Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Support for Israel is Good for the United States Essay

Support for Israel is Good for the United States - Essay Example The main reason for arguing against American support to Israel is an exaggerated claim that Israel is playing a role in bankrupting United States. On this basis, the large amount of money, given to Israel is unnecessary. Others argue that the financial aid given to Israel plays a great role in encouraging the anti-American sentiments amongst the Muslims, and facilitating the growth of the Israeli-Arab conflict. This is because the Israelis are using the money given to them for purposes of buying weapons. They use these weapons to kill Palestinians and their enemies, and this fuels religious conflicts in the Middle-East. In regard to anti-American sentiment, enemies of United States inaccurately use this aid to Israel to form a basis of attacking the interests of United States (Freedman, 2012). These attacks can be manifested through terrorism attacks on American and Israel interest on the various parts of the world. However, the American support of Israel is of great importance to the American economic, and physical security, and that of Israel. One of the reasons as to why the American government should support Israel is that it is a democracy. As democratic countries, Israel and the United States share a number of strategic interests, political and civil values (Blum, 2013). There is also a political, cultural and personal bond that occurs between the Israeli and the American people, based on their democratic values. On this basis, Israel is an important American ally in the Middle east, one in which the American people can depend on for military and economic support (Freedman, 2012). In fact, the American military has unlimited access to the Port of Haifa, which is one of the best ports in the world. As an American military ally, Israel collects intelligence information, which it shares with the American military (Blum, 2013). For example, between 1974, to 1990, Israel received

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Developing Privacy in Clinics | Research Study

Developing Privacy in Clinics | Research Study Introduction Privacy has some deep historical roots, however because of its complexity; privacy has been difficult to define. It has often been a heated debate among sociologists, philosophers and scholars (Pritts,2015). The term â€Å"privacy† is frequently used, yet there is no universally accepted definition for the term. Confusion persists over the value, meaning and concept of privacy. At its core, privacy is experienced on a personal level and often interpreted differently by different people (Whitman, 2004:1153). Today, the term is used to signify different, yet overlapping concepts such as the right to disclose personal information about one’s self or to be free from intrusive searches (NRC, 2003:18). Our report focuses on Privacy within the Ikhwezi clinic, in the context of personal information and confidentiality. There are a variety of reasons to improving privacy within Ikhwezi, one being many theorists depict privacy as a basic human right. They see privacy as an essential component of the human well-being. Respecting privacy of an individual contributes to a human’s moral uniqueness (Pritts,2015). The ethical principle of nonmaleficence requires safeguarding personal privacy. Exposure of an individual’s privacy and confidentiality may not only affect their dignity, but may also cause harm (NRC, 2003:18). An example; if confidential information is passed on or over heard by another individual stigma, discrimination and embarrassment may be the end result. Thus, without some form assurance of privacy, patients may be reluctant to provide sensitive information to their doctor. Ensuring privacy can promote more effective communication between the staff of Ikhwezi and patients, which is essential for quality care. However, it is important that the perceptions of privacy differ among individuals, groups and different cultures. No matter how privacy is defined, it is an on-going battle among staff and patients in Ikhwezi Clinic. It is important that all members within our societies work together to ensure every patient are treated according to the Patients’ rights charter. 1.1 Research problem: Ikhwezi is a clinic located on the out skirts of Nomzambo, a rural area that runs parallel to the N2 (Medpages, 2015), tries to help their local community by prevention of disease and to promote community health by offering family planning services and other basic health care. The poor living conditions in Nomzambo entails the community to live restricted lifestyles where residents are susceptible to disease and live in poor conditions. This creates a constant worry among the residents about their health status. Ikhwezi Clinic is growing and struggles with an extreme form of a lack of privacy. 1.2 Problem statement: Ethical health practice and privacy protections both provide valuable benefits to society. Health treatments are vital to human health and health care improvement and protecting individuals’ rights is essential to the conduct of ethical practice. The primary justification for protecting personal privacy is to protect the interests of individuals (Nass, 2009: 10). Privacy is a large issue being faced within Ikhwezi Clinic. As a group we decided to focus mainly in Ikhwezi’s HIV waiting and counselling area. What would be an effective way to solve Ikhwezi’s privacy problem? Where is privacy a present issue in Ikhwezi clinic? How would patients benefit from privacy structures being implemented? Who would be affected most by the lack of privacy Ikhwezi clinic? 1.3 Background: Informal settlements have become a common problem in developing countries around the world due to the rapid population growth, social and economic systems (Ndingaye, 2005:1). Due to limited resources available and minimal municipal support, these settlements often face social and economic concerns that result in poor living conditions and transmission of disease, therefore health care is needed in rural communities. Ikwezi Clinic, located on the out skirts of Nimzambo, helps their local community and others by prevention of disease and promoting community health. Ikwezi is growing each and every day and sees an average of 500 patients a day. It is noisy, busy which results in a lack of privacy among the patients and staff. Literature review: This literature review will provide an analysis of privacy and privacy in third world countries . According to Gaede and Versteeg the relationship between social and health causes is poverty and food security (2011: 100). From whichever lenses or angle viewed, poverty poses, financial, emotional social and physical predicaments that puts residents in a state of jeopardy (Rose and Charlton, 2001:383 ). It deprives and often pushes victims of poverty to grapple in getting even their most basic needs. Deprivation in rural areas contribute significantly to the nation’s poor health status and has impacted the availably of healthcare services (Sankar, 2003: 659). Today, accessing affordable, good quality and comprehensive health care in South Africa remains a real challenge for many (Gaede and Versteeg, 2011: 101). Since 1994, there have been significant improvements in the healthcare system, an example; free primary health care (Sankar, 2003: 659). According to section 27 of the Constitution the right to access healthcare services is guaranteed. It went as far as creating The Patients Rights Charter in 1996 which includes confidentiality and privacy as a sub heading (Gaede and Versteeg, 2011: 101). However, even with this law set in place many patients are still unaware or misunderstands their legal or ethical legal right to medical confidentiality (Sankar, 2003: 659),( Lammes, 2005: 903) . Despite the diminished state of medical confidentiality it still remains highly important among medical practitioners and patients. Effective treatment requires accurate information. Patients are mostly likely going to provide the information needed when they do not have to worry about any of their private information being publicly exposed (Gaede and Versteeg, 2011: 100),( Nass, 2009: 12) . Communication between doctors and patients has attracted an increasing amount of attention within health care studies over the past few years. Notably the doctor-patient relationship is one of the most complex ones. It involves interaction between two individuals; often personal information is disclosed and requires close cooperation from both individuals. Inter personal communication is still the primary tool which the doctor and patient exchange information (Sankar, 2003: 660). Information exchange consists of exchanging information to establish the right diagnosis and treatment plan. However a patient is not going to freely discuss personally information if they do not feel comfortable or feel that their information will not be kept discreet (Sewell, 2013: 17). Privacy has some deep historical roots, however because of its complexity; privacy has been difficult to define (Sankar, 2003: 660). The same as in the Xhosa society, the term â€Å"privacy† is frequently used, yet there is no universally accepted definition for the term. Confusion persists over the value, meaning and concept of privacy ( Nass, 2009: 15), ( Lammes, 2005: 908). Privacy has been depicted as a basic human right by man theorists (Lammes, 2005: 904), (Gaede and Versteeg, 2011: 100). However it is felt that privacy is also a requirement when wanting to develop interpersonal relationships with others. By giving people the ability to control who knows what and who has access to their information would alter their behaviour with different people, allowing them to maintain and control various social relationships (Nass, 2009: 15) . The South African society has placed a high emphasis on an individuals’ right to medical confidentiality. Medical records can include some of the most intimate details about a person’s life. They often contain information about a patients mental a physical health, personal relationships and social behaviours. It is strongly advised for staff to reassure their patients that their information is kept confidential. It has been proven that when patients perceive that their health services are not confidential, they are less likely to seek care or disclose vital personal information (Lammes, 2005: 904). Protection of personal information is key, as it is sensitive, potentially embarrassing and private. However, if personal information is breached, the individual may face potential harm. The patient could face social harm as a stigma may be created, which may result in a cause of social isolation. These articles show that the protection of health care information is vital for ensuring that individuals’ seek and obtain quality health care. Methodology This research report is shaped by themes such as privacy, privacy in Ikhwezi and privacy experienced by different cultures. However, the fundamental goal of this project was to help a local rural clinic Ikhwezi in Strand from privacy issues faced within the clinic among the staff and patients. Objectives were established to obtain this goal: Gather information about privacy. Gather information about Ikhwezi, the patients and staff. To find where Ikhwezi struggles with privacy by interviewing patients and staff. Explore different options to alleviate privacy issues. Propose an idea or solution The most important aspects of research will be to find possible solutions to alleviate the privacy issue faced by both staff and patients in Ikhwezi, with the hope by the end of the research a solution could be recommended. 3.1 Research Type Literature review The literature review will take care of correcting the theoretical material available on privacy and rural clinics in third world countries around the world. It helps to widen the scope of knowledge, strengthen thoughts to be more independent on the discussion of the evaluation of the effects of privacy. Necessary background information and current situations will be looked at in order to gain more insight and knowledge. Case Study Case studies allow for in depth descriptions of the studies which generate a richness of perceptions while exploring, recording and reflecting data recorded. Case studies are particularly useful when one needs to understand specific people, situations, a particular problem or a unique situation in greater depth (Trochim, 2013). Why Choosing a Qualitative Approach? This study is done in a qualitative informative research paradigm. The reason to why the qualitative methodology was selected to gather information was because a certain issue and problem needs to be explored for this study. A complete understanding of the issue is required; therefore empowering individuals to share their stories would be the way forward (Thagaard , 2003: 12). Qualitative research allows one to place yourself among the subject matter within ‘real life’ situations which could also be referred to as a ‘natural setting’. Qualitative helps provide insights into the setting of the problem and helps generate ideas or hypotheses for later quantitative research (Trochim, 2013). Qualitative methodology allows one to also obtain first-hand knowledge about the social world and experiences of people in Ikhwezi. It also develops the analytical and conceptual components of explanation from the data collected. Another reason to why the quantitative method was selected as a form of gathering research was because most of the patients in Ikhwezi we not English speaking and illiterate, therefore a verbal and more personal interaction with the community would benefit this study Participant Observation To gather the needed research, our group made a two hour visit to Ikhwezi. We were given a guided tour and we were allowed to walk around freely. According to Thagaard (Thagaard , 2003: 15) observation is based on an attempt to understand the culture from the inside by participating with the subjects of the study. The position as an outsider can contribute to a more distanced perspective on the other culture. This, further helped by gathering more in-depth insight towards the problems faced. References : Gaede, B and Versteeg, M. 2011. The state of the right to health in rural South Africa. SAHR. 9(1): 99-106. Lammes, B. 2005. Doctor-patient communication: a review of the literature. Elsevier Scienc. 40(7): 903-918. Medpages, 2015. Ikhwezi Clinic. Medpages. [Online]. Avaiable: http://www.medpages.co.za/sf/index.php?page=organisationorgcode=113375. [25 February 2015]. Nass, J. 2009. Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research. United States: Institute of Medicine. Ndingaye, X. 2005. [An evaluation of the effects of poverty in Khayelitsha: a case study of Site C]. Bellville: University of Western Cape. (Unpublished Masters of Arts in Development thesis). NRC, 2003. Who goes there?: Authentication through the lens of privacy.Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Pearson, M., Wilson, H. 2012. Soothing spaces and healing places: Is there an ideal counselling room design? . Psychotherapy in Australia. 18(3): 46 – 53. Pritts J. 2015. The importance and value of protecting the privacy of health information: Roles of HIPAA Privacy Rule and the Common Rule in health research. Bookshelf. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9579/#a20016f79rrr00082. [20 February 2015]. Rose, D and Charlton, K. 2001. Prevalence of household food poverty in South Africa: results from a large, nationally representative survey. Public Health Nutrition. 5(3): 383–389. Sankar, P. 2003. Patient Perspectives on Medical Confidentiality. J Gen Intern Med. 18: 659-669. Sewell, J. 2013. Overcoming barriers to HIV testing in the UK: Lessons from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Mediscript Ltd. 13(4): 14-18, Winter. Trochim, W. 2013. Qualitative Measures. Research Methods and Knowledge Base. [Online]. Available: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qual.php. [20 February 2015]. Whitman, J. 2004. The Two Western Cultures of Privacy: Dignity. Yale law school. 113(1):1553-1221. Fall. The Trojan Horse Virus: An Overview The Trojan Horse Virus: An Overview Another type of malware that is not technically a virus because there is usually no auto-replication is a Trojan horse program, which seems to be something useful, as a free utility, but actually contains some kind of malware. The unhappy about a Trojan program that is running the software users willingly and still do not know what is causing problems on their systems. Rootkits are a form of Trojan horse programs that can monitor the traffic from a computer, monitor keystrokes and capturing passwords. Are the most modern backdoor on one system and are between the most insidious Trojan horse software because they can mask that the system has been compromised by changing the file system and drivers needed for the normal operation of the computer. Viruses A virus is a program that spreads, replicating it in other programs or documents. Its only purpose is to interrupt the operation of your computer or network by deleting or corrupting files, disk formatting or by using large quantities of computer resources. Viruses and worms that spread through e-mail attachments were common place for years. They are simple to avoid; just dont open any attachments from emails sent by someone who you arent expecting a message. Even if you know the sender, careful; malware programs may use address book from an e-mail program to send messages, causing you to believe that the message is safe. In fact, most virus scanners detect a virus or worm contained in an e-mail message and often excludes the annex before it ever reaches your Inbox, but if the virus is very new, it cannot be detected. Worm A worm is similar to a virus that replicates automatically, but a worm does not attach to another program; indeed, it is a standalone program. Worms are now more common than viruses, because with the Internet and network connectivity, worms in general do not need help to spread. Whereas a virus requires a user to run the program that contains the virus to operate and then copy this file to spread a worm can do their work without any help and can propagate through a network connection available. Some insidious actions that a worm can commit include using the network bandwidth, deleting files, send e-mails and creating backdoors in computers. NETWORK SECURITY POLICY Without a security policy, the availability of your network can be compromised. The policy begins with the assessment of risk to network and build a team to respond. Continuation of the policy requires the practical implementation of change management and monitoring of network security for breaches of security. Finally, the review process modifies the existing policy and adapts the lessons learned. The last area of responsibility is the answer. While often network monitoring identifies a security violation, the security team members that are the real solution and fixing of such violation. Each Member of the security team should know in detail the security features provided by the equipment in its operational area. While we define the responsibilities of the team as a whole, you must define the individual roles and responsibilities of the security team members in your security policy. Approving Security Changes Security changes are defined as changes to network equipment that can have an impact on overall network security. Your security policy must identify the requirements of specific security configuration in non-technical terms. In other words, instead of setting a requirement as no outside sources FTP connections will be allowed through the firewall, set the requirement as outside connections should not be able to retrieve files from inside the network. You need to define a unique set of requirements for your organization. The security team should review the list of simple language requirements to identify issues of design requirements or specific network configuration. After the team created the network configuration changes necessary to implement the security policy, you can apply these possible future configuration changes. Although it is possible for the security team review all changes, this process enables them to only review the changes that risk sufficient to justify special treatment. We recommend that the security team to review the following types of changes: Any change in the firewall configuration. Any amendment (ACL) of access control lists. Any changes to the configuration of the simple network management protocol (SNMP). Any change or update software that differs from the list of approved software revision. We recommend that you also meet the following guidelines: Change passwords for network devices on a routine basis. To restrict access to network devices to a list of approved personnel. Ensure that the current revision levels of environments software network servers and equipment are in accordance with the security configuration requirements. Monitoring Security of Your Network Security monitoring is similar for network monitoring, except focuses on the detection of network changes that indicate a security breach. The starting point for security monitoring is to determine what constitutes a violation. Conduct a risk analysis, we identify the level of monitoring required based on the threat to the system. By adopting security changes, we identify specific threats to the network. Looking at both of these parameters, I will develop a clear picture of what you need to monitor and frequency. In risk analysis matrix, the firewall is considered a high-risk network, indicating that he should follow. In approving security changes section, youll find that you must monitor for changes to the firewall. This means that the SNMP polling agent should monitor things such as failed login attempts, unusual traffic, changes to the firewall, access granted to the firewall and configuration of connections through the firewall. Following this example, create a monitoring policy to each area identified in your risk analysis. We recommend that the equipment of low risk, medium risk equipment weekly and daily monitoring equipment high-risk per hour. If you need more rapid detection, monitor in a short time interval. Finally, your security policy should address how to notify the security team of security breaches. Often, your network monitoring software will be the first to discover the breach. It should trigger a notification to the operations centre, which in turn shall notify the security team using a pager number, if necessary.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Treatment of Change and Expansion in Lotos-Eaters and Rip Van Winkle :: Lotos Winkle

Treatment of Change and Expansion in Lotos-Eaters and Rip Van Winkle      Ã‚   During the Victorian Era, great accomplishments lead to prosperity for the British Empire. Accomplishments include owning nearly a quarter of the world’s land and its people. As a result, trade and commerce expanded, and Great Britain reached the height of its power. Furthermore, science rapidly made progress during this time. These rapid strides in economic and technological advances gave the British people a feeling of pessimism about whether they were progressing for the good. As a result, people began to question man’s place, or duty, on earth. Also occurring within the time of the Victorian Era is the American Renaissance. During this period, Americans were expanding their territory according to the belief in Manifest Destiny, or the idea that God or Nature intended for the United States to spread its civilization from coast to coast. Like the British, Americans questioned their moral responsibility concerning change and expansion. Consequently, the concer ns of the people were echoed in the literature written during these time periods. For example, the Victorian poet, Alfred Tennyson, voiced his concerns about constant change and expansion in "The Lotos-Eaters," while the American writer, Washington Irving, also expressed his concerns in "Rip Van Winkle." An examination of the poem, "The Lotos-Eaters," and the short story, "Rip Van Winkle," reveal that Tennyson and Irving romanticized the concept of stasis while also questioning the duty of change and expansion.    In "The Lotos-Eaters," Tennyson romanticizes nature in order to emphasize the virtues of a land that remains in stasis as opposed to a land that is in constant change. When the mariners land on the island, its is described as a "land where all things always seemà ¢d the same" (Tennyson 24). Tennyson is saying that the beauty of the island has been preserved because no one has attempted to change it. Tennyson is also saying that colonization and expansion lead to industry, which strips nature of its beauty. Furthermore, the atmosphere of the island is romanticized in that "there is neither sharp sunlight nor clear moon, only the haze of a seemingly perpetual afternoon; the air itself is languid and the stream, not full and rushing but slender and slow, seems to pause in its fall from the cliff" (Ryals 97). The idea of an island that remains constantly at the most pleasant time of day and a stream that is barely moving romanticizes the idea of being at rest with no worries.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Belonging Essay

Belonging is a natural reaction, intrinsic. We search in order to find a community, a group of friends, a country in which we belong. America is a place whereWhen we feel uncomfortable, we say â€Å"I don’t belong here† and when you find a situation in which you are happy, you can be yourself, natural and free you feel as if it was created only for you. It can also be the most wonderfully liberating experience when you find yourself in a culture in which you do not belong. In not belonging, you become someone free of restrictions, free of the expectations, free to creatively exre your imagination without the guilt that often latently lies behind the veiled threat of failure and disappointment. The apparent fact of not belonging is open for everyone, but it†tms the course of action taken in light of this cultural segregation which should be the goal of the traveler today. â€Å"I had, I realized become strangely accustomed to living in Korea, even though a part of me desired to be back on the beach in Thailand. Rules, or lack of, which shaped me more as an individual than any thing else I had experienced in my life. We are expected to increase our spending power as we age, not our understanding of other cultures, not our compassion for each other or for those living on the other side of the economic spectrum. The traveler, if open to the possibility, is in a perfect position to experience this transcendence. America is the ultimate machine, the ultimate company, and the by-product of its hyper capitalist model is the increasingly glaring loss of personal creativity and individualism within its borders. We are consumers and we are resources to be used and abused in a cycle of production of consumption. I didn†tmt belong, but I could never belong and it was a liberating experience, one which taught me in a way the rules for living on the fringe of a society. I was an outsider, I obviously did not belong into this society, one which is very homogeneous, one in which a foreigner learns to live with the constant attention of being gawked and stared at, around each corner, in each subway car, in every restaurant, everywhere. In our own cultures, where in a sense, at least culturally, linguistically and historically we do belong, life often becomes a stifling world in which our lives are predestined, packaged products.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Personal Curriculum/Educational Philosophy Statement Essay

In this paper I have written regarding my educational philosophy. It answers the questions: Why I teach? Also indicating what personal philosophies I follow. How I teach? Which states the approach towards curriculum that I believe in. Lastly, What I teach? Which connects more to my personal belief in the classroom. Teaching is not for everyone but when you love what you do, it can be a rewarding and exciting profession. My philosophy as a teacher has always been to preserve the idea that the young minds sitting before me are the future citizens of our community. I see my responsibility as a guide to my students so that they may grow towards the development of their own independence and success with good judgement, patience, and vision as they become the leaders of our next generation. I feel that it is the responsibility of the teacher to get to know everyone of their students, their weaknesses and their strengths. It’s also important to build a personal trust. This trust leads to a successful mentorship with the learner. My approach towards education and curriculum is one that is less rigid and technical. I prefer one that is humanistic. This approach includes lessons based on life experiences, group games, group projects, artistic endeavors, dramatizations, field trips, social enterprises, learning and interest centers, and homework and tutoring stations ( or corners). These activities include creative problem solving and active student participation. They emphasize socialization and life adjustment for students, as well as stronger family ties and school – community ties (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013, p. 7). I feel that that in education more than one personal educational philosophy is required. A teacher needs to discover what philosophy or philosophies work in today’s classroom. This needs to be dependent upon the teacher and on today’s society. Times are constantly changing and evolving. I incorporate essentialism, perennialism, and progressivism, with a bit of realism and idealism to challenge my students as individuals and productive members of society. In all, I aim to educate my students, to cultivate intellect, to promote the intellectual growth of the individual, to educate the competent person, and to promote democratic social living (2013, p. 48). The starting point in curriculum is also your philosophy. In realism, realists view the world in terms of objects and matter (2013, p. 32). In idealism, learning is a primarily intellectual process that involves recalling and working with ideas (2013, p. 31). People can come to know the world through their senses and their reason. The goal for my students is to have complimenting dimensions, a strong individualistic nature that works and plays well with other members of society. My educational philosophy aligns with the philosophy of both my personal and professional life. It affects my attitude, influences my decisions, and directs my missions with others. My impact on youth through my years of teaching has proven to be successful; subsequently, I believe my philosophy is a successful â€Å"formula. † I look forward to molding well-rounded young adults that can perform in any situation under any circumstances. I believe the impact that I have made within the educational community, and look forward toward opportunities to continue to make in this area, is that of good judgement, patience, and vision that at one time other adults taught to me.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

U-Shaped Kitchen Layout Overview

U-Shaped Kitchen Layout Overview The U-shaped kitchen layout was developed based on decades of ergonomic research. Its useful and versatile, and while it can be adapted to any size kitchen, its most effective in larger spaces.   The configuration of U-shaped kitchens can vary according to the house size and the homeowners personal preference, but generally, youll find the cleaning zone (sink, dishwasher) on the external-facing wall, which sits in the lower curve or bottom of the U. The stove and oven typically will be located on one leg of the U, along with cabinets, drawers and other storage units. And usually,   youll find more cabinets, the refrigerator and other food storage areas like a pantry on the opposite wall.   Benefits of U-Shaped Kitchens A U-shaped kitchen typically has separate work zones for food prep, cooking, cleaning and in eat-in kitchens, a dining area.   Most U-shaped kitchens are configured with three adjacent walls, as opposed to other kitchen designs such as L-shaped or galley, which only use two walls. While both of these other designs have their pluses, ultimately a U-shaped kitchen provides the most counter space for work areas and storage of countertop appliances. A significant benefit of the U-shaped kitchen is the safety factor. The design doesnt allow for through traffic that might disrupt the work zones. Not only does this make the food prep and cooking process less chaotic, but it also helps prevent safety mishaps like spills. U-Shaped Kitchen Drawbacks While it has its advantages, the U-shaped kitchen does have its share of minuses, too. For the most part, its not efficient unless theres room in the center of the kitchen for an island. Without this feature, the two legs of the U may be too far apart to be practical.   And while its possible to have a U shape in a smaller kitchen, for it to be most efficient, the U-shaped kitchen needs to be at least 10 feet wide. Often in a U-shaped kitchen, the bottom corner cabinets can be difficult to access (although this may be remedied by using them to store items that are not frequently needed). U-Shaped Kitchen and Work Triangle Even when planning a U-shaped kitchen, however, most contractors or designers will recommend incorporating a kitchen work triangle. This design principle is based on the theory that placing the sink, refrigerator and cooktop or stove  in proximity to each other makes a kitchen most efficient. If the work areas are too far away from each other, the cook wastes steps while preparing a meal. If the  workspaces  are too close together, the kitchen winds up being too cramped.   While many designs still use the kitchen triangle, its become a bit outdated in the modern era. It was based on a model from the 1940s which presumed only one person prepared and cooked all the meals solo, but in modern  families,  this may not be the case. The  standard kitchen work triangle  is best placed along the base of the U unless a kitchen island is present. Then the island should house one of the three elements. If you place them too far away from each other, the theory goes, you waste a lot of steps while preparing a meal. If they are too close together, you end up with a cramped kitchen without adequate space to prepare and cook meals.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana

Mainstream vs. Alternative Media; who do we believe? The Journal of Media Studies Writer Discussion of the legalization of marijuanabrings up two main issues, those who are pro- marijuana and those who are anti- marijuana. These issues have beencovered by both mainstream and alternative media, mainstream being pro, and alternative beinganti.Thesetwo factions have been arguing over this issue in the halls of justice for many years. Because most of theamericansociety is mainly exposed to only mainstream media, they are not aware of other factors of legalizingmarijuana that alternative media covers. The problem caused by this lack of exposure, is that the public may be deprived of the truth, and may be led to believe facts that are not true. Marijuana and Medicine Both pro and anti- marijuana groups have discussed whether or not marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. Mainstream groups do not believe that there are any convincing reasons to make marijuana a treatment to sick patients. Their position is that marijuana can have harmful long-term effects. The Anti-Legalization Forum explains that some of these effects are: impairment of the immune system due to the inability of T-cells to battle off diseases, delaying puberty in both males and females, and unhealthy and smaller children born to women who used marijuana during pregnancy. The Drug Enforcement Administration believes that since marijuana is not accepted by any American health associations, there is no reason to legalize the drug. They think that the main reason why pro marijuana advocates use the medical use argument is because the uninformed public can be easily convinced to support the movement. Simply not enough evidence proves that marijuana can be used medically (Claim V). Unlike the D.E.A., lobbying groups such as the Cannabis Action Network and the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, believe that marijuana is a beneficial herb... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana One question that has haunted Americans for a long time is: â€Å" Should the use of marijuana be legalized?† Some say, â€Å"Yes†, while others say, â€Å"No†. Marijuana usage has many medical benefits. Legalizing the use of marijuana has many economical benefits and would also decrease the crime rate. Despite marijuana being illegal, the drug is still somewhat commonly used. Here we are years later after marijuana was made illegal, still without a satisfactory answer to the question. I think that legalizing the use of marijuana would have many medical benefits, economical benefits, and would decrease the incidence of crime. Most marijuana smokers are quick to mention that marijuana grows wild in the U.S. and that Native Americans used the weed for religious ceremonies, as a medicinal herb for various ailments and as a pre-battle smoke to calm the nerves and possibly provide added ferocity. Native Americans weren't concerned with the natural aspect at all and quickly found that marijuana could alleviate pain, stimulate the appetite and provide some small comfort in a harsh environment. They used it in their religious ceremonies to open passages to the spirit world. It was used in peace pipes along with tobacco as a means of sealing treaties with warring tribes. Hemp was an important crop for the early colonists as early as 1629 and remained so until Eli Whitney introduced the cotton gin. It was one of the first crops our forefathers produced and was used to produce paper, clothing and rope. It was so important in those early days of America that Virginia introduced legislation in 1762 that exacted penalties on farms that didn't produce it. George Washington was an early hemp farmer and made notes in his diary about the quality of the hemp . There is nothing to indicate that George Washington smoked marijuana but the myth is prevalent among marijuana advocates. In 1793 the invention of the cotton gin made the separation cott... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana Legalizing Marijuana Whether or not to legalize marijuana is a growing debate. Some people with certain medical conditions use marijuana for a painkiller. Other people who use this drug buy it illegally and use it because they say it makes them feel good. It is obvious that these people do not realize the effects that marijuana can have on their bodies. Supporters of legalizing marijuana say that it is a stress reliever and should be used for medication. They have also said that no one has ever died from smoking marijuana; and that the crime rate will drop, because it would be bought and sold legally instead of on the black market. Marijuana is a dangerous drug that affects a persons’ health. Those against this drug say it causes loss of memory and coordination, increased heart rate, and some say that it causes anxiety and lung cancer. I have heard that marijuana use causes some to use more serious drugs. If marijuana is legalized, it will be easy for teenagers to buy. Even if you have to be eighteen or twenty one, I am sure it wouldn’t be hard for a teen to find an adult willing to buy it for them. Also, if marijuana is legalized, more people will become addicted to the drug and crime rates will increase. Christians believe that the body is a â€Å"temple† and you should not put anything in your body that can hurt you. Although I personally have no experience with this drug, I feel that if a patient’s doctor recommends the drug for pain relief then it should be legal for them to use it. But I do not believe the drug should be legal for personal use.... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana The Legalization of Marijuana A question that has haunted society for many decades is: Should the use of marijuana be legalized? While some disagree, many agree and have several reasons to support their decision. Marijuana is a drug from the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it can be smoked or eaten for a hallucinogenic and relaxing effect. The supporters of legalizing marijuana believe there are enough positive reasons to overcome the negatives. Yes, many people consider marijuana to be a â€Å"gateway† to other more serious drugs but on the otherhand the same can be said about alcohol or even tobacco. If used responsibly marijuana is a safe drug that we can benefit from, whether it is for medical or economical reasons or to lower the rate of crime. Marijuana used responsibly is safer, less addicting than many legal drugs. Dr. Andrew Weil was part of the first team of researchers to perform a government authorized study into the effects of marijuana on humans. This team made its study in 1968. These researchers determined that marijuana could be used safely under medical supervision. In the twenty years since then, Dr. Weil has seen no information that would cause him to reconsider that conclusion. There is no question in his mind that marijuana is safe for use under appropriate medical supervision. (MAMA) The lethal dose to its effective dose of marijuana is about 40,000 to 1. In an average marijuana cigarette there is approximately .9 grams (MAMA). Theoretically a smoker would have to smoke about 1,500 pounds within 15 minutes for the drug to be lethal (MAMA). With these numbers it is obvious there has never been a case of an overdose of marijuana or a death directly connecting with the drug. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the legalized substances of tobacco and alcohol. Every year about 45,000 Canadians die of complications from tobacco use (Stats Canada). In Canada drinking caused almost 2000 deaths... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana is first and foremost a hazardous and illegal drug. It is not a drug that should be legalized.  Although marijuana can be used to aid the pain of glaucoma, cancer, AIDS and many other terminal illnesses, it is not a proven fact that it is beneficial and good for a person’s health (Hart 101).   Marijuana has proven to affect a person’s memory, judgment, perception, and body.  Marijuana cigarettes have often been compared to that of regular cigarettes and are classified as being poor for your health. Many advocates for the legalization of marijuana, or weed, believe that it is beneficial to a patient that is suffering from a painful and terminal illness (Hart 200). Marijuana can affect a person’s memory, judgment, and perception. This drug enables a person to function both mentally and physically. The inhalation of this drug immediately goes to the brain. By doing this it can interfere with ones normal functions, physical feelings, and emotions (Goodykoontz 15).  Some users get bad effects from the usage of this drug. They may suffer sudden feelings of anxiety and have paranoid thoughts. Because this drug can affect memory, users may forget things that they may have done or things they are supposed to do. Many people who smoke weed on a regular basis make stupid mistakes that could embarrass or hurt them or someone around them.  Many of them will lose interest in their looks or social status with friends and companions.  They will start declining in school cause their grades to drop.   Athletes who smoke marijuana have trouble keeping up with the sport. Their timing for specific skills is off, their movement may be slowed down and their coordination is lost (Goodykoontz 18).  A marijuana smoker is also unable to drive and function properly due to the loss of concentration and the ability to not react quickly. For example, a person who is high on marijuana may drive too slow or stop way before a stop sign because their al... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana Legalize Pot, marijuana, hash, joints, blunts, green trees, etc., the list goes on and on. Whatever you want to call it, marijuana is currently illegal in the United States. Whenever marijuana is brought up, it becomes the cause of much commotion and debating. Many people feel it is the gateway drug, and have heard of the negative side effects that are greatly overblown. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, I feel that it should be legalized. It will greatly reduce the amount of money spend on enforcement, and will increase our options for spending our tax dollars and lessen crime, and it will also be useful in treating certain medical conditions. Many people feel that legalization is unnecessary, and they fail to see the possible benefits of legalization. However, one possible benefit of legalization is that it will be profitable to the global economy. It will allow money that is spent on drug law enforcement to be spent on other programs. There have been escalating costs spent on the war against drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation. Every year in the United States, ten billion dollars are spent on enforcing drugs alone. Drug violators accounted for forty percent of all criminals in federal prisons (Schwenk 73). In 1989, a Republican county executive of Mercer County, NJ estimated that it would cost approximately one billion dollars to build the jail space required to house all the drug users in Trenton alone (Schwenk 98). All of this money could be spent on things of greater importance. Drug violators are a major cause of extreme overcrowding in US prisons. We currently have close to one million inmates nationwide, and a high percentage of these prisoners are in because of drug related incidents. Since 1982, there has been about a 160% increase in inmate population. Most of this increase is attributed to drug violators, and sadly this number will only continue to ris... Free Essays on Legalizing Marijuana Mainstream vs. Alternative Media; who do we believe? The Journal of Media Studies Writer Discussion of the legalization of marijuanabrings up two main issues, those who are pro- marijuana and those who are anti- marijuana. These issues have beencovered by both mainstream and alternative media, mainstream being pro, and alternative beinganti.Thesetwo factions have been arguing over this issue in the halls of justice for many years. Because most of theamericansociety is mainly exposed to only mainstream media, they are not aware of other factors of legalizingmarijuana that alternative media covers. The problem caused by this lack of exposure, is that the public may be deprived of the truth, and may be led to believe facts that are not true. Marijuana and Medicine Both pro and anti- marijuana groups have discussed whether or not marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. Mainstream groups do not believe that there are any convincing reasons to make marijuana a treatment to sick patients. Their position is that marijuana can have harmful long-term effects. The Anti-Legalization Forum explains that some of these effects are: impairment of the immune system due to the inability of T-cells to battle off diseases, delaying puberty in both males and females, and unhealthy and smaller children born to women who used marijuana during pregnancy. The Drug Enforcement Administration believes that since marijuana is not accepted by any American health associations, there is no reason to legalize the drug. They think that the main reason why pro marijuana advocates use the medical use argument is because the uninformed public can be easily convinced to support the movement. Simply not enough evidence proves that marijuana can be used medically (Claim V). Unlike the D.E.A., lobbying groups such as the Cannabis Action Network and the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, believe that marijuana is a beneficial herb...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Character Analysis of Shakespeares Othello

Character Analysis of Shakespeare's Othello Above all else, this Othello character analysis reveals that Shakespeares Othello has gravitas. A celebrated soldier and trusted leader whose race both defines him â€Å"The Moor† and defies his lofty position; it would be rare for a man of race to have such a highly respected position in Venetian society. Othello and Race Many of Othellos insecurities are derived from his race and from the perception that he is lowlier than his wife. â€Å"Haply for I am black, And have not those soft parts of conversation That chamberers have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Othello, Act 3 Scene 3, Line 267) Iago and Roderigo describe Othello at the start of the play, without even naming him, using his racial difference to identify him, referring to him as â€Å"the Moor†, â€Å"an old black ram†. He is even referred to as â€Å"the thick lips†. It is generally the morally dubious characters who use his race as a reason to disparage him. The Duke only speaks of him in terms of his achievements and his valor; â€Å"Valiant Othello†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Act 1 Scene 3 Line 47) Unfortunately, Othello’s insecurity gets the better of him and he is moved to kill his wife in a fit of jealousy. One could argue that Othello is easily manipulated but as an honest man himself, he has no reason to doubt Iago. â€Å"The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,† (Iago, Act 1 Scene 3, Line 391). Having said that, he more readily believes Iago than his own wife but again this is probably because of his own insecurities. â€Å"By the world, I think my wife be honest and think she is not. I think that thou art just, and think thou art not.† (Act 3 Scene 3, Line 388-390) Othello’s Integrity One of Othello’s admirable qualities is that he believes that men should be transparent and honest as he is; â€Å"Certain, men should be what they seem† (Act 3 Scene 3 Line 134). This juxtaposition between Othello’s transparency and Iago’s duality identifies him as a sympathetic character despite his actions. Othello is manipulated by the truly evil and duplicitous Iago who has so few redeeming qualities. Pride is also one of Othello’s weaknesses; for him, his wife’s alleged affair confounds his belief that he is a lesser man, that he cannot live up to her expectations and her position in society; her need for a conventional white man is a critical blow to his achieved position. â€Å"For naught, I did in hate, but all in honour† (Act 5 Scene 2, Line 301). Othello is clearly very much in love with Desdemona and in killing her he denies himself his own happiness; which heightens the tragedy. Iago’s true Machiavellian victory is that he orchestrates Othello having to take responsibility for his own downfall. Othello and Iago Iago’s hatred of Othello is profound; he does not employ him as his lieutenant and there is a suggestion that he bedded Emilia previous to his relationship with Desdemona. The relationship between Othello and Emilia is never corroborated but Emilia has a very negative opinion of Othello, possibly based on dealings with her own husband? Emilia says to Desdemona of Othello â€Å"I would you had never seen him† (Act 5 Scene 1, Line 17) presumably this is out of love and loyalty to her friend as opposed to a lingering affection for him. Othello would be very attractive to someone in Emilia’s position; he is very demonstrative in his love for Desdemona but sadly this turns sour and his character becomes more recognizable to Emilia as a result. Othello is brave and celebrated which could also account for Iago’s intense hatred of him. Jealousy defines Othello and also the characters associated with his downfall.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Antropology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antropology - Article Example This is evident in the disparate species of Manzanita shrubs, which thrive, in different altitudes. Another one of the isolating mechanism is behavioral isolation in which potential mates converge but refuse to mate, as they prefer individuals from their own species as evident in the mating rituals of the albatross. This is in contrast to mechanical isolation where mating and copulation is attempted but sperm transmission does not occur. The two-lipped flower, a species of sage, found in California is an example of this (Calow 379-380). 2. Define cephalic index and explain how it originally was used in an ethnocentric manner. Define eugenics and explain two specific ways (one human, one nonhuman) in which it can be used in a non-ethnocentric manner. Explain the relationship between polytypic, continuous variation and the vitamin D hypothesis. The cephalic index was used to determine the intelligence of a person or her behavior based on the measurement of the skull or the cranium. The size of the cranium determined the superiority of the race. Proponents of Eugenics utilized this idea to forward race improvement through government control on marriage and family. The principles of eugenics can be used in non-ethnocentric manner, as to prohibit the marriage of two groups of populations that increases the possibility of genetic diseases (Jurmain and Nelson 118). In dogs or other mammals, such as race horses the principles can be applied for stronger breed. Yet, eugenics limits the freedom of the genes to function freely (Jurmain and Nelson 112). Polytypic species is composed of one population of species and homosapiens are one of them. Phenotypic variations are evident among humans as they exhibit differences in skin color for instance base on the environment or circumstance in which they live. One of these hypotheses the li ghtening of the skin color in higher altitudes, which cause the body to generate more Vitamin D said to prevent diseases such as rickets (Jablonski 585 - 623 ) 3. Explain how the Hardy-Weinberg theory is related to both polymorphisms and balanced polymorphisms. Explain how the terms prions and BSE are related to the terms vector and pathogen. The Hardy Weinberg theory or equilibrium is one of the main theories in population genetics, which also states that relative gene frequency stay constant from generation to the next. This is based on a mathematical model. This theory is related to polymorphism, as this is typified by the constant equilibrium with disparate alleles of the genes which at unvarying relative frequencies in a certain population. Prions are like pathogens because they result to diseases such as the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Hence BSE is a prion, which could be transmitted through a vector, contact or bite of an animal. 4. Explain the difference between acclimatization and adaptation, giving one example in humans for each. Explain Bergmann's Rule and Allen's rule and how they are related to high altitude and ossification of epiphysis/diaphysis. Define biocultural evolution, explaining both the example of lactose intolerance and sickle cell anemia for this term. What are pleiotropic genes and how do they affect sexual dimorphism and transgenerational problems Adaptation is the means humans utilize to meet the challenges of their environment whereas

Friday, October 18, 2019

Copyright Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Copyright Law - Essay Example The Sony exception makes it complicated to implement controls on copyright laws infringement. It further renders it difficult to prohibit the widespread sharing of media files. According to the Sony exception, media users can always have special situations during which they can share media files without infringing the applicable user policies. It relates to inducement infringement as opposed to contributory infringement. It does not render any user liable for an act of infringement committed by another person. In the case of Sony, it did not intentionally abet users to infringe on the patent protected by copyright laws. Sony did not supply its products to users that it had informed knowledge was infringing the rights protected by law (Strowel, 2009). The exception implies that contributory infringement does not exist whenever there is no use likely to lea to infringement. The Sony exception does not apply in the case of Joe. Joe directly abets infringement through the website that al lows user distribution of files. Although Joe does not verify content shared by users, his website aids acts of

Cultural Environment of International Business Essay

Cultural Environment of International Business - Essay Example Customers and business partners both have different lifestyles (Wetherly, 2011). The management of an organization operating globally has the maximum response to handling cultural differences existent in any global workplace. Â  Definite handling of the cross-cultural interface is a critical source of a firm’s reasonable advantage. Managers need to develop not only understanding and open-mindedness towards cultural modifications but also purchase an appropriate degree of real knowledge about the beliefs and values of foreign colleagues. Cross-cultural proficiency is paramount in many managerial tasks, including: production of products and services, foreign business partners interaction, foreign distributors and other partner’s selection, construction of international business ventures, interacting with current and potential customers from abroad, overseas trade fairs and exhibitions preparation and advertising and publicity campaigns (Cavusgil, Knight, & Riesenberger, 2012). Â  Molinsky et. al (2012) inform that managers working for global firms have to learn the art of code switching between cultures. It means that the managers are required to understand and act according to the cultures in which, they are working. They have to learn about diverse cultures and have to develop a ‘global mindset’. The global managers working for international organizations are required to show skills in adopting new contexts and excelling in the norms of diverse cultures (Molinsky, et. al, 2012). Therefore, a person having international management capability must be comfortable at cultural code-switching. Â  Managers working in different cultures work differently. For example, some managers give precise instructions and detailed work to be done, and others give instructions that are vague and incomplete.

Art, the visual and culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art, the visual and culture - Essay Example The Mona Lisa is a piece of work of a woman who is sitting and smiling, and it is the complete opposite of David, a man standing and grinning. Experts suggest that the two pieces of artwork are not a coincidence since they were both created at the same time with two men that were both living in Italy. The two artists were great rivals, and there still are endless debates who between the two was the greatest artist. The Mona Lisa is a painting while David is a chiseled work. The tools that were used to make David were hammers and chisels, files and rasps (Jones, 2010). The block of stone was from a quarry, and it had been left â€Å"badly begun† for over forty years. The outline of the artwork David is that of a shape drawing. One would think Michelangelo had drawn the outline of the sculpture before he started working on it. The face is almost turned 90 ° with a perfect triangle nose. The body proportion of the artwork is mathematically perfect. The hair is perfect, flying w ith the wind. The body of David is perfect with toned arms that have muscles (Jones, 2010). The statue of David is twice as tall as the height of an average man. A great piece of art. Mona Lisa is a painting that dwells in a thick picture atmosphere. Looking at the image, one would think has a suspense in a tinted liquid. The art is powerful because of its strange and universally accepted landscape (Jones, 2010). The art feels like a conclusion to the nature of life on earth. The painting has shadows, and the dark that is used to deepen her features are very bold. The effect of the shade is to diminish the distance between the background and the foreground. The shadows draw back Mona Lisa while the colors in the background bring the landscape closer to the viewer. The portrait cannot only have an interpretation as a woman with a landscape background, but the whole artwork is Mona Lisa’s lifestyle. Da Vinci spends a lot of his time on the artwork, and he did it until his final

Thursday, October 17, 2019

A Problem in the Field of Finance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Problem in the Field of Finance - Article Example The accounting professionals consider it routine when they have to tell a lie or rip anyone off from their lives’ earnings. The real estate bubble was created in order to get people to buying lots of homes and lands. In the longer run perspective, these investments were not a set of good choices and those who sold these houses were well aware of their nature but regardless of that they pushed people into the extremely dangerous endeavors. This is not the whole story because banks sold mortgages in England on floating interest rates and when rates moved up then the families have to sell everything they had to their names only in order to go bankrupt. The business professionals shamelessly argued that â€Å"it is just business† but they do not know that they have lost being human during the process of fulfilling their filthy commercial responsibilities. The traditional accounting field became plagued with the presence of irregularities to an extent where financial reports have just become irrelevant for investors and they are making their decisions based on the organizational ability to pay dividend s on a regular basis if yes then they deserve the money otherwise investors take their money to some other fruitful opportunity (Leone & Liu, 2010). The accounting’s basic and fundamental purpose of â€Å"creating interest in shareholders† is dying out with the passage of time. Finally, I argue that one should attempt to remain as human as possible due to hardships in this venture. Accounting and financial crimes are unethical in nature and therefore, they have their solution in ethics (Dann & Haddow, 2008). The accounting professionals are supposed to commit themselves to higher standards of human life in order to become good at what they do. The force of Mother Nature blessed every human with a sense of right and wrong. At the end of the day, evil succumb to good and there is a historical proof of that as well. The result of

Life Span Perspective Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Life Span Perspective Paper - Essay Example In a life-span perspective, ageing implies changes, which for its part, take many forms. For instance, we have the purely biological changes such as weakening of the muscle strength, shortness of breath, graying of the hair, wrinkling of the skin and so on. There is the incidence of human disease, particularly those of the elderly who at certain point may be diagnosed with more than one illness. Next we have the cognitive decline such as the benign forgetfulness or the onset of dementia. This also includes the changes in the social environment and thus the experiences arising from it. Bere Miesen and Gemma Jones (1997) write that a model of a life-span perspective may be characterized by type of change, individual characteristics, coping behavior, adjustment in adaptation and the experience of quality of life. (p. 32) Finally, the Darwinian concept is very important in this perspective. It banks on the idea that humans share important characteristics through heredity and this in turn becomes a variable in the whole life-span development process. For example, virtually all of us develop in similar ways at similar ages such as walking and talking at age 1. And so, the study of development from a life-span perspective is multidisciplinary involving both biological and social sciences. Human development falls into three broad domains, namely: physical development, cognitive development and psychological development. (Sugarman 2001, p. 14) There are some who include personal and social developments but the previous three roughly cover everything. Human development meanwhile is divided into 8 periods: infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. (Sugarman, p. 56-60) Contemporary concerns regarding life-span development include the questions on the eight periods in

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

A Problem in the Field of Finance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Problem in the Field of Finance - Article Example The accounting professionals consider it routine when they have to tell a lie or rip anyone off from their lives’ earnings. The real estate bubble was created in order to get people to buying lots of homes and lands. In the longer run perspective, these investments were not a set of good choices and those who sold these houses were well aware of their nature but regardless of that they pushed people into the extremely dangerous endeavors. This is not the whole story because banks sold mortgages in England on floating interest rates and when rates moved up then the families have to sell everything they had to their names only in order to go bankrupt. The business professionals shamelessly argued that â€Å"it is just business† but they do not know that they have lost being human during the process of fulfilling their filthy commercial responsibilities. The traditional accounting field became plagued with the presence of irregularities to an extent where financial reports have just become irrelevant for investors and they are making their decisions based on the organizational ability to pay dividend s on a regular basis if yes then they deserve the money otherwise investors take their money to some other fruitful opportunity (Leone & Liu, 2010). The accounting’s basic and fundamental purpose of â€Å"creating interest in shareholders† is dying out with the passage of time. Finally, I argue that one should attempt to remain as human as possible due to hardships in this venture. Accounting and financial crimes are unethical in nature and therefore, they have their solution in ethics (Dann & Haddow, 2008). The accounting professionals are supposed to commit themselves to higher standards of human life in order to become good at what they do. The force of Mother Nature blessed every human with a sense of right and wrong. At the end of the day, evil succumb to good and there is a historical proof of that as well. The result of

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Research Design DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Design DB - Essay Example The said actions resulted to a vicious cycle of manipulating records to be able to present a continuous growth of the company (Fusaro, Miller, & James, 2002). Basically, the misrepresentation of the company records can be considered as an escalating problem that is a continuous threat to the company’s survival. The fraud has been kept for long due to the fact there is an existence of accounts in other countries that were able to hide the real losses of the company. In the absence of such accounts, the manipulation of the records cannot be possible. On the other hand though, although the said actions are carefully undertaken, the unconventional presentation of records continuously raised suspicion until the said company finally collapsed due to the lack of supporting assets (Fusaro, Miller, & James, 2002). The misuse of the data by Enron can be considered to benefit the reputation and the price of the stocks during the particular time. The company had been able to continuously lead the market although loses can be considered substantial. The said loses which are well hidden during that time had been the cause of the fall of the company. Every data that are related to finding out the crimes committed limits the operation of the company (Bazerman, 2006; Fusaro, Miller, & James, 2002). In relation the ethical implications of the Enron case, the fraud and deceit of the different parties that are involved can be considered as the main issue. Basically, any misrepresentation of data specifically in business organizations can be ethically questioned. The fact that the company lacks the real assets that amounts to the values represented in the records can be considered as the main basis of the bound failure of Enron. In addition, the ethical implications of such actions of the financial personnel can be considered of detrimental effects in any business

Monday, October 14, 2019

Psychological Effects of Imprisonment on Young Offenders

Psychological Effects of Imprisonment on Young Offenders The aim of this dissertation is to examine the claim of authors such as Harrington and Bailey (2005) that a substantial proportion of young offenders in the UK suffer from severe mental illness. In accepting this claim, the secondary aim of this paper is to glean a greater understanding of why this is the case; do these offenders acquire mental illness as a result of the modern prison regime and regardless, why is the modern youth justice system so ineffective in dealing with this seemingly widespread problem? The researcher of this paper shall argue that the currentyouth justice system needs, if it to achieve one of its primary aims,namely to rehabilitate youth offenders and prevent them from becomingrecidivists, to focus their research and practice more heavily on thepsychological processes which cause a young person to offend, so thatsuch offenders, who are clearly suffering from mental problems, can bemore easily identified and, where possible, positively helped toresolve these issues whilst they are serving their custodial sentencesso that upon release these individuals are more likely to desist fromcriminality. The principle methodology of this paper will be a literature review,a review of both primary and secondary sources from the subject fieldsof forensic psychology, criminology and penology. Introduction: The primary issue which will be raised and explored throughout thisdissertation is the contention that the current youth justice system,and in particular the youth prison system, is failing to adequatelyaddress the psychological needs (or as they are described by manycriminologists: ‘criminogenic needs’) of youth offenders in the UK.Such an argument necessarily involves a simultaneous examination notonly of the statistics which are available regarding the prevalence ofmental illness in youth prisons and the rates of recidivism of thoseyouths who have been previously sentenced to immediate custody, butalso an examination of the latest psychological research in prisons,the current (and, to a lesser extent, historical) policies andpractices pertaining to the ‘treatment’ of those imprisoned offenderswho have been diagnosed with mental illness and also the writings ofexpert researchers in these relevant fields who provide originalinterpretative insights into the problems associated with mentalillness in youth offenders and potential approaches to minimise thisapparent epidemic. The structure of this review shall take the following form: Thisdissertation will commence with a brief overview of past and presentsystems of caring for children serving custodial sentences and howtheir mental health needs were and are now met, including anexamination of the changing definition of ‘needs’ in this context. Theresearcher, using research from government enquires, literature andreports concerned with this issue will then seek to identify thoseyouth justice policies and practices which are apparently ineffectiveand/or inappropriate in reducing this problem and, in conclusion, makerecommendations for future necessary/ effective reforms and also futureresearch which should be conducted to assist in our understanding ofthe psychological causes of crime and to assist in the formulation ofsuch reforms. The researcher of this paper is greatly interested in the subject ofthis paper: After reading in Society Guardian articles about our youngprison population the researcher was surprised to learn that there areover 11,000 young people between 15-20 in jail in England and Waleswith a diagnosable mental disorder, that 10% will suffer a severepsychotic disorder in comparison with 0.2% of the general populationand that the UK has the highest number of prisoners under 21, incomparison with the rest of Europe, 3000 of them being held in youthoffenders institutes. Similar surprise ensued from discover of researchconducted by the UK Office for National Statistics which found thatnine out of ten youth offenders in the UK suffer from a mentaldisorder. The researcher feels strongly that more research needs to beconducted into these issues so that these worrying findings can bediluted; it is primarily for this reason that the researcher has chosento conduct this research on that topic. Intending t o pursue a career inthe youth justice system working with young offenders in the UK, theresearcher also feels strongly that a deeper substantive knowledge inthis area will aid not merely his professional development but also hisability to help reduce the incidence of mental disorder in the UK youthjustice system. The researcher concedes that the objectives of this research didchange direction at various points of the review: Initially, the aimwas to identify the current practical failings of the youth justicesystem and to convincingly demonstrate that these failings directly orindirectly contribute to the problematic prevalence of mental illnessin youth offenders and to likewise suggest practical reforms whichshould be employed to reduce this phenomenon; latterly, the researcherunderstood that rather than suggesting changes in practical reform thathe should attempt to identify the failings in the current research andthe strategies employed by the justice system, and to suggestalternative strategies and ideas for future research which will then inturn result in more effective justice practice. The structure of this paper, as described in paragraph two of thisintroduction, has been carefully constructed to complement itsarguments: the historical analysis of trends in UK penal policy andpractice (pertaining to youth offenders) over the past fifty years,with which this paper will commence, provides ample support for thelater contention that the current approach employed by the youthjustice system in the UK to reduce the incidence of mental illness inits prisons is inadequate and also for those policy reforms which willbe recommended by the researcher in this paper’s conclusions. The Structure of the Literature Review: As noted previously in the introduction, above, the literaturereview of this paper will not confine itself to any one particulardiscipline; after all, the subjects of criminology, forensicpsychology, social work and, to some extent, penology are havededicated varying proportions of their research on the issues withwhich this paper is concerned; namely the prevalence of mental illnessin young offenders in the UK Youth Justice system, in particular thoseoffenders currently serving custodial sentences in young offendersinstitutes, and practical methods for reducing this problematicphenomenon. A clear concern to any researcher conducting amulti-disciplinary literature review of this kind is that the order ofthe analysis is prone to be confusing; a researcher could choose toperform a separate review of the literature from each respectivesubject area or, alternatively, a researcher might choose to make nosuch division but rather separate the review into the relevantquestions and under each separate heading utilize the literature fromany relevant discipline in no particular order. The researcher of thispaper has chosen to adopt the latter of these two approaches; he feelsthat to divide the review analysis according to topic area is whollyartificial, especially in light of the fact that any research orliterature which will be discussed will be wholly relevant to the sameissues pertaining to young offenders. With this methodological approach in mind, the questions which thisliterature review will seek to discuss and, where possible, answer, areas follows: 1] What is defined as ‘mental illness’ and how has this definition changed over the past 60 years? 2] How prevalent is mental illness in young offenders who arecurrently serving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes inthe UK? 3] To what extent is this a recent phenomenon? And to what extent isthis a phenomenon which is particular to young offenders serving asentence in a secure institution rather than to those young offenderswho are serving non-custodial sentences or those young persons who havenot been involved in the Youth Justice system at all? 4] Historically, how has the UK Youth Justice System responded tothe problem of mental illness in young offenders who are currentlyserving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes? 5] Is there convincing evidence which suggests that there is linkbetween this prevalence of mental illness and the high rates ofrecidivism in young offenders serving custodial sentences? 6] What is the approach which is currently employed by the UK Youth Justice System to tackle this problem? 7] To what extent is the current policy approach of the UK YouthJustice System appropriate in achieving its objectives in this regard? 8] How is this policy approach being implemented by the UK Youth Justice System? 9] Are these practical reforms appropriate in light of the policyapproach adopted to reduce the incidence of mental illness in youthoffenders in the UK? 10] What changes should be made to the current policy and practiceof the UK Youth Justice System to effect a more successful reduction ofthis problem? 11] What further academic research is needed to assist in the formulation of these new policies and practices? 1] What is defined as ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental health’ and how has this definition changed over the past 60 years? Any literature review on the prevalence of ‘mental illness’ in aparticular population, in this case young offenders serving custodialsentences, would be incomplete without a preliminary discussionpertaining to the definition of ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental health’ inthat context. Within the context of young offenders, it is interesting to notethat there is very little consistency in the definition of ‘mentalhealth’: In fact, ‘a review of over 60 national and local education,health and social care documents (policy, strategy and guidance)revealed little consistency within, as well as, across agencies. Therewere 10 different terms or phrases used to label the positive end ofthe mental health continuum and 15 to describe the negative’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. This having been said, it does not seem that the definition of ‘mentalhealth’ in this context is particularly contentious. The Kent andMedway Multi Agency CAMHS Strategy Group have provided a workingdefinition which incorporates each of the individual definitions foundduring their literature review of relevant policy documents: ‘Mentalhealth can be defined as: The ability to develop psychologically,emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, to initiate, develop andsustain mutually satisfying personal relationships, including theability to become aware of others and to empathise with them, and theability to use psychological distress as a developmental process, sothat it does not hinder or impair further development’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6].   However, to find a comprehensive definition of ‘mental illness’ in thiscontext is not so straightforward: It would seem that practitioners inthe field of forensic psychology have divided mental ill-health intothree separate categories separated on the basis of severity ofsymptoms; namely, ‘mental health problems’, ‘mental health disorders’and ‘mental illness’. Mental health problems, the least serious form of mental ill-health,‘may be reflected in difficulties and/or disabilities in the realms ofpersonal relationships, psychological development, the capacity forplay and learning and in distress and maladaptive behaviour. They arerelatively common, and may or may not be persistent’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. Mental health disorder is the term subscribed to those persons whoare suffering from persistent mental health problems which affect theirfunctioning on a day-to-day basis. Whilst most young people will atsome stage in their development suffer from mental health problems, itis not normal to expect such persons to suffer from mental healthdisorders. As noted by the Kent and Medway Multi Agency CAMHS StrategyGroup, mental health disorder, as a term, ‘[implies] a marked deviationfrom normality, a clinically recognised set of symptoms or behaviourassociated in most cases with considerable distress and substantialinterference with personal functions or development’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. Finally, mental illness, the most serious of the three forms ofmental ill-health, can be recognized in those young persons sufferingfrom severe clinical psychosis or neurosis, e.g. those suffering fromschizophrenia. These definitions provide a clear and useful taxonomy from which wecan begin to analyse the statistics on the prevalence of mentalill-health in young offenders in the UK. However, before we commencethis analysis, it is first important to briefly examine the perceivedhistorical relationship between mental ill-health and crime ; afterall, it has often been the case in the past that societies across theworld have attributed certain (if not all) aspects of criminality tosymptoms of mental ill-health, in particular mental disorder and mentalillness. For example, The USSR during the Cold War often incarceratedpolitical ‘criminals’ on the basis that they must be mentally insanefor holding such opinions and beliefs. Whilst the above example would shock most people of today, thisphenomenon is not that far removed from how the UK government hastraditionally treated the mentally ill: ‘In the UK, mental health carewas for decades provided only in large ‘asylums’ keeping ‘mentallyill’ people out of society believing this to be for their own good andthat of their communities. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating atthe end of the 1980s, government policy switched to providing moreservices in the community and in most cases limiting hospital treatmentto when it is needed most acutely’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group onPrison Health, House of Commons, November 2006, p2]. In light of the fact that historically the mentally ill have beendealt with in the same way as convicted criminals, it is not toodifficult to understand why there has developed a publicly perceivedlink between mental illness and criminality. This misconception hasalso been given weight by a small number of brutal homicide cases inwhich the perpetrator was schizophrenic; whilst social workers andpsychiatrists of today realise that schizophrenia does not necessarilycause its owners to be criminally violent, public opinion is still notas understanding: ‘Our understanding of mental ill health has†¦developed [since] that time, though public debate on the topic has notalways been in step†¦ the popular assumption that mental ill health andcriminality are inextricably linked needs to be broken and policyinformed by a deeper understanding of the complex links between mentalill health and offending’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group on PrisonHealth, House of Commons, Novemb er 2006, p2]. Therefore, whilst theremay be certain links between mental ill-health and criminality, thereis no intuitive similarity between these two respective phenomena. 2] How prevalent is mental ill-health in young offenders who arecurrently serving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes inthe UK? N.B. At the outset of this section of the literature review it isimportant to remind ourselves that secondary reviews of primary datacan often be misleading or, worse, erroneous. For example, to quote asection from the website of the government’s ‘Crime Reduction Toolkit‘A recent report by the Office for National Statistics, PsychiatricMorbidity Among Young Offenders, found that 9 in 10 young offendersaged between 16-20 years old showed evidence of mental illness’. Thisstatement would, using the taxonomy of mental ill-health discussed insection [1] above, appear to suggest that 90% of young offenders in UKPrisons are suffering from severe psychiatric illnesses such aschizophrenia: such a contention is clearly erroneous as if this werethe case then 90% of young offenders in Prison should in fact not be inprison at all but rather in secure mental hospitals. What the statementshould have said is: ‘A recent report by the Office for NationalStatistics, Psyc hiatric Morbidity Among Young Offenders, found that 9in 10 young offenders aged between 16-20 years old showed evidence ofmental ill-health’. Hopefully this example has shown how careful onemust be when attempting to describe or analyse the data findings fromprimary research. All of the literature and research supports the contention thatmental ill-health among young offenders in UK Prisons is prevalent. Arecent Report suggests that â€Å"Young people in prison have an evengreater prevalence of poor mental health than adults, with 95% havingat least one mental health problem and 80% having more than one. [Laderet al., 2000, cited by Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, March 2006,p3]†. This same conclusion is reported by Singleton et al. (1998): ‘95per cent of young prisoners aged 15 to 21 suffer from a mentaldisorder. 80 per cent suffer from at least two. Nearly 10 per cent offemale sentenced young offenders reported already having been admittedto a mental hospital at some point.’ A more recent research study conducted by Professor RichardHarrington and Professor Sue Bailey on behalf of the Youth JusticeBoard, entitled ‘Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision forYoung Offenders in Custody and in the Community’, found thatapproximately 33% of the young offenders sampled had at least onemental health need, approximately 20% suffered from clinicaldepression, approximately 10% of these young offenders had a history ofself-harm   and approximately 10% suffered from post traumatic stressdisorder and severe anxiety . This study also found that approximately5% of the young offenders sampled had symptoms indicative of clinicalpsychosis and that 7% of the sample population seemed to suffer fromhyperactivity. [Harrington and Bailey, 2005]. In conclusion, it seems indisputable that mental ill-health isprevalent among young offenders in the UK, in particular among thoseyouths serving custodial sentences. 3] To what extent is this a recent phenomenon? And to what extent isthis a phenomenon which is particular to young offenders serving asentence in a secure institution rather than to those young offenderswho are serving non-custodial sentences or those young persons who havenot been involved in the Youth Justice system at all? Whilst there is evidence that even as far back as 200 years ago UKPrisons were occupied to some extent by persons who suffered frommental problems, disorders and illness [Thomas Holmes, 1900], it isdifficult to ascertain whether this was due to the same reasons whichcause the phenomenon today, or whether these offenders were simply putin prison because of their mental ill-health, a practice which, asdiscussed above, was common in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately,in regards to the historical po sition, this is not a problem which canever be easily resolved, and it is a question which is still relevantto a discussion of the phenomenon of today: Is the prevalence of mentalill-health among young prisoners due to their treatment within theyouth justice system or did these individuals suffer mental ill-healthprior to their involvement with the justice system? Hagell (2002) p37 suggests that mental ill-health is more prevalent inyoung offenders than in their law-abiding peers, but this still doesnot answer the question of whether the reason that these individualsbroke the law in the first place was because of their mental problems,disorders or illness: â€Å"there is little doubt that young people caughtup in the criminal justice system do have elevated rates of mentalhealth problems when compared to other adolescents. A conservativeestimate would suggest that the rates of mental illness in these youngpeople is three times as high as that for their peers.† Likewise, an article by Sir David Ramsbotham entitled ‘The Needs ofOffending Children in Prison’, which was published in the Report fromthe Conference of the Michael Sieff Foundation entitled ‘The Needs ofOffending Children’, at p19, that whilst 95% of young offenders incustody are suffering from mental ill-health, only 10% of the generalpopulation are suffering from such problems, disorders or illnesses. This finding is supported in result, if not precise figures, by aresearch study which was conducted by the Mental Health Foundationentitled: The Mental Health of Young Offenders. Bright Futures: Workingwith Vulnerable Young People [Hagell, 2002]. This study stated:â€Å"Despite methodological hindrances, it is clear from this review of theliterature that there is a consensus that young people who offend arelikely to have much higher than usual levels of mental health problems.Estimates from research studies suggest that the rates of problems wereapproximately three ti mes as high as for their peers in the generalpopulation. In general, the mental health needs of young offenders arethe same as those of the general adolescent population but more acute.†[Hagell, 2002, p28]. Regarding whether the prison regime itself is responsible for thisprevalence, or merely the fact of incarceration, a study by Nicol et al(2000) found that there was very little difference between the levelsof mental needs in those young persons held in prison and those held inother forms of welfare establishment. This implies that the same mentalproblems, disorders and illnesses which lead a young person to beincarcerated in a welfare institution are also present in those youngoffenders who break the law and are subsequently sentences toimprisonment. A study commissioned by the Youth Justice Board [Harrington andBailey, 2005, p8] seemed to suggest that the mental needs of youngpersons were reduced as a result of being sent to Prison: â€Å"Youngoffenders in the community were found to have significantly more needsthan those in secure care†¦Needs increased for young offendersdischarged from secure facilities back into the community, suggestingthat needs are only temporarily reduced while in custody. In conclusion, there is no doubt that the prevalence of mentalill-health amongst young incarcerated offenders is not a newphenomenon, although it is impossible to state with any certaintywhether this phenomenon is worse now than it ever has been in historypreviously. Regarding whether this phenomenon is particular to youthoffenders over their law-abiding peers, it would seem that it iscertainly more pronounced with this former group, but also with thoseoffenders serving community sentences and those young persons who arebeing held in welfare establishments. 4] Historically, how has the UK Youth Justice System responded to theproblem of mental illness in young offenders who are currently servingcustodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes? As noted earlier, ‘In the UK, mental health care was for decadesprovided only in large ‘asylums’ keeping ‘mentally ill’ people out ofsociety believing this to be for their own good and that of theircommunities. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating at the end of the1980s, government policy switched to providing more services in thecommunity and in most cases limiting hospital treatment to when it isneeded most acutely’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prison Health,House of Commons, November 2006, p2]. During the 1950’s and 1960’s the link between mental ill-health andcriminality had arguably never been stronger; all prisoners wereregarded as patients who could be effectively ‘treated’ to prevent themfrom re-offending in the future and whilst little specific attentionwas paid to the individual mental needs of offenders, the types oftreatment reforms which were offered by the Criminal Justice System atthis time were very similar to the kinds of group treatment therapiesbeing offered to those mentally disordered and mentally ill patients inthe mental asylums and hospitals of the day. During the 1970’s thisparadigm of offender treatment was abandoned primarily as a result ofresearch studies conducted into the success of some of these treatmentreforms: conclusions from several research studies into theeffectiveness of these criminal treatments on reducing criminalbehaviour strongly suggested that ‘nothing works’ (Thomas-Peter, 2006,p29). T hese embarrassing findings caused the pendulum to swing awayfrom rehabilitation towards a firmer commitment to incapacitation andpunishment through positive custody. During the 1980’s, the wave of ‘new public management’ was born(Thomas-Peter, 2006, p30). This movement focussed heavily upon theprocedural roles of the Prison and Probation Services in reducingre-offending. The Prison service started to contract out some of theirprimary responsibilities in a quest to encourage more efficient servicefrom both their private sub-contractors and also their remaining statePrisons who would have to meet their performance targets to avoid beingprivatised in the same way as so many other Institutions had been.Likewise, the Probation service was reorganised and reintegrated toencourage greater efficiency of performance: ‘[The Probation Service,rather than] a loosely co-ordinated collection of individual socialworkers [became a unified and managed service] with a clearer sense ofdirection and purpose, which was more able to engage on equal termswith other services and to contribute and give effect to nationalpolicies’ (Faulkne r, 2007, p7). During the 1990’s researchers revisited the studies conducted in the1970’s and found that rather than demonstrating that ‘nothing works’,rather they supported the contention that certain types of treatmentinitiatives were working with certain types of individuals: Whilst only10% of a group may have responded well to that treatment, if thesimilarities between those responding offenders could be identifiedthen for this new group, the reform could be said to be verysuccessful. This has lead researchers such as Harper and Chitty (2005)to argue that the new question should not be ‘what works?’ but ‘whatworks for whom, and why’? This paradigm shall be discussed in greaterdetail in section [6] of this literature review. It is important to note that, except for the changes made to theProbation Services in the 1980’s, the above discussion summarizes thedevelopments in the paradigm of Criminal Justice generally and does notspecifically answer the question of how the Criminal Justice system hashistorically dealt with the problem of mental ill-health in youngimprisoned offenders. The fact is that even as late as 2002, there was no real unifiedsystem implemented to deal specifically with this particular problem.Research on this topic was sparse and focused rather than on nationalstrategies, on local remedies such as the pioneering work done by theAdolescent Forensic Services in the Midlands. Generally, where YoungOffenders Institutions were involving forensic psychiatrists or mentalhealth social workers this was not being done with the aim of treatmentor rehabilitation but rather for the purposes of assessment. Also,rather than assessing each young offender, these processes tended to beused for those offenders who were clearly suffering from mentalill-health and those offenders who specifically asked for suchassistance. A report published by the Mental Health Foundation in 2002,entitled ‘The Mental Health of Young Offenders. Bright Futures: Workingwith Vulnerable Young People’ [Hagell, 2002, p23] summarized theposition at that time in the followin g way: â€Å"As far as the MentalHealth Foundation is aware, there is no recent research data availableon the provision of psychological and psychiatric services to youngoffenders across the criminal justice system. However, at the time ofwriting it is clear that, from existing fragmented information, thereis no routine, standardised screening employed across the criminaljustice system and that responses to problems are inadequate andfragmented.† Whilst it is true that certain practical initiatives were introducedfrom the mid-nineties, such as Youth Offending Teams, Detention andTraining Orders, Parenting Orders and Child Safety Orders, thediscussion of the effects of these reforms shall be reserved forsections [6] and [9] of this literature review, in which we shallanalyse the current policy and practical approach employed by the YouthJustice System in dealing with the problem of prevalent mentalill-health among young prisoners. 5] Is there convincing evidence which suggests that there is linkbetween mental illness and the likelihood of being sentenced toimmediate custody? Is there convincing evidence which suggests thatthere is link between mental illness and the prevalence of mentalillness and the high rates of recidivism in young offenders servingcustodial sentences? One would be right to question the relevance of this enquiry to themain purposes of this research paper; after all the objective of thispaper is to examine the current strategy in dealing with the problem ofmental ill-health in young offenders institutes and to proposerecommendations for future clinical research and immediate reform.However, the researcher of this paper has chosen to dedicate a sectionof its literature review to the issues raised in the title of thissection because he feels that, if a convincing link between mentalill-health and criminality/criminal recidivism can be demonstrated thenit would provide additional support for the importance of reform inthis area. After all, the youth of today are the adults of the future,and if it can be shown that reducing the prevalence of mentalill-health in young offender institutions has a positive (reducing)effect on the rates of recidivism then the Criminal Justice System maybe compelled to dedicate extra time, money and resource s on furtherresearch in this area and also on the implementation of reformsdesigned to reduce the prevalence of this problem. The first point to note is that there is a body of research whichsuggests that young persons with mental disorders are more likely to bearrested, charged and convicted for their criminal behaviour than thoseyoung people in similar circumstances who do not have such severemental problems [Teplin, 1984]. This is supported by the research studyconducted by Singleton et al (1998) which found that the majority ofprisoners who had been diagnosed as having mental illness had, prior tohaving contact with the Justice System, already had contact with theNHS and other welfare services. These findings cannot be squared easily with the findings of otherresearch studies which suggest that â€Å"further offending [is] notpredicted by mental health needs or alcohol and drug abuse problems.[Harrington and Bailey, 2005, p8]† After all, if mental ill-health canpredict first instance-offending in young persons, then it must alsosurely be a predictor of recidivism in these persons also. Thisresearcher is therefore more inclined to rely upon other researchstudies which suggest that this is not the case: For example, the studyconducted by the Mental Health Foundation [Hagell, 2002, p24] foundthat: The outcomes for young offenders in need of mental healthservices include: further offending and worsening mental healthproblems if the needs are not met. The two are interlinked. While theoffending may have been a risk factor for mental health problems in thefirst place, it has long been understood that mental health problems inturn go on to be a risk factor for continued off ending (Kandel, 1978;Rutter et al 1998). Early detection may reduce the likelihood thatyoung offenders will persist into adulthood.† 6] What is the approach which is currently employed by the UK Youth Justice System to tackle this problem? As discussed earlier