Mood

Mood disorders are those disorders that have a disturbance in mood as their predominant feature. This group includes several nosoforms such as affective disorders, psychotic bipolar disorder and depressive disorders. The last are presented by the involutional and postpartum depression, dysthymic disorder and seasonal affective disorder. All listed conditions are very frequent – about 14.3% of the population is stroked by the mood disorders. The aim of this review is comparing the different treatments for the mood disorders by example of postpartum mood disorders. Databases searched for this review included PsycINFO only.There are several risk factors of postpartum mood disturbances. After delivery the level of steroid hormones (estrogens, gestagens and cortisol) changes dramatically. Some women are very sensitive to these hormonal changes and can react with changes of the mood. Psychosocial risk factors include low income and inadequate social supports, recent negative life ev ents, marital conflict or dissatisfaction. Heredity and individual susceptibility are risk factors for postpartum depression. Thus women with individual or family history of a mood disorder have higher risk of postpartum depression. A prior history of postpartum mood disorder increases the risk of recurrence of the depression in two folds.Postpartum changes of the mood are not rare complications of accouchement. There are different symptoms of mood disturbance – from transitory and mild signs of postpartum blues and up to the severe postpartum depression and puerperal psychosis. Nonacs R. and Cohen LS. (1998) write that mood changes during the puerperium are often overlooked. This fact arouses the risk of the episodes of recurrent depression in mothers. Another important issue of the problem is a risk of the remote consequences of mother’s mood disturbance on the future mental and physical development of child. To prevent those long-term effects the early diagnostics a nd effective treatment interventions should be applied.Some forms of the postpartum mood disorder do not require any specific treatment, e.g. the most common (30-75% of new mothers) form of the mood disturbances, so called â€Å"baby blues† require only education, reassurance and support. More serious conditions, like postpartum depression, need more active interventions. This condition occurs in 15-20 % of all women recently confined. It is characterized by anxiety, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, low interest to the baby and other symptoms of major depression.Seyfried LS and Marcus SM. (2003) indicate that pharmacological treatment for patients with postpartum depression can be limited because some psychoactive drugs are contraindicated in lactation and psychotherapeutic approaches became the method of the choice. On other hand, rare cases of postpartum psychosis require psychiatric emergency care and urgent drug treatment. Thus the differentiation of treatment mode is imp ortant element of the care in the postnatal changes of the mood.Series of works by Dennis CL. et all. (2004) are dedicated to the problem of treatment of postpartum depression. Authors consider that the most effective schemes of psychotherapy include interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, peer and partner support, nondirective counseling, relaxation/massage therapy, infant sleep interventions, infant-mother relationship therapy, and maternal exercise.Unfortunately the available clinical trials studied these methods and their effectiveness, were designed poorly and have low level of evidence. Thus definite conclusions about the relative effectiveness of the different treatments cannot be reached. Authors recommend to increase the number of randomized controlled trials needed for comparing different treatment schemes, examining the effectiveness of individual treatment components and selecting the optimum treatments for women with different anamnesis and status pra esens objectivus.Other group of interventions using in the psychiatry for treatment of postpartum depression includes antidepressant medication, estrogen therapy, critically timed sleep deprivation, and bright light therapy. Some of these interventions can be applied to other types of depressions unrelated to puerperium but the issues of pharmacological safety can limit them.As an example of mentioned above we can use the results of the study by Reck C. et all. (2004). They found, that mother-infant interaction plays a central role in the treatment of postpartum depression. They explain this fact with high sensitivity of infants to their mothers' emotional state. The authors consider that postpartum depression is a risk factor for disturbances of children's development. They proposed the integrated model of treatment which is based on   mother-infant-centered interventions.Similar propositions contains the research paper of Hofecker-Fallahpour M. et all. (2003). This group of Swis s investigators proposed the program of group therapy for depressive mothers, including those who has postpartum depression. The main therapeutic method in this program is behavioral therapy.Clark R, Tluczek A. and Wenzel A. from the University of Wisconsin Medical School published work (2004) about the priorities of psychotherapy in the patients with postpartum depression. They think that group psychotherapy and interpersonal psychotherapy should be superior to other methods of non-pharmacological treatment.The main objectives of the proposed treatment is â€Å"reducing maternal depressive symptoms, improving mothers' perceptions of their infants' adaptability and reinforcement value, and increasing mothers' positive affect and verbalization with their infants†. Authors urge that early intervention for mothers with postpartum depression is crucial point of successful treatment.Different point of view was demonstrated by Cooper PJ, Murray L, Wilson A. and Romaniuk H. (2003). They think that psychological interventions for postnatal depression can be beneficial in the short term but this benefit is not superior to spontaneous remission in the long term. In their research Cooper PJ. et all. used routine primary care, non-directive counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy. They found that all chosen treatments had a considerable impact at four months on maternal mood but only psychodynamic therapy reduced depression significantly.The last kind of therapy focused on patient's experience and bygone conflicts of childhood and adolescence. All benefits of the treatment were not longer by nine months after delivery and did not reduce of recurrent episodes of depression in long-term perspective. These scientists urge that postnatal depression is associated with adverse child cognitive and socio-emotional outcome (2003). They found that early psychotherapeutic intervention had the short-term benefit to the mother-child relationship and i nfant behavior.In summarizing of foresaid we could said that the treatment of mood disorders in puerperal period includes two main components: medical interventions and psychotherapy. The choice of the methods and their combination depend on the severity of signs and risk of the recurrence of mood disorder. Women with mild disturbances of mood (postpartum blues) do not need specific treatment. This condition typically resolves spontaneously during first weeks.Because the medical interventions are not the subject of our competence we will focus on the findings in the field of psychotherapy. This approach is especially useful in women with mild or moderate severity of postnatal depression. The most of authors recommend group psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapy), but individual therapy is effective too. These methods can be combined with educational programs. O'Hara MW. and his coauthors evaluated efficacy of different methods of psychotherapy for postpartum d epression. They proposed interpersonal psychotherapy as the method of the choice in treatment of postpartum depression.They found that â€Å"interpersonal psychotherapy reduced depressive symptoms and improved social adjustment, and represents an alternative to pharmacotherapy, particularly for women who are breastfeeding†. We can see that the main benefit of psychotherapy is absence of adverse effects of taking medications. But in severe cases of postnatal depression or when patients do not respond to non-pharmacological treatment and in all cases of postpartum psychosis the pharmacological treatment is indicated.The prevalent forms of psychotherapy in the postnatal depression include cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy. Both individual and group therapy can be used. All types of non-pharmacological treatment are effective in mild and moderate severity of the depression.Untreated mood disorders place the mother at risk for recurrent disease. Furthermore, maternal depression is associated with long-term cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems in the child. One of the most important objectives is to increase awareness across the spectrum of health care professionals who care for women during pregnancy and the puerperium so that postpartum mood disorders may be identified early and treated appropriately.Effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies are available. Every approach has the advantages and demerits. But to compare their effectiveness we need better-designed clinical trials and the unification of the approaches to the examining of the effectiveness of individual treatment components. Selecting the optimum treatments for women with different background and severity of the postnatal depression should be evidence-based and take into consideration the possibility of long-term effects of the mood disorder. References: 1.Clark R, Tluczek A, Wenzel A. (2003) Psychotherapy for postpartum depression: a preliminary report. Am J Orthopsychiatry. Oct; 73(4) p. 441-454. 2.Cooper PJ, Murray L, Wilson A, Romaniuk H. (2003) Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression. I. Impact on maternal mood. Br J Psychiatry. May; 182: p. 412-419. 3.Dennis CL, Stewart DE. (2004) Treatment of postpartum depression, part 1: a critical review of biological interventions. J Clin Psychiatry. Sep; 65(9): p. 1242-1251. 4.Dennis CL. (2004) Treatment of postpartum depression, part 2: a critical review of nonbiological interventions. J Clin Psychiatry. Sep; 65(9): p. 1252-1265. 5.Hofecker-Fallahpour M., Zinkernagel-Burri C., Stà ¶ckli B., Wà ¼sten G., Stieglitz RD., Riecher-Rà ¶ssler A. (2003) Gruppentherapie bei Depression in der frà ¼hen Mutterschaft Erste Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie Der Nervenarzt Sep.; Band 74, Nummer 9; S.: 767 – 774 6.Murray L, Cooper PJ, Wilson A, Romaniuk H. (2003) Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression: 2. Impact on the mother-child relationship and child outcome. Br J Psychiatry. May; 182: p. 420-427. 7.Nonacs R, Cohen LS. (1998) Postpartum mood disorders: diagnosis and treatment guidelines. J Clin Psychiatry. 59 Suppl 2: p. 34-40. 8.O'Hara MW, Stuart S, Gorman LL, Wenzel A. (2000) Efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy for postpartum depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Nov; 7(11) p. 1039-1045. 9.Reck C., Weiss R., Fuchs T., Mà ¶hler E., Downing G., Mundt C. (2004) Psychotherapie der postpartalen Depression Mutter-Kind-Interaktion im Blickpunkt. Der Nervenarzt. November Band 75, Nummer 11 S.: 1068 – 1073 10.Seyfried LS, Marcus SM. (2003) Postpartum mood disorders. Int Rev Psychiatry.   Aug; 15(3) p. 231-242.

Accounting for Small Business Essay

ABSTRACT SMEs play a very important role in India’s economy and have a great potential for strengthening the real sector in India. But there has not been appropriate infrastructure yet which is accounting system to show the business feasibility. Traditional business in Indian Villages had been started by a family and ancestors, but has gotten bigger now. This business has many strengths and weaknesses. Based on the condition and background, the proposed-accounting system has been developed. It has been also successfully tested for a month transaction and revised. Adding knowledge management into accounting system is an alternative way to develop the proposed-accounting system. The four modes of knowledge creation will facilitate the business and its owner to add some modules in accounting system and to reengineer the business process. See more: Distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping Essay INTRODUCTION: Small business plays a very important role in India’s economy, particularly in aspects increased employment, income generating, economic development. In addition, this sector is considered as a driving force for the rural economy. But until now there are still many problems to hinder the small business growth. Facts in the Asia Pacific region revealed that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) employ about 60 percent of the workforce. Only 10 percent of the total companies in Asia Pacific which is a big business, the rest are SMEs. For India, according to Small & Medium Business Corner (SMBC) data in 2012 the numbers of micro, small and medium enterprises develop into 130 Lakhs (http://www.smeindia.net/export_schemes/OverviewofMSME.html) by giving employment to 410 Lakhs people and able to contribute to the total national GDP amounted to 8-9 percent in 2012. Basic problem of management in small business is inability of owners to determine their management style that appropriate with the business need and development stage. In early stage of business, family management style leads to one-man show. According to improvement of business environment, that conventional style could not be pushed longer. Especially in financial management, the business owners could not be able to separate the financial management of business and family yet. Besides, they have not well planned, managed and reported periodically yet. It is caused by there is no appropriate infrastructure which is accounting system. The impact is that the owners of small business have difficulties to cooperate with external such as bank or another financial institution. The owners have difficulties to show their feasibility business when they want to propose credit or make a business contract with another business. Based on the importance of an accounting system, this research results a proposed-accounting system which can be applied by owners of small business in India. The proposed-accounting system is a generic model of purchasing and selling system that should be enhanced according to business need and by refer to the knowledge management approach. LITERATURE REVIEW: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: According to Gillespie, accounting system is an organization of document, form and report which is managed to provide information for management. Based on that definition, elements of accounting system are documents, forms and reports, but still concern with procedure and internal control. Therefore, proposed-elements in this study will refer to it. SMALL BUSINESS: Under the law of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (2008), definition of SMEs in India is explained by the table below. Based on the definition, the research object is categorized as a small business. DEFINITION OF SMES IN INDIA Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore. Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT: System development in this study will follow the three main steps a.System analysis: Activities in this stage are initial study, feasibility study, requirement definition, and specification system arrangement. b.System design:   After finishing system analysis, the next activities are system design, system building and system testing. c.System implementation:   Based on system testing, a revised system will be established. Finally, system is implemented and operated. At this stage, company will conduct maintenance activity. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Since this study wants to develop a proposed-accounting system, â€Å"Research and development† approach which is applied in this study is a research program that is followed by a development program. It is a combination of descriptive study that describes the actual phenomenon in an object and exploratory research that develops a proposed -accounting system. A proposed-accounting system is focused on purchasing and selling system since those are the main activities in the business. The location of this study, Traditional small business in Indian Villages, was chosen on purpose, because this business in the Villages has significantly improved in sales and human empowering, also government is paying attention by giving assistantship for both management and technology. Primary data of this study was the results of guided interviews and observation. The steps of this study are designed as follow: a.Initial study Preliminary research was conducted to comprehend previous studies and literature, guided questionnaire drafting, and Traditional business understanding. b.System requirement defining At this stage, the data was obtained by interview with business owners and observation directly to the business. By understanding the research object condition and background, also the strength and weakness, the accounting system requirement could be defined. c.Development of proposed-accounting system At this stage, development of proposed-accounting system was managed by interviews, observation, and group discussion among owners, researcher and government, related to main accounting system elements, which are document, form and report. In its development, knowledge management approach was proposed to use since it can facilitate business daily operation into business standard operation. The result of this stage was a proposed-accounting system. d.Testing and implementation Testing was accomplished by implementing the proposed system to handle a month transactions. Owners and their staff used it to run transactions of purchasing and selling for a month. By running the system, problems were found and then they were used to revise the system. At this stage, a revised-accounting system was established. e.Conclusions and recommendations In the final stage of this study, conclusions and suggestions from all research processes were stated. RESULT AND DISCUSSION: PROFILE OF TRADITIONAL BUSINESS IN INDIAN VILLAGES: India is one of the major exporter and supplier of handicrafts and gift products to the world market. The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labor intensive and decentralized, being spread all across the country in rural and urban areas. The sector is considered as the second largest employment-generating sector after agriculture with numerous artisans engaged in craft work on a part-time basis. The industry offers employment to over 6 million artisans, including a large number of women and people from the weaker sections of society. The present day handicraft tradition of India is a perfect example of assimilation between the traditional designs and modern techniques. The fast growing demand for Indian handicraft and gifts products have made this sector a full-fledged large scale organized industry that is growing day by day. History The rich history of India’s craft tradition has evolved over the centuries offering a legacy of Indian culture promising everything – beauty, dignity, form and style. The variety is comprehensive and ranges from age-old stone carvings to modern handicrafts making use of glass flints and mirrors. The most popular crafts, include metalware, earthenware, pottery, sculpting, woodwork, hand-printed textiles and scarves, embroidered and crocheted goods, shawls, zari products, stone carving and imitation jewelry. There is a myriad of art and craft traditions in India that depend on social, economic and regional factors. The present status of the sector in India owes much to the rich crafts history and tradition of the past. Majority of the crafts from the past continues to flourish due to their utilitarian characteristics, availability to the common people and popularity in domestic and global markets. Today, some of the sectors within the craft industry have even become full fledged industries in their own, like – carpet weaving, traditional textile (Banarsi silk sari, Chikankari etc), gem cutting and polishing, jewelry making, the world famous diamond cutting and polishing industry, brassware, jute products, etc. The growth of these industries is due to their ever-increasing demand and the popularity of Indian crafts in the domestic market and overseas. Gems and jewelry, carpet making, metalware, leather products, jute products etc. are some industries, which are growing rapidly.

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay Example for Free

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay What is a leader? A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. There are many types of leaders. A leader can be a laissez-faire leader that lacks direct supervision and fails to provide regular feedback to those they lead, an autocrat that possesses total authority and take decisions upon their own will without consulting those who are following or even a participative leader who has the responsibility of making the final decision but greatly includes the opinions, ideas and feedback of those they lead. Leaders can also be transactional leaders who receive certain tasks to conduct and give rewards or punishments to those under them based on their performance or transformational leaders who motivate followers and increase productivity using communicative techniques and involvement in the tasks they set. Not only that, a leader also has to have some traits that correspond to their types of leadership. For example, transformational leaders have to be patient with their followers otherwise relationships can break down and the whole idea of efficiency is destroyed. Leaders need to be persuasive as well to motivate and convince their followers to believe in an idea or their ability to do a task which they hesitate to do or think they are unable to. As seen in history and many novels, leaders lead differently than other leaders as ideas, methods and perceptions of perfection differ between them. For example, the ideas and methods used by Queen Elizabeth the First differed from those used by Sampath Chawla from the novel entitled ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’ written by Kiran Desai as well as Mark Antony from the play entitled ‘The tragedy of Julius Caesar’ written by the famous William Shakespeare. The three of them all differed in how they led their followers and using which ideas to do so. Despite differing in many aspects, they all shared some common traits that are the bases of leadership. In ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’, some conspirators had killed the almost roman emperor, Julius Caesar. They did so, giving the false reason that they wanted to rid him of the fear or worry of death. Mark Antony, using persuasive techniques, managed to change the mindsets of the public who believed in the conspirators’ reason into believing that Caesar was a good man and had no bad intentions, which is what the conspirators’ thought. Mark Antony uses persuasive techniques like repetition, false intentions and sophistry. He uses these in his speech at Caesar’s burial to convince the crowd into believing his ideas by first commending Brutus on how honorable he is but then repeating how honorable he is to make the crowd question their faith in Brutus. He also says that he did not arrive to praise Caesar but to bury him which is exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. Another false intention was that he did not want to disprove Brutus which is exactly what he did by using appropriate facts. Lastly, his speech was sophisticated and so led the crowd to believing that he was superior to Brutus which cemented his gaining the crowd’s support. In ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’, the main character, Sampath, is a leader later on in the novel after losing his job at the post office where he reads every letter that passes him. He becomes a sort of spiritual leader as he passes on some of the knowledge, both useful and downright senseless, to those who believe he is one. He manages to convince the people who come to him for advice, as he seemingly has an answer that seems meaningful and wise, using persuasive techniques that include loaded language and glittering generalities. An example of the responses he gives to people is when someone asked him if anyone could comprehend all there is to know about god to which Sampath replied ‘‘ Once you have broken the bottle you can no longer distinguish the air inside from the air outside’’ This represents the colorful and loaded language Sampath represents as well as his ability to confuse and manipulate people into thinking meaningless sentences like these have greater meaning and that is the reason they cannot understand. He is also a leader because he represents a symbol of knowledge and religious importance and this gives people something to look forward to, believe in and rely upon. Queen Elizabeth the First was a leader as well when she ruled over England in 1588. She was brave, intelligent, caring and because of this, loved by the people. At this time, England was about to go to war with Spain. The units in concern were the naval fleets of both nations that were about to engage in combat. The Spanish fleet, nicknamed the Spanish Armada, were in comparison to the English fleet, bigger, stronger and heavily armored and this caused the soldiers to doubt their own ability to win and caused large bouts of cowardice. Despite this, the English fleet came out victorious. Queen Elizabeth, on the eve of the Spanish Armada, gave a powerful speech that motivated her soldiers and showed her love and respect for the country. She used persuasive techniques like bandwagon appeal to bring out the desire to belong in the soldiers, rewards that gave incentive to the soldiers to fight, win and return, loaded language to appeal to her audience, a tone of self-assurance to show that she knows the position of power she is in and how she is not threatened by anything on the outside and lastly, the most powerful technique she used was to keep using the word ‘we’ to show how they are all united and how she was willing to give up everything for the nation. This inspired the confidence needed to win the battle. A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This is what all three leaders have shown, the ability to lead. They have shown this in their own ways and with their own ideas. They all share this common trait as well as being persuasive and adapting intelligently to fit the situation. That is the basic leadership trait that all successful leaders throughout history have shown and that is all that is needed in order to be a successful leader. Analytical Essay About Leaders. (2016, Sep 15).

Ethical Problems of Cloning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethical Problems of Cloning - Essay Example The doctors are hopeful, that they can induce a remission again. However, the most effective treatment would be a bone marrow transplant. Jim and Gwen have no other children and neither of them are a close enough match. They decide to attempt to conceive another child who will be a match for Ruth and seek assistance from an IVF specialist. They will then be able to use the cord blood for the transplant. They undergo three attempts involving the collection and fertilization of ova. Each embryo is tested but none of the eight embryos are a match. Ruth has finished the repeated courses of chemotherapy and is in remission again. However, her parents are not sure, how long she will remain in remission and are disheartened by the failure to find an embryo that is a match. They ask the doctors to consider cloning Ruth, using an egg from Gwen with the nucleus removed. The doctors are reasonably sure, that they could successfully clone a child, even though it has only been trialed with animals. However, they are seriously concerned, that the child would be born with birth defects. Jim and Gwen acknowledge this concern but feel there is no other way to save Ruth. Is cloning a human real Should human clones exist The question is not in technical peculiarities now, but in the moral and ethical implications of cloning. On the one hand, this act may be considered immoral. It is known, that a person has got not only body, but thoughts, deeds, moral standards. People can be happy and sad, angry and kind. And people have got reason. This is the fundamental difference of humans and animals. There is the risk, that a human clone won't have human thoughts or traits, which won't make him different from animals. This creature will be like an empty cover without soul. The so-called cloning technology distinguishes only material, and not spiritual nature of people. Thus it may create a mass production of humans without any relation to the real act of conception and with giving a little individual no mind or soul. Transplantation of organs from a clone, whose donor attributes are similar to those of the patient, may not be a desirable objectivity. The life of a human, even of a cloned one, should not be considered as the consumer product. Even an embryo at its initial stage of development possesses life. That's why it may be considered immoral to create human life for further killing it. It is rather difficult to accept cloning from the ethical point of view. But there is also some concern from technological point of view. Though cloned animals exist, but it has been noticed that they often have physical defects or are overtaken by untimely death. This very fact was outlined to Ruth's parents - there is the great risk of the cloned child having many physical defects, and there are no guarantees, that the child will live a long life. According to the research, the probable rates of death among children may reach 50%. Taking into account this fact, some people may consider cloning to be a crime. No one should strive to acquire hundreds of embryos, which stand in front of the danger of being destroyed. This fact is enough to suppose cloning to be immoral. Moreover, the children, who were born through cloning, may meet a lot of terrible problems in their lives, as

Inadequacies of accounting ratios as tools of financial analysis Essay

Inadequacies of accounting ratios as tools of financial analysis - Essay Example The multi-discriminant analysis and methodologies involving ratio disaggregation or decomposition such as DuPont analysis are commonly used as well for the purpose of financial analysis. Any user of financial statements must comprehend the limitations associated with ratio analysis. Ratios are attractive as they are simple and convenient. The ratios can only be as relevant as the data upon which they are based and the information with which they are compared. One glaring limitation of ratios is that they are based on historical cost convention, which can lead to limitations in measuring performance. By not incorporating information on changes in price, inaccurate assessments of the enterprise's financial condition and performance result. Also, all users must keep in mind that where estimated items (such as depreciation and amortization) are large and significant, income ratios lose some of their credibility. Income recognized before the end of the life of the business is just an approximation. In analyzing the income statement, the user should be aware of the various assumptions used in the computation of net income. As one writer aptly noted, "The physicist has lon g since conceded that the location of an electron is best expressed by a probability curve. Surely an abstraction like earnings per share is even more subject to the rules of probability and risk." (Cheney, 1971) Probably the greatest pitfall of ratio analysis is the difficult problem in achieving comparability of firms in a given industry. Achieving comparability among firms requires that the ratio analysis (1) identifies the basic differences existing in their accounting principles and procedures and be (2) flexible enough to adjust the balances (modify the raw data) to achieve comparability. In any peers group ratio analysis it is important to compare ratios to the industry average ratios to see how one company compares to its competitors or even to compare with similar companies or within industries. In US one often uses Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes as part of peer ratio analysis. Majors like Dun and Bradstreet provides "average" ratio levels for firms in a number of different industries. Deviation from the "industry norm" by a firm may indicate one of the following: 1) a strength in the firm, 2) a weakness in the firm, or 3) a difference in the operating characteristics between the firm and the "industry norm." One must realize that a ratio that is higher than the norm is not necessarily better. This is obviously true for the debt-equity ratio and perhaps less obviously true for the current ratio. A current ratio that is too low may indicate that the firm is not able to raise cash easily; a current ratio that is too high may indicate that the firm is not investing its funds in the most profitable assets (fixed asset investment is often more

DQ 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ 2 - Essay Example There are three main financial statements that are usually affected when a company makes any transaction. Purchase of an asset does not qualify as an expense, since it is a financing activity, which means that the income statement is not affected or changed. The balance sheet is used to record the final balances in the asset, liability and equity accounts of a firm, which means that this transaction will affect the balance sheet. When the company takes the loan, the cash account (current asset) increases by $150,000, and the loan account (Liability) also increases by $150,000. When the company purchases the asset, the cash account (current asset) reduces by $150,000, and the equipment account (Long-term asset) increases by $150,000. The other financial statement that is affected is the cash flow statement, since the transaction of purchasing the asset is a cash flow for an investing activity. In this case, the cash flow for investing activities will be increased by

Big Data Challenged and Opportunities Assignment

Big Data Challenged and Opportunities - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that with big data, the problem of storage arises because of the fact that cloud storage has been seen vulnerable now to many security issues. With the data increasing day by day, it can be seen that people in the Information technology field are decreasing which causes an alarming situation to recruit talented people in the field. Information can be used for various positive purposes and scientific advancements can lead to the growth for a far better future. Where there are positive impacts and the world is moving towards a more digitalized form, there are drawbacks to the same thing which might lead to damage of both research and the society providing it falls into the wrong hands and is manipulated for the wrong purposes. The processing power and the storage capabilities of the technology for big data should be met with to improve understanding of nature. Big organizations have been using big data to gain advancements and lead the industry as compared to the other competitions in the industry. The aim to be the best at what they do, big data in industries is to be analyzed so that the big organizations can have an edge over all the other competitors in the same marketplace. Competition is what leads to growth and betterment. Striving for the best and maintaining the position is what keeps the companies moving forwards and progress in what they do. Analyzing big chunks of data not only gives out an upper hand as compared to the others but it also helps in making up strategies that are developed for the future working process and functioning of the organizational body. Having said that, the management system and lean management lead to the function of a more effective organizational body. It has become mandatory to develop future strategies on analytics and statistics of the company rather than by intuition.  

If you were given a million dollars to spend how would you spend it Essay

If you were given a million dollars to spend how would you spend it you cannot use it for yourself family members or friends - Essay Example microwaves and ovens and would stock each kitchen with a basic service for four people, a pot, pan and casserole dish and silverware – all of it color coordinated and each apartment different. I would also furnish each apartment with at least one bed and linens, a couch, a table and a chair and make sure there are decent coverings on the windows for privacy. Each bathroom would have at least two sets of towels – washcloth, hand towel and bath towel – and be supplied with soap, shampoo and conditioner. On the property, I would also install a Laundromat where the washers and dryers are free to operate and each apartment would be provided with the necessary cleaning supplies to keep everything nice. I would also hire landscapers to come in and make sure the grounds looked decent. Once everything was in place, I would go down to the local food kitchen and talk with the people that work there to find out more about the homeless people that they feed. I would be careful in my selection, but I would select several homeless people who have fallen on hard times or who seem likely to be able to pull themselves out of homelessness if they were just given a stress-free month or two to get their heads together. I would take them shopping at the discount stores like Goodwill to make sure they had decent clothes to wear and food to eat and then give them one of my apartments to live in while they got themselves a new job and worked to find their own home somewhere else so that I can help another homeless person. I would ask these people who have made it out to come back and help at the complex by teaching previously homeless people how to keep things clean, help with job training, help me find jobs for people based on their skills and abilities, etc. Any extra money I h ad left over would be spent trying to encourage professionals to come in and work with my people to get them off of drugs, overcome handicaps or take care of other

Discuss the role of the Emergency Manager and the Fundamentals of Essay - 1

Discuss the role of the Emergency Manager and the Fundamentals of Emergency Management - Essay Example In other words, disaster mitigation and risk-reduction measures are needed for a good response. However, one must realize (and be realistic enough) that most disasters cannot be seen in advance or forecasted with any degree of certainty. From an emergency response perspective, it can be said there are no real measures of success (if based on the number of lives saved or in the minimization of damage); but one should always look at each disaster as something unique that cannot be neatly categorized. What is meant here is that disasters are chaotic events and luck is a big part of the outcome. A disaster is not a linear-progression event that can predicted with high degree of precision and therefore is hard for anyone to control completely. Moreover, disasters can easily deteriorate into a catastrophe if the wrong response is employed (like in Japan). This portion talks about the role of the emergency manager and the fundamentals of any emergency management program. It is vital to know these two things for any disaster response to be effective in terms of limiting the damage, saving lives and in the recovery efforts after. Role of Emergency Manager – the primary role of the emergency manager is to prepare a populace for a disaster, whether man-made or natural disasters. In this regard, the manager must implement a disaster preparedness plan to help the people prepare, devise an early warning sign or system to notify people in advance (this is also to prevent panic resulting from rumors and the usual miscommunication in an emergency situation). For this, the manager must put into place a crisis communications plan as a preventive measure and at the same as a pro-active orientation. This team should be composed of the highest local official (or a designated alternate) who can make the decisions, members of the team who can be contacted and authorized to disseminate vital information and also designate a chief of an Incident Command System (ICS) put

Research Project Handout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Project Handout - Essay Example Others will state it as an innate right, but the thought behind freedom should be to respect and be constructive to society. The aim of this essay is to address the notion of freedom and how this idea has morphed over the years. Discussion The foundations of the door of freedom in America, includes an autonomous Congress, Supreme Court, and executive. Thus, America was conceived due to the need to have freedom in practicable government and the wider society. Therefore, this facilitation of liberty, along with inventiveness of individuals, enabled American founding fathers to enable people to possess the right to know and the clout to act (Herbert Hoover on the New Deal and Liberty 170). The founding fathers initiative of freedom was built on the belief that men are gifted by their maker with definite unalienable rights, such as right to life and quest of happiness. Thus, the structures and aims of any government should be to safeguard these rights (Congressional Debate on Immigration Restriction 150). Even though America was formed from a revolution and a rebellion, opposing a structure of government entrenched in customs plus traditions, the idea of freedom for all had been impregnable. ... d for benevolent safeguard of every person, both male and female, in trying to make them self reliant by guaranteeing their civil plus political liberties (128). However, it is intricate to reconcile the boast of freedom, with the nature of the law that practically, places the kind of servitude with degradation on a large grouping of citizens prior to the law (Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537). In that case, the dissenting judge, John Marshall Harlan, argued that freedom is the ability not to impose any structure of government on anyone else, but rather every person everywhere must possess the right to decide the system of government they wish for. According to Truman Doctrine deliberated in 1947, nearly every person must decide between alternative lifestyles since humankind is not fixed and the status quo not sacrosanct (223) Thus, the choice is not often a liberated one. Accordingly, a way of life is pedestal on the will of the mainstream, and is tell apart by gratis institutions, r epresentative regimes, free elections and assurances of individual liberty. Moreover, free people way of life is based on freedom of speech and religious conviction, as well as freedom from political oppression. It is about resisting subjugation coming from armed minorities or any other outside pressures (The Truman Doctrine 223). Even though those pushing for absolute power may seek to attain their own account of ecstasy on earth or equality, equality should result in liberty together with the spread of creative dissimilarities. Therefore, as Walter Lippmann stated in his Critique of Containment article, when freedom is substituted with absolute plus concentrated power, it will ultimately enforce conformity followed by despotism (183). Being free implies not being willing to permit

Managing Resources Essay Example for Free

Managing Resources Essay The learning resource I have chosen is actually also used as an ice breaker for a lesson and then used to build on students communication, reading and understanding skills. The task is used to put students under a time constraint to complete a task of ready and answering simple and possibly trick questions in a short time frame. This resource is not used in a way to trick students but used to then get them to reflect on their ready and interpretation of a question. For example, the first part of the document tell them what they must do and this also asks them to use the space before the number to write their answers. Many students do not do this and proceed to write their answers at the end of the question. When a student is under stress, they may be able to learn skills in much less than the usual time. This is the theory also used in military basic training. It is known as ‘Quick Learning Under Pressure’, it reduces the time it takes to learn a skill through study. This theory has been interpreted under many different ways and Ann Dupuis suggests that under pressure students will gain new skills without taking time to study. Her theory goes onto describe how a Physician caught on a battlefield will under pressure help other people and learn surgery to assist other. I feel this adapts itself to my resource. Many students do not know how to adapt their skills under a timed period such as an exam and placing them under pressure for a short period of 5 minutes will get them later to reflect on their actions. This learning resource however may not be suitable to all students and it is not always used where I am aware of slow reader or maybe people who suffer with dyslexia. The choice to use this is based upon group dynamics and ability. When I thought of designing this resource I took into account how learners who complete this task can reflect on each question and question other peer group member answers. This then is reflected within Kolb’s idea on the learning cycle. Kolb works on a four stage cycle of Concrete Experience, Reflective observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experiment. The experience side of things is the student actual having to complete the task. The reflective observation is covered by completed a group review of the answers. So at the end of the 5 minutes I will lead the students through the questions and statement finding out the students answers and getting them to reflect both personally and as a group on what they had originally written. Now they are reflecting are they changing their mind about the answers? Do they see their initial error when reading the question? The 3rd stage Abstract Conceptualization is then covered by the students looking at the task and ideas or concepts of others around them. The other student interpretation of the questions. The student will then process this information and is able to make a more informed decision. Final the Active Experiment part. 9/10 students want a copy to take a way and try on friends and family so they can put their new skills or understanding into practise of others. This theory is adapted from Kolbs 2006 theory which he updated added extra reasoning behind the 4 main stages. The learning resource once we have gone through the answers can now have the idea and new acquired skills in practising exam questions or exam papers under timed conditions. It also teaches the students not to read something once and immediately think the understand what is being asked of them. When I am moving on from this learning resources onto practise exams I am conscience of the different learning styles I have in the room. I have to ask myself what type of learning styles I have in the room. Do I have the reflector, the theorist, the activist or the pragmatist? The understanding behind this is designed by Honey Mumford. They came up with these 4 titles. Reflectors like to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about it carefully before coming to any conclusions. They enjoy observing others and will listen to their views before offering their own. Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a step by step way. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme. They tend to be detached and analytical rather than subjective or emotive in their thinking. Activists like to be involved in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards. They like working with others but tend to hog the limelight. And finally; Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth. The one good thing about this resource is as long as I have it on paper to hand out (good planning) I don’t need any other resource or technology. I have used this learning resource as a back up lesson in the past when either our computer systems have gone down, or I have arrived at a venue that does not have ICT facilities of some way of showing resources on a smart board or projector. This learning resource is shared out so widely. As mentioned earlier many students ask for a copy to take away with them so I ensure I always have spares to hand to give out and share the experience. Even if it is just for fun.! The main learning outcomes are to show the students that they need to read the question carefully, even if under pressure. To look out for trick questions or two part questions. And finally extracting the information out of the question that is not relevant to exactly what is being asked of them. In relation to legal requirements, this learning resources has been adapted from a many similar styles. I have used a number of my own questions, however I have added questions I have seen elsewhere and this includes from magazine riddles for fun and other websites. This resource has been changed several times and questions replaced with what I felt where better one to get the students thinking more. This then I believe fall under my Intellectual property right. This is the ownership of ideas or work. Copyright is different as copyrighted material means information created by someone else and a you are not allowed to copy it without the owner permission which may incur costs. An easy understanding of this would be music. If I brought a cd from a store and copied it onto a blank disc and then sold it I would be breaking copy right laws as I am selling something someone else owns. This is the same with learning materials.

Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Essay Example for Free

Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Essay Psychodrama can be defined as the helpful role-playing method technique usually conducted by groups. Many questions have been raised about the effects which can be caused by psychodrama on students (Blatner, Adam, 2014). This article have discussed and compiled those effects caused by psychodrama practice on university students’ subjective well-being and hopelessness, morenean approaches: Recognizing Psychodrama’s many facets, the integration of psychodrama with Bowen’s theory in couple therapy and enriching psychodrama through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques Bibliography. Article summary on the effects of psychodrama practice on university students’ subjective well-being and hopelessness                  The effects of psychodrama can be either positive or negative (benefits or limitation).Psychodrama has several applications in real life today. These applications include business, training, religion, and application in business and also teaching together with psychotherapeutic application and concentrations (Blatner, Adam, 2014). Many people have made it a major part in their colleges as psychodrama trainers who puts efforts broadly with such persons (Farmer et al, 2007). The psychodrama tic tactic can be readily unified with several other approaches which relates to psychotherapy. According to Blatner, Adam, (2014), the integration of psychodrama with psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy, behavior therapies, creative arts therapies, play therapy, body therapies, family therapy, group therapy, imagination therapies and other miscellaneous psychotherapies. For example within (ASGPP) American Society for the Study of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama there is a sub class of psychodrama that precisely concentrate on application of psychoanalytic. Psychodrama symbolizes a full expansion and improvement of role-playing together with their applications and implementation. Although role-playing is mostly discussed, outdoor of psychodrama it has not often been considered as an intermediation but except decisiveness training, others are known by the clinician. A psychodrama tic role-playing meeting is perfect for formulating for example a university student to have an encounter with a family or friend member, employer, or maybe the colleague worker. Psychodrama have another application of addressing a wide range of matters and problems comprising those in the currently, future, and past or those that comprise the interior encounter (Farmer et al, 2007). According to Farmer et al, (2007), it can be addressed as â€Å"surplus reality,† that is those issues connected to what one might have, would have, and should have done. This can be applied to efficiently address visions and fantasies and can be applied to address worries related to â€Å"God†, â€Å"the church† or â€Å"the government† in a straight sort of manner. This can improve the well-being of a student and assist him or her in grieving through a goodbye meeting with a departed important and esteemed one. Furthermore Psychodrama can be applied to enhance specific therapy on an individual or additional therapy setup. This can assist the move a student past a deadlock or define if they are equipped for expulsion from treatment through tackling an expected challenging situation (Treadwell, 2005). Privacy is an issue in any experimental preparation groups just as it is in psychotherapy groups. Each participants is required to come to an agreement to privacy as one condition for being a fragment of this training (Blatner, Adam, 2014). The participants are also stimulated to take into account ongoing work and school interactions with other participants as they select what they unveil as a personal material. Furthermore, it will be addressed out that a moral condition for group work is to make the contestants aware that though a group trainer is forbidden by law from unveiling any material from group, also other group members do not have that same responsibility. Many ways can lead to physical injury to the participant in the process of enactment. For example, the presentation of fierce scenes, creating effects in example standing on chairs, or peoples who are bodily compromised to start with commotions which they cannot do. It is the teacher’s and therapist’s accountability to be alert of possible hazards and to shield the participants. Societal force can end up in individuals feeling constrained to participate in activities of which they may not otherwise accord. Moreover, it is stressed that this subject must be made clear with each participant with whom the therapist might use the method (Farmer et al, 2007). Psychodrama is the most approach developed by Moreno in his lifespan. Instead of being believed of as an only technique, his work would be greatly aided if utilized and recognized as actually separate mechanisms (Karatas, Zeynep, 2005). Although the efficiency of these individual mechanisms might be added up by using them in performance, there are many situations in which they can be applied in their own right. Moreno came to a conclusion that body movement, active interrelations and actions on the stage, their common familiarity or distance as stated in altitudinal terms, physical, could inform more about the troubles in interpersonal affairs than speaking (Farmer et al, 2007). The action occurring on the stage, movements and spoken words, and objects, make it probable for the character to either to complete anything he or she has been unable to, or have not known how to do it, or tried not do in actuality (Treadwell, 2005). This can be referred as act completion since it is on the psychodrama stage that the person understands the emotions and thoughts that obstruct him, plus the new sequence of behavior that will assist him to express himself independently (Treadwell, 2005). Psychodrama not only sightsees ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the conditions that have never really occurred but could have the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. The â€Å"character’s† story or subject is at the center of the psychodrama tic presentation whereby the character is the client, patient and the subject of the conduct. The character is chosen out of the group and during the psychodrama tic process the group’s participants are the â€Å"listeners† and the source is for the enactment (Blatner, Adam, 2014). About the greatest part, the source plays the part according to the character’s comments and instructions .The organizer may direct the source but not intensively. According to Moreno, the source can be acted to the character’s creative mind in two approaches known as double and soliloquy (Treadwell, 2005). There are many methods which co-therapist use to deal with those in relationships mainly couples by use of psychodrama methods and Bowen’s theories. The authors put together the Bowens theory of differentiated individual as single who is capable to function from a position of me as different from we in couples or relationships and use psychodrama to show this functioning (Blatner, Adam, 2014). The appliance of psychodrama among couples is based on the four Bowens theories (Farmer et al, 2007). the first theory is the theory of triangle, In couples who are too cross of very far there comes a time where some misunderstanding occurs, some couples are able to solve them in a peaceful manner while others they do not manage to do so, this cause an emotional tension which leads to violence in the family. This is where the Bowens theory of triangle gets in, the theory introduces a third party in the family, which helps to solve the problem. The three party’s forms a triangle as the name suggest due to the pull of the third party. The third party can be Christian leaders, police or family friends. According to Blatner, Adam, (2014), in families, differentiated profile according to Bowen’s theory occurs when a child is born with some characteristics similar to those of one parent or grandparent or the child is born during the period of the death of one of the members of the family. The child concentrates more on the family due to the pressure from those sharing the same characteristics with him or her. This makes child to grow in a sense of WE more than I. In this case, Bowen wanted to teach couples on how to be different from others, if is to attend therapy sessions on member can attend and bring a change in the family if both are not willing to attend together (Karatas, Zeynep, 2005). The authors bring together the psychodrama and also cognitive behavioral techniques in-group settings. Those groups should have a minimum of five and maximum of ten members. The sessions should take 2 to 3 hours and total period should be 15 weeks. Those with aggressive disorders should take individual therapy (Treadwell, 2005). In the application of cognitive therapy, therapist should start with dysfunctional contemplation or thought records where the group’s members record things that affect them emotionally. The records are kept in each person’s file. During the filling of dysfunctional forms, the members should be given the samples first to guide them on how to fill them. Those forms help the therapist to know each person problem (Treadwell, 2005). Other cognitive technique is automatic thoughts, which are habitual. The therapist helps the patient to recognize them and assist the patient how to deal with them. The cognitive behavioral technique is very effective and the patient responds to it very well (Blatner, Adam, 2014). Conclusion                  From the impacts of psychodrama and its explanation we can deduce that it not only explores ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the situations that have at no time really occurred but could have the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. Psychodrama is useful since it can be applied in business, training, religion, and application in business and also teaching together with psychotherapeutic application and concentrations. Other than benefits it can affect the participant due to its societal force which can end up in individuals feeling constrained to participate in activities of which they may not otherwise accord. Outline Psychodrama can be defined as the helpful role-playing method technique usually conducted by groups. Effects of psychodrama can be either positive or negative (benefits or limitation). Benefits include the applications in real life situations such as in business, training, religion, application in business and also teaching. Negative effects are the potential harms in terms of emotions, social culture or physical change. According to Moreno, Psychodrama is the most approach developed in his lifespan Psychodrama not only sightsees ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the conditions that have never really occurred but could have, the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience, can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. Bowens theories emphasizes mostly on differentiation where one refers himself as an individual. The force of the third party in a relationship helps a lot. The integration of Bowers theories and psychodrama brought a solution to those in relationships. Dysfunctional thought forms help mostly students and patients with a problem of mood regulation. During the first sessions of application cognitive technique, the students do not cooperate but later they enjoy the sessions. References Blatner, Adam (2014). Morenean Approaches: Recognizing Psychodramas Many Facets. Turk Egitim DernegiFarmer, Chris; Geller, Marcia (2007). The Integration of Psychodrama with Bowens Theories in Couples Therapy. Heldref Publications Winter Karatas, Zeynep. (2005). Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Treadwell, Thomas W; Kumar, V K; Wright, Joseph H (2005). Enriching Psychodrama Through the Use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques. HELDREF PUBLICATIONS Summer Source document

Emerging issues in tourism: Chennai, South India

Emerging issues in tourism: Chennai, South India 1 Contents Introduction of destination Tourist attractions History Lifestyle Beliefs and traditions Urban and cultural tourism SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Conclusion and Recommendations Bibliography Introduction of destination Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the heart of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, often referred to as the ‘Gateway to South India,’ it can be found on the south-eastern coast of India. With its strong transport and commerce links both nationally and internationally it has rightfully earned its status as the fourth largest metropolitan city in the country. It is a bustling city of 178-sq-km packed with diversity at every street corner. It boasts of not only a rich cultural and religious heritage, but also a historical one, where the mark of the British Rule is evident in the various recommended tourist destinations. Its population of a staggering 6.4million consists of citizens from the 7 different religious backgrounds, these not only include the 6 major religions, but also the rather surprising one known as Parsis. Additionally, the 4 languages of English, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam are widely spoken across the city. Tourist attractions Chennai being the spiritual hub and the keeper of South Indian artistic religious traditions has many awe striking sites to visit, alongside the more modern cosmopolitan developments of luxurious hotels, swanky bars, boutiques, clubs and restaurants. Marina Beach spanning a distance of 8.1 miles is the longest natural urban beach of the country and one of the most beautiful and second longest in the world. Fort St.George is possibly the most important landmark in Chennai’s history. It was built in 1644, by Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, the founders of Chennai and the officials of the British East India Company. It was the first place of British settlement and was also under French occupation for a short period of time. The Fort Museum, which was formerly opened in 1948, is the place where tourists will find fine collections of various artefacts from the colonial period of the country. The impressive collection includes medieval weapons, coins, original writings, and much more. Gandhi Mandapam spanning over 16 acres is the home of 10 memorials including those for Mahatma Gandhi, is a great attraction where visitors can see the beautiful carvings on the historical buildings and be a part of various festivals including Gandhi Jayanti. Between 9-10am every Sunday devotees of Shri Aurobindo gather to pray and meditate. There are a large number of temples, churches and mosques that hold great historical significance. These include Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Meenakshi Amman Temple, The Shore Temple, St Andrew’s Church, San Thome Cathedral, Luz Church, The Wallajah (Big) Mosque, and The Thousand Lights Mosque, to name just a few. The War Memorial of Chennai offers a glance into the heroic past of India. These are just a few of the renowned places to visit for an individual looking to immerse and enrich themselves with the cultural legacy of Chennai. History Chennai is said to be around 400 years old being the location of the East India Company’s first settlement – said to be officially founded in 1639. However â€Å"The Kapaleeshwarar temple, the Pallava Port and the Parthasarathi Temple of the 7th century are the effervescent facts to prove that the Chennai city has been present since the time immemorial† (Chennai.org, History of Chennai, Para 1). History accounts that the city was ruled by â€Å"well-known dynasties of South India, such as the Pallavas, the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Vijaynagar kingdom.† (Chennai.org, History of Chennai, Para 1.) In 1522 Sao Tome port was built by the Portuguese. The Christian apostle St. Thomas also settled into the city and the positive impact of this is perhaps seen within the Christian community of modern day Chennai. The bustling city of Chennai that we see today is due to the influence of two merchants of the East India Company, Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, who set up the factory. In the 17th century Chennai was known by the name of Tondaimandalm, and a small village called Puzahl used to be where the military had their headquarters. The British held a strong position of power by mid-18th Century; this then led to the creation of Madras Presidency. The beginning of the industrial revolution in Britain ensured that Tamil Nadu also reaped the benefits; railways in the late 19th century allowed Tamil Nadu was able to establish strong networks with many important states and their capitals; this helped the growth of communication and business, thus leading to economic benefits. Chennai did not become the capital of Madras State until after it had attained independence from the colonial rule in 1947, it was then renamed Tamil Nadu. The city underwent another renaming ceremony in 1996 when the state government took the decision to change the city’s name from Madras to Chennai. The changes that Chennai underwent over the various centuries, soci ally, culturally, economically, and historically, is what makes Chennai one of the most unique, interesting and multi-faceted cities of India, giving it a unique selling point for the tourist industry to tap into and maximise the number of tourist visitors from all over the world. Lifestyle It is widely known that the people of Chennai live a simple and humble life, which is often said to be steeped in religious practices, superstitions and delicious traditional food. The people of Chennai are mostly described as being friendly, accepting of new people and extremely cultured and religious. It would not be a surprise to the eyes to find groups of people by the beaches at sunrise carrying out the ‘Suryanamaskar’ (Sun salutation). Religious festivals are celebrated with great pomp, filled with colour and vibrancy usually including everyone, not only from one street but neighbouring streets. The cost of living in Chennai is known to be amongst the lowest in the country, which allows for more economic comforts within a family household. Traditional arts including Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam are at the heart of the Tamil culture, and it wouldn’t be uncommon for at least one family member to play an instrument or be well versed in Sanskrit or enjoy a S aturday morning class in Bharatanatyam dance. Education is given the utmost value in a household as it is seen to carry the key to opening doors to a brighter future. This bustling city is the home to the biggest motor industry in India, with streets jammed with traffic and the Sea ports seeing daily imports and exports, seems to be the least likely place in which one could relax and unwind, but the Chennai lifestyle has ancient meditation engraved at its core, which could be the very reason why the Chennaiites are so chilled out and humble people. Beliefs and traditions Chennaiites are traditional minded people, who value their culture immensely and on a daily basis follow age old rituals with full faith and dedication. The women of the household traditionally carry out the early morning ‘kolam’, which is the drawing of patterns and waves on the entrance of the home. This is traditionally made of rice powder and said to welcome the auspicious into the home. Chennai celebrated many festivals both local and national. A couple of these are: Pongal:- This festival is celebrated in January for three days. It is the harvest festival of showing gratitude and offering thanks to Sun, Earth and the Cow. On this auspicious day families at dawn in their respective homes gather around a new earthen pot. As the pot of milk boils over, signifying prosperity, a shout of ‘Pongalo Pongal’ reverberates in the air. Arubathimoovar Festival: Literally, Arubathimoovar refers to the 63 saints of Shiva idolized for leading exemplary lives of devotion and penance. Every year the bronze figures of these 63 saints are carried in a colourful procession through the streets of Mylapore. Urban and cultural tourism â€Å"Today’s travel and tourism industry has grown into a global economic powerhouse whose combined direct and indirect impact on the world economy, according to the World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2012 was US$1.2 trillion; 260 million jobs; US$70 billion in investment and US$1.2 trillion in exports.† (Fuller, 2013)Over the next 10 years travel and tourism industry has been predicted to grow by 4.4% on average each year. These figures exceed the growth of any other sector and other industries like retail and public services. A number of factors are fuelling this growth, and the demand for the travel and tourism destinations is growing. Sociologist highlight that the biggest factor is said to be the growing middle class across the globe, especially in countries like Russia, India and Brazil. It has been predicted that over the next 1-2 decades this middle class band will continue to increase, which in turn will increase the number of people wishing to travel ar ound the globe. There are several countries which are popular tourist destinations, these being France and USA, with India not far behind as the 11th fastest emerging destination worldwide, with a 6.4% growth predicted between the years 2014-2024. The modern world is seeing a boom in the travel and tourism industry like never before; in 2013 the online travel bookings revenue worldwide had raked in $34bn. The Global international tourism revenue stood at a whopping $1,159bn. Global hotel industry totalled at $457bn. Cultural tourism has been defined as the â€Å"subset oftourismconcerned with a country or regionsculture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped shape their way of life.†(Wikipedia 2015, Para1.) Its focus is to allow the tourists to gain a realistic experience of the destination’s cultural heritage, along with the other attributes mentioned in the quote, whereas urban tourism looks solely towards marketing the history and the landmark of the city to increase business. Research reveals that cultural tourism is somewhat in its infant stage, where many countries have been working hard to nurture it and market it on a global platform, as they have realised the revenue it provides for their cities, on the other hand urban tourism is somewhat in its mature stage of development. However, the increase in global capitalism and consumer awareness along side the development of modern technology has allowed it to be bought into the limelight and government alongside sociologists are conducting deeper research into trends and gathering statistical data, to utilise for domestic fiscal gain. Where the development of such tourism is beneficial there are some practical issues that can hinder the development of urban and cultural tourism. These are the planning process for the infrastructure and the government’s approach to this. The various people and the roles they will play on a governmental level. Then there is the organisation of the relationship between public transport and the travel industry. Furthermore what may seem like a menial, job of signage in and around the city, is a vital element for the satisfaction and ease of a visitor. It is important to know and further analyse the behaviours of the tourists and what destinations would be more economically viable to invest in and maintain. There could be obstructions with traditional values and corporate cut throat approaches when it comes to making a cultural heritage landmark a tourist attraction. Many countries are employing various strategies to ensure that they continue to be innovative and gain the benefits from the industry. Cities are evaluating the access to the destinations and attractions. They are creating marketing strategies to ensure maximum exposure to the public, and furthermore analysing the cultural barriers that may exist for tourists to visit certain destinations. To ensure that there are no oppositions from the locals, governments are also looking into the economic benefits the communities can also gain from such developments, thus making it an attractive proposition. Chennai is no exception from such investments and strategic planning. It is important to note the advantages and disadvantages to the growth of urban and cultural tourism within a city. Table 1: Merits and Demerits SWOT analysis Carrying out a SWOT analysis would be beneficial and most suitable, in order to distinguish the key values and impacts of tourism in Chennai. Strengths Chennai has many strong attributes which make an attractive tourist destination. The city and its people pride themselves in the retention of strong cultural and religious heritage, which allows tourists to gain an authentic experience. Bhartnatyam and Carnatic music are two of the cultural legacies, which can be enjoyed at the many concerts available by renowned artists. Chennai has been able to balance the modern western influences well with its traditional values and beliefs. Whilst keeping up with the modern world. Visitors can find many tourist attractions and beaches, which can be enjoyed in the hot weather that Chennai sees all year round. A varied cuisine, due to the mix of cultures again allows the visitors to have a choice whilst retaining authenticity. The Automobile industry is very attractive for those wishing to settle there as there are plenty of job opportunities. There is a steady stream of revenue for the city enabling economic stability allowing for standard of liv ing to be maintained. Domestic tourism is strong and on the increase. Chennai has a strong transport network utilising all three modes rail, sea, and air. With strong links both nationally and internationally. Weaknesses Despite many positives Chennai has two core areas it needs to invest in as this could have a grave impact on the attraction and retention of the number of tourists visiting. One being safety; it is a real issue within the city as many tourists do not feel safe on the public transport, especially females. Additionally, the government must make investment in the maintenance of sewerage and drainage seriously- this poses a critical problem as it can easily make a tourist destination unattractive, thus lose tourists and damage the economic benefits. Opportunities There is still scope for improvement and growth in Chennai and this could be done with strategic marketing within the tourist industry. These could include catered holiday packages with specific design, these could include: pilgrimages, cultural site tours, spiritual breaks with particular focus on meditation and yoga, education perhaps in the arts, water sports at the beaches and lastly there is a strong scope for medical tourism, which is one the rise globally. Threats The biggest threat Chennai faces are the growing number of slums. There is a lack of investment in infrastructure and maintenance of heritage places, which would not make the destinations attractive. Traffic air pollution, filth leading to health issues taking away the beauty of attractions and beaches. The use of cameras prohibited in various attractions, as it is considered an act of sacrilege, can put tourists off. There is a gap in investment in the development of roads to the more rural areas, which could be a source of revenue. Low standard of local transport and pickpockets also pose a threat to Chennai being an attractive destination. Conclusion and Recommendations Chennai is one of the most beautiful cities in the South with a great deal to offer. It has a range of tourist attractions. It is vibrant and colourful; jam packed with authentic cultural and traditional values and rituals which are still upheld by the locals of the city. Chennai has come a long way from where it was 5 years ago within the tourist industry. There were clear shortcomings, where information of tourist attractions was not strategically marketed and the resources and natural landmarks were not used to the full capacity to benefit not only the industry, city, but also the local people. For Chennai to ensure that it reaps the rewards of the rapidly growing global tourist industry it may be in their best interest to make some enhancements and fundamental changes. The government needs to commit to cleaning the city up, in terms of sewage and drainage, but also the investment is needed to solve the ever growing slums in the city. Security to be enhanced by providing tourist only buses for those travelling in groups. The government needs to make if economically beneficial for the city to continue to retain its cultural heritage and not lose this for commercial commodity. Lastly in order to allow the tourists to experience the real Chennai steeped in history, culture and traditional values they must continue to invest in the renovation and preservation of the heritage and tourist sites, to ensure the attainment of benefits for the long term. Word Count: 2,748 Bibliography Culture of Chennai. Available from: http://www.chennai.org.uk/chennai-culture.html Facts on Chennai. Available from: http://www.chennai.org.uk/facts.html History of Chennai. Available from: http://www.chennai.org.uk/history.html http://www.chennai.org.uk/monuments/george-fort.html http://www.chennai.org.uk/tourist-attractions.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_tourism E. Fuller, Impact Of The Worlds Travel/Tourism Industry Adds Up To More Than A Walk On TheBeach, 2013. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfuller/2013/12/03/impact-of-the-worlds-traveltourism-industry-adds-up-to-more-than-a-walk-on-the-beach/ http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/7858/Chennai-growth-stimulates-travel http://www.inpolis.de/inpolis-projektdetail_1_en.html http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/tamil-nadu/chennai-madras/things-to-do/top-things-to-do-in-chennai-madras https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/tns-tourism-revenue-peaks-but-what-about-chennai/ http://www.statista.com/topics/962/global-tourism/ http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/renovation-of-gandhi-mandapam-nears-completion-in-chennai/article5101635.ece http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/CMSPagePicture/file/Primary%20Content/MR/Pplan/tamilnadu.pdf Task 1 Student Name: Pankaj CTH Number: 78108

Mythological Realism in Fifth Business :: Fifth Business

Mythological Realism in Fifth Business Spellbinding like his creation Magnus Eisengrim, Robertson Davies is a wizard of the English language. Who says that Canadian literature is bland and unappealing? New York Times applauded Fifth Business – the first of the Deptford triptych – as "a marvelously enigmatic novel, elegantly written and driven by irresistible narrative force." How true this is. Dunstable Ramsay – later renamed Dunstan after St. Dunstan – may be a retired schoolteacher, but what an engaging narrator he is! Shaped by Davies’s colourful writing, Ramsay masterfully relays the story of his role as "fifth business," the unobtrusive yet vital character in life’s drama. Fifth Business, told in the form of a letter to the schoolmaster, begins with a snowball that young Percy Boyd Staunton throws at Ramsay. The stone-in-a-snowball misses Ramsay but hits Mary Dempster, causing the premature birth of Paul Dempster. Paul grows up to be Magnus Eisengrim, a mysterious and graceful magician. Tormented by his guilt of avoiding the snowball, Ramsay makes Mary his personal saint and is weighed down by his conscience until Mary’s eventual death in an asylum. On the eve of becoming the lieutenant governor of Ontario, "Boy" Staunton is found dead in the Toronto harbour with the fateful stone in his mouth. Though the adventures that Dunstan embarks on in Fifth Business are that of the spiritual nature, make no mistake: this is not a occult novel that attempts to lure one into a religion, but a magnificently told tale of maturation. It is a story of revenge, of redemption, of becoming. Told from the perspective of being nearly completed, the novel follows Ramsay in his search for balance in his life – and balance he does find when the grotesque yet intelligent Liesl seduces him. With depth and breadth of knowledge in Jungian concepts, Robertson Davies draws us fathoms beneath the surface of the human personality. The audience is not left grasping for breath, but is enraptured by the rich dualism in this fantastical world of Dunstan Ramsay. Good and evil; illusion and reality; history and myth – the shadows and lights of the world are exposed and explored. These juxtaposing elements are never revealed under a glaring light, however. Davies uses prose that is nothing short of elegant, and weaves a mythical tale that is imbued with much realism. Real-life incidents are transfused with many amazing "coincidences," paving the path to surrealism.

Violence: Children Who Own The Streets Essay -- essays research papers

Violence: Children Who Own The Streets   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many problems facing today's society. One of the problems is the violent condition that surrounds the lives of children in America. We are awarded of the violence among our juveniles because we read, hear and see it. The newspapers, magazines, news media, and our neighborhoods testify the living proof of the chaos. Everyone tries to find explanations of the causes and consequences of street violence and other aspects of the turbulent lives of young people. Yet, the problem facing our juveniles will not be solved over night. But that's not a reason enough to ignore the problem. It will only make matters worse and keep on doubling through the years. It is our duty as citizens, friends and family to start trying to make that difference. It is frustrating to know that violence among the children of America is increasing in many aspects. The crimes are starting to vary. It's not like in the past, where kids only stole candies or disobeyed curfew laws. Now children steal, murder, rape and use drugs. This is not the America that we knew, this is a battle. What can we do to influence these kids to stay off trouble? First of all, we have to realize this is a very serious problems. And it has to be stopped. The second step is to figure out what causes children to be violent and become juvenile delinquents. This negative attitude causes them to lead a life of delinquency and a life isolated from society's idealistic world. When we ask these question, many others come in mind. Does these problems begin in the family? Are parents good role models or are they condoning the violence? How can we prevent parents from destroying the minds and future of these children? If we try to deny a teen who seeks help, they will only turn to the streets, drugs, and gangs. When they turn rebellious they will commit crimes, minor or major. Juvenile violence is a problem, it leads to crime and segregation. If it's not lessen, it will only keep doubling. And then the future of America will devour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the main concerns of violence revolves around the family atmosphere. Some families are not creating a secured environment for their children. Instead, these children get exposed to illegal behavior and violent actions in the homes. Family morals and values play an important role ... ...are by far the most frequent type of offense. These include stealing from shops, houses, and cars; and the unauthorized taking of the person ( assaults, fighting, robbery with violence ), together with sex offenses and, in industrially developed countries, traffic offenses, come next and are more common among those aged from 17 to 21. Narcotic addiction and other types of drug dependence, though not always criminal offenses, are a relatively new and disturbing form of deviance and seem to be increasing rapidly. The 1991 UK National Prisons Survey found 83 percent of lock up young offenders had been in council care, against 2 percent of the population as a whole. In 1992 in Britain, 110,4000 children aged 10-16 were caught breaking the law; 75 percent were boys. By far the most common crime was theft or handling of goods. Throughout the 1980's juvenile crime fell in UK: 100,000 cautioned or convicted in 1992, 37 percent fewer than a decade earlier. The young population had also fallen, but only by 2o percent. In 1992, there were 3,764 male juveniles per 100,000 convicted or cautioned; in 1982 the figure was 5,028. The fall was the biggest among boys aged 10-13: from 2,929 to 1,927.

Non-Racist Attitude in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Non-Racist Attitude in Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn As we look into issues of racism in the South we have to look at the time and setting of this book. It’s before the Civil War and during slavery when black people were property and not people. Twain’s intent on writing is to show the adventures of Huck and his close friends, and not on the issues of slavery. He does however tell the truth about slavery and the issues that surround it. This book does not display racist issues toward anybody, but does a great job in telling the life of a runaway slave, Jim, and a white boy, Huck. For example, the story introduces Jim as an illiterate, childlike, not very bright and extremely superstitious black man growing up in the South during slavery. This would be a typical description of most men of his age growing up at that time, and not just a black man. For people to think this book is about racism, they are totally looking at and understanding this book from the wrong point of view. In addition, in chapter fifteen Jim is totally worried that he might have lost Huck in ... Non-Racist Attitude in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Non-Racist Attitude in Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn As we look into issues of racism in the South we have to look at the time and setting of this book. It’s before the Civil War and during slavery when black people were property and not people. Twain’s intent on writing is to show the adventures of Huck and his close friends, and not on the issues of slavery. He does however tell the truth about slavery and the issues that surround it. This book does not display racist issues toward anybody, but does a great job in telling the life of a runaway slave, Jim, and a white boy, Huck. For example, the story introduces Jim as an illiterate, childlike, not very bright and extremely superstitious black man growing up in the South during slavery. This would be a typical description of most men of his age growing up at that time, and not just a black man. For people to think this book is about racism, they are totally looking at and understanding this book from the wrong point of view. In addition, in chapter fifteen Jim is totally worried that he might have lost Huck in ...

Word of Mouth and Brand Value in the Fast Food Industry

To check the speculations which were proposed in the above writing survey area, basic model was defined utilizing AMOS. The model requires that an arrangement of rule fit records ought to be accomplished in view of the prescribed esteems. Generally, the last basic model proposed a sufficient fit to the gathered information where the estimation of Chi-square (? ²) is equivalent to472.837 (p-esteem = 0.000). Other fit records likewise accomplished the base cut-off qualities (GFI = 0.836, AGFI = 0.817, CFI = 0.943, and RMSEA = 0.079). In view of the above aftereffects of paradigm esteems, one might say that the last auxiliary model has a solid match with the information of this investigation (Hair et al., 2010). Generally, the exhibited speculations were tried in view of the relapse table which was produced in view of the last basic model's yield. The discoveries exhibited in Table 1 demonstrate that verbal exchange has a huge positive association with mark picture (? = 0.794, t-esteem = 6.982, p ; 0.05), and therefore, H1 is acknowledged. H2 which expressed that verbal exchange has a noteworthy association with mark reliability is additionally acknowledged (? = 0.970, t-esteem = 8.240, p ; 0.05). Also, the outcomes demonstrated that verbal exchange has a huge association with mark inclination (? = 0.817, t-esteem = 10.340, p ; 0.05), in this way, H3 is upheld. This investigation additionally affirmed that verbal exchange has a noteworthy association with mark administration (? = 0.640, t-esteem = 6.438, p ; 0.05), along these lines, H4 is bolstered. At last, the outcomes uncovered that verbal exchange has a noteworthy association with mark value (? = 0.591, t-esteem = 6.863, p ; 0.05), thusly, H5 is upheld. When all is said in done, Word of mouth clarifies 32% of change in mark value. Table 1: Results of theories Hypothesized Effect Std. Beta S.E. C.R. P Support H1: Word of mouth has a huge association with mark picture. 0.794 0.065 6.982 *** Yes H2: Word of mouth has a huge association with mark dependability. 0.970 0.090 8.240 *** Yes H3: Word of mouth has a noteworthy association with mark inclination. 0.817 0.077 10.340 *** Yes H4: Word of mouth has a huge association with mark initiative. 0.640 0.067 6.438 *** Yes H5: Word of mouth has a noteworthy association with general brand value. 0.591 0.066 6.863 *** Yes 5. CONCLUSION The motivation behind this paper was to exactly inspect the connection between Word of mouth and brand value in the fast food eatery industry in Malaysia. The discoveries demonstrated that in accordance with past experimental examines (Armelini, 2011; Kassim and Abdullah, 2008; Murtiasih et al., 2013; Rezvani et al., 2012) Word of mouth has a critical positive association with mark dependability. Further, Ghorban and Tahernejad (2012) considered Word of mouth as a key showcasing factor which powerfully affects buyers' conduct and the choices that they shape amid acquiring process. The finding demonstrates that customers' steadfastness toward a brand increments through positive verbal suggestions from other people who had past encounters in utilizing the items or administrations of that brand. This demonstrates by getting constructive proposals from other individuals whom clients can believe, a higher level of certainty is probably going to be improved towards the brand. Such certainty is probably going to impact buyers' conduct and prompt positive repurchase aims. The discoveries of this paper additionally affirmed the huge positive connection between Word of mouth and brand picture. This finding is in accordance with past investigations which built up verbal exchange as a key factor that influences mark picture (Farooqui, 2015; Severi et al., 2014; Torlak et al., 2014; Y?ld?z, 2015). Moreover, Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) considered verbal exchange as a critical advertising factor that impacts mark notoriety. Cornelissen (2000) additionally embraced the commitment of Word of mouth to mark notoriety. Given this outcome, it can be presumed that brand picture Similarly as with any examination, there are a few impediments in this investigation that would open roads for additionally explores. Initially, the primary focal point of this paper is on the fast food eatery industry which may thwart the generalizability of the discoveries to different settings. In this way, future looks into ought to be coordinated to rethink the factors of this investigation in other industry settings. Furthermore, just Word of mouth was utilized to analyze its connection with mark value; subsequently, future explores should test different components, for example, advancement and feeling. Moreover, this investigation utilized overview instrument amid information gathering. Accordingly, future inquires about may embrace subjective philosophies to decide the key factors the can impact shoppers' recognitions in the fast food showcase. At last, this investigation was directed in east drift some portion of Malaysia, along these lines, future looks into may expand the extension by covering different zones with a specific end goal to have the capacity to improve conclusions.

Confession of a Former Drug Addict: Learning the Value of Family

Confession of a Former Drug Addict: Learning the Value of Family Misguided Youth â€Å"Oh now that I think back about it, I was really stupid when I was young and that my mother is really unfortunate to have a son like me! † Kong said as he ended with a short embarrassed laugh while he recounts the past he isn’t exactly proud of in mandarin. Kong, 36 , had spent most of his youth in and out of the drug rehabilitation centre and prison. His parents separated while he was still young and their mother decided to bring him and his younger brother along to move into their grandmother’s place at Ang Mo Kio.Kong was the eldest among the grandchildren left in his grandmother’s care. With his mother busy at work to support the family and his grandmother busy attending the younger kids, the mischievous boy always finds the chance to sneak out of the house. It was then when he got acquainted and started hanging out with the older kids around his neighborhood. These a re the friends that very much influenced and helped mold him into a teenage delinquent. â€Å"I was encouraged by them to join their gang, to skip school and hang out with them.And it was then when I learn how to shoplift, cutting chain off bicycles to steal, extorting money from other kids and getting into fight for the most minor reason, just for the sake of getting into trouble and seeking thrill out of it. †, Kong explained how he was a wayward boy that followed whatever his peers instigated. â€Å"And it felt really good to be part of the gang and ‘cool’ to be doing things other normal ‘good’ kids didn't dare to do. † It was then when young Kong’s misbehaviors and actions, prove that it can have direct consequence on his family, and the first to experience it was none other than his younger brother.Both brothers were studying in the same neighborhood secondary school. Kong’s truancy and bad records kept piling up and finally one day, he even threatened to hurt the school’s principal while being called to discipline. That’s when the school decided enough is enough, and Kong’s expulsion was announced. But not just him alone, his younger brother was to be expelled along with him. Sure the younger brother wasn’t exactly the good obedient student, had been seen around Kong, caused some mischief and playful enough to skip school occasionally.But he never crossed the line or got involved with Kong’s unlawful activities. Still, the school found these reasons enough to get the siblings off their ground permanently. â€Å"The principal felt that because he’s my younger brother, he’s nature is surely as bad as me! Just because he’s my younger brother. † Kong said while shaking his head slightly. â€Å"You may think that’s unfair but things were different back then during that time. Now if something like this happened nowadays, you will see the principal and school getting onto news! † Kong ended with a laugh. From Bad to WorseHis mother and grandmother blamed him for dragging his younger brother into that situation because of the troubles he brewed and being a bad influence. But this incident didn’t make Kong reflect on his actions. He didn't think of it as a big deal. He didn’t care about anything. The teenager’s rebellious nature only served to take things for the worse. Soon after getting expelled from school, he soon finds himself experimenting with drugs. It was the norm as people around him were doing inhalants and drugs. The first he experimented was glue sniffing. Then he moved on to trying out ecstasy and heroin etc.Experimentation turns into dependency. The addiction works in an insidious way, it crept in and slowly took over Kong’s life before he realized. Days of drug taking ritual turned to weeks, then months and years. It seems like Kong wasn’t the one controlling th e drugs, it was the other way round. Spending his life in a drug-fuelled haze, it revolved around being troubled over where to find money to support his next supply of drugs. Keeping up with the addiction proof to be not cheap. Although he had joined and worked for the lion dance troupe that was associated with his gang, it wasn’t enough to keep up with his expenses.To satisfy with his drug cravings, he resorted to theft and robbery, even stealing from his family. The one he hurt most during this period was his mother. Seeing her cry because of him was nothing new. His desperation for drug even made him turned his hand on his very own mother. Kong recalls that particular incident that he will feel bad for as long as he lived, â€Å"This one time I was having this great urge for drugs, but I didn't have money with me, I ransacked the house and approached my mother in the kitchen. But she wasn’t willing to hand me any money and was screaming at me to quit.I got impatien t and this sudden surge of anger rose up and I exploded,† He slapped his own mother across the face. Kong then continued remorsefully, â€Å"I was an unfilial and disgraceful son. Unfit to be human for hurting my mother like that. Like what they say, I deserved to be struck down by lightning. † Relatives chided him as being ‘useless, and a shame to the family. ’ Kong ended up caught and admitted to the drug rehabilitation centre. After his release, Kong was still mixing around with the ‘bad’ group of friends as he felt being shunned by the society and this was the group of people most accepting of him.He couldn’t stay clean and soon fell back to his old ways after gaining freedom. He was sent back to the drug rehabilitation centre once more for relapse. â€Å"I was stubborn and self-centered. I didn't really try hard or be determined enough to change my life. I just thought I was unlucky to be caught the first few times. ’ Kong s ays. He continued his old ways, involving in gang fight and robbery with hurt. He was sentenced to imprisonment for a total of 7 years and given 10 strokes of cane. Turning PointWhen he was finally released from Changi Prison, Kong, 30 by that time, felt that he had already wasted a large part of his youth. He made sure to remind himself of the guilt and shame. The heart wrenching moment etched in his memories when he saw how his mother broke down in tears when he was sentenced, how his aged grandmother with declining health having to make her way to visit him in prison over the years. â€Å"I robbed my mother for years because of my rebellious nature, because of my selfishness. All I did was lying and being dishonest with everything they confronted with me.I never thought about the damage I imposed on my family because of my actions. I took advantage on how they dote, only to make them heart-broken. † Kong confessed. Now, he deeply understands for mistakes he made, he wonâ⠂¬â„¢t be the only one paying his dues. His family and loved ones will inevitably bear his consequences one way or the other. Among the tattoos that he was inked over his body during his rebellious younger days, he is now sporting a ‘sak yant’ on his back, a traditional form of tattoo normally performed on followers by Buddhist monks in Thailand.He decided to embrace Buddhism and was on a religious trip to Thailand to receive a ‘sak yant’. But the tattoo wasn’t what he received. It was there where he got to know this local young woman from Chiang Mai, who soon became his wife. Kong and his wife now have two young daughters. Unfortunately, their first daughter Elina, 6, is diagnosed with minor autism and currently attending a special school. But their younger daughter has an even more unfortunate fate. Rita, now 3, was born with a severe spinal deformity which was curved at 80 to 90 degree in ‘S’ shape.She is the youngest and one of the m ost serious cases of congenital scoliosis in Singapore. Two titanium rods each 15 cm to 20 cm long was inserted into her body to straighten her spine and ribs when she was 2. Every six to nine months, Rita will have to go through operations until she is 14 years old, to expand the rods allowing growth. Being the sole breadwinner of the family, Kong currently works as a cargo assistant with a monthly salary of $1600. He tried to working overtime whenever possible so as to provide more support to his family.He was able to cover more about half of the medical expenses from his own Medisave and Medifunds for Rita’s medical expenses. He shared how he learnt humility and helpfulness receiving help from relatives and donations arranged by the hospital. â€Å"Sometimes I think that maybe it’s because of my past deeds, it might have been my karma that caused even my daughters to have to suffer. Being a father made me realized how much the heart hurts when parents see their chi ldren suffer, like how my mother used to feel.Even now, I haven’t revealed all Rita’s condition to my Thai wife. I’m worried she may not be able to take it. Sometimes she will cry while looking at the long deep surgery scars running on Rita’s back. .† Kong said. â€Å"I’m really grateful for my family and relatives who knew of my past, but still accepted me, loved and cared for my daughters as their own too. † Kong added. Even though life may not have turn up perfect, family is now the fuel and motivation for Kong to not turn back his old ways, to be a responsible father and son.