to stop it is to file complaints with HR or stand up to the bad leader, identifying issues the followers would like to change to be productive and work in a stress free environment. References Leviticus, J. (2010), The top signs of poor leadership. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness. chron. com/top-signs-poor-leadership-31537. html Liu, D. , Liao, H. , and Loi, R. (2012). The dark side of leadership: A three-level investigation of the cascading effect of abusive supervision on employee creativity.Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1187-1212. Padilla, A. , Hogan, R. and Kaiser, R. B. : 2007, The toxic triangle: destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments, The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 176–194. Riggio, R. (2009), How to spot a bad leader. Retrieved from: http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200905/how-spot-bad-leader Adverse Leadership Model Figure 1: Adverse Leadership Model Figure 1: Adverse Le adership Model Environment: * High Stress * Alienation * Segregation Environment: * High Stress * Alienation * Segregation Follower Outcomes: . Depression 2. Worthlessness Follower Outcomes: 3. Depression 4. Worthlessness Follower Characteristics: 1. Low Self-Esteem 2. Unambitious 3. Low Maturity 4. Little or No Core Values 5. Disengaged Follower Characteristics: 6. Low Self-Esteem 7. Unambitious 8. Low Maturity 9. Little or No Core Values 10. Disengaged Leader Characteristics: 1. Poor Communicator 2. Micromanager 3. Sets Unclear Expectations 4. Uses Intimidation 5. Poor People Skills Leader Characteristics: 6. Poor Communicator 7. Micromanager 8. Sets Unclear Expectations 9. Uses Intimidation 10. Poor People Skills