Starbucks’ Mission: Aligned with Its Strategies

Is Starbucks' Mission (vision, goals, objectives) aligned with its strategies? Analyze Starbucks based on the strategic process outline and write a five page paper answering the preceding question. As I drove to work this morning, I decided to make a slight detour from my normal route to get a cup of morning goodness in the form of fresh coffee. I could have stopped off at the corner convenience store, smelt gasoline being pumped and the ring-a-ding-ding of the slot machines that frequent just about every Las Vegas establishment, but I was looking for a little more something. I decided to drive an extra 30 seconds out of my way to go to an establishment that I knew would provide outstanding quality coffee, serve it with a smile, and provide an environment that was classy and warm. I decided to go to Starbucks. As I walked in, I smelt the fresh coffee grounds and heard a catchy song on the stereo. When the gal behind the counter greeted me with a big smile and asked, â€Å"What can I get started for you? † I knew I had made the right decision. The Starbucks corporation has done an outstanding job since 1970 with the execution of it's strategicprocess resulting in it currently owning 40% of the specialty coffee market and boosting annual sales exceeding $7 billion according to an article published by Burt Helm. Figure 1. Strategic Management Tasks According to the courseware there are five steps to be accomplished in the Strategic Management Process. See Figure 1 above. The one essential area that this graph excludes however is analysis. I will include this step in the following discussion. Mission Statement From the Starbucks website we find that the Starbucks' mission statement is, â€Å"Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow†. The website goes on to say â€Å"the mission is more than words on a piece of paper but rather a philosophy that guides how we do business every day. † While the later half appears to be fluff and corporate jargon, it is actually relevant in the way the Starbucks conducts business daily. With this mission statement they have determined who they are and what they intend to do. Breaking it down further we find that the key market is the coffee market, the contribution is to be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee, and that the distinction is doing all of this while maintaining their uncompromising principles. I will state the uncompromising principles as part of the objective area to follow. Analysis Starbucks knows that it is not in this market alone. In fact in some areas of the world it is already slightly behind. According to caterersearch. com, â€Å"in the UK Starbucks has been usurped by Costa Coffee as the UK's largest coffee shop operator, with 24. % (540 stores) compared to 24. 7% (555) for the Whitbread-owned chain†. The article went on to say that the market continues to have huge growth, exceeding 15% per year. The courseware introduced one method of analyzing the market known as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). It was interesting to find the following chart, Figure 2, located in the Datamonitor Starbucks Co rporation Company Profile. Figure 2. Starbucks SWOT Analysis This SWOT analysis invariably helped Starbucks with the next phase of the strategy process, that of objective setting. Setting Objectives As mentioned earlier, Starbucks mission statement eludes to uncompromising principles. According to the Starbucks. com, these principles include: 1. Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. 2. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. 3. Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. 4. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. 5. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. 6. Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. While the Corporation calls these principles, and they are principles indeed, they also use these principles as a set of objectives from which they conduct their daily operations. A final objective that has recently come about from the Corporate Chairman Howard Schultz, is to ensure that the company does not forget its roots as it attempts to continue to grow. Schultz is aggressive. According to a Business Week article by Burt Helm, he would like to triple annual sales up to $23 billion by the year 2012, and almost quadruple the number ofStarbucks stores globally. This is smart. He sees the strengths and opportunities of the SWOT analysis above and wants to expound on his global presence and take advantage of the continual 14-15% annual growth of the market. Schultz also knows that there are slowing US retail sales however. To counteract this he intends to preserve the old world feel of a coffee bistro. In order to keep up with the demand, Starbucks has had to modernize some of its procedures. Helm states that the company has had to sacrifice some of the old world feel and incorporate the use of automatic espresso machines, vacuum sealed bags of coffee, CDs, and so on. Schultz wants to minimize the watering down of what he calls â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. This is difficult in today's society in which most businesses attempt to get consumers in and out as quickly as possible and customers expect and demand the same, a phenomena known as â€Å"The McDonaldization of Society†. Implementation and Execution of the Strategy Starbucks has implemented the principles and goals into daily operations. Looking through page after page of the Starbucks website, it is evident that the corporation has internalized these principles and uses them as guidelines. Providing a great work environment hashappened in a number of ways. Starbucks provides employees with training and education. One program listed on the Starbucks website is called, â€Å"Learning to Lead†. In this program employees learn effective management practices. Another employee programis â€Å"Business and Communication† in which workers are offered a variety of classes to aid in their management skills. These programs allow for advancement and a sense of accomplishment by employees. They added together with company benefits are attempts by Starbucks to foster a friendly work environment. Diversity is accomplished through the hiring process. Starbucks knows that it is important that every voice is heard, and in which employees strive to learn about one another. In doing this, the company ensures that no group of potential customers are alienated. Starbucks applies the highest standards in freshly delivered coffee in a couple of ways. According to the company home page, Starbucks works with suppliers and farmers daily in an attempt to sustain high quality coffee production. In addition to this, a program known as â€Å"Coffee Education† was put into effect in which employees learn the finer nuances of coffee, from aroma to taste, and as a result are better able to speak to customers about the gourmet products. The intent of this according to Helm, is to share Starbucks' passion for coffee and to make the coffee industry more like the wine industry. If Starbucks is able to make its customers connoisseurs of coffee, it can then stock and sellhigh end coffee for up to $28 per pound. Starbucks knows that competitors such as McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, or even the corner convenience store can't compete in this niche of the market. Starbucks has had success with ensuring that coffee drinking is an experience. According to Jeneanne Rae, â€Å"80% of Starbucks' revenues come from customers who visit their stores an average of 18 times a month†. This statistic alone tells us that the company is keeping its customers happy. The nice lighting, the plush furniture, the smooth music all aid in this endeavor. Rae goes on to say, â€Å"people will gladly pay more for an experience that is not only functional but also emotionally rewarding†. Simply put, I could go to the corner store and get a cup of coffee for $. 5 and get my caffeine shot for the day. In this process however I may feel like I'm missing out on the finer things in life, â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. As a result, I will go out of my way, pay $2 for a cup of coffee, and feel more satisfied. Starbucks also strives to contribute positively to its communities and surrounding environments. It strives to be a friendly gathering place for locals. According to its website, Starbucks supports local organizations with cash and contributions as well as promotes art, culture, education, and environmental awareness. The final goal of Starbucks is to be profitable and promote future success. It does this through taking care of its stakeholders. The Starbucks Code of Ethics for CEO and Finance Leaders states, â€Å"I am charged with ensuring that stake holders interests are appropriately balanced, protected and preserved†. All corporate decisions are made with the preceding oath in mind. Starbucks will continue to have success in the coffee market due to its strongstrategy. From vision statement, through SWOT, to implementation, and finally the execution of daily operations, it has been a synergistic effort. This process has culminated in what has been coined, â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. Customers will take a five minute detour, just as I did this morning, to be greeted with a warm smile, receive a piping hot cup of java, all in a clean quant old world feel environment. Howard Schultz and his crew are well on their way to achieving their goals of 40,000 stores and $23. 2 billion in sales by the year 2012. REFERENCES Datamonitor Starbucks Corporations Company Profile, 25 Jan 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from, http://www. investor. reuters. om/data/files/Company%20Profile%20Sample%20for%20Reuters. pdf Helm, Burt. 9 Apr 2007. SAVING STARBUCKS' SOUL; Chairman Howard Schultz is on a mission to take his company back to its roots. Oh, yeah-he also wants to triple sales in five years. Business Week. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=44=1252343951=3=1=3=PROD=PQD=309=PQD=1184944744=29440=1 Keel, Robert. 10 July 2007. The McDonaldization of Society. Ret rieved on 20 July 2007 from, http://www. umsl. du/~keelr/010/mcdonsoc. html McDonald's to open coffee chain in Japan, 12 July 2007. Retrieved on 20 July 2007 from, http://www. topix. com/drink/2007/07/mcdonalds-to-open-coffee-chain-in-japan Rae, Jeneanne. 27 Nov 2006. The Importance Of Great Customer Experiences? Business Week. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=60&did=1166573331&SrchMode=3&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1184944933&clientId=29440&aid=1 UK coffee market set to double over the next 10 years, 23 May 2007, Retrieved on 20 July 07 from,

Evidence Based Practice in Mental Health Nursing Essay

One of the most common and disabling psychological disorders encountered within mental health and general medical settings is that of an anxiety disorder (Dattilio & Kendall 2000). Research has indicated that people with learning disabilities are more prevalent to psychological disorders than the general population (Hassiotis et al 2000) consequently it could be hypothesised that prevalence rates of anxiety disorders are similar if not greater within the learning disabled population. Professional literature suggests that cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) has been an effective treatment against anxiety disorder (Beck 1995) however; this literature has predominately concentrated its focus to within the confines of mental health and general medical settings (Dattilio & Kendall 2000). The ability of people with learning disabilities to identify, evaluate and respond to their dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs, fundamentals of CBT (Beck 1995) have put into question the very use of this treatment programme for this particular client group (Kroese et al 1997). From a professional and personal perspective and through the utilisation of the Seedhouse (1998) ‘Ethical Grid’ responding to an anxiety disorder by way of CBT could be considered an ethically acceptable clinical intervention. Nationally and locally through government directives, ‘Valuing People’ (Department of Health 2001) and initiatives such as Health Action Plans (Department of Health 2002) services have recognised that they need to be more responsive to the mental health needs of people with learning disabilities. As a learning disability nurse wishing to ascertain the effectiveness of CBT as a practical intervention when presented with the dual-diagnosis of anxiety disorder and l earning disability, is through the use of ‘evidence-based practice’. When deciding on the best possible clinical intervention for an identified practice problem it seams logical to convert the issue into a single answerable question (Colyer & Kamath 1999). Several authors have identified that the use of frameworks to inform the development of the clinical question provide the practitioner with a systematic process of formulating an answerable question (Sackett et al 1997 Ridsdale1998). One such framework as described by Sackett et al (1997) is a four- stage process, known by the acronym PICO: Patient or Population Intervention or Indicator Comparison or Control Outcome The construction of an answerable question is the basis of evidence-based practice and should guide the practitioner to how to find an answer (Ridsdale 1998). It is important that each variable under the PICO framework is clearly defined, being as detailed and explicit as possible in order to extend clarification to the question. Working through PICO methodically the practitioner would instigate the process by defining the ‘Patient or Population’. Characteristics such age, gender and diagnosis would need to be deliberated and whilst the aforementioned were easily recognised in the practice area as adult male, identifying appropriate terminology for diagnosis can prove problematic. The term ‘Learning Disability’ is often used interchangeably in literature with terms such as, Mental Retardation and Intellectual Disabilities. ‘Learning Disability’ is a term with contemporary usage within the United Kingdom to describe a client group with significant development delays (Gates 1996). Whilst the idiom ‘Learning Disability’ is the preferred terminology for the question due to its contemporary usage it must be accepted that it’s a term not internationally recognised nor is it a term used for long in the United Kingdom (Gates 1996). Anxiety disorder comes in many facets and can be described as severe psychological disorders in which abnormal or chronic anxiety interferes with daily living (Adams & Bromley 1998). The client in the practice area had described psychological and physiological symptoms that were diagnosed as a social anxiety disorder through rating scales and self-report measures. It is crucial that the practitioner is aware that the term identified for the question as ‘social anxiety’ is often recognised by the synonyms, social phobia or panic disorder (Dattilio & Kendall 2000). The recognition of this inconsistent terminology will enable an evaluation to  take place between the relationships of the chosen term to symptoms displayed by the client. The identification of existing clinical interventions is a valuable part of the process of developing evidenced-based interventions (Meijel 2003). Literature suggests that CBT is an effective treatment for a number of psychological disorders (Embling 2002 Hatton 2002). Central to the model of CBT is that distorted or dysfunctional thinking is prevalent in all psychological disorders (Beck 1995). Analysis of accumulated experience of existing interventions and the aforementioned evidence of its validity led to the application of CBT as the ‘question intervention’. It is not imperative for the question to have a comparison intervention and this was the situation in the clinical problem described, therefore the conclusive element utilising the PICO framework was ‘outcome’. The outcome should be measurable (Sackett et al 1997) and after initially trivialising with the term ‘used’ it became evident that this would not develop into something that could be measured. Discussing whether or not an intervention is ‘effective’ however would provide the question with a measurable outcome. Revision of the terminology identified through the PICO framework would consequently translate the question as – Is cognitive-behaviour therapy an effective intervention for adult males with learning disabilities diagnosed as suffering from social anxiety? A well-formulated search strategy is an essential component in gathering appropriate evidence (Hewitt-Taylor 2002). Ridsdale (1998) discusses a four-stage search strategy that helps to translate the question into a meaningful search – a) Identify the subject elements of the question b) Define the relationship between the subject elements c) Convert the subject elements into search themes d) Decide on the scope of the search Assistance to define the subject elements can be found within the PICO framework – Patient – Learning Disability, Social Anxiety Intervention – CBT Outcome – Effectiveness Once identified an effective means of linking the subject elements of a question for the search process is through the use of ‘operators’. Operators such as: And – Or – Not, form a logical link between the elements of the question and can be used collectively or individually in any electronic database search (Ridsdale 1998). All of the subject elements of the question were required in order provide a conclusive answer therefore the operator required for the search strategy could be identified as ‘And’. The subject elements then require conversion into terms by which references can be retrieved (Ridsdale 1998). A keyword search would apply the terms identified as the subject elements, however making a list of the known synonyms of the subject elements such as Intellectual Disability and Mental Retardation, for inclusion, would substantially develop the search process. Finally the scope of the search decides what is wanted from the search. In order to identify the most appropriate type of evidence that is required for the practice problem the type of question asked must be identified (Sackett et al 1997). The question developed through the PICO framework can be readily identified as questioning, ‘the effectiveness of a therapy’. Sackett et al (1997) proposes that the best available evidence to answer this type of question is comparative / prospective studies and ideally random controlled trials (RCTs) which in turn determine the choice of database (Ridsdale 1998). Sackett et al (1997) provides a comprehensive catalogue of information resources such as databases, journals and web sites along with descriptions  of the type of evidence that can be found within these resources. It was established previously that the best type of evidence for the question would be RCTs and comparative / prospective studies. From the descriptions supplied by Sackett et al (1997) it could be identified that the Cochrane Library supplies the user with full text systematic reviews of effects of health-care interventions along with bibliographies of controlled trials. Further electronic databases identified through Salford University library information services were PsycINFO that contains citations and summaries of journal articles and books in the field of psychology chosen for its congruity with the clinical intervention. ‘Swetswise’ an electronic journal aggregator that provides access to full text publications from several major health care related academic publishers and ‘IngentaConnect’ which offers full text availability for all core Blackwell science and medical journals were chosen due to familiarity of use and extensive subject matter. Other databases considered were CINAHL, EMBASE and AMED however all were discounted due to their general nursing bias. Despite the recognition of Ridsdale’s (1998) four-stage search strategy and its systematic approach the initial search were completed exploiting familiar strategies through the IngentaConnect database. Preconceptions from previous endeavours searching for relevant evidence furnished the belief that a similar strategy would provide sufficient evidence to answer the question. A number of the subject elements were used through keyword searches whilst the operator ‘And’ was used to link each in turn (See Appendix). This easy to use search strategy produced a number of hits however none matched the criteria identified as being the most appropriate type of evidence to answer the question. The search revealed that almost all of the evidence found belonged in either mental health (Heimberg 2002) or general medical settings (Scholing & Emmelkamp 1999). Whenever the term learning disability or mental retardation was utilised they invariable appeared indiscriminately amidst the title or abstract of the article providing no specific relevance to the question. The frustration born out of this strategy led to further searches of electronic databases firstly through another familiar database, Swetswise. Ridsdale (1998) identifies that too many hits will be recovered if the subject element is to general  and this was evident in the first keyword search. The term learning disabilities produced 548 hits (See Appendix) far too many to feasibly scan. The subsequent four searches failed to produce a single hit a possibility also recognised by Ridsdale (1998) who suggests alternative synonyms are utilised in this circumstance. Due to the inability to find any relevant material of value towards answering the question Ridsdale’s (1998) four-stage strategy was then conscientiously adopted in conjunction with the knowledge acquired through lectures received at Salford University. A further search of Swetswise database was completed (See Appendix) which revealed significantly less hits than previously achieved but produced a literature review (Hatton 2002) specifically aimed at the use of CBT and people with learning disabilities. Whilst this evidence did not fulfil previous identified criteria it established that pursuing Ridsdale’s (1998) strategy could provide some success. A similar approach was undertaken while searching the Cochrane Library database which allows the user to restrict the search to the acquisition of systematic reviews and controlled trials whilst using a simple keyword option. Again the subject elements were utilised along with the recognised operator and despite new found co nfidence and knowledge the search strategy revealed no evidence of systematic reviews or RCTs with regards to the question (See Appendix). All systematic reviews or RCTs retrieved belonged within general and mental health settings. The final electronic database to be utilised was PsycINFO (via Ovid) where again Ridsdale’s (1998) four-stage strategy was conscientiously adopted. PsycINFO requires the user to have some prior knowledge of how to use electronic databases and their search strategies, which initially can prove bewildering to the novice. Once familiar with the database and its ability to combine search strategies either through keyword, journal or author the user should find it a practical resource (See Appendix). No systematic reviews or RCTs were found within the results however a further literature review (Feldman & Rivas-Vazquez 2003) aimed at psychosocial interventions and people with intellectual disabilities was unearthed along with evidence from child and adolescence services (Dadds & Spence 1997) and psychiatric services (Carmin & Albano 2003). Hatton (2002) suggests that research evidence on the effects of psychosocial interventions  for people with learning disabilities is sparse, whilst Kroese (1998) adds that therapists are reluctant to engage into therapy with this client group due to their dislike of having to relate to them. In an attempt to discover any type of evidence relating to people with learning disabilities and CBT the Salford University library catalogue was searched (See Appendix). A simple keyword search revealed one book (Kroese et al 1997) attaining the subject elements however again it did not produce the type of evidence recognised as the most appropriate to answer the question. Sackett et al (1997 p.2) defines evidence based practice as: â€Å"†¦the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients†. With this definition in mind it should be established as to what constitutes ‘current best evidence’ and its implications for the practitioner wishing to implement ‘evidence based practice’. Belsey & Snell (2001 p.2) states that, â€Å"†¦evidence is presented in many forms†¦ and the value of evidence can be ranked according to the following classification in descending order of credibility†: I. Strong evidence from at least one systematic review of multiple well-designed randomised controlled trials II. Strong evidence from at least one properly designed randomised controlled trial of appropriate size III. Evidence from well-designed trials such as non-randomised trials, cohort studies, time series or matched case-controlled studies IV. Evidence from well-designed non-experimental studies from more than one centre or research group V. Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical evidence, descriptive studies or reports of expert committees In accepting this hierarchy of evidence practitioners should concede that the systematic review of multiple well-designed RCTs constitutes ‘best available evidence’ (Colyer & Kamath 1999). Sullivan (1998) adds weight to this argument when he states that RCTs constitute the strongest source of evidence and that the scientific community prefer the quantitative research technique that makes use of empirical data following a systematic process. Whilst a number of RCTs were found (Dadds & Spence 1997 Scholing & Emmelkamp 1999) whilst undertaking the search strategy none belonged within learning disability settings. The only evidence found specific to the original question were literature reviews and a specialist book (Kroese et al 1997) aimed at CBT and learning disabilities. The literature reviews (Hatton 2002 Kroese 1998) revealed that a number of case studies and a case series had demonstrated the potential feasibility of CBT reducing anxiety amongst people with learning disabilities. Whilst the specialist book (Kroese et al 1997) discussed conceptual and contextual issues of CBT and people with learning disabilities suffering anxiety disorders. This type of evidence appears in the lower reaches of the hierarchy of evidence and as such its subjectivity, reliability and validity can be disputed (Sullivan 1998). Whilst acknowledging the hierarchy of evidence and the proposal that comparative / prospective studies and ideally RCTs were the best forms of evidence to answer this type of question (Sackett et al 1997) it appears that in their absence the evidence revealed is the ‘best available’. RCTs are widely acknowledged as the gold standard of evidence-based practice (Rowland & Goss 2000) however it is suggested that they bear little resemblance to day-to-day reality (McInnes et al 2001). RCTs can be pragmatic or explanatory the former is concerned with the overall effectiveness of an intervention whilst the latter examines the impact of specific treatment elements on outcome (Parry 2000) however neither considers the perspectives and uniqueness of the respondents. The evidence recovered for the question (Hatton 2002 Kroese 1998) albeit in the lower reaches of the hierarchy acknowledges the feelings of the respondents due to its qualitative nature (patient centred, holistic and humanistic) therefore making it extremely suitable for the study of nursing phenomena (Parahoo  1997) along with its relevance as regards answering a therapy question (Parry 2000). Kroese (1997) offers a number of reasons why there is this lack of quantitative research evidence surrounding the subject elements in the question. He suggests that people with a learning disability are a devalued population, it is impossible to ensure that changes are due to clinical manipulations if individuals (learning disabled) do not have stable cognitions. Finally there is a conjecture that anxiety in people with learning disabilities is the same as in the general population consequently there is no need for specifically focused research. It emerges that learning disability services continue to adapt research evidence from general and mental health settings (Finlay & Lyons 2001) a similar approach with the RCTs recovered from the search strategy could make them a valued resource however it would take a skilled clinician to make this a feasible option. Reflection is a necessary component of Continuing Professional Development and is a legitimate method for questioning personal effectiveness and responsibility in all aspects of health care (Driscoll & Teh 2001). Through the process of reflection the practitioner recognised his own limitations in identifying appropriate evidence for his clinical problems, along with the often inconclusive, time consuming and frustrating strategies undertaken in the search of evidence in support of his clinical practice. The structured frameworks utilised throughout the process described earlier gave the practitioner a systematic approach to formulating a question, developing a search strategy and identifying appropriate evidence to answer his practice problem. The ability to systematically approach future clinical problems will enable the practitioner to offer his clients a holistic, client centred practice from the best external evidence available. Adams, B. Bromley, B. (1998) Psychology for Health Care Key Terms and Concepts, London, Macmillan Press Beck, J.S. (1995) Cognitive Therapy Basics and Beyond, London, Guildford Press. Belsey, J. Snell, T. (2001) What is Evidence-Based Medicine? [Internet] Available from www.jr2.ox.uk/bandolier (Accessed 7th December 2004) Carmin, C.N. Albano, A.M. (2003) Clinical Management of Anxiety Disorder in Psychiatric Settings: Psychology’s Impact on Evidence-Based Treatment of Children and Adults, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol. 34, No. 2 pp 170-176. Colyer, H. Kamath, P. (1999) Evidence-based practice A philosophical and political analysis: some matters for consideration by professional practitioners, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp 188-193 Dadds, M.R. Spence, S.H. (1997) Prevention and Early Intervention for Anxiety Disorders: A Controlled Trial, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Vol. 65, No. 4, pp 627-635. Dattilio, F.M. Kendall, P.C. (2000) Panic Disorder In: Dattilio, F.M. Freeman, A. Cognitive Behavioural Strategies in Crisis Interventions 2nd Edition, London, The Guildford Press. Driscoll, J. Teh, B. (2001) The potential of reflective practice to develop individual orthopaedic nurse practitioners and their practice, Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing, Vol. 5, pp 95-103 Embling, S. (2002) The effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy in depression, Nursing Standard, Vol. 17, Nos. 14-15, pp 33-41 Feldman, L.B. Rivas-Vazquez, R.A. (2003) Assessment and Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice Vol. 34, No. 4, pp 396-405. Gates, B. (1996) Learning Disability In: Kenworthy, N. Snowley, G. Gilling, C. (Eds) Common Foundations Studies in Nursing Second Edition, London, Churchill Livingston. Hassiotis, A. Barron, P. O’Hara, J. (2000) Mental Health Services for People with Learning Disabilities, British Medical Journal, Vol. 321, Issue 7261, pp 583-584 Hatton, C. (2002) Psychosocial interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems: A review, Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp 357-373. Hewitt-Taylor, J. (2002) Evidence-based practice, Nursing Standard, Vol. 17, Nos. 14-15, pp 47-52. Department of Health (2001) Valuing People A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century, A White Paper, London, HMSO. Department of Health (2002) Health Action Plans and Health Facilitation Good Practice Guidance for Learning Disability Partnership Boards, London, Department of Health. Heimberg, R.G. (2002) Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: Current Status and Future Directions, Society of Biomedical Psychiatry, Vol. 51, pp 101-108. Kroese, B.S. Dagnan, D. Loumidis, K. (1997) (Eds) Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy for People with Learning Disabilities, London, Brunner-Routledge. Kroese, B.S. (1998) Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for People with Learning Disabilities, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, Vol. 26, pp 315-322. McInnes, E. Harvey, G. Fennessy, G. Clark, E. (2001) Implementing evidence-based practice in clinical situations, Nursing Standard, Vol. 15, No. 41, pp 40-44. Meijel, van B. Game, C. Swieten-Duijfjes, van B. Grypdonck, M.H.F. (2003) The development of evidence-based nursing interventions: methodological considerations, Journal of Advance Nursing, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp 84-92. Parry, G. (2000) Evidence-based psychotherapy In: Rowland N. Goss S. (Eds) Evidence-Based Counselling and Psychological Therapies Research and Applications, London, Routledge. Ridsdale, L (1998) (Ed) Evidence-based Practice in Primary Care, London, Churchill Livingston. Rowland, N. Goss, S. (2000) (Eds) Evidence-Based Counselling and Psychological Therapies Research and Applications, London, Routledge. Sackett, D.L. Richardson, W.S. Rosenberg, W. Hayes, R.B. (1997) Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM, London, Churchill Livingston. Scholing, A. Emmelkamp, P.M.G. (1999) Prediction of treatment outcomes in social phobia: a cross-validation, Behaviour Research and Therapy, Vol. 37, pp 659-670 Seedhouse, D. (1998) Ethics The Heart of Health Care 2nd Edition, Chichester, Wiley. Sullivan, P. (1998) Developing evidence-based care in mental health nursing, Nursing Standard, Vol. 12, No. 31, pp 35-38

Sustainable Business Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Religion and Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religion and Nationalism - Essay Example Writers and authors try to portray the relationship between religion and nationalism in different ways. Historically, there have been religious and national conflicts in South Asian countries. In this study I will focus on how Amitav Ghosh interprets the relationship between religion and nationalism in India, Pakistan, Bengal and Egypt in his writings. He talks about many themes such as the separation between India and Pakistan in 1947, the relationship between Hindus and Muslims, the alienation of a Hindu person in a Muslim country, and the ‘crises of belonging’ that seems to afflict many of his characters. The way that Ghosh characterizes people of different religions and races, the fairness of his characterization, the attitudes and the changes in them, the description of his characters as being similar or different, and the way he regards religions, nations, and countries, will all be analysed. To what extent Amitav Ghosh gives priority to religion over nationalism, the role religion plays in the lives of his fictional characters and the honesty of narration, and the elements of friction or cohabitation in his three novels will all be subject to scrutiny in this study. The overall theme of this dissertation will be the relationship between religion and nationalism, a rising issue in postcolonial discourse. In the following chapters I will illustrate how in these three texts Ghosh signals the religious and national aspects and their interrelations when he describes people in his writings. Part II - Critique / Analysis of The Circle of Reason In this part, I will discuss the importance of religion in the lives of some of the characters in The Circle of Reason and how Ghosh constantly gives hints to make this point clear. Initially, I will concentrate on the beginning of the novel and the notions Ghosh keeps pointing to at such as immigration, the separation of India and Pakistan and then of Pakistan and Bangladesh. I will also address issues like the armed insurrection in Bengal against the British; the divide between religious and national motivations; the Hindu portrayal of God and how that has changed throughout history. I will then consider whether the characters in the novel consider religion as a myth or an overarching force, and how does religious extremism spread across the border after the partition To move to other points: do some characters think of religion as a myth How do the Indians treat the missionary's Bibles and why How does the independence of a nation create instability in the frontier regions Why does Ghosh mention the Middle East while dealing with terrorists groups Does it mean that he sees Islam as a contributing factor What are the perceptions and biases in respect to marriages between Hindus and a Muslims And how is religion corrupted by myths / traditions which do not relate to the true

The Conspiracies Surrounding the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Research Paper

The Conspiracies Surrounding the Assassination of John F. Kennedy - Research Paper Example It is evident from the opinion poll conducted by ABC News in 2003 wherein 70 percent of the people did not approve of the fact that Oswald planned the assassination by himself, and no outside forces were involved in the plotting. Their argument was that bullets aimed at from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository could not have succeeded in aiming at the President. They felt the presence of another gunman, possibly aiming at from the Grassy knoll of Dealey Plaza. There were still others who felt that President Kennedy was assassinated under a greater conspiracy. Doubt has been expressed over the role of CIA agents who might have shown their anguish over the Bay of Pigs or at the provocation of Vice President Lyndon Johnson. KGB functionaries were also under the scanner besides mobsters who were annoyed at Kennedy's brother for prosecuting organized crime rings. Thus, the assassination of President Kennedy was one of history's most famous political assassinations whose ca use and culprits are still not confirmed. Amid rumors, 32 percent of those polled by ABC think that Oswald acted on his own (Time Specials par. 1-2) Facts There are numerous conspiracy theories doing the rounds around the assassination of President Kennedy. After being arrested, Oswald was shot at and murdered by Jack Ruby not long after being arrested. General opinion was that it was Oswald who assassinated the President but he was not alone. People had doubts over the KGB, the FBI, and the American underworld. Most of the witnesses were not sure as to from which direction the bullets came, strengthening the theory that there were more than one shooter.

Do social stories decrease challenging behaviour in children with Dissertation

Do social stories decrease challenging behaviour in children with Autism - Dissertation Example Parents, instructors and psychologists have practiced variety of instructional methods and techniques for improving behavioural disorders among the children with autism. Social Stories are used to enhance social behaviour and social skills among the children having developmental disorders and autism. Social Stories are widely accepted cognitive approach to behaviour change. It is a part of general knowledge and clinical studies also mentioned the fact that children with autism have lower social appointment and less regularly initiative and respond to initiations than their typical mates. Because of autism and other developmental problems, children show some signs of poor social interactions, loneliness, difficulty in making and maintaining social relationships, and other types of mental disorders. The most important goal of Social Stories is to deal with those devastating difficulties among the children with ASD (Kokina & Kern, n.d.). Parents and teachers identify that generally Soci al Stories are written to give details the meaning of problematic situations to the students and give emphasis to the pertinent details, by this means addressing students’ difficulties stemming from weak central coherence (WCC). Shannon Crozier’s case study clearly underlines that the student who engaged in the case study demonstrated a frequent reduction in his disruptive social behaviour. Other factors like participant’s age, degree of diagnosis, format of the Social Stories, length of the intervention and the process of assessment play a significant role in the processes of examining the effectiveness of Social Stories in creating desirable social behaviour among the autistic children. Background of the study In order to appreciate the use of social stories in promoting desirable behaviours, we need to know about various challenging behaviours generally autistic children were explored. So it will explore the historical context of the issues as it will help to give a theoretical perspective for current policy and so on. Parents and instructors have followed mixed opinion about the effectiveness of Social Stories in creating desirable social skills among the children with autism. However, Social Stories help the children with specific behavioural disorders to comprehend some social situations, and other’s perspectives towards various social contexts. The study gets vital importance when one relates the topic in to the ongoing issues about the effectiveness of the social stories in creating desirable social behaviour among the children having behavioural problems.†Children and youths with autism display a variety of unique behaviours, including social interaction excesses and deficits , self-stimulatory behaviours and marked preoccupation with restricted and stereotyped responses† (Zager, 1999, p.194). The proposed study will search to establish the current status of various techniques for children with behavioural disor der. It will discuss how parents and instructors demands social stories for removing behaviour challenges from their children’s nature. Existing instructional methods for autistic children paved the way for numerous debates and discussions about their effectiveness. Studies make available vital information about the growing phase of challenging behav

Business Aspects of Management Accounting Essay

Business Aspects of Management Accounting - Essay Example Thus the strategic management accounting techniques developed to provide business solutions and assist the management in taking strategic decisions. Cost management techques of SMA- ABC costing which focuses on the cost associated with activities which are the cause of indirect costs, their management so as to achieve competitive advantage, Life Cycle costing; This tries to trace the cost of a product from its inception, growth, maturity and delcline,thus give a broad long term view to the management from marketing perspective. Quality costing; the costs which arise due to quality control, quality failure prevention, quality achievement etc. These costs are considered essential these days as quality of a product sets the survival benchmark for any brand. Strategic Costing; the wholistic view of the band position and market pentration strategy is kept as the prime focus under this for competitive positioning and marketing. Target Costing; thorough analysis of how much profit can be supported by the market and refining the product design to ensure that the target profit is achieved. Thus external environment affects its outcome tr emendously. Value chain costing; The cost under this is supposed to include all activites from the design of the product to its distribution. It strategically considers companies likages with external entities ie. vendors and customers to bring in economies of scale resulting in greater efficiency. All these costing techniques help the management in its strategic decision making process be it for curtaing inefficienct activities or designing a product for specific target market. Performance Appraisal techniqes-Bench marking- this is a technique wherein best practices are identified and internal position is then evaluated against the idenfiied practices so as to bring about improvement in the processes and systems. This techniqe considers competitiors' practices and so is externally oriented. Integrated performance measurement- An integrated approach to performance appraisal which considers both financial and non financial measures. It is considered a balance approach and its role in strategic planning is important. Customer Accounting; this practice appraises cost, sales or profit by considering customer or customer segments as the base for accounting analysis. It is considered a relational marketing analysis tool. Competitor analysis- Competitive position monitoring; the monitoring is done by benchmarking various heads like, unit cost, market share, product mix and volume of competitors and plotting own data against it. These help in quick evaluation against main competitors and devise a game plan for future course of action. Competitor Cost Assessment; this is a variation of the earlier technique and focuses on cost patterns of competitors. The source of information is considered dubious like, ex-employees, common vendors or even close observation. Competitor Performance Appraisal based on public finacial statement; it is a fairly straight

Advantages and the Use of Online Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Advantages and the Use of Online Business - Essay Example This paper tells that the internet is a fast and easy sharing tool of information, which makes it the most important tool of the new era. The Internet has been the catalyst for the change and development of the business world in the generation. It has become indispensable for the companies to gain the maximum benefit with lower fixed costs and investments, through their resources. This is done by using the most efficient manner to compete with rivals in terms of crises. Aydin & Kavaklioglu uses content analysis method in their study on the website www.kitapix.com to make sales directly to the final consumer over the internet. This website was formed in 2009 under a low budget but established a customer group in a spell. Low investment costs and low fixed costs benefits, made e-commerce much more attractive for other companies. Besides the low costs, Baird notes that e-commerce may reach to a large geographical area with unlimited boundaries of service time and provide a great competi tive advantage to the businesses. For example, in the retail industry, merchandise assortments can increase inventory carrying costs and expenditures, which are caused by product returns. To control these costs, many retailers have maintained relatively few stock-keeping units (SKUs), which yield a pattern of awareness in sales commonly known as the 80/20 rule and described by the Pareto Principle. Another example is that some people have claimed that the surge of Internet retail activity can dilute this concentrated pattern of sales by lowering consumer search costs. As a result, they have argued that Internet commerce may contribute to an expansion in the share of sales by niche products, thereby creating a longer tail in the distribution of SKU sales. This phenomenon may ultimately make it more attractive to sell a greater variety of SKUs without incurring excessive carrying and product return costs.

Douglas Coupland, Generation X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Douglas Coupland, Generation X - Essay Example It means that the American society is open for changes and innovations, unlike the Canadian society, which rejected the book at first. Generation X is positioned by Coupland as a distracted youth, free of moral stereotypes and prejudices. Moreover, Coupland claims that the Canadian dimension of literature does not present a blur of regional and national identity. This claim of the author plays an important role in the modern globalized, internationally blurred context. Moreover, it is argued that Generation X is a future prospect of the future social development of the contemporaries in technologically savvy world, freed from social bounds. Xers and their essence A tendency of escape from the strict bonds of the society is one of the most crucial issues of the novel. In other words, Coupland appeals for freedom and independence of the contemporaries. There is nothing, but individuals, who are technologically savvy and rigorous. A contemporary society is a society of consumers and cur rent communication implies nothing more than commentaries to the actions of other individuals. There is no need for the main characters of the novel to live in compliance with worn-out moral norms and ways of behavior. The contemporaries are ready to call for their earlier lives. There is a massive appeal of the author for the modern society to discard stereotypical behaviors and escape from monotonous lives. On the other hand, there is no evident possibility to escape from a socially stable reality: â€Å"...the realization that the smiles that they wear in their daily lives are the same as the smiles worn by people who have been good-naturedly fleeced, but fleeced nonetheless and who are unable because of social convention to show their anger† (Coupland 1991, p. 7).   It is essential and interesting to notice, that such kind of unusual arguments and a new air for the development of the Canadian minds was not readily accepted by the latter. The author appeals for the remov al of consumerist stereotypes or any other standardized types of behavior. It is not appropriate and even ill-mannered for the contemporaries to think and to act in accordance with irrelevant stereotypes. Coupland underlines a widening gap of generations’ split and there is a need to bridge the gap. The only way to do it is to become â€Å"naked† individuals with clear minds and create the modern reality, which is between reality and cyber space. Unlike earlier years, modern social templates of behavior are not linear. It is evident, that the modern society is being developed in different directions, blurring the borders and static limits of diversified development. Therefore, one of the greatest dilemmas, parent-children relationships is described by Coupland in an unusual manner. Modern youth is confident and they do not want their parents to be confident instead of them. Parental â€Å"crowbars† cannot be applied to reshape the lives of their children, as it used to be many centuries ago. Divided sections of text underlines dualistic development of the modern life: the modernity is being developed in accordance with the laws of computer technologies: a bipolar system of the modern society development reiterates binary system of computer technologies. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to have emotional features of human beings and the main characters Andy, Dag, and Claire have remained sensual humane characters and not computerized machines. There is enough courage among these characters and they are able to abandon a well-structured world, designed by the worn-out social system for them for life, which has no structure, templates and purpose. The modern culture is being develope

History of Nursing Homes Essay Example for Free

History of Nursing Homes Essay Today, there are approximately 16,100 nursing homes in the U. S. with approximately 1. 5 million residents (www. cdc. gov). However historically, the sick, disabled, and aged were cared for at home by family members. Changes in technology and social changes have created a shift in how we care for our elderly and disabled, and there is evolution in geriatric care that continues today (Morris, 1995). Nurses have had a huge role in revolutionizing the care for our elderly and for creating what is the modern nursing home. Caring for the old age, or geriatric nursing, is often not viewed as being as prestigious as other specialties in nursing. Despite the growing elderly population and the fact that 46% of all Registered Nurses will be providing direct care to the elderly, the majority of nursing students still do not receive any specialized content in geriatric nursing (Ebersole Touhy, 2006). Later on, we will discuss the development of geriatric nursing as a specialty and as it relates to the history of long-term care. In the sixteenth century, we began to see institutions developed to care for a variety of people in need. This did not just include the elderly or disabled, but any dependent poor, sick, orphaned children, widows, insane, and even minor criminals. These institutions could be considered a predecessor to the nursing homes that eventually followed (Morris, 1995). Poor laws in Europe gave rise to these institutions referred to as workhouses, almshouses, or poorhouses. They provided very minimal nursing care, and the care was often provided by â€Å"pauper nurses† who were not trained and usually inmates themselves, often alcoholics. Agnes Jones, a Nightingale trained nurse visited a Liverpool Infirmary in 1864 and reported â€Å"deplorable† conditions. She was forced to dismiss 35 pauper nurses for drunkenness and stated that bed clothes had not been washed for months (Ebersole Touhy, 2006). These poorhouses were common in the United States as well and often had the same deplorable conditions. Carolyn Bartlett Crane, the Chairman of Charity Organization Department of Women’s Civic Improvement League of Kalamazoo, MI attempted to address these problems first with the Michigan State Nurses’ Association in 1906 and again with the Nurses’ Associated Alumni of the United States in 1907 with pleas for nursing care in these almshouses. In her 1907 paper, â€Å"Almshouse Nursing: the Human Need; the Professional Opportunity†, she described the county almshouse as a â€Å"hospital with the hospital part left out. † She went on to talk about how the specialization of institutions for certain groups, such as asylums and orphanages, left the elderly and infirm to be the majority of those left with no other options besides the poorhouses (as cited in Ebersole Touhy, 2006 p. 8). Little progress was made. In 1912, the American Nurses’ Association Board of Directors appointed an Almshouse Committee to oversee housing in these institutions. Progress continued to be slow. From 1910 to 1920 focus was taken away from elder care due to the war (Ebersole Touhy, 2006). An article published in the American Journal of Nursing in 1930 by Munson, R. N. discussed the conditions in the almshouses and lack of quality nursing care. She states, â€Å"Modern nursing in England and in this country was started with the purpose of ‘cleaning up’ just such conditions in hospitals as are still found in almshouses. † She proposed that these small almshouses be consolidated into larger facilities that are better managed (1930). Morris describes the factors that have led to the need for the care that nursing homes provide today. They describe an area of healthcare when a person is not acutely ill and in need of hospital care, but is perhaps chronically ill and cannot return independently to live in his or her home. This â€Å"middle† is ever changing and is affected by two factors: technology and social change. As we discussed earlier, care for the elderly and infirm had largely been done by individual families. Poorhouses and almshouses arose to meet the need for anyone who did not have family to care for them or means to care for themselves. The need increased in the U. S. as the immigrant population rose and there was a shift from extended to nuclear families. A child born in 1900 had a life expectancy of only forty-seven years old. As medical technology, for example, infection control, rapidly developed, the population of elderly people increased. With the rise in aged population, there was an increase in chronic disabilities associated with age (1995). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, living standards increased. The poorhouses began to become a thing of the past as there was a movement to specialize care for certain groups. For example: asylums for mentally ill, TB sanatoriums, veterans’ hospitals, and orphanages. There was homecare provided by public health nurses, but many refused to care for the chronically ill (Morris, 1995). As mentioned earlier, the elderly and infirm were among the last left in the poorhouses. Thanks to the efforts of many, including many nurses, there was a push to provide better care and bring trained nurses into these almshouses. By 1940, increased expectations for care and the Social Security Act led to the rise of the modern nursing home. The Social Security Act provided a means for elderly who could no longer work and widows to have financial means to pay for care. Entrepreneurs quickly took advantage and homes for the elderly were often as much for profit as for care. By the 1960s, scandals and patient neglect led to increased regulation and public control over expansion (Morris, 1995). Medicare and Medicaid provided more money for care of the elderly and also further increased government control. Rapid increases in technology and new treatments led to a further rise in the aged and vulnerable population and increasing costs. Nursing homes became linked to local hospitals and doctor referrals. Some homes specialized their services to include services for cognitive impairment or active rehabilitation. Government reimbursement and regulation became more complicated. Nursing homes became less â€Å"homes† and more medical facilities. They operated with a limited nursing staff and very little physician presence. It continues today that nursing homes face contradictory pressures to accept sicker and more difficult patients while at the same time maintaining a â€Å"home-like† atmosphere. All this while limiting costs (Morris, 1995). As more specialized care for the elderly developed, it was apparent that the needs of the elderly were not as simple as taking the principles of nursing care and applying them to the aged. Geriatric nursing has only become recognized as a specialty within the past fifty years. However, the origins of gerontological nursing can be traced all the way back to Florence Nightingale who once was a superintendent in an institution we would call a nursing home today. The clinical study of the aged can be traced back much further to Hippocrates. A Viennese physician, Ignatiz Nascher coined the word â€Å"geriatrics† in a 1909 New York Medical Journal article. In 1935, a physician named Marjorie Warren established an elderly concentrated practice with a concentration on environment, rehabilitation and motivational methods (Ebersole Touhy, 2006). Geriatric nursing is a unique specialty in that it was developed by nurses themselves. Other nursing specialties were first developed in medicine and then carried over to nursing. The reason for this difference is that medicine so often concentrates on curing illness and prolonging life. As Ebersole states, â€Å"Old people often have little life left and therefore are unattractive subjects. † Nurses, in contrast, have always sought to prevent illness and alleviate suffering (Ebersole Touhy, 2006). It seems fitting that nursing, and not medicine, would give birth to this specialty and that is something that nurse’s should take pride in. However, as mentioned earlier, geriatric nursing is often considered the least prestigious of nursing concentrations. With the continued rise of the elderly population as the baby-boomer generation ages, nurses should be prepared to care for elderly in some capacity no matter which specialty they choose. It is unfortunate that nursing schools often provide little material on geriatrics as a unique population. Care for the elderly has continued to make slow, but consistent progress even in more recent years. Although we are leaps and bounds from the almshouse, there has still been serious abuse and neglect in nursing homes and cries for change in the way we house and care for our elderly. In addition to more people receiving homecare services that allow them to live at home longer, there are other movements to change the nursing home itself. William Thomas describes an alternative concept that hopes to revolutionize long-term care, the Eden Alternative. He states, â€Å"The modern American nursing home is being crushed between the intrinsic weaknesses of the institution and the rising expectations of a new generation of elders. We are witnesses to its destruction. Like the leper colony, the tuberculosis sanitarium and insane asylum, the nursing home is about to be heaved onto the ash heap of history (Thomas, 2003 p. 42). † In 1992, the Eden Alternative began as a grant project in New York. It has changed over the years, but is based on a set of principles that aim to make facilities more like homes. The focus is on treating the residents as unique individuals first and patients second. Some changes that differ from traditional nursing homes include environmental changes like carpets, plants, and allowing pets and personal items, single rooms, and family style meals. Staff at Eden facilities do not dress in scrubs and whenever possible, a child daycare is on site to increase staff satisfaction as well as bringing more life into the facility. Currently only about 2% of U. S. nursing homes have adopted this new format despite the statistics showing significant reductions in behavioral incidents, decubitus ulcers, bedfast residents, use of restraints, and staff absenteeism. There was also an increase in census (Thomas, 2003). Going a step beyond the Eden Alternative, an even more recent development has been the â€Å"Green House† with a focus on smaller being better. These homes aim to blend seamlessly into a community and house up to eight residents in what is more than a home-like atmosphere, but very much a home. The technology would still be utilized, but as in the original Eden model, it should be woven into daily life without interfering with it. So far, Green Houses have been able to meet the increasing challenges of providing state of the art care and keeping costs down while complying with state and federal regulations (Thomas, 2003). In conclusion, the nursing home and geriatric nursing have developed to meet the needs of a changing society with ever increasing medical advances and a larger than ever population of elderly. Nurses have been a huge part in the development of what has become the modern nursing home. As the geriatric nursing specialty has grown, there has also been greater understanding of the unique needs of our aging population. It is clear that despite the advances made, there is still much dissatisfaction in how we care for our elderly population and a lot of room for improvement. New alternatives are being developed and it will be fascinating to be in the field of nursing to witness the changes that are yet to come.

Indoor Flower Arrangements Tips

Indoor Flower Arrangements Tips Arranging flowers can give peace of mind and can also lead to the attainment of patience and strength in adversity. If only the first of these claims is correct how worthwhile it is to spend precious time in selecting flowers and putting them into a vase for the pleasure and delight of those who will enjoy them. The pleasure and satisfaction that can be obtained from arranging a bowl of flowers would be difficult to express. Here are a few room-by-room ideas for everyday decorating. Step inside The atmosphere of a house is not only determined by its living quarters: the reception area at the front door can also play a role. Vestibule, hall and stairway are the ‘introducer of every home. Here, visitors receive their first impression of you. So make these areas more welcoming and attractive. An arrangement of vibrant blooms, such as Sada Bahar or Bougainvillea a floral swag at the front door makes a memorable first impression. Flowers for the kitchen The kitchen is, of course, also an ideal place for flowers. Wild flowers (Gull Benaphsha) and Sunflower in a jug on the counter top can make a great impact. Moreover an arrangement of colored flowers, such as Zinnia presents an ideal environment to a kitchen. Dining among flowers Numerous families also enjoy the presence of flowers at mealtimes, even if this consists of nothing more than a ‘simple flower on the table. An elegant centerpiece of Daisy and Lily creates an intimate dining environment. You can use fresh flowers for creating centerpiece flowers arrangements in which you can place different fresh flowers around two candles in a beautiful manner. The windowsills and cupboard tops are usually festooned with Cactus flowers in small bowls in dining room with less space. Bedroomflower arrangement Bedrooms are now often graced with a profusion of vigorous flowering that really enjoy the somewhat cooler environment. A small arrangement of Roses promotes an atmosphere of rest and romance. A much more attractive arrangement in a long, fairly narrow room is to display flowers like Cosmos in two or three groups. Two or three good places are far more effective than small spots of flowers dotted all over the room. Living room dà ©cor Every interior can be enhanced with flowers. Try floating three or four flowers such as Motia, or brightly colored Tulip petals in a crystal bowl on central table in your living room. Group arrangement is also true for living room dà ©cor Tube Rose and Canna is a best selection for this. Brightly colored flowers such as Pansy or Daffodil flowers are the perfect addition to a windowsill. Bathroom flowers Add a touch of class with an arrangement of miniature Carnations-long-lasting blooms that act as natural air fresheners. Wall flowers When home is small, anything which can be hung on a wall is an advantage. It is possible to create something pleasing to suit the room exactly. The flowers used can be sweet and traditional; with masses of character in a different kind of room can seem strong, up-to-date and vital. Certainly the size can be made to fit exactly the space available and containers to hang on a wall, both modern and antique, are a pleasure to seek out. Particularly in a small room it is good to be able to have a selection of containers which can be changed now and then. A number of a wall vase and containers can be used singly or in a group to show off a single full petalled rose, a gathering of mixed garden flowers, or a few attractive woodland leaf rosettes. Selection of vases and other containers When you make your collection of vases and other flower containers for arrangements, there are some essential points to take into account. Choose a vase that complements your desired arrangements. You dont want to arrange white and pink flowers in a red vase. When you choose your vase, try to imagine what your flower arrangements will look like in it when its completed. You can use different types of vessels for this purpose like soup bowls, coffee cups or sherbet glasses. Short steamed flowers look beautiful in these containers. The most popular shape of vases is Urn, generally all sorts of flowers set best in these vases. But Lilies and other flowers with large and showy heads look excellent. For many arrangements using only a few flowers, it as very useful to have in store a collection of two kinds of vase: glass bottles with narrow necks and steamed cups or goblets. The narrow bottles can take tall-stemmed specimens, whereas the goblets and so on can be used for extremely variegated displays, by embedding short steamed flowers and other plants in a bed of suitably pliable material. Color of flowers Choose colors which complement the decorating scheme of the room. However, dont be locked into the idea that the colors of flowers must match those of the upholstery or draperies, especially if they are colors which do not normally occur in nature. Permanent flowers will always be more pleasing, and they will never go out of style. Better to use a flower in a peach or coral hue, which is the direct chromatic complement to turquoise and a naturally occurring color of roses. Choosing the complementary hue allows the flowers to stand out as a lovely accent to highlight the room. Points to remember Choose flowers that are almost open fully, cut at a slant and place in water. Remove bruised petals and leaves that do not look very good. Change the water in the vase when it becomes cloudy. Use at least three different kinds of flowers in an arrangement. They can be the same color, but different shades or they can be different colors that complement each other. Source Decorating with plants, living color in the home by A.C. Muller-Idzerda Elisabeth de Lestrieux Indoor flowers-A popular guide by Brain Valerie Proudley http://www.chennaionline.com/homedecor/flowerdecoration.asp By Amber Saleem 12- Gosha Angoori Park Link Road Baghbanpura Lahore.

Physics is Everywhere Essay -- Essays Papers

Physics is Everywhere Physics is like math; it is always being used everywhere, whether we are conscious of it or not. With the use and knowledge of physics, one can take into account that knowledge to help them perform a deed more successfully and efficient. Although skydiving and weight lifting aren’t the only activities that involve physics, I feel that they are some of the most interesting and benefit seeking activities. Without the knowledge of physics, skydiving wouldn’t be as safe as it is today and weight lifters wouldn’t be able to lift five times their weight. The history of the physics of skydiving and weight lifting has been affected by implications socially and economically. Over the years, these activities have been altered due to increasing knowledge of physics, and this knowledge will continue to expand as time elapses. In 1797 the Frenchman Andre Jacques Garnerin performed the first parachute plunge from an aircraft using a basket below an open parachute, which was made of silk and solidified with supporting poles (The History of Sport Parachuting). When the first parachute was dropped, physicists didn’t have a wealth of knowledge about the physics that supported skydiving. Ever since the first drop, skydiving has been an evolving sport, as this is due to the developing knowledge of physics. Skydiving is perceived as a very risky sport in the eyes of the public; therefore, in order for the sport to continue, physicists needed to discover ways to reduce the risks involved. They were successful in doing this by developing better equipment and techniques. The economical impact of skydiving has been huge. The research involved in the design of the chute, the materials used, and the engineering invo... ...s. â€Å"Physics in Action† 4 June. 1997. 15 Nov. 2005. http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/projects/frig/piabycbu/pia1.html - George, Jeff. â€Å"Physics and Skydiving†. NASA. 15 Nov. 2005. http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/qa_gp_fm.html - Hewitt, Paul. â€Å"Conceptual Physics.† St. Petersburg Fl. 2006. Tenth Edition. - â€Å"Physics of Skydiving†. 15 Nov. 2005. http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.fall2000.web.projects/Vlad%20Paverman/skydiving.htm - Sabra, Phil. â€Å"What is the physics involved in skydiving?† 2005. PhysLink. 15 Nov. 2005. http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae536.cfm - Sharrow, Dustin. â€Å"A Short History of Bodybuilding†. BMEZINE. 2 Dec. 2003. 15 Nov. 2005. http://www.bmezine.com/news/dustin/20031202.html - â€Å"The History of Sport Parachuting† BPA. 15 Nov. 2005. http://www.bpa.org.uk/history.htm

Crossing Over With John Edwards :: Media Television Paranormal Essays

Crossing Over With John Edwards The article that I have picked is from Entertainment Weekly. This article goes into detail about skeptics whose websites debunk all things paranormal. The skeptics focus on John Edwards, a medium, also known as a cold reader (http://skeptics.com.au). In the article, John Edwards is described as having a show named "Crossing Over With John Edwards," a Sci Fi Channel seance that has recently been reincarnated as a nationwide syndicated series. During this hour long show, John Edwards surrounds himself with an audience and picks out people at random. After saying a name out loud, he then finds that person and focuses his attention towards that one individual. Then he starts firing certain questions to this individual only wanting a yes or a no answer. Once he starts to get yes answers, he knows that he is on the right path to getting the individual to believe anything he says. John Edwards has claimed that he can communicate with the dead, but the web skeptics in the next few paragraphs think otherwise. One web skeptic from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (http://csicop.org) describes the technique that explains John Edwards abilities to communicate with the dead and also have the ability to uncover personal details about the dead people, sight unseen. This technique is called "The Art of Cold Reading." One reading by Edward performed on Larry King Live is being dissected on the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (http://csicop.org.) site by Joe Nickell. Now Joe Nickell goes onto describing how John Edwards incorporates "The Art of Cold Reading" into his act. For example, John Edwards poses questions like "Im getting an older male who is there on the other side," in away that is correct but it has a wide scope, it could mean that he is a friend, brother, uncle, father, grandfather take your pick(E.Weekly, Sept. 21,2001, 86). An Australian skeptics website (http://skeptics.com.au), says that the scenario on the Larry King Live show was true, but the lady that called in actually wanted to communicate with her mother. But John Edwards persistant questionings about the gentlemen figure won out because she was so busy wondering who this gentlemen was that she actually forgot she wanted to communicate with her mother. Now cold readers often focus on their "after death communication" by rapid-firing through a number of different possibilities.

Anayas Bless Me, Ultima: A Psychological Critique of Religions Essay

Christianity, Judaism, Islam. These are only a few of the many religions in this world. How does one choose which religion to follow? Is it their background, nationality, belief, or because that’s the only thing they have always known or come in contact with? The concept of religion is a complex one, a concept to be investigated and questioned. This is the journey that Antonio Marex Luna explores in Rudolfo Anaya’s (1972) Chicano novel Bless Me, Ultima. Throughout the novel, Antonio fights a psychological war in his mind about all the religions and faiths that surround him in his everyday routine. All his life he was raised to believe in God, and as a result he grew to be a devote Catholic. However, some of his beliefs alter when Ultima, a curandera, comes to live with his family. By witnessing her mysterious powers, Antonio begins to question his beliefs. For many years following Ultima’s arrival Antonio balanced the religions of both worlds, by praying to the Virgin Mary while his brothers were away at war, as well as helping Ultima pick and care for her many magical herbs. At first, he didn’t compare the two faiths, but as time went on, he knew it was time to choose which path he wanted to follow into his future. It was his mother’s dream for Antonio to grow to be a priest and be considered a leader of the people and he deeply wanted to grant his mother’s wish. Even at the young age of 6, he would act priestly by blessing those who were in most need. For example, he was there for Narciso’s his last confession and performed the man’s last rites as he lay on his deathbed. Antonio also put a blessing over his brothers so that they would be safe as they left home. Throughout the novel, Antonio suffered an excessive ... ...the carp, he witnessed something elemental, magical, and miraculous without much effort and continued to hear the stories told with great detail and logic. With further investigation he concludes that the legend of the Magic Carp could have very well taken place. With these two concepts of religion, Antonio battles and organizes his thoughts through questions and observation. At certain points he believes that he will be sent to hell for believing in the stories of the King of the Fish. After all, the golden carp is a natural, pagan deity compared to the Christian God Antonio is used to worshipping. But in the end, that too is the teachings of Ultima’s wisdom, Antonio realizes he must learn to live in a world in which Catholicism and the golden carp can coexist, and he must grow to impart knowledge and enlightenment from all the spiritual forces in his life.

Does Internet Makes Us Stupid?

The influence of Internet on the society â€Å"When we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. † This statement, which was made by President Barack Obama, makes us question whether the use of the Internet helps us succeed or makes us stupid and lock ourselves out of the outside world. The Internet bubble increases its volume and density rapidly, because the number of people and hours using the internet increases dramatically every day. Consequently, books and other research resources are becoming increasingly less valuable.The Internet has become the biggest library. By growing so rapidly, the Internet system not only makes life so much easier, but also may exceed certain ethical and moral limits. I think that it is true that the influence of Internet in some instances is making us less intelligent. In this essay, however, I am going to argue that internet doesn't make us stupid. In fact, I believe that what we build an d use now, is a huge new development for the nation and for us as individuals. First, I want to point out that Internet lets us develop as a nation. Since it improves continuously, we as human beings improve, as well.As we develop a system which can carry unimaginable amounts of knowledge, we can become smarter by taking advantage of the information. It doesn’t take that much time to find everything anymore. Thus, we can learn much more in a shorter time period, compared to finding something specific in books or articles, for example, which can be very time-consuming. Of course, books are most likely written in a high-level language, which is in many cases not applicable for the Internet and which can make us able to understand and use specific unusual words.On the other side, however, I think that we want to learn things in an understandable way and to be able to use them quickly, so that we can learn more in the limited time we have. It is true that many people access inapp ropriate internet information or spend more time playing games instead of relating to â€Å"real† people or being outdoors. It is also true that, in some cases, we are getting accustomed to accessing information so easily we don't appreciate it enough. This consequently, makes us lazy in doing research of our own. Instead, we are often using other people’s information and their opinions.I think, however, that this doesn’t make the majority of people less intelligent. In fact, it connects minds. For instance, we are doing something completely new, and we don’t want to do it badly or go to a bad place. The Internet allows us to read reviews and recommendations from people with experience. Thus, we are able to be prepared for something and do a better job. It is also often possible to chat 24 hours a day with someone personally from a specific company or even doctors. This results also in huge timesaving and answers our questions easily. This doesn’t make the people more stupid.To the contrary, it makes them more mature and we develop as human beings. Even people who are actually lazy or not as smart get the chance to improve themselves easily. People who are already very intelligent use the opportunity to go even beyond their abilities. Moreover, as mentioned in the introduction, President Obama also supports that Internet doesn’t make us more stupid, because we are not only relying on it, but thinking with human mind: â€Å"The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires. So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country: you know what, there are some things we do better together. † Although the Internet was created by decentralized gro ups of scientists and programmers and hobbyists, government financing supported much of the early research, obviously because it saw many advantages for the nation in it.In the New York Times article â€Å"The Internet? We create that†, the author supports Obama’s statement, by saying that â€Å"†¦ life is full of things we do better together. But what the Internet and its descendants teach us is that there are now new models for doing things together, success stories that prove convincingly that you don’t need bureaucracies to facilitate public collaboration, and you don’t need the private sector to innovate. † Thus, as shown, the Internet is a new way of learning and doing things which helps us to improve as a human beings.Pointing out things that we do and don't do together brings me to the next point of Internet as a huge advantage in international communication and developing our understandings. The Internet gives us the ability to commun icate with different people around the world and to improve our intellectual diversity. As we learn so much more from other countries and cultures, we get more open-minded and informed. We are getting close as a world community with fast and reliable communication possibilities around the world.In addition, business uses the internet to cooperate and trade with other companies all around the world and to become international. On one hand, this leads to more and better language skills, and on the other hand, to better understanding and studying of different cultures and economies. Consequently, the world view makes us smarter and makes us seek the best we can achieve. A few decades ago, people were not as informed about other countries and diverse as they are now. Every country can improve itself and take huge advantage of other countries, rather than just studying books and not connecting with real people and countries.The communication possibilities are more personal and interactiv e through different chat services and video conferences offered, for instance, by Skype, FaceTime, Whatsapp or Viber. We, who created the internet, did it to become more intelligent. To seek to the best is human nature. How else would everything be so easily and equally available for everyone? From my personal experience I can say that the communication possibilities through the Internet are one of the biggest advantages of the Internet. As an international student in the U. S. I can easily contact my family and friends back in Germany and be up to date. This enables me to study overseas without feeling as far apart and improve myself in all ways in a different culture. It is also worth mentioning that the internet makes it possible and realistic to study in a different language without having major difficulties. Since the internet offers fast access to information in all languages and different translation pages, it is possible to understand everything and make different researches . This fact connects to my last argument: The Internet is the best resource of information.Besides the facts that the Internet helps us to improve ourselves and connect with other countries easily, we have all resources collected together, which we improve and up-to-date constantly. Besides the point that we save time, it lets us compare lots of information. It is true that Internet has diminished our interest in reading books and going to the library. In the book â€Å"The Shallows,† Nicholas Carr mentions that the rise of the Internet might lead to loss of important mental talents because every technology would come with trade-offs.According to Carr, however, the Internet is actually good for the mind. He applies a comprehensive 2009 review of studies published on the cognitive effects of video games and found that gaming led to significant improvements in performance on various cognitive tasks, from visual perception to sustained attention. Consequently, he claims that dif ferent tasks of the Internet could increases the speed of information processing. We don’t need to stick with only a few resources, but can compare everything to get the most correct information, and as a side effect, increase our concentration skills.For example, when we are looking for a specific historic time period, we can compare resources from writers all over the world and thus, we can compare different views on certain aspects. What if the two books you find in the library have two completely different descriptions of an event? Where else, except on the internet through Google or Yahoo searches, could we find out what’s really true? Besides this, the Internet offers access to the latest research in different fields like technology, science or medicine. Isn't that what we want and what can make us smarter?A 2009 study by neuroscientists at the University of California proves that performing Google searches led to increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, at least when compared with reading a â€Å"book-like text. † This certain brain area would, according to the studies, underlie the precise talents, like selective attention and deliberate analysis, which would have vanished in the age of the Internet. Thus, the Internet or specifically â€Å"Google, isn’t making us stupid – it’s exercising the very mental muscles that make us smarter. In addition, students are most likely required to use the internet for extensive researches and be in contact from any place through email or blackboard, for example, to share information and learn. All in all, through my demonstrated arguments that internet lets us act as better people in our life, that it connects the world, and that it is the biggest library with all imaginable information, I strongly believe that Internet is making us predominantly cleverer.It is true that it all depends on an individual person and how he or she is taking advantage of the onli ne world. It also depends what character and habits the person has generally in his or her life, because so does he or she, most likely, get influenced by the internet. In my opinion, however, every person gets advantages of the Internet in their way and learns for his or her life. If, in some way we can say that Internet has a negative effect on the person, we can’t only blame the Internet.All interrupting technologies and the people attending the online world are seeking to get the attention of people, who are constantly craving to get new information in the best way. Consequently, many opportunities and offers are almost impossible to resist that we are wasting a lot of time in the internet. But we are human beings and we are trying to seek to the best or can you resist everything and just be perfectly mature? ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. nytimes. com/2010/06/06/b ooks/review/Lehrer-t. html? _r=0

Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally lll Essay

1. In my article deinstitutionalization bought on some positive effects by lowering health cost, but negative consequences came into the community also. Bringing into effect such things as Medicare and Medicaid, and the establishment of the Community Health Centers. This began to make it easier for the mentally ill to be able to get the help and rehabilitation that was needed rather than just being placed in mental institutions and left alone. â€Å"For example, decreases in inpatient mental health care can be complemented by increases in outpatient mental health care. Decreases in inpatient mental health care can also be paired with increases in other forms of care, such as social welfare, criminal justice, or nursing home care.† The article showed that the government began to step up and take part in the care of the mentally ill, making a way for the public hospitals to no longer be responsible for the mentally ill and private sectors to step in and offer more one on one care. Deinstitutionalization began to free up rooms in hospitals and offer lower medical costs 2. But crime and homelessness did increase in local communities. Some former patients went home to their families, some to nursing homes, where almost a million mentally ill Americans are said to now live. Because of the amount of mentally ill people being released or put out of mental institutions this bought on a great deal of them living on the streets and forced to rob and steal in order to survive. This is how the crime rate began to increase, mentally starting to be placed in the jail or prison system, which in the long run ends up costing far more than one being placed in a mental institution. Communicable diseases became more prominent as women began prostituting themselves. With their mental capacity questionable, it was still believed that people didn’t care what happened to them nor did they pay attention to their needs, until the epidemic of STD’s such as AIDS began to rise and start to affect what was considered to be â€Å"normal Americans households.†

Azerbaijan Place of Interest

Azerbaijan place of interest Azerbaijan is one of the ancient countries in the world. History of country plays main rule in culture. History of Azerbaijan start form 3rd – 5th century till now. Our country has glorious history. For this point this glorious reflected in our culture. This culture includes monuments, folklore, literature and so on. In the 21st , new oil and gas boom helped to improve tourism in Azerbaijan. So government has been spending money for restores this historical building. And this factor affect to our budget.Each year many tourist come to our country. Caravansarai historical monument was built by Sheki Khan. This place was built as resting place for caravans that passed Silk Road through Azerbaijan. Cravansarai was one of the biggest stopover in Caucasus in these years. There are also other interesting and historical places in Sheki. For example Khansari, Juma Masjidi, Silk factory. Gelersen-Gorersen castle is famous their historical accident. Khansarai is popular their special infrastructure in the world.Another interesting places in regions include Nizami`s mausoleum, Shah Abbas Mosque, Old Prison & Lighthouse, Mosque of Sheik Yusuf and so on. Baku is not only capital but also cultural centre of Azerbaijan. Baku is city which is the mix of modern and historical places. Maiden tower is one of the most dominant architecture. It is one of the world's largest Zoroastrian temples . Tower had surrounded Caspian sea many years ago. Atashkag Fire Temple is situated at Surakhani near Baku. This museum was originally the private residence of one of Baku's most famous and oil-millionaires,  H. Z. Taghiyev

Religion: is it a Force For Good in the Modern World? Essay

What is religion, and can it ever be a force for good? Religion is a notional series of beliefs that make sense of the world. For some people, it can help to answer questions about creation, life and death, and provides comfort and a system of belief in and worship of a supernatural power or god. Religion in the West (mainly Christianity) is now not what it once was, and in the East (for example Islam) has become rather distorted due to fundamentalism. Nevertheless, most of us would like to think that religion is a force for good. The basic nature of most religions should make them so, but when people abuse religions and use them as an excuse to make money, exert power, or even to wage war, they turn into a force for bad. The Christianity of the past has sometimes seemed horrific to our eyes, but within the context of the times for many a Christian it was a force for good. We can see now that Christianity was good in the sense that it helped to inspire many good things in education, the rule of law, and culture generally – many paintings and musical compositions were enthused by the Christian religion, because people wanted to have illustrations of their belief in the transcendent. The Ten Commandments were and still are a good way for people and groups to control their behaviour and have a clear moral framework. (It is interesting to note that the Christian idea of turning the other cheek is not what the Christian Americans will be doing if they decide to attack Afghanistan.) There were several things about Christianity in the past that nowadays we consider to be morally wrong, but the Christians at the time thought that what they were doing was right: the crusades, for example, where the European crusaders wandered around the middle east attacking Muslims, sometimes even mistaking Christian villagers for Muslims and slaughtering their families. This would be considered as anything but morally right nowadays. The crusaders, though, thought that it was God’s will that they should slaughter those people, just as was the case was with dogmatic disputes within Christianity, with Christians fighting each other – the Christians thought that they were doing these terrible things for a just cause, just as bigoted and ignorant people in Northern Ireland still do. The good thing about Christianity these days is that the majority of Christian churches are benign give hope and something to rely on (for instance, the disaster in New York attracted many people to come to church to pray, even some non-religious people). Churches provide a focus in the community, and sometimes religious groups can act as a force to counteract bad elements in governments and societies. In the western world nowadays, Christianity is being overtaken by materialism; learning and compassion associated with the Christian religion are being undermined, and in the Middle East and in Africa, fundamentalism, (which takes the words of sacred texts literally), is coming into play. There is the danger for examples of clashes between Protestantism and Catholicism, and between other groups, in particular, evangelical churches, which are fundamentalist in tone, and display for example narrow-mindedness over abortion. There is also a danger from semi-religious cults, which like sects in religion emphasize a few aspects, which are often of benefit financially to themselves, or at least to their leaders. It cannot be very religious that in these money-based cults, there is a wish to dominate financially as well as ideologically. The Islamic religion was like the Christian religion in many respects – it was charitable, respected the individual and also helped to provide the foundations for things like education, law and the arts. However, the Islamic religion expanded too quickly over a wide geographical area, and could not keep up with the development of society, and there began conflicts within itself, and with Christianity. Jihads, (or Holy Wars, similar to crusades), were probably fundamentally more concerned with political and economical aims than with religious ones. Today, when it is part of more open and tolerant Muslim societies, such as Turkey or Pakistan, the Islamic religion does not present a major threat, and it is clear in these countries that there are a lot of similarities between Islamic and Christian principles. But because it has failed overall to adapt and find a place in the modern world, and there has tended to be a large gap between the rich and poor in Muslim societies, then fundamentalism has taken hold among the more ignorant or manipulative elements, and often has strong nationalist connections, as in the Taliban. This is a reaction by the clerics and their associates against a pluralistic society, away from individual rights and especially those of women to the supposedly core beliefs of the religion. In most cases the more tolerant and benevolent aspects of the religion are ignored, and even the strictest are seen to be corrupt: the Taliban’s religious police can be bribed, and often loot the televisions etc that they confiscate. An example of the difficulty that some modern day religions face is the idea of a holy or a just war. Most religions say that you should not commit murder, and should respect the individual, and it is often not easy to see why or how this can be overruled so that churches can justify a war, but the fact is that war is justified by different religions whether we like it or not. Generally a just or holy war should involve clear identification of an enemy, clear reasons for attacking the enemy, and some idea of what the outcome will achieve, even if it is only to the attacker’s benefit. The CIA supported and trained Bin Laden and his followers in Afghanistan when it suited the USA to use him against the Soviet invaders. Now they have to face him as a dangerous enemy. An ex-Soviet general said recently that four soldiers in a tank were no match for an Al-Qaeda follower on a donkey. Bin Laden is now the arch-enemy of the USA. Because he is sheltered in Afghanistan, that country, which has suffered 20 years of terrible war, is likely to be attacked again. The Taliban, however, feels that they have reason to view the USA as the enemy. Is this to do with religion, a real jihad, or is it that because everybody in poor Muslim countries that have suffered a lot of war feel envious of the power and wealth of the world’s only remaining superpower? If President Bush can talk carelessly (or was it carelessly?) about a crusade, is it not understandable that many Muslims feel that this is anti-Islamic in general and not just anti-Bin Laden? There is really no such thing as a justifiable holy war because no one should attack anyone else simply because they have different religious beliefs: the background to any war is always far more complicated than matters of doctrine – it is usually a power game and/or an economics game. Whether we are believers or not, we all have to hope that if used properly and in the right hands, religion can still be a force for good. In bad hands such as those of religious fundamentalists of an extreme kind it can be very dangerous. It is difficult for us to enter the minds of extremists partly because their motives often seem mixed: for example, it is said that the night before the attack on the World Trade Centre a lot of shares were bought and sold by people with connections to Bin Laden, and he seems to be a rich man already. The West has not yet come to terms with what these types of religion can mean and that is why it was taken by surprise on September 11. Until we understand what lies behind the sectarianism of religious extremists we will not be able to deal with these forces which bring what can only be called evil in their wake.