U.s. Foreign Policy During World War II Essay - 1357 Words

The turn of the twentieth century brought about changes in all aspects of American domestic society and especially in the course of U.S. Foreign Policy. The factors leading up to American involvement in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and in World War II, respectively, mark drastic shifts in domestic attitudes towards America’s role in the world. Ostensibly, the decisions to intervene in Cuba in 1898 and in Europe in 1917 were both products of aggressions against Americans at sea, endangered economic interests, and the fear of European encroachment upon the Western Hemisphere. Domestically, however, the hyper masculinity and expansionist fervor precipitating the U.S. decision to intervene in Cuba contrasts sharply with the reform-driven decision-making process which preceded U.S. entry into WWI. Both cases of military intervention constitute acts of imperialism, albeit in different senses, as the underlying goal of the United States’ 1898 intervention in Cuba was physi cal expansion, while America’s longstanding quest for an Ideological Empire was born with entrance into WWI. Indeed, contemporaries frequently pointed to violations of U.S. neutrality at sea as the most shocking hostility of belligerents. The sensationalist newspapers of the 1890s quickly published dramatized accounts of Spain’s alleged involvement in the sinking of the USS Maine, which resulted in the deaths of 261 American crewmembers. The battleship had been sent to Havana Harbor in order to monitor theShow MoreRelatedKorean War : The Cold War1598 Words   |  7 Pagesthat had already seen two appallingly destructive and costly World wars, just as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States broke due to their ideological differences after World War II, in the midst of the Cold War was the Korean War. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, a border between South and North Korea, to attack South Korea. The size of the war quickly grew as it began to involve countries like China, SovietRead Mo reThe War Of The Vietnam War1608 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States (U.S) government s case, this change was thrust upon them in the form of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam war forced the U.S’s hand in adopting a very aggressive form of foreign policy. The Vietnam war was highly controversial and unpopular with the American public. The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam war lasted from 1965-1972, and it was the first war to fight Guerilla fighters head on in the U.S. This pressured the U.S to adopt a very aggressive form of foreign policy to combatRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1122 Words   |  5 Pages The Cold War was a state of political hostility between the U.S and the Soviet bloc, the most powerful nations in the world. The two countries fought together as allies in World War II but toward the end of the War the two nations competing ideologies and visions of the post War prevented them from working together. The Cold War was by far the biggest threat to human existence the world has ever seen, although their was never any declaration of War between the two competing nations, the SovietRead MoreThe United States Foreign Policy1667 Words   |  7 PagesAs Kelly Anderson’s Foreign Policy A nalyst, the following memo will address three areas of the United States’ foreign policy. The U.S. has gone through may transition when it comes to its foreign policy. The United States has been an isolationist, neutralist, and internationalist country from the year it was founded to now. The executive branch and the president apply their power to influence and change the nation’s foreign policy. There are specific departments within the Executive Office of theRead MoreHispaniola Essay1135 Words   |  5 Pagesrevolution occurred. The U.S. navy landed sailors, while the commanding Admiral threatened to bombard the capital, Santo Domingo, unless the insurgents surrendered. During the revolution threat, the State Department worked out a deal in which the United States would control Santo Domingo’s tax collections and spending. Likewise, financial instability and political unrest forced the United States to send 2,000 marines to impose strict martial law on Haiti in the summer of 1915. During that period, SecretaryRead MoreThe Truman Doctrine1364 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Foreign Policy during the Cold War On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman defined United States foreign policy in the context of its new role as a world superpower. Many historians consider his speech to Congress as the words that officially started the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine was a major break from U.S. historical trends of isolationist foreign policy. His speech led to the Cold War policy of containment. Moreover, it served as a precedent for future U.S. policy of interventionismRead MoreThe Cold War During World War II854 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a major event in the U.S. and Soviet Union’s history. The main reason that these two countries entered into the Cold War after World War II was power. The USSR and United States had two very different perspectives on power coming out of World War II. This disagreement ultimately caused the Cold War. Russia’s perspective after World War II was influenced by Joseph Stalin. Stalin, the leader of the USSR at the time, was a merciless dictator. His main concern was maintaining power andRead MoreMilitary Strategy and Planning1649 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Part 1 Military theory after World War II drastically changed for two major reasons: the dropping of Atomic weapons on Japan and what would become known as the Cold War between the USSR and the West. Foreign policy, which became military policy, starting in 1947 is known as the Truman Doctrine. This began with U.S. support of Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent those countries from falling under Soviet influence. The policy was written as a response to the events that tookRead MoreIsolationism And The Great Depression And World War II1172 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the 1920s, the United States was believed to have followed a foreign policy of isolationism that led to the Great Depression and World W ar II. However, this is a historical misconception known as the myth of isolationism because the U.S. followed a foreign policy in the 1920s called independent internationalism, which was a new idea to promote economic diplomacy through peaceful relations and non-military intervention. In Jeremi Suri’s Opt-Ed article, Trump is repeating the isolationism thatRead MoreThe Negative Impacts Of Isolationism And Isolationism In America1716 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica has been seen as the world’s hero swooping in and saving the day from foreign bad guys, or at least that’s America sees itself as. To many other countries however America is often seen as the world’s bully or just a nuisance. The United States has had many positive impacts on the world and those seem to over shadow the large number of negative impacts it has imposed as well. The world has been changed by the U.S. in both positive and negative ways, and this is due to the alternating use of

Dr. John Michael Thomassen - 1163 Words

Dr. John Michael Thomassen is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in South Florida who frequently performs brow lifts (forehead lifts) for individuals residing in and around Fort Lauderdale, including Oakland Park. With a forehead lift, Dr. Thomassen can diminish the horizontal lines and sagging wrinkles that typically form on the forehead. After a brow lift, individuals enjoy a refreshed, more youthful appearance. What Can a Brow Lift with Dr. Thomassen Accomplish? A forehead lift is a surgical procedure that is designed to rejuvenate the upper portion of an individual’s face. Following a brow lift, patients enjoy a smooth, younger-looking forehead as well as more youthfully-contoured eyebrows and upper eyelids. Why†¦show more content†¦If you have allergies and/or a medical condition (such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension), be sure to tell Dr. Thomassen. In addition, please make a list of all your current medications, herbal supplements and vitamins to bring with you on the day of your consultation. Dr. Thomassen will take the time to assess your facial features. If he determines that a brow lift can accomplish the results you desire, he will recommend the forehead lift technique he believes will provide you with optimal results. As Dr. Thomassen creates your customized surgical treatment plan, he will take your hairline and hairstyle preferences into account. He does this to ensure any resulting scars remain well-hidden. Preparing for a Brow Lift in Fort Lauderdale, Near Oakland Park Preparing for your forehead lift includes reviewing Dr. Thomassen s pre- and post-operative instructions as well as asking any questions you have related to your upcoming procedure. To ensure a successful forehead lift procedure: Drink plenty of water during the days leading up to your surgery. If applicable, discontinue tobacco use for at least 6 weeks before your brow lift procedure. Limit your alcohol consumption and avoid taking certain medications. Make sure you fill all of your prescriptions before the day of your procedure. Arrange for transportation to and from your brow lift procedure near Oakland Park. Create yourself a recovery area at homeShow MoreRelatedDr. John Michael Thomassen s Office And Surgical Suite845 Words   |  4 PagesDr. John Michael Thomassen is a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in Fort Lauderdale. For more than 10 years he has been serving the residents in South Florida. Dr. Thomassen is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, as well as the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Thomassen Plastic Surgery in Fort Lauderdale To ensure that all of his patients receive the high quality care they deserve, Dr. Thomassen performsRead MoreFort Lauderdales Plastic And Reconstructive Surgeon1182 Words   |  5 PagesFort Lauderdale s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. John Michael Thomassen can use chin implants to increase the size of the chin or he can reduce the size and/or projection of a patient’s chin with a chin reduction surgery. With both of these procedures, Dr. Thomassen provides his patients with a natural-looking chin that is more proportionate to his or her other facial features. The Chin Plays an Important Role in the Proportions of the Face The chin greatly affects the overall appearanceRead MoreSurgery : A Plastic Surgery Procedure1165 Words   |  5 PagesBlepharoplasty is a plastic surgery procedure designed to address issues related to the eyelids. The type of eyelid surgery an individual undergoes depends on the issues that need to be addressed. The three Blepharoplasty procedures that Dr. John Michael Thomassen performs at his surgical suite in Fort Lauderdale, near Oakland Park, include: upper eyelid surgery, lower eyelid surgery as well as double eyelid surgery. What issues can Blepharoplasty address? Each eyelid surgery addresses problemsRead MoreSouth Florida Plastic And Reconstructive Surgeon Dr Essay1134 Words   |  5 Pagescontours of the face. A facelift (Rhytidectomy) is a procedure that is specifically designed to address these issues. South Florida Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. John Michael Thomassen regularly performs facelifts at his certified surgery suite in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., near Oakland Park. By performing a rhytidectomy, Dr. Thomassen can reduce the signs of aging as well as improve the overall appearance of an individual’s face and jawline. The Aging Process of the Face A variety of factors contributeRead MoreA Woman s Initial Breast Augmentation Revision Surgery973 Words   |  4 Pagesan acceptable outcome requires that a surgeon has knowledge related to the potential problems that could occur during any given procedure; furthermore, the surgeon needs to have access to the equipment necessary to diagnose and then treat patients. Dr. Thomassen’s surgical skills, knowledge, innovative equipment and dedication to providing his patients with the best results possible make him the perfect choice for women in and around Fort Lauderdale who are interested in having their initial BreastRead MoreDescription Of A Lower Rhytidectomy ( Neck Lift1018 Words   |  5 PagesA Lower Rhytidectomy (Neck Lift) is a surgical procedure designed to address signs of aging in the neck and jawline. Dr. John Michael Thomassen is a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon who performs Neck Lifts at his surgical suite in Fort Lauderdale. Reasons People Choose to Have a Neck Lift Individuals who notice that they have excessive wrinkling in the skin on their neck, a double chin, ‘turkey wattle’ and jowl lines, but do not feel they need a full facelift will sometimes choose

America’s Crossroads Free Essays

The fifty year span between 1870 and 1920 in United States history found our great, growing nation struggling with many economic, racial and social crisis. Rules were made and broken. Walls were built and torn down. We will write a custom essay sample on America’s Crossroads or any similar topic only for you Order Now Lines were drawn and crossed. With a huge cultural chasm yawning out across an invisible landscape, rocked on its foundations by a civil war, the United States of America stood at a crossroads, It was now entering uncharted territory. Would it let the torrent of differences and alienation between itself and its vanquished other half divide the nation forever? Or would it have the fortitude, forbearance, and mercy to begin the heart-rending task of putting the pieces back together again and truly becoming â€Å"one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all†? Though emotionally exhausted from its assuredly un-civil war, and except for the decimated South, the nations economic health was excellent. New opportunities abounded for the young and enterprising in the large cities that were growing ever larger thanks to the flood of immigrants searching for the American dream. And in this new post-Civil War era standards remained static in many areas, were raised in others, and certainly, most glaringly in the political-economic arena, fell in others. Great wealth, power, and prosperity accumulated quickly after the Civil War, and everyone wanted a hand in it. However, because standards were so lax in the political-economic area, a preoccupation with material and monetary gain increased. Men whose principal claim to this newfound wealth and power (characteristics certainly envied) was through corruption and ruthlessness. A good example of one of these men was â€Å"†¦ John D. Rockefeller in oil. He saw a marketplace of huge integrated companies, cooperating to avoid competition. The virtue of this new form of production, for Rockefeller, was its efficiency. Then he [Rockefeller] set out to eliminate competition: they could sell out to him at his price: they could become his agents; or they could be destroyed† (261 Carol Noble). Not just another term for â€Å"survival of the fittest†, efficiency and being efficient would revolutionize the industrial age, its people, and its culture. The humming and expanding continent, for all its corruption and crudities, embodied progress, and nothing would stand in its way. Rockefeller would go on to speak prophetically about the social changes to come: â€Å"The day of combination is here to stay. Individualism has gone, never to return† (261 Carol Noble). As individualism was being ground up and replaced under the heels of industrialism, another â€Å"-ism†, racism, and second-class citizenship towards immigrants, blacks, and anyone with a different religion, remained unchanged. People from all walks of life that had come to the land of opportunity were increasingly forced into working alongside one another. â€Å"Corporate leaders well understood and the exploited the ethnic groups within the labor force† (265 Carol Noble). Pitting blacks against whites, whites against whites, Swedes against Slovaks, and Catholics against Jews, the fat cat’s just sat back and laughed. â€Å"They deliberately worked to deepen resentment between them† (265 Carol Noble). This, to me, is a very repulsive side to the new industrial age and its efficiency. These so-called â€Å"leaders† exploited many honest, hardworking people because of their ethnicity, low-class, and ignorance. Spurred on by their greed, their bosses greed, and greedy human nature in general. Treating people like they were animals in search of the almighty buck. To a small degree in their defense, America had never been here before. It never had industries, corporations, and things of this nature. It now had large railroads connecting the nation to make â€Å"†¦ it possible for regional specialization to be linked to the national economy† (260 Carol Noble). This was all new and people took advantage of it like hogs to slop. No discipline, no planning or thinking ahead. It was all going to last forever is what they probably thought. However, one people, one race, had been here before. Subjected to unheard of treatment, domination, and abuse for the past four hundred and some odd years, African-Americans did not know what to do with their new found freedom. â€Å"This child race had received total guidance from the whites during the period of slavery† (252 Carol Noble). Though they were not considered slaves anymore, they might as well have been. Ostracized to a ridiculous extent in almost every conceivable area, blacks were still hated by southern whites like Adolph Hitler hated the Jews. â€Å"This crusading prejudice produced rigid forms of social segregation between 1890 and 1910† (254 Carol Noble). Many people thought segregation would work just fine. Many others did not. Among them were the ones who could actually do something about it †¦ the â€Å"leaders†. Many of them â€Å"†¦ advocated the deportation of blacks, [while] other northern leaders listened to more extreme proposals, such as â€Å"to emasculate the entire Negroe race† (255 Carol Noble). These prejudice men would roll over in their graves at the progress blacks would go on to make by the latter half of the twentieth century versus the late nineteenth century. Blacks were not going to be held down m, and the squashing of the individual who, in the words of Andrew Carnegie, didn’t have â€Å"the special talent required† to create and keep capitol (46 Kammen). A lot of these so-called â€Å"untalented† people were of course of the working class and the new efficiency invading the culture had them reeling. On top of all the myriad of changes and unstableness in the workplace was a new type of management by Frederick W. Taylor. â€Å"‘Taylorism’ became an international byword for social control and for programs designed to make men function like machines† (87 Kammen). Of course men are not like machines and so cannot function like them. Standards were not being raised in this critical backbone area of industry due to â€Å"Taylorism†, and labor America voiced it with â€Å"†¦ growing labor unrest and major strikes, especially in 1911-12† (87 Kammen). Workers, it turned out, had brains and wanted to use them. Many of the people that were working at the turn of the twentieth century were woman, as the new efficiency permeating society pushed them out of the home and into the work force. They also campaigned against inequality and male double-standards. Tired of staying at home anyway, women were becoming more outspoken and independent. â€Å"Increasing numbers of young women attended colleges, choosing to become teachers, librarians, and social workers† (242 Carol Noble). Chafing under restraint, women flexed their way into public life and changed the way they were viewed. In summary, change happens in all areas of life and at all times of life. It establishes itself as unpredictable, unreliable, maddening. Like the butterfly theory of flapping its wings in Tokyo and creating a rainstorm in Central Park, change is the weather of history. One thing influences another and another, producing good and bad. In life, human nature is the constant; it is what affects change. How to cite America’s Crossroads, Essay examples

Income - Poverty - and Health Insurance Coverage

Question: Discuss about the Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage. Answer: Introduction Even to the highly industrialized and economic powerhouses like America and Australia, healthcare provision and delivery has become a challenge. The two countries have used several strategies in attempting to curb the ever increasing cost of this essential service. To shift medical enrollees to health managed forums, the United States enacted the balanced budget act in 1997. In this legislation, there would be a gatekeeper physician who would reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary admissions and examinations. The enrollees realize a reduced out of pocket expenditure on medication (Luxford, Safran and Delbanco, 2011). On the other hand, Australia had for a long time provided a medical system to her citizens through the universal healthcare; they, however, changed when this costs could not be sustained. They then adopted the private healthcare system. The Australian philosophy is anchored on the fact that health services should be availed to all citizens regardless of the costs (Tilbu rt et al., 2013). Contrastingly, the threat of United States emphasizes on the fact that Citizens can access the service without having to entirely dependent on the government. However, the healthcare cost in the United States is continuously on the rise and consuming a generous chunk of the GDP. Given the recent escalation of cost in the health services, it has become a big business (Neumann et al.,, 2008). The government has the burden of having to fund approximately 65% of the country's healthcare budget. With the adoption of the Affordable Healthcare Act, this figure is expected to rise further as it approaches 2024 where it is projected to hit the 68% mark. As at 2013, the government spent $5,960 per capita on healthcare costs. This was the highest recorded globally (Raleigh et al., 2008). It even beat countries with the universal healthcare systems like United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Sweden. The perception that American health care system is predominantly private conflicts with the finding of how much the government spends on the healthcare system. This implied that they also paid the highest health-related taxes (Chassin, 2013). Sustaining healthcare programs like Medicaid and Medicare accounted for almost50% of the total government spending on health. Other overlooked funding expenditures include the outlay of the government for private health insurance coverage for the public employees. This amounted to 6.4% of the total spending, $188 billion. Another hidden expense is the subsidies the government provides to healthcare. This amounts to $294.9 billion, or 10% of the total spending on healthcare. The high costs are related to the expensive technological advancements that the health sector has adopted (Ahern et al., 2011). The expenditure has continuously increased at a rate greater than the economy has grown. In the 1960s, the healthcare spending was reasonably small and ranged from about 6% of the GDP (DeNavas-Walt, 2010). This high expenditure of GDP on healthcare has to be reduced if the country has to realize more growth. The government is consequently, contemplating on ways it could provide universal health care to reduce these costs. The high healthcare expenditure means a decrease in the national budget since funding for other programs have to be reduced (Weisfeld, 2011). At individual levels, more spending on healthcare means reduced expense on other things. For the employed, it means the employer is paying less as a result of the deductions. Moreover, most people cannot afford healthcare but still have to receive the service. Whichever way, this service must be paid for. This means that other people have to pay more to cover this. The 48million citizens in the United States do not have healthcare insurance, yet they have to be covered (Zimlichman et al., 2013). Different government levels including state and local fund the country's healthcare system. Private health arrangements for health insurance also support the same. Like in the United States, Medicare is funded and issued by the Australian government. This insurance scheme consists of three components. This includes medical services (incorporates fees to visit general and medical practitioners). Secondly, it includes patient pharmaceuticals prescription. The government funds a broad range of health services as the health facilities for the community, medical research, and health services for Straight Islander. Mental health services are also included together with other health related infrastructural development. The territorial governments are also responsible for delivering and managing public health services. Most healthcare practitioners and doctors are employed in private practice, and the government salaries fewer (Stiggelbout et al, 2012). In the 2011/2012 budget, the Australian government spent a total of $140.2 billion which reflected 9.5% of its budget. Compared to 1001/2002, this figure has increased by a factor of 1.7. Similar to the United States the healthcare is fast growing than the population and economic growth. Such growth of healthcare needs can be attributed to social factors like the continuously aging population, the increased incidences of disease and risk factors. Other factors such as increased personal income, economic trends together with technological advancements all play an integral role in the determination of income spent on health care services. This is a reflection of the intertwinement between the healthcare sector and the society. The country's philosophy is also built on the fact that a healthy nation is critical to personal and national prosperity and well-being (Neumann et al., 2008). Medicare gives an opportunity for the citizens to access subsidized medical services and free treatment to her citizens. It was introduced in 1984. Its primary objectives are to make healthcare services affordable and accessible to Australians. Furthermore, it seeks to provide a high quality of health care services. In its benefit schedule entails covering bills and expenses related to fees for the practitioners in the form of rebates. The benefits of Medicare are based on fee schedules set by the government with the consultation of medical professions. In other cases when the health insurance covers the medical expenses, for the case of private health services, Medicare caters for 75% of the required fee. When the services are to be provided out of the hospital, Medicare provides 100% of the benefits especially for the schedule for non-referred patients. This cover includes the fees for the nurses' items (Parekh and Barton, 2010). Medicare and prescription pharmaceuticals Under the medicines benefits scheme, Medicare also provides subsidies to prescription pharmaceuticals. This scheme allows the citizens only to pay for a portion of the drugs they buy in pharmacies. The scheme then covers the rest of the bill. The patients pay a varying amount of payments up to the maximum of $36.10 by general patients. Those with concession cards pay up to $5.90. The drugs that are not listed by the scheme have to be fully paid for by the customer. Furthermore, the state covers the costs of medicines that are to be provided in public hospitals (N.C.H.S, United States, 2013). There is also another scheme for repatriation that includes the pharmaceuticals provided to war veterans, their widows, and other dependants. Other programs are also available that targets the disadvantaged in the community. People living in the rural and remote regions may be included. There is also a package of $805 million provided for chronic disease by the government and targets at reducing and preventing the occurrence of chronic illnesses among the Australian population (N.C.H.S, United States, 2013). Limited healthcare access in the rural areas The implementation of health programs should be effective in meeting their goals with the efficient resource use. The target beneficiaries should also receive these services in an equitable manner. Achieving all the principles at one go may be tricky. Equity, however, is integral for sustainability of programs (Gulliford and Morgan, 2013). Healthcare access is varied across the several populations of United States. There is a disparity in health care service provision. The difference majorly occurs due to different reasons. The rural areas in the country specifically have limited access to healthcare. They cannot access, dental care, behavioral health, and emergency services. Accessing these services is important for the general rural population regarding the general physical and mental health. Disease prevention is also critical to the rural people. Improving access to health services would also mean early detection and treatment of illnesses. For example, the earlier cancer is diag nosed, the better regarding cure possibility. All these will be under the umbrella of increasing life expectancy (Gulliford and Morgan, 2013). Residents of rural areas are often limited to getting access to the healthcare they may need. This implies that improving health services would mean adequate healthcare services availed promptly. Most people in the rural areas lack insurance for health covers. About 23% of nonelderly residents of the rural America were not insured. Their counterparts in the urban areas recorded a slightly lower figure of 21%. In the case of affordable healthcare access, more citizens in the countryside were hence eligible compared to those in the urban areas. Most rural residents works in the low-paying sectors hence are not able to afford the health insurance. This limits their access to these services. Moreover, there are also very few health providers who make their services affordable and still make it to the rural areas (Barker, Gout and Crowe, 2011). In particular, the services that would not be accessed by these people would include; Obstetric services; since the 1980s, there have been a continuously reduced obstetric services in the rural areas. This was attributed to the reduced number of hospitals and specifically those providing obstetric services. In fact, less than half of rural women live in areas less than a 30-minute drive from the nearest point of accessing prenatal services. Mental health services; scarcity of specialists in the rural areas offering mental health services makes it difficult for this service to be accessed by the rural residents. As a result, this service is increasingly being provided by the telehealth. This means the citizens to provide these services in schools. This was found to be effective and efficient. Dental health services; since the oral health affects the ability of an individual to perform in other activities, dental services are critical for them. Most insurances coverage does not entail dental health; hence the proportion rural residents who can receive dental services are limited. These regions also lack qualified dental professionals (Luxford, Safran and Delbanco, 2011). Workforce shortage; in most cases, lack of health professionals can prevent the supply of services. In 2014, 60% of areas marked for low health professional numbers were the countryside. These challenges could be addressed through partnering with other healthcare units. Recruitment and retention of these service providers could serve to reduce these shortages. The pay and allowances for those professionals working in these areas could encourage them to work in such environments (Fitzpatrick et al., 2004). The status of health insurance; the individuals without health insurance cannot access medical service unless at a higher cost typically not affordable by the rural community. Most of the rural communities cannot afford such covers compared to their urban counterparts. Such individuals are forced to forego medical services due to it not being affordable. The proportions of low-income earners in the rural areas are also lower than those in the urban areas. 7% of rural residents live in areas, not in access to Medicaid. This further limits the affordability of healthcare insurance scope (Barker, Gout and Crowe, 2011). Transportation and distance; to access health care services, those living in rural areas might be compelled to travel longer distances especially the care that would need special professions. This is because these specialists are often far away. The special facilities are also located not within their productive. This might compel them to have to travel longer distances thereby wasting time and money. Emergency services might also not be addressed in time. Another key challenge is transportation. The rural areas lack public transit that would carry patients to hospitals. The chronic conditions by the older adults in the rural may call for frequent and multiple visits (Chassin, 2013). Privacy concern and social stigma; there is little anonymity in the countryside; social factors may hinder access to healthcare. The residence may show reluctance to seeking services related to sexual health, mental health or pregnancy issues due to privacy. These concerns may stem from their personal relationships with the healthcare providers. Poor Health Literacy; this affects the ability of a patient to comprehend health-related information from the providers. In the rural areas, there are lower education levels and higher levels of poverty. This has a positive correlation with health illiteracy (Laditka and Probst, 2009). Comparison of the United States and Australian health care system In cases of emergency, it may not be fair to ask a patient to pay $7 for admission. The patient should be entitled to a free medical care in case they need it. Currently, Australian patients pay nothing to see their health providers. It is argued that the treatment cost is made higher out of control for the Australian government and patients have to be charged something to reduce this burden on the government and keep the healthcare sustainable. Compared to the United States which sought to reduce the admission and examination costs for minor conditions, the Australian emergency rooms in hospitals are filled with patients with minor complications such fees have been argued to be unfair on moral grounds (Squires , 2012).The argument is that Australians should continue the enjoyment of not having to worry about payment when they are in need of emergency services (Armstrong et al., 2007). The United States can have some lessons to learn from this different model in Australia. Both systems have undergone tremendous changes since time immemorial. The higher costs have been the primary reasons for changes in the sector. Changes have occurred in several dimensions including legislative and funding. In Australia, the national system changed to the private system then reverted to the national system. Today, Australia is based on the universal healthcare system which is known as Medicare. This system was returned in 1984. To alleviate the chances of catastrophic losses, the government maintains that those receiving a certain threshold of income maintain health insurance (Armstrong et al., 2007). As opposed to the United States which adopts the system of market justice, the Australian system is anchored on social justice. The Australian system is based on the fact that every citizen should have access to basic health care. It even attempts to find ways of incorporating the Australians of aboriginal origin. The ministry of health and aging holds the docket for health service delivery. The department holds a central point of distribution of services. As opposed to the United States which spends a bigger chunk of its GDP on healthcare provision, Australia spends a reasonably manageable amount of 9.1%. Since then the country has the universal system, the government is targeting to implement legislations as a means of managing the ever increasing costs. The American health sector is technologically advanced compared to those in most parts of the world (Ahern et al., 2011). In fact, other countries rely on the United States for the development of healthcare technology. In Australia, citizens pay to see a general practitioner. 50% of this amount can be claimed from the medical insurance. Ambulances are however not considered in the Medicare scheme. Problem facing health care in the United States United State has substantially been losing its citizens either by errors, accidents or terrible infections. Many of those people who are looking after the patients either by paying their bills in hospitals or paying for their care lose hope. Many births in the United States lack a particular medical schedule hence many women deliver unsafely thereby bring out major problems to the state (Parekh and Barton, 2010). There is the great shortage of doctors. There are no enough physicians in the states hence the number is estimated to be low by tens of thousands of doctors. This will be a great challenge to the United States because the government does not employ other doctors while the current ones are getting aged and the care demand also increases. To avoid this, the policy makers should know how they could conquer this problem. The state will need more than 61700 doctors by 2025 because of the shortage of specialists (Feczko, 2008). However, the nation should start to train more doctors for the patients to receive special needs they require. The main issue is that in the country there are many aged people and they need special care, this means that the state needs primary care physicians (Petterson et al., 2012). Avoidable harms are striking patients; this is one of the most common problems that face the Health Care in United state. An example is a Medicare patient who is admitted to an individual hospital suffers from certain harm during his or her stay. An example of the damage is like someone having a heart attack; would that person just enter to his or her car and drive? The early deliverance of babies is of great effect to the newborns and their mothers. Those babies who are born between 37-39 weeks are at high risk of dying. They are also easily attacked by certain harms like respiratory problems hence end up being admitted to NICU (Levay and Waks, 2009). Lack of transparency; the medical society and the national health organization had declared strict warnings to those women who will be found delivering babies before the appropriate time (Levay and Waks, 2009). Despite these warnings, the percentage of the early deliverance has greatly increased a report from a non-governmental organization called The Leapfrog Group. This voluntary survey was done with 800 hospitals that provided this data willingly. One of the biggest hospitals in the United States has tried to practice this transparency. They offered to provide physicians who treated the patients in a right way, and the patients were well satisfied (Sinaiko and Rosenthal, 2011). In conclusion, to reduce these problems, the number of training institutions of doctors should be increased by building more slots. The sector should also employ more professionals who can appropriately fill the gap. The government should ensure that he quality of the health care increases. The policymakers, the advocate and the department of human and health services should come in and declare the early deliverance as the top emerging issue. These should also be proposed by regional coalitions and end the practice. Innovations and creativity are needed mostly to better the use of technology (Chassin, 2013).Teamwork should also be considered hence the nurses, dentist and other medical professionals should hold their hands together as medical schools and teaching hospitals are built. In general, the state should be able to detect the risks its patients can undergo. In addition to this, the state should also help to increase the patient safety; this reduces the risk. The hospitals in t he states have successfully expanded the program of the transparency beyond the clinics to the specialists (Shi and Singh, 2014). Reference Ahern, D. K., Woods, S. S., Lightowler, M. C., Finley, S. W., Houston, T. K. (2011). The promise of and the potential for patient-facing technologies to enable meaningful use.American journal of preventive medicine,40(5), S162-S172. Armstrong, B. K., Gillespie, J. A., Leeder, S. R., Rubin, G. L., Russell, L. M. (2007). Challenges in health and health care for Australia.Medical Journal of Australia,187(9), 485. Barker, L. A., Gout, B. S., Crowe, T. C. (2011). Hospital malnutrition: prevalence, identification and impact on patients and the healthcare system.International journal of environmental research and public health,8(2), 514-527. Chassin, M. R. (2013). Improving the quality of health care: whats taking so long?.Health Affairs,32(10), 1761-1765. DeNavas-Walt, C. (2010).Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States (2005). DIANE Publishing. Feczko, J. M. (2008). Dear CME/CE Provider, Pfizer today announced changes in the way we support continuing medical education/continuing education (CME/CE) for US healthcare professionals. First, effective immediately, Pfizer is eliminating all direct funding for CME/CE programs by commercial providers including medical education and communication companies (MECCs). Fitzpatrick, A. L., Powe, N. R., Cooper, L. S., Ives, D. G., Robbins, J. A. (2004). Barriers to health care access among the elderly and who perceives them.American Journal of Public Health,94(10), 1788-1794. Gulliford, M., Morgan, M. (Eds.). (2013).Access to health care. Routledge. Laditka, J. N., Laditka, S. B., Probst, J. C. (2009). Health care access in rural areas: evidence that hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions in the United States may increase with the level of rurality.Health place,15(3), 761-770. Levay, C., Waks, C. (2009). Professions and the pursuit of transparency in healthcare: two cases of soft autonomy.Organization studies,30(5), 509-527. Luxford, K., Safran, D. G., Delbanco, T. (2011). Promoting patient-centered care: a qualitative study of facilitators and barriers in healthcare organizations with a reputation for improving the patient experience.International Journal for Quality in Health Care, mzr024. National Center for Health Statistics (US. (2013). Health, United States, 2012: With special feature on emergency care. National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, Preventi (Eds.). (2015).Health, United States, 2013, with special feature on prescription drugs. Government Printing Office. Neumann, P. J., Palmer, J. A., Daniels, N., Quigley, K., Gold, M. R., Chao, S. (2008). A strategic plan for integrating cost-effectiveness analysis into the US healthcare system.The American journal of managed care,14(4), 185-188. Parekh, A. K., Barton, M. B. (2010). The challenge of multiple comorbidity for the US health care system.Jama,303(13), 1303-1304. Petterson, S. M., Liaw, W. R., Phillips, R. L., Rabin, D. L., Meyers, D. S., Bazemore, A. W. (2012). Projecting US primary care physician workforce needs: 2010-2025.The Annals of Family Medicine,10(6), 503-509.+ Raleigh, V. S., Cooper, J., Bremner, S. A., Scobie, S. (2008). Patient safety indicators for England from hospital administrative data: case-control analysis and comparison with US data.Bmj,337, a1702. Shi, L., Singh, D. A. (2014).Delivering health care in America. Jones Bartlett Learning. Sinaiko, A. D., Rosenthal, M. B. (2011). Increased price transparency in health carechallenges and potential effects.New England Journal of Medicine,364(10), 891-894. Squires, D. A. (2012). Explaining high health care spending in the United States: an international comparison of supply, utilization, prices, and quality.Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund),10, 1-14. Stiggelbout, A. M., Van der Weijden, T., De Wit, M. P., Frosch, D., Lgar, F., Montori, V. M., ... Elwyn, G. (2012). Shared decision making: really putting patients at the centre of healthcare.Bmj,344(S 28). Tilburt, J. C., Wynia, M. K., Sheeler, R. D., Thorsteinsdottir, B., James, K. M., Egginton, J. S., ... Goold, S. D. (2013). Views of US physicians about controlling health care costs.Jama,310(4), 380-389. Weisfeld, V. D. (2011).Jonas and Kovner's health care delivery in the United States. A. R. Kovner, J. R. Knickman (Eds.). Springer Publishing Company. Zimlichman, E., Henderson, D., Tamir, O., Franz, C., Song, P., Yamin, C. K., ... Bates, D. W. (2013). Health careassociated infections: a meta-analysis of costs and financial impact on the US health care system.JAMA internal medicine,173(22), 2039-2046.

When someone mentions the Civil Rights Movement th Essay Example For Students

When someone mentions the Civil Rights Movement th Essay ey probably first think of the non-violent demonstrations such as Rosa Parks famous bus ride or the March on Washington DC. However, the movement goes back further than that, to the early 1700s when the first anti-slavery tract was published. It has spanned many years of struggle, from then until present day, with many blacks and many whites fighting to break segregation in America, the land of freedom. If there had been no discrimination in the work-place, the social and economic condition of the Negro would have been remarkably different. Although they would have certainly been far from equal, they would have had a better foothold on their future. We will write a custom essay on When someone mentions the Civil Rights Movement th specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The blacks were given jobs as janitors in the buildings of white stock brokers and lawyers. In 1896, when Homer Plessy was arrested for riding in a white railroad car after he purchased a first-class ticket, he started the spark that gave us separate but equal in America. When he went to the Supreme Court against this arrest, things began to change. It gave blacks equality, but not really. For example, there were black and white pools, usually the black pool was unkempt; there were black and white restrooms, usually the black restroom was never cleaned; there was black and white everything, with the black half being downgraded significantly from the white half. The Supreme Court ruling in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education case brought a whole new aspect of segregation to light. It gave the movement the necessary motion to advance in its struggle. The Court decided that it was within the Constitution that a black person was to get an education at a white school, or any school for that matter. Up until this court case, segregation was legal, in the broadest sense of the word. However, after this case, the entire outlook on racial segregation was rehashed. For many, this was the break they were looking for, while for others it was a step back. The first day that Linda Brown attended her new school, the National Guard was on-hand to keep the peace because many white parents did not want their children attending the same school as a black child. Another event that contributed to the movement was the boycott of the Montgomery bus system. It strengthened the student involvement in the movement and also gave many blacks a non-violent method to fight racial segregation. It was a combination of nonviolence and legal footwork that was to distinguish the official Alabama response to the movement in the fifties and sixties. There was one other major event that was part of the Civil Rights movement, the March on Washington DC. This was primarily a demonstration for the support of the Civil Rights bills that were being enacted. It was also a march for better and more jobs and against the injustices that were still present in the Southern states. This march brought forth over 200,000 men and women to the Lincoln Memorial to hear another heart-felt speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. about his feeling on the entire movement. In his historic speech, Mr. King proclaimed that he had a dream and that even one day the state of Alabama will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. Mr. King also likened the words of the Constitution to a promissory note that America sent to the colored people but came back marked insufficient funds. The speech was meant to give hope and a light to the people he represented. He wanted to change the way that the world looked at not only the blacks and whites, but also Jews and Gentiles and Catholics and Protestants as well. All of these events, including many others, were an integral part of the Civil Rights movement. Many groups, including the SNCC, CUCRL, NAACP and CORE, and individuals joined in the modern-day crusade to end racial segregation. Even though the courts ended segregation in 1954, everything was still the same. .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .postImageUrl , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:hover , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:visited , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:active { border:0!important; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:active , .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05 .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufc418f0aa3d4deffef25544db406bf05:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Book Report On Thomas Jefferson (1066 words) Essay Separate but equal was never over, as we can see today, and it .

Islam and the West essays

Islam and the West essays One of the most significant ways the world has changed since the terrible crime of September 11 has been a new rise of an ugly strain of Islamophobia throughout the Western world. Amid the terrible agony of the recent terror attack in Bali, it is easy to be tempted, once again, by angry thoughts. The pattern is there: from the horror of 9/11, to the suicide/homicide bombings in Israel, to the flaming frontiers of Albania, Bosnia, Chechnya or Kashmir, all the way down to the recent brutal hostage-taking and killings in a Moscow theater, it is in the name of Islam that innocent people have fallen victim to hideous terrorism and unthinkable cruelty. It is, therefore, well within reason to raise questions as to the very nature of Islam, and almost plausible to see everything in terms of an inevitable clash between "our" world and "theirs." It is plausible, but ultimately wrong. According to Karen Armstrong , the Western world has always had a very unbalanced and negative view of Islam, dating back as early as the twelfth century. At that time Europeans knew very little about Muslims, and began to cultivate a highly distorted portrait of Islam. The reality was very different, in fact Islam began with a very positive message, where respect and freedom were some of the fundamental principles. It was only many years later that the religion was hijacked by old patriarchal attitudes, but the Koran still condemns violence and aggressive warfare, and Muslims are commanded by God to respect everyone, since we all share the same beliefs and the same God. To understand the terrorist attacks we have witnessed recently in many places, we have to bear in mind that what we see is not so much "Islam" mobilized to fight against "the West," but a civilization in severe internal crisis. There are rising movements in Islam, the so-called "fundamentalists, but they do not represent Islam, or even the majority of Muslims. Isl ...

Use of IT in the Construction Industry Research Paper

Use of IT in the Construction Industry - Research Paper Example Most businesses have switched over to IT enabled communication and sharing of Information and taken advantage of the new software available through IT for managing their work. Relatively, the Construction Industry had been lagging behind others in adopting these innovations in management. However the industry is making up for its late entry by accelerating the rate of adoption of IT in their work. 1.1 Statement of purpose This paper aims at exploring of importance of IT in the construction industry, and for this purpose, the significant applications of IT utilized by the construction industry are reviewed. Further, the challenges posed by the adoption of these IT technologies are studied in brief followed by suggestions for the future. 1.2 Importance of IT in the Construction Industry The association between design and construction in the industry is of significant interest to the study. Design and Construction personnel’s in an integrated team rely heavily on real time and ra pid exchange of information during the execution phase. Also, the project construction team available on-site faces many challenges with regards to proper information management, like documentation and record keeping. Many I.T. innovations have become available which facilitate such rapid exchange of information. These technologies can: Provide current updated drawings and related documents to every member of the team, thus reducing the chances of errors and eliminating the need for re-working. Reduce the time involved in the consultation and approval process through real time transmission of drawings and documents Facilitate communication of changes on real-time basis during design and construction phases of the Project. Maintain all past and current drawings and files in chronological... Today Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management are heavily dependent upon I.T. for their mutual interaction as well as for own functions. Innovations in technology that helps sharing and transmitting data have brought about major changes in the industry through research and development in the areas of linking and sharing of information, (Pena-Mora, Vadhavkar, Perkins, and Weber, 1999). Interoperability is defined as the capacity for making the information flow from one point to other. Development and use of standardized information structure form the foundation on which Interoperability is based. For a highly fragmented industry like Construction (AEC/FM), the emerging inter-operability will hinge on web-based collaboration. The following section presents a study on the topic of web based systems and their utility in the industry. Most of the evolution of Electronic Data Interchange had emerged from internal needs of organizations. Naturally, the software pos ed problems and lacked effectiveness when applied to inter—organizational exchange needs of the Construction Projects. The advances in Web-based exchange of information, currently applied to the Industry, facilitates the exchange of documents as also the sharing of construction data among participants. Its versatility allows documents to be created, dispatched and received, stored and removed through the medium of the Web. Web based systems offer the use and application of XML for documentation requirements.

Whistle Blower Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Whistle Blower Articles - Essay Example The case had sparked enormous doubt among the public towards hospitals and the credibility of medical practitioners. The case was an eye-opener to the extent of extortion occurring at local hospitals and the perennial risk incurred by patients undergoing unnecessary surgeries and admission. According to Elin Baklid-Kunz, the hospital allegedly admitted thousands of patients unnecessarily between year 2000 and 2011. Her position as director of physical services enabled her to expose the compensation agreements to doctors that violated kickback laws. Additionally, 90% of all the spinal fusion procedures conducted were unnecessary, hence the doctors did not value the patients’ safety (Orlando Sentinel, 2013). On a positive note, the large remuneration of Baklid-Kunz and also the whistleblower protection laws encourages more whistle-blowers to come out and reduce fraudulent activities in organizations both government and private. According to (Turner, 2014) whistle-blowing protection laws such as the whistle-blowing protection Act and the Ethics in Government Act guarantee the freedom of speech for workers. An piece by R. Robin McDonald, on the month of March 12, 2014, the lead attorney Marlan Wilbanks indicates that whistleblowers can claim for over 25% of what the government receives as compensation. However, the majority of whistle-blowers receives over 16.5% of the compensation. Baklid-Kunz won 20 million dollars that were 25% of the government compensation. She received her share under the provisions of the Federal False claim Act. The Act encourages private citizens to bring information in the structure of a civil action aligned with the company suspected of fraud. The attorneys went on and litigated against Halifax on the allegations that the hospital unlawfully boosted their revenue at the expense of the Medicare program by admitting patients unnecessarily for

Discuss your professional objectives, both long & short term, and Essay

Discuss your professional objectives, both long & short term, and indicate how your past experinces have contributed to the definitions of those objectives. why - Essay Example I also took a trading course in Kuwait Stock exchange as I am now trading in the Stock Market as a hobby. Five years working is a live stock market is not an easy job. Faith also led me to becoming a Senior Accountant in Livestock Transport and trading Co. When I left the company and started working in Tandeem Investment Company, where I am still currently connected, I had the privilege of becoming the Senior Settlement Officer. My exposure in the field helped me achieve my goals and objectives. I also believe that these experiences contributed to my objectives and molded me well and taught me well throughout the course of my career. One day, through hard work, dedication and perseverance and with my qualifications I would want to render my services and become a Manager or a Director of the company. I want to share my talent, efficiency and skills in a more critical and challenging role. I would also want to mature professionally and personally to become more independent for me to be an effective leader. These are my long-term career objectives. Furthermore, as a Manager, I want to moti vate and lead people also to become better persons and future leaders. My short-term objective is to continue my studies in MBA. Professionals like me would always seek for self-advancement. I am the type of person that doesn’t want to be stagnated in one area and I want explore more avenues for learning. Learning is an unending cycle. I am confident that this is the opportunity that will allow me to achieve all my dreams and ambitions. Achieving all of these is not just success for me. It would be a fulfillment and a blessing at the same time. Villarico, Rhia. â€Å"Discuss your professional Objectives† Online Posting. 26 March 2006. Academia-Research-Freelance Writing-Current Order Review. 26 March 2006.

The Swot Analysis Of Burma Country

The Swot Analysis Of Burma Country Burma is situated in Southeast Asia and is bordered on the north and north-east by China, on the east and south-east by Laos and Thailand, on the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal and on the west by Bangladesh and India. It is located between latitudes 09 32N and 28 31N and longitudes 92 10E and 101 11E. The civilization in Burma started in the 1st Century. The first Empire was established in 11th Century in the Pyu Kingdoms. The second Empire was established in the mid of 16th Century by King Bayintnaung. The third and the last Empire was established in 1752 by King Alaungpaya. In the 19th Century, Burma was invaded by British. During the Second World War, Burma was taken over by Japanese for almost three years. Burma developed as a sovereign state on 4th January, 1948 named as the Union of Burma. Sao Shwe Thaik was the first president and U Nu was its first Prime Minister. Burma became an independent country, after the elections held in 2010, named as the union of Burma. At present, the president of Burma is Thein Sein. India Burma Relations India Burma relations initiated from the past history, ethical, cultural religious bonding. The relations got stronger after the visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1987. Many deals pleasing bilateral cooperation have been noticed between the two countries. India provided help during the cataclysmic cyclone Nargis in Burma in May 2008 and also during many earthquakes in March 2011. Major Indian Projects in Burma The Government of India has occupied itself in many infrastructural non-infrastructural projects in Burma. ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), GAIL ESSAR have been contributors in the energy sector in Burma. The Government of India also helped TATA Motors financially while investing in a heavy turbo-truck assembly plant which was started on 31st December, 2010. India also helped in the reconstruction of many schools which were damaged during the earthquake in Burma in March 2011. Bilateral Trade India-Burma India normally imports agricultural items like pulses, beans forest based products from Burma. India mainly exports raw semi-finished steel pharmaceuticals to Burma. Bilateral Trade was US$ 12.4 million in 1980-81 US$ 1070.88 million in 2010-11 which is almost 86 times more. A table summarizing the bilateral relations is as follows: Cooperation between India and Burma in the regional / Sub-regional Context ASEAN: Burma became a member of ASEAN in July 1997. Burma acts as a bridge between India ASEAN as ASEAN India have a common land border. BIMSTEC: Burma became a member of BIMSTEC in December 1997. Burma trades with India in the BIMSTEC region. The 13th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Burma in January 2011. MGC: Burma is a member of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) since its incorporation in November 2000. MGC was incorporated for cooperation in the fields of tourism, education, culture, transport communication. SAARC: Burma became the observer in SAARC in August 2008. Key cities in Burma The following are key cities of Burma as under: Yangon Yangon is the largest city and also former capital of the Burma. It is also known as Rangoonis. Yangon is situated in lower Burma at the junction of the Yangon and Bago Rivers. As per the data of 2011 approx. population is 44, 77,638. Yangon is the major commercial hub in Burma. Mandalay Mandalay is the 2nd largest city and also former capital of Burma. Mandalay is situated in the central dry zone of Burma by the Irrawaddy River at North. As per the data of 2011 approx. population is 12, 08,099. Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Burma. Nay Pyi Taw Nay Pyi Taw is the 3rd largest city and capital of Burma. The Nay Pyi Taw as a capital of Burma declared on 27 Mar, 2006, Burmese Armed Forces Day. As per the data of 2011 approx. population is 9, 25,000. Mawlamyaing The population of Mawlamyaing is 4, 38,861 and largest city of Mon State, Burma, and is the main trading centre and seaport in south-eastern Burma. Mawlamyaing located south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin River. Taunggyi The population of Taunggyi is 1, 60,115 and capital city of Shan State, Burma. The name Taunggyi means Big Mountain in the Burmese language. RESOURCE ACCOUNTING ENVIRONMENT STATISTIC NATURAL RESOURCES Burmas people dependent on the natural resources for their livelihoods traditionally maintained the natural resource management there stability. Burma is also rich for their natural resources like petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten. Lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower. Burma is also fames for their hardwoods. According to the most recent UN World Development Report, Myanmar has an estimated natural Myanmar forest area of 43% down from 12% from 10 years ago, and is ranked 33rd among the worlds top 100 countries. Biodiversity:- According to the report, Burma has unparalleled large amount of animal and plant life. Almost all of the country is located inside the indo Burma biodiversity hotspot and one of the worlds 34 richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life as identified by Conservation International. Since it still houses a wide array of plant and animal species already geographically extinct in neighbouring states, Burma is a country of particular concern in regards to biodiversity conservation in the Southeast Asia region. Forests:- Burma is home to Asias most large area in whole tropical forest ecosystems. May different forest ecosystem exist in Burma like delta mangroves, lowland tropical reain forest in Tennasserim division, teak forests, semi deciduous forest further north and sub alpine in northern kachin state among others. Burma prossesses the worlds only remaining golden teak forest. However all these forest system are in danger most of this closed forest is found in ethnic border region like Karen state karenni state and Tennasserim Division along the Thailand border, Kachin State along the Yunnan, China border, Arakan State along the Bangladesh border, and Sagging Division next to northeast India. Coastal area:- Burma has 2832 k.m. Long coastline larger from the country is exact west to southeast form the way of Bengal to Andaman Sea with this stretch alluvial huts and sheltered muddy area are home to mangrove trees and shrubs. Keystone protect coastal regions from the impacts of storms and also serve like habitat to crawfish, shrimp, crops and numerous other aquatic animal on other side fish and other aquatic foods, communities collect non timber forest product like wild fruits and vegetables from mangroves. Watersheds and freshwater sources:- Burma is in main five rivers. Its name is Irrawaddy, the Chindwin, The Salween, the Sittaung and the Tenasserim, endangered species in a Irrawaddy dolphin and blyths river frog can be found in some of these waterways. And other rivers are like the kaladan its runs from Mizoram, an India through chiniand and Arakan and the Mekong its from the border between shan stet and Lao PDR. Regional and international investors take notice for Burma. Its a plentiful water sources and both for hydropower potential as well as irrigated agriculture. Minerals:- Burma is rich mineral resource like tungsten, tin, zinc, silver, copper, lead, coal, goal, and industrial minerals. Antimony, limestone, and marble deposits also dot the landscape. Gemstones like diamonds, rubies, jade, and sapphires can also be found in Burma. Burma is most famous for its high quality rubies and jadeite. It is hard to track small scale gem businesses and estimate the value of gem trade in Burma, however, according to industry estimates, Burma accounts for more than 90 percent of global trade of rubies by value. Oil and Gas The first foreign investment project after 1988 when the government began to partially liberalize the economy was the development of the Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea and the construction of a gas pipeline through ceasefire and conflict areas in Mon State and Tenasserim Division in eastern Burma. In 2007, Soe Myint, the Director-General of Planning for Burmas Energy Ministry, stated that the country had more than 500 million barrels of onshore oil reserves, with another 100 million offshore. That same year nine foreign oil companies were exploring for new oil deposits, increasing output from older fields, and attempting to restart extraction on previously shut down fields on 16 onshore blocks. In regards to natural gas, according to British Petroleums 2010 Statistical Review of World Energy, at the end of 2009, Burmas proven gas reserves stood at 20.1 trillion cubic feet, or 0.57 trillion cubic meters, roughly 0.3 percent of the worlds total gas reserves. The CIA World Fact book cites Burmas gas reserves at only 283.2 billion cubic meters as of the beginning of 2010, but the actual proven reserves are likely higher than cited by both sources due to recent onshore gas discoveries. GEOGRAPHY The Union of Burma is geographically situated in Southeast Asia between latitudes 09 degrees 32 min N and 28 degrees 31 min N and longitudes 92 degrees 10 min E and 101 degrees 11 min E. Burma geography area covered is 677000 square kilometres. There are also divided in two part like west east, north south they using the area 936 kilometres 7 2051 kilometres respectively. In Burma touch the West and northwest borders on Bangladesh India. In the North and Northeast is China and Laos and in the East Thailand, all direct neighbors of the country and sea. In Burma 2000 kilometers 1450 kilomerters geographical area consider respectively for north to south and west to east burma. That is more useful for the transportation by the road. In Burma most of rice export from the region like fertile, agricultural. Burma has considered the different are for all different zones so that political situation also different from each other. In Burma available the many mountain ranges. The same people can said to be for the many more mountains range inside the country itself Burma. POPULATION URBANIZATION People in Burma population estimated around 54 million with density being 70 persons per sq. km. in Burma different religious people are there like Buddhist, Christian, Muslim. In Burma main language is Burmese but in there different ethnic group have own languages. In Burma , English language is widely spoken understand. There are main eight group of people in Burma like Kachin, kayah, kayin, chin, mon, bamar, rakhine, shan. The Human Development Index measures development combining indicators of education, life expectancy and income http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/. ECONOMYINDUSTRY Burma is one of the resource rich country. Burma is considered an agricultural country before the 2nd world war. In Burma garnet economic drivers are like natural gas, mining, timber power generation plant. however suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, corruption and widespread poverty. ENERGY Burma is gerent the major energy by the oil. The have also use to gerent the energy comes from gas coal. The greatest consumer of energy with the residential consumption in the country. EMISSION PROFILE Air pollution is main problem in Burma many cities just because of growing industries. The other side also effect the pollution with the waste burning vehicles are there. However, the country also suffers from trans-boundary pollution from neighbouring countries such as Thailand and India. AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT In Burma maintain the air quality with help of the National commission for environmental agency. Air is also effect to the health so the in Burma develops the National Health Plan. Burma together with the city development committee department of medical research came up with environmental health problem implement pollution controls. POLLUTION Industry pollution:- There is no industry pollution in Burma. Its problems in entire Burma country and also not in yargon. Burma has remained under permissible levels of environmental pollution. Burma is not industrialized so the volumes of carbon and solid waste produced in yargon everyday have not reached considerable level. So there is no pollution in Burma and no need to worry about that. School Myanmar Children Air pollution:- http://www.mmtimes.com/2012/news/614/airpollution.gif In yangon air pollution is 87.50%. The main source of air pollution in Yangon is vehicles. But concrete roads also increase the levels of dust and coarse particles in the air. In Burma particularly vehicle pollution is an increasing problem so if you have any related to breathing problems than speak with your doctor before travelling to any havelly polluted urban centers in Burma. Because of this pollution, we get some minor breathing problems like sinusits, dry throat and irritated eyes. The department began measuring air pollution at three locations in 2009 and new readings were undertaken in January at Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone, the departments office in Ahlone township and a residential area in Bahan township. Yangon city roads are quite narrow and this results in traffic jams and in turn more pollution, Food pollution:- Eating in Burma restaurants is the biggest risk factor for contracting travelers diarrhea. Ways it includes eating only freshly cooked food and avoiding shellfish and food that has been sitting around in dining table. Peel all fruit, cook, and vegetables and soak salads in iodine water for the least 20 minutes. Eat in busy Burma restaurants with a high turnover of customers in Burma. Water pollution:- In yangon water pollution is 50.00%. The number one rule is be careful of the water and especially ice in Burma . If you dont know for certain that the water is safe, assume the worst. Reputable brands of bottled water or soft drinks are generally fine, although in some places bottles may be refilled with tap water in Myanmar. Only use water from containers with serrated seal hot tops or corks take care with fruit juice, particularly if water may have been added. Milk should be treated with suspicion as it is often unpasteurised, though boiled milk is fine if it is kept hygienically. Tea or coffee should also be OK, since the water should have been boiled. WILDLIFE Burma is a developing country, they contribute to the more in preservation of its environment and ecosystems. In Burma, forest are cover over 49% area including acacia, bamboo, ironwood and michelia champaca. Since 1995 people are cuts more trees that effect seriously reduced forest area and wildlife area. Tigers, leopard, rhinoceros, wild buffalo, wild boars, deer, antelope and elephants are more in upper Burmas forest. Smaller mammals,gibbons and monkeys and over 800nspecies birds in the forest. Birds including, parrots,peafowl, pheasant, crows, herons and paddybirds. CURRENCY Burmas currency is Kyat. Burmas bank issue notes of 1 Kyat, 5 Kyat, 10 Kyats, 15 Kyats, 45 Kyats, 90 Kyats, 200 Kyats. The currency exchange rate in between 1994 is 6 Kyats for one U S $. Than after some time Kyats market is back that time currency exchange rate up to the 1200 Kyats per US $. CLIMATE Burma divided their climate in to the different three category like cold season, Rainy season, Summer. In all three climate also face with different time like summer is march to mid may, rainy fall start in mid may to the end of October and cold season start with November to end of the February. In burma generally enjoy the tropical monsoon. In Burma whether climate change or different from the place to place due to the differing topographical situation. In burma average highest temperature generally during summer month is 43.3 degree. Burma is very hot in summer season. In burma also different climate with different palce like north zone, south zone, waste zone, east zone and central zone also with different seasons. MAJOR CITIES In Burma many cities are their. In Burma have divided the cities on the bases of there population. Major around 10 to 11 cities in the ranking on the bases of the population there is given below Yangon Mandaly Naypyidaw Mawlamyaing Bago Pathein Monywa Meiktila Sittwe Mergni Taynggyi www.geonames.org à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Countries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Myanmar [Burma] COUNTRY FACTS Burma is a rich nation one of the developed nation in the world. The latest data given by the UNDPs human development report give rank 132 out of 169. In Burma pre capita GDP is approximately $435 USD almost lowest in the world. CAPITAL (OSLO) In 1995 the capital of Burma is Yangon after that since 2005 the capital of Burma is change. So, now on word Naypyidaw is the capital of the Burma. S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF BURMA STRENGTHS The Burma is blessed with natural scenic beauty contains more than 2000 kms coastline with beautiful beaches. In Burma more no. of people working in agriculture sector, so that labour force high in agriculture activity. There are 40 national parks, wildlife sanctuary protected area under the forestry ministry also fifteen national parks have been registered in ecotourism sites. Burmas people are giving more respect to women. In Burma literacy rate is very high so that educated people are there. Burma has a large trade deficit that has also crippled its economic growth. Burma export following commodities Jade and Gems, Clothing, Rice, Fish, Pulses and Beans, Wood Product, Natural gas. Telecommunication is high in Burma because people are using internet they have wide range of network. New business procedure is much similar as India. 8% commercial tax and 2% income tax shall be payable in foreign currency for all export from private sector. Burma has big industry of mining, timber, biodiversity and oil and gas and make easily transition with other country In Burma National Tourism Organization has submitted national heritage sites to ASEAN. (E.g. Bagan Mragkoo) Burma is attracted and holds the interested country with a rich history in arts and crafts. Burma represents the largest repository of there arts and crafts. Burma offers variety of sport activities for tourism such as ski in the North, diving, bird watching, and water rafting. In Burma tourist shopping specially like handicrafts. Gems clothes. Burma has pleasant climate and long tourist seasons. May to September can be called value season instead of low season because tourists do not have to pay expensive cost if visiting during this time. WEAKNESSES There is the travel safety warning that there is the constraint imposed on local travel and the dangers of criticizing the regime. The infighting between the ethnic groups in some parts of the country. The Burma workforce lake expertise exposure to a competitive market environment. In Burmas people also lack of technical knowledge especially for construction project. There is a need for improve English other languages for workers in the tourism industry. The country has manpower to support tourism industry for example there are 6,000 people who have got guide license, but only 300-400 are working because of the limitation of available work and tourists. For the moment Burma is the place unlike most other tourist destinations. Travel is sometime unpredictable because the essential infrastructures such as efficient good management, transport, communication and hotels are still far from near complete. Myanmar is a difficult country to sum up in terms of weather since it has a varied terrain with tropical beaches, lowland plateaus and the shoulders of the Himalayas. However, it is considered as a 12 year destination. Lack capital to undertake the necessary programs to develop tourism. Travellers to Burma can visit only officially designated tourist areas. Permission is needed for treks to remote parts of the country. The process of permission takes about seven days. OPPORTUNITIES National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma: After winning the elections in 1990, the military rulers stopped the democratic parties from taking over the government. The MPs, with support from the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the National Democratic Front, and others, formed the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). The NCGUB has led the call for a tripartite dialogue between the ethnic nationalities, the NLD, and the military to resolve national problems. If there is peace in the country, it is the opportunity for tourism to be promoted. In April 2010, a Tourism Industry Development Management Committee (TDMC) was established to address issues affecting development. Comprising 26 high ranking personnel, the committee aims to develop international tourism in order to increase foreign exchange earnings and raise awareness of the country. The benefits derived are measured not only in terms of the amount of foreign capital brought in, but also includes the long-term transfer of technology and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. There are several areas in which foreign participation can contribute to the development of the economy, and specifically to the tourism sector such as hotel development, infrastructure development, tour operations, souvenir industry, and preservation and restoration of monuments. In Burma, visitor visas have been extended to 28 days and package tour groups can now obtain visas on arrival. Tourists are allowed to enter through several checkpoints along the Thai borders. THREAT Uncertainties about socio-economic stability and a lack of definite signs of reform deter some foreign investors. The economic malaise of the past three decades has fuelled an extensive black market in the country. Risk from economic reform and liberalization. Risk from climate change. Pollution from economic activities is one threat because less education awareness. Tension from internal ethnic conflicts Negative images that are exaggerated or presented in their own point of view by international media such as the issues of human rights and travel advisory. In 2009 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, speaking in the context of the juntas promotion of 1996%2010 as Visit Myanmar Year, argued that it was too soon for visitors to come pouring in to Myanmar. Many NGOs urge the international community to boycott the country. They argue that revenue from tourism supports the Government financially, and holidaying in the country could be interpreted as approval of the military regime. Furthermore, forced labor was used to build some of the tourist infrastructure and tourists are kept away from large parts of the country, where repression of minorities is occurring. However, many comments argue that it is increasingly possible to use privately-owned lodging and transport facilities, benefiting the local people. Likewise, economic development could lead to a democratization of the country.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder :: Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Northeastern University sophomore Terri* spends at least a few minutes a day critiquing her body in the mirror. â€Å"I have this extra fat on my stomach that I hate,† she said, squeezing her abdomen with both hands. Terri is an articulate, responsible, political science major and sociology minor who looks and sounds mature beyond her years. She is well-respected by peers and authority figures alike, and she recently landed a co-op job at a prestigious law firm in Boston. This girl has got herself together. Today, wearing a business-casual purple turtleneck, gray peacoat and glasses, this confident, capable woman points to the area under her chin. â€Å"I’ve just noticed this,† she said, running her fingers under her jaw, across a section of her neck that she believes is dangerously bordering on a double-chin. Like most people, she sees nothing unusual about her physical concerns. â€Å"Everyone worries about aspects of their appearance,† she said as she turns her attention away from the mirror and finishes getting dressed. Many people have concerns with the way they look, but some have obsessive, irrational concerns. Like most people, Terri has never heard of Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Although Terri’s body concerns may not constitute the disorder, there are people among us living with the secretive, shameful reality of BDD. WHAT IS BDD? Few people have ever heard of BDD, but virtually everyone has exhibited the characteristics of the disorder in its most basic form: a heightened concern with a particular part of their body that they deem â€Å"less than perfect,† something that they would like to improve upon and even something that they try to hide. Unlike normal appearance concerns, however, BDD is marked by an intense preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance. A severe and debilitating psychiatric disorder, BDD is characterized by an obsessive fixation on one or more parts of the body that a person perceives as disgusting and unnatural. If a slight physical abnormality or inconsistency exists in a BDD sufferer’s physicality, their concern is excessive – even to the point of experiencing social withdrawal and suicidal tendencies. Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a clinical psychologist at the McLean Hospital in Boston and teaches psychology at Harvard Medical School. A specialist in BDD and Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, in general, he acknowledges that BDD symptoms are often mistaken as â€Å"normal† fears. â€Å"With BDD there are many, many people walking around in the U.S. who have it that you never know have it. For a lot of people, you don’t know what it is that you have, but you know that life is not normal,† said Dr.

Structural Family Therapy

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) has a few interventions within the theoretical model that I could see myself using with clients (families) from diverse backgrounds with diverse presenting problems. I am in agreement with the way this model looks at the different types of families and the types of issues they present with such as the patterns common to troubled families; some being â€Å"enmeshed,† chaotic and tightly interconnected, while others are â€Å"disengaged,† isolated and seemingly unrelated. This model also helped me understand that families are structured in â€Å"subsystems† with â€Å"boundaries,† their members not seeing these complexities and problems that are going on between them. Compared to the four family and couple therapy models in this paper, I think this model fits the most with Adlerian assumptions for the following reasons. This model understands and speaks to the complexities in the family system, the roles that each member takes on how they relate to each other, of power, and hierarchy, thus treating the family system holistically. This is also similar to the emphasis on democratic parenting skills that Adler focused on, with the aim to help families understand that relationships based on power and hierarchy are not effective in the long run. A few other similarities between SFT and Adlerian interventions are the use of reenactment, metaphors, and focusing on the family’s strengths to work toward a common goal of a changing the existing structure of the family to a healthier one. Role of the Therapist: When using this model, I would be comfortable as the therapist as my goal would be to join the system using myself to transform it. In that role, I would be active and directive, determining the structure of the therapy and facilitating the process. This model may work better with families from diverse background because from personal experience and understanding, it may be easier for Asians to let the therapist take on the facilitator role, structuring and directing because most Eastern cultures and families are run that way. I like the aspect of this model where the therapist seeks to change the maladaptive patterns by choreographing family interactions in session in order to create the opportunity for new, more functional interactions to emerge, using the major techniques of joining (engaging and entering the family system), diagnosing (identifying maladaptive interactions and family strengths), and restructuring (transforming maladaptive interactions). By learning how to use this model well, I could learn to assess and facilitate healthy family interactions based on cultural norms of the family being helped when using this theoretical model in practice. Interventions: Most of Minuchin’s interventions under this model resonated with me, however it seems as if this model (and Minuchin himself) tends to be quite directive, I will have to keep in mind that for some families this may not be the best approach to take because they may find it offensive and crossing their (the family’s) boundaries. I also think that with the use of common sense and after building an alliance with the family, the direct approach can be a healthy no-nonsense way of helping the clients see the problem, and facilitating change may not be a process that gets dragged on for months. I think practicing the intervention of joining could benefit me as a therapist because I as the therapist would support specific behaviors or verbalizations to increase the strength and independence of every member of the family, subsystems, and alliances. I could do this by adjusting to the communication style and perceptions of the family members to â€Å"join† the system, making the goal to establish an effective therapeutic relationship with the family. I can also resonate with using restructuring where I would be able to utilize therapeutic interventions that bring about change through modification in the family structure. Functional Family Therapy Theory: Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a theoretical model that fits with me for the following reasons. FFT’s three intervention phases- engagement and motivation, behavior change, and generalization- are straight forward techniques for the therapist to follow and interventions that are interdependent. I like the systematic approach to understanding families in this model, and that it can be used as a prevention and intervention model when dealing with family systems. I think this model is quite similar ith Adlerian assumptions because the use of techniques such as engagement and motivation establishes a family-focused perception of the presenting problem that serves to increase the family members hope and expectation of change, decrease resistance, improve alliance with one another and create greater trust between family and therapist, reduce negativity within family, and assist in building respect for individual differences and values. Clinician s provide concrete behavioral intervention to guide and model specific behavior changes such as parenting, communication, and conflict management. Role of the Therapist: As a future therapist whose goal is to practice with diverse populations, I would be comfortable using functional therapy because of the flexible integration of clinical theory as part of the model’s design which offers an opportunity to meet families where they are most comfortable, understand and encourage their natural social networks and to provide culturally and linguistically responsive services as truly part of the treatment process. I think this model has flexibility and extends to all family members and thereby results in effective moment-by-moment decisions in the intervention setting, thus being systemic and individualized. In my personal opinion and experience, I find that the field of psychology is lacking in diverse cultural competencies as much as the society is diverse in its population. I believe that as with using any theoretical model, the therapists’ cultural knowledge needs to include understanding of the many cultural considerations influencing the effectiveness of treatment when dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds. When servicing the individuals in the family, care and attention needs to be directed towards family and community norms and values around help seeking, secrecy and confidentiality, family roles, child rearing and spiritual practices. Interventions: One of the main interventions of Functional Family Therapy that resonates with me is that one of the prime goals of this model is to identify the primary focus of intervention (the family) and reflect an understanding that positive and negative behaviors both influence and are influenced by the relationships each family member has with one another. Therefore, making functional therapy a multi systemic program, meaning that it focuses on the multiple domains and systems within which families live and interact with one another. Within this context, FFT works first to develop family members’ inner strengths and sense of being able to improve their situations by using skill building techniques. These characteristics provide the family with a platform for change and future functioning that extends beyond the direct support of the therapist and other social systems. As hopeful as it may sound, when using this theoretical model, I as the therapist could lead the family to greater self sufficiency that work for them as a team, and not against each other. Solution-Focused Therapy Theory: The way the Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) theoretical model fits me is that it focuses on exceptions to the family’s problem, working towards a change in behavior which can naturally develop through this process. I think this model is similar to the Adlerian assumptions where it is future oriented and personally, I think it is quite an insight-oriented model, not getting too deep into one particular family member's â€Å"pathology,† but rather focusing on what the system can do to adapt to it, and allows the family decide if that â€Å"pathology† is a problem or not. Like the Adlerian model, SFT looks at the family system holistically, taking every member into account yet working as a whole towards a common goal of having a healthier relationship with one another. I think this is an essential aspect in family therapy because he therapist is not only dealing with one individual, but a few, with different personality types and world views. Role of the Therapist: The aspects of this theory that I like is that it differs from some traditional therapy models and does not focus on the cause of the family’s problems nor dictated the way the family is supposed to work, but focuses more on a better approach that moves the family focus off of what is wrong and onto what is right, stresses the resources and skills clients already have and bring into therapy, and helps the family members take on the role of the experts (which they hold anyway) and take responsibility for setting their own goals and reaching them. Putting this into practice, I would see the family not become stuck in a passive and helpless role as a family unit, locked into a problem narrative they rehearse over and over again, but more active participants in the therapeutic process. From the South-East Asian perspective, this model could be effective working with multi-cultural families because the therapists maintain a future more directed focus, with language like â€Å"as things get better†¦ † â€Å"lets work on positive reinforcement with the kids this week†¦ â€Å". From my personal experiences and observations, because the idea of therapy is still a very new, almost unpopular concept, it is difficult for South East Asians to do too much ‘processing’ of a negative situation, and would rather prefer to focus on the positive, which in turn may give them insight into the negative, leading to a positive change. Interventions: The intervention that resonated with me in this model is that solution building is the goal, and as the family changes the language that shapes how they think about the problem, they change the language that shapes how they think about the solution. This model does not put too much emphasis on what is missing and that which causes woe for the family, but what is positive and present and that which can lead to a healthier relationship amongst the family members. From my viewpoint, there are quite a few similarities between SFT and the interventions used in the Adlerian model that resonate with me personally and I will use as part of my interventions in the future. For example, asking each member the ‘miracle question’ such as â€Å"if one night you were sleeping and a miracle happened and fixed this (the presenting problem) problem, what would that look like? As it is the goal from the Adlerian perspective, the key with this question from the SFT perspective is not to immediately â€Å"find the cure†, but rather to refocus their attention on the elements they need to construct a new and positive story of how their life is going to be. I also like the intervention in this theory that rather than summing up wha t the therapist thinks the client is saying, the therapist asks questions to focus and direct the client's thinking and view; which in turn gives the other family members a chance to listen and understand where the family member is coming from as well. The solution may not even look like it will fit or resolve the problem, however a small enough change will nudge the system in a different direction and that may be all that is needed for the family to move towards a positive change. Integrative Behavioral Therapy Theory: Integrative Behavioral Therapy (IBT) is a newer model based on traditional models of behavioral couples therapy. In this particular model, one of the goals of therapy is to help the couple understand that some problems can be resolved by compromise, but realistically some likely can not. Also, the aim for this model is to help the couple see that it is not the incompatibilities, but the rigid, negative, and excessive emotional responses that can develop from these unresolved issues that creates the problems and misunderstandings between them. I do believe the models of this theory because it is helping the couple realize that talking about how they feel and think about problems sometimes is necessary before they go on to accept them. Also, I like the approach of the theory that most partners can learn ways to alter the negative emotional responses they have to problems, responses that make them, as well as their partners, unhappy. However, on the other hand, this theory tends to have an optimistic approach that most partners can learn new ways to resolve relational problems, but realistically human behavior is not as easy to change as this theory predicts it can. Role of the Therapist: I can see myself using parts of this theoretical model for the following reasons. I think this model has somewhat of a no-nonsense approach and suggests that simply talking about how one feels and thinks about a problem is not very helpful; rather, teaching the couple to do something about it is what can really help them. However, for the partners to learn ways to break bad patterns of behavior that cause problems in their relationship, as this model suggests, is easier said than done in some relationships. As this model suggests, most partners can learn new ways to compromise and resolve problems, making each other happier, it is a concept that may be quite challenging for couples to put into practice outside of the therapeutic setting, where they have the therapist to play the role of the coach in their relationship. Therefore, as much as I love the idea of a couple not only talking the talk, but walking the walk, this may be a struggle with most couples who are stagnant in their ways and thoughts, it would certainly take it’s time (as well as money) in putting this theory into practice. Interventions: While I could see the interventions in this model being a little easier to work with when working with an individual, it would be difficult with a couple because I would not only be dealing with one personality type, but two different one’s, sometimes very different. Further, at the end of therapy, it is hard to know if the couple will recover from their problems well enough to have a healthier relationship. Thus, not knowing that the initial improvements that the couple works on during therapy even appear to last as the couple goes onto being and making it on their own. The addition of a â€Å"communication skills† to this therapy may be able to help improve the lasting effect of treatment to some extent for the couple. Emotion-Focused Therapy Theory: The theoretical model of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) would be a good fit for me for the following reasons. The speaking and understanding of emotions is a huge part of any/every relationship, and this theory views both partners as lacking in some skills in misunderstanding such emotions; men need to expand their emotional repertoire and women need to feel powerful enough to express their needs. Also, validation of one’s feelings, i. . fear, sadness, hurt, anger, is an important part of growth, intimacy and understanding between a couple. It is when emotions are not heard or misunderstood that couple’s begin holding grudges and the relationship undoubtedly suffers. That is why this model of therapy is so important, is because it focuses on an individuals emotions, which is one of the most salient parts of change in human behavior, in turn validating the partners' emotions and attachment needs, responding genuinely to the partners individually, and try to stir the two partners' own ability to heal themselves and their relationship. In my opinion, EFT is humanistic based, and believes the couple can heal itself. This way, I as the therapist should not be doing more work than the couple, rather leading them in a direction that does not shows a patriarchal pathologization of connection and attachment (women's ways of relating), and idealization of separation and individuation (men's ways of relating). Role of the Therapist: I would be comfortable using this theoretical model in the future for the following reasons. I believe that in this model the therapy session is used as a healing time where a corrective emotional experience between partners happens, and it is that process that leads to the method of therapeutic change. EFT has the unique factors of seeing change in therapy where there is focus on the partners emotions, in turn leading the therapist to empower the clients. When used in a clinical setting, I believe I would benefit from using this model because I would be able to help my clients understand that when one partner expresses their underlying feelings, the other should change their perceptions in an understanding way after hearing their feelings. Also, with this model I would be able to teach my clients to learn to understand their underlying emotions and to productively express their emotional needs to their partner. Foremost, pointing out to my clients that they both need to take responsibility for their emotional needs and to be able to receive validation from the other partner for those needs. Being from a South-East Asian background, I have noticed that I am pulled towards therapy models that are culturally sensitive. EFT is culturally sensitive as universal emotions between the couple are examined, but placed in a personal cultural context. For example, shame is universal, but shame takes on an additional role in the Pakistani culture. Anger is universal, but often takes different forms when men and women express it. Responsibility is universal, but what's â€Å"a man's responsibility† and â€Å"a woman's responsibility† is determined but the culture's views of marriage. Interventions: One of the interventions in this model that resonated with me is that I, as the therapist, have to seek out vulnerable emotions in my clients, and very slowly build the awareness of them, an example can be of moving from â€Å"uncomfortable† to â€Å"upset† to â€Å"hurt† eventually. On the other hand, this may be difficult to do in some clients with a South-East Asian and/or Asian and/or Middle Eastern descent because most individuals from that region find it difficult to face their emotions or being vulnerable in front of a ‘stranger’ (the therapist) because of cultural upbringing. Hence, it may be a challenging concept to bring into practice when dealing with population from the East because most people from that part of the world are raised and taught to conceal their emotions and not expose them to show one’s vulnerability, which in turn means being a failure for individuals. This means, I as the therapist will probably need to take more time building a relationship alliance with my clients so we can make use of the valuable interventions that this model provides. Another salient part of this model I can see myself using in practice is when I am uncovering the â€Å"primary† or underlying emotions, I notice the language the partners use. For instance, the partner's may say things like â€Å"I feel like I'm drowning,† it may seem dramatic, but it captures an intense, painful, and powerful emotional experience of the individual. I can point out to my clients that the â€Å"secondary† emotions of anger and resentment are far easier to show and talk about which many couples end up doing.