Argumentative Essay on Bilingual Education Essay

Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages. Bilingual Education is being taught school subjects in two different languages. The United States is home to millions of immigrants each with their own native backgrounds. The United States require the immigrants to learn the full English languages when settling into the country. The schools should give the opportunity to bilingual students, or new student immigrants the advantage to learn the English language or to be taught in two different languages. This would give the students the advantage in learning two different languages that will help them in the future. They should be able to learn their own native language and speak it in private but also in public, however, they should also be taught the English language whether when entering the country, school, or private tutoring. Bilingual Education should not be forced by the government; it should be their own free chose. As the immigrants become more fluent in the English language they will have a better chance getting jobs, communication, and helping their own children learn the English language. The United States should not focus only on English Only Movement they should offer the opportunity of Bilingual Education for its citizens, but also keeping English as one of the main languages in the country. First, the United States needs not to focus on making English the only language but work more on helping the new immigrants learn the English language. The United States needs to do more to prevent the problem of immigrants in the United States having trouble getting jobs or keeping up in the classroom because they are not fluent in English. If the immigrants were taught the full English language coming into the country it will help the children in the classroom learn easier by keeping up with the teacher and also give the parents the advantage to communicate with their childrens teachers. The immigrants have a chose to choose to learn the English language freely they can still speak their own native language in wherever they want, but should be able to know the English language if they live in the United States. The United States needs to help improve the problems that the immigrants will encounter as they live in the United States and give the new immigrants an equal chance. The United States is a country mixed with different native backgrounds and ethnicties; it is always undergoing assimilation of some sort. It is like a â€Å"salad bowl† where not everyone assimilates together but is mixed together. American has a common language and that is English, but American should also not force English only on immigrants or citizens, however, they should teach the new immigrants the English language and still allow them their own native languages. The United States should not single out the immigrants by now allowing them to speak their native language in public and only speak the English language. Another reason for Bilingualism in the United States is Bilingual Education. Bilingual Education is the learning of school subjects in two languages, the â€Å"use† and â€Å"knowing† of two different languages. The United States should have certain schools throughout the country that offer bilingual classes. The students should have the chose to learn another language or to be taught English while in the mean time they still are able to learn in the native language until the learn the full English language. As the students learn another language they become knowledgeable in the writing, reading, speaking and comprehension of that language. Students in the fourth grade who are Spanish speaking natives have learned the English languages are studied on their knowledge of the two languages. The gathered stories from their families in Spanish and were to rewrite the story in English. The study shows that by having children become bilingual in two languages gave them better opportunities in life and broaden their skills in the classroom and in the social and cultural world. This study supports the argument on bilingual education for immigrants and also shows the advantages one will have by becoming bilingual. As they learn the English language, besides their own native language it can help them in many ways. As the students learn English in the classrooms they are not told to forget their own native languages. When students who speak a native language and have not learned the English language enter a classroom full of English speaking students will become intimidated and afraid. The English language is a public language used throughout the country in all different areas. As the students who do not know the English language are forced into a classroom of English only are more than likely going to fall behind the other students from not understanding completely what is being taught and said by the teacher and their own classmates. Students should have the opportunity to be in a classroom where they are taught the English language but also learning the subjects that are being taught in school. They should have the advantage to learn the subjects in two different languages so that they will have a better understanding of the subjects. After a year or two at least the students should be ready to be placed in a normal English only classroom and be able to do well. It must be a transition for the students as they are prepared for the transfer into a standard English classroom. Many student immigrants have made the transition for their own native language to the English language and become better assimilated with the country. Although most student immigrants parents are fluent in their native language most approve of their children being taught another language and becoming bilingual. The parents have a role in their childrens learning another language, however it can be crucial on their childrens development of another language as they communicate with their children in that native language in the privacy of their home. In a study most immigrant parents support bilingual education for their children and few oppose it. They believe that their children being bilingual will give them many advantages, as helping the children in the classroom or leading their children to a high career opportunity. The children are able to speak their native language at their home, but as they speak English at home they are helping their parents also learn the language. When the children know the English language it helps them be able to communicate easier with the rest of the country. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism is not something that can affect the United States in a harmful way. The United States is a free country allowing all immigrants from all diversities come into this country. America should require the new immigrants to learn the full English language so that they are able to communicate with the rest of the country and able to get jobs. Schools should give the immigrant students who are not fluent in English the opportunity to learn English and school subjects in their native languages in a separate classroom, until they are fluent enough to keep up with the teacher and the material they are taught in a standard English classroom. If America allows Bilingualism and Bilingual Education then it will give the immigrants a chance at learning English to live in the country comfortably, go to school in English classrooms and work in English jobs. They are still allowed to speak their own native languages in the public and in the privacy of their own home. Bilingualism should not be forced on anyone. It should be a transitional act to help them transform more into the United States.

How does Shakespeare make Act 1, Scene 1 exciting and dramatic?

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most memorable plays. The play is based on star-crossed lovers with tragedy, violence, love and arguments. The story of Romeo and Juliet is about two lovers that can't be together because their families are enemies, but nothing can't stop them and at the end both of them due in a dramatic way. The main themes are romance, tragedy and conflict. The play is relevant for us because those kinds of things still happen, young people kill them self because of love and in some families, the girls can't be able to pick her own husbands, the females have to do the house work and the males are supposed to bring money home. The play was set in the 14th century. Shakespeare had to face loads of challenges to make the play interesting, also he had to keep on improving, to not get the audience throw the food on stage, if they have done that, then this meant that the play is boring. Theatre in Shakespeare era was a place where rich people could go to rest, and have fun, whereas the poor people would be able to earn money, by selling beer, snacks, or collecting the lost money. Theatre nowadays is a place that must be cultural; you are not allowed to throw food on stage, if you do so you have to leave. In Shakespeare era there weren't any spot lights or CD players which form you could be able to play music, or add sound effect, so Shakespeare had to make scene dramatic and exciting by costumes, voices, words and body language. The servants are the first characters on the stage. They grab the audience's attention because servants are not very important, they are on a bottom shelf in your life, and they are also known as not educated people. Thought that all the best things should only happened to them, but over a time everything has changed. Some people would like seeing servant because they are normally low status, so called groundlings. The rich people might felt weird when they saw someone poor on the stage, because how can someone lower classes than them perform, also they never could expect that. The opening scene begins with just two characters on the stage and soon there where more than ten, fighting fiercely. Shakespeare decision to include a fight at the beginning was clever because he made the play exciting and dangerous; most of the people enjoyed it, because when the beginning is great the rest must be much better. `Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them which is disgrace to them, if they bare it` this shows that Sampson is planning everything out carefully, and knows what going to make them fight. Sampson and Gregory are very good friends, and it shows that they trust each other, but Sampson is more clever than him, because he is the one that plans everything out. Tybalt and Benvolio have very contrasting characters. Tybalt seems to be angry while Benvolio is calm. ‘Part, fools! ‘ this shows that Benvolio is trying to stop the fight; this also tells as that Benvolio is a peace maker and that he has manners and he is higher status. The explanation mark show's that he is shouting and trying get attention from the fighters. On the other hand, Tybalt says `As I hate hell, all Montagues and thee`. This quote suggests he is angry and want to continue the trouble, so called fight. The audience might enjoy seeing him on stage. He also shows that he like to be everywhere, where trouble begins, he also must be the start of it, or join in, somebody else's trouble. Shakespeare then changes the mood of opening scene from a serious fight to comical rows between husbands and wives. When Lady Capulet says `A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword? ` it may make the audience giggle or laugh because a women is shouting, at her husband and making him feel old and unusable. The scene could be also dramatic, Lord Capulet could go up and hit the women, and show her no respect. The scene is also exciting because in this scene woman is showing no respect to man, which normally is the other way round. This shows the audience that not only men can be in control, and they are the one that should wear pants, which mean to be in control. The males in the audience would have felt ashamed because the other main male character, is not able to join the fight, because of his wife, she didn't let him. Women however would felt joyful because a woman is keeping a man on a short string. As the scene continues, the fight escalates and Shakespeare introduces Prince Escalus to try and stop the violence. The Prince represents a figure of a strong person, which everybody should be scared of. Prince Escalus represent is responsible for everything that happens; he is like a boss or leader to everyone. He is protecting, and making sure everyone is safe when he is around. Shakespeare needs this character to be able to change the mood of the play. In the Elizabethan era everyone enjoyed the fight in the play, because it was difficult to see them on the street. Fights were improving everyone's humor, so Shakespeare had needed a character to stop the fight, and make the audience react differently. The audience could be very angry about stopping something that they had enjoyed. The upper classes may be happy because the violence has stopped, and is not giving anyone such a bad example. The groundling will be upset, because they are not used to see fight with upper class people. The prince speech used language to create a change of mood, `Purple foundations issuing my veins. In this quotation the Prince had used a metaphor, he is trying to compare our veins to foundations, because the blood would never stop going around our body. He is trying to tell everyone that, the anger should stay inside of us, like the blood in veins; Prince is also trying to say that the fight is unneeded. This gives us impression that the Prince is treating everyone equal, he never keeps anyone's side. This language contributes to making Act 1, Scene 1 a dramatic and effective opening, because Prince is changing the mood, he also shows everyone his opinion about fighting. The introduction of Romeo to the opening scene is interesting because we get to learn more about his character before he even appears on stage. From Benvolio and Lord Montague we learn that Romeo is fed up, sad and unhappy. This can make the audience feel curious or annoyed because the main character, start form being very negative about life, while he is rich and can get anything he want. Romeo's conversation with his cousin reveals a lot about his character and grabs the audience's attention. ` Why the, O brawling love, O loving hate` Romeo is talking about love difficulty, why does it have to be so painful. Romeo had used oxymoron's, `loving hate` those two words are opposite of each other, by using language like that he shows the audience that he is very confused about his life. The audience alternatively might think that Romeo is too young to know anything about love problems, and that he is not able to show his emotions. Normally 15 years old boy should have a positive character, and minds full of having fun. Shakespeare adds more elements of drama to the first scene, when Benvolio tells Romeo that he should have another look for good-looking girls. By giving liberty into thine eyes, examine other beauties. ` This could be exacting because Romeo could have an argument with him, about what love really is, and it not about only being beauty. Benvolio had sounded like, he never would understand love, and all he thinks about is girls' beauty, not what she has to offers, inside her. He is not trying to understand Romeo feeling, he is telling him, to try to find someone else, and forget about the other girl. In my conclusion, Act 1 Scene 1 is very exciting and dramatic, it makes the audience want to see more, it also explains the whole play action. Shakespeare successfully had used the first scene to introduce the themes of the play, love, argument, tragedy. Shakespeare also had good introducing of characters, such as Romeo and enemies, Shakespeare engages with a range of audience members, through language, action, humor and romance, for example females would be excited when they will be seeing romance, whereas males would be very excited watching fights. In my opinion the play is great for young people, because it explains how much love can be painful and the confusion about it, like Romeo had with Rosaline. The most dramatic and exciting scene was when Romeo was talking with Benvolio, about Rosaline. I thought that he might even kill himself, Benvolio was replaying in humor way, he really didn't understand what Romeo was saying, Romeo was very negative character, what made everything very dramatic, because nobody could think of what goes around 15 years old boy minds. He could think of death, or of ways to die. Form first scene you get the understanding, about the whole play, it tells you everything step by step.

Leadership Qualities In the novel Lord Of The Files Essay

In the novel lord of the files both Ralph and Piggy demonstrate qualities of a leader and others that would make you think otherwise. In this essay I will evaluate how each character has leadership qualities and how they are shown in the book. Firstly Ralph demonstrates leadership qualities by taking the lead on the expedition. He immediately seems like the one in charge. He is confident, â€Å"He hastened back into the forest.† Ralph shows that he knows exactly what he is doing and is confident in his own judgement. This is a quality that leaders have, they are able to trust their own judgement and be a go-getter, Ralph shows a continuous sense of self-confidence in his actions and decisions and isn’t afraid to take a leap of faith. However, Piggy does not demonstrate this leadership quality. He is reserved and very self-conscious. He †glanced over ralphs shoulder before leaning†; this tells me that piggy is very self-conscious of peoples opinion about him. He confides in Ralph after trusting him with his name and seems like a follower. By taking the back seat in the first chapter Piggy shows us how intelligence isn’t always directly visible. Piggy is more intelligent than Ralph as Piggy comes up with suggestions that are both productive and extremely important for survival and information about the Island. â€Å"‘I expect we’ll want to know their names,’ said the fat boy, ‘and make a list. Although Ralph seems like the boy with the leadership qualities and the knowhow, Piggy comes up with probably the most important plan to get off the island. He assumes that he and Ralph could not have been the only survivors from the plane crash and quickly devises a strategy to make every one accountable for themselves. This intellectual mind-set portrayed is a leadership quality, despite it not being as obvious in him due to his withdrawn, following nature. Also, from appearance Ralph seems like a good leader. He is describes as † the fair boy†, as opposed to †the fat boy†. This is significant because the writer uses contrast to make ralph look better outwardly and arguably make Piggy look better inwardly. The novel is a question on society’s judgment on the word leader; what is a leader? is it appearance or content?. Ralph seems like the perfect man for the job. He is described as having a developing torso, putting emphasis on his physique and physical aspect and he seems a lot more fit that piggy. Ralph also doesn’t seem to have as much problems as Piggy. Piggy has Asthma, seems to have a fear of his controlling grandma and also seems to pant a considerable amount of times. Through the writer making Piggy seem like the one with the problem the effect given is that Piggy begins to show unusual leadership qualities. Piggy is a quick, calculated thinker and most of his ideas are shunned by Ralph until he supposedly ‘thought them up’. This Shows that although Ralph is ignorant in terms of praise for Piggy he does acknowledge that Piggy does come up with the ideas much quicker than him. Ralph, on the other hand demonstrates attributes that are not normally considered leadership qualities. â€Å"They used to call me ‘Piggy’. Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up. ‘Piggy! Piggy!†. Ralph shows childishness in this passage which is an attribute that is not considered a leadership quality. Through Ralph’s childishness we begin to consider how important Piggy is. We see Piggy although he does not evidently look it, is a far more mature boy. He calculates and makes educated conclusion’s whereas Ralph seems to just be an adventurer and a depiction of a leader in those harsh times. As It was a time of war children would have been expected to have physical strength (to work for their guardian in the country) and mental strength. Ralph and Piggy alone do not have full leadership qualities enough to be a leader but collectively they join up to have essential skills for survival on a deserted Island

Ambition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ambition - Essay Example (Brim, pp. 11-12) The word ambition is often referred as aspiration and pretension, which relates it with the possibility of a higher authority influencing the individual to have a similar ambition in his life. Such practice has been very usual nowadays, as business tycoons inspire young business individuals to have ambition to be like them. On the other hand, high scope of electrical engineering motivates students to acquire an ambition to get a bachelor science degree in the similar field. Every individual is diverse in terms of thinking, and therefore, different ambitions can be seen in minds of people that work day and night to fulfill their ambitions. In other words, ambitions can be different; however, every ambition allows the individual to seek a level of advancement and improvement in his life. It is very important that a higher level of advancement should be sought by the individuals, in order to live a meaningful life. Moreover, humans are created in such a way that they require some level of desire for improvement, and therefore, ambition plays a significant role in the continuation of human lives. In a logical point of view, it is very important that an individual should desire for an advanced level. For instance, it has been observed that people with no ambition results in nothing but a machine that works when switches on and does not, when switched off. In other words, it is very imperative that daily life of individuals should be equipped with ambition, motivation, or aspiration, or else, there would be no use of intellect or other human capabilities. Thus, it is very imperative that the term ambition should be taken into logical consideration rather than just empirical manner, as human lives are based more on systematic and logical factors. Now, the paper will try to discuss some other perspectives that may support the earlier discussed definition of ambition. Ambition is often referred as motivation and aspiration, some

Story Hotel in Stockholm- ----- SWOT analysis and competitive Research Paper

Story Hotel in Stockholm- ----- SWOT analysis and competitive advantage - Research Paper Example Its original and colorful website reflects what the hotel’s concept is. They encourage the customers to visit their online page to have a better look of great packages that the hotel offers. This is a very good strategy since their website has the information about what the client wants. This is an innovative concept that is highly advantageous. It is very visible on Google, which makes it available for exploration by new customers. Story Hotel, however, has some weaknesses. First, its location, which is not centrally placed compared to other hotels such as the Omena hotel is a weak point. This location makes them lose business to its competitors since the hotels centrally located are able to get clients from the main offices. This might push away customers since most clients prefer a centrally located area, close to social amenities and affordable at the same time. The hotel lacks luxury facilities such as spa, space for conferences, and room service. Despite its good looking, cool, and creative website, Story Hotel website lacks the question and answer tab, which is useful to potential customers who are not quite familiar with the hotel. However, Story Hotel has notable opportunities. They already have a positive brand attitude created to their customers. This could be made completely to their advantage by providing a spa, conference facilities, and a room service for their customers. This will give them a competitive edge above their competition. Rooms should be available on their online service that is already successful. The threats to the success of the Story Hotel are the high competition for guests by their competition who offers lower prices. The food offered needs to be better always for them to maintain their high number of customers. The management needs to find another concept that will give them competitive advantage. This will make the price offered by Story Hotel a differentiation strategy since all the services will be first of

Kipling's White Man's Burden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kipling's White Man's Burden - Essay Example Rudyard Kipling is trying to show the negative attitudes of Europeans towards imperialism. Africans were considered as savages and a burden by them. This is a racial point of view. Africans are considered as crazy, devilish, and dumb people. Africans are treated as a burden of the Europeans, but at the same time, they also think that it is their responsibility to help Africans out. Kipling is simply justifying American’s coming in Africa and taking over the African lives. This reflects that he does not believe in the concept of equality. For him, not every person holds equal rights and some have fewer rights than others, simply because they are less humane. He is encouraging the concept of imperialism. He believes that the Africans are simply ungrateful people. Help is being granted to them, yet they are retaliating against it. 2. Kipling addressed this poem to the Americans in relation to their recent colonization of Philippines. I believe that Kipling really thinks that it i s the responsibility of the civilized nations to those they have conquered. While using the term â€Å"white man’s burden†, he is trying to explain the fact that the European ancestry (or the American one, for that matter) has more opportunities and chances for better education and has more political influence than the natives had. Had Kipling written this poem earlier, he would have argued against colonial imperialism. He was born in the time when native people have already been conquered. It seems as if Kipling is trying to get across the message that no gratitude or corporation in return for the improvement of the lives should be expected. When Kipling uses the phrase â€Å"Take up the White man’s Burden†, it has two meanings. It is naturally considered a duty towards the primitive, impoverished people and that the do-gooder has to bear the resulting ingratitude. Kipling’s assumption regarding the laziness and backwardness of the Filipinos might be considered as racist and patronizing to many modern day readers. But it simply was not meant to offend the people. Kipling was simply trying to explain the difficulties which the Americans faced. The issues, which were then raised by Kipling, seem to be relevant in today’s world. The world is not made a better place without sacrifices and hard work. In addition, the welcome mat is not always rolled out for those who want to change the world for the better. 3. Kipling has offered defense throughout the poem. He thinks that imperialism can work out for the best if it is executed correctly. The poem was meant to discuss not only the American response to the Philippines but also towards the European countries – that they should share medicines and wealth to reduce the misfortunes, illnesses, and famines which are polluting Africa. At first, imperialism might seem to be very striking, but it can have various definitions, depending on the way it is being executed. So muc h emphasis on the execution is placed so that dual meaning is not derived out of Kipling’s prose. He strongly believes that if imperialism is implemented in the correct way, than it can preserve cultures. It is possible only if the wealth is shared and medicine is practiced properly. However, it was not seen the way Kipling had interpreted. The wealthy defined civilization. White men are considered wealthy and hence

Appeal letter Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Appeal letter - Personal Statement Example In midst of finding my identity and recovering from cultural shock, my grades suffered inevitably. My past is my past. The positive element is to be hopeful about the future. I understand that education is a privilege, not a right. Opportunities are extremely difficult to come by because so many people miss on their first opportunity. However, my goal is to be a better student in all facets and utilize a second chance to harness my academic education. I am dedicating all my time to my academic performance, attending peer tutoring, and have signed up with groups to extend my learning. Socially, I am trying to focus on my cardiovascular health as I heard that it overall stimulates the nervous system and will enhance my mental focus. Lastly, I am enhancing my diet in rich fruits and nuts, the main source of brain power to ensure that I do my best. My only focal point in life is to be a better student. Given an opportunity, I promise to make a second chance my best one

Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 33

Journal - Assignment Example He tries to show that one does not need to live in denial, but can accept his/her condition by living positively. The writer of this book shows that cancer patients can do what cancer-free people can do. A cancerous patient does not need to feel that it is the end, but another challenge of life. Hitchens points out that a patient needs to take medication very seriously. He argues that a chemotherapy, radiation or surgeries are the main treatments that a cancerous patient may encounter (Hitchens 619). Hitchens argues that people do not have cancer, but rather battle cancer. The author implies that the treatment of cancer is a process, and a patient must follow in order to be healthy. Hitchens is a good example of persons battling with cancer. With a positive mentality, Hitchens shows that a cancerous person can easily recover. It shows that cancerous patients must have hope and get the required treatment. Cancer patients should not think that they cannot enjoy life just as cancer-free

Yoga Brand Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Yoga Brand Comparison - Essay Example Besides, the post underscores Marika Company’s diversity that extends to children wear hence time saving as wears of all consumer categories are available under one roof in a superior brand. The idea of the writer on coming up with an improved line of apparel is consistent with the consumer demand trend that emphasizes flexibility, light weight and strength. Exercise clothing are becoming a significant part of daily life hence the relevance of the post (Hitzmann 54). The viewpoint of this writer is sensitive and a welcome as it considers the aspect of environment. The post emphasizes the aspect of eco-friendly products of Barefoot Yoga Company. This is in line with contemporary marketing strategy and ethical business practices. It is worth to note that eco-friendly products meet the global campaign needs on sustainable growth and climate change management. The writer is therefore emphatic on this concept and relates it to the ongoing debate on global climate change which is attributed to environmental degradation (Corrett,et al.43). The experience of Yoga is a key factor into Barefoot Yoga company products. On Marika Company, the post explores the significance of a company website that eases the work of the consumer in choosing among variety. Besides, website is in tandem with the overriding online marketing idea hence its relevance. Gender sensitivity of Marika products and its profound fitness aspect put it ahead of the park. This post is positive in the sense that it creates awareness on the comfort factor when it comes to buying clothing for exercise and Yoga experiences. The opinion of the writer on creating a personal line that caters for long lasting, flexible and sweat absorption is a desire of many hence the validity of this post’s

E-journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-journal - Essay Example I learnt that the instruction also should create safe and eye catching environment as this will allow for positive attitudes from children and result in productive learning. Well-planned and interactive lessons result in more student engagement; therefore â€Å"engagement in a quality music programs helps students†¦ develops both fine and gross motor skills† (Russell-Bowie, 2012, p.46). Thus, the range of different activities and using a variety of resources will allow children to stay engaged and develop. I also learned that the way the teacher communicates with students is very important due to the fact that if a teacher communicates in an effective way and provides clear instructions the lesson will be able to run smoothly. Therefore, the lecture was very useful for me as it allowed me to gain management ideas, which I can implement in my classroom. Through the tutorial that was prepared, I learnt much about the music. During the music tutorial we worked in a group and chose instruments to represent sound in a story or poem. It allowed me to understand the different moods instruments can create. Our group had the poem ‘Will we ever see?’ by Georgia Heard and I was able to learn the different sounds music can make and the mood they create. I find this activity to be very interesting in the classroom as it allows the children to understand the sound of different instruments, working as a group. Therefore, the tutorial demonstrated to the class the different sound effects from instruments. Application of the rhythm sticks made it clear how to read the rhythm cards as we were taping the sticks to the beat and this allowed our group to understand how to play eight rhythm beats. This will be a great idea to implement in the classroom as through the rhythm children can understand meaning of duration. Working in big groups and small groups allowed us to gain a deeper understanding on how to engage a whole class using instruments, flash

Stereotypical Interaction Styles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Stereotypical Interaction Styles - Assignment Example â€Å"They† referred to the judges in High Court mentioned in the preceding sentence while â€Å"he† referred to Hamza. By using passive/active sentences and idiomatic expressions, the writer was able to clearly tell the events that took place. These also gave the story a more detailed description of what happened. Even if the event revolved around capturing a terrorist and a legal battle for Hamza, the expressions and words in the article were easy enough to understand by civilians. The linguistic choices the writer used were only appropriate for readers of a newspaper, mostly civilians, which is the type of publication the article appeared in. With his linguistic choices, the writer was able to give a clear picture of how terrorism is viewed as a serious social problem. In fact, the reaction to a possible terrorist threat is so great that Hamza was ordered to leave the country. Moreover, the writer was able to show that even if the problem is a social one, the justice system will be tapped to handle the situation thereby involving the political arena. For Lines 2/3, the overlap is inadvertent. It can be deemed from studying the first couple of lines that Line 2 is an explanation of Line 1. Also, Speaker A ended his first statement with the phrase â€Å"you know†. So, upon hearing the phrase again, Speaker B assumed that Speaker A was finished sharing information. For Lines 4/5, the overlap violates turn-taking rules. Line 5 can be considered an interruption by Speaker A. An analysis of Line 4 will show that ending the statement with the word ‘everything’ would not relay the real meaning of Speaker B’s message. Moreover, Line 5 does not really respond to the meaning of Line 4 if Speaker B was not interrupted.

Associate Professor Essay Example for Free

Associate Professor Essay Teaching Note: Case 1 – Robin Hood Case Objectives 1. To provide an introduction to the conceptual framework of strategic management using a non-business situation. 2. To introduce students to the process of problem identification and potential solution analysis that will be used in case discussions throughout the semester. See the table below to determine where to use this case: |Chapter Use |Key Concepts | |1: Strategy Concept |Leadership for strategic management; sustainable competitive advantage; vision, mission, strategic objectives;| | |external environment; internal environment; efficiency vs. effectiveness; stakeholder management | Case Synopsis Robin Hood and his merry men are now in trouble because wealthy travelers (their source of revenue) are avoiding the forest. As is often common in an entrepreneurial organization, the Merry Men were highly motivated by Robin Hood’s leadership. Therefore, Robin had previously relied on informal communication to organize and implement operations. Robin is pleased with the growing size and influence of his organization. However, growth has meant that specialized duties have begun taking up most of the men’s time, leaving a command vacuum between Robin and the first line recruits. In addition, they are now all located in a large encampment that can be seen for miles. This creates the probability of a surprise attack on their position. Growth has also put great pressures on resources, so now they must harvest the forest more thoroughly. Where will additional revenue come from? Rich travelers are avoiding the forest, so in desperation Robin is considering robbing the poorer travelers, which means his lieutenants must now tell their men to rob their brothers and fathers. What started as a  rebellion is in danger of being routinized into banditry. Robin must therefore begin to evaluate the Merry Men’s mission in view of the changing environment. Should it still be an extension of his private grudges and aspirations? Has the organization acquired a new mission, if so what is it? Who are the key stakeholders here? On whose behalf should the organization formulate its mission! Teaching Plan Most students are familiar with the Robin Hood story, so it’s possible to ask them to read this short case in class during the 1st or 2nd class meeting. Either use the PowerPoint slides or ask the discussion questions directly. As students respond, either write answers on the board or refer to the PowerPoint slide answers. It’s up to the instructor whether or not to assign Chapter 1 prior to discussing the case. If the case is read before the chapter is read, then the instructor has the option to ask students, when they do read the chapter, to identify the concepts in the chapter that they recognize from the case discussion, and come to the next class prepared to share what they recognized. If the case is discussed after students have read Chapter 1, the instructor can ask students to identify what concepts apply from the chapter. Summary of Discussion Questions Here is a list of the suggested discussion questions. You can decide which questions to assign, and also which additional readings or exercises to include to augment each discussion. Refer back to the Case Objectives Table to identify any additional readings and/or exercises so they can be assigned in advance. 1. What is strategy? 2. What strategic problems does Robin Hood have? 3. What is the role of the organizational leader as strategist and articulator of global goals? 4. What are some issues in this organization’s external environment? 5. What is the relationship of the organization’s internal structure to its environment? 6. How do group values or culture influence strategy making? 7. What strategy can Robin Hood implement? Discussion Questions and Responses Chapter 1: Introduction and Analyzing Goals and Objectives 1. What is the purpose of strategy? See Chapter 1, Exhibit 01: Strategic management consists of the analyses, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages: †¢ strategy directs the organization toward overall goals and objectives; †¢ includes multiple stakeholders in decision making; †¢ incorporates both short-term and long-term perspectives; †¢ recognizes trade-offs between efficiency and effectiveness. An interesting question that the instructor can ask at this point is: what business is Robin Hood’s organization in? Some students might say philanthropy, some might say robbery. The answers to this question will help students understand the importance of vision and mission: the leader must have a clear idea of the purpose of the business, and who it competes with, in order to craft strategy. If the business is robbery, there are different competitors, like highwaymen. 2. What strategic problems does Robin Hood have? Robin Hood’s organization is in a profit squeeze: revenue is down and costs are rising. In addition, there are cracks in the culture of the organization. Issues that need to be addressed include: †¢ How to avoid detection of the growing organization? †¢ Has Sherwood Forest become too small to sustain operations? †¢ What to do about the growing strength of the Sheriff’s forces? †¢ How to address organizational communications and leadership confusion? Decisions that need to be made include: †¢ Should Robin Hood kill the Sheriff? †¢ Should Robin Hood accept the Baron’s offer to join in freeing King Richard? †¢ Should Robin Hood impose a fixed transit tax in order to increase revenue? Consequences to be considered include: †¢ Does the change in the external environment mean that the original mission is no longer valid? †¢ If Robin Hood decides to kill the Sheriff, accept the Baron’s offer or impose a tax on travelers, how do each of those actions link to the mission? †¢ If the mission changes, to what degree does Robin Hood have to worry about the loyalty of stakeholders? One other issue concerns the rapid growth of the organization. In the space of two years the organization grew from fragmentation and obscurity to a strong regional presence. Competitive strategy is about sustaining a position in the industry. Growth implies that strategy has to be flexible enough to adapt. Does Robin have a sustainable strategy? 3. What is the role of the organizational leader as strategist and articulator of global goals? See Chapter 1, Exhibit 06: The primary role of the organizational leader is to articulate vision, mission and strategic objectives. Leaders must also be  proactive, anticipate change and continually refine changes to their strategies. This requires a certain level of â€Å"ambidextrous behavior†, where leaders are alert to opportunities beyond the confines of their own jobs, and are also cooperative and seek out opportunities to combine their efforts with others. Robin Hood needs to evaluate his initial vision of the organization’s purpose: what was the original goal that was â€Å"massively inspiring, overarching, and long-term†, that represented a destination that is driven by and evokes passion? Is the original vision irreconcilable with the present circumstances? Robin Hood’s organizational mission may have to change: a mission encompasses both the purpose of the company as well as the basis for competition and competitive advantages. Organizations must respond to multiple constituencies if they are to survive and prosper, and the mission provides a means of communicating to diverse organizational stakeholders. If the vision and mission have to change, Robin Hood must establish strategic objectives to operationalize the mission statement. That is, objectives help to provide guidance on how the organization can fulfill or move toward the â€Å"higher goals† in the goal hierarchy—the mission and vision. Therefore, Robin Hood needs to redefine the organizational vision and mission since it may have changed rebellion may have become routinized into banditry. He must also identify the key stakeholders, broadening his focus beyond his own private grudge to include the needs of the district, the region, or the nation. And he must establish new goals. Depending on the stakeholders, these new goals may include replacing the Sheriff or changing the political order. 4. What are some issues in this organization’s external environment? There are obvious resource constraints. Sherwood Forest has finite resources: the inputs into the organization (travelers to rob) have dwindled, especially since the rich travelers have started avoiding it. Robin Hood’s band are spending past gains on present problems in the assumption that  future revenues will continue to grow at the same pace as in the past. This assumption, one that is often pervasive in successful organizations, may be unwarranted. The Merry Men are reduced to robbing poorer travelers. The poor travelers are their main stay of political support. Here is a common pitfall of success, the tendency of organizations to take their best and most important customers for granted, to extract from them the highest return for least effort in the belief that they have no practical alternative. In addition, trained manpower is scarce. Regarding the physical environment, the current growth of the organization has created a large encampment that can be seen for miles, and is therefore now a target for attack. The nature of the Merry Mens environment and operations requires stealth and flexibility. The current physical facility does not provide for this. 5. What is the relationship of the organization’s internal structure to its environment? See the Chapter discussion of the trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency. Given the growth of the operation, Robin Hood’s previous structure may no longer be effective. He may no longer be able to achieve the goals of the organization. He might need to make trade-offs. His current structure is functional, with each lieutenant a specialist. Communication has been informal, and Robin currently has no direct link to his first line recruits. This structure performed well in the early days of the band. However, with the growth of the organization, this has become problematic, resulting in lack of coordination. His lieutenants could do double time as staff and line personnel: fulfilling their staff duties in off-peak periods, but available for line duty during field operations. Robin might want to consider creating a decentralized regional operation, with sub-bands who can operate out of smaller regional headquarters and better coordinate movements. This will increase flexibility of the total organization by moving the organizing of operations closer to those who undertake them. This will also reduce the chance of attack because then only  part of the band might be detected and surprised. Decentralization also pushes food-gathering down the line, thereby eliminating food distribution problems. Small scale operations can be carried out with greater economy. 6. How do group values or culture influence strategy making? During strategic analysis, the leader does â€Å"advance work† to anticipate unforeseen environmental developments, identify unanticipated resource constraints, assess changes in his or her preferences for how to manage. During strategy formation, depending on the type of organization structure, the leader might include key individuals in a discussion around selecting which strategies might be best to implement at which level within the organization. In strategy implementation, the leader must ensure proper strategic controls and organizational design, and establish effective means to coordinate and integrate activities within the firm as well as with suppliers, customers and alliance partners. Therefore, leaders must pay attention to all stakeholder needs, including the group’s values and the organizational culture. See Chapter 1, Exhibit 05 for the diverse stakeholder groups and the claims they make on the organization. Regarding the organizational culture, it was based on founding values that embraced a missionary outreach to the community. The original purpose created unity and a spirit of daring among the Merry Men. Robin is considering abandoning the higher (more affluent) segment of his market for a deeper exploitation of a very large segment with limited resources. Here he runs up against organizational traditions and values. If Robin pursues profit maximization now (robbing all travelers, including the poor), the group will become thieves. Group members will resist stealing from their brothers and fathers. Robin needs to restore the group members’ need for order and purpose. The Merry Men need to feel that their participation is quasi-voluntary. 7. What strategy can Robin Hood implement? The basic question strategic management tries to answer is: How can we create competitive advantages in the marketplace that are not only unique and valuable but also difficult for competitors to copy or substitute? Robin Hood must assess how functional areas and activities â€Å"fit together† to achieve goals and objectives. If the organization is still Robins extension of a personal grudge, then displacing the Sheriff should be the primary mission of the Merry Men. If the organization is acting on behalf of the district then replacing the Sheriff with a more benign administration should be the priority. If however the Merry Mens existence is an expression of widespread dissatisfaction with the present political order, then Robin should consider his potential contributions on a national scale. An analysis of the options confronting Robin ought to lead the students to question the criteria by which strategy is judged. Who is the actor in strategy? The chief executive officer? Top management? A coalition of stakeholders? There is clearly no theoretical answer to these questions. A discussion ought to set the ground for an appreciation of the political and structural forces under which strategy emerges. Robin should have a meeting with the Merry Men to explain the strategic dilemma and long-term issues. He needs to increase organizational discipline, which could be done by creating a clearer organizational structure with strategic controls that enforce the mission. To do this, he needs to recruit qualified leaders for the new decentralized structure, and involve lieutenants in the solution. It is always an issue – which functions should be decentralized and which retained at the corporate level. In this case intelligence gathering and finance should probably be kept centralized. It is crucial for the students to appreciate the contradictory pressures that implementation generates. The new decentralized structure will call for more intricate communication and command systems. It increases flexibility, but also increases the probability of breakdown and mismanagement. In this case runners must keep the various sub-bands in communication. This is a primitive technology that may be insufficient to ensure coordination. An  opportunity exists here for the students to appreciate to what extent sophisticated organizational forms are made possible by modern technologies which are ordinarily taken for granted. While restructuring is going on Robin must begin to consider other aspects of his strategy. He should examine the possibility of diversifying beyond the confines of his traditional forest territory. This is viable if he is decentralized. Operations can be carried on in the countryside by the autonomous sub-bands. He must also resolve the issue of the proposed transit tax. What should be his relationship to the local population? Should he increase their burden of taxation, or not? Robin must also prepare for the possibility of ceasing operations by providing outplacement training. He should pursue alliances beyond the current band of Merry Men, negotiating a possible change in the political order, negotiating amnesty, returning the band to legality. He should probably avoid contact with the Sheriff! Finally, Robin should recognize that mistakes will occur. Therefore he should anticipate the costs of implementation, especially the problems of extended communication. Robin must familiarize his lieutenants with his intentions and the projected problems. They must actively become involved in the evolving implementation. Ultimately, however, Robin Hood must consider the long-term course of action. If the Merry Men were a profit-maximizing organization in the classic sense they would be satisfied with keeping the Sheriff off balance; or perhaps work towards his replacement with a more inexperienced man. They are however a missionary organization. To pursue profit maximizing would sooner or later lead them to thievery, pure and simple. It would also undermine their unity and spirit of daring. Robin Hood has little choice but to increase his involvement in issues that lie beyond his immediate task environment.

Concepts and Definitions of Mental Illness

Concepts and Definitions of Mental Illness INTRODUCTION The conceptualisation and definition of what is meant by the term ‘mental illness’ is not a straight forward task. This is because of two key reasons. Firstly, a given definition of mental illness will be significantly affected by the specific characteristics of the source of the definition. For example, a member of the general public would be likely to provide a definition which is significantly different from a person who worked within the legal profession. The perceptions of the member of the general public are likely to have been influenced by factors such as the media and their experiences involving people who are viewed as being mentally ill. In contrast, the legal profession would be influenced by the guidelines and recommendations set out by law (e.g. the Mental Health Act 1983 and subsequent amendments). The definition used within the health care profession is likely to differ again from these alternative approaches Such differences are likely to exist within th ese categories. For example, the definition used by a Psychiatrist may not be the same as that which is used by a General Practitioner. Therefore, whenever one is discussing ‘what is meant by mental illness’, it is important to note the significant impact which is made by the perspectives and experiences of those providing the definition. For the purposes of the following discussion, the definitions which are employed within the health care industry will be predominantly focussed upon but references will be made to the perceptions of other relevant groups. The second reason why the definition of ‘mental illness’ is not a simple one is because of the wide range of different symptoms, behaviours and personal characteristics which may be perceived as signs of mental illness. A person may be perceived as mentally ill if they claim to hear voices, experience prolonged episodes of depression, are addicted to drugs or even because they are extremely scared of spiders. These wide range of symptoms ensure that it is difficult to derive a definition of mental illness which encompasses all of the relevant aspects and issues. In terms of behaviours, a person who is going through a period of extreme optimism may be viewed as being a very positive person by some and as experiencing a manic episode by others. Therefore, it is difficult to clearly define the boundaries as to when behaviour moves into the realm of being a sign of mental illness. Finally, the personal characteristics of the person being observed are likely to influence whet her or not they are perceived as being mentally ill. For example, a young person who is forgetful may be viewed as simply having a poor memory. However, if an elderly person was to perform the same episodes of memory loss, they may be more likely to be viewed as suffering from the early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. Therefore, the definition of mental illness is made more difficult by the range of applicable symptoms, the problems associated with clearly defining boundaries and the effect of the personal characteristics of the person being observed. The following review will discuss these relevant issues and highlight the key elements of the debate regarding ‘What is Mental Illness?’ THE CONCEPT OF MENTAL ILLNESS This section will consider the statistical approach to mental illness along with the importance of social desirability. The roles played by cultural and societal factors in determining what is labelled as mental illness will then be discussed. Finally a theoretical definition of what is meant by mental illness will be provided. 2.1 THE STATISTICAL APPROACH TO MENTAL ILLNESS The more traditional approach to mental illness was based on the concept of how rare a given person’s characteristics, thoughts and behaviours were viewed as being. Somebody who is acting very differently and in a way which is rarely seen, had the potential to being perceived as mentally ill. For example, the extreme behaviour and actions performed by Adolf Hitler would lead many to claim that he was ‘insane’ However, This statistical approach to mental illness can be criticised in two ways. Firstly, the extreme behaviours of somebody like Picasso are viewed as talent and ability rather than as being a sign of mental illness. Rarity, it could be argued, is only relevant when it is combined with behaviour which is socially undesirable. The statistical approach can be criticised in a second way. There are certain categories of mental illness which are not that rare. For example, a significant number of people in the world suffer with depression. One could not argue that depression is not a mental illness merely based on the theory that there are too many people suffering with it. Thus the traditional statistical approach was shown to not be a comprehensive and appropriate conceptualisation of mental illness. 2.2 CULTURAL AND SOCIETAL FACTORS IN MENTAL ILLNESS Subsequent approaches to mental illness have focussed on the concept of ‘deviance’ (Maher 1966). This highlights the key role which is played by cultural and societal factors in determining what is labelled as mental illness. The case of homosexuality provides a good demonstration of this point. In previous centuries, performing homosexual acts was seen as a sign of mental illness by both society and the mental health profession. However, over subsequent years homosexuality has become a more accepted form of sexual behaviour. Although some people would still view it as a mental illness, a societal shift appears to have taken place relative to the historical treatment of homosexual people. Heather (1976) argues that there is a moral aspect to mental illness as well as the underlying medical condition. The case of homosexuality outlines this point of view and shows that the concept of mental illness is not a fixed one but rather has the capability to change over time. Szasz (1962) also supported this view and argued that mental illness is as ‘real’ as witch craft was in the past. It is the way in which society perceives mental illness which has a significant impact on what is actually labelled as mental illness. Other cultural aspects have a part to play. Cultural norms regarding a situation are important. For instance, undressing is an acceptable behaviour if one is just about to have a shower However, if one was to undress in the middle of the high street then it would not be seen as acceptable. Similarly there are developmental norms within given cultures. Temper tantrums are expected when a child is around two years of age. However, if the same behaviour was performed by a 30 year old then it is likely that this would be seen as unacceptable and potentially viewed as a sign of mental illness. This section has shown that cultural and societal factors have an important influence on what is seen as mental illness. A given behaviour i n one community may be acceptable but the exact same behaviour in a different community may be seen as a sign of mental illness. 2.3 DEFINING MENTAL ILLNESS Johoda’s (1958) Framework of mental illness will be outlined here as well as the importance of distress and consequences. CATEGORIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS This section of the review will outline three of the more prevalent categories of mental illness. This discussion will enable a more comprehensive understanding of what is meant by mental illness. Within each category, an example of a mental illness will be provided as a further illustration. The first category is Psychosis. A definition of psychosis will be given and the case of Schizophrenia will be discussed as an example. The second broad category to be considered is Substance Abuse.. The case of people being addicted to recreational drugs will be provided as a modern example. The third and final category is Depression. Bipolar Disorder will be discussed as another example of mental illness. For each of these examples, both the causes and different treatments will be briefly outlined. 3.1 PSYCHOSIS The first category of mental illness to be covered in this discussion is Psychosis. The term ‘psychosis’ has been defined as a range of symptoms that can be found within the diagnostic categories of Schizophreniform illness[1] (Gregory 1987). A variety of different experiences can be described as psychotic symptoms. They can be viewed as ‘highly convoluted expressions of everyday experiences (Beck Rector 2000). They include auditory hallucinations (e.g. the patient may hear a voice instructing them to perform certain behaviours), disturbing thoughts (e.g. the patient may become paranoid that they are being targeted by someone) or a distressing inability to distinguish what is ‘reality’. Combinations of these psychotic symptoms are associated with different forms of psychosis, including both Acute and Chronic Schizophrenia. The mental illness which is labelled as ‘Schizophrenia’ will now be outlined in more detail. The symptoms associated with this illness will be outlined along with the different possible causes and treatments. 3.1.1 SCHIZOPHRENIA The term Schizophrenia was first used by Bleuler (1911). It was intended to mean ‘Split Mind’ or ‘Divided Self’. Clare (1976) stated that a person can be said to be suffering from Schizophrenia if they have at least one of the ‘first rank’ symptoms, outlined below, and do not suffer from a diagnosed brain disease. The ‘First Rank’ Schizophrenic symptoms were outlined by Schneider (1959). They are: Passivity experiences and thought disturbances Auditory hallucinations in the third person Primary delusions or false beliefs The potential consequences for a person suffering with Schizophrenia are both serious and wide ranging. One of the most significant problems can be social exclusion. This has the potential to cause great distress on the part of the patient and may lead to a relapse and or increase in their psychotic symptoms. Therefore it is an important issue to consider and one which needs to be carefully addressed by the mental health nurse. 3.1.2 CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA Information regarding the different causes of Schizophrenia will be added here. 3.1.3 TREATMENTS Many different approaches to the treatment of Schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms have been taken over the past fifty years. These have ranged from Neuroleptic medication and Electro-Convulsive Therapy through to Social Support and Family Therapy. The 1960s witnessed the introduction of Phenothiazine as a medication for treating psychotic symptoms (Fenton 2000). Subsequent research evaluating a purely drug-BASED approached suggested that it may be somewhat limited. For example, research has revealed that between 25 and 50% of patients ON medication still experience persistent psychotic symptoms (Garety et al 2000). Furthermore, even when the patients strictly adhere to their medication regime, they still can experience difficulties (Hogarty Ulrich 1998). Other research has supported the view that patients suffering from psychotic symptoms who are on medication still experience residual symptoms as well as social disabilities such as having difficulty with interpersonal skills (Sand ford Gournay 1996). Such social disabilities can negatively effect the patient’s ability to socially interact and to form relationships. This in turn may help to reinforce the stereotypes that people have regarding the mentally ill and hence contribute to the stigmatisation which they have to suffer. Other alternative and supplementary approaches to the treatment of psychotic symptoms have been offered. For instance, based upon Social Learning Theory, Social Skills Training was developed. This involves training and re-training the motor and interpersonal skills of the patient. However, evaluations of this approach have suggested that any positive effects were short term and that rather than dealing with the psychotic symptoms Social Skills Training merely allows the patient to disguise them and to avoid talking about them (Bradshaw 1995). It may be the case that such training needs to be provided via the mental health nurse and this could be one way in which they could help a patient who is suffering from Schizophrenia. Other treatments based on a psychodynamic approach have also been tested and evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and efficacy for the treatment of psychotic symptoms. It was found that there was no significant effect (Malmberg Fenton 2002). However, other s imilar research suggested that approaches which emphasise problem-solving seem to be more effective than those which simply focused on analysis (Fenton 2000). Such findings have led people to advocate the psychological management of psychotic symptoms whilst also emphasising the possible role that could be played by the mental health nurse in addressing problems which are not effectively overcome by the treatments which are presently given for Schizophrenia. 3.2 SUBSTANCE ABUSE Another major area of mental illness concerns addiction. It has been included here as it is not generally perceived as being a mental illness by the public although it is included within the DSM-IV classification framework. Humans can become addicted to a wide range of different stimuli from gambling and sexual behaviour through to drugs and alcohol consumption. As a result of the prevalence of such addictions, and the potentially serious consequences for the sufferer, the topic of addiction has attracted a considerable amount of research projects and theories from a variety of different theoretical perspectives. The case of people being addicted to recreational drugs will now be provided as an example which is of particular relevant to the modern debates within this field. 3.2.1 ADDICTION TO RECREATIONAL DRUG USE The system within the brain which is activated by the consumption of water and food, as well as during sexual activity, can also respond to the taking of drugs. This is associated with an increase in the release of dopamine from the nucleus accumbens within the brain. This effect has been seen with amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine, PCP, opiates and cannabis. Recreational drugs are primarily taken by individuals because of the feelings of euphoria, alterations in sensory perception or to experience an increase in their perceived mental or physical abilities. The issue of recreational drug use has seen a significant amount of coverage within the UK media over the last decade. Through a combination of the prevalence of recreational drug use, the reporting of drug-related deaths and the Government’s deliberations over the relevant legal considerations, a growing interest in the topic has been facilitated. The Government and researchers in the field are working to gain an understand ing of the drugs which are being used, who is using them, how addictive behaviour can develop and what interventions can be taken in order to ensure the safety of those at risk. Research has been conducted which has attempted to quantify the extent to which recreational drugs are used within the United Kingdom. For instance, Wadsworth et al (2004a) conducted a postal survey which revealed that 12% of the respondents had taken elicit recreational drugs within the last year and 7% had done so within the last month. For respondents under the age of 25, it was found that 34% reported having taken recreational drugs in the last year and 19% in the last month. It appears that these figures are increasing and that they have been increasing for a number of years. Bauman Phongsavan (1999) performed a review of the epidemiology of drug use and found that it had been steadily increasing since 1990. They also note, however, that it is difficult to collect accurate data regarding the true extent of recreational drug use as people may be reluctant to admit using drugs and to report the amount that they usually take. 3.22 CAUSES OF ADDICTION An addiction involves a person having a compulsion to take a given substance or perform a specific behaviour. They also have an inability, or find it very difficult to limit their in-take of the substance or to control their performance of the given behaviour. Explanations for the development of an addiction have been proposed from a number of different theoretical perspectives. Some of the more prominent approaches will now be outlined. The biological approach, often cited as ‘the disease model’, suggests that a person has a pre-disposition to becoming addicted to a specific stimuli. This does not necessarily mean that they will become addicted, just that they are vulnerable to it and that the onset of any addiction may occur more easily or rapidly. The Genetic approach suggests that people may inherit addictions from their parents through their genetic make-up. Therefore, the children of a person who is addicted to a specific stimuli are said to be more vulnerable to becoming addicted to that stimuli than would normally be expected. The Sociological perspective emphasises the role played by societal factors in the development of addictions among its members. For instance, within a society which creates a stressful environment, high levels of conflict and which allows significant advertising of products to which people may become addicted, more people with addictions may exist relative to another less s tressful society with lower levels of conflict and advertising. Other explanations have been offered which are fundamentally based on psychological principles. It is these approaches which are being proposed as most appropriate for understanding recreational drug addiction. This approach is fundamentally based on the assumption that human behaviour is learned. Such learning is said to be shaped by positive and negative reinforcements which are associated with performing the behaviour. A negative reinforcement may come in the form of information regarding recreational drugs. Such information may be provided by family members, a friend, the media or through the education system. Through emphasising the potential health-related consequences of recreational drug use, the likelihood of an individual taking recreational drugs should be reduced. Negative reinforcement could also occur through an individual experiencing or witnessing an unpleasant event regarding drugs and involving themselves or their friends. Positive reinforcement regarding recreational drug taking could also be provided by an individual’s friends. It could also occur through witnessing other people taking recreational drugs and focussing on the positive consequences of such behaviour. Perhaps the most powerful positive reinforcement, however, occurs when an individual takes recreational drugs and experiences positive feelings as a result. These positive feelings are likely to go beyond the actual physical reaction to include potential factors such as the individual’s acceptance into a social group or scene and a significant rise in their reputation. All of these positive reinforcements are likely to combine, to varying degrees, to encourage the individual to repeat the recreational drug taking behaviour in the future. The addiction can begin when they become tolerant to such positive feelings. This psychopharmacological approach suggests that this tolerance takes two forms. Firstly, the individual can become Contingency Tolerant This relates to their behaviour after the stimuli and it is this which they become tolerant of rather than the stimuli itself. Therefore, to continue with the recreational drug-taking example, the individual may become tolerant of the positive feeling experienced when taking a drug and hence they go in search of a larger effect by taking more of the same drug or by experimenting with other substances. The second form of tolerance is Conditioned Tolerance This relates to the environment in which the behaviour is performed. The drug taker may experience a positive response when they walk into a night club or to a friends house where drugs are usually taken. It is suggested that the individual with the addiction can become conditioned to consuming the given substance or performing the specific behaviour when in a given environment or situation. 3.3 MOOD DISORDERS The two major conditions which are included within this category of mental illness are Depression and Bipolar Disorder. They are both amongst the more common forms of mental illness. As an example of this kind of mental illness, the case of Bipolar Disorder will now be outlined in more detail. 3.3.1 BIPOLAR DISORDER Bipolar Disorder is a form of psychotic illness which involves the patient experiencing episodes of mania and depression. The periods of mania may involve the patient being in extremely high spirits and exhibiting high levels of optimism. In contrast, depression may witness the patient feeling very low and even suicidal. These extreme moods will be separated by times in which the patient is in a ‘normal’ mood. This cyclical pattern of moods can become more rapid over time (Goodwin Jamison 1990). A distinction can be drawn between two forms of the disorder. Bipolar Disorder 1 is the classic form in which the patient experiences recurrent episodes of mania and depression. Bipolar Disorder 2 involves milder episodes of hypomania and depression. If the patient is witnessed to go through four or more episodes in a year then they can be categorised as suffering from Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder. It has been estimated that around 1% of people who are over the age of 18 can suffer with Bipolar Disorder in any one year (Regier et al 1993). As a result of the prevalence of this illness, combined with the potential for it leading to suicide (Brent et al 1993), research has been conducted in order to gain an understanding of the causes and the most effective treatments for Bipolar Disorder. This field of investigation has attracted theorists and researchers from a psychological and sociological perspective. This move has been facilitated by the findings of research which has demonstrated that the traditional approach of medication may not address all of the relevant issues. For example, Ameen Ram (2001) suggest that only 60% of patients respond to Lithium and other Anti-Convulsion medication. Furthermore, they also suggest that just 40% of sufferers remain without relapse for three years after initial treatment despite adhering to their medication regime. Such statistics have ser ved to highlight the potential role that could be played by people working from a psychological and/or sociological perspective. The following discussion will now consider and critically review these perspectives with reference to the causes and then the treatment of Bipolar Disorder. 3.3.2 CAUSES OF BIPOLAR DISORDER A significant amount of research has been conducted to investigate the underlying causes of Bipolar Disorder. The role played by genetics and biological factors does appear to be a significant one. Research has demonstrated that one identical twin can suffer with Bipolar Disorder where as the other identical twin may not. However, they are significantly more likely to suffer with the illness relative to another sibling (Genetics Workgroup 1998). Therefore genetics seem to have a significant impact but it is not the only potential contributory factor. Other psychological and sociological factors have been offered as possible explanations for the development of Bipolar Disorder. These will now be discussed with reference to three key areas, the individual, their family and environmental factors. The psychological perspective would highlight the potential causal factors which relate to the individual sufferer themselves. Factors such as substance abuse and alcoholism have been linked with Bipolar Disorder (Winokur et al 1996). A number of psychological issues could under-pin such behaviour and these need to be addressed if a comprehensive understanding of Bipolar Disorder is to be gained. For example, the individual may not be equipped with sufficient coping skills or an ability to manage stress which in turn leads to their use of alcohol or drugs which then contributes to their Bipolar Disorder. The psychological perspective emphasises the influence of factors relating to the individual’s characteristics which cause or contribute to their illness. The second key area which relates to the psychosocial perspective is the family. The interactions between family members during a person’s developmental years appears to have a significant impact on the onset of Bipolar Disorder. Research has been conducted which has assessed what sufferers of Bipolar Disorder view as the main causes of their illness. Lish et al (1994) found that sufferers believe that their illness started in their childhood. The way in which parents act towards a child in forming their behavioural patterns is an important consideration. This is of particular importance when the parents themselves suffer with Bipolar Disorder (Grigoroiu-Serbanescu et al 1989). The child will observe the behaviour of their parents and this in turn will play a significant part in developing their behaviour in given situations. The learning of social skills and the interactions which take place within the family are viewed by those from a psychosocial perspective to be an import ant consideration in understanding the causes of Bipolar Disorder. As well as family related issues, general environmental factors are also advocated by the psychosocial perspective as a cause of Bipolar Disorder (Pike Plomin 1996). The social environment in which an individual lives and the events which they experience may contribute to the development of their illness. The social support which a person has when they are first experiencing a manic or depressive mood can significantly impact the course of the mood and potentially facilitate the development of a more serious problem. Furthermore, the general lifestyle of the individual, and the social settings which this puts them in, will be another influencing factor. If they live or work in an environment which facilitates significant high and low periods then this could facilitate the onset of a psychotic symptom. Therefore, if an individual lives in an environment which encourages alcoholism, provides no real social support and incurs significant episodes of highs and lows, then the environment may lead to them suffering with Bipolar Disorder. Thus far the discussion has demonstrated that those coming from a psychosocial perspective would argue that individual, family and environmental factors all have a part to play in causing, and contributing to, Bipolar Disorder. The empirical evidence, however, for such assertions is somewhat limited and hence the argument exists mainly from a theoretical perspective. It is difficult to conduct experiments which control for all of the potentially confounding variables and because of the relevant ethical considerations involved. Research generally focuses on people with Bipolar Disorder and tries to identify the causes of their illness. Having said this, the relevant research which has taken place involving identical twins would lead one to conclude that psychological and sociological factors do merit consideration when assessing the onset of Bipolar Disorder. The remainder of this discussion will now address the treatment of Bipolar Disorder from a psychosocial perspective. Again the categories of the individual, the family and the environment will be used to structure the discussion. 3.3.3 TREATMENT OF BIPOLAR DISORDER Although Bipolar Disorder is a serious illness, it can be successfully treated (Sachs et al 2000). Due to the fact that the traditional medication-based approaches have significant side-effects (Vainionpaa et al 1999), and because they are not always fully effective, psychosocial treatments have been proposed. These approaches will now be discussed with reference to individual, family and environmental methods as these were the areas addressed in terms of the causes of Bipolar Disorder. Fundamentally based on psychological principles, therapy has been offered as a possible treatment for Bipolar Disorder. For example, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been used to treat mild episodes of depression and post-manic dysphoria (Leahy Beck 1988). This approach aims to foster an improvement in the patient’s coping skills, self control technique and on their ability to manage stress. Also the patient can be taught useful strategies such as combining the taking of medication with a routine task. In evaluating this approach Satterfield (1999) used an empirical case study to demonstrate that it can enhance the treatment of rapid cycling. Therefore, CBT is a possible approach for treating the individual factors associated with Bipolar Disorder. An alternative individual approach comes from the psychodynamic perspective. It focuses on abandonment fears, repressed rage, manic defences and the need for engagement through the testing of limits. Limited evaluations of this approach have been made. Early research indicated that there are some long term benefits (Scott 1963). However, this research only used a small sample and hence the extent to which these findings can be generalised is questionable. Much of the research in this area involves single case studies (Kestenbaum Kron 1987). Therefore this approach is predominantly supported by theory rather than sound scientific research. Therefore therapy based on a psychological perspective has been advocated as a method by which individual factors can be addressed. Indeed the Expert Consensus Guideline Series (1996) recommended the use of psychotherapy alongside medication so that a more comprehensive treatment programme can be achieved. Conflict within the family can result from the patient’s desire for the situation to ‘go back to normal’ after an episode, their dependency on a family member for medication and because the family become concerned at the first signs of anger or sadness. Such conflicts can be addressed with therapeutic programmes like that which is proposed by Miklowitz Goldstein (1990). Family Focussed Therapy (FFT) involves assessing and educating the family as well as providing training in communication and problem-solving skills. Evaluations of this approach for treating Bipolar Disorder have shown that it significantly reduces relapse rates whilst improving communication (Miklowitz et al 2000). A key element of approaches within this field is education. Information and hence improved knowledge can help to enhance the patient’s illness management skills. Spouses, other family members and care-givers all need to be involved within this process. Honig et al (1997) found t hat a psycho-educational family approach can reduce relapse rates, increase social support and significantly improve a family’s expression of their emotions. Therefore Family Therapy can be used to help address some of the causes of manic and depressive episodes whilst also improving the family’s ability to cope with them if and when they do occur. The third and final area of treatments of Bipolar Disorder from a psychosocial perspective concerns environmental factors. By manipulating the environment, it should be possible to both reduce the number of manic or depressive episodes whilst also reducing the negative consequences of them should they happen. For example, Frank et al (2000) proposed Social Rhythms Training. This aims to stabilise a patient’s social rhythms, such as sleeping patterns, and their patterns of behaviour. It also aims to identify the factors which disrupt a person’s social rhythms. Similarly, Wehr et al (1998) advocates the creation of an environment which facilitates regular and healthy sleepi

The effects of comorbid psychopathy

The effects of comorbid psychopathy Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatments Criminal Behavior and Cognitive Processing in Male Offenders With Antisocial Personality Disorder With and Without Comorbid Psychopathy Topic: Effects of Comorbid Psychopathy Introduction Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are two syndromes which are effective in predicting antisocial behavior and identifying dangerous subsets of criminal offenders (Serin, 1991). The distinction between both disorders is often blurred, with DSM-IV–TR suggesting that ASPD and psychopathy can be used interchangeably (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). The two syndromes share important correlates, which does raise the distinct possibility that both ASPD and psychopathy may reflect the same underlying disorder. Conversely, there is evidence that suggests that both syndromes contrast with regards to cognitive and affective correlates. Individuals with psychopathy display adequate cognitive functioning under normal conditions but performance suffers on a variety of cognitive tasks when heavy demand is placed on the brain’s Left Hemisphere (LH); deficits not associated with ASPD (Llanes Kosson, 2006). Prior research has also revealed that individuals with both ASPD and psychopathy exhibit greater criminal activity and weaker affective facilitation than those with ASPD only, suggesting the notion that a qualitative distinction exists between ASPD and psychopathy (Kosson, Lorenz, Newman, 2006). Consequently, it is uncertain if the two disorders reflect the same underlying pathophysiologies, whether they are two distinct syndromes, or whether one is simply a more severe expression of the other. The current study was carried out to address this issue and it does so by measuring the variance in criminal behavior and cognitive processing in an independent sample with regards to the presence of ASPD with versus without comorbid psychopathy. The study, which utilized six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] male inmates of an Illinois county jail as its sample, was subdivided into two portions; the first which measured criminal behavior based on participant’s prior criminal records and the second which utilized data from a global-local processing task (conducted on a prior occasion) as a laboratory measure of cognitive processing. Participants exhibited either ASPD and comorbid psychopathy, ASPD but not psychopathy, or neither ASPD nor psychopathy. Associated Theories The criminal behavior analysis was conducted under the supposition that the presence of ASPD with comorbid psychopathy in participants would exhibit more severe and varied criminal histories when compared to control or participants with ASPD only. For the cognitive processing portion of the study, the LHA hypothesis was utilized. This theory predicts that psychopaths will display general cognitive ineptness and will respond more slowly than non-psychopaths when primary LH processing systems, specifically the attention, motor, language, and perceptual systems, are substantially and differentially activated. Hypotheses The study evaluates three perspectives. The primary hypothesis of the experiment (H1: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders characterized by distinctly different underlying mechanisms) would be proven if ASPD with and without psychopathy reveal different patterns of performance in cognitive processing and show differences in criminal behavior. If both groups manifest similar measures of both criminal behavior and cognitive processing, it provides evidence for the null hypothesis (H0: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism). The study also specifies a co-primary hypothesis (H2: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that are distinct only in their severity) where criminal behavior and cognitive task performance impairments differ only in degree. Sample and Selection Procedure A stringent criterion was utilized in the selection of the six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] detainees of an Illinois county jail whom comprised the primary sample used for the study. One-hundred-and-fifty-six [156] men from this primary sample, all whom had previously completed the global-local task, further comprised a secondary sub-sample which was used in the analyses of cognitive processing. In accordance to the inclusion criteria, all subjects were eighteen [18] – forty-five [45] year old males who had estimated IQ levels above seventy [70], could read English, were informed about their prior criminal histories, did not currently take medication that displayed neurocognitive side effects, did not exhibit psychotic symptoms, and were right handed (for analyses of cognitive processing task). Before being classified into groups, the primary sample was subject to a series of interviews and evaluations in order for diagnosis of the relevant disorders. Following an in-depth i nterview and review of available files, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) was used to assess the presence of psychopathy in the participants. Inmates had to score at least 30/40 to be diagnosed with the disorder. PCL-R scores were slightly modified in order to avoid overlap between psychopathy scores and antisocial behavior The DSM-IV diagnostic criterion was used to assess ASPD. Following an interview and a review of available file material, inmates had to display at least 3 of 7 symptoms be diagnosed with the disorder. Inmates were then subdivided into one of three groups: ASPD with comorbid psychopathy (ASPD + PSY; n = 145), ASPD without comorbid psychopathy (ASPD-only; n = 201), and neither ASPD nor psychopathy (controls; n = 328). Outliers in both portions of the study were identified and dealt with accordingly, resulting in a final sample of one-hundred-and-fifty-three [153] inmates for cognitive analyses with no change to the primary sample (where extrem ities were not excluded but modified). Procedure For the criminal history analysis, the ASPD-only, ASPD+PSY and control groups were evaluated based on three distinctions of criminal behavior: violent crime (murder, sexual assault, armed robbery), nonviolent crime (theft, forgery, arson), and criminal versatility (the variety of offences the inmates were charged with). The Independent variable (IV) in this case would be the grouping of inmates based on their disorders, and the Dependent variable (DV) would be their corresponding criminal charges. The global-local processing task was utilized for the measurement of cognitive processing. This task is designed in such a way that the frequency of presented stimuli on global or local levels could be varied to differentially activate the relevant hemisphere-specific perceptual system. Each participant was provided a computer which displayed stimuli in the form of alphabet letters on the screen; specifically the target stimulus (S or H) presented on a local or global level, and a distraction stimulus (A or E) at the opposite level. Each stimulus was presented for a duration of one-hundred-and-fifty [150] milliseconds and participants responded by pressing the corresponding key (S or H) on the keyboard. Target frequency, the Independent Variable (IV), was fluctuated to manipulate LH versus RH processing while response latency and accuracy of the inmates, the Dependent Variable (DV), was calculated. Under Local Bias conditions (L) the targets had an appearance rate of 80% at the local level and 20% at the global level. The opposite occurred in Global Bias conditions (G). In the Neutral condition (N), the target had chance to appear equally as often at either global or local levels. Participants completed eight [8] practice runs and sixty-four [64] trials per condition. Results A variety of statistical tests were utilized throughout the current study. Chi-square (X2) distribution was used to show that no relationship existed between ethnicity and group membership, and Welch F’ and t’ tests were used to demonstrate that demographic variables such as IQ, and age were not associated with any indices of criminal behavior or cognitive processing in any condition. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and complement t’ tests were the primary means of comparing groups on both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing portions. Cohen’s measure of effect size was used throughout to measure the impacts of the IV in both portions of the study. All the obtained results had very low p values, suggesting that they were not due to simple chance. Primary analyses of criminal behavior expressed that both ASPD-only and ASPD+PSY groups were charged with more violent, more nonviolent, and more types of criminal offences than control groups with a relatively small effect size. Furthermore, ASPD+PSY inmates showed more severity on all three distinctions of measured criminal conduct compared to ASPD-only inmates with small to medium effects. Additionally, the above analyses was repeated but this time involving a much more stringent criteria to diagnose ASPD (5 of 7 symptoms or 71.4%) to make it more comparable to the strict selection criteria for psychopathy (PCL-R score of 30/40 or 75%). The new analyses which involved the updated ‘severe’ ASPD inmates did not bring about any significant change to the results. Primary analyses of cognitive processing illustrated that, for local targets in local bias conditions, the response latencies of ASPD+PSY inmates were greater than both control and ASPD-only inmates to a large effect. However, the ASPD-only group did not differ from the control. The groups also differed in response latencies for global targets in local bias conditions with ASPD+PSY inmates responding more slowly than the ASPD-only group, but not slower than the control group (to a small effect). There were no significant group differences in response latencies for local or global targets under both neutral and global bias conditions. Discussion Dear Dr. Neo Cortex Over the course of writing this paper, I have learnt quite a few things about these two particular personality disorders. Rarely have the relationships between ASPD and psychopathy been explored within the same study, so this particular research provides plenty of new evidence and perspectives into the nature of both syndromes. I would like to discuss with you the end results of the study, which of the observed hypotheses are substantiated, and the implications it might have. Both before and after the stringent criteria was utilized to re-diagnose ASPD, inmates with ASPD with comorbid psychopathy averaged more violent charges and a greater variety of charges than ASPD only inmates. From this, it can be inferred that criminal behavior does not indeed correlate to the severity of the criteria used to diagnose psychopathy. This invalidates the co-primary hypothesis H2 that psychopathy is merely a severe form of ASPD. Also, the results from the cognitive processing analyses are inconsistent with the null hypothesis H0 which states that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism. Under local bias conditions (L), the ASPD+PSY group demonstrated poor response latencies in accordance to LHA hypothesis. However, not only did the ASPD-only group not show similar deficits in cognitive processing, they performed on par with the controls and even better than the ASPD+PSY group in responding to global and local targets under local bias conditions (L). This demonstrates that individuals with psychopathy may host a neurocognitive defect that is not shared by those with antisocial personality disorder only. These results obtained from both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing analyses provide validation for the primary hypothesis H1, that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are not two syndromes which reflect the same underlying pathophysiology but are disorders characterized by distinct mechanisms. The implications of this study are worthy of note, as such findings are inconsistent with the personality disorder revisions in Section II of DSM –V, which continues to categorize psychopathy and ASPD as a singular diagnosis. This would undoubtedly lead to a reduction of diagnostic specificity, especially since this and other studies have (somewhat) established that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are different on the neural, cognitive, and emotional levels. Having said that, this study is not in any way without its flaws and limitations, despite the numerous precautions taken by the researchers. The biggest limitation that I find in this study is that it is restricted within a male population. The study could have greatly benefited from including female participants, or have held separate analyses for women. I assume that females with ASPD and psychopathy would behave in ways different enough (due to social roles, etc.) to warrant study. Understandably, this first limitation is a direct result of the next one; the sample was restricted to one country jail in Illinois. A felony conviction is required for a sentence into such state prisons, making the sample less representative of criminal offenders as a whole (as most convicts with nonviolent or minor offences don’t get sent to maximum security prisons). Also, Illinois is hardly representative of the entire United States, so studies that set out to replicate this one should look i nto collecting samples from correctional facilities across state lines. This sort of study would also be aided if samples (mostly control groups) are obtained from outside of correctional settings. Finding nonclinical participants could help set baseline readings with regards to criminal behavior and cognitive processing. I would also suggest that future studies try to test other variables between ASPD and psychopathy, such as the level of self-esteem, age of onset of criminal behavior, or perhaps something physiological such as structural differences in the brain. I believe that this is just the beginning of research into this topic and would like to see where researchers such as yourself would take the field with the information you have today. Best of luck on your next scheme to rule the world References American Psychiatric Association. (2006). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder: Test revisions (4th ed.). Washington, DC. Kosson, D. S., Lorenz, A. R., Newman, J. P. (2006, November). Effects of comorbid psychopathy on criminal offending and emotion processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(4), 798-806. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.4.798 Llanes, S., Kosson, D. S. (2006). Divided visual attention and left hemisphere activation among psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 9-18. doi:10.1007/s10862-006-4533-2 Riser, R. E., Kosson, D. S. (2013). Criminal behavior and cognitive processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without comorbid psychopathy. Personality Disorders:Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4(4), 332-340. doi:10.1037/a0033303 Serin, R. C. (1991). Psychopathy and violence in criminals. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 423-431. doi:10.1177/0886260910060040021991