Refferal Case Study for Rheumatoid Arthritis free essay sample

Is an autoimmune disease which can cause chronic inflammation of body`s organs, joints, and the surrounding tissue of the joints. It can be defined as: â€Å"a disease of synovial tissue, i. e. a joint linings, tendons, tendon sheaths and associated structure. So widespread is the inflammatory process that inflammatory nodules may form almost anywhere, the extensor surfaces of the limbs being most common, such as elbow and forearm nodules, but nodules may also form in the lungs and other visceral tissue† (Wright Foundation Exercise referral manual, 2008) The onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis is generally between 45-65 years (Stenstrom Minor, 2003) Specific inclusion criteria –Mild to moderate severity Specific exclusion criteria – Severe severity Depression – â€Å"An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. We will write a custom essay sample on Refferal Case Study for Rheumatoid Arthritis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (http://www. medterms. com/script/main/art. asp? articlekey=2947) Specific inclusion criteria –Mild to moderate severity Specific exclusion criteria – Severe severity Additional Information As the client is 66 years of age she will be considered as elderly. Elderly – Whilst aging there is a steady functional decline, cardio-vascular, flexibility and strength. Reduction in functionality could be a possible cause of depression due to a reduction of independence and possible social isolation. (Wright Foundation Exercise referral manual, 2008) Medication Drug: Aceclofenac Drug group: Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) Reason for Prescription: Rhematoid Arthritis Desired effect: â€Å"It works by blocking the action of a substance in the body called cyclo-oxygenase. Cyclo-oxygenase is involved in the production of various chemicals in the body, some of which are known as prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are produced in response to injury or certain diseases and would otherwise go on to cause pain, swelling and inflammation. Arthritic conditions are one example of this. Aceclofenac is used to relieve pain and inflammation in arthritic condition† (http://www. tiscali. co. uk/lifestyle/healthfitness/health_advice/netdoctor/archive/100004233. tml) Possible side effects: Nausea, Gastro-intestinal discomfort, diarrhoea, hypersensitivity reactions (particularly rashes, angioedema, and bronchospasm headache, dizziness, nervousness, depression, drowsiness, insomnia, vertigo, hearing disturbances such as tinnitus, photosensitivity, and haematuria. Blood disorders have also occurred. Fluid retention may occur (rarely precipitating congestive heart failure); blood pressure may be raised. (http://www. bnf. org. uk/bnf/bnf/current/5183. htm#_5183. 9) Possible effects of drug during exercise: Dizziness during transitions, Bronchospasm during exercise, vertigo can effect balance, photosensitivity may cause skin irritation if outdoors in the sun and hearing disturbances may affect communication. Implications of exercise prescription: Avoid transitions, implement intervals allowing for toilet breaks, if physical activity is outdoor then advise on suitable weather conditions and ensure that instructions are well communicated and understood. Drug: Nortriptyline Group name: Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) Reason for Prescription: Depression Desired effect: â€Å"When depression occurs, there may be a decreased amount of the chemicals noradrenaline and serotonin released from nerve cells in the brain. When these chemicals are released from nerve cells they act to lighten mood. When they are reabsorbed into the nerve cells, they no longer have an effect on mood. Nortriptyline works by preventing this re-absorption of noradrenaline and serotonin back into the nerve cells. Therefore, it helps prolong the mood-lightening effect of any released noradrenaline and serotonin†. (http://www. tiscali. co. uk/lifestyle/healthfitness/health_advice/netdoctor/archive/100003239. tml) Possible side effects: â€Å"dry mouth, sedation, blurred vision (disturbance of accommodation, increased intra-ocular pressure), constipation, nausea, difficulty with micturition; cardiovascular side-effects (such as ECG changes, arrhythmias, postural hypotension, tachycardia, syncope, particularly with high doses); sweating, tremor, rashes and hypersensitivity reactions (including urticaria, photosensitivity), behavioural disturbances (particularly children), hypomania or mania, confusion or delirium (particularly elderly), headache, interference with sexual function, blood sugar changes; increased appetite and weight gain (occasionally weight loss); endocrine side-effects such as testicular enlargement, gynaecomastia, galactorrhoea; also convulsions (see also Cautions), movement disorders and dyskinesias, dysarthria, paraesthesia, taste disturbances, tinnitus, fever, agranulocytosis, leucopenia, eosinophilia, purpura, thrombocytopenia, hyponatraemia abnormal liver function tests.

T Dinosaur Extinction Event

The K/T Dinosaur Extinction Event About 65 and a half million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, dinosaurs, the largest, most fearsome creatures ever to rule the planet, died off in vast quantities, along with their cousins, the pterosaurs, and marine reptiles. Although this mass extinction didnt happen literally overnight, in evolutionary terms, it may as well have - within a few thousand years of whatever catastrophe caused their demise, the dinosaurs had been wiped off the face of the Earth. The Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event - or K/T Extinction Event, as its known in scientific shorthand - has spawned a variety of less-than-convincing theories. Up until a few decades ago, paleontologists, climatologists, and assorted cranks blamed everything from epidemic disease to lemming-like suicides to intervention by aliens. That all changed, though, when the Cuban-born physicist Luis Alvarez had an inspired hunch. Did a Meteor Impact Cause the Extinction of the Dinosaurs? In 1980, Alvarez - along with his physicist son, Walter- put forth a startling hypothesis about the K/T Extinction Event. Along with other researchers, the Alvarezes had been investigating sediments laid down all over the world around the time of the K/T boundary 65 million years ago (its generally a straightforward matter to match geologic strata - layers of sediment in rock formations, river beds, etc. - with specific epochs in geologic history, especially in areas of the world where these sediments accumulate in roughly linear fashion). These scientists discovered that the sediments laid down at the K/T boundary were unusually rich in the element iridium. In normal conditions, iridium is extremely rare, leading the Alvarezes to conclude that the Earth was struck 65 million years ago by an iridium-rich meteorite or comet. The iridium residue from the impact object, along with millions of tons of debris from the impact crater, would have quickly spread all over the globe; the massive amounts of dust blotted out the sun, and thus killed the vegetation eaten by herbivorous dinosaurs, the disappearance of which caused the starvation of carnivorous dinosaurs. (Presumably, a similar chain of events led to the extinction of ocean-dwelling mosasaurs and giant pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatlus.) Where Is the K/T Impact Crater? Its one thing to propose a massive meteor impact as the cause of the K/T Extinction, but its quite another to adduce the necessary proof for such a bold hypothesis. The next challenge the Alvarezes faced was to identify the responsible astronomical object, as well as its signature impact crater - not as easy a matter as you might think  since the Earths surface is geologically active and tends to erase evidence of even large meteorite impacts over the course of millions of years. Amazingly, a few years after the Alvarezes published their theory, investigators found the buried remains of a huge crater in the region of Chicxulub, on Mexicos Mayan peninsula. Analysis of its sediments demonstrated that this gigantic (over 100 miles in diameter) crater had been created 65 million years ago - and was clearly caused by an astronomical object, either a comet or a meteor, sufficiently large (anywhere from six to nine miles wide) to occasion the extinction of the dinosaurs. In fact, the size of the crater closely matched the rough estimate proposed by the Alvarezes in their original paper! Was the K/T Impact the Only Factor in Dinosaur Extinction? Today, most paleontologists agree that the K/T meteorite (or comet) was the prime cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs - and in 2010, an international panel of experts endorsed this conclusion after re-examining massive amounts of evidence. However, this doesnt mean there couldnt have been aggravating circumstances: for instance, its possible that the impact was roughly concurrent with an extended period of volcanic activity on the Indian subcontinent, which would have further polluted the atmosphere, or that dinosaurs were dwindling in diversity and ripe for extinction (by the end of the Cretaceous period, there was less variety among dinosaurs than at earlier times in the Mesozoic Era). Its also important to remember that the K/T Extinction Event wasnt the only such catastrophe in the history of life on Earth - or even the worst, statistically speaking. For example, the end of the Permian period, 250 million years ago, witnessed the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, a still-mysterious global catastrophe in which over 70 percent of land-dwelling animals and a whopping 95 percent of marine animals went kaput. Ironically, it was this extinction that cleared the field for the rise of the dinosaurs toward the end of the Triassic period - after which they managed to hold the world stage for a whopping 150 million years, until that unfortunate visit from the Chicxulub comet.

Global Business in Emerging Regions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 2

Global Business in Emerging Regions - Essay Example Ltd (OGES) Present market: USA and European market Emerging market: overall Africa and especially Nigeria Cause of moving out: Over saturation in the present market and poor economy Advantage: Business expansion and market diversification Main challenge: Poor infrastructure and political problem Entry strategy: agency formation and hire- purchase strategy News Link: The assignment has taken a clue from news with the headline â€Å"Africa’s Richest Man Bets Big on Oil Refinery† published in Wall Street Journal. (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579210322347689090). The news tells that a Nigerian man Aliko Dangote, the richest man in entire Africa for last two decades is going to step in oil refinery business. The estimated investment is $9 billion for coming two years to construct the largest private refinery in Nigeria. It is expected to produce more oil compared to any African country. PART A Company & Industry Analysis Company overview: In this case it is supposed that the certain organization (OGES) is a manufactures of tool and machineries, which are used in oil refinery business. The organization manufactures valves, liquid level gauges, digital flow meters, intube exchangers, electrically heated exchangers and many more equipments used in refinery facilities. Basically it is an ancillary company of oil and gas exploration and refining sector. Industry/Sector Overview: Many big companies across the globe are present this business. Companies which are making equipments for oil and gas refineries like Armstrong Engineering Associates, Inc. John C. Ernst Co., Inc and Shangqiu Jinyuan Machinery Equipment Co Ltd. are the competitors of the business. The level of competition is fair and health. These peer organizations have an association in the form of chamber of commerce to discuss and address the sector specific problems. The company has operation in the US and European market. Saturation in the Present Market: It is known that the US and European market is highly saturated and overcrowded. Manufactures from other areas like Chinese and Indian companies are giving tough competition in the US and European market. More over the economies of these two areas are not growing. So much so that dome countries are reporting negative figures. The problem has started in 2008 with the initiation of sub prime crisis. It is nearly six years; the problem has not been solved. It is very difficult to run a business in such a country which is not growing. Limited expansion opportunities and limited marketing scopes restrict the business to grow further. But if a business is not growing it is actually lagging behind its competitors because they are growing. So if a particular market or region is not working favorably, it is advisable to focus on other areas. Market diversification and product diversification should be the regular agendas for a successfully running business over a long period of time. Identificatio n of Emerging Market: But it not only diversification it wants to spread its wings in others areas as well. In this contest, Nigeria, a Sub-Saharan-African country is considered as the destination. Because the organization thinks that Africa in general and Nigeria in specific can be viewed as the emerging market. The growth of overall African economy is much better than the US and European economy. It is always advisable to bet on something which is rising or growing rather that which is facing

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

International marketing - Essay Example The primary objectives of the organization, as per the website of the organization are to provide support and advice, notify interested businesses of overseas investment opportunities and to provide assistance in exporting goods. These objectives are moved further by the activities of the organization which include trade exhibitions of Australian goods around the world, locating and screening on business partners internationally and by the provision of research data on the viability of other markets. These support services are established through the governmental planning of exports and through the export network which Austrade has in place (Austrade, 2007). The primary purposed of Austrade is to provide information and one of the easiest methods available to a small business while seeking information is to use the internet (Levy and Powell, 1998). Austrade certainly does not disappoint in this case since even a brief overview of their website presents a wealth of information for anyone who seeks to conduct business outside Australia. For example, the website provides detailed information about countries where Austrade operates and it is easy to see that the data about these countries can be very helpful for an exporter looking to sell Australian products abroad. For any exporter who is just coming into the export business, a service such as TradeStart becomes invaluable. This is a network of offices which are spread across the country and assist local businesses with free services under the New Exporter Development Program. Primarily, these services consist of advice and information about the product requirements from different countries and how the product can be sold to another nation. The network also provides on the ground assistance in foreign lands where Australian businesses may not have a level of familiarity or local expertise (Austrade, 2007). As reported by Bartlett &

Discuss the barriers faced by firms wishing to enter an oligopolistic Essay

Discuss the barriers faced by firms wishing to enter an oligopolistic market structure - Essay Example Therefore, sellers in the oligopoly are constantly aware of competitor actions and respond accordingly in order to outperform the small volume of competition existing in the market structure. Oligopolists regularly take into consideration the strategic responses of competition, attempting to model the most likely retaliation of important market participants in order to maintain competitive edge. Even though competition is intense between the market players, there is also considerable influence in the oligopoly to prevent new competitors from entering the market. The most common barriers for new market entry include pricing, product differentiation and consumer switching costs, as well as intellectual property and patent laws. An explanation of barriers Firms operating in an oligopolistic market structure have often achieved economies of scale, which are the specific cost advantages achieved by a firm due to its size and scope of operations in which the cost of outputs continues to de crease whilst fixed costs are able to spread over a higher volume of unit outputs (Gelles and Mitchell 1996). This is achieved through better operational efficiency and productivity that also improves variable costs along the production model. Over time, as the oligopolist achieves profit maximisation, the business is able to low the cost of capital, especially as it pertains to asset procurement, thereby increasing production output whilst experiencing better cost efficiency. Economies of scale that have been achieved through continuous operation and success in sales in a market create barriers to new entrants, especially as it pertains to pricing. Businesses in the oligopoly are able to create predatory pricing structures in an effort to undercut emerging competition attempting to enter the market. Because the business competitor has achieved economies of scale and reduced the costs of capital, they are often equipped with the operational capacity to increase production without ha ving to incur significant costs in this manufacturing effort. One should consider the beer industry, one that is currently dominated by major players such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors which account for approximately 80 percent of the total market share in the international beer industry (New York Times 2009). If either of these oligopolists is aware that a new competitor is attempting to enter the market, thus providing competitive threat, these manufacturers are able to lower the prices of their selected products and sustain these low prices even though it would, in the short-term, reduce their quarterly profit expectations. New entrants, however, would have to invest considerable capital into the systems required to produce the product, distribute the product and market it. Oftentimes, the new competitor must establish brand recognition (a costly marketing objective) that requires, oftentimes, years of dedicated promotion in marketing simply to get consumers interested in the beverage brand. Major players such as Anheuser-Busch can theoretically cut their prices by 50% on products that are homogenous in relation to the production output of the new competitor. Sustaining these prices in an effort to drive out the new competitor is relatively simplistic when economies of scale have been achieved. Why is this so important in determining barriers to new market entry in the oligopolistic market structure? The law of demand indicates that as a price decreases, consumer demand increases when all other factors remain stable (Boyes and Melvin 2007). Therefore, market characteristics

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Terrorism Politics Essay

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Terrorism Politics Essay Bacevichs comments regarding the ability of the United States of America to understand the conflicts it finds itself, to identify current and future threats and to prepare for the future is a symbol of the difficulty facing many states as they try and identify how to prepare their future national security policies and strategies. The challenges faced by states are reflected in the difficulties faced by academic researchers who also spend considerable time, effort and money on trying to solve the same problem. In the last ten years, a particular term has been used to describe the latest threat to global security, the Global War on Terror. The events of September 11th have brought about a greater interest in the subject of terrorism, a field of study which has grown by 85% since 1968 (SCHMID AND JONGMAN, 1988). That percentage will have increased greatly in the twenty-two years since Schmid and Jongmans study. It is surprising to consider that a greater study of terrorism was not carried out in the 1920s, considering that the Great War was started by the actions of a small and relatively unknown anarchic terrorist group. Similar to Insurgency, the field grows in strength as it becomes more widely used by actors in resistance to Western States on a large scale as the development of Western conventional warfare hegemony has grown. This essay seeks to identify where the field of terrorism studies has developed its greatest strengths and its greatest weaknesses in recent literature (defined as post 2004) and to discover whether or not the field, as it has grown ever more popular since the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001 (FRIEDRICHS, 2006), has moved on and developed. It will first discuss the question of the definition of Terrorism. It will then debate whether the habit of transient researchers has added or detracted from the field. Taking these two areas into consideration, it will consider the methodologies of Orthodox and Critical Terrorism studies and will show the development of new theories has been constrained by a use of secondary sources and the habit of lazy researching (SILKE, 2004).Finally, overall it will attempt to balance the strengths and weaknesses in the field to identify the challenges facing terrorism studies. It is important at this stage to try and define two key terms, Research and Terrorism. Research in itself is broken into three key areas; the exploratory, the descriptive and the explanatory (ROBSON, 1993). The effort of any field or discipline of study is to bring newly discovered information created from primary resources and statistics, describe it to other researchers and interested parties and then use that information to explain why events happen and then use that information to form models and theories to predict what effect may happen in the future (SILKE, 2004a). The second term to be defined is terrorism. The greatest challenge facing Terrorism research is certainly the definitional one. Schmid and questioned over one-hundred scholars to define terrorism (SCHMID AND JONGMAN, 1988). They responded with over 109 separate definitions .There is still no universal definition for terror, despite many worldwide organisations attempt to create one and despite forty years of wrangling over the subject, there has been little development. For the purposes of this essay, the use of the United Nations Security Council Shepherd Resolution 1566 definition, which refers to it as: criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act (S-RES-1566, 20 04). However, it must be remembered that this is not an official UN definition and is not used universally by UN member states. The challenges of attempting to research a subject in which no universal definition has been agreed upon will be discussed in detail below. THE DEFINITION DEBATE Before we can begin to understand Terrorism we must first of all decide what it is. Despite the actions by organisations generally described as terrorist for well over one-hundred years, the study of terrorism still suffers from the lack of a specific and legal definition of terrorism. As C. A. J. Coady wrote The definitional question is essentially irresolvable by appeal to ordinary language alone since terrorism as a concept is not ordinary (COADY, 2001). For some, such as the hegemonic power of the day (in the modern context, we should read United States) and for those fighting their own wars against separatists or insurgents using non-conventional tactics this lack of a legal definition could be used as an advantage (FRIEDRICHS, 2006). The post-2001 War on Terror during the Bush era was served by the lack of a universal definition as it allowed some nations to describe their own personal fights as part of this global war on terror. The United States, United Kingdom and even Russi a were particularly guilty of this as they implied affiliations with Arab nationals and Islamic organisations with that of terror groups and even state terror, despite there being no evidence of collaboration between the main perpetrator Al Qaeda and the Wests long term adversary Iraq. Even in Russia with the Beslan school siege, it was found that the terrorist actors had only two Arab members out of thirty-one hostage takers (DE WAAL, 2004). For the UK it was useful to secure the peace laid out in the Good Friday agreement with Irish terrorism, which had been held up by naÃÆ' ¯ve Irish-Americans believing they were supporting a cause against an Imperial power. Terrorism then in its contemporary stance, is an essentially contested concept employed to meet the needs of those applying the term (WEINBERG AND EUBANK, 2008). For those countries opposed to the War on Terror, which for them was simply an excuse for an invasion of Iraq, a universal and legal definition of terror would give them a legal basis for preventing state intervention into countries opposing the United States and their followers economic and military hegemony (FRIEDRICHS, 2006). It is also important to note how definitions over time have changed in order to suit the time in the states dealing with terror, as any definition would not be useful without a contemporary analysis of the threat of the day. This would certainly be a demonstration of why pre-1968 terrorism was not of much of a concern as it has been post-1968: Why worry about a definition of terrorism when your concerns are of conventional threats from neighbouring states? The first attempts at defining terror came through the League of Nations after numerous assassination attempts were made in the mid 1930s, with King Alexander I of Yugoslavia assassinated by Croatian separatists while on a state visit to France (WALTERS, 1969). As the murder was found to be political, the escaped separatists hiding in Italy could not be extradited under a treaty made in 1870, which excluded political acts. It is important to note at this time, which would be a theme to follow other attempts at definition, that the final resolution by the League of Nations showed terrorism to be of a political angle: (3) to punish terrorist outrages which have an international character (SAUL, 2005). The treaty was signed by a small number of signatories, ratified by only India and never brought into law. With the advent of the Second World War and the end of the League of Nations, the resolution was quickly forgotten. It did however, set a number of important precedents: 1. That a universal definition of Terrorism needs to be reached through multilateral consensus through a forum of a worldwide organisation (in modern terms, the United Nations or possibly on a limited scale, the European Union). 2. That Terrorism was a political act. 3. That states should refrain from any act designed to encourage terrorist activities directed against another State and to prevent acts in which such activities take shape (1937, LEAGUE CONVENTION).. In effect, this banned state sponsored terrorism. 4. Finally, that acts of terrorism are acts directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons, or a group of persons or the general public (1937, LEAGUE CONVENTION). This eliminates the possibility of a State using terror against its own population but does allow Terrorism to be committed by a state against another state. Terrorism researches would be sharp to note that political understanding is the key aspect to understanding terror. It is also quite important to note such a resolution, should it have been enforced by signatories had it been ratified on a wider scale, would most likely have prevented state intervention on humanitarian grounds as states were not classed as being able to be terrorists. The use of the armed forces in foreign and civil wars was not included in the resolution to prevent their use being defined as an act of terror (SAUL, 2005). The agenda has, after a number of starts and stops since the 1937 resolution, returned to the United Nations. Since almost all international action into other states in this last 10 years has some way been connected or has been implied to be connected to terrorist actions, it is of little surprise (PETERSON, 2004). The growth of international conventions which have yet to bring about a universal legal basis gives a great deal of guidance and a strong start in the search for a definition, but has failed to create the sought after legal framework. It is also important to note that with a change in administration within the United States which has changed US foreign policy from unilateral action to that of multilateral approaches has also brought about a need for the hegemonic powers to define who the universal enemy is as predicted by Jorg Friedrich (FRIEDRICHS, 2006) and that a floating and independent definition of who the enemy is no longer serves the purposes of the coalition of th e willing, a group that were unable to even decide who the common enemy was. A definition that explains who the universal enemy to all states is (i.e. al Qaeda) will greatly enhance states ability to combat it (FRIEDRICHS, 2006), allow Terrorism researchers to focus their efforts on moving past the exploratory stage of research and allow all to generate theories on explaining and preventing further terror events. As Silke states, What is terrorism? What makes a terrorist act? What makes a group a terrorist group? These are such basic questions; and yet satisfactory answers continue to elude the field (SILKE, 2004a). Until we are able to answer these questions, terrorism research will be confined to the exploratory and descriptive stages of research. FASHIONABLE FADS It is of no surprise that Schmid and Jongman identify 1968 as the year in which interest in terrorism grew in the academic and lay community and it is of little surprise that the level of interest has grown massively with continuous references to the events of 9/11 (GORDON, 2004). Many academics from other disciplines will have identified terrorism as an interesting field of study to begin to analyse from their own perspective and their own particular specialism. Andrew Silke identifies these individuals as transient authors (SILKE, 2004a) and notes that over 80% of terrorism research articles were from one-timers (SILKE, 2004b), who applied their subject expertise to the new fashionable fad of terrorism studies. Avishag Gordon also discusses the issue of transient authors in great detail, stating that Terrorism as a research field lacks constancy and the commitment of researchers to the field (GORDON, 2007), a sentiment shared by Silke who states that they are simply after a one-off publication and have no real interest in the field (SILKE, 2004a). Silke also writes about Ariel Merari who is particularly scathing towards contributors who are unfamiliar with terrorism research. It is said that usually a contribution of this kind is well-grounded in the empirical and theoretical findings of the writers particular area of expertise, but lacking in knowledge in terrorismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (MERARI, 1991). It is perhaps understandable to see where these seasoned terrorism researchers are coming from; Silkes study in 2004 following on from Schmid and Jongmans study in 1988, shows that over 75% of works from 1990-1999 comes from authors whose backgrounds are political sciences, government departments, consultancy, sociology and psychology respectively (SILKE, 2004b). However, it is perhaps a little short sighted to simply write off one-time contributors to the field as people who simply felt that had something to contribute to the juicy subject of terrorism (MERARI, 1991). Instead, we can quickly identify areas in which these outside disciplines have considerably strengthened the field of terrorism studies. First of all, let us consider the motivations and backgrounds of those who study terrorism as their main subject of interest. Many are Military personnel, police officers, Government Officials and spies; all who, in some regards, deal with terrorism as some aspect of their job. Their interest in this subject comes from their desire to improve their capacity to work within their vocation, but what are they likely to bring to the debate? Most may bring a good deal of experience to the subject but experience is not something terrorism researchers are lacking; it is an understanding of the psychology, sociology and economics that motivate an individual to resort to terrorism. Military units are well known for their failures in dealing with civilian populations; the United States militarys inability to quell insurgency in Vietnam and their heavy handedness in Iraq after the 2003 which generated a near civil-war are two easy examples to find. And this is not simply a US military problem. R ussian actions in Chechnya, Israeli actions in Palestine and British actions in Aden are three other examples of how militaries failed to understand the causes, and thus create resolutions too, the problems they faced. As a result, any research which brings a fresh and unexpected look and well grounded in the empirical and theoretical (MERARI, 1991) would bring knowledge and primary source information into the field which would otherwise not exist. They also bring with them greater knowledge of empirical analysis Secondly, statistics do not always speak the whole truth. Though there are admittedly a large number of one-off contributors to the field since 2000, many authors have actually combined their knowledge of psychology, sociology and economics with that of terrorism to move their research on from the exploratory stage of research and into the explanatory. For example Walter Enders and Todd Sandler have co-written numerous articles and works on the subjects of terrorism and its effects on economics, tourism and transnational policies for dealing with terrorism. Enders and Sandler are also not alone in bringing knowledge from other disciplines into the field. Gordon discusses the research of another academic, who look into transient researchers in other fields to see how many conduct continuous research. Hawkins in 1978, who analysed the literature of Gas Compounds, discovered that only 4.7% of researchers continued to study in the field for more than ten years, compared with 66.4% who co ntributed only for one year (GORDON, 2007). Despite the protestations of Silke, Merari and even Gordon himself, Gordon appears to have shown that terrorism studies is not alone in the number of transient academics who contribute. Since 2001, it has also been financially easier for researchers to get funding from state sources, as the needs of governments to counter the rise of Terrorism is able to generate a new host of researchers who will stick with the subject (WEINBERG AND EUBANK, 2008) Thirdly, as Meadows describes in 1998, who sees intellectual mobility as an inevitable trend that marks the rise of new topics in the sciences (GORDON, 2007) which can bring new subjects and new areas unbeknown otherwise to the fore. Leydesdorff Wagner go further to say that continuant authors are the core of the field of research. They attract transient authors to contribute to the field, bringing new information (LEYDESDORFF WAGNER, 2005). It should then be considered a strength to terrorism studies in which transient authors decide to contribute to the field of study by bringing in expertise in the disciplines of economics, psychology and sociology, knowledge which would either be left out from studies or would slow down the progress of terrorism research as academics spend more term learning the details of other disciplines. It can be seen that many of these authors do become continuant authors, as the likes of Enders and Sandler have shown. THE GOOD AND THE EVIL Perhaps one of the greatest failing of Terrorism is studies is explaining why individuals and groups feel the need to resort to Terror through a theoretical basis. Gaetano Ilardi suggests that the focus of terrorism studies has been lost as researchers become focused on areas of less concern, which importantly has prevented the development of a sound theoretical understanding of the dynamics of terrorism (ILARDI, 2004). The basis for this assumption, which Richard Jackson (JACKSON, 2007) concurs with, is that Terrorism studies has been distracted by a so-called New Terrorism (JACKSON, 2007) since September 11th, which has gripped the attention of the world at large through a them-and-us perception of good and evil. Ilardi points out Bush used the word evil eleven times on his 11th October 2001 speech (ILARDI, 2004) to point the new war on terror as simply a battle against good and evil. It is of no surprise then, that 90% of Terrorism scholarly articles have been written since Septem ber 11th (SHEPHERED, 2007) This debate on good against evil in the war on terror has long been criticised as preventing further development at the political level. As challenges in Iraq grew in 2005/06, the Iraq study group noted that Many Americans are dissatisfied, not just with the situation in Iraq but with the state of our political debate regarding Iraqà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Our country deserves a debate that prizes substance over rhetoric. (IRAQ STUDY GROUP, 2006). As many reports on Terror and Terrorists is written from an us perspective from Governmental and Security departments of Western nations, the general assumption that Western democratic way of living is the right way (HUNTINGDON, 1997) has resulted in policy makers and Terror researchers believing that Western democracy can solve Terror problems in other countries, which Huntingdon described as the West and the rest (HUNTINGDON, 1997). Ilardi points out that the USA and its Western allies believe in their core values of law, democracy, freedom and pe ace (ILARDI, 2004) and also shows how the Bush era rhetoric rarely discusses the war on terror and democracy as separate issues. The inability to separate foreign policy and the exportation of Western democracy from the fundamentals of Terrorism research has prevented the field from maturing beyond a comic book perception of Good Vs. Evil. This rhetoric prevents researchers from developing an understanding of, for example, bin Laden as a declaration of evil absolves the need for Western states to understand their decisions, reasons and policies (ILARDI, 2004). It encourages fear, bias and obscures the root of the problemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and denies the perpetrator even the slightest degree of legitimacy, so their grievances are at best incidental (ILARDI, 2004). This moralistic perspective, as described by Dr Richard Jackson, is deeply antithetical to scientific inquiry, which calls for a more dispassionate and less moralistic analysis of the evidence (JACKSON, 2007). Such an approach would not only assist with the finding of a definition, but also finally quell the most over-stated phrase in Terrorism studies that ones terrorist is anothers freedom fighter, a statement which hugely over-simplifies the difficulties faced by students of Terrorism. In order to move the Terrorism debate forward, Jackson suggests a move away from Orthodox Terrorism Studies (which is branded by (1) its poor methods and theories, (2) its state centricity, (3) its problem solving orientation, and (4) its institutional and intellectual links to state security projects) and towards Critical Terrorism Studies (JACKSON, 2007), which, as the name suggest, a far more skeptical approach to current assumed Terrorism knowledge (Jackson, 2007). Jacksons argument can be seen to support the inclusion of experts in other fields delivering fresh perspectives, compared to that of Silke, Merari and Gordon who are far more snobbish when it comes to transients. In response to Jacksons criticisms, Horgan and Boyle (2008) indicate that most scholars are well aware of the difficulties faced with Terrorism research, writing An implicit presumption from this is that terrorism scholars have laboured for all of these years without being aware that their area of study has an implicit bias, as well as definitional and methodological problems (HORGAN AND BOYLE, 2008). However, Horgan and Boyles argument does not deal with the problem at hand; if the issues in Terrorism studies are based around a moralistic bias, a lack of definitions and failures in methodology it is not excusable to simple mention that researchers are aware of these difficulties without attempting to overcome them. This habit of making excuses for Terrorism research failures appears to be quite common, with Weinberg and Eubank writing Andrew Silke, Marc Sageman, Alex Schmid and a long list of other investigators have called our attention to significant and long-term flaws in how ter rorism has been studied since the phenomenon itself reappeared in the 1960s (WEINBERG AND EUBANK, 2008). The critics of Critical Terrorism Studies put forward by Jackson appear to be far more concerned with protecting the Orthodox methods of research (which will be discussed in detail next in this essay), despite recognising its flaws, instead of working to overcome them. If they are widely recognized by a wide number of researchers and authors, why are they still so prominent? The last aspect of the Good Vs. Evil debate is the question of State Terror. Ever since the League of Nations convention ruled out the State as being capable of committing Terror, it has been a limited area of study. Jackson highlights this, saying Of particular concern is that, with only a few notable exceptions, terrorism studies has failed to engage with the issues and practices of state terrorism (JACKSON, 2007). Andrew Silke in his 2004 study shows that only 12 out of 490 journals addressed the question of State Terror (SILKE, 2004b). As the growth in Terrorism studies has been funded by a need from Governmental organisations and security services focused on the states needs against opposing organisations, this is not a surprise. Working that Terrorism and its definition is useful for the state itself, it is only post-September 11th that the US and its Western allies have at all been interested in State Terror, as it would allow them to cry out against nations which, according t o them, Terrorise their own population (Iran is an excellent example here). Weinberg and Eubank argue against Jackson, saying The critical terrorism studies claims about the ideological bias and state-centric nature of conventional terrorism studies seems complex and requires a more extended reaction (WEINBERG AND EUBANK, 2008). However, once again the supporters of Orthodox Terrorism Studies appear to have missed the point; researchers should not be relying solely on Governments sponsoring research in their fight against the Evil in the world as the Good Guys. They should instead be taking an objective and empirical approach to analysing the causes and solutions to Terrorism, avoid a state-centric angle which would prevent the Good Vs. Evil debate and finally rid us of the freedom fighters and terrorists statement. Shepherd, Jessica, The Rise and Rise of Terrorism Studies, The Guardian (2007) The Iraq Study Group, (2006) The Iraq Study Group Report, Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, December Jackson, Richard, The core commitments of critical terrorism studies, European political science: (2007) LEYDESDORFF WAGNER, Network structure, self-organization, and the growth of international collaboration in science, George Washington University Center for International Science and Technology Policy (2005) Merari, Ariel, Terrorism and Political Violence, Volume 3, Issue 1 Spring 1991 , pages 88 102 Schmid, Alex and Jongman, Albert, Political Terrorism: a New Guide To Actiors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories and Literature (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction books, 1988). Robson, Colin, Real World Research (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993) Silke, Andrew, (A) Research on Terrorism in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism: Trends, Achievements and Failures (London: Portland, 2004) Silke, Andrew, (B) The Road Less Travelled in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism: Trends, Achievements and Failures (London: Portland, 2004) Ilardi, G. (2004) Redefining the Issues: The Future of Terrorism Research and the Search for Empathy, in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism: Trends, Achievements and Failures (London: Portland, 2004) United Nations Security Council Resolution S-RES-1566(2004) in 2004 (retrieved 06/01/2010) Gordon, AVISHAG, Terrorism and Knowledge Growth: A Databases and Internet Analysis in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism: Trends, Achievements and Failures (London: Portland, 2004) Gordon, AVISHAG, Transient and continuant authors in a research field: The case of terrorism, Scientometrics, Vol. 72, No. 2 (2007) 213-224 FRIEDRICHS, JORG, Defining the International Public Enemy: The Political Struggle behind the Legal Debate on International Terrorism (Leiden Journal of International Law, 19 2006), de Waal, Thomas, Chechnya: War on terror legends debunked, (Index on Censorship www.indexonline.org, November 18, 2004) 1937 League Convention, in International Conference Proceedings, supra n. 32, annex I, p. 5; and 1937 Convention for the Creation of an International Criminal Court, in International Conference Proceedings, supra, n. 32. Peterson, M. J. , Using the General Assembly, in J. Boulden and T. G.Weiss (eds.), Terrorism and the UN: Before and After September 11 (2004) Coady, C. A. J., Terrorism, Encyclopedia of Ethics, Lawrence C . Becker (ed.) (New York: Garland, 2001). Weinberg, Leonard and Eubank, William(2008) Problems with the critical studies approach to the study of terrorism, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 1: 2, 185 195 Horgan, John and Boyle, Michael J.(2008) A case against Critical Terrorism Studies, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 1: 1, 51 64

The Synthesis of Knowledge :: Mind Mental Knowing Knowledge Essays

The Synthesis of Knowledge "Society values mental labor more highly than manual labor." This is a claim that Ruth Hubbard makes in her essay "Science, Facts, and Feminism." This claim suggests that those who are the thinkers, the innovators, the inventors, and the great minds are highly valued by society; however, those who are the doers, the laborers, the hand-crafters, and the workers are not valued as greatly. Hubbard implies that society regards mental labor as more important than manual labor because it requires more specifically human qualities. Knowledge making is one of these specifically human qualities. Mental laborers and manual laborers are distinguished by this knowledge making process. For Hubbard’s claim to have meaning, there are assumptions that must underpin the claim. First, society must value labor. Labor must be something usable in society. A distinction between manual labor and mental labor must exist. A line must be drawn as to what makes mental labor mental and manual labor manual. There exists a specifically human quality, like knowledge making, which classifies the mental and manual laborers. Labor must exist in society to place value upon it. One also must assume that the more knowledge making ability one has, the more successful one can potentially be. These assumptions must be accounted for, for the claim to have any validity. This claim, to me, explains what can be said about the value of knowledge making and experience. Knowledge making is valued greatly by society and society values those who posses this knowledge making ability. Knowledge comes from personal experience and these experiences make that person more intelligent. One makes a decision, and then one learns from the consequences of that decision resulting in more apprehension. An example of building knowledge making is when a small child touches a hot pan on the stove and gets burnt. This child’s knowledge making has increased and the child knows to never touch a pan on the stove without proper protection. Book knowledge is another important element. This type of knowledge can be defined from what results in a college degree, a doctorate, or just a secondary degree of education. One must have base comprehension of empirical insight. Mental laborers have this intuitive synthesis of knowledge where manual laborers do not posses as much. An example of this book knowledge is taking a course in trigonometry and how it affects future comprehension. With trigonometry learned, mathematical calculus can be more easily learned.