Saturday, August 31, 2019

Providian Trust

(1) What key issues and challenges led to the initiation of the Access Plus project? Please think about the external vs. internal and business vs. technological aspects of the issues and challenges.From an internal point of view, Providian Trust board members felt that the trust’s information system was outdated and therefore the day-to-day activities, which could be done more efficiently with a new software and process, were taking long periods of time and lots of resources. Per example, generating a financial report for a client would take the effort of several trust operators from the front office and back office which is an excess of human resource, and would take about 3 months to generate it.Clients felt they didn’t have to wait so much for a report. These kind of complain were making Providian Trust look bad against their competitors, who took considerably less time doing the same activities. Technological speaking, the Access Plus project has a big challenge. Ac cording to the information provided, the trust officers are very old dated when it comes to PC usage, some of them don’t even use one.One of the biggest division of Providian Trust (Pension & Institutional Trust Services) had the largest amount of full time employees (FTE) yet they were losing money, that’s why another important issue that led to the initiation of this project was the amount of money that was wasted by wrong handling of processes. Since trust officers usually gave late or inaccurate statements, the company was giving around 2 to 5 million $ a year in compensating wages.(2) What organizational changes that the company should have made (but failed to do) before and during the project to ensure the success of the Access Plus project?This project was basically a change initiative project. To have an effective change implementation, a careful evaluation of the problem needs to be made to begin with. I believe the team leader, Michael LeBlanc, understood the problem well but failed to properly select the change initiative team and also failed to create a sense of urgency among the organization regarding  why the change was needed. To have an effective change team, champions and helpers from every step of the organization need to be chosen.Per example, by completely ignoring the 240 IT personnel (even when IT was an essential part of the project, if not the most essential), the change team was missing important members and that made it lack credibility. The employees and trust officers were not convinced from the beginning about why the change was needed, therefore they didn’t believe in it and they didn’t even put in the effort. They also should have done a better selection of the program, focusing more in the company’s needs then in the competitor’s status.(3) What were the strengths and weaknesses of Providian’s approach in managing the project?As far as strengths go, I would only think that havin g the funds ready to make the project is one of them and also having a leader convinced that the change is needed. When it comes down to weaknesses we have lack of communication between change teams. Also, the employees are not convinced about the change and most of them were resisting it until the end. Another weakness is the lack of computer knowledge from the staff and trust officers and also how behind the IT staff was regarding the installation of computers. And lastly, informing employees that some of them will be let go off after the change, created stress in the job and made it harder for the initiative to be effective.(4) How would you evaluate the role (good or bad) that the internal auditor Peter Storey played throughout the project? Do you agree with him, why and why not? (if you were in his role what would you have done differently?)Should he be fired, why and why not?I believe Peter Storey played a good role. His job was to audit the system and give an unbiased opinion . It was his opinion that the proper controls were not in place to implement the change and I also share that view. In his report he states 13 identified risks that were not communicated to Walsh by LeBlanc. I would have sent this report to the CEO as well. I don’t think he should have been fired since he was informing his point of view and seemed  very valid. I believe the CEO made this decision without the proper information, and he also wanted the implementation to happen so he chose to follow the external audit.(5) If you were in charge of the project, what would you do differently? What have been your experience and observations of IS projects in your organization? If you were in charge of a healthcare IS implementation project in your organization, what would be the top three things-issues on your agenda list?I would’ve created a bigger sense of urgency regarding the need for change. It’s a critical aspect for a change initiative to be successful, otherw ise people don’t believe in it and its doom to fail, or work inappropriately. I would have chosen a more qualified steering committee (seeing as they didn’t feel accountable for what they were doing).I have never been part of a IS project, however I think my top three things would be: A. Properly training staff training in IT basic. B. Selection of a well varied change team and a good planned objective, easy to share with the staff. C. Open communication channels between the organizational line, from back staff to change champion. When these kind of changes are being implemented, most of the times the lower level has a better view of the issues that occur than the higher level.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Threat of Substitutes Product

2. 0 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES PRODUCTS 3. 1 Switching costs Switching cost is a negative cost that consumers get regarding to the changing suppliers, brands, or products (Investopedia 2012). There are four different methods of switching costs that involve when substituting to another product. The four different methods are learning cost, opportunity cost, implementation cost, and conversion cost. Each method has own different values, however these cost does not involved to the electronic industry (Lash 2010). For people that willing to substitute to another brand usually they spend more time looking for the product that they like.For example, shopping in physical store and shopping in online store, both of it need a lot of time to looking for the item that they want and sometimes people waste their leisure time just in order to browsing around searching for substituting product. It also involved money on it, for substituting product we need to compare price between one and another produ ct. 3. 2 Buyer loyalty Buyer or consumer loyalty is about how to attract consumers and potential consumer in order to making them buy, buy often, buy in higher amount and also bring consumers to us, such as their relatives or friends (CostumerLoyalty 2011).Building a consumer loyalty should be the main focus in order to having a mutual relationship with consumers in a long term. There is many way to building the consumer loyalty such as, keep in touch with email marketing, care and remembering what the consumers like and don’t like, and give them reward. In the electronic industry, consumer loyalty is the most important role. It is important because when the brand is already proofed, tested as a high technology, good quality, materials and already well known, they will always come back and shop for the same brand because they know they fit, believe, and know that brand.For example, in Australia, an iPad sales has hit more than 250,000 (Colley 2010), it happen because Australi a people already know about the quality of the Apple product such as the booming of iPhone, iMac, Macbook, etc. 3. 3 Analysis Analyzing from the above, normally when people purchased a new stuff from electronic brand, people will buy additional accessories launched a new sensational tablet, they will manage Analysing from the statements above, it is more likely for one person to buy more types of apparel if that additional apparel will compliment the look of the buyer even more.Normally when a fashion brand launched a new seasonal fashion line, they tend to make complimentary items to match with the outfit, and these items could be belts, shoes, necklaces, etc. Customers tend to purchase these complimentary products because these accessories are normally priced at a small fraction compared to the outfit and looks even better with the attached products. In addition to this, Walters (1991) also adds that the main concept of promotion is also to stimulate purchases on non-promoted comp liments to the promoted items.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Case Study The Salad Bar Marketing Essay

Case Study The Salad Bar Marketing Essay The salad bar financial model will be based on the business concept of â€Å"managing for the best, and planning for the worst†. The projections of the first year will anticipate for a sales volume below average, salad cost above average, and seat turn below average. This will help us ensure adequate financial planning to cater for a ramp-up period that is reasonable, success of the business, and ensure that the business is not under-capitalized (McKeever 2008). Our financial plan is based on the assumptions that there will be a slow-growth economy that will be recovering from an economic decline. It also assumes that the business will experience a modest growth in the future. The Salad Bar business intends to increase profit margins per day. The businesses aims at reducing the variable operation cost as well as achieve a double growth rate annually. The Salad Bar marketing strategy will be aimed at developing visibility among the members of the community. This strategy will be achieved through a targeted advertising campaign. There will be advertisements placed in various newsletters. It’s hoped that the advertisements will yield a reasonable amount of product enquiries since they are beleaguered toward the target population that uses Salad Bar products/services (Young 2007). The Salad Bar Marketing Objectives Salad Bar aims at reducing market costs as a sales percentage. The business intends to maintain steady and positive growth every month. In addition, Salad Bar plans to experience new customers increase and consequently have them as long-term customers. Marketing Strategy The Salad Bar marketing strategy will be aimed at developing visibility among the members of the community. This strategy will be achieved through a targeted advertising campaign. There will be advertisements placed in various newsletters. It’s hoped that the advertisements will yield a reasonable amount of product enquiries since they are beleaguered toward the tar get population that uses Salad Bar products/services (Abrams & Kleiner 2003). Target marketing The Salad Bar’s target population includes the middle class clients and the upper-class clients. The middle-class population has minimal disposable income. It recognizes that its expensive to get salad from a salad bar but its prepared to incur expenses though they will attempt to minimize them. On the other hand, the upper-class clients are characterized by high income level and it’s willing to have salad from a bar. This strategy will require a different menu for the two groups since the upper-class salad menu will be cost prohibitive for the middle class population (McKeever 2008). Positioning The Salad Bar will position itself as a high quality, innovative salad business. The members of the society will recognize the high quality and unique service/product offerings of The Salad Bar. The Salad Bar competitive edge will be founded in  its customer inventive and customer approach to members of the society. The Salad Bar customer attention will make it different from other salad bars that have a lot of demand. The disadvantage of having a high demand is that the business experiences a decreased pressure to accommodate extra clients. When The Salad Bar will start having plenty of customers, we will modify our business plan in order to handle them effectively McKeever (2008). The Salad Bar will approach the market as if there is considerable competition between the different product providers. We aim at making customer satisfaction our priority, and through this, local clients will come to be pleased about the attention given to their need and establish long-term relationships with The Salad Bar. The main objective is to position The Salad Bar as the premier Salad business within the area, authorizing a market share majority in four years. The marketing strategy will aim first at creating customer awareness concerning its products, build up a customer base, and focus on building customer referrals and loyalty (Young 2007)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Costco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Costco - Case Study Example The model is appealing since it eventually fosters smaller prices draws in. the model addressers the fact that it is not only the Americans who requires bargains but even the potential classes. The model applies to every levels and individual, and does not only benefit those who would purchase at the membership warehouse. For instance, the prominent personnel wearing the Costco-bought products trigger an impression on the public on how the enterprise is progressing continually. Alternatively, Costco has manifested a steady progress in the recent years since the year 2000 according to the fiscal reports. The fundamental components of the Costco’s strategy entails low prices, restricted selection and a shopping environment targeted at obtaining the treasure. The enormously reduced-price strategy incorporates the mark-up restricted at fourteen percent and Kirkland, which is one of the Costco brands set at outdoing the national produce. The product choosing is restricted to about four thousand items within the broader variety of classifications (Thompson, 2008). Nevertheless, the business strives at increasing the number of options through the incorporation of subsidiary businesses. Despite all the efforts Costco applies, other clients might opt to purchase smaller quantities of the enterprise products. However, the business treats such losses as ‘clever’ loses in sales since they tend to intelligently out-do the business targets in limited perspectives. The hunt of treasure in merchandising includes a continually alternating choosing of about one thousand lavishness brands available for consumers. The luxury brands are meant to attract the shopkeepers and lead them into spending beyond their initial budgets and intentions through the provision of appealing deals. Costco attains effective treasure hunt through obtaining purchases from grey markets, for instance, the wholesalers or the perplexed retailers instead of the original producers. Theref ore, the question on the effectiveness of the strategy can receive  feedback that the feedback that the strategy is suitable (Thompson, 2008). I think Jim Sinegal is an effective CEO of the Costco Company. Jim is a level five leader who has led the company into a series of success in the United States and the world at large. The CEO has enabled the business to achieve a significant reputation in the global scope. Costco is the forth-best company in United States and the sixth best in the world. No company can rank such highly with poor management and leadership. Jim Sinegal has achieved this splendid performance through promoting favorable environments to the company workers and enhancing the company advertisement activities (Thompson, 2008). The CEO hold the record of visiting twelve warehouses in one day and the total number of the stores he physically attends to in a day ranges from eight to ten. Thus, in spite of Jim being ranked amongst the best CEOs, he considers the origin of the company’s wealth. The enterprise is performing well fiscally according to the financial information provided in the table and the report. The traditional perspective may perceive some numbers in the table to be good-looking but a critical understanding should prevail that the Costco is not a traditional corporation. The company’

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

How the Term Atheist Is Being Used in a Contemporary Media Article Essay

How the Term Atheist Is Being Used in a Contemporary Media Article - Essay Example But, they do have a belief that there is an existence of god but the activities of god in operating the world dynamics are negligible. The concept of negative atheism is a midpoint between the two poles of pure atheism and anti-atheism. However, the overall concept of Atheism is based upon the belief on the existence of god rather than having the knowledge and evidence of the existence of god. This knowledge-based concept is also called as agnosticism. Brief History The historical evidences of atheism are not found until the seventeenth century. However, the French Enlightenment of sixteenth century may have some clues associated with the beginning of the concept of Atheism, but in essence the true evidence of Atheism are indicated by the historians in the mid of seventeenth century. Some historians argue that the modern day concept of atheism is the one which is narrow in its meanings. This narrow meaning of atheism (i.e. non-existence of god) established in seventeenth century, but prior to it, the more general and broader meanings of atheism did exist. Due to lack of appropriate synonyms, the word atheism was kept being used in its broader meanings such that the concept of non-existence of god was ignored in its usage. ... An article written by Marybeth Hicks in Washington Times published on June 5, 2012 also places an emphasis on this increasing trend. The author is a strong supporter for promoting freedom for religion in American society which is effectively on a declining trend as per author’s point of views. The major concern to the author is that American society especially the young generation is being moved away from the religion by strong atheist lobbies. America came into being with the intent to flourish and develop such a society where everyone would be allowed to practice the religion with absolute freedom. But in the recent times, the atheist groups have conducted a massive activity to make America â€Å"free of religion† rather than â€Å"free for religion†. In this way, the increasing activities of atheist groups have effectively made it extremely difficult for the people not only to practice their religions but also to have their say on religious beliefs. The empiri cal research of the author shows that young generation is changing their religious beliefs to atheism with a brisk pace such that around 30 to 40 percent of youth is converting as compared to a generation ago when this percentage was merely 5 to 10 percent. This is something very dangerous to those who believe in religious freedom because there is huge amount of concerns that once the ratio of atheists starts to increase more, there is a likelihood that they will gain more power and thus effectively cause abstinence to practice religions. For this, the author has asked the supporters of religious freedom to join hand and take out the rallies for preservation and protection of religious freedom across the country in

Monday, August 26, 2019

Eingemauert walled in (Germany's inner border) Essay

Eingemauert walled in (Germany's inner border) - Essay Example The city of Berlin became a strange sort of island within the Eastern portion. One half of the city continued with western capitalist shops and businesses, while the other half developed under the more repressive communist regime. Citizens and visitors could not cross over from one side to the other without extensive border checks, and most Berlin families were suddenly divided by this physical barrier. Many East Germans tried to break through the alarmed fences, which were guarded by troops in watch towers. More than a hundred people were killed in these attempts, because the guards operated a shoot-to-kill policy. The ugly wall, with its defensive mines and barbed wire became known as â€Å"the death strip.† The purpose of this wall was to keep East Germans inside the communist area and to prevent them from escaping to the wealthier and freer society in the West. In 1989 the wall was finally destroyed, when communism failed, and ever since then Germany has been reunited. The wall survives today only in a few symbolic places as a reminder of the recent

The Continuum of Masculinity-Femininity Term Paper

The Continuum of Masculinity-Femininity - Term Paper Example The gene SRY that determines the male gene Y binds to the DNA, and distorts it to form the testes. Sox 9 gene is the one that regulates the expression of the SRY gene. If SRY gene is not regulated by the sox 9 gene, the fetus turns male (Storms, 1979). Without SRY gene, organs of female reproduction would be formed instead of male organs. Research shows that one in a hundred people has intersected characteristics. Not everyone believes that his or her biological sex corresponds to his or her gender identity. These people include transsexuals, transgender people and people who are interred sexed according to storms, (1979). Transsexuals and transgendered persons face certain challenges in the society even as they struggle to accept themselves as they are and acquire new gender roles that are based on each individual’s sex. A person might feel that their gender roles are not in line with their gender identity. This creates a disorder related to gender identity. Gender identity d isorder comes to play when individuals are uncomfortable with their gender anatomy which may lead to them to behave like people of the opposite sex. It is not true that masculinity and femininity are positioned on opposite sides of the continuum as is popular belief. If someone possesses both masculine and feminine traits, it does not mean that they are too feminine or masculine. A person’s position on the femininity and masculinity continuum depends on the report specifying their qualities and behaviors that are gender-linked. The continuum midpoint is called the zero point as noted by Rathus, Nevid, and Fichner-Rathus (2011). A person is placed here if he/she fails to be identified by the gender role, or they breach it. Those identified with sex roles that are strong are placed on either end of the continuum. One factor that has helped me identify my gender is that naturally, I am a male with male sexual organs. However, this may not make me completely female. What I do every day and my behaviors also identify me as a male.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Legacy Fighter Aircraft Upgrades and New Stealth Fighters Research Paper

Legacy Fighter Aircraft Upgrades and New Stealth Fighters - Research Paper Example 563; Collier & Ankle, 2002, p. 13). While terror seemed to be seeped within regional efforts supported by allied forces to weaken the perceived enemies, however, there is perceived military imbalance in strategic geographic region where US military’s power seemed bit nil, if not weak, but is nonetheless complemented with diplomatic relations, such as those security threat cases posed by China and of North Korea in Asia. The odds of denuclearization efforts and hazy economic-political climate within the region as well as the sustaining movements in the Arab countries remained both a threat and opportunity for the US forces to rethink about the need to upgrade the capacities for warfare (Collier & Hoeffler, 2006, p. 89; Deger & Sen, 1983, p. 67; Harbom & Wallensteen, 2007, p. 623; Reynal-Querol, 2005, pp. 445) In the last decade, US forces have been focused in combating terror groups in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and in working with reformists’ organization within the Arab region with hope to change the system and make it more liberal in its trading relation. However, amid these challenging turn of events, there are also intrinsic realities posed by Pentagon about the need of the military aviation forces to scale up its defence or operational system, such as upgrading of its its USAF fighter platforms from F-22 to new F-35s, as well as by upgrading the aerodynamics or aircraft systems. In this project, the researcher will determine the (a) prices of the F-35s and the cost of upgrading its aerodynamic systems, (b) the capacity of the US government and military agency to allocate budget for these projects, and (c) the consideration of the legislators on the fiscal requirements for this upgrade. Data Collection This is a qualitative research that will investigate the requirement in upgrading the military aviation forces of US and to hopefully embark comparative details of these matters with consideration of the current deliberation of the needs and cost analysis of the upgrade. Qualitative study will rely in primary and secondary sources that can be lifted from interviews, reports, publications, magazines and online information. The study will help elucidate the prospect and consequence of plan to upgrade the military aviation system. Data gathered will be reviewed, collated and evaluated to arrive at a reasonable conclusion that may (or may not) aid the decision-making of the legislations and authorities in Pentagon. The researchers evaluate the information based on historical records, plans of the DoD, and budget schedules as well as its estimates (GAO, 2012). Test reports were also considered including the risk information of the new capabilities (GAO, 2012). Data Analysis Last month, July of 2013, the Department of Defence of the United Sates announced of forging an agreement to purchase 71 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin at a lower cost of 4% less than the original prices for stealth and radar evading fighter jets but discounts will only be for 36 units and another 8% less for the remaining 35 units (Drew, 2013). Reports mentioned that the cost, including the ancillary facilities, are pegged at $7 billion per unit thus, state authorities require the reduction of the cost while other cost analysts outside the government batted that the cost would be rising still. The high costs and the anent problems associated in the acquisition have also discouraged other Pentagon officials and thought of scrapping

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Written Critical Analysis of a Literary Poetry To his Love by Ivor Essay

Written Critical Analysis of a Literary Poetry To his Love by Ivor Gurney - Essay Example Gurney loved the countryside and often took long walks enjoying its beauty. He started composing music in 1904 at the age of 14. His scholarship enabled him to enroll himself at the Royal College of Music in 1911, but his mood swings made it difficult for him to focus on academic work. He suffered from bipolar, manic depression, poor health, and had his first breakdown in 1913. After convalescing, he returned to college (Pamela Blevins, 2008, p77) World War I had an adverse effect on Gurney’s college education and that is the time when he chose to enlist as a private. He was deployed at the Western Front where he seriously took to writing poetry. (Michael Hurd, 2011) It was rather unfortunate that he was badly wounded in April 1917, when he was in the middle of writing poems. After recovering, he went back to the front. Another very unfortunate mishap that took place was that Gurney was senselessly gassed four months later, and had to be hospitalized. However, once again he to ok to writing poetry once he was discharged from hospital. But as fate would have it, once again he suffered a serious breakdown in March 1918 and yet once more, spent his time composing and writing poetry during his stint in hospital. After gradually regaining his emotional stability, he was discharged honorably from Lamia Benmoussa 3 the army in October 1918. He returned to the Royal College of Music, but sadly his mental stability continued to worsen and he was finally forced to drop out. He had suffered so much in life and by 1922, his family declared him to be insane. The following fifteen years of his life was spent in different asylums but still continued his writing during those bitter years. He contacted tuberculosis, became very sick and breathed his last on December 26th 1937 at the age of 47, in the City of London Mental Hospital. (Stuart Lee, The Ivor Gurney Collection). Gurney wrote his first elegiac World War I poem â€Å"To His Love† from the deep trenches at Seaton Delaval, Northumberland in 1917. His poetic technique was simplistic yet captivated the reader to focus upon the goodness of common things. His poems highlight conflicting memories that reflected the pain and trauma in his life. Gurney’s poetry is one that seeks simple honesty in the middle of contemporary ideas and other commonplace expressions. In his poems, he expresses the after-effects of gas and the trauma he faced while at the front, and about his experiences following his discharge from the Army. (Jennifer Kilgore-Caradec, p.38) In the poem, â€Å"To His Love†, Gurney begins on a sober note with a traditional sort of elegy, reminiscing about the happy days spent in the past, with his friend, but sadly now he lies dead. He is unable to even glance at his friend’s lacerated body and filled with grief, expresses himself through a note of rising hysteria as Lamia Benmoussa 4 he feels helpless in trying to erase the grotesque memory of his beloved frie nd. (Glynn Maxwell, 2011). There is mention of the River Severn and Gloucestershire, where, together in the company of his dear friend, are associated with two themes in the poem. The poem is a soliloquy and an elegy in which one of the soldiers is found talking to the fiance’ or the girlfriend about the death of a soldier. He mourns with grief at this loss and regrets that he has lost the company of this soldier forever and will never be able to redeem that pleasure again. Gurney’s inspiration for this poem was drawn from the supposed death of Willy Harvey who was his dearest friend, in August 1916. When his friend was alive they had spent such wonderful days together, but now the poem describes the harsh reality of his friend’s death which is described in this poem. In fact, Harvey was taken as

Friday, August 23, 2019

YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY - Essay Example For a leader, it is vital to expose the employees in other areas of concern outside the office. Research analysts argue that getting out of the office is one of the ways in which the employees’ morale can be boosted. This makes the workers more enthusiastic in their jobs, and more engaged in their day to day tasks (Posner & Kouzes, 2010). For instance, outside the field, it is vital that the sailors are given a chance to work outside the office and interact with the public. However, this is only possible if the manager gives them an opportunity to show responsibility and liability in their jobs. This will minimize the chances of misconduct, since the sailors are held accountable for their actions. For a leader, interaction with the juniors is vital if the business is to thrive. This may entail joking with the juniors, an aspect that not only builds rapport between the employer and the employees but also creates a positive bond between the two parties. From the case study, it is evident that there is a huge problem in terms of command and responsibility in the Navy system. The officers are known to be of no good caliber, always in the wrong due to breach of rules. If the juniors and seniors had a chance to interact, It would be possible to have a bond forming between the parties, and, ultimately, minimizing the pressures of the job. Thirdly, both the professional and personal goals of a leader have to be balanced if their team is to succeed. In our case, the leader may adopt the system of having personal time with a different sailor on a daily basis. This would allow for the leader to understand the problems of his or her subordinates on a first hand basis. For instance, this would aid in uncovering the reasons behind the commanding officers breaking the Navy ethos and justification of their actions at any event. Probably, such employees need some attention and constant praise for the job that they do.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Freas and Geeks Media techniques Essay Example for Free

Freas and Geeks Media techniques Essay How Media Techniques Create Stereotypes in Freaks and Geeks Take a look again at high school stereotypes through the short lived television series from the late 90’s, Freaks and Geeks. Based on the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks, media techniques are used effectively to depict the different stereotypes in high school. The camera shots movements are used adequately to show the power of the bullies and the weakness of the victims. For example, when Sam Weir is approached by Alan (the bully), at lunch, the camera is pointed upwards towards Alan’s face to make him seem bigger and scarier while the camera would be pointed down on Sam’s face making him seem smaller and inferior to Alan (Kasdan 1999). This example shows effective use of media techniques by using camera shots because the audience can easily depict the two different stereotypes, the bully and the geek. Another way that media techniques are used effectively is through the use of setting. For instance, the â€Å"freaks† of the show are shown hanging around the patio which is a dirty and worn down area separated from the field and other students (Kasdan 1999). This is a clear way for the audience to see the difference from the regular students and the â€Å"freaks† therefore making this media technique effective. These two techniques show how Freaks and Geeks uses media techniques effectively to illustrate the stereotypes one might see in high school. Using media techniques such as camera shots and setting effectively is a task that Freaks and Geeks has accomplished to portray different high school stereotypes. Works Cited â€Å"Pilot.† Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series. Writ. Paul Feig. Dir. Jake Kasdan. DreamWorks, 1999. DVD.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Major Differencies Between Eastern Essay Example for Free

Major Differencies Between Eastern Essay Western philosophy has its roots in Athens, Rome and Judeo ­Christianity while Eastern philosophy is derived from Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism. As Greek and Latin are to Western civilisation, so classical Chinese is to East Asian civilisation. I will focus on four major differences between Eastern and Western philosophies. 1. Western Individualism and Eastern Collectivism In the Greco? Roman tradition, the image of Prometheus powerfully illustrates the struggle for individual freedom. Prometheus had gone against Zeus, the all powerful god who ruled the sky from Mt. Olympus. Prometheus annoyed Zeus by creating human beings. To protect the human beings from Zeus, he stole fire from Hephaestos, the blackmith god and gave it to the human beings. This angered Zeus to the extent that Prometheus was chained to a rock and an eagle tore out his liver. In European consciousness, Prometheus had become the hero who: defied the patriarchy in the name of individual freedom, who brought light into our darkness. He was the saviour who sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, the benefactor who brought the gift of technology down from heaven, the teacher who taught us that we are not at the whims of the gods any more, who showed us how to use our intelligence to take control of the world. The Christian tradition has also reinforced the notion of individual rights. The Bible speaks of God creating Man in His own image and letting him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth (Genesis 1:26). By comparison, the Chinese live in a world of obligations: obligations to serve the ruler, obligations to work for the family, obligations to obey elders, obligations to help relatives, obligations to do well to glorify the name of ancestors, obligations to defend the country in times of trouble, and obligations to oneself to cultivate ones own virtue. It would also seem that rights only belong to one individual ? the Son of Heaven. Confucianism promotes conservatism and this stifles creativity and robs the people of self? introspection. 2. Fragmentary and Holistic According to Fritjof Capra, the emphasis of rational thought is epitomised in Descartes celebrated statement,Cognito, ergo sum ? I think, therefore, I exist. This has forcefully encouraged Westerners to equate their identity with their rational mind rather than with the whole organism. This division between the mind and the body has led to a view of the universe as a mechanical system consisting of separate objects, which in turn were reduced to fundamental building blocks whose properties and interactions were thought to completely determine all natural phenomena. This mechanistic conception of the whole world is still the basis of most of our sciences and continues to have a tremendous influence on our lives. Academic disciplines become fragmented and this has served as a rationale for treating the universe as if it consisted of separate parts to be exploited by different groups. The essence of the Eastern world view is the awareness of the unity and the mutual inter? relation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestation of a basic oneness. All things are seen as independent and inseparable parts of a cosmic whole, as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality. The Eastern traditions refer to this ultimate, indivisible reality as Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Buddhism and Tao in Taoism. 3. Conflict and Harmony The Marxist view of history saw change as arising from a dialectic interplay of opposites ? hence class struggle and conflict. Western civilisation based itself on the struggle between the Good and Evil, God and Satan or Psyche and Cupid. Eastern philosophical thought is based on this notion of the Yin and the Yang. Frithjof Capra describes the Yang as the strong,male creative power associated with Heaven while yin is the dark,receptive, female and maternal element. The dark yin and the bright yang are arranged in a symmetrical manner. They are dynamic ? a rotating symmetry suggesting very forcefully a continuous cyclic movement. The two dots in the diagram symbolise the idea that each one of the forces reaches its extreme, it contains in itself the seed of the opposite. Life says Chuang Tzuis the blended harmony of the yin and the yang. Taoism permeates the economic and social lives of the Chinese through geomancy, qigong, Chinese medicine and idol worship. As Chan observes:Almost every hotel, office and commercial building that has gone up within the last decade adheres to certain principles of geomancy or Fengshui ? the art and science of harmonising man and nature. 4. Idealism and Pragmatism. The Western idea of democracy does not fit into the Eastern scheme of things easily. In an interview by the Daily Telegraph on 16 October 1989 the former Prime Minister remarked that: I think in a mainly Chinese electorate, the idea of a loyal opposition and an alternative government does not come easily. Youre either for or against the government. The Confucianistic idea of social hierarchy where a persons existence is relational, extending from his family, society and country. The pragmatism of the East is exemplied in the way Confucianism has been used to emphasize order through social hierarchy and the rules and conventions. Taoism provided the meaning of life and thus compliment Confucianism. Confucius preached the doctrine of the here and now. The emphasis is one of life and life and not life and death. The sage hoped to hear the right way in the morning, and die in the evening without regret. What lays the foundation of life for the Chinese is the family and the continuation of the family also means the passing on of experience, culture and thought. The Taoists has an equal view of life and death seeing life and death as the coming out and going back of a human form of existence. Chuang Tsu talks of coming and going . Lao Tzu said,out to life, in to death. The crux of the matter is to make the best of the present.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Celtic Tiger Irelands Growth Economics Essay

Celtic Tiger Irelands Growth Economics Essay The Harrod-Domar (CITE!!!) model developed in the 1940s was originally intended to analyse business cycles, but has since been adapted to economic growth. In the model, growth is dependent on the levels of labour and capital. As developing countries typically have a plentiful supply of labour, their growth is more dependent on physical capital and savings to create growth. Growth is achieved through net investment which will lead to capital appreciation thus producing higher levels of output and income; with higher levels of income there will be higher levels of saving. Thus, economic growth is dependent on policies and practices that will promote savings and/or create technological advancements that will decrease the capital-output ratio. However, this does not provide a complete picture and as a result, further models have since been developed. The traditional neoclassical growth model as developed by Solow (1956) and others builds on the Harrod-Domar model by including labour as a factor of production. However, the model allows little room to explain any impact other outside factors, such as foreign direct investment, may have on economic growth. In the model there are diminishing returns to capital and long run growth will be determined through exogenous factors such as technological advancement or population growth. Growth only lasts for a transitional phase until the economy reaches its new steady state level of output and employment. The model also states that growth rates are inversely related to a countrys income per capita; a poor country with similar endowments to a richer country will grow faster and eventually converge to the income per capita level of the richer one. Exogenous factors will only affect growth in the short term and the only way they can have lasting effects is via permanent technological shocks. H owever, Romer (1986), Lucas (1988) and Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995) among others are credited with the development of the endogenous growth model which considers technological advancements as endogenous to the model. In his seminal paper on growth, Romer (1986) provides an alternative model for long term economic growth. He states that income per capita among developed countries does not necessarily converge with that of developed countries and that in fact there may be differing levels of growth. In particular, less developed countries can exhibit low levels of growth or may not grow at all. The factors that do lead to growth are not dependent on exogenous technological changes or differences between countries, but rather technology is endogenous to the model. Even holding technology, population and other factors constant, the most important idea is to ignore the traditional assumption of diminishing returns. Thus, long run growth will come from the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge can demonstrate increasing returns and marginal product and can have limitless, constant growth. New knowledge will be transferred between firms and have positive externalities thus leading to increased growth. Ro mer (1986) argues that these positive externalities are able to explain growth and are necessary for an equilibrium state to exist. Similar to Romer, Lucas (1988) adds technology or human capital to the neoclassical growth model. The model in his paper also considers learning by doing as a way of capital accumulation. Population growth is held constant and both physical and human capital are included. Physical capital is taken from the traditional neoclassical growth model and human capital boosts productivity, where a stable effort level will lead to stable growth rates in productivity. For a closed economy, poorer countries will continue to stay poor, but will actually have the same growth rates as richer countries. Therefore, there will be constant growth rates and a steady distribution of income. For the open economy with free labour mobility and free trade of capital inputs, externalities and spillovers will lead to higher wages and higher skill levels, thus increasing the wealth of a country. Lucas also states that different growth rates amongst countries can be due to different levels of human capital grow th associated with different goods. Accordingly, it is evident that the same levels of technology and human capital are not available in every country as the neoclassical model assumes. Barro (1991) examined 98 countries to test the neoclassical idea that poorer countries will grow faster than richer countries. Rates of school enrolment were used to measure levels of human capital. The results find that GDP per capita growth rates are significantly positively related to initial endowments of human capital and based on these initial levels, growth is negatively related to the initial level of GDP per capita. These findings seem to support the neoclassical model that poorer countries will eventually converge with richer countries. However, this only holds for the poorer countries that have relatively high levels of human capital, meaning that the human capital level is above what would be expected given the relatively low level of GDP per capita. The paper also takes into account other factors, such as fertility rates, government expenditure, political instability and corruption, and price distortions. Despite these considerations, Barro concedes that the results are unable to explain the poor growth rates for countries in Latin American and Sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that other factors must be involved. Convergence or Regional Boom? From the theory, it is evident that convergence of less developed countries is not automatic and that many factors are responsible for economic growth. For the case of Ireland, there is debate as to whether or not it was simply a matter of delayed convergence or as a result of a regional boom. There are several papers arguing both sides, which will now be examined. Ó Grà ¡da (2002) argues that the economic performance of Ireland in the 1990s is mainly a matter of delayed convergence and making up for many decades of underperformance. He finds that Ireland underachieved compared to other Western European countries from the end of World War II until the late 1980s. Throughout that period, the 1960s provided a glimpse at possible future economic growth. If the period is extended to 1998, Ó Grà ¡da states that Ireland performed as expected given the low initial level of income per capita in the 1950s in order to achieve convergence. Thus, the economic slowdown evidenced at the time of writing, 2002, seems to be in line with convergence theory and to be expected as Ireland had reached its new steady state level. However, if the Celtic Tiger is simply a matter of delayed convergence, then why it took so long also needs to be examined. Ó Grà ¡da attributes this to poor fiscal policy practices and protectionism during the 1970s and early 1980s. Ó Grà ¡da and ORourke (1996) examine in detail why Ireland underperformed in previous decades relative to other Western European countries. Ireland experienced much lower rates of GDP growth as evidenced in Figure 1. The richest countries in 1950, Switzerland (CH), UK and Denmark are compared with the poorest countries, Greece and Spain. Ireland is the clear outlier and exhibits much slower growth than would be expected. They attribute the weak performance to a variety of factors particularly trade protectionist policies, heavy reliance on agricultural exports, and rent-seeking behaviour. In particular, Ireland failed to participate in the economic recovery of the rest of post WWII Europe by maintaining barriers to trade and waiting to open up the economy until the 1960s. However, they do not find that low levels of investment in human and physical capital to have been significant factors. Ó Grà ¡da and ORourke also suggest that Irelands proximity and reliance on the UK cou ld have led to slower growth rates since the UK, while not underperforming, was not experiencing particularly high levels of growth. Figure 1: Average annual growth rates, 1950-1988, for Western Europe Source: Ó Grà ¡da and ORourke (1996) Honohan and Walsh (2002) also take the view that Irelands economic performance can be attributed to delayed convergence. They argue that there was no productivity miracle but instead the boom was mainly due to a change in fiscal and monetary policies and an improvement in the labour market, which allowed productivity to finally catch up to the levels of the rest of Europe. While an increase in the population employed and demographic trends are unlikely to be repeated, Honohan and Walsh argue that if the policy changes had been made earlier, Ireland would have achieved convergence earlier. The argument that the increased growth was due to a regional boom is also considered. However, it is immediately discounted when Irelands population and economic growth is compared to that of individual states of the U.S., ranking 23rd out of fifty (Honohan and Walsh, 2002). Barry (2000) examines if Irish growth can be attributed to changes in policy and to what extent, which would support the convergence hypothesis. The most important factor is correct microeconomic and industrial policy, which Barry argues is the main reason for the delay in development. However, he finds that there are other certain characteristics necessary for convergence to be achieved, including a stable economy, an effective labour market, a developed market for exports, and sufficient levels of education. Thus, Barry seems to provide mixed support for the convergence theory. The delayed convergence hypothesis suggests that Irelands economic growth was simply a matter of catching up with the rest of the developed world. However, it has some shortcomings including not satisfactorily explaining why Ireland failed to converge sooner like the other peripheral EU countries of Spain, Portugal and Greece. Delayed convergence also does not give a role to the large increase in foreign direct investment as the theory does not suggest that anything other than sound economic and industrial policies are necessary. The theory also suggests that since convergence has been achieved, all that is required to maintain it is to ensure the same sound policies are followed. The regional boom theory, on the other hand, does take into consideration other non-traditional factors such as FDI and the boom of the US economy. It particularly focuses on an economys export base as key for economic growth. This theory also leaves room for unexpected shocks, such as a decrease in FDI or downturn in the US economy to have an impact on the economy, which in light of recent events, would seem to be more accurate. The regional boom theory will now be examined in more detail. A regional economy differs from a national economy in that there is free movement of labour in and out of the region (Barry 2002a). Krugman (1997) has suggested that Ireland be treated as such a regional economy due to the fact that it exhibits many of the features of a small region of a larger economy rather than a larger independent nation. Ireland is a small, extremely open economy and before the adoption of the Euro, had a currency that was mostly pegged to another. With the free movement of labour, wages are determined by those of the larger region, rather than within the country itself and job numbers are based on labour demand rather than labour supply determining job creation based on wages (Krugman, 1997). Also, adjustment to exogenous shocks will be dealt with differently by a country in a regional economy versus a sovereign country. If a shock occurs to the labour market in an open economy, labour will simply leave, rather than a wage adjustment occurring and new industrie s arising, as in a closed economy. Krugman argues in favour of the regional boom hypothesis because of the large increase in the export economy and the increase in jobs in the services sector as a result. The majority of the increase in exports during the Celtic Tiger was in foreign-owned companies. Barry (2002b) examines Irelands economic performance and the factors that lead to convergence compared to the other peripheral EU countries of Spain, Portugal and Greece. Ireland, unlike the other countries, failed to reach EU average levels of growth until much later. Unlike previously argued by Ó Grà ¡da and ORourke, Barry finds that this was not in fact due to macroeconomic policies, as all four countries had similar practices and in fact, Ireland was the most export oriented country of the group, as shown in Table 1. Barry finds the main difference between Ireland and the rest is actually in labour market operations. Ireland experienced high unemployment, high emigration and increased wages from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The relatively high wages meant domestically owned labour-intensive firms were unable to compete with foreign-owned firms as high levels of FDI, particularly in the manufacturing sector, started to enter the economy. Thus, Barrys findings seem to support the regional boom hypothesis with exports and FDI playing a key role in explaining Irish growth. Table 1: Exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP Barry (1999) argues that in order to achieve high levels of growth in a regional economy, a nation needs to be internationally competitive in the non-agricultural sector, as increased capital in an agriculturally based economy will lead to more emigration. He argues that industrialisation policy is crucial, whereas proponents of the convergence theory, including Ó Grà ¡da consider this a distortion with Ireland merely switching from import-substitution industrialisation to export-substitution industrialisation (Ó Grà ¡da, 2002, p. 8). However, others, such as Barros and Cabral (2000) and Fumagalli (1999) suggest that in order to industrialise, such a distortion is necessary. Hill et al (2005) consider both theories and come to the conclusion that perhaps it cannot be explained solely by one theory, but rather a combination of the two. They argue that the necessary conditions for convergence were in place by the 1970s, but that Ireland suffered as a result of poor policy practices from 1973-1986 and global economic downturn. However, this is not sufficient to explain the economic growth fully and thus, Hill et al also incorporate the regional perspective. Labour and capital inflows were as equally important as sound policies in Irelands growth. Ireland was able to attract foreign investment, create more and higher quality jobs and as a result, the levels of labour force participation increased. They cite increases in employment and job creation as extremely important in the Irish case, which implies a larger role for government than in convergence theory. Government needs to do more than just maintain proper fiscal policy and must ensure there is a compet itive environment for business. Ó Grà ¡da (2002) also considers the regional boom hypothesis, but finds it overly optimistic for proposing that high growth rates could be sustained without sustained increases in labour. However, both Barry (2002c) and Dascher (2000) develop a model of a regional boom economy with Irelands specifications and find that labour inflows will decline as infrastructure and housing become more congested. Yet, growth can still continue without more labour if sufficient stocks are maintained and there are no negative exogenous shocks to the larger regional economy. The regional boom theory also suggests that just because Ireland has caught up to average EU levels, it does not mean that further growth cannot be achieved as convergence theory would suggest. Indeed, if Ireland could continue attracting FDI and supplying labour, growth should still be able to continue, despite convergence already being attained. Blanchard (2002) comments on Honohan and Walshs 2002 paper and argues that convergence theory is not the appropriate model to describe Irelands growth, but rather endogenous growth theory is. Instead of the Solow model which has diminishing returns to capital, he suggests the AK model of economic growth is more appropriate, where output and capital accumulation move together because of consistently increasing employment levels. Thus, the economy will move towards producing more capital intensive goods. This is similar to the regional boom perspective where increases in labour and capital will stimulate each other to create more growth than would be possible in a national economy. The regional boom theory, unlike convergence theory, allows for negative exogenous shocks to affect growth. For example, a downturn in the global economy or a withdrawal of FDI in favour of Central and Eastern European countries, would significantly impact the Irish economy. However, convergence theory would consider these to be temporary shocks and since no policy changes have been made, they should not affect growth. Conversely, the regional boom theory allows for the possibility that these could be permanent shocks with tremendous negative effects, including even a return to pre-Celtic Tiger levels of unemployment and emigration and the undoing of the catch-up. Overall, both perspectives offer valid reasons to explain Irelands economic growth however, in view of the recent financial crisis and Irelands sharp economic decline, it may be more appropriate to view the progress of the 1990s in terms of a regional boom. While Ireland had relatively similar policies to Greece, Spain and Portugal, it did not catch up with European averages in the 1960s like the others did. Thus it seems perhaps more suitable to view Ireland in terms of part of a regional economy tied to the UK for that time period and again connected to the US during its boom years starting in the late 1980s. This theory also suggests that industrialisation strategy, creating an export-based economy and attracting FDI are the key factors for growth, rather than just appropriate macroeconomic policies. Both of these theories can provide useful lessons for other developing countries seeking to follow in Irelands footsteps of rapid economic growth. Lessons from Ireland for other countries There are many papers discussing the Irish economic boom, its causes and what lessons can be learned for other countries seeking to achieve such rapid economic growth. Acs, et al (2007) examine whether the Irish miracle could be duplicated in Hungary. The paper focuses specifically on the impact of FDI and how it affects entrepreneurial activity. While they find significant differences between the two, the results do suggest several policy outcomes based on the Irish experience that Hungary could implement, including boosting human capital, improving the quality of FDI and encouraging more enterprise development. Andreosso-OCallaghan and Lenihan (2005) focus on economic policy and whether Ireland can provide a good example of economic development for NMS, with particular regard to developing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). They find that Ireland does indeed supply a useful model for others to follow. Developing the growth of SMEs is important for overall economic growth and it was a key focus of Irish industrial policy, particularly after 1993. Andreosso-OCallaghan and Lenihan suggest that adopting Irish policies, such as dedicated development agencies, and proactively evaluating industrial policies, would help SMEs grow in NMS. However, they also warn of the dangers of relying too heavily on FDI as some would suggest Ireland has done. Hill et al (2005) examine the Irish experience in great detail, beginning with considering whether convergence theory or regional boom is more appropriate. They then recognize that for a small, open economy to develop and create quality jobs, the country needs to be competitive in the following four areas: context for firm strategy and rivalry, demand conditions, factor (input) conditions and related and supporting industries (Hill et al, 2005, 5). There are also corresponding policy initiatives for each of the four areas: tax policy, educational system, regional economy and institutions and consumer protection laws. They then analyse these four areas for Ireland and how policymakers have performed. The economic conditions and performance of Arizona in the United States is then compared to Ireland, to see what lessons Arizona could learn and if they could replicate Irelands growth. The results show that Arizona shares some similar characteristics with Ireland and thus has some opport unities for similar growth. Bailey et al (2009) examine industrial policy in both the Celtic Tiger and East Asian Tiger countries to see what potential lessons African nations could learn. They focus primarily on the Irish experience and provide several reasons why Ireland is a better example for Africa, including that most African countries, like Ireland are small and open, Ireland had a more corporatist experience than in East Asia, and that in some East Asian countries the rights of trade unions were suppressed. Bailey et al take a holistic approach to analysing Irish industrial policy, instead of focusing solely on policies that promote just FDI, or developing SMEs or Research and Development (RD), and then apply it to Africa. They find that Africa can learn from the policy examples and mistakes of Ireland and East Asia. In another paper, Bailey et al (2008) examine and compare the Irish and Hungarian experience, with particular focus on industrial policy and then determine what lessons other Central and Eastern European nations could learn. Hungary is selected as a comparison because it has closely followed the Irish model and has been cited by others, including the World Bank and the OECD, as a potential example for other developing countries (Fink, 2006). Like previously mentioned, Bailey et al implement a holistic approach to industrial policy. They assess both countries policies and find that attracting FDI has had the most significant impact on growth. However, they find that there are limitations to FDI based growth and thus emphasize the need to also develop domestic industry. Fortin (2000) discusses and analyses the characteristics and causes of the Irish economic boom. It is divided into two main sections, a long-term productivity boom and a short-term employment boom. Key lessons as well as appropriate policies for other countries, particularly Canada, are identified based on the Irish experience. These include encouraging free trade and investment, industrial and tax policy conducive to business and ensuring high levels of education. Fortin examines Canadas recent economic performance and discusses what changes Canada can implement based on these lessons from Ireland. Although not all Irish policy is applicable, Canada can emulate the policies of fiscal discipline, openness and free trade. Hansen (2006) examines the Irish determinants of growth individually and assesses whether Latvia could repeat Irish success. The approach is more holistic and based on the methodology of Mancur Olson (1996) and Hansen states that this approach could be applied to any of the other New Member States of the EU. The results show that Latvia has already implemented many of the same policies that contributed to the Irish boom. Other factors are considered to be specific to Ireland, and consequently unable to be replicated. Overall, Hansen suggests that Latvia cannot adopt much more from Ireland and goes so far as to suggest the Irish case is no miracle as others have proposed, but rather a combination of sound policy, timing and a bit of luck (2006, 13). With the exception of Hansen (2006) and Fortin (2000), most of the literature on Irish growth and lessons for other countries focuses on specific determinants or policies rather than taking a holistic approach. Therefore, this paper seeks to follow this example and examine the Irish boom in detail and then apply it to country. The individual determinants of Irish growth will now be examined in more detail. The Irish Experience Macroeconomic Stability Convergence theory cites effective policy as an instrumental part of economic growth and indeed Irelands failure to catch up until recently has been attributed to this. In the immediate post-War period, much of Western Europe began to recover and experienced economic growth. However, in the 1950s, Ireland still relied heavily on agriculture, had high levels of emigration and protectionist policies. In the 1960s, the economic conditions began to turn around, with better macroeconomic policies being adopted. As Honohan and Walsh (2002) state, these include pegging the exchange rates to the British pound, managing a reasonable balance of payments deficit, conservative fiscal policy of borrowing only to finance public capital investment and relatively low tax rates. Previous protectionism was dropped and foreign direct investment was encouraged through grants and tax exemptions. Ireland entered into the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement in 1965 and also decided to apply for membershi p in the European Economic Community (EEC), hence opening itself up for more trade. It would seem that during the 1960s Ireland was poised to catch up with the rest. However, in the 1970s, with the global oil crisis and inappropriate policy response, Ireland was unable to capitalise on the progress made in the previous decade. In an attempt to recover from the crisis quickly, expansionary practices were pursued, which caused real wages to escalate and crowded out productive growth. Consequently, in 1987 there was public debt in excess of 130%, an unemployment rate of about 16%, inflation level around 9.5%, high interest rates and there was an average growth rate of 3.2% during the 1980s (Hansen, 2006). All of these elements were not conducive to economic growth and as a result, Ireland faced a severe recession. Accordingly, it became evident that economic policy changes needed to be made and the general election of 1987 heralded the beginning of a more stable macroeconomic policy. The new government, employers and trade unions developed a social partnership known as the Programme for National Recovery to reach an agreement on wages, taxes, and other social welfare improvements. The government offered lower income tax rates in exchange for wage moderation by the trade unions. As a result, the labour market became more competitive and effective and more employment opportunities were created in both the services and manufacturing sectors. Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy from the 1970s to late 1980s was quite varied and went from being expansionary in 1977, to taxing and spending in 1981 and then to cost-cutting in 1987. These changes coincided with different governments in power and corresponding different policy goals. It was not until 1987 that appropriate fiscal policy was adopted for the economic situation and as a result, stabilisation began to occur. The government focused on reducing the budget deficit, which had reached levels between 6.1% and 8.2% of GNP between 1978-1987 and the debt to GNP ratio was a massive 131.4% in 1987 (Leddin and OLeary, 1991). By the end of 2001, the debt to GNP ratio was only 38% (Honohan and Walsh, 2002). Government spending also decreased from about 46% of GNP in 1987 to 37.2% already in 1991 (Leddin and OLeary, 1991). (For graphs see H and W). In addition to cutting spending and reducing the debt, the government cut tax rates. Comparing 2001 and 1985, the top income tax rates decreased from 65% to 42%, corporate tax rates fell from 50% to 16%, capital gains tax was reduced from 60% to 20% and capital acquisitions tax fell from 55% to 20% (Honohan and Walsh, 2002). From the 1960s until 1981, Ireland has a 0% tax rate on export profits. However, such low tax rates drew complaints from other EU members and, as a result, Ireland was forced to raise it to 10% in 1981. This preferential corporate tax rate was put in place for profits in the manufacturing sector, internationally traded services, and activities in the Dublin based International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Again, due to complaints, Ireland agreed to raise rates to 12.5% in 2003 for manufacturing and internationally traded services and in 2005 for IFSC activities. It is generally recognized that such low corporate tax rates were instrumental in attracting inte rnational companies to conduct business in Ireland. Gropp and Kostial (2000) estimated that if Ireland had increased corporate tax rates to the EU average from 1990-1997, there would have been a loss of more than 1.3% of GDP per year in net FDI and a 0.8% loss of GDP in revenue. As a result of Irelands success, lowering of corporate tax rates has also been adopted by other countries, perhaps most significantly, Germany, who reduced their tax rate from 40% in 2000 to 25% in 2001 (Walsh, 2000). Despite this, it is also important to note that the effect of low corporate tax rates on attracting FDI may be distorted as a result of transfer pricing. This means that foreign-owned companies may use pricing adjustments to allocate a larger share of their profits to their Irish operations and thus pay less taxes. This may be responsible for the large gap between GDP and GNP in Ireland during the 1990s. In 1998, GDP surpassed GNP by 14.3%, well higher than any other country in the OECD (Walsh, 2000). However, Walsh also states that the effects of transfer pricing on the measurement of economic growth should not be exaggerated (2000: 225). Generally, GNP is used to measure the performance of the Irish economic boom because of the high levels of FDI. Overall, corporate tax rates have played an important role in attracting FDI, which in turn has been a significant factor in Irelands growth and will be examined more fully below. Monetary Policy Ireland decided to join the European Monetary System (EMS) and an adjustable peg system in 1978 and end its parity with the pound sterling in 1979. Although the decision was made more for political rather than economic reasons, there were definite economic implications. Throughout the period of EMS, many exchange rate readjustments occurred and for most of them the Irish pound was devalued against the German Deutschmark, which allowed Ireland to gain wage competitiveness. Overall, though, Irish membership in the EMS was not as successful as hoped and served to increase uncertainty and discourage anti-inflationary practices. However, joining EMS laid the groundwork for signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and thus the agreement to join the European Monetary Union (EMU). As a result of joining EMU and giving up their independent currency, Ireland experienced a onetime decrease in interest rates.

Monday, August 19, 2019

A Work of Artifice - A Profound Poem for Many Cultures Essay -- Poetry

"A Work of Artifice"- A Profound Poem for Many Cultures Suppression of women has occurred in all societies. Damage created by societal repression ranges from psychological damage to physical damage. Â  The suppression of women is not only perpetrated by men, often other women support the cultural traditions which are damaging, as they themselves grew up within the confines of those social norms. Â  Marge Piercy, a feminist activist, writer and poet makes a statement against social norms damaging to women with her poem, "A Work of Artifice". After reading the poem, one can certainly appreciate the fact that many norms embraced as acceptable for a woman causes physical and psychological damage to their total health. Through "A Work of Artifice", Piercy delivers a poignant message to societies everywhere. A "Work of Artifice" contains images of female suppression from various cultures. Piercy uses the symbol of a bonsai tree to represent a woman that has been conformed to society. The gardener "whittles back the branches" (Piercy, 10) every day, as a society or group forms a woman into what they think is decent or acceptable. Much literature, as well as other forms of media is devoted to depicting women who find themselves trying to achieve their dreams, while simultaneously having to work against the wishes of the greater part of their societies. Sometimes the heroines have to struggle to overcome society created morals within themselves. An example of this can be found within David Graham Phillips' novel The Price She Paid. The heroine, Gertrude, must give up her notions (which have been impressed upon her since birth by her family, community, and the larger part of New York Society) of what a "lady's" occupations and actions sho... ... binding- lotus shoes". San Francisco Museum: 1999. 13 Mar 2003 <a href="http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html">http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html</a> Eliade, Mircea, The Sacred and the Profane. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Â  New York: Harcourt Inc, 1959 "Female Genital Mutilation, a course pack". Amnesty International Website. 14 Mar 2003 <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm#ref1">http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm#ref1</a> Phillips, David Graham, The Price She Paid. IndyPublish.com: 2002. 14 Mar 2003 <a href="http://jollyroger.com/library1/ThePriceShePaidbyPhillipsebook.html">http://jollyroger.com/library1/ThePriceShePaidbyPhillipsebook.html</a> Piercy, Marge, "A Work of Artifice". Literature: Thinking, Reading and Writing Critically. Ed. Sylvan et al. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1997: 882-83, 894

How the Atkins Diet Works :: Health Nutrition Diet Exercise Essays

How the Atkins Diet Works   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Atkins has been at the center of the recent controversy over how to cure America’s obesity problem. America’s desire for a quick fix has caused the introduction of fad diets that claim to work quickly. The Atkins Diet has been deemed one of these fads because of its radical ideas and its straying from the norm of low fat diets. Dr Atkins encourages consumption of foods high in protein and fat while minimizing intake of foods that are high in simple carbohydrates including sugars and breads. But how can this diet be effective at losing body fat if the subject consumes foods that are high in fat? The Atkins diet reduces body fat quicker than normal low fat diets by reducing the amount of food that is consumed and by causing the body’s natural biological functions to burn the body fat that has already accumulated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One reason that the Atkins diet reduces body fat is due to the decreased intake of calories. This reduction in caloric intake is not due to calorie counting but to a reduction in food consumption. The first explanation for this decrease in consumption is that the strictness of the diet severely reduces, if not halts, the occurrence of â€Å"snacking†. These in between meal snacks often consist of simple carbohydrates that are prepared for your easy consumption. Since Dr. Atkins forbids the consumption of simple carbohydrates, he prevents snacking and therefore reduces the amount of calories that enter your mouth. Furthermore, the monotony in the method of the Atkins diet could be a cause of the loss of appetite that is experienced by dieters. Again the strictness of the diet only allows the dieters to eat a small category of foods. This causes the subjects to eat the same meals consistently and understandably become bored with the acceptable foods. Soon this will cause the dieter to opt not to eat rather than eat the same meal again. In addition, the foods that are acceptable according to

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Key Into Ketogenic Diets :: Health Fat Weight Loss Dieting Essays

The Key Into Ketogenic Diets Come on now...we have all done it. You know the feeling. You are walking down an aisle in the supermarket craving â€Å"bad†. Instead of going for the Oreo cookies you feel are loaded with fat, you opt for the Snackwells Fat Free Devils Food Cake Cookies and feel like you are a saint for making the least harmful choice. You feel great...that is until you get home, open the package, eat one cookie, then two...then in a matter of minutes the whole box has been consumed. But you think, its not that bad...no fat!!!! But, what about everything else in that box In the last couple of decades, dieting trends have astronomically increased. The average dieter has trained his or her ears and eyes to react to the word ‘fat’. Low fat, reduced fat, fat free- these are all words that until recently have set alarms off ringing in the typical dieter’s head. Recently, new vocabulary, such as ketogenic, ketosis, and low carbohydrate have stepped into the dieter’s world and questioned, or rather challenged, the ‘fat’ free method of dieting. So, after you have devoured the entire box of ‘fat’ free cookies perhaps you will ask yourself....WHAT ABOUT THE CARBOHYDRATES Ketogenics...Low-Carbohydrate...Ketosis...what does all this mean? Ketogenic diets, often called low-carbohydrate (low carb is slang), seem to be the latest diet trend. There are many different forms, all varying in different degrees. Ketogenic diets focus primarily on the limited intake of carbohydrates in the food pyramid. In order to clearly understand ketogenic diets, one must start with the basics-what are ketones and where are ketones found and produced What are ketones Ketose is any sugar that contains a ketone group. Ketone bodies are the normal physiological defenses in starvation. Ketone bodies are normal products of lipid and pyruvate and found within the liver. When an impaired or absent carbohydrate intake occurs, the body increases its production of ketone bodies and metabolizes them as an energy source. Ketogenesis, which is the production of ketone bodies occurs in ketogenic diets, resulting in a ketotic state( Miller-Keane 1997). So, â€Å"when the requirement for glucose cannot be met by other means, the tissues of the body rely increasingly on ketone bodies as an energy source† (Volpe 1983).

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Essay

Abstract Human behavior can be explained by a variety of biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors interacting on a person over time. The values, beliefs, and goals that determine the behaviors one engages in are developed through cognitive processes unique to each individual as a result of the interplay between previous learning and the aforementioned factors. When considered together, the Model of Human Occupation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy give an explanation for this view of human behavior. These frames of reference are reviewed in regards to their conceptions of behavior, dysfunction, treatment approach, and their relevance to occupational therapy. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and the Model of Human Occupation Man is an open system that can change and develop through interaction with the environment. Behavior is an expression of psychosocial, biological, and environmental factors interacting within the system. Biological factors may predispose someone to a certain disease or dysfunction which may be expressed in the presence of stress. Factors such as family structure, work environment, and culture can contribute to positive or negative experiences from which an individual learns. There is an innate drive within humans for self-efficacy; the ultimate goal is to master one’s environment. A person’s values, beliefs, and goals determine the behaviors one engages in to accomplish the ultimate goal of environmental mastery. These values, beliefs, and goals are developed through cognitive processes unique to each individual and are a result of the interplay between previous learning and psychosocial, biological, and environmental factors throughout life. Because each person’s cognitive processes are unique, experiences are subjectively interpreted in different ways. People react in context with their desire for environmental mastery and their personal beliefs and values learned throughout life. When considered together, the Model of Human Occupation and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy frame of reference give an explanation of behavior that includes psychosocial, biological and environmental factors  while maintaining the importance of cognition. The purpose of this paper is to review how Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and the Model of Human Occupation explain behavior, dysfunction, treatment approach, and their relevance to occupational therapy. Theory Kielhofner and Burke’s Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) (1980) believes that humans have an innate drive for exploration and mastery of their respective environments. Man interacts with the environment though engagement in occupation. Occupations are the means through which an individual pursues their goals. Within this model, occupations are defined as complex, organized groups of goal-oriented behaviors (Bruce & Borg, 1993). One’s chosen actions and occupations are a meaningful reflection of personal beliefs and goals for environmental mastery. Mastery is the extent to which an individual perceives the result of their behavior as effective, efficient, and satisfying (Stein & Cutler, 1998). MOHO postulates an open systems theory in regards to human behavior. â€Å"An open system is an organized complex of subsystems that are in dynamic interaction. The system is, in turn, in dynamic interaction with its environment. All parts are maintained and transformed through this dynamic interaction† (Kielhofner & Burke, 1980, p. 573). The open system interacts with the environment through a process of input, throughput, output, and feedback. Input is information from the environment; throughput is the processing of input by the internal cognitive structures of a human; output is the mental, physical, and social aspects of behavior; and feedback is information from the environment about the consequences of a behavior (1980). The open system can be divided into a hierarchical arrangement of three subsystems that are responsible for behavior. The highest level governing over behavior is volition. This is the underlying, energizing component behind behavior responsible for which one will be chosen and initiated. Volition is determined by one’s innate drive to master his/her environment, as well as his/her beliefs surrounding a behavior (Bruce & Borg, 1993).  Personal causation, values, and interests comprise volition. Personal causation is the motivation and expectations surrounding a behavior. It incorporates past successes and failures to form images of self-efficacy. Values represent the importance of certain behaviors to an individual. Interests are determined by the pleasure one derives from engaging in a specific occupation (Kielhofner & Burke, 1980). Volition is believed to govern over the lower subsystems of the hierarchy (Kielhofner & Burke, 1980). The middle subsystem is defined as habituation. Habituation is responsible for organizing behavior into roles, patterns, and routines. Roles reflect a group of behaviors with which an individual may have certain expectations of performance. The individual’s beliefs and society influence these expectations. Roles contribute to self-identity and influence behavior. This organization allows for certain behaviors to be performed automatically and adapted to various environments. Performance, the lowest subsystem within the hierarchy, consists of the skills necessary for producing behavior. These include perceptual-motor processing skills, cognition, and communication. The function of the performance subsystem is to produce behaviors called upon by volition and habituation, which are located higher in the hierarchy of the human system (Bruce & Borg, 1993). MOHO’s governing subsystem, volition, can be compared to the concept of cognition described by the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy frame of reference. Through this comparison, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides an explanation for the acquisition and structure of volitional system. The major theorists under CBT believe that cognitive structures such as beliefs, thinking styles, problem-solving styles, and coping styles as well as the environment are the determinants of behavior (Johnston, 1987). The above structures are represented by a schema, which is developed through reactions to social, environmental, and genetic influences over time. A schema is defined as the global cognitive processes associated with past experience (Bootzin, 1988). Schema can be influenced by positive and negative experiences, such as culture, family structure, and social roles. Another assumption of CBT is that people are capable of guiding the course of their lives via their thoughts. Ellis, as cited in Barris, Kielhofner, and Watts (1988), believes that â€Å"humans are responsible for their emotions and behavior, as having the potential to create personal meaning, and as behaving in ways influenced by thought processes rather than determined by unconscious forces† (p. 92). The concept of personal responsibility for behavior is also incorporated into MOHO through the volitional system. This subsystem is responsible for choices regarding behavior. According to CBT theorists, the cognitive events responsible for behavior are learned. Albert Bandura’s theory of social learning explains how learning impacts cognition and behavior. Learning is seen as an outcome of the interaction between behavior, person, and environment. People choose behaviors based on expectancy, or what they anticipate will happen if a behavior is performed. Therefore, individuals are more likely to perform a specific behavior if they believe the results will lead to something they want (Bruce & Borg, 1993). Personal causation, a component of volition, is responsible for expectancy and links Bandura’s theory to MOHO. Reinforcement influences whether behaviors are performed. These can be external, vicarious or self-produced. External reinforcement comes from the environment in many forms, including social praise/acceptance, rewards, privileges or penalties. Vicarious reinforcement is the individual’s values and previously learned images of success or failure associated with a particular behavior. Self-produced reinforcement involves the interpretation of a behavior as satisfying or unsatisfying. Personal satisfaction is seen as the best reinforcement for behavior (1993). Thus, behavior is driven by the goal of self-efficacy, an idea shared by MOHO. This feeling of satisfaction after occupational performance develops into a sense of effectiveness. Satisfaction alters CBT’s cognition and MOHO’s volitional subsystem, making it more likely for a behavior to occur again. Bandura explains that personal experience, modeling, and observational learning are ways behaviors are acquired. Cognition plays a major role in the selection of behaviors because people will repeat behaviors they believe will have positive outcomes (Cole, 1998). Cognitive appraisal is the internal processing, which occurs between the stimulus and response. Behaviors are elicited after this cognitive appraisal  occurs. One’s beliefs and values are derived from the cognitive appraisal of events over time (Bootzin, 1988). The process of cognitive appraisal is synonomous with MOHO’s concept of throughput, a process that also elicits behaviors. Some behaviors performed daily over time do not require extensive cognitive appraisal. Aaron Beck describes these behaviors as automatic thoughts (Bruce & Borg, 1993). People do not recognize the problem-solving and internal cognition associated with these automatic thoughts. Automatic thoughts are closely related to the habituation subsystem in MOHO. Behavior Change Within the human system, each subsystem and the environment are interdependent. A disturbance in functioning in one of the subsystems will affect all the subsystems requiring the person to adapt to the resultant changes. The system changes throughout a lifetime to respond to the changing demands and expectations of the environment (Kielhofner & Burke, 1980). Restructuring or restoration of any of the internal subsystems as well as the environment can mediate behavior change. The process of feedback informs the system of the consequences of behavior. During feedback, actual performance is compared to the expected outcome, which helps the system adjust its performance and restructure the internal hierarchy. Feedback also shapes self-images created by the personal causation component (1980). Treatment can target behavior change directly at the volitional level by changing the cognitive structures associated with personal causation, values, and interests thereby affecting the lower level s of the system. Other levels may be impacted through environmental modification or increasing occupational performance by strengthening performance components or improving habits. Improving performance will alter one’s perception of the effectiveness of a behavior, thereby changing volition (Bruce & Borg, 1993). In the healthy, well functioning individual, the volitional level governs behavior. Comparisons could be made between MOHO and CBT over the role volition and cognition play in the acquisition and determination of behavior. CBT’s central tenet states that behavior change occurs only when  the beliefs surrounding the behavior are altered. Similarly, MOHO’s construct of personal causation represents the beliefs surrounding a behavior. Cognition allows man to regulate his behavior. Behaviors are determined by one’s expectations of the outcome and efficacy of a behavior, therefore the thoughts behind expectations must change for behavior to change. According to Bandura, self-produced reinforcement is the most effective way to change expectancy. This requires observational learning or participation in an activity, in which the consequences of behavior are perceived to be successful, thus changing one’s expectations about the effectiveness of that behavior. Oth er CBT theorists, such as Beck and Ellis believe people can be taught to view the world in a more accurate way, which alters behavior. This approach targets changes in behavior through the alteration of irrational thinking patterns. This involves evaluation of the validity of thoughts; formulation of new, more rational thoughts; and practice of the new thinking styles (Bruce & Borg, 1993). Depression According to MOHO, when considering a dysfunction such as depression, the individual must be viewed holistically to determine where in the open system a breakdown has occurred. Because the subsystems are interdependent, the depressed feelings may be caused by a disturbance in any of the subsystems or the environment. This disturbance will subsequently affect engagement in occupation. Disruptions of occupational performance due to biological dysfunction, harsh environmental circumstances, or a negative schema are possible explanations for depression according to this frame of reference. Unrealistic expectations or imbalance of roles within the habituation system may also lead to dysfunction (Kielhofner & Burke, 1980). The factors mentioned above lead to disturbance in occupational behavior causing the feelings of depression and incompetence. For example, a physical disability may alter a client’s performance of important occupations, thereby affecting their expectations, belief s, habits, and roles surrounding the behavior. If the client perceives the performance as negative, motivation regarding the behavior will decrease, interests will change and a negative self-image may occur within the volitional system. An eclectic approach to treatment is required due to the many factors influencing behavior (Miller, et al, 1988). It may be appropriate to concentrate on negative beliefs within the volitional system, or on a lower subsystem that is disrupted, causing the negative feelings to occur. Environmental modification or improvement in the performance or habituation subsystems may help bring forth changes in volition by improving expectancy. It is necessary to consider occupational performance because engagement in occupation is meaningful to the individual and the means through which one pursues his/her goals. Occupational analysis, an evaluation technique, identifies where the disturbance in an occupation occurs. The steps include â€Å"observation of the environment, evaluation of how an occupation can promote a sense of purpose and identify one’s values and interests, anticipation of how occupation contributes to goal fulfillment, consideration for the performance skills required to engage in the occupation, and evaluation of the balance of work, play and daily living tasks† (Bruce & Borg, 1993). The application of CBT to treatment for a depressed individual may help restructure volition. According to CBT theorists, faulty, irrational thinking and inaccurate self-perception cause dysfunction. It is assumed that people can control their cognition; therefore, self-regulation of behavior, thoughts, and feelings through the use of logic and deductive reasoning is possible (Cole, 1998). Consequently, it would be necessary to aim treatment of a depressed individual at cognitive restructuring. Beck hypothesizes that dysfunction is caused by â€Å"automatic thoughts, which reflect habitual errors in thinking† (Cole, 1998, p. 131). Depression is thought to be the result of the â€Å"cognitive triad†: self-devaluation, negative view of life experiences and a pessimistic view of the future (Bootzin, 1988). The rationale of Beck’s cognitive therapy is that behavior change comes from cognitive change. Therapy focuses on alteration of negative schema including identification of negative thoughts, evaluation of their validity, formulation of more realistic, positive responses and modification of the dysfunctional attitudes that underlie the negative thoughts. The Socratic method is utilized to allow the individual to discover the irrational beliefs for themselves (Bruce and Borg, 1993).  Specific techniques include development of assertive beliefs, identification of personal rights, thought-stopping, role reversal, and symbolic modeling. By improving one’s performance and thoughts behind behavior, self-produced reinforcement can occur, thus changing beliefs about that behavior (1993). In a longitudinal study of newly injured persons with spinal cord injury (Craig, Hancock, Dickson, & Chang, 1997), levels of depression were compared between groups receiving CBT services in addition to traditional rehabilitation services to those who received no CBT during hospitalization. A psychologist and occupational therapist provided CBT to small groups over a ten-week period. Topics addressed during CBT included anxiety, depression, self-esteem, assertion, sexuality, and family relations. The therapists utilized cognitive restructuring techniques, relaxation, deep-breathing exercises, and visualization. From the follow-up measures of the patients one year post-treatment, the researchers found that the treatment group had greater levels of improvement in depression scores over time in comparison to the controls. It was also found that those with the highest levels of depression before treatment were significantly less depressed one year after treatment. The authors concluded t hat while not every person with spinal cord injury needs CBT, those with high levels of depression may benefit the most from CBT. Application to Occupational Therapy According to MOHO, a person interacts with the environment through engagement in occupation. MOHO and the professions of occupational therapy believe that engagement in occupation mediates change in capacities, beliefs, and occupational roles (Stein & Cutler, 1998). Assessment should include the subsystems, the feedback loop, organization of occupations in life, and the environment. Thorough assessment will assist the OT in developing a picture of occupational function and dysfunction as well as treatment goals (Miller, et al., 1988). MOHO provides a framework for an occupational therapist to find an explanation for occupational function and dysfunction. The OT should apply whichever theories, modalities, and facilitative activities that best meet the treatment goals of the individual, however goals should reflect the  client’s values. A case study by Pizzi (1990) examined the clinical application of MOHO to treatment of an adult with AIDS. The physical, psychosocial, and environmental dysfunctions encountered by persons with HIV and AIDS affect all aspects of a person’s occupational functioning. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of the subsystems within the human system as well as the environment was required. This assessment allowed for the formulation of a treatment plan that met the complex needs of the client with AIDS. This case study shows how MOHO acts as a framework for a therapist to picture a client holistically when determining function and dysfunction, but does not necessarily prescribe a specific treatment technique. CBT fills the gaps left by MOHO in outlining specific treatment approaches in regards to disturbances in cognition. Mahoney, as cited in Barris, Kielhofner, and Watts (1998), states that when following the CBT frame of reference, â€Å"the resultant task of the therapist is that of a diagnostician-educator who assesses maladaptive cognitive processes and subsequently arranges learning experiences that will alter cognitions and the behavior and affect patterns with which they correlate† (p. 90). An occupational therapist coming from CBT frame of reference should evaluate person-environment match; self-image, goals, and self-acceptance; the client’s view of the environment; learning style and appropriate reinforcements; and environmental expectations and demands to help in the development of treatment goals (Cole, 1998). The goals set in treatment can serve as guidelines for clients to monitor their self-regulation and measure progress (1998). CBT relates to the practice of occupational therapy in that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"cognitive behavioral skills may not be the traditional skills associated with occupational therapy, but they involve basic interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and self-management skills. As such, they are often prerequisites to the ability to perform effectively in the roles of player, student or worker† (Johnston, 1987). Johnston outlined how an occupational therapist might use a CBT approach.  Acting as an educator/facilitator, the OT would target skills such as problem solving, communication, and assertiveness. Techniques for treatment include the breakdown of skills into simpler steps, client examination of thoughts and assumptions regarding the skills, teaching of new skills, and practice of the skills (1987). Social learning theory provides a treatment model for occupational therapy. Bandura’s philosophy agrees with the logic of occupational therapy, â€Å"doing facilitates change† (Bruce & Borg, 1993, p. 211). According to Bandura, reinforcement is what motivates learning. OT’s must determine the level of reinforcement and motivation required by each client for effective learning to occur (Cole, 1998). Engagement in activities allows clients to change thoughts of themselves from incapable to capable. By grading these activities, mastery of simple tasks occurs before difficult tasks are attempted. This grading allows the client to develop feelings of competence. These feelings of competence are self-reinforcing, which is in concordance with the highest level of reinforcement identified by Bandura (1998). Yakobina, Yakobina, and Tallant (1997) discussed how an occupational therapist might apply the CBT frame of reference to the treatment process of women with dysthymic disorder. The OT would act as an educator and emphasize the therapeutic use of pleasurable activities during treatment. The therapist would attempt to change negative thought patterns and facilitate the development of problem solving skills necessary to cope with daily activities by engaging in role-playing, group discussions, and homework assignments. In addition to traditional CBT techniques, engagement in occupation would allow the depressed person to test the validity of her negative assumptions. Conclusion As reviewed in this paper, the MOHO and CBT frames of reference both view behavior as the result of the interaction between a person and their  environment. The complex interplay between biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors influences the way people view themselves and the world. Those cognitive processes determine what behaviors a person will engage in, as well as how the consequences are interpreted. Lazarus, as cited in Johnston (1987), explains the interaction between cognition and the environment, â€Å"the way a person moves or behaves can be adversely influenced by emotions, sensations, and the way people behave toward them. Conversely, if a person changes some aspect of his behavior, this change will alter his cognitions, emotions, sensations, and self-image† (p. 73). Together, MOHO and CBT provide a way to understand behavior and how change occurs. MOHO acts as a framework for understanding the interdependent nature of humans and their environment. CBT provides an explanation for the cognitive processes seen by both frames as the commanding structures over behavior, as well as several treatment approaches to induce change in behavior. Applying the two frames of reference when formulating a treatment approach allows the therapist to individualize treatment while considering the multi-faceted nature of humans. Additionally, both frames see the engagement in occupation as an important mediator of change in the treatment process. References Barris, R., Kielhofner, G., & Watts, J. H. (1988). Cognitive approaches to therapy. In G. Kielhofner (Ed.), Bodies of knowledge in psychosocial practice (pp. 89-100). Thorofare, NJ: Slack. Bootzin, R. R., & Acocella, J. R. (1988). Abnormal psychology: Current perspectives (5thed.). New York: Random House. Bruce, M. A. & Borg, B. (1993). Psychosocial occupational therapy: Frames of reference for intervention. Thorofare, NJ: Slack. Craig, A. R., Hancock, K., Dickson, H., & Chang, E. (1997). Long-term psychological outcomes in spinal cord injured person: Results of a controlled trial using cognitive behavior therapy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 78, 33-38. Cole, M. B. (1998). Group dynamics in occupational therapy: The theoretical basis and practice application of group treatment (2nd ed.). Thorofare, NJ: Slack. Johnston, M. T. (1987). Occupational therapists and the teaching of cognitive-behavioral skills. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 7 (3), 69-81. Miller, R. J., Sieg, K. W., Ludwig, F. M., Shortridge, S. D., & Van Deusen, J. (1988). Gary Kielhofner. In Six perspectives on theory for the practice of occupational therapy (pp. 169-204). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers. Pizzi, M. (1990). The model of human occupation and adults with HIV infection and AIDS. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44, 257-263. Stein, F. & Culter, S. K. (1998). Theoretical models underlying the clinical practice of psychosocial occupational therapy. In Psychosocial occupational therapy: A holistic approach. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group. Yakobina, S., Yakobina, S. & Tallant, B. K. (1997). I came, I thought, I conquered: cognitive behavior approach applied in occupational therapy for the treatment of depressed females. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 13 (4), 59-73.