Devonport Dockyard loss of power 'had nuclear implications' Essay

Devonport Dockyard loss of power 'had nuclear implications' - Essay Example The second reason is to clear Babcock Marine’s name and improve its name and its business relations not only with the customer at hand, but also with all the other customers. As Graham (2006) says, in such critical situations, communication is always the important to tone done any tensions and the lack of communication in this case indicates how unprepared the council is. CONTEXT ANALYSIS Market Analysis The nuclear sector is a very sensitive area because of the safety issues associated with it. As a result, most of the customers who are likely to hire Babcock Marine services are most likely to be meticulous about Babcock Marine’s ability and competency in doing its job. The number of nuclear powered submarines is also increasing and this is a big opportunity for Babcock Marine. As a result, Babcock Marine needs to position itself as the firm of choice when it comes to nuclear submarine servicing. PESTEL for Babcock Marine Political The main issue in the case is the iss ue of nuclear power for the production of energy, and the risks it poses to the public as well as the environment. According to Burton (1990), there are increasing pressures from both the government and other interested parties foe safety measures for in the nuclear energy production and this requires firms such as Babcock Marine to be able to come up with better ways to guarantee this. As the number of nuclear production planar and submarines increase, the concerns for risks associated with nuclear energy production is increasing and to be able to stand out in the market, Babcock Marine will have to come up with ways to improve its services. As Hindmarsh (2013) argues, there are numerous regulatory authorities and antinuclear agencies which are either completely opposed to the use of nuclear as a source of power, or call for very stringent regulations. This can affect Babcock Marine in the long run because it may have to invest more in convincing the stake holders that it is doing its work properly with regard to servicing these submarines. Economic issues Nuclear energy production is geared towards cost reduction and this is a challenge for a firm like Babcock Marine because it has to make sure that its services to the customers are not prohibitive. There is an increasing need to come up with cheaper ways to produce energy and any overhead costs are regarded by organisations with suspicion (Teri, 2012).. To be competitive in this sector, Babcock Marine must look for way to always make its services better without increasing the costs. There is however other economic issues which must be looked at. For instance, securing a nuclear reactor and making sure that that is it completely secure is a very expensive affair and this may counter any economic benefits acquired from the use of nuclear energy (Angelo, 2004). Social Issues The main social issue here has to do with the health concerns. People are becoming more concerned of health and health issues. As a resul t, anything that is assumed to pose a risk on health is going to get critical scrutiny and this will affect Babcock Marine due to the fact that its services are directly related to how safe nuclear energy is. As Butterfield (1992), says, nuclear energy is seen as a very big risk for health due to the potential of radioactive

Evidence Base Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evidence Base - Assignment Example The temperature of the day is 38 degrees. On the ground, there is snow that has reduced visibility slightly. The home looks quite disrupted as things have gone messy. To the right of the house is an Asphalt driveway. There is a white pick-up truck in the driveway. The truck has been parked at a close distance from the house. Their driveway is clear and does not have snow. The make of the truck is Chevy. Its year of registration is 2013. The registered owner’s name of the track is John Hilton. There is a wagon immediately next to the truck (Levine, 2003). Its year of registration is 2014. Registered owners name is Richard James. Aspect 1 is the right side of the house which has a side yard covered with snow. The side has a set of footprints. Aspect 3 is the rear side of the house that has an entry door into the rear. There is snow on the stairs that lead to the door. Aspect 2 is the left side of the house that is also covered with snow.

My Experience Essay Example for Free

My Experience Essay As I reflect upon my life I will describe facts and events believed to have contributed to the person I am today. I like how Merriam Webster’s online dictionary explains experience as something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through. I have encountered difficulties, circumstances, and triumphs that have helped me to grow as a person. I am pursuing a higher education as my future goal. In this paper, I will apply theories from Adult Development and Life Assessment in my explanation of challenges I have faced during childhood to adulthood. I was born in Chicago, one of six girls and the middle child of twelve. As early as I can remember we worked as a group. We played together and we worked in the garden that my parents made in our back yard. I hated the garden because every time I wanted to go play, I first had pick vegetables out of the garden. I didn’t understand at the time that my parents used the garden to help feed our large family. My dad always worked two jobs; his primary employment was with a company called Central Soya. When my father retired from there we moved to Alabama because the cost of living was cheaper. We didn’t have a lot of material things like clothes and shoes. My mother would buy tennis shoes from the grocery store and my brothers would be so embarrassed because their friends saw them trying on the shoes in the store. I can remember my dad making me a pair of pants for school; I thought they were the prettiest pair of pants I had ever seen. It was cheaper to make a pair of pants than to buy them. My parents cut corners any way they could. We may not have had material things but what we did have was love and lots of talent. Not real talent but talent that’s appreciated in a family. On rainy days mom and dad would have us put on a talent show. It was so much fun that we kept the tradition even until adulthood. On birthdays and holidays we would use our talents to entertain mom and dad. Birthdays were especially special because my dad would make me a birthday cake. He was a really good cook and everyone in the neighborhood wanted a piece of his cake. My sixteenth birthday marked a significant shift in my life. I became pregnant and it was one of the biggest mistakes that started a downward spiral in my life. I hung out with older girls that had children. They were into partying and so called having a good time. Our environment plays a huge role in how we develop, what pathways are open to us, and which are closed (Witt, G.A., Mossler, R. A. (2010). I feel like the environment that I chose to be in led to early exploration of drugs and alcohol. I could see myself going in the wrong direction with more terrible consequences if I didn’t make a change. I stopped hanging out and got my first job. It was on a military base in the mess hall. I met a soldier and we got married on our way to work one day when I was twenty one years old. We dated for four months then he went overseas for a year. We married a year later after he returned to the states. Being married was a challenge because he was abusive physically, verbally, and mentally. I had listened to his insults for so long that they became part of my own vocabulary. I began to think that maybe he was right, maybe if I could cook, clean, dress or talk better it would fix our problems. In our text Freud believed that the mind uses defense mechanism to protect itself from severe distress. In the beginning I rationalized everything he did, in rationalization: we look for an acceptable reason to justify our thinking or behavior (Witt Mossler 2010). I got involved in church and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. As a result I think a lot of the abusive behavior was able to continue because I simply forgave, thinking it was the Christian thing to do. According to Haan (1977), coping strategies involve choice and purposive behavior, are oriented toward reality, involve differentiated thinking that integrates conscious and preconscious aspects, and permit affective satisfaction in an open, ordered, and tempered way (Psychology and Aging 2000 ). It came to a point after seventeen years of abuse I couldn’t take it anymore. I had done all that I could physically to have a successful marriage but it wasn’t working out for me. I had to face the cruel reality that my marriage was over. Finally I filed for a divorce, which was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. Going through the divorce gave me a sense of freedom and strength that I had never experienced in my marriage. Getting a divorced was the best thing I could have done for myself. It started me on a journey to find out what I want out of life for myself. It marked a new beginning to a better, brighter future in my life. I was free to make my own decisions that impact my life. One of those decisions was returning to school for a degree. I really want to be an example to my daughter and her children that education is the key to success, and you are never too old to be successful in life. I must admit that I was very afraid of returning to school because I thought that I would not be successful. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to remember things or comprehend how to do the work. Some researchers contend that intellectual functioning is a process of irreversible decline. However, most scholars agree that intelligence either remains relatively stable through the adult years, with substantial intellectual changes occurring only very late in life, or that intelligence declines in some respects, remains stable in others, and may even increase in some functions, depending on a persons educational level, life experiences, and overall health (Intelligence and Aging 2007). I am now encouraged to pursue my education. I’m not too old, I plan to finish my courses and earn my degree. My goal is to apply for higher positions that require a degree. There will be many opportunities open to me once I earn my degree in my field of study. In conclusion, I have shared different experiences that have influenced my personal life. I have used theories from this class to support my experiences and I have shared my future plans to achieve my academic goals. Every lesson I complete moves me one step closer to my goal. References Intelligence and Aging (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyla/intelligence-and-aging Witt, G. A., Mossler, R.A., (2010). Adult Development Retrieved from http://content.ashford. edu /AUPYS202.10.1 Vief, G. L., Diehl, M., (2000) Cognitive complexity and cognitive-affective integration. Psychology and Aging. Vol.15 (3) US: American Psychological Association pp. 490 -504.doi:10.1037/0882-7974.15.3.490

Comparison of Capital Flows in Asia

Comparison of Capital Flows in Asia 1.1 Background of the Study Capital controls were widely used to prevent the free flow of funds between countries until the late 1970s. A cautious relaxation of such controls during the 1980s proved consistent with greater economic integration among advanced countries and strengthened the case for capital market opening more generally. By the early 1990s, capital controls appeared to be finished as a serious policy tool for relatively open economies. The conventional view about international financial integration is that it should enable capital to flow from high income countries, with relatively high capital labor ratios, to low income countries with lower capital labor ratios. If investment in poor countries is constrained by the low level of domestic saving, access to foreign capital should boost their growth and it would also allow residents of richer countries to get higher returns on their savings invested abroad. Openness to capital flows can expose a country’s financial sector to competition, spu r improvements in domestic corporate governance as foreign investors demand the same standards locally that they are used to at home, and impose discipline on macroeconomic policies and the government more generally. So, even if foreign capital is not needed for financing, financial openness, to both inflows and outflows, may create ‘collateral benefits’ such as domestic financial sector development which could enhance growth in total factor productivity[1]. Capital account liberalization in financially repressed economies often leads to a period of rapid capital inflows followed by financial crises with international financial integration and policy agenda for further liberalization of capital inflows. Concern has also been expressed as to whether the costs of increased vulnerability to financial fragility might not outweigh the gains from financial integration. But most of the countries continue to progress in dismantling capital controls to integrate their financial markets with the rest of the world. 1.2 Justification and Relevance of the Study Economic growth is thought to be a function of investment and other factors. The conventional belief is that foreign capital inflows bring new investible funds and foreign exchange with which the recipient country can achieve higher rates of investment and therefore growth. The role of foreign capital in economic growth is an issue that has provoked continuous debate. Foreign capital augments the total resource availability in a country, but its impact on investment and economic growth is controversial. If judiciously used, it could have favorable effects on economic growth through higher investment and other positive effects. But it is also possible that foreign capital investment might not yield any net benefit to the host country. Economic liberalization and globalization have resulted in rapid mobility of resources between nations as to reap the comparative advantage of the respective country. The 1990s saw a number of capital account crises in emerging market economies. The cris es, which were precipitated by a sudden reversal of capital inflows, occurred against the background of financial market deregulation, capital account liberalization, and financial sector opening. Deregulation and liberalization have undoubtedly brought about benefits in the form of greater financial resource mobilization for domestic investment and economic growth. At the same time, this has created new sources of vulnerabilities in the balance sheets of commercial banks, corporations, and the public sector. For Countries that are still in the process of opening the capital account, how best and how fast to proceed remains an unresolved issue. There is no presumption that the resource requirements of implementing a quick transition are either smaller or larger than those of managing a long transition process or administering capital controls. Developing effective regulatory framework takes time, but a lengthy process may create wrong incentives and distortions. A big-bang approach may be appropriate if a prolonged transition is likely to create resistance from vested interests or if different elements of the existing system are so dependent upon each other that a piecemeal reform is not possible without creating significant distortions. International capital movements can support long-term growth but are not without short-term risks. The long term benefits arise from an efficient allocation of saving and investment between surplus and deficit countries. However, large capital inflows may challenge the absorptive capacity of host countries in the short run by making them vulnerable to external shocks, heightening the risks of economic overheating and abrupt reversals in capital inflows, and facilitating the emergence of credit and asset price boom-and-bust cycles. The inflows expanded the available resources for funding productive investments and privatization, and for raising export capacity and helped finance current account deficits. They contributed to the development of domestic financial markets and the efficiency of banking systems. Foreign participation in domestic government securities markets contributed to liquidity of secondary markets and greater sophistication of financial services such as in Hungary an d Poland. FDI helps in transferring the managerial and technological skills, and strengthen domestic institutions. For the European Union accession countries, capital inflows are a mutually reinforcing factor in the process of integration into the European Union[2]. The long term capital flows, particularly of direct investment have been an important factor in the capital account surplus, and the trend of higher long term inflows has intended to be sustained. A major reason for this has been the success of adjustment programes adopted in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in the mid 1980, after a period of instability. In these three countries, an overvalued currency was depreciated, large fiscal deficits pattern was repeated in the Philippines in the early 1990s. In all four countries, macroeconomic stabilization was accompanied by policies to open the economy to foreign trade and reform the financial sector[3]. As a consequence of the foreign capital surge experienced by a number of developing countries, since the early 1990s international economists and policy makers have been debating about whether foreign capital flows should be the object of specific policy. The debate crystallized around two opposite stances. On the one hand, there were those who claimed that capital flows were largely exogenous to the recipient countries and, in addition, very destabilizing. The implication of this view was that the economic authorities should design and implement policies to dampen the impact of capital flows on domestic macroeconomic variables. The opposite position departed from the assumption that capital flows largely respond to domestic variables, be they long-term i.e., those affecting the country’s risk premium, or related to short-term demand management. In either case, there is no need to worry explicitly about capital flows. Policy makers concentrate exclusively on improving domestic policies. An early, and influential, analysis of the capital surge to developing countries ascribes it mostly to the effect of falling international interest rates[4]. There were other factors as well, most of them exogenous to emerging economies. In particular, the recession in developed countries reduced rates of return on capital and made investors look for higher returns elsewhere. Likewise, since the Asian financial crisis, foreign capital has retreated from most emerging economies, regardless of the quality of domestic policies. In some cases, the sudden stop[5] has been particularly traumatic e.g., in case of Argentina and Chile. In Argentina, the sudden stop in capital flows created the fiscal and financial problems. In Chile, it has had less disastrous, although still quite unfavorable, effects. But in all cases, the reversal of the 1990s inflows has been dramatic, and it has been accompanied by a sharp deterioration in growth performance. Building upon Ricardo, the welfar e gains from the international partition of labor are widely acknowledged. The economic policy implication has been to remove exchange rate volatility to foster trade and growth. The impact of exchange rate volatility on trade among two or a group of countries has both a micro and macroeconomic dimension. From a microeconomic perspective exchange rate volatility, for instance measured as day to day or week to week exchange rate fluctuations is associated with higher transactions costs because uncertainty is high and hedging foreign exchange risk is costly. Indirectly, fixed exchange rates enhance international price transparency as consumers can compare prices in different countries more easily. If exchange rate volatility is eliminated, international arbitrage enhances efficiency, productivity and welfare. These microeconomic benefits of exchange rate stabilization have been a detrimental motivation of the European monetary integration process. Low transaction costs play an importa nt role for international and intra-regional trade and capital flows. 1.3 Research Questions We have discussed above about the need of international financial integration, liberalization of capital accounts and potential benefits of capital flows. Many countries in the world opened their capital account to reap the benefits of international capital flows for their economic development and growth. A number of studies have been done so far for the study of capital flows on different issues. Some studies are related with benefits and liberalization of capital account which are: does capital account liberalization lead to growth? by Quinn and Toyoda in 2008; why capital account convertibility in India is premature? by Williamson; financial liberalization and the new dynamics of growth in India by Chandrasekhar in 2008; analysis of the capital account in India’s balance of payments by Ranjan et al in 2004; capital account liberalization and economic performance: survey and synthesis by Edison et al. Some are about the capital flows and economic growth such as; FDI and econ omic growth relationship: an empirical study on Malaysia by Mun in 2008; and what makes international capital flows promote economic growth? an international cross-country analysis by Shen et al, in 2010. While others focused on the impact of capital flows on different macroeconomic variable which are; capital flows and their macroeconomic effects in India by Kohli in 2001; differential macroeconomic effects of portfolio and foreign direct investment by Gunther et al in 1996; effects upon monetary conditions, saving and the domestic financial sector by Henry and Tesar in 1999 and many others. An empirical study of the impact of capital inflows upon output growth has been done by Gruben and McLeod in 1996. The studies mentioned above give an idea about the capital flows and their relation with many economic indicators. These topics of capital flows give us keen interest to explore more and study extensively what could be the possible relation and effects with other variables. Capital inflow to Asian countries brought substantial benefit to them. These flows permitted higher levels of investment, facilitated the transfer of technology, enhanced management skills, and enlarged market access. The Asian countries adopted their policies to translate capital flows into capital formation and related imports, and thereby mitigated pressures on exchange rates. By successfully managing foreign capital flows, the East Asian countries could achieve high growth rates. Moreover, capital inflows which were a blessing to the East Asian economies in their development process, created problems in the nineties due to mismanagement. Countries with sound macroeconomic policies and well functioning institut ions are in the best position to reap the benefits of capital flows and minimize the risks. Some countries are gaining from the capital inflows while some others are having negative impact of this on their economies. India and China are the two emerging economic giants of the developing world. Both the economies have immense natural resources, skilled and unskilled, cheap but quality labor force, huge domestic market and above all the relatively stable political environment. Both the economies hence have vast potential to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to serve the local market and to become a more important part of the global integration. After China’s entry into World Trade Organization (WTO) China has emerged into the most attractive FDI destination in the developing world. India’s FDI is far below than that of China. Hence, to know more about capital flows in China and India, we have selected these countries for the study of their capital flows and managem ent. Apart from China we have selected Malaysia for the study. Foreign direct investment has been an important source of economic growth for Malaysia, bringing in capital investment, technology and management knowledge needed for economic growth. The most important benefit for a developing country like Malaysia is that FDI could create more employment. In addition, technology transfer is another benefit for the host countries. These three Asian counties attracted capital flows to reap the benefits of financial integration. Capital flows affect a wide range of economic variables such as; exchange rates, interest rates, foreign exchange reserves, domestic monetary condition and the financial system. The developments, which have been done in many Asian countries, have stimulated a keen interest to understand what have been the nature, trend, pattern and economic effects of capital inflows as well as the appropriate policy responses comparatively in the selected Asian Countries. Therefore, here, we are interested to know what have been the surges of capital flows in Asian countries. What caused a need of financial sector reforms in India? How and why liberalization was done and what are the recent trends and composition of capital flows in India? What has been the pattern of capital flows in selected Asian countries? And, further what is the relation of capital flows with exchange rate in selected Asian countries? What could be the policies to manage the flow of capital? To get the answer of the questions mentioned above, some objectives have been set to study and discuss in an appropriate manner. The objectives of the present study have been given below. 1.4 Objectives The broad objective of the present study is to analyze the capital flows comparatively in selected Asian countries. To fulfill the broad objective, there are some small objectives such as: To study the surges of capital flows in Asia; To study the financial sector restructuring, liberalization and capital flows in India; To analyze the trend and pattern of capital flows in India, China and Malaysia comparatively; To analyze the impact of net capital flows on real effective exchange rate and management of capital flows comparatively in selected countries; and To give policy implications. 1.5 Research Design and Methodology The present study is designed to have eight chapters including Introduction and Conclusion. The first chapter is an introductory chapter where the background and justification of capital flows has been given. This chapter gives us a glimpse of the whole study design including the methodology. Liberalization led to greater capital mobility to all the Asian countries and so we are interested to explore more about capital flows. Some objectives are set based on the research questions. To fulfill the objectives, chapter outline has been made. In the second chapter, theoretical perspective of capital flows has been given on various issues related to capital flows. In this chapter a literature survey of existing studies on capital flows has been done and explored what has been the nature, causes and outcomes of capital flows and what kind of financial system and policies are the best suitable to reap the benefits of capital flows. Then, in the third chapter, analysis of surges of capital f lows into Asia has been given. Causes of Asian crisis, consequences, restructuring and improvement of the financial system under various programemes has been given. Average annual growth rate of FDI flows in Asia had been calculated and analyzed to know the surges of capital flows in different regions of Asia. In the fourth chapter, financial sector restructuring in India under various schemes has been given. With the report of Narsimham Committee in 1991, various reforms have been done in money market and capital market. The details of these reforms, different policies improvement in financial sector and their impact on different market indicators has been discussed in this chapter. A discussion of liberalization of the market for international trade and capital mobility in India has been elaborated in the fifth chapter. In this chapter, the trend, pattern and composition of capital flows in India has been analyzed. Percentage of source-wise and industry-wise capital flows in India has also been calculated and analyzed in this chapter. In the sixth chapter, background of capital flows in India, China and Malaysia has been given. Origin and starting of capital mobilization and changing trend of different capital flows in these countries have been analyzed in this chapter. A comparative analysis of trend and pattern of capital flows in India, China and Malaysia has been done in this chapter. A comparative analysis of the relationship between exchange rate and capital flows in India China and Malaysia has been done in chapter 7. For the purpose of empirical analysis to see the impact of net capital flows on real effective exchange rate with some other explanatory variables, OLS method of multivariate linear regression model has been used. Unit root test to fulfill the stationary condition of time series has been done based on three methods; one is ADF test, second is Phillip-Perron test and third is KPSS. A comparative analysis of capital flows and the behavior of real effective exchange rate have been done and then the management of capital in these three countries has been discussed. Conclusion and Policy Implications is the eighth chapter which includes the crux of the present study followed by Bibliography and Appendix. 1.5.1 Countries for the Study The countries for the study of capital flows are chosen from Asia. Selected countries are: 1. India 2. China 3. Malaysia 1.5.2 Data Sources The data for the present study has been taken from various secondary sources. The data sources which have been used in the present study are given below: 1. World Development Indicators (The World Bank). 2. International Debt Statistics (The World Bank). 3. International Financial Statistics (IMF). 4. World Economic Outlook (IMF). 5. Publications of Reserve Bank of India like: i. Report on Currency and Finance. ii. Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy. 6. UNCTAD database. 1 [1] Eswar S. Prasad and Raghuram G. Rajan, â€Å"A Pragmatic Approach to Capital Account Liberalization†, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 22, Number 3, Summer, 2008, pp. 150-153. [2] See Inci Otker Robe, Zbigniew Polanski, Bany Topf and David Vavra, â€Å"Coping with Capital Inflows: Experience of Selected European Countries†, IMF Working Paper, WP/07/190, 2007, pp. 7. [3] Linda M Koenig, â€Å"Capital Inflows and Policy Responses in the Asian Region†, IMF Working Paper, WP/96/25, 1996, p. 6. [4] Also see Calvo, Leiderman, and Reinhart, 1993. [5] Calvo, Izquierdo, and Talvi, have felicitously labeled this term, 2002, pp. 3-4

Three Types of Friends Essay -- essays research papers friendship rela

Through my experiences I have come to realize that there are basically three types of friends a person can have. There are friends that I call â€Å"sometimes† friends, these people appear to be your friend but only when you are face to face with them, and when you are not around them they act more like a foe. They are often referred to as two faced or a back stabber. These types of friends are not very reliable nor should they be trusted. Another type of friend a person can have, and the best kind, is a â€Å"true† friend. A true friend is someone you know you can always trust and rely on no matter what. The last type of friend is the â€Å"acquaintance†. These are the type of friends that you do not necessarily hate, but at the same time you do not divulge your personal information with this person, simply because you do not spend a great amount of time with the person and do not know them well. It may be hard to determine if someone that you call a friend is actually a â€Å"true† friend or a â€Å"sometimes† friend. They can be very deceitful and scandalous towards you at times. If you notice...

Mark Twains Pessimistic Views Exposed in The Adventures of Huckleberry

Mark Twain's Pessimistic Views Exposed in Huckleberry Finn      Ã‚   In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain simply wrote about a boy and the river. In doings so Twain presents the reader with his personal view of mankind, whether he wants to or not:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   will be shot. (2)    Possibly by giving us this warning Twain admits to the existence of a clear motive, morality, and a strong plot in his masterpiece. Nonetheless, Huckleberry Finn, through examples of hypocrisy, greed, violence, and racism, shows Twain's pessimistic view of society and corruption of the human race as a whole.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To understand the pessimism of the book, we must first understand Huck. Huck is a character though whose eyes we see the ugly truth about mankind. Huck is always on the run from people. In the beginning we see him living a prim and proper life with the widow. He is then abducted by his father, and for a time is relieved to get out of the moral trappings of the town, and live sloppily, doing whatever he wanted to do. "It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day." (24) After some time, and being unable to endure the abuse of his father, he runs away. Huck is as dissatisfied by one extreme as he is by the next. Huck   chooses not to take sides on any matter, but instead be indifferent towards it. Huck avoids moral decision making throughout the book as much as possible. In the end of the book Twain saves Huck... ...and subsequently the evil and corruption synonymous with it, must follow.    Works Cited Carey-Webb, Allen.   "The Pessimistic Huckleberry Finn."   English Journal   82   (November 1993):   22-34.   Clemens, Samuel.   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.   The Heath Anthology of American Literature.   Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2.   Lexington:   Heath, 1994.   236-419.   Hoffman, Daniel.   "Black Magic--and White--in Huckleberry Finn."   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:   An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism.   Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al.   2nd ed.   New York:   Norton, 1977.   423-436.   Kaplan, Justin.   "Born to Trouble:   One Hundred Years of Huckleberry Finn."   Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:   A Case Study in Critical Controversy.   Eds. Gerald Graff and James Phelan.   Boston:   St. Martin's, 1995.   348-359.     

Psychological gambling Essay

Abstract: Few studies have explored the relationship between gambling and health status. Both compulsive and pathological gambling are disorders related to obsession-compulsive disorder. The data supports the notion that gambling does affect with non-gambling health problems. The purpose of this article is to provide the information between gambling behaviors and substance use disorders, health associations, screening and treatment options for problem and pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is an addictive and stress proposing disorder. More research is needed to investigate directly the biological and health relations associated with the different types of gambling behaviors and to define the role for doctors or therapists in the prevention and treatment of problem and pathological gambling. There are many types of gambling that people indulge in today. People of all ages have been seduced by gambling. Gambling is done every day, so as it continues to grow, so does the debt of the American people. Attractions such as online casinos with jackpots equivalent to ten years salary and simple sports booking, makes it more common today than it was yesterday. Gambling is hard to resist because it offers a feeling of hope, and defines that thin line between reality and fantasy that ends with a mental payoff. The main question with this concern is; is it all about the money? It couldn’t be all about the money, unless the general public was extremely stupid. The odds of winning the lottery are lesser than the odds of someone being struck by lightning (1 in 649,739) or than someone being killed by a terrorist attack abroad (1 in 650,000). (7). It has been said, â€Å"If you bought 100 tickets a week your entire adult life, from the age of 18 to 75, you’d have a 1 percent chance of winning the lottery†. (7) Now, a number of psychological studies have been done which indicate that the desire to play the lottery has more to do with the inability or unconcern of a person to calculate the total sum of their own money over time spent of these dollar tickets. The hope and fantastic feeling they receive is worth more than the dollar they give the 7-11 clerk at that time. Casino games create a different sensation. Whether it be cards, slots, or dice games after being seated in front of it for an hour or two there will generally be a win, some kind of win. Usually that win is small. It serves the person, or the brain, with a sort of reward. The reward entices the person to want to continue their game so to get another reward (7). The basis for this affirmative award is biological. Research done at the Massachusetts General Hospital has showed similar brain activity induced by prize money to food and drug rewards. The scientists measuring this brain activity compared it with giving a cocaine addict an infusion of cocaine. (2) An experiment was set up wherein the brain activity of the subjects was measured while they gambled. â€Å"Each subject was offered one of three spinners: a ‘good spinner’ offered them a chance to earn $10, $2. 50, or nothing; an ‘intermediate spinner’ offered $2. 50, $0, or -$1. 50; and a ‘bad spinner’ let them win nothing or lose, -$1. 50 or -$6. † (3) The brain activity was measured with a high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging, otherwise known as an fMRI, while they were spinning for six seconds and after then after they had spun. The results showed that the brain activity proved to be strong, moderate, and low in accordance with the level of spinning – good, intermediate and bad. The proportions always demonstrated the expected brain activity. The scientists performing this experiment came to the conclusion that money serves as the same type of reward to humans as does drugs and food; it sets into motion a reward mechanism in the brain providing relative stimulus to the amount of reward or loss which is taking place. â€Å"The similarity suggests that a common brain circuitry is used for various types of rewards. â€Å"(3) Considering the conclusion of this experiment to be true, there still remains an unsettling question pertaining to gambling and brain circuitry. Why do some people gamble more than others? At first I searched for some demographic conclusions to support a hypothesis that some group of people gambled more than others. However, there simply isn’t much discrimination when it comes to gambling. The National Opinion Research Center, a government based study, showed that there is no gender gap in terms of gambling: the 1998 statistic showed 49% women and 51% men gamble in general. (1) The consensus showed that all different ages gamble. Some specifications were made like people between thirty and sixty tended to gamble with more money than the younger and older, but that seems natural because that range probably gains the most salary. It also specified that those under eighteen tended to play less in casino, lottery and horse races but that is because they were not allowed in. Thus, those under eighteen were showed to make more wagers outside of a gambling facility than the other age groups. Depending on the game, there seemed to be a pretty even distribution of race among gamblers. The bottom line being; the desire to gamble does not depend on any specific background or gender or age or culture. It depends on the human desire to gain monetary pleasure, to get something for little to nothing, to be rewarded via dollars rather than food or drugs. The demographic statistics and equalities listed above still do not account for why some crave gambling more than others. Distinctions have been made among gamblers. The categories are as follows: non-gambler, low-risk gambler, at-risk gambler, problem gambler and pathological gambler. (1) The desire to gamble becomes increasingly more prevalent and obsessive as the levels progress. A pathological gambler, according to the DSM-IV criteria is constantly preoccupied with gambling, increases the amounts of money spent over time on gambling so not to achieve a tolerance, cannot stop gambling, gambles as an escape, attempts to ‘break even’ after having lost money, lies constantly to friends and family about gambling, sometimes commits illegal acts to support gambling, risks significant relationships, jobs, or education for gambling, and uses the financial help of others to be ‘bailed out’ of some situation caused by gambling. (1) Why are these people so obsessed with gambling that it takes over their lives? It has been hypothesized that pathological gamblers have dysfunctional reward pathways. â€Å"When the pathways function correctly, one important result is a release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can stimulate pleasurable feelings. † Pathological gamblers have been proven to have lower activity in an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters. This may create a problem for serotonin distribution. Also, researchers have identified a greater amount of certain genetic configurations in pathological gamblers, a variation which may be responsible for the deficient reward pathway. (4) The medication prescribed to some of these pathological gamblers who were tested increased their serotonin levels and seemed to have positive effects in the way of their resisting the urge to gamble. Many equate the pathological desire to gamble with a problem in the decision-making area of the brain, a constant lapse in judgment so to speak. The areas of the brain associated with the decision-making process are the middle frontal, inferior frontal and orbital gyrus. (4) While this neurological analysis may offer some understanding to why people gamble for reward purposes, it does not explain the bigger relationship between human beings and gambling. Gambling does not necessarily need to involve money; it can instead be translated to a risk. People gamble everyday whether it be the tasting of a new food or skipping an important business meeting. It seems that gambling is a part of life necessary to perpetuate the human species. Diversification, a part of natural life, involves adapting to different environments and niches. Say a bee only acquired nutrients from one specific flower, never venturing out to samples other types of pollen, what would happen? Suppose one winter that specific type of flower failed to survive, or some sort of spontaneous extinction occurred, all the bees who fed off this flower would become extinct as well. The same sort of thing may occur if a person moved to a different country, wherein the food looked completely different. In order to stay alive, that person would have to take a chance on a new type of diet. Human beings, as well as a majority of the remaining Animal Kingdom are inclined to diversify and adapt to new surroundings in order to stay strong and able to perpetuate their species. The same notion of adaptation for survival applies to drastic temperature changes and the effect it has on the body. (5) â€Å"Although shell temperature is not regulated within narrow limits the way internal body temperature is, thermoregulatory responses do strongly affect the temperature of the shell, and especially its outermost layer, the skin. † The temperature of the environment is directly related to the thickness of this shell. If the shell is needed to conserve heat, it may expand to a several centimeters underneath the skin’s surface, however, if the environment is warm, then the shell will tend to only be about one centimeter thick. This shell of warmth protects people in the case that they wish to change environmental settings, or so the same species can survive in all different locations. The complex nature of the human body responds well to their desire to gamble, to diversify, to extend their minds and risk. Whether it be monetary, behavioral or just plain desire to risk, humans are drawn towards the new and the chancy.It is the danger of loss and the thrill of life that keeps us breathing. Works Consulted: 1)Alvarez,A. The Biggest Game in Town. New York: Chronicle Books, 2002. 2)Brunson,Doyle. Doyle Brunson’s Super System. Cardoza Pub, 1979. 3)Dostoeyevsky,Fyodor. The Gambler. New York: Viking Press, 1966. 4)http://www. norc. uchicago. edu/new/gamb-fin. htm 5)http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2001/05/010524062100. htm 6)http://www. sciam. com/article. cfm? articleID=0004400A-E6F5-1C5E-B882809EC588ED9F 7)http://www. gnxp. com/MT2/archives/001309. html 8)http://www. reflection-idea. com/psychics. html.