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Hewlett Packard: Porters Five Forces, SWOT and PEST
Hewlett Packard: Porters Five Forces, SWOT and PEST 1.0 Background The association being picked to do such change process examination ...
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
ââ¬ÅA Proud-Acting Bunchââ¬Â The Issues of Suburbanization and...
America experienced an explosive period of suburbanization after World War II. The suburban ââ¬Å"home represented a source of meaning and securityâ⬠(May 24) to those seeking refuge and comfort after a tumultuous time of war. Among those migrating from the cities to the suburbs were middle-class African Americans, who sought a suburban life that both ââ¬Å"express[ed] and reinforce[d] their newly won social position.â⬠(Wiese 101) However, this middle-class migration from urban areas left behind working class African Americans such as the Younger family of Lorraine Hansberryââ¬â¢s 1959 play ââ¬Å"A Raisin in the Sun.â⬠While the Younger family of ââ¬Å"A Raisin in the Sunâ⬠finally realize the suburban dream of a home with ââ¬Å"three bedroomsâ⬠¦ and a nice big basementâ⬠â⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦This particular group found themselves left behind in inner-city housing, as middle class African Americans moved further away for the suburbs. For this growing middle class, ââ¬Å"physical separation from poor and working-class blacks was an important emblem of class status.â⬠(Wiese 116) This reinforcement of class differences implied which ââ¬Å"rights that each group should enjoy.â⬠(Wiese 118) Lorraine Hansberry illustrates these supposed ââ¬Å"rightsâ⬠and class conflicts through the characters of the middle class George Murchison and the working class Mrs. Johnson. Hansberry uses the character of George Murchison to emphasize the growing gap between middle and working class African Americans during the post-war period of suburbanization. Before George Murchison appears in the play, he is described by Beneatha Younger as ââ¬Å"so shallowâ⬠(Hansberry 48). His family is ââ¬Å"honest-to-God-real-live-rich colored peopleâ⬠(Hansberry 49) who are ââ¬Å"more snobbishâ⬠(Hansberry 49) than their wealthy white counterparts. Even so, Beneatha admits to liking George, but not enough to ââ¬Å"really be seriousâ⬠(Hansberry 48) about a possible romantic relationship. Although never explicitly stated in the play, one can surmise that Beneatha
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Essay about The Deeper Meaning of Christopher Marlowes...
The Deeper Meaning of Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus I do not agree with the frequently repeated comment that Doctor Faustus is an anti-intellectualist play that preaches that curiosity is dangerous. It is all too easy to see Faustus as the scholar, seeking knowledge, and his desire for knowledge that leads to his downfall. To confine the play to something so narrow is to ignore the deeper meaning behind the play. I believe that this deeper meaning is more important than the superficial idea that curiosity is wrong. I believe that the deeper meaning behind the play is the idea that in loosing sight of the spiritual level of existence, we loos sight of God. In doing so, we can no longer see Gods mercy and love, and so ignoreâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦It has been said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely - this is what has happened to Faustus. He ceases to be the seeker of knowledge, but becomes a seeker of pleasure. One of the first things he wants is a wife: ... but leaving off this, let me have a wife, the fairest maid in Germany, for I am wanton and lascivious, and cannot live without a wife. Scene 5, lines 139-141 This marks the descent of Faustus from the intellectual seeking pleasures of the mind, to the hedonist seeking more sensual pleasures. It is not for being intellectual that we start to dislike Faustus, but for the numerous foolish and irrelevant displays of his power that he undertakes, and eventually his pride. This is exemplified by the sharp contrast between Faustus intentions at the beginning of the play, and the deeds he performs during the play: Ill have them read me strange philosophy, And tell the secrets of all foreign kings. Scene 1, lines 86-8 Instead of doing things like this, he squanders his power. It is his decision to indulge in, as Bentham was later to call them, lower pleasures that illustrates the falsity of the claim that Doctor Faustus is anti-intellectual. If this play were meant to be anti-intellectualist, then the scenes toward the middle of the play that involve Faustus attacking the pope, or summoning AlexanderShow MoreRelatedChristopher Marlowe Protests: The Moral of Doctor Faustus Essay883 Words à |à 4 PagesWhen Doctor Faustus was written, there was turmoil in Elizabethan society. The old medieval view made God the most important aspect of the world, while mankind and the natural world were ignored. This was giving way to the idea that mankind and the natural world were supreme. At first glance, it seems that Doctor Faustus was written with the medieval ideal in mind, however, I believe this is not so. I believe that Marlowe subscribed to the renaissance view of the world, and Doctor Faustus was inten dedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Play Everyman 1275 Words à |à 6 Pagesinvolved every person whoââ¬â¢s ever thought about the meaning of life. Similarly, we can also see the shadow of a philosophical trace in Christopher Marloweââ¬â¢s play, Doctor Faustus. The play personifies good and evil. The devil will fight for the soul of human beings, while our soul remain indecisive. Soon after, high lights appeared in the instance when the soul makes a decision. Even though both works are excellent, but I fell that Dr. Faustus made a bigger impact on me. Although both work revolvedRead MoreThe Tragical History Of Doctor Faustus1991 Words à |à 8 Pagesââ¬Å"The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus,â⬠or ââ¬Å"Doctor Faustus,â⬠is a tragedy, written by Christopher Marlowe, which conveys the heavy use of symbolism and allusions to illustrate the conflict between good and evil during a time of rebirth in England. This play was first performed sometime between 158 8 and 1593, and published sometime in the early 1600s and is based on the protagonist, Faustus, who originates from a classic oral German legend. ââ¬Å"Doctor Faustusâ⬠is one of the first of many publications
Monday, December 9, 2019
Thomson Holidays Need to Develop Strategies
Question: Describe about the Case Study for Thomson Holidays Need to Develop Strategies. Answer: Introduction: This particular study provides an in-depth insight on the essence of effective marketing management structure within an organization. Marketing management is a systematic process that controls the entire process of business by designing, planning and analysing various activities in order to reach the target audience. An effective marketing management structure is very important in order to run an organization successfully. By implementing effective marketing management, the organization gets the scope to know their position in the market. Moreover, the organization can be aware of competitors business strategy and policy for generating the demand in market. As per the competitors strategy, the organization likes to change their marketing management policy so that they can throw a challenge can generate demand in the market by defeating the competitors. This particular study has focused to choose Thomsons Holidays Travel Group, one of the most popular travel operators, founded in the year 1965. Roy Thomson is the founder of this particular company, based on Toronto. Coming from a backward society, Roy Thomson was initially an owner of Radio station. He has followed every step of business strategy and policy skilfully and finally established a travel operating company named Thomsons Holidays Travel Group. After implementing innovative marketing management strategy and policy, this particular company has achieved a huge success among the travelling organizations. Now, Thomsons Holidays Travel Group is able to receive international glory and success by expanding their business in the multinational countries. For that purpose, various situation analysis of this particular organization, their objectives regarding effective marketing management system, their marketing mix strategy have been pointed out. Figure1: Logo of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group (Source: thomson.co.uk 2016) Situation Analysis based on Thomas Holidays Travel Group: Situation analysis allows the marketing managers to implement various methods into the process of business so that they can understand and analyse the internal and the external environment of the organization (Beverland et al. 2010). By implementing various theatrical models as well as framework, marketing managers are able to understand how the organization should proceed in order to communicate with the customers by providing them quality product and service for satisfying their needs and demand. The marketing mangers of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group have decided to follow situation analysis based on Michael Porters five forces, SWOT analysis and PESTEL analysis. Porters five forces: The business analysis framework of porters five forces is one of the effect tools for understanding a business situation. With the help of this particular model, Thomsons Holidays Travel Group is able to understand the competitive situation and the position of their brand in the market. Poters five forces models is based on based on five key elements based on which this particular organization is able to realize their actual position in the market and their areas of improvement in marketing strategy in order to survive in the travel industry (De Chernatony 2010). Thomsons Holidays Travel Group has enhanced their marketing management strategy by using Porters five forces. Porters five forces Key points Supplier Power The bargaining power of the suppliers is high Supplies of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group are able to create market urgency. Buyer Power The bargaining power of the buyers are low Consumers intend to drive down product. As a result, they are able to purchase product in low prices. As the competitors market of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group is high, the managers have decided to allow the customers for diving down the cost of their product so that they can show their interest to purchase the product. Competitive Rivalry Competitors rivalry implies the capability of the competitors for creating demand in the market. Thomsons Holidays Travel Group have many competitors such as Carrier Holidays, Ampersand Travel, Expedia UK, Divequest and so on. This particular organization has to face many challenges in order to maintain their image in the travel industry As the position of the competitors of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group, the marketing managers have to change their business strategy and policy. Threat for Substitution It is very easy for the customers to switch their decision for purchasing their product from one organization to its substitutes or to the competitors. In order to overcome this sort of threats, Thomsons Holidays Travel Group has planned to implement some innovative strategies in their service qualities for drawing the attention of the customers. Threat of New entry Thomsons Holidays Travel Group has been established their business in 1965 This specific organization has to face immense challenges thrown by the competitors in order to survive in the travel industry. After that, the marketing managers of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group have decided to follow effective promotional activity mentioning their quality service and product by utilizing the popularity of media. Table 1: Situation analysis on Porters five forces (Source: Hutt and Speh 2012) Figure 2: Porters five forces (Source: Johanson and Mattsson 2012) PESTEL Analysis: With the help of a PESTEL analysis, the marketing managers are able to analyse the external environment and factors of a business process that affect highly in order to maintain a rhythmic flow of an organization. The factors that have a greater impact on the marketing business policy of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group are as follows: Political: The political environment of UK supports Thomsons Holidays Travel Group to run their business systematically. Thomas Holidays Group tends to perform their business following the systematic manner. One of the major aspects followed by the organization is their participations in forming the marketing policies with help of rules and regulations imposed by the government. These regulations include social welfare policies, environmental policies, trading policies, etc. Economic: The economic status of UK at the current scenario is high that helps various tourism companies including Thomsons Holidays Travel Group to expand their business process (Kapferer 2012). In a market research made by the marketing managers of this specific organization, it has been observed that the average income of the target customers of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group allows purchasing the product of this company. From the report published in the previous year, it has been observed that the current state of UK economy is feasible, thus, it provides sustainability to the tourism organization in the dynamic environment. It has been observed that Thomson Holidays Group insists on some particular factors like taxation policies, marketing trade cycles and overseas financial trends and policies of unemployment for deriving supremacy in the competitive market. Social: As Thomsons Holidays Travel Group has implemented diversity management inside the organization, they have chosen their target customers beyond going any geographical boundary and any particular religion and culture. As a result, this organization would not give any priority to the specific society. Automatically, the number of customers would increase in order to purchase their product. In addition, it has been identified that due to the increasing popularity in the market, the buying behaviour of the customers get influenced and purchase the products and services. Technological: UK being a developed country is possessed with the technological advancements with the help of which Thomsons Holidays Travel Group is able to make effective marketing mix strategy inside the business. In addition, based on current report it is identified that as the country UK is a developing nation, the technological innovation helps the organization to satisfy the requirements of the customers in an effective manner. The marketing managers of the organization take the help of social media to assess the significant information regarding the customers. Lastly, with the help of public forum and the influence of social media Thomson Group of Holidays increase the profit margin. Environmental: As the organization Thomson Holidays Group is running the business in tourism sector, the natural disasters and changes in the climate could slow down the business of the company. Nevertheless, it can be added that environmental situation is not entirely possible to predict. Thomson Holidays is not in the state of dealing with the changes in climate. Legal: Some of the relevant legislations like health and safety act, right to information act, data protection act should be maintain at the workplace so that both the employees and the customers of Thomsons Holidays Travel Group can take an effective legal steps if required (Peter 2010). Figure 3: PESTEL analysis (Source: Kotler and Armstrong 2010) SWOT Analysis: By conducting SWOT analysis, the organization like Thomsons Holidays Travel Group is able to understand different factors like the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats. Through the implementation of SWOT analysis, it has been identified that organization maintains an effective customer services systems. The organization analyzes the feedbacks provided by the customers. Based on the analysis, they do further modifications in the services. The customers complaints are recorded and thereafter speedy solutions are provided. On the other side, the managers of Thomson Holidays Group have poor decision making skills; thus, they fail in implementing the global strategies like expanding the business and setting pricing strategies. In addition, the promotional strategies are not effective enough to gain popularity in global market. On the other hand, the organization has the opportunity to expand the business in global market as it takes the franchises. Unlike the opportunities, Thomson Group has to deal with some external and internal threats like aggressive marketing strategies and poor experience of employees in using the technologies. Strength Effective customer service system Direct marketing Providing effective feedback to the customers queries and needs Weakness Communication gap inside the marketing management team Lack of effective decision making Opportunity Expanding business in the international field with the help of changing business policy Threat Competitors market strategy Becoming unaccustomed with the changing technology Table 2: SWOT Analysis (Source: Michaelidou et al. 2011) Figure 4: SWOT Analysis (Source: Moutinho 2011) Different objectives of Thomson Holiday Group Thomsons Holiday Group intends to implement an effective marketing management plan for reaching several objectives (Mudie and Pirrie 2012). The purpose of setting an objective is to promote the product of this organization to the target customers directly. Objectives have been made following the Smart Model: Specific To enhance the sale of tourism package by next year Measureable To expand the business in the global market in next two years Attainable To initiate five innovative strategy for providing effective service to the customers within next years Relevant To maintain the loyalty of the brand by interacting with the customers more effectively in future Times bound To increase the margin of profit by selling more products in the coming years As per the statistical data available in the official website of Thomson holiday, it has been observed that the monthly income of almost fifty percent customers of Thomson holidays is more that 50,000 per year. As a result, they have made their holiday packages based on the target customers. In order to create a market demand Thomson holidays has launched a sensatori resort surrounded with swimming suits. As per the survey report made by Thomson holiday group in the year 2009, it has been pointed out that people have considered the holiday destinations as a part of their necessity rather than luxury (thomson.co.uk 2016). Identifying Segment, targeting and positioning: While running business in a competitive market, it is necessary for the organization to target a particular audience for its specific products and services. From the researches done on the markets, it has been observed that target audience of a particular products and services are not alike. The market could differ with respect to demographic, attitude, needs, social affiliation and location. However, as mentioned by Kaynak et al. (2010) most of the markets are made of different types of customers, segments or sub-market. In addition, it has also been identified that segmentation and targeting of buyers could allow the market to provide a product and service within a target audience requirements and demands. Thus, it is compulsory for the organization to form the needs and values of target audience within each segment while promoting products or launching a new product in the market (Saraniemi and Kylnen, 2010). Geographic Segmentation: This segmentation may require the organization to divide the market into several geographical units like region, states, neighborhoods and states. Thomson Holidays is known as worldwide travel retailer and it provides services to people around the globe. Thus, the organization needs to separate its customers into multiple groups in accordance to different countries regions. Thus, the organization could meet needs and demands of customers. In addition, from the previous annual report, it is identified that the organization has experienced a considerable amount of growth due to its strategies implementation in terms of meeting the needs of customers as stated by Alebaki and Iakovidou (2011). Therefore, it can be added that the organization may not find it difficult to develop its service geographically. Demographic Segmentation: In this particular segmentation, the market is divided into several groups based on different variables such as gender, age, and family life cycle, disposal income (Hinch and Higham 2011). The organization is more concerned with dividing its market demographically. Thus, it can be added that Thomson Holidays could attract all people and it must have to consider some of its services meet the needs of both men and women. In addition, the company has to design its services on the culture of modern families that have the tendency to travel the world. On the other side, it has to develop its products and services on the trends of retired people. The retired people could choose large packages for their families (Inoue and Lee 2011). Therefore, the organization needs should provide more options in the packages for those people. Psychographic Segmentation: As mentioned by Ashworth and Page (2011) this segmentation could divide the customers into various groups based on social class, lifestyle and personality characteristics. This can be appropriately observed while running the business globally. The life style of people may differ based on the society, class, education, generation, etc. It has been analyzed that due to multiple economic states people prefer to differentiate the benefits, which could be a significant factor for Thomas Holidays in terms of designing the travel types. For example, it can be added that organization needs to design the pricing structure based on preference of people. Furthermore, it can be added organization could use premium pricing strategies for its products and services for the people of UK as the country has stable economy. Thus, the people of UK maintain a trendy life style (Pesonen et al.2011). Behavioural segmentation: This segmentation could divide the customers based on their experience, knowledge, attitude, reaction to a product, etc. For example, it can be mentioned that some people could like to shop in metropolis. On the contrary, other people may like to have some rest in countryside (Assaker et al. 2011). Therefore, the organization Thomson Holidays should have to project travel routes for different types of people. In addition, it can also be added that while offering the services to knowledgeable people, it is necessary for the organization to charge equal prices for the packages. The experienced people could switch to other luxury brands due to issue of pricing. On this particular context, Thomson Holidays could provide some additional deals and offers with the same packages for these experienced customers. Targeting: Thomson Holidays have segregated the target customers in two categories that include differentiated and undifferentiated. Differentiated customers are those who have been provided primary importance as their target audience. For This particular organization like Thomson Holidays, differentiated customers are family members, retired persons mainly. As per their experience through the market survey, family members pay attention for going various holiday destinations for spending their leisure. Moreover, retired persons have also been treated with equal priority as they wish to enjoy the beauty of nature after their retirement. Among the undifferentiated target customers, Thomson has paid their attention to newly married couple, young generations, friend circles, middle-aged persons and so on. Positioning: Thomson holiday group is eager to provide a good service to the customers. For that purpose, they wish to position their brand in such a way that it can easily draw the attention of the customers. In order to position their brand in the market Thomson holidays has primarily focused on three factors that include Quality, price and premium. They have intended to focus on the quality of the product. Customers have been offered quality product with effective services in order to draw the attention of the customers. While promoting the brand in the market, the marketing managers of Thomson holidays have decided to mention their process of customer service system and the ingredients of their product to create a market demand. Thomson holidays has intended to set the price package for both the customers such as premium customers and lower customers. The target group of this particular organization is very high. They are enough successful to draw the attention of the diverse people. They have selected their target group beyond going any specific geographical boundary. Therefore, different price package systems have been prepared for the people. They can purchase the product as per their economic strength. On the other hand, the overarching term premium signifies the level of giving priority. The premium clients for this particular organization are family and retired persons. They have provided various discounts in their family holiday package so that the organization can easily draw the attention of the customers. Utilizing the popularity of media, this particular organization is able to draw the attention of the customers by positioning their brands and services in electronic media, print media as well as new media. Figure 5: Financial position of Thomson holidays (Source: thomson.co.uk 2016) Marketing Mix strategy of Thomson Holiday Group It is evident that marketing in tourism is slightly different than other market among different. In travelling industry, the major aim of tourism is the production and placement of services to meet the broad range of customers around the globe as mentioned by Good allss and Ashworth (2013). It needs to facilitate the exchange technique on the tourism business. Another significant thing, which needs to be considered in tourism marketing, is, final products do not have the physical product but it could be consumed at the time of production. This could lead to some certain benefits, which may be tangible and intangible for the customers. Figure 6: 7Ps of marketing of Thomson Holidays (Source: Morrison 2013) Product: It has been observed that tourism product is a set of complex activities like different physical resources, activities and service. For example, it can be added that the organization Thomson Groups could focus on the destination attractiveness. They should focus on natural and social characteristic of destination. They could aim the places like Maldives where they could add additional features like the honeymoon package, retirement package, and seasonal packages at less cost, which is slightly lower than competitors are. In addition, the organization Thomson Holidays needs to widen the types of tourism like adding medical tourism, urban tourism, and culture tourism. However, it has been observed that competitors in the industry are more focused on in expanding the types of products. On this particular context, the organization Thomson Holidays needs to provide some additional benefits like giving free transportation around the place the customers choose for travelling. In addition, i n some of the packages, they need to provide food and beverage at free of cost. Price of the products: As argued by Morrison (2013) pricing of tourism of products is one of the difficult tasks to be performed. It is evident that under the state of competition, it will not be a smart approach to set high price for the products and services. In this particular case, the organization Thomson Holidays should charge the price of the products by analyzing the cost of running the business, intention to pay the demand and price of the competitors in the industry. Therefore, the organization should implement rack rate pricings strategies, on which they could charge the price based on the promotional materials without discounts. For example, in Asian market, especially in the countries like China, the price of seasonal product in urban tourism should be around $400-$600. However, while setting the price for these of products, the organization should be aware of fact that price has to cover production price and ensure benefits. Promotion: Bornhorst et al. (2010) commented that promotion is considered to provide support for the placement of product in the tourism industry and it could create awareness about the products. Therefore, it can be mentioned that goal of promotional mix is to provide an effective image of the tourism product to potential customers. The organization Thomson Holidays could participate in trade fair in different countries to convey the message about their products and services. Moreover, the company could collaborate with airline organizations, where they identify types of customers and their background. Based on the identifications they could develop the products and service. Lastly, the company could focus on the advertising strategies for promoting their products and services. Positioning: Product positioning is also one of the tricky tasks to be performed. Positioning of products is quite similar to distribution of product as mentioned by Keller et al. (2011). On this context, Thomson Holidays needs to provide the information about its products through different channels like trade show, reseller, and website pages. In addition to all these, they could focus on a particular place like China, Maldives, Malaysia and other Asian countries where the countrys economy is stabilized. People: The organization in tourism industry could focus on different types of people. As the organization Thomson Holidays is running the business globally, they should focus on the people like honeymoon couples, retired person, sports person, employees, etc. Process: Thomson Holidays could make an easier process, which customer could find it easy to access in terms of choosing destinations. The company should effectively develop its website portal where the customers could visit the page, access the flight details and airlines the sends the bookings reference and lastly the customers could catch the flight on time. Physical evidence: As discussed earlier, Thomson Holidays could provide all its information regarding the products and services on its website. The information like, transport cost, food cost, images of places, security, etc. Thus, the customers could be free from the risks. Figure 7: Top ten holiday destinations offered by Thomson holidays travels (Source: thomson.co.uk 2016) Recommendation: Based on the discussion on existing researches, it has been observed that Thomsons strategies are not as effective as its competitors are. With the development of products, the company also needs to focus on developing the pricing strategies. As the rivals use aggressive pricing strategies, the Thomson Holidays needs to focus on penetrative pricing strategies for increasing market share. Conclusion: On the completion of the assignment, it can be mentioned that Thomson Holidays need to develop strategies since they run the business in dynamic market, where the economy of the countries could change with situation. In addition, the organization needs to widen its product ranges that meet the needs and demands of customers. They should implement the pricing strategies based on the demands as high price in the state of uncertain economy could throw a decline in the profits. Reference List: Alebaki, M. and Iakovidou, O., 2011. Market segmentation in wine tourism: A comparison of approaches.Tourismos,6(1), pp.123-140. Ashworth, G. and Page, S.J., 2011. Urban tourism research: Recent progress and current paradoxes.Tourism Management,32(1), pp.1-15. Assaker, G., Vinzi, V.E. and OConnor, P., 2011. Examining the effect of novelty seeking, satisfaction, and destination image on tourists return pattern: A two factor, non-linear latent growth model.Tourism Management,32(4), pp.890-901. Beverland, Michael, and Adam Lindgreen 2010. "What makes a good case study? A positivist review of qualitative case research published in Industrial Marketing Management, 19712006."Industrial Marketing Management39.1 (2010), pp.56-63. Bornhorst, T., Ritchie, J.B. and Sheehan, L., 2010. Determinants of tourism success for DMOs destinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders' perspectives.Tourism management,31(5), pp.572-589. De Chernatony, L., 2010.Creating powerful brands. Routledge. Goodall, B. and Ashworth, G. eds., 2013.Marketing in the Tourism Industry (RLE Tourism): The Promotion of Destination Regions. Routledge. Hinch, T. and Higham, J., 2011.Sport tourism development(Vol. 13). Channel view publications. Hutt, M. and Speh, T., 2012.Business marketing management: B2B. Cengage Learning. Inoue, Y. and Lee, S., 2011. Effects of different dimensions of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance in tourism-related industries. Tourism Management, 32(4), pp.790-804. Johanson, J. and Mattsson, L.G. 2012. Marketing investments and market investments in industrial networks.International Journal of Research in Marketing,2(3), pp.185-195. Kapferer, J.N., 2012.The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers. Kaynak, E., Bloom, J. and Leibold, M., 2010. Using the Delphi technique to predict future tourism potential.Marketing Intelligence Planning,12(7), pp.18-29. Keller, K.L., Parameswaran, M.G. and Jacob, I. 2011.Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India. Keller, K.L., Parameswaran, M.G. and Jacob, I., 2011.Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India. Kotler, P., and Armstrong, G. 2010.Principles of marketing. pearson education. Lee, K. and Carter, S., 2011. Global marketing management.Strategic Direction,27(1). Pp.90-100. Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N.T. and Christodoulides, G., 2011. Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands.Industrial Marketing Management,40(7), pp.1153-1159. Morrison, A.M., 2013.Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge. Moutinho, L. ed., 2011.Strategic management in tourism. CABI. Mudie, P. and Pirrie, A., 2012.Services marketing management. Routledge. Pesonen, J., Komppula, R., Kronenberg, C. and Peters, M., 2011. Understanding the relationship between push and pull motivations in rural tourism.Tourism Review,66(3), pp.32-49. Peter W. 2010. "A review of portfolio planning models for industrial marketing and purchasing management."European Journal of marketing 243 (1990), pp.7-22. Saraniemi, S. and Kylnen, M., 2010. Problematizing the concept of tourism destination: An analysis of different theoretical approaches.Journal of Travel Research. thomson.co.uk (2016). Thomson | Holidays designed for you. Only from Thomson. [online] Available at: https://www.thomson.co.uk [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Nsu Financial Aid free essay sample
Financial Aid system of INS is one way good that it asks all information in the application form regarding academic performances and family income so that they can select both categories of students as merit-based and need-based as per detailed family Income. Generally the seats reserved for scholarships are very few. So naturally, there is a high competition. For example, the University of Hull has just one seat for 100% Financial Aid and students literally fight for that.But in ANSI, reprovingly, students just keep getting this benefit. To my knowledge, at least 6 students from our 1 03/111 ABA batch alone are enjoying Financial Aid ranging from 25% to 100%. On the other hand, universities of abroad have some facilities like loan-based financial aid in addition to merit-based scholarship and need-based financial aid to support their students. Talking about our home universities-most of them do give waivers based on academics.For example, in a certain university I would have got 75% scholarship based on my academic results, but for its continuation, I need to maintain a CAP of at least 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Nsu Financial Aid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 75. Whereas in NUNS, you need to maintain a CAP of think 3. 3 for Financial Aid based on Admission Exams and 2. 75 for the applied one. On the contrary, ANSI Financial Aid committee actually wants to give Financial Aid to more students with easier conditions. Our authorities actually make it very easy to maintain. For example, to maintain 25% financial aid, shall have to.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
The Dystopian of Technology Essays
The Dystopian of Technology Essays The Dystopian of Technology Essay The Dystopian of Technology Essay Chloe Fenney Dr. Holland English IV AP: 1 11/15/11 The Dystopian of Technology As a human species, we are wired to survive. In the beginning, survival was simple; all we needed were the elements of nature and a few tools that abled us to obtain these essentials. Naturally, as we evolved so did our technological advancements. As time passes, the fine line between ââ¬Å"needsâ⬠and ââ¬Å"wantsâ⬠starts to become unrecognizable. We have progressed to an age where complicated is the new simple and we have created a mindless routine of more taking and less giving. Superficial factors, born from our innovations, cloud our judgment and have detached us from healthy influences, including thoughts and emotion. Growing technology has fueled the fire for the need of an easier life with instant pleasures, and distanced individuals from becoming independent and excelling intellectually, spiritually, and practically. The essential purpose for technology is to make oneââ¬â¢s life easier. Many modernizations have created a nasty habit for humankind to think that things should naturally come trouble-free. This starts to not only relate with physical labor, but emotional problems as well. With this strive for instantaneous gratification; the absence of struggles can lead to self-destructive behavior. The saying, ââ¬Å"What doesnââ¬â¢t kill me makes me stronger,â⬠expresses the theme of overcoming basic realities and unpleasant aspects of life can make an individual tougher as a result. In Ray Gradburyââ¬â¢s novel, ââ¬Å"Fareheight 451â⬠, the character Mildred is the perfect example of what happens when those feelings are oppressed. After attempting to commit suicide, Mildred has forgotten the whole event the next day and goes back to being consumed with the television and radio. Her feelings may be hidden away, but they have not disappeared and will most likely surface again. The one factor that makes a task easier is by making it go by faster. Our society is addicted to living fast-paced lives and getting as many things done as possible. There was a period where life was unhurried and time was not as well defined. As Geoffrey Godbey put it, Technology promised to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovationand the millisecond processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstophave compressed our perception of time,â⬠With the advancement of technology our perception of time has changed. Our lives have become rushed, and things like work have rolled over personal activities and become our number one priority. With our energy and thoughts going towards things like our careers, not only do we not have time to spend with whomever is closets to us, there is rare occurrence throughout the day where one can think in depth about important matters whether It be personal or have to do with our whole population. In effect, there is no time to grow as a society. Another effect of technology is the rise of superficiality and decline of individuality. With the technology we have today, the spreading of concepts is rapid and effortless. Unfortunately, the ideas floating around are shallow and artificial. We have the wrong image of beauty, we believe the more we have the happier we will be, and our time is spent trying to live the lives of those we see in the media on TV, instead of living our own. The worst part about these philosophies is there is very little variability. Every day it seems as everyone wants more of the same things and uniqueness is lost. The constitution states, ââ¬Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happinessâ⬠(US Declaration Ind. We may be created equal, but we have the right to be different from the crowd. If there is no one to lead the way, or stand out from the crowd how can we grow? ââ¬Å"The most dangerous enemy of truth and freedomthe solid unmoving cattle of the majority. â⬠(Radbury,108) The promotion of individuality can keep us moving forward, verses uniformity keeping us stuck . This frivolity reflects in the technology through shows and movies we watch. As we gaze at movie stars living unrealistic lives, we desire to be like them. This desire creates confusion between what is real and what is not. Technology disconnects us from truth and we use this to escape the hardships of reality instead of facing them. Once you are trapped it is hard to escape the concern of surface appearances, fame, and sensationalism. This ââ¬Å"fakenessâ⬠also can affect relationships. With the rise of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, there is a weakening in human contact. Communication is now done through messaging, comments, status updates, and most of all texting. Thirty Eight percent of college students cannot go 10 minutes without switching on some sort of electronic device. Students were asked to not use Media for twenty four hours. A large percentage of the students experienced symptoms similar to drug and alcohol withdrawalâ⬠(Dunn) Our nation, especially the younger generation, is addicted to technology and using it to communicate. With this addiction, there is an elimination of real interaction replac ed with superficial consultation. The most forbidding consequence of our developing technology is our ignorance developing more than our knowledge. The truth is elusive, and hard to grasp especially when technology can help spark false ideas and ways of thinking. In the movie ââ¬Å"Minority Report,â⬠a new system is created that helps the government foresee murders and stop them from happening. The crime rate drops 100 percent, so no questions are asked. The protagonist of the story John Anderson says, ââ¬Å"There hasnt been a murder in 6 years. Theres nothing wrong with the system, it is perfect. (ââ¬Å"Minority Report. â⬠) As the movie goes on, Andersonââ¬â¢s ignorance, along with the societyââ¬â¢s, is proven when there is a discovery to be an ironic flaw, the murder of a woman paving the way to the systemââ¬â¢s success. Everyone was so blinded by the advancement, that there was no questions asked about how it came about. The abandonment of debate and interrogation can be extremely dangerous. Challenging ideas keeps things from being hidden away and society moving forward without any false positives. As a human race we started off with barely anything. We have built our ways up to be dominating forces with the will to survive anything. Technology has been a driving force in this effort. Improvements have done the impossible, ignited many inspiring events and movements throughout history, and pushed us as a civilization beyond our limits. As in many great things, there are flaws. Technology distances us from what is real in our lives, including things both painful and pleasurable. It takes away emotion and feeling and replaces it with superficial aspects of life. Fortunately, we do have the choice and the power to stop it. John M. Grohol says ââ¬Å"Our brains on technology will take time to adapt, to learn and to grow. Most of us will find a way to integrate technology - such as the Internet or whatever new mobile phone comes out - in beneficial ways in our lives. But for some of us, itââ¬â¢ll take a little more time and skills learningâ⬠The nature of technology is positive and negative, beneficial and manipulative; it takes mankindââ¬â¢s determination and patience to go against the flaws of technology, and find meaningful ways to live.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
The Quest for the Source of the Nile
The Quest for the Source of the Nile In the mid-nineteenth century, European explorers and geographers were obsessed with the question: where does the Nile River begin? Many considered it to be the greatest geographic mystery of their day, and those who sought it became household names. Their actions and the debates that surrounded them intensified public interest in Africa and contributed to the colonization of the continent. The Nile River The Nile River itself is easy to trace. It runs northward from the city of Khartoum in Sudan through Egypt and drains into the Mediterranean. It is created, though, from the confluence of two other rivers, The White Nile and the Blue Nile. By the early nineteenth century, European explorers had shown that the Blue Nile, which supplies much of the water for the Nile, was a shorter river, arising only in neighboring Ethiopia. From then forward, they fixed their attention on the mysterious White Nile, which arose much further south on the Continent. A Nineteenth-Century Obsession By the mid-nineteenth century, Europeans had become obsessed with finding the source of the Nile. In 1857, Richard Burton and John Hannington Speke, who already disliked each other, set out from the east coast to find the much-rumored source of the White Nile. After several months of acrimonious travel, they discovered Lake Tanganyika, though reportedly it was their headman, a former slave known as Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who first spotted the lake (Bombay was essential to the success of the trip in many ways and went on to manage several European expeditions, becoming one of the many career headmen on whom explorers heavily relied.) As Burton was ill, and the two explorers were constantly locking horns, Speke proceeded north on his own, and there found Lake Victoria. Speke returned triumphantly, convinced he had found the source of the Nile, but Burton dismissed his claims, beginning one of the most divisive and public disputes of the age. The public at first strongly favored Speke, and he was sent on a second expedition, with another explorer, James Grant, and nearly 200 African porters, guards, and headmen. They found the White Nile but were unable to follow it up to Khartoum. In fact, it was not until 2004 that a team finally managed to follow the river from Uganda all the way to the Mediterranean. So, once again Speke returned unable to offer conclusive proof. A public debate was arranged between him and Burton, but when he shot and killed himself on the day of the debate, in what many believed was an act of suicide rather than the shooting accident it was officially proclaimed to be, support swung full circle to Burton and his theories.à The quest for conclusive proof continued for the next 13 years. Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley searched Lake Tanganyika together, disproving Burtonââ¬â¢s theory, but it was not until the mid-1870s that Stanly finally circumnavigated Lake Victoria and explored the surrounding lakes, confirming Spekeââ¬â¢s theory and solving the mystery, for a few generations at least. The Continuing Mystery As Stanley showed, the White Nile flows out of Lake Victoria, but the lake itself has several feeder rivers, and present-day geographers and amateur explorers still debate which of these is the true source of the Nile. In 2013, the question came to the fore again when the popular BBC car show, Top Gear, filmed an episode featuring the three presenters trying to find the source of the Nile while driving inexpensive station wagons, known in Britain as estate cars. Currently, most people agree the source is one of two small rivers, one of which arises in Rwanda, the other in neighboring Burundi, but it is a mystery that continues.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Doubting Game as Opposite to the Believing Game Essay
The Doubting Game as Opposite to the Believing Game - Essay Example The doubting game is opposite to the believing game and requires an individual to contest a certain idea or subject. à The doubting and believing game can be played by one acknowledging the fact that there are two sides to every argument. In the believing game, the students may assess each point uniquely and find the good things about it. These can then be used to help the students believe the point which may otherwise be different from their own. The doubting game is simpler as it is easier to identify error than to believe in something (Elbow, 2008). à Hence, in this game individuals may assess a point and look what is accurate and what is inaccurate. Hence, concluding that all the information that they assume to be inaccurate is incorrect and create an opinion based on the inaccuracy. An example of an issue that has been widely discussed is euthanasia and whether it should be legalized. Each individual has a right to live which consequently means he or she has a right to die h ence euthanasia should be legalized. People who are against the legalization of euthanasia state that this could lead to a slippery slope (ââ¬Å"Euthanasia Pros and Consâ⬠, n.d). à This view is valid and interesting as allowing the killing of a human being raises the question of where a line should be drawn. If euthanasia is permitted people will start to question other aspects of morality. This raises an even bigger problem as morality is not factual but subjective. Hence, if allowing a morally objected matter such as the killing of innocent human beings for any purpose other morals in society will come into question. If I possessed this belief I would see the need to change many aspects of society and revise the definition of murder as euthanasia is an act of killing another human being. The slippery slope could be true in many different cases involving hospital ethics and societyââ¬â¢s views for murder and value for life.Ã
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Death Penalty - Essay Example In 2000s, Texas was ranked as the leaders in death penalties across the nation. However, it is the Eighth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution which is the centre of all debates made on capital punishment, and which makes it impossible to come to a conclusion. It is clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits ââ¬Ëcruel and unusualââ¬â¢ punishments, but the interpretations to this amendment are unclear and inconclusive. The courts have presented many interpretations in different cases and in general terms the word cruel means excessively brutal. This means that the punishments that are torturous come under this heading. The term unusual has a broader meaning and it refers to those punishments that are not usually associated with a common type of crime, but rather they are applied arbitrary in severe crimes. Another interpretation of this article is that punishments should be given proportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed. The article, according to some interpretations , prohibits life imprisonment for crimes such as shoplifting and theft. This is not because the punishment is cruel or unusual, but because it is not imaginable and acceptable for such a crime (Stearman 143). Under this article comes the issue of death penalty which has been addressed by the Supreme Court many times. The general definitions of the terms used in the article are considered by the Supreme Court quite often. Up till today, the court has never completely and clearly ruled out the use of death penalty as unconstitutional. The major issue regarding the amendment is the time period when it was written. The courts have often argued that the meaning of the eighth amendment can change over the time as society changes, modernization takes place and norms change. The amendment was made in 1700s and at that time whipping was considered and recognized as an acceptable punishment because of the society values. But these practises may not be applicable today due to the changes in th e values and cultures. Many times the court has addressed that death penalty hold the public support and can be used as a remedy for the serious crimes (Gardner 201). The Supreme Court has considered that the death penalty is not considered to be a cruel punishment for some serious crimes, however if it is ruled off if the application is unusual. The issue here is again the proportionality of the crime committed. Cases decided in 1972 and 1976 are the two major ones about the death penalty issue. The case of Furman v. Georgia was decided in 1972 which concluded that application of death penalty by arbitration and the disproportion seen in minorities are the factors that make death penalty unusual. In response to this decision, the death penalties in row were cancelled and there were no death penalties for about four years in the U.S. Because the courts did not rule the death penalty as unconstitutional, the state legislatures were free to make statutes for death penalties (Clear 543 ). The critics of the death penalty have ruled that it is commonly used as discriminatory against the minorities, ethnic groups etc. They argue that death penalty should be ruled off since long in the history they have been used against the minorities. This has been observed in U.S. and in other parts of the world too where death penalty is still applied. The critics argue that this is merely unconstitutional and it infringes the
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Sociology & Scientific Depends Essay Example for Free
Sociology Scientific Depends Essay Sociologists have been divided on the issue of whether or not sociology is a science for as long as anyone remembers. It is a very controversial topic in sociology, due to the number of conflicting views about what it is to be scientific and according to the definitions of what is scientific, whether sociology can be categorised as a science. Durkheim and Compte, positivists believed that sociological studies should be based on the same logic and methods as natural science; they stated that this would create a positive science society and would allow us to discover laws of human behaviour, similar to the way scientists discovered the laws of gravity. Positivists believe that human behaviour, like that of a plant is influenced by external factors, that society shapes us and therefore that these factors can be isolated, controlled and measured. Durkheim believed that he had done just this when he had studied suicide, isolated the factor of being isolated as the cause of suicide. see more:when did sociology begin Popper was a famous philosopher of science, and he agreed with some of the positivists theories, claiming that indeed sociology could be a science. He said that natural sciences are scientific because they use the hypothetico-deductive approach, and look at evidence which may disprove their theory, as well as enforce it, he then went on to say that if sociologist could look at conflicting, as well as supporting evidence when trying to prove their theories, then indeed sociology could be considered scientific. Popper disagrees that human behaviour is only a product of outside stimuli, and so he is not a positivist, he simply agrees that sociology can be classed as scientific but in order to do so, studies must be conducted so that a hypothesis can be enforced or falsified. Popper argued that Marxism wasnt a scientific approach, because when its theory of a revolution failed but come true, they simply pushed its coming further into the future, instead of admitting the original hypothesis was untrue, therefore they prevented any possibility that the original theory had been false because they simply adapted it. Realists also believe that sociology is scientific, and claim that there is not much difference between sociological studies and natural science investigations. They held this view because like natural science investigations, sociology tries to explain the causes of behaviour in terms of underlying causes, which are not visible in everyday life. Sayer focussed on the fact that in all areas of science there were open and closed systems, for example in some situations, a lab can be used where variables can be controlled, but also in areas such as meteorology, experiments cannot always be fully controlled, he argued that sociology faced the same problem, studying issues which were relevant but complex, like meteorologists, sociologists had to deal with the fact that there may be other influences, but this does not mean that the studies they do are not scientific. Both study hidden causes of things relevant to their field, in ways that can be seen as scientific. The realist definition of science is Being scientific involves explaining behaviour in terms of underlying structures, mechanisms and processes. They believe that natural scientists and sociologists do, therefore sociology should be classed as a science.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Character and Setting in Popular Music :: Music Communication Essays
Character and Setting in Popular Music Whether it is through music or written literature, such as a novel, characters convey emotion and thought. The audience understands through the characters present. Just as we find characters we love we also find characters we despise. Setting is much the same. Whether the setting is explicitly given or simply implied, the audience has a picture in mind. Sometimes it is a place of great beauty and sometimes it is a place we would rather disregard. It is my observations however that character and setting are to some extent present in every song I listen to. Character and setting are not only additions to music and songs, but seem to be what makes the songs. Of the popular music available today, we can find songs dedicated to telling a story about a lost loved one, a favorite place of recluse, love in general. But not each of the popular songs lay out the setting or give the embodiment of a character. Listening to these songs however, the listener is transposed into the song and can see as the speaker talks. For example, Alicia Keysââ¬â¢s song ââ¬Å"Diary.â⬠This song is the voice of a woman speaking to her lover. ââ¬Å"Lay your head down on my pillow,â⬠she sings. ââ¬Å"Here you can be yourself.â⬠So from the beginning we are invited to witness the sweet whispers of lovers in a room. The bed, inviting and comfortable, sits in center stage. We listen to the woman tell of her love and the security her man can find in her and she in him. ââ¬Å"I am the pages of your diary,â⬠she sings. Again, Alicia does not tell us all the details, but somehow the picture is so clear. Another example of a popular song that has setting and character is a song by India Arie entitled ââ¬Å"Nature.â⬠In this song she is telling a loved one to slow down: ââ¬Å"Letââ¬â¢s sit and watch the flowers growâ⬠¦letââ¬â¢s sit and watch the river flow.â⬠She believes that nature is a show and there is music there. And although she doesnââ¬â¢t really give us a clear character we can relate to, we can see the singer as the character.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Only the Good Die Young
Portia Francis Comp & Literature Feb 11, 2013 ââ¬Å"Only the Good Die Youngâ⬠vs. ââ¬Å"Make Much of Timeâ⬠The tone in ââ¬Å"Only the Good Die Youngâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Make Much of Time ââ¬Å"are very different. Both the song and the poem speak of men tempting women to lose their virginity and ââ¬Å"carpe diemâ⬠live life to the fullest, ââ¬Å"Make Much of timeâ⬠has a much softer tone, versus , ââ¬Å"Only the Good Die Youngâ⬠has a much more aggressive one. In ââ¬Å"Make Much of Timeâ⬠the writer, although a ââ¬Å"carpe diemâ⬠poem takes a much gentler approach to the women he is encouraging.Herrick refers to us, ââ¬Å"Gather ye roses while she mayâ⬠to show that in the 1500ââ¬â¢-1600s women married much earlier and time was of the essence. He uses phrases ,like ââ¬Å" this same flower that blooms today will soon be dying, â⬠and ââ¬Å"when youth and blood are warmerâ⬠to support his idea that women should not wait unti l they are older and choose to marry and ultimately give up their virginity. He speaks ââ¬Å"having once lost your primeâ⬠to support his tone to women.. Herrick, in my opinion, is encouraging young women to marry before they are too old, which is relatively young but not missing out on the most important thing in their life..He uses words like ââ¬Å" Rosebudsâ⬠and ââ¬Å"smiles todayâ⬠and having ââ¬Å"lost but once your primeâ⬠to create a more gentle tone. On the other hand Billy Joel writes a ââ¬Å"more in your face ââ¬Å" carpe diem poem. He sites ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t let me wait, Catholic girls start much too lateâ⬠. He seems to be putting on the pressure with the young women and pointing the finger to the reasons why. He seems to be more concerned with his personal satisfactionâ⬠after speaking of her, ââ¬Å"Brand new soulâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Cross of goldâ⬠after her confirmation, ââ¬Å"But did she ever say pray for me? To me, this ind icates that he knew his thoughts were lustful and in a roundââ¬âbout way, he acknowledged his feelings and wanted resolution. The songs title lends to his aggressiveness ââ¬Å" Only the Good Die Youngâ⬠, because no woman is going to die if she doesnââ¬â¢t give up her virginity. Lastly, the in in the song ââ¬Å" And they say thereââ¬â¢s a heaven for those who wait. Some say its better but I say it ainââ¬â¢t. â⬠Seals the deal that he main concern is his own satisfaction and again attempts to inflict the guilt on the young woman who would not immediately please him.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
ââ¬ÅA Question of Tortureââ¬Â by Alfred McCoy
ââ¬Å"In April 2004, the American public was stunned when CBS Television broadcast photographs from Abu Ghraib prison, showing Iraqis naked, hooded, and contorted in humiliating positions while U.S. soldiers stood over them, smilingâ⬠. (p.5)Here Alfred McCoy starts his narration. His book ââ¬Å"A Question of Tortureâ⬠is labeled as a penetration study of fifty years American participation in torture propagation, research and practice. The book reveals degrading and inhumane treatment, cruelty and injustice in US history intensified by tragic personal case studies and experiences.The author deepens in why the tortures were sued, where they were implemented and what the consequences were. It is known that CIA had spent millions of dollars on torture research and the author writes that it combined self-inflicted pain with sensory deprivation with the eternal purpose of creating revolutionary psychological approach. The goal was to develop the first innovation in torture: â⠬Å"Still, if genius is the discovery of the obvious, then the CIA's perfection of psychological torture was a major scientific turning point, albeit unnoticed and unheralded in the world beyond its secret safe housesâ⬠.à (p.7)The primary techniques in torturing were hooding, isolation, extremes of hot and cold, hours of standing without opportunities to move or to change body position, manipulation of time. In such a way CIA had managed to destroy victimââ¬â¢s senses and his personal identity. All these techniques are claimed to have been used in Vietnam, Iraq, Iran and Central America. For example, Washington is argued to refer to torture in CIAââ¬â¢s prisons and torture-friendly countries.Nevertheless, information obtained through torturing is really worthless as victims were ready to acknowledge their fault even if they were not guilty. McCoy says that the agency used electric shocks and recruited peopled like, for example, Kurt Plotner. The author concludes that t he simplest and cheapest methods work the best and, what is more awful, public accepted them more than physical violence.Book DiscussionI think that the book ââ¬Å"A Question of Tortureâ⬠is really shocking and impressive study as the author reveals the most contradictive and painful pages of American history.Nevertheless, the book contributes historical filed as McCoy tends to provide neutral and realistic examples how tortures were used by CIA and where they were used. The author frames historical development of tortures stressing they are sanctioned. He seems to be very concerned with the diminished standards of American nation.However, I agree with McCoy that tortures are rarely affective and it is simply a like looking for a needle in haystack. The book teaches us that once torture is implemented, it results in mass tortures as, for example, tortures in Argentina and Chile during their ââ¬Ëdirty warsââ¬â¢. Moreover, mass tortures are linked to increased rates of jud icial killings.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Methods of Attribution â⬠Psychology Research Paper
Methods of Attribution ââ¬â Psychology Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Subtitle: Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of ââ¬Ëtraditionalââ¬â¢ compared to ââ¬Ëcriticalââ¬â¢ social psychological approach on attribution There are a lot of questions that people want to know the answer, most probably because human beings are curious at everything. Due to curiosity, people always want to know how other people think and why others think that way. Laymen try to explain others behaviour by ââ¬Ëguessingââ¬â¢, they think it is a rather common sense thing to do; but psychologists try to generate theories to explain and predict attributions by scientific methods. Attribution generally means beliefs about the causes of behaviour that attributing causes to certain events which it is an important part of language. And attribution theory is a conceptual framework within social psychology dealing with lay, or common-sense, explanations of behaviour. Traditional social psychologists use experiments to ascertain how particular stimuli would affect causal attributions for particular events. There are several theories of causal attribution which Heider was seen as the founding father of attribution theory. He made crucial foundation towards attribution theory that he argued it was essential to know what people believed as it would guide ones behaviour. He viewed layperson as a naà ¯ve scientist seeking to find an explanation for everything. Heider classified two types of attribution: personal attributions (dispositional) and impersonal (situation attributions) ones. The theory suggested that it is all about motivations whether one should be responsible for their behaviour or their behaviour is caused by external factors. Heiderââ¬â¢s work was built upon Jones and Davis (1965)ââ¬â¢s correspondence inference theory which they suggested people interpret behaviour or acts in terms of stable underlying qualities, or characteristics, of the actors. There are several reasons for correspondent inference: free will, non-common effect, social desirable action, hedonic relevance, and personalism. Though this theory has significant historical impact, its impact has been limited. Kelley (1967, 1973) assumed that there should be different factors that cause a behaviour and she tried to separate out which effects are to be attributed to which of several factors. She claimed if two events repeatedly occur together, then we are more likely to infer that they are causally related. Kelley suggests people consider three variables when making attributions. The first one is distinctiveness which refers to the extent that people behaves in the same way to other stimuli. Secondly, she mentioned about consistency that refers to the extent to which people has behaved in the same way in the past towards the stimulus. Lastly, it is consensus which refers to the extent that other people behave in the same way towards the same stimulus as people whose behaviour we are trying to explain. People who weigh up those variables above make either a dispositional or situational attribution. There was also theory like fundamental attribution error that suggest there are bias in attributing otherââ¬â¢s behaviour more to internal factors than to situational factors because of focus of attention (peopleââ¬â¢s attention on the situation have generally found greater level of situational attributions) and differential forgetting (tend to forget situational causes more regularly). In contrast to casual attribution theories, Semin and Manstead (1983) argue that research into attribution lacks ecological validity as experimental research into attribution sets out to explicitly ask someone why they believe people chose a particular course of action. However, it does not necessarily they will make causal attributions in the same when they are not called upon to explicitly explain their answers. And this suggestion contradicts Kelleyââ¬â¢s co-variation model where it seems difficult to imagine that we always take different factors into account when making quick decisions. On the other hand, majority of the research has been conducted in Western cultures that imply the theories suggested may not take cultural variations into account. Critical social psychologists argue that attributions are rarely made solely at an individual level. They are the result of cultural and social forces which provide different information based. Traditional attribution theories underestimate the extent to which attributions are articulated through the uses of language and discourses especially. Besides, mass media play a big part in analyzing relationships that may affect our understanding of relationships which traditional social psychologists do not take into account, nevertheless, critical psychology places a greater emphasis on the role of discourse and attempt to engage more with the content and nature of conversation than traditional social psychologists. Recent research has been conducted in different areas such as relationships which have yielded more complex models of attributions. Fincham and Bradbury (1988) claim when a relationship is sound, people are less motivated to engage in engaging in sophisticated thought when making attributions and vice versa yet this does not take into account the cultural and historical variability in couple relationships. Smith and Harris-Bond (1993) so suggest that the difference between individualist and collectivist cultures leads to different attribution styles as the role in a relationship is different between two cultures. Traditional social psychology places emphasis on the fact that people often make attribution errors and suggests that the way people view the social world can occasionally be flawed. Critical social psychology on the other hand stress that people are quite realistic who rarely make mistakes because they use strategies and personal experience to interpret an attribution. Moreover, traditional social psychology fails to take into account the emotional factors behind attribution. Human beings have feelings, thoughts and emotions which all influence the attributions that one make. In conclusion, stresses the uniqueness of each individual failing to take into account how culture mediates understanding the world. On the other hand, it also fails to take into account other social processes such as social influences and the construction of knowledge by more powerful groups in society. People do not draw upon just their own personal constructs when making decisions. They actually use knowledge from a range of other sources such as books, experience, other family members and friends etc. People do not just use alternative constructs from within our own cognitive systems. Research Papers on Methods of Attribution - Psychology Research PaperThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part OneRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHip-Hop is ArtBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Add a Print Button or Link to Your Web Page
Add a Print Button or Link to Your Web Page CSS (cascading style sheets) give you considerable control over how content on your web pages is displayed on the screen. This control extends to other media as well, such as when the web page is printed. You may be wondering why you would want to add a print feature to your web page; after all, most people already know or can easily figure out how to print a web page using their browsers menus. But there are situations where adding a print button or link to a page will not only make the process easier for your users when they need to print out a page but, perhaps even more importantly, give you more control over how those printouts will appear on paper. Heres how to add either print buttons or print links on your pages, and how to define which pieces of your page content will be printed and which will not. Adding a Print Button You can easily add a print button to your web page by adding theà following code to your HTML document where you want the button to appear: onclickwindow.print();return false; / The button will be labeled asà Print this pageà when it appears on the web page. You can customize this text to whatever you like by changing the text between the quotation marks following value in the code above. Note that there is a single blank space preceding the text and following it; this improves the appearance of the button by inserting some space between the ends of the text and the edges of the button displayed. Adding a Print Link Its even easier to add a simple print link to your web page. Just insert the following code into your HTML document where you want the link to appear: print You can customize the link text by changing print to whatever you choose. Making Specific Sections Printable You can set up the ability for users to print specific parts of your web page using a print button or link. You can do this by adding a print.css file to your site, calling it in the head of your HTML document and thenà defining those sections you want to make easily printable by defining a class.à First, add the following code to the head section of your HTML document: typetext/css mediaprint / Next, create a file named print.css. In this file, add the following code: body {visibility:hidden;}.print {visibility:visible;} This code defines all elements in the body as hidden when being printed unless the element has the print class assigned to it. Now, all you need to do is to assign the print class to the elementsà of your web page that you want to be printable. For example, to make a section defined in a div element printable, you would use Anything elseà on the page that is not assigned to this class will not print.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
The Geographies of World Region(s) via Motorcycle Essay
The Geographies of World Region(s) via Motorcycle - Essay Example Planned time was nine months trip. The trip across Latin America began from Buenos Aires in Argentina in January. The motor bike used is the large gauge motorbike known as Astride Norton (1939) which had fuel power of 500cc (Vernon, 2014). The motor bike has a name given ââ¬Å"The mighty oneâ⬠due to its power and sustainability in long distance travel (Vernon, 2014). I had packed all necessary requirements that would sustain me in every climate and projected situation. I also got legal permit for my geographical trip across the Latin America countries. The journey took a flat rout to the intended first stop at Miramar in Argentina. It was located in a mountainous and cold region of Argentina. It was easy to reach Chile from Miramira in February since it was fairly near the border despite the heavy rains in the mountainous region. Crossing Chile border is easy once the legal documents are available. In Chile, the rout headed North upland towards the cold town of Chuquicamata, a very popular world known copper mining town (Ernesto & Alberto, 2002). After visiting the mines and engaging with miners, I progressed southward towards Peru. In the month of March, I arrived at Peruvian Tacna. In Peru, the mighty one broke down. I was forced to share a truck with the native citizens who were mostly the Indians. I was amazed for they always boarded vehicles with animals. Arrival to the town of Lima in was in May. In the same month but after relaxation, I left for Leper colony of San Pablo that was located in the heart of Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. It took me a month and in June, I was in the Amazon River. After crossing the Amazon River using the Mambo Tango raft, I proceeded to the town known as Letica in Colombia (Ernesto & Alberto, 2002). We proceeded east to Bogota Colombia in July. After penetrating through the barricaded streets in Bogota Columbia, I left for Caracas in Venezuela. I rested there for a week and in the same month I left for
Thursday, October 31, 2019
MEDIEVAL WARFARE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
MEDIEVAL WARFARE - Essay Example Certainly, masculinity is not exhibited only in terms of the nature of the combat, which generally involves brute force. Rather, critical aspects of the Full Metal Joust such as characterization continue to be an area where masculinity works most. Taking the season 1 of the Full Metal Joust as a case study, it would be noted that out of a total of 16 contestants, over 70 percent of the number were males (Froissart, 1346). This shows a preconceived knowledge and idea in the minds of the ordinary person on the street of how masculine medieval warfare was and thus the need to preserve it as a masculine venture. The second instance or example has to do with the fact that there is a general stereotype that depicts males as combative and agile in defense as compared to females. This stereotype has created a misconception that Full Metal Joust should be a thing for the males and that females should find themselves associated with certain less violent and combative ventures. Some pundits have linked the masculinity and stereotype involved in medieval warfare and other popular media to even the custom used by candidates, which they believe are always designed to appear masculine. This way, it is barely impossible to differentiate between a male and a female if they are both clad in their medieval warrior custom. In the whole idea or system of medieval warfare, it would be noted that much emphasis is given to some weapons over others. Technically, it could be said that this strategic approach has been taken due to the roles that selected weapons play in bringing about victory to warriors. To this effect, bow, arrow and spear have been given much attention whiles others like the sling have been sidelined. Two factors that could possibly account for reasons for this development has to do with the reaching ability of some of these weapons in the event of combat and the portability of the weapons for swiftness. On the reaching ability of
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
American Airlines Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
American Airlines - Assignment Example This can lead to unethical activities when the senior management and organization can gain significant rewards because of the short-term concentration on stock price (Machan, 2007). The senior management may tolerate organizational conflict of interest, abusing a number of rules of fair conduct or normal decency, gaming the rules of the society, and turning to cronyism as a means of making the most of their self-interest. Senior management troubled with the stock price of the company also concentrates on performance events that are short-term, often earnings. As a result, the senior management holds a commonly emphasizing fascination with short-term performance of stock prices. The senior management can engage in unethical behavior because profits are presumed as the most extensively conventional metric. Senior managers who have the capacity to consistently and correctly forecast the stock prices can gain tremendous profits. This prediction may make the senior management use unfounde d profit assessment. They may view the logical model of analysis as theoretically adequate but sensibly not connected from the anticipated earnings. The senior management may refer to the activities of market players to make a case out of their short-term focus on stock price (Machan, 2007). Encouraged by the view that stakeholders look at the current stock prices to determine value, they may repurchase shares even when they may be overvalued or fairly valued. Question 2 The conduct of American Airline controlling its finances by postponing the maintenance of its aircrafts may be unethical to both the stakeholders and clients. Shareholders are perceived as a unit that endures a kind of danger as a result of investing some kind of capital, financial or human based shares in a company. On the other hand, clients are presumed to be a group that endures some form of risk during their travels. When stakeholders and clients suppose that finances are being manipulated, a company consequent ly decreases worth on the stock market. The credit rating of the company will go down making the issued bonds to decrease in worth (Capozzi, 2001). Consequently, this will have a negative impact on the wealth of bondholders. American Airlines has had recurring issues with regard to maintenance of its aircrafts. The expenditure connected with operating these aircrafts has a negative impact on both stakeholders and clients. American Airlines has an ethical obligation to both stakeholders and clients to ensure that its aircrafts are well maintained. The airline also has an obligation to give correct details on the states of their aircrafts to both stakeholders and clients. When American Airlines postpones the maintenance of its aircrafts thereby influencing earnings, it means the company is not giving the true picture about its financial situation. In addition, the behavior is unethical towards the clients because aircrafts may pose risks that the clients are not aware of. The company also canceled a number of flights due to postponing aircraft maintenance in 2008. The company
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Evaluating Treating Through Therapy For Borderline Personality Disorder Nursing Essay
Evaluating Treating Through Therapy For Borderline Personality Disorder Nursing Essay Despite the many treatment options for people with BPD, Many professionals in mental health services continue to believe that personality disorders are untreatable. This essay provides evidence the effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) with Borderline Personality Disorder. Background To understand BPD, I will attempt to give a historical overview of BPD. In the 1800s, Philippe Pinel first used the French term manie sans delire (mania without delirium) to designate those individuals engaging in deviant behavior but showing no signs of a thought disorder such as hallucinations or delusions, psychiatry began to think about borderline personality disorders as early as 1801. Although the meaning of the term has changed through many writings on the subject over time, the writing of Cleckley and his use of the label psychopath in The Mask of Sanity brought the term into accepted usage (Meloy 1998). The Mask of Sanity is a book written by Hervey Cleckley first published in 1941; he gave the most significant clinical description of psychopathy in the 20th century. An expanded edition of the book was published in 1982, when the name was changed from psychopathy to Personality Disorder. In 1972, newer editions of the book reflected a closer alliance with Kernbergss (1984) borderline level of personality organization, in particular defining the structural criteria of the psychopaths identity integration, defensive operations and reality testing. The diagnosis borderline was introduced in the 1930s to label patients with problems that seemed to fall somewhere in between neurosis and psychosis (Stern, 1938). In 1938, the psychoanalyst Adolph Stern first described most of the symptoms that are now considered as criteria of borderline disorder. He suggested the possible causes of the disorder, and what he believed to be the most successful form of psychotherapy for these patients, he also renamed the disorder again, and he named the disorder by referring to patients with the symptoms he described as the border line group (Freidel 2004). In 1940, the psychoanalyst Robert Knight introduced the concept of ego psychology into his explanation of borderline disorder. Ego psychology deals with mental functions that allow us to effectively combine our thoughts and feelings and to develop helpful responses to life around us. He suggested that people with borderline disorder have impairments in a lot of of these functions, and he referred to them as borderline states (Friedel 2004). The next important input was made by the psychoanalyst Otto Kernberg (1967); he introduced the term borderline personality organisation. He proposed that mental disorders were determined by three distinctive personality organisations: psychotic, neurotic and borderline personality. Kernberg has been a strong promoter of modified psychoanalytic therapy for patients with borderline disorder (Friedel 2004). Roy Grinker in 1968 published results of the first research conducted on patients with borderline disorder, which he referred to as the borderline syndrome (Friedel 2004). The next major advance in the field occurred when Gunderson and Singer (1975) published a widely acclaimed article that synthesized the relevant, published information on borderline disorder, and defined its major characteristics. Gunderson then published a specific research instrument to enhance the accurate diagnosis of borderline disorder. This instrument enabled researchers over the world to verify the validity and integrity of borderline disorder. Subsequently, borderline personality disorder first appeared in DSM-III as a bona fide psychiatric diagnosis in 1980 (Friedel 2004). Personality disorder categories are not firmly grounded in theory, nor are they empirically based (Livesley, 1998). Some critics say that personality disorder categories are so flawed that the best option is to abolish them and start afresh, but most pragmatists recognise that so much has been invested in them that they are very likely here to stay (Blackburn 2000a; Livesley, 1998). Borderline personality disorder is associated with significant impairment, especially in relation to the capacity to sustain stable relationships as a result of personal and emotional instability (NICE 2009). For many, the severity of symptoms and behaviours that characterise borderline personality disorder, correlate with the severity of personal, social and occupational impairments. However, this is not always the case, and some people with what appears to be, in other ways, marked borderline personality disorder may be able to function at very high levels in their careers (Stone, 1993). Paris (1994) stated that about one-third of patients with BPD report severe abuse involving an incestuous perpetrator; about one-third report milder forms of abuse; and about one-third do not report abuse. Personality disorders are common conditions; studies indicate prevalence of 10-13% of the adult population in the community and are more common among younger age groups (24-44 yrs) and equally distributed between males and females. However, the sex ratio for specific types of personality disorder is variable e.g. antisocial personality disorder is more common among males, and borderline personality disorder more common amongst females (DOH 2003). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) can be seen as an umbrella term for many different therapies that share some common elements. The earliest form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy was developed by Albert Ellis in the early 1950s. Aaron T.Beck independently developed another CBT approach, called Cognitive Therapy, in the 1960s. Cognitive Therapy rapidly became a favorite intervention to study in psychotherapy research in academic settings. In initial studies, it was often contrasted with behavioral treatments to see which was most effective. However, in recent years, cognitive and behavioral techniques have often been combined into cognitive behavioral treatment. This is arguably the primary type of psychological treatment being studied in research today. One specific form of cognitive-behavioural therapy is dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), a broad-based, cognitive-behavioural programme developed specifically to reduce self-harm in women with borderline personality disorders (Linehan, 1993a; Linehan 1993b). Recent research has shown that dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is one of the first therapies that have demonstrated to be effective for treating borderline personality disorder as well as being effective in treating people who display varied symptoms and behaviours associated with mood disorders, including self-harm. DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioural techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of mindful-awareness, distress tolerance, and acceptance. 1.2 Rationale As a mental health nurse coming from a forensic background, I have experience of working with clients with personality disorder. I feel that by getting more of an understanding of CBT interventions, it will make a huge difference to my future practice in the future. McKenna et al (1999) state that it is unacceptable for health care not to be based on sound evidence of its effectiveness, and back up their practice with research-based evidence (NMC, 2008) to ensure effective clinical practice. Often nurses find it frustrating working with disorders of personality. These clients can be manipulative, socially inappropriate and difficult, for these reasons, such clients need all the patience and skills nurses have to offer. Until recently, personality disorder services in the NHS had been diverse, spasmodic and inconsistent (Department of Health, 2003). Besides functional impairment and emotional distress, borderline personality disorder is also associated with significant financial costs to the healthcare system, social services and the wider society (NICE 2009). 1.3 Aims and objectives The aims and objectives of this project are to review the evidence on the efficacy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy with people who have Borderline Personality. 1.4 Methodology and parameters This literature review was conducted using the following resources Electronic databases: Cochrane library, CINHAL, Medline, Psychinfo, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences and Academic Search Premier Key journals were hand searched: British Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Personality Disorders, Mental Health Practice, Journal of Personality and Mental Health University and Trust libraries Google Google scholar The following types of literature were sought and reviewed where available Randomised control trials Systematic and structured review Quantitative and Qualitative research studies Position statements/guidelines from professional bodies Government policies (NICE (2009), NSF (1999) Text Books Inclusion and exclusion criteria Eligibility for this review was determined by the following criteria: à ¢-à Participants: adults with BPD (diagnosed according to DSM-III/DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR or ICD-10 criteria for BPD), with or without co-morbidity. à ¢-à Intervention: psychological therapies, including CBT, DBT à ¢-à Comparators: CBT/DBT or treatment as usual à ¢-à Outcomes: self-harm, suicide, interpersonal and social functioning à ¢-à Study type: published papers were assessed according to the accepted hierarchy of evidence, whereby systematic reviews of RCTs are taken to be the most authoritative forms of evidence, with uncontrolled observational studies the least authoritative. à ¢-à Exclusion criteria: papers on personality disorder without separate BPD subgroup analyses. The studies were obtained through a number of sources, as above. Searches were performed by entering the key words Borderline Personality Disorder, Cognitive behaviour therapy into several databases, which yielded many secondary references of current best evidence. Search filters developed consisted of a combination of subject headings. The topic-specific filters were combined with appropriate research design filters developed for systematic reviews, RCTs and other appropriate research designs. These articles were selected after careful reading of the title and abstract to identify the most useful. I then limited my search to full articles which made my search a lot easier. The definitive text that will be used to aid my search will be NICE Clinical Guidelines for Personality disorder 78. This guideline makes recommendations for the treatment and management of borderline personality disorder in adults and young people (under the age of 18) who meet criteria for the diagnosis in prim ary, secondary and tertiary care. Borderline personality disorder is present in just under 1% of the population, and is most common in early adulthood. Women present to services more often than men. Borderline personality disorder is often not formally diagnosed before the age of 18, but the features of the disorder can be identified earlier. Its course is variable and although many people recover (NICE 2009). This search will comprise both British and international articles. When choosing which articles were going to be relevant, I found it impossible to ignore the amount of articles I had on DBT and as DBT was evolved from CBT and made specifically for BPD, I decided to bring it into my research project. The articles are mixed quantitative and qualitative research. The qualitative means of gathering subjective data is centred on an individuals experience, beliefs, empowerment and quality of care and does not solely concentrate on clinical outcomes for the individual. One could argue that this is the most appropriate aspect of research for mental health nurses as mental illness is individual for each person involved in the process and although BPD is not a mental illness The National Service Framework for adult mental health sets out our responsibilities to provide evidence based, effective services for all those with severe mental illness, including people with personality disorder who experience significant distress or difficulty (NIMH 2003). While these can be misconceived as an easy option form of research, qualitative research offers rich, reflective and exhaustive data that is invaluable and has a profound contribution to make to take to practice. The qualitative evidence was li mited with regards to the treatments reviewed, with an emphasis on DBT. Quantitative research is a formal, objective, and rigorous statistical process for generating information about the world (Burns Grove 1999), whereby the researcher would gather a range of numerical data in order to answer the research question, or prove, disprove a hypothesis (Parahoo 2006). Philosophies or schools of thought in research are called paradigms (Parahoo 2006). One such paradigm is positivism. Parahoo (2006) asserts that positivism relies on observations by the human senses to create fact (empiricism), and believe in the unity of science, and the notion of cause and effect (determinism). The positivist researcher will endeavour to test a hypothesis or theory using the deductive process of a course of experiments. This paradigm utilises a quantitative approach in its research methods. For the positivists, quantitative research is believed to provide hard evidence and objective fact that can provide knowledge on which to base best practice (Parahoo 2006). Efficacy studies focus on the usefulness of a specific helping methodology for a particular kind of problem. Comparisons are made between the methodology in question and some other methodology between clients with some disorder who do receive the treatment and those who do not or between two different methodologies for treating the same disorder. These studies are carried out under controlled conditions. Many of the studies are well designed and demonstrate efficacy. In a healthcare context, efficacy indicates the capacity for beneficial change (or therapeutic effect) of a given intervention. Chapter 2 The Literature Review Having undertaken a critical review of the literature, I have come to explore a number of issues which I feel necessary to consider, key themes emerging from this literature review are the impact of CBT DBT on suicidal behaviours, the impact of CBT DBT on self-harming behaviours, and the impact of CBT DBT on engagement. This chapter sets out to explore these themes in more detail. The most appropriate research design to answer this is the RCT; therefore the evidence base reviewed comprised available RCTs undertaken in people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. The causes of borderline personality disorder are complex and remain uncertain. The following may all be contributing factors: genetics and constitutional vulnerabilities; neurophysiological and neurobiological dysfunctions of emotional regulation and stress; psychosocial histories of childhood maltreatment and abuse; and disorganisation of aspects of the behavioural system, most particularly the attachment system (NICE 2009). The history of specific psychological interventions designed to help people with borderline personality disorder is intertwined with changing conceptions of the nature of the disorder itself. Given the confusion that surrounds the nature of personality disorder, it is not surprising that this has impacted on NHS care for people with this diagnosis. Until recently, personality disorder services in the NHS had been diverse, spasmodic and inconsistent (Department of Health, 2003). Borderline personality disorder is particularly common among people who are drug and/or alcohol dependent, and within drug and alcohol services there will be more women with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder than men (Swartz 1990). Borderline personality disorder is also more common in those with an eating disorder (Zanarini et al., 1998), and also among people presenting with chronic self-harming behaviour (Linehan et al., 1991). 2.1 Defining Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a structured psychological treatment that focuses on helping a person make connections between their thoughts, feelings and behaviour. CBT was originally developed as a treatment for depression, and has since been modified for the treatment of people with personality disorders including borderline personality disorder. CBT focuses on altering the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours of patients by teaching them skills to challenge and modify beliefs, to engage in experimental reality testing, and to develop better coping strategies. The goals of these interventions are to decrease the conviction of delusional beliefs, and hence their severity, and to promote more effective coping and reductions in distress. This essay will attempt to assess the contribution of CBT the disorder by discussing reviews on efficacy and long term effects. Cognitive behavioral therapyà for borderline personality disorder (CBT for BPD) was developed on the premise that people with the disorder have learned distorted beliefs and thought patterns. These, in turn, result in the distressing emotional responses and behaviors that characterize borderline personality disorder. It is the initial objective of CBT forà BPDà toà identify the distorted, automatic thoughts andà beliefs held by the patient with borderline disorder.à Such beliefs outlined by Beck Freeman(1990) typically include those related to dependency (I am needy and weak),à distrustà (People will get me if I dont get them first), rigid, all-or-nothing (dichotomous) perceptions,à and other thought patternsà that characterize the main cognitive-perceptual symptoms of the disorder. These distorted thoughts are then modified by self-monitoring,à logical analysis and by questioning and testing them.à It is adapted for people with borderline personality disorder and pays attention to the structure of the therapy and the problems that can disrupt the therapeutic relationship , such as non-engagement in treatment, shifting problems and goals, losing focus on the aims of therapy, losing structure and lack of compliance with assignments (Davidson, 2000). In addition, CBT for BPD attempts to produce positive change by improving the attitude of the patient toward treatment, the enhancement of specific skills, and the reduction of hopelessness. The CBT therapist and the patient typically construct a list of specific problem areas. They then develop a set of tasks or exercises that generate and reinforce new attitudes, behaviors, and interpersonal strategies that replace the ones that have proven to be ineffective. Within the past 15 years, another, newer psychosocial treatment termed Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was developed. DBT combines standard cognitive behavioural techniques with acceptance based strategies, as well as strategies designed to keep the therapy balanced between change and acceptance (dialectical strategies). Marsha M. Linehan, a psychologist from the University of Washington in Seattle, developed DBT specifically for people with BPD, especially those who engage in frequent self-destructive and self-injurious behaviours. DBT is based on the belief that the symptoms of BPD result from biological impairments in the brain mechanisms that regulate emotional responses. The early behavioural effects of this impairment are magnified, as the person with this biological risk factor interacts with people who dont validate their emotional pain and dont help them learn effective coping skills. DBT has gained considerable favour in the treatment of BPD because of the results it ha s achieved in several research studies. It has been shown that DBT can be taught to and used by many, but not all, mental health professionals. For the time being this seriously limits the broad use of this effective treatment approach. DBT seeks to validate feelings and problems, but it balances this acceptance by gently pushing to make productive changes. DBT also deals with other opposing or dialectical tensions or conflicts that arise, such as the patients perceived need for a high level of dependence on the therapists and others, and the fear and guilt aroused by such excessive dependency. DBT combines both cognitive and behavioural techniques and designed specifically to treat BPD. It is a combination of individual psychotherapy and psychosocial skills training that has been shown via controlled clinical trial to be effective in treating individuals with BPD (Linehan, 1993b). In practice, the limiting factor in providing access to psychological therapies is the very small prop ortion of NHS staff trained to deliver these to a competent standard. Fourteen women with borderline personality disorder were interviewed to ascertain what is effective about DBT and why (Cunningham et al., 2004).Participants reported that DBT allowed them to see the disorder as a controllable part of themselves rather than something that controlled them, providing them with tools to help them deal with the illness. Service users reported that DBT had had a positive effect on their relationships in day-to-day interactions, and although problems with friends and family did not disappear, they were more manageable (NICE 2009). Clients also expressed higher levels of hope and a desire to live more independently (Cunningham et al., 2004) 2.2 Suicidal acts Definition: deliberate; life threatening; resulted in medical attention; medical assessment consistent with suicide attempt. Suicide is common in people with borderline personality disorder and may occur several years after the first presentation of symptoms (Paris Zweig-Frank, 2001). A well-documented association exists between borderline personality disorder and depression (Skodol et al., 1999; Zanarini et al., 1998), and the combination of the two conditions has been shown to increase the number and seriousness of suicide attempts (Soloff et al., 2000). People with borderline personality disorder may engage in a variety of destructive and impulsive behaviours including self-harm, eating problems and excessive use of alcohol and illicit substances. Self-harming behaviour in borderline personality disorder is associated with a variety of different meanings for the person, including relief from acute distress and feelings, such as emptiness and anger, and to reconnect with feelings after a period of dissociation. As a result of the frequency with which they self-harm, people with borderline personality di sorder are at increased risk of suicide (Cheng et al, 1997), with 60 to 70% attempting suicide at some point in their life (Oldham, 2006). The rate of completed suicide in people with borderline personality disorder has been estimated to be approximately 10% (Oldham, 2006). A behavioural approach to self-harm and suicidality that incorporated skills training in emotion regulation and validation of client experience developed into dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), a specific intervention for borderline personality disorder. Cognitive-behavioural therapy along the lines of Beck, Freeman, Associates (1990) has been investigated in at least two uncontrolled trials. Brown, Newman, Charlesworth, and Chrits-Cristoph (2003) found significant decreases on suicide ideation, hopelessness, depression, number of BPD symptoms, and dysfunctional beliefs after 1 year of cognitive-behavioural therapy for suicidal or self-mutilating patients with BPD. Results were maintained at a 6 months follow- up. Effect sizes were moderate (0.22-0.55). Dropout rate was 9.4%. Arntz (1999a) found positive effects of long-lasting cognitive-behavioural therapy in a mixed sample of personality disorders, including 6 patients with BPD. Two patients with BPD dropped out prematurely, but the other four attained good results. A randomized clinical trial was conducted by Linehan et al. (1991) with 44 subjects to evaluate the effectiveness of DBT for the treatment of chronically parasuicidal women who met criteria for BPD. Patients who received DBT had an average of 8.46 inpatient days per year compared to 38.86 days for the control group. It was also noted that it did not appear that there were differences between the two groups on measures of depression, hopelessness, suicide ideation, or reasons for living. Linehan et al. (1993) conducted a naturalistic follow-up review of 39 of these subjects to determine whether the effects of DBT were maintained over one year post treatment. In the 12 to 18 month period, subjects completing DBT had fewer parasuicidal episodes and fewer medically treated episodes. In the 18- to 24-month period, there were no significant between-group differences on parasuicide measurements, although psychiatric inpatient days during this time were lower for subjects in the DBT group. Rathus et al. (2002) conducted a study with a group of suicidal adolescents with borderline personality features. Participants included 111 outpatient admissions. Eighty-two participants were assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and 29 were assigned to DBT. The groups were not randomized, but it was noted that there was more severe pre-treatment symptomtology in the DBT group than the TAU group. The group treated with DBT had significantly fewer inpatient psychiatric hospitalisations during the 12 weeks of treatment. The groups did not differ significantly in number of suicide attempts made during treatment. There was a slightly higher rate of treatment completion in the DBT group. Hengeveld et al (1996) report a case series of nine female outpatients who had attempted suicide on at least two occasions and were offered up to ten sessions of group CBT. Seven of the nine met criteria for personality disorder and of these four had borderline personality disorder. Ten months after the last session, recurrence of self-harm was examined using telephone contacts with participants and examination of hospital records. Four of the seven participants reported further suicide attempts all four had borderline personality disorder. Linehan et al. (2006) conducted a one-year randomized controlled trial with one year of post-treatment follow up. The objective was to evaluate the hypothesis that unique aspects of DBT are more efficacious compared to treatment offered by non-behavioural psychotherapy experts. The study included 101 female participants with recent suicidal and self-injurious behaviours that met DSM-IV criteria. The subjects who received DBT were half as likely to make a suicide attempt. 2.3 Suicidal acts Definition: deliberate; resulted in visible tissue damage, nursing or medical intervention required. Self-harming behaviour in borderline personality disorder is associated with a variety of different meanings for the person, including relief from acute distress and feelings, such as emptiness and anger, and to reconnect with feelings after a period of dissociation. As a result of the frequency with which they self-harm, people with borderline personality disorder are at increased risk of suicide (Cheng et al., 1997). Service users have been positive about DBT because it has helped them to improve their relationships and their ability to control their emotions and reduce self harm. However, while some valued the structure of the approach, others preferred the programme to be more tailored and flexible. In a large sample, Tyrer et al (2003) found that CBT was equivalent to TAU for the treatment of recurrent self-harm and noted that this method was less effective for patients with BPD. Brown (2004) conducted an uncontrolled cohort study participants with borderline personality disorder who reported suicidal ideation or engaged in self-injurious behaviour received weekly CBT over a 12-month period and were followed up over an 18-month period. Individual sessions lasting 1 hour were supplemented by access to emergency telephone contact with an on-call therapist between sessions. Verheul et al. (2003) conducted a randomized controlled study for the purpose of comparing the effectiveness of DBT with TAU for patients with BPD and to examine the impact of baseline severity on effectiveness. The study included 58 women who were randomized to either DBT or TAU and who received treatment over one year. The results included: DBT had a substantially lower 12-month attrition rate (37%) compared with TAU (77%); treatment with DBT resulted in greater reduction of self-mutilating and self-damaging impulsive acts than TAU. Van den Bosch et al. (2005) published a follow-up review of this study that examined whether the treatment results in the Verheul study were sustained over six-month follow-up or up to week 78. It was noted that in the six months after treatment discontinuation, the benefits of DBT over TAU in terms of lower levels of impulsive and self-mutilating behaviours were sustained. However, it must be noted that parasuicide activity had been defined in slightly different ways in the RCTs and therefore might not be comparable across studies. Alper (2001) presents outcome data on a case series of 15 court committed women with a clinical diagnosis of borderline personality disorder that underwent treatment with nurse-led DBT in an inpatient forensic setting. There was a reduction in the frequency of self-harm over the 4-week period. In addition, the authors conducted qualitative interviews with four nurses to describe their experience of administering DBT; their responses were uniformly positive. Bateman Tryer (2004) state that the widespread adoption of dialectical behaviour therapy is a tribute both to the energy and charisma of its founder, Marsha Linehan, and to the attractiveness of the treatment, with its combination of acceptance and change, skills training, excellent manualisation, and a climate of opinion that is willing and able to embrace this multifaceted approach. It is not, however, justified by the strength of the evidence (Tyrer, 2002b) and conclusions about the long-term effectiveness of this therapy as a treatment for the personality itself are premature. Since the original trial which was handicapped by many methodological limitations, there has only been one randomised study that supports the findings unequivocally, that of Verheul et al (2003). 2.4 Non-engagement For effective treatment, commitment to therapy is required, and research shows that fewer people drop out of DBT than other therapies (verheul et al 2003) According to service users interviewed by Haigh (2002), services could be improved if: professionals acknowledged that personality disorder is treatable; they received a more positive experience on initial referral as this would make engagement with a service more likely; if the ending of a therapeutic relationship was addressed adequately; and if services were not removed as soon as people showed any signs of improvement, because this tended to increase anxiety and discourage maintenance of any improvement. In a study by Hodgetts and colleagues (2007) of five people with borderline personality disorder being treated in a DBT service, the participants reported that DBT was presented to them as the only treatment for personality disorder. This may have raised anxieties in service users about what was expected of them. While some valued the sense of structure to the treatment, others would have preferred a more tailored and flexible approach. There were also mixed feelings about the co mbination of individual therapy and group skills training. For one person the challenges of DBT proved too much so she left the programme. Another factor in her leaving was that she believed she was refused supp
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