Skills & Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Workers

Personal characteristics of a human services professional can be both essential and detrimental for success. Essential characteristics of a professional do not make the job easier. However, they create a higher tendency for the professional to work successfully with clients. An open-minded professional recognizes differences between themselves and clients. They treat those differences with respect and include them in treatment according to the clients’ desires. Judgment can be appropriate in a human services setting. For example, a counselor may judge a recently relapsed client by revoking privileges within a clinic.Patience is the most essential characteristic. A professional must be able to deal with relapses in negative behavior. They cannot let human weakness impede progress. Professionals who choose the human services field in order to help people make genuine progress with clients. They maintain connections that benefit both parties. Detrimental characteristics of a prof essional do not make the job impossible. However, they can impede a professional’s relationship with their client when unchecked. A narrow-minded professional does not recognize differences between themselves and clients.They assume that differences result from a harmful lifestyle on the clients’ behalf. Judgment becomes inappropriate when it results in ill-informed assessments of the client. For example, judging a mother as incompetent without a full assessment is inappropriate. Impatience from professional to client can cause the professional to rush the clients’ progress. Internalized impatience within the professional can cause a lot of mistakes. Professionals who choose the human services field mainly for money make artificial progress with clients. The quality of their work is usually lacking.On the one hand, understanding both types of characteristics can provide a platform for change. On the other hand, that understanding merely provides a distinction fo r self-limitations. Aspiring professionals need to have or develop specific skills prior to employment in the human services field. Organizational skills are key to updated client information as well as clients themselves. A personal system – however ordered or disordered – must be easy for the aspiring professional to access and peruse. They must be able to find information as soon as they need it for whatever reason.Communication skills are key to creating connections with clients. Active listening includes physically and verbally showing the client that their message is being received. An aspiring professional must be prepared to create a report with their clients. Their ability to communicate effects the process of their relationship. Professional writing is key to documenting communication with and progress of the client. The aspiring professional must be prepared to use this skill daily. Moreover, other professionals may need to understand the writing.So if the a spiring professional uses shorthand, they must be prepared to provide a legend. Basic recognition of symptoms is key to referring clients to other professionals. For example, a nurse who encounters a patient who seems to need a referral to the behavioral health unit. When questioned, he or she must be able to provide specific rather than vague reasons. Safety training is key to effectively responding to emergency situations. Basic firefighting and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) abilities are essential to potential to saving the lives of one’s self, clients, and fellow professionals.Overall, an aspiring professional must understand how to preserve life until more qualified professionals arrive. These specific skills will not only help professionals develop effective, positive relationships with their clients. They will also help professionals overcome personal roadblocks to successfully carrying out their work. Skills become more effective as they develop. Even an aspirin g professional who naturally has these skills can only benefit from continually developing them even after entering the human services field. Primary and secondary education (K-12) teach students organization skills and practices.Aspiring professionals can use these techniques as foundation for adult application. They can take the basic and develop them according to their individual needs. An institution of higher education (i. e. college or university) provides students with in-depth lessons for communication and professional writing skills. They help students work effectively and successfully within a professional setting of various sorts. Many employers in the human services field expect aspiring professionals to have a basic recognition of symptoms as well as safety training.Therefore, many provide continuous training for employees after they have obtained employment. Consistent development of these skills ensures the relevance and ease of their application. It also ensures that the professional will easily recall the lessons when needed. Learning is fundamental, but practice is vital. Actually putting learned lessons to use when applicable ensures ease of use by the professional with continued practice. Constructive criticism measures the effectiveness of practice from an outside point of view. It informs the professional of how their practices are perceived by others.Application of feedback combines learning, practice, and constructive criticism. This assemblage is important to the formation of a successful human services worker with their given field. As long as skills are continually developed within accredited settings, then the specific location of development does not matter. That the skills are developed is most important. Yet, while some aspiring professionals have some difficulty developing these skills, others will have an easier time. They are â€Å"natural born helpers†. â€Å"Natural born helpers† (NBH) exist.An NBH is someone w ith a set of traits that easily lend themselves toward helping others in the human services field. On the one hand, these traits will develop naturally mentally, psychologically, and emotionally as the individual matures into an adult. On the other hand, the environments in which the individual matures can be conducive in the advancement of these traits. An NBH tends to be somewhat sociable. They can be outgoing and conversational when necessary. Active listening is a skill that an NBH naturally has a tendency toward from birth.An NBH usually develops the ability of understanding in their environment because they naturally tend toward it. An NBH is born with the ability to be resourceful then naturally develops it as they mature. An NBH tends to either be aloof or overly-friendly in response to being overloaded with human service-like needs (i. e. counseling). Drama tends to naturally gravitate toward an NBH because their need to help is apparent. The tendency toward helping many pe ople concurrently leaves an NBH with little time for themselves.As a result, an NBH usually has a reputation as being meddlesome. An NBH needs to find a healthy balance between being aloof and friendly with clients. An NBH must learn early on how to tell whether or not they can help someone. Delegating time between self and others is crucial for an NBH in order to maintain healthiness. Finally, the desire to help should never challenge a person’s desire to be left alone. Some people are born with attributes that either make it easier to work as human services professionals or that drive them toward the human services field.

The Planet Takes Care of Us, Not We of It

â€Å"The planet takes care of us, not we of it. † One could say that the planet earth is a system, interacting with objects in space such as the sun and the moon. The mass and diameter of these objects, their distance from earth and the amount of heat they radiates makes the conditions on earth ideal for life to exist. Over the years, humans have begun to consume at a much faster rate than before. Yes, fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil are being used at a greedy rate, but the ground is busy making some more.Yes, too many trees providing shade, oxygen, clean air and water, fruit and nuts are being cut down to produce wood products such as paper, furniture and housing, but it’s not like we’ve run out of oxygen†¦ the world always seems to work itself out. A problem is detected, the loophole discovered, and our planet renovates and replenishes itself. The earth doesn’t need our help, and even if it did, I don’t think we are prepared to o ffer it. Humans are greedy little children, and we never had to grow up because Mother Nature was always there for us even when we are not there for her.Saving the world is a grand gesture needs a large amount of energy and people, and it would never happen that all the people of the world come together with one goal, to save the planet. We don’t even know how to properly fend for ourselves, nor do we know how to keep peace with our neighbors, so how could we ever even attempt to take care of the biggest thing we know, our home, our planet, our earth, which had been standing tall as it still is, four and a half million years before mankind even existed?This of course, is only one approach to a hugely controversial topic, and the other side says we must live green and â€Å"reduce, recycle and reuse†. I do believe a lot of people want to see that happen and admire the concept, but they are just too lazy to go through with it. Either way, here comes my question, if we we re going to lend a hand and â€Å"take care† of our planet, would that truly be what we are doing?Or is that phrase just a witty twist of words used as a facade to conceal our self-centered nature†¦ Think about it, if we cease to reduce our carbon footprint and encourage global warming, say we melt the icecaps and increase the sea-level, ruin the soil with our chemicals and pollute every acre of the earth with our damned plastic bags to the point where the air is too dirty to breathe, the soil too tired to harvest on and the water too toxic to drink.What happens? Mankind will die out, life as we know it will never be the same, but the planet? The earth will still be here, only we will not. So are we really trying to take care of the planet, or are we just taking care of ourselves? Is us trying to take care of the planet a selfless, humanitarian act or is it just more evidence to our self absorbed nature?

Behavioral and Social-Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits

Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits PSY/250 Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits Habit is defined as â€Å"an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary† (Dictionary. com, n. d. ). Most people have some sort of habit that they have acquired or learned throughout their life. Some are as non-noticeable and as simple as looking both ways before crossing a street or roadway. We are taught this at an early age for safety purposes, but to us, it is just a normal â€Å"it makes sense† act that we practice probably every day. Some individuals learn habits from a young age; other habits can form once an individual gets older and makes their own decisions. Forming a habit can come from many role models or witnessed behavior. For example, if an infant cries or upset, usually they are comforted by food or soothing from the mother. At this point, the infant recognizes that a particular act receives a particular reward. This is an example of behavioral approach to a habit. If the infant cries, it gets rewarded with milk and soothing. Since the child only knows how to communicate by crying, this is how the child lets the parent know that they are in need of something, in some cases, just in need of attention. Another approach is the observational learning in which people learn to do something without actually performing it (Krapp, 2005). It can also be termed as social/cognitive approach. An example of this would be a child witnessing a sport on television. They see the actions play out with the team, and go out and â€Å"reenact† what they saw even though they have never played the game. The child does not necessarily know the rules of the game, but the basic tools and concept of the game. Bandura claims that people are more apt to copy behavior that leads to a positive outcome (Krapp, 2005). However, some individuals have habits that can have a negative and possibly deadly outcome. For example, drug and alcohol habits have the possibility to become deadly. Most individuals are aware that those particular habits are not healthy for them, but they are attracted and tempted by the way those habits make them feel. Those habits are said to be diseases, but at what point are they a sickness? At first, I believe, that the â€Å"sicknesses† are habits and it is only until you try all means possible to quit, that it becomes a sickness. A habit can start by having a beer after a game, smoking a joint when you are stressed, or using some other sort of substance to make you feel better. At some point, one starts making excuses or reasons to continue the habit even if the original situation that made you start that habit, is not where the habit is taking place anymore. One of the habits that I have is biting my nails. From as far back as I remember, I have been biting my nails. I suppose I developed this habit by witnessing my father do the same thing. I can remember being a young child and seeing my father sitting on the couch with his hand in his mouth biting his nails. I do not remember the first time I did it, and I still continue this habit to this day. Actually while writing this paper, I find myself pausing and thinking and noticing that when I pause, my hand automatically goes in my mouth, and I start nibbling at my nails. I feel that I concentrate better when my hands are busy doing something. Whether it is biting my nails or twisting my hair, my hands are always doing something. I have attempted to quit this habit, and at this point, I am very unsuccessful. When I put acrylic nails on, I obviously do not bite my own nails, but I do find myself picking and messing with the nails that have been put on. Whether it is tapping my nails, or picking at my cuticles, I am constantly messing with them. By using the behavioral personality theory, I am not exactly sure why I have this habit. I do not get any sort of satisfaction from the habit or feel any sort of accomplishment. Writing about it now, I wonder why I continue such a habit if I am not getting anything out of it. The habit is not making me a better person, nor am I fulfilling some comfort issues. I continue this habit all the times and I find that it is not situational. I bite my nails when I am bored, and when I am busy, when I am nervous, and when I am excited. It is a constant habit that I continue daily, if not hourly. I can develop a plan to condition myself to quit the habit by making sure my hands are busy with something else. If my hands are busy, then I will not be able to put them in my mouth to bite my nails. I have also found that if my mouth is busy, with eating or chewing gum, then I will not bite my nails either. So at this point, the habit not only has something to do with my hands, but also it is an oral fixation. As far as the oral fixation and satisfaction, I do not feel as though I am getting anything out of it, but I continue, and most likely will continue the habit. In conclusion, every person has some sort of habit that stems from personal experience or observation. Many people have role models that have taught them this habit and will continue the habit until they are completely satisfied or the habit is replaced by another habit. References Website: www. dictionary. com, n. d. Cerutti and J. E. R. Staddon, Annual Review of Psychology. (Annual 2003), p115. Psychologists and Their Theories for Students, Ed. Kristine Krapp, Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2005. p39-66

Junior high vs. High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Junior high vs. High School - Essay Example In the middle school model, the students do not have a chance to develop socially with the other students from the advanced classes. a) Possibly, due to the junior high school model, the students can identify their areas of interest at the early ages and start working to realize their dreams. However, the clusters based on self-chosen electives may lead the students to make wrong choices due to peer pressure. As per the middle school model, the teachers and students can develop well-organized schedules to guide the learning process. Conversely, the fixed times may develop fixed mindsets in the younger children making them difficult to adjust when moving to the junior high schools. a) i) In the junior model, there is a specialization of what the teams intend to teach the students since they are professionals meeting to discuss issues in the same subject area. Nevertheless, a single department may perform better compared to others leading to preference of one subject. Such preference may cause poor performance. ii) In the middle school model, there is a collective focus on the students leading to a common focus on what areas to tackle regarding the children. In contrast, some teachers may fail to take part in the processes as they collectively make suggestions and decisions due to lack of specified responsibilities. b) Always, the teachers bring new strategies to tackle the challenges that the children face. Therefore, it is important for them to continue meeting daily to help them identify and solve problems that face the students. a) i) Concentrating on the content does not allow the students to gain the hands-on skills needed to solve the life challenges. Rather, they equip the children with the mastery of the material to achieve high scale of education. ii) The middle school model allows the students to develop skills that will help them

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management accounting - Essay Example But, desirability and effectiveness of accounting for organization control is a critical issue because accounting procedures consists of few integrative devices of organizations where business activities are not only drawn together by values but those are integrated in a quantitative manner. So, accounting is most efficient tool of organizational control system where standard qualitative procedures are followed to evaluate qualitative performance of the organizations for management control over the organizations. These facilitates other external stakeholders of the organizations like investors, creditors etc. for their valuable financial decision making which are highly depends on actual performance of the organizations. So, this study analyzes the effectiveness or relevance, desirability, faithfulness or reliability of accounting information for management control over organizations. Introduction Organizations show stable and consistent types of behaviour in interaction with the bus iness environment which is consistently changing. They have wide range of external influences from external business environment but have enough capability to change internally to protect their integrity. This stability and flexibility of organizational internal behaviour and control possess through effective and integrative control mechanism. One of the most important control mechanisms of organizational is internal accounting system. This consists of integrative process of accounting for implementation of accounting information in management control. So, management accounting systems has major importance in organizations as it consists of some integrative mechanisms that are capable for summarizing the qualitative effect of organizational actions or activities in quantitative values. This study review the major functions of accounting information that helps the management in the area of integrative process of organizational control. Efficient accounting provides integrative langua ge for analysing the impact of diverse internal and external influences on organizations that have substantial positive or negative impact on organizational performance. Nature of organizational control with respect to implication accounting information is qualitatively reviewed in this paper to assess the necessary conditions for control. These conditions are derived and applied in management control. Main objective of accounting policy is to produce fair valued accounting information that is highly reliable and relevant to the purpose and objectives of financials statement (WBS, 2012). The extent of desirability and effectiveness of accounting information are analysed with respect to management control and strategic decision making process. Further, scope of faithful or reliable accounting information on organizational control by management is also analysed. Again, measurement process of organizational performance both quantitative and qualitative is analysed with reference to the implication of relevant and reliable accounting information in organizational performance measurement and essential internal reconstruction with respect to change in external business environment. Desirability and Effectiveness of accounting information for organizational control There are two broad purpose of accounting information, external and internal. External purpose includes the investment decision making by the shareholders and potential new investors of an organization, credit

Christianity and Non-Christian Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Christianity and Non-Christian Religions - Essay Example The group is known for executing anybody who does not ascribe to the teachings of Christianity. Some constitutions of the world, do not respect this concept of religious tolerance and they have formed the Islamic states. An example is Saudi-Arabia and Sudan, which recognize Sharia law, as their supreme law (Mearsheimer and Stephen, 153). However, it is important to denote that Islam tolerates other religions. In fact, Prophet Mohammed was able to provide security to people of other religions, and this is mainly Christians. According to the principles of Christianity, there is a need of promoting unity amongst the mankind. Mankind has very many issues in common. One area of commonality is their same origin. People were created by God, and hence it is important to respect each other despite the religions that they are coming from. In fact, the Muslims believe that the same God that Christians worship is the same as the one they worship. The only difference emanates from the belief in t he Son-ship of Jesus Christ. In Western European countries such as United Kingdom, France, etc, there is freedom of worship and religion (Mearsheimer and Stephen, 135). These countries do not prevent anyone from worshipping their God, as long as their practice does not breach on the rights of others. United States is also another country that believes in the freedom of religion. This is because tolerating the religious views of others is a sure way of living in harmony and peace. Â   Â   Â   Â  

Ethical Issues in OB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Issues in OB - Essay Example Besides reputational loss, these frauds and/or scandals have caused significant financial impact on their businesses resulting in their closure. Hence, it is extremely important for organizations to formulate strong ethical principles and practices, which need to be followed by the organization, its leaders and its employees. In fact, ethical standards/principles promote the organization and its products/services to a large extent. Therefore, organization’s success largely depends upon its ethical standards besides other factors related to business and its management. Moreover, ethical standards form the guiding principles for various managerial decisions that get stuck in different types of dilemmas. Ethics involves moral issues and choices and deals with right and wrong behavior (Luthans, 1998; p.72). This behavior is with respect to employees, managers, organizations to the environment etc. The most significant role in maintaining ethical standards is played by members in t he leadership positions. Ethical behavior is demonstrated by the leaders in maintaining business ethics on a regular basis. For people in the leadership role, their character is extremely important to make an impact. This character is judged based on their actions and not words. Hence, ethical behavior becomes all the more important for leaders. In her article in the Forbes, Chairman of the board at Deloitte & Touche, Sharon Allen (2007) puts it, â€Å"ethical leadership counts--on the job and everywhere else that our employees and fellow citizens watch, assess and ultimately transform the examples of leaders into actions of their own.† This clearly exemplifies what kind of impact leaders can have on their followers through ethical behavior. Further Allen (2007) explains that behavior of leaders give their followers clues about their personal value systems and set an example for the behavior that is considered as right. If leaders expect their followers to exhibit and adhere to specific business behavior, then such behavior has to be demonstrated by the leaders. If they lack or fail to do so, then followers will emulate their leaders’ behavior, even if unethical. Recently, the New York Times reported internal charges levied against one of the union leaders of the Service Employees International Union for improper usage of funds official funds, which was not accounted for in the right manner. This report stated, â€Å"The charges accuse Mr. Raynor of falsely stating that he had 10 meals, costing $186 to $275, with a male union lawyer instead of the person he had actually dined with: Alex Dagg, a female executive vice president of Workers United and one of its Canadian directors. The charges call for ousting him from his Workers United and S.E.I.U. posts, and state that he had falsified union records and made improper personal expenses† (Greenhouse, 2011, March 30). This charge is a serious offence because the union leader falsified organiza tion’s money and also provided misleading information. If this behavior is ignored, then it might encourage sequence of such behaviors, which his followers too might adopt. In order to promote ethical behavior, organizations adopt ethical practices such as organizational values and ethical standards in all actions and communicating the same to its employees through various media. Ethical standards have to pertain to

Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Project - Assignment Example The Agile method was developed to provide solutions to the shortcomings of the waterfall methodology. It gives a project an incremental approach as opposed to a sequential one (Measey and Berridge, 39). Developers begin with a simplified design for the project and then proceed to work on the small modules. Developers work on these modules either in weekly sprints or in monthly sprints. When each sprint ends, the developers evaluate the priorities of the project and run tests. The option to work in sprints gives developers the ability to incorporate feedback from the customer into the project’s design before they begin another sprint. The Agile methodology can be applied in our individual project because it is flexible and allows for changes in the design after the completion of the initial plans. With this method, we can also incorporate additional features by introducing new technology into the project (Measey and Berridge, 44). Agile also allows for thorough testing of the

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Personal Statement Example Plato expected that the ruling class should use its knowledge to make the society better. My consciousness of these basic aspects of education has inspired and directed how I percieve and use my talents and qualities, for personal development and to have a positive impact on my immediate society. At the college level is when I became conscious of the role played by education in my personal and professional developed. I developed a wide readership in philosophy of education with the aim of answering the question of why I was pursuing education apart from the fact that it promised me a comfortable future. As a result of exposure on various theories within philosophy of education, I realized that I could use my interests and abilities as guidance in pursuing education. I have always been conscious of trade offs and opportunity cost whenever I am faced with a situation that requires choice between multiple alternatives. For instance, faced with the dilemma to choose athletics or chess as an extracurricualr I opted for atheltics. I did not just choose atheltics haphazardly, but I realized that school was already too demanding and I needed physcial fitness for my personal health. Athletics could give me the relief from the stresses and pressure of academic work, I could meet perso ns with different interests and I would also boost my health. I have since been a dedicated member of the sprint team. Athletics is very demandind and requires discpline and team work spirit. I have been able to nurture these qualities and am certain that I have made significant progress. I also decided to join the Economics club because it creates the forum for students to disucss not only to expound on issues disucssed in class but also to invite professionals in the Economic field for motivation and advice. The Economics club has allowed me to discover the connection between theory and practice. Through the forums, I have benefitted in undertsanding the economics dynamics at

Planning and the Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Planning and the Law - Essay Example From the research it can be comprehended that development of architectural planning and legal control on building construction in England has a long history which dates back to around 1180s. This history has generated accounts of interest for building enthusiasts. The legal control on building construction began in the English capital London which was densely populated. The buildings in the city were densely packed creating so many problems in the city and could only be solved communally. Houses could be built with thin party walls and poorly sited privies as well as gutters which could cause nuisances to the neighbors. In addition, there were complaints from the residents that one house could block light from the other. For this reasons, the authorities decided to set up building regulations that could give guidelines on building construction this was as early as 1189. During this medieval time, the greatest risk was fire outbreaks. In 1212, there was a devastating fire which huge d estruction in the city, the mayor of the city could regularly received complaints about building nuisance by one neighbor against the other. The problem of country and town planning in England worsened during the profound revolution which the country went through during the nineteenth century. The revolution in England brought about enormous growth of the country’s population especially in the urban centers.... The influx of people in the industrial town was partly as a result of the decline in agricultural activities in the countryside especially after 1850. At the begging, the conditions around the newly founded industrial towns were very appealing. For this reason, houses as well as industries drastically sprung up and were built side by side and no efforts were made for purposes of zoning or planning so to speak. People had to live within their places of work and thus they build their houses around the industries. Worse still, nobody seemed to care about the standards of building construction or even sanitation of the area. The haphazard construction of the houses and industries encouraged the spread of various diseases causing devastating outbreaks of typhoid and cholera in the industrial towns. Following the cholera epidemics that lead to loss of many lives, several commissions were formed to inquire on the causes and to give possible recommendation. Several reports were published suc h as the report by the Poor Law Commissioners in 1838and the Royal commission on the Health of Towns in 1842. These publication and other led to the enactment of a couple of legislations by parliament related to building construction in the country. Even though these Acts covered limited scope, as well as effects, they were significant in laying the basis of enduring legislative restrictions on the freedom of those who owned land to construct buildings as the deemed fit. A General Board of Health was established under the Public Health Act of 1848. This board was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that both the existing and new buildings provided

What the Number of Cars Will Be in the Future Essay Example for Free

What the Number of Cars Will Be in the Future Essay With the development of society and improvement of economic conditions, more and more families have the ability to afford cars. But what the number of cars will be in the future? Is it safe to reach the conclusion that there will be fewer cars in use than there are today in 20 years? In my opinion, its possible and the reasons are as follows. Just imagine which of the following two worlds you would prefer: Option one is that you are living in a place where the sky is grey and the river is yellow. Every day you have to breathe the air with many harmful fumes. Option two is that the environment you live is beautiful. There are many trees and flowers around the lake. You can listen to the birds singing in the sky and watch fish swimming in the lake. Wouldnt you feel more comfortable and more enjoyable if you choose option two? Nowadays, more and more people begin to realize that the waste fume from the car exert bad influence on the environment and thus take many actions to limit the number of cars, such as taking subway instead of driving a car. Therefore, there will be fewer cars in use in the near future. Besides the improving concern of environmental protection, the reduction of the number of cars is also from the increasing number of old people. For instance, my family had 2 cars in the past, one belonged to my dad and one belonged to my grandpa. As the increasing of age, my grandpa felt that he could no long have the energy to drive a car. So he sold his car and now my family share one car. Nowadays, the entire world is entering an aging era. Hence, more and more old people will not be able to drive a car and the number of cars will come down. Whats more, the government may also play a role in assistance to the reduction of cars. Because of the frequency happening of the traffic jam. To sum up, because of the improvement concern of environmental protection and the becoming older of the population, I believe that there will be fewer cars in use in 20 years.

Tobacco Smoking and Its Effect on Periodontal Disease Essay Example for Free

Tobacco Smoking and Its Effect on Periodontal Disease Essay The purpose of oral health research is to find out more information on areas which can be improved to benefit not only the public’s oral health knowledge and status but to improve oral health professional methods of practice as well (Petersen, 2003). The research’s main objective is to inspect tobacco smoking and its effect on periodontitis on the New Zealand adult population. Principal methods to be used include collecting data from participants that would be randomly selected from a sample which could represent the New Zealand adult population and interviewed from a telephone using a survey. The participants would categorize themselves as either as a non-smoker, former smoker or current smoker. The participants would then have their probing pocket depth and gingival recession clinical measured at three different tooth sites with 2.5-3.5mm, 3.5-5mm and over 5mm range recorded. The research hopes to impact the fact that smoking is a risk factor to periodontitis and that smoking should be prevented. Summary of PROPOSED Research Background: Periodontal disease arises from inflammation of the gingivae that is untreated commonly known as gingivitis. The inflammation and infection moves from the gingivae to the bone and supporting ligaments of the teeth. This loss of bone and support will cause the tooth to become mobile and this may lead to it eventually falling out. Being susceptible to periodontal disease is different according to a person as bacterial flora and local and systemic factors (Thomson et al, 2007). It is an important area to research for the New Zealand adult population as tobacco Smoking is known to effect periodontal disease this is done through affecting the level of bone attachment and the soft tissues around the gingivae (Obeid Bercy, 2000). The appearances clinically of gingivae for a smoker is different as it is fibrotic with rolled margins that are thick, pocketing depth which is larger consistently in maxillary lingual sites, the gingivae being less inflamed compared to the disease level seen and a person having a deeper probing depth, attachment loss and tooth loss than a person at the same age who never has smoked. Smokers have also been known to have impaired healing of gingivae due to blood flow and poorer clinically results to both surgical and non-surgical treatment (Obeid Bercy, 2000). It is necessary to research this area to find out if the amount of cigarettes smoked has more of an effect on the stage of periodontitis. When researching this topic the necessary confounding factors such as age, sex and socio economic status has to be considered (Bergstrom et al, 2000). Aim: The research’s main objective is to inspect tobacco smoking and its effect on periodontitis on the New Zealand adult population. Description of Study and Design: A descriptive cross sectional study will be researched to try and find out if tobacco smoking is a casual risk factor for periodontal disease. Principal methods to be used include collecting data from participants 18 and over that would be randomly selected from a community sample which could represent the New Zealand adult population and interviewed from a telephone using a survey. The participants would categorize themselves as either as a non-smoker, former smoker or current smoker. The current smokers would then have their smoking listed as heavy, moderate or light depending on the amount of cigarettes smoked daily. The participants would then have their probing pocket depth and gingival recession clinical measured at three different tooth sites with 2.5-3.5mm, 3.5-5mm and over 5mm range recorded by a Dentist and Dental Hygienist. The periodontitis will be recorded as no, moderate and severe depending on the bone attachment loss. Age and sex would be used as main confounders. The study will have to be ethically approved by the Otago University Human Ethics Committee. The adults income will be a confounder factor also as it effects their ability to have dental care. The data will be statistically analysed and the results published. Participants: The research study requires randomly selected participants male and female over eighteen which will give a sample of adults which could represent the New Zealand adult population. The recruitment process will be through telephone numbers provided from a district health board such as Public health south. The inclusion criteria would be adults over the age of 18 that do not wear full dentures, have enough dentition to be examined at three different random tooth sites and also do not have a medical condition which prevents them from partaking in the clinical examination. Main Outcome Measures: The research’s main goal is to prove through a descriptive cross sectional study that tobacco smoking is a casual risk factor on periodontitis regarding the New Zealand adult population. Another goal is to measure the severity of periodontitis regarding the amount of cigarettes the person smokes weather the risk is increased with more cigarettes smoked or not. References: Bergstrà ¶m, J., Eliasson, S., Dock, J. (2000). A 10-year prospective study of tobacco smoking and periodontal health. Journal of periodontology, 71(8), 1338-1347. Obeid, P. (2000). Effects of smoking on periodontal health: a review. Advances in Therapy, 17(5), 230-237. Petersen, P. E. (2003). Tobacco and oral health-the role of the World Health Organization. Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry, 1(4), 309-316. Thomson, W. M., Broadbent, J. M., Welch, D., Beck, J. D., Poulton, R. (2007). Cigarette smoking and periodontal disease among 32†year†olds: a prospective study of a representative birth cohort. Journal of clinical periodontology, 34(10), 828-834.

Macro economic problems of sri lanka and maldives

Macro economic problems of sri lanka and maldives Introduction Human needs and wants can be fulfilled through production of goods and services. Production can take place with the help of factors of production, which are inputs into the production, such as land, labor and capital. So production and distribution of goods and services, in order to fulfill human needs and wants directly and indirectly, is known as economy. According to Barro (2008), economy is divided into micro economic environment and macroeconomic environment. Micro economy is about economic behavior of specific individual, firms and the distribution of production among individual industries. Macro economy is mostly focused on total production, productivity, rate of employment, consumer prices, incomes of households and net import and export of a country. In this project we will focus mainly on macro economic problems such as inflation, income, unemployment, etc and trends over ten years of economic growth experienced by Sri Lanka and Maldives. And moreover the policies used by government of both countries throughout these ten years to sustain their economic growth at a favorable level. Economic growth shows the changes in real gross domestic product over time. The business Cycle Constant economic growth is not experienced by any country. For each and every country, if we observe the path of economic activity, it can be seen that there are deviation or fluctuations. At times these fluctuations will lead the economy into a more favourable position while during other times it could lead to a more devastating situation. These fluctuations in the economy are known as business cycle, and consist of periods of contraction, trough, expansion and peak. The fluctuations in the economy are usually measured in real GDP and other macroeconomic variables (Delong Olney, 2006). Source: www.imf.org Figure Business Cycle Diagram 1 above shows the business cycle for Maldives and Sri Lanka for the years starting from 1998 to 2008 measured in GDP at constant prices. As can be seen in diagram 1, both the economies of Maldives and Sri Lanka were experiencing a period of contraction from the years 1998 to 2001. After reaching to its lowest in 2001, the economy of both nations started to recover and was flourishing until the natural disaster, tsunami, left a huge impact on the economy of Maldives. However with the aid of other nations and the govt. economic policies, led to a record high economic growth rate. The economies of both countries again are facing a period of contraction from 2006 onward. This may be due the downturn in the world economy. These stages of economic downturn and prosperity shown in the business cycle are explained in more detail below. 2.1 Contraction Trough Contraction starts once the economy reaches its peak and further progress becomes difficult. When the economy reaches to its peak, economic growth starts to slowdown, as there will shortages in the economic resources (Dornbusch, et al.2008) The increasing prices, wages and interest rates would eventually halt the demand for the output and reduce the level of sales. The reduction in sales means that firms will now be holding excess supply and will reduce production and will focus more on selling their excess output. The decline in production will result in fewer amounts of resources being required by the producers. Since the producers now have a pile up inventory they will reduce purchases from suppliers. As the production of output reduces, firms will no longer require the service of some of their employees. Firms start to lay off some of their employees, starting the fear of unemployment among the labor force (Blanchard ,2009).This fear for a hardship for the future will encourage s aving. The reduction in consumer spending will lead to lower profits or even losses for the businesses. Some businesses will even go bankrupt discouraging further investments. In the contraction period the national output starts to decrease as well as prices and incomes and unemployment begins to increase(Delong Olney, 2006). The contraction stage for both countries is in the same period as per diagram 1. The economies are experiencing contractions from 1998 2001 and 2006 2009. Trough Trough is the lowest point of the contraction where the economy takes the turn. At this point countries would have unemployment rate at its highest, inflation will be low and the national output will also be at its lowest. There will be unused capacity within the economy although investments will be less due to high uncertainty towards the economy (Chamberlin Yueh, 2006). 2.1.1 Maldives During the past ten years, Maldives had experience two periods of economic contractions. These were during the periods of 1998 2001 and 2006 2008. Figure For the contraction in Maldivian economy from 2006 to 2008 the annual percent change in real GDP had decreased from 17.98 to 5.84(Figure 1). This was mainly due to the adverse effects on tourism during this period because of the world financial and economic downturn. The fishing industry, the other major contributor to the Maldivian national output, had also declined during this period as the oil price had risen during these years. The rate of inflation was on the rise mainly because of the increase in import prices, oil prices and rise in wages of the public sector as well as the large increase in government expenditure. The rate of unemployment rate is not known for all the years due to lack of data, however, for 2006 the unemployment rate stood at 7.9 percent. 2.1.2 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka continued on an economic expansion path in 2006 showing a record of 7.4 % which was the highest since 1978.This growth arose mainly from the service sector which grew to 8.3 % during the year and this contributed the highest at 62.6 %. In Contrast the growth rate in 2007 and 2008 declined compared to 2006 which was recorded at 6.8 % and 6 %respectively. Growth rate in agricultural sector (5.7%) in 2007 was moderate due to drop in production of major crops like tea and paddy, but performed well in the first half of year 2008.Industrial sector maintained a growth over 6 % till first nine months in 2008 but declined to 5.9 % in the end. This was due to global slowdown. Unemployment rate dropped substantially to 6.5 % during 2006 and continued its declining trend and dropped to the lowest rate of 5.2 % in 2008.This was mainly due to increased employment in the agriculture and construction sectors and increased in self employment. In 2006, during the early years Sri Lanka experienced a decelerating trend in inflation, which was mainly due to high monetary expansion as well as high government expenditure and borrowings. In 2007, CPI moved in an upward trend increasing to 15.8 %. This was due to terrorist disturbance in the paddy producing areas, bad weather conditions and high demand for rice due to high price in substitutes, and also high price of domestic agricultural commodities. Also due to rise in global oil and gas prices adjustment to some commodities were needed. Also, shortage in global supply and increased in demand in international commodity market caused to raise the price of major imported food commodities. Inflation reached to its peak in mid of 2008 to 28.8 % and declined significantly to 14.4 %, mainly due to the continued tight monetary policy measures by the Central Bank and the sharp declined in the international commodity prices .The increased in CPI was also fuelled by the low supply of domestic agriculture products and also high price in the international market of some imports. Meanwhile, increased in electricity charges which caused to raise price levels was also attributed in increased in inflation. 2.2 Recovery / Expansion Peak Recovery phase of business cycle comes, if government makes good decisions and productive capital investments during the period of trough or recession. In the phase of recovery economy starts to get its position and gross domestic product starts to expand instead of getting worse. Effective physical and monetary policies by the government at the time of recovery would help the economy to gear up the economic activities and establish again until it reaches to peak. In other words it is also called as expansion period of economy. Expansion occurs after an economy reaches to its previous favorable position (Blanchard ,2009). During the months of expansion it is the best time for investment and it is well-known golden time for stock market investors. When an economic expansion occurs stock goes up more than at any other time. During an economic expansion, demand for the goods and services are increased as consumers feel certainty in the economy which leads to increase their spending. More spending in the economy encourages further economic expansion such as increasing productivity, improve standard of living, and reduce unemployment by creating lot of job opportunities in the economy (Dornbusch, et al,2008). When the economy reaches its peak, the output of the nation will be at its highest, investments, inflation and incomes will be high and unemployment will be at lowest. Firms will enjoy a higher profit in this period. 2.2.1 Maldives The economic situation of Maldives was improving throughout the years from 2001 to 2006. During this economic prosperity the annual percent change in real GDP had increased from 3.45 in 2001 to 17.98 in 2006(Figure 1). Figure The major contributors the Maldivian national output, the fisheries and tourism sector had prospered during this period (figure3). Although at the end of the year 2004 the nation was almost swept away by the tsunami, the destruction faced to the economy was eventually put on track with the help of foreign aid and government investments in rebuilding the infrastructure of the country, thus aiding the growing construction industry in Maldives. The total government expenditure and revenue for this period shows just how much the economy was prospering (figure 4). Figure Annual percent change in Govt. Revenue and Expenditure The changes in unemployment rate cannot be clearly seen due to lack of data; however the number of expatriate workers had vastly increased. Unemployment rate had increased from 2000 to 2006 from 2.3 to 7.9 percent. Since, Maldives is heavily dependent on imports, any changes in the world economy has a huge impact on the domestic price level. Inflation rates largely reflect the world economic trend. 2.2.2 Sri Lanka In the year 2001, global recession and low rain fall caused to face an economic slowdown throughout the year; agriculture (-3%), Industry (-2%), Services (-0.5%) and Sri Lanka experienced a negative growth rate of 1.4 percent for the first time after 1948.As a result of favorable international environment, peace process and sufficient monetary policy, the economy of Sri Lanka recovered and recorded growth rate of 4 percent in 2002 and it accelerated in 2003 to 5.9%. Mainly growth was achieved through service sector. Due to the adverse shocks, increase in international oil prices, drought, floods and tsunami disaster at the end of 2004, annual growth had fallen to 5.4 percent. Shortage of supply in agricultural products cause inflation rate to push upward recording 14.2 percent of average inflation in 2001. Tight demand management policies by central bank, increasing number of controlled prices and expansion of domestic production cause reduction of inflation rate to 9.6% in 2002 and 6.3% in 2003. Consequently, the factors used to stable the price level are related to supply side of the economy, drought and import price of key commodities generated cost-push inflation. And average inflation rate turn unfavorable to 7.6% in 2004. The slowdown in both economic growth and investment expansion during the year 2001 and 2002 resulted increase of unemployment rate marginally to 7.8% and 9.1% respectively. Economy recovery, mostly in service sector, and employment opportunities under the policy of new government, unemployment rate was declined in 2003 and 2004. Increasing countrys external reserve, expansion of external factors and recovery of export shows an overall surplus balance of BOP in 2001, 2002 and 2003, well below the target. In 2004 there is an adverse balance on BOP because of raising reserve money caused expansion of domestic assets and reduction of net foreign assets. Macroeconomic Policies Sustainable economic growth is achieved by utilizing the monetary and fiscal economic policies efficiently. Monetary policies are mainly focused on controlling the money supply within the economy through the use of instruments such as controlling interest rates, reserve requirements, exchange rates, etc. Fiscal policies are aimed at influencing the aggregate demand in the economy by using tools such as taxation and government spending (Delong Olney, 2006). 3.1 Maldives To maintain stable economic growth, the central bank of Maldives, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) employs various monetary policies. One of those policies is to maintain a stable exchange rate to have price stability in the country. The instrument used to achieve this was to maintain a Minimum Requirement Reserve (MRR), MMA CDs, T-Bills, Repo Facility, Lombard facility and Rediscount facilities. These tools are used to control the money supply within the economy. When the economy moves into a contraction period these policies aim at increasing the money supply within the economy. For instance, when the economy faced a contraction in the aftermath of tsunami, MMA increased the money supply by selling T-Bills to finance the large investments of the government and the MMR was reduced thus, increasing the money supply in the economy. When the money supply increases and interest rates fall, the consumer spending increases increasing the demand for goods and services. However, in recent years, especially during 2008 and 2009, monetary policy instruments were mainly used to provide short credit facility to the government leading to rapid increase in money supply resulting with a high inflation and a shortage of foreign exchange. 3.2 Sri Lanka During the year 2001 Sri Lanka experienced a negative economic growth rate since 1948. To recover and achieve a high economic growth, Central bank started and continued to use fiscal consolidation process, increasing public investments, strengthening debt management and restructuring public enterprises. More over efforts were taken to reduce recurrent expenditures, setting up low interest rates hoping to reduce interest cost. Countrys total external reserve increased and stabilized the exchange rate enabling the central bank to purchase foreign exchange from the market. To improve domestic rupee liquidity central bank purchased foreign currency and shifted entire interest rate structure downward. In order to avoid cost push inflation, government increased the number of controlled price level. All these policies led to speed up economic growth of the country at the end of 2002. And to maintain this growth, government continued fiscal consolidation policies and tight monetary policy. A nd to gain a sufficient surplus balance on BOP some imports were controlled by imposing marginal requirements against letter of credit. In 2007 fiscal debt and public debt continue to improve despite the lower revenue collection during the year. These were achieved by rising defense expenditure, domestic interest rates, tax and duties. Government was able to reduce deficit financing from domestic banking sources. Government opted to switch more external borrowings in response unpredictable and rising domestic market interest rates. Conclusion As we observe economic trends of these two countries, both countries had fluctuations on their economic growth. As two countries are developing countries, fluctuations on their economy are mainly related to world economy. Reflections of natural disasters are the second major factor that caused slowdowns in the economic growth of these countries. Terrorist attack on 11th September 2001 and Tsunami disaster caused economic downturns for both countries. During the periods of recession and contraction, the central banks used several policies to recover their economy. Even though central bank of Maldives uses only monetary policies to sustain their economy, government of Sri Lanka used both fiscal and monetary policies to retain their favorable economic position. Appendices

Industrial or Economic Espionage :: International Business Competition Essays

Industrial or Economic Espionage A small Mississauga electronics safety equipment company is broken into. Although filing cabinets and desks were rummaged through, nothing was seemingly taken. An officer discovered the company had drawn up a bid for $7 million dollar contract a day or so before the break-in. The contract in question was for a foreign country. It was later discovered that the company in question was known for its aggressive economic espionage. An iron ore shipping company was also broken into. At first it was thought that the target had been the firms computers. But, nothing was taken, it was assumed that the burglars had been scared off. Within thirty minutes it was discovered that the company was approaching its fiscal year end. staff eventually found that most of the recent database backup tape was missing. A Quebec based company with the laser-based system for inspecting materials used in, among other things, the stealth aircraft, had three computers stolen. On their harddrives were confidential codes for specialized software used by the Canadian Armed forces. The above are all true examples of the modern threat facing international business today known as industrial or economic espionage. The end of the cold and economic pressures have increased the risk of economic espionage. The collapse of the Soviet Union has left unemployed KGB and other former communist bloc intelligence agents selling everything from Russian night vision devices to completely assembled and functional bugging devices. Even friendly western European governments have been caught spying on private corporations based in the U.S. and other countries, while industrial competitors sometimes hire private companies to collect competitive intelligence from their corporate rivals( Lester:96). What exactly is economic espionage? how prevalent is it? Who does it? How do they do it? and what can we do to stop it. These are the questions that will be looked at in the following pages. First lets look at, what exactly is economic espionage. Espionage and intelligence is no longer the exclusive domain of monarchs and governments, it has become a must for modern international business. Large corporations around the world particularly in western Europe and Asia now hire agents to gather intelligence on their competitors and other countries. The goal of economic espionage is to steal trade secrets, plans and confidential procedures or anything to give your company or country a competitive edge over another (Perry:1996). The areas that interest industrial spies the most include radiation transfer technology, systems diagnostic and testing software, traveling wave tubes, aviation technologies, microwave monolithic integrated circuits, inferred signature measures software, radar technologies, wet

Innocence in Daisy Miller :: Henry James, Daisy Miller

The story of Daisy Miller, by Henry James, is told by a male narrator. This male figure serves to reveal the deep seated stasis in much social interaction which existed in the Nineteenth Century. Winterbourne is the protagonist and 'filters' through his impressions of the heroine Daisy Miller so that we never see Daisy except through the qualifying prose of Winterbourne himself. Thus by the end of the tale, we feel we have not met Daisy at all. We have only caught glimpses of this transient 'flower' almost in spite of the suffocating prevarications of Winterbourne's 'frozen' eye! We feel thwarted by the elusiveness of this heroine! "Poor Winterbourne was amused, perplexed, and decidedly charmed. He had never yet heard a young girl express herself in just this fashion; never, at least, save in cases where to say such things seemed a kind of demonstrative evidence of a certain laxity of deportment. And yet was he to accuse Miss Daisy Miller of actual or potential inconduite, as they said at Geneva? He felt that he had lived at Geneva so long that he had lost a good deal; he had become dishabituated to the American tone. Never, indeed, since he had grown old enough to appreciate things, had he encountered a young American girl of so pronounced a type as this. Certainly she was very charming; but how deucedly sociable! Was she simply a pretty girl from New York State- were they all like that, the pretty girls who had a good deal of gentlemen's society? Or was she also a designing, an audacious, an unscrupulous young person? Winterbourne had lost his instinct in this matter, and his reason could not help him. Miss D aisy Miller looked extremely innocent. Some people had told him that, after all, American girls were exceedingly innocent; and others had told him that, after all, they were not. He was inclined to think Miss Daisy Miller was a flirt- a pretty American flirt. He had never, as yet, had any relations with young ladies of this category. He had known, here in Europe, two or three women- persons older than Miss Daisy Miller, and provided, for respectability's sake, with husbands- who were great coquettes- dangerous, terrible women, with whom one's relations were liable to take a serious turn. But this young girl was not a coquette in that sense; she was very unsophisticated; she was only a pretty American flirt.

Environtmental Movement Essay -- Environtment Nature Essays

Environtmental Movement Introduction Environment is the entirety of circumstances surrounding an individual or group. This includes external physical settings as well as social and cultural conditions. However, this concept has been contextually limited when applied to the environmental movement. The environment is principally associated with the â€Å"natural† world. This creates an exclusive movement which inevitably will hinder constructive transformation. The political landscape of this nation must be renovated in order to achieve an effective environmental movement that infiltrates everyone (Bullard, 1994). An injustice to one is an injustice to all. Concepts cannot be restrictive. Understandings and perspectives of the term environment need to expand in order to create a successful, sustainable environmental movement. History of the Environmental Movement A biased viewpoint of history by the dominant culture, ethnicity, and gender produces the exclusive atmosphere of the environmental movement. History is established and recorded from socially constructed knowledge. This creates a public culture that is not equally representative of society. However, a neutral interpretation and documentation of the world is impractical. Countless combinations of possible ingredients that compose environments create infinite realities; therefore, reality is relative—a cultural, social, and political construction. Society needs to work towards multiple systems of representation, polyphony of voices. Furthermore, all researchers and historians can overtly acknowledge their biases, utilizing hermeneutics. Objectivism is ironically fiction, because the researcher bases his or her conclusions o... ...isco : Sierra Club Books. Crosby, Alfred W. Oct. 1995. The Past and Present of Environmental History. The American Historical Review. Duncan , James and Ley, David (1993). Place/Culture/Representation. London : Routledge. Douglas, Ian, Huggett, Richar, and Robinson, Mike (1996). Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: the environment and humankind. London : Routledge. Bender Shetler, Jane. Class Lecture, 13 February 2002 . Atkins, Peter, Simmons, Ian and Brain Roberts (1998). People, Land, and Time: An Historical Introduction to the Relations Between Landscape, Culture, and Environment. London : Arnold . Routhman, Hal. Sept. 2002. Conceptualizing the Real: Environmental History and American Studies. American Quarterly, Vol. 54. Vidgor, Jacob L. 2002. Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs Environtmental Movement Essay -- Environtment Nature Essays Environtmental Movement Introduction Environment is the entirety of circumstances surrounding an individual or group. This includes external physical settings as well as social and cultural conditions. However, this concept has been contextually limited when applied to the environmental movement. The environment is principally associated with the â€Å"natural† world. This creates an exclusive movement which inevitably will hinder constructive transformation. The political landscape of this nation must be renovated in order to achieve an effective environmental movement that infiltrates everyone (Bullard, 1994). An injustice to one is an injustice to all. Concepts cannot be restrictive. Understandings and perspectives of the term environment need to expand in order to create a successful, sustainable environmental movement. History of the Environmental Movement A biased viewpoint of history by the dominant culture, ethnicity, and gender produces the exclusive atmosphere of the environmental movement. History is established and recorded from socially constructed knowledge. This creates a public culture that is not equally representative of society. However, a neutral interpretation and documentation of the world is impractical. Countless combinations of possible ingredients that compose environments create infinite realities; therefore, reality is relative—a cultural, social, and political construction. Society needs to work towards multiple systems of representation, polyphony of voices. Furthermore, all researchers and historians can overtly acknowledge their biases, utilizing hermeneutics. Objectivism is ironically fiction, because the researcher bases his or her conclusions o... ...isco : Sierra Club Books. Crosby, Alfred W. Oct. 1995. The Past and Present of Environmental History. The American Historical Review. Duncan , James and Ley, David (1993). Place/Culture/Representation. London : Routledge. Douglas, Ian, Huggett, Richar, and Robinson, Mike (1996). Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: the environment and humankind. London : Routledge. Bender Shetler, Jane. Class Lecture, 13 February 2002 . Atkins, Peter, Simmons, Ian and Brain Roberts (1998). People, Land, and Time: An Historical Introduction to the Relations Between Landscape, Culture, and Environment. London : Arnold . Routhman, Hal. Sept. 2002. Conceptualizing the Real: Environmental History and American Studies. American Quarterly, Vol. 54. Vidgor, Jacob L. 2002. Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs Environtmental Movement Essay -- Environtment Nature Essays Environtmental Movement Introduction Environment is the entirety of circumstances surrounding an individual or group. This includes external physical settings as well as social and cultural conditions. However, this concept has been contextually limited when applied to the environmental movement. The environment is principally associated with the â€Å"natural† world. This creates an exclusive movement which inevitably will hinder constructive transformation. The political landscape of this nation must be renovated in order to achieve an effective environmental movement that infiltrates everyone (Bullard, 1994). An injustice to one is an injustice to all. Concepts cannot be restrictive. Understandings and perspectives of the term environment need to expand in order to create a successful, sustainable environmental movement. History of the Environmental Movement A biased viewpoint of history by the dominant culture, ethnicity, and gender produces the exclusive atmosphere of the environmental movement. History is established and recorded from socially constructed knowledge. This creates a public culture that is not equally representative of society. However, a neutral interpretation and documentation of the world is impractical. Countless combinations of possible ingredients that compose environments create infinite realities; therefore, reality is relative—a cultural, social, and political construction. Society needs to work towards multiple systems of representation, polyphony of voices. Furthermore, all researchers and historians can overtly acknowledge their biases, utilizing hermeneutics. Objectivism is ironically fiction, because the researcher bases his or her conclusions o... ...isco : Sierra Club Books. Crosby, Alfred W. Oct. 1995. The Past and Present of Environmental History. The American Historical Review. Duncan , James and Ley, David (1993). Place/Culture/Representation. London : Routledge. Douglas, Ian, Huggett, Richar, and Robinson, Mike (1996). Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: the environment and humankind. London : Routledge. Bender Shetler, Jane. Class Lecture, 13 February 2002 . Atkins, Peter, Simmons, Ian and Brain Roberts (1998). People, Land, and Time: An Historical Introduction to the Relations Between Landscape, Culture, and Environment. London : Arnold . Routhman, Hal. Sept. 2002. Conceptualizing the Real: Environmental History and American Studies. American Quarterly, Vol. 54. Vidgor, Jacob L. 2002. Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs

Iranian Literary Arts Festival Essay

Cultural Festivals are usually done to celebrate traditions and cultures of certain places in order to preserve and maintain its significance. The festival I visited was the Iranian Literary Arts Festival at Project Artaud Theatre in San Francisco, California at 450 Florida Street last November 17, 2007 produced by the Translation Project. It is a commemoration of Iranian literary arts, which includes activities such as film screenings and art exhibits. However, the highlight of the event is the world premiere of Icarus/Rise, a play about the myth of Icarus written by Niloufar Talebi. Also, other Iranian films were shown almost everyday in theaters. With this celebration, it shows that the Iraqis like literature, especially poetry and film and they give importance to it thru the activities conducted in this festival. The contemporary issue here for the Iraqis is that they value the fruits of the Persian culture that is shown in the Iraqi movies screened during the festival that also featured literary panel discussions, art auctions and gala dinner. This experience was a surprise for me regarding their culture. I heard a lot about Iraq before, and they were all about wars, suicide bombings and brutality, and so with this festival, I have seen a different side of their country. Now I know that their culture is rich in literary arts and that they value it. I also realized that the literary treasures of a country say a lot about their culture and their history. Though I wasn’t able to watch all of the movies, I have felt the value they gave to such treasures. With this experience, I conclude that cultural festivals play a significant role in the present day by preserving and reliving the culture of a region, and it also helps the residents get to know their forefathers since it says a lot about the way of living of the people in the past. I also realized that every person should know the value of this festivities, and participate in every cultural festivals they can go to because its like a time machine that they can go back to the past and relive the good old days of their community. Reference Iranian Literary Arts Festival. November 18, 2007. Retrieved from http://www. sfgate. com/listings/event. php? events,e263149 The Translation Project. November 18, 2007. Retrieved from http://thetranslationproject. org/

Ap Global Midterm Review

Global Midterm review * Changes to map of Europe after WWI/WWII- new countries formed After WWI Only two completely new countries in Europe were formed after WW1 – Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Poland, which had been wiped off the map in 1795, was revived. The Baltic republics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania asserted their independence. Romania doubled in size. After WWII To a great extent, no new countries were formed after World War II. Most of these changes occurred in the East.Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, only just winning independence after WWI were erased as independent states and became part of the Soviet Union. Poland's borders were moved eastward to include only the â€Å"corridor† from before the war but also parts of East Prussia, Pomerania, and Silesia, though they also lost the eastern parts of their country to the Soviet Union. Austria and Czechoslovakia, states created by the end of WWI but annexed to Nazi Germany in the 1930s reappeared, thoug h Czechoslovakia was firmly under Soviet domination and the Austrians were forced to remain neutral during the growing Cold War.In Europe the only country divided was Germany. * Conservatism in western politics Conservatives, such as Austria’s Prince Klemens von Metternich, were bent on maintaining the sanctity of traditional political institutions, particularly the monarchy. It was also their goal to maintain a balance of power in Europe in order to ensure a permanent peace. * Welfare state Welfare State and Consumer Society A. The motives for the welfare state 1. protection against depression and political extremism 2. the argument for social justice B.Features of the welfare state 1. support ‘from cradle to grave’ 2. educational and cultural opportunities C. The growth of consumer society 1. a new standard of living 2. materialism and hedonism 3. the end of public life? * Nuclear umbrella Nuclear umbrella refers to a guarantee by a nuclear weapons state to def end a non-nuclear allied state. * Germany after World War II At the end of the war, Germany was basically divided into 4 sections, each one under the control of one of the Allied powers; The United States, England, France, and Russia.Berlin was divided as well. After a period of rebuilding and reorganization, the sections under the control of the United States, England, and France were returned to the control of the German government. Russia retained control over its section and brought it under the fold of the newly formed USSR. This resulted in the Berlin Wall, and the separate countries of East Germany and West Germany. Following the fall of communism and the breakup of the USSR in the 1980's, Germany reunified. * Marshall plan Proposed to rebuild the continent in the interest of political stability and a healthy world economy * viewed as a vehicle for American economic dominance * Iron Curtain * a term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the boundary that separated the Warsa w Pact countries from the NATO countries from about 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991 * was both a physical and an ideological division that represented the way Europe was viewed after World War II * Soviet control over Eastern Europe Between 1945 and 1949 Stalin created a Russian empire in Eastern Europe.This empire included Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Each had a Communist government. In the West they were called satellites because they clung closely to the Soviet Union like satellites round a planet. Stalin was able to create this empire for a number of reasons. The first was the military might of the Soviet Union in Europe after 1945. Another reason for the spread of Communism after the war was the gratitude of many Eastern Europeans for their liberation from Nazism.This, and the often-appalling conditions at the end of the war, played into the hands of east European communist parties, which were, of course, backed by Stalin and t he Soviet Union. * Decolonization after World War II After WWII Europe tried to reassert its colonial dominance over Africa and the Far East. At the same time national movements grew strong in those colonies. Europe soon realized that they would be unable to physically control the colonies without massive military occupation forces.This was impossible both in economic and political terms. As a result the colonial powers began a staged withdrawal of physical control but maintained economic ties. While these new countries were ‘independent' their formal colonial masters still had much control over the country. * Impact of World War II on international trade The conclusion of World War II spurred efforts to correct the problems stemming from protectionism, which had increased since 1871, and trade restrictions, which had been imposed between World Wars I and II.The resulting multilateral trade agreements and other forms of international economic cooperation led to the General Agr eement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and laid the foundation for the World Trade Organization (WTO). * Impact of World War II on civilian population -One of the most distressing impacts that war has on civilians is the frequent removal of their basic human rights -Huge civilian casualties on front line and bombing attacks -gave people the physiological hope to become as powerful as Hitler did * Consequences of industrialization in the 1800s Mass migration of people from the land to the cities. -Massive building of below standard accommodation, built cheaply, to accommodate them -Massive increase in childhood mortality due to injuries at work, cruelty, the spread of disease, rat population increase, alcohol use and casual neglect of children due to both parents working. -Expansion of the coal industry to include women and children working down the mines. -Exploitation of cheap child labor -Poor diet due to low wages and the collapse of the agricultural economy due to lack of laborers - Slavery in the UK to plug the gaps of missing workers War with France had been ongoing from the late 18th century and was a massive drain on the economy. -The start of the National Debt to pay for the war and the introduction of taxes on booze, tobacco etc. -Explosion in smuggling to counteract the tax increases. * NATO/Warsaw Pact NATO- North Atlantic Trade Organization -led by US; maintain adequate military strength and political unity to deter aggression and other forms of military or political pressure; aimed at a relaxation of tensions between East and West – a policy based to a large extent on general military strength.Warsaw Pact -led by USSR; a military treaty, which bound its signatories to come to the aid of the others, should any one of them be the victim of foreign aggression. * Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna was convened in 1815 by the four European powers, which had defeated Napoleon. The first goal was to establish a new balance of power in Europe, w hich would prevent imperialism within Europe, such as the Napoleonic Empire,  and maintain the peace between the great powers.The second goal was to prevent political revolutions, such as the French Revolution, and maintain the status quo. * Political ideologies: Conservatives Liberals socialist radicals Conservatism * a political and social philosophy that promotes retaining traditional social institutions Liberalism * a political ideology, a branch of liberalism which advocates civil liberties and political freedom with limited government under the rule of law and generally promotes a laissez-faire economic policy Socialism an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy Radicalism * sought republicanism, abolition of titles, redistribution of property and freedom of the press * Demographic transition after industrialization * dramatic changes in population growth and life expectancy driven by changes in the underlying factors that explain them: fertility increased and mortality decreased * Karl Marx – father of socialism and communism Marx's ideas were that of pure equality.He wanted a world where everyone was equal. His theories, while impractical because of the nature of man, were truly â€Å"good†. His ultimate goal was to eradicate poverty. * Opium war – example of resistance to imperialism * Motives For Imperialism 1. ) Economic – motives included the desire to make money, to expand and control foreign trade, to create new markets for products, to acquire raw materials and cheap labor, to compete for investments and resources, and to export industrial technology and transportation methods. . ) Political- motives were based on a nation's desire to gain power, to compete with other European countries, to expand territory, to exercise military force, to gain prestige by winning colonies, and to boost national pride and security. 3. ) Religious- motives included the desire to spread Christianity, to protect European missionaries in other lands, to spread European values and moral beliefs, to educate peoples of other cultures, and to end slave trade in Africa. 4. Exploratory- motives were based on the desire to explore unknown or uncharted territory, to conduct scientific research, to conduct medical searches for the causes and treatment of diseases, to go on an adventure, and to investigate unknown lands and cultures. * Impact of imperialism/colonization * large numbers of people were forced into slavery or the system of indentured laborers, and vast areas of natural habitats were cleared and converted to monocultural plantations. * the export of Western values – resource exploitation, consumerism and materialism to the colonies

Behavioral Medicine in Psychology

This study was undertaken to research behavioral medicine in psychology. In summary, this research examines the origins of behavioral medicine, reviews the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms, and describes concrete and practical implementations of behavioral knowledge as they have been applied to medicine. The purpose of this work is to outline main features of behavioral medicine and its utilization in psychology. Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field of study integrating the behavioral, social, and medical sciences (Miley, 1999, p.10).It grew out of behaviorism in the early 1970s and integrated psychology into physical illness. Schwartz and Weiss defined the term: Behavioral medicine is the development and integration of biomedical, psychosocial and behavioral sciences' knowledge and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation† (1978, p. 249-51).The area of behavioral medicine includes behavior-change programs which operate different health-related activities (self-examination for early symptoms of disease, following special diets, exercising and taking medicine) (Pierce, 2004, p. 380). Some history should be given. Between the burst of enthusiasm for learning based therapies in the 1920s and their revival in the 1960s a great deal of laboratory research and refinement of learning theory was carried out by Clark Hull, B. F. Skinner, Neal Miller, and others.By the 1950s, efforts to apply more sophisticated learning theories to psychopathology became widespread. The early psychoanalytic approaches soon gave way to experimental studies aimed at identifying psychological factors believed to play a major role in the development of specific somatic complaints. These initial attempts to link personality types to specific disease states were generally disappointing but nevertheless established a firm basis for interdisciplinary resear ch in the new field of behavioral medicine.Rather than attempting to change problem behavior, however, these efforts mainly translated the clinical theory and lore of psychoanalysis into the language of learning theory. The most ambitious of these translations was Personality and Psychotherapy, by John Dollard and Neal Miller (1950). Dedicating their book to â€Å"Freud and Pavlov and their students,† Dollard and Miller sought â€Å"to combine the vitality of psychoanalysis, the rigor of the natural-science laboratory, and the facts of culture† (p.3). They called psychotherapy a â€Å"window to higher mental life† and â€Å"the process by which normality is created† (pp. 3, 5). Accepting psychoanalytic views of psychopathology and its treatment, Dollard and Miller mainly sought to state these views in more rigorous terms derived from laboratory research on learning. Despite the basic contrasts listed earlier, psychoanalytic and learning theories converged in several ways.They stated, both explained mental processes largely in terms of principles of association, whereby sequences of thoughts are governed by previous contiguities among ideas, similarity of content, and other shared features. This associationistic view of mental processes was the basis for the psychoanalytic technique of free association, as well as the psychoanalytic theory of mental symbols. Psychoanalytic theories and most learning theories postulated that reduction of organically based drives promoted the learning of important responses, attitudes, and emotions.Psychoanalytic theory and learning theories blamed childhood experiences for most adult psychopathology but did not actually test the relationships that were assumed. Neal Miller began his career strongly influenced by his psychoanalytic training, so his earlier work reflects a more psychological approach to behavior. Impressed by his clinical observations of the effects of conflicting motivations, he search ed for underlying mechanisms involved, which led to work in brain stimulation and control of autonomic responses utilizing biofeedback techniques.His research emphasizes the interrelationship between physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Miller took his undergraduate training at the University of Washington, completed his master's degree at Stanford University, and received his Ph. D. from Yale University in 1935. Trained as a psychoanalyst, he combined clinical observation and a broad line of research that led to such important contributions as the frustration-agression hypothesis and social learning theory.Searching for the underlying causes of conflicting motivation, he moved into the area of brain stimulation and then to an interesting and highly controversial series of studies involving the control of autonomic responses utilizing biofeedback techniques. After a distinguished career at Yale and the Institute of Human Relations, he moved to Rockefeller University in 1966 w here he continues his interests in physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Professor Miller served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1969.In 1969 Neal Miller, in an article in Science, summarized a series of studies in which, by the use of Skinnerian reinforcement strategies, he and his associates had trained animals to bring a number of internal bodily functions seemingly under self-control. The bodily functions thus trained included blood pressure, urine formation, heart rate, body temperature, and bowel distensions. Together with other demonstrations of a similar kind, often with human subjects, this work led to a new form of therapy called biofeedback.Using sophisticated equipment for monitoring and displaying to the patient the moment to moment fluctuations in blood pressure, skin temperature, heart rate, muscle tension, blood volume, or brain waves, a host of investigations began to report the success in treatment by biofeedback and other self-condi tioning methods of headache, muscle tension, high blood pressure, nervousness, Raynaud's disease (in which one's finger tips and toes become so cold that they lose all blood circulation and bring on excruciating pain), tics, bedwetting, and a host of comparable disorders.A new subspecialty in medical psychology and medicine was being born. The name given to it was behavioral medicine. As this field has developed its scope has expanded. It now includes the helping of patients who want to quit smoking, give up drugs, lose weight, take their insulin or follow the prescribed treatments for other conditions where therapy fails for lack of compliance to a regimen that is known to be effective. It also includes individuals who are healthy and want to remain so by jogging, eating low cholesterol and other more healthful foods, abstain from alcohol, and so on.A brief historical review of the developments in medicine and in psychology which led to the emergence of behavioral medicine and beha vioral health as viable, interdisciplinary specialties is available elsewhere (Matarazzo, 1980, 1982). The emergence of health psychology as a vigorous new discipline is a natural outcome of scientific and technological advances within psychology. Experimental and physiological psychology have contributed greatly to this evolution, beginning with Pavlov's early work with dogs at the turn of the century. His concept of conditioned reflex provided the basis for much of classical learning theory.In the 1920s, Walter Cannon introduced the concepts of homeostasis and fight versus flight. Neal Miller applied aspects of these earlier theories to an understanding of the role of conditioning in psychophysiological change and how certain aspects of the autonomic nervous system could be controlled. The modern use of biofeedback treatment to teach an individual how to control muscle tensions, blood pressure, and other physiological processes developed out of these earlier efforts. Psychophysiol ogy made contributions to behavioral medicine.Psychophysiological applications to behavioral medicine typically involve the monitoring of physiological functions in relation to concurrent emotional and behavioral states. Originally, psychophysiological studies were confined to the laboratory or clinic, and explored the cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to stressors, individual differences in reaction patterns, or changes in physiological function with behavioral interventions. Laboratory studies remain the mainstay of psychophysiology, but the development of ambulatory methods has increasingly led to investigations under everyday or naturalistic conditions.Describing psychophysiology as a method of studying relationships between physical responses and ongoing behavior places no limits on the nature of the physiological processes being monitored. Indeed, one of the characteristics of psychophysiology has been the development of technology to assess more and more sophisticat ed and precise aspects of cardiovascular function. In the behavioral epidemiological study, physiological measures are typically collected under office or clinic conditions on one or a few occasions, whereas psychophysiologists are predominantly concerned with dynamic interrelations between behavior and physiology.Psychophysiological research in early behavioral medicine was dominated by studies of biofeedback and the voluntary control of blood pressure and heart rate (Beatty & Legewie, 1977). Over the last years, mental stress testing in the laboratory has become the major research paradigm (Steptoe & Vogele, 1991). It has involved studies of many clinic and high-risk groups, and assessments of a wide range of physiological processes in response to a variety of conditions, such as problem solving, stress interviews, and information-processing tasks.The methodology of mental stress testing in the laboratory has been thoroughly reviewed in various texts (Matthews, Weiss & Detre, 1986 ). Reservations concerning the reliability of laboratory assessments have largely been allayed by a new generation of investigations, indicating that, provided care is taken with physiological measurement and administration of behavioral stimuli, reliable and consistent response patterns are observed. The psychophysiological treatment par excellence is biofeedback. Biofeedback is a research-based empirical approach, with greater emphasis on replication of results and cautious examination of evidence.Yet biofeedback pursues the same goal as other body therapies, that of using individual awareness and control over the body to enhance personal potential, health, and growth. It brings together humanistic conceptions of mind and body with sophisticated electronic technology to produce powerful strategies for self-control over consciousness, emotion, and physiology. The area of volitional control of physiological activity has contributed significantly to the growing field of behavioral me dicine and health psychology. The beginnings of biofeedback go back to the late 1960s.Kenneth Gaarder points out that biofeedback was not so much a discovery as it was â€Å"an awareness which emerged from the Zeitgeist† (Gaarder & Montgomery, 1979). Many researchers of the 1950s and 1960s can be cited as independent founders of biofeedback. For example, Hefferline conceptualized biofeedback as a powerful tool, perhaps more powerful than Gestalt awareness exercises, to expand body awareness and self-awareness (Knapp, 1986). As with other so-called departures in psychology, there were earlier examples. The primary training method developed and utilized in this learning process has been labeled biofeedback.Its theory grounded on the concept introduced by Elmer Green: Every change in the physiological state is accompanied by an appropriate change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unconscious, and conversely, every change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unco nscious, is accompanied by an appropriate change in the physiological state. (Green, Green, & Walters, 1970, p. 3) This initial research activity began to stimulate more interest, among both the scientific community and the general public, in the area of biofeedback because of its' many potentially important clinical and medical applications.For example, it would be therapeutically valuable if it was possible to teach patients with hypertension how to lower their blood pressure, or to teach patients with headaches how to control the vasodilation process involved in the pain phenomenon. Indeed, Birk (1973) was the individual who coined the term behavioral medicine to describe the application of a behavioral treatment technique (biofeedback) that could be applied to medicine or medical problems (e. g. , headache pain).Each school of body therapy or body work presents a different manifestation of the fundamental psychophysiological principle that we can intervene somatically and produc e changes in emotion and relationship, and inversely, that we can intervene psychologically, with somatic consequences. Each of the body-therapy approaches emphasizes a dual psychological and somatic intervention, and each emphasizes breathing, muscular rigidity, and the physical blocking of memories and affective experiencing. In turn, each body therapy seeks to release the individual from physical inhibitions and to restore a full psychophysiological selfregulation.The work of Alexander Graham Bell ( 1847-1922), the inventor of the telephone, with the deaf, and his interest in using the visible display of speech sound, either by means of ‘manometric' flames or by an early form of kymograph, in order to help the deaf to reproduce correct sounds, would seem to utilize feedback principles ( Bruce, 1973). However, it needed a dramatic event to focus attention on the area of feedback control. This event took place at the 1967 annual meeting of the Pavlovian Society of North Ameri ca in the form of a report by Neal Miller (1968).He introduced a technique that his colleague, Jay Towill, had first devised. This involved immobilizing animals with D-tubo curarine, artificially respirating them, and with electrodes placed in the so-called ‘pleasure centers' in the brain, operantly conditioning various physiological systems. For example, it was reported that the animal could learn, through operant conditioning, to increase or lower blood pressure, increase or decrease heart-rate, kidney flow, and so on. The reward was, in each case, a brief electric pulse delivered to the pleasure centres.The use of D-tubo curarine to produce paralysis of skeletal muscles was an attempt to avoid the possibility that the animal was modifying its autonomic responses via voluntary activities, such as changes in muscle tension or breathing pattern or rate. Research papers soon followed, and in a series of studies carried out with Leo DiCara on the curarized rat, the instrumental conditioning of heart-rate, blood-pressure, and renal blood-flow and–in collaboration with A. Banuazizi–contraction of the intestines, appeared to be demonstrated. Reports from other laboratories seemed to support Miller's findings.

How Does Kazan Convey Ideas About Good and Evil in ‘on the Waterfront’? Essay

Elia Kazan’s portrayal of good and evil in ‘On the Waterfront’ is more than it meets the eye. Good and Evil appear in seperate characters and also at different times on the same characters. More importantly, Elia Kazan gets an important message across; No character is truly evil. Good is symbolised in numerous ways throughought the film. The church is one such example of this. It represents the highest order of purity and goodness, yet it is always on the background of the film. During Edie and Terry’s walk through the playground, the Church could be seen in the background, yet unlike other structures in the film such as the docks, the Church cannot be seen prominently, but rather it is mostly present in the background. Elia Kazan had perhaps used the Church to depict goodness as something present in all the characters, yet, much like the Church it is not always so prominent. Johnny Friendly is the primary antagonist ‘On the Waterfront’, however a question to be considered is that is he purely evil? Friendly’s name is not as ironic as it seems. It is true he is wicked enough to order chilling homicides and remain unperturbed afterwards, however he has a affection towards his underlings. After Friendly observes Terry being deeply shaken by his role in Joey’s death, he hands Terry a note of cash as a â€Å"present from your uncle Johnny. † This shows that Friendly has some level of compassion over his minions and appreciates their ‘good’ work. Despite some goodness inside him however, Friendly is still clearly a cold-blooded killer. Johnny Friendly’s menacing figure represents dictatorship in â€Å"On the Waterfront†. With a whole community of thousands working for him, Friendly still finds the need to murder the minority who disobey him despite having â€Å"the fattest piers and the fattest harbour in the world. † Although he has â€Å"two thousand deuce paying members: at his disposal, Friendly’s overpowering evil lusts for more dominance and this leads to the ultimate act of evil – the murders of multiple people. Although there is a flicker of goodness in him, Friendly remans a major source of evil in ‘On the Waterfront’. To the observant viewer, the presence of good and evil may be clear to see, yet it is the struggle between good and evil influence that is the platform of the film. The protagonist Terry Malloy is the tragic hero is entrapped in a battle between good and evil forces. The pure hearted Father Barry ad Edie Doyle attempt to rescue Terry from his conscience which constantly torments him by urging him to speak out the truth while the mob on the other hand attempt to influence him by providing threats and intimidating him. The mob goes so far as to murdering his brother in an attemt to break his spirit and also lure him to end his life too. In the end, the influence of good prevails and Terrt finally gives witness to the crimes of the mob. With his conscience cleared, Terry is now fianlly able to speak out against Friendly and the mob without loathing himself as he is no longer a â€Å"bum† in his own eyes. â€Å"On the Waterfront† is no film about Angels against Demons, but rather sheds light on the fact that good and evil are out there, yet is is upto us to allow either one to influence us. Similar to Edie, an individual may allow good forces such as the desire to uncover truth to affect them or they may allow evil forces such as greed to manipulate them and cause them to carry out needless, henious acts like Johnny Friendly. As viewers witness through Terry’s actions, in the end, ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are simply options. It is ultimately our choice to pick one to allow it to influence us. The choice is always ours to make.