Martha Stewart Livivng Omnimedia (MSO) Term Paper

Martha Stewart Livivng Omnimedia (MSO) - Term Paper Example 1) US Dollar Global Notes These notes are primarily issued by HP thrice in last decade including 2002 shelf registration, 2006 shelf registration and 2009 shelf registration. 2002 shelf registration consists of â€Å"$500 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.505% in June 2002 at 6.5%, due July 2012†. The other different types of bonds issued by HP, their face value, total amount, type of bonds (fixed, floating), maturity, interest rates and the issue prices are detailed below. These details are reproduced from the annual report of HP for the year 2010. 2006 Shelf Registration Statement: â€Å"$600 issued at par in February 2007 at three-month USD LIBOR plus 0.11%, due March 2012† â€Å"$900 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.938% in February 2007 at 5.25%, due March 2012† â€Å"$500 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.694% in February 2007 at 5.4%, due March 2017† â€Å"$1,000 issued at par in June 2007 at three-month USD LIBOR plus 0 .06%, paid June 2010† â€Å"$1,500 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.921% in March 2008 at 4.5%, due March 2013† â€Å"$750 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.932% in March 2008 at 5.5%, due March 2018† â€Å"$2,000 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.561% in December 2008 at 6.125%, due March 2014† â€Å"$275 issued at par in February 2009 at three-month USD LIBOR plus 1.75%, due February 2011† â€Å"$1,000 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.956% in February 2009 at 4.25%, due February 2012† â€Å"$1,500 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.993% in February 2009 at 4.75%, due June 2014† 2009 Shelf Registration Statement: â€Å"$750 issued at par in May 2009 at three-month USD LIBOR plus 1.05%, due May 2011† â€Å"$1,000 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.967% in May 2009 at 2.25%, due May 2011† â€Å"$250 issued at discount to par at a price of 99.984% in May 2009 at 2.95%, due August 2012† â€Å"$800 issued at par in September 2010 at three-month USD LIBOR plus 0.125%, due September 2012† â€Å"$1,100 issued at discount to par of 99.921% in September 2010 at 1.25% due September 2013† â€Å"$1,100 issued at discount to par of 99.887% in September 2010 at 2.125% due September 2015† 2) EDS Senior Notes: â€Å"$1,100 issued June 2003 at 6.0%, due August 2013† â€Å"$300 issued October 1999 at 7.45%, due October 2029† 3) â€Å"Other, including capital lease obligations, at 0.59%-8.63%, due in calendar year 2010-2024† The total book value of these debts is around $15,258 million after the subtracting the current portion of these debts which is part of current liabilities. The promising feature of the HP bonds or notes is that they are callable in part or in full whenever HP deems it necessary at the prices and criterion specified under its prospectus. These Global Notes are considered to be the senior unsecure d debt. As at October 31, 2010 the face value of the long-term debts that are maturing in upcoming years have been segregated year wise in table given below. These long-term debts are free from any fair value adjustment, premium or discount on issuance. â€Å"Aggregate future maturities of debt outstanding including capital lease obligations† 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Thereafter Total In millions $2,208 $4,272 $3,775 $3,720 $1,111 $1,691 $16,777 Source: HP Annual Report 2010 Derivatives Being a global company, HP normally faces interest rate changes and foreign currency exchange rate movement as a result HP hedges these fluctuations by utilizing

Learning Natural Resources and Energy Essay Example for Free

Learning Natural Resources and Energy Essay A Paper on the Ecosystem and on the Biodiversity General Questions General General Questions Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper on natural resources and energy. Include the following:  · Choose a specific ecosystem, such as a forest, a grassland, or a marine or freshwater aquatic ecosystem.  · Identify and discuss the effects that a growing human population may have on that ecosystem’s resources, including loss or harm to populations of wild species.  · Discuss one management practice for sustainability and conservation of natural resources in that ecosystem.  · Identify the risks and benefits of extracting or using one type of nonrenewable and one type of renewable energy resource from that ecosystem, or in areas near that ecosystem. Include at least two outside references. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. You can have a ton of fun in college, but it also involves a lot of work. Stay focused on the end result: a diploma. There will be many roadblocks along the way, and how you choose to approach them is important. Use the tips you have seen here to make college work on your behalf. This pack of SCI 256 Week 3 Learning Natural Resources and Energy Paper  contains: A Paper on the Ecosystem and on the Biodiversity General Questions General General Questions Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper on natural resources and energy. Include the following:  · Choose a specific ecosystem, such as a forest, a grassland, or a marine or freshwater aquatic ecosystem.  · Identify and discuss the effects that a growing human population may have on that ecosystem’s resources, including loss or harm to populations of wild species.  · Discuss one management practice for To download this tutorial follow the link https://bitly.com/1oJKyIe You can have a ton of fun in college, but it also involves a lot of work. Stay focused on the end result: a diploma. There will be many roadblocks along the way, and how you choose to approach them is important. Use the tips you have seen here to make college work on your behalf. General Questions General General Questions Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper on natural resources and energy. Include the following:  · Choose a specific ecosystem, such as a forest, a grassland, or a marine or freshwater aquatic ecosystem.  · Identify and discuss the effects that a growing human population may have on that ecosystem’s resources, including loss or harm to populations of wild species.  · Discuss one management practice for sustainability and conservation of natural resources in that ecosystem.  · Identify the risks and benefits of extracting or using one type of nonrenewable and one type of renewable energy resource from that ecosystem, or in areas near that ecosystem. Include at least two outside references. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation

Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation Contents (Jump to) Introduction Literature Review Psychological Test Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory Administration of SRFI Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Validity and Reliability Strengths Limitations Conclusion References Introduction This write up is to analyze the effectiveness of an instrument used as a psychological test to gather information. The chosen instrument is Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory – Version II (SRFI). Parents and family environment or more appropriately family relationship plays a very important role in the well-being of children. (Lambert,M., 2010) In Malaysian context, discipline problem is an increasing phenomenon in primary schools as well as secondary schools. The root cause or the first and foremost reason behind those discipline problems is the family environment and relationship. SRFI is considered to be an instrument that can help the counselors and other helping professionals to identify the family functioning so that further plans can be done in order to help the children. Literature Review Previous literature on family assessment instruments for use in child welfare includes descriptions of instruments (Pinsof, 2009) and guides for developing comprehensive assessment strategies as part of community-based child welfare services reform (Pinsof, 2010). This structured literature review builds on these efforts by identifying the most valid and reliable instruments that address the following four federally-defined domains of family assessment: (1) patterns of social interaction, including the nature of contact and involvement with others, and the presence or absence of social support networks and relationships; (2) parenting practices, including methods of discipline, patterns of supervision, understanding of child development and/or of the emotional needs of children; (3) background and history of the parents or caregivers, including the history of abuse and neglect; and (4) problems in access to basic necessities such as income, employment, adequate housing, child care, t ransportation, and other needed services and supports (US, HHS, 2006). Several additional behaviors and conditions have been associated with child maltreatment, such as domestic violence, mental illness, poor physical health, disabilities, and alcohol and drug use. Ideally, a comprehensive family assessment instrument will address these conditions and indicate whether a need for more specialized assessment exists. An objective of this review was to identify measures that addressed these behaviors and conditions as part of a comprehensive family assessment strategy. However, the review of specialized instruments for these conditions and various disabilities was outside the scope of this review. A structured review on the assessment of children and youth in the child welfare system is the focus of a separate review. These major theoretical and disciplinary influences have given rise to several practical issues when considering the appropriateness of a family assessment measure and met hod. While there are many approaches, family assessment methods typically fall into three categories: client self-report, observation, and interviews. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. A key distinction is the degree to which the method is formalized. Formal methods, such as self-report questionnaires, tend to have procedures that are clearly outlined to facilitate consistently repeated administrations. By contrast, informal methods such as interviews may be less clear in their specification and more variable in terms of administration. Family assessment measures also vary in terms of the perspective obtained. Typically, child welfare practitioners will consider the perspectives of multiple individuals during the family assessment process, including â€Å"insider† reports from family members and children as well as â€Å"outsider† reports from school personnel, extended family members, and others that may be involved with the case. Integration of the assessment of multiple reporters with insider and outsider perspectives is reflected in the â€Å"multisystem-multi method† (MS-MM) approach (Greenberger, 2000) Self-report questionnaires provide a unique insider view of family life as well as reliable methods, simplified administration and scoring, and a measurable link between an individual’s perceptions or attitudes and behaviors. Given these advantages, they are by far the most commonly used method in research as well as in practice. Observation rating scales provide another cost-effective method of generating outsider information regarding family interaction patterns that can also be evaluated for reliability and validity. However, rating scales can also be limited in their usefulness by the competence of the rater and the psychometric quality of the scale. Raters must have a clear understanding of the concepts that are measured and the behaviors that represent the concepts in practice. They must also poss ess adequate knowledge of different populations in order to place observed behavior on a continuum, a concern that adequate training and clinical supervision can begin to address. However, as with self-report measures, evidence of the validity and reliability of an observational rating scale is critical in the instrument selection process, particularly with regard to specific stages of assessment. Psychological test Psychological tests are administered by many different professionals to many different individuals, and the results of these tests are used in ways that significantly affect us and those around us. Psychological test is something that requires us to perform behaviour to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic or to predict an outcome. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are administered and their format. A test can be administered in paper-and-pencil format (individually or in a group setting), on a computer, or verbally. Similarly, a psychological test may consist of multiple-choice items; agree/disagree items, true/false items, open-ended questions, or some mix of these. There are also tests that ask respondents to perform some behaviour such as sorting cards, playing a role, or writing an essay. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are scored and interpreted. Some tests are completed on scan able sheets and are computer scored. Some are hand-scored by the person administering the test. Others are scored by the test takers themselves. In terms of interpretation, some tests generate results that can be interpreted easily by the test taker, and others require a knowledgeable professional to explain the results to the test taker. Psychological tests have various similarities and many differences. All psychological tests require an individual to perform one or more behaviours, and these behaviours are used to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic thought to be important in describing or understanding behaviour or to predict an outcome. However, psychological tests can and do differ in terms of the behaviours they require individuals to perform, the attributes they measure, their content, how they are administered and formatted, how they are scored and interpreted, and their psychometric quality. All good tests have three defining characteristics in common. First, they include a representative sa mple of behaviours. Second, they collect the sample under standardized conditions. Third, they have rules for scoring. When using psychological tests, we must make some assumptions. We must assume that a test measures what it says it measures, that any inferences that are drawn about test takers from their scores on the test are appropriate, that an individual’s behaviour (and therefore test scores) will remain stable over time, that individuals understand test items similarly, that individuals can and will report accurately about their thoughts and feelings, and that the test score an individual receives is equal to his or her true behaviour/ability in the real world plus some error. Testing professionals refer to psychological tests in various ways. Sometimes they refer to them as tests of maximal performance, behaviour observations, or self-report. Sometimes they refer to them as standardized or non-standardized. Other times they refer to them as objective or projective. P rofessionals also refer to tests based on the dimensions they measure. It is important to remember the distinctions among four commonly misunderstood terms: psychological assessment, psychological test, measurement, and survey. First, although both psychological assessments and psychological tests are used to gather information, a psychological test is only one of many tools in the psychological assessment process. Second, a psychological test can be considered to be a measurement when the sampled behaviour can be expressed in a derived score. Third, psychological tests are different from surveys in that psychological tests focus on individual differences and often report one overall derived score (or scaled scores), and surveys focus on group similarities and typically report results at the question or item level. Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory (SRFI) Version II The Self-Report Family Inventory: Version II (SRFI) is a 36-item measure of perceptions of family functioning in five domains: Health/Competence, Conflict, Cohesion, Leadership, and Expressiveness. The instrument is a screening device to assess a family member’s view of overall family competence, based on the Beavers Systems Model of family functioning. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale; for the first 34 items, the scale descriptors are 1 = YES: Fits our family very well, 3 = SOME: Fits our family some, and 5 = NO: Does not fit our family. The last two items have response scales specific to the items. Lower scores represent greater family competence. Administration of SRFI It is a paper pencil method of administration for children aged 12 and above and also for the adults in the family. Interview also can be done for those who are illiterate or have reading and writing problem. Time given is within 5 to 10 minutes. Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Summary scores for each of the five subscales can be obtained as follows: (An â€Å"R† refers to an item score that must be reversed prior to summing). To reverse score, change all numbers where indicated to their opposite. For example, five becomes a one, four becomes a two, three stays the same, two becomes a four, and one becomes a five. Health/Competence: Items 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18R, 19R, 20, 21, 24R, 25R, 27R, 28, 33, 35, and 36 Conflict: Items 5R, 6, 7, 8R, 10R, 14R, 18R, 24R, 25R, 30R, 31R, and 34 Cohesion: Items 2, 15, 19R, 27R, and 36 Expressiveness: Items 1, 9, 13R, 20, and 22 Leadership: Items 8R, 16, and 32 For each numbered item, fill in the score from the SFI. For items , reverse the score and enter the reversed score on the score sheet. Lower scores represent greater competence and higher scores indicate greater problems within the system. Validity and Reliability of SRFI Validity was measured by correlating the SRFI with the observational scales of the Beavers System Model. The results indicate a high degree of convergence of family constructs across the two methods at .62 or above (Beavers Hampson, 2000). The authors claim that this indicates that the SRFI is roughly equivalent to observations (Drumm, M. Carr, 2000). The authors of the instrument report high internal consistencies reliability with Cronbach alphas between .84 and .93 and test-retest reliabilities of .85 or better (Beavers Hampson, 2000). Strengths The great advantage of SRFI is that it gives the respondents’ own views directly. It gives access to phenomenological data, i.e., respondents’ perceptions of themselves and their world, which are unobtainable in any other way. Furthermore, self-report methods can be used to obtain information in situations where observational data are not normally available. Able to study large samples of people fairly easy. Able to examine a large number of variables. Can be carried out relatively cheaply. Limitations The main disadvantage of self-report is that there is a number of potential validity problems associated with it. The data are personal and idiosyncratic and thus may bear little relationship to ‘‘reality,’’ as seen by you or others. More importantly, people are not always truthful. Furthermore, research participants may not be able to provide the level of detail, or use the concepts, that the researcher is interested in. People may not respond truthfully, either because they cannot remember or because they wish to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner. We cannot establish cause and effect relationships from survey data as other variables which could have had an effect may not have been considered in the questionnaire or interview. It may be difficult to obtain a random sample of the population because some people who are selected refuse to answer questions or it may be difficult to obtain a full list of the population from which to select a random sample. Conclusions SRFI is best use for a quick access of information and it is easy to administer. To have a comprehensive assessment of family the same SRFI can be used as a tool for interview for a qualitative research. More information can be gathered if it is used while observing the family with their consent. Teachers, counsellors and discipline masters in school can use SRFI to plan future programs in order to help the children with complicated family background. It will be a very helpful tool in school environment. References Beavers, R., Hampson, R. B. (2000). The Beavers System Model of Family Functioning. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 128-143. Drumm, M., Carr, A., Fitzgerald, M. (2000). The Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex clinical rating scales: A study of their sensitivity, specificity and discriminant validity. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 225-258. Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Beam, M., Whang, S. M., Dong, Q. (2000). The perceived social contexts of adolescent misconduct: A comparative study of youths in three cultures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(3), 365–388. Johnson, L., Ketring, S., Anderson, S. (2010). The Intersession Report: Development of a short questionnaire for couple’s therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 266–276. Kim, S. Y., Ge, X. (2000). Parenting practices and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 420–435. Lambert, M. (2010). Prevention of treatment failure: The use of measuring, monitoring, and feedback in clinical practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Miller, S., Duncan, B., Brown, J., Sorrell, R., Chalk, M. (2006). Using outcome to inform and improved treatment outcomes: Making ongoing, real-time assessment feasible. Journal of Brief Therapy, 5, 5–23. Pinsof, W., Chambers, A. (2010). Empirically informed systemic psychotherapy: Tracking client change and therapist behavior during therapy. In J. Bray M. Stanton (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of family psychology (pp. 431–446). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Pinsof, W., Zinbarg, R., Lebow, J., Knobloch-Fedders, L., Durbin, E., Chambers, A., et al. (2009). Laying the foundation for progress research in family, couple, and individual therapy: The development and psychometric features of the initial systemic therapy inventory of change. Psychotherapy Research, 19, 143–156. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Comprehensive Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families Childrens Bureau. www.ets.org www.pearsonassessments.com www.hoganassessments.com www.ipat.com www3.parinc.com www.psytech.co.uk www.psionline.com www.testagency.com www.upress.umn.edu/tests/default.html Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Abortion is a process of termination of pregnancy. The classic definition of abortion is the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable. This could include spontaneous abortion, which is a miscarriage, or induced abortion such as a doctor, the woman herself, or a layperson causes the abortion. Before modern methods of abortion, this sometimes meant the introduction of foreign objects like catheters into the uterus to disrupt the placenta and embryo (or fetus) so that a miscarriage would result (Family Jrank 2002). Abortion can be carried out by few ways such as taking pills and operation. Statistical information and cases. According to the report prepared by the Better Health Channel, in the year 1990, 23 percent of all pregnancies in Australia were terminated. This makes abortion become one of the most common surgical in the country with around 80,000 women undergoing abortion every year. Our current ratio of one abortion in every four pregnancies is an improvement over the estimated one in three recorded in Australia in the 1930s. Australias abortion rate is reasonably low by international standards compare to the United States of America has a 30 percent abortion rate. The majority of the Australians support the idea of the safe and legal abortion. The typical profile of a woman who is seeking abortion includes the ages in the 20s, single, educated and childless. Thesis statement This study has been carried out to determine whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study investigates the advantages and the disadvantages of the abortion to conclude that whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study draws on information gathered from International articles, World Wide Web sites, books and a survey. Abortion should be encouraged. First, abortion should be encouraged because an unwanted childs future will be affected. The young parent such as the teenager who has the unplanned pregnancy, they are unable to provide a good environment for the child. The teenager which is still studying and they do not have a job which causing them could not give a good environment to the child. Most of the juvenile crime happened is because of the children did not grow up in a good environment. Children who not grow in a good environment will cause them to do illegal things for getting attention from the others (Associated Content 2006). An unwilling parent is unlikely to be a good parent so the unwanted child is far more likely to drop out of school or commit acts of violence than children who are wanted, nurtured and well parent. The young parents are unable to take care of the child because they are immature. Parents play an important role in the childs education but the young parents have an immature mind so they can not give a good example for their child. When the young parents did something that is immature w ould affect the child do to the same mistake too. The young parents can not give accurate information that parents should give because their immature mind can not differentiate the rights and wrongs. If their children had done some mistake, the young parent could not give the right punishment and guide the child to the right pathway. In an addition, abortion should be encouraged because the future of the young parent would be affected if there is an unplanned pregnancy. According to the book, Should abortion rights be restricted? (2003), when a teenager is pregnant she has to face social problems, such as reduced education and employment opportunities. They are forced to stop their education because they have to spend more time on the child. For example, the young parent has to work hard to earn money for feeding the child. And due to the low education of the young parent, jobs with higher salaries may not want to hire them. There are only low salary jobs that would hire the low education teenager, which are typically hard-working employment types. The teenager could not afford to that job which is too heavy work. This will cause them to do illegal things to earn more money for their family such as become a robber, a thief, drug dealer and so on. And they will have to take the risk of getting caught by the police and going to jail. They also may be influenced by criminal associates and addicted to bad habits, such as smoking and gambling. So if they have an abortion, their future might include a  high standard of education, working with a high salary job and live happily. Furthermore, abortion should be encouraged because it can prevent the unwanted child. There are some cases such as rape or the incest pregnancy which is an unwanted pregnancy. The trauma will follow all of her life after the raping case, therefore, abortion is the right way to solve this problem or else an unwanted child would be the nightmare for the mother. We can not force a girl in her early age to become a mother after being raped. Abortion should be done toward the mother whom she does not know who is the father of the child. It will be a very hard life for the mother and the child which without a father. The mother is not ready to enter the parenthood yet. It is not easy to bring up a child by a single mother. The mother has to work hard for the child and have to spend time on taking care of the child at the same time. If a child grew up as a homely and because of it an unloved child, he or she will remember those painful experiences for the rest of your life (Associated Content 2007). Abortion should not be encouraged. On the other hand, abortion should not be encouraged because of the humans right. It is a process that is too cruel to a baby. The most basic human right of the human is the right to life there is no doubt which everyone knows it. The Catholic Bishop of the United States stated that since human life is sacred from conception until natural death, they contend, abortion is immoral. A person who did abortion is a murder because this action is taking away a human persons life. It is so unfair for a child who does not have a chance to enter this world. It is no different between abortion and infanticide. The parent should think about the rights of the child and not just make such selfish decide by their own opinion. We should appreciate the life that the god gives. It is the fate that the parent who get an unplanned pregnancy. God give them a chance to have a baby and guide them to another stage of life. All people, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, or whether they are healthy or handicapped, have been personally knit together by Gods fingers. He has planned out all the days of the unborn childs life before one of them has happened (Leadership U 1992).Some of the people might think that the embryo is just a bunch of cells but it actually a soul is inside the embryo. We have human rights because we are human beings. Therefore, direct abortion is never a morally tolerable option. Moreover, abortion should not be encouraged because a womans health would be affected badly by abortion. Abortion brings both physically and mentally harms to women. A woman who done the process of abortion has to face some physical health problem. Abortion is linked to the breast cancer due to the hormone changed after the abortion and resulting in an increase in a number of new breast cells. Infertility also one of the health problems that have to face by whom had done the process of abortion. As everyone knows that infertility which means being unable to have a child is a high risk of the abortion procedure. This health problem occurs is because, during the process of abortion, it damaged our uterus. Abortion brings mentally disturb to a woman too. At the early emotional effects, many women will experience the feelings of relief and numbness. In the later emotional effects, they have to face the complex feelings. They will have some complex feelings such as depression, tearfulness, guilt, anger, shame and so on. The mother who done the process of abortion may find difficult to face t he others who are pregnant or have babies. Flashbacks to the abortion experience also one of the mentally disturb to those who done abortion procedure. In a study report, 92 percent of women who have had an abortion will also feel guilt on that. As stated in Leadership U(1992), the mother would hear this little voice in her head says she is a terrible, awful person because she had done abortion. Due to the guilty feelings on taking away the childs life, they will feel very regret on it and causing they have an illusion that there is a ghost child following them. Lastly, abortion should not be encouraged because the parents have to take their responsibilities seriously towards the child. The parents behave badly so they have to pay the price. As a parent, they should know the values of a childs life and not just take abortion as an easy way to solve problems. Once they get pregnant, they have to do what a parent should do which they have to put afford on the baby and being a good example for the child. To prevent the same mistake again, they should give birth to the child and take care of the child. Whether or not a baby is unwanted is irrelevant. Just because a human being is not wanted does not mean that the human being has no value or should be killed. In addition, there are huge numbers of families who are willing to adopt those unwanted babies. So, those babies are wanted, not unwanted (CARM 2001). Conclusion Based on the evidence above, I strongly disagree abortion should be encouraged. It can not be a smart choice for the parent to do abortion. Abortion brings many disadvantages to the mother such as health problem as stated above. It brings both physically and mentally side effect. Abortion also is an immoral activity which is killing an innocent baby. Besides, if abortion is encouraged, it might cause the citizen to get involve in sexual activities easily because once they get pregnant and abortion could help them to solve the problem. There are many ways to solve the problems of unplanned pregnancy such as adoption, not just abortion. In the 50 sets of the personal survey, 44% of the public thinks that if one of their friends gets an unplanned pregnancy; continue the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption is the best way for the mother. If the parent does not prepare to have a child yet then they should take action to prevent it before they get pregnant such as a condom. Besides, the government can help to prevent the unplanned pregnancy through education too. For an example, the Minister of Education has to implement sex education in schools to give students a better idea of sexual intercourse. When they get to know more about the sex knowledge, they would know the importance of preventing unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, it helps to prevent it. At the end of the essay, the 50 sets of the personal survey show that 84% of the public do not agree that abortion should be encouraged. The personal survey will be shown in the pie chart below:

Acid Rain :: Acid Rain Environmental Nature Essays

Acid Rain Acid rain has become an environmental concern of global importance within the last decade. With the increasing environmental awareness of the "unhealthy" condition of our planet earth the concern about acid rain has not lessened. In brief, acid rain is rain with pH values of less than 5.6. When dealing with acid rain one must study and understand the process of making Sulfuric acid. In this project we will take an in depth look into the production of sulfuric acid, some of its uses and the effects of it as a pollutant in our environment. Sulfuric Acid Industry in Ontario Among the many plants in Ontario where sulfuric acid is produced, there are three major plant locations that should be noted on account of their greater size. These are: Inco. - Sudbury Noranda Mines Ltd. - Welland Sulfide - Ontario There are a number of factors which govern the location of each manufacturing plant. Some of these factors that have to be considered when deciding the location of a Sulfuric Acid plant are: a. Whether there is ready access to raw materials; b. Whether the location is close to major transportation routes; c. Whether there is a suitable work force in the area for plant construction and operation; d. Whether there is sufficient energy resources readily available; e. Whether or not the chemical plant can carry out its operation without any unacceptable damage to the environment. Listed above are the basic deciding factors that govern the location of a plant. The following will explain in greater detail why these factors should be considered. 1) Raw Materials The plant needs to be close to the raw materials that are involved in the production of sulfuric acid such as sulfur, lead, copper, zinc sulfides, etc.. 2) Transportation A manufacturer must consider proximity to transpor-tation routes and the location of both the source of raw materials and the market for the product. The raw materials have to be transported to the plant, and the final product must be transported to the customer or distributor. Economic pros and cons must also be thought about. For example, must sulfuric plants are located near the market because it costs more to transport sulfuric acid than the main raw materials, sulfur. Elaborate commission proof container are required for the transportation of sulfuric acid while sulfur can be much more easily transported by truck or railway car. 3) Human Resources For a sulfuric acid plant to operate, a large work force will obviously be required.

Questionnaire for Mcd

We are currently conducting a research on ethics of McDonald’s advertisement. We are surveying on the opinions of college students towards the ethics of McDonald’s advertisement. Are they really advertising their fast food ethically? Your response and feedback will be much appreciated. It will take 5 minutes to complete this questionnaire. Gender: Age: _20_ {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Male Female Which faculty do you study in? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Business Engineering Biomedical Law How often do you eat McDonald’s fast food every month? draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Seldom 1-3 times > 3 times What do you think about the taste of McDonald’s food? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Not tasty Tasty Very tasty Do you think that McDonald’s food is as tasty and attractive looking as shown in their advertisements? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Do you think that McDonald’s advertisements are affecting kids to eat more fa st food? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Do you think that McDonald’s food is as healthy as advertised? draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Do you think that the information provided about the food by McDonald’s is complete and true? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No What factor makes you eat McDonald’s food? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Taste Advertisement/ Promotion Price Time saving Do you agree that McDonald’s advertisement has caused people to eat more and become more obese? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Does the advertisement or promotion made by McDonald’s make you consume more McDonald’s fast food? draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Do you think that McDonalds should put complete information about the nutrition in the food prepared in the advertisement? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No Consider this scenario: You are the sales manager of McDonald’s and you have to make a decision in a meeting with colleagues to decide on th e advertising plans for McDonald’s. Your colleagues suggested that you should advertise McDonald’s food as healthy as the society now is getting more conscious of health issues. However, you know that McDonald’s food is not the ideal healthy food. What would you do? {draw:rect} Advertise McDonald’s food as healthy and earn more profits in order to get a higher commission. {draw:rect} Gives full information about McDonald’s food and risk your job as a sales manager because it may affect the sales. When you buy burger from McDonald’s, does it exactly look like how it is advertised? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No If no, do you feel that you are misled by the advertisement? {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Yes No

The eNotes Blog 7 Women Writers You Should Read for Women’s HistoryMonth

7 Women Writers You Should Read for Women’s HistoryMonth You may have heard of them, or perhaps you’ve been assigned one of their novels or short stories in English class. Required reading aside, these seven women writers all wrote during the last half of the 20th century and offer unique perspectives on topics and issues that are still top of mind for contemporary audiences. Lets look at the women who should be a the top of your reading-for-pleasure list right now. 1. Octavia Butler Though her work is well-known and respected among avid science fiction readers, Octavia Butler has never been mainstream. She wrote about a black woman transported back in time (and against her will) to save a white ancestor in pre-Civil War North America; a race of aliens who are a third gender; and vampire-like people who are polyamorous and discriminated against. Her work is eye-opening and even more relevant today than it was when she wrote it, mostly in the 70s through the early 2000s. Works to read: Dawn and other novels in the Xenogenesis series, 248 pages Kindred†¨, 287 pages Bloodchild and Other Stories†¨,  214 pages 2. Leonora Carrington Carrington has mostly fallen out of modern-day consciousness, but during her life she was recognized as one of the few female surrealist artists and writers during the male-dominated surrealist movement of the 20s and 30s. Her stories are sharp-minded and darkly humorous, especially â€Å"The Debutante,† which turns a critical eye on upper-class society by having a wealthy young woman switch places with a talking hyena. Carrington published several short story collections from the 30s through the 80s and exhibited her artwork throughout the world. Works to read: The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington†¨, 215 pages 3. Angela Carter Carter is perhaps most known for her short story collection â€Å"The Bloody Chamber† where she reinterpreted classic fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast and Bluebeard through a feminist lens- one of the first female writers to do so. She wrote prolifically throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s, publishing many novels, short story collections, books of poetry, and works of nonfiction. Works to read: The Bloody Chamber†¨, 128 pages â€Å"Flesh and the Mirror†,  7 pages Nights at the Circus, 295 pages 4. Patricia Highsmith With the 2015 film Carol, based on her novel The Price of Salt, Patricia Highsmith reentered contemporary culture. A novelist and short story writer who published from the 50s to the 90s, Highsmith is perhaps most known as a masterful writer of thrillers, such as Strangers on a Train, which was adapted into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Worth reading, even more, is The Price of Salt: its intimate portrayal of the romance between two women, and thoughtful exploration of the nature of love and attraction regardless of gender, was a rarity for the era it was published in. Works to read: The Price of Salt†¨,  276 pages The Talented Mr. Ripley†¨, 320 pages Strangers on a Train†¨, 256 pages 5. Shirley Jackson Many readers may have encountered Jackson’s shocking short story â€Å"The Lottery† in English class or watched the recent Netflix adaptation of her novel The Haunting of Hill House, but her other short stories and novels are also worth exploring. Jackson was masterful at crafting stories that depict the subtle horrors of everyday life, particularly the sometimes oppressive nature of living as a housewife in the 50s and 60s, which is perhaps best portrayed in her short story â€Å"The Good Wife.† Works to read: The Lottery and Other Stories†¨, 302 pages The Haunting of Hill House†¨, 182 pages We Have Always Lived in the Castle†¨, 146 pages 6. Flannery O’Connor While some of O’Connor’s short stories are staples of English classes focused on postmodern work, she isn’t a household name. Yet, her writing, which is preoccupied with the grotesqueness of everyday life, is well worth reading. She often incorporated disability into her work, such as in her story â€Å"Good Country People,† where the main character, Joy, has a prosthetic leg. O’Connor herself had lupus, which led to her early death. Works to read: The Complete Stories†¨, 555 pages The Violent Bear It Away†¨, 256 pages Wise Blood†¨, 256 pages 7. Jean Rhys Anyone who is left unsatisfied with Bertha Mason’s story after reading Jane Eyre should turn to Rhys’s novella Wide Sargasso Sea, which is a prequel of sorts to its Victorian predecessor. From the British West Indies herself, Rhys wrote Wide Sargasso Sea from Bertha’s perspective, giving a voice to a woman silenced by her husband, her family, and her society. From the 20s through the 70s, Rhys published many novels and short story collections, some also inspired by her upbringing in the Caribbean. Works to read: Wide Sargasso Sea†¨, 171 pages Good Morning, Midnight, 159 pages Sleep It off, Lady†¨, 176 pages

Your Trucker Future Forecast

Your Trucker Future Forecast Wondering what the state of the trucking industry looks like from the vantage point of industry insiders? If so, then keep reading! TruckingInfo.com recently looked at a nationwide GE Capital forecasting survey given to mid-market trucking company execs. The results? Company insiders see a trend towards growth over the coming year, in business, employment, and equipment expenditures. Execs point to growing optimism in the national economy as a key factor.The outlook over the next 12 months isn’t completely rosy, however. Execs also anticipate a number of challenges including key regulatory concerns involving the hours of service regulations, CSA, and reauthorization of the highway bill. Retention of quality staff, fluctuations in oil and gas prices, and commodity costs are also concerns.What should you make of these results? Well, if you’re looking to become a driver, the overall outlook is a good one! An optimistic outlook on hiring means that now could be a great time to make a move if you’ve been thinking of becoming a driver. So make your move and find yourself on the road to a new career!GE Capital Survey Forecasts Expanding Trucking IndustryRead More at TruckingInfo

Fear As I gradually slurped the remains of what was

Fear As I gradually slurped the remains of what was Fear As I gradually slurped the remains of what was left of my soup bowl I decided to polish off the remaining pools of my thick cold chicken soup trying to postpone my greatest fear of all. I decided I wouldn't talk at the table because I was just thinking about the loathsome night I would encounter."Honey, lighten up a bit, its Christmas tomorrow! You never know Santa Clause might have bought you that train set you have been asking for all year," said my mum with a look of Great Spirit upon her face. She obviously wasn't taking much notice to the dull, glum look on my face. She was still hoping for the 18 - carat Gold ring with encrusted diamonds smothering the pure white shiny metal, which she had asked for by making subtle remarks to my father for the past month and a half.The Christmas issue of NOAA's Weather Bureau Topic...

Quantitative Nursing Research Report Analysis Essay

Quantitative Nursing Research Report Analysis - Essay Example 569, Background section). The purpose of the study was to show the relationship between CTS and CTD of nursing students to nursing educators so that they may take this into account when designing course work and evaluating students. While a few studies have been done, the author wanted to add to the body of research. It was also intended to identify areas in which further research is needed. The main research questions were to discover if there is a relation between CTS and CTD, if that relation remains constant through each academic level, and if there is improvement through each academic level. The independent study variables were the four cohorts of the student sample: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. The expectation was that each group would do progressively better at CTS/CTD testing. The dependent variables are the CTST and CCTDI scores and the means of comparison used. That is, comparison of CTS to CTD and the increase or decrease of both over the course of baccalaureate study. Students as individuals were not assessed over a period of time so that scores could be compared in that manner. Instead scores were compared to different students at different levels in the baccalaureate program. Also, there was no measurement of students' level of concentration on any particular day as influenced by amount of sleep obtained, mood, or other factors that might have influenced the test scores (Heffner 2004, chap.1, section 3). Conceptual ModelTheoretical Framework This study clearly conforms to Dewey's Scientific Method using the following steps in serial order: 1. Identify the problem, 2. Determine the hypothesis, 3. Collect and analyze data, 4. Formulate conclusions, 5. Apply the conclusions to the hypothesis (Heffner, 2004, chap. 1, section 1). Review of Related Literature Related literature, as cited within the article makes the following points. Critical thinking and disposition are integral to nursing education and to the practice of nursing. This is especially important with increased technological advances and the increased complexity of skills needed to care for more acutely ill patients and the ethical issues that surround that care (Study, p. 579, para. 1). In the third paragraph of the Introduction, the author attempts to define critical thinking through various references and so define what is to be quantified in the study. Paragraph four relates the need to teach critical thinking skills to nursing students and fosters questions as to how that might be accomplished and by what means performance might be measured. Next, there is a review of past studies and a declaration of need to add to that body of evidence (Study, p. 569-570, Introduction Section,

'The Searchers' Film Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

'The Searchers' Film Review - Assignment Example For example, traditional Western cowboys came from somewhat disadvantaged backgrounds and they did not occupy high position on the social ladder. However, Wayne’s character is not poor. He never had any financial problem and always seems to have a comfortable supply of gold. The Native Americans may or may not be the same as portrayed in the movie. Some Indian tribes may be vicious, but the same cannot be said for all and there is no reason to possess such racial hatred for the Indians as is possessed by Ethan in the film. There are power inequalities implied in the film between the Indians and the whites. These inequalities range from political power to employment to social relationships. The whites are certainly more privileged in all three areas than the Native Indians appear to be, hence the tension between the two racial groups grows. There is a dominant ideology of white supremacy which is depicted in the film. Through Indian warriors, backlash demonstrated by the tribes, massacres, kidnappings, and hatred towards slavery, the film shows a hegemonic negotiation

PROGRESSING DEVELOPMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH NURSING Essay

PROGRESSING DEVELOPMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH NURSING - Essay Example In some situations the person may make a rigid determination not to eat. In some cases malnutrition might have taken place before such older people are admitted to the hospital. However, in some cases malnutrition may be a result of suboptimal gerontological care and management, medical or surgical interventions, the psychosocial effect of hospitalisation or a lack of proactive, therapeutic personcentred interventions purpose at promoting adequate food and nutrition.  An identified caused of malnutrition in older adult is the loss of f feeding abilityy which is a common problem for older adults (Kolodny & Malek 1991, Kayser-Jones 1992, Herne 1995, Kayser-Jones & Schell 1997a, Berry & Marcus 2000) especially those with dementia (Watson 2002, Manthorpe & Watson 2003); With cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, malnutrition is unavoidable. Such older adults do not have the cognitive ability to initiate or continue effective feeding strategies. I n contrast the older person with neuromotor disorders, such as stroke or Parkinson’s disease, may cognitively manage feeding but might not have the neuromotor skills to help chew or swallow effectively.  Moreover , the older people living in retirement and nursing homes need other support, including help with dressing, defecation and help with eating. The residents in the nursing homes need extensive nursing care and medical care as they may have diseases such as cancer, stroke sequelae or severe dementia (Hedin, 1993).   . Several studies show risk of malnutrition between 30% and 38% (Visvanathan et al. 2003); in older people (>65 years) who had recently moved to a residential home. However the problem of malnutrition still persists among older people living at home, who need help, as shown by the percentage of 3.5% reported by Thorslund et al (199). Alternatively 33–37% would be at risk of malnourished when they move home (Wikby et al. 2006).   Analysis   As we age, it is more important to look into our health and well being and the the prevention of malnutrition should be taken seriously among older people with dementia. It is much easier to prevent malnutrition among older people, rather than treating them after they have become ill from it, (Larsson et al. 1990, Payette 2005). Patients who receive information about the need for protein and energy intake and are active i have an increased intake (Pedersen 2005).   l. Malnutrition can have consequences both on the individuals affected and the carers by causing morbidity, hospital admission, delayed discharge and an increased dependence on social care and next of kin ( Van Nes et al. 2001 ).   Risk factors identified for malnutrition in earlier international studies are diseases (Beck et al. 1999, Payette 2005, Alberda et al. 2006, Chen et al. 2007), to much medications, low functional status (Payette 2005) symptoms of depression. Additionally, involuntary weight loss among older pe ople was associated with disease (Callen & Wells 2005, Payette 2005), inadequate nutrient intake and consequences for health (Payette 2005).  In 2001, a concept analysis of malnutrition in older people was first published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, in which the critical attributes of malnutrition in older people were identified to include insufficient dietary intake, muscle wasting, weight loss, poor appetite and downward trajectory.

Homophobia in American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homophobia in American Culture - Essay Example Most of the religious groups in America oppose homosexuality at large and this has sparked a lot of debates in the recent days. Similarly America is a country which has people from all over the world living in it. And thus this causes the country to have more diversification in terms of religion, race and people. And most of the religions which exist in America object to homosexuality. This can be seen as a major source of Homophobia in America. On the other hand according to some people the act of homosexuality is filthy and perverted. Thus this act should be widely condemned according to these people. Different people belonging to different races in America have the belief that homosexuality is against the law of God and is creating an environment of filth in America. All these factors lead to the development of Homophobia in America. The fear developed by people in their hearts is causing them to treat the homosexuals unfairly. Thus it can also be said that Homophobia is also a ca use of discrimination in America. The issue of Homophobia is now being tackled by the relevant authorities and steps are being taken by them to ensure that the homosexuals are getting their basic rights. In my age group Homophobia is quite common due to the role of the media and different organizations.

IAS 17- LEASES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IAS 17- LEASES - Essay Example Recognizing this need for a proper accounting of lease financing transactions the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued IAS 17 in respect of the leasing and financial instruments in the year 1982. It is observed that in spite of the changes that these standards propose to bring about the companies are still able to resort to Off Balance Sheet Financing which vitiates the objectives of the standards introduced by IASB. This paper presents a detailed review of the effectiveness of IAS 17 in achieving its objectives and comments on the new standards proposed to be issued in this respect. "A finance lease should be reflected in the balance sheet of a lessee by recording an asset and a liability at amounts equal at the inception of the lease to the fair value of the leased asset net of grants and tax credits receivable by the lessor; if lower at the present value of the minimum lease payments." (Khan, 2007) The lessee should be appropriated between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability. A finance lease involves the accounting of the depreciation charge for the leased asset as well as the financing charge for the relevant accounting period. In respect of the operating lease the rental expenses for the accounting period shall be charged to income. The charge to income should be recognized on a systematic basis which represents the time pattern of the benefits for the user. The amount of the assets that are subject to finance lease should be disclosed at the values as at the balance sheet date. Liabilities relating to the leased asset should be disclosed separately from other liabilities. The liabilities are to be differentiated between the current and long term portions. The lessee's commitment for minimum lease payments under finance lease or non-cancellable operating lease having tenure of more than a year should be disclosed in summary form. This disclosure should specify the amounts and periods in which payments would become due. The accounting statements should also specifically disclose any significant financing restrictions or other conditions attached to the leases. Accounting and Disclosure under IAS 17 by Lessor An asset held by the lessor under finance lease should not be disclosed in the balance sheet as property, plant and equipment. Alternatively the asset item should be shown as receivable at value that equals the net investment in the lease. The recognition of finance income on the lease should be calculated using any specific pattern that reflects a constant periodic rate of return. This rate of return should be based on either the net investment outstanding or the net cash investment outstanding in respect of the particular lease under consideration. There is no specific method prescribed for estimating the value or the net return. Rental income on the lease should be recognized on a straight line basis over the term of the lease unless the lessor finds any other systematic basis that is more representative of the time pattern contained in the lease contract concerning the earning process. The main

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty Thesis Proposal

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty - Thesis Proposal Example The paper tells that in the course of the storey of humanity, persons, regardless of time and place, have been plagued by three important concerns. The first concern is ‘where did I come from?’ while the second question is ‘what is happening now?’ and finally the third concern is ‘what will happen to me in the future?. In effect, in this continuum of questions, uncertainty marks each query. As such, humanity’s quest for answers to these issues, often gnat at their being, because most wants to remove the dread and anguish towards the unknown future as they have trekked the masked past and the uncertain present. In this regard, all types of religion try to assuage the trepidation and angst of the future by unveiling the future, â€Å"practically all religions have developed a way of looking into the future†. This knowledge they impart in order to help humanity take the path that will help them avoid grief and uncertainty. In this context, C hristianity bears witness to the truism that â€Å"God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son†. Through the Son, Christianity affirms the key truth of faith â€Å"Yes, God so love the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life†. In light of this, the research will be dealing with one of the most important aspect of Christian faith – Redemption in connection with Christian liberty. Background of the Study The contemporary period is marked by radical changes that continuously transform not only society, but also the way humanity perceived life, meaning, relationship and human nature (Ortega-Villasenor, 2004). The continued deconstruction of traditional values, norms, interpretations, meanings and beliefs should empower humanity to be freed from the limits of the insti tutions and structures permeating the world of man (Johnson 12). Some of these radical changes include globalization, rapid developments and advancements in science and technology and the increasing challenge of global environmental challenge. Globalization is the breaking of the barriers in trade among nations, paving for a freer movements of goods, services, people, capital and even values, traditions and way of life (Coatsworth 38). This is dynamic in view of the fact that it does not only affect the economic life and structures of the global society, but its influence pervades almost all facets of human encounters in the modern period, thus, making globalization one of the most powerful vector of change in the modern period (Suarez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard 25). In the same manner, rapid advancements and developments in science and technology re-structure the arena where people encounter, interact and undertake actions. In this regard, the contemporary human condition is character ised by the interconnection and continued interrelation between the human-social dimension and information- computer technological advancements. Thus, existing socio-technological systems are the venue for â€Å"the interaction between society’s complex infrastructures and human behaviour. Within this concept, society itself and most of its substructures are complex socio-technical systems† (Stranks, 100). Meanwhile, biomedical innovations have created the condition wherein extension of human life span has been achieved as medicine has become capable of curing and preventing number of diseases (Ehni and Marckmann 985). This has created the attribute known as super-mediatic world. This means that the world is right on the tip of our fingers. One push of buttons, things are done, connections are made and communications are relayed. Finally, the environmental concerns that plague the period refer not only to the depletion of earth’s natural resources and the piling up of by-products or

Homophobia in American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homophobia in American Culture - Essay Example Most of the religious groups in America oppose homosexuality at large and this has sparked a lot of debates in the recent days. Similarly America is a country which has people from all over the world living in it. And thus this causes the country to have more diversification in terms of religion, race and people. And most of the religions which exist in America object to homosexuality. This can be seen as a major source of Homophobia in America. On the other hand according to some people the act of homosexuality is filthy and perverted. Thus this act should be widely condemned according to these people. Different people belonging to different races in America have the belief that homosexuality is against the law of God and is creating an environment of filth in America. All these factors lead to the development of Homophobia in America. The fear developed by people in their hearts is causing them to treat the homosexuals unfairly. Thus it can also be said that Homophobia is also a ca use of discrimination in America. The issue of Homophobia is now being tackled by the relevant authorities and steps are being taken by them to ensure that the homosexuals are getting their basic rights. In my age group Homophobia is quite common due to the role of the media and different organizations.

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty Thesis Proposal

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty - Thesis Proposal Example The paper tells that in the course of the storey of humanity, persons, regardless of time and place, have been plagued by three important concerns. The first concern is ‘where did I come from?’ while the second question is ‘what is happening now?’ and finally the third concern is ‘what will happen to me in the future?. In effect, in this continuum of questions, uncertainty marks each query. As such, humanity’s quest for answers to these issues, often gnat at their being, because most wants to remove the dread and anguish towards the unknown future as they have trekked the masked past and the uncertain present. In this regard, all types of religion try to assuage the trepidation and angst of the future by unveiling the future, â€Å"practically all religions have developed a way of looking into the future†. This knowledge they impart in order to help humanity take the path that will help them avoid grief and uncertainty. In this context, C hristianity bears witness to the truism that â€Å"God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son†. Through the Son, Christianity affirms the key truth of faith â€Å"Yes, God so love the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life†. In light of this, the research will be dealing with one of the most important aspect of Christian faith – Redemption in connection with Christian liberty. Background of the Study The contemporary period is marked by radical changes that continuously transform not only society, but also the way humanity perceived life, meaning, relationship and human nature (Ortega-Villasenor, 2004). The continued deconstruction of traditional values, norms, interpretations, meanings and beliefs should empower humanity to be freed from the limits of the insti tutions and structures permeating the world of man (Johnson 12). Some of these radical changes include globalization, rapid developments and advancements in science and technology and the increasing challenge of global environmental challenge. Globalization is the breaking of the barriers in trade among nations, paving for a freer movements of goods, services, people, capital and even values, traditions and way of life (Coatsworth 38). This is dynamic in view of the fact that it does not only affect the economic life and structures of the global society, but its influence pervades almost all facets of human encounters in the modern period, thus, making globalization one of the most powerful vector of change in the modern period (Suarez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard 25). In the same manner, rapid advancements and developments in science and technology re-structure the arena where people encounter, interact and undertake actions. In this regard, the contemporary human condition is character ised by the interconnection and continued interrelation between the human-social dimension and information- computer technological advancements. Thus, existing socio-technological systems are the venue for â€Å"the interaction between society’s complex infrastructures and human behaviour. Within this concept, society itself and most of its substructures are complex socio-technical systems† (Stranks, 100). Meanwhile, biomedical innovations have created the condition wherein extension of human life span has been achieved as medicine has become capable of curing and preventing number of diseases (Ehni and Marckmann 985). This has created the attribute known as super-mediatic world. This means that the world is right on the tip of our fingers. One push of buttons, things are done, connections are made and communications are relayed. Finally, the environmental concerns that plague the period refer not only to the depletion of earth’s natural resources and the piling up of by-products or

Political Theory in International Relations Essay Example for Free

Political Theory in International Relations Essay World politics is a very broad and challenging topic to discuss. Indeed it is so hard to understand the facts about world politics. I suppose that the study of world politics itself requires indepth and thorough research on the topic. When facts are put the way they are, world politics becomes even more complicated. Since politics is the process by which people make decisions, these decisions can vary depending on the environment, culture and the political history and backgrounds. The fact that politics depend on an individual thinking makes the matter more complicated. Different people may have different ideologies has to the organization of politics in their country but all these have to be harmonized so that we have a central government which is organised. (Alan, 1997 pp. 190) Theory is key in understanding world politics because it is the basis with which a particular group will adopt a particular political pattern. Democratic kinds of governments have had this type of system because of theories. A theory is an abstract preposition about an object, person or situation. According to some political systems they is an open system whereby the state supposes that the people will participate in free politics. Theory has seen the division of politics into right wing and left wing politics. Though this theory has been in use for a along time, the use has been used by nation to nation differently. In essence the meaning of right wing politics is the type of political organization which values tradition and capitalism i. e. they regard most social inequality as a result of natural inequalities. The left wing theory of politics values egalitarianism i. e. they try to eradicate social inequality in their systems. Some ideologies tend to combine both left wing and right wing politics coming up with views held by liberals, socialists and conservatives. These are normally referred to as the Christian democracy. (Waltz, 1959 pp. 362) Theorists have come up with several theories to explain the world politics and if we are to understand well these theories we need to know what they use as a gauge. The theorists belief that inorder to look at the actors who interact in politics we must look at the system with which they interact. It’s important to look at the setup of political structures and see the fundamental characteristics which can translate to the world politics. The organisation of the world politics is so much seen in the setup of the domestic politics. Macroeconomic theory thinking theory ought to explain how politics should e like. It is said that nations in a political system are like firms in a domestic economy. Every state has a core purpose of coexistence: to survive despite the odds. If a state is to survive therefore their is need for an organised political system. (Elshtain, 1995. pp 570) The state has to form a structure which is organised and ordered and this is evident from its differentiation and specification of units. The units should be organised in a way that they harmonise each other, theorists explain that their is need for a comprehensive setup of a theory so that the politics of the world will be in harmony. Conclusion The topic of world politics is very important yet very controversial. Today there is no accepted formula or way of rule of the politics. Theory has developed from time immemorial and is very significant in understanding the politics of the world. Variations, however still arise as to whether the stability of the nations contribute to the world politics. Do countries which are termed stable have a stand in politics; do they influence the world politics? Are states like the US of significance to the world politics? And are the developing and the less developed countries of influence to the world politics? All these are questions which are so important in understanding the world politics and if we have to harmonize the meaning of world politics, then we need to stick to the theories which are drawn from several parts of the divide. Reference: Elshtain, J. (1995) International politics and political theory, Cambridge: Polity. Pp. 567-589 Alan, C. (1997) Theory and politics in world politics, Journal vol. 41, pp. 187-216 Waltz, K. (1959) Man, the state and war, New York: Columbia University Press. Pp. 354-367

Insomnia and Psychological Causes in Adolescents

Insomnia and Psychological Causes in Adolescents Ruhi Mehdi Ali Insomnia and Its Psychological Correlates in Adolescents Sleep, in one form or another, is a biological necessity for all living creatures (Coveney, 2014). Insomnia is the most frequently occurring sleep disorder in which the whole body and brain are in a conflict between the desires of wanting to fall asleep and not wanting to go to the wakening status (Mushtaq 2014). On the basis of occurrence of symptoms, insomnia can be classified as transient (no more than a few nights), acute (less than 3-4 weeks), and chronic (more than 3-4 weeks) (Kamel and Gammack 2005). I chose insomnia to be the subject of my writing because I think that it is a serious though ignored heath problem. Studies show that insomnia affects approximately 30% of the general population (Roth, 2007). While Johnson et, al. (2006), estimated that 10.7% adolescents are affected among the general population according to the DSM-IV criteria (as cited in Abe Germain, 2012). A study conducted in a Pakistani medical university revealed that 58.9% of the adolescents slept less than 8 hours a day (Kazim Abrar, 2011). Which means it is not only highly prevalent in our society, but also found worldwide in people of all ages and every gender but none of them tends to solve the issue on an earlier stage. This results in the severity of the disorder leading to various negative consequences. In this article we will focus mainly on the correlation of insomnia with the psychology of adolescents. We will also discuss the causes and circumstances that could lead to the progression of insomnia and some possible management remedies which could be helpful for the readers to diagnose and manage the problem at an earlier stage. In the month of March, 2015, a 28 years old lady was admitted to the Karachi Psychiatric Hospital with complaint of insomnia. She verbalized that she was divorced 10 years back and currently was living with her mother. During her married life she felt that her brother in law used to eye her in an inappropriate way which she felt uncomfortable and she talked to her husband about that but he didn’t believe her, instead divorced her. She was too depressed about the event, and since then she was having complain of insomnia. She didn’t adhere to the prescribed medications and therefore was admitted to the hospital with relapse. According to the criteria suggested by Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders edition 5 (DSM-V), a person is said to have insomnia disorder if the following symptoms are true for him; (A) dissatisfied with sleep quantity and quality. (B) One or more of these symptoms: difficulty initiating maintaining and returning to sleep after awakening, early morning awakening, non-restorative sleep and bed time struggles. (C) Major distress or impairment in daytime accompanies the sleep complaint (also reported by Kidwai Ahmed, 2013). (D) Sleep difficulty occurs at least thrice a week and is present for at least three months. (E) The difficulty occurs despite of sufficient opportunities and age-appropriate circumstances for sleep (Abe Germain, 2012). The criteria makes it easier to rule out the disease. CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS Carskadon discussed that during adolescence a range of biological, psychological and social factors interact, resulting in shortened sleep duration, that has been characterized as ‘the perfect storm’’ (as cited in Hysing 2013). A study conducted in Bahawalpur, Pakistan concluded that 39.2% of the youth (aged 16-25yrs) experience insomnia while 33% suffer from sleeplessness (Mushtaq et. al., 2014). There are several determinants that could lead to insomnia. I believe teenage is the most vulnerable stage of a person’s life. Multiple hormonal changes occur (Mushtaq, 2014; Kamel Gammack, 2005) and psychological distress acts as the key precipitating factor for sleep disorders. Problems in secular, personal or even religious life create great stress on a person’s mind (Mydin, et. al., 2012). Family conflicts, long working hours requiring more hard work, academic challenges and spiritual distress are some of the stressors that make adolescents face difficulties to fall asleep, no matter they have to get up early in the morning, and most of them skip the daytime naps as well (Yen et. al., 2008). Beside this, uncomfortable, noisy or change in sleep environment also hinders in sleep (Mushtaq 2014). Hysing et. al., (2014) claim that such routines cause a sleep deficiency of ~2 hours on weekdays. Some common habits including late night socializing activities, watching television or movies, surfing the internet (Coveney 2014; Yen et. al., 2008), excessive use of mobile phones (Mushtaq, 2014; Yen et. al., 2008), excessive use of substance like alcohol, caffeine, drugs, or side effects of some medicines like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) etc. (Mushtaq, 2014; Abe Germain, 2012; Kazim Abrar, 2011; Alhola Kantola, 2007), also interfere with sleep quality and delay the bedtimes. Furthermore, there could be some genetic or medical determinants as well that pose a risk towards sleep deficiency (Kidwai Ahmed, 2013), while in some cases psychiatric issues may also be present that lead to secondary insomnia (Roth, 2007). Depression and anxiety are the two most common co-morbid that lead to insomnia and vice versa, as worrying about sleep deficiency itself exacerbates insomnia. Dauvilliers described that 72.7% of the patients with primary insomnia had a family history of the disorder (as cited in Abe Germain, 2012). EFFECTS Adequate sleep is important not only for physical health but for cognitive and psychological wellbeing as well. On average, 7-8.5 hours of sleep per day is considered to be normal for adults. (Alhola Kantola, 2007; Kazim Abrar, 2011). While 6 hours/day, is thought to be short sleep duration (Bryan, 2011, as cited in Coveney, 2014). Insomnia, an underestimated disorder causes a number of effects that can disrupt a person’s quality of life (Alhola Kantola, 2007), for instance, chronic fatigue and malaise, aggressiveness, work absenteeism, increased risk of accidents (Cunnington, et, al., 2013; Abe Germain, 2012) etc. A study revealed that in a period of 12 months, only 1% of non-insomniacs had industrial accidents as compared to 8% of insomniacs (Roth 2007). Additionally, I have also commonly observed that it causes emotional instability and mood lowering, that further increases psychological distress and lowers concentration ability (Kazim Abrar, 2011). Decreased memory, ne urocognitive and academic performances are also highly affected that result in impaired performance on psychomotor tests and less productivity at workplace and schools/colleges (Coveney, 2014; Kamel Gammack, 2005). Furthermore, depression and hypertension (Kamel and Gamack, 2005) Such cognitive declines and stressors have their impact on a person’s social life which can be seen as the quality and quantity of his time spent with his family and friends is disturbed. As a result, the person may experience suicidal ideations as severe depressive symptoms. Many people then look towards substance abuse like alcohol and drugs use, either to relieve this stress or to merely induce sleep (Mydin, et. al., 2012; Abe Germain, 2012). Such people also have emotion focused problem solving strategies (Mydin et. al., 2012) i.e. they are less thoughtful about the situation and make emotional attempts to get rid of the Williams argued that moving towards a global 24/7 society is making us utilize our sleep time in walking activities and social opportunities (as cited in Coveney, 2014). Late night social gatherings, connectedness to peers through media and high tech devices has increased too much in our society. This simply means that sleep and rest are not being given much importance which in turn calls for a need to take this matter more seriously especially for the younger generation who wouldn’t want distressing effects of insomnia to affect their growing future. MANAGEMENT Sleep disorders especially insomnia is taken lightly and mostly remains undiagnosed and therefore, untreated. The disorder is treated so as to avoid relapses rather than treatment of current episodes or crisis (Cunnington, et, al., 2013). Benzodiazepine is the most frequently used sedative hypnotic as the first line treatment of insomnia. It decreases reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, sleep onset latency and nocturnal awakenings. Other pharmacological aids include non-benzodiazepines, anti-depressants, and anti-histamines. These medicines are used with the desired outcomes of improved sleep initiation, maintenance and improved next-day functioning (Kamel Gammack, 2005). Multiple approaches can help to control the situation from getting worse. One of them includes asking patients to maintain a 1-2 week sleep diary to assess their sleep pattern. This diary would be helpful to keep the record of the person’s usual bedtime and duration of sleep along with the details about the meals taken, exercise, use of alcohol and medications (Kamel and Gammack, 2005). Maintain such a diary would help to review the activities and factors that may have hindered sleep and improve them accordingly. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another effective intervention with long-term efficacy. It targets the maladaptive behavior and thoughts that may provoke sleep disturbing conditions. This face to face interaction helps client and health care professional to particularly work on aspects and factors that are worsening the situation (Cunnington, et. al., 2013). One more approach known as ‘stimulus control therapy’ restricts the client and environment particular so as to induce sleep. For example, bedroom is confined to be used only for sleeping or sexual activity while sleep incompatible stimuli such as reading, television and computer should be avoided in the room (Cunnington, et. al., 2013; Kamel Gammack, 2005). CONCLUSION Insomnia’s prevalence varies from 11.8% in Nigeria2 to 27% in the United States and 37% in France and Italy (Kidwai Ahmed, 2013). As far as I have observed, people now a days are concerned about being at the top and being number one, but in the long run they ignore their basic health needs including rest. Especially teenagers have multiple stressors from their personal and secular/professional life which causes distressing emotions and they tend to skip their sleep time in order to cope with the challenges. Inappropriate sleeping environment, substance abuse family conflicts, and some underlying medical or psychiatric illness can also interfere and disrupt their normal sleep pattern. Insomnia is a preventable and controllable disorder. Therefore, it is important not to ignore any sleep issues as they may lead to the severe consequences of insomnia. REFERENCES Abe, Y. Germain, A., (2012). Insomnia and Its Correlates: Current Concepts, Epidemiology, Path physiology and Future Remarks. Public Health- Methodology, Environment and Systems Issues: 387-418 Alhola, P. Kantola, P., (2007). Sleep Deprivation: Impact on Cognitive Performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3(5): 553-567. Coveney, C., (2014). Managing Sleep and Wakefulness in a 24-Hour World. Sociology of Health Illness, 36(1): 123-136. Cunnington, D., Junge, M. Fernando, A., (2013). Insomnia: Prevalence, Consequences and Effective Treatment. The Medical Journal of Australia. 199(8): 36-40 Hysing, M., Pallesen, S., Stormark, K. M., Lundervold, A. J. Sivertsen, B. (2013). Sleep Patterns and Insomnia among Adolescents: A Population-Based Study. Journal of Sleep Research, 22:549–556 Kamel, N. Gammack, J., (2005). Insomnia in the Elderly: Cause, Approach, and Treatment. The American Journal of Medicine, 199(6): 463-469. Kazim, M. Abrar, A., (2011). Sleep Patterns and Academic Performance in Students of a Medical College in Pakistan. Khyber Medical University Journal, 3(2): 57-60. Kidwai, R. Ahmed, S., (2013). Prevalence of Insomnia and Use of Sleep medicines in Urban Communities of Karachi, Pakistan. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 63(11): 1358-1363. Mushtaq, A., Saqib, A., Aslam, Z., Fatima, F., Waqas, M. Akram, M., (2014). Occurrence and Causes of Insomnia in Youth of Bahawalpur Division of Pakistan. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Bio-Science, 3(2): 408-418. Mydin, Y., Almashor, S. Zaharim, N., (2012). Correlates between Insomnia, Psychological Distress and Daytime Sleepiness of Malaysian Adults with Symptoms of Insomnia. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 13(2): 122-127. Roth, T., (2007). Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 3(5): 7-10. Yen, C., Hung Ko, C.,Yen, J., Cheng, C., (2008). The Multidimensional Correlates Associated With Short Nocturnal Sleep Duration and Subjective Insomnia among Taiwanese Adolescents. Sleep, 31(11): 1515-1525.

Philosophies Of Socrates, Plato, And Aristotle :: essays research papers

Philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle The philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had different points of-view but they were also similar in some ways. For example, all three philosophers had their own thoughts on the subject of justice and government. Socrates belief on this matter was that democracy was an unwise form of government. He thought that the electing of the people was unfair justice. Plato had some of the same beliefs. He believed that government should only have rulers who had the intelligence and education appropriate for the matter. His thoughts were that a job should be done only by those who are best suited for it. To him aristocracy was a perfect form of government. The point of Socrate's philosophies were to make people think about the questions he would often ask. The reason for these questions being asked were to have people to their own thoughts and opinions toward life. He did not think a person with the right mind should follow the steps of their ancestors. Instead of going around asking questions, Plato, another philosopher, would write his own conversations with imaginerary people. These conversations would cover much of the same topics that Socrates had tried to cover earlier. These topics mostly dealt with life such as government, opinions toward justice and how people really viewed education. Aristotle also had his own theories towards his belief of the "right government". He wanted his results to show happiness among the people. He'd mainly collect information from studying living creatures and observing their living habits. He would do this so that he could see what brought them happiness. His opinion toward life was that all people should live a fair and happy life. After many attempts of forming the perfect government , his facts allowed him to believe that a perfect government could be formed only by those who have a middle class. The middle class would consist of those who were not rich yet not poor. Both Aristotle and Plato had different thoughts on the division of the government. Aristotle claimed to believe that a government should consist of many classes for the protection of the people and the state.

Terrorism and Game theory :: essays research papers fc

Terrorism is a rare, broad concept that affects individuals, schools, corporations, and governments alike. Generally terrorists end up wanting to make change with governments, and governments are usually the only groups powerful enough to try to deal with governments. But what should be the best strategy to deal with terrorists? Since September 11, 2001 game theory has been used to analyze how governments and how terrorists should act to achieve their best outcome. This paper will analyze the games that these competing forces can use to determine the best course of action.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current war on terrorism is tending to have three different sides: the United States, the European Union, and the terrorists. Before the September 11th attacks all policies towards terrorism were reactive rather than proactive. So before we get involved with terrorists at all, there is a game in which based on what policy the EU is going to enact, the how should the US act towards terrorism. A proactive policy means that the government is going to attack POSSIBLE terror threats, whereas a reactive policy would mean that there would be no strikes against terrorism unless the terrorists decide to strike first.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now lets take a look at a model. Lets say, for analysis sake, that a proactive strategy costs a government 6, but casts a benefit of 4 for both governments. For example, if only the US has a proactive strategy, then it’s net would be -2, but the EU would get all 4 of benefit. If both governments are proactive, then the cost is still 6 for each, but the benefit is doubled to 8 because they benefit from each other’s policies. Using this structure, we can construct this normal form of the game:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  from Acre & Sandler Vol. 34 In this model it is clear that the Nash Equilibrium is where neither government has a proactive policy towards terrorists. Because neither government is willing to bear the entire cost, neither government will be proactive although the largest benefit can be derived from both being proactive. This is why this is a type of prisoner’s dilemma game. Real life is hardly ever as fair as this model would suggest. The United States is the target of 40% of all terrorism in the world. (Oster) The US is also more often successful in thwarting terrorism than Europe. Thus, a more realistic model might be one in which the United States gets a benefit of 8 for it’s proactive strategy.

Contextualising the text – Yerma

Throughout his adult life, Garcia Lorca spoke frequently and with great pleasure about the profound importance he attributed to his early childhood in the small villages in the countryside near Granada, and later, in the provincial capital itself. Lorca's father, Federico Garcia Rodriguez was a wealthy landowner with several substantial holdings in the rich alluvial plain called La Vega de Granada. Having been widowed in his first marriage and left without children, Don Federico's second marriage (of which his family disapproved because of the inferior social and economic background of his bride) was to a school teacher from Granada, Vincenta Lorca Romero. The mere fact that she had a profession and a job is an indication of her independence and strength of character. The influence of her personality was to be of the utmost importance for Federico Garcia Lorca, her eldest son, born in June of 1898. The experience of the first ten years in that fertile region of slow rivers and poplar groves, with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada in the distance, seems to have provided Lorca with an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration and feeling for Spain's rural people and their world. The rural folk he was surrounded by became a great influence in his work as we are shown in his second rural play Yerma. Act 2, scene 1 shows us a parallel to what Lorca would have witnessed often during his childhood. In his late teens he began to write poems that he would recite in local cafes. As a child he was known to carry on conversations with inanimate objects, bestowing upon each object a personality and speaking with them as if they were living things and might speak back at any moment. His writing career began with a book of essays in 1918, followed by a play in 1920 and book of poetry in 1921. In 1919 he left to study law at the Residencia de Estudiantes, where he met and became friends with film director Luis Bunuel and painter Salvador Dali, among other Spanish notables of his generation. With the exception of summer vacations spent in Granada, Garcia Lorca would stay in the Residencia until 1928, by which time he had become Spain's most highly respected younger poet. In the period of his greatest fame, Lorca drifted into a depressive, disillusioned state of mind. He described himself to a friend as suffering â€Å"one of the saddest and most unpleasant moments of my life. † He abandoned the gypsy ballad poetry that was making him famous. He even stopped reading his poetry to friends. He was rescued from this melancholy mood by his mentor, Fernando de los Rios, who took him from Madrid through France and England to New York City. In his plays, the pivotal characters are women. Women are the ones who suffer from desire and pass through conflict to tragic or comic resolution. Most of the scenes take place in women's spaces, the domestic interiors which they rule and from which men are estranged (or, as in The House of Bernarda Alba, completely prohibited). The female characters reveal themselves most easily and deeply in conversations with other women. The poetry which erupts at moments of emotional intensity usually comes from the mouths of female characters. Especially in the three great tragedies which are known as his â€Å"trilogy of rural life,† Lorca chooses women to exemplify the human life which is crushed by Spanish customs and social life. He went to Cuba in 1929-30 and returned to Spain in 1931. That year Spain became a Republic, which gave hope to many – Garcia Lorca included – that Spain's standard of living would be improved, its illiteracy reduced and its culture more widely disseminated. He became a director of a student theatre company, â€Å"La Barraca,† which toured small villages and in the faces of harassment by Fascist partisans presented the Spanish classics to the peasants. The company produced the three â€Å"rural tragedies† on which Garcia Lorca's theatrical reputation rests. Yerma (1934), the second of the three tragedies, is the story of a woman who is unable to conceive although she desperately longs to have a child. The first and third tragedies are Blood Wedding (1933) and The House Bernada Alba, which was never performed during Garcia Lorca's lifetime. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, he went to Granada, which he regarded as relatively safe. Although he had no political affiliations, he was known to be a friend of left-wing intellectuals and an advocate of liberty. Apparently this was enough of an indictment for the Falangists who arrested him on the orders of the Nationalist Civil Governor on August 16, 1936. He was held for two days, tortured and shot. Garcia Lorca was homosexual, and he suffered greatly because of the strict, conservative nature of Spain at that time. His writings were outlawed in Granada's Plaza del Carmen. Even speaking his name was forbidden. The young poet quickly became a martyr, an international symbol of the politically oppressed, but his plays were not revived until the 1940s, and certain bans on his work remained in place until as late as 1971. Today, Garcia Lorca is considered the greatest Spanish poet and dramatist of the 20th Century.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 43

Best Intentions Pat, It's been a while, hopefully long enough. If you haven't ripped up this letter already, please read until the end. As you have discovered, I am a much better writer than I am a speaker at this point in my life. Everybody hates me. Did you know your brother came to my house and threatened to kill me if I made contact with you? His sincerity scared me – enough to keep me from writing earlier. Even my parents have reproached me for pretending to be Nikki. My therapist says my betrayal might not be forgivable, and by the way she kept repeating the word â€Å"unforgivable,† I could tell she was very disappointed in me. But the truth is, I did it for your benefit. Yes, I was hoping that once you found closure and got over Nikki, you would want to give me a shot – especially since we are such great dance partners, we both enjoy running, we are in similar housing situations, and let's face it, we're both fighting hard to maintain our grip on reality. We have a lot in common, Pat. I still believe you fell into my life for a reason. Because I love you, I want to tell you something I have never told anyone – except my therapist. It's sort of screwed up, so I hope you will be able to handle it. At first I wasn't going to tell you, but I figured the situation couldn't get any worse, and maybe a little honesty could go a long way right now. I don't know if you know this, but Tommy was a cop. He worked for the Meadowville Police Department and was assigned to the high school sort of as a counselor. So half of his hours were spent working with and counseling troubled teenagers, and the other half of his hours he was just a regular cop. I'm telling you this because it is important to understand that Tommy was a good man. He did not deserve to die, and his death absolutely proves that life is random and fucked-up and arbitrary, until you find someone who can make sense of it all for you – if only temporarily. Anyway, Tommy was really good with teenagers, and he even started a club at the high school designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving. Many of the parents thought the club condoned underage drinking, because it was not an anti-underage-drinking club but just an anti-drinking-and-driving club, so Tommy had to fight really hard to keep it afloat. Tommy told me that a lot of the high school kids drank every weekend, and underage drinking was even condoned by many of the town's parents. And the funniest thing to me was that the kids came to him and asked him to start the club because they were worried that someone was going to get hurt or die if their friends kept driving home after parties. Can you imagine talking to a cop like that when you were a teenager? That's the kind of guy Tommy was, people trusted him instantly. So Tommy organized assemblies and even put together this teacher karaoke night where students could pay money to hear their favorite teachers perform the current hits. Tommy could talk people into doing things like that. I'd go to these events, and Tommy would be up on the stage with all those teenagers, and he'd be singing and dancing with the other teachers, all of whom he had convinced to dress up in wild costumes – and parents, students, administrators would be all smiles. You couldn't help it, because Tommy was such a burst of positive energy. And he always gave speeches during these events – listing facts and statistics about drinking and driving. People listened to Tommy. People loved him. I loved him so fucking much, Pat. A funny thing about Tommy was he liked to have sex a lot. He always wanted to make love. I mean, as soon as he got home from work, his hands were all over me. I'd wake up every morning and he'd be on top of me. We could hardly eat a meal together without his hands sliding under the table, searching for my legs. And if Tommy was home, there was no way I'd ever get through a television show, because as soon as a commercial came on, he'd be rock hard and giving me that look. It was pretty wild, and I loved it for the first ten years of our marriage. But after ten years of nonstop sex, I got a little tired of it. I mean – life is more than sex, right? So one bright sunny morning, after we had just finished making love under the kitchen table, the teakettle whistled, so I stood and poured two cups. â€Å"I'm thinking maybe we should limit sex to so many times a week,† I said. I'll never forget the look on his face. He looked as if I had shot him in the stomach. â€Å"Is something wrong?† he said. â€Å"Am I doing something wrong?† â€Å"No. It's not like that at all.† â€Å"Then what?† â€Å"I don't know. Is it normal to have sex several times a day?† â€Å"Don't you love me anymore?† Tommy asked me with this wounded-little-boy look I still see whenever I close my eyes at night. Of course I told Tommy I loved him more than ever, but I just wanted to slow down a little with the sex. I told him I wanted to talk with him more, take walks, and find some new hobbies, so sex could be special again. â€Å"Having this much sex,† I told him, â€Å"sort of takes the magic out of it.† For some odd reason, I remember suggesting that we go horseback riding. â€Å"So you're telling me the magic is gone?† he said, and that question was the last thing he ever did say to me. So you're telling me the magic is gone? I remember talking a lot after he said that, telling him we could have sex as much as he wanted and that this was just a suggestion, but he was wounded. He was looking at me suspiciously the whole time, as if I were cheating on him or something like that. But I wasn't. I just wanted to slow down a little so I could appreciate sex more. Too much of a good thing, was all I wanted to tell him. But it was clear I had hurt him, because before I could finish explaining, he stood up and went upstairs to take a shower. He left the house without saying goodbye. I got the call at work. All I remember hearing was that Tommy was hurt and had been rushed to West Jersey Hospital. When I got to the hospital, there were a dozen men in blue uniforms, cops everywhere. Their glistening eyes told me. Later I would find out that Tommy had gone to the Cherry Hill Mall during his lunch break. They found a Victoria's Secret bag full of lingerie in his cruiser – every piece was my size. On his way back to Meadowville, he stopped on the highway to help an elderly woman whose car had broken down. Tommy called her a tow truck, but then he stood at the nervous old lady's window chatting with her, keeping her company while she waited. Tommy was always chatting with people like that. The cruiser was behind him, the lights were going, but he was standing at the edge of the highway's breakdown lane. Some driver who had drunk his lunch dropped his cell phone, and when he bent down to pick it up, he pulled the wheel to the right, crossed two lanes, and †¦ The lead in the local paper read â€Å"Police Officer Thomas Reed – who was responsible for starting Meadowville High School's Anti-Drinking-and-Driving Club – was killed by a drunk driver.† It was all so ironic, almost funny in a sadistic way. There were so many cops at his funeral. Kids from the high school made our front lawn into a living memorial – they stood on the sidewalk with candles and flowers. When I refused to go outside, these teenagers sang so sweetly to me through the first few evenings, a chorus of sad, beautiful voices. Our friends brought food, Father Carey talked to me about heaven, my parents cried with me, and Ronnie and Veronica stayed at our house for the first few weeks or so. But the only thing I could think about was how Tommy died believing I no longer wanted to have sex with him. I felt so guilty, Pat. I wanted to die. I kept thinking he would not have gone to Victoria's Secret on his lunch break if we had not had the fight, an d then he would have never passed the old woman in the broken-down car, which meant he would not have been killed. I felt so guilty. I still feel so fucking guilty. After a few weeks I went back to work, but everything in my mind got switched up. My guilt turned to need, and suddenly I was craving sex very badly. So I started to fuck men – any man who was game. All I really had to do was look at a man in that certain way, and within a few seconds I knew if they were going to fuck me. And when they did, I would close my eyes and pretend it was Tommy. To be with my husband again, I'd fuck men anywhere. In a car. In the coatroom at work. In an alley. Behind a bush. In a public restroom. Anywhere. But in my mind, it was always under the kitchen table, and Tommy had come back to me, and I had told him I wasn't tired of having sex, but would make love to him as many times as he needed, because I loved him with all my heart. I was sick. And there was no shortage of men who were eager to capitalize on my sickness. There were men everywhere who – with glee – would fuck this mentally ill woman. Of course this led to my losing my job, therapy, and many medical tests. Luckily, I did not contract any diseases, and I'd be happy to get tested again if that ever becomes an issue for us. But even if I had contracted AIDS or whatever, it would have been worth it to me at the time, because I needed that closure. I needed that forgiveness. I needed to live out the fantasy. I needed to fuck away my guilt so I could break out of the fog I was in, to feel something, to feel anything, and begin to start my life again, which I am only now beginning to do – since we became friends. I have to admit that during Veronica's dinner party I only thought of you as an easy lay. I sized you up in your stupid Eagles jersey and figured I could get you to fuck me, so I could pretend you were Tommy. I hadn't done it in a long time. I no longer wanted to have sex with strangers, but you weren't a stranger. You were handpicked by my own sister. You were a safe man with whom Ronnie was trying to set me up. So I figured I would begin to have sex with you regularly, just so I could fantasize about Tommy again. But when you held me in front of my parents' house, and when you cried with me, things changed – in a very dramatic way. I did not understand it at first, but as we ran together and ate raisin bran at the diner and went to the beach and became friends – simply friends, without any sex to complicate things – it was sort of nice in a way I hadn't anticipated. I just liked being around you, even if we didn't say anything. I knew I had feelings for you when I began to cringe inwardly at the sound of Nikki's name. It was obvious you were not ever going to get back together with your wife, so I called your mom and got her drunk at the local bar, and she told me everything about you. You didn't see me, but I was in the driveway when she came home so loaded and you helped her into the house. I drove her home that night. After what happened to Tommy, I don't drink at all. We've been meeting every week since, Pat. She needed a friend; she needed to talk to someone about your father. So I listened. At first I was just using her for information, but now we are sort of girlfriends. She did not know about the letters I was writing as Nikki, and she was really mad at me for a while after the Christmas episode, but she knows about this letter obviously, since she delivered it for me. She is a very strong and forgiving woman, Pat. She deserves better than your father, and maybe you deserve better than me. Life is f unny like that. I wrote those letters hoping to provide you with the closure I somehow found through casual sex after Tommy died. Please know I began the liaison scheme only after I was certain that Nikki would never agree to talk to you again under any circumstance. Maybe you will never be able to forgive me, but I wanted you to know I had the best intentions – and I still love you in my own fucked-up way. I miss you, Pat. I really do. Can we at least be friends? Tiffany