How do people with schizophrenia develop professionally and socially Research Paper

How individuals with schizophrenia grow expertly and socially - Research Paper Example cap various patients with schizophrenia range issue suffer issues in adapting to regular and unpredicted pressure (Lysaker, Tsai, and Hammoud, 2009). They may experience issues in recognizing objects/individuals, verbal familiarity (Landrã ¸ and Ueland, 2008), and in arranging and starting exercises, which inside and out influence fundamental social aptitudes and practices at the working environment (Liddle, 2000, p.12). In view of these psychological and social shortages, schizophrenics will in general negligence stressors through restraint (Scholes and Martin, 2010), or not, at this point attempt elective and gainful proportions of giving their issues (Lee and Schepp, 2011). This paper analyzes the impacts of schizophrenia on the personalities of individuals with this issue. A few sources indicated that however individuals with schizophrenia battle with their state of mind during their lifetime, with appropriate treatment and backing, they can live profitable and autonomous lives (Liberman, and Silbert, 2005; Lysaker, Tsai, and Hammoud, 2009). Social impedances are considered as significant pieces of schizophrenia and poor social working is one of the side effects expected to analyze this psychological sickness (Birchwood, Birchwood, and Jackson, 2001, p.108). Individuals with schizophrenia frequently experience the ill effects of semantic memory issues, which can influence their comprehension of the real world, just as their social connections and connections (Doughty and Done, 2009). Doughty and Done (2009) directed precise survey and meta-examinations to comprehend if individuals with schizophrenia for the most part experience the ill effects of issues with semantic memory, to decide the particular profile of the disability over the wide range of trial of semantic memory, and to know how the semantic memory impedance interfaces with different side effects, particularly the Formal Thought Disorder. They distinguished 91 pertinent papers and discoveries demonstrated that members had hindered capacities in naming, word-pic ture coordinating, verbal familiarity, affiliations, preparing, and order; semantic

The Chrysanthemums and A Jury of Her Peers Essay

The Chrysanthemums and A Jury of Her Peers - Essay Example This exploration will start with the explanation that in the realm of writing, each writer starts the innovative procedure in an unexpected way. Some beginning by making an ideal discernment in their work by utilizing one of a kind and dazzling settings to catch the consideration of the crowd. Through this decision of style, they can investigate and show their crowd the world wherein they are going to put their characters. These ways to deal with composing are right and acknowledged recorded as a hard copy, in any case; there are issues that must be seen to make any bit of writing to be viewed as a magnum opus in the field of composing. The setting of a story passes on characters and subjects in a novel distinctively relying upon the nature and sort of the setting. These can be delineated utilizing these two books chrysanthemums and A Jury of Her Peers. Close examination of the chrysanthemums uncovers that the story happens in the Salinas Valley during the long stretch of December at Henry Allen’s property situated on the lower region. Promptly we meet characters who delineate a provincial setting just in the primers of the novel. The ladies are detached in their own reality and the men depict quality and are manlier than standard men are. Elisa’s spouse rides on a range while Elisa herself is restricted to her home and just works in her bloom garden. The setting of the novel conditions her character and causes her to carry on country like. Taking a gander at the topics the country setting of the story draws out the issue of abuse of ladies and opportunity.

Child of Rage Essay Sample

Child of Rage Essay Sample Child of Rage: Real Story That Makes You Cry Child of Rage is an outstanding movie that affected me greatly. It is the hard-hitting documentary film to watch, which is strongly recommended for psychology students, adoption families, foster care, and anyone who is interested in human nature. This heartbreaking movie is based on a real story of a six-year-old girl who suffered violently from attachment disorder. The real name of the main character of the Child of Rage is Beth Thomas. What occurred to the innocent child who became unattached to people around her? The movie deploys the closest relation between the conscious and subconscious of the individuals, reflects the bound with person’s earliest memories, confirming in this way Freud’s theory. Act of Aggression A brother and sister, little Eric and Catherine, have been adopted by a minister and his wife, Rob and Jill Tyler. They both seem sweet and timid children. Suddenly, it becomes apparent that Cat (real name Beth Thomas from “Child of Rage”) has some mental health problems as the little girl displays huge unreasonable outbursts of violent rage. For example, she starts with killing all of the baby birds that her brother loves so much. The little angel sticking the dog with a needle and cutting her classmate with a piece of glass! She beats her brother, Eric! What is more, the girl threats to kill her new parents; once she hides a kitchen knife inside her stuffed toy to stab Jill and Rob in their sleep… Issues Raised in the Movie: Back to Freud‘s Ideas Cat’s new parents try to get to the bottom of this and find out what is hidden behind the girl’s rage explosion. Rob and Jill turned for the help to Doris, a social worker, who, after some hesitation and delay, uncover the truth about Cat’s family. As it turns out, the girl was severely traumatized at the age of one year. Her father, who was an alcoholic and pedophile, sexually abused the infant. He also raped Cat’s older sister, Stephanie, who became a prostitute working at the topless bar as a dancer. Thus, the mental health problem has been revealed. The little girl suffers from attachment disorder caused by sexual molestation. Broadly speaking, this is severe damage that breaks the heart and mind of a child. The uncontrollable rage, which the girl displayed all the time, was the results of sexual abuse. She unconsciously became unattached from people around her and took her anger out even on poor animals. The child mentally was ruined. Her inability to trust, love or care is the result of attachment disorder. This case proves that unattached children trust no one and don’t care who they hurt. They feel like a horrible person or even devil. Children suffering from RAD are capable of anything, including cold-blooded murder. Another feature of the disorder is non-acceptance of any authority. However, in Cats case, the girl can listen to commands of her foster mother. It is one of the bridges which give parents the hope to build communication with the girl. They can try to change the way Cat feels about herself and make her feel valued and loved. Parent’s Choice Problematic Definitely, Child of Rage brings the matter of the concern before those who are about to adopt a child. Just imagine what a hard challenge met Rob and Jill who were expected to raise happily two sweet, healthy children! On the one hand, they can send the girl away to the foster care and bring up only the boy. On the contrary, they have a chance to help this poor child to overcome her past. But to do this, the couple must gather up all the love, courage, and patience they keep in their hearts and face the challenge. The minister proposed to his wife to keep only Eric, but Jill answered that they must help the girl. This Christian family showed lots of love and mercy for the suffering child. They didn’t give up and turned for a psychologist’s help. Apparently, Rob and Jill teach us the lesson of the power of love, hope, and faith. Not many families will keep at home a child who is eager to slaughter members of the family at night. Treatment as a Hope for Abused Child Holding therapy, a controversial treatment method of Dr. Myers, was Cat’s chance for healing. Having examined the girl, the psychologist told Rob and Jill that Cat is a very sick and there is a small chance to create an emotional connection. Nevertheless, Dr. Myers started holding therapy session. Cat admitted to the psychologist that she is eager to kill her foster parents and her brother. Also, the girl told that she would like to kill pets by sticking them with pins to death. Cat explained that she didnt like people around her as well as animals. She preferred to be alone, without outside interference. It is the reason for the girls inappropriate behavior. However, after several therapy sessions, a breakthrough occurs. Cat’s heart melted; and she started to cry. The movie ends with Cat telling her new parents that she loves them. Conclusion It is unbelievable but events from our childhood that took place at the age which most of us unable to recall may lead to mental health disorders. The movie demonstrates clearly how person’s infancy impacts on adult life. It is important to mention that the real girl, Beth Thomas from Child of Rage, grown up and successfully recovered. She lives a normal life working as a nurse. Beth from Child of Rage gives the hope for numerous families who raise children with different kind of mental disorders and fight for their health. We should remember that love and faith really work miracles.

Financial Crisis To A Global One Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3430 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Factors that led the US Economy to the Financial Crisis of 2007 and the Mechanisms of Transmission to a Worldwide Crisis During these last few years the most important economic event has affected the worldwide economy has been the financial crisis. There is no precise definition of financial crisis, but a common view is that disruptions in financial markets rise to the level of a crisis when the flow of credit to households and businesses is constrained and the real economy of goods and services is adversely affected.[1]Being students of economics branch, we are continuously studying about the economic models, theories and development of a variety of economic structures. Such event as the financial crisis has really fascinated us and motivated to deepen our knowledge regarding its importance and characteristics. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Crisis To A Global One Finance Essay" essay for you Create order It is stated that this financial crisis is the most important and in the meantime the most dramatic one since the Great Depression of 1930s. Considering the importance of such an economic event, we wanted to understand the structure of a financial crisis, the causes that led to it describing specifically the relations between them and the mechanisms of transmission from one step to another; from the starting point to the spread of the crisis within the country of origin and afterwards all over the world. This will provide us with information about the real economy and how it constantly adapts to these happenings. The structure of our paper consists in first explaining the factors that led to the beginning of the financial crisis, which are part of the first chapter and which include War in Iraq, the securitization process, the subprime mortgages and the housing bubble effect. The development of the crisis within the country of origin will be explained in the second chapter; here we have to mention the mechanism of transmission from the financial crisis to the economic one. And in the third and last chapter we will explain channels in which the crisis became global the so called Contagion Process. The factors that led the American Economy to the Financial Crisis War in Iraq After the suicide attacks by   Al-Qaeda terrorists  upon the United States on September 11, 2001, in the World Trade Center  in New York City, the situation of the economy became even worse. This contributed to the loss of business on Wall Street, the Dow Jones[2]industrial average closed down more than 684 points, or more than 7% (dropping below the 9000 mark at 8921, according to preliminary figures), on extraordinarily heavy New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) volume. The Nasdaq[3]composite index dropped by 109 points, or 6.5%, to 1586, leaving the already battered index at its lowest point since October 1998. Besides these devastating losses, the war in Iraq, which began on March 20, 2003, as a counteraction to the terrorists attack, has come at a great cost to the American economy. According to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz the Iraq war has cost the US 50-60 times more than the Bush administration predicted and was a central cause of the sub-prime banking crisis threatening the world economy[4]He calls it a hidden cause of the current credit crunch. To fight against it, the US central bank responded to the massive financial drain of the war by flooding the American economy with cheap credit. What happened than will be explained later. But before we go there, we also have to mention that in the short run, wartime spending actually stimulates the economy. As another Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman argues, the war is indeed a grotesque waste of resources, but we cant blame it for the current economic mess. Remember, the lowest unemployment rate America has experi enced over the last half-century came at the height of the Vietnam War.[5] Securitization Process Securitization is a financial instrument that appeared at the American economy at the beginning of 1980s. It is referred as distribution of default risk by grouping debt obligations(such as mortgages) into a pool, and then selling securities backed by this pool. In other words this means that in order for the banks to ensure funds for their normal and ongoing activity they gave loans to people who became debtors. This money was tied up in banks and they couldnt make any profit of it(except for the part when the loan would be returned which would actually be in a long-term period). In order to profit from the loaning process banks turned these loans into securities; they divided the credits into parts and sold them to other people (security buyers) as obligations with considerably high interest rates. It is estimated about 10% interest rates for these obligations in 2006. In this way the person who had taken the loan from the bank was not a debtor of that bank where he had taken his loan from, but to the buyer of the obligation with his mortgage credit. This process was of priority from both sides- banks could take off the risk by selling these loans(and transferring that risk to the people who bought the loans) and the security buyers got regular payments from the debtors. Banks started borrowing money from other banks in order to lend more money to the people so they could increase the level of the loans and sell these loans as securities. Furthermore, one high street bank such as the Lehman Brothers also bought mortgages so it could securitize them and sell them to the others. At first the people who were profiting the loans were people with sufficient incomes or as it may also be called safe borrowers. After that the situation changed; banks started giving loans also to poor people, people who had credit level below the usual. These loans are known as the subprime mortgages[6]or self-certified loans or also liars loans. Banks started buying, selling and trading securitization or as we may say, they started buying, selling and trading risk. Whats interesting is that the banks tended to spread the risk to the security buyers. Furthermore, involved in this mechanism, banks started to invest. These investments were considered high-profit investments because the obligations were with a considerable percentage of profit (about 10 % interest in annual scale as it is mentioned in the first paragraph). But these kinds of obligations were massively supported by subprime credits. Consequently, this meant that these investments were very risky; not-safe borrowers would have subsequently problems with paying off the credit. Banks were exposed toward the problems by being engaged in these activities. Securitization was implied to be a productive financial instrument that could help the banks lend more and lower the risk; instead, it led towards a risky and unsecure situation. When people started seeing the real situation, the crisis of confidence spread. Investment banks were sitting on high risk loans. There was an increase in the prices and in the value of the immobile property known as the housing bubble(which will be explained in details later) which led to the process that the security buyers wanted their money back. People didnt have money to pay the loans so the banks found themselves in quite a difficult situation. Lacking in deposits, some of them collapsed. At this point, banks turned to the government for help. More money was injected but still it wasnt enough; the banks went bankrupted and the confidence wasnt restored. Subprime Mortgages and the subprime boom There are generally two types of mortgages in the US: fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs), which have an interest rate fixed for the life of the loan; and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), which have variable periodic interest rates. Subprime mortgages are defined as mortgages to borrowers with limited credit histories. Between 2003 and 2006, a high number of mortgages were issued to subprime residential borrowers. Many subprime mortgages are a combination of ARMs and FRMs. Such mortgages provide for a fixed rate for the first two to three years, which is known as the teaser rate, and after that period the interest rate becomes adjustable semiannually. As real estate prices rose in the early years of this decade, and securitization provided more capital for mortgages, lenders changed their underwriting criteria in order to issue more mortgages and turned to subprime lenders. Between 1995 and 2005, subprime mortgages increased from 5% to 20% of the mortgage market. In 1994, $35 billion in subprime mortgages were produced, and by 2006, that number had increased to more than $600 billion, about 17 times more than in 1994. And the most significant cause for this boom appears to be the increase in the securitization of mortgages as it is explained in the first paragraph. Housing Bubble A bubble occurs when exaggerated expectations of future prices increase unusual demand either by people who fear being priced out of a market or by investors hoping to make a lot of money fast. A bubble is a self-fulfilling prophecy for a while, as successive rounds of buyers push prices higher and higher. But the willingness to pay higher and higher prices in fragile: It will end whenever buyers perceive that prices are no longer going up. Hence bubbles carry the seeds of their own destruction. Only time is needed for bubbles to end.[7] The current financial crisis started in the United States housing market in 2007. The US housing market is seen by many as the main cause of the financial crisis. The financial turmoil that engulfed the US during 2007-2009 began in the mortgage lending markets. There are two potentially reasons and competing explanations of the origins of this crisis. The first is that the easy money policies of the Federal Reserve produced the US housing bubble that is at the core of todays financial crisis. The second and more credible explanation is that it was indeed lower interest rates that spawned the speculative euphoria. As found by Robert Schiller, the inflation-adjusted house prices had been remained constant in the period 1895-1995. But he also found that the real house prices in 2002 had rosen almost 30% after adjusting from inflation. This led him think that there would be such a phenomenon called housing bubble The rise in house prices caused large increases in demand for houses, but the supply remained the same. The increase in the demand is attributed to a number of factors such as: Low mortgage rates. Even though the US savings rate was low during the housing bubble, a flow of savings entering the US economy from countries such as Japan and China helped to keep mortgage rates low.   Relaxed standards for mortgage loans.  Standards for mortgage loans were changed as a result of a number of factors: new governmental policies aimed to adopt an increase in home-ownership rates among lower-income households and also greater competition in the mortgage loan market. Low short-term interest rates. The Fed funds rate began in 2001 at 6.25% and ended at 1.75% level at the same year. If the course of housing bubble in the US would have follow the same way as in Japan, the housing bubble would have collapse along with the collapse of the stock bubble in the years 2000-2002. Instead, the collapse of the stock bubble helped to feed the housing bubble, because the loss of faith in the stock market caused that a large number of people turned to investments in immobile property as a better alternative than the stock market. In addition, the economy was very slow recovering from the 2001 recession. The weakness of the recovery of economy, led the Federal Reserve Board to continue cutting interest rates, pushing the Fed funds rate in mid-2003 to a record of 50-years to the level of 1%, where it stayed for a year. In purchasing-power terms, a borrower during that period who merely invested in goods, whose prices merely rose at the rate of inflation, was prof iting in proportion to what he borrowed. In this way, unconsciously, Fed created a credit bubble. But Fed says that the reason of a very low interest rate choice in 2003 and 2004 was that they ignored the dollar weakness, higher interest rate choices abroad, the Taylor Rule[8]and the booming performance of the US and global economics. Affected by some factors, housing bubble burst in 2006. First, average hourly wages in U.S had remained stagnant or declined 2002 until 2009; in real term this represented a decline. Second, growth in the supply for houses tracked price rises. Third, as interest rate rose to a peak of 5.25%, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) become less attractive and so removed many non-prime prospective buyers from the market. Fourth, as house prices fell, home-owners unable to take monthly payments, lost their houses in foreclosures, while banks and other mortgage-lenders lost hundreds of billions (unable to recover amounts loaned). By the beginning of 2007 these changes happened: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Home prices were at unprecedented levels. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Mortgage quality had declined substantially. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Asset-backed securitizations had spread well. This is determined as the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis. But how did we get to the Financial Crisis? We will try to explain all the mechanism in the upcoming chapter. From the Financial Crisis to the Economic one Because of the rising of the interest rates due to the inflation, the debtors were unable to return the money to the banks. Based on the lending contract, if they couldnt pay the borrowed money back by the end of the maturity of the mortgage, they were obligated to consign their houses to the banks. Millions of home-owners lost their houses. Even though banks had the right of the ownership over the houses, the level of the bank reserves was minimal, because of the non-pay backed loans. In order to profit from the ownership of the houses banks tried to sell them, but the great supply of the houses derived an unpredicted result; people didnt need the houses and moreover, they couldnt pay for them. This led to the devaluation of the house prices. By the first  quarter of 2009, home prices had decreased by over 32% from their 2006 peak.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  However, home prices were still 50% higher than they had been in the first  quarter of 1998. Contrary to the housing bubbl e process, the house prices declined dramatically. Banks couldnt get enough money to cover the original inflated loans by selling the foreclosed properties. The bust quickly spread and the crisis had affected the general economy. At this moment distress among subprime mortgage lenders was visible. Some of the top investment banks either failed or were taken over. The deepening crisis in the subprime mortgage market had affected the investors confidence. Confidence was also shaken in many financial institutions so banks began to avoid engaging in any interbank lending activity. But those transactions are the engine of the entire economy. The credit crunch became a visible crisis when there was zero liquidity in the market. That is the point where subprime crisis crossed the border and turned into the credit crisis (crunch). On December 1, 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the economy had entered into a recession in December of 2007. Real GDP increased by only 1.1% for the year 2008. Real GDP  decreased  at annual rates of 6.3% in the 4th quarter of 2008 and of 5.7% in the 1st  quarter of 2009. The unemployment rate increased from 4.9% in December of 2007 to 9.5% in June of 2009. From the Economic Crisis to the Global one In this chapter we will see how the economic crisis in the US became a global crisis and which are the channels in which it passed, by differing them in two parts: the transmission mechanism the developed countries and in the developing ones. This process is also called Contagion[9]and has a big importance to us, because it lets us understand how the global economy interacts. Developed Countries To explain how the economic crisis spread throughout the world lets take the example of two international trade giants such as Toyota (the worlds largest automobile producer, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan) and Caterpillar of Peoria, Illinois (the worlds largest producer of heavy construction equipment and vehicles). Toyotas US sales consists of one-third of the companys total sales. The current recession caused Toyotas sales in the United States to fall by 37 percent in December 2008 and by 32 percent in January 2009. This, not surprisingly, led to cutbacks in production, and so announced a reduction in employment. In the example of Caterpillar of Peoria, in the other hand, we conclude that its sales, of which 60 percent are typically outside North America, fall dramatically in late 2008. In anticipation of the global economy continuing to weaken in 2009, Caterpillar announced in January that it was reducing employment by 20,000 workers. By reducing the workforce these companies have indirectly decreased the demand on goods and services in both countries (US and Japan), leading to the global crisis. International trade (Import-Exports) between and among countries means that what happens in one nations economy can have a dramatic effect on that of others. Developing Countries The economic downturn in developed countries have significant impact on other worlds devel ­oping countries. But how can this happen? The channels of impact on develop ­ing countries include: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Trade and trade prices. Growth in China and India, as developed countries, has increased imports and pushed up the demand for goods and services, which has led to greater exports and higher prices, for example from African countries. Eventually, a slow down on the growth rate of the economy of China and India has led to a decrease of exports of the developing countries. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Remittances. There will be fewer economic migrants coming to developed countries when they are in a recession, so fewer remittances and also probably lower volumes of remittances per migrant. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Foreign direct investment (FDI). The process of securitization, as shown before, insured the investors with obligations and increased the level of investments within the US and abroad. But these obligations were based in risky borrowers, and so they never got their money back. The result is that they cant invest in the developing countries, causing an economic crisis there. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Commercial lending. Banks under pressure in developed countries may not be able to lend as much as they have done in the past. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Aid. Aid budgets are under pressure because of debt problems and weak fiscal positions, and this will be reflected in the developing countries economies. Each of these channels needs have direct consequences for growth and development. The impact on developing countries will vary. It will depend on the response in developed countries to the financial crisis and the slowdown, and the economic characteristics and policy responses, in developing countries. Conclusions In the end of this paper we would like to summarize some of the most important conclusions we found about the Financial Crisis. First, we have to mention that the crisis has its roots in some key factors; they all together led the American Economy and the World into the crisis. These factors include the War in Iraq, which contributed in the decline of the American economy as a whole. The reaction of the Fed by cheapening the credit led the banks to a risky initiative: the Subprime Mortgages. Followed by the securitization process, which on one hand creates diversification and liquidity, but on the other hand resulted to be risky, if not well understood by the investors, it created such a situation in which the debtors could not pay their money back. This caused the so called Housing Bubble. From the housing bubble the American economy passed to the devaluation of the house prices and the so called Crisis of Confidence. This is the point in which the financial crisis began leading the banks to a very low liquidity level and made it impossible for them to go on with their transactions. All this affected the American economy as a whole and transformed the crisis into an Economic Crisis. As the American economy dropped, the effects would be present in the other countries too. And this because channels in which the crisis was transmitted all over the world. These channels may be seen in two different point of views: in developed countries (which are strongly related with the American economy) and in developing countries(which are indirectly related with it). The most important channel through which the crisis spread is the foreign trade which includes import and export of the US to other countries and vice versa. But there are also other channels as remittances, foreign direct investments, commercial lending and aid, which delivered the crisis in all the countries around the world.

Definition of the Term LD50

Definition: The median lethal dose of a substance, or the amount required to kill 50% of a given test population. LD50 is a measurement used in toxicology studies to determine the potential impact of toxic substances on different types of organisms. It provides an objective measure to compare and rank the toxicity of substances. The LD50 measurement is usually expressed as the amount of toxin per kilogram or pound of body weight. When comparing LD50 values, a lower value is regarded as more toxic, as it means a smaller amount of the toxin is required to cause death. The LD50 test involves exposing a population of test animals, typically mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, or even larger animals such as dogs, to the toxin in question. The toxins might be introduced orally, through injection, or inhaled. Because this testing kills a large sample of the animals, it is now being phased out in the United States and some other countries in favor of newer, less lethal methods. Pesticide studies involve LD50 testing, usually on rats or mice and on dogs. Insect and spider venoms can also be compared using LD50 measurements, to determine which venoms are the most deadly to a given population of organisms. Â   Examples: LD50 values of insect venom for mice: Honey bee, Apis mellifera - LD50 2.8 mg per kg of body weightYellowjacket, Vespula squamosa - LD50 3.5 mg per kg of body weight Reference: W.L. Meyer. 1996. Most Toxic Insect Venom. Chapter 23 in University of Florida Book of Insect Records, 2001. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/walker/ufbir/.

Tim Horton’s Website Analysis Free Essays

On October 25, 2010, I examined the website of Tim Hortons Company. I did this as part of my assignment for Business Communication course in University of Toronto Scarborough. The assignment requires students to compose a website analysis report of a business. We will write a custom essay sample on Tim Horton’s Website Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now And I chose Tim Hortons because it has always been one of my favorite coffee shops. This report describes the strengths and weaknesses of Tim Hortons’ website. And at the end of the report, you will find my personal recommendations on the points that could be improved. The report’s purpose is to help Tim Hortons establish a more customer-friendly website. I will explain more on the word â€Å"customer-friendly† through the following parts of the report. Strengths of the Website I am quite impressed by the design of Tim Hortons’ website. By simply looking at the theme colors when I first entered in, I am able to recognize the brand. These brown and red colors are what we commonly see in a local Tim Hortons store. The use of the colors makes the store and website an integral whole. Another thing that attracts me is the flashing banner. Those well-designed advertisement videos give customers a quick view of what is new at the store. They also lead to a better trade promotion. I compared the webpage of Tim Hortons with Starbucks and Second Cup’s. And I discovered that Tim Hortons has some competitive advantages over the other two famous coffee shops. Here are four most prominent ones: * An Offer of Healthier Products Options. Many customers today are not in favor of eating traditional donuts that contained large amount of fat and sugar. In order not to lose those customers, more healthier food options are offered on the website. In the online menu, customers can find one category named â€Å"Healthier Options†. By applying those options, customers may add milk instead of cream to their coffee. They may also choose bagels that are high in fiber instead of donuts. People who enjoy a healthy lifestyle will find Tim Hortons’ products appealing to them. Moreover, for customers’ convenience, there is a link to the â€Å"Nutrition Calculator† beside each category of food. By clicking the link, customers can quickly obtain further information on the products. * Clear Classification of the Products. The catalog appeared in the menu helps to arrange all productions into detailed classes. The arrangement makes the menu more organized and clearer to look at. Customers who want to look for a certain type of products will quickly find their targets. This is a demonstration of â€Å"customer-friendly† webpage. * The Idea of Weather Forecast. On the front page of the website, I discovered a window shown the weather forecast and the best product option to choose under this weather. I found this idea very attractive. The weather forecast transfers a message that Tim Hortons is very concerned about it’s customers. It deserves a brand loyalty. Besides, customers who are aware of this information may come to the website everyday to check the weather. This will result in a higher click rate to the website and more exposure to the advertisements. * Online Shopping Option. A link to the online shopping website is attached to the front page. Not only can customers find cans of grind coffee there, but they can also find gift baskets and other accessories available. This online shopping option will contribute to a larger sale of Tim Hortons coffee. Weaknesses of the Website On the other hand, I discovered some weaknesses of Tim Hortons’ website after compared with other coffee shops’. Speaking critically, there are certain places that could be made better. To demonstrate my findings, I listed four problems below: * Catalog is Not Clearly Indentified. Most customers come to Tim Hortons website to search for information on coffee and baked goods. However, the catalog shown on top of the front page does not include these two items. It takes some time for customers to find their desired information. Besides, all the menus and nutrition information are under the category of â€Å"In Our Store †. I personally think this title is inappropriate. Because â€Å"In Our Store† can mislead people to think about locations, staffs and other unrelated information. * Nutrition calculator is difficult to use. The idea of making a calculator to track calories is very creative. However, the calculator did not function well when I was using it, especially on a Mac computer. The button for â€Å"Detailed Information† is often hidden behind the product category list. This makes the button difficult to click on. Fonts are Too Small to Read. Except for the headlines, the font sizes for most of the written materials are too small. This will result in unwillingness for customers to go further reading. Though the storyboard tells a thrilling adventure, customers may have no interest to look at. * No Sounds for the Banner. Research shows that people’s retention becomes stronger when they can be provided with both visual images and sounds. Having a banner is absolutely a good promotion choice, but without any audio inputs, the advertisements are a bit lack of excitement and harder for customers to remember. Conclusions A website can be said to be â€Å"customer-friendly† if it is able to offer the most to its customers. For the design, the website should be attractive and fun to look at. And for the function, the company ought to focus on an idea of clarity, convenience and simplicity. Compared with the webpage of other famous coffee shops, Tim Hortons is good at making convenience accesses for its customers and delivering sales messages. This is demonstrated by its strengths of clear classification, option of online shopping and an offer of eather forecast and healthier options. Nevertheless, Tim Hortons is a bit weak at providing clear information. Because some titles of the catalog fail to transfer definite information and the fonts of the words are too small to read. Things can be improved also include the nutrition calculator and the sounds of the banner. Recommendations Competition between coffeehouses is quite fierce these days. Though Tim Hortons are most well known in Canada. It does not have such popularity in other countries, even in the United States. One of the accesses for people to gather information of Tim Hortons is through the Internet. Therefore, it is of top primarity for Tim Hortons to establish a more customer-friendly website. Here I provide four recommendations that will contribute to its success: * Change the Titles of the Catalog Categories. Make Category titles clearer to indentify. For example, name â€Å"Coffee† or â€Å"Menu† instead of â€Å"In Our Store†. Also, put the items customers most interested to prominent places. For example, modify the â€Å"Menu† button as the first icon appeared in the catalog at the front page. Improve the Nutrition calculator. If the technical problems cannot be solved, simply add a list of nutrition information containing all products to the website. It is also a good idea to provide a search engine for that information. * Make the Fonts Larger. Make the size of the fonts larger so that customers can easily read the information they are looking for. * Make Banner’s Alive. Deliver music commercials. Add more fun and excitement to the website. This will catch customers’ attention and result in a higher click rate of the website. How to cite Tim Horton’s Website Analysis, Essay examples

Illegal immigrants Essay Example For Students

Illegal immigrants Essay Illegal immigrants from the country of Honduras will find out later this year if they will be allowed to stay in the U.S. as illegal immigrants. With the Clinton Administration switching over to the Bush Administration the answer is not clear of whether or not they will be allowed to stay in the country after July 5, 2001. This is when the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) law runs out and will find if they will be accepted or denied by the new administration. The fact that the Honduran immigrants have been allowed here already is a big plus in their favor. They also have other advantages in, Elaine Chao, an immigrant herself to the U.S. when she was just eight years old. She is President Bushs selection for Secretary for Labor. This can do nothing but help the decision go in favor of the Honduran immigrants. There are also disadvantages that they have. For instance a man by the name of John Ashcroft, Bushs selection for U.S. Attorney General, supports stronger border patrol and stronger penalties for violations of immigration laws. Obviously, the main theme of the article is immigration, suggesting whether it will happen for a group of people, or not. The fact that the Clinton administration had already approved the illegal immigration of the Hondurans, will make it harder for Bush and his colleagues to not extend the law past July 5 of 2001. The article just goes to show that many people from other countries see the U.S. as an opportunity to improve or provide a better lifestyle for their families that may or may not come with them. This demonstrates how lucky we are and another perspective on how to look at the topic of immigration, worldwide. Bibliography:

In Debt We Trust free essay sample

In Debt We Trust It is common knowledge that public debt is one of the basic topics in macroeconomics. Debt is actually a certain amount of goods or money (mostly money) owed by one side to another. There are various types of debts, from personal debts to debts by the government. The US public debt is the amount of money owed by the United States federal government to creditors. National and individual debt combined total well over $10 trillion. The video notes how credit card companies quarry on college students and others too young and dumb to realize how easily a spending spree can change their future. Meanwhile, the working poor are mislead into loan schemes with huge disciplinary consequences for late payment, including ever-more-frequent home foreclosures. Middle-class families end up in deepening debt just trying to maintain the same home-and-car-owning lifestyle their parents could afford. Where there used to be a penalizing but real last-ditch escape route, Republican lawmakers recently shoved through restrictions making it almost impossible for individuals to declare bankruptcy. We will write a custom essay sample on In Debt We Trust or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The national debt is the total amount of money the United States Treasury Department has borrowed and currently owes to the federal governments creditors. These creditors are mostly comprised of the public, including individuals, corporations, as well as state, local and foreign governments. They also consist of various government trust funds, such as Social Security and Medicare. Additionally, they include the Federal Reserve, mostly in the form of treasury bonds, bills and notes. Currently, the U. S. national debt is estimated to be $8. 5 trillion. This ever-growing figure brings with it several social and economic implications. Therefore, the national debt is a frequently debated topic that has over the years produced various schools of thought on how the U. S. government should manage it. In order to understand how the national debt could ultimately affect future generations of the United States and the different ways the government can best deal with it, it is first necessary to discuss its’ history. According to the latest statistics, as of 2006 the sum that Federal Government owed to its citizens and overseas creditors was 5. 2 trillion dollars. This sum does not include money, owed to social security fund, and by various corporations. If the sum owed to Social Security Trust Fund is included, then the debt rises to an amazing figure of the $8. 5 trillion dollars. That means that in 2006 the expected interest, paid on the debt will be 364 billion dollars. This sum of money is actually greater than the GDP of several independent states. The average interest rate for the US public debt is 4% annually. Certainly, the debt of $8. 5 trillion dollars is a heavy load for the US taxpayers, as they are forced to service it. US certainly own the greatest amount of money, and American economy certainly has difficulties struggling with such a deficit. It is clear that any other country would simply collapse under the weight of such bonds. One fact has still to be taken into consideration: US economy is the most powerful one today, consequently. If calculating the public debt in percentage of the GDP, it equals 67%. This figure is actually normal for most developed countries, and USA hold 35-th place in the world according to this scale. I find it funny that the film speaks of the impending financial doom that we’re currently experiencing. I find it sad that we’re going to bail out these financial institutions that are doing this. We just sent them 700 billion more because they have us so enslaved that we could not live without them. So when their greed finally got the best of them good old GW and the folks we elected†¦ bailed them out by sending them more of our money for free! When will it end? The answer as of right now looks like never!

Interpretation of picasso art essays

Interpretation of picasso art essays Pablo Picasso was one of the most famous Modern artists of the twentieth century. Picassos work followed the style of Cubism. Cubism was a non-objective style of painting developed in Paris in the early twentieth century. It was characterized by reducing and fragmenting natural forms into abstract, often geometric structures usually presenting itself as a set of unconnected distinct planes. Three Women is a classical example of the Analytical Cubism style. Three Women, created by Picasso in 1908 with oil on canvas, depicts three nudes posing for a picture. Each of the three figures are positioned to overlap each other so not to bring more focus to one over the other. The nudes presented are the center of attention; they are the dominant figures. The faces of each woman seem to take on characteristics of African art. The women appear as if there is movement going on, while at the same time it seems likely that the subjects are in an immovable position. Picasso draws your eye to the figures by painting them with bright complementary colors, causing the women to pop out, making them the first thing you notice. The blue background further heightens the three women as center of attention by framing them in the picture. For this piece, a complementary color scheme was used. Using blue and orange allows the colors to contrast, because they share no common colors. When used together in a design, the colors make each other seem brighter and more intense. The background consists of a cool color, which does not over power the subject, therefore, putting more emphasis on the women depicted. The use of complementary colors allows the focal point to easily jump out in the picture. The cool colors recede while warm colors advance, grabbing your attention. One primary look to Cubism is the use of lighting. Since the image on the canvas is fragmented into an abstract form, there are multiple light sources within the pai...

The State of the Iranian Oil Industry and Its Role in Irans Economy Case Study

The State of the Iranian Oil Industry and Its Role in Irans Economy - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that Iran's economic reliance on the oil industry has been stronger than ever as demonstrated by the steady trend in domestic demand and the government’s effort to counter the adverse impact of its economic isolation. An increase in its energy output is seen as the only way to solve the issues it currently faces. This focus has led to several sustainability challenges that require immediate attention if the country is to achieve a viable economy in the long-term. Iran belongs to the top five oil-producing countries in the world. The International Energy Agency reported that in 2013, the country produced 2.5 million barrels per day and about 1.2 million barrels were exported. For this reason, the oil industry remains a backbone of the Iranian economy. It generates revenues that represent at least 18.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product and claim 85 percent of the country's total export and foreign currency earnings. Repor ts indicate that high oil prices in the past decades enabled Iran to accumulate almost $60 billion in foreign exchange reserves. The focus in oil production, however, has led or has aggravated three important sustainability challenges: air pollution; damage to water resources; and the environmental damage stemming from potential conflict. Air pollution remains the leading environmental problem in the country. It is caused by vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents. Particularly, combustion of vehicular traffic dominates pollutants. In Tehran, for example, they contribute to around 80 percent of air pollution.

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation Essay

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation - Essay Example There were so many variations as there was the number of business enterprises. This prompted management scholars to delve deep into the matter to find out how many ways are there to make a business flourish. Their search has not been without success. In fact they have come out with some rare insights into the dynamics of profit generation and maximization. While large organizations could afford to experiment with any or all of these methods, the small and medium enterprises, the SME’s, have to be very choosy in their selection of modus operandi because of resource limitations. However, they also have a fairly wide choice to select from, like the Entrepreneurial Orientation, Marketing Orientation, Operation Reasearch, Brand Boosting and the likes. Right now we would be interested in two of these most significant methods, viz. Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation. What is Entrepreneurial Orientation : The term â€Å"entrepreneurial orientation† has been used to refer to the strategy-making processes and styles of firms that engage in entrepreneurial activities. A popular model of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) suggests that there are five dimensions of EO—autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness (Lumpkin and Dess 1996). Autonomy refers to the entrepreneur’s freedom to choose his own line of business, range of products and the market segment he wants to operate in. This reflects his entrepreneurial genius and his analytical ability and his resourcefulness to meet challenges.

Globalization Barcelona Renovation

Globalization Barcelona Renovation Although many cities around the world witness the triumphs and failures of globalization in all aspects of life, Barcelona has truly been a success story. Although Barcelona is a dense city confined by the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, it has grown to be a commercial, industrial and tourism superpower in Europe. The benefits of globalization are apparent in the dynamic metropolitan area of Barcelona, a model used for urban design and renovation of cities throughout the world. Globalization has become an inevitable progression over time, and Barcelona has embraced its ongoing growth by constructively planning for the future. The metropolitan area of Barcelona has become a center for trade, industry, commerce and tourism, with almost four million residents. To prepare for the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, the city went through drastic transformations in urban development with hopes of becoming one of Europes economic superpowers. Now, Barcelona is becoming an exemplar city for its style and synthesis of urban design and innovation. Projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona, an efficient infrastructure organization, the refurbishment of city beaches and port areas, the construction of pleasing and practical public spaces, the melting pot of world cultures and other revitalization plans have helped globalize Barcelona and make it the â€Å"capital of the Mediterranean† (Rossi). One project helping Barcelona continue to globalize and expand its knowledge is the [emailprotected] Barcelona innovation district. In the area of Poblenou, a neighborhood that was once occupied entirely by industrial buildings and factories, a complete transformation is underway to recreate 115 blocks of â€Å"modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities† (â€Å"Presentation†). Two hundred hectares of land in Poblenou will be renovated in order to allow for more living, working and learning spaces. According to the [emailprotected] Barcelona website, 53% of the neighborhood has begun transformation and many new companies are relocating their businesses to the new knowledge hub of the city. â€Å"The [emailprotected] project has likewise been warmly received, according to a research carried out by the University of Barcelona in June 2007, by the business community: 925 firms have already established in the [emailprotected] district or are in the process of building their corporate HQs there. More than 50% of the companies that have moved to the [emailprotected] district since 2001 belong to one of the four strategic [emailprotected] sectors: media, ITC, MedTech or energy† (â€Å"Current State†). The area of Poblenou has a designated â‚ ¬180 million in public investment, which will give the neighborhood access to innovative technology still nonexistent in many other globalizing cities. Green spaces, digital districts and tight-knit communities of buildings are just some of the inventive concepts that are being developed in Poblenou. Once the urban, economic and social renovations have been completed, the neighborhood will be transformed into a modern, unique environment for all aspects of daily life (â€Å"Presentation†). Like the neighborhood of Poblenou, Barcelonas infrastructure is constantly being upgraded and expanded. For example, Plaà §a de les Glà ²ries Catalanes is being completely reconstructed to include an underground train station, which will rival Plaza Cataluà ±a as a popular transportation center in the city. The fundamental structure of Barcelona includes a group of efficient transportation elements, including metro systems, airport expansions, sewage improvements, bus routes, highways and railroads. Barcelona has such a well-organized, logical setup for its infrastructure throughout the city, making the city once again a prototype for urban design which other cities have proposed to duplicate. â€Å"One of Barcelonas more outstanding characteristics is that its port, airport, railroad terminal for goods, highway networks and huge logistics area are all activities set in the same geographical space. This makes Barcelona highly internationalised, occupying a strategic position in t he world-wide transport network, and a key hub for trade with Asia† (Alarcon). The infrastructure in Barcelona is an important benefit of globalization because it organizes transportation to save time and avoid congestion of persons. Unlike other cities, Barcelona has public transportation centers on almost every block, whether it includes buses, metros, ferrocarrils or tunnels. This accessibility is imperative for residents, visitors and all people traveling through Barcelona because the infrastructure is time efficient and uncomplicated. Many other cities around the world would benefit from examining Barcelonas infrastructure design, which is frequently being revamped to keep up with the changes brought about by globalization and the needs of the people. Of all the renovations completed in Barcelona, the restoration of city beaches and the enlargement of port areas have helped increase tourism and turn the eyes of the people back to the sea. Huge additions to the port have been made including: a new bridge to facilitate transportation of trucks carrying cargo, extending piers to allow for more cargo ships to dock, and the destruction of industrial buildings along the beach to once again make the sea an attraction. â€Å"The past 10 years have seen a huge transformation of both port and city, as the municipal government sought to develop Barcelonas holiday and pleasure sailing reputation in tandem with traditional commercial activities. The boom in Barcelonas commercial centres has both invigorated (and itself been further promoted) with the desire to revise the citys maritime traditions† (Alarcon). Port Olympic and the Maremagnum marina are new economic hotspots near the beach, which appeal to both residents and tourists with restaurants, bars, an aquarium and movie theaters. The port, one of Barcelonas most essential places for trade, is in the process of extending its piers to increase the frequency of trade and tourism by building more docking areas for cargo boats and cruise liners. The beaches are one of Barcelonas main attractions, which have been nearly restored to their original beauty without the deterring industrial buildings that once lined the shore. These transformations, which have been underway or completed since 1992, have increased tourism and productivity of trade in Barcelona. Both of these aspects of globalization are extremely important to the city so that it can grow and attract more investors. The innovative additions to the beach and port areas will benefit Barcelonas economy, tourism and their position in the world market. If improving the coastline will help attract more tourists to the beach, improving public spaces, park areas and dilapidated buildings will help attract more residents to the city. Globalization has led Barcelona to realize its confinement between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, leaving a highly dense population situated in-between that continues to grow. For that reason, the Barcelona model had planned for inevitable expansion of the city. Instead of spreading further out into the suburbs like most cities, Barcelona began the â€Å"layered multiple use† of land to build vertically opposed to horizontally (Rossi). â€Å"Across the city, parks spread out atop new highway tunnels. Parking lots hide under squares. Seventeenth-century convents are turned into libraries and cultural centers, palaces are transformed into hotels, museums sprout from former textile factories† (Rossi). Every inch of land in Barcelona has a purpose, and the city is praised for its abilit y to find the problems that exist in decaying buildings or empty spaces and repair them to make the area more eye-catching. For example, the area of El Raval was always known for its immigrant population, drug deals and prostitutes. After careful planning by the city to create a rambla in the center, add more squares throughout the neighborhood, and build the Centre de Cultura Contemporà  nia de Barcelona (CCCB), restaurants, businesses and people all want to buy space in El Raval. Besides making Barcelona more beautiful, these ongoing changes have also made the city more well-organized and useful. Cranes and angle cutters can be seen and heard throughout Barcelona, which is just a reminder that the city is working hard to keep Barcelona up-to-date with globalization needs and a constantly growing population. As the population in Barcelona increases, it is easy to see the mix of colors, races and languages that have become commonplace in this international city. For almost a century between 1850 and 1950, Spain was mainly an emigrating nation. Approximately 3.5 million people, especially temporary workers, emigrated to Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Brazil. However, in the late 1980s Spain became a country of immigration due to â€Å"the end of guest worker programs, the closing of the borders of traditional receiving countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, and France, the political evolution from authoritarian regimes, their proximity to the sending countries in the Maghreb, and the intense historical and economic bonds between both shores of the Mediterranean† (Ortega Pà ©rez). In 1999, the foreign-born population was 2.09% (89,744 people), but by 2005, the number of foreign inhabitants had increased to 11.13% with 531,040 people (Roca Cladera). Neighborhoods like El Raval are ho me to large numbers of immigrants, especially those from North Africa, Pakistan and Muslim communities. Projects such as the Universal Forum of Cultures, which promote human rights, cultural diversity and peace, have been established to accommodate the melting pot of cultures in the international community. â€Å"In order to promote a culturally diverse society, a series of policies have been deployed to fight the poverty and social exclusion that often go hand in hand with immigration, provide the resources required for the development of different communities in Catalonia, and, above all, encourage intercultural encounters† (Lachmann). Although Barcelona has struggled with racism and discrimination against immigrant communities, globalization has made Spain, and especially Catalonia, a desirable destination for immigrants from around the globe. The city boasts hundreds of restaurants with cuisines from every country, places for prayer for numerous religions, and cultural ce nters for the integration of immigrants. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected due to globalization and the ease of travel, immigration populations will continue to rise. Barcelona has dealt with the inevitable process of globalization by paying attention to details throughout the city, by maintaining what already exists and building what is needed for the future. From protecting the historical significance of a park bench to lining a lackluster street with palm trees, every corner in the city has been touched by globalization and yet still continues to function properly and look good. Barcelonas urban design has been used as a model for city development around the globe, due to its comprehensive planning and meticulous attention to every element of the city. According to architect Lord Richard Rogers, â€Å"Barcelona is the jewel of the crown of urban regeneration† (Rossi). Globalization has been an amazing benefit to Barcelona, because of its ability to keep up with the ever-changing, constantly growing needs of a metropolitan city. As a model for urban development and design, Barcelona has been praised for its ability to keep pace with the process of globalization, by revitalizing areas around the city and integrating them together into one functional community. The intensification of Barcelonas infrastructure development as well as the multi-layered use for expansion has helped the city to globalize, while affectively using every piece of available land for a planned residential development, park, square or office building. Without the benefit of globalization that has changed Barcelonas reputation from a run-down port town to a innovative model for designing and renovating cities, projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona would be inconceivable and difficult to achieve. Barcelona has become a meeting place for cultures from around the world, as well as an immigration magnet for people from North Africa, South America and other emigrating nations. The new enticement created by port and beach renovations that were completed for the 1992 Olympic Games have increased tourism and turned the eyes of the city back to the Mediterranean Sea. Only time can tell how Barcelona will progress in the international spectrum of globalization, but the modern revitalization of the city has been an immense benefit for Barcelona, its visitors, and its people. Works Cited Alarcon, Jose. â€Å"Barcelonas port goes for massive growth.† International Market News. 01 Mar 2001. Trade Development Council. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Current State.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Lachmann, Joseph. â€Å"The Universal Forum of Cultures considers immigration as a source of social enrichment.† 09 Aug 2004. Herald Tribe. 7 Dec 2007 . Muenz, Rainer. â€Å"Europe: Population and Migration in 2005.† Feature Story. June 2006. Migration Policy Institute. 7 Dec 2007 . Ortega Pà ©rez, Nieves. â€Å"Spain: Forging an Immigration Policy.† Country Profiles. Feb 2003. Migration Policy Institute. 10 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Preamble.† Mobility pact. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Presentation.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Roca Cladera, Josep. â€Å"Residential mobility and foreign immigration settlement in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona.† Sixth European Urban and Regional Studies Conference. 7 Dec 2007 . Rossi, Melissa. â€Å"The Barcelona Model.† IES Barcelona. 02 Feb 2004. IES Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 .

Describe Some of the Ways That the Person-Centred Approach

Describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred Approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic Approaches to Counselling. The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. (Rogers, 1961, p. 186) The Mental Health Foundation (2012, Talking Therapies) refers to certain therapeutic approaches as talking therapies. These therapies include: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy and Person Centred Therapy (PCT).The Foundation says, ‘Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behaviour and mood’. In attempting to describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic approaches to counselling it may be helpful to acknowledge that that binds them. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) identifies that, ‘there is evidence that the relationship between the counsellor and the client is more important than the approach the therapist uses.BACP (2011). This does not presuppose that counsellors working within differing paradigms practice in an entirely different way to their counterparts or that those working within each approach operate in exactly the same way either. Indeed, it is within the relationship between the counsellor and the client that many of the differences in the therapeutic approaches can be identified. Nelson – Jones (2011, p1) warns us to, ‘be careful not to exaggerate the differences between counselling and therapy schools since there are similarities and differences among them. Worsley et al. (2011, p. 25) believe that, ‘the Person Centred Approach is a basic philosophy of living, and not a technique for therapy’. Worsley’s view does highlight a potential schism between the Person Centred model and the Psychodynamic and CBT approaches; that of, ‘feeling over process’ (B owyer 2011). Mearns and Thorne (2008, p. 9) provide some welcome professional credibility to this viewpoint by identifying a link between the experience of living out the tenets of the Person Centred approach (on both a philosophical and professional level), with the counsellor’s own ability to ‘grasp a hope that seems to lie beyond despair’.This raw awareness helps translate towards a natural realisation of some of the therapeutic conditions (namely: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive) regarded by Person Centered practitioners as critical to achieving positive change. Branch and Dryden (2008, p. 33) see this as the most significant point of divergence between the Rogerian (Person Centred) and CBT therapeutic approaches, in that Rogers considered the Core Conditions (Rogers 1957, pps. 95 – 103) to be both necessary and sufficient whilst CBT purists recognise the conditions as desirable and necessary but not sufficient to bring about client chan ge.In purist terms therefore, it can be seen that CBT, ‘focuses on eliciting and restructuring maladaptive goal-impeding thinking (Branch and Dryden 2008, p. 24) whilst the Psychodynamic approaches are sometimes called the ‘uncovering’ therapies (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 42) which, ‘aim to take the lid off that seething cauldron and bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness. CBT and psychodynamic therapies may therefore be regarded as being focused on identifying and challenging behaviours and beliefs, whereas from the counsellor’s perspective, the Person Centred model assumes no such prescriptive agenda.Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 203) acknowledge that the Psychodynamic approach focuses on the client’s past experience ‘whereas the Person Centred approach focuses on the here and now. Care must be taken not to assume that this is a one size fits all definition. For some counsellors and therapists working within each therapeutic paradigm may well ‘borrow’ methods and strategies from other approaches in order to help effect positive change. There is one tenet however which differentiates Person Centred therapy from the two other approaches; control.Whilst there is a communality of approach insofar that relationship is critical to all approaches, it is the hierarchy within the relationship which acts as differentiator. Within the Person Centred relationship, the client retains control; determining where and at what pace the relationship develops and what is explored and what remains unsaid. The non- directive approach taken by the counsellor allows the client freedom to hold his ‘comfort blanket of self-structure’ intact (Bowyer 2010) until such time that he feels able to begin a journey towards eventual self- actualisation (Goldstein 1940, p. 258). Tolan (2010, p. ) sees self- structure as being everything a person holds about herself and about the world. Following on fr om the concept of non-directive client control, the Person Centred practitioner does not consider himself to be the expert, the client is. The division between the three approaches is further widened by the atmosphere in which the counselling session takes place. Russell and Jarvis (2003, p47) identify a difference between humanistic (e. g. Person Centred) and other therapies (including CBT and Psychodynamic), in that the former refers to ‘clients’ whereas the latter regard those in therapy as ‘patients’.This reinforces the view of humanistic based therapies (including Person Centred) that regard the therapist and client as equal partners. On the client’s journey towards personal fulfillment therefore, Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 89) feel that the counsellor or psychologist ‘acts as a companion, not a guide’. In the absence of a professional ‘expert’ comes a dynamic shift of personal responsibility. Within the psychodynamic and CBT approaches, the therapist, albeit somewhat tacitly does seek to effect positive change and sees this as a professional responsibility and not one which the client is capable of undertaking on their own.To this end, it is the practitioner who assesses the need and determines the outcome(s). CBT is based on finding solutions to issues or problems identified by the counsellor. In turn, the Psychodynamic approach assumes long held conflict between the conscious and unconscious state and sees its role as ‘bringing the unconscious thoughts and feelings into conscious awareness to help individuals make sense of their current problems, of past memories, and of dreams (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 4). These somewhat presumptive approaches when coupled with a’ fix it’ mentality (particularly prevalent within the time to cost driven NHS/CBT approach) seem somewhat at odds to that of Person Centred Therapy which works in the immediate and holds true the belief that â⠂¬Ëœall clients have within themselves vast resources for development’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p. 16). Mearns and Cooper (2005, p. 60) provide a meaningful insight into a comparison of therapeutic approaches, ‘While inexperienced therapists tend to differ widely and are easily identifiable by their adopted approach, experienced therapists tend to become more close in their working and are not so easily identified by approach†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. it probably means that therapists are learning from their clients and are gradually being shaped by their clients to offer a relationship that is meaningful. I have so much to learn.

Is the Chinese Renminbi Undervalued Essay

Since July 2005, first time being revalued after 11 years of fixing at 8.27, Chinese Yuan has been heading towards only one direction – all the way from 8.27 to 6.27. Although Yuan is a highly regulated currency by government, Chinese officials could no longer peg the Yuan as it used to be in a closed economy because WTO had opened up doors for Chinese manufacturers in 2001 to export cheap goods and services to developed countries. With trillions of foreign capital flooding into the country, Yuan has appreciated over 30% over seven years. However, this one-way money flow cannot be sustained. Though it is not sure whether Yuan is at the absolute equilibrium, it is currently neither significantly undervalued nor overvalued. This essay is going to explain why Yuan is modestly priced with analysis in both the fundamentals and money flows. Needs for appreciation in past In theory, two open economies should have equivalent purchasing power – that is, if 10 units of foreign currency can buy something that is valued at 1 unit of domestic currency, the implied equilibrium exchange rate should also be 10(domestic as based money). Otherwise, there is an arbitrage opportunity. We call this Purchase Power Parity. In reality, despite some limitations about this theory, it explains most of the valuation problem in China. Take a look at China’s Balance of Payments over 2003-2010 and it is obvious to observe huge surplus annually in both current and capital & financial account, accumulating to a foreign reserve of $3.3 trillion. Reach equilibrium? At the government level, on one hand, it had to increase money base to maintain exchange rate against USD at a gradual appreciation pace. On the other hand, it needs to hold huge foreign assets, primarily in USD, to back up its currency from deprecation in the event of capital outflows. Amid the money inflow, Chinese central bank faced mounting pressure of inflation on local assets. The private sectors are impacted in two ways. Firstly, Chinese residents and companies feel much richer now because higher RMB increases their purchase power of foreign assets. This means more imports and capital account outflows. Secondly, inflation and appreciation means that Chinese products and services are more expensive. And this would lead to less exports. Pew Survey showed that 70% of Chinese people feel financially better off than five years ago, which among the best in the world. In the last a few years, the fact of continues Yuan appreciation, associated with stories about how China is cash rich and how Chinese investors are buying everything they can in the world, raises interesting discussion if Yuan had appreciated enough. There is also a trend that more goods are manufactured in new WTO members such as Nepal and Vietnam that have price advantage over China. Moreover, in the currency forward market, investors have priced in modest depreciation for Yuan in the next 12 months and spot market is no longer moving towards one direction. Data shows†¦ All those various observations reveal the same process that drives RMB exchange rate to an equilibrium level. Recent data also suggests that at current FX level, the rise in trade surplus and capital & finance account surplus slowed (see chart below). So does foreign reserve. What does it means? If we apply a popular formula: Capital out flow = Foreign Reserve – FDI – Trade surplus Numbers imply that 62.4 – 128.5 – 145.8 = 211.9 billions has flown out of China in the first three quarters of 2012. Although this estimation still lacks of actual evidence, the scale of growth slowing down in foreign reserve in 2012 is worth attention since it is so large that it is hard to be justified by seasonal adjustment or calculation period discrepancy. This might signal the start of reverse capital flows of Yuan, which means Yuan is no longer undervalued. Ultimately†¦ The answer to Yuan’s valuation problem is complex especially given that it is still mostly controlled by government and there are so many dynamic factors to consider. So far there are some money flows and data support the conclusion that Yuan is no longer significantly undervalued. In the long run, as expectation of Chinese government to allow a fully conversion Yuan is built on, maybe the real answer can only be found out by then.

Homelessness An Crippled Problem - 1090 Words

Jasmine Berry Professor Mary Rhet 101 12 June 2014 Homelessness: an Undermined Problem in Society In America we have a deliberate problem with just neglecting to deal with serious issues. Why is it that instead of finding a solution to solving homelessness in America, we keep constantly sweeping the problem out of the public’s eye? We act as if this dilemma that affects more than 3.5 million of Americans each year does not matter. This concept boggles my mind to the point of exhaustion, thinking about the way things should be in reality to what they are. Human compassion should be something that everyone has and feels for one another, considering that we all are human beings. However, this is not†¦show more content†¦We also have this stereotype that all homeless people we see on the streets are drug addict just looking for drugs. However, even though a slight portion of these people do fall into that stereotype, not everyone does. If we would just take the time to educate ourselves on the issues and occ urrences of homelessness and why these people have gotten this way, we could all gain the compassion and knowledge that we need in order to help solve this problem. It is really sad that only a slim portion of the population within our country are trying to step up, raise awareness, and put an end to this problem. Yet, as the rate of homelessness goes up it seems as the key to find the answering of homelessness is no where near in our future. A lack of affordable housing and the limited scale of housing assistance programs have contributed to the current housing crisis and to homelessness. It has also lead to high rent burdens (rent which absorbs a high proportion of income), overcrowding, and substandard housing. These phenomenons, in turn, have not only forced many people and families on the street, but they have put a large, growing number of people at risk of becoming homeless. Did you know that since 2000, the incomes of low-income households has declined as rents continue to r ise (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2005). Even though I understand that there is clearly a