America Needs Capital Punishment Essay -- Pro Death Penalty Essays

In this essay, I will argue for the implementation of the dying penalty. I will establish a clear-cut profile for a criminal to be eligible for death row. I will put ahead arguments for and against the death penalty as supported by various groups and sample to defend my position. I shall also try to criticize the case against the death penalty with individual arguments. Finally, I will demonstrate that no alternative to slap-up punishment can be reached and try to convince you for its fairness. Despite ethical and righteous concerns, the issue of capital punishment must non be push aside without serious consideration and scrutiny.Is our judiciary system working the way it is suppose to? more people and countries are convinced that the judiciary system of the United States is a joke. While law may be rigid and defined, there are a number of loopholes which allow criminals to be set free into the streets. one and only(a) such loophole has the death penalty in its eyes. In my opinion, criminals who commit a heinous offence should be put on death row and they should be penalise as soon as possible without having the slights chance to end back up in association.What type of criminals would meet the criteria for death row? Should every lawbreaker, from a thief to murderer, be sentenced to such a harsh punishment? Absolutely not. In fact, I propose that it is the very extreme felons that should face this penalty. Murderers are the but ones that should be sentenced to death. As a matter of fact, I believe, it is scarce mass murderers that should face up this penalty. While murder is inexcusable, there are a number of ways in which a guilty party might not have been in full control nor done so with a different intent. Crimes of passion, for standard is one such case where one may be compelled to murder, drunk tearaway(a) and separate driving accidents that cause fatalities. Another example could be seen in cases of revenge, such as killing a rapist. Where as such murderers should be punish accordingly, they do not deserve a death penalty.On the other hand, planed violence geared toward a group of induvilas rather than a case-by-case soulfulness must be penalized. Most murders that are seen today come on the mass scale. News reports are full of stories such as the Oklahoma city Bomber, who killed over one hundred people by bombs. One more recent story was the Sniper story, wher... ...le this system is very good for a single murder and should be implemented, it falls through in the case of twofold murders. Thus so far there are no alternatives to the death penalty. The only reasonable excuse against the death penalty is the execution of an innocent person. none the less, while in the past Techniques such as DNA testing did not exist, frequently police agencies are more precise in their direction as well as their methods of finding the guilty party. As a society we must grant our trust into the hands of authority. While the re allay can be wrong imprisonment of people for petty crimes such as robbery, these would not quality for the death row. On the other hand, those people who perpetrate mass murder, and let me reiterate mass murderers are often not wrongfully accused. These people deserve no less for themselves than what they have done to others. even though we are compelled to remember a famous saying An nerve centre For An Eye Makes The World Go Blind we should not forget that death penalty, as I believe, should be applied to murderers of multiple victims. In this sense lets rephrase the saying accordingly 50 eyes for an eye obligates reasonable sense. America Needs Capital Punishment Essay -- pro Death Penalty EssaysIn this essay, I will argue for the implementation of the death penalty. I will establish a clear-cut profile for a criminal to be eligible for death row. I will put forth arguments for and against the death penalty as supported by various groups and try to defend my position. I shall also try to criticize the case against the death penalty with individual arguments. Finally, I will demonstrate that no alternative to capital punishment can be reached and try to convince you for its fairness. Despite ethical and moral concerns, the issue of capital punishment must not be dismissed without serious consideration and scrutiny.Is our judiciary system working the way it is suppose to? Many people and countries are convinced that the judiciary system of the United States is a joke. While law may be rigid and defined, there are a number of loopholes which allow criminals to be set free into the streets. One such loophole has the death penalty in its eyes. In my opinion, criminals who commit a heinous crime should be put on death row and they should be executed as soon as possible without having the slights chance to end back up in society.What type of criminals would meet the criteria for death row? Should every lawbreaker, from a thief to murderer, be sentenced to such a harsh punishment? Absolutely not. In fact, I propose that it is the very extreme felons that should face this penalty. Murderers are the only ones that should be sentenced to death. As a matter of fact, I believe, it is only mass murderers that should confront this penalty. While murder is inexcusable, there are a number of ways in which a guilty party might not have been in full control nor done so with a different intent. Crimes of passion, for example is one such case where one may be compelled to murder, drunk driving and other driving accidents that cause fatalities. Another example could be seen in cases of revenge, such as killing a rapist. Where as such murderers should be punished accordingly, they do not deserve a death penalty.On the other hand, planed violence geared toward a group of induvilas rather than a single person must be penalized. Most murders that are seen today come on the mass scale. News reports are full of stories such as the Oklaho ma City Bomber, who killed over one hundred people by bombs. One more recent story was the Sniper story, wher... ...le this system is very good for a single murder and should be implemented, it falls through in the case of multiple murders. Thus so far there are no alternatives to the death penalty. The only reasonable excuse against the death penalty is the execution of an innocent person. None the less, while in the past Techniques such as DNA testing did not exist, frequently police agencies are more precise in their accusation as well as their methods of finding the guilty party. As a society we must grant our trust into the hands of authority. While there still can be wrong imprisonment of people for petty crimes such as robbery, these would not quality for the death row. On the other hand, those people who committed mass murder, and let me reiterate mass murderers are often not wrongfully accused. These people deserve no less for themselves than what they have done to others. Even though we are compelled to remember a famous saying An Eye For An Eye Makes The World Go Blind we should not forget that death penalty, as I believe, should be applied to murderers of multiple victims. In this sense lets rephrase the saying accordingly 50 eyes for an eye makes reasonable sense.

if bud abbot was alive today :: essays research papers

If Bud Abbott and Lou Cos identifyo were alive today, their infamous sketch,"Whos on first?" might have turned out something like thisCOSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTTABBOTT Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?COSTELLO Thanks. Im setting up an dominance in my den and Im thinkingabout buying a computer.ABBOTT Mac?COSTELLO No, the names Lou.ABBOTT Your computer?COSTELLO I dont own a computer. I want to buy one.ABBOTT Mac?COSTELLO I told you, my names Lou.ABBOTT What about Windows?COSTELLO Why? Will it get mossy in here?ABBOTT Do you want a computer with Windows?COSTELLO I dont know. What will I see when I look at the windows?ABBOTT Wallpaper.COSTELLO Never brain the windows. I need a computer and software.ABBOTT Software for Windows?COSTELLO No. On the computer I need something I can use to writeproposals, overlay expenses and run my business. What do you have?ABBOTT Office.COSTELLO Yeah, for my office. Can you cheer anything?ABBOTT I just did.COSTELLO Y ou just did what?ABBOTT Recommend something.COSTELLO You recommended something?ABBOTT Yes.COSTELLO For my office?ABBOTT Yes.COSTELLO OK, what did you recommend for my office?ABBOTT Office.COSTELLO Yes, for my officeABBOTT I recommend Office with Windows.COSTELLO I already have an office with windows OK, lets just sayIm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do Ineed?ABBOTT Word.COSTELLO What word?ABBOTT Word in Office.COSTELLO The only word in office is office.ABBOTT The Word in Office for Windows.COSTELLO Which word in office for windows?ABBOTT The Word you get when you click the toothsome "W".COSTELLO Im going to click your blue "w" if you dont start with somestraight answers. OK, forget that. Can I watch movies on theInternet?ABBOTT Yes, you want truly One.COSTELLO Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none ofyour business. Just tell me what I needABBOTT Real One.COSTELLO If its a long movie, I also want to watch reels 2, 3 and 4 .Can I watch them?ABBOTT Of course.COSTELLO Great With what?ABBOTT Real One.COSTELLO OK, Im at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What doI do?ABBOTT You click the blue "1".COSTELLO I click the blue one what?ABBOTT The blue "1".COSTELLO Is that different from the blue w?ABBOTT The blue "1" is Real One and the blue "W" is Word.COSTELLO What word?ABBOTT The Word in Office for Windows.COSTELLO But there are three words in "office for windows"ABBOTT No, just one. But its the most popular Word in the world.

Voice over Internet Protocol Essay -- VoIP Technology Networking Essay

Voice over Internet ProtocolDefinition of VoIPMr. Watson, come here, I want you These were the first oral communication that were spoken over the tele mobilise set grit on March 10 1876. If you combine this invention with the same invention of the first computer that was completed more or less 70 years later in 1946, you would then be able to access VoIP. VoIP is also known as voice over internet protocol. VoIP is in essence the ability to talk with ones voice via computer to computer. In the next few pages you will learn about the history of VoIP, how it works, the requirements that are needed to utilization VoIP, the benefits and risks of this type of technology, and lastly you will evolve a glimpse at the future of VoIP.Not many people know what VoIP is or even that it exists. VoIP was knowing to help with the costs for long distance charges. The idea or premise of this type of technology was conceived to use ones phone line and make a offer through the Internet. It was d esigned to be used for both local and long distance calls thus cutting phone bill costs.The VoIP way of communication was started back in 1995 and was the result of work done by some hobbyists in Israel (Interangent, 2005). These hobbyists as well as other great inventors saw a hot idea. Their idea was to be able to communicate through the computer as appose to talking over the phone. The idea was not so much to get away from the phone system but more to avoid long distance charges. In the beginning VoIP was only available when there was a sharpen personal computer to personal computer connection. Later in 1995 Vocaltec, Inc. released Internet Phone Software (Interagent, 2005). In the beginning it was fairly difficult to use. Due to the concomitant that in order to really be able to communicate using VoIP both the computers that were trying to communicate to each other would be required to use the same equipment, have a sound card and use a microphone. It was a good first effort, but as many firsts, the quality was genuinely poor. VoIP would make great strides in the next three years. In 1998 VoIP had made such great strides that some companies were able to offer personal computer to phone services. The strides also were able to offer phone to phone contact. In the beginning VoIP did not charge their customers but chose to get payment through advertisements. When you made the phone call you would have to wait through an advert... ...baseTechLand Group (2005). Strategies for Migrating Corporate Voice Traffic to the Data Network, Retrieved June 6, 2005 from the sphere large Web http//www.techland.co.uk/index/page.indexTry-three. (2005). History VoIP Article. Retrieved whitethorn 21, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.try-there.com/voip/directory/history-voip.htmlTyson, J. (2005). How stuff works. How voip works. Retrieved June 3, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htmVoippreview. (2004). History of VoIP. Retri eved May 20, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.voipreview.org/news.details.aspx?nid=51Wagner, J. (2004, June 21). Networking. Retrieved May 26, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.internetnews.com/infr/article.php/3371431Webopedia (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.webopedia.comWhat Is (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.whatis.comWikipedia (2004). Definitions in Technology. Retrieved May 26, 2005, from the World Wide Web www.wikipedia.comWikipedia (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 11, 2005, from the World Wide Web http//www.wikipedia.org

Mary Kay Letoureau :: essays research papers

Mary Kay Letourneau was a 34 year old teacher from Seattle, Washinton who was convicted of second degree rape on a twelve year old boy. As a result of this affair this already mother of four-spot had two childeren with this 12 year old boy. She originally was senteced to spend 90 days in jail and was to take medicine for being bi-polar. She violated news by again having sexual intercourse with Vili once again. She was senteced to seven and a half years in jail and was recently released from prison. The area of this situation I will be writing about is the incidicent that happend in the marina with Vili and Mary. Both were found in a mini-van by the police late at night , approximatly 0100 am. Vili appeared to be hiding under a sleeping bag and the police asked how old he was. She replied and said he was 18. The police became suspcious after the youth did not moderate any idenitification amd said he was 14. The police brought the two of them to the situation where Vilis mother was called and she okd the fact that Mary was watching over VIli. Some questions come of this situation. Was the police solution standard protocol? Was their investigation solid? Was the out come fair? And, If I was the commanding officer what orders would I have given to the investigators.Was the police chemical reaction standard protocol? Yes, the police initially questioned what a watchman thought was a person or incident. Upon arrival the found what looked like a new boy hinding in a sleeping bag so , they questioned the individuals in the mini-van. Vili who was originally said to be 18 years old could not piddle documents to prove his age and then later said he was 14 so they were taken to headquarters because of that issue and other suspcions. After arriving at the station VIlis mother was called because Mary told the police officers that she was his teacher ans was watching him overnight. Vilis mother assured police that her son was under the care of Mary. In this siutation the police had comely suspition after the officers asked the age and they gave a conflicting answer along with the absence of identification. The actions of the police to take them to headquarters in nornal in instances when a person set up prove age or identity.

othello review Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeare has produced an incredibly large library of work, including 38 plays and countless sonnets. His plays are divided into four main sections the Histories, the Tragedies, the Comedies, and the Romances. Othello falls under Tragedy, as it ends with the death of many characters, including the principals. Shakespeares work has been produced since the Renaissance in all artistic median(a)s from the original theater to opera, symphony, film, and ballet. It has also been consistently revisited countless times by the same artistic medium because it is said to be timeless. Othellos main topics are love, murder, jealousy, miscommunication, chastity, history, and even magic. The play encompasses the classic elements of Shakespeares tragedies, pulling in a bit of history and military strategy. It opens in Venice, a widely known city of artistic and military strength and moves to Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean. The majority of the play takes place in Cyprus, where the ty pical Shakespearean motifs of miscommunication and vengeance for disloyalty are explored. Many of Shakespeares comedies and romances focus around this problem of communication between lovers and friends. Othello, however, takes this quandary to the tragic level, as he presents intricate plots of revenge and uninitiated murder on the basis of unfaithfulness.This play attacks many serious issues, often ignored during the times. The title character is a Moor, an outsider, someone differentiated b...

Condition of the heart :: essays research papers

Condition of the boldness. fancy disease continues to be one of the leading causes of finale in the United States, and because of this, a variety of conditions tend to occur over time. One of these conditions is atrial fibrillation that, according to the American titty association, an estimated two million Americans take a leak an irregular heartbeat (MNN, 2005). It can be seen at times in apparently healthy people, but generally happens in persons older than 65 years of age, and if they are younger than 65 years old, they may suffer conditions such as hypertension, or coronary heart disease.Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm problem (CNN,2005). People with this condition may have symptoms such as palpitations, which is usually the classic symptom. Some others may complain of truncation of breath, fatigue, dypnea, chest discomfort and lightheadedness (Yee and Rozewicz, 2003). A fib is not commonly life threatening however, it could lead to complication if not treate d properly.Atrial fibrillation may be sporadic or chronic. In sporadic atrial fibrillation, a person may have symptom that comes and goes, dont last long, and stop by themselves. However, with chronic A Fib, it lasts until is treated. Some people may have this condition and do not even know it until they go to the doctor for a physical exam.The causes of atrial fibrillation may be difficult to tell. However, in cases such as cardiac surgery, hyperthyroidism, long standing- hypertension, ischemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, tachy-brady syndrome, spend heart syndrome or moderate to heavy intake of alcohol, and other such as electrolytes imbalance, can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (Hiller, 1999). An according to the American Heart Association, 15% of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation. As a result treating, A Fib is an important way to prevent stroke. (MSNBC, 2005)Normally, in establish to pump blood, the heart muscles must contract and relax in a coordinated rhythm these are controlled by electrical signals that travel through the heart muscle. The heart consists of four chambers, two upper chambers (atria) and two lower chambers (ventricles). The upper right chamber has a group of cells called the sinus node, the police van natural pacemaker. The node produces impulses that initiate each heartbeat. During normal rhythm, the impulse goes first to the atria, and then passes to the connecting pathway, which is located between the upper and lower chambers of the heart and is know as atrioventricular node.

Event That Make a Person an Adult Essay

People recognize a difference between children and adults. What events (experiences or ceremonies) make a soul an adult? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. I think the question what events make a person an adult is the one that is open for debate. Some sight think that the step of high school makes a person an adult. Others think that the age of 21 is the age when childhood is replaced by adulthood. However, from my ein truthday experience and reflection I can stand three major events that make a person an adult.The first event that makes a person an adult is getting a job. The ability to earn his own money gives a person the opportunity to live self-reliantly from his parents. Personally, I think the first job is a very important experience in persons behavior and it has a great impact on his personality. He learns how to manage his expenses and how to save money for the more(prenominal) important things. In addition to those benefits, one learns how to arrange his time in order to have all done on time.The second event, which from my opinion deserves an attention, is the graduation from a college or university. I think it is a very essential step in ones life because this means the beginning of a new life with more responsibilities. Finally, I believe that marriage has a great impact on persons life. Marriage means an independent life from ones parents with a new person. It is a very great experience. Two persons create a new family and they face new difficulties and responsibilities.In conclusion, I think that the list of events that make a person an adult can be continued. For example, getting a driving license has sometimes a very great impact on persons life. Another important event in a persons life is the army. I know many young men who served in the Army that changed them very much. They became more serious, self-confident and independent people. So, my point is that every person has different events that influenced his li fe and make him an adult.

My Papa S Waltz Final Draft

With his use Of pathos and ambiguity usually leaves the interpretation Of the poem up to the reader. Some people may consider this poem to advert an offensive relationship between a young male child and his bewilder. On the contrary, some believe this poem reflects on fond memories between a sky pilot and son. In the first stanza, Reroute starts off by setting a sort of ominous t champion. The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small son dizzy/ (1-2). Here he reveals to his readers that his father was drunk and the smell of his breath was unbearable.Subsequently, he goes on to describe the manner in which he was holding on to his father. But hung on similar death / Such waltzing was non easy (3-4). The simile here shows the male child holding onto his father as tight as he possibly could. It was not an easy task for the child but he was determined not to let go. Now, if the reader portrays this in a banish fashion it can be interpreted as a drunken father coming home, r eeking of whiskey, while the child tries as hard as he can to get th or so this current beating, or dance as he calls it.However, if the reader sees this in a more costive light, one can nearly see the small boy standing on his feet, holding on so he wont fall, dancing around with his drunken father. Naturally, it would not be easy to maintain your balance while standing on the feet of another person. The second stanza sounds quite violent. We froliced until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf / My mothers countenance / Could not unfrozen itself (5-8). Here, Reroute describes an almost chaotic scene, with pans falling to the floor caused by the movement of the two. The mothers look on her face clearly indicates that she is not happy with what is going on. Inning the word hoyden contradictly, could imply the boy easily being tossed around the kitchen, pans crashing onto the floor as his father would chase him, and the clear displeasure on the mothers face. On the contrary, the use of romp can be used to describe an overly excited child and his father, c atomic number 18lessly dancing, running and jumping around the kitchen. Meanwhile, the mother could be annoyed at the mess the two are making. Reroute describes the roughness of his fathers hands as well as his ear scratched ear in the third stanza. The hand that held my wrist Was strike on one knuckle (9-10).As his father held onto his wrist, the boy could see calloused and cuts prominent on one knuckle. From an optimistic standpoint we can see the boy notices his fathers injured hand. The cut is assumed to come from the gardening work in the greenhouse in which the family owned. On the other hand the fathers battered hands could be an indication of abuse. The cuts could have possibly occurred from previous altercations. Next, Reroute describes how the alcohol has made his father clumsy and every time his father stumbled the boys ear would scrape on the blame buckle. At every step you missed / My eight ear scraped a buckle (1 1-12). The scraping of the boys ear could paint a picture of the drunken father stumbling around trying to hit the boy with the belt or it can be portrayed as a stumbling father dancing around with the boy on his feet. Because of the height difference, the boys ear is getting scraped. In the fourth and final stanza it becomes apparent its the young boys bed time. Once again Reroute describes his fathers hands as rough and dirt stained, probably from the gardening work in the greenhouse. You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt (13-14).Just like most children, he doesnt want to go and so he clings to his father Then waltzed me off to bed / Still clinging to your shirt (15-16). In a negative aspect, one can assume that this stanza is used to describe more physical abuse from the father. For example, the boy gets sent off to bed still holding on to his fathers shirt as if he is protecting himself from further blows. On the other hand one could imply his fathers dirty hands are simply imitating unison in the same way one would beat on the kitchen table singing along to a song, as he father dances the boy to his bed.Clearly the child is having a good time and does not want it to end, so he holds on tightly to his father. Reroute uses pathos throughout the entire poem. With every written line, the readers emotions are pulled into different directions. Reroute causes his audience to not just respond emotionally but to identityy with his point of view. In essence to feel what he is feeling. The most singular thing about his use of pathos, is that it is undefined in a sense. The readers interpretations from his choice f words creates the emotional rise.When I was first introduced to this poem was in my upstart teens. Maybe it was my inexperience with life or just an immature mindset, but just like most people, too thought this poem was about an abusive father. With the contradictory terms he uses in this piece it is easy to see the negative undertones. However, as time passed and I grew, my outlook on life changed. mayhap it was becoming a mother that helped me see this piece in a new light but when I read it now smile at the thought of a young boy. Dancing around with his father.

Describe how the body responds to stress Essay

Acute stress causes the arousal of the autonomic queasy system (ANS). The ANS comprises of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which prep bes the individualistic for fight or flight and the parasympathetic branch, which returns the individual to their original state of relaxation. Part of the SNS response is the sympathetic adrenal system (SAM), this system along with the SNS is collectively c ei at that placed the sympathomedullary pathway. The SNS is activated when the neurotransmitter norepinephrine is released and travels to the organs of the body preparing them for rapid action. Common responses to this would be increased heart rate, increased pupil size and metabolous changes such as a release of glycogen into the blood stream. In conjunction with the SNS, the SAM is to a fault activated by an acute stressor causing adrenaline to be released into the blood stream, allowing the body to prepare for fight or flight. The SAM is regulated by both the SNS and the adrenal medulla. The adrenal medulla, which shag be embed in the adrenal gland near the kidneys, has two distinct zones, the adrenal medulla in the middle and the adrenal lens cortex around the give awayside. Neurons from the SNS travel to the medulla, so that when it is activated it releases adrenaline into the bloodstream. This adrenaline hence has widespread effects on the physiological systems in the body e.g. boosting the supply of oxygen to the read/write head, and suppressing non-emergency bodily processes such as digestion. The parasympathetic nervous system leave behind become active once the stressor has passed in order to relax the individual again and to re-start bodily functions that whitethorn keep been repressed during the stressful dot.The body deals with more long-term stress differently as it could not function long-term if it were to constantly be in the make via the ANS. The body uses the pituitary-adrenal system to regulate chronic physical or aroused stress, a proces s that takes rough 20mins to complete. Once the body has identified the stressor as world chronic that discipline stimulates the hypothalamus which is responsible for controlling the bodys hormonal systems. Activation of a realmicular region of the hypothalamus, the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) leads to the production of a chemic messenger, corticotrophin-releasing situationor (CRF), which is released into the bloodstream in response to the stressor. On arrival at the anterior lobe ofthe pituitary gland, CRF causes the pituitary to produce and release adrenocorticotrophic hormone (adrenocorticotrophic hormone).From the pituitary, ACTH is transported in the bloodstream to its tar accept site in the adrenal glands, located on top of the kidneys. ACTH then causes the adrenal cortex to release cortisol which has several effects on the body. Primarily it gives the individual a burst of energy and lowers their sensitivity to pain, however it excessively impairs cognitive fulfilla nce, increases blood pressure and lowers the resistive system. The pituitary-adrenal system is self-regulating with both the hypothalamus and pituitary glands using receptors to regulate the amount of CRF and ACTH in the body to maintain an appropriate level of cortisol in the bloodstream.Outline and evaluate query into life changes as a source of stress (6+6 marks) Rahe et al (1970) wanted to employment normal people (i.e. not ill people) to break if the number of life changing events was despoticly correlated with illness. They used a military sample of 2700 naval hands aboard 3 US Navy ships. They were all apt(p) a questionnaire (the SRE) just onwards they started a tour of duty which was based on the SRRS that Holmes and Rahe had originally devised. The questionnaire asked them more or less all the life events they had experienced over the previous 6 months. After somewhat 7 months of duty they were given an illness score which was calculated based on the number, typ e and severity of all illnesses recorded during the tour of duty. Rahe et al put up a positive correlation of +.118 between the life changing units (LCU) score they true from the SRE before going on tour, and the illness score they received interest the tour. A high LCU score shows that the individual had been through significant amounts of stress (either positive or negative), and so a positive correlation with their illness score would suggest that experiencing stressful life changes does lead to more problems with health.Michael and Ben-Zur (2007) studied 130 men and women, half of whom had been recently divorced and half recently widowed. They looked at levels of life satis positionion and unsurprisingly found that in the widowed theme t present was a high satisfaction before their bereavement than after their loss. However, in the break danced group they found the opposite, that individuals in fact reported more life satisfaction following their divorce than they had had before the separation. in that respect areseveral ways to explain this as it may be the result of a more positive observation tower now they felt more in control of their lives instead of being restricted by a partner, or perhaps they were now dating or living with someone new who make them feel happier. The SRRS suggests that any life-changing event has the potential to be harmful to health however critics like Jones and Bright (2001) lay claim that in fact it is the quality of the event which dictates its impact. Undesired, unscheduled and uncontrolled events search to be the ones which cause greatest negative effect. The key flaw in the SRRS is that it ignores individual differences, as different people forget picture the same life event as creating different levels of stress for them based on their speckle, personality and so onFor example the death of a partner may be devastating for one person scarcely a blessed relief for another and in so far both people would be given the same LCU score. at that placefore it is not suitable to use a standard method of categorising individual stress levels when everyone is different. There is an issue of reliability in life change research as it is retrospective meaning reports may not be accurate or self-consistent as they are based on memory which can prove unreliable. Br take in (1974) suggests that people who are unwell may feel the need to try an explanation for their illness, and then are more likely to report stressful events than those who are not ill. Indeed Rahes research of Naval personnel relied on the participants accurately recording life events prior to their tour of duty but some may take in forgotten events, while others may have over-elaborated, which would have ultimately affected their scores.Discuss two explanations of why people conform (4+4 marks)Normative Social play deciding to comply through consonance without adopting that viewpoint. This may be as a result of feeling pres sure from a bulk and not wanting to be rejected from a group by dissenting as humans strive to develop and maintain social companionship. Therefore dissenting behaviour would risk social rejection and may price relationships so we avoid it by conforming. Informational Social Influence Conforming to others due to a genuine belief that they are right. This would involve not just yielding behaviour but also a change in our own thought processes to align with those of the majority thinking. This is most likely to happen when a situation is ambiguous, a crisis, or we believe others to be experts.Normative social capture is particularly effective when a group has low quality inter-personal relationships. Garandeau and Cillessen (2006) found that people in these types of groups may be manipulated by a skilful bully so that victimisation of another child provides the group with a common goal. This suggests that the intensity of normative social influence is dependent on the type of rel ationships within the group. Informational social influence may explain the development and maintenance of social stereotypes. Wittenbrink and Henly (1996) found that participants exposed to negative comparison information about African Americans (which was presented as the majority view) later reported more negative beliefs about a obtuse target individual. This suggests that we can be persuaded to alter our viewpoint permanently that we will continue to stick to the new view even in other contexts. There is picture to support the idea that we seek information from other in ambiguous situations in order to form our own opinion. Fein et al (2007) found that semipolitical opinions of individuals exciteed after showing them the reactions of others while watching a political debate. This suggests that when a situation has no obvious answers we look to others to help us create a judgement.Outline and evaluate research into obedience (6+6 marks)Following the execution of Adolf Eichma nn in 1963 for his part in the murder of Jewish people during the Holocaust, Milgram was interested to see whether Adolfs defence that he was only obeying orders had any current truth to it. He advertised for male volunteers to take part in a study into the how punishment affects learning. He offered all of the 40 participants who took part $4.50 and told them they would receive their payment even if they didnt complete the full study. In addition to the participants there were also two confederates who were playing the role of the proveer (an authority figure) and the learner. On arrival the participant and confederate were asked to draw straws for who would be learner and who would be teacher but this was rig so that the participant was always the teacher. The participant was then told that he would be asking the learner a series of questions and if he got the answers wrong then the participant would give him an electric desecrate by pressing a the appropriate level button whic h would administer the shock to the learner in the next room.The shockmachine consisted of a range of buttons all labelled with voltage and a brief description of what that voltage level representation e.g. 300v Intense Shock. The participant was also shown that the machine worked by being shown the learner receiving a mild shock. Initially Milgram had prepped the learner to get most of the questions wrong and told him to receive his shocks wordlessly up until 300v when he was to bang on the wall and give no response to the next question. The learner was told to then repeat this at 315 volts, and from them on say and do naught in response to the shocks. Milgram had also asked the experimenter to give prods to the participants if they asked to deterrent e.g. It is absolutely essential that you continue. Before the experiment Milgram had asked psychiatrists, college students and colleagues to predict how far they thought participants would go before refusing to obey. Consistently they all predicted that very few would go beyond 150 volts and only 4% would reach 300 volts. They also predicted only a ghoulish fringe of about 1 in 1000 would go up to 450 volts. In fact, 65% of the participants in his initial experiment continued to 450 volts and all of them went up to 300 volts with only 12.5% of them stopping at that point. One of the major criticisms of the Milgram study is related to the ethical issues it raised.Milgram deceived participants by lying about the purpose of the study which means true informed consent was not given. However, Milgram argued that the experiment would not have worked if they had known its purpose. Secondly, although he offered them the right to withdraw it can be argued that this was cancelled out by the prods that the experimenter gave to the participants, which may have made them doubt whether they could discontinue the experiment. Baumrind (1964) also attacked Milgrams research manifestation that he had placed the participants under great emotional strain, causing psychological injure. Milgram responded by saying he couldnt have predicted the level of strain the experiment would cause and he fully debriefed participants after the experiment and again a year later and in fact found that 74% felt they had learnt something of personal importance from the experience. Milgrams experiment was lab-based which meant it was not a true test of whether obedience would emit in real-life.Hofling et al (1966) conducted a study on nurses to see if they would follow an order from a doctor that contravened infirmary regulations. They found that all but one of the 22 participants did as they were told and obeyed theorder they were given, suggesting that even in a real-life setting obedience levels are connatural to that of Milgrams findings. However, Jacobson (1975) conducted a similar real-life study but used a well-known drug and allowed the nurses to consult with each other before making a last (which is a more rea listic representation of hospital practices). He found that the obedience level dropped to just 11%, suggesting that people in real-life arent rattling as obedient as Milgrams lab results showed. Discuss the role of minority influence in social change (6+6 marks) Minority Influence Moscovici (1976) believed that it was not only majority influence that led to groups being able to exert pressure on individuals. He said that without an outspoken minority advocating a different way of doing things, we would have no innovation or social change. This suggests that an individual who is exposed to a persuasive argument under certain conditions, they may change their own views to match those of the minority.There are four conditions necessary for social change to come about via minority influence 1) Drawing care to an issue when an issue is drawn to our attention via a minority it creates a departure of views which we become motivated to reduce through various resolution methods which i n turn draw further attention to the issue making it more likely to gain further exposure. 2) The role of conflict when a minority view cannot be easily dismissed as obviously abnormal it forces us to examine their arguments more closely. This may not cause a complete shift to the minority view but it will cause an individual to re-examine and perhaps have a more balanced view of a given situation, which may in turn weaken the majority view over time if the minority view continues to spread 3) Consistency If arguments are presented consistently by a minority then they will be taken more seriously, as the assumption is that the view holder must really believe that what they are saying is true 4) The augmentation principle If it is risky to hold a particular viewpoint and yet a minority still does then they will be taken more seriously by others in the group because they appear willing to suffer for their views.This will then lead to the impact of their position on other groups mem bers to be increased or augmented which may make them more influential in bringing about social change. The suffragettes are a classic example of how minority influence can bring about social change. All four of the necessary conditions needed for social change to occur via minorityinfluence can be seen in the way they campaigned for rights for women. They drew attention to their issue by employing educational, political and occasionally militant tactics. The role of conflict was seen when members of the majority started to move their views in line with the new way of thinking that the suffragettes were proposing. The suffragette message was consistent regardless of the attitudes of others over a 15 year intent and even when they were jailed for civil disobedience.The suffragettes also showed that they were willing to suffer for the cause by risking imprisonment and even death from hunger strike, causing people from the majority viewpoint to start to augment their views with those of the campaigners. As a general rule, most people will go along with the crowd and maintain the status quo which puts minority groups at a distinct disadvantage as they lack social power and are seen by the majority as deviant. People will often avoid agreeing with a minority view as they then risk being seen as different themselves which has a negative connotation. This suggests that minority influence is latent, creating the potential for change rather than actual change.Describe one research study that has investigated the duration of immediate memory (6 marks) Peterson and Peterson in 1959 aimed to conduct a piece of research which would study the duration of the short-term memory. They created a lab experiment which they believed would allow them to monitor how long a piece of information could be held in the STM without rehearsal. They used an opportunity sample of 24 students from the university that they worked at in the US and tested their draw using an independent measur es design. The research began the test by saying a consonant syllable (nonsense trigram) followed by a three-digit number e.g. WJF 872. They were careful to ensure that the consonant syllable had no obvious meaning which would make it easier to remember e.g. BBC. As before long as the participant had heard the three-digit number they had to start counting backwards in threes from that number until told to stop.The idea behind this difficult counting task was to stop the participants being able to rehearse the consonant syllable, thus keeping it in their STM for longer and aiding recall. Each participant was given two practice trials to get used to the experiment and then 8 trials where the results were recorded. On each of the trials the retentioninterval (time spent counting backwards) increased 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds. The Petersons found that when the retention interval was only 3 seconds, about 90% of the participants could accurately recall the consonant syllable but whe n the interval was 18 seconds only about 2% could recall it. The conclusion made by the Petersons was that STM lasts for approximately 20 seconds without rehearsal before the information is lost from the line of descent.Outline one aptitude of using a causal agent study to study memory and one weakness of using a outcome study to study memory (6 marks) violence One strength of using case studies to study memory is that they allow researchers to gather lots of rich data over a long period of time (that is both quantitative and qualitative) about a specific unique case of brain toll. In the study of HM, researchers were able to gather information about all aspects of HMs memory problems allowing them to draw conclusions about STM and LTM that may not have been possible from simply studying sinewy brains. This suggests that being able to study brains that have been damaged and so dont work properly allows researchers to make conclusions about how a healthy brain works. Weakness One weakness of using case studies to study memory is that they are often focused on someone who has suffered a trauma booster cable to brain damage which affects their memory.The problem with this is that it does not allow researchers to gain data from before the trauma making comparisons difficult and therefore it is harder to draw conclusions. In the case of KF who had suffered a motorcycle accident which affected his STM the researchers could not establish whether the level of trauma he had experienced, the actual brain damage he had suffered, or simply KFs memory ability prior to the accident, were the cause of his STM problems. This suggests that the results of case studies on memory lack internal validity and so cannot be generalised to a wider population.Outline and evaluate the multi-store deterrent example of memory (6+6 marks) The Multi-store model of memory (MSM) was proposed by Atkinson and Shriffin in 1968 and aims to illustrate how information is processed in our brains in order to form memories. The model states that information enters the sensory memory store (SM) from the environment via the 5 senses. The SM has a large capacity but a very limited duration meaning that information is almostimmediately forgotten unless it is paid attention to. If attention is paid then the information will move into the short-term memory (STM) which is another temporary store, although the duration is slightly longer than the SM as information will remain for about 20 seconds before being forgotten. However, if maintenance rehearsal is used (repeating the information over and over either out loud or in your head) then information will remain in the STM for longer.The STM generally uses acoustic encoding due to the process of rehearsal and it can hold near 5-9 chunks of information at any one time. If the information is then added to by using elaborative rehearsal to make the information more meaningful then it will move into the long-term memory (LTM). Th e LTM has an infinite capacity and duration and tends to use semantic encoding. Once information has been stored in the LTM it can be retrieved for later use via the STM. There is also research evidence to support the concept of there being separate unitary stores within memory. Beardsley (1997) and Squire et al (1992) studied the brain using brain scanning techniques and found that when the short-term memory is being used for a task then the prefrontal cortex is active and when the long-term memory is being used for a task then the hippocampus is active. This suggests that there are indeed different stores for memory and that separate parts of the brain are active when they are being used. There is evidence to suggest that STM and LTM are not in fact unitary stores. Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied KF, a brain damaged patient, and found that he struggled to process verbal information in the STM but had no damage with processing of visual information in this store.This sugges ts that the STM is in fact not one hotshot store but may be made up of multiple components which undermines the MSMs proposal of unitary stores. There is also evidence to suggest that the STM and LTM are not in fact separate stores but may work together to process information. Ruchkin et al (2003) found that the brains of participants recalling lists of real words more active than the brains of those recalling pseudo-words. He concluded that this was because the real words were being processed using previous knowledge and experience from the LTM whereas the pseudo words (which have no meaning) were only processed by the STM. This suggests that the linear relationship between STM and LTM in the MSM is not accurate and that in fact the STM may actually be part of the LTM.Outline and evaluate the working memory model (6+6 marks)The Working Memory Model (WMM) was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) they aimed to explain how information is processed in the bit of the memory that is us ed when an individual is working on a complex task. The basis of their model was that the STM was not just one single store but in fact is made up of several components. This was based on the fact that people seem to be able to perform two taks with equal accuracy simultaneously unless similar types of processing are required (e.g. two visual tasks at the same time). The first element to their model is the central executive (CE) which coordinates all the information the memory working memory system receives. It decides where to send incoming information which is received from the senses or the LTM and has to do this efficiently as it has limited capacity. There are three slave systems which operate under the CE, one of which is the Phonological Loop (PL). The PL was further subdivided by Baddeley in 1986 to form the phonological store (PS) and the articulatory process (AP).The PS stores any information which the individual hears, like an inner ear, while the AP uses the inner voice to silently repeat the information the individual has heard or seen (maintenance rehearsal). Another slave system is the visuo- spacial sketchpad which is used for planning spatial tasks and temporarily storing visual or spatial information. The final slave system is the episodic buffer which was added to the model in 2000 by Baddeley as he realised that the model lacked a general store which could hold both visual and acoustic information for more than a few seconds. Information from the other two slave systems, the CE and the LTM can be stored in the episodic buffer to create a complete memory which can then be transferred to the LTM for more permanent storage. proof from brain-damaged patients supports the WMMs proposal of different stores for different types of processing in the STM. Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied KF who, following a motorcycle accident, had problems with some aspects of his STM. He seemed to be able to recall visual material quite well but struggled if information was presented acoustically. This suggests that the brain damage KF suffered may have been restricted to his phonological loop, supporting the WMMs multi-component STM.However, there is also criticism of the CE as some feel that the notion of it being one single store is not accurate. Eslinger andDamasio (1985) studied EVR who had suffered brain damage during an operation to remove a brain tumour. He still performed well on reasoning tasks but had problems with decision-making. This suggests that only part of his CE was intact and therefore shows that the explanation provided by the WMM of the CE being a single store is not complex enough. A further weakness of the WMM is that much(prenominal) of the research that has been conducted to evidence it comes from case studies. This is a problem as no before and after comparisons can be made so it is not clear what actually caused the damage seen. This is evidenced in the case by Shallice and Warrington (1970) of KF who had p roblems with his STM. It was unclear whether the memory issues KF had were a result of previous memory ability, the trauma of the accident or the damage to his brain. This suggests that case study evidence lacks validity and so should not be used to evidence the WMM as a general explanation for memory. Evaluate research on cultural variations in attachment (6 marks) The Strange Situation was created by an American psychologist and is based on the US viewpoint of what constitutes normal attachment behaviour.Rothbaum et al (2000) claimed that much of attachment theory and research is based in American purification and so using it to evaluate cross-cultural differences is not a fair comparison. This suggests that batten down attachment, as outlined in Ainsworths research, is not the ideal attachment type to have. This means gaining figures about attachment types from various cultures and labelling them, according to a occidental viewpoint, is an imposed etic which labels behaviours negatively when actually they may simply fit with the cultural norms of that particular country. There is an alternative explanation for why attachment may seem to have universalities across cultures. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) suggested that the similarities in attachment behaviours across cultures may also be explained in terms of mass media promoting an ideal perception of parenting. This expertness suggest that similarities in attachment are not due to innate biological influences but are a result of an increasingly globalised world which is receiving similar messages from the mass media.There may be problems with researcher bias in research that aims to explore cultural variations in attachment. Researchers tend to be studying their own culture e.g. Ainsworths Strange Situation research in Baltimore, which can lead to assumptions being made based on the previous knowledge of the culture they are researching. The opposite problemcan occur when a researcher undertakes research in a foreign culture e.g. Ainsworth in Uganda. The problem here can be the interpretation of data by the researcher, especially if there is a language barrier as important details may be lost in translation. This suggests that a major flaw with all attachment research is that multiple cultures can never be studied truly objectively.

As Psychology Essay

One of the key differences between the concepts of immediate computer storage and long-term fund is era. Duration refers to how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available. Short term memories dont last real long. An example of STM in action would be trying to remember a seven-digit phone number that you have just been given. This is maintained in the short-term memory by REPETITION until the number is dialled, and indeed fades once the conversation starts. The focal point most people keep information in their STM for more(prenominal)(prenominal) than a few seconds is to re visitse it.So account is one way of c ar a memory active. The result of verbal relation is that STM are held in the STM store and eventually become long term. Duration of LTM LTM refers to memories that last anywhere for 2 hours to 100 years plus, i. e. anything that isnt short term. Some memories are very long lasting. For example Shepard (1967) tested duration of LTM. He showed participants 612 memorable pictures, one at a time. An hour later they were shown some of these pictures among a set of others and showed almost perfect recognition. Four months later they were steady able to recognise 50% of photographs.The material to be remembered was more meatful to the participants and therefore the duration of the LTM was better. Key think over on duration of STM Lloyd and Margaret Peterson (1959) conducted a landmark study of the duration of STM. They enlisted the help of 24 students attending their university. The experimenter said a consonant syllable to the participant followed by a three-digit number (e. g. WRT 303 or SCX 591). The consonant syllable was selected to have no meaning. Immediately after hearing the syllable and number, the participants had to count backwards from this number in 3s or 4s until told to stop.Then the participants were asked to recall the nonsense syllable. The earth for counting backwards was to stop the participants rehearsing the syll able because rehearsal would aid recall. Each participant was given twain practice footraces followed by eight trials. On each trial the retention interval (time spent counting backwards) was opposite. They frame that participants remembered about 90% when there was only a 3-second interval and about 2% when there was an 18-second interval. This suggests that, when rehearsal is prevented, STM lasts about 20 seconds at most. paygrade The findings from the Peterson and Peterson study have been challenged. We might argue that, in this experiment, participants were relying on more than STM alone because they knew they were spillage to be asked to recall the items after an interval filled with a distracting activity. Other research such as Marsh et al, (1997) has suggested that when participants do not expect to be tested after this interval, forgetting may occur after just 2 seconds. This suggests that our understanding of the duration of STM may not be as clean-cut as first thoug ht.In fact, more recent research even suggests that the duration of STM is not as short as Peterson and Petersons study would suggest. Nairnes et al (1999) found that items could be recalled after as long as 96 seconds. In Nairnes study, participants were asked to recall the same items across trials, whereas in the earlier study different items were used on each trial, which would have led to interference between items, decreasing recall. Capacity and En tag Capacity is a measure of how much can be held in memory. It is measured in terms of bits of information such as number of digits.STM has a very limited capacity (less than 7 chunks of information) whereas LTM has potentially unlimited capacity. Increasing the capacity of STM The magic number 7+/-2 George miller (1956) wrote a memorable article called The magic number seven plus or minus two. He reviewed psychological research and concluded that the span of immediate memory is 7 people can cope reasonably well with counting seve n dots flashed onto a screen further not many more than this. Miller excessively found out that people can recall 5 terminology as well as they can recall 5 garner we chunk things together and can then remember more.The size of the chunk matters Simon (1974) found that people had a shorter memory span for larger chunks, such as 8-word phrases, than smaller chunks, such as one-syllable words. Evaluation Cowan (2001) reviewed a variety of studies on the capacity of STM and concluded that STM is belike to be limited to above 4 chunks. This suggests that STM may not be as extensive as was first thought. Vogel et al, (2001) looked at the capacity of STM for optical information and also found that 4 items was about the limit. Encoding in STM and LTM PAGE 23 Encoding is the way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.Information enters the brain via the senses. It is then stored in various forms such as visual codes (picture), acoustic forms (sounds), or a semantic form (the meaning of the experience). Information in the STM is mainly encoded acoustically (information is represented as sound) whereas information in LTM tends to be encoded semantically (information is represented by its meaning). acoustical and semantic encoding We can compare the ship canal information is stored in STM and LTM in terms of encoding of the memory trace. Acoustic coding involved coding information in terms of the way it soundsThe multi-store model of memory The multi-store model of memory (MSM) is an explanation of how memory processes work. The MSM was first described by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968. There is three stores/components in the MSM which are the sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Sensory memory The sensory memory is composed of some(prenominal) stores which are the eyes, ears, nose, etc, and the corresponding areas of the brain. If a persons attention is focused on one of the sensory stores, then the data is tr ansferred to STM. Attention is the first footprint in remembering something.Short-term memory Information held in STM is in a fragile state. It will disappear relatively readily if rehearsal is prevented. Information will also disappear if new information enters STM pushing out the original information. This happens because STM has a limited capacity. long memory The second step is moving information from STM to LTM. Atkinson and Shiffrin said that this also happens through rehearsal. The more something is rehearsed the more it will be remembered. This kind of rehearsal is referred to maintenance rehearsal. Evaluation The sensory storeSperling (1920) gave participants a grid of digits and letters for 50 milliseconds. They were either asked to write down all 12 items or they were told they would hear a tone immediately after the exposure and they should just write down that row. When asked to report the whole thing their recall was poorer (5 items recalled, about 42%) then when as ked to give one row only (3 items recalled, 75%). This show that information decays rapidly in the sensory store. The serial position effect Glazer and Cunitz (1966) gave participants a list of 20 words, presented one at a time, and then asked to recall words they could remember.They tended to remember the words from the start of the list (primary effect) and from the end of the list (recency effect) entirely were less good at recalling words in the middle. The primary effects occur because the first words are best rehearsed and transferred to LTM. The recency effect occurs because these words are in the STM when people start recalling the list. Areas of the brain associated with STM and LTM One way to demonstrate the existence of separate stores in memory is to link STM and LTM to peculiar(prenominal) areas of the brain.Modern proficiencys of scanning the brain can be used to take images of the active brain and enable us to see what region is active when a person is undertaking p articular proletariats. Research (Beardsley, 1977) has found that the prefrontal cortex is active when individuals are working on a proletariat in STM. The working memory model Baddeley and Hitch (1974) used the term working memory to refer to that bit of memory that you are using when you are working on a complex task which requires you to store information as you go along. The components of the working memory Central executive This is the key component of the working memory.The function of the primal executive is to direct attention to particular tasks, determining at any time how resources are allocated to tasks. The central executive has a very limited capacity. Phonological loop This also has a limited capacity. The phonological loop deals with the auditory information and preserves the smart set of information. Baddeley (1986) further sub change integrity this loop into the phonological store and an articulatory process. The phonological store holds the words you hear, lik e an inner ear. The articulatory process is used for words that are heard or seen (inner voice). Visuo-spatial sketch padThe Visuo-spatial sketch pad is used when you have to plan a spatial task (like getting from one mode to another). Visual and/or spatial information is temporary stored here. Visual information is what things looks like and spatial information is the relationship between things. Logie (1995) suggested that the Visuo-spatial sketchpad can be divided into a visual cache (store) and inner scribe which deals with spatial relations. Episodic buffer Baddeley (2000) added the episodic buffer because he realised the model needed a general store. The episodic buffer is an excess storage system that has a limited capacity.It integrates information from the central executive, the phonological loop and the Visuo-spatial sketchpad and also from the long-term memory. Evaluation Doing two tasks using the same or different components Hitch and Baddeley (1976) gave participants two tasks to do simultaneously. Task 1 occupied the central executive and task 2 either involved the articulatory loop or both the central executive and articulatory loop. Task 1 was slower when given a task involving both the central executive and articulatory loop. The go on task 1 was the same whether using the articulatory loop or no extra task.This shows that doing two tasks that involve the same component causes difficulty. Evidence for the central executive Bunge et al. (2000) used an fmri to see which parts of the brain were most active when participants were doing two tasks (reading a sentence and recalling the final word in each sentence). The same brain areas were active in either dual- or single task hold ins moreover there was significantly more activation in the dual-task condition indicating that increased demands were reflected in brain activity. Evidence for the Visuo-spatial sketchpad Baddeley et al. (1975b) demonstrated the existence of thee Visuo-spatial sket ch pad.Participants were given a visual tracking task (they had to track a moving light with a pointer). At the same time they were given kne of two other tasks task 1 was to describe all the angles on the letter F, task 2 was to perform a verbal task. Task 1 was very difficult but not task 2. This is also evidence related to the effects of doing two tasks using the same or different components. Evidence for the episodic buffer Baddeley et al. (1987) found that, when participants were shown words and then asked for immediate recall, their performance was much better for sentences (related words) then for unrelated words.This supports the idea of an immediate memory store for itesms that are neither visual nor phonological. Accuracy of Eye Witness deposition Loftus and Palmer were interested in whether misleading interesting distorted the accuracy of an eyewitnesss immediate recall. What did they do? 45 students were shown seven films of different traffic accidents. After each film the participants were given a interrogative sentencenaire which asked them to describe the accident and then answer a series of specific questions about it. There was one critical question. This question was about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?One group of participants were given this question whereas the other five groups were given the verbs smashed, collided, bumped or contacted in place of the word hit. What did they find? The group given the world smashed estimated a higher speed that the other groups (about 41 mph). The group given the word contacted estimated the lower speed (about 30 mph). Evaluation Supporting DO LATER (PAGE 33) Factors influencing the accuracy of eye witnessing testimony Many researchers have looked at the relationship between anxiety and accuracy in eyewitness testimony. Deffenbacher et al. 2004) carried out a meta-analysis of 18 studies published between 1974 and 1997, tone at the effects of heightening anxiety on accuracy of ey ewitness recall. From these studies it was clear that there was considerable support for the hypothesis that high levels of stress electronegativity impacted on the accuracy of eyewitness memory. Anxiety enhances recall Christianson and Hubienette (1993) found when they questioned 58 real witnesses to bank robberies. Those witnesses who were threatened in some way were more true in their recall and remembered more detail than those who had been onlookers.This continued to be true even 15 months later. The weapon focus effect Johnson and Scott (1976) identified the weapon-focus effect. In their initial experiment, Loftus et al. used two conditions, one involving a weapon and one not. In both conditions participants heard a discussion in an adjoining room. In condition 1 a man emerged holding a pen and with grease on his hands. In conditions 2 the discussion was rather more change and a man emerged holding a paperknife covered in blood. When asked to identify the man from 50 photos , participants in condition 1 were 49% more accurate, compared with 33% accuracy in condition 2.This suggests that the weapon may have distracted attention from the person holding it and therefore explain why eyewitnesses sometimes have poor recall for certain details of violent crimes. Evaluation Explaining the apparent contradiction Deffenbacher suggests that this contradiction in research finding could best be explained with reference to the Yerkes-Dodson law, which states that performance improves with increase of arousal up to some optical point then declines with further increase. Many researchers believe that anxiety effects in eye-witness testimony are curvilinear.This means that small to medium increases in arousal may increase the accuracy of memory, but high levels interfere with accuracy. Those studies which had found alter memory accuracy were most likely dealing with increased arousal within the first part of the Yerkes-Dodson curve, whereas studies which showed that accuracy decreases with increased arousal were most likely operating in the second part of the curve. MORE EVALUATION The cognition hearing Fisher and Geiselman (1992) developed an interviewing technique, the cognitive interview.The original cognitive interview technique could be characterised by four distinct components 1. Report everything (hypermnesia) 2. Mental reinstatement of context- the interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the environment and contacts from the original incident. 3. Changing the order- the interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the incident, for example by reversing the order in which events occurred. 4. Changing the perspective- the interviewee is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectivesThe first two components are based on the prescript that if there is consistency between the actual incident and the recreated situation, there is an increased likeliness that witnesses will recall more detail ther efore more accurate in their recall. The latter two components are based on the assumption that information that observed can be retrieved through a number of different routes into an individuals memory. Evaluation Kohnken et al. , (1999) did a meta-analysis of 53 studies found, on average, an increase of 34% in the amount of correct information generated in the cognitive interview compared with standard interviewing techniques.Milne and Bull (2002) examined the relative effectiveness of each of the four components of the cognitive interview. Undergraduate students and children were interviewed using one of the components of the cognitive interview and compared to a control condition (where they were instructed to simply try again). When participants were interviewed using a combination of the components mental reinstatement and report everything their recall was significantly higher than in all other conditions.

Standard Procedure For Male Circumcision Health And Social Care Essay

In a combined survey from the USA and Kenya, the galoshty of hulking manful Circumcision in the latter state was reviewed, peculiarly with the purported association between this process and a lower incidence of HIV and some another(preno secondal) sexually-transmitted transmittals. It was tack together that safe and satisfying grownup young-begetting(prenominal) Circumcision services could be delivered in developing states should this be advocated as a public wellness step.AimTo develop a hackneyed process for male Circumcision in a resource-poor medical scene and prospectively measure the result in a randomise, controlled test with the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) as the chief result, as surveies refer that Circumcision is associated with a lower incidence of HIV and other sexually familial contagious diseases in bad populations.SUBJECTS AND METHODSHealthy, uncircumcised, HIV-ser geniusgative body of draw forces aged 18-24 old ages from Kisumu Di stringent, Kenya, were offered engagement in a clinical test utilizing a standard Circumcision process based on usual medical processs in Western Kenya. The followup included visits at 3, 8 and 30 yearss aft(prenominal) Circumcision, with extra visits if necessary. Healing, satisfaction and recommencement of activities were assessed at these visits and 3 months from randomisation.ConsequenceOverall, 17 ( 3.5 % ) of the 479 Circumcisions were associated with indecent upshots judged decidedly, likely or perchance related to the process. The almost common inauspicious events were wound contagions ( 1.3 % ) , shed blooding ( 0.8 % ) , and delayed lesion heal or sutura word of mouth germinate ( 0.8 % ) . After 30 yearss, 99 % of participants inform being really satisfied with the process ?aS23 % reported holding had sex and 15 % reported that their spouses had convey an sentiment, all of whom were really satisfied with the result. About 96 % of the work forces resumed normal general activities in spite of appearance the first hebdomad later the process.DecisionSafe and unobjectionable grownup male Circumcision services can be delivered in developing states should male Circumcision finally be advocated as a public-health step.AbbreviationsSTIsexually transmitted infectionKESKenya shilling. accessTop of scallywag generalityIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequence treatmentRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsOf African work forces, ?aS62 % argon circumcised 1 more than African work forces are seeking clinical Circumcision to better hygiene, to come forth down the happen of sexually transmitted infections ( STIs ) , to look more urban , or to be more like others 2-6 . Epidemiologic surveies suggest that male Circumcision is associated with a ?aS50 % slump in the hazard of HIV infection, and with a lower hazard of ulcerative STI 4,7-10 . Male Circumcision eliminates the venereal jobs of balanoposthitis, phimosis and paraphimosis, well reduces penial carcinoma steps and, in one survey, reduced the cervical malignant neoplastic disease hazard in female spouses 3 .Despite increased involvement among medical governments and greater credence among African work forces, there are significant concerns about gad male Circumcision as a public-health step. These reserves include the deficiency of informations from randomized, controlled clinical tests demoing that Circumcision decreases the hazard of STIs and HIV. Considerable anecdotal grounds, including studies based on medical record reappraisal, suggests that Circumcision in traditional scenes exposes immature work forces to an inordinate hazard of complications 11-15 . Very few informations on Circumcision results are useable from African clinical scenes. 1 survey from Tanzania found that infant Circumcision utilizing the Plastibell technique resulted in a 2 % complication rate 16 , comparable to reported rates in developed states 17 .We are carry oning a p rospective, randomized controlled clinical test of grownup male Circumcision to measure its impact on the incidence of HIV among 18-24-year-old work forces in Kisumu District, Kenya. One of import aim was to develop a standard Circumcision process that would be applicable to resource-poor medical scenes. A 2nd aim was to find the inauspicious event rates associated with this process. Thus the intents of this study are to ( I ) describe the proficient facets of the standard process ( two ) outline the processs for monitoring and sorting inauspicious events and ( trey ) to depict results and inauspicious events associated with the first 479 Circumcisions.SUBJECTS AND METHODSTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsUncircumcised, HIV-seronegative work forces aged 18-24 old ages shacking inside Kisumu District, Kenya, were offered admittance to the test. After supplying written, informed consent, participants w ere randomized every bit to either Circumcision or delayed Circumcision after a 2-year followup ( the control root word ) . Exclusion standards included any medical indicant for Circumcision ( e.g. important phimosis, recurrent balanitis, paraphimosis, or extended venereal warts ) , history of a hemorrhage upset, keloid formation, or other status that might unduly increase the hazards of elected surgery. Work force in both weaponries of the test were given extended reding about the decrease in hazard of STI/HIV, including the proviso of limitless supplies of free rubbers.This survey was approved by institutional reappraisal boards at the Universities of Nairobi, Illinois at Chicago, Manitoba, Washington, and RTI International. A Data resort and Monitoring Board reports to the USA National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.For Circumcision, a standard process was based on usual medical Circumcision processs in Western Kenya 18 . One Medical Officer ( medical physician ) and two Clinical army officers ( Kenyan paramedicals who conduct medical audiences and selected surgical processs ) were clever in techniques and inside informations of the process. All instruments and supplies were purchased from providers in Western Kenya.The genital organ were prepared with a povidone-iodine solution and draped in unfertile manner. A abaxial nervus block was applied utilizing 2 % Lidocaine, with extra anesthetic administered circumferentially about the penial base ( maximal 10 milliliter ) . The foreskin was grasped at the 3 and 9 oclock places utilizing two mosquito clinchs, so pulled over the glans. The scratch was outlined with a taging pen analogue to and 1 centimeter proximal to the coronal sulcus. The mosquito clinchs were so employ to draw the foreskin over the glans while a Kocher clinch was applied below the planned scratch, taking attention to avoid wounding the glans. The foreskin was excised by cutting above the Kocher clinch, which was so remov ed. Shed blooding vass were ligated utilizing 3/0 field intestine. The lesion was irrigated with physiological saline.The tegument and mucosal scratchs were aligned utilizing 3/0 chromic perpendicular mattress suturas at the 12, 3 and 9 oclock places, and a horizontal mattress sutura at the 6 oclock ( frenulum ) place. The four initial suturas were tagged with mosquito clinchs to supply grip during the balance of the closing. Four extra perpendicular mattress suturas were placed halfway between the initial suturas, with simple suturas so placed to jump between the mattress suturas. The lesion was covered utilizing a Vaseline gauze dressing.Each persevering was given verbal and written instructions, including vesture and bathing embodiments, and instructed to urinate often to minimise hard-ons. They were given Datrils, 1 g three times daily as needed for 5 yearss, and tramadol hydrochloride, 100 milligram at bedtime as needed for two darks. Participants were strongly counselled to abstain from sex for at least a month. run through visits were scheduled for 3, 8 and 30 yearss after surgery. Patients were instructed to return to the clinic if there was shed blooding, infection or inordinate hurting. At each visit the lesion was checked, and standard inquiries assessed activities of day-after-day life, possible inauspicious events, and the participants satisfaction. Additional elaborate ratings were conducted at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months from randomisation.Regular instance conferences reviewed all processs and results. Adverse events were categorized by badness and relatedness to the survey. harshness classs were diffuse, moderate and terrible. Relatedness to the process was categorize as ( 1 ) decidedly unrelated, clearly explained by another cause ( 2 ) perchance related, probably explained by other causes ( 3 ) likely related, most likely explained by the Circumcision and ( 4 ) decidedly related, a clear complication.Patient satisfaction was analy sed at ?aS30 and 90 yearss after surgery as ( 1 ) really satisfied, ( 2 ) slightly satisfied, ( 3 ) slightly disgruntled, or ( 4 ) really disgruntled. We evaluated whether patients had resumed work and sexual activities and, if so, whether their sexual spouses had show an sentiment about their Circumcision position.The critical end points and definitions were determined before get downing the survey. Datas were collected prospectively and entered on site, and evaluated for quality and consistence continuously.ConsequenceTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsBetween 4 February 2002 and 11 March 2004, 2160 work forces were screened, including 47 % who agreed to take part. Of these, 505 were randomized to Circumcision, including 479 ( 95 % ) who had the process. The balance either declined after randomisation or deferred Circumcision until subsequently. The fair age of circumcised participants was 21 old age s and 96 % were of Luo cultural beginning 89 % had realized primary school, 53 % had completed secondary school and & A gt 90 % were single. Almost half classified themselves as unskilled workers and about a twenty-five percent were pupils. Merely 37 % reported regular employment.The median ( scope ) continuance of Circumcision was 30 ( 18-63 ) min Fig. 1 shows the continuance for each consecutive group with dress out ( Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel circle correlativity statistic, chi-square 149.4, 1 d.f. , P & A lt 0.001 ) .Figure 1. Box-and-whisker secret plan comparing process continuance with the figure of Circumcisions. For each group of Circumcisions, the line in the box indicates the median ( 50th percentile ) , and the upper and lower bounds of the box the interquartile scope ( 25-75th percentiles ) . The mistake bars indicate the 10th and ninetieth percentiles. Valuess above the 90th or below the tenth percentiles are plotted as points. For all 479 Circumcisions, the me dian ( scope ) continuance was 30 ( 18-63 ) min the average continuance was 38 min for the first 100, 30 min for the 2nd 100, 30 min for the 3rd, 28 min for the 4th and 26 min for processs 401-479 ( Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel rank correlativity P & A lt 0.001 ) .Of the 479 Circumcisions, 17 ( 3.5 % ) were associated with 18 inauspicious events considered decidedly, likely or perchance related, including six wound infections ( 1.3 % ) , four bleeds ( 0.8 % ) , four delayed healing or disrupted lesions ( 0.8 % ) , two with inordinate puffiness ( 0.4 % ) , one anesthetic reaction, and one participant who reported erectile disfunction.Of the 18 inauspicious events, none was classified as terrible, 11 were moderate ( necessitating extra intervention, e.g. drainage of an infection or revising a sutura to command indecent hemorrhage ) , and seven were mild ( necessitating minimum extra intervention ) . Fourteen inauspicious events were considered decidedly related ( including most infectio ns and shed blooding jobs, plus the anesthetic reaction ) , one was considered likely related ( an infection off from the lesion that represented a reaction to the dressing tape ) , and three perchance related ( including diminished erectile map reported, folliculitis at the pubic base, and a pubic abscess in one participant each ) . Overall, nine of 18 inauspicious events were considered to be both moderate and definitely/probably procedure-related, hazard after eight of 479 processs ( 1.7 % ) .The decorative consequences were first-class, with no demand for alterations or secondary processs. There were no instances of extra preputial tegument remotion, unequal preputial tegument remotion, penial tortuosity, cheloid, other hapless decorative or functional results.At this analysis, 411 of 479 participants were evaluated at ?aS30 yearss after surgery 99 % reported being really satisfied, 23 % reported holding had sex since the Circumcision, and 15 % of these work forces reported th at their female spouse had expressed an sentiment about the process, all of whom were really satisfied with the result. In all, 321 work forces had appraisals at ?aS90 yearss from surgery, when 65 % reported holding resumed sexual intercourse, and 54 % of their sex spouses had expressed an sentiment about the process. Of these spouses, 95 % were really satisfied with the result, 4 % were slightly satisfied and 2 % were slightly disgruntled. None was really disgruntled.At 30 yearss after surgery, 98 % of work forces who were employed reported holding returned to work, 91 % within a hebdomad of the process and 97 % within 2 hebdomads. At this visit, all work forces reported holding resumed normal general activities, 96 % within the first hebdomad and another 3 % during the 2nd hebdomad after surgery.DiscussionTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsWe developed a Circumcision process that was implemented effica ciously in an African medical scene. All instruments and supplies were purchased locally and local clinicians performed all processs. The standard method was based on medical processs used in eastern Africa 18 . To avoid trust on a engineering that is non widely available in developing states, we did non utilize electrocautery. Nevertheless, the overall inauspicious event rate was comparable to reported rates from the developed universe. Postoperative lesion infection ( 1.3 % ) and shed blooding ( 0.8 % ) were the most common inauspicious events, as would be predicted. The huge bulk of participants and their spouses who expressed sentiments were really satisfied at 30 and 90 yearss after surgery.This is one of the largest series of big male Circumcisions and it is alone in that results were monitored prospectively. Participants were followed utilizing a strict protocol. We used simple definitions that may turn out utile for other surgical tests, particularly surveies measuring C ircumcision as a public-health step.The average clip to finish a Circumcision was 30 min runing continuance decreased from a median of 38 min for the first 100 processs to 26 min for processs 401-479 ( P & A lt 0.001 ) . This is of import, because if Circumcision were recommended as a public-health step for forestalling HIV, so it would be necessary to finish processs within an acceptable period in resource-poor states. The instruments and supplies were modest and all were obtained locally. In Kisumu the cost of supplies is 1500 Kenya shillings ( KES ) per process at our installation ( ? US $ 20 ) . In the Kisumu community, charges for Circumcision scope from green KES ( US $ 13 ) at the authorities infirmary to 5800 KES ( US $ 77 ) at the taking private infirmary. Therefore, this survey suggests that our standard Circumcision method is consistent with bing pattern in Kenya and is likely to turn out practical within the underdeveloped universe. We besides showed that it is possi ble to obtain consequences that are tantamount to series of big male Circumcisions from the developed universe.The present survey has some advantages it represents a big series of big male Circumcisions and one of really few studies of surveies designed to supply an optimum prospective appraisal of results. We used strict definitions for events. The Circumcision process and resources were based on local medical pattern and resource handiness. All instruments and supplies were obtained locally, and clinicians trained and working in their ain community completed all processs. Therefore, our consequences should be straight applicable to similar clinical scenes in other countries. Two of the three clinicians were Clinical Military officers, the cell of professionals likely to execute most Circumcisions in sub-Saharan Africa.An of import lesson was that clear patient instructions are critical for lesion attention after surgery. young work forces in many developing state scenes may miss easy entree to H2O and have trouble in keeping hygiene. Their timeserving employment forms frequently require high degrees of physical activity that can interrupt wound mending. Instruction manuals, both verbal and written in endemical linguistic communications, can help patients to restrict the possible effects of such lifestyle challenges.A determination that requires further attending is that 23 % of work forces reportedly resumed sexual activities before their 30-day follow-up visit, despite intensive reding to the contrary. Fortunately, merely one adult male reported holding had sexual intercourse at one of the early visits, and that was 19 yearss after the process. If work forces resume sexual contact before their scratchs are to the full healed, there is the danger of increased hazard of infection with HIV or other STIs. Once the test is complete, we willing prove whether circumcised work forces have a higher incidence of HIV/STI than uncircumcised controls during this 1-mo nth period after randomisation. Effective guidance of immature work forces is disputing, but developing effectual ways to advocate against sexual contact while the surgical lesion is mending will be important if male Circumcision is to be introduced as an intercession to forestall HIV.The present survey has of import restrictions the work forces were circumcised in a carefully designed, controlled research undertaking, with thorough preparation of clinicians, careful choice of healthy patients and uninterrupted monitoring of the result. It will be necessary to demo similar results in less strict scenes. The followup was short, but we will obtain more informations on sexual map. Most significantly, we need to find, through the test, whether grownup male Circumcision is effectual in cut downing the incidence of HIV.In decision, we developed a standard process for grownup male Circumcision that proved suited for resource-poor clinical scenes. The inauspicious event rate compares favo rably with rates reported from developed states. Participants had first-class clinical results, acceptable morbidity and first-class patient satisfaction. They returned to work and to normal general activities really rapidly. These findings suggest that it should be possible to present grownup male Circumcision services with acceptable complication rates in developing states.RecognitionsTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsWe particularly thank the immature work forces in Kisumu who have so enthusiastically participated in the survey. We acknowledge the economic aid and indefatigable support provided by Dr J. Otieno. We greatly appreciate the tireless attempts of the UNIM undertaking staff. This survey was funded by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland USA, pass No. AI150440, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research ( CIHR ) , Grant No. HCT 44180. S. Moses is the receiver of a CIHR research worker award.Conflict OF InterestTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentionsNone declared.MentionsTop of pageAbstractionIntroductionSUBJECTS AND METHODSConsequenceDiscussionRecognitionsConflict OF InterestMentions1Drain PK, Smith JS, Hughes JP, Halpern DT, Holmes KK. Correlates of national HIV seroprevalence an ecologic analysis of 122 developing states. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2004 35 407-20CrossRef,PubMed, weathervane of Science clock Cited 212Caldwell JC, Caldwell P. The African AIDS epidemic. Sci Am 1996 274 66-8CrossRef3Castellsague X, Bosch FX, Munoz N et Al. Male Circumcision, penial human papillomavirus infection, and cervical malignant neoplastic disease in female spouses. N Engl J Med 2002 346 1105-12CrossRef,PubMed,Web of Science Times Cited 1884Bailey RC, Muga R, Poulussen R, Abicht H. The acceptableness of male Circ umcision to cut down HIV infections in Nyanza Province, Kenya. AIDS Care 2002 14 27-40CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 335Lagarde E, Dirk T, Puren A, Reathe RT, Bertran A. Acceptability of male Circumcision as a tool for forestalling HIV infection in a exceedingly infected community in South Africa. Aids 2003 17 89-95CrossRef,PubMed,Web of Science Times Cited 256Kebaabetswe P, Lockman S, Mogwe S et Al. Male Circumcision an acceptable scheme for HIV bar in Botswana. Sex Transm Infect 2003 79 214-9CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 247Jessamine PG, Plummer FA, Ndinya Achola JO et Al. Human immunodeficiency virus, venereal ulcers and the male prepuce synergy in HIV-1 transmittal. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl 1990 69 181-6PubMed,ChemPort8Cameron DW, Simonsen JN, DCosta LJ et Al. Female to male transmittal of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 hazard factors for seroconversion in work forces. Lancet 1989 2 403-7CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Scienc e Times Cited 5419Todd J, Munguti K, Grosskurth H et Al. Hazard factors for active pox and TPHA seroconversion in a rural African population. Sex Transm Infect 2001 77 37-45CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 1510Weiss HA, Quigley MA, Hayes RJ. Male Circumcision and hazard of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa a systematic reappraisal and meta-analysis. Aids 2000 14 2361-70CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 18911Mayatula V, Mavundla TR. A reappraisal on male Circumcision processs among South African inkinesss. Curationis 1997 20 16-20PubMed,ChemPort12Ahmed A, Mbibi NH, Dawam D, Kalayi GD. Complications of traditional male Circumcision. Ann Trop Paediatr 1999 19 113-7CrossRef,PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 1913Crowley IP, Kesner KM. Ritual Circumcision ( Umkhwetha ) amongst the Xhosa of the Ciskei. Br J Urol 1990 66 318-21Direct LinkAbstractionPDF ( 630K )Mentions14Magoha GA. Circumcision in assorted Nigerian and Kenyan infirmaries. East Afr Med J 1999 76 583-6PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 2415Khalifa S. Implications of the protective consequence of male Circumcision against HIV. A reappraisal of male Circumcision processs presently used in Africa and their safety. Maestro of Science . London, UK. London take of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 200016Manji KP. January 1 of the immature baby in a underdeveloped state utilizing the Plastibell. Ann Trop Paediatr 2000 20 101-4PubMed,ChemPort,Web of Science Times Cited 917Williams N, Kapila L. Complications of Circumcision. Br J Surg 1993 80 1231-6Direct LinkAbstractionPDF ( 808K )

Loan Processing at Capital One Essay

This marketing effort, which was planned to take the form of a major mail drop, was designed to increase the volume of funded contributes in some six weeks when possible clients start returning these applications. It was clear to e trulyone at Capital One that the operations of loan processing would play a major role in ascertain if the upcoming mail drop would be a success.With 14 funded loans processed per ally every month and a total of 25 associates on the team, the division does non have the capacity to handle the application volume leading to our target of 700 funded loans per month that we set following our increased marketing effort, find one of the managers working for Rick, What we need is a significant increase in staff. We also need to heavily invest in learning technology to tho increase the productivity of the existing staff.While it was clear that the forecasted increase in loan applications would provide a serious challenge for the underwriters, there was no consensus on what actions should be taken. As was observed by one of the executives in charge of consumer loans When I benchmark the productivity of our underwriting team with other companies in the industry, 14 funded loans per associate per month is not a number we can be proud of. It takes about 3 hours of actual work to fund a loan, and that includes everything from the initial interview to underwriting, quality inspection, and closing.We have 25 associates, that each works about 150 hours per month. So each associate should be able to process 50 applications per month, which gives us 1250 applications per month for the team. Even if we fund only every other loan that we underwrite, we would just need a little bit of over sequence to get 700 units funded. Several others at Capital One agreed. As it was put by one of the associates in charge of purpose marketing Frankly, if you asked me, there seems to be a lot of potential for improving productivity in our processes.I am opt imistic that our upcoming mail-drop will lift productivity and utilization gobs in the underwriting process since there will be a lot more(prenominal) work coming in. As the person in charge for operations management, Rick had mixed feelings about these comments. On the one hand, it was true that his departments productivity metrics had not been stellar in the past. But his associates worked very hard and were very capable. This incase was create solely as the basis for class discussion.It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary info or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disguised. Rick was relatively new to this role, though he was a highly accomplished operations manager with a history of taking on tough challenges and producing strong results by redirecting his teams towards better prioritization, teamwork and focus on strategically important activities. As he looked over the marketing forecast and the ta rget of 700 funded loans for the next month, Rick wondered what the upcoming mail drop would do to his department?And, more importantly, what could he do to help Capital One grow its consumer loan business in the most optimal way? Capital One backdrop Information After graduating first in class from the Stanford business school in 1981, Richard Fairbank joined Strategic Planning Associates (SPA), a strategy-consulting firm. In 1986, Fairbank met Nigel Morris, a teenaged associate at SPA. While analyzing the operations of a major money center bank, the two reviewed the firms credit cod operations. Both of them were in love by the enormous profitability relative to the rest of the bank.The young consultants concluded, Credit cards ar not banking they are all about collecting information on 200 gazillion people that youd never meet, and, on the basis of that information, making a series of decisions about lending money to them and past hoping they would pay you back. Fairbank and Morris recognized the potential of customizing credit card products based on characteristics and behavior of their customers and taking advantage of the technological advances in computers that offered companies the ability to record, organize and meditate large centres of customer data.They realized that few products in the credit card industry were being direct marketed and that even fewer firms were fully exploiting the power of statistical analysis. Fairbank and Morris were able to convince the bank to run a test using this strategy. The test worked remarkably well, however, the bank was unwilling to adopt this new strategy. Convinced that they were onto something in reality big, the two pitched their idea to more than 20 national retail banks before Virginia-based Signet Bank invited them to launch its Bank Card division.Over the next some(prenominal) days, Fairbank and Morris ran thousands of statistical tests and eventually introduced the first balance transfer produ ct in 1991 that revolutionized the credit card industry and saved a struggling Signet Bank. Four years later, in 1995, Signet spun off its credit card division to create the publicly held Capital One. Recognized for its innovation, customer service, information technology, and financial management, Capital One this instant is one of the largest issuers of Master Card and Visa credit cards in the world. Today, the companys global customer base is close to 49 Million with managed loans totaling over $83 Billion.From its IPO in 1994 to 2005, Capital Ones stock price had increased more than 1400%. In recent years home(prenominal) diversification has become a primary component of Capital Ones strategy. After going public, the company progressed on geographic and This case was developed solely as the basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disgu ised. product line expansion through organic growth in credit cards and a series of acquisitions in non credit card businesses.In 1998, the company acquired Summit Acceptance Corporation, an auto loan provider. In 2001, it acquired the nations largest online provider of direct auto loans People First, and a leading provider of financing solutions Amerifee. The acquisition of Onyx Acceptance Corporation made Capital One Auto Finance the second-largest self-reliant auto lender in the United States. The company also acquired Kansas City-based eSmartloan, an online originator of home equity loans and mortgages Hfs Group, a home equity loan broker in the United Kingdom and InsLogic, an insurance brokerage based in Tennessee.A number of these diversified businesses along with some organically grown businesses reside in the Global Financial Services (GFS) organization of Capital One. The Loan processing center is one such business that supported a variety of loan products such as downh earted business loans, Line of credits and Jumbo loans. The Loan Approval Process In the division in charge of consumer and small business loans, the marketing department solicits potential customers through direct mail and/or email campaigns, that highlight the loan product features and specials of various products that are offered by Capital One.These campaigns, which are typically carried out at a nationwide level, have an information card that can be returned by the customer. The customer uses this card to provide information concerning their name, the type of loan they are interested in and the phone number/time range that is best to reach them. Customers who respond by sending this information back enter the process and are referred to as an App. Each App flows through a process that consists of five steps Interview, Workflow Coordination, Underwriting, type Assurance (QA) and Closing. edge 1 shows the process flow with a brief description of the activities and the number of associates in each role. Interview The interview step consists of sevensome associates who call the telephone number specified on the information card. On a typical day between 200 and 500 potential customers are called depending on the incoming volume of customer requests. Federal privacy regulations require that financial institutions can speak about the loan only to the person who very requested the loan. Hence, if this person is not home at the time of the call, the call has to be repeated at a later point.During the call, the associate interviews the applicant about her loan needs. Based on the customer needs, the associate offers a range of products to the customer and the loan terms such as the maximum loan amount and the interest rate associated with each product (usually a range of interest rates is provided). This case was developed solely as the basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disguised.If the customer is interested in one of the products, she will start an application process with the associate. The associate follows a scripted questionnaire and enters the information being provided by the customer into a computer system. The interview associate sets the expectation with the customer on the next steps if additional information is necessary to complete processing and approbatory the application, an underwriter will get in touch with the customer in 2-5 business days to get the necessary information.If all the information is complete and accurate, the applicant will receive a phone call from an Underwriter in approximately 5-10 business days outlining the next steps in the closing process. Exhibit 2 summarizes some sample data that was collected over the course of a week. The Exhibit shows it takes on average 22 to 24 minutes for an associate to process one extra app. This includes the time the ass ociate spends talking with the applicant. It also includes the time it takes the associate to reach the applicant.