Altruistic Surrogacy Arrangements Essay

Couples around the world find out that they’re unable to conceive children. This is a very heart breaking and detrimental situation in anyones life who is trying to have a child. Infertility affects more than 7 million people in the United States, and about 12 percent of women of childbearing age are considered infertile. Most infertility cases are treated with drug or hormone therapies or surgery. However, about 3 percent of cases require more advanced techniques, such as surrogacy. A surrogate is a woman who carries a child for an individual or a couple. Stories of surrogacy reach back to the Bible with the story of Abraham, his wife, Sarah, and her handmaiden, Hagar. In this story, Sarah finds she is unable to conceive and arranges for Abraham to impregnate Hagar, who goes on to conceive Ishmael. There are two types of surrogacy options, one is traditional surrogacy and the other is gestational surrogacy. A traditional surrogate is a woman who donates her own egg and then carries the pregnancy. The surrogate’s egg is fertilized through artificial insemination with the sperm of the father or a sperm donor. Traditional surrogates are genetically related to the child because their own eggs are used in the process. A gestational surrogate or also known as a gestational carrier, are not biologically or genetically related to the child she carries. Gestational carriers become pregnant through the process of in vitro fertilization, where an embryo or embryos created from the eggs and sperm of the intended parents. Donor eggs and donor sperm are selected by the intended parents are implanted in the uterus for the gestational period of 40 weeks. Intended parents and surrogates have to consider what type of surrogacy arrangement they feel like they are comfortable with. There are two common types of arrangements pertaining to surrogacy, which are commercial and altruistic. In commercial surrogacy the surrogate is paid for her time and effort, any travel involved and related medical expenses not covered by insurance. The chosen surrogate and the intended parents usually don’t know each other before the arrangement. In altruistic surrogacy arrangements, the carrier sees no financial gain, and the arrangements are commonly made with relatives or friends of the intended parents. Surrogacy is against the Church’s teaching, they teach that techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses’ â€Å"right to become a father and a mother only through each other (Catechism). † The use of a surrogate mother is a process that is thousands of years old. This is proven in the writings of the Bible in the story of Abraham and his wife Sarah, she was infertile. At this time in the earth’s history, a woman who was childless was often at times shamed by her family and friends. These women would offer their servants to act as a surrogate. The Bible does not specifically forbid the process of surrogacy. The question that you must ask is, whether it is considered to be moral or ethical with keeping children conceived out of love, born from a married couple. The Bible has also been interpreted as stating that children are a gift, not a right. Therefore, God will bless some people with children and others not. Personally I believe surrogacy is an â€Å"okay† practice. Surrogacy ultimately brings joy to the couple and why would god not want us to seek happiness. Surrogacy may seem to be defying God’s will but I think it’s a way of making a precious life out of a bad situation. Being told you will not be able to have your own children is a heart breaking situation. You would never know how it felt until you experience yourself. What gives us the right to judge someone else for wanting a child from their own DNA. If Surrogacy can use one embryo and not kill of the others I think it should be allowed in the church.

Home Schooling vs Public Education

Home Schooling vs Public Education Ann Brickler COM/155 University Compostion and Communication I March 10, 2013 Stephanie Cook Home Schooling vs Public Education The debate continues and often will turn into heated arguments between the two opposing sides. The side of the fence that you choose is ultimately your decision on what type of education your child receives. Homeschooling may have many benefits, a public school education may provide a better learning environment for a student to learn and succeed.There are so many forms of education that a person may receive today with two of the forms as home schooling and public education. There are some benefits to the individual of home schooling, such as being able to learn on your own time and having one-on-one instruction. Child safety is a pro for the parent as they are not having to worry about bullying in school and not having their child exposed to drugs or alcohol by their peers. There are also pros and cons of public education with the pros being the child is receiving an education from a professionally trained teacher.They are better prepared in everyday teachings that the child will receive. The curriculum is outlined for the year on what the child will be taught and what is expected to be taught to the child by way of a school board developing the curriculum. Children are also learning on how to socialize with other children and realizing on how diverse a world we have. The cons of home schooling outweigh what some people believe as a benefit. One being that the parent is not a professional teacher such as English or music class. The parent does not have the technique in giving their child a quality and prolific education.Another con is the student is not being exposed to a diverse environment. The child is not able to grow with their peers and associate themselves with reality and what is out there on the streets that children have to deal with when they are in a public school setting. Child safety ca n be a con in public education with what has recently been happening with the shootings in schools and bullying by other children. You should not shelter a child because of the cons as this is something that can be dealt with while growing up. Children learn how to deal with issues such as these and grow more because of them.Another con is the standardized testing that children are expected each year to take at the beginning of each school year. This test gives the school board a better concept on where each child is in their learning grade. It also is one factor on whether a child will move ahead in their grade level in the fifth and eighth grade. Children are tested and quizzed weekly in their classes and that determination in itself will give each teacher a concept on what the child is retaining and whether they should move along in each grade level. Socialization for home schooled children as an individual or a group can be a challenge for them.Public schooled children have a be tter advantage to them when they are put in a group together to socialize amongst themselves relating to a topic they may be learning about in their class or to do a project together. They are able to gather ideas and listen to other ideas which enable more learning for them. When you are home schooled the only type of socialization in a group you are going to have is with either your sibling or with your parent. That can be a good thing only if that child is a type of introvert and has a difficult time relating to others in a traditional school setting.There are homeschool groups that you can join with your child to meet other parents and children, but there may not be many of these groups out there for you to select from as there are children whom are more likely to receive a public education. Another advantage the child in a public school has is being able to play in sports that are offered. The home schooled child does not have that offered to them. A child who is home schooled can request to join a sports team in their school district but that does not always work for them. The district can say no to them joining a school sport.A public school child can join a school sport at any time it is offered; however, they are expected to maintain a grade point average of a C. If they do not, they are suspended from the team if they are involved or denied completely from trying out for the team. Public school provides a more diverse and social experience in contrast to homeschooling. Parents whom are homeschooling their children should be qualified to teach as a public schoolteacher. A public school education can be much more fulfilling and gives children the tools they need to succeed.Socialization and interaction with other children is a benefit to any child to help them learn and grow with others in their age group. Home schooled children may not be susceptible to drugs and alcohol or school bullying but sometimes the risks outweigh these factors. There is no te sting done by the district of the home schooled child and to know exactly where they are in their grade level. Standardized testing does aide the district for public school children but is essentially given at the beginning of a school year where it can be a misleading statistic on what the child in a public school does know by the end of the school year.Whether you choose to send your child to a public school or teach them on your own, be sure that you have the proper tools to do this. Your child’s future depends on you and the education they receive. Overall, the knowledge the child gains and the scores they receive between the two, home schooling and public education has each of its own benefits and each of its own drawbacks. As long as the student’s needs are being met, regardless the choice you make for your children, whether it be home schooling or public education, either type of teaching will be the best choice because you made the choice.

Assessment Of Frontal Lobe Dysfunction

Assessment Of Frontal Lobe Dysfunction It has been established that the frontal lobes play a major part in an individual’s decision making, planning, problem solving, social, emotional and behavioural skills. Consequently dysfunction of the frontal lobe can cause a wide range of symptoms (Kolb and Wishaw 1996) leading to relatively specific clinical dysfunction therefore a neuropsychological assessment is necessary to be carried out on the patient. The present study looks at the case of patient Mr. A who is reported to experience attention difficulties and problems with planning and organising after sustaining a head injury. Three neuropsychological tests have been used; WCST, TMT and TEA in order to identify the extent of the deficit. In line with previous research Mr. A’s performed poorly on tests and scored low in comparison to the normative scores. Other tests have also been suggested as well as strategies of rehabilitation for the patient. Frontal lobe located at the front of the cerebral hemisphere is the largest lobe in the brain associated with an individual’s personality and emotional control. The frontal lobes are responsible for planning, organising, selective attention, personality, behaviour and emotions. As well as this the frontal lobes are also involved in motor function (Passingham 1995), Spontaneity of behaviour (Kolb and Milner 1981), initiation, judgement, impulse control (Milner 1964, Miller 1985), social and sexual behaviour (Damasio 1985). More specifically the right frontal lobe is associated with an individual’s sense of humour, self awareness, self face recognition and episodic memory (Stuss 1991, Fink et al 1996, Wheeler et al 1997, Levine et al 1998, Craik et al 1999, Keenan et al 1999, Shammi and Stuss 1999). It is the orbitofrontal cortex that arbitrates empathic, civil and socially appropriate behaviour (Mega and Cummings 1994). Furthermore it is also reported that executive processes of the prefrontal lobe are responsible for planning, mon itoring, energizing, switching and inhibition (Stuss 2007). In the recent years cognitive neuroscience studies have shown that damage to the frontal lobe can affect high level of cognitive functions as well as an individual’s personality, their social behaviour, personal memories and their self awareness (Alexander et al 1979, Brazzelli et al 1994, Damasio 1994, Adolphs et al 1995, Channon and Crawford 1999, Rogers et al 1999, Stuss et al 2001). Studies have also shown that damage to the prefrontal lobe particularly damage to the ventromedial frontal is associated with poor decision making (Eslinger and Damasio 1985, Harlow 1999, Ackerly 2000). In addition to this damage to the left or right orbitofrontal results in personality changes including indifference or impaired social judgement, impaired pragmatics, deficient effective responsiveness, poor self-regulation and lack of ability to relate social situations with personal experience (Nauta 1973, Stuss and Benson 1983, Kacz marek 1984). Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex also results in the patient’s change of personality whereby they might become more irritable, labile, display lack of self restraint and fail to respond to the conventions of socially acceptable behaviour. In some case studies patients have reported descriptions of behavioural changes that are related to social difficulties such as egocentrism, insensitivity to social cues, unresponsiveness to another’s opinion, lack of self restraint, diminished foresight, impaired self monitoring, a propensity to show signs of inappropriate affect and social withdrawal (Eslinger and Damasio 1985, Eslinger et al 1992, Price et al 1990). The famous case of Phineas Gage was the first case study to highlight the impact of frontal lobe damage on an individual’s personality, decision making and social behaviour (Damasio 1994). Phineas Gage suffered an extreme injury to the frontal lobe when a 13 pound, 3-foot-long tamping rod when thro ugh his head; entering through his left cheek and exiting through the midline of his skull. Astonishingly after the event Gage still had the ability to walk, communicate and remain lucid and was examined by Dr Harlow (1848) who noticed the changes in his behaviour. In his report Harlow identified that from previously being identified as a smart, efficient, dependable and capable foreman by his employers and diligent, honest and well liked by friends, after his accident Gage became fitful, irreverent, foulmouthed liar, impatient, extravagant, anti social and profane especially when advice was given to him that he didn’t like (Harlow 1868).

The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the Essay

The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the genetic 'blueprint' of the human body. Consider the social, - Essay Example Ethical issues include balancing individual interests against the interests of others, and such considerations as potentially racist applications and unforeseen consequences of information which gene-related activities can produce. Some of the most critical issues such as privacy and the desire not to know are highlighted. Financial implications for society at large, private companies and for individuals are explored. Finally there is assessment of the extent to which the Frankenstein metaphor applies to this project. The paper concludes that the Human Genome Project is an extremely powerful resource which can be used for good or evil purposes, and that we have resolved some, but by no means all, of the major ethical issues that it brings. The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the genetic â€Å"blueprint† of the human body. Consider the social, ethical, and economic implications of this project for society, and the potential for applications of this rese arch. Genetic engineering is a relatively new science, which rests on the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel on the garden pea, leading to the formulation of Mendel’s laws in 1866. (Thomas, 2003 pp. 1-3). ... They were motivated by scientific curiosity and, as in so many laboratories, the focus was on the pure science, theories and explanations of what was going on at the tiniest possible levels of genes and chromosomes within the human body. At this stage there was very little concern for the ethical and moral implications of these new discoveries. The field of genetics made further progress with the invention of effective gene sequencing techniques in the mid 1970’s. At first only tiny viruses and bacteria were studied, but with advances in computing and automation, more complex organisms could be studied. Throughout the 1980s techniques improved so considerably that attention turned to the human genome. The Huntingdon’s disease gene was mapped to chromosome 4 in 1983 (Collins and McKusick: 2001, p. 541) but this was only a first step towards accurately locating the disease to its specific position there. There was no systematic way of sequencing all of the genes, and the scale of the task, encompassing some 3 billion base pairs, defeated even the best technology of the time. More resources were needed to tackle such a huge task. In 1989 both private and publicly funded organisations began to map the whole human genome. An international consortium was set up in 1990 and named the Human Genome Project. At this stage, finally, some of the more serious implications of the project were realised, and a portion the funding amounting to between 3% and 5% was set aside for exploration of the moral and ethical issues attached to the research. (Collins and McKusick, 2001, p. 540) Over a period of 13 years, the Human Genome Project was carried out in various locations,

Drug testing for public assistance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug testing for public assistance - Essay Example On the other hand, the people who oppose the said notion are addressing the fact that the random drug testing is ‘scientifically and medically’ illogical. Aside from the fact that it was expressed to be ‘fiscally irresponsible’ (American Civil Liberties Union 1). On a personal note, both side present reasonable conjecture regarding the issue although as a citizen, I am in favor of the implementation of drug testing. There are different points that can be presented regarding the said point of view. Thus, the discussion is aimed to present the reasons for agreeing with the advocates of the issue and the reasons for disagreeing with the critics. One point is related to the fact that every citizen of the nation has his or her own responsibilities toward the community. Due to that fact that these people are in need of public assistance, on the basis of different reasons such as the lack of income sources, following the rules set up by the authorities can be considered as their duty. This view is even strengthened by the fact that the funds for public assistance are coming from the taxes of the citizen with stable source of income (Sachteleben 1). Another point that can be presented in favor of the drug testing is the fact that even the employees and workers who are screened for their jobs are being required to have drug test. This means that the said procedure is not meant to separate the group of people who needs public assistance from other groups in the community. For that matter, critics of the notion cannot use the reason that there is maltreatment or unjust regard towards the said group (Sachteleben 1).

Jesus and Gospels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jesus and Gospels - Essay Example 2. Jesus used parables to teach his disciples and anyone who wanted to listen because it was the easiest form to talk about theological aspects. The Jews were simple people and enjoyed listening to stories. The parables that Jesus used were supposed to show that He could connect with the world and understood its problems. Many of the parables that Jesus used were culturally relevant for the Jews at that time and so they had a better time understanding them. 3. Before Jesus was born, many Jews wanted the Messiah to come as a military strongman and free them from the Romans, who controlled Israel at that time. Many Jews despised the Romans because they were required to pay taxes to the Caesar. The Jews worshipped at Synagogues on every Saturday. It was here that Jesus first was able to speak to Jews about the reasons why he had come and what he needed to do. The Jewish people were crying out for a savior because the economy was not favorable for Jews and it was dominated by Roman rule. 4. For the immediate years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, His story was passed down through oral tradition. Mark was the first book to be written, around 60 to 70 AD, while Matthew and Luke were written partly based of this book twenty to thirty years later. All of these books were written in Greek. The book of John was written in the late first century and took Lukes Gospel as inspiration. The reason why the first three are called the Synoptic Gospels is because they have much of the same information but told from a different point of view. Unlike John, the Synoptic Gospels include stories from first-hand witnesses. 5. Jesus concept of the Kingdom of God was that it was open to anyone who chose to receive Him. Jesus used many parables to portray the Kingdom of God, including one that said how hard it would be to enter the Kingdom. Although Jesus encouraged good works, He proclaimed that no one could come to the

FINGERPRINTING Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FINGERPRINTING - Research Paper Example Statistical analysis in science is a tool that puts a numeric value to the â€Å"thing† being tested, it does not prove the validity of the actual science. The empirical study of fingerprints has taken place over the past 100 years and has proven that fingerprints are unique and individual. From the critical perspective, fingerprint comparison and identification methodology remains reliable and valid as scientific evidence and to this day has yet to be considered inadmissible as evidence in a court of law. Fingerprints are developed while the fetus is still in the womb. The friction ridge detail begins to develop on the hands and feet of a fetus during the 12th or 13th weeks of pregnancy (Ashbaugh, 1999, p.54). These â€Å"ridges do not run from one side of the hand or the finger to the other in a continuous stream, but are broken and noncontinuous. The arrangement of these ridges, like all natural things, is unique† (McRoberts, 1994, p.l). From the scientific perspective, early pioneers in fingerprint history are considered Sir William J. Herschel and Dr. Henry Faulds. Herschel is actually credited for â€Å"being the first European to recognize the value of friction ridge prints and to actually use them for identification purposes† (Aushbaugh, 1999, p.21). However, Alphonse Bertillon in Paris, France was first to devise the first truly scientific method of criminal identification, called anthropometry or Bertillonage. Bertillon â€Å"included fingerprints on the rear of his anthropometric cards as a final check of his identification. Upon Bertillon’s death in 1914, Bertillonage was discarded in France and replaced by fingerprint identification† (Ashbaugh, 1999, p. 28). In 1893, fingerprinting was added to the files at Scotland Yard, but anthropometry was still considered the primary method of identification until 1901. Sir Francis Galton, a British scientist, through testimony and demonstrations, was able to

Letter assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Letter - Assignment Example The ability as well as the experience to deal with challenges in the sales management is a key to success of the business (Homburg, Schà ¤fer, and Schneider). I, specifically, thrive on working in a challenging and result-oriented environment. The responsibilities of the position I am applying for would be a new sort of challenge for, and it attracts my attention because of its demand for a person who is very competitive. I assure you that I am the person very competent for this position in the sense of accepting challenges and dealing with them with a calmed mind. I have developed strong sales skills during my career because skills enable one in building a record of continued sales enhancement (Bernan). The attached resume highlights some of my particular accomplishments in the field of marketing and sales management. These accomplishments encourage me and support my interest in a position within your

First Lady Fashions and Frank Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

First Lady Fashions and Frank Knight - Essay Example He is the pioneer of the â€Å"mix and match† fashion style. On the other hand, Frank Knight is Harry’s nephew and company’s treasurer. The paper will discuss the challenges that Frank faced in the enterprise. Sarah is Harry’s sister and is the corporation’s vice-president in charge of administration. The organizational structure clearly states that Frank and Sarah are at the same management level. However, apparently Frank is subordinate to Sarah. Frank lacks independence in his position as the company’s treasurer. For instance, Frank is not allowed to approve any expenditure exceeding 30,000 dollars without Sarah’s informal approval. The fact that Sarah’s support is merely informal clearly shows that the management tends to undermine Frank’s authority. The need for Sarah’s assent poses a significant challenge to not only Frank but also the company as a whole. Sarah is rash, hires and fires employees without consulting anybody and objects any proposed changes without any reasonable explanation. Sarah sacked the vice president of industrial relations despite the annual 170,000 dollars per year contract with the company. This action by Sarah negatively influenced the company’s expenses and financial welfare. Frank’s contribution to the well-being of the firm is inadequate merely due to Sarah’s interference in his job. Secondly, lack of coordination among the firm’s department hinders Frank’s workmanship. Conflicts among the departmental managers occurred on a daily basis. The managers would fiercely argue if any of them disagreed with the sales forecasts merely because the forecast jeopardised the interests of a departmental they were in charge. Moreover, the sales forecast are distributed to the top-level managers, including Frank, located in the firm’s headquarters offices. The constant disagreements and amending of the sales forecast interfered with Frank’s role as the Treasurer. Frank had to adjust financial plans continually in accordance with the frequently proposed changes.  Ã‚  

Central Bank and Monetary Policy Research Paper

Central Bank and Monetary Policy - Research Paper Example The main reason why countries create their own central banks is to ensure control of their currency. The central bank is the only authority that can print money and such responsibility cannot be given to anyone else as the consequence may turn out to be disastrous. The role of the central bank evolved over time and the literature in monetary theory points out that central banks work to reduce the impact of economic fluctuations and to minimize volatility in the financial system. They pursue five objectives to ensure economic and financial stability. The goals of central banks are generally specified as price stability, stable real growth, financial stability, interest rate and exchange rate stability (Mankiw, 2011; Geraats, 2006, pp. 37-40). The main goal of this research project is to help understand how the central bank manages and controls the quantity of money in the economy and its relation to price stability. It also brings out the main tasks of central banks and the challenge they face in conducting monetary policy. Objectives of Central Bank: The major role of the central bank of any country in the world is to monitor the financial structure of the respective country. Central banks also control the volume of financial transactions which are made by all other banks in the economy. These other banks include commercial banks, other non-banking financial institutions. The most important objective of the central bank is to manage the amount of financial resources of the economy and thus to maintain the stability in the economy. This stability is maintained in the economy by the central bank of the country in respect to stability of prices of goods and services, stability of financial transactions and prices of these transactions. Also stability is required to be achieved by the central bank in terms of movements in nominal as well as real interest rates and stability in exchange rates. Finally, the most important role of the central bank is to maintain stabi lity in the real growth of the economy (Mankiw, 2011). Central banks of different countries have long been correlated with secrecy. Even in regard to the present trend toward higher level of transparency of different monetary policies, it can be said that, this has not dispersed the inscrutability with which all central bankers often argue. Various researchers have provided an economic explanation for different roles of oblique communication. Under the conceivable assumption that there exists imperfect common knowledge or information about the level of transparency, all economic outcomes have been decided by both actual as well as perceived transparency. It has been shown, in numerous researchers, that it can be helpful to merge actual transparency with the perceived opacity. The optimal or most efficient communication strategy for the central bank is related to the process of providing clarity about the target level of inflation. But the role of the central is also related to the p rocess of providing information with recognized ambiguity about the target of prevailing as well as expected output-gap and supply shocks. Therefore, â€Å"the central bank benefits from sustaining transparency misperceptions, which helps to explain why transparency of monetary policy has not eliminated the mystique of central bank speak† (Geraats, 2006, p. 38; Blanchard, 2007, pp. 69-75). Balance sheet of central bank: The balance sheet of the central consists of assets and liabilities.

Becoming Conscious Essay Example for Free

Becoming Conscious Essay One of the common applications of dream analysis in psychotherapy has been ‘dream analysis’ or ‘dream work’. Psychiatrists and psychologists are having evidence that dream analysis can help to determine if the individual has experienced a traumatic event during the early childhood period. A study was conducted by Mazzoni et al (1999) to determine if dream analysis could help in studying the mental state of the individual. They found that individuals, who have denied experiencing a traumatic event during early childhood, were more confident that such an event occurred following performance of dream analysis. From primary experimentation with dream analysis, it is suggested that this could be utilized in clinical settings (Mazzoni. 1999, Paul Brians, 1998). In the past, the clinical psychologists have tried to use dream analysis to varying extents. Sigmund Freud found that dream analysis could be an open access to the unconscious mind. Any traumatic event that is experienced in the past would be having an effect on the unconscious, and a thorough analysis of a dream could help to determine if the individual has experienced any traumatic event in the past. Psychoanalysis is one of the techniques in psychiatry in which the unconscious mind is studied in order to diagnose the mental state and to treat any disorder, which may exist. Psychoanalysis has been understood by scientists throughout the world and is frequently utilized in various clinical settings. Psychiatrists feel that any emotion that lies repressed would be expressed in various manners in dreams. A link exists during sleep with the unconscious. As this link is open, the most traumatizing memories would surface up and be expressed in the form of dreams. Some of the most common type of memories that are likely to be expressed during dreams includes those of sexual abuse, physical abuse, etc. Sigmund Freud compared dreams to the music made by an artist (the unconscious self) who awakens after another artist (the individual conscious self) sleeps. Sigmund Freud was even sure that dreams could provide an answer to several queries that existed about the individual. Dreams often meant a wish fulfillment or a fear fulfillment. It could even suggest a response, reaction, reflex or a reproduction of memory. Every dream may not mean the same thing. Many people experience what is called as ‘anxiety dreams’. This often occurs due to the very content and nature of the dream. This may be similar to the anxiety that exists during a phobia. However, it is also important to differentiate the anxiety that exists from a phobia and a dream. For example, in a phobia, an individual may fear heights and not go near the edge of a terrace. However, in a dream the individual may find himself/herself near the edge of the terrace and experience anxiety. The anxiety from both these situations are from different sources. Freud felt dream anxiety is more often related to neurotic anxiety, often arising from the urge of fulfilling sexual desires. Frequently, the sexual desires of the individuals get transformed and express itself as anxiety situations in a dream (Mazzoni. 1999, Paul Brians, 1998). Dream analysis has various clinical applications. An individual may develop some kind of mal-adaptation to a traumatic event in life. A psychiatrist may not even be able to understand the cause of the mental condition, as the individual would have developed certain mal-adaptations, false beliefs, etc, with the event. During the dream analysis, the participants provided the dream and the brief reaction following the dream. The psychologist could also work on the behaviors, feelings and the thoughts that developed following the dream. Many individuals experience dreams of what events have occurred in their lives. For example, dreams of sexual attacks may actually suggest that the individual may have been sexually attacked in the past (Mazzoni. 1999, Paul Brians, 1998). References: G. A. Mazzoni, P. Lombardo, S. Malvagia et al. â€Å"Dream Interpretation and False Beliefs. † Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 30. 1 (1999): 45-50. http://faculty. washington. edu/eloftus/Articles/mazz. htm Paul Brians. Reading About the World, Volume 2, Third edition, Harcourt Brace College Publishing, 1998.

Philosophy Reflection Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Reflection Essay This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views have been changed and my overall view on life is much different than it was five months ago. To me, the two most interesting works were the Tao and The Minds I. The Tao describes a really interesting way of life. Of all the philosophies weve read, it is the simplest and most beautiful. Instead of scanning for hidden meanings and analyzing all parts of life, Laozi just tells us to live life. Do no more than you have to do, but do everything you have to do. He tells us not to worry about death and just live life. I honestly think very simple and peaceful way of living can bring us much more happiness than we have now in our current society. However, the only way it can be implemented is if everyone follows the Tao, and that is nearly impossible in our current society. We should honestly try to live simpler lives and see the beauty of everyday things. The other work that really impacted me was The Minds I. Im not sure if it qualifies as a single work, but there were several important themes that really interested me and changed some of my views. The section that really interested me the most was the section describing intelligent machines and animals, and their relationship to humans. I had always considered humans superior to animals due to their intelligence and ability to communicate. I never thought too much about the idea of intelligent animals and even machines and their relationship to humans. An intelligent machine or animal that can communicate definitely would be on the same evolutionary level as humans, and thus there could be no way to justify creating an intelligent robotic servant or helper without harkening back to the ideology that prompted slavery. Also, destruction of this machine or animal would be equivalent to murder. However, I still so no moral objection to creating an intelligent robot, as long as we give it its own freedom, just as we would to one of our children. Its may be considered playing God, but if we are his greatest creations, we should have the right to test our limits. Only through a recreation of consciousness done and understood by us can we begin to understand our own consciousness as well as ourselves. I had never really thought about technology in this way and never seriously questioned the origin of my consciousness, so the Minds I really forced me to think about life in a different way. Throughout the term, I not only changed and reconsidered many of my views; I discovered things that I subconsciously believed without really thinking about it. My beliefs not only changed, I discovered beliefs that I never knew I had. Some of these views surfaced when reading certain works like The Mysterious Stranger and Nietzsche. Although these two works didnt change my deep-set views that much, it was interesting to see my instinctual beliefs get challenged. I discovered I was a pretty moderate thinker, but these readings caused many of my views on life to change. However, I still disagreed with many of the views expressed in class discussions with certain works, like the Tao. But then I realized that the Tao is designed to have different meanings to everyone who reads it so they could find their own way of life and thus doesnt lend itself well to class discussions. I saw that the way philosophy has evolved over the years mirrors the way society has changed throughout history. The older philosophies that weve read, like the Tao and Plato work, seem to try to tell us how to live our lives to get the most happiness and satisfaction out of it, and how to find the way or see the light. The more modern philosophies seem to disregard the idea of a true path and tell us how to live in the best way, but they dont guarantee happiness from it. The most interesting pieces for me were a mix of the modern and older philosophies, like Nietzsche and Socrates Apology (I guess because he lived in a ancient but modern society). Even though they were completely different and I completely disagreed with one of them, they were much more compelling to me. One important thing that I learned is that I hate reading about something that I agree on, I dislike having my views proven?by another writer and rather read new ideas and opinions. From all the texts read and discussions weve had this year, its hard to highlight just three things that I learned. One of the most stimulating texts to me was The Circular Ruins. Especially when read right after Is God a Taoist, this simple story made me reconsider all my beliefs on existence and God. Just like the main character was, we are kept in the dark about our condition, where we came from and how we exist. We claim an all-mighty God as our creator, and call ourselves superior beings in his image. However, whose to say that we are not just insignificant nothings, created by another being of no importance. Would that make us less real and important? From this story I learned to stop attaching importance and purpose to everything I do. Maybe there is a reason we dont know where we come from; perhaps we dont want to know. Another important lesson came from Reservation Blues. The main characters all had to deal with finding a cultural identity while trying to escape the trap of the white man. The only ones who made it out were the ones who had a strong cultural identity. They knew themselves and identified with their past before they attempted to escape the reservation. Victor and Junior either tried to ignore their past or couldnt come to terms with their heritage. They tried to escape before they were ready, and couldnt cope with the failure. The books point, despite the suicide and Victors destruction, was amazingly positive, it showed that if you come to terms with your past and yourself you can overcome any obstacle set against you, but you must have this understanding or you will destroy yourself. From The Razors Edge I learned a lot about the purpose of life from each of the vastly different characters. At first, it seems like the point of the story is that there is a difference between what we want and what makes us happy and fulfilled. Suzanne, Gray and Elliot all got what they wanted yet all seem to live unhappy, unfulfilled lives. Further inspection showed that they all are living the life that they fully wanted and expected to live, and they are perfectly content. Isabel wanted both Larry and high society type of life, and thus is disappointed with her life because she couldnt have both. Larry didnt know what he wanted out of life, so he took basically a timeout from the real world, went into seclusion and discovered what he wanted out of life. Now he, knowing full well what he wants, is the most satisfied of all the characters. The lesson to be learned is that happiness is completely relative, and thus you cannot call anyone a failure unless he considers himself one. Also, its all right to take some time out of the real world and relax, take a step back and see what you really want to do next. In the end, this class really has changed my views on the best kind of life. I still believe that you need to live the type of life that will make you the happiest and most satisfied, but I dont think that most people know what type of life that is. If you dont have a passion, dont force yourself into any profession. Explore the world and find something that really interests you otherwise you will get forced into a miserable life that you hate. If you have a passion, you have to follow it. You have to come in terms with who you are; understand and remember your past and childhood. We have to examine our lives to discover what we really want, then try to find it. We must simplify our actions, and we have to stop overanalyzing others actions and words. We have to lose our ego and sense of shame, and stop caring what people think of you. This is the simplest way to live and live happily, without having to adjust your actions to fit what other people expect from you. We have to stop fearing death and keep on living life in the happiest possible way. This will be the happiest, simplest and best life for everyone.

Small and Medium Enterprises in Indias Economic Growth

Small and Medium Enterprises in Indias Economic Growth Small and Medium Enterprises in Economic Growth of India: Directions towards Sustainable Development Manvendra Pratap Singh, Arpita Chakraborty,  Dr. Mousumi Roy Abstract The inclusive growth is prerequisite in any of fast growing developing economies. Micro small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) play vital role in the socio-economic development of the country. In 2011-12, 36.18 mn enterprises were operational and employed around 80.5 mn people of country, second largest after agriculture sector (MSME Annual Report 2011-12). They accounts for 40 percent of India’s total exports, contributing 45 percent to Indian manufacturing output. With all the good things the darker side of MSME, it attracts only 2.33 employees per unit (on an average), they contributes mere 17 percent to the Indian GDP. This paper will highlight the reasons behind the shining India and Bharat. This paper will also focus on the facilities, scheme provided by the central or state government of country, its implementation and possible solutions for empowerment and spreading its boundaries beyond the country through international cooperation scheme. Keywords: MSME, International Cooperation, regional Economics Introduction Indias economic growth is expected to pick up a faster pace in 2013-14 and record six per cent plus levels of gross domestic product (GDP), according to Mr C Rangarajan, Chairman, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). Country reported to expand at a better growth rate as compared to its three BRIC peers China, Russia and Brazil in May 2013, as per HSBC survey. India witnessed an improvement in its business climate on the back of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and greater revenue receipts by the Government. The ‘BluFin Business Cycle Indicator (BCI)’, reflects macroeconomic developments on a monthly basis, stood at 165.3 points in July 2013, 5.3 percent higher compared to July 2012 which implies that business performance is comparatively better than previous year. In economic development scenario, India is leading from all fronts i.e. 2013 FDI confidence Index stands 5th, 2013 Deliotte Manufacturing Competitive Index stands 4th, 2013 KPMG Change Readiness Index stands 65th. 2013 Global Innovation Index stands 66th. While on societal development front, India’s condition is not upright. As per the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Human development Index 2013 India stands 136th. In inequality Index, India stands 91st, in gender inequality 132nd, value of multidimensional poverty index is 0.283 on basis of year 2005/2006. A major cause of poverty among India’s rural, urban poor both individuals and communities, is lack of access to regular job opportunity, productive assets and financial resources. High level of inadequate health care, illiteracy and extremely limited access to social services are common among poor people. Seven states – Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Prad esh – account for 61 per cent of Indias total poor. Chhattisgarh is the poorest state in the country with approximately 40 per cent of its population being below the poverty line (www.downtoearth.org ). According to NSSO 66th Survey 2010, around 52.9 percent of population engaged in primary sector (agriculture and allied sector) contributing 19 percent to gross value added (GVA) of country, 22.7 percent of working population engaged in secondary sector which contributes 28 percent in GVA and 24.4 percent of population engaged in tertiary sector (Services) contributes 53 percent in our GDP. Considering NSSO 66th Survey, around 75 percent working population engaged in primary and secondary sector of the economy, and resides countryside or in outskirts of cities. While considering the basic amenities in such areas are vulnerable i.e. health care centres, schools, sanitation facilities etc. These differences demarcate a thin line between Shining India (Cities) and Bharat (Village s, towns and outskirts of cities) in terms of societal development and economic parity. Literature review In dynamic economic world, business innovation and competitiveness helps Small and medium enterprises to grow leap and bound. According to the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, 2013, Developing nations are emerging as potential manufacturing destinations like china ranked 1st as best manufacturing destinations while other developing nations are India, Brazil, Vietnam Indonesia etc. GMCI, 2013 report envisaged that in next five years the above mentioned nations will be key manufacturing hubs along with three leading manufacturing powers i.e. USA, Germany and Japan- remained ranked in top 10 most competitive nations today. Across the world, more than 95 percent of the enterprises are SMEs and employs 60 percent of total private employment (Ayyagari et al. 2011). SMEs by number dominate the world stage, Japan has highest number of SMEs registered among the industrialized nation accounts for 99 percent of total enterprises (Edinburgh Group Report, 2011). India had 26.1 million SMEs (MSME, 4th census) and employed around 59.7 million people of the country, second largest employer after agriculture sector. In European Union, jointly 27 countries accounts for 99.8 percent of total enterprises, employs 67 percent of all workers and contributes 58 percent of gross value added. (Edinburgh Group Report, 2011). The SMEs are lacking in knowledge and information base which reflected in poor work practices mainly the managerial and technical abilities among owners and managers. They mainly fall sort of environmental awareness and its impact and focused toward short term gains over long term objectives because of limited resources and lower capital-output ratio compared to a competitive large unit. Mainly SMEs are reluctant to the programs and policies i.e. waste management circle initiated by National Productivity council because of lack of their nature (Dasgupta, 1999). For example, Henriques and Sadorsky (1996) explored the effect of self-reported community pressure on Canadian firms’ decisions to adopt an environmental plan. The effect of self-reported community pressure (presence versus absence) on Mexican firms’ decisions to adopt certain environmental management practices. Analysis: Urban and Rural working Population across the sectors: In India, services sector mainly includes hotels restaurants, Banking Finance Securities Insurance (BFSI), Information Technology (IT) Information Technology Enabled services (ITES), Education, Health etc. According to NSSO 66th Survey, contribution of services sector is 53 percent as gross value added to the economy and employed only 24.4 percent of working population. Figure 1 shows the distribution of population employment per 1000 distribution in all three sectors of economy. Primarily comparing Round 66 and Round 68, finds out that rural primary sector population is shifting toward secondary and tertiary sector mainly men are relocating toward secondary and women are relocating toward tertiary sector. Considering the fact, urban population i.e. men and women are relocating toward secondary sector with marginal increment. With such development in secondary sector, more than 60 percent of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) approvals have been extended to IT/ITES sector, the manufacturing sector left with one third of total approvals (Deepak Shah, 2009). It may affect growth and competitiveness of manufacturing sector which shows huge potential in terms of engaging new skilled pool of population into itself. According to NSSO 66 Round Survey (Figure 2), while comparing secondary sector of economy, particularly, manufacturing (D) Construction (F) for rural and urban India, employment opportunities are relatively more in urban areas compare to rural areas because of basic facility location factors. With respect to social security, from entire workforce mere 8 percent workers entitled for statutory social protection (i.e. risks as sickness, maternity, disability and old age) through central and state level rules on conventional social security (NCEUS, 2006). Around 86 percent of total workers who employed in unorganized sector lag behind for basic social security benefits. As per (Figure 3) MSME Annual Report 2012-2013, rural registered MSME units are lesser than urban units while unregistered Micro and Small (MS) rural units are far more than urban units. Another important aspect of Indian MSME sector is that micro and small enterprises are more than medium enterprises and employed more number of population compared to medium enterprises where labor efficiency, economics of scale and environmental friendliness would not be considered as a parameter of growth. The overall labor efficiency is gloomily low which signifies poor quality of employment mainly because of informal employment called casualization. In manufacturing sector, 88 percent of employment lies under such category (Kannan (2011). According to planning commission estimates,  casual workforce earnings were only one-fourth of the wages of regular (full time) workers (Rs. 51 as against Rs. 200) in 2004-05. Prevalence of poverty among casual workforce, self-employed and regular was as high as 32 per cent, 17.5 per cent and 11 per cent respectively with an average of 20.51 per cent for all employed workers. (Planning Commission, 2008, Chapter 4, Annexure 4.7). MSMEs financing and credit trends: While considering the outstanding bank credits to micro and small enterprises (Figure 4) are on higher side with year on year increase of average 33.3 percent, which reflects the position of respective enterprises and condition of workers working for such enterprises, because it’s obvious that if an enterprise is falling sort of funds to manage its outstanding credit taken from various banks, how it will take care of its enterprise and workers. It reflects that mainly MS enterprises are dragged behind due to falling short of funds and other finance facilities which requires to compete with established local and global players in respective market. Conclusion: According to NAS data the service-sector has achieved an average annual compound growth rate of 8.7 per cent annum between 1999-2000 and 2009-10 as against 7.7 per cent achieved by manufacturing during the same period. Manufacturing sector in urban India has grown at a faster rate (2.8 per cent) relative to all India (1.7 per cent) over the period 1999-2000 and 2009-10. Unlike service sector has practiced skill scarcity and growth in service sector is reasonably more skill demanding than manufacturing sector at higher skill levels. Indian policy makers needs to focus on manufacturing sector like china counterpart which leads in exports and generated huge and stable employment environment by focusing on MSME model (Ramaswamy, 2012). Microenterprise development could generate income and enable poor people to improve their living conditions, has only recently become a focus of the government. The government initiatives and scheme like cluster development program, integrated industrial development scheme and credit guarantee fund scheme etc which stimulates inter-firm linkages and network have assisted MSMEs to move up in the value chain and gain competitive advantage, given access to technology upgraded production technology in sector should be spread across the industrial zones of the country by conducting workshops and training camps to reap the bene fits (IBEF, 2013). The report of Task Force on MSME (2010) provides roadmap for the enhancement and up gradation of MSME sector and mainly emphasized on following key issues: Public Procurement Policy: Government Departments and PSUs to reach atleast 20 percent of their annual volume purchase from MSEs Government should focus on rehabilitation of sick SME units and enhance schemes in context of National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). Enable conducive environment for legal and fiscal instruments to incentivize SMEs for their corporation as entities. Assurance for strict adherence to stipulated targets by commercial banks for SMEs. References: ATKearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, Back to Business: Optimism and Uncertainty (2013) Ayyagari, M., Demirgà ¼Ãƒ §-Kunt, A. and Maksimovic, V. (2011), Small vs. Young Firms Across The World – Contribution to Employment, Job Creation, and Growth, Policy Research Working Paper 5631 (The World Bank Development Research Group). Deepak Shah (2009), Special Economic Zones in India: A Review of Investment, Trade, Employment generation and Impact Assessment, Indian Journal of Agriculture Economics, Vol 64, No. 3, July-Sept 2009. Das Gupta N, 1999. Energy efficiency and environmental improvements in small-scale industries: present initiatives in India are not working. Energy Policy (27) 789-800. Edinburgh (2011), Growing the global economy through SMEs. Goyal M, (2013, June 09). SMEs employ close to 40 percent of Indias workforce, but contribute only 17 percent to GDP. The Economic Times retrieved from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-09/news/39834857_1_smes-workforce-small-and-medium-enterprises. Henriques, I., Sadorsky, P., 1996. The determinants of an environmentally responsive firm: an empirical approach. J. Environ. Econ. Manage. 30, 381–395. HSBC EXPAT Explorer Survey 2013 Report: http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/files/pdfs/overall-reports/2013/report.pdf Human Development Report 2013. The rise of south: Human Progress in Diverse World. Kannan, K.P. (2011) ‘How Inclusive is Inclusive Growth in India’ paper presented at the International Expert Workshop on ‘Inclusive Growth: From Policy to Reality’, jointly organized by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada and Indian Institute for Dalit Studies (IIDs), New Delhi; 11-13 December, 2011, New Delhi. KPMG Change Readiness Index (2013), KPMG International  MSME Annual Report 2012-13 NCEUS (2006) Social Security for Unorganized Workers, New Delhi, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, New Delhi, Government of India. NCEUS (2007) Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganized Sector, New Delhi, Government of India and Academic Foundation. NSSO (2005) Income, Expenditure and Productive Assets of Farmer Households (Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers), 59th Round, Report No. 497, New Delhi, National Sample Survey Organization. Planning Commission (2008), Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) –– Volume I, Inclusive Growth, –– Volume III, Agriculture, Industry, Services and Physical Infrastructure, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Government of India. Ramaswamy K V, Agarwal Tushar (2012), Services-led Growth, Employment and Job Quality: A Study of Manufacturing and Service-sector in Urban India, WP-2012-007. Rs 27 per day: Indias new rural poverty line, 23 July, 2013, Down To Earth, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/indias-new-rural-poverty-line-rs-27-day Samuel R A, Global competitiveness Index Report 2013 Zaidi L, (2013). Proceeding from International Conference on Technology and Business Management.

transistorized paper :: essays research papers

Transistorized   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Transistor became a big hit in the 1940s, which was the main component in the Transistor radio. Everybody wished they owned one, and all the scientists wished they knew how to make one to use for there own profit. John Bardeen, Bill Shockley, and Walter Brittian were three main scientists in the creation of the Transistor. Bill Shockley was born in California, he was an excellent man for thesis’s but could not figure out how to form or create one on his own. Walter Brittian on the other hand was a great scientist that could make basically anything he set his mind too. In 1907 AT&T was losing money because they had nothing big new and exciting to put out on the market to get more customers. They got an idea for an object that could connect people from long distances. The Vacuum Tube was then created for that sole purpose. AT&T knew that the Vacuum Tube wouldn’t make them much money because they could be taken apart and rebuilt by anybody. They the n got the idea to try and invent something else that would be new and exciting to bring in the money. This is when they called upon Bill Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brittian. These three scientists were put to the test to build something innovative. In 1905 Bill Shockley came up with an idea. The scientists worked on this for a while until they figured out that it wouldn’t work so they went back to the brainstorming phase. But Bill Shockley would not let it go so he went back through his notes, and found out that they did not have the right materials to make his idea work. Everyday they worked on his idea and the different materials needed to make it work. In December of 1947 the team came very close to perfecting their invention but there was a problem with the fluids. Shockley went on a break one day but Walter and John stayed back to work. Walter then discovered what the problem was so he worked on fixing it. When he finished with his improvements he tested the inve ntion and it worked. Walter Brittian had then created the first transistor ever. They told Shockley about what they did and how it worked now. Bill was mad because he wanted to either be there when it happened or wanted to figure out what the problem was on his own.

The Etiology of Autism Essay -- Disease, Disorders

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 1 in 80 and 1 in 240, for an average of 1 in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder, â€Å"ASD† (Nirv, Shah 2011). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, up to six out of every 1,000 children may be diagnosed with some form of autism. In addition, boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism. This means that as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism. Unfortunately, the numbers appear to be increasing rapidly. Autism is a disability that frequently appears during the first three years of life. It is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills (Bee & Boyd, 2009). It is the most prevalent developmental disorder to date. Autism is one of five disorders com ing under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development," including social interaction and communications skills (Zager, 2006). The etiology of autism is a topic of controversial debate, while researchers strive to achieve a common objective. The goal is to identify the cause of autism to understand the complex interplay between environment and gene regulation (NCBI, 2009). Although individuals with autism have existed for many centuries it was not recognized and labeled until mid 20th century. Therefore, early detection, intervention and an individual educational plan are essentials for the progress of ASD. The etiology of ASD... ...teristics-of-autism Muhle R, Trentacoste SV, Rapin I.Pediatrics. 2004 May; 113(5):e472-86. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774457 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Autism Information Page. Retrieved from: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/autism.htm Richards, S., Taylor, R., Smiley, L. 2009; Exceptional Students: Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century TARGET: Texas Guide for Effective Teaching Educational Implications Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism Training (March 2009). Retrieved from: http://www.txautism.net/docs/Guide/Introduction/EducationalImplications.pdf Autism Spectrum Disorders. Retrieved from:http://www.yourlittleprofessor.com/spectrum.html Bibliography on Iodine and Autism. Retrieved from: http://gingerjens.blogspot.com/p/bibliography-on-iodine-and-autism.html

Evaluating Term Limits Essay -- U.S. Government

Upon first examination, the idea of implementing term limits in Congress is appealing. In fact, the idea of term limits was initially discussed by our founders, though it was eventually decided that it should not be included in the Constitution (Newton-Small, 2010). The reasons for considering term limits have remained consistent since the beginning of the country, however, and include ensuring legislative turnover, limiting the abuse of the power of seniority, and decreasing the advantages given to incumbents in the campaign process. Interestingly, the states that have adopted term limits have not seen the expected positive outcomes, nor have the opponents seen the dire results that had been predicted. Upon further investigation, the case for term limits is strong as long as it is a nationally based initiative in order to create uniformity and the limits are long enough to increase competence in the job and head off short-term thinking, however without increased voter involveme nt, no reform will solve the current concerns with Congress. There are currently 15 states that have term limits in place for legislators, and among those states, there are seven different versions of term limits (National Conference for State Legislatures, 2009). The differences include the length of time for the limits and whether they are lifetime limits or just consecutive term limits. The difference in the parameters, and the fact that there has been no national reform passed, impacts the effectiveness of the restrictions. For example, consider the fact that congressional privilege and power is often based on seniority. States with current term limits have placed themselves in a weaker position when it comes to power within the legislature... ...tions.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html Morrison, J. (1992). Congressional tenure limited to two consecutive terms? Retrieved from On the Horizon.com: http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/OTH/1-1_poli3.html National Conference for State Legislatures. (2009). The term limited states. Retrieved from NCSL: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/legisdata/chart-of-term-limits-states.aspx Newton-Small, J. (2010). Term Limits: No magic pill for Washington's woes. Retrieved from Time.com: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1967192,00.html Rasmussen, S. (2011). 71% favor term limits for Congress. Retrieved from Rasmussen Reports: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/september_2011/71_favor_term_limits_for_congress Shenkman, R. (2008). Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter. New York: Basic Books.

Hetrogenetiy of Problem Behavior in Male Adoloscents Essay

Often an incorrect interpretation or prognosis of an abnormal or extraordinary behavior pattern can draw the line between what is normal and acceptable, and what can suddenly be classified as a disorder or a disease. This paper aims to study the similarities between certain behaviors, and what factors can acts as differentiators between the two. The paper also emphasized how critical correct assessment is for correct prognosis, and that a treatment may thus, vary greatly from one disorder to another. Key concepts including â€Å"delinquency†, â€Å"antisocial behaviour†, â€Å"conduct disorder†, â€Å"conduct problems† and â€Å"externalising behaviour disorders† are often used interchangeably, however these concepts are far from identical (Connor, 2004). These are different definitions from different perspectives of psychology such as juvenile justice, clinical diagnostic/medical settings, psychometrics, and personality/social psychology in order to have a more complete understanding of antisocial behaviour and other related behaviours (Connor, 2004). Disorders that bear similar symptoms Antisocial behaviors are any acts that violate social rules and the basic rights of others. They include conduct intended to injure people or damage property, illegal behavior, and defiance of generally accepted rules and authority, such as truancy from school. These antisocial behaviors exist along a severity continuum. Disruptive Behaviour Disorder is used to describe a set of externalizing negative behaviour that co-occur during childhood; and which are collectively known as: â€Å"Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders† as outlined in the referred to collectively in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The following are three subgroups of externalizing behaviors: †¢ Oppositional Defiant disorder (ODD) †¢ Conduct Disorder (CD) †¢ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Conduct Disorder is aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness, theft, and other serious social rule violations. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is characterized by negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviors, such as losing one’s temper, arguing, defying rules, deliberately annoying others, blaming others for one’s behavior, and displaying anger or vindictiveness (Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders). ADHD A mental disorder of childhood is at least three times as common in boys as in girls, characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. Brief History of Disorder classification In the medieval times, any deviation from norm was dealt with contempt, and any extraordinary behavior shown by people were said to be possessed by an evil spirit. Later, following Darwin’s theory of human evolution, Morel’s idea of degeneration was used to explain criminal behaviour. According to this concept, criminals were less evolved than normal human beings and that all psychopaths exhibited some degree of criminal behaviour. Physician and phrenologist Carl Otto (1824) was the one who initiated the evolvement of the term psychopathy. Although his method was scientifically invalid, he started the trend of what would be called psychopathy as a set of personality traits. The term â€Å"psychopathic† was first used by J. L. Koch (1891) to describe personality disorders as a result of biological causes. K. Birnbaum (1909) first used the term â€Å"sociopathy†, because it was felt that environmental factors were causes of the personality. Now, psychopathy, as defined by Hare’s revised Psychopathy Checklist, is associated with both personality traits and overt behaviour. (Source: How Does Conduct Disorder correlate with Phsychopathy) What are the factors in the patient’s history that will help determine whether the adolescent has a certain disorder or he is simply â€Å"acting out, and will eventually outgrow such behaviours Most of these disorders are generally and holistically classified as antisocial behavior. Antisocial behaviors tend to be consistent across social settings, such as school and home environments (Dishion et al. 1995). Although the inclination towards serious antisocial behaviors is quite steady across the lifespan, the manifestations of this propensity vary according to developmental stages. This concept has been termed â€Å"heterotypic continuity† (Moffitt 1993, extracted from Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders ). For example, antisocial behavior that is interpreted as irritability and impulsivity in younger children may become criminal behavior once these children reach adolescents or adulthood. Antisocial behaviour is a heterogeneous phenomenon and encompasses a wide variety of behaviours and definitions as mentioned above. One way to distinguish subtypes of antisocial behavior is from the developmental perspective where current classification system (APA, 1994; Lahey et al. , 1998) and developmental pathways (Hinshaw, Lahey, & Hart, 1993; Loeber, 1990; Moffitt, 1993; Nagin, Farrington, & Moffitt, 1995; Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991; Shaw, Bell, & Gilliom, 2000) feature two different subtypes of antisocial behaviour: child-onset (also early-starter, aggressive-versatile) and adolescent-onset (late-onset, non-aggressive). This paper focus on adolescent on-set behavior, from the perspective of developmental pathways. Despite the extent of information gathered on Psychopathy, little is known about its developmental nature. Presumable, there are certain risk factors or distinct developmental pathways which correlate them to other groups of delinquents. Knowledge of such developmental risk factors will greatly enable psychologists and researchers related to this field to deal with the serious problem of Psychopathy. Some risk factors of psychopathy include a history of abuse, parental antisocial characteristics and related factors. It is also widely believed that phsychpathy is manifested at a young age (Hare 1991, Hart and Hare 1997, extracted from Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy). However this does not mean that psychopathy manifested in adulthood has been developing in an early age. Certain risk factors are identified in the assessment and prognosis of a disorder. Risk factors are generally associated with earlier events or conditions that are associated with a negative outcome which has been caused or influenced (McBride, Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). This includes factors which act within the environment of the individual, and may be casually or indirectly linked to a negative outcome are also referred to as risk factors. Thus, serious assessment of anti-social behavior in an early and timely intervention may be able to mediate these risk factors. Loeber and Stothamer Lober (1996) indicate that these conditions are cumulative and may lead to ‘stacking’, and may become resistant to change if not interrupted or mediated (Moffit 1990). It is important to understand that dynamic or changeable risk factors (such as knowledge about a childhood aggressive condition) are important in early identification of an adolescent disorder. Factors such as poor parenting or poor parental monitoring are important to be identified at an early age and thus can be monitored and treated, preventing it from becoming a an aggressive and adolescent delinquency in the future (Loeber and Stothamer Lober 1986). These factors are mutable through treatment, and prevents the accumulation of antisocial behavior in aggressive adolescents (Kazdin 1987). Twentieth century theorists report that parental care is a key characteristic in the development of child behavior. Theorists have suggested that poor family attitudes and interactions fail to provide the attachments that could leverage children into socialized life-styles (e. g. , Hirschi, 1969). Poor home environments manifest antisocial characteristics in their children and associate them with disengaging themselves from their environment (e.  g. , Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Reports based on two adolescents studies have addressed this issue. Both studies have used data collected by the Youth in Transition project from adolescents at ages 15 and 17 years (Bachman and O’Malley, 1984). Delinquency related to parent-adolescent interaction was studied by Liska and Reed (1985); their analyses suggest that attachment or interaction with parents inhibits delinquency, which in turn, promotes school attachment and stronger family ties. Wells and Rankin (1988) considered the effectiveness of various dimensions of direct control on delinquency; their analyses suggest that restrictiveness, but not harshness, inhibits delinquency, however these studies do have their limitations as they were made using the same database, but none of the same parameters to conclude the relationship between the variables (adolescent studies from Youth in Transition project extracted from Mc Cord Family Relationships, Juvenile Delinquency, And Adult Criminality). Many suggest that psychopathy disorders, such as antisocial behavior, are also genetically inherited (Hare 1993.  Forth and Burke 1998, Lykken 1995, (source: Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Parents who are psychopathic also behave violently towards their children, thus instilling seeds of similar behavior into them. Children who have displayed signs of aggressiveness also may not culminate into aggressive adolescents with disorders or psychopathy as suggested by studies done by White, Moffits, Earls, Robins and Silva, 1990 (Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Aggression in a proportion of boys emerges early in life and is usually accompanied by ODD symptoms (Loeber et al.  , 2000, extracted from Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). DSM-IV prescribes that the diagnosis of CD should not be made when behaviors are in reaction to their immediate external environment or influences, an example would be of an aggressive adolescent living in a high-crime area (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). There is a consensus among delinquency studies of both official and self-report data, showing an increase from childhood through adolescence in the prevalence of nonaggressive CD behaviors (Achenbach et al.  , 1991; Stanger et al. , 1997); these include behaviors such as theft, breaking-and-entering, and fraud (e. g. , Loeber and Farrington, 1998; Loeber et al. , 1998a). More studies show that the prevalence of clandestine conduct problems increases from childhood through adolescence (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber, 1998). However, studies also give evidence that certain forms of aggression (such as physical aggression) has shown to decrease during the same period (Lahey et al. , 1998; Loeber and Hay, 1997; Loeber et al., 1991). However, more violent forms of aggression, such as robbery, rape, and attempted or completed homicide, tends to develop more during adolescence (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I) What are the important factors that the clinician should assess? Often during clinical assessment, when investigation is conducted, external factors and information from parents and key influencers are extracted to determine the behavior of children and adolescents. It is, however, important to understand that children and youth in subject are essential informants regarding CD because their covert acts are not always noticed by adults. It is essential to combine the important informants diagnosis and results to establish the correct diagnosis and assessment, however much of this is missing. Even minor changes or difference in diagnostic criteria can produce large variations in prognosis leading to incorrect assessment and treatment of disorders. A comparison of DSM-1II and DS2v1-III-R diagnoses on the same sample showed that between DSM-III and DSM-III-R ODD became 25% less prevalent and CD became 44% less prevalent (Boyle et al. , 1996; Lahey et al. , 1990 extracted from: Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). Diagnostic Assessment The assessment of Conduct Disorder, for example, requires collecting data from multiple informants, such as parents, teachers, colleagues, in different settings using varying methods over time, in order to develop more realistic assessment and information about the subject in question. Contact with medical, school, social service, and juvenille justice personnel should be established to obtain more realistic informationd . A history of the patient should be gathered including the patient’s prenatal and birth history, substance abuse by the mother, maternal infections, and medications taken during as well as post-pregnancy. The adolescents’ history should cover problems of attachment, temperament, aggression, oppositional behavior, attention, and impulse control . Complete investigation of any physical and sexual abuse, both as a victim and perpetrator, should be dealt with in detail. DSM-IV target symptoms, and the course of their development, should be reviewed. The quality and quantity of peer relationships should be assessed . Obtaining information about the patients’ performance at school is imperative. Data from intelligence testing, achievement test, academic performance, extra-curricular behavior, and interaction as well as other behavioral reports should be gathered and analyzed. Referral for intelligence testing, speech and language assessment, testing for learning disability, and neuro-psychiatric testing may further help in establishing relevancy of the diagnosis and further prognosis and assessment. Family assessment is an essential part of the evaluation and should include details of the family’s stlye of coping and dealing with situations; socioeconomic status of the family as well as history of social and economic stressors, social support, rehabilitation etc should be obtained. How the parent has been dealing with adolescent, managing his behavior, and addressing the disorder’s relevance to the adoloscents’ life should be investigated. Any sign of parent’s harshness towards the adoloscent, abuse/neglect, and any abnormal inconsistency should be noted. A history of family antisocial behaviors, including incarceration, violence and physical or sexual abuse of the patient or other family members should be investigated as all of these have effects on the adolescents’ ultimate behavior and development. The family should be screened for any history of ADHD, CD, substance use disorders, specific developmental disorders (i. e. , learning disabilities), or any other personality disorders. Also included are any information on adoptions and placements in foster care and institutions and any behavior experienced there by the patient. An evidence of a physical evaluation specifically within the last twelve months is necessary for prognosis. Physical condition including pulse rate is useful or any medical history is important so that treatment can be planned accordingly. Other medical and neurological conditions, with especial focus on central nervous system (CNS) pathology (head injury, seizure disorder, or other CNS illness), chronic illnesses, etc should be evaluated. Any other relevant medical examinations should be conducted during the assessment. As mentioned above an interview with the patient, which can precede the parental interview, should cover the same aspects that are covered in the interview with the family; these include family history, the patient’s personal substance use and sexual history (including sexual abuse of others). DSM-IV target symptoms may be detected by interviewing parents and other informants, and perhaps not directly from the patients’ interview. A close observation of the patient’s capacity for attachment, trust, and empathy; tolerance, anger and expression should be conducted during the interview; the patient might convey his/her capacity to show restraint, accept responsibility for actions, and experience of guilt. A close assessment of factors such as cognitive functioning; mood, affect, self-esteem, and suicidal potential; presence and quality of peer relationships (loner, popular, drug-, crime-, or gang-oriented friends); and disturbances of ideation (inappropriate reactions to the environment, paranoia, dissociative episodes) may be the factors which can differentiate the CD from other disorders .

Death of a Salesman: Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay

In Death of a Salesman, there are several types of dreams that are evident. These are the hopes and ambitions of the characters, daydreams fantasies and memories and national and cultural dreams, such as the American Dream. Dreams are a very important part of the play. They motivate the characters into their actions and explain their behaviour both in the past and the ‘real time’ that the play is set in. The dreams also affect the way that the whole play is structured. The play is set in the time after the American Dream had started to fade. This is important, because Americans no longer believed in it. Willy found it hard to accept that his sons didn’t believe in what he had believed all his life. The American Dream affected all Americans when Willy Loman was younger, and even though Willy fell foul of the system, he was very much affected by it when he was a young man, and it is still with him. The American Dream was an ideal, which showed the longings of people who wanted to break new ground in a developing country, to earn and save their money and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and to work for themselves. The important factors of the American Dream, were having the best of everything, being successful and popular, having money to spend, and the ideal of rural living close to nature, as well as owning your own business. Consumerism was very much linked to this. Advertising was being used for the very first time, on billboards, radio and even television. Mass production enabled wider availability, and salesmen were being used less and less as people bought on credit at nation-wide stores. Some people managed to be successful within this society. Others suffered from increased pressure to succeed and a feeling of inadequacy and disappointment if they were not earning enough and are therefore were unable to buy the best of everything. Capitalist society also led to people being laid off when they were no longer financially useful, as happens to Willy in the play. These are all very important ideas in Death of a Salesman. Willy suffers from the new society and gets angry when the fridge breaks repeatedly and he cannot afford to simply replace it. To Willy it is important that he has the best of everything and it is very important that he is successful and popular and he refers to this several times during the play. â€Å"He’s liked, but he’s not well liked.† Willy not only wants to be the best, he wants to be respected. His language tells us that he does not think very highly of the person that he is talking about. He is quite condescending. The recurrence of consumer goods in the play, such as the car and fridge, tell us that these things are of great importance to Willy, because they are part of his social standing. However, these things are not so important to Linda. She is more concerned about Willy and her sons. Material objects do not matter to her, she is too worried about Willy’s happiness. All the male characters in the play are affected by the American Dream and feel the pressure to succeed. Willy and Happy, particularly, strive towards something that would not necessarily ever make them happy in life. Biff questions the American Dream and seems to rebel against it. He wants a simple life, because he has seen what the American Dream has done to Willy and he has never settled into anything, because of this. He doesn’t want to end up like Willy. Biff defies the American Dream in this way, because he doesn’t want the objects that make up the lifestyle. The way of life around America generally, was very materialistic. People had to be seen to own everything. Each member of the Loman family has different hopes and ambitions, which have changed from the past into the present. Willy has a lot of hopes and ambitions, most of which are unrealistic and are in his imagination. He always had big plans for himself, and in one of his memories, we see him tell Happy and Biff his main ambition in life. â€Å"Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home anymore.† Willy is reassuring himself of his dream and that one day it will come true, rather than the boys. He talks of the future, and the use of the word â€Å"someday† instantly makes us feel that this is a dream. Willy wants to be the best and often expresses this in one of his dreams. â€Å"Bigger than Uncle Charley.† Charley seems to be the one person that Willy wants to beat and he is very competitive towards him. Towards the end of the play, Willy is still trying to reassure himself that he is the best. â€Å"I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman.† Willy still desperately wants to succeed and gain the respect of Biff. He uses an everyday phrase, and tries to reassure himself that he is not simply an everyday phrase or person. He is however, beginning to give up hope and it is sinking in that he is nothing special. Biff has very different dreams to Willy, because he is trying to break the mould that Willy has created for him. Biff did try to do what Willy wanted him to in the beginning, but he loses respect for Willy and his dreams change. â€Å"I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up.† Biff did this for Willy’s sake, to prove himself to Willy. Biff talks in past tense, because he is no longer trying to build himself up, to prove himself to Willy. Biff feels now, that because he hasn’t done what was expected of him, he has wasted his life. â€Å"I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life, and every time I come back here I know that all I’ve done is to waste my life.† Biff feels that he has wasted his life when he goes home, because Willy makes him feel this way, whereas, in reality, Biff hasn’t been able to settle down. Happy happily accepted the role that Willy created for him, because he was never very ambitious, and it suited him. Happy has been quite successful, and has many of the things he always wanted. However, he has found that not everything is as good as it seems when you don’t have it. â€Å"But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely.† Happy has got what he wanted, but he realises that once you have everything you want it’s not the same, and if you don’t have some one to love, you get lonely. He realises that people are what matters, not objects, yet at the end, he moves away from this again. Happy swears, because he is trying to convey to Biff his point. Happy follows the American Dream and often thinks of him and Biff having a company of their own. â€Å"The Loman Brothers, heh? †¦ That’s what I dream about Biff.† Happy wants his own business, as did Willy, but he wants it with Biff. He asks Biff a question, because he wants Biff to reassure him that his dream is the right dream. Linda Loman is a simple character, and is, above all else, loyal to Willy and his hopes and ideas. She desires only to be happy with what she has, and she wants Willy, Biff and Happy to be prosperous, content and pleased with what they have achieved. She has never fully understood Willy or her sons, and their desire for freedom away from the city bemuses her. She would like to be free from financial worry, and sees her life in the city, not anywhere else. Linda’s role is to portray the typical American woman. She is faithful to her husband and stays at home to look after the family. She fits in with the American dream, which is shown in the play. The hopes and ambitions of the characters are not all very realistic. Linda is the realist in the family, and agrees with Willy to keep him happy. The characters all live their lives around their hopes and ambitions. They treat others as if they should have the same hopes and ambitions as them. Some of the dreams of the characters are very important to them, and this is because these dreams are the only way that they can escape their reality. They are unhappy, but these dreams make them happy. Biff significantly changes his dreams and ambitions over time. When he was young, he wanted to be like Willy and respected Willy a great deal. When Biff learns that he has flunked at school, he goes to see Willy, who is away on a business trip, and finds him with a young lady. This destroys Biff’s image of Willy as his mentor and loving father. Biff never recovers from this, and afterwards, rebels against Willy and all that he has been in Biff’s life. The other characters do not change their dreams as significantly. Happy realises that he is stuck in a dead end job, but he cannot escape, and does not wish to do so, because he is comfortable where he is. Linda still has her dreams although she no longer strives to achieve them, because she has realised that her sons now lead their own lives. Willy still wants to be the best, and finds it very hard to accept that he is growing too old for his job. At the end of the play, Willy commits suicide, and at his funeral, Biff says â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.† Biff assumes that Willy had the wrong dreams, whereas, Willy had the right intentions, he merely aimed too high. Biff is convinced that his dreams are the right way of life, and that Willy was selfish and living under an illusion. Biff uses the word â€Å"wrong,† which leads us into believing that Willy’s dreams were in fact wrong, although we know that Willy was just a victim of the American Dream. Dreams have a big impact on the structure of the play, as we see Willy’s dreams and memories acted out before us as if they were flashbacks in a film, they are indeed flashbacks in Willy’s life. Willy is sixty, and as he gets older, he remembers parts of his life in these flashbacks. He is reminiscing back to the past, wishing that he was still there. These flashbacks are cleverly used to explain ‘present’ events, such as why Biff no longer respects Willy. The play centres on Willy’s dreams and fantasies. They are a very important aspect of the play, and because of this, we are warned when one is coming, because the play can be very difficult to understand without these warnings. All of the action takes place in Willy’s house and yard and in various parts he visits New York and Boston. There are only two acts and no scenes. Scenes are usually used to distinguish between dreams and reality, whereas in Death of a Salesman, Miller did not want this distinction. Whenever the action is in the present, the actors take note of the imaginary wall-lines, entering the house only through it’s door. But, in scenes of the past, these boundaries are broken, and the characters enter or leave by stepping ‘through’ a wall on the forestage. When Willy is about to have a dream or fantasy, we are made aware of this, when a flute plays a melody. This is an ironic reference to Willy’s father, who played the flute and travelled the country, with his family in his wagon, selling flutes he made on the way. The light dims on the stage, and the dreams are accompanied by appropriate music, to help the audience to discover what frame of mind the dream is in. When Willy is with the woman, â€Å"raw, sensuous music† is playing in the background, to set the scene. The flashbacks that we see clarify what is happening in ‘real time.’ Without them, we would be unsure of what is happening. The effect of seeing them is that instead of wondering what is going to happen next, we begin to wonder what has happened in the past to make the Loman family like they are. We particularly wonder this before we find out that Biff caught Willy with the woman. Before we see this flashback, we are very uncertain of what caused Biff to lose all respect for Willy, although we have an idea from conversations near the beginning of the play. Linda: â€Å"It seems there’s a woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (she takes a breath as) Biff: (sharply but contained) â€Å"What woman?† Linda: (simultaneously) â€Å"†¦ and this woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Biff is evidently very worried about Linda finding out about something, although at this stage, we are unsure what it is yet. Willy is getting older, and he really doesn’t want to. As he gets older, he reminisces back to the past, wishing it was still then. Willy’s flashbacks reveal to us how the character’s relationships with each other have changed over time. We therefore see them differently in ‘real time,’ because we see things that they have done, and it changes our perception of them. When we find out that Willy slept with a woman when he was on a business trip in Boston, we change our view of him. Before, we viewed him as lonely, getting old, and reminiscing about the old times. When we found out that he slept with the woman, we just see a man who is desperate to be successful, although he is too old to ever be successful. He slept with the woman to boost his sales, because he cannot accept that he will never be successful. Willy brought up his sons to believe that they were the best and that they could have anything that they ever wanted. Willy’s flashbacks mainly show the boys when they were younger, because Willy knew that they both respected him and looked up to him as their mentor in life. Biff and Happy are both very confident because Willy brought them up to believe in themselves. When Biff steals a football, in one of Willy’s dreams, Willy automatically jumps to his defence. Because of this attitude, Biff and Happy strive to be the best they can in life and are delusional about how successful they are to please Willy, although all of them know that they are misleading each other. In ‘real time,’ Biff is trying to tell Willy that he went to jail when he was away for three months. Biff gets very angry, because he has realised that they cannot accept the truth, and he no longer wants to live his life as a lie. When we do see events that happened in the past, we have to bear in mind that we see them as Willy remembers them. Willy is getting quite old, and has been delusional for his life. Willy never saw events very accurately, because he always wants the best for himself and his sons. He distorts events and often exaggerates or completely invents them. In Willy’s first dream, everything seems to be ‘perfect’ because Willy wants to think that his sons respected him and missed him when he went on business trips. He also recalls that he felt guilty, when he saw Linda mending stockings, because he cannot give her new ones, but he gave the woman that he slept with new ones. In Willy’s second dream, he is recollecting when Biff discovered him with the woman. He remembers this properly, because it was an awful thing to happen to him. He was shocked and distressed, which helped him to remember events correctly. Willy often remembers things as he would have liked them to happen. He wants to be the best, respected and successful. This is reflected in his dreams, because he remembers things as he wishes they had happened. Willy is still being delusional about his life, because he cannot accept the truth. Willy has trouble accepting that he wasn’t successful and does not have the chance to ever be successful, because he is too old, and his career is over. Dreams are important in the play for many different reasons. The dreams in the play convey different ideas about the characters. We see the characters in ‘real time’ and can only truly understand them when we see past events. We see how the American Dream affects the characters, how their hopes and ambitions affect them and how past events affect them through flashbacks. Miller is trying to make a point that we live in a society that encourages us to have dreams that are well beyond our means, and are unachievable, rather than realistic dreams. All of the characters in the play have been affected by their dreams and the dreams of others. Without dreams, human life would be awful, because we all need something to aim for, but our aims need to be realistic. Arthur Miller has effectively shown how our dreams can get out of hand, and do the people around us, as well as ourselves, more damage than good. The American Dream affected one generation a lot, until it was seen by the next generation that it was merely an ideal. Arthur Miller’s father immigrated to America, and soon found that the land of opportunity was not all it seemed.