Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Research Paper

Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest - Research Paper Example TDuring an open heart surgery, there is significant risk of neurological injury on account of the lack of oxygen supply to brain as the circulation comes to a halt. In the absence of oxygen, the brain undergoes anaerobic metabolism as reported by Michelle E. (2011). This leads to damage to ATP dependent cellular functions with a resulting increase in calcium and glutamate excretion. The brain cells thus become more active, consuming more oxygen. With the increasing hypoxemia, further damage occurs leading to cell death. The resultant cerebral edema further enhances the damage. Also, as a result of all these processes, the blood-brain barrier also becomes ineffective further contributing to cerebral edema. As soon as the circulation returns after the heart starts pumping again, reperfusion injury occurs which adds up to the ongoing damage. Meanwhile, there is already an onset of the inflammatory reaction as a result of cell death leading to a release of neutrophils and macrophages in an attempt to remove the cellular debris. The resultant production of free radicals also catalyses the damaging process thus worsening the cerebral edema. This vicious cycle continues leading to brain death. ROLE OF THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA IN PREVENTING NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE: Using the technique of therapeutic hypothermia can be useful to avoid all the above described damage. The therapeutically induced hypothermia after cardiac arrest takes following steps to decrease the extent of neurological damage: 1. It stabilizes the release of calcium and glutamate thus decreasing the degree of cellular death, 2. It stabilizes the blood brain barrier, 3. It causes a suppression of the inflammatory response, 4. It reduces cerebral edema by the help of above actions. INDUCED THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA AFTER CARDIAC ARREST 4 According to the report produced by Michelle E. (2011), there is a reduction in cerebral metabolism from 6% to 10% for every one degree Celcius drop in body temperature. This results in decreased oxygen requirements by the brain cells. Michelle E. (2011) simulates the effects of therapeutic hy

Death Represenataion in Sylvia Plaths Selected Poems Essay Example for Free

Death Represenataion in Sylvia Plaths Selected Poems Essay Death Representation in Sylvia Plaths Selected Poems Mohamed Fleih Hassan Instructor English Dept. / Abstract Death is one of the significant and recurrent themes in the poetry of Sylvia Plath. This paper aims at showing the poets attitudes towards death. Certain poems are selected to show the poets different attitudes to death: death as a rebirth or renewal, and death as an end. Most obvious factors shaped her attitudes towards death were the early death of her father that left her unsecured, and the unfaithfulness of her husband, Ted Hughes, who left her dejected and melancholic. Plaths Two views of a Cadaver Room, Sheep in Fog, A Birthday Present, Edge, and I Am Vertical are selected to outline her various perspectives towards death. Death Representation in Sylvia Plaths Selected Poems Generally speaking, death is represented in literature in various ways shifting from being an ominous terrifying force to a means of fulfillment and new beginnings. Death came to be a recurrent theme in Sylvia Plaths poetry due to the sudden death of her father. His death left the daughter with powerful feelings of defeat, resentment, grief and remorse. So the absence of the father had influenced her emotional life negatively to the extent that it is reflected clearly in her poems. Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) passed in periods of depression and there were precursors of suicidal act through fits of breakdown. Among the reasons for her early depression are the early death of her father that left her unsecured and her failure to attend a writing class at Harvard. Though she got a chair as a college guest-editor of the Mademoiselle, but she got monotonous with nothing to fall back on in New York. She broke down with the unfulfillment of her dream of being a successful writer. Therefore, she took an over-dose of sleeping-pills to end her misery, but she was saved. 1 After successful psychiatric sessions of recovery, Plath met Ted Hughes at Cambridge and they got married in 1956. She found in him a motive and substitute for the absence of the father. Hughes believed in her exceptional gift. In that period, the couple got success and fame with their poetic development, especially when they got children. Her poems had been published in Britain and America like, The Colossus 1960, which dealt with Plaths preoccupation with ideas of death and rebirth. Hughes love affair with another woman broke the heart of Plath, who suffered the devastation of the broken marriage. Shifting into a new flat in London, she started writing poems of rage, despair, love and vengeance but her poems were slowly accepted for publication. She suffered the traumatic breakdown and melancholia that she put her head in the oven in 11 April, 1963. 2 Death came to be a recurrent theme in the poetry of Sylvia Plath, and this theme has been represented in different ways in her poems. She did engage the reader either in a personal or an impersonal way to view death either as a liberating force or troubling depressing experience. Her depiction of death is reflected by the use of such techniques as imagery, language, structure, and tone. Her negative attitude towards death is caused by the early death of her father that left her dejected. In her poem Two views of a Cadaver Room (1959), she presents a pessimistic point of view towards death. This poem recounts an experience she had while dating a young Harvard medical student. She followed her boyfriend and some other medical students into an operating room where the students were busily dissecting a preserved corpse. The speaker and her boyfriend are horrified by the experience, the narrator offers two views of the cadaver room as alternate possibilities of depicting death in art; the physical view of death and the romantic view of death. One view is epitomized by the cadaver room contrasting the romantic one of death, which is represented by a detail from a Brueghel painting depicting two lovers, who are spell bounded by one another and careless to the destruction and devastation around them. The poem is written in two parts. The first part creates a futile setting in which things are described in a dissecting room, which suggests a mood of despondency. She did so by the use of wastelandish simile through comparing cadaver with burnt turkey: The day she visited the dissecting room They had four men laid out, black as burnt turkey, Already half unstrung. (II. 1-3) The place dissecting room suggests mercilessness and dehumanization. The dead bodies are anatomized and bones are removed which suggest a horrible image. The poetess compares death with the dissector, in which it takes off the spirit out of the body as did the doctor in dissecting the major constituents of bodies. Death here represents a terrifying force that annihilates mans life. The dissecting room serves as the epitome of scientific space, which is to say death’s space. And this is the space not only of female witnessing and female passivity, ‘she could scarcely make out anything/ In that rubble of skull plates and old leather’, but also of a bestowal from male to female, from male scientist to female poet. The process of dissecting the dead body indicates the savageness and carelessness of the surgeon, who cuts out the heart; the symbol of mans life and feelings. The surgeon is associated with death in the sense that he extracts the heart of the body, He hands her the cut-out heart like a cracked heirloom. The simile presents a very useless pessimistic image for the heart. The heart is not only reduced to a non-functioning machine, but a man hands death to a woman. The heart is the dearest to man and is compared to the heirloom which contains the memory of the dead, but it is uprooted maliciously. Death came to be an unavoidable inheritance. 4 In many of her poems, what Plath perceives is a death-figure which threatens to swallow her up unless she can reassert her living identity by fixing and thus immobilizing her enemy in a structured poetic image. Plath transforms death by assuming the role of a photo-journalist who observes the details in a way as to control the scene with the transforming power of language. She follows the technique of fusing various visual images in a meaningful way. Therefore, she transcends the literal immediacy of what she sees and creates order out of chaos. The second part paradoxes the first in showing a couple who are ignorant of the horrors of death. Their ignorance of the shadow of death around them intensifies their tragic catastrophic end: Two people only are blind to the carrion army: He, afloat in the sea of her blue satin Skirts, sings in the direction Of her bare shoulder, while she bends, Fingering a leaflet of music, over him, Both of th em deaf to the fiddle in the hands Of the death’s-head shadowing their song. (II. 13-19) Plath thinks that the second view was untenable. Confronting the literal physicality of death (as the narrator does in the first stanza), and ignoring that reality (as the lovers do in the Brueghel painting) seem hopelessly romantic and naive. The only way to relinquish the painful awareness of impending death is by relinquishing life itself. Plath committed suicide in her flat moving herself and her work into the domain of myth and psycho-mystical speculation. The second view of death is the bestowal of death that is interrupted by art. Paradoxically, this interruption of death by art is itself a kind of death, a freezing of life. The poem surveys with an eye which is blind and an ear which is deaf. If the lovers’ blindness and deafness to death’s music permits them to ‘flourish’, then this flourishing is ‘not for long’. Paradoxically, the work of art saves from death by paralyzing or fixing the living in an absolute present, which is to say a perfected present, but without future: This stalling of death’s triumph by art, this resistance of art to death, is itself a kind of death, since it reminds us that those lovers captured in art’s absolute present can do nothing at all. Just as there are two kinds of music here – the death’s-head’s and the lovers’ – so art is not placed in any simple opposition to death. 6 There are two kinds of death: on the one hand, death as process, as rebirth or renewal, as imaginary; and, on the other hand, death as end, as factuality. Plath rides into death in Sheep in Fog (1963) but death is no longer conceived as renewal. The objective in ‘Sheep in Fog’ becomes the ‘dark water’: They threaten To let me through to a heaven Starless and fatherless, a dark water. (II. 13-15) The sense of dissolution is overpowering in this poem through thee description of the background of the poem. Each line and each stanza of the poem concerns the disappearance of something. hills step off into whiteness, Morning has been blackening and the starless heaven leave her dejected and wretched. 7 Sheep in Fog suggests that there is a radical sundering of poet and poetry, a death of the poet that is the life of the poetry, if only as that which is in mourning for the poet. The impersonality of Plath’s later poetry is not arrived at through an ethical self-sacrifice of the poet’s empirical, autobiographical self in the interests of a universal validity, a kind of immortality or proof against death. Rather, it is an impersonality in which there is a highly paradoxical and unstable relation between poet and poetry. 8 A Birthday Present (1962) is another dramatic monologue in which terror and death predominate. The persona longs to know the gift presented by his friend. The speaker, her friend, and the object talk to each other in the kitchen. She imagines that the present may be bones, a pearl button, and an ivory tusk. Each of these things has white colour and suggests the nature of the birthday present that she wants. The three white objects—bones, pearl, and ivory tusk—all suggest death because they were once part of living organisms. The persona speaks of the veils around the present. In order to remove the concealing veil, which causes her anxiety and fear, the speaker demands an end to the screening off of death from view. She compares her life at the end of the poem to the arrival by mail of parts of her own corpse. At the end, the speaker demands as her birthday present not the previously mentioned symbols of death or the figure representing death, but death itself: 9 If it were death I would admire the deep gravity of it, its timeless eyes. I would know you were serious. There would be a nobility then, there would be a birthday. And the knife not carve, but enter Pure and clean as the cry of a baby, And the universe slide from my side. (II. 52-58) The poem dramatizes her birthday to be her death. The drama of A Birthday Present is frightening in its transformation of a domestic and happy occasion into a celebration of suicide. It captures the movement of the speakers mind as she throws herself into the sequence of steps that might lead her to kill herself. Plaths second perspective towards death is that it may be chosen by the individual himself as a means of self-destruction, rather than acting as a horrible exterminating force. The poetess aims to show the suffering and agony of the persona in selecting death as a means of liberation of the antagonistic world of the person. This perspective is reflected in Plaths Edge, which was written on 5 February 1963 and is thought to be Plath’s last poem. According to Seamus Heaney, one of the biographers of Plath, the poem was a suicide note, which is to say an entirely personal, autobiographical communication from a distressed melancholic woman. For this reason, the poem is limited by the literal death of the poet, a death that cannot help but be read back into the poem. 10 This death is a negativity that renews, and works within an economy of life. This is not just an imaginary death, but death as a figure for the imagination itself, as a negativity that may be harnessed in the interests of life. This poem carries the reader not only to the very limit of life, but also to the limit of poetry. And yet, if in this poem the woman is ‘perfected’, it is through a death that takes the form of an aesthetic object, but in which the emphasis none the less falls very much on illusion. The speaker in this poem doesn’t endure the anguish of his life and feels that his misery is over: The illusion of a Greek necessity Flows in the scrolls of her toga Her bare Feet seem to be saying: We have come so far, it is over. (II. 4-8) The bare feet symbolize the lack of protection and immunity. The tone looks submissive but it indicates the willingness to accept death as an outlet and escape of the aggressive world. The persona feels alienated in the world around him. No one cares for the personas death even the moon, The moon has nothing to be sad about/ Staring from her hood of bone. Therefore, she starts looking for something beyond death, which is the longing for perfection. Usually roses symbolize purity, so she compares her folding of the dead bodies of children as petals of a rose close. Therefore she thinks that through death, she will have a new beginning. 11 Death as a means of rebirth is reflected in Plaths I Am Vertical. She sets images taken from nature as a background of her poem. This use of nature as a setting for her poem shows death not as a horrible monstrous thing. She presented two fruitful lively images of nature and then she negates her alikeness to them: I am not a tree with my root in the spoil Sucking up minerals and motherly love So that each March I may gleam into leaf, Nor am I the beauty of a garden bed Attracting my share of Ahs and spectacularly painted, Unknowing I must soon unpetal. (II. 2-7) The persona feels rejection of the surroundings when the trees and flowers have been strewing their cool odours. I walk among them, but none of them are noticing. This represents the negligence of society and the social restraints that the individual feels. each March I may gleam into leaf suggests the continuity of life and regeneration. She is longing to be united with nature via death; the nature that symbolizes serenity and tranquility, Then the sky and I are in open conversation. The word sky gives death the sense of spirituality and elevation. The speaker is not satisfied in her life and she accepts death as a means for recognition: And I shall be useful when I lie down finally: Then the trees may touch me for once, and the flowers have time for me. (II. 19-20) Plaths life is ended in a world of death and despondency from which there is no rebirth or transformation.

The Meaning Of National Security Politics Essay

The Meaning Of National Security Politics Essay The development of the concept of security in the global scenario is being influenced by the changes in environment. This could be clearly seen in the changes of the nature of security during the world war and the post cold war era. In post cold war era, the emergence of new civil conflicts, large-scale atrocities and even genocide are in incremental rate. As globalization takes shape in the post cold war era, it is strongly believe that it will drag along significant increment in violent crimes, drug trades, transnational terrorism, diseases, environmental degradation and many other aspects of human life. These contemporary security concerns couples with the enduring problems of ethnic violence and inter-state conflicts are now at the forefront of potential and existing threats. 3.2 CONCEPTUAL MEANING OF SECURITY Security according to Barry Buzan is an under-developed concept (Hawkesworth and Kogan, Vol.2  [46]  ). Its status as a controversial political value and its habitual misuse as a rationale for state policies and actions, imply that the concept lacks of the intrinsic meaning. Buzan (1991) explains that one of the reasons behind the slow conceptual development of security can be attributed to the fact that the concept defies simple definition  [47]  . Another is that power dominates security in the realist school, which has been preeminent in international relations theory. Security has always been interpreted as the natural consequence of effective accumulation and exertion of power. Security is intrinsically a relational concept. In an objective sense, it measures the absence of threats to acquired values. In a subjective sense, security measures the absence of fear that such values will be attacked  [48]  . Lexical definitions of being secure refer to being safe against attack, impregnable, reliable à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, on the contrary, and to being untroubled by danger or apprehension on the other  [49]  . This definition points to the relational (subjective) nature of the concept of security. One should note that the objective physical condition favorable to ones secure existence has meaning only when set against the capabilities and intentions of possible adversaries. This also suggests that there can be no absolute definition of security. 3.3 THE MEANING OF NATIONAL SECURITY The broadening of the scope of security in the context of the nation-state is a controversial issue. As mentioned, there are scholars who were against the move to broaden the scope and meaning of national security for fear of destroying the analytical utility of the concept. Richard Ullman who initially supported the call to widen the scope of security eventually contradicted his initial proposition and is now engaged in a discourse with the proponents of a broader scope of security. According to Ullman (1995), If national security encompasses all serious and urgent threats to a nation state and its citizens, we will eventually find ourselves using a different term when we wish to make clear that our subject is the threats that might be posed by the military force of other states  [50]  . In the same article, he said that the war problem in security is conceptually distinct from other concerns like environmental degradation or urban violence, which are better categorized as threats to well-being. The problem of defining national security springs from the fact that the meaning of security itself is ambiguous. More importantly, if one uses the state as the referent, as the term national security suggests, he will then encounter the problem of who defines national interests or set the national security agenda of the state. Some scholars define security or national security as the protection and enhancement of values that the authoritative decision makers deem vital for the survival and well-being of the community  [51]  . However, this definition of security carries with it the problems that were discussed in the previous section. Although it is true that the regime aggregates the interests of the people, to define security or national security along this line or def ine security from perspective of the regime is unwarranted. If one agrees that the regime is both a source of threats and a producer of insecurity, then the concept must not be defined only from this perspective. The values that the authoritative decision makers seek to protect and enhance, which are deemed necessary for the well-being of the community, often do not constitute the national security or interests of the state. Hence, they are better labeled as the national security agenda. National security is a condition open to the assessment and evaluation of both the regime and the people. Whether or not the national security agenda represents the states national interests is another case in point. The definition of national security interest is relative to the one defining it. On the other hand, the national security agenda can be defined objectively and easily inferred from the national security policies of the government. National Security is better defined as the condition wherein the peoples way of life and institutions, their territorial integrity and sovereignty including their well-being are protected and enhanced  [52]  . This definition captures the essence of the state as composed of the people and the regime. It talks about two concerns, that of the peoples interest (well being) and that of the regime (sovereignty). 3.4 PILLARS OF NATIONAL SECURITY National Security rests on several pillars: social cohesion and solidarity, economic prosperity and stability, political unity and stability. Genuine security cannot be achieved if any of these pillars are absent  [53]  . The degree of security, which a country enjoys, depends ultimately on the strength of the pillars of national security. A country cannot be secure when one of its national security pillars is tenuous. These three pillars of security are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Therefore, they must be built simultaneously. The responsibility of building these pillars rest on the people and the government/regime. The government leads the people while the people provide support to the government. By analogy, the government serves as the equipment or machinery for building the pillars while the people serve as the laborers, who use the equipment in building the foundations of national security. Social Cohesion and Stability Peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the people, regardless of social and cultural differences, is a foundation of national security  [54]  . This is achieved when people observe mutual respect for their values and beliefs. People must also offer cooperation and mutual support. Social cohesion allows consensus building necessary for effective decision-making. With social cohesion, the choices, decisions, and the consequent actions that government undertakes based on the concerns of the people become effective and persist despite challenges from the outside. Social cohesion embraces concepts such as moral spiritual consensus and cultural cohesiveness. Economic Prosperity and Stability Economic prosperity enhances the well being of the people. Without economic prosperity, the aspirations of the people to live a decent life cannot be attained. It is only when the country enjoys economic prosperity that people can live with dignity. It is a key element in augmenting national power, prestige, and influence. The development and sustenance of diplomatic and military power heavily depends on this. Economic prosperity embraces concepts such as ecological balance and sustainable development  [55]  . Political Unity and Stability Political unity means that there is cooperation among the different branches of government. It exists when those who exercise legitimate authority and political power act in concert toward the attainment common goals. When the political leadership is divided, the people are caught in a quandary as to which among those who exercise legitimate authority and political power should they support  [56]  . This puts the people in a dilemma where they have reservations and doubts on the policies and actions that the government undertakes. Public support is therefore essential to the governments success in meeting security challenges. The social, economic, and political aspects are permanent elements of national security foundations. The customs, traditions, laws, policies shall determine their respective status and quality, and strategies adopted by the government. The three pillars shall be created and shall operate within the context of the prevailing politico-legal organizing ideology of the state. It should be noted that no single pillar could guarantee security on its own. 3.5 THE DNYAMICS OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL SECURITY The pillars of national security are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Social cohesion affects economic prosperity and stability. Social divisions and strife (e.g., sectoral or ethno-linguistic conflicts) could retard the nations economic development activities. For instance, policy disagreements between the government and the private sector could eventually affect the welfare of the people and the nations income. Economic prosperity or the level of development of the nations economy and the peoples sense of security has a positive correlation. Citizens of developed countries certainly feel more secure than those of underdeveloped countries. Economic development and prosperity are perhaps the ultimate objective a nation seeks to achieve. Economic development affects social cohesion  [57]  . When there is only a small pie available to be divided for the people, equal distribution will create a situation where each of the recipients get a small piece not sufficient for his nee ds. However, unequal distribution will leave others with little or no piece at all. Both situations leave the people dissatisfied. From Indonesias experience, economic instability can undermine the legitimacy of the regime. Barely ten months after the July 2, 1997 financial crisis hit Thailand, the regime of President Suharto was toppled. Although Indonesia is a relatively rich country in terms of natural resources and has achieved a relatively high economic growth prior the financial crisis, economic instability made the Suharto regime unpopular, which led to its demise  [58]  . Economic growth, once attained, does not automatically translate and ensure security. When the fruits of economic growth are not equitably distributed within domestic society, the threat of social unrest remains. Inequity or the rising inequality in the distribution of economic gains creates social divisions that could lead to violence and social anarchy. Political unity refers to a united leadership. Unity among the political leaders from the different branches of government facilitates fast and effective implementation of policies and programs, which are requisites of a secure nation. It allows government to take firm and decisive steps in addressing the different challenges that the nation faces. It also facilitates the quick delivery of services needed by the people. Each of the pillars of national security has to be stable and solid. Social cohesion, economic prosperity, and political unity if not stable and solid will not lead to genuine security. Thus, once these pillars have been built, they have to be maintained, protected, and enhanced. These are the basic responsibilities of a state. 3.6 BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL SECURITY The different pillars of national security are not intrinsic to every nation. They have to be built. The responsibility of building the foundations of national security ultimately rests on the people as its ultimate beneficiary, and the duly constituted government, which shall exercise authority delegated to it by the people  [59]  . The regime shall lead the people towards the attainment of national security by formulating appropriate policies and strategies, and laws conducive to the enhancement and protection of national security interests. The people on the other hand, shall support the government in its security engagements. The government, through the different agencies and instrumentalities, has the responsibility of formulating appropriate policies, as well as strategies, which will pave way to the realization of the aspirations of the people. 3.7 DIPLOMACY AND MILITARY Security is a condition or state of affairs, which can be created or attained using the different political instruments such as diplomacy and military. In the literature, three conventional instruments of national power have been identified: economic, politico-diplomatic, and military instruments  [60]  . The economic instrument refers to the use of economic rewards and/or penalties to influence the policies of government leaders or states. This is done through Aid, Trade Preference Status, Trade Embargo, etc. The diplomatic instrument consists of the activities of a countrys diplomats to convince another party or state to comply with the desired policy preferences of the former. The military instrument refers to the outright use or employment of force to get states to comply with the desired policies. In this framework, the instruments of national power include only diplomacy and military. Economic strength is not included in the list. The economic aspect or the level of economic development is identified as a foundation and not as an instrument for the pursuit of national security interests and objectives. The reason being is that economic strength, as an instrument, finds expression in diplomacy (economic punishment or rewards) and a sophisticated military. Japan and the US are both economically prosperous countries, yet their abilities to influence the policies of other states differ. Diplomacy is commonly understood as belonging only to the realm of foreign relations. This is understandable since, in most cases, diplomacy finds its utility in the conduct of international relations. Under this framework, diplomacy is broadly defined as a means to shape the security environment by influencing policies and/or behavior of political actors, state and non-state actors alike, through an act of persuasion  [61]  . This definition extends to actors in the domestic arena and is not limited to international relations. This broader definition of diplomacy does not mean that all acts of persuasion are diplomatic acts. Diplomacy applies only to political entities or groups  [62]  . Interstate diplomacy and intrastate diplomacy have the same purpose and utility. The only difference between the two is that in the interstate diplomacy parties involve has mutual acknowledgement of their sovereignties while the opposite is true in the intrastate diplomacy. Example is the peace engagement the Philippine government had with the MNLF and the current peace engagement of the government with the MILF. Diplomacy in international relations is an act of one sovereign nation to influence the behaviors or policies of another sovereign nation by means of persuasion. Diplomacy is defined as such a process because one state (object of persuasion) is not subject to the laws the other (persuading state)  [63]  . Thus, the former cannot be compelled to behave according to the latters desire. In most cases, persuasion is a function of economic punishment or reward. Thus, effective diplomacy must be back up by economic rewards or economic punishment. This is one reason why the economic aspect is treated as foundation and not as instrument. Military instrument, like diplomacy is a function of economic development. Governments capability to acquire sophisticated military arsenal and build a strong and capable armed force depends on the countrys economic status. The modernization of the nations armed force requires the backing of its economic and technological forces, and the modernization level of national defense can only be improved gradually along with the enhancement of the countrys economic strength. Further, a capable armed force complements diplomacy. Often, when one carries a big stick, there is little room for discussion. The effectiveness of military and diplomatic instruments depends heavily on the states economic status. The question of when, how, and against whom these instruments will be used is a matter of choice of the people, as articulated by the government. Political unity and social cohesion, therefore, affects the manner, timing, and the object of the political instruments. The strength and effectiveness of the instruments depends on the strength and stability of the foundations of national security. 3.8 NATIONAL SECURITY INSTRUMENTS AND NATIONAL SECURITY FOUNDATION The elements of national power include social, politico-diplomatic, economic, and military aspects. Accordingly, national unity (consisting of social cohesion and political unity and solidarity), economic solidarity and strength, diplomatic and military strength and capability of the state are all identified in the literature as instruments, which the state may use in pursuing its national security objectives or interests  [64]  . Thus it is deems necessary to separate social cohesion, political unity, solidarity, and economic strength from the list of instruments. Although all of these are instrumental in the states successes or failures in pursuing national interests, it is important that they be distinguished, based on the functions they support. One reason is that the social, political, and economic aspects of security are often developed over a long period. Little can be done, at least in the short run, when the states reserves of raw materials, socio-political structure, and other initiatives require the formulation of a range of policy instruments that are not normally available. This distinction between the foundations and instruments of national security is perhaps best explained by the words of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad when he defined security as follows, Security is not just a matter of military capability. National security is inseparable from political stability, economic success, and social harmony. Without these all the guns in the world cannot prevent a country from being overcome by its enemies, whose ambitions can sometimes be fulfilled without firing a single shot  [65]  . Political, economy and social stabilities are thus, contributors and essentials to achieve security. 3.9 SUMMARY In summary, in the literature, the people and the state are the only identified two distinct referents of security. This divide between the people and state is unwarranted. As it is, the people are an essential element of the state and that there are two organic/living components of the state: government and the people. The regime exercises authority over the people according to the political-legal ideology adopted by the state. However, there is an analytical utility in distinguishing the regime from the state. The usual equation of the regime with the state makes analysis difficult and the conclusions based on this analysis are often contestable. Sometimes, identified threats to state security are actually threats not to the state but only to the regime. Similarly, the interest of the regime is not equivalent to the interest of the state and the latters interests may in fact serve as threats to the security of the people. National interests composed of the peoples and the regimes interests shall be the responsibility of the state (people and government)  [66]  . In the realm of international relations, the state shall be the key actor (state is represented by the government). Although he acknowledges the existence of non-state groupings (i.e., multi-national companies and non-government organizations), he believes that the government remains the final arbiter on the demands of these groupings. The interests of these groups shall be included in the aggregation process and shall be included in the security agenda of the state.

Self Managed Teams Essay -- Organization, Environment

A team is a group of people who work in tandem to achieve a common outcome (Chatfield, 2011). A common type of team found in the workplace is self-managed teams (SMT). A self-managed team empowers employees to manage the day to day functions, operations, and tasks of a specific job area with little or no supervisory oversight or intervention. In other words, it is a self-contained unit (Williams, 2011). For example, self-managed teams handle work direction, job assignments, trouble-shoot problems, and handle all of the decision making aspects of the job (Silverman,1996). Moreover, companies that have used SMTs report an increase in productivity and quality, increased employee morale, creativity, job satisfaction, and a decrease in absenteeism (Silverman, 1996). Also, a 1990 study by Cohen (1993) found that forty-seven percent of Fortune 1000 companies used SMTs with some of their workforce. In two years the number of SMTs increased to sixty percent. Thus, the prevalence of SM Ts in organizations can be contributed to its tangible outcomes. In the C&S Wholesale Grocers case... Self Managed Teams Essay -- Organization, Environment A team is a group of people who work in tandem to achieve a common outcome (Chatfield, 2011). A common type of team found in the workplace is self-managed teams (SMT). A self-managed team empowers employees to manage the day to day functions, operations, and tasks of a specific job area with little or no supervisory oversight or intervention. In other words, it is a self-contained unit (Williams, 2011). For example, self-managed teams handle work direction, job assignments, trouble-shoot problems, and handle all of the decision making aspects of the job (Silverman,1996). Moreover, companies that have used SMTs report an increase in productivity and quality, increased employee morale, creativity, job satisfaction, and a decrease in absenteeism (Silverman, 1996). Also, a 1990 study by Cohen (1993) found that forty-seven percent of Fortune 1000 companies used SMTs with some of their workforce. In two years the number of SMTs increased to sixty percent. Thus, the prevalence of SM Ts in organizations can be contributed to its tangible outcomes. In the C&S Wholesale Grocers case...

Ancient China Summary Essay

Ancient China Essay By: Zach Ellwood Summary There were four great dynasties in Ancient China; the Han, Shang, Qin, and Zhou. Some of the Shang accomplishments were set up an empire, and started the â€Å"Mandate of Heaven. †The Zhou Dynasty set up a Feudal System and started the Great Wall. The Qin Dynasty extended the Great Wall and standardized coins, weights and measures. The Han Dynasty accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall.Thesis Statement; Although the other dynasties were great, the Han Dynasty was the greatest. Support Paragraph Although the other dynasties were great, the Han Dynasty was the greatest. The Han Dynasty was the greatest because they accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall. The Qin and Zhou Dyna sties failed to complete the Great Wall.The Han Dynasty’s philosophy was a mixture of Confucianism and Legalism making ruler Wu Di and Gau Zu really respected and powerful leaders. Ruler Qin Shi-Huang Di only used Legalism so he was more powerful than respected and Confucias only used Confucianism so he was more respected than powerful. The Han Dynasty also improved Chinese writing. The Shang Dynasty made a simpler not as good writing system called pictographs. Conclusion Paragraph There were four great dynasties in Ancient China; the Han, Shang, Qin, and Zhou.Some of the Shang accomplishments were set up an empire, and started the â€Å"Mandate of Heaven. †The Zhou Dynasty set up a Feudal System and started the Great Wall. The Qin Dynasty extended the Great Wall and standardized coins, weights and measures. The Han Dynasty accomplished more things than the other dynasties, they invented paper, the seismograph, set up the Silk Road, started exams for civil service and finished the Great Wall. That is why the Han Dynasty is the greatest.

Examination of the factors that contribute to depression among young women aged 15 to 25 of age in the UK The WritePass Journal

Examination of the factors that contribute to depression among young women aged 15 to 25 of age in the UK Abstract Examination of the factors that contribute to depression among young women aged 15 to 25 of age in the UK ). Weich (2004) confirmed that some UK based studies have reported an excess in the prevalence of the most common mental disorders of anxiety and depression. The cost of treating depression and other mental problems is a big financial burden to the government. The Centre for Mental Health (2010) concluded that mental problems have not only a human and social cost, but also an economic one, with wider costs in England amounting to  £105 billion a year. Rosenfeld (2009) asserts that very few studies have focused on the causes of depression among young women in the age group of 15-25. Most studies focus on depression on women, men, or adolescents without necessarily narrowing down to young women (Rosenfeld, 2009). The rationale for this study is to identify the causes of depression among the young women aged 15-25, evaluate the effects of depression on the family members and friends, explore the government policy and interventions and then offer recommendations on how to protect the young women from depression. The study of depression in young women is important because the depression suffered at this age group has a direct effect on the f uture lives of these women (Thomas et al 2008). It is therefore important to look into ways of protecting them against depression because this will not only save the government money that is currently being used on treatment but also ensure that the young women enter the early adulthood stage with a strong mental ability. To the healthcare profession, this study will be helpful in the treatment of depression through making maximum use of preventive measures and formulating a basis for further research on ways of reducing the rates of depression among women aged 15-25. Aims and Objectives The primary aim of this project is to review literature on the factors that contribute to depression among young women aged 15 to 25 in the United Kingdom. The objectives of the study are as follows: To identify and understand the risk factors responsible for depression as a mental health problem among young women aged 15 to 25 in the UK. To examine the impact of depression on the family and friends of the depressed persons To investigate ggovernment initiatives that support young women with depression Ethics This study addressed ethical and anti- oppressive issues that relate to research and practice. It adhered to all the ethical principles that guide the use of secondary data. The review was conducted with an interest of finding ways of improving the lives of young people with depression through evaluating ways of reducing the causative agents and providing care for the already depressed population. The findings are meant to benefit both the depressed young people and form a basis for future research. Literature Review Methods This review followed an inclusion and exclusion criteria in determining which articles and books to review and which ones to ignore based on the relevance of their content to this dissertation. The journal articles were chosen from EbSCOhost, BNI, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL,  government published documents and policy. Simple electronic database search was then done using the key words as a guiding criterion. All the journals and books were screened by reading the titles, abstract and in some cases full text in deciding which ones were suitable for this research. The key words for the search were â€Å"mental illness, young women, depression, and government policies to address depression†. The database search depended on wildcards and keywords in looking for information in the abstracts, title, subject heading, and full text. The words were used separately and then in combination to ensure that as many relevant articles are reviewed. The criteria for inclusion and exclusion of articles and books The method for selecting articles made use of the inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that the search generated the best possible articles and books. The inclusion criteria targeted the articles that cover prevalence of depression among women, early adulthood, policy intervention in the United Kingdom, peer reviewed and possible methods of dealing with depression. The exclusion criteria on the other hand included the articles and books published prior to 2001, generalized the youth without separating young women from women, only included children under the age of 15, focused on bipolar mood disorder, studies with small sample sizes (less than 50), and those involving non representative samples like the ethnic minorities. Results A total of 100 citations were considered for the research, out of which 30 duplicate citations were filtered out. The remaining 70 citations were then screened using the inclusion and exclusion criteria outlined above. 50 articles were retained for inclusion and the other 20 were excluded from the study. Therefore, this review is based on a sample of 50 citations. The details of the review are availed in the subsequent sections of this literature review. The articles were then grouped into those that cover the general correlates of and prevalence of depression, those that cover young women below the age of 30, and finally those that cover young women still under the care of their parents. Among the 50 citations considered for review, only a small percentage was longitudinal by design. The samples had different sample sizes with the least having 50 and the most having 20,000 participants. General correlates and prevalence of depression The findings of this review reveal that in the cases where the articles made comparisons between the males and females, women were more likely to be affected by depression compared to the males. Out of the 10 articles that compared the two sexes only three posted a different result. The three articles did not find any significant differences in the prevalence rates between young men and young women. The other seven articles all concluded that women are more vulnerable to depression than men. The prevalence rates ranged from as low as 4.3% to a high of 49%. Factors that contribute to depression among young women 15 to 25 of age in the UK Lundt (2004, p. 67) claims that in addition to women having higher rates of depression than men, many features of depression differ for women when compared to men. These differences include factors like the likelihood of occurrence, risk factors and the symptoms of depression. This literature review reveals an overwhelming support for a multidimensional model of the risk factors for depression in women with a complex relationship being exhibited between life stress, social, biological, sex role socialization and developmental factors. Hales (2008, p. 33) asserts that currently, the exact neurophysiological mechanisms surrounding depression have not yet been identified although stress appears to play a crucial role in the onset of depressive episodes particular at the initial stages. While the conventional perception of depression supports biopsychosocial model of risk factors, more contemporary conceptualizations and research emphasize on the impact of the sex role socialization (Tho mas, et al 2008, p. 41). The societal gender expectations have a direct influence on how to deal with depression. The women who are forced to adopt female roles that are more stereotyped often experience more depression compared to the ones that are not exposed to such hostile environments. Ussher (2010, p. 13) also adds that women are also more likely to make complex inferences and engage in more ruminative self-focus and this may maintain or even aggravate depression. Walsh (2009, p. 66) notes that there is no single theory explaining the gender differences in depression. In fact the different rates of depression are as a result of multidimensional and interactive issues that are functions of idiographic factors. Rosenfeld (2009, p. 76) supports this further by asserting that integrative biopsychosocial theories of depression have been espoused by many different theories. They note that there are five major categories of risk factors which are: Biological, Life stress, Sex role socialization, Societal/Social and Developmental The interactive model of risk factors is an expansion of the Worrel and Remmer (1992) model (White, Groh, 2007, p. 65). All the five factors are discussed in discrete sections below for purposes of clarity although in reality most of these factors are interrelated and involve more than one factor at a time. It is for this reason then that some factors will appear in more than one section. Biological Factors In the past, most scholars held the assumption that there were two subtypes of depressions, neurotic and endogenous (Stahl et al. 2003, p. 56). The endogenous depressions were believed to be driven by purely biological factors whereas the neurotic depressions were thought to be functions of interpersonal and intrapersonal factors. However, more recent research shows that very few depressions are purely biological and there is a general consensus that most depressions have a biopsychosocial basis (Savoie et al 2004, p. 29) Although genetics play a significant role in unipolar depression, heredity is not an important factor as it is in bipolar depression. Depression affects women throughout their lives and it is caused by a combination of different factors that range from hormonal, pregnancy, postnatal to biological factors (Paxton, Robinson, 2008, p. 16). At a later stage in life women may also suffer from depression caused by menopause. These are the factors that make women more vulnerable to depression than men. Additionally, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression in their early lives than men. Nimrod (2012, p. 43) found that females start experiencing depression in their early adolescence. The study highlights that depression can occur in the young women and puberty increases the risk. This assertion was supported by Greenblatt (2011, p. 45) who claims that the depression in women mostly starts at puberty. The hormonal levels at puberty are a major cause of depression in young women. The changes in oestrogen and androgen are more responsible for the depression than puberty itself. Hales (2009, p. 77) asserts that t his view is consistent with the fact that depression can be as a result of hormonal changes that are related to the reproductive system of women. This is particularly evident in the young women who often complain of both emotional and physical premenstrual symptoms. The young women may also suffer depression during pregnancy. Erlandsson and Eklund (2006, p. 32) claim that while pregnancy does not necessarily cause depression, pregnant women who have a history of depression are more likely to suffer relapses because of their reluctance to use antidepressant medication. This thought is supported by Castle et al (2006, p. 61) as they highlight the implications of managing and treating depression in women. Their research revealed that although many women are often reluctant to take medication during pregnancy, the effectiveness of using antidepressants outweighs the consequences of untreated depression on both the child and the woman. As such, their research outlines the importance of the role of nurses, health visitors, general practitioners, mental health practitioners and the other health professionals in educating the young pregnant women and their families. Additionally, the research also highlights the importance of taking the risks of managin g and treating depression during pregnancy into consideration as well as empowering the young women to make decisions based on the best guidelines and available evidence. However, every pregnant woman must be considered differently and individually because there are many factors that influence their decisions on whether to use the antidepressants or not. Sleath et al (2005, p. 47) say that additional information is required by both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and that all medical practitioners must always weigh up the different treatment options available as well as the wishes of the patient before making any decisions. In fact this is the reason why Pestello Davis-Berman (2008, p. 15) asserts that current advice must be provided based on evidence based practice and practice guidelines. Mirowsky and Ross (2003, p. 55) claim that there is often an increased risk of depression after childbirth because of the hormonal changes in the postnatal period. During this time, there is often an influx of other factors like breast feeding that may influence a young woman not to use antidepressants. Although infertility does not lead to depression, the young women struggling with infertility may be susceptible to depression. In fact Demyttenaere, De Fruyt, Stahl (2005, p. 37) claim that depression may play a role in infertility. Some studies indicate a positive correlation between depression symptoms prior to attempting to conceive and infertility. However, the inability to conceive may lead to depression which may in turn affect the probability of being able to conceive (Ravindran, et al 2002, p. 99). Several other medical conditions like anemia, AIDS, Addison’s disease, cancer, diabetes, infectious hepatitis, influenza, systemic lupus, hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism, mononucleosis, and Cushing’s disease can cause symptoms of depression in young women (Pratt, et al. 2012, p. 21). Furthermore, other medical conditions like heart disease, asthma and hypoglycemia can equally cause anxiety like symptoms. Lazear et al (2008, p. 30) claims that there is a positive correlation between depression and coronary heart disease. Depression occurs with a high rate mostly after coronary heart disease. In fact recent research indicates that depression is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and a predictor of poor outcome (Eklund, Erlandsson, Persson, 2003, p. 48). Life stress factors Hales (2012, p.50) claims that certain types of stressful life events eventually lead to depression in most young women. One of the possible reasons for the intermittent nature of depression is explained by the kindling hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the strength of the association between stressful life events and depressive onsets decrease with an increase in the number of episodes (Eklund et al 2010, p. 82). It is the unspecified changes that take place during the repressive episodes either through learning or brain changes rather than the stressful life events that kindle future episodes. Erlandsson and Eklund (2003, p. 68) note that in people with recurrent depressions, the relationship between stress and depression declines progressively through approximately nine episodes and then stabilises through the future episodes. The stress diathesis theories of depression indicate that depression results from the way an individual interprets the life stressful events (Castle , Kulkarni, Abel, 2006, p. 51). Hopelessness depression is a stress diathesis theory whereby an attributional style interacts with the negative style events to generate specific subtype of depression with symptoms of sadness, loss of motivation and suicidal ideation. In the context of this model, the internal factors (an attributional style) interact with the external factors (negative life events) to produce depression in the young women. Therefore, stress in womens’ lives has a direct impact on the levels of depressions. Caretaking and parenting demands on women often confer an increased risk for depression. Young women with children are particularly vulnerable especially for those that do not work outside the home (Duncan, 2004, p. 58). In fact, the more children in the house the more depression are reported. The responsibility of caring for the aging parents is often left to the adult daughters, which in turn increases their vulnerability to depression. Women seem to be more vulnerable to the negative ef fects of interpersonal relationships (McLeod McLeod, 2009, p. 28). Women in unhappy marriages are three times more likely to be depressed than the single ones or men (McLeod McLeod, 2009, p. 28). Women are more vulnerable to interpersonal violence than men are, and depression is a function of interpersonal violence (Beck, Alford, 2009, p. 77). Depression can occur because of psychological and neurological changes caused by the interpersonal traumas. Smith Elliott (2010, p. 44) claim there is a positive correlation between women with histories of childhood sexual and physical abuse and reversed neurovegatative depressive symptoms such as weight gain, increased appetite and hypersomnia, which suggests unique biological processes in trauma related depressions. Depression may also occur because of the effects of brain injuries suffered by battered women (Thomas, et al. 2008, p. 49). Sex Role socialisation Factors Certain types of stereotypical female personality traits as well as the gender role socialisation often contribute to the vulnerability of young women to depression. Weiten (2010, p. 37) claims that women with stereotypical beliefs on the gender roles of women and higher scores of measures of femininity are more vulnerable to depression. Furthermore, gender related personality traits like instrumentality are positively correlated to depression. The same is also true for socially influenced stereotypical female personality traits like dependency and passivity, which are conceptualised as mild manifestations of depression (Gotlib Hammen, 2010, p. 22). Societal / Social factors Women are more likely to face lowered social status in work roles, family roles and community roles. Despite the gains, women have made both economically and socially, inequality between the sexes continues to persist in the society (Kittleson Denkmire, 2005, p. 09). The reinforcement deficit theory postulated by Worrell and Remer (1992) indicates that depression is related to an unfavourable ratio between positive and negative person environment outcomes (Pettit Joiner, 2005, p. 64). The low rate of positive outcomes is assumed to be caused by the increase in passive behaviour and dysphoric mood as the young women feel incapable of attaining personal goals leading to eventual withdrawal and despair. The inequity in family decision-making and access to family finance can cause women to feel powerless and unimportant, precursors to depression. Kantor (2007, p. 18) asserts that poverty is a pathway to depression. The majority of the people living in poverty in the United Kingdom are women and children. Dobson and Dozois (2008, p. 13) note that 10% of new cases of major depression are caused by poverty. The same is supported by Diamond (2005, p. 73) who hypothesises that depression is a function of financial hardships and poverty. Although gender differences in rates of depression do not differ by culture, the ethnic minority women and lesbians are at a higher risk because of the complexity and number of risks that they face on daily basis (Friedman, Anderson, 2010, p. 63). The ethnic minority young women are more likely to be subjected to different socioeconomic factors for depression like ethnic/ racial discrimination, segregation into low status and high-risk jobs, lower educational and income levels, unemployment, single parenthood, poor health, marital dissolution and larger family sizes. Greenblatt (2011, p. 31) adds that being a member of a non-dominant group can also lead to experiences of discrimination and oppression, which are risk factors. Additionally, intragroup and intergroup racism are also stressors that lead to poor health and psychological distress. Cultural role prescriptions for some ethnic minority women may at times lead to depression. For instance, for the Asian and British Indian wome n, the cultural norms of deference, passivity and courtesy may result in difficulties in self-assertion especially regarding issues of power consequently resulting in depression. Experiences of migration for any ethnic minority group may result in lack of social support, cultural conflicts, identity confusion, cultural adjustments, and feelings of powerlessness and diminished social status. Developmental Factors Gerrity et al (2001, p. 48) point out that prior developmental experience have a direct influence on the adult susceptibility to depression. This is particularly true for the individuals who have a history of neglect, abuse and parental loss as well as those that were brought up by depressed mothers. Additionally, the subsequent developmental transitions and the accompanying stressors increase the vulnerability of young women to depression. The developmental pathway of women often contain five major key points that begin when they start showing increased rates of depression in adolescence, continuing to the transitions on young adulthood, midlife and old age. Ussher (2010, p. 77) asserts that each of these transitions is accompanied by challenges and stresses. The intensity of these factors varies depending on the unique personality of an individual, social contexts, familial and social support, and life circumstances. One such interactive model indicates that girls arrive at the ado lescence stage with more pre-existing factors than boys do and these factors interact with social and biological changes of adolescence, which then extend into adulthood (Peacock Casey 2000, p. 74). The young women in the age bracket of 15 to 25 are in the period of young adulthood. This period is a time of potential stress and strain for them because it is a time when they must make important interpersonal and vocational life choices that include decisions related to marriage and motherhood (White Groh, 2007, p. 17). The young mothers with children at home face higher risks of depression. Epidemiological data indicates that the mid to late 20’s is the age at which women start experiencing depression because of the many decisions that they have to make (Stahl, et al 2003, p. 94). In the period of transition to adulthood, the women that were exposed to childhood adversities are more likely to be depressed compared to the ones that did not go through such terrible childhoods. The mid 20’s is the first time a woman must face the harsh realities of life in the context of the dreams and visions mapped out in the adolescence period. The discovery that adulthood is not a s she expected often thrusts most women into despair and confusion. The fact that the young women are facing the challenges and stresses of adulthood for the first time in their lives makes them feel unprepared as the demands of adult life are at times very overwhelming (Ferentinos, et al. 2011,p. 63). These stresses make the young adult women vulnerable to psychological distress, particularly depression. Effects of depression on family and friends of the patients Weiten (2010) says that when a young woman gets depression, it does not affect her alone as it also has gross effects on their parents, siblings, friends and the whole family. All the people close to the individuals suffering from depression often get extremely worried about the patients. Beck and Alford (2009) claim that the worst part of it is that in most cases these people do not have the knowledge and skills to help the patients. This worsens the situation for the patients, as they feel helpless and in so doing adding more misery to the parents, siblings and close friends. Dobson and Dozois (2008) assert that the family members and friends get worried on the possibility of the young depressed women contemplating suicide because of their unstable conditions. In as much as they are always willing to help these young depressed women get back to the normal swing of things, the ways of doing it makes the whole thought a mirage. Therefore, they end up being very focused on them, alway s worrying for them and having difficult time connecting with the depressed young women because depression inhibits their ability to interact with other people. Depression hurts the young women both mentally and physically inhibiting their ability to work and function. The people who have affection for the young girls are often hurt by the experiences of their loved ones (Thomas et al 2008). Unlike the other physical illnesses, depression is not easily visible to people without prior experience. In fact, many people have no idea of its causes or treatment (Sleath et al 2005). The intangibility of the illness makes it very hard for the family and friends who are not able to feel or see the intensity of the suffering. Some family members and friends even deny the existence of depression because of the confusing nature of the illness. Castle, Kulkarni, Abel (2006) claim that some family members and friends consider depression as a sign of personal weakness, while others often end up fighting alongside their depressed friends and family members. These too cases are both extreme and cause grief especially because the depressed young girls feel f rustrated, misunderstood or overstretched to recover quickly. Demyttenaere, De Fruyt, and Stahl (2005) say that the symptoms of depression are very difficult to interpret. The young girls often get withdrawn and have little energy to perform ordinary daily tasks. Unfortunately, this is at times misinterpreted by the other family members as a lack of effort in helping in the daily house chores. Evaluation of initiatives for tackling the mental health problems among young women in the UK The purpose of this part of the dissertation is threefold: Make reference to some policies that touch on mental health of young women in the United Kingdom; Highlight some of the progress made by the government in helping the young people suffering from mental health problems; Identify the weaknesses and gaps in the policy and support and what should be done to improve their effectiveness. Owing to the large number of government policies on the young people, this dissertation will be highly selective in approach. INITIATIVES The National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services policy contains the 11 standards that contribute to the mental well being of the young people. In 2007, the government developed the National Indicator Set to enable the central government manage the performance of the local government. These indicators were as follows: NI50, which monitors the emotional health of the children and young people; NI51 to monitor the effectiveness of government policy. The Children and Young People in Mind (CAMHS) made recommendations that highlight the role of all universal services like the police and midwives in promoting the mental health of children and young people. The government implemented two of its recommendations through the creation of National Advisory Council (NAC) and National CAMHS Support Service (NCSS). The role of the NAC is to hold the government accountable in ensuring that all the recommendations are met. The NCSS, on the other hand, was charged with the role of continually improving and sustaining service delivery. The New Horizons (2009) made mental health the responsibility of everyone. It required all the government departments to work as a team in the prevention of mental health problems and develop resilience in the households. It paid special attention to the need of improving transition from adolescence to adulthood and emphasised the importance of prevention of mental illnesses. In 2010, the Keeping Children and Young People in Mind applauded the need for the government to invest in the mental health and emotional well-being of the children and young people. The Progress Made The investment in CAMHS led to increased advocacy in building resilience, early intervention, general well being and the called for support from families. As a result, there was an increase in the number of professional staff to offer services to the young people (Ferentinos et al 2011). However, the progress was slower for the 16 and 17 year olds as evidenced by the increased number of young people of this age spending time in psychiatric hospitals. This implies that comprehensive implementation of CAMHS is not easy and will require more time and commitment from all the stakeholders. The Mental Health Promotion Driving Policy in the New Horizons is performing well although it is mainly adult focused which places the young women at an increased risk of being lost in the bigger agenda. The Challenges and Recommendations Most of the government policies on young people are properly aspirational although turning them into reality on the ground remains the biggest challenge. The process of implementation is very critical as it underlines the efficiency of the policies. It will be impossible to realise the vision of these policies without total commitment and consistent long term funding. This is why it is advisable for the government to look into ways of ensuring better management and leadership to ensure that these services reach the people as envisaged in the policies. Presently, there is still a gap in the logic on the empowerment of people, families and communities on taking care of mental health (Castle, Kulkarni, Abel, 2006). Many people have gone through the process of intervention but the real solution lies on empowering individuals with the skills, knowledge and resources to deal with mental health challenges on their own. Helping the young women with self-awareness, social and emotional skill s, and foster knowledge will help them take the responsibility for their mental health and emotional well-being. Conclusion This dissertation has identified the factors that contribute to a mental health problem (depression) among young women 15 to 25 of age in the UK. The secondary research also assessed the effects of the condition on the family and friends of the patients and then evaluated the policy and support for tackling the mental health problems among young women in the UK. The extensive review of academic articles and books revealed that the young women aged 15 to 25 are exposed to the risk of being depressed as a result of the interplay between biological and environmental factors. Furthermore, the rates of depression were found to be higher in the women population compared to men. The study also revealed that depression in the young women of this age bracket has negative effects on their family and friends. The worst part of it is that the family and friends are always willing to help their loved ones recover from mental health problems but are prevented from doing so because of their lack of knowledge and skills in handling depression. As a result, depression ends up disrupting the relationship between the patients and their loved ones who equally end up being distressed as well. The government has enacted many policies to contain mental health problems in the country, however there are still challenges as highlighted in the discussion. These policies although aspirational, still need more commitment in terms of funding, leadership and management for them to have their intended impact in the country. Recommendations The policies for helping the young girls aged 15 to 25 have already been identified and enacted by the government. The only challenge remaining is the implementation process, which is proving to be difficult as evidenced by the high number of young girls spending their time in the psychiatric hospitals. This can be addressed through increasing the amount of funds allocated to the project. This increase will enable the government to reach more people and empower them with the knowledge and skills on how to handle mental illnesses. As already outlined, the family members and friends are always willing to help the depressed young women but then they lack the necessary knowledge and skills. Equipping these people with the knowledge and skills will be helpful in reducing the rates of depression among young women aged 15 to 25 because they have a close contact and better understanding of their loved ones. Additionally, consistent evaluation and assessment of the policies will also be helpf ul to the government in terms of identifying new ways of helping the young girls. Limitations of the study The study was only reliant on secondary data as the researcher was not able to interact directly with the respondents. This implies that the errors that may have been made by the secondary data could have been replicated in the outcomes of this study. Secondly, very few policies are tailored for this particular age group so the policies used were those overlapping between late adolescence and early adulthood. This may have in some way affected the results although the impact may not be that big given that the age group of 15 to 25 lie in the same period of late adolescence and early adulthood. Bibliography Beck, A. T., Alford, B. A. (2009). Depression: Causes and treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Brady,. T. (2013) Women suffer up to 40 per cent more mental health problems than men due to stress of juggling roles [Online] Available at: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2329398/Women-suffer-mental-health-problems-men-stress-juggling-roles-according-study.html#ixzz2kxhqQufV[Accessed on: 09/11/13] Castle, D. J., Kulkarni, J., Abel, K. M. (2006). Mood and anxiety disorders in women. Cambridge: UK: Cambridge University Press Centre for Mental Health (2010) The Economic and Social Costs of Mental Health Problems in 2009/10. Centre for Mental Health [Online] Available at: centreformentalhealth.org.uk/pdfs/Economic_and_social_costs_2010.pdf.[Assessed on: 13/11/13] Demyttenaere, K., De Fruyt, J., Stahl, S. M. (2005). The many faces of fatigue in major depressive disorder. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 8 , 93–105. Diamond, J. (2005). The irritable male syndrome: Understanding and managing the 4 key causes of depression and aggression. Emmaus, PA: Rodale. Dobson, K. S., Dozois, D. (2008). Risk Factors in Depression. Burlington: Elsevier. Duncan, K. A. (2004). Healing from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse: The journey for women. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Eklund, M., Bckstrà ¶m, M., Lissner, L., Bjà ¶rkelund, C. Sonn, U. 2010, Daily activities mediate the relationship between personality and quality of life in middle-aged women, Quality of Life Research, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 1477-86. Eklund, M., Erlandsson, L.-K., Persson, D. (2003). Occupa-tional value among individuals with long-term mental illness. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70 (5), 276–284 Erlandsson, L.-K., Eklund, M. (2003). The relationships of hassles and uplifts to experience of health in working women. Women and Health, 38 (4), 19–37 Erlandsson, L.-K., Eklund, M. (2006). M. Levels of complexity in patterns of daily occupations: relationships to women’s well-being. Journal of Occupational Science, 13 (1), 27–36. Ferentinos, P., Kontaxakis, V., Havaki-kontaxaki, B., Dikeos, D. Lykouras, L. 2011, Psychometric evaluation of the Fatigue Severity Scale in patients with major depression, Quality of Life Research, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 457-65. Friedman, E. S., Anderson, I. M. (2010). Managing depression in clinical practice. London: Springer. Gerrity, M. S., Williams, J. W., Dietrich, A. J., Olson, A. L. (2001). Identifying physicians likely to benefit from depression education: A challenge for health care organizations. Gotlib, I. H., Hammen, C. L. (2010). Handbook of depression. New York: Guilford Press. Greenblatt, J. M. (2011). The Breakthrough Depression Solution: A Personalized 9-Step Method for Beating the Physical Causes of Your Depression. North Branch: Sunrise River Press. Greenblatt, J. M. (2011). The Breakthrough Depression Solution: A Personalized 9-Step Method for Beating the Physical Causes of Your Depression. North Branch: Sunrise River Press. Hales, D. R. (2008). An invitation to health. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth. Hales, D. R. (2009). An invitation to health. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Hales, D. R. (2012). An invitation to health: Choosing to change. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Kantor, M. (2007). Lifting the weight: Understanding depression in men, its causes and solutions. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Kidd,. .A..S. et al, (2013). The role of gender in housing for individuals with severe mental illness: a qualitative study of the Canadian service context.[Online] Available at:ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669714/[Assessed on: 11/11/13] Kittleson, M. J., Denkmire, H. (2005). The truth about fear and depression. New York: Facts On File. Lazear, K.J., Pires, S.A., Isaacs, M.R., Chaulk, P. Huang, L. 2008, Depression among Low-Income Women of Color: Qualitative Findings from Cross-Cultural Focus Groups, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 127-33. Lundt, L. (2004). Modafinil treatment in patients with seasonal affective disorder/winter depression: An open-label pilot study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 81, 173–178. Manderscheid,.R. W. et al (2010) Evolving Definitions of Mental Illness and WellnessPrev Chronic Dis.  7(1):A19[Online] Available at: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811514/[Assessed on: 10/11/13] McLeod, M. N., McLeod, M. N. (2009). Lifting your depression: How a psychiatrist discovered chromiums role in the treatment of depression. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications. Medical Care,39, 856–866 Mirowsky, J., Ross, C. E. (2003). Social causes of psychological distress. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Nimrod, G. (2012). From knowledge to hope: Online depression communities. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 11(1), 23-30 Paxton, K. C., Robinson, W. L. (2008). Depressive symptoms, gender, and sexual risk behavior among African-American adolescents: Implications for prevention and intervention. Journal of Prevention Intervention in the Community, 35(2), 49-62. Peacock, J., Casey, J. (2000). Depression. Mankato, Minn: LifeMatters. Pestello, R G., Davis-Berman, J. (2008). Taking anti-depressant medication: A qualitative examination of internet postings. Journal of Mental Health, J 7(4), 349-360. Pettit, J. W., Joiner, T. E. (2005). The interpersonal solution to depression: A workbook for changing how you feel by changing how you relate. Oakland (Calif.: New Harbinger Publications Pratt, L. A., Xu, R, McQuillan, G. M., Robitz, R. (2012). The association of depression, risky sexual behaviours and herpes simplex virus type 2 in adults in NHANES, 2005-2008. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 88, 40-44. Ravindran, A. V., Matheson, K., Griffiths, J., Merali, Z., Anisman, H. (2002). Stress, uplifts, and quality of life in subtypes of depression: A conceptual frame and emerging data. Journal of Affective Disorders, 71, 121-130. Rosenfeld, J. A. (2009). Handbook of womens health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Savoie, I., Morettin, D., Green, C. J., Kazanjian, A. (2004). Systematic review of the role of gender as a health determinant of hospitalization for depression. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 20(2), Seeman.M.V. (2006) Gender issues in Psychiatry FOCUS, VOL. 4, No. 1[Online] Available at:http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=50396.[Assessed on: 10/11/13] Sleath, B., Wes, S., Tudor, G., Perreira, K., King, V., Morrissey, J. (2005). Ethnicity and depression treatment preferences of pregnant women. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology,26, 135–140. Smith, L. L., Elliott, C. H. (2010). Anxiety depression for dummies. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Stahl, S. M., Zhang, L., Damatarca, C., Grady, M. (2003). Brain circuits determine destiny in depression: A novel approach to the psychopharmacology of wakefulness, fatigue, and execu-tive dysfunction in major depressive disorder.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64 Thomas, N., Sleath, B.L., Jackson, E., West, S. Gaynes, B. 2008, Survey of Characteristics and Treatment Preferences for Physicians Treating Postpartum Depression in the General Medical Setting, Community mental health journal, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 47-56. Ussher, J. M. (2010). Are we medicalizing womens misery? A critical review of womens higher rates of reported depression. Feminism Psychology, 20(1), 9-35 Walsh, L. (2009). Depression Care Across the Lifespan. Chichester: John Wiley Sons. Weich S, Twigg L, Lewis G. (2004) Rural/non-rural differences in rates of common mental disorders in Britain: prospective multilevel cohort study.[Online] Available at: .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16388070[Assessed on: 12/11/13] Weiten, W. (2010). Psychology: Themes variations. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. White, M. L., Groh, C. J. (2007). Depression and quality of life in women after a myocardial infarction.The Journal of Cardio-vascular Nursing, 22 (2), 138–144 World Health Organization (WHO) report (2010) .Mental health: strengthening our response [Online] Available at: who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs220/en/[Assessed on: 08/11/13]

The Definition of Deviance Amplification

The Definition of Deviance Amplification Deviance amplification is a process, often performed by the mass media, in which the extent and seriousness of deviant behavior is exaggerated. The effect is to create a greater awareness and interest in deviance which results in more deviance being uncovered, giving the impression that the initial exaggeration was actually a true representation. Leslie T. Wilkins originally reported on the process of deviant amplification in 1964 but it was popularized by Stanely Cohens book  Folk Devils and Moral Panic,  published in 1972. What Is Deviant Behavior? Deviant behavior is a broad term because it covers anything that goes against social norms. This could mean anything from minor crimes like graffiti  to more serious crimes like robbery. Adolescent deviant behavior is often a source of deviance amplification. Local news will sometimes report on a something like a new teen drinking game, implying it is a popular trend instead of the actions of one group. This kind of reporting can sometimes start the trends they were reporting on although each new act will add credence to the initial report.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deviant Amplification Process Deviant amplification usually starts when one act that is either illegal or against social morals that wouldnt normally be worth of media attention becomes newsworthy. The incident is reported on as being part of a pattern. Once an incident becomes the focus of the media, other similar stories that normally wouldnt make the news fall under this new media focus and become newsworthy. This begins to create the pattern that was initially reported on. The reports can also make the action seem cool or socially acceptable, leading to more people to try it, which reinforces the pattern. It can be hard to prove when deviant amplification is happening because each new event seems to validate the initial claim.   Sometimes citizens will pressure law enforcement and government to take action against the perceived  deviant threat. This can mean anything from the passage of new laws to harsher punishments and sentences on existing laws. This pressure from the citizens often requires  law enforcement to put more resources into an issue that it actually warrants. One of the main problems with deviance amplification is that it makes a problem seem much larger than it is. Which in the process can help create a problem where there was none.  Deviance amplification can be part of a moral panic but they do not always cause them.   This hyper-focus on minor issues can also cause communities to miss larger issues they need to be focusing attention and resources on. It can make social issues harder to solve because all of the focus is going to an event that was artificially created. The deviant amplification process can also cause certain social groups to be discriminated against if the behavior is tied to that group.

Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes

Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes By Maeve Maddox Writers can avoid most errors of punctuation by mastering the following conventions. 1. Introductory words, phrases, and clauses are followed by a comma. Incorrect: Moreover students are expected to read at least one English classic every six weeks. Correct : Moreover, students are expected to read at least one English classic every six weeks. Moreover is an introductory word and should be followed by a comma. Incorrect: To become fluent readers students must read outside school hours. Correct : To become fluent readers, students must read outside school hours. â€Å"To become fluent readers† is an introductory infinitive phrase and should be followed by a comma. Incorrect: If you want to write well you must be prepared to practice the craft. Correct : If you want to write well, you must be prepared to practice the craft. â€Å"If you want to write well† is an introductory clause and should be followed by a comma. 2. Nonessential information is set off with commas. Incorrect: Joseph Conrad who was born in Poland began to learn English in his twenties. Correct : Joseph Conrad, who was born in Poland, began to learn English in his twenties. â€Å"Who was born in Poland† is a clause that provides nonessential information and should be set off by commas. 3. Essential information does not require commas. Incorrect: The boys, who vandalized the public gardens, are in police custody. Correct : The boys who vandalized the public gardens are in police custody. â€Å"Who vandalized the public gardens† is essential information because it identifies which boys are meant. It should not be set off by commas. 4. A comma is placed before a coordinate conjunction that joins two main clauses. Incorrect: The cougar moved quickly but the tourist reached the safety of the cabin. Correct : The cougar moved quickly, but the tourist reached the safety of the cabin. The clauses joined by the conjunction but could stand alone as complete sentences: â€Å"The cougar moved quickly† and â€Å"The tourist reached the safety of the cabin.† A comma is not needed with a compound verb joined by a coordinate conjunction: â€Å"The tourist saw the cougar and ran to the cabin.† 5. A comma is not strong enough to join two main clauses. (Comma splice) Incorrect: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter, nevertheless they kept up with their studies. Correct : Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter; nevertheless, they kept up with their studies. Also Correct: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter. Nevertheless, they kept up with their studies. A comma splice results when two main clauses are joined by a comma. The main clauses here are â€Å"Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter† and â€Å"nevertheless, they kept up with their studies.† The word nevertheless is a conjunctive adverb. Its function is to provide a transition between two thoughts, but it is not a joining word like and or but. A comma splice can be avoided by placing a semicolon after the first clause or by ending the first clause with a period or other end stop and starting a new sentence with a capital. 6. A comma is not needed before a noun clause in ordinary narration. Incorrect: The spelunkers found, that the caves were closed to protect the bats. Correct : The spelunkers found that the caves were closed to protect the bats. The noun clause is â€Å"the caves were closed to protect the bats.† The clause functions as the direct object of the verb in the main clause, found. 7. A comma is needed before a direct quotation. Incorrect: The wizard said â€Å"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.† Correct : The wizard said, â€Å"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.† 8. Colons should be used after a complete sentence to introduce a word, phrase, clause, list, or quotation. Incorrect: Her favorite flowers are: daffodils, roses, and pansies. Correct : She has three favorite flowers: daffodils, roses, and pansies. â€Å"Her favorite flowers are† is a sentence fragment. A complete sentence should precede a colon that introduces a thought that expands on the meaning of the sentence that precedes it. 9. Main clauses that are not part of a compound or complex sentence require an end stop. When a period or other end stop is omitted, the result is a â€Å"run-on sentence.† Incorrect: The rushing waves capsized the boat indifferent gulls wheeled overhead. Correct : The rushing waves capsized the boat. Indifferent gulls wheeled overhead. The simplest way to correct a run-on sentence is to put a period at the end of the first clause and capitalize the next one. 10. Multiple exclamation points don’t belong in mature writing. Incorrect: Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn!!!! Correct : Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn! On the rare occasions that an exclamation mark is wanted in formal writing, one is sufficient. Bonus: Quotation marks should not be used for mere emphasis. Incorrect: Our staff is required to take three â€Å"safety† courses every year. Correct : Our staff is required to take three safety courses every year. In most contexts, placing quotation marks around a word suggests that the word is being used with a meaning other than the obvious one. Writers who enclose words in quotation marks merely for emphasis risk annoying their readers. No one likes to waste time trying to discern a hidden meaning where there is none. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Common Mistakes category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?Writing the CenturyConfusion of Subjective and Objective Pronouns

The Charismatic Gifts Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Charismatic Gifts Debate - Essay Example Some people believe that the sign gifts exist in the present day. They believe miracles and signs that used to happen in the past are still the same miracles that happen in the present day2. The people that hold this view believe that since the miracles also happened after the coming of Jesus they exist to the present day. An example is; the signs God gave to Moses to show the Israelites that God exists, resemble those that happened in the New Testament. The signs the disciples received in the form of gifts that appeared like fire flames were also found in the New Testament. Therefore, people who believe in the existence of the signs believe this because God still showed his power and presence in the New Testament. They believe that the sign gifts were in the world all the time even during the times when the disciples of God preached the word of God throughout the nation. They believe that the people who do not experience these miracles and the sign gifts are people who do not believ e3. 1. Adeyemi Remi, Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Receiving the Content of God's Heart (Atlantic: Airleaf, 2006), 43. 2. Robinson Darrell, Incredibly Gifted: A Fresh, Biblical Look at Spiritual Gifts (Hannibal: Hannibal books, 2003), 12-23. 3. Stamp John, The signs of an apostle, and the evidence for the cessation of miraculous signs (New York: Cengage Publisher. 2006), 78-92. There are also people who believe that the sign gifts are things that God used to reach people in the past, but they do not exist in the present world. They concluded this by studying the nature and purpose of these gifts. They believe that the signs used by God in the past were for people to understand and realize the new things that God was doing. This is because God used the signs to show the people that he was instructing them. Therefore, remove any doubts that they might have that it was not him. Some of the things that God wanted man to do were things that they had not done because it was unlawful. An examp le is like when Jesus allowed the uncircumcised Gentiles to be among the people of God. If God had not used exceptional signs to show that he was the one that had accepted the Gentiles, the people could never believe. They could never allow them to join their religion. Jesus went ahead and swept everyone from the temple as traders used the house of prayer as a place to sell their merchandise. If God had sent a prophet or an ordinary man to come and chase away the traders from the temple, the traders could never have listened. Therefore, in the past, for the people of God to change and do what he required, they had to see a miracle or a sign4. Even the groups that mocked Jesus and never believed, asked Jesus to demonstrate a sign so that they could believe. The biggest sign that God gave to humankind and enabled them believe and spread the good news of God was when Jesus resurrected. When the people who opposed Jesus saw the sign from the resurrection of Jesus, most of them became be lievers. 4. Eddy Paul and Boyd Gregory, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (New York: Baker Academic, 2009), 34-35. They even preached the word of God to other places of the world, as they knew that it was God who had spoken to them. This was the main sign to make all people believers of God and his teachings. God gave the apostles sign gifts to facilitate the spread of the word of God5. There are people who believ

Drugs and mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drugs and mass media - Essay Example In the book â€Å"One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the ideology of Advanced Industrial Society† Herbert Marcuse claims that in modern society people are determined by the information that comes from mass media and technologies (13). The information forms the concepts people keep in their minds to estimate things they meet in their lives. The point is that people almost become controlled by the images and concepts mass media thrust them. For example, concerning drugs, when we watch some advertisement on TV where we see that people who have used some medical drugs become healthy and happy, we undoubtedly believe that we will get the same effect if we start using the drugs as well. The main problem is that we certainly believe in what we see in mass media because media system taught us that the best way to get trustworthy information is looking for it in mass media sources. Why don’t we ask ourselves whether the conceptualizations we get from media are truthful or just the tools of manipulation on society? Within his social theory of communication famous German sociologist Niklas Luhmann argues that communication is the main basis that lies in fundamentals of society. As far as mass media is the main communicative tool of modern social system, it works throughout all the aspects of society (25). First of all, it forms public opinion, which evidently is one of the most powerful manipulative remedy against personality. It turns out that considering media products, for example, watching TV we unconsciously catch the main points of public opinion. In other words, we learn how we have to look like and who we have to be to become the persons accepted by our society. If watching TV we see that it is normally to use drugs to look cool and stylish, we start using drugs to become cool and stylish. Luhmann claims that the messages we

Why Has Strike Activity Increased Recently Compared With The Past Essay

Why Has Strike Activity Increased Recently Compared With The Past - Essay Example As Cohn (1993, p. 8)states, ‘employers usually raise wages as a result of economic pressure’. Such power of strike comes from its paralysing effect, which is detrimental to the interest of capital and to the economy, because lost hours means lost profits and lost profits could mean lost revenue to the government. Aside from its adverse economic effect is its adverse political effect, which cannot be ignored, because of its possible ripple effect [loss of confidence of foreign investment]. Thus unsurprisingly, employers and governments had vehemently refused to recognise strike as workers’ legal course of action in airing their demands/grievances. And even when strike was finally recognised as among the right of workers, it was loaded with requirements. For example, for a strike to be protected [legal] the workers’ issue must be strikable and the strike conducted should follow the prescribed procedures (Jordan et al. 2009, p. 72). Contrary to employersâ€⠄¢ desire, this has further strengthened the labour movement. As defined, ‘strike is an organized collective work stoppage undertaken by employees to pressure their employer or employers into meeting their demands’ (Dictionary of American History 2003, par. 1). ... For example, student strikes, which are generally characterised by the refusal of organised students to attend their classes, have left their indelible marks in history –Among the most notable are the student strike of 1970, which had successfully mobilised universities against US aggression in Vietnam and Cambodia and had also successfully transformed the institutional structure of the academy (Katsiaficas 1987, p. 127); the Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 which led to the successful downfall of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 (Panourgia 1995, p. 32); the 2005 Quebec student strike, which opposed the Charest government’s policies of tuition fee deregulation and reduction in student grant funding (Lawrence 2006, p. 10). In the past, especially during the industrial revolution when workers were much needed and much exploited en mass, strikes had been the best found weapon of workers to fighting for their rights to be recognised, such as the right to be unionise d, the right for humane working conditions, the right for decent wage, and more. Thus incidences of strike activity were unsurprisingly high. To bring their employers to the negotiating table, workers have to be unionised; to be recognised as union, workers have to hold a strike; for their strike to be successful, workers union has to be strong. As such, the improved conditions of labour have been largely attributed to the rising power of organised labour, Cornwall (1994, p. 31) says. Following the historical evolution of the labour movement and the recognition of its right to strike with its corresponding improved labour condition, two assumptions can be reached: first, that strike activity is more likely to increase when the economy is in downturn and that strike activity is less