Evaluation of Sigmund Feud and his theory

Evaluation of Sigmund Feud and his theory Sigmund Freud may have pioneered psychoanalysis and initiated interest in behavioral patterns, but some of his concepts/theories are controversial. Sigmund Freud is one of the well know scientist of his time in the area of psychology, he is intentionally referred to as the godfather of psychology. Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human personality. He is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial minds of the 20th century. Sigismund (later changed to Sigmund) Freud was born on the 6 May 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia (now Pribor in the Czech Republic). His father was a merchant. The family moved to Leipzig and then settled in Vienna, where Freud was educated. Freuds family was Jewish but was himself non-practicing. In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. He collaborated with Josef Breuer in treating hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis. In 1885 Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. On his return to Vienna the following year, Freud set up his private practice, specializing in nervous and brain disorders. The same year he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children. Freud developed the theory that humans have an unconscious in which sexual and aggressive impulses are in perpetual conflict for supremacy with the defenses against them. In 1897, he began an intensive analysis of himself. In 1900, his major work The Interpretation of Dreams was published in which Freud analyzed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences. In 1902, Freud was appointed professor of neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. Although the medical establishment disagreed with many of his theories, a group of pupils and followers began to gather around Freud. In 1910, the Intentional Psychoanalytic Association was founded with Carl Jung, a close associate of Freuds, as the president. Jung later broke with Freud and developed his own theories. After world war one, Freud spend less time in clinical observation and concentrated on the application of his theories to art, literature, and anthropology. In 1923, he published The Ego and the Id, which suggested a new structural model of the mind, divided into the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. In 1933, the Nazis publicly burnt a number of Freuds books. In 1938 shortly after the Nazis annexed Austria, Freud left Vienna for London with his wife and daughter Anna. Freud was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in 1923, and underwent more than 30 operations. He died of cancer on 23rd September 1939. (http://bbc.com.uk/history./freud_sigmund.shtml) Freud studied hysteria at length, and became involve with Josef Breuer. Dr. Breuer became Freud mentor, and together they co-authored a book on hysteria. It was during these studies that Freud came to realize that the personality was made up of having three aspects the id, ego, and super ego, (Krogh, D.). The id is the part of personality that is responsible for survival and self gratification, it is our primitive mind. It is the source of our libido and has only one rule, satisfying the pleasure principles, (Gay, P.). The ego deals with our rational thought, it develops our growing awareness that you cannot always get what you want. It has a tough job compromising negotiation between the id and the super ego. It pleases the id but also remains responsible and bears the long term consequences in mind. The super ego is the last part of the mind to develop. It is best described as the moral of personality. The super ego has two sub systems, those been the ego ideal and conscience. The ego ideal lays down the laws regarding positive behavior and standards which the ego must live up to. The conscience are the sets of rules which define deviant behavior, it houses thoughts and behaviors that would result in punishment if they were to be acted out. Freud was also responsible for defining the five stages of psychosexual development, which are briefly explained below. Stage One: The oral stage, (0-18 months). During this stage, the physical focus is on the mouth. The young child receives libidinal pleasures while feeding. Any problems at this stage, for example, over indulgence or privation could lead the child to an oral personality in adulthood suggesting, that the adult would partake in extensive oral activities e.g. smoking, drinking, or eating disorders, (Gay, P.). Stage two: The anal stage (18-36 months). Freud believed that the child experienced erogenous pleasure while defecating. Potty training takes place round about this time, so that the child had to learn control over its bowels. Also the caregiver puts emphasis on the child to control urges regarding deviant behavior (often called the terrible twos). If the caregiver is too controlling the child is likely to grow to have a retentive personality e.g. the adult will have rigid thought complexes, be overly organized, and obsessed with neatness. On the other hand, if the caregiver is not controlling enough, the child will grow up to be messy, untidy and could possibly be defiant with little self-control, (Feldman, R, F). Stage Three: The phallic stage (3-6 years).The physical focus at this stage for both boys and girls is the penis boys wonder why girls havent got one. In return, girls start noticing that they are without one and become curious. Also during this stage, Freud suggested that children have sexual feelings for the opposite sexed parent, (so they deal with Oedipus and Electra complexes respectively). Boys experience castrations anxiety and girls suffer penis envy (the lack of). Fixation at this stage could result in promiscuity and immoral behavior, (Feldman, R,F.). Stage four: The latency stage,(6 years to the onset of puberty). This is a calm period where virtually no psychosexual conflicts are taking place. Boys and girls tend to be gender aware thorough this stage and have little in common with the opposite sex, (Feldman, R.F.). Stage five: The genital stage (post puberty). If all transitions of the above stages have been smooth and the caregiver has responded in a relevant well balanced manner. A healthy competent adult should emerge, fully equipped to contribute to society emotionally, and physically. If on the other hand, one or more of the transitions have been impaired, a fixation of the impaired stage will occur. Stress will trigger the adult to regress to the particular impaired stage in question, (Feldman, R,F). As straight forward and relevant as Freuds theories were, he was not without criticism , Carl Jung, Karl Krus et al, and T.S. Szasz are among a few who strongly object to Freuds findings (Robinson, P. Feud and his critics). Could they have a point? For all Freuds genius, he failed to incorporate genetic influences regarding behavior in his studies. Freud dealt only in the unconscious mind, with a few age related triggers thrown in, and that our whole personality is based on the development of these triggers. These triggers were purely Freuds interpretation. Behavior on the other hand, deals solely with environmental factors, and believes that babies are born as a blank slate, often termed tabula rassa Freud is also accused of been totally subjective and having a bias attitude. An example of this would be that he based all his findings on his recollections and findings (Robinson, P. Freud and his critics). He did conduct research using his youngest daughter Anna, but this form of opportunity sampling is not productive, because being his daughter, she would strive to produce socially desirable answers. When conducting psychoanalysis, Freuds patients were always middle class women. This was not a representative samples of the population, the data collected from his analysis would again be bias. Other arguments against the proficiency of Freuds practices are that due to patient Problems occurring in childhood, this may result in parental blame. There are also problems surrounding false memory syndromes, it has been found that patients receiving Freudian analysis have imagined childhood abuse. These allegations could be imagined and have no facts, (Robinson, P. Freud and his critics). Also the whole model of psychoanalysis is non-scientific, it cannot be falsified. So there we have it, the basic from which Freud conducted his psychoanalysis. In its day it was a revolution but certainly not without opposition, as previously discussed Freud managed to put words, terms, and phases to complex notions regarding personality and unravel almost simplify intricate developmental processes, enabling Freudian psychologists to accurately define and hopefully rectify a patients regressed emotional problems. Was Feud practicing a pseudo-science? Are his findings mere quackery? Were his theories on psychoanalysis a revolutionary breakthrough? Either way people will remain divided.

Asian American Essay -- essays research papers

The American Community in the 1900’s to the 1920’s was in fact a totally different generation than its successor not only because of cultural and economic reasons but also because of world events and the rise of technology. Americans in the early 1900’s were a closely knit generation with a sense of community, morals, and obligations. They had an "instilled" set of ideals and values and their lives were very much affected by the rise of technology. Living in America in the early part of the 1900’s was a hard and trying era through such turbulent times as the Great Depression, World War I, and the Industrial Revolution. Such profound and important events happened in a relatively short amount of time. Americans were searching for an identity for their country which was still only less than 200 years old. Big Industry was on the rise slowly and Americans were starting to contend in the growing world market. Throughout American history, people have fought for equality in any shape or form and the mid 1900’s was no exception. Having gone through leaps and bounds in terms of civil rights. The 1920’s to the 1940’s was a transitional period for all Americans and minority groups. During this period of American history, America was one of the most modern countries in the world but still...

tyger :: essays research papers

The Tyger In the poem the tyger William Blake shows a lot of symbolism, imagery, and irony. He likes to explain to his audience how he writes with all the knowledge he knows. Reading this poem makes me think of how a person feels when he is taken advantage of at work. Like when ones work is difficult to cope with, suffering, and pain is all that is left. It seems to that in the end all the pain endured happens to what is left for this person and suffering is what hurts the most. William Blake shows symbolism in this part of the poem, â€Å" In the forest of the night,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (line 2). This part shows that you can be trapped from your work or even your life. â€Å" what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?’† ( line 3-4). This part shows how much struggle he has in his life and all the pain he feels in his life. â€Å" in what distant deeps or skies burnt the fire of thine eyes.† (line 5-6). He shows his emotions and how much anger that was built up in his heart. He feels like crying because he is frustrated. â€Å"What the hammer? What the chain†. ( line 13). This shows that his been treated like a slave and has endured what slaves endued like working on the rail roads. â€Å"When the stars threw down their spears, and watered with their tears, (lines 17-8). Shows that he has mellowed down and is ready to accept all that has happen to him. â€Å"Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? â€Å"( lines 19-20). He is talking to god and its bringing out his emotions. Asking for forgiveness and wants to be treated normal in his life.† Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright in the forest of the night,† ( lines 21-22). This phrase started in the beginning and ended at the end. Its because it’s the true meaning behind the whole poem no matter what you do or how hard you work there is always something that gonna take you down. throughout the poem I have seen a lot of Irony and symbolism. The parts that I chose from the poem brings out a lot of pain, suffering, hard work. tyger :: essays research papers The Tyger In the poem the tyger William Blake shows a lot of symbolism, imagery, and irony. He likes to explain to his audience how he writes with all the knowledge he knows. Reading this poem makes me think of how a person feels when he is taken advantage of at work. Like when ones work is difficult to cope with, suffering, and pain is all that is left. It seems to that in the end all the pain endured happens to what is left for this person and suffering is what hurts the most. William Blake shows symbolism in this part of the poem, â€Å" In the forest of the night,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (line 2). This part shows that you can be trapped from your work or even your life. â€Å" what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?’† ( line 3-4). This part shows how much struggle he has in his life and all the pain he feels in his life. â€Å" in what distant deeps or skies burnt the fire of thine eyes.† (line 5-6). He shows his emotions and how much anger that was built up in his heart. He feels like crying because he is frustrated. â€Å"What the hammer? What the chain†. ( line 13). This shows that his been treated like a slave and has endured what slaves endued like working on the rail roads. â€Å"When the stars threw down their spears, and watered with their tears, (lines 17-8). Shows that he has mellowed down and is ready to accept all that has happen to him. â€Å"Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? â€Å"( lines 19-20). He is talking to god and its bringing out his emotions. Asking for forgiveness and wants to be treated normal in his life.† Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright in the forest of the night,† ( lines 21-22). This phrase started in the beginning and ended at the end. Its because it’s the true meaning behind the whole poem no matter what you do or how hard you work there is always something that gonna take you down. throughout the poem I have seen a lot of Irony and symbolism. The parts that I chose from the poem brings out a lot of pain, suffering, hard work.

Ethical Issues in Nursing

Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Critical Thinking is based on clever thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking is an analytical thinking that’s help in order to solve problems which occur on an everyday basic. Understanding how to figure out a resolution in order to solve a problem is a very great technique in all areas of life. Which is helpful in everyday living, for example school. While attending college I’ll be taking classes in order to become a Register nurse. This gives me an opportunity to use my thinking skills in new ways.Also critical thinking will help me to have a better view and understanding of material and the capability to perform and succeed in classes. Having the knowledge of critical thinking can help in many different careers. As for nursing, critical thinking plays a very important part in your work. Problem solving and decision making are two of the most essential common thinking processes used in nursing. So it’s very important to identify facts and evidence from opinions keeping a open mind while being a creative problem solver.For example, I use to work at this nursing home and we were having issues with not knowing if residents were having bowel movements. My director of nursing was trying to come up with an idea on what to do. That when I got an idea a BM chart! I had to think it out before I presented it to my director. Finally when I had it all fine points I presented it to her and it worked. That made me believe you can success by staying focus and open minded. You have to try new things in order to see what works. If you don’t try it you will never know.Remember to challenge all information unless it provides you with facts and evidences. Ethical Behavior Ethical behavior is a standard I hold for myself honesty and accountability, and how you treat others in all walked of life. Like the golden rule you treat other as you want to be treated. I live by that rule I do people like I want to be done. I feel like you get further in life having a positive attitude toward others. As for me I work in a hospital so that rule really applies. I’m dealing with all kinds of people, sicknesses and even death.This helps me to relate and have a better understanding toward the patients, families and coworker feeling. Even companies have ethical behavior that’s expected of you and what’s not when hiring an employee. Reflection Reflecting back over the steps it took me in order to write this paper. First off I was totally unsure about what I wanted to write, so I then began to think about the word critical thinking and what it means. That’s when I began to jock things down that I wanted to write in my paper. Finally I got me a cup of coffee sat in front of my computer and began typing.Last but not least I’ve been proof reading over and over, adding and subtracting words and sentences until I had my final essay. Quote â€Å" In order to get the most out of life, everyone needs to develop rational life plan that â€Å"would be chosen by him with full deliberative rationality, that is, with full awareness of the relevant facts and after a careful consideration of the consequences. ( Rawls, 1929-2002, p. 13) Reference Boss, A. J. (2012). Think critical thinking and logic skills for everyday (2nd ed. ). New York: New York.

Community Policing

In my opinion to understand the way things are today you must first understand the history and background. So with that being said I would start off the class with the history and background of policing. The modern concept of police was started in London in 1829 by Robert Peel. Robert Peel felt that the law should be responsible up to the prosecution phase but the trial, conviction and punishment phase should be the responsibility of another party. However, Robert Peel’s approach and community policing one thing is the main goal and that’s prevention of crimes. http://voices. yahoo. com/law-enforcement-sir-robert-peels-concept-community-638595. html) I would then go into the times for reform which occurred in the late 1800’s. I would discuss American history which was divided into three eras. These three eras were the political era, the reform era and the community policing era. The political era this occurred from 1840 to 1930. This focused on close ties between police and politicians as well as first emphasis on making politicians happy. Next was the reform era that occurred from 1930 to 1970.This focused on professional crime fighting and arrest were the main focus of police. Then last was community policing from 1970 and is still used today. The focus of this era was partnership between police and the community. (http://www. grossmont. edu/lance. parr/intro4. htm) Community policing and problem solving gives the public an opportunity to work with police in order to prevent crimes. In conclusion our country has continued to follow Robert Peel’s ideas of effective policing. Before policing can be effective the community and the police must work together to make this happen.Peel believed that the police are the people and the people are the police. (http://voices. yahoo. com/law-enforcement-sir-robert-peels-concept-community-638595. html) References: http://voices. yahoo. com/law-enforcement-sir-robert-peels-concept-community-638595 . html http://www. grossmont. edu/lance. parr/intro4. htm Community Policing and Problem Solving by J. Peak 2012 Summarize the three eras of policing (political, reform, and community). Identify and briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each era.Respond in no less than 300 words. The three eras of policing are political, reform and community. Each new era brought forth something different to the police force. In 1844 New York establishes a police force for New York City. Unlike others this police force was different. The city government and politicians had control of the police force even as far as selecting officers. This era was known as the political era. This meant there were close ties between the police force and politicians. The main goal was to make the politicians happy.In 1930 the political era became the reform era. This era focused mainly on the arrest of individuals which meant professional crime fighting. Officers were to enforce the laws and make arrest when ever possible. When bigger problems arose a special type of unit was assigned instead of assigning an officer to a case. During the professional or reform era crime began to rise, fear in people arose, minorities did not receive their treatment by police adequate or equitable, and police began to be in competition with one another.This era was about to end and a new one began. In 1970 a new era began which was known as community policing. This focused on a partnership between police and the community. At this time it was suggested that patrol officers performance would improve by reorganizing the jobs based on the officers. This later became known as team policing. The idea of team policing was to restructure the departments, improve police-community relations, enhance police officer morale, and facilitate change in the police organization.Now with the new era in place a system was developed called COPPS which means Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving. The community and police officers working together to prevent crime is now the culture to many police organizations. I believe that the era that works best for police organizations is the community era this gives police and the community the opportunity to work together to prevent crimes which should be the main focus. (Ken Peak 2003 professor of criminal justice) References: http://www. policechiefmagazine. org/magazine/index. cfm? useaction=display_arch&article_id=1968&issue_id=122009 1. What were the primary findings and recommendations of the Wickersham Commission? What changes resulted from these recommendations? How did the work of O. W. Wilson, August Vollmer, and J. Edgar Hoover further reform policing in this era? Respond in no less than 250 words. President Hoover created the Wickersham Commission because of arguments over prohibition and the citizens’ concerns on crime increased. The Chicago gang wars and the Valentine’s Day Massacre brought on most of the concerns fr om citizens.Hoover’s idea of the Wickersham Commission was to improve the notably ineffective enforcement of prohibition. A list of Wickersham’s conclusions and recommendations was provided to try and ease the concerns of citizens. The commission is opposed to repeal of the eighteenth amendment, to the restoration in any manner of the legalized saloon, to the federal or state governments such as going into the liquor business, to the proposal to modify the National Prohibition Act so as to permit manufacture and sale of light wines and beer.The commission is of opinion that the cooperation of the states is an essential element in the enforcement of the eighteenth amendment and the National Prohibition Act throughout the territory of the United States; that the support of public opinion in the several states is necessary in order to insure such cooperation. The commission is of opinion that prior to the enactment of the Bureau of Prohibition Act, 1927; the agencies for enforcement were badly organized and inadequate; that subsequent to the enactment there has been continued improvement in organization and effort for enforcement.The commission is of opinion that the present organization for enforcement is still inadequate. The commission is of opinion that the federal appropriations for enforcement of the eighteenth amendment should be substantially increased and that the vigorous and better organized efforts which have gone on since the Bureau of Prohibition Act, 1927, should be furthered by certain improvements in the statutes and in the organization, personnel and equipment of enforcement, so as to give enforcement the greatest practicable efficiency.Some of the commissions were not convinced that prohibition under the eighteenth is unenforceable and believe that a further trial should be made with the help of the recommended improvements, and that if after such trial effective enforcement is not secured there should be a revision of the amendme nt. Others of the commission were convinced of the opposite they believed that it has been demonstrated that prohibition under the 18th amendment is unenforceable and that the amendment should be immediately revised.The commissions did agree that if the amendment were to be revised it would read: Removal of the causes of irritation and resentment on the part of the medical profession by: The commission concluded by doing away with the statutory fixing of the amount which may be prescribed and the number of prescriptions, abolition of the requirement of specifying the ailment for which liquor is prescribed upon a blank to go into the public flies; leaving as much as possible to regulation rather than fixing details by statue.The commission also concluded that the removal of the anomalous provisions in section 29, National Prohibition Act, as to cider and fruit juices by making some uniform regulation for a fixed alcoholic content. Increase of the number of agents, storekeepers-gauger s, prohibition investigators, and special agents; increase in the personnel of the Customs Bureau and in the equipment of all enforcement organizations. The commission concluded that the enactment of legislation to prohibit independent denaturing plants.The commission is opposed to legislation allowing more latitude for federal searches and seizures. The commission renews its recommendation of legislation for making procedure in the so-called padlock injunction cases more effective. The commission recommends legislation providing a mode of prosecuting petty offenses in the federal courts and modifying the Increased Penalties Act of 1929, as set forth in the chairman’s letter to the attorney general dated May 23, 1930. The commission met from 1929 to 1930 to work out the kinks in the recommendations and conclusions the final report was issued in 1931.The commission focused a lot on manufacturing and sales of liquor. The commission stated in the report that the eighteenth amend ment should not be repealed but the government should spend more money and effort enforcing prohibition laws. (http://ehistory. osu. edu/osu/mmh/clash/prohibition/Documents/wickershamreport. htm) References: http://ehistory. osu. edu/osu/mmh/clash/prohibition/Documents/wickershamreport. htm http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/Wickersham+Commission According to

Assessing ecosystem health Essay

The simple summary of the article is shown below.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Metaphors drawn from human health can be applied in environmental assessment at ecosystem levels; hence the concept of ecosystem medicine may also be appropriate in trying to understand the environment.   By using metaphors one can understand a difficult concept into more known terms since a comparison as to what is common in medicine and in ecosystem. Human use science but they employ art also in appreciating and studying things. As a necessary consequence of using arts or even science   errors in treatment could also happen as there could also be cased of false alarms in diagnosing the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But for a successful application of the medical concepts in ecosystem, there could be a need have a greater-defined taxonomy of ecosystems to afford a better correlations and analysis of the different variables involved in ecosystems. Taxonomy will allow more definitions of technical terms in ecosystems which could be used by scientists and scholars to make a thorough investigation and analysis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The health status of ecosystems in turn could also serve a good barometer to assess the present status or health of the environment. This must be so since the better the ecosystem , the better the environment. Question: 2.    Write a review of Section 1 (p-15: Introduction) and also indicate important points which the author has talked about to be discuss in the paper; any critique; anything missing?   Any important information we get from this section?   Any interesting thing we get from this section, and do we really find it in the following section? The simple introduction is shown below.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is saying that whatever the ecosystem now suffers is partly caused by human activity.   He is using a metaphor to convey his message.   That the environment’s health must also be determined like that of a human individual.   Like a human being who is subject to stress, the author illustrates that the ecosystem also suffers from effects of various stresses.   He cited as examples of stresses the following: harvesting, introduction of exotic species, generation of waste residuals, physical restructuring, and even extreme natural events which affect the environment. Question 3.   Write a review of Section 2 (p-16: Ecosystem: a nebulous concept?)   What do we learn from this Section?   What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?   And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic? Is ecosystem a nebulous concept?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is saying that while others my think that term ‘ecosystems’ may be indefinite of meaning   because   of difficulty of delimiting boundaries on the basis of conventional observations.   Ecosystems are not isolated, but intimately connected, or nested within adjacent or larger systems as seen in the continuum from rivers to lakes; from estuaries to the sea; from the sea to the world’s ocean.   The author agrees that for management and assessment, ‘ecosystem’ constitutes a relevant macro-level unit for describing the environment (Rowe, 1961, 1989; Bird & Rapport, 1986).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The author is very clear in describing the ecosystems as a dynamic, complex, and open systems that are in constant change over ecological, evolutionary, and geological time (Rapport & Regier, 1992), and such they exhibit chameleon-like properties; that is, they might exist in a number of alternative forms, the particular composition being very much influenced by internal dynamics and by interactions with neighboring systems (Holling, 1985; Rapport & Regier, 1992). Question 4.   Write a review of Section 3 (p-16: Towards an Ecosystem Health Model) what do we learn from this Section?   What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?   And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic? The quest for understanding leads to quest for having health ecosystem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is saying that in the quest for a more comprehensive understanding of the process of ecosystem breakdown and recovery, he has come to think that humans are engaged in some form of ecosystem medicine (Rapport et al., 1979).   He said that introducing the medical metaphor suggests that, like physicians, ecosystem practitioners are in need of systematic procedures by which to recognize illness, devise protocols to ‘rule-in’ or ‘rule-out’ possible causes, and prescribe treatment. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When it comes to treatment, medicine suggests several options: following internal medicine, ecosystems may be treated by regulating the ‘blood chemistry’ of the system; following surgery, ecosystems may be treated by wholesale physical and biological restructuring.   The latter may involve both removal of undesirable elements and introduction (grafting) of desirable ecosystem components. I should hasten to add that we are concerned here with the application of scientific methodologies developed in medicine in order to assess the state of ecosystem health.   In so doing I neither subscribes to the view that ecosystems can be considered as organisms (for clearly there are not not not not substantive differences in both the mechanisms and degree of integration as well as in the dynamics of these two systems) nor do I suggest.   (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) Question 5.   Write a review of Section 4 (p-17: The subjective nature of health assessments) what do we learn from this Section?   What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?   And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic? Subjectivity is employed in assessing the ecosystem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is equating the subjective judgment used in health assessment as to what is being done in assessing the ecosystem.   He said that clearly, in many cases, the diagnosis and treatment of sickness also uses gut feel or hunches in addition to the scientific way..   Inevitably, there enters a degree of subjectivity in evaluating the health status of an individual or an ecosystem. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author mentioned some ecosystem transformations that are made without recourse to societal values or limitations of scientific understanding and cited as example the demise of the forest downwind of a smelter.   Nevertheless, he admits that more frequently   social value-judgments and the limitations of science appear   to mix as a form of art.   The author gave as an example the conversion to plantations of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) of highly diversified indigenous forests in New Zealand, where there are opposing view between conservationists and foresters. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) Question 6.   Write a review of Section 5 (p-18: Early Warning Signs of Pathological Ecosystems) what do we learn from this Section? What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?   And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic?   (This section should cover all sub sections of the main section, one by one) Early warning signs of pathological ecosystems have obstacles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author mentioned three obstacles in providing early warning of ecosystem pathology and they are: Firstly, basic processes such as nutrient cycling and primary productivity, is highly cyclical and irregular, varying from year to year, seasonally and diurnally.   Such variability and seemingly random behavior raises havoc with detection of the onset of much pathology that beset aquatic ecosystems. Secondly, early symptoms of ecosystem degradation may be missed or discovered only after pathology is well advanced. Thirdly, false alarms are easily sounded owing to a still far from adequate understanding of the long-term dynamic behavior of ecosystems. Ecosystems have common systems of degradation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Under section 5.1 on â€Å"Health indicators at the ecosystem level,† the  author is discussing the identification of common symptoms of ecosystem degradation.   These common symptoms are termed the ‘ecosystem distress syndrome’ (Rapport et al., 1985) and characterize a large number of ecosystems under stresses of various types.   The author citing Rapport, 1991, said that with reference to aquatic ecosystems, the ecosystem distress syndrome comprises the following symptoms: (1) alteration in biotic community structure to favor smaller forms; (2) reduced species diversity; (3) increased dominance by ‘r’ selected species; (4) increased dominance by exotic species; (5) shortened food-chain length; (6) increased disease prevalence; and (7) reduced population stability. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) Like human diseases, ecosystems have risk factors, too.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Under section 5.2   on â€Å"Ecosystem risk factors,† the author   Ã‚  supports the idea of identification of individuals at risk for certain types of diseases, as those found in coronary disease, which will shift man’s attention from treating illness to prevention.   The author argues that using the same principle of identifying risk in ecosystem, prevention of the ecosystem’s degradation could be prevented. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He believes that this approach works best where a single dominant stress acts to transform ecosystems, such as may occur in the process of eutrophication or acidification of aquatic ecosystems.   He said that much is known about the actions of these two stresses and the vulnerabilities of the recipient aquatic systems (e.g., Minns et al., 1990). He then argued that combining the findings from case studies of impacts of such specific stresses on ecosystems with the knowledge of current stress loadings and sensitivities of recipient ecosystems enables one to arrive at an ecosystem level risk assessment. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He was able to cite the development of various factor analyses similar to the manner in which risks of coronary disease are now assessed in ecosystem health evaluations. He cited the work of Minns et al. (1990) who have examined the impact of acid precipitation on the loss of fish species in vulnerable eastern Canadian lakes. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With these studies the author is really looking forward for the prevention of ecosystem’s degradation. Validation of treatment for ecosystem is a problem, too.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Under section 5.3 on â€Å"Validation of treatment† the author also talks of validation of treatment which is considered the bottom line for medical practitioners. This premised on the idea that once an illness has been diagnosed, the question turns squarely to the most effective treatment. Treatment validation provides a basis for selection among alternative procedures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In applying the medical terminology to the ecosystem, the author said that success rates for a given treatment cannot be evaluated without factoring out the influences of the other stress factors. He cited an example the evaluation of the effectiveness of harvesting regulations on restoring seal populations in the Baltic Sea. He said that it is necessary to take into account impairments to seal reproductive success owing to the presence of PCBs and related toxic substances (Helle et al., 1976). Here, just as in human medicine, he said, â€Å"we have the need to develop methodologies to factor out co-morbidities.†Ã‚   He mentioned the need for a far better taxonomy of ecosystem ills than we presently have. He said that one currently may describe ecosystem pathologies in terms of air pollution damage to forests, eutrophication of aquatic systems, acidification of aquatic and terrestrial systems, etc. but he said that these are very rudimentary categories. He therefore suggested that for each of these classifications there are many finer subdivisions which need to be categorized before one can readily compare case histories. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) Question 7. Write a review of Section 6 (p-21: Reporting on the state of environment from an ecosystem health perspective) what do we learn from this Section? What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate? And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic? Environment could be seen from the health of the ecosystems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is trying to make a picture of the environment on the basis of the status of the ecosystem. He cited Canada as having subdivided its land areas into 15 ecozones, defined on the basis of Physiographic, vegetation type, soils/surface materials, climate, and human use. He reported that the forests of most ecozones are impacted by a combination of natural and cultural stresses (particularly in the Montaine Cordillera, Boreal Shield, and Atlantic Maritime ecozones). Included in the stresses is fire, insects and diseases, over-harvesting, conversion of forests to agriculture, construction of transportation and utility corridors, air pollution, and climate-induced stresses such as red belt and wind throw.   He then cited the relationship of increase disease in ecosystems which are more stressed. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author also mentioned that the other sections of the 1986 Canadian State of Environment Report relate to aquatic ecosystems, both the Laurentian Great Lakes and other Inland Waters, as well as the three marine systems (Atlantic, Pacific and Northern). He also cited that the major stresses affecting these ecosystems include: over-harvesting, construction of dams and diversions, contaminants (including toxic substances), and the purposeful or accidental introduction of exotic species (particularly in the Great Lakes and inland waters). Further, in all but the Northern marine ecosystems, land use change (particularly the drainage of wetlands for agricultural and recreational purposes) and sewage inflows added significant additional stress. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) Question 8. What do we understand from the Conclusions written on p-23, are they appropriate; any critique; any thing missed in conclusion; any thing over emphasized. The simple conclusion could be done as shown below.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We understand from the conclusion that ecosystem behavior under stress is complex and processes leading to degradation and recovery are only partially understood, nonetheless, ecosystem medicine is coming of age at least as a conjectural art. There therefore many challenges along the way. There also a combination of objective and subjective criteria is called into play in rendering judgments as to the health of ecosystems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another thing that   I did understand in the conclusion is that in talking about assessing the ecosystem from a point of view need not involve or borrow concepts from the medical sciences to understand the system but that the author argues that use of the metaphor suggests more systematic approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of ecosystem ills, underscores the importance of validation of remedial action interventions, and draws attention to the inherent subjective nature of health assessments. Further, the metaphor provides a language in which the concern for ecosystem health becomes a natural extension of the concern for individual health The conclusions drawn are appropriate and does not in any way insist that understanding how to manage the ecosystem be necessarily made reference to the medical science field.   It could be made from different points of view and the advantage of using a field of study to bring out the issues via use of metaphor may contribute much to information campaign. Question 9.   Is this article helpful in planning and managing environment, if yes how?   If no, why? What is the relevance of the article in planning and management of the environment?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I believe this article is helpful in planning and managing environment.   Different persons belong to different professions and different professions have their own languages.   By using metaphor in medicine to discuss ecosystem and the environment, would be getting the member of the medical profession to understand the issues more clearly and to get their support for the cause of the environment Question 10.   Is the title appropriate, if yes WHY?   if no then suggest some other title, and also justify the title with a logical reasoning. How show the article be titled appropriately?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The title evaluating ecosystem health seems not to include treatment on ecosystem treatment.   Since it talks also of treatment the title could be modified as â€Å"Evaluating and Maintaining the Ecosystem’s Health.†Ã‚   By simply saying evaluating it the discussion on treatment should not have been part. Reference: Bird, P. M. & D. J. Rapport, 1986. State of the Environment Report for Canada. Ministry of Supply and Services.263 pp. Helle, E., M. Olsson & S. Jensen, 1976. PCB levels correlated with pathological changes in seal uteri. Ambio 5: 261–263. Holling, C. S., 1985. Resilience of ecosystems local surprise and global change. In: T. F. Malone & J. G. Roederer (eds), In Global Change, pp. 292–317. Cambridge Univ.Press, Cambridge. Minns, C. K., J. E. Moore, D. W. Schindler & M. L. Jones, 1990. Assessing the potential extent of damage to inland lakes in eastern Canada due to acidic deposition. 1V. Predicted impacts on species richness in seven groups of aquatic biota. Can. J. Fish Aquat. Sci. 47: 821–830. Rapport, D. J., & A. M. Friend, 1979. Towards a comprehensive framework for environmental statistics: a stressresponse approach. Statist. Can., Ottawa. Rapport, D. J., & H. A. Regier, 1992. Disturbance and stress effects on ecological systems. In: B. C. Patten & S. E. Rapport, D. J., 1991. Myths in the foundations of economics and ecology. Biol. J. Liimean Soc. 44: 185–202. Rapport, D. J., H. A. Regier & T. C. Hutchinson, 1985. Ecosystem behaviour under stress. Amer. Natur. 125: 617–640. Rapport, D., (1992), Evaluating ecosystem health, Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health, M. Munawar (ed.), Assessing Aquatic Ecosystem Health: Rationale, Challenges, and Strategies. KluwerAcademic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands Rowe, J. S., 1961. The level of integration concept and ecology. Ecology 42(2): 420–427. Rowe, J. S., 1989. Implications of the Brundtland Commission Report for Canadian forest management. Forestry

Cumberland Metal Industries

In January of 1980, Cumberland Metal Industries (CMI) had developed a new product for the pile driving industry. Its new pad, made of tightly curled metal, had the potential to break into an industry where little or no innovation was taking place. The CMI product testing showed great efficiency gains over the current standard asbestos product. The existing competition consisted of small firms, few of which had the knowledge or resources to design and develop new products. CMI seemed on the verge of breaking into a new market, where its product would be the technological front-runner. It now needed to show its customers the value its product would provide, and price its new product accordingly. Without any consideration to potential savings realized in the price of the product, the CMI pad provides additional value to the customer in two ways, time and safety. Using asbestos pads, a pile driver was able to drive approximately 150-160 feet per hour. Using the CMI pads, the same pile driver was able to drive 200 feet per hour. Additionally, the CMI pads never went above a temperature of 250oF, which allowed them to be handled almost immediately. This increase in speed and resiliency accounted for a productivity increase of 33% faster driving time. With regards to safety, the CMI pad alleviates any health hazard concerns, which many workers were starting to feel towards the asbestos pads. This in the long run could save the customer significant money in healthcare costs and legal fees, should asbestos be proven to cause health concerns. The primary target market for the CMI pad would be the Engineering/Construction contractors and Independent pile-driving contractors. These two categories would benefit the most from a lower cost alternative to asbestos, as well as from the time and safety efficiencies. The secondary target market would be the Pile Hammer Distributors and Renting companies. This category may be less welcoming to the CMI pads, as the efficiencies realized by the contractors could translate into lost revenues due to fewer pads being needed and equipment being returned early. Part of the promotional aspect of this product launch should focus on the industry subject matter experts, the Pile Hammer Manufacturers, and the Architectural/Consulting Engineers. While these groups would not directly purchase this product, their opinions and specifications would be influential to the target markets. CMI had already submitted its pad for testing to Professor R. Stephen McCormack of Pennsylvania A&M University, who is well respected in the pile-driving field. While his results are not available, early indications are that his findings will be favorable. Should that be the case, CMI should promote these findings to the manufacturers and engineers, and work with them to have the CMI pads legitimized as a viable option within the industry. In deciding where to set the price on the new pads, CMI must first review its manufacturing costs, as well as determine the value its product would bring to its clients. The projected manufacturing costs are outlined in Table 1, with one option showing the costs using existing equipment, and the other showing the costs with a $50,000 investment in new permanent tooling equipment. Table 1 [pic] As is shown in Table 1, the permanent tooling reduces manufacturing costs by 53%. CMI would have to sell 633 units to break even on the initial $50,000 investment, however in my opinion I believe this is well worth it. By lowering its manufacturing costs, CMI can increase its margins, as well as increase its maneuverability with the product price. I will therefore base my pricing decision on the assumption that CMI invested in the permanent tooling equipment. CMI senior management has indicated that they are looking to receive a 50% margin on this product. Therefore, the minimum price option to be considered is $138. 36 per pad. Part of CMI’s product testing included providing the pads to two responsible contractors, Colerick Foundation Company and Fazio Construction, for them to test against the asbestos pads in working conditions. From the Colerick test, we learned that the contractor would have needed 480 asbestos pads, at a total cost of $1,000, to complete the job. In comparison, only 6 CMI pads would have been required. Therefore, in this situation, the exact comparable price per the job costs for a CMI pad to an asbestos pad would be ($1,000/6) $166. 66 per pad. The total number of feet for the job was 15,000, and from the test results we learned that the asbestos pads lasted for 31. 25 feet of pile driving, while the CMI pads lasted for 2,500. This translates into 80 asbestos pads needed for everyone one CMI pad. The average price of an asbestos pad is $3. 00; therefore the value to the contractor of a CMI pad would be (80 x $3) $240. In the Fazio test, the contractor would have used 600 asbestos pads, at a total job cost of $2,000. Again, in comparison, only 5 CMI pads would have been needed. In this instance, the comparable price of a CMI pad would be ($2,000/5) $400 per pad. The total number of feet for this job was 12,000, and from these test results we learned that the asbestos pads lasted for 20 feet of pile driving, while the CMI pads lasted for 2,400. In this example, 120 asbestos pads would be needed for every one CMI pad. The value of a CMI pad to this contractor would be (120 x $3) $360. While these results vary somewhat, they clearly show that the CMI pads last significantly longer than the current asbestos pads. For the purpose of determining price, I will extrapolate from the findings that a CMI pad lasts for 2,500 feet of pile driving, while an asbestos pad last for 25 feet of pile driving. Therefore, the value of one CMI pad to a contractor is comparable to 100 asbestos pads. Given the asbestos price of $3. 00 per pad, the dollar value of a CMI pad to a contractor is $300 per pad. Because CMI is the first to enter the market, with relatively weak competition, and protection from a patent, I recommend a skimming pricing strategy, with a focus on customer value. As a result, I would price the CMI pad at $162 per pad to our distributors, with an MSRP of $270. This would allow the distributors to market the product at a 10% price discount over asbestos, as well as the 33% increase in time productivity, and achieve a 40% margin. Due to the limited initial manufacturing volume of 250 pads per month, I believe the best course of action is to maximize possible revenue on each pad, rather than try for market penetration. The price of $162 would provide CMI a margin of 57. 5%, which exceeds the requirement of senior management, and would allow the company to invest in future research and development, or perhaps an advertising program should it wish to increase market share in the future.