Effects of five life factors Essay

Genetic factors such as cystic fibrosis for example, are life factors which can affect the development of an individual. It can affect an individual at any age and is caused by a faulty gene that is passed from the parents to the child. The faulty gene allows too much salt and not enough water into cells and makes a build up of thick, sticky mucus in the body’s tubes. This can cause blockages in the body’s tubes and passageways, and causes damage to lungs, the digestive system, and other organs. Case Study Lauren, who is 14 years old, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 3 months old. Her personal symptoms include coughing, wheezing and being unable to do things that she normally could do if she wasn’t ill. For example, if she was coughing a lot, then she couldn’t do any sports or dancing because it would make her more productive, which means bringing up lots of phlegm and it isn’t very nice. Sometimes it makes her sick in front of her friends, which can be embarrassing. This affects Lauren physically as she would suffer from malnutrition, which would cause her to be unhealthy as she isn’t getting the nutrition’s that she needs, and she would be tired with no energy which stops her from doing things she likes doing like sports and dancing. She would also have a low immune system which causes her to catch bugs easily so she has to be extra careful. It affects Lauren intellectually too because due to CF making her unwell, she would be constantly in and out of hospital so she would miss a lot of school, meaning that she would miss out on learning the things that the other children are learning. Lauren is also affected emotionally by cystic fibrosis because she may feel different to everybody else, which could lead to stronger feelings such as feeling isolated from everyone else, or depression and sadness. She can feel embarrassed at times too when other people see her when she is unwell as she can’t stop herself from being sick when she needs to be. Lastly, Lauren is affected socially as well because friendships would most likely be on a low and she wouldn’t be able to go out with her friends much because of cystic fibrosis making her unwell. She would also not be able to participate in some social groups/activities because of her condition, meaning that she misses out on things that other children don’t need to, and has her opportunities restricted. Biological factors such as foetal alcohol syndrome for example, are life factors which can affect the development of an individual. Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy can give birth to babies with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These disorders range from mild to severe. They can be behavioral, physical, related to learning, or all of the above. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a severe form of the condition. People with FAS may have problems with their vision, hearing, memory, attention span, and abilities to learn and communicate. While the defects vary from one person to another, the damage is often permanent. http://www.healthline.com/health/fetal-alcohol-syndrome#Overview1 Case Study In 1977, Matthew was the first British baby to be diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The damage to his brain in the womb means he suffers from learning difficulties, emotional problems like immaturity, and obsessive behaviour. Matthew looks like many other young men his age, although his head is small for his body, one of the many physical effects of FASD, which can also include heart, skeleton and facial abnormalities. â€Å"I can only cope with one thing at a time or it’s too overwhelming,† he says. â€Å"I can remember my family’s car number plates from the last 15 years, but not whether I locked my car door 30 seconds ago†. Just as difficult is Matthew’s social isolation. Those with FASD can’t interpret facial expressions or body language. In company, Matthew can be over-familiar with people he doesn’t know well. â€Å"I can’t relate to anyone,† he says. â€Å"When I’m on my own, I’m dying to be with other people. But when I’m with around other people, I wish I was on my own again†. Matthew was born weighing just under 6lbs. Damage to his nervous system meant he didn’t respond to stimuli or even cry for the first year of his life. â€Å"Every one of my milestones was late,† says Matthew. â€Å"I didn’t smile until I was a year old. I was three before I sat up and four before I walked.† It was in Matthew’s late teenage years that the gulf really started to open up. As his peers forged careers and relationships, his social and intellectual limitations became more obvious. Matthew’s progress has been remarkable. He is articulate and self-aware. But he also suffers from fragmented vision in one eye and  chronic short-sightedness. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/foetal-alcohol-syndrome-drink-destroyed-my-life-402017.html Environmental factors such as damp/overcrowded housing for example, are life factors that can affect the development of an individual. Dampness includes the presence of water damage, damp stains, visible mould and condensation. Reports from housing charity Shelter have found that more than one million children in England are living in â€Å"damp, cold, infested† housing. Moreover, more than one million houses in England are considered â€Å"unfit to live in†. A survey based on the 2001 census has also found that more than half a million families in the UK live in officially overcrowded housing. These statistics have major implications. A person’s physical environment affects their health and well-being. This is especially the case for young children, who can spend 90% of their time in the home. Studies Some studies and reviews from the UK and elsewhere have reported an association between dampness, moisture and mould and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among children of all ages. For example, one review found that children in homes with damp and/or mould are two and a half times more likely to have coughs or wheezes than children in â€Å"dry† homes. Another UK study found that visible mould was significantly associated with an increased risk of wheezing illness among children aged 9-11 years. A wider European study of older children also found prevalence of asthma and chronic cough was higher in damp homes. The association between moisture and cough or respiratory problems is particularly significant with regard to nocturnal symptoms and more significant still for children who have a predisposition to allergies. A Finnish study found a significant association between eczema in preschool children and visible moisture and mould in the home, and a relationship between these environmental conditions and nausea in older children. All age groups in this study were found to visit primary care more frequently than their counterparts in dryer houses. This effects children living in these damp homes physically as it can make them very unwell more than children living in dryer homes. These symptoms include coughing,  wheezing, nausea and even worse effects for children who already have allergies such as asthma. It would affect the children emotionally too as they would be most likely on a low if their allergies or illnesses aren’t getting better because of the house they are living in. This could lead to them feeling slightly depressed or sad, and even make them have a low self-esteem as they may think that there is something wrong with them. Also, it could affect these children socially as their allergy getting worse may prevent them from going out with friends and taking part in out-door activities. http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2007/11/21/the-environmental-impact-on-children-of-poor-housing/ Socio-economic factors such as employment status for example, are life factors that can affect the development of an individual. The amount of income and social status an individual has, is linked to better health. The greater the gap between the richest and the poorest people, the greater the differences in health is. People who have a higher income and social status are usually the ones who have better health because they can afford the best treatment in health services and can afford the best products. Also they would have a better self-concept and confidence. Education links to this as if you have good qualifications you are more likely to get a good employment status. Low education levels are linked with poor health, more stress and lower self-confidence. http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ Case Study Garry is 43 years old and works in a theatre as the cleaner. He has worked at the theatre for 4 years as he has been in and out of different cleaning jobs before. When Garry left school at 16 he only had 2 qualifications and he never bothered going to college. This meant that his opportunities career-wise were quite limited, so he went into cleaning to earn some money and never progressed to anything higher. Gary’s salary isn’t very much but he has to stretch his money to pay bills and look after his wife and 2 children. He has constantly been stressed with trying to sort his money out for many years, as he could have been more stable and happy if he was earning more money. Garry has a bad self-concept of himself and has no  confidence at all as he thinks that he should be a better husband and father, this is because he has a low employment status and doesn’t earn as much as other men do. Due to all the stress Garry has had throughout many years, he was diagnosed with heart disease and he and his family have been doing everything they can to make sure he is okay. Unfortunately, Garry could not afford any special treatment for his heart disease as he has never had a high-income, so his chance of being cured was quite low. This would most likely end badly, however a person who has a higher income than Garry can afford the special treatment and therefore has a better chance of surviving. Employment status effects Garry physically as his wage is low, meaning he can’t afford special health treatment to survive things such as heart disease when people with a higher income could survive. It effects him emotionally too because he hasn’t progressed any higher than a cleaner, so he doesn’t have a good self-concept of himself, making him have feelings of depression and he has no confidence at all. He is also affected socially as he may feel intimidated to socialise with other men who are earning much more than him and who are providing extremely well for their families, so he may feel isolated and lonely as he may feel like he can’t make friends. Lifestyle factors, such as obesity for an example, are life factors that can affect the development of an individual. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications, or psychiatric illness. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity Case Study A 52-year-old woman with obesity and a 9year history of type 2 diabetes presents with complaints of fatigue, difficulty losing weight, and no motivation. She denies polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, blurred vision, or  vaginal infections. She notes a marked decrease in her energy level, particularly in the afternoons. She is tearful and states that she was diagnosed with depression and prescribed an antidepressant that she chose not to take. She states that she has gained an enormous amount of weight since being placed on insulin 6 years ago. Her weight has continued to increase over the past 5 years, and she is presently at the highest weight she has ever been. She states that every time she tries to cut down on her eating she has symptoms of shakiness, diaphoresis, and increased hunger. She does not follow any specific diet and has been so fearful of hypoglycemia that she often eats extra snacks. Her health care practitioners have repeatedly advised weight loss and exercise to improve her health status. She complains that the pain in her knees and ankles makes it difficult to do any exercise. This affects her physically as she can suffer with many different diseases because of being obese, and could be as serious as causing death. It affects her emotionally too because she may have a very low self-esteem because obesity is defined the opposite of beautiful in today’s society. This could lead to further feelings such as depression as she may feel not good enough, and she cannot do as much physically as people who don’t have obesity which can lead to feelings such as frustration. Also, obesity can affect her socially as she may not feel confident enough to leave the house to socialise as people make fun of her, which makes it even harder to make new friends. Feelings of depression could lead to even further feelings of isolation, as she may not feel happy enough to go out and see friends, which will lead to her not leaving her home. http://journal.diabetes.org/clinicaldiabetes/V17n31999/Pg142.htm

One Page Play Script

One-Page Play Script (Carter and Jackson are on horseback looking for a water source) Carter This way! It will take us straight to the river my pops was talkin' about! Jackson Are you crazy you fool? That route will only get us more lost in the woods, and I'm afraid we might not make it out! Carter But I believe pops knew what he was talkin' 'bout. He's traveled around here many times before, he knows more than you do! JacksonI ain't sayin' I know more than pop does but I do have a gut feeling and it's telling me not to go that way. I trust my gut feeling and so should you! Carter But what if your wrong? What will we do then? Jackson I have an idea.. Why don't you go your own way and I go my own way? Carter But wouldn't that be more dangerous? Riding alone for days without end.. Jackson Well then come with me and we will both be safe.. Carter Fine! I will ride along with you, I just hope your gut feeling hasn't lied to you. The boys rode for 3 days and 2 days without stopping. They w ere worn out and thirsty. ) Carter Are we almost there? Jackson A few more miles and will find what we've been looking for all along. Carter But the sun's already down and this doesn't look like a safe place to be. Jackson Will you stop winning (A loud vicious sound was heard from a distance) Carter Did you hear that? Jackson Hear what? Carter That †¦ (The boys stare expressionless straight ahead, being careful not to make any sudden movements. )

Perspectives on Free-Speech Zones on College Campuses Essay

Naturally, many negative connotations come along with the term â€Å"free-speech zone. † The wording alone automatically insinuates that free speech should not be allowed everywhere, which is hardly the true intention of the idea. Sometimes the right of free speech is taken advantage of; such as in certain rallies and protests, where disruptive noise, violence, and destruction often occurs. Universities hold a responsibility to their students of providing a reasonably safe and undisruptive environment to learn and excel in. Universities are not creating â€Å"free-speech zones† to limit free speech, but rather to maintain a secure atmosphere that is conducive to concentration and higher learning. Universities should be able to maintain a certain level of safety on campus in whatever way they choose. â€Å"The University reserves the right to relocate or cancel the activity due to disruption from excessive noise levels, traffic entanglement, or if the safety of individuals is in question† (West Virginia University’s Student Handbook 91). They are not undermining the right of free speech that we as Americans legally hold, but are creating an appropriate means for demonstrators to voice their opinions without causing unnecessary disruption and chaos in inappropriate places on campus. An issue I do have with this idea of a â€Å"free-speech zone† is that there isn’t a clear definition of when or where these zones should be used. Who is to say whether or not the voicing of a certain opinion or idea requires the use of a â€Å"free-speech zone†? If what constitutes the use of a â€Å"free-speech zone† was better defined then the use of such â€Å"zones† could be more affective and appropriate. As stated by Robert J. Scott, protest zones have been used at many political conventions and other major events. â€Å"Protest zones can be reasonable restrictions that allow free-speech rights to be expressed while decreasing safety concerns and preventing undue disruption† (Scott 92). With the history of violence and destruction that is associated with protests, it is only natural that certain precautions be taken to prevent such problems. It is too vague to say the free expression of views or opinions may not â€Å"disrupt the normal function of the university,† as stated in the West Virginia University’s student handbook. Who decides what the â€Å"normal function† truly is, or when it is being â€Å"disrupted? † If a university decides to establish the use of â€Å"free-speech zones† then they should be able to provide a clear and concise description of when, and for what purpose, these â€Å"zones† should be used. One of a universities top priorities is to make their campus as safe and secure as possible, and if â€Å"free-speech zones† or â€Å"protest zones† are what they feel are necessary to maintain that security then they should be able to enforce them. The problem really comes down to whether or not these â€Å"zones† are used appropriately. If used extensively, and at levels that are unnecessary for the safety of students, then human rights issues could easily come into play. But if used in a smart way, such as for larger demonstrations of freedom of speech, like protests and rallies, then they could be helpful in preventing destruction and/or distraction on university campuses. â€Å"Requiring those expressing dissent to obey the law while doing so does not constitute repression† (Scott 92).

Accountant's case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accountant's - Case Study Example He was advised that it would be possible to have his existing machines upgraded so that they could perform more complicated programmes and decided to go ahead with this. In March Blake received a circular from Watt A. Racket plc, a company specialising in computer maintenance and upgrading of a variety of different computers including his Apropex X18s. This circular contained details of the cost of upgrading and at the bottom of the first page there was a picture of a small red hand together with the words "see last page" in feint black print. On the final page of this six page circular, in a central position, there was a box containing the following words:"The Company undertakes no responsibility of any kind for any loss damage, injury or depreciation in value arising (regardless of cause) during maintenance or upgrading operations. Customers are advised to take out independent insurance". Blake was impressed at the reasonable charges quoted and failed to notice this clause. He imme diately telephoned Racket plc and engaged their services to upgrade three computers. He was told that a confirmation of his order would be sent immediately. The confirmation, which Blake read, arrived the following day and stated that "All work is subject to conditions set out in the company's circular". When Racket plc came to collect the computers, one of them was dropped onto Blake's foot by a Racket employee. The second computer was destroyed by a fire at the warehouse, which was started inadvertently by another Racket employee, and the third computer was returned with an irreparable defect and cannot be used by Blake. According to general rules of contract law pertaining to offer, acceptance and consideration it can be said that if A makes a proposal to B it will be considered as an offer extended from A to B and if B says yes to the offer made by A then the offer will be considered as accepted. The offer will now be called as a Promise in contractual terms and 'A' will be called the 'promisor and 'B' who has accepted the offer/proposal will be called the 'promisee'. According to Atiyah,Essays on contract(1986) 'Consideration is the doctrine to establish which promises should be legally enforceable'. Also in 'Currie v. Misa(1875)L.R.10Ex.153,at p.162' Lush J. stated: A valuable consideration, in the sense of the law, may consist in some right, interest, profit, or benefit accruing to the one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss, or responsibility given, suffered, or undertaken by the other. Every promise and every set of promises, forming the consideration for each other, is an agreement; and afterwards it culminates in to contract. Consent given should always be free consent in terms of that it should not have been obtained through any fraud, by employing coercion, exerting undue influence or through misrepresentation of facts. These basic rules of offer, acceptance and invitation to treat etc are amply illustrated in the cases 'Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v. Boots Cash Chemicals Ltd.(1952)2 Q.B.795' and 'Felthouse v. Bindley(1862)6L.T.157' and also in 'Fisher v. Bell (1961) 1Q.B. 394' The acceptance must assent unequivocally and without qualification to the terms of the offer. The acceptance may also be qualified by reference to the preparation of a more formal contract or by reference to terms, which have still to be negotiated. In this case as it appears on the face of it that Blake on the sending of circular by Watt A that can be taken as invitation to treat offered them to buy computers from them, that the company accepted subject to some terms and conditions. So broadly construing the terms of the contract it seems that they bind Blake. Especially in view of Thompson v. London, Midland and Scottish Ry. Co. [1930] 1

Investment Decision Selection Hyundai Motors & Brazil Essay

Investment Decision Selection Hyundai Motors & Brazil - Essay Example In contrast, China, one of the fastest emerging economies in the world, tries to save its domestic industries from foreign competition by imposing operational restrictions to foreign businesses. However, today China is removing such operational regulations so as to attract more potential global investors. Balance of payments (BoP) is an accounting record that keeps all trade or monetary transactions between a nation and the rest of the world. Some economists opine that the concept of balance of payments would help to analyze the difference between a country’s total exports and total imports. It is considered that a country has positive balance if it maintains a surplus of exports over imports. According to the Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign trade, the country kept a positive balance in 2011 by maintaining exports of US$ 256 billion over its US$226 billion imports. Reports also indicate that this approximately 30 billion surplus achieved by the country is the highest since 2007 (EcoHouse). This positive balance of payments can be directly linked to international flow of goods, services, and capital. While analyzing the Brazilian offshoring sector, it seems that the country has a range of competitive advantages in the IT and software industries. He nce many foreign companies outsource their IT and software related projects to Brazil. In addition, the country has better human capital strengths. The Brazilian government provides industrialists with extensive subsidies for R&D activities because the government greatly enhances innovations. In short, it can be stated that the country’s domestic economic behavior is favorable for international trade, which in turn facilitates cross border flow of goods, services, and capital. As it is claimed, â€Å"international flow of goods and services and the international flow of capital constitute the sum total

Management - Southwest Airlines Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management - Southwest Airlines - Term Paper Example Southwest Airline is one of the most popular low cost American domestic airlines which was incorporated in Texas and commenced operation in 1971 with three Boeing 737 aircrafts serving 3 cities. Today it has nearly 400 Boeing 737 series of aircrafts and operates in more than 59 cities across America. In 2011, it completes 40 years of its existence. Its mission is to provide the customers with highest quality of personal services (company). It has been able to sustain its profitability through the turbulent phase of post 9/11 period and current recessive economy even though the rest of the important airlines like Pan Am, Eastern etc. were struggling to survive. Situation analysisAfter deregulation in 1978, the airline business had become highly competitive. It had used various mechanisms to enhance its operational efficiency. While its human resource strategy was its major organizational coup to maintain its customer centric image, its efficient use of air routes, cost effective strat egy in operation became critical to its success. As such main reasons that have contributed to its continued success are: human resource; customer service; and innovative cost effective strategy of operation. Schwenk (1997: 4) claims that ‘employee’s absolute commitment to a shared vision of change is seen by many leaders/ change agents as so important for their organization’s continued survival’. The organizational culture of the company is highly encouraging which believes in empowering its workforce. It also provides a facilitating environment of continuous learning and most importantly it encourages share in profits through stock ownership. After the 9/11 tragedy, the operations cost of SW Airlines as well as other airlines had considerably increased. The key reasons being: tighter security had required more rigorous screening; increase of overheads expenses vis-a-vis security screening, changes and reprogramming of its tracking of passenger informatio n details and management strategy etc; drastic reduction in the number of passengers due to terrorist threat. These were major challenges that required highly creative inputs to not only maintain trust of the customers but also the confidence level of the employees. In the tough times, Southwest airline maintained high degree of employees’ morale by not laying off any employee. Most importantly, the management initiative was able to inculcate tremendous confidence amongst its workers by ensuring that there was no cut back in the number of flights also. This was a hugely important factor which sent a positive feedback to the public and greatly boosted the confidence of employees. Addressing the problem Maintaining the confidence of the customer was major problem which was mainly met by its human resource policy and organizational culture. It was also a key element that led to the firm’s continues success. It retained its policy of non attrition and did not lay off any s taff. The company’s strategic plan was to improve customer service by increasing the number of customer service agents. This helped the passengers to get more personalized service. The empathetic attitude of staff, emotional

Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Reaction Paper - Essay Example Stiglitz emphasizes the problem of inequality and considers it to be the main aspect that prevents the economy of the United States from the recovery. The author is sure that it is inequality that does not allow American children to have equal opportunities and to develop. He argues that the parents of a great number of children will not be able to pay the loan they take to provide their child with education in all ones born days (Stiglitz). The author of the third article not only states that inequality inhibits the growth but also wants to reveal the reasons of inequality. According to the author, during last several years the demand for goods and services declined as only rich people were able to pay for them. He explains it by the fact that the development of technology made many people loose the job as the technologies replaced people at the workplace. This led to the high level of unemployment

Book review on Song of the Hummingbird Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Book review on Song of the Hummingbird - Essay Example s set about sixty years after the fateful intrusion of Tenochtitlà ¡n-Mexico by Cortes, which earmarks the inevitable fall of curtains on the life of Huitzitzilà ­n. At the time of narration, she is a guest at a Catholic monastery in Mexico City where she wants to make her final confession. A young priest by the name of Father Benito is sent to attend her in order to absolve her from her sins before dying. However, the flow of the story develops into a clash of titans, Huitzitzilà ­n and father Benito, where it can no longer be termed as a confession. In her wisdom, Huitzitzilà ­n knows very well that the recount of her story cannot go undocumented and therefore she creates a platform to tell her side of story. Her perspective of Mexico conquest is an eye witness version from a conquered person’s point of view. There are numerous humorous and captivating scenes in the book, such as the lengthy religious debate between the priest and the protagonist. In this debate, Huitzitzilà ­n talks of events like Montezuma, the women’s cleansing ceremony performed at Tonantzin’s Temple among many others. The author uses the fictional autobiography of Huitzitzilà ­n in these scenes and many others to disparage European exploitation of the Mexico people. On his part, the priest is able to listen to Huitzitzilà ­n confessions to the point where he cannot take in the details of the stories and runs in protest and ashamed. The author appears to be asking readers to imagine how Mexico would have been in the present day if its culture had not been destroyed. However, this novel does not revolve around destruction but rather it is about the survival of the indigenous people and their culture. Many novelists in US have been in the habit of using poetry and narrations to reconstruct the almost forgotten histories of the indigenous people. However, this novel is cleverly informed by intricately interweaving fiction and historical facts which converge at some point in time. As much as

My Father's Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Father's Life - Essay Example His mother felt the need for change and so to upgrade him from their not so good financial background, sent him off to a school in San Francisco, where he was to put up with an aunt while attending a public school since she could not afford him the luxury of studying in a private school. The Second World War broke out while my father was still in school, and like most of his friends and all young strong and loyal men of the day, he was drafted into the army to fight for the cause of the nation he believed in. There, he drove an ambulance though his preference was to fight in the front line. He could penetrate war fields and employ skills and extraordinary tactic in missions to rescue injured solders, and once, he almost got himself killed when the ambulance he was driving was bombed by an enemy tanker missile while on a rescue mission to save the life of some seriously injured colleagues. His friends said that his cleverly wit survived him through the war. Immediately after the war, my father returned to Connecticut and decided to settle there. He later met my mother, a shy strong girl from Jamaica, with a large doze of innocent and a tremendous appetite. My father always said that he fell for her because of that gigantic appetite. They got married in a local church and were blessed with two kids: my sister and I. We grew up fast and all took after their father's strength and an outgoing character. As a young couple, my parents loved bowling and so they spent most of their spare time together on the game. My father liked partying a lot, and I can recall once my mother referring to him as a 'party animal' after he came home drank after a night of partying and playing cards with his friends. He worked hard though, and he always had two jobs going, at a minimum, all the days of his youthful life. For example, I remember he took a job as a factory worker for eight hours ever day and then took a four hour break then reported for another job in an apartment store for another six hours. Despite the heavy responsibility of supporting his young wife and the kids, he managed well enough and placed us in good private schools and at the same time affording him self a good and exciting life. He loved baseball and at one point he trained a local club which never did too well anyway. My mom once told me that after my sixth birthday, dad thought that I was old enough to know the game and so he took me along for a trial on the league. Mum came along to watch her men play. She recalls that the ball came to me and as I struggled to concentrate on the ball so had that I missed and it hit me on the face, right between my eyes, I was so embarrassed. He was a good father and had time for the kids, taking them swimming twice every week and for ice cream every Sunday afternoon. They would take the 'wife' along once in a blue moon just to keep the whining away for lack of due attention from the hubby. Sometime in her late thirties, in his late forties, one of my father's friends offered him the chance to cruise on a cruiser leaving Florida to the island. My father's wish has always been to be able to support his family without having to rely on either loans or on borrowing from the family. And so he took the

UK gym market and health clubs Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

UK gym market and health clubs - Dissertation Example The current trend in this particular industry focuses on adding boiled food or packed nutritious product in one’s diet. Along with this, there is a clear relation between identified customer segments and their individual propensity to purchase additional products, such as supplements. High-income group members prefer to buy most healthy and expensive products, on the contrary, members of 40 plus age group focus on products which can make their bones strong. Youth that is health conscious concentrates on muscle building products and food supplements. In many of the previous researchers, customer segmentation is discussed with utmost importance but the majority of the researchers neglected to discuss food supplements.On the basis of the above discussion, it can be said that health is increasingly gaining importance in people’s perception. Moreover, it is good and toned body which is attracting people to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Here, health becomes the seco nd concern and slim and attractive body is a major priority for most of the gym-goers. Also, youth is blindly following this trend and even use some prohibited drugs for muscles building. However, gym and health club industry are increasing health awareness among the people and educating them about health issues. Thus the trend of going to the gym is proving healthy for the entire country as obesity has become a point of concern for the government. In addition to this, people themselves are becoming health conscious.... The changing trends of the market are focusing on improving the health of the nation by making them active. In addition to this the current trend is focusing on improving children’s fitness because child obesity is increasing at alarming rate (Barnett 2011). According to Beale (2011) maintain fitness of the children can prove a very crucial part in health industry as they can learn to maintain good health from very young age. Along with this, they can contribute their part in improving nation’s health. Also, making children healthy makes a complete generation healthy. Current trends in health clubs in London with regard to services offered include triathlon participation, innovation in exercise classes, and dynamic use of exercise equipments, injury and sports medicine facilities. Triathlon based activities include cycling, running and swimming which are now offered in the health clubs. Thus, sports activities are also a new trend in London’s health clubs (BBC Ne ws 2006). According to Llyod (2011) the most important service provided in the gyms and health clubs is exercise. Hence constant innovation in these exercises is required. It includes celebrity endorsed exercise classes and Adidas zone cycling which is a fun and energising workout. In order to promptly uses the exercise equipment, health clubs and gyms are nowadays are dynamically using them. For example, tennis-specific programmes, power plate and bikini workout. Another service trend of health clubs are services of sports medicine professionals and injury specialists. With the help of thee professionals, gym goers can improve their running techniques and recover their injuries. Along with this, they get nutritional advice which aid

A Comparison and Contrast between the Theme of Revenge in The Visit Essay

A Comparison and Contrast between the Theme of Revenge in The Visit and Death and the Maiden - Essay Example The story goes on to show how the people of this village are gearing up to present a great pomp and show of a welcome for Claire Zachanassian - a lady who had left the village for more prosperous shores years ago; a lady the villagers hardly remember. Claire was now believed to be returning to make a million pound donation to a village hungry for any kind of monetary gain. What the villagers do not know is that the person behind their state is Claire herself, who had actually left the village upon being betrayed and left with a ruined reputation by her lover, Ill. Claire then went onto marrying and widowing exceptionally well before she used her multimillions to ruin the village. Among an eerily commanding disposition, a misshapen entourage and several artificial body parts among other eccentricities in her general demeanour, Claire was remembered for a long time afterwards by the villagers for a chilling offer. Upon reaching her old home town, Claire the multimillionaire, agreed to part with a small fraction of her fortune at the condition that someone should first murder Ill, now a happily married shopkeeper. Revenge 2 The story then goes onto explore the shades of the vehement refusal to this offer by the mayor and the villagers alike, as well as the elements revolving around the fact that they are, at the end of the day, a very desperate lot, who begin to consider the proposition before them that can very well better their lives. This creates an air of 'will they, won't they', as a highlight in the plotline as it progresses from that point onwards. It makes for a fascinating portrayal of the internal struggle of the people of Guellen as they live their desperate lives and consider what it would take to improve their condition as Durrenmatt proceeds to demonstrate the changing emotions of Ill's family, friends and acquaintances with surprising insight and in frightening detail. This brings us to the next piece of work - Death and the Maiden, by Ariel Dorfman. More on the lines of a thriller, this story is one full of dramatic shades and a very strong moral element. The central character, Paulina Escobar is the wife of a prominent lawyer in an unnamed third World country. Paulina lives with Gerardo (her husband) in a desolate coastal setting. At the very onset, readers note Paulina's agitation concerning a news bulletin about the presidential appointment of a human rights commission charged with investigating abuses by the previous regime. According to the report, her lawyer husband has been appointed committee chair. The remainder of the story concerns victim, physician, and husband of that oppressive period who through strange circumstances are brought together during the night. The turn of events leading to this is such. One day a storm forces her husband to ride home with a neighbour - only to kick up an inner storm of sorts. That chance encounter brings up demons from her past, as Paulina is convinced that the neighbour Revenge 3 (Dr. Miranda) was part of the old fascist regime that tortured and raped her, while she had been mercilessly blindfolded. The story essentially centers on Paulina Escobar, who had been a political prisoner during the oppressive period, only to be tortured by her captors. After gaining her trust by treating her kindly and playing a tape of Schubert's Death and the Maiden, Dr. Miranda, a physician cruelly participated in the abusive treatment of his powerless

Critical Mission of Homeland Security Essay Example for Free

Critical Mission of Homeland Security Essay The Department of Homeland Security was created after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Department was formed by merging many exiting resources and adding to the best practices already in place. The Strategic Objectives of the Department are stated by the Department as â€Å"We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the Nation. We will secure our national borders while welcoming lawful immigrants, visitors, and trade. â€Å" (Homeland Security). Critical Mission of Homeland Security The critical missions of Department of Homeland Security are to prevent, protect, respond and recover. Through utilization of all available technology and resources the primary mission is to prevent an aggressive act. If they are unable to prevent the incident the department will shift focus to protection. Protect as many citizens as possible from any imminent incident. If the incident could not be prevented the Homeland Security officials will respond to whatever the results are of the incident. This response could be in the way of coordinating with other agencies to provide the care and safety needed by the population in the affected area. The final mission is to recover from the incident. Although each mission is defined as a single mission in practice they are often interlinked in execution. While protecting citizens from an incident the agency at the same time may be proactively responding to the results of the incident. The recovery mission is over lapped in many areas by the response mission. Four Foundations of Homeland Security The National Strategy for Homeland Security has defined four foundations of homeland security. These foundations are; law, science and technology, information sharing and systems, and international cooperation. Each of these play a key part in providing for our national security. Identification and enforcement of the law. We have to know exactly what we are enforcing. Use of science and technology in each of the four critical mission areas. Information sharing was something various government agencies were not very effective at prior to 9/11. Since then Homeland Security has been working on removing many of the communication silos that were prevalent in the past. By open communication with several agencies overall effectiveness is improved. International cooperation is the final of the four foundations that has to be built upon. With terrorist moving from nation to nation and planning many of the attacks from foreign soil we have to work with all nations. International borders have to be permeable in today’s war on terror. Virginia Office of Commonwealth Preparedness The Commonwealth of Virginia has their own Department of Homeland Security. In Virginia it is called The Office of Commonwealth Preparedness. This office mirror many of the processes and objectives of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Office of Commonwealth Preparedness works to make sure that all of the residents and businesses of the Commonwealth are safe, secure and prepared. Criminal Law and Civil Law Criminal Law and Civil Law are very different types of proceedings. Civil Law is usually a case between tow individuals or business entities. Criminal Law is a case between a person and a government. Civil Law In Civil Law a person is involved in litigation with another person or business. These are usually divorce cases, law suits due to injury at a place of business, or bankruptcy cases. Civil law never involves incarceration of either party because of the civil proceedings. There are some Civil cases that may become criminal cases. Stalking a spouse you are involved in a civil divorce proceeding with will lead to criminal charges being filed against the stalker. Civil law will never result in the incarceration of the guilty party. Fines in a Civil Law case are often paid to the other party in the proceeding. Criminal Law In Criminal Law there is a crime committed against society, or that endangers society by the action. Murder is a Criminal Law case. Although there may be only one victim the perpetrator of the criminal act may do so again. Therefore, society must be protected from this person. Driving while intoxicated is also a criminal law case. Even though no member of society may have been harmed by the act of driving under the influence. There was a danger posed to society by the act of driving under the influence. Criminal law cases may result in incarceration or probation of the guilty party. Fines judged in a Criminal Law case are paid to the governing body prosecuting the case. Incarceration for Misdemeanor Crimes The main difference in the two types of crimes misdemeanor and felony is the amount of possible incarceration if convicted. A felony is a more serious crime and if convicted the accused could be sentenced to incarceration for a term greater than one year or death. Misdemeanor crimes are less serious offences and if convicted will result in incarceration of less than a year if at all. I do not think those convicted of a misdemeanor should be incarcerated unless the person demonstrated no willingness to be rehabilitated through other means. Running a red light is a misdemeanor. Incarcerating this person for a period of time will serve no purpose in rehabilitation. The only outcome in this incarceration would be increase cost to the taxpayer of the community and increased crowding of jails. This accused will probably learn their lesson by paying a fine and undergoing a traffic safety class. The penalty of the crime will drive a lesson home to the accused. The taking a class will increase the general safety of the public. The current volume of cases on our court systems and the high cost of incarceration forces us to take a more lenient approach for misdemeanor crimes. Many in society would rather a person creating a danger to the public be off the streets rather than someone convicted of running a traffic light or petty theft. The penalty should be designed to make restitution and lead to rehabilitation of the accused. When we balance the crime with the penalty then we can have a better society. Bibliography Homeland Security. (2008). Department of Homeland Security. One Team, One Mission, Securing our Homeland. Retrieved 20 March 2009, from, http://www. dhs. gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_StratPlan_FINAL_spread. pdf

The Pakistani Stock Market and its Analysis

The Pakistani Stock Market and its Analysis In this report we will be giving an overview of the Pakistani Stock Market with specific emphasis on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The history of the Stock Market will be provided, along with an analysis on the major spikes in the market and the reasons for these spikes. The major sectors contributing to the Stock Exchange Market are also highlighted in this report. Moreover, the Stock Markets role in the growth of the economy along with market indicators will also be discussed. The Last objective that we will be covering in our report would be to identify the factors which affect the performance of the Stock Market. The time frame that this report will cover will be between January 2001 and December 2009. Overview The Pakistan stock market has three major listings: Regular Days Timings: Pre- market sessions from 09:15am to 09:30am and normal trading sessions from 09:30am to 03:30pm. The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) The Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) The Islamabad Stock Exchange. (ISE) The ISE was incorporated as a guarantee limited Company on 25th October, 1989 and became fully operational on August 10, 1992. In 1997 ISE it introduced an automated trading system (ISECTS) and later changed it to ULTRA TRADING system in 2002. Presently ISEs turnover has reached 1 million shares per day and has 118 members.  [1]   Another stock exchange in the Pakistan stock market is the LSE, which is the first automated stock exchange of Pakistan, is also the second largest stock exchange of Pakistan. It was established in October 1970 and currently has 519 listed companies from 37 sectors of the economy. The total market capitalization is approximately Rs 2746.325 billion.  [2]   The last stock exchange in Pakistan is the KSE, which is the largest stock exchange in Pakistan and was established on September 18 1947 and was incorporated on March 10, 1949 in order to maintain the interaction between the lenders of capital such as savers and investors and borrowers of capital such as government and companies. As individuals had excess amount of cash and were looking at options to gain more money and while companies were seeking for investors who would invest in there firm to increase capital. Karachi Stock exchange provided them with a platform to allow the business to take place between them with benefits being enjoyed by both the parties. The stock exchange started with 5 companies with a paid-up capital of 37 million. Trading use to took place through the open out cry system on pits on the trading floors. The first index introduced by Karachi Stock Exchange was the KSE 50 index. In 1991 foreign investors were given the opportunity of operating in the secondary capital market and also due to the privatization policy in Pakistan the development of the Karachi Stock Exchange accelerated. The KSE 50 index was removed as it was not truly representing the stock markets performance as a result in 1991 the capital weighted KSE 100 index was launched. It started trading through the computerized trading system Karachi Automated Trading System (KATS) since 1997. In 2005 online trading was also introduced making it more easy to use for investors. Membership of KSE is fixed and limited to 200 members, which can include individual, corporate and foreign entities. Prospective members have to buy membership from existing members and the price is negotiable between the buyers and sellers  [3]  . The most dominant sectors in the Pakistani market are the Oil and Gas exploration and distribution companies such as OGDC, POL, PPL, and PSO. Fertilizer manufacturing firms are also important companies in the market. These would include ENGRO and FFCG. Moreover, other sectors which make up a major chunk of the stock market are telecommunications (PTCL), power generation (HUBCO) and commercial banking sector (NBP, Standard Chartered and MCB)  [4]  . KSE has a total listing of 650 companies as of 2010, with a total market capitalization of Rs 2,890 billion at the end of March 2010. At the moment the stock exchange trades on 4 indices of which two are world known indices which are KSE 100, KSE All Share Index and the other two are KMI 30 and KSE 30. KSE, being the leading stock exchange in Pakistan trades ordinary shares, preference shares, redeemable certificates and term-finance certificates such as corporate bonds, and since 2003, futures trading in some active stocks also started. KSE also wants to have wide based investor participation. This would help in dealing with them more easily and would increase the efficiency of the stock exchange. It wants to become a Hub for capital funds this would be done by increasing the float of existing trade companies. It also wants to introduce cross-border listing of companies and the trading of indices would also take place through cross-border listing. Market Indicators: There are three indicators that show how well the economy is doing presently or is going to do in the future. Investors use these indicators to make their investment decisions. These three indicators are: Leading Indicators: These indicate future events and the Stock Market is a part of this. They are assumptions into the future. The Stock Market is a leading indicator because the stock market usually begins to fall before the economy starts to fall, and the Stock Market becomes better before the economy comes out of a recession. These indicators are very important for investors because they predict what the economy is going to be like in the future and thus influence investment decisions. However they are only short term predictors of the economy. Lagging Indicators: This indicator is one that follows an event. The most important lagging indicator is unemployment. It has the ability to see if a pattern is occurring or about to occur. If the unemployment rate is increasing steadily, then this indicates that the economy is doing poorly. Coincident Indicators: This indicator occurs at approximately the same time as the conditions they denote. They change at the same time as the economy or the stock market. Personal income is a coincident indicator; high personal incomes indicate a strong economy. GDP is also a coincident indicator. Affects of KSE on the economy: One of the main goals of KSE is to reflect Pakistans economic health by providing an efficient, fair and transparent Securities Market. Therefore KSE plays a leading role in the growth and development of Pakistan. The GDP and the components which contribute to calculating the GDP show that when they are of positive value, the GDP will be good. These components will only be positive when the people are consuming and/or saving, when there are investment opportunities etc. all this reflects the KSEs functionality. If KSE is functioning in a good condition, stock trading is been done in numbers, then consumption and investment in Pakistan is increasing. Thus, we can say that it is the KSE that enhances and pushes up the activities of Pakistans economy. It is through KSE that many major companies have succeeded in traveling the long journey to success. Through this Market (KSE) businesses issue stock to raise money in order to finance expansions and also, when there is a need of additional capital in order to operate successfully. The common term for such financing is Equity Financing. How does this all affect the economy then? It is through these stock issues by businesses and companies that give investors an opportunity to invest in a moderate risk instrument. When companies will issue stock in order to expand its operation and investors will buy stock; it will automatically give a boom to the economy through creating employment opportunities in a country through which production and consumption in the economy increases. The unemployment rate for Pakistan, which is steadily declining. One factor contributing to this decline is the Stock Exchange.  [5]   The money which could have been lying idle in the saving accounts or in idle deposits with the bank is now being invested to promote business activity. It is also benefiting several economic factors such as commerce, industry and agriculture. People who used to save money because of lack of investment opportunity now are investing that money in stock markets. KSE being the highest tax payer in Pakistan contributes a large sum of money in the economy where the listed companies also contribute 10 percent of total revenue collected by the Government. Even the KSE brokers contribute about 50 percent of their profits by paying taxes on them. Lastly the investors who also pay 10 percent of their dividends as taxes. All this money goes to the government who further invests it in the economy. KSE also provides opportunities for investments to the small investors. Those investors, who either love to be an owner of the company or stay home or earn profits, get benefited by investing in Stocks. Any one whether big or small stock investor can invest in KSE. In short KSE provides the small investors to own stock of the same firms as large investors. In terms of share prices and their demand and supply all stock markets are fluctuating markets. Share prices tend to rise or remain stable when the economy is either growing or is stable. And when an economy is going through hard times like depression, recession or financial crisis the stock market tends to crash down. Through fluctuation of KSE stock prices we can say that the market plays a vital role in the growth and downfall of Pakistans economy. With the emergence of KSE, it has attracted many foreign investors who have been investing large amounts of money in Pakistans stock markets and especially Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). This has given a boom to the economy in the early days when foreign investment was started in Pakistan. Beside the factors mentioned above there are other factors that affects the KSE and eventually the economy. A very small number of the population of Pakistan is actual participant of KSE. Trading is done by a few major investors who are the market makers. They tend to manipulate the market for their own good more then actually making it for others. This creates volatility in the market causing it to crash down at times. Other related factor is the small number of investors who invest usually by following the price trend which is decided by the market forces i.e. the supply and demand. The demand and supply eventually reflects the trading of stocks which reflects the economy of Pakistan. Recent events and incidents concerning internal security situation and political uncertainty have hurt the trading of stocks and KSE. Indirectly the economy also suffered because of this. As Pakistan is largely dependant on global economies, it suffers when countries like US and EU are going through recession phase. Stock market loses its trading activity which was being done by foreign countries. When theres less foreign investment, KSE Index tends to fall. If this goes on for long then the economy gets affected negatively. Lately many investors have shown interest in Mutual funds which is why it has become an important player in Karachi Stock Exchange. Though its true that mutual funds are the least risky investment, but when the market crashes down due to some reason, the ones who invested in mutual funds face losses. This is because when some variables like recession, political or economic situation of the country, war, inflation etc. affect the market, they also affect the entire range of stocks. The type which is traded in stock market is closed-end Mutual Funds, price of which is determined by the demand and supply of the shares. This is the reason why the investors suffer losses when market crashes down. Analysis: In 2001, the KSE index had grown to 1770 points after its introduction with a base of 1000 points in 1991.  [6]  On September 11, 2001 when two planes crashed into the world trade center in New York, there was a slight effect on the Pakistani market, even though it was not very pronounced the stock market still remained closed for 3 days and opened with the introduction of new circuit breakers to check volatility. The index fell from 1255.99 points to 1208.3 points, and continued falling for a few days as an aftermath of the event. In October 2001, KSE reported a 33% increase in its index for the month owing to a resolve in the Crescent Investment bank overexposure and also positive financial indicators for Pakistan such as a debt write off and a reduction in interest rates. The market again fell from May 18 to 20, 2002 when there was a tension in the Pakistan-India border, resulting in a loss of 252 points in the index. Moreover the short comings of the COT system which promoted overtrading by investors as well as sudden withdrawal of funds from COT financiers contributed to the sudden loss in the index. In 2002, KSE experienced phenomenal growth in the market (an increase of 92%) because of the effective macro economic policies that the government implemented. KSE got the title of The best performing market amongst the leading stock markets of the world as Pakistan and Srilanka were the only two countries in Asia to not report a loss in that year. The bullish economy was present because of a number of reasons which include an increase in interest of foreign investors in the market. The start of 2003 however was bearish because of the Iraq crisis which bought uncertainty in the market. Moreover high leverage and over bought positions in the carry over market by speculators increased uncertainty. Because of speculation, those who had bought the stocks through borrowings, started panic selling them to make a large profit and which resulted in a sharp fall in the KSE index. However when the uncertainty of the Iraq war crisis reduced, the market recovered significantly along with anticipations of favorable future relations with India. Moreover, the announcement of the budget and the successful visit of the Pakistani president to the USA boosted investors confidence, and 2003 ended with the KSE all time high index of 3402 points. The 2003 boom continued till the mid of 2004 and resulted in an index of 5620.7 on 16th April 2004. Moreover a record turnover of a billion shares was also seen on this day. During the year KSE continued to perform well and has succeeded in doing so because of various reasons such as the continuation of sound macro economic policies by the government. By 2005, due to a period of robust growth the index had skyrocketed to 9,989 points. After hitting a peak at an approx of 10303 points, in March 2005, we see the Karachi 100 index of the Karachi stock exchange falling back into instability till the end of May 2005 (30/may/2005 @ 6707.56 which was the 2005 market crash). On 8th October 2005, Northern parts of Pakistan were hit by an earthquake which devastated the country and led to the stock market declining sharply. However some sectors actually increased trading such as cement, food, and banking sectors because investors believed in a positive future outlook. We analyzed that there were two kinds of responses that investors give out whenever the economy of Pakistan hits a political or law and order crisis either there is a marked indifference or there is a marked difference. According to Bloombergs researchers, the KSE is affected positively when the investors, both local and foreign take an action when they believe that the country holds promise. The index takes a negative turn when investors pull out from the market, or when there is more supply and less demand, as the economy or one major player as a whole takes a downturn. In 2006, rising gold prices made the investors transfer their money from stock to gold which was just one of the factors why the KSE reached from 12000 points only to sink to 9600 points. Foreign buying interest had been very active on the KSE in 2006 and continued in 2007. The KSE underwent through a fall in 2008 mostly because of the global financial crisis and partly due to the domestic situation in the country. The index plunged in 31 December 2008 to 5685.01 from the record of 15,676.34 on April 18, 2008. The once thriving KSE-100 index of over 15676 points now went at a record low around 9,187 on 21 November 2008 where the KSE put a floor price for stocks to keep it from plunging down. The index froze to 9187.1 points till 14 December 2008. After resuming trading however the index only managed to further slope down from 15 December 2008 onwards. It only stopped going down after it hit a new low at 4815.34 points on 27 January 2009 and from then gradually started to recover throughout the entire 2009. As said, the fall of stock market fall of 2008 contributed to a few things. First the domestic troubles caused by regime change lack of political stability in Pakistan, convinced a lot of people that Pakistan was not much of a land of opportunity. Then with the global crisis, Pakistan too was affected. The credit default swap rose causing Standard Poors and Moodys to lower its ratings to a negative for Pakistan and putting altogether more pressure on the Pakistani Currency. And with foreign reserves falling by more than 60 percent, investors both local and foreign thus started to believe that the country which was under so much debt will soon if not immediately will start to default. The countrys CPI too spiked high, and though the State Bank of Pakistan tried its best to enforce a tighter monetary policy, it still failed. Eventually all these factors caused increasing inflation and current account deficit. High inflation and high interest rates for the major players meant cutting down cost, most companies then suspended their growth plans till the economy stabilized. But this also meant unemployment. For investors, spending cost increased and saving and investment cost decreased. Foreign investors seemed alarmed and took Pakistans weak economy not very attractive.  [7]   Factors Affecting KSE: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) is affected by number of factors directly or indirectly. Some of the major factors are: Interest Rates Inflation Monetary policy Foreign Direct Investments Law and order Interest Rates The cost of borrowing money, and they have a huge impact on KSE especially short-term interest rate; the Stock Exchange is basically a place where an individual can invest his/her money to gain profit by taking a risk. On the other hand depositing in bank also has its advantages, such as getting a fixed return on the money that is deposited through the interest rates, and has its negatives such as low interest rates. An investor wants a high interest rate on his deposits for the money that he deposited initially as compared to a low return through a low interest rate. Thus when the interest rates decrease, investors find investing in stock exchange more attractive than keeping their money as deposits in bank and earning very a very low return on the amount they deposited. However when interest rates increase; potential investors would find depositing their money in banks more beneficial, and not invest in the KSE, thus creating fluctuations in the market equilibrium constantly. Moreo ver, to find out the value of future dividends, investors must discount them and find out their present value and what they are worth at this point in time. A high interest rate would make the future dividend values less valuable in todays Rupees; and would decrease the value of the stock. Inflation Rate Inflation is one of the biggest threats to the economy, and is increasing steadily in Pakistan, being 9% in 2005, 7.9% in 2006 and reaching as high as 25% in 2008 after the increase in global petrol prices. When inflation occurs individuals are more concerned with spending rather than saving, and thus would not use the money to invest in KSE. Net earnings of the company determine the price on the stock market. When it is speculated that the company will have high earnings then the stock prices of the company would increase. When it is estimated that the company is not going to perform up to par, then its stock prices fall. The prices of the stocks are directly proportional to the earnings of the company. Thus an increase in inflation will cause the revenue of the country to fall, and thus affect the stock prices negatively. A decrease in inflation would cause the opposite shift. Monetary policy: The monetary policy of a country is used to achieve the objectives of the government by adjusting the amount of money being circulated in the economy through OMOs, the discount rate, or through the reserve requirement. Unanticipated changes in the monetary policy increases the risk premium on stocks for a certain period. This either increases the riskiness of stocks; it reduces the willingness of investors to hold risky stocks, or both. When the monetary policy is tightened (the money supply is reduced in the economy) it causes investors to see stocks as being more risky and thus they demand a greater return on their investment for investing in the stock market, and eventually it drives down stock prices. A tight monetary policy reduces the financial buffers of an investor and increases the exposure of investors to future shocks in the market. The affect of monetary policy only affects the stock market to a certain extent. Foreign Direct Investments Stock market liberalization is when the countrys government decides to allow foreigners to purchase stocks on that countrys stock exchange. In Pakistan, the stock market was liberalized in February 1991, which attracted foreign investors, and foreign direct investment and indirect investment started which had a positive impact on the stock market as well as the Pakistani economy. When more investors entered, the risk premium on stocks fell, and because of the increase in the demand competition of the stock market, stock prices rose. As the foreign currency inflows increased, there was an increase in supply which caused the Pakistani rupee to appreciate. This increased the prices of the shares and improved the foreign exchange reserves. Stock liberalization reduces the cost of equity capital of the country because it divides the risk between domestic and foreign investors. There is no restriction on foreign ownership of stocks except in life insurance companies. The net portfolio inve stment starting July 2009 stood at $431.93 million in Pakistan. Moreover, the amount of overseas investment in the local stock market increased to 9% in 2009. Law and order and Natural disasters: Karachi Stock Exchange is affected to a level by the law and order situation in the country, and the affect depends upon the severity of the crises. Investors invest in KSE thus a huge factor of risk is present, when you see the current situation of Pakistan, especially Karachi, where there is huge chaos when we talk about Law and order. Bomb blasts in Pakistan have a very minimal amount or no amount of affect on KSE due to the reason that this is now a routine of Karachi and Pakistan. If we see last 5 bomb blasts, it does not have any affect on KSE.  [8]  However as we can see Natural disasters do have a huge affect on KSE. According to the report regarding the earthquake in 200 the trading was bearish. This is because companys were investing more on revamping the earthquake victims rather than growing, many employees of various companies had family members, or their own homes affected and destroyed in this disaster; thus shortage of labor reduces the production of company. If the production of company is slow then it becomes dull for investor to buy shares of that company, and thus the trading on the stock market declined. Moreover, the import of earthquake relief items such as tents and plastic sheets caused an increase in the trade deficit of Pakistan. All these factors made investors less willing to invest i n the stock market. Appendix Table 1: Table 2: Table 3: Date of the bomb blast KSE 100 Index Before On the day After 28th December 2009 9,422.23 Closed (due to various holidays) 9,507.95 5th February 2010 9,769.73 Closed (due to public holiday) 9,809.98 30th April 2010 10,454.63 10,428.12 10,389.46 10th June 2010 9,678.38 9,379.78 9,471.12 7th October 2010 10,029.36 10,191.68 10,260.48 Table 4: Table 5: Table 6: Table 7: Table 8:

Statements of individual rights

Statements of individual rights Statements of individual rights Individual rights play an important role in every nation as they ensure that persons are not discriminated against in all aspect of their lives. It is important for individuals to have an adequate understanding of their rights as way of ensuring they are treated fairly and with honesty. Protection of individual rights requires formulation and adoption of statements or policies which cover all entities surrounding an individual. These statements are usually encompassed within the constitution of the nation hence as result of different nations having different constitutions the statements vary. Culture, religion and social factors may also affect statements of individual rights adopted by a nation thereby making critical analysis of such factors essential prior to adoption of individual rights statements. However, for the Tagg Island it is important to compare and contrast the existing statements of individual rights which govern different nations. This is mainly as result of some statements not being applicable to the Island since it comprises of a small population which is primarily involved in farming and fishing activities which are considered simple in comparison those taking place in large nations. There are several laws comprising statements of individuals rights which might be useful to the Island and these are inclusive of, but not limited to Code of Hammurabi ca 1760 B.C.E., Magna Carta 1215, English Bill of Rights 1689, U.S. Bill of Rights 1789 and the Declaration of Human Rights. U.S. Bill of rights focuses mainly on the relationship between the arms of government and the citizens of the nations. It encompasses statements which prohibit Congress from creating laws which affect adversely the right of individuals to join religious groups thus providing people with freedom of worship. Congress is forbidden from making laws which infringe the rights of the people in any way as individual rights are treated with much respect (Brant, 1965). U.S. Bill of rights protects the citizens from activities of the federal government which might lead to people being deprived of their lives, properties and liberty without any good reason. In accordance with its statements individuals who are suspected of any wrong doing should be taken to court thus provided with a chance to defend themselves-before a final judgment is laid upon them. The Bill empowers the court and through the constitution the court is assured of independence from the federal government thereby ensuring that decisions made by the court are fair as it eliminates favoritism and nepotism. Unlike U.S. Bill of rights which covers issues related to government and citizen relationship thus national level, the Code of Hammurabi ca 1760 covers a lower level in which the elders act as the head of the society. It entails guidelines which ensure that the rights of people are protected thus not discriminated by others who might be having more power and authority. It uses traditional methods in solving issues which arise in the society thereby bringing peace and harmony in the society. In accordance with this law if any person accuses another of any crime solving the matter involves using the river which serves as court (Johns, 2000). The accused is required to leap into the river and if he sinks the accuser takes possession of all his property while on the other hand if the reverse occurs the accused take possession of the property of the accuser while the accuser is put to death for wrong accusation. Apart from the river acting as the court, in some cases elders may perform th e same function in solving criminal issues affecting the community in which death is the punishment for capital offenses. In ensuring that individual rights are fully protected the statements emphasizes death as way of ensuring that individuals are not wrongfully accused of any crime. Magna Carta encompasses laws which govern monarchy systems of governance unlike the U.S. Bill of rights which covers federal government and congress functions with respect to the citizens. It required Kings and Queens to proclaim rights pertaining to individual freedom, respect legal procedures and in addition to that accept that their wills are bound by the law (Holt, 1992). Magna Carta protected the rights of all individuals irrespective of their status or rank and in addition to that allowed individuals to appeal against unlawful imprisonment. Unlike the Code of Hammurabi which does not cover a persons freedom of worship, Magna Carta ensures that individuals right of worship is respected and in addition, it guarantees the freedom of the church in conducting its activities within the designated boundaries (Holt, 1992). Similar to the US Bill of rights, Magna Carta ensures that right to due process is guaranteed to each person who is accused of taking part in criminal activities (Ho lt, 1992). An individual accused of any crime has to go through the judicial process which provides them with an opportunity to defend themselves against the criminal activity which they are accused of. Unlike the Code of Hammurabi which uses traditional methods of making decisions regarding the accused thus susceptible to mistakes being made regarding the case, Magna Carta entails use of the court system which is comprised of law professionals. In using professionals who understand the law comprehensively and have adequate experience reduces the chance of mistakes being made in the decision made regarding the crime at hand. In recognition of the need for freedom, peace and justice in the world, United Nations formulated several laws whose role was to eliminate oppression and discrimination in the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set forth by the United Nations seeks to ensure that individual rights are respected by all entities. In accordance with this declaration all individuals are entitled to their rights and freedom irrespective of their race, gender, religion and social background (United Nation, 1948). Similar to the US Bill of rights and Magna Carta, it encompasses statements which emphasize freedom of individuals. Governments and other corporate organizations are required to be aware of individual rights thus ensure that their operations and activities do not infringe on the rights of individuals. Unlike the Code of Hammurabi, the human rights declaration is against use of torture and other cruel inhuman methods as way of inflicting punishment to individuals who have committed o r are suspected to have committed the offense (United Nation, 1948). Furthermore, the Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that all individuals accused of crime have the right to defend themselves in court thus should be presumed innocent until proven guilty by court of law (United Nation, 1948). This statement is similar to that encompassed in the US Bill of rights as the courts are given the responsibility of deciding on the matter. The declaration also encompasses statements which ensure that individuals are not discriminated against at their place work as well as during the process of securing employment thereby ensuring provision of equal chances of employment (United Nation, 1948). Contrary to majority of laws, it entails statements which protect individuals from being deprived of their nationality or being denied their right to change their nationality. In accordance with the United Nations statements of individual rights every person is entitled to having a nationality thus belonging to a particularly nation (United Nation, 1948). In additio n to that people can work in any country under the united Nation insignia thus giving people with a wide variety of option when searching for a job. This statement is unique as it is only encompassed in the Declaration of Human rights and not in other laws which may include U.S. Bill of rights, Code of Hammurabi and Magna Carta. Unlike laws such as US Bill of rights which are restricted to national boundaries, the declaration is universal thus covering a wider region. Recommendations The following is a list of some of the individual rights which might be useful to the Island nation; 1. No one should be deprived of their property as every person has the right to own property. 2. All individuals are entitled to equal pay for same amount of work done. 3. No one shall be subjected to torture or any inhuman methods of punishment. 4. All individuals are entitled to a fair and public hearing conducted by the elders or any independent tribunal in determination of any criminal activity charge against him. 5. Everyone has the right to freedom of worship and of having a peaceful assembly. 6. Everyone is entitled to rest and leisure with reasonable working hours and holidays with pay. References Brant, I. (1965). The bill of rights: its origin and meaning. Retrieved September 5, 2009 from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=34605556 Holt, J.C. (1992). Magna Carta. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Johns, C.W. (2000). The oldest code of laws in the world. City: Lawbook Exchange Ltd. United Nations, (1948). The universal declaration of human rights. Retrieved September 5, 2009 from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/#atop

Importance of History in George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

The Importance of History in 1984 Â   Time is an amazing element of the universe we are in. It is a driving force - we cannot speed it up or slow it down, it perpetually marches forward at a constant speed. After a moment in time has past, it becomes the past, and we have absolutely no way of going back to it to experience it again in a new way. Once time has past, all that remains is our perception of it. History is nothing more than our collective perceptions of the past. And perception is not like time - it is not constant, it can be altered. In George Orwell's 1984, the leaders of the Party use written records to alter the peoples' perception of history, ultimately as a means of control. Â   Everyone has different perceptions of the same reality. Everything that we experience is altered by our individual perceptions. There is one reality, but each person experiences slightly different versions of that reality. The source or reason for this is the individual experiences of each person. Everything we experience in our lives piles up to form our past. Our memory brings back experiences from this heap of the past. These memories combine with the reality we are experiencing in the present to form our individual perception of reality. Â   Everything is perceived differently by each person, and different perceptions of reality vary greatly. An potato is a completely different thing to a farmer and a chef. The idea of music is completely different to a musician and a deaf person. Hitler was a completely different person to a Nazi and a Jew. Even though there is really only one real idea of a potato, one definition of music, and one Hitler, many different realities of these exist within people's perception. Â   History is convoluted by perception. There are two ways of looking at history: through our own memories and perception, and through that of others. It is impossible to preserve history in its ideal form. If we look at history through our own memories, we will not see the reality of history, we will see our individual version of the reality. The same thing happens when we look at history through the memories and perception of others. Media is sometimes used to preserve history, but even this is only a perceived version of history.

The Breakfast Club :: essays research papers

The Breakfast Club Five teenagers who don't' know each other spend a Saturday in detention at the suburban school library. At first they squirm, fret and pick on each other. Then after sampling some marijuana, a real encounter session gets underway. The stresses and strains of adolescence have turned their inner lives into a minefield of disappointment, anger and despair. The catalyst of the group is Bender (Judd Nelson), a rebellious working-class punk who seethes with rage and attacks his peers with sarcasm. A cigar burn on his arm is a sign of the abuse he receives at home. Andrew (Emilio Estevez) is a Varsity letterman in wrestling. He's spent most of his youth trying to measure up to his father's machismo image of him. This entails winning in athletic competition and preying upon weaker peers. He and Bender clash. Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) is an unhappy honors student who wishes he could be accepted as a person and not valued just as a brain. Upset over a poor grade in shop, Brian has contemplated suicide rather than live with the ire of his disappointed parents. Allison (Ally Sheedy) is the eccentric of the group. "My home life is unsatisfactory," she confides. Living in her own fantasy world, Allison can't really tell the difference between the truth and the lies she fabricates. These teenagers don't like or respect their parents very much. One asks: "My God, are we gonna be like our parents?" Another in the group replies: "When you grow up, your heart dies." But the storm clouds over their lives are really the result of rigid high school caste systems. Despite an inappropriate music-video sequence and a phony up-tempo finale, The Breakfast Club offers a breakthrough portrait of the pain and misunderstanding which result from the social hierarchy created by youth themselves. The lookers and the jocks are popular and can do whatever they want — except relate to those outside their social circle of winners.

Nostradamus: The Truth Behind the Prophecies Essay -- Prophecy Prophet

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For Many years scholars and interpreters have been trying to find any truth that could possibly be found in the writings of Nostradamus. For many occasions people have been convinced that this man could see the future and he documented it in his many journals and books titled The Centuries. The writings and prophecies have been a controversial issue for many years. Most Nostradomus translators have more than likely misinterpreted his work because of his nearly illegible style of writings, thus false information is commonly found about this man of the past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus, a French Jew converted to Christian who lived in France in the 16th century. Born Michel de Nostredame on December 14th 1503 in St. Remy, France. He was the oldest of five children. His grandfather, Jean, taught him Latin, Greek, Hebrew, mathematics and astrology at an early age. Nostradamus received a medical degree in 1529 and became a physician. â€Å"Nostradamus made his reputation as a doctor of extraordinary skill gave generously to the poor.† (Sobel B)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus was in his late when he frequently went into a meditative state and reported to have visions of the future. He began to document his visions in a number of journals in a mixture of Latin, French, and Greek quatrains, publishing his famous â€Å"Centuries† in 1558. Nostradamus had married twice, losing his first wife and children to the plague. Living in France from 1503-1566 AD, making a living as a wealthy French astrologer and physician, Nostradamus led an almost perfect life for his time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Frechman also predicted his own death which occurred on July 2, 1566. I t was the end of his foretelling the future on this planet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De retour d`ambassade, don de roy mis au lieu,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plus n1en fera: sera alle a Dieu   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parans plus proches, amis, freres du sang,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trouve tout mort pres du lict et du banc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When translated:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On his return from the embassy, having secured the kings gift,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He will be no more, (his spirit) having returned to God,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nearby will be his close family, his friends and his brothers,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He will be found dead near the bed and the bench.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus returned to his home late in the day returning from a visit of the king for which he was presented with three hundred gold crowns. After being worn out from the carriage ride home he decided t... ... predictions are fake many do believe that he could accurately predict the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lets just think for a second, What could I predict for the future that will ensure my prediction to come true? The first thing that I would do is predict something to happen with fire. Come on how many events in the past, present, and future result in a fire? I would also predict it to happen in a large city like our ever so brilliant Nostradamus. Answer this, how many things have happened in the city as result to fire. Eventually it would come true and Nostradamus was no dummy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is it wrong to assume that Nostradamus could in fact predict the future? From the information gathered it is easy to come to the conclusion that the writings of Nostradamus can no more tell the future than a child’s nursery rhyme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A prediction that can only be interpreted after the events it supposedly foresees have occurred is not a â€Å"predition† at all. Anyone could spew out a thousand vague â€Å"prophecies† and not have to explain what they meant until after the events they supposedly predicted had occurred. With this it is possible for anyone to manage a pretty impressive record for accuracy too.

Walking Dead Syndrome

THE WALKING DEAD SYNDROME English 150 Instructor: S. Jone November 7, 2011 The Walking Dead Syndrome Introduction The Walking Dead syndrome is considered a rare disease. I believe everyone in this existence has a purpose on this vast place we call earth. However, there are people diagnosed with a syndrome who believe they have no soul or convinced themselves they are dead. The â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome† is also commonly known as â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. In this paper, I will refer this syndrome as â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome†. Cotard’s syndrome is linked with other mental illnesses which could explain a person’s state of mind of feeling non-existent in society. I will further discuss eight aspects of this syndrome: defining the Walking Dead Syndrome, defining mental illness, description of several mental illnesses associated with this syndrome, classifications of Cotard’s syndrome, analysis of patients, diagnosis of syndrome, and types of treatments available for patients. Defining Walking Dead Syndrome or Cotard’s Syndrome Many people I discussed this topic with never heard of the â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome†. The Walking Dead Syndrome was first created by French neurologist, Jules Cotard, hence, named the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. He was a French neurologist who first described this psychiatric condition. First reference to the syndrome was made in the year 1880, when Jules Cotard gave a lecture in Paris. In this lecture, he described various degrees of the syndrome, while he said that a person who resorts to despair and self-hatred begins in the early stages of this disorder. With deterioration, the person might go to the extent of denying the very existence of himself or herself. There are detached from the sense of existence of self (â€Å"Cotard Syndrome† 2010). Patients portray themselves similar to the concept of â€Å"zombies†. Hollywood has portrayed horror and science fiction based movies on â€Å"zombies† or the â€Å"walking dead†. In the movies, zombies are typically mean and fond of human flesh, they groan and cannot talk, have incredible strength, and display rotting flesh. A zombie is physically identical to a normal human being, but completely lacks conscious experience. If we suddenly lost our minds, or consciousness our bodies might continue to run on for a while, our hearts might continue to beat, we might breathe while asleep and digest food. But without the contribution made by minds, behavior could not show characteristically human features. In the Urban Dictionary, 1999-2011, a zombie is defined â€Å"as deceased human being who has partially returned to life due to undeterminable causes. The brain retains base facilities, namely gross motor function. In its near-mindless state, it grasps no remains of emotion, personality, or sensation of pain. In rare cases, some of the reanimated have reflexively preformed routine activities from their past lives†. The people diagnosed with Walking Dead Syndrome have similar portrayals including not having internal organs and smelling of rotting flesh. A hypothetical analogy can be explained when most of us have woken up after a really good night out. Our first drive in the morning was motivated by a desire for food and coffee. If we as a society experience a chemical or radiological contamination, we might be experiencing the hangover from hell. Our higher thought would be destroyed, the neural system would be degraded, and leave just the body running on its primary functions. Defining Mental Illness Since the beginning of man, I think there has been mental illness, and chemical imbalance generates a huge part, and some people just do not have the ability to use parts of their brain for reason and logic. According to to Sorrentino, Wilk, and Newmaster (2009), a mental illness can be: â€Å"caused by a combination of genetic, biological, personality, and environmental factors, is a disturbance in a person’s ability to cope with or adjust to stress; the person’s thinking, mood, and behaviours are affected, and functioning is impaired †¦mental illnesses affect people of all ages, culture, and educational and income levels. The onset of most mental illnesses occurs during adolescence and young adulthood† (p. 641). Most mental illnesses are brought on by the stresses of life, money, property, and consumption. Having a mental illness varies from person to person and if you cannot go about your day as you normally would due to a condition then it is a mental illness. An example would be having an â€Å"anxiety disorder†, and if you cannot leave your house anymore due to petrifying fear, then there is clearly a problem. Unless of course you cannot recognize that you are having problems and you are posing a threat to yourself or others, then you can be forcibly placed under the guidance of a psychologist. Mental illness can be contributed to either biological, psychological, and environmental factors. The biological factors can be attributed to genetics or â€Å"mental disorders tend to run in families, suggesting a hereditary factor†¦the number of close relatives a person has who suffer from depression or other mood disorders is the best predictor of the likelihood that the individual will develop a mood disorder† (Boyd, Johnson, Bee, 2009, p. 385). In addition, psychological aspects can be contributed to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, and the environmental causes can be defined as a person living in poverty or substance abuse. Mental Illnesses Associated with Cotard’s Syndrome People diagnosed with the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome† have been treated for a mental illness or combination of bi-polar, delusions, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder, to name a few. The major mental illnesses are painful, pervasive, disruptive and usually disabling. Firstly, a â€Å"bi-polar disorder† is defined as â€Å"a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 651). Whereas, â€Å"delusions† are the â€Å"false beliefs that are firmly held† (Purse, 2011). An example is a person who has grandeur delusions or has paranoid tendencies. In the grandiose subtype, the person is convinced that he has some great talent or has made some important discovery, they have an inflated sense of self-worth. In addition, their delusions center on their own importance, such as believing that they have done or created something of extreme value or think they have a â€Å"special mission†. There is reference to another type of delusion known as â€Å"nihilistic delusions†. This type of delusion describes a person â€Å"focused on the individual’s body, including loss of body parts, being dead, or not existing at all† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). Furthermore, Cotard syndrome created a new type of depression which â€Å"is described as anxious melancholia, ideas of damnation or rejection, insensitivity to pain, delusions or nonexistence concerning one’s own body, and delusions of immorality† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). This type of delusion is a major attribute of Cotard’s syndrome. Thirdly, â€Å"schizophrenia† which â€Å"is an extremely complex mental health disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disturbances in thinking, and withdrawal from social activity† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 55). News and entertainment media tend to link mental illnesses including schizophrenia to criminal violence. Most people with schizophrenia, however, are not violent toward others but are withdrawn and prefer to be left alone. Lastly, â€Å"schizoaffective disorder† is described as a â€Å"person having symptoms of both schizophrenic and bipolar disord er† (Purse, 2006). Some disorders will cause parts of the brain to stop performing their normal functions. These can leave people out of control and disoriented (not knowing what they themselves are doing). Classifications of Cotard’s Syndrome In its early stages, Cotard’s syndrome is characterized by vague feeling of anxiety with a varying time span from weeks to years. This anxious state gradually augments and can result in nihilistic delusions where denial of life or denial of body parts are the prominent features. The patient loses sense of reality. Despite the delusion of being dead, these patients show an increased tendency to automutilation (self harm) or suicidal behaviour. (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). A case studying involving 100 patients, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, (2009) reveal three types of Cotard’s syndrome. The first is a form of â€Å"psychotic depression† in which anxiety, melanchonlia, delusions of guilt, and auditory hallucinations are the more prominent features. The second class is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type I†, which is associated with hypochondriac and nihilistic delusions. The third type is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type II†, which includes anxiety, depression, delusions of immortality, nihilistic delusions and suicidal behaviour are characteristic features†. However, in Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011, a case study conducted in 1999, identified three stages of Cotard’s syndrome. The first stage, germination stage, is characterized by important hypochondriac cenesthopathy and depressive mood. A diagnosis of Cotard’s syndrome cannot be made in this stage yet. In the blooming stage, the characteristic features of Cotard’s syndrome (nihilistic delusions, delusions of immorality together with anxiety and negativism) are seen. The last stage, the chronic stage is differentiated in two forms: one with persistent emotional disturbances (depressive type) and the second where depressive symptoms are less prominent (paranoid type) (as cited by Yamman, 1999). The two classifications described above have assisted in diagnosing of Cotard’s syndrome. The similar features displayed are nihilistic delusions, depressive mood, and anxiety. Analysis This syndrome does not affect a specific category of people. A study of 100 patients, revealed that â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome was diagnosed in 2 of 349 patients†¦taking into account only severely depressed older adult patients. In addition, the average of age of person studied was 52 years of age, however, the study also suggested that Cotard’s was occasionally described in children and adolescents (Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009). Furthermore, according to Wani et al. , (2008), â€Å"this syndrome is typically related to depression and is mostly found in middle-aged or older people. In the analysis the following results were displayed: â€Å"depressive mood (89%), nihilistic delusions (69%), anxiety (65%), delusions of guilt (63%), delusions of immortality (55%), hypochondriac delusions (58%)† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Diagnosis The diagnosis reveals a psychological and neurological aspect of Cotard’s syndrome. The â€Å"depersonalization phenomenon† as described in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009, is referred to using German erminology leib (body for me) and korper (body as such), korper becomes more prominent than leib and the body less associated with the self (leib), depersonalization onset can then occur. However, in depersonalization, the patient feels as if he or she is dead (in difference of affect), whereas in Cotard’s syndro me, the patient is convinced that he or she is dead (lack of feeling). Cotard’s syndrome is often associated with parietal lobe lesions. Compared with controls, patients with Cotard’s syndrome have more brain atrophy in general and more median frontal lobe atrophy in particular. Cotard’s syndrome may be associated with multifocal brain atrophy and medial frontal lobe disease. Neurological assessments were performed and findings resulted in patients affected by â€Å"parietal brain dysfunction† and structural brain abnormalities. Recent discoveries have indicated that Cotard’s syndrome was associated with multifocal brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement. The interhemispheric fissure enlargement means â€Å"parietal lobe lesions† (Joseph and O'Leary, 2011) or bending in the frontal and occipital regions and this abnormality also been observed in schizophrenic patients. Others have described and enlargement of the third and lateral ventricles. In one patient, the patient was diagnosed with a schizophrenia disorder and a left sided hypoperfusion in the temporal, parietal and frontal lobes. The medical term of hypoperfusion is defined as a â€Å"decreased blood flow through an organ† (Meriam-Webster, 2011). In addition, the patient experienced improvements of the inferior frontal and left hypoperfusion and there was evidence of decreased hyperprofusion of the left temporal lobe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (cited in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009). Treatments There are several methods utilized to treat mental health struggles. A patient can seek professional assistance by psychology or psychiatry therapy and/or the utilization of medication. If you lived in the 16th century with any undefined mental disorder, you were considered as â€Å"possessed by the Devil† and cast away to some godforsaken monastery dungeon in which monks would constantly pray for and exorcise you. The Catholic Church they used a methodical guidebook to describe all behavioral aspects and associations of witchcraft, satanism, etc. nd utilized this upon people who were suffered with mental or behavioral maladies, and it was not commonly understood in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. In the medieval ages, they were burned because they thought demons haunted the mentally ill. In later years, we willfully experimented on them, cutting into their bodies and brains to â€Å"fix them†, this was called, trepanation. The â€Å"evidence of trepan ation has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times onward. Cave paintings indicate that people believed the practice would cure epileptic seizures, migraines, and mental disorders† (Wikipedia, 2011). It is really disgusting and is the major reason that even today it is to some a badge of humiliation instead of just an illness. Complete recovery may occur spontaneously and suddenly as onset of Cotard’s syndrome. There are several reports of successful pharmacological treatment of Cotard’s syndrome. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is considered an important treatment option in Cotard’s syndrome. It is noted, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009, that young patients use of mood stabilizers should be considered because Cotard’s syndrome in this population is often part of a bipolar disorder. Successful treatment with ECT and the patient with underlying major depressive disorder resulted in recovery of left and right temporal hypoprofussion and normalization of profusion in the frontal cortex was reported after treatment with antidepressants (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Please be aware that people who have true mental illnesses do suffer. They want more than anything to be able to feel and function like other people and they will actively seek help. The reality is that certain medications and treatments help those who are suffering from these conditions. Conclusion Mental illness is not a modern invention. The mentally ill have been recognized in one form or another by every culture we have a record of. How they were perceived and what their value is what has largely changed. Some people do not retreat into their minds as much as they are supposed to, while others spend all their time there. What we eat and breathe and drink affects our health and our brain, and a healthy individual's brain tends to have more to work with and develop all the right chemicals and nerve sheaths. A good parent with their strong sense of empathy realizes that their child is a thinking, growing human being and will always need that light touch that points them in the â€Å"right direction† and prevent them from getting â€Å"lost†. The right nature and nurturing are essential for a healthy development. Some cases of these disorders I believe could be a simple lack of the ingredients to solve this chemical imbalance. Given that our brain is constantly changing accordingly with the times, a chronic chemical imbalance quickly becomes more than just that, as the brain has grown and changed around this shortcoming. The kind of understanding you wish people had for those with mental disorders would be a universal understanding for all if people would look into themselves and observe their own thoughts and behaviors. We are our best test subjects since we have full access to all the â€Å"data†, and by observing ourselves totally (mentally, developmentally, chemically) we can apply our understanding to others and learn from the experience. People need to care about how people's minds work in general, understanding â€Å"you guys† would come with the turf, and communication with our angry neighbors would be much more effective since we'd all see where everyone is coming from. Philosophers have long contemplated human happiness, and how to live a â€Å"good† life, in harmony with our own nature. The problem is that humans do not really know what makes them happy, and what they think will, or will not, and instead they find contempt and superficial pleasures they believe will satisfy them. As a result, some people will not live a good and peaceful life that satisfies the majority of people. The fact is not everyone needs medication, but there are those who do. Some need it temporarily, some for a lifetime. Some simply need therapy, and some benefit from dietary changes. I believe understanding is the highest ideal we should seek to attain. Understanding and being honest with ourselves about ourselves and applying our own understanding to others may help us see that we are not as different as we'd like to believe. I believe that sense of commonality with all human beings can generate empathy, compassion and ultimately peace in all of us. It is when we categorize each other, ourselves, and place value on those categories then we breed hatred, ignorance and fear. References Boyd, D. , Johnson, Paul, Bee, Helen (2009). Lifespan Development. (4th Canadian Edition). Toronto: Pearsons Canada Inc. Cotard Syndrome. (2010). Disorders Central. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://www. disorderscentral. com/cotard-syndrome. html Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. Peremans, K. , ; Audenaert, K. , (2011). Mind and Brain The Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://content. yudu. com/Library/A1t5r8/MindampBraintheJourn/resources/73. htm Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. , Van den Eynde, F. , ; Audenaert, K. (2009). Cotard’s Syndrome: A Review. Current Psychiatry Reports. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from University of Calgary On-line Resources: http://www. springerlink. com. ezproxy. lib. ucal gary. ca/content/f43j790n7161432m/ Hypoperfusion. (2011). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/medical/hypoperfusion Joseph AB, and O'Leary DH. (2011). Brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement in Cotard's syndrome. PubMed. gov. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/3759917 Purse, Marcia. (2011). Delusions. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. com/od/definingbipolardisorder/g/gl_delusions. htm Purse, Marcia. (2006). Schizoaffective Disorder. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. om/od/glossary/g/gl_schizoaffect. htm Sorrentino, Sheila A. , Wilk, Mary J. , and Newsmaster, Rosemary (2009). Mosby’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker. (2nd Canadian Edition). Toronto: Elsevier Canada Urban Dictionary. (1999-2011). Zombie. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. urbandictionary. com/define. php? term=zombie Wani, A. Z, Abdul, W. Khan, Aijaz, A. Babe, Hayat, A. Khan, Qurat-ul, A. Wani, and Taploo, Rayneesa (2008). Cotard's syndrome and delayed diagnosis in Kashmir, India. International Journal of Mental Health Systems.