Pediatric Acute Otitismedia Aom Health And Social Care Essay

Pediatric ague otitismedia ( AOM ) is a prevailing medical status that affects many persons. This status is treated by prescription antibiotics, which have contributedto the addition in antibiotic immune bacterium. There has been some grounds to demo that antibiotic intervention is non ever necessary for the declaration of symptoms and the remedy of the status. We propose to find the effectivity of 10-day Amoxil versus placebo in intervention of AOM. The survey design will be a randomised, dual blind, placebo controlled clinical test at paediatric and otolaryngology patterns in the Greater Philadelphia country. A sum of 400 Children between the ages of 6 months and 7 old ages will be recruited for this test. 200 participants will have antibiotic intervention, the other 200 will have placebo. The test will besides specifically evaluate intervention result in vulnerable populations, in this instance, kids less than 2 old ages of age.Specific AimsAcute otitis media is one of the most fr equent unwellnesss of early babyhood and childhood, therefore one of the most common grounds for kids to see a doctor. ( Sarrell, et al.2003 ) . A In the United States, 93 % of all kids have had at least one episode of AOM by age seven. ( Sarrell, et al.2003 ) . Antibiotics are presently the intervention of pick for AOM in about all states. A In malice of this standard intervention, grounds of their effectivity remains limited in footings of clinical betterment ( Damoiseaux, et Al. 2000 ) . In fact, several surveies have demonstrated that AOM in kids can be managed without antibiotics ( Siegel, et Al. 2003 ) . Furthermore, in past research, there have been disagreements among decisions about the effectivity of intervention with antibiotics for different age groups. A One survey stated that there was no difference between interventions in kids under the age of two compared to kids under the age of six ( LeSaux, et Al. 2005 ) . A Another survey showed age was an of import determiner o f antibiotic effectivity ( Cohen et al. , 1998 ) . These tests have found a 10-day class of Amoxil was more effectual in the intervention of kids less than two old ages of age compared to kids two old ages and older ( Cohen, et Al. 1998 ) . A Aside from incompatibilities sing optimum age for intervention, the literature is missing in surveies comparing antibiotic interventions with placebo for AOM ( McCormick, et Al. 2010 ) . The end of this survey is to turn to the deficiency of grounds sing the efficaciousness of antibiotics for intervention of AOM and the incompatibilities in literature environing the issue of optimum age for intervention. A We propose to carry on a randomized controlled test comparing the effectivity of Amoxil usage for 10 yearss compared to placebo for intervention of AOM in kids between the ages of six months and six old ages. A The undermentioned research inquiries will be addressed: 1 ) What are the differences in intervention results of aten twenty-four hours class of Amoxil compared to placebo in kids with AOM between six months and six old ages of age? A To turn to this, the PCP will prove kids at twenty-four hours two, five, and 10 of the antibiotic or placebo intervention class utilizing the standardised diagnosing tools oftympanometry and otoscopic observationA Hypothesis 1: Both the Amoxil arm and the placebo arm will bring forth the same consequences at the completion of the 10 twenty-four hours intervention period. The differences between results will be undistinguished. 2 ) What are the differences in attach toing symptoms ( febrility and hurting ) in kids utilizing antibiotics versus those utilizing placebo intervention? A This will be addressed by giving the parents journals in which they must enter the kid ‘s temperature ( A.M. and P.M. measurings ) and the disposal of anodynes throughout the twenty-four hours. A The journal will besides incorporate the FLACC hurting graduated table which is to be used before the kid goes to bed. 3 ) Do younger kids respond otherwise to antibiotics intervention than older kids? To turn to this inquiry we will statistically prove for an age class ( six months-two old ages vs. two-six old ages ) by intervention group interaction consequence. It is our long-run end to get a criterion of diagnosing for AOM research. intervention, and outcomes that will let for farther, more specific surveies in the attention for AOM.BackgroundAccuteOtitis Media ( AOM ) , otherwise known as the common otalgia, is a cardinal subscriber to pediatric health care loads and the most common ground for kids to see a doctor. The standard intervention of attention is a class of antibiotics, therefore doing AOM a outstanding subscriber to antibiotic immune bacteriums ( O'Neil ) . The in-between ear is connected to the nasopharynx by the Eustachian tubing. One of the maps of the Eustachian tubing is to run out the secernments of the interior ear into the nasopharynx ( Maxson,1996 ) . When the Eustachian tubing becomes compromised, accretion of in-between ear fluid creates an ideal environment for bacteriums growing ( Maxon, 1996 ) . As a consequence, kids suffer through the colonisation and reproduction of bacteriums, doing much hurting and annoyance. The most outstanding causative bacteriums lending to AOM are: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemopheliusinfluenzae, and Moraxellacatarrhalis ( Gould & A ; Marx, 2010 ) . Therefore, the current criterion of intervention for AOM is through antibiotic therapy ( Cohen ) . In the United States entirely, 93 % of all kids see a instance of AOM by age 3 ( Sarrel et al. , 2003 ) . This per centum does non account for reoccurring instances. The complete use of antibiotics in intervention of AOM has greatly contributed to the addition in the sum of anti-biotic immune bacteriums ( Grevers,2010 ) . The addition in antibiotic opposition has put kids at intensified hazards because there is a possibility that farther intervention with antibiotics will non bring forth a healed result ( Grevers,2010 ) . A A A A A A Otitis media is one of the most frequent diseases of early babyhood and childhood and one of the most common grounds for kids to see a doctor. A AOM is the most normally treated bacterial infection in kids ( Siegel et al.,2010 ) A Siegel references that several probes show that there is small benefit to utilizing antibiotics in most kids with AOM. A Despite ample research ( eg.McCormick et al.,2005 ; Damoieseaux et al 2000 ; Le Saux et al. , 2005 ) attending on the intervention effectivity and results of antibiotics is missing standardisation. A Though there are many research articles on the topic of Pediatric AOM, the literature fails in its consistence. A In being is an array of clinical tests that investigate different fluctuations of antibiotic use ( eg. Leach et al.,2008 ; Sarrell et al. , 2003 ; Roark & A ; Berman, 1997 ) but deficiency of survey reproduction has failed to verify the information gathered in the surveies. A Regardless, intervention of this infection accounts for & gt ; 50 % of paediatric antibiotic prescriptions and every bit much as $ 5 billion yearly in costs ( Siegel et al.,2003 ) . A Pediatric AOM affects such a legion population, that it is merely good to society of farther look into the effectivity of antibiotic usage in AOM. A A A A A A A Confounding information in the presented literature of Pediatric AOM has made it hard to sum up research in the most good and effectual intervention. A bulk of the literature compares antibiotic use to either a placebo or alternate therapy.A A part of this literature considers immediate antibiotic use versus placebo ( a representation of â€Å" alert waiting † ) ( eg.A Damoiseaux et Al. 2000 ; Siegel et Al, .2003 ; McCormick et al. , 2005 ; LeSaux et al.,2005 ) . A Other tests are presented with the focal point of high dosage antibiotic usage versus low dose antibiotic usage ( eg.Roark & A ; Berman, 1997 ) and alternate intervention use ( such as naturopathic intervention of AOM with Naturopathic Herbal Extract Ear Drops ) ( Sarrell et al.,2003 ) .A A Our literature hunt besides presented tests that investigated the differences in intervention result between different ages ( eg.Cohen et al.,1998 ; Leach et al.,2008 ) A A A A A A A A A A A Even with an array of published literature on paediatric AOM, there is a deficiency of standardisation in antibiotic dose for this medical problem.A A A Through our literature hunt, we have found that different surveies use different doses as the â€Å" current criterion of attention † .A In a aggregation of surveies, the criterion of intervention was given at assortment of doses which included: 40mg/kg/day, 50mg/kg/day, 60 mg/kg/day, 80 mg/kg/day, 90mg/kg/day ( Damoiseaux et al.,2000 ; Cohen et al.,1998 ; LeSaux et al.,2005 ; Leach et al.,2008, McCormick et al.,2005 ) .A A This makes it highly hard to compare the effectivity of intervention result between multiple surveies. A A A A A Our proposed research aims to look into and specify the difference in intervention result between antibiotic usage and no intervention in paediatric AOM. A Recently, there has been turning concern over prescription antibiotics and opposition of common bacteriums to antibiotics ( Siegal et al. , 2003 ) . A Block et al. , demonstrated that the pnuemococcal isolates from in-between ear fluids were 16 % comparatively immune and 15 % extremely immune to penicillin in kids who antecedently had AOM ( 1995 ) . A The literature is missing in research that investigates the long-run effects of early paediatric antibiotic usage. A It would be good to the paediatric population to restrict the sum of antibiotics administered in order to forestall the addition in the figure of antibiotic immune bacteriums. A A Literature Specific to Antibiotic Use There is more than one current theory for the intervention of AOM.A The first theory provinces that there is a difference between the doses of Amoxil prescribed to kids with AOM.A The high versus low dose intervention suggests that low dose intervention is merely every bit effectual as high dosage intervention ( Roark et al. , 1997 ) .A A The following theory for the best intervention of AOM is antibiotic intervention versus no intervention or placebo.A The research shows that there is more than one scheme in the attack to this theory.A The SNAP ( Safety Net Antibiotic Prescription ) attack is based on a compulsory 2 twenty-four hours waiting period before intervention ( either antibiotics or placebo ) ( Siegal et al. , 2003 ) .A The other attack is a standard antibiotic intervention versus placebo ( Le Saux et al. , 2005 ; McCormick et al. , 2005 ) .A Most research indicates that there is no difference between placebo and antibiotics ( Le Saux et al. , 2005 ; McCormick et al. , 2005 ; Siegal et al. , 2003 ) .A The concluding theory is based on the bad population, which is correlated to age.A There is a consensus that antibiotic intervention is more effectual in bad populations, largely patients under the age of two old ages old ( Cohen et al. , 1998 ; Leach et al. , 2008 ) . A Our hypothesis will try to clear up the disagreements between the current theories in order to develop a standard intervention for AOM.A The survey will include variables that deal with age, antibiotics, and placebo in order to happen a standard treatment.ATheoretical ModelMost medical intervention for paediatric AOM is given as antibiotics. LeSaux ‘s survey further explains how antibiotic therapy is debated by comparing it to watchful waiting and detecting the declaration of AOM symptoms.Watchful waiting may set kids with AOM at addition hazard for major complications, particularly for kids under 2 old ages of age ( Damoiseaux et al, 2000 ) . However, LeSaux and Damoiseaux agree t hat abuse or overexploitation of antibiotics may take to antibiotic immune bacteriums. On the other manus, their research surveies raise inquiries because of their little sample size usage to understand how Amoxil and placebo affect kids with AOM. The usage of antibiotics besides involves an fiscal position therefore, in our survey we hope to happen a standard intervention of attention in our survey. LeSaux and Damoiseaux besides discuss how their research can assist extinguish prejudices by including elaborate descriptions of their topics, applied individual clinical definition and minimized different result of the survey ( 2005,2000 ) . A A Antibiotic therapy is widely used by doctors across the universe to handle AOM, but research lacks to efficaciously mensurate reoccurrence AOM. Therefore, this federal grant will assist distinguish the antibiotic therapy attack by discoursing their disadvantages and extinguishing prejudice from old research. Alternatively of concentrating on narrow age scope and individual dose of Amoxil, we will concentrate on the differences of intervention result between kids above and under the age of 2 old ages. Finally, the primary informations gathered through the grant will lend to the standardisation of intervention for attention of AOM for different age groups. It is possible for future research to develop alternate hypothesis based on the consequences that are to be found through this clinical test. Future research will be able to spread out the theory of â€Å" alert waiting † in many age groups and prove the â€Å" standard intervention of attention † from this survey. It is our hope from the information obtained from this survey to better the intervention procedure for AOM by placing the most efficient intervention sing factors that include short-run and long-run effects, antibiotic opposition and socio-economic well being.MethodsSubject Selection & A ; Diagnostic Procedure Childs who are diagnosed with AOM in between the ages of 6 months to 7 old ages will be eligible to take part in this randomised test. The kids were determined to hold AOM by 2 processs: 1 ) tympanometry 2 ) otoscopicexamination. The undermentioned exclusion standards will be applied: Child could hold undergone antibiotic intervention during the old four hebdomads, allergic reaction to amoxicillin, compromised unsusceptibility, craniofacial defects, the tympanic membrane is non integral, and another instance of AOM within the old three months. Study Procedure If the kid met the inclusion standards, the PCP will exhaustively depict the survey process to the patient ‘s parent or defender. A At that clip the PCP will besides obtain written informed consent from the parent. A A After informed consent is assented by the parent, they will have a package with a questionnaire sing general patient information ( see appendix a ) . A The package will besides include a digital thermometer ( Lumiscope 2210-214 Quick-Read Digital Thermometer ) for which the parent must mensurate the patient ‘s organic structure temperature twice daily, one reading in the forenoon and one at dark. The temperature values will be recorded in the journal that is included in the package. A The diary entries ( see appendix B ) will incorporate a subdivision to enter organic structure temperature values, a subdivision to enter analgetic disposal, a subdivision to enter hurting degrees in the eventide, and a subdivision to notice in an open-ended mode on any import ant symptoms associated with AOM. A A TheA 10-dayA trialA ofA amoxicillinA orA placebo will be administered and started on twenty-four hours of diagnosing. A The parents are expected to maintain an adequate and up to day of the month journal of the kid ‘s intervention class. A Follow up visits will be required on yearss two, five, and 10 of the test with the kid ‘s well-thought-of PCP. A A The PCP will measure the same measurings taken at the baseline visit ( tympanometry and otoscopic observation ) . A The household will be rewarded $ 20, $ 30, and $ 50 for each follow up visit, severally. A On the 10th twenty-four hours of the test at the follow up visit, the journal will be collected and the parents will be asked to make full out a intervention class contemplation ( appendix degree Celsius ) . A Parents or guardiansA can reach the survey central office or their referred PCP office anytime with inquiries sing the survey or to describe any terrible inauspicious event ( s ) , such as concern, febrility, sickn ess, hurting, or any other types of status. A On twenty-four hours 10, they will turn in the package including the parent journal to the PCP. Data Collection Instruments In the diagnostic and follow up stage of this test, tympanometry and otoscopic rating will be used to corroborate the presence of AOM and to follow its patterned advance through out the intervention class. Otoscopic rating will attach to tympanometry in the diagnostic processeand follow up steps. Otoscopic scrutiny will be the first measure in the diagnosing procedure. The scrutiny allows the PCP to visually corroborate the presence of AOM. The PCP will be looking for purulent in-between ear gush. In order to corroborate AOM quanitavelytympanogram steps will be used. Tympanometry is the noninvasive procedure of mensurating the comparative air force per unit area of the in-between ear. It is able to mensurate the squeezability of the air in the in-between ear ( Johansen ) . If the squeezability is minimum, it is assumed that the in-between ear pit is filled with fluid. Babies and little kids can present as a challenge when seeking to accurtely name due to rapid motions and shouting. D espite this, Palmu identifies the cogency of utilizing the tympanometry trial through his survey that showed that tympanometric measuring was successful in 94 % of babies that were tested ( 1999 ) . The parent journals will incorporate the FLACC ( Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consulibility ) ( Appendix C ) pain scale to be filled out day-to-day before anodynes are administered. FLACC is an experimental tool to quantify hurting. Each of the 5 symptoms is graded on a graduated table of 0-2, with a entire possible mark runing from 0-10. Manworren ‘s survey confirmed that the FLACC hurting graduated table is appropriate for mensurating preverbal kids in hurting from diseases ( 2003 ) . Voepel ‘s survey confirmed the cogency of the FLACC hurting graduated table by demoing distinguishable differences mark differences in pre/post analgetic disposal. The survey besides showed first-class dependability through exact understanding and kappa statistics ( 2010 ) . Data Management At the initial visit and all following visits to the physician ‘s office, an employee will come in the patient information into the on-line database. The information from the parent journals will all be transferred into the on-line database after entry at the terminal of the test. All informations entered into the on-line database will merely be accessible to those who have a user login and watchword to the plan. All informations that is handled by the PCP or our research squad will be kept confidential. It is to the parent ‘s arrested development to find how confidential they will maintain the journals during the intervention class.Statistical AnalysisIn order to analyse our information we will utilize the PSAW statistical plan, version 18.A This is the most up to day of the month version of the former SPSS program.A This plan includes the statistical trials that are relevant to our analysis. A A To measure the information we will utilize a qi square trial with a logisti c regression.A The qi square trial is an appropriate trial because the information that will be used is at the nominal degree, which is nonparametric.A Besides, our informations is reciprocally sole, in that each patient will be assigned to merely one group. We will measure with a 2Ãâ€"2 eventuality tabular array, comparing treated and non treated to antibiotic intervention and placebo with a 95 % assurance interval.A The logistic arrested development will be used to find if the age of the patient will impact the result of the treatment.A It will demo the most likely anticipation of a group.A This will unclutter up any disagreement if placebo or antibiotics are the best intervention option between patients less 30 months of age and 30-72 months.A AResearch TimelineThis survey does non hold a definite length due to our end to widen the survey until 400 survey participants are involved in the test. We will end the test at 5 old ages irrespective of the achieved participant survey pop ulation. In order to maintain standardisation amongst take parting PCP ‘s, we will keep quarterly visits to verify that the PCPs are following protocol. Once an person is enrolled in this survey ; it will necessitate 10 yearss of engagement. The participant will get down the intervention on twenty-four hours of registration and diagnosing. On the 2nd, 5th, and 10th twenty-four hours of the test, the participants must describe for a cheque in. If the participant suffers from any inauspicious events after the completion of the test, we encourage the parent to describe them.DecisionAfter the completion of the research survey we will anticipate to happen no important difference between antibiotic and placebo intervention of AOM.A These findings will lend to regenerating intervention criterions for the AOM. By extinguishing the demand of antibiotics in certain populations, it will assist to diminish the turning figure of antibiotic resistantbacteria. These findings will besides ext inguish some health care costs by eliminating the demand to buy antibiotics.A These findings will assist specify a criterion of pattern for doctors and other attention suppliers which will lend to the well-being of society.

Mental Disorder and Racism

Racism is the feelings with preference because of your skin, color, wealth, nationality, religious, and many other reasons. It is considered as a psychological disorder that exists in families, societies, and countries. The most common phenomena about racism which we all heard about is the one between black and white Americans, for it began long time ago and remained until these days. This problem between them even reached to our children, for they start also being racist without knowing, and some of them would also prefer white on black.For example, if you give your kid two toys one is white and the other is black, your kid will probably choose the white one, for he thinks it is better and prettier. Racism is spread a lot into our Arabian societies, and it is a disease with no cure. There are many bad results of racism in out societies. The bad effects that racism creates are discrimination between children in the family and discrimination between students in schools. The first effe ct of racism in our societies is the discrimination between children.Many parents prefer one child or more the most, for they are the youngest, the prettiest, the smartest, or the eldest. They start loving one child the most, and they stop giving love and care to others unconsciously, decrease that amount of care and love, stop treating them well, stop giving them attention, and stop giving them their rights eventually. Another example is that parents might not punish their favorite kid when acting bad, but they become so tough and strict when another one does something wrong.At this stage, parents don’t notice how they are discriminating between their children until others start behaving bad, so they know that they are jealous. The second effect of racism is creating problems with children. When parents discriminate between their children, they cause many problems to their kids. This leads to create psychological and mental disorders with them, jealousy, envy, grudge, fights between their kids, violence, and it can also harm their health.Kids start hating their brothers or sisters that their parents prefer, and they start thinking of how to harm them and make them have a bad image, so many fights will occur at this period. Children in their position will totally change with everyone, and they even become violent with the other strange kids. The most dangerous effect on them is the psychological disorders, for it is the hardest to deal with, and it will last with them for a long time if not being noticed early. The mental disorders will walk until it controls their behavior and attitude, and it will have an effect on the children on the long term.According to an article, a researcher says â€Å"If the theoretical models that propose racism as a stressor are correct, then its effects on children need to be studied in the same way as other stressors that have been shown to have negative effects on health and development (for example, poverty, violence, n eglect, abuse, and social upheaval). To assess the state of research into the effects of racism on child health and health care, a review of the literature was undertaken. † (Pediatr, 2009). The third effect of racism in our societies is the discrimination between students.In schools, many students face the fact that they feel some students are discriminated from other students. This action is caused by a lot of reasons such as the nationality, the relationship between the instructor and the student, and other reasons. Many teachers prefer some students because they are from their country, they know their parents, they are pretty, or they very smart, and they ignore those who aren’t smart or related to them in some way. Teachers start giving attention the most to them, give them more marks, become more kind with them, forgive them for their mistakes, and make things easier for them.It is illegal to treat students depending on those things although sometimes the feelings of love towards some students is with no control, but teachers must be careful on how they treat their students equally. The fourth effect of racism is creating problems with students. When a student feels that there is racism caused by the teacher, they wouldn’t accept or like that, for it is unfair. Since teachers know that the preference between students is bad, they must avoid it, so they don’t have to cope with bigger problems.Students start being hateful towards their classmates, being careless about their study, or become violent, and sometimes they start having bigger problems when this affects them even at home. There is no control over your attitude or behavior when there is a feeling of jealousy or racism, and students won’t be able to hide their feelings. The fifth effect of racism in our society is creating preference between different nationalities and religious. In our Arabian society, many people prefer specific people because they have similar nationalities or have the same religious, and you find this everywhere.Every single person thinks that his country and his people are the best among any country, so this person becomes racist with no good reason. In our nature, we unconsciously prefer people who are coming from the same country we come from, and even if they are bad we still prefer them, but this is wrong and its cause is racism. To conclude, it was mentioned that racism is a mental disorder which has many bad effects on us, on our societies, on our kids, and on our behavior and attitude. There are many examples of racism, and it exists everywhere and in everyone, but we must be careful how to treat people.The many problems of racism in our Arabian society are between students, between children in families, between adults in their workplace, and between relatives. Racism leads to discrimination which creates huge physical and psychological issues among young and old people, so we know that racism causes bad effects. Parents, teachers, and all adults must be aware on the way they treat children and students, so they don’t have to cause these bad effects on them. They should know also how not to make them become racist, and how to treat people well whatever their nationality, color, or skin was.

An Enemy of the People

Contemporary social universal issues are reflected in common themes that are evident in extensively appreciated texts. Written by Henrik Ibsen, An Enemy of the People is a prominent example of a text that incorporates universal topics which are those of integrity and environmental damage. Similarly, the film Erin Brockovich, directed by Steven Soderbergh, reflects these themes. Due to the variant mediums the techniques used to portray these themes to the audience are vastly different. Integrity is essential if corrupt forces in society are to be constrained or abolished. In An Enemy of the People, the protagonist, Dr. Stockmann, sacrifices everything for his moral beliefs to assist in eliminating the corruption: Id rather see it ruined than prospering on a lie! This emotive language reinforces that he values honesty, and would rather suffer financial hardships than dishonestly gain from a hazardous industry like the baths. The Doctors fierce dedication stands out in contrast to many of the plays secondary characters who seem to compromise their supposed beliefs: I should be slow to accuse the mayor because hes your bother. But I know you think as I do – the truth should come first The high modality language emphasises that Hovstad is manipulative and duplicitous as he accuses the mayor of lying to start with, but ultimately supports him, a result of his lack of integrity. Moreover, the play exemplifies the consequences that are sometimes presented to those who have a strong sense of integrity. Dr Stockmann strives diligently to expose the sordid condition of the baths so that people do not fall ill. Eventually, however, Peters machinations turn the public against him. Emotive language is used to portray the publics hatred towards the doctor: Hes an enemy! He hates us, thats what he does! Shame! Boo! Enemy of the people! The irony of this play is that the good person, Dr. Stockmann, is the one labelled as the enemy of the people. The play reveals itself as a sharp examination of the terrible price that society often demands of an individual who stays true to his or her principles. Erin Brockovich reflects the same issue of needing integrity to eradicate social ills. The protagonist, Erin Brockovich, acts in a manner motivated by morals. Fighting to sustain her life with her three children as a single parent, she is concurrently fighting for the rights of people who cannot fight for themselves. Her boss, Ed Masry, initially lacks integrity to take the case on. Brockovich, who is in rage at his moral deficiency screams at him: I don’t know shit about shit! But I sure do know the difference between right and wrong! The strong colloquial language and high modality of this statement highlights the fact that ethics do not have to rely on formal education. Furthermore, through the close up shot of Masrys stunned face the audience sees that an appeal to a persons conscience can sway a persons decisions. Consequently, Masry supports Brockovich and they ultimately win the case. This demonstrates that the virtue of integrity can lead to overcoming corruption within society. An Enemy of the People reflects Erin Brockovich in that integrity is still vital for an ethical society as both their protagonists stood up for what they believed in. Stockmann was still maintaining his stand against the solid majority and the socially corrupt institutions they support. However, Brockovich, according to the films epilogue, continued to pursue other social injustice. Hence, both texts reveal that upholding integrity is imperative. Damage to the environment can lead to grave social problems within society. In An Enemy of the People, the contamination of the environment is not only the vehicle for the plays plot but also the catalyst for the conflict that is palpable during the play. Peter Stockmann is primarily motivated by greed and power, whereas, his brother, Dr. Stockmann has passionate ethical beliefs. When the doctor tells his brother about the polluted baths and that they must be fixed Peter is deeply concerned about financial loss: We should probably have to abandon the whole thing, which has cost us so much money – and then you would have ruined your native town. The emotive language used here reinforces that in Peters unethical perspective the town and its visitors health is secondary to the fact to what the town will endure economically. The circumstances of the play highlight how money the key motivation in society and demonstrates the on-going social dilemma about balancing the needs of a community with the needs of the environment, if this balance is out the effect s on society will be detrimental. Erin Brockovich also reflects the universal theme of environmental pollution. In Erin Brockovich the reason for the environmental damage is corporate greed. The multi-billion dollar company Pacific Gas and Electric, is portrayed as socially corrupt, because they did not enact policies to keep the water contaminate free, and therefore compromised the future of Hinkley. The companys deceit about the effects of chromium in the water is revealed in dialogue: So you say this hexavalent chromium Well, its poisonous? Well, its just gotta be different than whats in our water, cause ours is okay. The guys from PGE told me; I mean they sat in my kitchen and told me. They said it was fine. This underlines the companys stance, that the suffering of the environment and society is secondary to making money. The scene in which Brockovich is collecting evidence juxtaposes the close up shot of the small dead frog with a long shot of the huge power plant nearby, to raise audience awareness of the enormity of the deleterious effect of unethical behaviour. Furthermore it encapsulates the necessity of each individual opposing such behaviour. In conclusion, An Enemy of the People depicts universal themes which are relevant to contemporary society today these themes are reflected in Erin Brockovich. Both texts illustrate to the audience how integrity is an imperative element when eradicating corruption and that a tarnished environment can have an injurious effect on society.

Discuss whether the information provided in Citic Pacific Limited Essay

Discuss whether the information provided in Citic Pacific Limited Stock - Essay Example Understanding of the information provided in the annual reports therefore not only offers an opportunity to the investors to assess as to how the company performed in the past but how it will perform in the future. Investors therefore need to critically identify the relevant information as well as how to use it in proper context.(Brealey & Myers, 2009) What is also important to note that interpretation of the information depends upon the skills of the investors. What distinguishes a good investor from a bad investor is the ability of each investor to interpret the information presented in the annual report of the firm. Thus it is critical that the investors must clearly identify as to what type of information is essential for making a sound and rational decision. Citi Pacific Limited is a Hong Kong based involving in the diversified business including infrastructure development, steel manufacturing, tunnels, power generations as well as the electricity. This paper will therefore discuss as to whether the information presented in the interim financial statements as on 30th June 2010 provide sufficient information to investors for making investment decision. Investors are considered as the primary users of the financial statements and it becomes critical for them to properly evaluate the financial statements in order to make a rational decision. One of the main reasons as to why the investors must look into the information provided in the financial statements is to know about the profitability of the firm and assess as to whether the firm will remain profitable in the future. This sort of information will therefore serve as the key information for the investors to make a decision of whether to invest in a firm or not. (Atrill. & McLaney,2008). Thus financial statements shall provide useful, timely and accurate information to the investors in such a manner that investors must be able to make reasonable

Mentoring Programme Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mentoring Programme - Assignment Example The mentor believed that this element of experiential learning would assist the mentee in understanding how to communicate and respond during the important interview process. It was also believed, initially, that role playing would increase the willingness to engage and communicate with the mentor successfully. The mentoring program was also structured to include elements of transformational leadership, whereby the mentor leader utilises inspirational attitudes, role models desired behaviours, and impart a specific vision or mission to give the mentee a specific focus and goal (Fairholm 2009). The goal was to improve the mentee’s interest in strategic thinking to achieve long-term gains, however literature on leadership suggests that in order to motivate and encourage, change must be negotiated between two different parties (Grieves 2010). This is why there was significant emphasis on utilising contemporary leadership theory to better enthuse the mentee and make them intrinsic ally focused on achieving the mentoring program objectives. Increasing communications skills of the mentee was very successful and it is attributed to utilising the role playing exercises. The first method of improving communications was to remove noise that complicated receipt of positive feedback for the mentor. Noise is any specific factor that prevents a message from getting through to the receiver (Mullins 2010). During the first and second mentoring sessions, the mentor discovered that the mentee was quite reserved and her uneasy and anxious emotional state was preventing the message from being received properly, thereby serving as negative noise. By engaging the mentee through role playing, it seemed to establish a sense of trust that reduced anxiety and allowed the mentee to provide feedback illustrating that the concepts being taught and discussed were understood and could be applied practically to real-world business scenarios. The mentor realised, also, that the mentee ma intained many unrealistic perceptual filters that were serving to complicate the communications process. The mentee maintained many assumptions and expectations about the commercial environment, noticeable in the first three sessions. The mentee believed that job qualifications were not as important a how the job seeker presented themselves and communicated in order to find a job position. There seemed to be a culturally-developed set of beliefs, though not realistic, that the mentee could find employment without the necessary and listed credentials on job descriptions simply by creating an outstanding cover letter along with the CV submission. These perceptual filters were serving as noise and created moderate resistance to change when the mentor attempted to reinforce the absolute importance of having the proper credentials to achieve landing a position with a desired company. To overcome this element of noise, the mentor found many different research articles showing that it was absolutely critical to gain employability and educational skills to

Finance - Personal Financial Planning Assignment

Finance - Personal Financial Planning - Assignment Example You have no plans to increase the size of your family in the near future. Estimate your total insurance needs using the DINK method.   Assume $5,000 for funeral expenses. The Kelleher family has health insurance coverage that pays 80 percent out-of-hospital expenses after a $500 deductible per person. If one family member has doctor and prescription medication expenses of $2,800, what amount would the insurance company pay? Becky Fenton has 25/50/10 automobile insurance coverage. If two other people are awarded $15,000 each for injuries in an auto accident in which Becky was judged at fault, how much of this judgment would the insurance cover? People always   want to achieve different goals in terms of financial achievement. They are the basic rules that one needs to follow to come up with a good and comprehensive finical plan that will not affect his/her income. The first thing you need to know is your current financial income. This will enable you to plan accurately. The second is developing a financial target. This will make you remain focused on what you do. Also one needs to know what are the alternatives one has in case one side fails or an emergency occurs. Every decision you make must have an alternative and a course of action. Creation of financial plan should be another factor. One needs to choose his or her goals clearly either long term or short term ones. For example one can buy things in higher purchases to attain long term goal. Finally is reviewing your plan time and again as it   is dynamic and tend to change now and then .This is to enable accommodation of more factors that come along the

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Juveniles in adult prisons - Essay Example Misbehaving juveniles are often not spared the incarceration process for their criminal activities.As a result,they are punished with the corresponding penalties for their criminal actions.There are,however,major issues raised in the incarceration of juveniles, especially if their incarceration is in adult prisons. One of these issues is the fact that juveniles are exposed to different types of abuses in these adult prisons. These abuses may cover physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse. They are also exposed to other criminal elements in these prisons which often make them even worse offenders upon their release. Based on 2005 statistics, there were about 2200 youths in adult prisons in the US. Majority of these youths were serving life sentences without possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were minors (Campaign for Youth Justice, n.d). Studies also indicate that juveniles in adult prisons are twice more likely to be beaten up by a staff or by another inmate; and they are 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon (Campaign for Youth Justice, n.d). Considering these circumstances, this paper shall now critically evaluate and discuss the issue of juveniles in adult prisons. This paper shall be conducted in order to establish a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the issue and its appurtenant highlights for improvement. Discussion The juvenile justice system was conceptualized about a hundred years ago in order to safeguard children from the abuses they were previously subjected to in adult prisons (Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). Trends indicated that in the traditional system, the children were often returned to society as hardened criminals. A juvenile system was therefore devised for juveniles in order to ensure that they would be housed in centers different from adult offenders where they can undergo rehabilitation, retraining, and other appropriate reformation processes. However, in recent years, due to the increase in the num ber of juvenile offenders, as well as the crowding of juvenile detention centers, moves to incarcerate juvenile offenders with adult offenders have been suggested (Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). Needless to say, that this suggestion has been met with much opposition from child advocates, law enforcement officers, criminologists, and other interest groups. They primarily point out that placing juveniles in adult jails would have negative and detrimental effects on the juveniles, especially as their incarceration seems to exacerbate the criminal behavior of these juveniles after their release. Law enforcement officers are one of the first to point out that locking up a juvenile with murderers, rapists, and robbers promotes the same future criminal behavior among incarcerated juveniles. These officers also point out that for the most part, juvenile offenders need proper adult guidance from appropriate role models. And these â€Å"appropriate† role models would hardly be found in these adult jails (Dilulio, 1996, as cited by Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). Surveys also document instances of juveniles being subjected to various. In fact, in Ohio, a juvenile placed in an adult jail for a minor infraction was reportedly assaulted by a deputy jailer; and in another case, in Kentucky, 30 minutes in a jail cell prompted a 15 year old to hang himself (Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). Four other deaths were seen in Kentucky jails among juveniles who were incarcerated with adults for various minor offenses (Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). In the paper by Sapp and Reddington, (1997) the authors have established that the number of juveniles in adults jails have increased in recent years. Based on some laws passed, some states have already revised their transfer laws first, by decreasing the age of by which these juveniles can be transferred to adult jails and second by expanding the criminal activities which merit adult jail

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Milton Babbitt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Milton Babbitt - Essay Example Such a composer creates a commodity that has negative market value and is little performed. A condition of musical and societal isolation is created which gives the composer an advantageous position to forward his music. It also results in the creation of new music. The music employs a tonal quality that is more efficient than its derivatives. The increase of meaningful pitch materials and the functions associated with the musical event would be multiplied. Each event is located in a five dimensional musical space that is determined by pitch-class, register, dynamic, duration and timbre. Musical compositions under discussion possess a high degree of contextuality and autonomy. The principles of relatedness which determines the coherence of continuity are more likely to evolve in the course of the work rather than from generalized assumptions. In many fundamental respects this music is â€Å"new†. It represents a vast extension of the methods of other music. Such rooted composition elicits comparable knowledge and experience from the listener. A listener will be puzzled and bored by such a composition. This is understandable but what is undesirable is the translation of this boredom into resentment. Advanced music reflects the knowledge and originality of the composer. It can scarcely be expected to appear intelligible to a person whose musical knowledge is less than extensive. A person with limited knowledge of music is not capable of understanding advanced music just as a layman is not equipped to make sense out of advanced mathematical theories. Circularity seems to be the norm where criticism is concerned and personal tastes are converted based on general principles. For most critics, the music they dislike is â€Å"not music† and if they do not like the music of certain composers, then they are â€Å"not composers.† Therefore passing judgment or criticism on music is best left to professional journals. The music critic understands that

Critically review the situation at RestaurantCo Essay Example for Free

Critically review the situation at RestaurantCo Essay This essay analyses the case of RestaurantCo, a large non-unionised restaurant company with over 300 branches across the UK, and more than 7000 employed staff members (Suter Marchington 2011). According to Brad and Gold (2012, p.401) the term non-unionised is a ‘workplace, where managers have flexibility in designing work, selecting, promotion and training people, and determining rewards and other human resources (HR) practices.’ As briefly defined managers carry out many duties and responsibilities for the business. In order to have a better understanding of the role of line managers and employee relations at RestaurantCo it would be necessary to explore and outline the strengths and weaknesses of the company. To be more specific, this essay will explore and outline the main strengths and weaknesses in the working style of branch managers and the structural centralisation within the organisation, the formal and informal employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices, the working relationships between front line managers and employees, and the competitive effectiveness of the organisational HRM system and capability framework for branch managers. This case study of RestaurantCo focuses on the organisational problems that stems from the centralisation of corporate decision making and monitoring. The company regarded itself as a high quality restaurant business with a strong focus on positive employee relations thus reflected in their history of informal employment relations approach (Suter Marchington 2011). However, since the change in ownership the company had to implement new business strategies and HR practices as well as make further enhancements to the restaurant environment. For instance, the changes in the restaurant environment included refurbishments, expanded food and drinks menus, and cost savings by integrating the supply chain with other  restaurants owned by the group (Suter Marchington 2011). Consequently, some of these changes were seen as quite extensive and problematic for restaurant managers. For instance, some of these organisational changes were somewhat inefficient and costly in terms of deliveries and that mistakes were frequently made in the order and supply of ingredients (Suter Marchington 2011). Managers were no longer able to order directly from suppliers but instead were instructed to direct their orders through the supply chain department, whose understanding of the needs of individual branches were seen as limited (Suter Marchington 2011). There were also additional changes in improving customer service such as the introduction to the ‘Mystery Customer’ initiative (Suter Marchington 2011, p.213). This program initiative was seen as a form of corporate centralised monitoring and control of service, which somewhat contradicts the supposed given autonomy to branch managers. This demonstrates senior management distrust in its branch managers’ abilities to meet or fulfil their duties and responsibilities. This form of control violates the ‘psychological contract’ between the branch managers and employers which is also known as a ‘two-way exchanged of perceived promises and obligations between employees and their employer’ (Bratton Gold, 2012, p. 12). In this case, senior management had infringed on the trust between its branch managers by having a ‘centralised monitoring system’ in placed to gather customer information and business performance, thus in turn violat ing their psychological contract (Suter Marchington 2011). Consequently, creating a negative ‘low-trust and low-commitment’ relationship compared to a ‘high-trust and high-commitment’ participatory relationship between senior management and branch managers (Bratton Gold, 2012, p. 160). Nevertheless, control is seen as somewhat necessary by senior management, but ‘too much control might be counterproductive’ (Dant Nasr, 1998, p. 7). Hence, ‘excessive levels of control’ should be carefully considered as it will ‘impact on business performance levels’ (Dant Nasr, 1998, p. 7). As stated in Dant and Nasr (1998, p.7) tight control is generally not perceived well by managers who are driven by a strong desire for ‘independence and autonomy’, they may withheld ‘authentic and helpful information’ from senior management or employers in order to preserve some indirect form of control as they might believe that their input would not be valued or validated. In th is particular case, tight control would lead to less cooperation between branch managers and senior management. Furthermore, feedback from mystery customers to senior management may not be as useful or informative compared to the managers’ vast degree of knowledge and experience regarding its local business restaurant market environment and business performance levels. Rather than just rewarding ‘performance related bonus’ to managers who receive an overall satisfactory rating from mystery customers there should also be incentives or reward schemes in placed for managers who actually provide ‘authentic and helpful information’ to senior management (Michael, 2002, p. 329). This sort of privileged information could further enhance the organisation’s productivity and performance. For instance, the organisation would have a greater competitive advantage through new strategic opportunities and awareness of new threats as mentioned by its’ branch managers (Michael, 2002, p. 329). This ‘upward’ flow of information decentralises the tight monitoring and control of senior management but more importantly strengthens the communication, commitment, trust and employee relations between senior management and its branch managers through reciprocal cooperation and reward schemes (Michael, 2002, p. 329). It is crucial in service industries that branch managers be given more autonomy to make operational decisions as their understanding of the business environment surrounding their individual branches is relatively more extensive compare to senior management and management support, who have limited understanding of the business environment. This process is referred to as ‘decentralisation’ (Dant Nasr, 1998). According to Suter and Marchington (2011), each restaurant establishment was usually run by a branch manager and two assistants. The role of supervisory responsibilities was shared between the branch manager and assistant manager due to the long operating hours and the shift system, hence, the manager on duty would take on the role of supervising employees (Suter Marchington 2011). The manager on duty dealt primarily with problems and issues in regards to employees, and that wider issues were assigned to the branch manager. The branch managers in addition carried out a number of HR functions such as employment appraisals, pay reviews, and personal development plans (Suter Marchington 2011). These branch managers had described their work as being more intensified and that the HR policies had become more sophisticated and  formalised (Suter Marchington 2011). Branch managers were supposedly allowed a fair degree of autonomy in how they could manage the restaurant. A key element of the capability framework enabled branch managers to take charge of their own delivery and performance. However, managers experienced great difficulty in making operational decisions regarding their restaurant. Some of the reasons were due to the fact that the management support team were not always readily available to branch managers but also that company-wide operational decisions were being implemented at branch levels, in turn conflicting with branch managers’ operational decisions (Suter Marchington 2011). Branch managers should be provided with support throughout the restaurant operational hours from the management support office except, the restaurant support team operates on a 9-5 office-based workplace arrangement (Suter Marchington 2011). This would lead to significant problems when the restaurant requires assistance after the support office ends operation, therefore causing an inconvenience when decision and support is needed. It might also affect the organisation’s reputation if issues are not promptly resolved. Without proper support and facilitation from the support management team, branch managers are unable to perform their role efficiently. Under the influence of senior management, branch managers were pressured into implementing formal relationship practices with their employees (Suter Marchington 2011). However, one of the core components of a psychological contract is ‘workplace communication’ which will generally help to minimize the ‘false consensus effect,’ meaning that people assume that they share the same perceptions (Bratton Gold, 2012, p. 433). For instance, branch managers perceived the restaurant and its employment relations as informal whereas head office had expressed the need for more professional management and more importantly had over-rated the formality of policy implementation at branch level (Suter Marchington 2011). Notably, communication is a significant component of a psychological contrast as it is quite evident that branch managers and senior management had conflicting views on how the restaurant business needed to be operated. Alternatively, It would be beneficial for senior management and branch managers to effectively communicate their views across to one another in order to minimize the ‘false consensus effect’ (Bratton Gold, 2012, p. 433). Again, to ensure that this can actually happen, senior management  would need to be more readily available to branch managers and vice versa in order to strengthen the psychological contract between them. According to the branch managers the organisational change brought about more job responsibilities, intensified workload and more expectations from senior management (Suter Marchington 2011). Whilst handling their ‘supervisory responsibilities’, the day–to-day HR functions and operational responsibilities such as ordering and control of stock/supplies, forecasting labour budgets and marketing initiatives were devolved into the roles of branch managers (Suter Marchington 2011). This devolvement of HR functions into the role of branch managers goes beyond the parameters of what is required of branch managers. Despite this, senior management have not provided their branch manager with further additional training in their new responsibilities and duties neither has it been outlined in their legal binding contract. Even though the assistant managers and branch managers shared the same responsibilities of supervising the employees, employees still reported directly to the branch managers (Suter Marchington 2011). Instead of sharing this supervisory responsibility of employees, it would be more efficient and productive to delegate this responsibility to the assistant manager so that branch managers can focus more on the operational responsibilities and HR functions. Another obstacle branch managers had identified was their inability to make operational decisions regarding the day-to-day running of the branch due to the lack of coordination or collaboration in the senior management company-wide operational decision-making process (Suter Marchington 2011). This in effect reinforces senior management distrust in its branch managers’ ability to fulfil their role and therefore, causing resentment and animosity towards senior management from its branch managers. According to Dant and Gundlach (1998, p.37) ‘excessive controls aimed at monitoring’ employees can be costly as it can generate ‘motivational and morale problems’ among employees. It is important from a management perspective to ‘balance the forces of dependence and autonomy’ within the business in order to maintain ‘the long run viability’ of the business organisation (Dant Gundlach, 1998, p. 37). In terms of achieving overall effectiveness senior management need to contribute to a more productive relationship between branch managers and employees in their organisation. Another important aspect to consider is  that the company and branch units have ‘contrasting economic and managerial characteristics’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 276) whereby, the senior management of the company must meet two key management challenges: ‘maintaining uniformity and system-wide adaptability’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). With reference to RestaurantCo, units in a chain share a common identity by operating under the RestaurantCo trademark (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). There are five underlying categories of uniformity in an organisation and they are, ‘the line manager, organisational systems, learning culture, role and responsibility and HR department and professionalism’ (Harrison, 2011, p. 921). In order to ‘preserve the integrity and value’, the company must enforce uniformity across these five underlying categories through bureaucratic control and standardisation (Bradach, 1997, p. 277). Furthermore, in order to ensure the sustainability of the company, it must be able to adapt to the ‘opportunities and threats’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 282). In addition, senior managers must identify and implement system-wide adaptation processes and practices that will fit to some extent across all of the individual branches, except the main challenge of this is to ensure that all the branches move in the same direction. The ‘plural form’ model of management proposed by Bradach (1997) can be used to effectively a ddress the uniformity and system-wide adaptability problems. The ‘plural form’ consists of four processes which are as followed: ‘modelling process, ratcheting process, socialisation process and mutual learning process’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Through these processes the company can pursue greater uniformity and improve system-wide adaptation across the restaurant chains (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The modelling process is focused on the structural element of the management by increasing the use of common practices across the organisation and the restaurant chains (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The ratcheting process is part of the control system of management which enables both branch managers and senior managers to influence each other as well as increase the level of uniformity and performance of the chain overall (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). The socialisation process reflects the career path aspect of management, which essentially helps to create a shared understanding of what is required to operate a restaurant, thus will increase the uniformity across the chain (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Lastly, the mutual learning process is also referred to as the strategy making  process, which focuses on improving the system-wide adaptability by providing ‘performance data and demonstrating new ideas to help persuade branch managers to adopt the proposed system-wide adaptations’ (Bradach, 1997, p. 283). Overall the ‘plural form’ is used to overcome some of the control problems associated with managing restaurant branches and maintaining uniformity across the chain (Bradach, 1997). Another important key issue highlighted from this case study is how formal and informal employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices are implemented by management. According to the RestaurantCo capability framework which consisted of eight capabilities, four related specifically to informal EIP (Suter Marchington 2011). EIP is influenced or shaped by four dimensional factors which are, the two type of ‘forms of EIP’ (formal and informal EIP), ‘degree of involvement of the employees’ (ranged from very little to a considerable amount), ‘different levels of EIP within the organisation’ (head office to branch level) and ‘scope of subject matter’ (long term plans that are central to the organisation and short term issues regarding the restaurant) (Marchington Kynighou, 2012, p. 3338). RestaurantCo depend heavily on their employees’ interaction with customers, for this reason it is noticeably best to implement informal EIP because their engagement with customers is instrumental to the organisational performance levels and profitability. By using informal EIP branch managers are able to gain employees’ affective commitment to the organisation (Rodrigues, 1994). Although, branch managers must take into consideration the contextual circumstances in relation to the restaurant and the four contingencies outlined above to assist in determining the appropriate EIP to implement for their given work situation (Rodrigues, 1994). More specifically, formal EIP was utilised in the larger and busier restaurant branches as branch managers had less time to involve employees informally and formal EIP was the most effective way of bringing staff members up to date with important information and news (Suter Marchington 2011). On the other hand, informal EIP was utilised or practised more predominately in the smaller branch restaurants (Suter Marchington 2011). However, effective co-existence of formal and informal EIP is essential for the organisation’s long term sustainability (Denton, 1994). Informality at RestaurantCo is an effective instrument of recognising and managing employee voice (Denton, 1994). The  role of informality is to give employees an open channel for informal communications with managers, so that they can address their concerns and to give informative feedback on work related issues (Beattie, 2006). The constant changeability and flexibility of the workplace environment, illustrates the need for informal day-to-day communications in comparison to official formalised meetings with employees, which can be more costly and time consuming. Above all, the flexibility and diversity of organisational arrangements in the service industry reinforces the need for the implementation of informal EIP practices (Beattie, 2006). In summary, the RestaurantCo case study illustrated some important strengths and weaknesses in the HR management practices and organisational frameworks. Overall, several weaknesses were identified such as the need for informal relations between line managers and employees, the importance of decentralisation to enable cooperation and collaboration between branch managers and senior management through the ‘plural form’ model. Furthermore, it was exemplified that there should be a co-existence and implementation of both formal and informal EIP in the workplace. Evidently, business performance levels can be improved by balancing the dependency and autonomy of branch managers, so that they can efficiently perform to their capabilities. In conclusion, this essay highlighted some positive and negative issues regarding operational responsibilities of senior management and branch managers. References Beattie, RS 2006, Line Managers and Workplace Learning: Learning from the voluntary sector,Human Resource Developmental International, vol.9, no.1, pp. 99-119, viewed 2 Setptember 2013, Ebsco database. Bradach, JL 1997, Using the plural form in the management of restaurant chains, Administrativ.e Science Quarterly, vol.42, no.2, pp. 276-303 viewed 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Bratton, J Gold, J 2012 Human Resource Management: theory and practice, 5th edn, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Dant, RP Gundlach, GT 1998, Dependence in Franchised Channels of Distribution, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 14, pp. 35-67 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Dant, RP Nasr, NI 1998, Control techniques and upward flow of information in franchising in distant  markets:conceptualisation and preliminary evidence, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol.13, pp. 3-28 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Denton, DK 1994, Empowerment through Employee Involvement and Participation: Fords Development and Training Programs, Empowerment in Organisations: An International Journal,vol. , no.2, pp. 22-28 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Harrison, P 2011, Perspective on Practice: Learning culture, line managers and HR professional practice,Journal of European Indutrial Training ,vol. 35, no.9, pp. 914-928 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Marchington, M Kynighou, A 2012, The dynamics of employee involvement and participation during turbulent times, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol.23, no.16, pp. 3336-3354 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Michael, S C 2002, Can a franchise chain coordinate?, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol.17, pp. 325-341 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Rodrigues, CA 1994, Employee Participation and Empowerment Programs: Problems of definition and implementation,Empowerment in Organisations,vol. 2, no.2, pp. 29-40 viewed on 2 September 2013, Ebsco database. Suter, J Marchington, M 2011, ‘The role of line managers and employee voice in the restaurant industry’, in T Dundon and A Wilkinson (eds), Case studies in global management: Strategy, innovation and people management, Tilde Press, pp. 212-220

Case study: Behavioral Appearance Behavioral Appearance

Case study: Behavioral Appearance Behavioral Appearance To those who find themselves in contact with schizotypal individuals they often range appearing eccentric and aberrant to outright bizarre in their actions. Their behavior is clearly erratic. School and employment histories of these individuals show marked deficits and irregularities. Not only are they frequent dropouts, but they drift from one source of employment to another. If married, they are often separated or divorced. At times, their behavior appears eccentric, that is, they prefer social isolation and may engage in activities that other find curious. In more severe cases, their behavior may seem clearly bizarre. The presence of odd speech patterns is an example. Schizotypal individuals may verbally digress or become metaphorical in their expressions. According to the DSM-III, Often, speech shows marked peculiarities; concepts may be expressed unclearly or oddly or words used deviantly, but never to the point of loosening of associations or incoherence (American Psychiatric Association, 1980, p. 312) Interpersonal Conduct Interpersonally, schizotypals experience a life of isolation, with minimal personal attachment and obligations. As their lives progress it is not uncommon to find these individuals drifting into increasingly superficial and peripheral social and vocational roles. These individuals have virtually no close friends or confidants. They have great difficulty with face-to-face interaction. They commonly experience intense social anxiety at relatively minimal social challenge. For these reasons, we believe the interpersonal conduct of schizotypals may be categorized as ranging from being interpersonal detacted and secretive to inaccessible. Cognitive Style The cognitive style of schizotypal individuals may be ruminative and autistic in less severe variations to blatantly deranged in more severe forms of the disorder. The cognitive slippage and interference that characterize the thought processes of this disorder in its milder forms are simply amplified here. Schizotypals are frequently unable to orient their thoughts logically. They tend to become lost in a plethora of irrelevancies. Their thinking appears scattered and autistic as the disorder manifests itself in its more severe variations. According to the DSM-III, these individuals may report magical thinking (i.e., clairvoyance, telepathy, a sixth sense, or just extreme superstitious behavior). Similarly schizotypals may experience recurrent illusions where they report the presence of a person or force not actually there. Psychotic thought, when it does occur, is transient and not indicative of a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Affective Expression The deficient or disharmonious affect of many of these patients deprives them of the capacity to relate to people, places, or things as anything but flat and lifeless phenomena. Their affective expression ranges from being apathetic to insentient and deadened. On the other hand, some schizotypal individuals seem in a constant state of agitation. Their affective expression ranges from being apprehensive, perhaps even frantic in their affective expression. We will present more on these clinical variations later. Self-Perception Schizotypal individuals often view themselves as forlorn and lacking meaning in life or, in more severe cases, on introspection, they may see themselves as vacant. They may experience recurrent feelings of emptiness or of estrangement. Experiences of depersonalization and dissociation may also be present in these patients. In sum, schizotypals appear virtually self-less as they look inward towards self-appraisal. Primary Defense Mechanism The schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by extreme social and affective isolation as well as autistic and bizarre cognitive functioning. The defense mechanism commonly used by individuals who possess this disorder is undoing. Undoing is a self-purification mechanism in which individuals attempt to repent for some undesirable behavior or evil motive. In effect, undoing represents a form of atonement. In severly pathological forms, undoing may take the form of complex and bizarre rituals, or magical acts. These rituals, such as compulsive hand washing, are designed to cleanse or purify the individual. These compulsions not only cause these individuals discomfort, but they may also consciously recognize them as absurd. Nevertheless, individuals employing such a mechanism appear to have lost the ability to control these acts as well as the ability to see their real meaning. Differential Personality Diagnosis The schizotypal personality disorder is likely to be confused with another severe personality disorder, the borderline disorder. Both the schizotypal and the borderline patterns represent severe personality disorder. Furthermore, according to the present biosocial learning theory, they both emerge when the less severe personality variants decompensate. Yet, there are marked differences in these two disorders. The schizotypal disorder features schizophrenic-like symptoms. These symptoms reflect disturbances in cognitive processes. Thus, the schizotypal is characterized by perceptual pathology as well as social withdrawal and isolation. The most obvious feature of the borderline disorder, on the other hand, is instability of mood. The symptoms of the borderline reflect disturbances in affect rather than cognitive. Finally, the borderline individual is interpersonally dependent, unlike the socially isolated schizotypal. A final note should be made regarding the schizotypal disorder in contrast to the Axiz I schizophrenic disorders. Axis I disorders are characteristically more severe and of relatively shorter duration. The Axis II schizotypal disorder represents the operation of internal, ingrained, and more enduring defects in the patients personality. Although schizophrenic episodes often reflect a psychosocial stressor, the schizotypal disorder represents an underlying and persistent characterological pattern. CLINICAL VARIATIONS The description of the schizotypal personality disorder presented in the previous section portrays the generic aspects of this disorder. It is more common, however, to see the schizotypal pattern manifest itself in one of two major variations. The two major clinical variations of the schizotypal disorder are (1) the schizotypal-schizoid pattern and (2) the schizotypal-avoidant pattern. Schizotypal-Schizoid Variation Schizotypal-schizoid individuals are characteristically drab, sluggish, and inexpressive. They display a marked deficit in their affective expression and appear bland, untroubled, indifferent, and unmotivated by the outside world. Their cognitive processes seem obscure and vague. Such individuals seem unable to experience the subtle emotional aspects of social exchange. Interpersonal communications are often vague and confused. The speech pattern of these individuals tend to be monotonous, listless, or at times, inaudible. Most people consider these individuals as strange, curious, aloof, and lethargic. In effect, they become background people satisfied to live their lives in an isolated, secluded manner. Case 11.1 portrays such an individual. Schizotypal-Avoidant Variation Schizotypal-avoidant individuals are restrained and isolated. Similarly, they are apprehensive, guarded, and interpersonally withdrawing. As a protective device, they seek to eliminate their own desires and feeling for interpersonal affiliation, for they expect only rejection and pain from interacting with others. Thus, apathy, indifference, and impoverished thought, which we saw in the cognitive and affective insensitivity, is presented here as a result of an attempt to dampen an intrinsic oversensitivity. The case of Harold T. is a study of a schizotypal-avoidant individual. SELF-PERPETUATION OF THE SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY DISORDER The prognosis for the schizotypal personality disorder is perhaps the least promising of all the personality disorder discussed in this text. Let us examine why. The self-perpetuating spiral of deterioration that occurs in the schizotypal disorder is fostered by three major factors: (1) social isolation, (2) dependency training, and (3) self-insulation. Social Isolation Individuals who possess the schizotypal disorder are often segregated from social contact. They are kept at home or hospitalized with minimal encouragement to progress on a social basic. Social isolation such as this serves not to perpetuate the difficulties these individuals have with cognitive organization and social skills, but also serves to worsen the status of both. In many instances, the social isolation seems to stimulate a regression on the part of these individuals. They will tend to lose what cognitive and social abilities they may have had before the isolation. Jane W. was clearly capable of returning to society if she had been provided adequate social support. Without such support, the only option was to keep her institutionalized. Dependency Training Often found in conjunction with social isolation is the tendency on the part of those around schizotypal individuals to be overly protective. They will tend to patronize or coddle them. Such overprotection tends to reinforce dependent behavior on the part of the schizotypal. According to Millon (1981), Prolonged guidance and shielding of this kind may lead to a progressive impoverishment of competencies and self-motivation, and result in a total helplessness. Under such ostensibly good regimens, schizotypals will be reinforced to learn dependency and apathy (p. 427). Self-Insulation Finally, not only through mismanagement and neglect will the schizotypal disorder be perpetuated, but also through the tendency of these individuals to insulate themselves from outside stimulation. As we described earlier, to protect themselves from painful humiliation, rejection, or excessive demands, schizotypals have learned to withdraw from reality and disengage themselves from social life. Even though exposed to active social opportunities, most of these individuals will participate only reluctantly. They prefer to keep to themselves-to withdraw. Without active social relationships, these individuals will simply recede further into social isolation, apathy, and dependency. Thus, the disorder is perpetuated. The case of Harold T. demonstrates a condition in which his ability to insulate himself has served as an effective barrier to rehabilitation. His apathy, lack of verbal communication, and habit of drawing strange and religiouslike pictures has effectively insulated him from other and has removed any hope of improvement for almost 10 years. So, in summary, we see that through social isolation, dependency training, and self-insulation, the schizotypal disorder is perpetuated. Although the motives for socially isolating and overprotecting these individuals are usually good, that is, with best interests of the patient in mind, the tactics are actually counterproductive for they deprive the patients of the opportunity to develop social skills while reinforcing dependency. The schizotypals own tendency to insulate himself/herself from social contact serves to exacerbate the disorder even further. Such self-insulation serves to foster and further perpetuate the spiral of cognitive and social deterioration that typifies the schizotypal disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder DSM-IV Criteria A pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or perceptual distortions and accentricities of behavior, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference) Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, belief in clairvoyance, telepathy, or sixth sense; in children and adolescents, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations) Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions Odd thinking and speech (e.g., vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped) Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation Inappropriate or constricted affect Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity and tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self Reproduced with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Copyright 1994 American Psychiatric Association. Therapy The schizotypal is perhaps one of the easiest personality disorders to identify but one of the most difficult to treat with psychotherapy. The thought disorder and accompanying paranoid ideation work to distort communication between therapist and client and inhibit the formation of a trusting therapeutic alliance. Moreover, because schizotypals are inherently isolative and nonrelational, the therapist may sometimes be experienced as an intrusive presence. Because the alliance is the very foundation of therapy, medication is often needed before lasting progress can be made, especially with subjects who express the disorder severely. THERAPEUTIC TRAPS The expectations of the therapist and their influence on therapy are particularly important and may require careful monitoring. Most schizotypals initially see the therapist as attacking or humiliating (Benjamin, 1996). As anxiety increases, they may retreat further behind a curtain of disordered communication as a means of shielding themselves and confusing the intruder. Occasional retreats are universal. Therapists who become vexed when greeted with silence and emotional distancing only create an atmosphere that justifies such a reaction. Instead, the need for distance must be respected, without conveying feelings of disapproval or inducing guilt, to which many subjects are especially sensitive. Not pushing too hard or too fast can prevent severe anxiety and paranoid reactions. Extraordinary patience may be required because schizotypals repeatedly misperceive aspects of the therapeutic relationship and then act on these misperceptions. Subjects who believe they have privileged access to information beyond the five senses sometimes apply their extrasensory powers to therapy and the therapist, believing that they can read the therapists mind or arrive at conclusions about what the therapist secretly desires on the basic of tangential or irrelevant cues. Accordingly, communication should be simple, straightforward, shorn of psychological jargon, and require a minimm of inference. Schizotypals find it difficult enough to bring order to their own thoughts, much less penetrate ambiguities and double messages carelessly introduced by others. The concrete is to be preferred over the poetic because the latter is naturally rich in connotations, which play havoc with schizotypal cognition. Special attention to the countertransference is in order, for unconscious feelings emitted by the therapist bring an unknown complexity to communication and are especially likely to be misconstrued by subjects. STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES What can be done in therapy often depends on the extent to which the thought disorder intrinsic to the syndrome can be controlled. Otherwise, every aspect of therapy becomes more complicated. Further, the appropriate goals and strategies for any particular subject depend on whether his or her symptoms most resemble an exaggerated schizoid pattern, an exaggerated avoidant pattern, or a mixture of the two. Strategies and techniques appropriate for the dominant underlying personality disorder can be used to supplement the primary goals of treating the schizotypal pattern (refer to the appropriate chapter). Establishing a more normal pattern of interpersonal relationships is a primary goal of therapy. Social isolation intensifies cognitive deficits and allows social skills to atrophy. Contatc with a therapist can prevent further deterioration. Because patterns of disordered family communication typify the early developmental environment of these subjects, therapy offers the chance for a novel, corrective interpersonal relationship through steady support and euthenticity. Accordingly, as emphasized by Benjamin (1996), the basic skills of humanistic therapy, including accurate empathy, mirroring, and unconditional positive regard, become particularly important. Benjamin states that the therapeutic alliance may represent a chance to experience a nonexploitive protectiveness, one that eventually permits the schizotypal to give up management of the universe by magical means (p. 360). After an alliance has been established, subject can be encouraged to voice distortions of reality as they occur, and these can be discussed in the context of the therapeutic relationship. Benjamin (1996) further stresses that many schizotypals are likely to belive that harm may come to the therapist through their association. As such ideas are voiced, they can be tested realistically and tactfully refuted. In general, interpersonal therapy should enhance subjects sense of self-worth and encourage the realization of positive attributes, an important step in defeating detachment, rebuilding motivation, and providing confidence necessary to take the first steps toward constructive social encounters outside therapy. Because schizotypals have difficulty sorting the relevant and irrelevant in interpersonal relationships, therapists may find that much of their time is spent helping the schizotypal test interpersonal reality and gain perspective on which behaviors might be appropriate in whatever situations are current in the subjects life. Repeated discussions of essentially similar situations may be necessary, as many schizotypals fail to realize that these are but variatio ns on a theme. Basic social skills training are often helpful. Modeling behaviors provides an example that even concrete subjects can imitate. The ability to appraise interpersonal realities appropriately is an important step in decreasing social anxiety and accompanying paranoid symptoms while creating a capacity for appropriate affect and a sense of reward. From a cognitive perspective, psychotherapy must adapt to the schizotypals limited attentional resources and tendency to intrude tangential factors. Because many schizotypals are either overly concrete or overly abstract, learning may be generalized to other settings and situations only with great difficulty. Simplicity and structure help prevent the lessons of therapy from being obscured by the discombobulating effects of thought disorder. Furthermore, cognitive techniques allow the content of thought to be identified and eventually modified. This suggests that the combination of medication and cognitive therapy should be particularly effective. Writing in Beck et al. (1990), Ottaviani indicates that the first step is to identity characteristic automatic thoughts, such as, I am a nonbeing, as well as patterns of emotional reasoning and personalization, reviewed previously. Moreover, she suggests that assumptions underlying social interaction present an especially profitable avenue for change, as schizotypals usually believe that other dislike them. Subjects must be taught to act as naÃÆ'Â ¯ve scientists and test their thoughts against the evidence. Feelings do not make facts; instead, each cognition is a hypothesis and should be disregarded if found inconsistent with the objective evidence. Even bizarre thoughts can be dealt with in this way. The thought, I am leaving my body, for example, can be countered with prepared countercognitions: There I go again. Even though Im thinking this thought, it doesnt mean that its true (p. 141) Because an effective grasp of objective reality is the Catch-22 of the cognitive approach, Ottaviani further suggests that schizotypals also be taught methods for gathering contrary evidence. Subjects can list evidence inconsistent with their predictions, for example. Going beyond content, cognitive style interventions can also be made. Rambling can be countered by requests for summary statements, and global statements can be countered by asking for elaboration. Finally, where subjects are not too paranoid or bizarre, group settings can be used to practice social functioning and provide feedback about distorted cognitions. Because classical psychodynamic therapy is inherently unstructured, its use is probably not advised. As noted by Stone (1985), the purpose of psychodynamic therapy should be to internalize the therapeutic alliance. Because the early home environment of most schizotypals is likely to feature fragmented and chaotic communications, the ego boundaries of the schizotypal subject are only poorly developed. The interpretation of conflict not only disregards their desire for distance but also plays into their fear of engulfment. Accordingly, silence should be accepted as a legitimate part of the personality (Gabbard, 1994). Once this acceptance is felt, the subject may then begin to reveal hidden aspects of the self that can be adaptively integrated. Analytic procedures such as free association, the neutral attitude of the therapist, and the focus on dreams may foster an increase in autistic reveries and social withdrawal. Probably the most useful analytic suggestion comes from Rado (1959), who suggests that identifying and capitalizing on some source of pleasure, however small, is a superordinate therapeutic goal. Motivation develops from the capacity for pleasure, and ultimately, only this can balance the painful emotions, attach the schizotypal to the real world, and prevent the dissolution of the self and cognitive disintegration that results from autistic withdrawal.

The Breakdown and Restoration of Order in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth ess

The Breakdown and Restoration of Order in Macbeth   Ã‚  Ã‚   When Macbeth kills King Duncan in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, there is a breakdown of order throughout Scotland. This breakdown is evident through three main factors; within the person, mainly through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, through the kingdom and through nature. From a completely ordered nation into the depths of chaos - Scotland collapsed from the lack of strong leadership. In the end, when resolution is reached, this chaos is reversed and Scotland is restored to a peaceful nation as it was before Macbeth's reign.    Traditional Elizabethan ideologies were based on the great "Chain of Being". The people believed in an absolutely ordered universe were ranked in order of their superiority. This order corresponded with all religious beliefs and the political system. General beings were ranked in the order of: God, angels, king, man, animals, plants, inorganic material and finally chaos. When Macbeth murders Duncan, he violates this order. The king was seen to be God's representative on earth and if any rebel was to attack the king, he was seen as rebelling against or attacking God. There was a belief that God passed special powers on to all kings, as seen in Act four Scene three "he cures... the healing benediction... he hath a heavenly gift of prophecy" (lines 168-173). Macbeth does not have this divinity, as he is not the rightful king. This is one of the reasons that Scotland turns to chaos.    The evidence that the audience receives about a breakdown within a person is within Macbeth himself. After murdering Duncan, he begins to go crazy - his mind and his thoughts begin to rule him. He becomes very domineering. Macbeth... ...r breaks down the murderer, breaks down the kingdom and breaks down nature, to have Scotland in complete fear and terror. But, good wins over evil and in the end, peace is restored. The coronation of a divine king brings peace and restoration to previous chaos.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada Ltd., 1991.    Campbell, Lily B. Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes, Slaves of Passion. Gloucester: Peter Smith Publisher Inc., 1973.  Ã‚      Edwards, Terence. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Macbeth. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977.    Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚      Scott, Mark W. (Editor).   Shakespeare for Students.   Gale Research Inc. Detroit, Michigan. 1992      

Mathematics and Art Essay -- Logic, Creativity, Philosophy

Mathematics and art are two areas of knowledge that demonstrate different degrees of interaction between critical and creative thinking. Whether considering mathematics or art, creative thinking evaluates a new or original idea containing some degree of value. Critical thinking examines assumptions and challenges a current belief or theory that has previously assumed to be true. Although general assumptions and creativity may be considered separately when considering extreme examples of concrete ideas and abstract ideas, the interplay of critical and creative thinking is one method in which new and validated knowledge is attained. Mathematics is an area of knowledge that may seemingly appear to be concrete, utilizing reason as its source of knowledge. On one hand, mathematics represents learned concepts using a repetitive procedure and logic that will rarely deviate. Beginning concepts of mathematics taught in schools are concrete with fixed steps and formulas for solving problems. For example, the properties of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division yield fixed answers. Students only have to use the steps previously taught and accept them to be true to attain the correct response. Therefore, concrete concepts can only be accepted as true by using learned skills to process and generate information and belief. However, without some degree of understanding or context, the use of the skills as a repetitive â€Å"exercise† is not critical thinking because it has no meaning. It is accepted that the area of a right triangle is one half the base times the height. Reasoning can be used through the drawing of a grid and counting the squares to verify this formula. In this way, mathematics uses critical thinking to guid... ...ture, for example, buildings, bridges, and structures are taller, more energy efficient, and able to utilize previously impossible designs because the interplay of critical thinking and creative thinking has yielded new techniques. These three fields each utilize mathematics and art to generate the latest knowledge. Knowledge can be generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking. Critical and creative thinking are both needed in different ways to create new ideas that are verifiable and credible. Ideas and interpretations that have been generated through advancements in math and the arts demonstrate that both critical thinking and creative thinking are needed to generate new knowledge. As a result, the questioning of established beliefs along with the creation of new ideas will yield beneficial knowledge to the world and its learners.

The Hero and Anti-Hero in Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness Essay

The Hero and Anti-Hero in Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness In studying Joseph Conrad's, The Heart of Darkness, many critics dwell on the issue of heroism. Who is the hero, Marlow or Kurtz? It is clear that both Marlow and Kurtz are the protagonists of the story; however, protagonist and hero are not always synonymous. Marlow is the hero in the traditional sense of the word, while Kurtz is the more modern hero, often referred to as the anti-hero. Marlow starts out as just as everyman, trying to put some bread on the table. His original plans were setting out to make money, but his journey turns into so much more. His expedition turns into a quest to find and save Kurtz, and to understand the people so many were prejudice against. Despite the opinion of certain critics, Conrad did not create Marlow to be a prejudice character. One of his first Marlow?s first Reactions to the villagers is the exact opposite, ?They were not enemies they were not criminals(Conrad, 189) While his initial response may not seem altogether accepting, it is far beyond the understanding of his peers. As the story continues Marlow is slightly sarcastic in his understanding of the villagers, ?Fine fellows-Cannibals-in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face? (189)? Marlow shows his ability to be sarcastic in the face of popular criticism, even making the mold step to refer to these African?s as ?Fine Fellows?(189), ?They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of they humanity-like yours-the thought of your remote kinship with this wild(189) Although the natives... ...s to look at Kurtz as a hero for all that he had accomplished, no matter how evil. Marlow?s obstacles as the hero are not the overcoming of a dragon or evil villain. It is the eternal battle of the story of a Hero versus Antihero. Marlow?s blindness to Kurtz?s impurities are both his strength and weakness. His ignorance to the greatness of his own qualities can best be stated one way: ?The Horror.? Works Cited page Conrad, Joseph ?The Heart Of Darkness? Schwarz, Danie Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991 Dean, Leonard Fellows Heart of darkness. Backgrounds and criticisms Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1962,c1960 ?The Gallery of Antiheroes and Villains? Flowerstorm 2004 www.flowerstorm.net/disa/Gallery/anti-explain.html ?The Existential page? Connect 2004 www.connect.net