Cognitive Approaches in Psychology Free Essays

string(169) " that the nurture argument is most represented by the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all behaviour is the outcome of learning through conditioning\." In this essay I will outline two approaches in psychology, compare and contrast them as well discussing the nature and nurture debate regarding both approaches. I will be examining a theorist from each approach outlining and evaluating his theory including the positive alltributes along with the negative. Finally I will include a therapy from each theorist and approach. We will write a custom essay sample on Cognitive Approaches in Psychology or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Behaviourist approach focuses on the concept of explaining behaviour by observation, and the belief that our environment is what causes us to behave differently and suffer illnesses. The Behaviourist approach believes that behaviour is influenced by each and every individuals experiences. This could include their background, social and home living circumstances. Behaviourist psychologists argue that when we are born our mind is ‘tabula rasa’ meaning a blank state and that events taking place in our life time can affect and change the way we behave. Behaviour is the the result of stimulus response, i. e all behaviour no matter how complex can be reduced to a simple stimulus response. All behaviour is learnt from the environment. We learn new behaviour through classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is stimulus- response. If a stimulus that results in a emotional response is repeated along with another stimulus which does not cause an emotional response, then eventually the second stimulus will result in the same emotional response. Classical conditioning is therefore learning by association. Some assumptions are made on the behaviourism approach, for example one assumption made is that there is no mind or body dualism and that everything we do is because of behaviour and not because of the mind. A second assumption would be that discovering a stimuli that causes behaviour associations between stimlulus and response will allow us to predict and control behaviour. They also viewed learning as a change of behaviour due to experience. However some critics object against the behaviourist view that behaviour is determined by our enviromnets as psychologist Garrett (1996) suggested that ‘†¦ behaviour is now shaped by what goes on inside their heads†¦ and not simply by what goes on in the external environment’ (p. 19) Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an association can be made between a certain behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. For example if a good thing is presented and a certain behaviour is encouraged then the behaviour will increase, this is called positive reinforement. However if the good thing is taken away then the behaviour will decrease. For example is a dog is told to fetch the ball and every time it fetches the ball it gets rewarded with a treat. This would influence the dogs behaviour to always fetch the ball as it will be rewarded. Another key feature of the behaviourist approach is the social learning theory. The social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. It says that people can learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of their behaviour. The cognitive approach deals with metal processes or cognitions. These mental processes include memory, thinking and perceptions. Cognition means â€Å"knowing†. Therefore cognition is the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by the developments in computer science and comparisons have often been made between how a cumputer works and we process information. The main focus of the cognitive approach is how information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing affect how we behave. Cognitive processes show examples of hypothetical constructs. This means that we can not directly analyse processes such as thinking but we can dissect what a person is thinking based on how they act. Cognitive psychologists use laboratory experiments to study behaviour. This is because the cognitive approach is a scientific one. These experiments would involve participants taking part in memory tests in strictly controlled conditions. An assumption made about the cognitive approach is that there exists a circular relationship between learning, meaning and memory. The basis for cognitive theories follows this patern in which what is learned is affected by its meaningfulness, the meaning is determined by what is remebered and the memory is affected by what we learn. The cognitive approach places itself in direct opposition to the behaviourist approach which mostly ignores mental processes. The cognitive approach is internal whereas the behaviourist is external as it focuses on the human environment. The cognitive approach examines behaviour which is directed through the mind rather then the body. It studys the thought processes, memory, language, perception and decision making. Whereas the Behaviourist approach examines our behaviour by our responses to our surroundings and the events taking place around us which may influence us to act in a certain way through imitation. It assumes that we learn things by associating certain events with certain consequences and that we will behave in the way that achieves the most desirable consequences. There are many methods in which the cognitive approach examine. Such as the holistic method which is a view that all aspects of people’s needs such as the psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. The nature and nurture debate is one of the longest running debates in the area of psychology in which theorists have various different views and opinions. Nurture is the view that everything we learn is through interaction with our surrounding environment, this could include with people, family and mass media. Some assumptions of this approach would be that the nurture theory did not discount that genetics exist but argues that they simply made no difference to how we behave and act. Studies on children temperament showed the most crucial evidence for the nurture theory. Another would be that the nurture argument is most represented by the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all behaviour is the outcome of learning through conditioning. You read "Cognitive Approaches in Psychology" in category "Essay examples" The nature theory focuses on the heredity and specific genes which can determine passing on of traits such as eye colour and skin colour. The nature theory would suggest that even personality, intelligence and aggression is also encoded in our DNA. Some assumptions of this approach would be that behaviour is innate, conditions such a schizophrenia show genetic links and a large amount of research shows that there is a link between hormones and aggression. Behaviourism follows the nurture approach as it studies that we learn from our environment, hence making this approach nurturist. It believes that our behaviour is influenced by our surroundings. Watson- the father of behaviourism quoted: ‘Give me a dozen healthy infants and my own specified world to bring them up in and I will garantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any kind of specialist I might select: doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant chef and yes beggar and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tenancies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. ’ Watson is clearly stating that he could change any person from any different social background and race if he could bring them up in his own way. His statement strongly argues the nurture side of the debate. He argued that human behaviour could be conditioned depending on their surroundings. On the other hand the Cognitive approach is an interaction between the two nature and nurture. As much as it focuses on reactions of the senses to the brain and the mind which make it nature it also has many nurture altributes also. The cognitive psychologist would recognise that experience and the environment also contribute and shape these innate abilities. Piaget’s therory backed this up as he believed that humans use their experiences to construct new understandings. He agreed that both nature and nurture are important, humans move through universal stages due to maturation however the rate they mature in depends on experience. He said that people are, by nature active contributors to their own development. Piaget’s argued that both nature and nurture interact to produce cognitive development. He said that the nature side helps the maturation of the brain and the body, along with the ability to percieve and learn. Whereas the nurture helps with the adaptation of children and how they respond to their enviroment. Bandura was a behaviourist theorist. He believed that there are three sources of models which influenced humans behaviour, these included the family, the mass media and the sub-culture. He conducted a number of experiments in which he carried out on children. One of his experiments involved an inflatable Bobo doll, his aim was to investigate the effects of observing aggression in an adult model. The procedure of this experiment was for it to take place in a playroom containing a range of toys. Young children watched an adult attacking a large inflatable Bobo doll by hitting it with a hammer and saying ‘pow’! Once the adult left the playroom, the behaviour of the children was then observed. A control group of children who did not see the adult attack the doll were also observed in the playroom. The results showed that the children who had seen the adult attack the doll also attacked the doll in similar ways. However the children who had not seen the adult attack the doll did not. The conclusion to this was that children learned particular behaviours towards the Bobo doll through observational learning and then copied the behaviour when given a chance. Two years later he conducted a similar experiment however this time it was to observe the effects on modelling by children of seeing a model reinforced or punished for a behaviour. This experiment, like the previous involved a bunch of children watching and adult kick and attack a Bobo doll but this time get rewarded for it. Another set of children watched the same thing however saw the adult get punished for it. The children in the group that saw the model being punished were later offered a reward if they could reproduce the behaviour they had observed. The results showed that the children in the group that saw the model get punished for the attack were less likely to imitate that behaviour. This experiment concluded that observation is enough for behaviour to be learned, however reinforcement is necessary for the behaviour to be modelled. The values of Bandura’s social learning theory were that it extended the operant conditioning theory. It focused on the idea of the influence of the social environment in behaviour therefore providing an explanation for cultural and individual differences. It could account for individual differences and allowed for more complex human behaviour. Bandura’s theory had a role to play in personality theory and introduces the idea of vicarious learning. Although the criticisms are that his theories are reductionist, environmental and determinism. Reductionist ways of explaining behaviour often examine one single cause ignoring other explanations. Reductionism attempts to understand and describe the human behaviour in terms of simple components or units. Any explanation of behaviour at its simplest can be described as reductionist. This approach reduces a complex behaviour to a simple set of variables which offer the possibilities of identifying a cause and effect. The reductionist approach is therefor a from of determinism. Determinists believe that it is possible to predict behaviour by identifying the cause of behaviour. His theories were also criticised as being environmental, meaning that the environment that he uses in his experiments can affect the human behaviour. The use of violence towards a doll in his experiments were not ethical as he only used children. It was also sociably incorrect as it was influencing violence to receive a reward. The biological influences are ignored, lack cohesiveness and still excludes influences such as emotions. Jean piaget was a psychologist who studied the development of children’s understanding and how their minds work. His theory on how the children’s mind works and develops has been hugely influential, specially in educational theory. Piaget was particularly interested in the way in which a child’s mind matures in the different developmental stages and how their maturing increases their capacity to understand their world. His theory was that all infants have the same structures and they all have innate reflexes and schemas. He believed that children cannot undertake certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. He thought that childrens thinking develop at different stages, and that at certain points the mind would mature into different capabilities such as the first transition taking place at 18 months, then at the age of 7 and 11 or 12. He meant that before these ages children could not have a capable understanding of certain things in certain ways. The stages which took place according to this theory were firstly the sensorimotor stage which takes place between birth and two years. At this stage the child can identify itself and acts as an agent of action purposely banging on pots and pans to make noises to hear the reaction. The child can differentiate self from objects and learns object permanence realising that objects still do exist even if they are not in sight. The second stage is the pre-operational stage. This is the stage in which the child learns to use language and images to identify objects. However their thinking is still egocentric indicating that they cannot see things from another persons point of view. This stage usually takes place from the age of two till seven. The third stage is called the concrete operational stage, this takes place between the ages of seven and eleven. The final stage is called the formal operational stage, at this stage children start to think about the future and ideological problems. The child’s cognitive structure is more like that of an adults and includes conceptual reasoning. His theory was successful in the fact that they used his theory as a basis for scheduling in the school curriculum. His theory has a huge influence on the understanding of cognitive development and it was the first comprehensive theory of children’s cognitive development. His theory also challenged the traditional idea of the child being passive in development, also as his theory was scientifically based this made it come across as more accurate. However his theory has received some criticism, some critics challenged some of his developmental stages such as the sensorimotor stage and the pre-operational stage. Gelman questioned what Piaget viewed about children as young as four not being able to take on another persons point of view. Gelman believed that it was possible for children to do so. Behaviour therapy refers to techniques based on classical conditioning. This therapy consists of using learning principles to change maladaptive behaviour. There are a number of various behaviour therapies including systematic desensitisation. This therapy is a form of counter conditioning using a hierarchy of fear. One example could be to remove a phobia of animals. The patient is taught how to relax so that relaxation and fear cancel each other out, to do this hypnosis or tranquillisers may be used. It is believed that it is impossible for a person to experience two opposite emotions at the same time. The systematic part of the therapy involves a recorded series of contacts with the object of the phobia. Whilst relaxing a least frightening image of the object is introduced to the patient until this can be done without the patient having any feelings of anxiety. Some of the therapies based on classical conditioning are effective, such as the systematic desensitisation therapy. However it is mostly effective only for anxiety disorders and addictions. They are more effective in phobias than in psychotic disorders. An advantage is that the therapies are relatively quick and only take a few months to work as oppose to psychodynamic treatment which can take years. There is also a high success rate, McGrath found that systematic desensistisation to be effective for around 75% of people with phobias. In the case of single sessions success, if conducted in one session it is proved that 90% of patients with phobias made vast improvements and some were even fully recovered. Systematic desennsitisation helped treat one of the most difficult phobias to treat called agoraphobia, this therapy however helped between 60-80% of cases. Critics of these therapies would suggest that many patients with phobias may have no recollection of bad experiences with the object and simply just have a phobia, therefore the therapies would not be effective and solve the problem. Psychodynamic theorists would say this is due to the symptom being a sign that something unconscious is wrong with the patient. Another disadvantage is the unpredictable effects that the therapy can have on the patient such as heart attacks and hyperventilating. The cognitive approach has many therapies to explain and modify behaviour. Cognitive forms of therapy include the Ellis rational therapy, which is now more commonly known as rational emotive behaviour therapy. Ellis came to conclusions about patients negative thoughts and their tendencies to catastrophise situations making things seem so much worse then they actually are. This therapy focuses on when irrational thoughts are seen as the main cause of all types of emotional distress and behaviour orders. The aim of this therapy is to exchange the irrational unreasonable with the more positive and realistic beliefs and ways of thinking. Patients are encouraged to ‘look on the bright side’. Ellis identified patients irrational beliefs and ideas which are emotionally self defeating and are mostly associated with psychological problems such as negative thoughts and feelings about ones self. Patients are told to practice certain positive statements like â€Å" I can do† rather then â€Å" I can’t do† to help them create a more positive state of mind. The benefits of using such therapies are that it is a structured therapy with outcomes which are achievable, these methods are becoming more commonly used as they are short term and are cost effective aswell as economically effective. This therapy is appealing towards patients who find insight therapies which look deep into their inner emotions and problems seem less threatening and intimidating. Although there are disadvantages of this therapy. It may not uncover the problem completely, however it does almost try to empower patients to help themselves with their issues and feel better. It also may not work well for adults who are not willing to take part and collaborate with the therapist to achieve a new way of thinking. It may also not be successful for those who feel that they can’t achieve self happiness without something or someone else contributing towards it. This therapy is mostly successful for clients suffering from anxiety disorders, stress management and sexual problems. Studies have shown that this therapy is more effective in depression than drugs are and the relapse rate is proved to be lower with cognitive behavioural therapy. This from of therapy has been proved to be more effective then anti depressants. In conclusion, I have included all the points mentioned in the introduction that I said I would include in my essay, I have outlined and evaluated two approaches and discussed two theorists and therapies for each approach. How to cite Cognitive Approaches in Psychology, Essay examples

ANALIZATION OF CHARACTERS ALL QUIET ON THE WESTE Essay Example For Students

ANALIZATION OF CHARACTERS ALL QUIET ON THE WESTE Essay RN FRONT- PAUL BAUMER Paul Baumer is the 19-year-old narrator of the story. At the front, Pauls special friends in Second Company include his classmates Behm, Kemmerich, Muller, Leer, and Kropp. The six of them were among 20 who enlisted together, prodded on by Schoolmaster Kantorek. Although he doesnt say so, Paul is obviously a natural leader: Franz Kemmerichs mother implored him to look after her son when they left home. Paul is also courageous. He may momentarily panic, but he doesnt break under the most terrible battle conditions. He learns the sound of each type of shell; he dives for cover or grabs his gas mask at the right instant. In one battle, he gently comforts an embarrassed rookie who has soiled his underpants, and later soberly contemplates shooting the same man to spare him an agonizing death after his hip has been shattered. Cool as he is in battle, though, Paul has a hard time making sense of it all. He keeps recalling Behm, the first of his class to die, and when a second- Kemmerich- dies, he rages inwardly at the senseless slaughter of scrawny schoolboys. The callous attitude of commanders and orderlies toward an individual death saddens and disillusions him. His elders were wrong- there is nothing glorious about war- but he has no new values to replace the patriotic myths they taught him. At first his companions seem shallow to him- immediately forgetting the dead and turning their total attention to stockpiling the cigarets and food originally meant for the deceased soldier- and he is at pains to tell us why this callousness is necessary. Gradually, though, he comes to accept their approach: that poetry and philosophy and civilian paper-pushing jobs alike, all are utterly pointless in the midst of so much carnage. All you have is the moment at hand, and getting from it all the physical comfort you can is a worthwhile goal. There is another important element, too, to being with your comrades, as going on leave proves to Paul: no civilian u nderstands you the way these men do, and nothing from your former life sustains you the way their friendship does. These values come together for Paul the evening he joins an older friend, Katczinsky, on a goose-hunting raid. They spend the night roasting the goose before eating it, and each time that Paul awakens for his turn at the basting, he feels Katczinskys presence like a cloak of comfort. At other times, panicked and alone in the dark of the trenches, all it takes to steady his nerves is the sound of his friends voices. If he awakens from a nightmare, the mere sound of their breathing strengthens him: he is not alone. Paul gradually comes to realize that the enemy is no different from himself or from one of his friends. The Frenchman he kills in the trenches, Duval, looks like the kind of man whose friendship he would have enjoyed. The Russian prisoners he guards have the same feelings and desires and needs as he. He comes to see war as the ultimate horror. Its bad enough th at it pits man against man. But even animals and trees and flowers and butterflies are innocently caught up in the carnage inflicted by Man, the great Destroyer. As his friends are killed one by one, Paul can only cling to his newfound beliefs in the brotherhood of all men and the value of the spark of life within each individual. At the end, alone, he has only the blind hope that his own mysterious inner spark will somehow survive and guide him after the war. Otherwise, he sees no meaningful future. Themes 1. THE HORROR OF WAR Remarque includes discussions among Pauls group, and Pauls own thoughts while he observes Russian prisoners of war (Chapters 3, 8, 9) to show that no ordinary people benefit from a war. No matter what side a man is on, he is killing other men just like himself, people with whom he might even be friends at another time. But Remarque doesnt just tell us war is horrible. He also shows us that war is terrible beyond anything we could imagine. All our senses are assaulted: we see newly dead soldiers and long-dead corpses tossed up together in a cemetery (Chapter 4); we hear the unearthly screaming of the wounded horses (Chapter 4); we see and smell three layers of bodies, swelling up and belching gases, dumped into a huge shell hole (Chapter 6); and we can almost touch the naked bodies hanging in trees and the limbs lying around the battlefield (Chapter 9). The crying of the horses is especially terrible. Horses have nothing to do with making war. Their bodies gleam beautifully as they parade along- until the shells strike them. To Paul, their dying cries represent all of nature accusing Man, the great destroyer. In later chapters Paul no longer mentions nature as an accuser but seems to suggest that nature is simply there- rolling steadily on through the seasons, paying no attention to the desperate cruelties of men to each other. This, too, shows the horror of war, that it is completely unnatural and has no place in the larger scheme of t hings. 2. A REJECTION OF TRADITIONAL VALUES In his introductory note Remarque said that his novel was not an accusation. But we have seen that it is, in many places, exactly that. This accusation- or rejection of traditional militaristic values of Western civilization- is impressed on the reader through the young soldiers, represented by Paul and his friends, who see military attitudes as stupid and who accuse their elders of betraying them. In an early chapter Paul admits that endless drilling and sheer harassment did help toughen his group and turn them into soldiers. But he points out, often, how stupid it is to stick to regulations at the front- how insane this basic military attitude becomes in life-and-death situations. One such scene occurs in Chapter 1 when Ginger, the cook, doesnt want to let 80 men eat the food prepared for 150, no matter how hungry they are. Another occurs in Chapter 7 when Paul is walking around in his hometown and a major forces him to march double ti me and salute properly- a ridiculous display, considering what he has just been through at the front. The emptiness of all this spit and polish shows up again in Chapter 9 when the men have to return the new clothes they were issued for the Kaisers inspection: rags are whats real at the front. The betrayal of the young by their elders becomes an issue on several occasions. In the first two chapters of the book we learn how misguided Paul was by the teachings of parents and schoolmasters. We also see how older people cling to the Prussian mythof the glory of military might when Paul goes home on leave in Chapter 7. The Kaisers visit in Chapter 9 adds some hints of Remarques specific disillusionment with the leaders of his own country. From a broad study of literature and world history, we can see that these older people were not individually to blame for their views. They were simply handing on what was handed on to them. Still, we can also understand why Paul and his friends are so bitterly disappointed and so angry to discover that their elders were wrong. Most readers feel alittle sad that young men should consider the act of ridiculing adults their greatest goal in life, but we can also understand why they take revenge on Himmelstoss and Kantorek (Chapters 3 and 7). We even get a certain kick out of what they do, understanding their need to take out their disappointment on someone they know. These situations are, in miniature, an acting out of the bitter anger and disillusionment Paul feels when he says in Chapter 10, It must all be lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out. 3. FRIENDSHIP: THE ONLY ENDURING VALUE The theme of comradeship occurs often and gives the novel both lighthearted and sad moments. In Chapter 5 its easy to overlook how the farmer felt about having his property stolen and to chuckle aloud when Paul is struggling to capture the goose! We appreciate the circle of warmth that encloses him and Kat that night as they slowly cook and eat the goose, and then extend their warm circle by sharing the leftovers with Kropp and Tjaden. In Chapter 10 we enjoy their sharing of the pancakes and roast pig and fine club chairs at the supply dump, and we understand why Paul fakes a high temperature to go to the same hospital as Albert Kropp. Friendship emerges as an even more important theme at the front. In Chapters 10 and 11 we see men helping wounded comrades at great personal risk- or even, like Lieutenant Bertinck, dying for their friends. The handing on of Kemmerichs fine yellow leather boots also acts as a symbol of friendship- a symbol we can almost touch, and one that keeps us aware of how deeply a soldier feels the loss of each of his special friends. We can understand how hearing the voices of friends when one is lost (Chapter 9) or even just hearing their breathing during the night (Chapter 11) can keep a soldier going. We grieve with Paul and a lmost put down the book when Kat dies. 4. A GENERATION DESTROYED BY WORLD WAR I Taking all of the themes together and adding Paul and his friends hopeless discussions of what is left for them to do after the war (Chapter 5), we can conclude that Remarque succeeds in his main theme: showing that Pauls generation was destroyed by the Great War, as World War I was then called. CharacterIn the case of All Quiet, Paul is young and immature. Until he enlisted, he had never experienced real pain or tragedy in his life. Older people generally know from experience that human beings can survive incredible pain and still find meaning in life. Paul hasnt had any time to gain that kind of experience to sustain him. Therefore its asking quite a bit to have us accept, from him, whole theories about war and life and the nature of human beings. Still, whatever Paul might lack in age or experience is balanced for us by the honesty and sensitivity we see in him. Over all, then, in All Quiet on the Wes tern Front, the advantages of first person narration outweigh the disadvantages. There is a perfect fit of first person point of view with what Remarque wanted to say about World War I- that it destroyed a whole generation of the young. How better to show us that than to let us experience the war through the eyes of a young soldier? Remarque is proposing the view that human existence can no longer be regarded as having any ultimate meaning. Baumer and his comrades cannot make sense of the world at large for the simple reason that it is no longer possible to do so, not just for this group of ordinary soldiers, but for a substantial proportion of his entire generation. Remarque refuses to lull his reader into a false sense of security, into thinking that God is in his heaven and all is right with the world. The Destructiveness of WarThis is a major theme of this novel. Throughout this book, the men are exposed to limbs being blown off, blood flow everywhere, and innocent men dying in pain and agony. When they take shelter, bombs explode around them and they observe men squirm in order to save themselves. The destructive power of war is so great that even the fundamental difference between life and death become blurred. ALL QUIET ON TE WESTERN FRONT Essay ComradesThe theme of comraderie, or friendship, occurs constantly in the novel. The friendship held within Pauls company keeps them from being driven insane by the horrors that surround them. These young men were brought to fight on the battlefield almost directly from the schoolyard. AlienationAt first Paul and his friends still behave as if their lives will someday return to normal. In the middle of the book, Paul goes home on leave, only to discover that his real home is now with his friends on the front. By that time, Kat dies, and Paul geels that his own life no longer has meaning. Although Paul comes to think of his comrades as brothers, he also learns that all men are brothers under their skin. The irony of war is that brothers are forced to kill each other. Paul expresses this theme when he showed compassion for the captured Russian soldiers and the French soldier he kills in the trench.hough Paul comes to think of his comrades as brothers, he also learns that all men are brothers under their skin. The irony of war is that brothers are forced to kill each other. Pauls expresses this theme when he showed compassion for the captured Russian soldiers and the French soldier he kills in the trench.

Health Insurance Research Paper Example

Health Insurance Paper Let me start by saying that numerous studies have indicated that there are many people in the USA who do not realize the importance of health insurance. How many of us know, for example, that the average cost of an MRI is nearly $2,000 and that heart bypass surgery costs about $57,000? Or that the average cost of a 30-day prescription of one name brand drug is $72 compared to $22 for the generic equivalent? One major factor people do not invest in health insurance is because they feel that their health and sometimes the health of the spouse and children are covered by their jobs.   While this is true that most people are covered through the workplace, it is equally true that when these people lose their jobs, they also lose their health benefits. According to experts in this field, on average, for each jobless worker who has lost insurance, at least one child or spouse covered under the same policy has also lost protection. We will write a custom essay sample on Health Insurance specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Health Insurance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Health Insurance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The situation and the need to invest in health insurance are aptly summed up by Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. â€Å"No matter how bad the condition of the economy — we can’t delay pursuing comprehensive health care,† said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. â€Å"There are too many victims who are innocent of anything but working at the wrong place at the wrong time† (The New York Times). Purchasing health insurance becomes all the more imperative for the elderly. The risks of experiencing major health problems and incurring substantial medical expenses increase dramatically for people ages 55–64, so the consequences of lacking insurance may be more severe (W. Johnson and S. Crystal). Recent studies reveal that uninsured American adults receive less appropriate care and fewer needed health services than their insured peers. The same study also suggests on the need for health insurance to improve quality in services. According to it, coverage to the near-elderly uninsured may greatly improve health outcomes for these groups (J.Z. Ayanian). These figures point to the importance of buying health insurance. According to a study In 2006, Americans spent over $7,000 per capita on health care, up from $2,400 in 1980 and $800 in 1960 (all in 2006 dollars). National health care spending has grown more rapidly than the economy as a whole, so health care accounts for an increasing share of the overall economy (Chart 4-1). National health care spending now accounts for about 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 9.1 percent in 1980 and only 5.2 percent in 1960. Yet the scene has now changed dramatically. According to the Census Bureau, After climbing steadily for six years, the number of Americans without health insurance dropped by more than a million in 2007, to 45.7 million (Ian Urbina). The health experts also reiterate this by pointing out that the rate of people without health insurance in the USA went down by 15.3 percent in 2007, from 15.8 percent a year earlier. Health insurance can greatly help to bring down your medical bills and also provide you the much needed security if you are unfortunate enough to be suffering from any kind of disease. This is because as medical care advances, so do the costs for treatment. The very purpose of health insurance is to provide you the much needed care you require in difficult times. Health insurance not only protects you and your family financially in times of unexpected injury or illness but can also provide you with preventive care options. Remember that you can never predict what your medical bills will be. In some years they may be low and in others they may be high but at all times you will atleast have your piece of mind knowing that you and your family are protected against diseases and injuries. Also keep in mind that there is a direct relationship between health insurance and health care. For one, you are free of tensions and secondly health insurance provides for regular visits by the doctor and so you get quality services when you need it. You can buy health insurance for yourself and your family directly from insurance companies. However, before making a choice, do take time to study various health plans and then buy which best fits your requirements. Let me point out that you have a choice of buying Managed health care, which has quickly become the most common type of health insurance in the United States. With health care costs almost constantly on the rise, managed care health insurance can offer a more affordable option to traditional fee-for-service (or indemnity) plans. Managed plans stress preventative medicine too, so if most of your annual medical expenses come from check-ups and the like, this may be a good bet. You also have the option of taking an indemnity plan. This plan on the other hand, will almost certainly be more expensive, but if you have a trusted physician youd like to keep, or suffer from frequent illness, the additional cost is probably worth it. I conclude by saying that national health care expenditures are expected to nearly double over the next 10 years. Thats largely due to the increased use and cost of prescription drugs, advances in medical technology and treatments, hospital equipment and services, increased specialty care, over-use of emergency rooms for non-emergency needs, and other factors. In the light of this the only way out for us is to ensure that we have health insurance to tide us through the rough weather. References The Importance of Health and Health Care. Chapter 4 http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/2008_erp_ch4.pdf J.Z. Ayanian et al., Unmet Health Needs of Uninsured Adults in the United States, Journal of the American Medical Association 284, no. 16 (2000) The New York Times. When a Job Disappears, So Does the Health Care http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/07uninsured.html?blex=1228798800en=8a47220b90bc54e4ei=5087%0A Ian Urbina. A Decline in Uninsured Is Reported for 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/washington/27census.html?_r=1 W. Johnson and S. Crystal. R.W. Johnson and S. Crystal, Health Insurance Coverage at Midlife: Characteristics, Costs, and Dynamics, Health Care Financing Review 18, no. 3 (1997):

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Cutting for Maggie monologue essays

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Cutting for Maggie monologue essays One of those no-neck monsters hit me with a hot buttered biscuit so I have to change! Well, I! - just remarked that! - one of th no-neck monsters messed up my lovely lace dress so I got to cha-a-ange! I swear theyve got no necks. None visible. Their fat little heads are stuck on their fat little bodies without a bit of connection. An its too bad, cause you cant wring their necks if theyve got no necks to wring! Yep, theyre monsters, all right. All no-neck people are monsters. Hear them? Hear them screaming? I dont know where their voice boxes are located since they dont have necks. I tell you I got so nervous at that table tonight I thought I would throw back my head and utter a scream you could hear clear across the Arkansas border and parts of Louisiana and Tennessee. I said to your charming sister-in-law, Mae, honey couldnt you feed those precious little thing at a separate table? They make such a mess and the lace cloth looks soooo pretty... She made enormous eyes at me and said, Ohhhhhh, no! On Big Daddys birthday? Why, he would never forgive me! Well, I want you to know, Big Daddy hadnt been at that table two minutes with them no-neck monsters slobbering an drooling over their food before he threw down his fork and shouted Fo Gods sake, Gooper! Why dont you feed them pigs at a trough in the kitchen?! Well, I swear, I simply could have dii-ie-ed! -Big Daddy shares my attitude towards Brother man and that monster of fertility Mae! As for me, well - I give him a laugh now and then and he tolerates me. In fact, - I sometimes suspect that Big Daddy harbors a little unconscious lech for me. Way he always drops his eyes down my body when Im talking to him, drops his eyes to my boobs an licks his old chops! Ha ha! - Why are ...

Environmental Pollution Scenario Review and Summary Research Paper

Environmental Pollution Scenario Review and Summary - Research Paper Example The paper "Environmental Pollution Scenario Review and Summary" analyzes environmental pollution scenario. There are seven measures we are to choose from as the budget allows to implement only 4 of them. Thus, when deciding which ones to choose, it is essential to use the method of elimination. In other words, it is important to define three measures, which are not very efficient and will not bring appreciable results. First of all, it is encouraging carpooling. This measure is not efficient in the modern world, as all the people have cars. In any case, they would prefer to use their own cars instead of waiting for a bus. People buy cars to make their way to work comfortable, because public transportation is not comfortable enough. This method could have been effective twenty years ago, but not now. Moreover, people want to be free and not to adjust to buses’ schedule. Buses will not be used by people, and the introduction of them will just add to the environmental pollution. The same can be stated about the encouraging of alternative transportation. People know pretty well that walking is useful for their health, but when they risk being late for work in the morning, they usually do not think about this usefulness. Several extra minutes spent drinking coffee in the morning are valuable for many people with an active way of life. They buy cars to have these extra minutes. Pollution control legislation for point sources also will not bring good results as people usually do not approve. of such laws and they do not work. The trouble is that such legislation demands much from the business owners and they prefer to actively reject such laws. The cruel laws of business make business owners think first of all about getting more income and reducing expenses, thus, there is very little chance that they would prefer to sacrifice their positions at the market in order to help save the environment. They prefer to consider such laws to be the measures taken to preve nt them from conducting successful activity. It is essential not to issue the laws, but to act. Four remaining items will really help reduce pollution, thus, the funds should be spent to implement them. The first important step is to establish green spaces or urban forestry. The development of the city demands building new houses and this usually requires eliminating some green spaces (Harding, 2006). However, if such a situation occurs, it is necessary to reimburse the losses by establishing new green spaces near the new building. The second essential step is to improve the roads as good roads help the cars make fewer emissions. This is one of the most expensive measures, but it is very essential to implement it. Promoting fuel-efficient cars is a very important measure that is taken in almost every developed country today. Such measure really can help save our environment and reduce pollution. Certainly, it demands much expense, but the game is worth the candle. Fuel-efficient car s should be manufactured and widely used by the people to save our environment, thus, it is essential to encourage people to use them. The last essential step is random emission testing, and it will serve to evaluate the changes the first three

Portfolio management Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Portfolio management - Statistics Project Example In this project, the prices of the stocks provide the weights of the portfolios for all the stocks provided. The monthly returns for the stocks in the investment pool are calculated with the formula in equation 1 below: Where xp is the monthly expected return, pi is the weight of the portfolio and n is the average number of assets. The values of calculation of the expected monthly returns are presented in the table 1 presented below: The returns computed for the years of this study show the expected return increasing from left to right for all the stocks except IBM that drops at the end of the period within the time series. The stock returns values experience wide variance due to the fluctuation in portfolio weights across the period. The process of refining the investment involved ignoring the portfolio with low weights and retaining the high weight portfolio. The selection aimed at picking 3 stocks with the best returns to represent the high efficiency required in the pool decision. The high efficiency stocks were found to be IBM and MMM. The decision was made on the values based on the original currency returns. The time series for the refined investment pool carries the following stock: The major reason for reducing the number of stocks in the refined investment is that many assets have caused a wide variation of the portfolio weights and return on investment (Tobin 1958, p. 65). The analysis sets up individual each of the assets independently to as to classify them as either risky assets or risk free assets using the correlation projections. The refinement judges the investment by their return, hence; it operates with the few selected manageable stocks to reduce the portfolio size by ignoring the low return stocks. The tangent portfolio was constructed using the Matlab program. The program uses the data entries from the covariance matrix with the new weights of portfolios. The mean return values and the optimal portfolio

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International Management Ethics and Values - Essay Example She’s frequently hungry and almost always tired, she said. â€Å"Living and working like this, by the time you are twenty, you are already old, and your health is failing. When you reach thirty, they fire you. It is not just. I have no savings. I have nothing.† Akter came to Washington to tell her story as a coalition of civic, labour and religious organizations launched a public campaign seeking to highlight what it calls labour abuses in Bangladesh and other poor nations. Spearheading the push is Charles Kernaghan, the labour activist who exposed poor working conditions at Central American factories that made goods for the Kathie Lee Gifford clothing line. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokesman Bill Wertz acknowledged there have been â€Å"violations of working hour standards† at the factory where Akter works. He said the retail giant is trying to work with the suppliers to make improvements. If the manufacturer doesn’t shape up, Wertz said, Wal-Mart may sever i ts ties to the factory. â€Å"We can’t condone certain kinds of practices and won’t do business with companies that fail to improve,† he said. That’s what Akter is afraid of. If Wal-Mart terminates its purchasing agreements with the factory, she and her co-workers could find themselves without jobs. Lisa Rahman, nineteen, of Dhaka, Bangladesh, said that’s what happened at the factory where she used to work after she and other workers began complaining about bad working conditions, including twelve hour workdays, filthy restrooms and unsanitary drinking water. She worked at the Shah Makhdum factory, which made goods for Walt Disney Co., including clothing in its Winnie the Pooh line. â€Å"I was crying all the time,† she said. After workers at the plant complained and took their woes to the media, Disney pulled out of the factory, leaving 200 employees out of work, she said. Mark Spears, Disney’s compliance director, said the company h as â€Å"experienced poor conditions, in Bangladesh.† When the company investigated the allegations, it found that conditions were not as serious as workers had alleged. But its subcontractor decided to cease buying goods from the manufacturer. â€Å"Clearly the publicity may not have helped,† Spears said. Kernaghan said the ease with which multinational corporations relocate has a chilling effect on the willingness of workers to speak out about what he said are widespread abuses of workers in many poor countries. He said he has been urging Disney and other companies to stay and work to improve conditions rather than exit quickly to avoid bad publicity. â€Å"All it would take is one word from Michael Eisner,† Disney’s chairman and CEO, and the jobs could return to the factory where Rahman worked, he said. â€Å"Bangladesh has good labour laws,† said officials from the country. â€Å"It is unlikely any factories would permit such poor working cond itions,† they added. â€Å"Can a person work eighteen hours a day?† said Mohammed G. Hussain, commerce counsellor for Bangladesh’s embassy in Washington. â€Å"It’s impossible.† The officials questioned why Kernaghan and his associates are raising the sweatshop issue publicly, pointing out that it could affect employment in the deeply impoverished nation, where 40 percent of adults are unemployed. Adapted from K.G. Grimsley, â€Å"‘Already Old’ In Bangladesh†, The Washington Post, 25 September 2002, as reprinted in J.K. Milne, Ethics for International Business