King Lear and the Analysis of the Family Concept Essay

The issue regarding which is more important, love and family ties or fame and political power are issues that are always present in every generation. Well, which is really more important that we should devote our lives in search for the more important thing? Is blood really thicker than water? It is a subjective topic in which persons have different experiences and stand about the subject matter. This paper aims to answer this question by referring to the epic play of William Shakespeare: King Lear. It is also important to look at the values and actions displayed by the characters of the stories and to analyze whether they are still applicable in our contemporary time. â€Å"King Lear† is regarded by many critics as one of the best works of the arguably greatest writer that has ever lived, the immortal William But despite being on of the author’s last works, â€Å"King Lear† had echoed throughout literary history as one of the best read and staged play. It has also become a staple material for those who endeavor in literature studies. The success of the text owes much to the themes that the text generates. One of those themes is an issue that the whole world can relate to about a family. The socio -cultural nature of the family had amplified significantly the readership of the text as it is being used as a study text by those in the social sciences. Family and Society Family is an essential part of the society. It is a major component in the aspect of social health in the world we live in. The family which includes the parents and children, all play a big role in shaping the society, in maintaining the social health of the place we call home. The family is a means of the propagation of life, wherein because of the family, societies continue to exist. It is because of the parent’s capability to bear children and raise them to become better people, thus accounting for a better society. Comparison and Contrast between Modern and Shakespearean King Lear Family The modern American family has more diverse components not just the typical family members. Often times, the structure of a modern family is greatly influenced with the modern influence brought about by the changing times and ideas. Modern societies are not only characterized with the great influence of technological advances and dependency, but rather in more complex terms, the modern family is subjected to changes in the ideals behind the essence of a modern family image. (Woloch 1997) But unlike in modern families, the aristocratic family of King Lear in Shakespeare’s work typifies the basic notion of family struggles at that time. The character of King Lear is portrayed as a struggling human being eager to win the favour of his children in the most drastic ways he knows best. The intention of the character of King Lear is to do what he thinks is best for his sons and daughters. However, he became so obsessed in power and blinded by his intention to protect his daughters at all costs in the expense of Cordelia. In discerning the true identity of a modern family, we realize the need to evaluate the changes in the basic unit of structure in the society from Shakespeare’s time until now. During the early centuries, the family is characterized by only one true virtue: it is composed of the father, the mother and their children. The history behind the family as a concept, involves the idea of each roles portrayed by each entity. The father is the sole provider of the family; the mother is the one who takes care of the children and the household; and the children are there to be nurtured, loved and provided for. But generally these concepts have become the main stereotypes brought into the modern societies. The play has those stereotypes. King Lear is portrayed as a noble aristocrat obsessed with his power. Cordelia is also a pivotal character in King Lear wherein she is seen as a typical good daughter who always follows her father. However, the fool can be put as an allegory of Shakespearean society wherein truth is at its essence of being true. Times change and almost everything in the society changes and has changed. Not just from infrastructure, but also the amount of knowledge shared and experienced by everyone. The concept of family has also changed dramatically. Brought by the women revolution and the emergence of the feminist concept, the country has experienced the women greatly influence the manner in which concepts in the society is changed.(Woloch 1997) The role of women in the society has greatly changed from the stereotyped domesticated females, to the working and productive women of the future.(Kemp & Squires 1997) This is an important phenomenon in history that must be addressed in order to define the concept of changing family image. One notable contribution came from the â€Å"changed† status of women and the achievement of gender equality in the country. Another contributing factor to the changing views in family image made by the play King Lear is the role portrayed by men in the society. From a patriarchal type of society, King Lear for instance, experience a dramatic change brought about by the change in the status of women.(Woloch 1997) Men in modern times have to compete more and more with women in context of career and including family life. There is a great paradigm shift of roles from the earlier centuries wherein men have the sole right to work for their family. In modern societies, women share equal roles in bringing and managing resources within the household. These events are clearly depicted in both stories of King Lear and Cordelia. Placed in both different contexts, the two characters in the play depicted the changes within the modern family. In the King’s character, the life of a domesticated father is shown albeit part of the aristocracy. The concept of tough love towards Cordelia is present in all acts. Having experience what probably most modern fathers are experiencing, Shakespeare realized is that being a domesticated father entails the kind sympathy for mothers who spends most of the time taking care of the kids. While men busily work to earn their monthly income, mothers are entailed with a much greater responsibility in terms of taking care of the children. There is a conflict shown in the essay in which the author questions his capacity, as a male figure in the society, to handle such responsibility in the home. While his wife is away, he maintains to struggle between his job as a writer and as an on-hands father. Every domesticated father will realize that it is somehow degrading to realize that he can not do his job or fulfill his professional aspirations in life if he exchanges his role with the wife. There is the internal conflict that lies within the men to question their respective roles in the society and specifically in their own family. Osborne explains the struggles experienced by men in accepting that hard roles that women portray in the society. Once they too have experienced being domesticated, this eventually changes their own perception of their role in the family. Sexual identity and social identity is another main idea in the play’s depiction of courtship. In the story, social acceptance has a main role in considering this kind of modern family. This can be seen over the courting of the Duke of Cornwall towards Cordelia. Over the years, society has witness the growing number of social class relationships that includes a child or the wanting of a child. Many states still is irreconcilable with the issues behind aristocracy. But it is of practice to respect and tolerate the decision by the protagonist in handling his family. Obstetrics, Family, and Social Health on King Lear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Obstetrics is a key in maintaining social health because it deals with a big part in the society – the family. A particular concept which can be adapted in thes paper, Obstetrics makes sure that life propagates, because it takes care of the women’s concerns during pregnancy, the formation of a new life, a life that would play a big role in the society. Obstetrics takes care of being able to have children of your own, which is another important factor in the family. A child, the product of the parent’s love and efforts, completes the society’s building block, the family (Nesbitt, 2002). As in the case of the main protagonist in the play, the same concept can be applied since King Lear had a difficult time in handling his children effectively. Comparison of the Concept of Family in other Shakespearean Plays In the story of Antigone, Haemon must choose between her love for Antigone and the fame and political power that await him if he obeys his father. In both Antigone and King Lear, the concept of patriarchal obedience is evident. Now Haemon is facing a dilemma because of the conflict between his love and his father. The same choice goes for Antigone for she wants to give her brother the honor of being buried in the right way. Both cases can be traced back to the struggles of Cordelia under his father. However, doing so would mean that she must disobey King Lear’s order. Disobeying the king does not only take the opportunity to be the princess by marrying the king’s son, Haemon, but her own life as well. But Antigone and Haemon decided to follow their hearts. In the end, Antigone killed herself. Knowing that his love is death, Haemon also decided to end his life. Thus, their value for their love ones cost them their own lives. However, they still gain the respect and sympathy of the people of Thebes. It can be said that the actions of Antigone and Haemon are not applicable in our present time. Although there are several movies that portray the same idea, this rarely happen in reality. It is a very rare case in which lovers decided to end their lives since it is impossible for them to be together. They can be considered as martyrs rather than heroes because of the act. Antigone also displays the kind of courage and determination that is greatly needed in our society today. Although she is a woman, she defies the odds and even the king for what she believes is right. Adding to the fact that she lives in the period when woman are considered inferior to man. This kind of courage is really needed by the present generation. Not only woman but men as well that have the courage to stand up and are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to make a change. Today, although woman are accepted by our society and are ‘said’ to be equal to men, there are still some times that they are afraid to speak out and fight for their rights. Also both men and women are sometimes afraid to question some of the things that they find unjust in the society. They are afraid to face the consequences and are unwilling to make a change to improve social order. This characteristic is really needed in our society today, the courage to fight for what is right even if the whole society is against us. If only there are those like Antigone that are willing to give it all in order to make a change, I’m sure that our society will be a better place to live.   On the other hand, King Lear cannot consider himself victorious. His persistence and determination to exercise his power over the people of Thebes had a considerably great cost. Not only had he lost the sympathy of his people not to mention the approval of the gods but the life of his daughters and sons as well. His authority blinded him and the result is loosing the persons that he values the most. If our present leaders will demonstrate the same reason and behavior like that of King Lear, the people will surely revolt and take their powers and authority away and give it to someone more deserving and just. The people will surely not tolerate such actions. Whether to choose love and family over fame and political power is really a big decision. You cannot have the best of both worlds. To pursue love means to let go of powers and fame and vise versa. Also we cannot really determine which is important, whether to choose love and family ties over fame and power depends upon the situation. What is important is that we do not only consider our own benefit in making the right decision. Also the stories show that to pursue love and power is not wrong, however living your life to attain just one of them is sure to cost you a lot. In making a decision we should both consider the heart and as well as the mind in order to come up with the right decision. References: Ashbee, Edward. American Society Today. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002. Hertz, Rosanna, and Nancy L. Marshall. Working Families : The Transformation of the American Home. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Hutter, Mark. The Changing Family. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Kemp, Sandra, and Judith Squires. Feminisms. Oxford Readers. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Woloch, Nancy. Early American Women : A Documentary History, 1600-1900. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Wakefield, Thaddeus, and NetLibrary Inc. The Family in Twentieth-Century American Drama. New York: P. Lang, 2004.

The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence Essay

This book was written by Dutton and Donald about domestic violence. It gave us the history about assault on spouses. Dutton and Donald talks of two major social phenomena that emerged in North American and the Western countries in Europe. Rights of women were acknowledged by everyone after long and tedious struggle of women to get recognized. It goes further to state the measures and incidences of violence including theories concerning women assault. The cycle of violence and people who possess abusive personalities are stated even assault on men. This book is very important for it teaches about recognizing one another especially those who possess violent personalities. It is good for the society for it educates one to accept others rights and difference between marriage duties and rights. This book shows us that we ca eliminate all odds in our society and try make each and every person to feel that he or she belongs to it fully without any intimidation and discrimination. Donald and Dutton’s ideas can be used to help those who possess abusive personality by attending psychiatrists and avoiding any abusive behavior. It can be used to educate spouses in marriage so that they will evade future marriage problems. Also, in the current globalized world, the ideas in this book can help us socialize and live together in peace and harmony especially in a domestic set up. This book can help people who are married in other cultures to harmonize or leave those cultures and then live with the acceptance and respect of each other’s rights. Weiss, Elaine. Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of Women Who Broke Free. Volcano: Volcano Press,  2004. Print. In this book, Surviving Domestic Violence, Elaine Weiss wrote about several stories of women who had been subjected to domestic violence. She got these stories by interviewing and later writing them down. It talks of what they went through and how they later managed to escape it. It gives reasons as to why such incidences were happening. After getting out, the women took a very long time to finally recover the psychological and wounds they got due to this violence but some were yet to fully recover for the ordeal they went through changed their lives negatively. Those who managed to deal with stress after coming out say that they are stronger than ever. The different stories taught in this book are the true causes and effects of domestic related violence. They bring about what one goes through and how one feels while undergoing the violence. Also, it helps to understand what to do when such incidences happen. It also shows its effects and how they change one’s life therefore targeting those who abuse their partners. This book is a very example as it shows us that those who have already freed themselves from the marital abuses can educate others like the youth and couples about domestic violence o that they refrain from them. The stories are very encouraging for they give people motivation to solve their problems and also how one can escape this. They can be used by those specialists in parental guidance and counselling to help them shape their marriage when such incidences are reported to them and even before couples get married. The ideas in this book can enable those undergoing abuses to get out and look for a better marriage partner. One only needs to accept that he or she is undergoing domestic violence and therefore if it cannot be solved, one can boldly walk away and start life afresh. Marriage is not slavery but it’s a path towards achieving your goals in life as one needs a partner who is willing to assist where possible so that they make all their dreams in life to happen. Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence Cook, Philip W. Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence. Westport: Praeger,  2009. Print. Phillip exposes how men goes through domestic violence silently. He talks of how real it is that men are going through domestic violence without the society suspecting. He brings several stories of men who have been undergoing through such violence from their wives for a long time. Then he goes further to give tips that can help one to find freedom from any form of abuse. The he talks of resistance and acceptance for those who are abusing their spouses and how they come to realize that each and every person deserves to be respected. He also talks of new great approaches that can be used to reduce domestic violence. He then gives survey statistics of domestic violence in Canada. It also talks about how the relationship changes between the offenders to their victims. The story is helpful in realizing what some men go through. It gives statistics of domestic violence that people are not ready to talk about. The society is helped to recognize men who are undergoing domestic abuses from their spouses. It is helpful because statistics help people to know how long they have been living with their friends undergoing abuses without even realizing it. It talks of acceptance which can help those who are yet to accept their spouse the way he or she is. It is helpful for it shows how much men can be subjected to torture with use of dangerous tools such as knives, machetes and any other type of a life-threatening tool or machine so that one can force their partner to follow her commands. Philip’s ideas can be used to know the men who are undergoing abuses experienced from their wives and enable us to help them come out of the problem. Also, it encourages courage especially those who are not courageous enough to come out and tell their ordeal to the society. This book can help men to free themselves away from any form of abuse and intimidation from their partners. This book is very important as it can be used to tell the extent in which men undergo violence in real life situations. Men can also use this book to help them evade any other form of domestic violence against them and therefore reducing the number of men who die as a result of domestic violence. Howard, Louise, Louise Howard, Gene Feder, and Roxane Agnew-Davies. Domestic Violence and Mental Health. London: RCPsych Publications,  2013. Print. This book has been written collectively by different authors who are specialized in domestic violence ideas. It talks about prevalence and physical health impacts of domestic violence. It talks about types of abuses in marriage such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse and coercive control and also it questions them and gives clues on how they are brought about and their solution. It also talks of effects of the person’s psychology which is deeply affected even in the future that may not get them out of his mind. It stresses on survival strategies to evade such abuses and also how one can control his or her mind to avoid damaging his or her psychology. This book also gives the kinds of interventions and responses people can take after or when you suspect any form of violence. Advices from professionals on domestic violence are also written down. This book has directives on what causes mental problems after abuse. It also gives us ways on how to control ourselves and maintain a state of calmness so as not disturb our stressed mind. It educates us on different forms of domestic violence. It has been written by different qualified professionals in each field is represented. It is an important text for it has the advices on domestic violence from professionals. The story in this book can help us to evade mental problems due to domestic abuses and can be used by psychiatrists to know what causes a certain mental disorder and they can use the ideas here to enable their clients who are undergoing this problem to get out of it. It can also be used to educate couples so that when they are not in good terms to try to their best solve the problem before it gets out of hand. The advices written in this book can also be used in the same way to advice people especially those undergoing domestic violence depending on the root cause and the kind of violence. Kubany, Edward S, Mari A. McCaig, and Janet R. Laconsay. Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence: A Workbook for Women. Oakland: New Harbinger This book is directed to those who have been freed from domestic violence and especially women. Due to violent domestic situations, one may develop post-traumatic stress disorders which are not easy to get out of one’s mind and can negatively affect that person. It is aimed at giving programs known as cognitive trauma therapy which one undergoes to help him or her come back to normal. It gives the techniques one can use them to help himself or herself by identifying any form of trauma and distress one has that can enable one to deal with it to help control and change his or her life . This book is targeting those who have been affected by domestic violence so that they come back to normal for those who were traumatized. It is an educational tool for the society to understand the devastating effects of wife battering. Therefore it makes us to even identify those who are going through post-traumatic stress. It contains technics and procedures one can follow so that they make him deal any results brought by domestic violence. It is also helpful as it helps chase out any fears one has due to what they went through during that horrifying period of domestic violence. Psychiatrists can use this book to help traumatized people by helping them to come back to normal. The ideas here can help us to even identify those going through stress in their marriage so that they are helped before it’s too late. This book can be used also by the parents who are not in good terms to read and understand what one may go through if such incidences happen. The techniques in this book about dealing with trauma after violence can be used by psychiatrists to help clients who underwent this so that they identify what they are in trauma of and this can help them to accordingly better their lives. It can also be used individually as one can remember well what went wrong in that marriage and help better their lives. References Cook, Philip W. Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence. Westport: Praeger,  2009. Print. Dutton, Donald G. Rethinking Domestic Violence. Vancouver: UBC Press,  2006. Print. Howard, Louise, Louise Howard, Gene Feder, and Roxane Agnew-Davies. Domestic Violence and Mental Health. London: RCPsych Publications,  2013. Print. Kubany, Edward S, Mari A. McCaig, and Janet R. Laconsay. Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence: A Workbook for Women. Oakland: New Harbinger Weiss, Elaine. Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of Women Who Broke Free. Volcano: Volcano Press,  2004. Print. Source document

Information for Soap Notes Essay

Associate Level Material Case Study Information for SOAP Notes Read the following three patient visits. Rewrite the information using correct medical terminology. The visits below are written in layman’s terms and do not use the correct medical terminology. Re-write the information in medical terms for the charts. You must determine where the information is to be placed in the SOAP note. Patient One – Chapter Six 22-year-old African American female 140/60 BP 99 F Pulse is 38 Breathing is 22 per minute Patient states she is not on any medicine at the time Patient states her reason for the visit is she is having severe back pain for 5 days now Past has been told she has sickle cell anemia Physician tells patient they are going to draw blood and give her IV with fluids. Physician states the IV will contain something for the pain Blood work showed white blood cells 4300, hemoglobin 13. 1 g/dL, hematocrit 39. 9%, platelets 162,000, segs 65. 9, lymphs 27, monos 3. 4 Physician observes patient is alert Physician finds that head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat are okay Physician determines the patient is having a sickle cell crisis Physician finds that the patient has numbness in hands and feet Patient states she just has not been feeling well lately She reports â€Å"I do not test my levels daily with that machine it hurts so I just base my levels on how well I feel† Physician observes that the patient has some discoloration of her skin Physician sees that the head, eyes, ears, nose and throat are okay Physician hears that the heart sounds good, nothing sounds off Physician wants patient to come to the office in 1 month Physician tells patient to start using the machine to test her blood and record the results and bring with her to next visit

Consulting Case Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consulting Case Assignment - Essay Example The firm’s quick ratio during 2003-2004 was 0.79. In 2003-2004 the cost of goods sold of the company increased by 41.20% The cost of gods sold of the company have increased at an alarming rate considering that the sales growth factor in fiscal year 2003-2004 was 6.40%. Higher costs of goods sold have diminished the profitability of the company. The cash position of the firm is catastrophic. Its cash balance has been declining since 2001-2002. The cash balance of the firm this year was -$5,804. The organization is suffering from cash flow problems. The situation has escalated to a point that the firm might be forced to shutdown operations because the company will be unable to pay its short term obligations without any cash. Cash is the most important asset because it is used to pay for business transactions. Another problem that the company faces is limited production capacity. The lack of production capacity is hurting the ability of the company to take large orders. Two human resource problems the firm has are absenteeism among the staff and underperforming managers and supervisors. The first issue that must be attended is resolving the cash flow position of the firm. The company is at the blink of bankruptcy. Typically all loans go into default after 90 days without payment. A simple solution that the firm can implement in the short term to solve the liquidity issues of the firm is factoring. Factoring is the sale of the account receivables of the company at a discount. The balance of accounting receivables of the company is $123,501. If the firm is able to factor its receivables at a 10% discount rate the company will generate a cash influx of $111,151. The firm also has to attend the problem of rising cost of goods sold. The increase in costs is the main reason that the profitability of the company is negative. A solution to reduce cost of goods sold is sourcing materials from a Chinese manufacturer. China is the top

Drug Dealing and Money Laundering Forensic Accountant Admissibility Essay - 8

Drug Dealing and Money Laundering Forensic Accountant Admissibility - Essay Example The case R v Ferguson; R v Sadler, R v Cox of the three police officers Cox, Sadler, and Ferguson is one such case. Being in the drug squad, have made it easy for these officers to illegally sell drugs through street dealers who they have caught on the pretext that they were carrying out strategic investigations. In reality, the squad members were benefitting from the drug dealers through cash income, and the only way to justify their benefits was to check on their accounts. This was why the expertise of a forensic accountant, Curtin was necessary. Although evidence of assumed expert opinions is not admissible in a court of law, in this case, the Court made an exception to accountant Curtins opinions based on the logic that if a person's financial statements were to be produced in court then an expert in the area must be produced to analyze it. However, the expert, the forensic accountant, should merely explain the evidence (which the jury could have interpreted themselves had they the training to do so) but should not influence the jury of its contents. This was why the accountant's evidence became admissible. The court of appeal also allowed the evidence admissible if Curtin explained the process of arriving at the conclusions. Curtin has used standard accountants methodology as set by the Statement of Forensic Accounting Standards - APS 11. This Standard provides clear guidelines to its members how to seek and utilize financial data and present it incomprehensible manner. Two of the important requirements is that the accountant can only make assumptions about the past or future events or amounts in the absence of the amount. His assumptions should be reasonable under circumstances, and they were suitably qualified and disclosed.

HR Apple company Leadership and Motivation&Reward Essay

HR Apple company Leadership and Motivation&Reward - Essay Example Apple Computer Inc. is a company that has gained universal recognition due to its innovative and branded hardware and software that are easy to use, powerful and more elegant as compared to those of their rivals (Carlopio, Andrewartha & Armstrong 2004, p. 217). However, this positive innovation can be attributed to the leadership practices and motivation and reward that are exercised by the management team of this company. This paper will therefore critically evaluate the effect and contribution of leadership practices and motivation on the performance of Apple Computer Inc. and other organizations. For this purpose, the paper aims at providing the clear definitions of leadership and motivation and reward, thereby critically examining different theories appropriate to these practices. According to Gibb, leadership is the process of influence whereby principled and authoritative individuals exercise high level of influence over the subjects or followers than the subjects did over them (qtd in Ladkin 2010, p. 35). Gibb therefore recognized leadership as a processes in which an individual exercised due influence on another in order to complete an assigned task or to achieve a certain objective. On the other hand Marshall describes transformational leadership as the a leadership style whereby a leader identifies an absolute need for change in the organization, formulates a vision that will â€Å"guide the change through inspiration† and lastly, executes the change with the help and commitment of others (2011, p. 3). Transformational leaders therefore tend to work towards achieving extraordinary positive results. Transformational leadership theory has interested of many organizational leaders over the past few years. According to Givens, this theory was established in 1978 by Burns (2008, p. 4). This theory is based on the ability of the leader to provide motivation to the subjects in order to accomplish the general set

Human Resource Development in Organisations (HRD) Assignment

Human Resource Development in Organisations (HRD) - Assignment Example In order to make the human resources capable of meeting the present challenges, it is necessary to update their knowledge through training and development. It is impossible for the employees to adapt to the changing organizational culture and environment in the absence of proper training. There many different training methods adopted by an organization for the proper manpower development. In fact training starts immediately after the appointment itself. It is impossible for an employee to adapt with the organizational culture and tradition easily even if he/she might be richly experienced in some other organization. Induction training is a type of training given to the new employees at the time inducting them in the organization. This may lasts from few hours to few days depending on the nature of the employees, organization and the tasks employees going to perform. This paper mainly focusing on the need and importance of induction training, topics needed to be included in the induction training, the role of Human Resource Development (HRD), importance of organizational culture to the new employees etc. Induction training is essential for the new employees in order to make them aware of the organizational culture and environment. It is impossible to have two organizations with similar culture or environment even if they are of same size, operating in same field and location. For example, if a printer working in a printing unit relocating to another printing unit in the same location, he needs induction training even if he is rich in experience. Some organizations may adopt some specific business strategies and it is necessary for the employees to be accustomed in it. For example, in tire industry, some manufacturers make steel radial tires whereas some others make radial tires using the fibers. Even though both the manufacturers are

Analysis of Five Forces Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Five Forces Model - Essay Example The first stage refers to the small incremental changes in the market which may cause the demand pattern to change in the market. The impact on the business can be in the form of fall in revenues. The second stage refers to a situation where the change becomes more pronounced which may lead to severe financial distress for the business owners as the changes in the external environment continue to take place. The third stage refers to a situation where the firm realizes that the change in the market conditions is so severe that minor changes made by the management both at the senior and the junior level will not be adequate to solve the crisis. This is a situation which calls for the dramatic strategic shift to increase the market share and revenue of the firm. An inference that can be drawn from this model is that the strategies of a firm require constant changes because strategic drift mainly occurs when the strategies of the firm lose focus about the external conditions in the mark et. Porter’s five forces model is also referred to as the positioning school (Stonehouse and Snowdon, 2007). However, Porter’s models of competitive forces have been subject to major criticism. From an economic point of view, it has been observed by Hax and Wilde (2002) that the model of Porter assumes a perfectly competitive market which is a utopian concept. It has also been observed that Porter’s model can at best be used to analyze simple market structure because as the industry structure becomes complex with multiple interrelations then the model is not very suitable (Hax and Wilde, 2002).

Physician Credentialing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physician Credentialing - Assignment Example Information submitted by any applicant should be thoroughly examined and cross-checked to ascertain honesty and experience of such an applicant. The education background should be verified by checking all certificates presented. It should be ensured that the resume is consistent with the age of the applicant since some applicants could try to fake their resumes hoping not to be noted. This is important as it helps to ensure that applicants will have gone through formal education and qualified in whatever fields they applied. This information will be got through certificates and also through contacting the education institutions stated on the resumes.  History of the practice of applicants is also important. This is the period that an applicant has been in practice. The medical field is not one whereby applicants work on probability but based on being sure of what they are doing. Hence, every hospital that an applicant claims to have practiced should be contacted and letters or reco mmendation reviewed. Conduct history is one other thing that thing that will not be overlooked (Matzka, 2007). An applicant needs to come with a certificate of good conduct showing that he/she has maintained integrity throughout the period of practice. Any penalty that an applicant has suffered in the course of practice is reviewed and the reason behind ascertained.  At Rural Outreach Community Hospital, any applicant is taken through a thorough scrutiny that ensures that they meet all the laid down procedures of approval. As the one in charge, I would ensure that there is a procedural interview process through which all applicants are taken through. There would be a practical exam where a hand on experience is checked by a qualified professional.  After this, the applicants who qualify are not hired on permanent basis but are first hired as interns. During this internship period, their performance is

Choose any contemporary theme and write a review of that theme by Essay

Choose any contemporary theme and write a review of that theme by using a variety of secondary sources. (Safety and Security in - Essay Example This elevates the issue of safety in airports as of considerable concern in regions that are considered as major destinations for tourists. This paper looks into safety and security in airports in relation to tourism. Introduction The contemporary world has witnessed dramatic changes since the rise of globalization. Based on the heightened incidence and severity of terrorism related incidences, individual’s feelings of safety (whether physical or psychological) have been challenged. The travel and tourism sector have considerably been bruised at various levels, accompanied by growing concerns on safety and security of destinations. The resultant sense of insecurity has yielded to increase screening within airports in a bid to thwart occurrence of any terrorism related incidences. Passengers and air cargo are the two main entities that pose the highest treat to the security and safety of airports. Passengers are considered as a serious threat due to the increased number of terr or activities occurring in airports (Sweet 2009, p.52). Even prior to the 9/11, the society was conscious of the risks associated with being at the wrong location at the wrong time; however, the 9/11 attack brought to the limelight how interconnectedness of the world and the society was awakened to the risks occasioned by the interconnections. The global aviation immediately launched tighter travel rules, restrictions, and regulations in a dramatic attempt to thwart a repetition of the incidence. The changes heralded within the passenger travel experience right from check in to disembarking have been rendered non-negotiable. As a result, the process of travel has been made increasingly complex and time consuming (Sonmez, Apostolopoulos and Tarlow 1999, p.13). The safety and security of airports remains an ongoing challenge and continues to evolve as air traffic rises. The threat presented by crime and terrorism has over the years increased necessitating enhanced security and safety in airports. Indeed, the public has had an enhanced sensitivity towards aviation and airport security owing to the concern that criminality may yield to vulnerabilities that could be exploited by terrorists. The central aim of airport security centres on preventing ‘unlawful interference’ with the could yield to fatalities among the passengers and crew major airports continue to be critical infrastructure for the health of the economy and people’s lives and livelihood, and the possible targets for the severe crimes and terrorism (Sonmez, Apostolopoulos and Tarlow 1999, p.14). Terrorism and crime are unique, but possibly overlap, but at its most fundamental place, an environment characterized by lax security can avail opportunities for terrorists to take advantage of the weaknesses in airport security. However, with the growing surveillance within airports, critics have argued that the heightened security screening at airports is increasingly heralding misery to h oliday travelers. Critics point out that government agencies pursuing to make journeys secure render plane trips unpleasant, which encourages people to take the option of travelling by road (where possible). Discussion Terrorists target airports largely because of the social and economic damage that can arise once an airport has suffered a terror attack. The 9/11 terror attack motivated all leading airports to pay keen attention on improving the

Short History on Cyber Space Essay Example for Free

Short History on Cyber Space Essay The Internet has been designed as a ‘pool of endless information’ for anyone who has access. With its introduction in the mid 1990’s, it has vastly changed the way we do business, obtain all kinds of data and the way we communicate in the world today. With its sheer potential, we have created the most powerful tool of our modern day technology. In a series of memos that were first written in 1962, by an MIT expert of the name of J. C.R Licklider, he had envisioned a type of ‘network’ in which a set of computers were globally interconnected in sharing information and anyone could access data from anyone of these terminals (Leiner, Cerf, Kahn Clark, 1962-1974). The Internet society believe that the Internet should be used by everyone freely, meaning that the number one objective is to promote the development, security and stability of the World Wide Web. Malicious attacks such as viruses, spams, spyware and other viscous attacks on hardware and software have become well known wide spread through the web. These attacks often result in irreparable damage and abuse the very freedom the Internet principles were based on (Internet security, 2012). Many aspects of our lives include the electronic transferring of data through some means of electronic devices such as cell phones, computers and other mobile devices such as emails and text messaging. Everything from traffic signals, car technology and airport/airplane navigation has been linked to the usage of transferring vital information via the web and through other communication channels. Government data such as birth records, social security documentation and tax records also need to be protect ed. This information is very confidential and establishes the identity of millions of people in the world today. What exactly is cyber security? In its broadest definition, it is the protection of information and computer systems in we rely on, whether at work or at school. Information is crucial and it may not be altered incorrectly. It should only be shared with the appropriate users and intentional parties. There are, of course, many different levels of security. The information must only be accessible to those who need it and have been intended to see it, for example, medical records. They should have a different level of security and only be made available to those who need this information such as the appropriate doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and other medical staff. These records need to be well protected to prevent anyone from making unauthorized changes resulting in harmful activities. Cyber security is becoming increasingly more important, because every day, new attack methods are being launched and thousands of web pages are discovered continuously in the involvement of illegal data breaches. Several examples of types of ‘electronic infections’ include ‘Denial-of-Service’, which includes the actual shut-down of many legitimate websites and denies access to its existing user base, rendering many users unable to access important information. Another type of malicious attacks is ‘Malworms’ or ‘Trojan Horses’; these are viruses spread by email and instant messaging, sometimes unaware by the user. They may be downloaded simply by visiting the wrong websites. ‘Botnets or Zombies’ use several computers to launch the attack and steal information across a spread of terminals, copying the ‘evil software’ from one device to the next. Social network attacks are also on the rise and sometimes a link may be posted to steal personal information or download a virus hidden by the attacker. User’s inherent trust in posting vital information for their friends is what causes these social networks to be prime targets for the attackers (Internet security, 2012). Today, 70% of large companies rank viruses and hacking ahead of fraud and physical break-ins as their greatest threat. The importance of protecting vital electronic data is more important today than it has ever been. Whether it is the stealing of information, the planting of malicious malware or simply the intention to ‘search and destroy’, hackers have become the nation’s number one threat in creating immense damage to businesses of all sizes and can severely impact a company’s integrity or capability to perform at its peak potential. IT security has now been placed very high on the risk management agenda of any major corporation (â€Å"Why cyber security, 2010). There are several examples of attacks on computers to obtain private information. One of many examples involves a 20 year old kid, by the name of Christopher Maxwell who created a 50,000 computer zombie network that caused approximately $135,000 in damage by infecting a Seattle hospital and various military locations. The attack shut down not only the finance departments, but also attacked computers in the hospital’s intensive care unit, seriously compromising many patients welfare (OBrien, 2007). With the high demands of IT versatility, companies are more and more in need of more flexible hardware and software to cater to the ever growing demands of data transfer and information storage capabilities. The technology is becoming more advanced and creates endless opportunities for today’s businesses however this also creates more opportunity for cyber criminals to launch attacks and become more proficient in succeeding with new ‘gateways’ to cause great harm or steal valuable data. A new recent trend in stealing data is when traveling employees use these so called ‘hot-spots’ to obtain internet access. Clever hijackers have found ways to throw up ‘splash pages’. These splash pages track user data, credit card details used to pay for the wireless service and other information that may be used to harm the employee and/or the company the person works for. This also applies to home networks. Usually, individuals do not invest into the same type of security that companies may do, making these home networks viable for attacks. This is very crucial, because the home computer can become infected with vicious malware and introduced into the workplace or vital information can be stolen that is confidential to the company (â€Å"Why cyber security, 2010). It is now known that the Secret service maintains its own Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTFs), which focus on identifying and locating cyber criminals involved in all types of criminal activity such as bank fraud, sensitive data breaches and other cyber related issues. The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) prevented the potential losses of nearly $1.5 Billion through cyber crime and brought charges against 72 individual cyber criminals for their direct or indirect participation of wide-spreading the use of children pornography (â€Å"Combat cyber crime,n.d.). In most recent news, President Obama is considering issuing an executive order that would require the DHS to prepare a set of guidelines and rules in the combat against cyber criminal activity. In April of 2012 (this year) the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was introduced into the House of Representatives, but failed to pass the Senate due to privacy issues, shows how serious Americans are on creating a plan of attack. Even though CISPA was not passed, the executive order that would be issued would not surpass the privacy issues that were the reason for CISPA not passing the Senate’s approval. The reason the CISPA bill did not pass is that several privacy advocacy groups oppsed the bill strongly because it would have allowed private companies to sell or exchange user data with the federal government for critical cyber security information (Koebler, 2012). Cyber security is the processes and practices designed to protect programs, networks and computers (and other devices) from malicious attacks and unsupervised access. It represents the body of technologies to understand and fight back in the event of unlawful damage and unnecessary harm (cybersecurity, 2010). The conclusion is to do our best to try and prevent as much cyber criminal activity as possible. There a few things that companies and individuals can do. Stop. Think. Connect. These basic rules and guidelines have been measured by the industry and several help factors have been evaluated. The first of many basic rules is to keep your firewall and security software (ani-virus programs) up-to-date. Computer viruses and hackers are like any other common flu virus, they evolve and become stronger with each step in their evolutionary path. Constantly changing your passwords on your devices/software is also recommended. On average (at a minimum) these passwords should be changed at least once every three months. The second recommendation is to shop online with the utmost care. Make sure you are on a HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) website when submitting personal information such as credit card numbers and bank account records or transactions. Another is laptop security. If a laptop is stolen, make sure you have the proper software installed. There is tracking software available to pinpoint where you laptop is and there is also software available that can remotely access your computer’s files, erase them on the stolen device, and then place them in a secure data center for recovery. Another important tip is to avoid spam and scams. Questions every email of which the origin you do not know or trust, because simply by opening the wrong email can one access a virus or other harmful software. Social networking has become huge and it is also a great tool to obtain and research valuable information. It is highly recommended that not all data be put out there for one to see. This information is sometimes easily accessible to the wrong individuals. Also, don’t just open any attachments or click on any suspicious links. Download with caution, because the Internet has a lot of harmful software out there that can cause serious damage to either your hardware or data files (and software). References cybersecurity. (2010, December). Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/cybersecurity Combat cyber crime. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/combat-cyber-crime Internet security. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/issues/security?gclid=CNydtKjAr7ICFYSo4AodvnIA0g Koebler, J. (2012, September 11). Obama may use executive order to advance cybersecurity policies. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/09/11/obama-may-use-executive-order-to-advance-cybersecurity-policies Leiner, B., Cerf, V., Kahn, R., Clark, D. (1962-1974). Brief history of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/internet-51/history-internet/brief-history-internet OBrien, R. (2007, January 22). Cyber crimes impact on

An explanation of the strain and cultural criminology theories and the criminal elements Essay Example for Free

An explanation of the strain and cultural criminology theories and the criminal elements Essay The fast-changing society is demanding improvement of the existing legal frameworks each and every day. Indisputably, this is considerably challenging the decisions made by policymakers and more especially the judiciary sector. The challenge is more intensified by the way we define the defendant, victim, and penalty imposed for any crime committed. The underlying problem is that there exist various cultural norms and natural law; which significantly differ with constitutional requirements. In other words, legal procedures are not sufficient in providing criminal facts that can help us clearly understand the criminal elements mentioned above. Nevertheless, many scholars in the field of criminology such as Robert K. Merton and Keith Hayward now believes we can rely upon the strain and cultural criminology theories. Inarguably, the relationship existing between the two theories goes beyond our expectation, more especially when analyzing any criminology case. In fact, many people have been convinced it would be appropriate if policymakers integrate some of the facts unrevealed by these theories when making or amending the criminal laws. The paper offers a detailed explanation of the two methods and more importantly, how they can be applied in the criminal case study of Mr. Heffernan convicted of the crime of cultivating cannabis plant which is an illegal plant and supply of the same plant products as drugs to the community. The case took place in the district court, New South Wales and has since sounded the trumpet over how the proceedings were unraveling the case that Mr. Heffernan was convicted with. This will be discusse d along with the criminal elements and criminal facts which were evident in the case. Strain theory argues that when an individual is pressurized by the community or by the factors in his environment, the pressure overwhelms him which forces him to satisfy his cultural inequalities and material requirements by engaging in crime as stated by (Agnew, 2001, p319) The crime, in this case, is a subject to the strain that oversees a high level of pressure that the victim cannot bear the burden of. There are numerous forms of stress best explained by GST. The diverse forms of strain do not exclude financial requirements. The fear may force one into committing a crime that he never intended. Merton in his strain theory argues that it is only a small margin of the people who face stress end up committing crimes. The group that is involved in offenses that emanate from the strain from external forces is seen as deviant since they view the world as if there exists no other solution for their problems. Morten argues that the group is then forced into crime despite the fact that it is against their will. Cultural criminology theory, however, presents a different view of such an instance. It argues that the individual rather enjoys the self-fulfilling feeling that comes about with being involved in criminal activity. The theory explains that when the personal gains the social requirements that he or she could have otherwise not achieved legally, they are left with a sense of insecurity while others feel self-fulfilled and okay when they have their requirements fulfilled. According to Presdee, (2003) Cultural criminology is distinctively conjectural, procedural and domineering slant that places criminals, cases and the control mechanism in the context of culture Linking the theory to the case of Heffernan to both methods, strain theory argues that the convicted was involved in the crime due to the strain that he was facing.   It is evident that he as the criminal was suffering from an extraordinarily high degree of anxiety that he could have otherwise avoided if he had a well-paying job if the parents were not sick if his wife had no medical complications and if he was not unwell. On the other hand, cultural criminology argues that the occurrence of the crime was purely projected from the nature of the community the offender comes from as stated by (Ferrell et al., 2004). This, therefore, makes the community to be viewed as the actual cause of the crime due because the factors that led to the offense against which Mr. Heffernan is convicted are subject to the same community. The offender presents various evidence to the jury that when analyzed helped, in coming up with a valid judgment. The case presented states that the offender is a vict im of the drugs misuse and trafficking laws which inhibit one from growing plants that are otherwise termed as illegal. It also prohibits the supply of the same to the community. Mr. Heffernan was caught with 32kgs of cannabis leaves that are more than the monetary amount which is said to be 25 kilograms as stated by (Cerdà ¡ et al., 2012, p22). He had surpassed a commercial margin which otherwise inevitably presents the idea of the sale of the same to the community. He was rather much more cooperative by taking the police to the ranch where he grew the plant. The evidence was based on the idea that the man was found in the hold of a few bags of the leaves, showed where he grew the leaves and accepted to be the only person involved with the same. Evidence presented before the jury was photographs of these bags of leaves and the plant as well as the $1400 that was in his custody. The offender argues that he has been working on a farm for over 33 years and in his work life, he has been a victim of many injuries which have presented themselves as a limiting factor to the type and the amount of work that he can be engaged in evidenced by the numerous medical rec ords submitted to the coat regarding the same. His wife’s letter also backs up the issue since its content explains how those injuries have impacted negatively on their lives and the lives of their kids. This is seen as one of the strains that the convicted is battling with that could have otherwise presented to be the cause of the crime as stated by (Agnew, 2007, p319). The offender also claims that his family has been haunted by a trail of illnesses beginning with his mother who is suffering from breast cancer and osteoarthritis. His father is also suffering from a heart disease and osteoarthritis. He has diabetes and has been needing insulin to survive bearing in mind that his wife also has health conditions that make Mr. Heffernan the only breadwinner. This trail of illnesses presents themselves as another form of strain that led to the unusual character of the victim. An aggregate of such issues may result in so much pressure that needs a person with an unyielding personality to handle. While this is seen as strain, the cultural criminology finds it as social factors which when linked caused the occurrence of the crime. This presents the social and the crime as distinctively of a parallel nature. He is also faced with some more pressure of taking care of their 14 years high school kid and the younger one in primary education. The family had just married a year ago which rather increases the commitments of the breadwinner. The offender’s family has been selling their property which was around $80000 and has now depreciated to around $60000. His house is also being mortgaged at $70000, and this would render the family homeless. He argues that it is due to this pressure that he decided to engage in this criminal act. The jury well understands the pressure that the offender is facing pointing out that an offender is a man of substance whose life has not been presented as a threat to any criminal record. The only criminal record that exists seems baseless to make an overall conclusion that the man is a criminal. Evidence presented by  Ã‚   Mr. P. Harper, the offender’s defendant. The evidence is full of commendations for the man. This evidence is based on the peopl e who know Mr. Heffernan stating that the individual’s behaviors have been outstanding, something that even the judge recognizes by saying that Mr. Heffernan is a man of excellent character in the argument number 11 0f the case. The case presents itself from a criminal act that has been catalyzed by the excessive pressure faced by the convicted by strain theory which recognizes the existence of such anomalies in individual’s life when faced with extreme pressure. The issue that revolves around the life of the convicted is a monetary issue. Money, in this case, could have been the solution to all his problems since if he had enough of it, he could have saved his parent’s property from being sold. He could also have been able to take care of his sick relatives, his sick wife and cater for the life of the kids who are still in school. He could also have not gone to the extent of growing and distributing cannabis which is the states laws and the drugs misuse and trafficking act of 1985. The judge recognizes all the burdens that the convicted has to bear in his life considering that he is 51 and has to take care of all this pressure. About GST and the reasons that the convicted gives regarding the c ase he has been charged with, there were a few goals that the convicted was unable to meet. His desire to cater to his family and his parents and the desires to have a well-paying job dragged him to committing this crime. The unfolding circumstances are in line with the arguments of strain theory. Cultural criminology which seeks to understand crime in the context of culture is inevitably applicable in the case. The crime was subject to subcultures which revolve around what the community around the offender does and the rules that exist governing this particular crime. The rules governing drug and substance abuse have given guidelines on the judgment against the convicted depending on the nature and the extent of the committed crime. In a nutshell, it is the society that leads to the development of the rules that exist against the offenses revolving around drug and substance abuse. The occupation of the offender and the circumstances revolving around his life which led him to commit the crime are part and puzzle of the culture and community. As strain theory argues that the crime that was committed was subjected to the pressure of the life of the convicted, cultural criminology sees it as just another culture of various subcultures that may have led to the crime. Growing of Cannabis and distributing it to the public is considered to be a crime since there are rules against it as stated by (Reuter, 2010). If the drug had to be distributed to the community, the general impact on the youths would have been dire since this is the most likely group to the issue. As such, the convicted is seen to have been an agent of community destruction since he was a man of age and a parent. He is seen to have not minded about the lives of the other kids in the community and committed the crime for monetary gain. The strain theory comes about to argue that withstanding the pressure of the life the convicted was facing needed him to have looked for an alternative way of getting money. The convicted argues that he had complications regarding his health and that he was nearing his retirement age. He was forced to grow cannabis after ordering seeds from the United Kingdom which he later planted. It is the same marijuana that was harvested and packed before it was confiscated by the police. The theory gives out a clear argument that the man had small means of supporting his family using whatever he was gaining. This case is brought out clearly by the fact that the convicted had no previous criminal records and that his life was clean therefore it is due to what seemed to be a sort of excessive pressure that led him to commit the crime. On the other hand, cultural criminology makes the mere mention of cannabis a criminal activity where any activity that is associated with the drug has been criminalized. With the building of a belief that this activity is already a crime, the theory argues that rules that forbid it are developed ensuring that those who are associated wi th cannabis are taken into justice without considering any argument or reasons behind the act. With all the associated facts and evidence having been presented, Mr. Harper claims that the case on which the offender has been convicted with is not a drug trafficking case since it was planned as a one-time business. The pressure under which the convicted was suffering from forcing him to establish a cannabis plantation which he prepared to sell only once and increase the value of the ranch. This was one of the strain factors that made him respond to the pressure by involving himself in the crime. The judge, however, argues that it is irresponsible for a man with a family to release cannabis of a monetary amount to the society which would impact negatively on the lives of the youths as stated by (Lowinson, 2005). The judgment against both crimes was supposed to be ten years for the crime of growing cannabis and 15 years for trafficking.   The judge at the end of it all understands the pressure that the convicted was facing and gives him a sentence of two and a half years. The strain theory gives out a sense of reasoning and weighing of matters such that the degree of pressure was duly recognized by the jury. The cultural criminology theory, on the other hand, views the crime generally as breaking the law that originated from the same issue. It argues that the moral standards of the community which harbors the roots of the law have declined. The argument here is that the community from which the convicted comes from and the crime that was committed is viewed as one and the same thing. With the weak empirical evidence in support of the strain theory, the presented arguments were not sufficient to ensure that the convicted was set free. Rather it just explains the problems that the law class individuals are facing without taking into consideration of the larger picture of the community and the white collar crimes as stated by (Aseltine et al., 2000, p256). Crimes in such levels are the ones that decapitate the community. The theory deals with individuals rather than the community on which the crime and the criminals thrive. These issues are well explained by the cultural criminology theory which does not only just present its arguments from a particular line or level of crimes. It digs into every crime be it white collar or any other sort of the offense. Conclusion The case presented above shows how strain can cause various crimes. The arguments put forward to show that some forms of tension can be so haunting such that the victim ends up being involved illegal activities that end up bringing peace to the life of the victim. The judge, however, takes into consideration the strain that the convicted is facing, and from this, a valid judgment is given. As the strain theory views this crime as a result of pressure, the cultural criminology sees it as the larger picture of the nature of the community from which the convicted comes from. However, the theories try to explain the kind of judgment that is passed as not usual from the rest since consideration depending on the prevailing circumstance is taken note of. Reference Agnew, R., 2001. Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 38(4), pp.319-361. Agnew, R., 2007. Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory. Aseltine Jr, R.H., Gore, S. and Gordon, J., 2000. Life stress, anger and anxiety, and delinquency: An empirical test of general strain theory. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, pp.256-275. Cerdà ¡, M., Wall, M., Keyes, K.M., Galea, S. and Hasin, D., 2012. Medical marijuana laws in 50 state: investigating the relationship between state legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use, abuse, and dependence. Drug and alcohol dependence, 120(1), pp.22-27. Chan, J.B., 1997. Changing police culture: Policing in a Multicultural Society. Cambridge University Press. Ferrell, J., Hayward, K., Morrison, W., and Presdee, M. eds., 2004. Cultural criminology unleashed. Routledge. Lowinson, J.H. ed., 2005. Substance abuse: A comprehensive textbook. Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Mazerolle, P., Piquero, A.R. and Capowich, G.E., 2003. Examining the links between strain, situational and dispositional anger, and crime further specifying and testing general strain theory. Youth Society, 35(2), pp.131-157. Presdee, M., 2003. Cultural criminology and the carnival of crime. Routledge. Reuter, P., 2010. Marijuana legalization: what can be learned from other countries. Baltimore, MD: RAND Drug Policy Research Center, University of Maryland.

Genetic Manipulation: Advantages and Disadvantages

Genetic Manipulation: Advantages and Disadvantages Science on the other hand, fills my brain with questions and answers the knowledge that I crave. The theory of evolution does not dismiss there is a God. It is a theory trying to explain the beginning of life, how we evolved. The Old Testament professes to do the same thing, however, the stories are symbolic in their meaning. I am a Roman Catholic, and our dear Pope John Paul II acknowledged evolution as more than a hypotheses. Only the divine soul is untouched by evolution (Jurmain et al. 2010:44). The fact that some fossils are not preserved does not disprove evolution. Many species might not have left fossils. Some organisms just do not fossilize well. The geological record is not perfect. The fossils are not laid out perfectly waiting to be discovered by paleontologists. Chances are it is highly unlikely that an organisms remains will become fossilized, rather than decomposed. For the remains that do become fossilized, their preservation is unlikely due to erosion, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions , etc; Evolution continues to be rejected by some religious conservatives and fundamentalists. A lot of them believe that evolutionary biology ignores that God exists. They state that it does not account for how the world was really created according to the scriptures in the Bible. There have been numerous efforts to block teaching of evolution in U.S. public schools since 1968. The US Supreme Court overturned the first case in Arkansas stating that there could be no law barring the teaching of evolution on the grounds that it breached the separation of church and state as stated in the U.S. Constitution. Fourteen years later the federal courts rejected a statute to teach both creation science and evolution in the public schools. The courts stated that creation science was not actually a science. To try and get around the law of separation of church and state, evolution opponents began to propose the teaching of intelligent design. They stated that it was non religious, and a scientific alternative to evolution. Intelligent design claims that the living world was too intricate to have been made by the workings of natural selection. That some living things were too complex to have been developed by evolution and could have only have been created by an intelligent designer. But, they did not identify this intelligent designer. This presentation again was blocked by a federal district judge who found intelligent design was not a science (Jurmain et al. 2010:44). What can be done to correct this controversy, or should it be corrected? Why? Although I dont agree with the Christian fundamentalists opinion, my answer is, no. Why? It is called the First Amendment. Describe and evaluate some of the positive and negative consequences of genetic manipulation Genetic engineering entails the manipulation of DNA. The tools in this process are very important for the restriction of so called enzymes, which are produce by various species of bacteria. A particular sequence of a chain of nucleotide bases, can be recognized by restriction enzymes. The nucleotide bases that make up the DNA molecule; cut the DNA at that location. Parts of DNA formed in this way are joined using enzymes called ligases(joining of two enzyme molecules to form a covalent bond, accompanied by the hydrolysis of ATP(adenosine triphosphate)) Positive side of genetic manipulation Genetic therapy entails supplying a particular function to a gene, and in turn to cells that are lacking that function. The intention is to correct a genetic disorder or an acquired disease. One type of gene therapy used today is, somatic cell therapy. It is similar to an organ transplant. One or more specific tissues are targeted for treatment by therapeutic genes from the lab or the tissue is removed and replaced with the treated cells and given back to the patient. Researchers have had success with somatic cell gene therapy for the treatment of blood, lung, liver disorders and cancer. Another positive side to genetic manipulation also involves the health industry. The manufacturing of recombinant factor VIII, a blood clotting agent missing in patients with hemophilia A. Practically all of the hemophiliacs who were treated with factor VIII before the mid 1980s contracted AIDS or hepatitis C from viral contaminants in the blood that were used to make the product. Now donor blood is screened for the presence of HIV and the hepatitis C virus. The process now includes inactivating the viruses if they prove to be present. The possibility of a virus contamination is eliminated completely by the use of recombinant factor VIII. Negative side of genetic manipulation Explanation of Cloning: A technique that is a process of several stages. An egg is taken from a donor animal The nucleus is then removed from the egg. The nucleus containing the DNA is taken from the tissue cell of the animal being cloned. The nucleus is inserted into the donor egg cell. The fused egg is then placed in the uterus of a surrogate mother. When that mother eventually gives birth, if all goes well, the baby is genetically identical to the animal that provided the tissue cells that contained the DNA. I understand the potential benefits that genetic engineering has for the future of this world, however, the thought of it getting into the wrong hands terrifies me. My main area of concern is cloning. From the beginning, back in 1997 when I heard on the news about the sheep, Dolly, being cloned in Scotland, my heart sank. There is even talk of people ordering what type of children they want, as if they were ordering from a dinner menu. I knew eventually that people would be cloned. There is evidence they have already. People are desperately waiting for transplants. Why are we not using the clones vital organs? This is something would like answered. Would you agree with your textbook authors when they say: Indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that this is the most exciting time in the history of evolutionary biology since Darwin published On the Origins of Species? Would you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? Please provide some detailed examples? Yes, I would agree. In my younger days, I worked as a chemotherapy technician in Childrens Hospital, Boston. I worked closely with one little girl who was born without a stomach, preparing parenteral nutrition for her daily basis. Children also dying at a very young age of diabetes. But due to the amazing research done in genetics, and recombinant DNA technology, children have a much better chance of reaching adulthood and leading normal lives. Regarding the field of anthropology, the sequencing of human genes in the Human Genome Project. The progress being made in comparative genomics is terribly exciting. Personally, I cant wait to hear the DNA comparison results of the Neanderthal, modern human, and nonhuman primate. What is natural selection? The theory of Natural selection is actually the key to evolution. It is based on the following processes that include: Biological variation within all species Individuals within a species that have favorable traits are more likely to survive in their environment and produce offspring. The environment of the species determines whether or not a trait is satisfactory or not. Traits are inherited and over a period of time, favorable traits will be passed on generation to generation and become more common in the population. Isolation of a species may lead to the formation of a new species due to inhabiting a different environment and will in turn adapt to that environment. Natural selection only operates on an individual within a population, but it is the population that evolves. Why is genetic variation necessary for the process of natural selection to operate? Genetic variation plays a significant role at the microevolutionary level, producing evolutionary change. Directional evolutionary trends can only be sustained by natural selection. Individuals who carry a particular allele or a combination of alleles will produce more offspring than other individuals with different alleles. The frequency of the new allele in a population will increase slowly from generation to generation. This process is compounded over hundreds of generations for multiple loci, the result being a major evolutionary change(Jurmain et al. 2010:107). What are the sources of genetic variation? Mutations: When there is a change in the DNA molecule that means there is one type of mutation and that multiple genes occur in two or more forms called alleles. If an allele to another allele, or if the gene is altered in some way, a mutation has just occurred. Alleles are, in fact, a direct result of a mutation. The substitution of simply one DNA base for another, a point mutation, can cause a change in an allele. However, to be important to the evolutionary process, the point mutation has to occur in the sex cells. This is so the mutation can be passed on from generation to generation. Examples: No changes in phenotype due to mutations No evidence of a change on the phenotype of an organism due to mutation. Mutation occurred maybe in a stretch of DNA with no function, or perhaps the mutation occurred in a protein-coding region, but ended up not affecting the amino acid sequencing of the protein. Small change in phenotype due to mutations would for example be a single mutation like a cats ear slightly curling back. Big change in phenotype due to mutations This would create some major phenotypic changes. DDT resistance in insects are usually caused by single mutations. A single mutation can also have very strong negative effects on an organism. Mutations that would cause the death of an organism are called lethals. Gene flow Migration is used here to refer to the movement of people. This occurs when the exchange of genes between different groups of migrants interbreeding. It can also occur when an individual(s) move temporarily and produce some offspring in an entirely new population. This way they have left their genetic contribution. An example of gene flow: Happens a great deal in war. When male soldiers are stationed in remote parts of the world and impregnate the native women of that country and then the male returns to his native land. The impregnated native women in the remote country represents the gene flow. Genetic drift is known as the random factor in evolution. The population size is its entire function. Drift only occurs because a population is small. If an allele is rare in a very small population of less than 400 people, there is a very great chance that it will not be passed down to the offspring. Eventually, the allele may disappear entirely. In this instance genetic variability has been reduced drastically. Genetic drift can cause big losses of genetic variation for small populations. An example of genetic drift: The B allele was evidently not passed down to generations of Blackfoot people. There is evidence that present populations are deficient in genotypes that contain the B allele (BB, BO and AB). When the populations became greatly reduced in size, some genes may not have been passed on to the next generation. This phenomenon is referred to as a genetic bottleneck. As a result, genetic variability may have been severely reduced in succeeding generations. Founder effect is a type of genetic drift and is seen in human and non human populations. An example of the founder effect is the Baptist German religious sect that settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. These families didnt marry outside their own religious sect. There has been evidence of some dramatic changes in their gene frequencies. For example; the type A blood in the sect resulted in 60 percent. United States is 42%. It is 45 percent for the sect in West Germany. They also have fewer people with certain recessive traits, such as hitchhikers thumb and attached ear lobes, compared to the U.S. population as a whole. The founder effect helps explain the high frequency of dwarfism and polydactylism (extra fingers) in the Amish of Lancaster Pennsylvania. The colony began when at least one of the individuals carried these traits. Recombination is a source of genetic variation that introduces new gene combinations into populations. For example: Siblings are never genetically identical to either of their parents or to each other (unless they are identical twins.)This is because when organisms reproduce sexually, some genetic à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"shufflingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  occurs. This brings together a new combination of genes. How is natural selection related to environmental factors? All the evolutionary factors of mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, and recombination, interact to form genetic variation. Genes are then distributed within the populations. There isnt any long term direction to any of the above factors, but for adaptation and the evolutionary process to occur, the gene pool of the population needs to change in a certain direction.Some alleles need to consistently become more commonplace, while other become less common. Natural selection can cause a change in direction in allele frequency relative to specific environmental factors. If there is to be a change in the environment, then the selection pressures will also change, and a shift in allele frequencies is called adaptation. Now if there are long term environmental changes in the same direction, then allele frequencies would also shift very gradually over time. Example:Hemoglobin S (Hbs) which is an abnormal form of hemoglobin that is formed from a point mutation gene, produces part of the molecule of the hemoglobin. If an individual inherits this allele from both parents, he or she will have sickle cell anemia. HbS is a mutation that occurs in all populations occasionally, but the allele in generally rare. HBs, however, is more common in central Africa where it reaches 20% of the population. With the devastating effects of the HbS homozygotes, one would think that natural selection would have acted on eliminating it. But that is not the case. Natural selection has actually increased the frequency of HbS. This is because of the disease malaria. People with one HbS and one HbA allele (heterozygotes with the sickle cell trait) have red blood cells that contain hemoglobin S. Hemoglobin S is not a suitable environment for the malarial parasite. So having HbS is beneficial, because it protects that person from malaria. In this instance, malaria is the selective agent. and favors the heterozygous phenotype. In this part of the world, individuals with sickle cell anemia trait have a higher reproductive success than those with normal hemoglobin, because they are more apt to die of malaria (Jurmain et al. 2010:105). Discuss genealogy of the Blue Fugates of Kentucky. Describe Mendelian principle of inheritance as well as a phenotypic effect of an enzyme deficiency. Mendel discovered through his experiments with plants, that the inheritance of traits was not due to blending as he originally thought. He found that specific units (genes) of inheritance were passed down from generation to generation. No matter what trait Mendel selected for the second generation of the plants, it would show a ratio of 3 to 1. This meant that there were 3 dominant genes to every 1 recessive gene. Mendel realized that this 3:1 ratio occurred in later generations as well. He had found the key to understanding inheritance. Mendel came to three very important conclusions from his experiments The inheritance of each trait is determined by units(genes) that are passed on to descendents and are unchanged. An individual would inherit a gene from each parent for each trait. A trait just may not show up in an offspring but could be passed on to their offspring. Mendels observations have been summarized in to two principles: The principle of segregation and the principle of independent assortment. According to the principle of segregation two members of alleles separate from each other in the formation of sex cells (gametes) Half of the gametes carry one of the allele and the other half of the gametes carry the other allele. Principle of independent assortment-Genes for different traits are assorted independently from one another in the formation of sex cells. I feel the principle of segregation applies in the case of the blue Fugates of Kentucky. It was determined that the Fugates inherited an autosomal recessive trait. Both Martin Fugate(heterozygote) and his bride Elizabeth Fugate(heterozygote) had one recessive allele each of this disorder. Since both Martin and Elizabeth were both carriers, there was a 25% chance of their offspring being affected. There is usually a predictable phenotypic ratio of 3:1. The family would marry people who lived close by and this intermarrying continued. The community was isolated, without roads. When the railroad was completed 30 to 40 years later, roads were built and they started venturing out and marrying outside their community. The strain of the inherited blue gene began to disappear. The recessive gene was not likely to find a mate with the same recessive gene. A baby named, Benjy Stacy was born blue, 100 years later. He had the recessive gene from both his mother and fathers side. His blue color, however was only temporary. It was assumed that Benjy had just inherited one gene of the condition, and being a baby had a smaller amount of the enzyme diaphorase, and it built to normal levels as he got older (Jurmain et al. 2010:86-89) and Fugate family literature. Why do we see this rare, phenotypic deficiency? It was first seen in Alaskan Eskimos and Indians. It is a human genetic disease. The gene is located at chromosome 22. In normal people, there is a dominant, allele that is responsible for the production of the enzyme diaphoreses. Normally hemoglobin is converted into methemoglobin(a brownish compound of oxygen and hemoglobin) at a very slow rate. Diaphorase in normal blood, changes the methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. The homozygous children of the Fugate family, lacked the enzyme diaphorase. therefore this conversion could not take place. Therefore, all of their hemoglobin in their body was considered useless. Instead they had a mutant allele that produced an inert enzyme that was unable to reduce the hemoglobin. What is the nature of the evidence supporting punctuated equilibrium? The theory was advanced by two American paleontologists Eldredge and Gould. They agreed that the fossil record was incomplete, but that it could not be incomplete enough to account for the near absence of the gradualistic change from the fossil record. They said that species originate too quickly for the normal geological processes to record the event; a single bedding (a thin layer of sedimentary rock)often compresses more than tens of thousands of years into a thin slice. Speciation usually occurs when small populations cut off from the interbreeding with groups, evolving rapidly in isolation. With fewer people in an isolated population, the favorable mutations spread more readily. A small, isolated, evolving population may become extinct and may not leave a trace of a fossil record. Eldredge and Gould said that if it does remove itself from its isolation, and spread over a much wider area, its likely to be seen in the fossil record as making a punctuational appearance, fully forme d. The nature of the evidence supporting punctuated equilibrium was from the paleontologist, Cheetham. He gathered a large sample of bryzoan fossils from the Caribbean and surrounding regions. He painstakingly classified them into 17 species using 46 microscopic characteristics of their skeletons. Measured their length, dimensions of pores, and all the orifices on the fossils. He then arranged them into a family tree. He analyzed them and split a single species into several species. The abruptness in the tree, appeared more clear to him and stronger than ever. He concluded that through 15 million years of the geological record, these particular species persisted unchanged for 2-6 million years. Then in less than 160 thousand years, split off in to a new species. This new species would coexist continuously with its ancestor species. This was his punctuated result. But this was not proof The morphological differences being used to split the fossil species? What if it really did not mark a separate species, but was just another version of the species? A model of speciation was needed to recognize a new species and support any evidence of punctuated equilibrium. Several biological tests were performed and then he performed a test in genetics. Using a test of protein electrophoresis, he extracted enzymes and analyzed each of the eight morphologically defined species. In every case, the specimen from each species had very similar enzymes. This indicated they belonged to the same genetically related species. Cheetham had passed the fossil species test. His conclusion was that morphology still seems to say how evolution occurred(http://science.jrank.org/pages/5591/punctuated-Equilibrium.html)(Kerr 1995:1421). Would you agree or disagree with this? Why? Many paleontologists still say that many of these studies have their weaknesses. There is overwhelming evidence that speciation is sometimes gradual and sometimes punctuated. It is very complicated, and until there is more proof, I think I would prefer to stick to the middle ground. Theories of Psychopathy | Overview and Analysis Theories of Psychopathy | Overview and Analysis A lot of research has been conducted in the area of aggressive, antisocial, and criminal behaviour (Frick Viding, 2009). Indeed, persistent antisocial behaviour results in human suffering associated with criminal offences, and high economic costs from detaining these offenders to prevent recidivism (Loeber Farrington, 2001). What is Psychopathy? Previous findings demonstrated that over a third of incarcerated offenders have Antisocial Personality Disorder, characterized by pervasive antisocial and exploitative behaviour (Black, Gunter, Loveless, Allen, Sieleni, 2010). However, offenders with psychopathy represent an even greater danger to society. Individuals with psychopathy often use instrumental aggression for personal gain. When compared to non-psychopathic offenders, they tend to commit more serious and violent crimes (e.g. premeditated homicide), are three times more likely to reoffend, and four times more likely to recidivate by a violent offence after being released from prison (Porter, Brinke, Wilson, 2009). Psychopathy is a developmental disorder characterized by antisocial and bold disinhibited behaviours, lack of empathy and remorse, and low anxiety (Hare Neumann, 2008). Previous studies demonstrated that adults with psychopathy all display persistent antisocial behavior across the lifespan with first signs of psychopathy, such as behavioural disturbances and emotional deficits, being evident as early as childhood (Blair, 2013). While the diagnosis of psychopathy is generally applied to adults, some children present with antisocial behavior and core psychopathic traits (comparable with callous-unemotional (CU) traits) such as low empathy, lack of guilt, shallow affect, and callous use of others (Frick Viding, 2009). Although it is important not to assume that children and adolescents with psychopathic traits will exhibit psychopathy in adulthood, the assessment of psychopathic traits and antisocial behavior in youth provides considerable evidence of their persistence over time (Erme r, Cape, Nyalakanti, Calhoun, Kiehl, 2013). Psychopathic Traits in Children and Adolescents Children with conduct disorder and callous-unemotional traits show more instrumental aggression for personal gain, higher prevalence of Antisocial Personality Disorder among their parents, more frequent interactions with the police, and a greater number and variety of conduct problems than children with CD and no psychopathic traits (Herba, Hodgins, Blackwood, Kumari, Naudts, Phillips, in press). While callous-unemotional traits during childhood have been often associated with severe antisocial behavior, children with callous-unemotional traits but no antisocial behaviour frequently show higher levels of other impairments such as increased hyperactivity, low prosociality, and poor interpersonal relationships (see: Frick, Cornell, Bodin, Dane, Barry, Loney, 2003; Barker, Olivier, Viding, Salekin, Maughan, 2011; Rowe, Maughan, Moran, Ford, Briskman, Goodman, 2010). Callous and unemotional traits have been recently added as part of the diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder in the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) (Decuyper, Caluwe, Clercq, Fruyt, 2014). Moreover, due to its high predictive validity, CU traits may have independent diagnostic value, even without the diagnosis of conduct disorder (Barker, et al., 2011; Frick, et al., 2003; Viding McCrory, 2012). Evidence of Emotional Dysfunction in Individuals with Psychopathic Traits Previous findings demonstrated that callous and unemotional children show similar emotional deficits as psychopathic adults, such as poor emotion recognition and deficits in emotional empathy (Herba, et al., in press; Blair, 2003; Pardini, Lochman, Frick, 2003). Emotional empathy represents affective reactions to emotional expressions and to verbal descriptions of the emotional states of other individuals. Empathic reactions, which can be evoked by facial expressions, voice tones, body postures, and even script, serve a communicatory function, and are processed by separate neural systems (Blair, 2013). Emotion Recognition Findings Youths and adults with psychopathic tendencies display a significant selective impairment in emotional empathy. While they normally recognize and differentiate between expressions of disgust and anger, their processing of distress cues (expressions of sadness, pain, and fear) is significantly different from healthy youths and adults without psychopathic tendencies (Blair, 2013). Studies demonstrated that distress cues inhibit antisocial behaviour in humans as well as primates by eliciting empathy in observers (Marsh Blair, 2007). Meta-analytic review of the literature shows that while having a normal processing of anger and disgust, individuals with psychopathic traits and persistent antisocial behaviour display poor recognition of certain emotional expressions, particularly fear, as well as reduced recognition of expressions of happiness and sadness, though to a lesser extent (Marsh Blair, 2007; Dawel, O’Kearney, McKone, Palermo, 2012). Blair, Collegde, Murray, and Mitchel l (2001) conducted a study looking at emotion recognition in boys with and without psychopathic tendencies (measured by a Psychopathy Screening Device). Children were shown a standardized set of six emotions (sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise) morphed into different intensity levels and shown in 20 successive frames from neutral to full expression. Results demonstrated that children with psychopathic tendencies made more mistakes in recognizing expressions of fear even when they were presented at full intensity. Moreover, these children also needed more stages to be able to recognize expressions of sadness (Blair, et al. 2001). Similar impaired recognition of sad and fearful expressions is also observed using vocal tones and body poses (Stevens, Charman, Blair, 2001; Blair, Budhani, Colledge, Scott, 2005; Munoz, 2009). Psychophysiological findings A number of studies that looked at psychophysiological responsiveness of individuals with psychopathic traits provided additional evidence towards the idea that these individuals have impaired processing of expressions of distress in others. Children and adolescents with high callous-unemotional traits and psychopathic adults show reduced autonomic responses including heart rate, facial electromyographic responses, and electrodermal responses to fearful and sad expressions and distress cues in others (Blair, 1999; de Wied, van Boxtel, Matthys, Meeus, 2012; Blair, Jones, Clark, Smith, 1997). In addition, youths and adults with psychopathic tendencies also display atypical electroencephalography responses to pain in others (Blair, 2013). Functional neuroimaging findings A new study by Motzkin, Phillippi, Wolf, Baskaya, and Koenigs (2015) provided tentative evidence that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) might play a significant role in regulating amygdala activity in humans. This is not surprising given the substantial amount of evidence, containing lesion studies, demonstrating that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala play a critical role in empathic response and emotion regulation (Blair, 2008; Blair, 2013). Studies of youths with high callous-unemotional traits and conduct disorder, as well as studies of psychopathic adults, showed decreased activation of the rostral vmPFC in response to images of other individuals in pain. (Marsh, et al. 2013; Blair, 2008). Previous fMRI studies also repeatedly demonstrated reduced amygdala activation in individuals (children, youth and adults) with psychopathic traits when they are presented with images of faces expressing fear, or images of others individuals in pain (Blair, 2008; Jones, Laurens, Herba, Barker, Viding, 2009; Marsh, et al., 2007; Munoz, 2009). Moreover, studies consistently reported that lower activity in the amygdala, vmPFC, as well as the anterior insula in response to distress cues are associated with higher severity of psychopathic traits, particularly in children and adolescents (Marsh, et al., 2008; Sebastian, et al., 2012; Marsh, et al., 2013) Structural neuroimaging findings Given the amount of evidence demonstrating reduced activity in vmPFC and amygdala in youths with psychopathic traits and psychopathic adults in response to distress cues, it is worth considering whether structural abnormalities are also observed within these neural regions. A large neuroimaging study conducted by Ermer and colleagues (2013) looked at the structural brain volume in over 200 incarcerated adolescents in a maximum security facility. Their findings demonstrated volume reductions within a large brain structure that centered on the vmPFC and included the amygdala, which is associated with the emotion dysfunction component of psychopathy. Another structural neuroimaging study demonstrated an inverse relationship between the structural volume of amygdala and the severity of psychopathic traits in a large sample (N=296) of incarcerated adults (Ermer, Cope, Nyalakanti, Calhoun, Kiehl, 2012). Summary of existing findings In summary, the aforementioned findings demonstrated that individuals with psychopathy show poor recognition of, and reduced autonomic response to distress cues in others across the lifespan. Functional neuroimaging studies identified various neural structures involved in the processing of distress cues, with the most consistent evidence pointing towards the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. fMRI studies repeatedly demonstrated reduced activity in these brain regions in children and adolescents with callous and unemotional traits, and psychopathic adults in response to facial expressions of fear and sadness. Structural neuroimaging studies provided additional evidence towards the importance of the amygdala and the vmPFC in processing of distress cues, demonstrating volume reductions in these areas in incarcerated adolescents with psychopathic traits, and a significant inverse relationship between the structural volume of the amygdala and the severity of psychopathic traits in incarcerated adult. Current Theories Given this considerable amount of evidence demonstrating emotional dysfunction in individuals with psychopathic traits across the lifespan, several models have been proposed in hopes to shed more light on this impairment. Violence Inhibition Mechanism Previous animal studies suggested that display of emotions of sadness, pain, and fear, also referred to as distress cues, serve an important evolutionary function: when displayed to a conspecific aggressor lead to the termination of the attack (Blair, 1995). Blair (1995) proposed a functionally analogous mechanism in humans referred to as violence inhibition mechanism (VIM). According to Blair, VIM represents a cognitive mechanism normally activated by non-verbal expressions of distress, which predisposes an aggressor as well as a bystander to withdraw from the situation. According to the model, moral socialization takes place through pairing of the activation of VIM by the sad and fearful expressions (Unconditioned Stimulus) of others with representations of the acts that caused this distress (Conditioned Stimulus: moral transgressions, such as an aggressive act towards an individual). As a result, representations of these moral transgressions become triggers for the VIM through classical conditioning. Thus, a normally developing child will initially find pain of others aversive, and then through socialization would learn to dislike the thoughts of acts that cause pain to others, and as a result will be less likely to engage in violent behaviour (Blair, 1995). According to Blair (1995), this mechanism is absent in individuals with psychopathy, which might be due to a specific physiological deficit or lack of early socialization experiences. Due to the absence of VIM, individuals with psychopathy are not negatively reinforced after any action (moral transgression) that results in the display of distress cues in others. Using VIM, one might predict that these individuals who were unable to form US-CS association would show emotional dysfunction, early-onset of violent behaviour, and lack of guilt or empathy post-violence, which all represent core features of psychopathy. The Response Modulation Hypothesis Another concept that has been suggested to explain the nature of emotional impairments in individuals with psychopathic traits looks at psychopathy as a disorder of attention. According to the response modulation hypothesis, individuals with psychopathy fail to recognize and process distress cues in others due to their inability to shift attention to this information when they are engaged in goal-directed behaviour. Given the amount of evidence demonstrating severe emotional processing impairments in individuals with psychopathic traits, it has been suggested that this emotional dysfunction may underpin the deficits seen in psychopathic individuals (Blair, 1995; Frick Viding, 2009). Indeed, previous studies demonstrated pronounced deficits in emotional learning and poor decision making in psychopathic adults as well as youths with psychopathic tendencies. Previous studies on decision-making behaviour in psychopathic adults demonstrated significant deficits underlying aversive conditioning, reversal learning, operant extinction, and passive avoidance learning (Blair, 2013). In an fMRI Study by Birbaumer and colleagues, a sample of ten offenders with psychopathy and ten matched controls was used to investigate the activation of neural structures, skin conductance, arousal and emotional valence in an aversive delay conditioning paradigm where neutral faces were used as conditioned stimuli and painful pressure as an unconditioned stimulus (Birbaumer, Veit, Lotze, Erb, Hermann, Grodd, Flor, 2005). Finding of this study showed inability of psychopathic individuals to learn to differentiate between conditioned stimuli, or show increased skin conductance response to the paired conditioned stimulus. Moreover, fMRI findings demonstrated reduced activity in the limbic-prefrontal circuit (combined of amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and a nterior cingulate) in psychopathic individuals when compared to the matched controls. Another study which used a similar fear conditioning paradigm as Birbaumer and colleagues (2005) further demonstrated deficits in aversive fear conditioning in psychopathic adults (Rthermund, Ziegler, Hermann, Gruesser, Foell, Patrick, Flor, 2012). In this study, psychopathic participants showed lack of a differential startle response and lack of skin conductance towards a paired conditioned stimulus. Moreover, these results cannot be explained by differences in detection threshold of electric shock, or levels of pain tolerance, since there was no significant differences in these measures between the two groups. This study confirms previous findings of impaired ability to form associations between neutral and aversive events in adults with psychopathy. Previous studies in decision-making behaviour and the propensity to learn from punishment in youths with psychopathic traits demonstrated significant impairments in the capacity to associate outcomes (reward or punishments) with stimuli.