What Resource is Useful to Answer a Sample Journal Response Essay?

What Resource is Useful to Answer a Sample Journal Response Essay?An essay sample that you can use to answer a sample journal response essay can be easily found at an online resource. It would be wise to use the information and resources that are available in order to find out the best strategy that would be effective for your overall application. To ensure that you would receive the best result, it is important that you should take into consideration what resources and tools are used by other student for their own essays.To use this sample for answering a sample journal response essay, you have to make sure that you would include a topic that would make the material very interesting. This kind of essay, which you could give to the schools or colleges, would not be able to be completed if you had no idea on what kind of material that they require. To include a topic that is interesting enough, make sure that you would be able to identify that topic from the topic list that you have f rom the reading materials or books that you could have with you. You also have to include a piece of the writing on what subject matter would be very interesting for the students.In order to make the topic of the article or essay interesting, you have to make sure that you would be able to include a part of the concept. For example, you might find it helpful to include a chapter that would be talking about the system or process that you would use for achieving your goal. This article or essay that you could give to the schools or colleges would need to answer the basic questions that the colleges are seeking. That's why the introduction, body, and conclusion should be included in a piece of writing.The introduction should be filled with some sentences that would introduce the topic, such as; 'In this article I would like to answer a sample journal response essay.' The body of the article should include a short summary of the topic and the activities that the writer would like to do while pursuing the topic. The summary would be important because it would be the place where you would be able to let the readers know the main points that you would want to provide in the article.The conclusion should also be included in the body of the article, although it is important that you would be able to write the last paragraph that would be ending the entire article. This paragraph is what would be closing your essay. The conclusion would also have to contain a specific point or fact that would have to be able to impress the readers and convince them to be interested in continuing with the article. In order to avoid this, make sure that you would include a good explanation in the summary section.In order to make your article interesting and professional, the article should also have the writing style that would be consistent with the writing style of the article. The essay sample that you could use to answer a sample journal response essay would be best used when you have the right article format and structure that would be appropriate for your college or school.Making use of the samples that would be given by the sample journals or colleges could be helpful for you to make a stronger impression to the schools or colleges. In case, you would like to know more about the topic and topics that could be useful in making a strong impression, you can visit the internet or the school that you want to apply to.

5 Things You Should Never Put on Your Resume

5 Things You Should Never Put on Your Resume We all know how crucial a resume can be. It’s the document that gets you past the computer, through the door, into the interview. And you can’t get the job without getting through those stages. You’ve added in all the things you’ve been told are resume must-haves, but have you considered there might be a few things you should take out of your resume? Here are 5Â  things that you should delete from your resume as soon as possible. 1. ObjectiveThe Objective statement has gone the way of the dodo. To avoid being hopelessly retro, take it out. Your Objective statement probably just says that you’re looking for a challenging position in a great and growing company anyway, right? That tells the recruiter nothing whatsoever, and it undoubtedly also bores them. A Summary statement is much more effective. If you don’t have one, sub one in for your Objective. Either way, delete the Objective part.2. Laundry listDo you have a section where you merely l ist all of your skills and the key- or buzzwords you were told were must-haves for computer screening? The trouble with these sections is that a) they are usually unreadable by the very computer programs they’re aimed toward enticing, and b) this is a very transparent ploy. Throwing a bunch of keywords at a recruiter won’t convince them. Thread those keywords through the body of your resume text instead.3. Page 2Except in very specific contexts in very specific careers, a second page is never a good idea. You can probably expect that no one else but you will ever bother reading your second page. Better to edit your brains out, pack the first page full of your greatest hits and most impressive skills and work experience, and save the tree.4. Fancy formattingAgain, unreadable to most employers–especially if you’re uploading to a computer system. Anything that isn’t plain text will be scrapped. That includes text boxes, tables, bulleted lists, swanky fonts, page borders, etc. Save the creativity for the wording of your cover letter, or the interview process. Keep your resume clean, standard, and simple.5. HobbiesIt used to be in vogue to include a section on personal interests and hobbies. Unless you can make a case that these have some impact on your qualifications or work performance, skip this section- usually it ends up on page 2 anyway! Save your personal flourishes for the interview, when such things can really liven the conversation and help you shine.

The Short Run and the Long Run in Economics

The Short Run and the Long Run in Economics In economics, its extremely important to understand the distinction between the short run and the long run. As it turns out, the definition of these terms depends on whether they are being used in a microeconomic or macroeconomic context. There are even different ways of thinking about the microeconomic distinction between the short run and the long run. Production Decisions The long run is defined as the time horizon needed for a producer to have flexibility over all relevant production decisions. Most businesses make decisions not only about how many workers to employ at any given point in time (i.e. the amount of labor)  but also about what scale of an operation (i.e. size of factory, office, etc.) to put together and what production processes to use. Therefore, the long run is defined as the time horizon necessary not only to change the number of workers but also to scale the size of the factory up or down and alter production processes as desired. In contrast, economists often  define the short run as the time horizon over which the scale of an operation is fixed and the only available business decision is the number of workers to employ. (Technically, the short run could also represent a situation where the amount of labor is fixed and the amount of capital is variable, but this is fairly uncommon.)  The logic is that even taking various labor laws as a given, its usually easier to hire and fire workers than it is to significantly change a major production process or move to a new factory or office. (One reason for this likely has to do with long-term leases and such.) As such, the short run and the long run with respect to production decisions can be summarized as follows:   Short run: Quantity of labor is variable but the quantity of capital and production processes are fixed (i.e. taken as a given).Long run: Quantity of labor, the quantity of capital, and production processes are all variable (i.e. changeable). Measuring Costs The long run is sometimes defined as the time horizon over which there are no sunk fixed costs. In general, fixed costs are those that dont change as production quantity changes. In addition, sunk costs are those that cant be recovered after they are paid. A lease on a corporate headquarters, for example, would be a sunk cost if the business has to sign a lease for the office space. Furthermore, it would be a fixed cost because, after the scale of the operation is decided on, its not as though the company will need some incremental additional unit of headquarters for each additional unit of output it produces. Obviously the company would need a larger headquarters if it decided to make a significant expansion, but this scenario refers to the long-run decision of choosing a scale of production. There are no truly fixed costs in the long run since the firm is free to choose the scale of operation that determines the level at which the costs are fixed. In addition, there are no sunk costs in the long run, since the company has the option of not doing business at all and incurring a cost of zero. In summary, the short run and the long run in terms of cost can be summarized as follows:   Short run: Fixed costs are already paid and are unrecoverable (i.e. sunk).Long run: Fixed costs have yet to be decided on and paid, and thus are not truly fixed. The two definitions of the short run and the long run are really just two ways of saying the same thing since a firm doesnt incur any fixed costs until it chooses a quantity of capital (i.e. scale of production) and a production process. Market Entry and Exit Economists differentiate between the short run and the long run with regard to market dynamics as follows: Short run: The number of firms in an industry is fixed (even though firms can shut down and produce a quantity of zero).Long run: The number of firms in an industry is variable since firms can enter and exit the marketplace. Microeconomic Implications The distinction between the short run and the long run has a number of implications for differences in market behavior, which can be summarized as follows: The Short Run: Firms will produce if the market price at least covers variable costs, since fixed costs have already been paid and, as such, dont enter the decision-making process.Firms profits can be positive, negative, or zero. The Long Run: Firms will enter a market if the market price is high enough to result in positive profit.Firms will exit a market if the market price is low enough to result in negative profit.If all firms have the same costs, firm profits will be zero in the long run in a competitive market. (Those firms that have lower costs can maintain positive profit even in the long run.) Macroeconomic Implications In macroeconomics, the short run is generally defined as the time horizon over which the wages and prices of other inputs to production are sticky, or inflexible, and the long run is defined as the period of time over which these input prices have time to adjust. The reasoning is that output prices (i.e. prices of products sold to consumers) are more flexible than input prices (i.e. prices of materials used to make more products) because the latter is more constrained by long-term contracts and social factors and such. In particular, wages are thought to be especially sticky in a downward direction since workers tend to get upset when an employer tries to reduce compensation, even when the economy overall is experiencing a downturn. The distinction between the short run and the long run in macroeconomics is important because many macroeconomic models conclude that the tools of monetary and fiscal policy have real effects on the economy (i.e. affect production and employment) only in the short run and, in the long run, only affect nominal variables such as prices and nominal interest rates and have no effect on real economic quantities.

A report for Real Coffee LTD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A report for Real Coffee LTD - Essay Example This paper aims to present the challenges that Real Coffee Ltd, a family business in Oxfordshire, has to face in order to secure its growth in the long term. Keeping its products at high quality and emphasizing on the quality of customer services have been considered as strategic priorities in Real Coffee Ltd. However, through the years the increase of competition has led to the need for the introduction of certain changes especially in regard to specific parts of the business, such as HR and marketing. These changes could be successfully implemented only if they were appropriately designed and supported by all members of the business. The trends that characterize the coffee shop industry in UK should be taken into consideration when developing such plan. The potential need of a transition period for alternating the existing strategy of the business should not be an obstacle for promoting change in Real Coffee Ltd. since the expected benefits would be significantly higher than the co sts and the risk involved. Part 1 – External Analysis 1.1 Analysis of the macro environment Social The high percentage of population in UK is between 25 and 54 years old (Index Mundi 2013); the specific part of the population represents the 41.2% of the country’s population. ... On the other hand, the rate of ageing of population in Britain is quite high. According to a recent report, during the last two decades the number of people under 65 in Britain has been significantly increased reaching today the 5 million (Independent 2013); existing trends showing the rapid ageing of Britain’s population, a phenomenon that is expected to be continued, at least in the near future (Independent 2013). Economic The economy of UK seems to keep its strength, despite pressures in markets worldwide. Indeed, from July to September of this year an increase of the country’s economic performance by 0.8% was reported, a fact that allows businesses across UK to make plans for growth (BBC News 2013). The above growth was combined with an increase of GDP in UK; this increase was estimated to 0.7%, for the period between April and June 2013 (BBC News 2013). Even if this growth was limited it, still, shows the potential of UK economy to secure its performance even durin g periods of global financial crisis. Indeed, during the third quarter of 2013 a further increase of UK’s GDP was achieved; the increase was estimated at 0.80% and indicates the stable growth of UK economy, a growth that is highly based on the development of the services sector which represents the 75% of the country’s economy (Trading Economics 2013). 1.2 Industry Analysis In order to understand the potentials of Real Coffee Ltd to achieve a stable growth it would be necessary to refer to the performance of coffee shops industry, as this performance is affected by the industry’s competitive forces. The coffee shops industry can be characterized as a key part of UK market; in fact, in 2012 the industry’s performance

Invention of the Email and Bank Secrecy Act Essay

Invention of the Email and Bank Secrecy Act - Essay Example Global communication has become indispensable in human society as it determines the relationship between people belonging to different nations and cultures. An important mode of communication is the email. It is an electronic method of transmitting messages from one part of the globe to another part in a matter of seconds. It was in 1978 when a 14-year-old boy Shiva Ayyadurai created the first email. Email has definitely brought a new dimension to human communication and interaction. Its impact is even more prominent in the business world with email becoming the most preferred mode of communication. There has been a rapid growth of its popularity since its inception and this has been proved by a survey conducted in February 1998 at an Institution of Information Scientists. According to the survey, 60 participants booked a place by e-mail while the others booked either on the phone or have used fax. In business today, email is the most common process of communication with clients and off-site staff (Hill, 2005, pp.93-94). Its major advantage is that it is password protected which means the information on email can be accessible only by its user. It also saves time since messages sent via email takes under a second to get transmitted to the target email. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was first introduced in the year 1970 by Congress in the U.S. in order to protect the global financial system from money-related crimes like money laundering and terrorist financing. Money laundering is the method by which illegally earned money is circulated and integrated into the financial system so as to make it appear clean. Basically, it is a system by which money received from one (illegal) source is appeared to have been received from another (legitimate) source.  

Mental Health Illness and Stigma Literature Review

Mental Health Illness and Stigma Literature Review 1. Introduction 1.1 Mental illness and stigma Inequalities in health services delivery and utilization for people with mental illness has been widely documented.1 Subsequently this results in poorer outcomes for this population in regard to general health, such as circulatory diseases, mortality from natural causes, and access to interventions .2-4 Several issues have been identified as contributing to these disparities in health service access and delivery, including stigma.5-6Stigma associated with mental illness has been defined as negative attitudes formed on the basis of prejudice or misinformation that are triggered by markers of illness.1-5Illness markers include atypical behaviours, the types of medication prescribed and noticeable medication related adverse effects.5-7These markers allow for the continuation of stigma concerning people with mental illness, but they also allow community pharmacists to identify patients with a broad range of what are often unaddressed health related needs.1 Behavioural and mental disorder s are estimated to account for 12% of the global burden of diseases. Mental health related medications account for >10% of all medications prescribed by general medical practitioners8, therefore, it is an inescapable fact that community pharmacists must interact with patients suffering from mental health problems.9 Mental illness is relevant to practising pharmacists who can play vital roles in the treatment of patients with mental illness.10 Throughout the latter half of the previous century, the diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of mental illness improved radically.9 1990-2000 was proclaimed the Decade of the Brain. to promote the study of disorders of the brain, including mental illnesses.11 Despite these advances, the stigma associated with mental illness remains a compelling negative feature in society.10 Unfortunately health care professionals, including pharmacists are not invulnerable to such harmful attitudes.9 Pharmacists attitudes toward mental illness and the menta lly ill are extremely important because they can affect their professional interactions and clinical decisions.12-13 In addition, they could ultimately affect the delivery of pharmaceutical care which has been defined as the pharmacist assuming the responsibility for positive patient outcomes.14 Activities like medication counselling and monitoring of therapy have been documented to improve both satisfaction and adherence to drug therapy in patients with mental illness.15 It has been pointed out that pharmacists must become more involved in such activities for patients with mental illness.9 1.2 Optimising the use of medications for mental illness Community care offers many advantages over institutional care; however, it can place extra demands on family, friends and primary health care practitioners.16 Health professionals have identified people with mental illness as the most challenging patients to manage.8 The quality and accessibility of community care for people with mental illness needs to be improved.17 The appropriate use of medicines plays an imperative role in the effective management of mental illness, nonetheless, there is evidence that psychotropic medicines are often used inappropriately.18-19 Elderly people are especially susceptible to the effects of psychotropic medicines, and may experience adverse effects such as cardio toxicity, confusion and unwanted sedation .8 Contributing factors to the high rates of non-compliance to psychotropic medicines include, psychosocial problems, the emergence of side effects, and the delayed onset of action of anti-depressant medication.20-21 Medical co-morbidity is also comm on, and polypharmacy increases the risk of medication misuse and drug-drug interactions.22 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that the inclusion of pharmacists as active members of the health care team can improve psychotropic medication use.23 The benefits of dynamically engaging mental health service users in their own management is supported by both clinical experience and research evidence.24 A systemic review of the role of pharmacists in mental health care, published in 2003, concluded that pharmacists can bring about improvements in the safe and effective use of psychiatric medicines.23 The wide range of pharmaceutical services provided by community pharmacists are potentially well suited to assisting patients and prescribers optimise the use of medications for mental illness.8 2. Method 2.1 Literature search strategy Pubmed (1965-March 2010), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-March 2010), Embase (1974-March 2010), Cinahl (1981-March 2010) and Psychinfo (1972-March 2010) were searched using text words and MeSH headings including: community pharmacist.s, pharmacist.s, pharmaceutical care, pharmaceutical services, mental illness, mental disorders, stigma and mental illness, mentally ill persons, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, psychotropic drugs, antidepressive agents, benzodiazepines, anxiety agents and antipsychotic agents. ~550 abstracts were read. Reference lists of retrieved articles were checked for any additional relevant published material. Exclusion criteria included articles not published in English, no service provided by pharmacists, not relevant to mental illness, and studies and surveys that were carried out to evaluate pharmacist.s services in hospital inpatient or acute care settings. The literature search identified 88 papers that reporte d or discussed community pharmacist.s involvement in the care of patients with mental illness. 2.2 Inclusion criteria and review procedure For section 3.1 of the discussion, studies and surveys conducted into the attitudes of community pharmacists toward mental illness and the impact of stigma were considered. The literature review procedure for section 3.2 of the discussion, which deals with optimising the use of medication for mental illness, differed from that of 3.1, as studies without control groups, results of postal surveys and qualitative interviews were excluded. Studies with a parallel control group that reported the provision of services by community pharmacists in community and residential aged care facilities were considered. This included trials specifically conducted for individuals with a mental illness, and studies of medication reviews and education initiatives to optimise the use of medication for mental illness. Papers that reported pharmacist.s interventions in nursing homes were included, because community pharmacists frequently provide services to nursing homes. Studies of pharmacist.s activities as part of multi-disciplinary teams were also included. The literature search identified 57 papers that reported or discussed community pharmacy services to optimise the use of medications for mental illness. 3. Discussion 3.1 Mental illness and stigma While the views of the public9 and of certain health care professionals25 and health care students26-28 toward mental illness have been well documented over the years, there are limited numbers of investigations accessing community pharmacists and pharmacy student.s attitudes. Crimson et al.12 examined the attitudes of 250 baccalaureate pharmacy students toward mental illness, Phokeo et al.29 studied the outlook of 283 community pharmacists toward users of psychiatric medication, Cates et al.9 detailed the attitudes of community pharmacists toward both mental illness and the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients with mental illness, and Black et al.1 studied the satisfaction that patients with mental illness have with services provided by community pharmacists. 3.1.1 Community pharmacist.s attitudes toward patients with mental illness In general, pharmacists express positive, unprejudiced attitudes toward mental illness,1, 9, 29, 30 and overall they show encouraging attitudes toward the provision of pharmaceutical care.9 Phokeo et al.29 reported that pharmacists feel uncomfortable inquiring about a patient.s use of psychiatric medication and discussing symptoms of mental illness compared to the medication and symptoms associated with cardiovascular problems. Pharmacists also monitor patients with mental disorders for compliance and adverse effects less frequently than patients with cardiovascular problems. Crimson et al.12 found an association between a personal or family history of mental illness and attitudes of pharmacists toward mental illness. Age and years in practice are also connected with attitudes toward providing pharmaceutical care to patients with mental illness. The older and more experienced pharmacists have more encouraging responses than their counterparts.9Pharmacists are of the opinion, however, that patients with mental illness do not receive adequate information about their medication from their physicians. These patients may also receive less attention from pharmacists compared to medically ill patients, which raises concerns that their drug-related needs are not being met.29 3.1.2 Patient.s attitudes toward community pharmacists Consumers of mental health services generally have a positive perception of community pharmacists and their services, however, expectations are limited to standard pharmacy services, like providing patients with information about their medication and resolving prescription issues when dispensing medications.29 The majority of patients feel at ease while discussing their psychotropic medication and related illnesses with pharmacists.31 Clinically orientated services like working collaboratively with other health care providers, making dosing or treatment recommendations, monitoring response to treatment, and addressing the individuals physical and mental health needs have been found to be unavailable to patients.32 Patients with mental health problems, expectations of community pharmacists are low, and do not match the services that they can provide.33 Although stigma has been perceived to be similar with other health care professional, Black et al.1 revealed that 25% of patients with mental illness have experienced stigma at community pharmacies. 3.1.3 Substance misuse The prevalence of coexisting substance misuse and mental illness (dual diagnosis) has increased over the past decade, and the indications are that it will continue to do so.15 A patient with both a mental illness and a substance misuse problem can face prejudice and stigma from health care professionals, who might question the capacity of dually diagnosed individuals to respond to care.34 A Canadian survey into the attitudes of community pharmacist.s toward mental illness showed that only 55% of respondents agreed that substance misuse is a mental health problem. This finding reflects the perception that addiction represents poor self control or is a self inflicted problem.29 Over recent years, the capacity to intervene pharmacologically in substance misuse has increased greatly, pharmacotherapy is now available for opiate, alcohol and nicotine misuse.19 Some psychiatric patients with comorbid substance abuse achieve stabilisation rapidly, furthermore, severe mental illness does not necessarily predict worse outcomes.35 Socio-economic and emotional aspects are the main challenges to recovery, and case management in the context of integrated community and residential services has been shown to increase medication compliance over time.36 The contribution that community pharmacists have in the management of substance abuse has been well documented.37 Most general psychiatrists are only in the position to give patients 5-10 minutes of brief advise or intervention regarding a substance misuse problem,38 whereas community pharmacist.s are easily accessible to the public and are in a central position to provide specific advice about substance misuse.37 Community pharmacists currently provide dispensing services to drug addicts,38 and they are also the first point of contact for people misusing substances who are not in touch with the substance misuse services.39 3.1.4 Overcoming the barriers created by stigma Studies have indicated that patients prefer to go to the same pharmacy for their medication and other pharmacy needs and a significant number of patients favour to interact with the same pharmacist, which suggests that the relationship they have with their pharmacist plays an imperative role in their health and well being.1 A lack of privacy from failure to use an available private counselling room in the pharmacy contributes to patients feelings of discomfort regarding talking about their medication and their illness.31 Pharmacists are trained to educate and support patients regarding psychotropic medications, including how a drug works, monitoring for treatment response and adverse effects, and guiding patients through the process of stopping treatment, however, there are inconsistencies in the provision of these services.29 The potential for discrimination and stigma in community pharmacies has been well documented and initiatives to improve exposure of pharmacists to persons with mental illnesses in practice and in training has been suggested.23, 29 Pharmacists experience an increased level of discomfort in this therapeutic area as they receive inadequate undergraduate training in mental health.9 Adequate training in mental health is needed to improve the professional interactions of community pharmacists toward users of psychiatric medication.1 3.2 Optimising the use of medications for mental illness Community pharmacists are one of the primary health care providers in the community and have the opportunity to influence patient.s perception of their mental illness. Patients are far less likely to adhere to medications for mental health problems outside the hospital setting. Community pharmacists can significantly contribute to optimising medication use in mental illness through counselling, 40-42 patient education and treatment monitoring, 43-36 medication review services, 30, 47-49 pharmacotherapy meetings with general medical practitioners, 50-54 delivering services to community mental health centres and outpatient clinics,55-57 improving the transfer of information between health care settings,58-60 and being active members of community mental health teams.61-63 3.2.1 Counselling services In the Netherlands, three studies were carried out to highlight the impact of community pharmacist.s medication counselling sessions for people commencing non-tricyclic antidepressant therapy.40, 42 Intervention patients participated in three consecutive counselling sessions which lasted between 10 and 20 minutes each. They also received a take-home video that reiterated the importance of adherence. Throughout the counselling session, pharmacists informed patients about the appropriate use of their medications, which included, providing information about the benefits of taking the medication, informing patients about potential side effects, informing patients about the onset of action for antidepressant medication and explaining the crucial importance of taking their medication on a daily basis. Medication compliance was measured using an electronic pill container that recorded the time and frequency that the cover was opened.41 At the three month follow up the intervention patients had significantly more positive attitudes compared to the controls.40 At six months greater medication compliance was observed with the intervention patients that remained in the study25 55, also apparent improvements in symptoms were noted.41 Research on adherence shows that the patient.s knowledge and beliefs about the benefits of adhering to their medication regime plays a critical role in compliance.64 Non-adherence is not an irrational act but rather a product of poor communication.65 Patient compliance to health care recommendations is more likely when communication is optimal.66 The results of these studies indicated improvements in depressive symptoms,41 more positive attitudes,40 and better compliance to their medication.42 A limitation of this method was that the same pharmacist provided counselling services to both the intervention and the control group. As the intervention studied was multifactorial, it is inconclusive whether the three face-to-face counselling sessions or the take home video were primarily responsible for changes in drug attitude, adherence and the symptom scores.40-42 3.2.2 Patient education and treatment monitoring Four studies have reported results from pharmacist conducted patient education and treatment monitoring services for people prescribed antidepressant medications in the United States.43-46 These services involved the pharmacist taking a medication history, providing information about the prescribed antidepressant medications, and conducting telephone and face-to-face follow-ups. In two of the investigations, one of which was controled43 and the other randomised controlled, 62 medication adherence was calculated by reviewing prescription dispensing data, and reported using an intention-to-treat analysis. Both studies also demonstrated that involvement of the pharmacist was associated with a decrease in the number of visits to other primary health care providers; however, statistical significance was only achieved in one of the studies. Improved adherence to antidepressant medication was reported in both studies, 43-44 although patient satisfaction was only evident in one.44 The other two studies were randomised controlled.45-46 One of the studies was conducted using a self administered health survey,45 while in the other study antidepressant adherence was measured by asking patients how many times a day they took their medication in the past month. The results obtained from these investigations45-46 showed that patients who were taking their medication at the six month follow-up exhibited better antidepressant compliance and improved symptoms. However, antidepressant adherence and depression symptoms scores were similar for both the intervention and control group.46 Given the high rates of antidepressant discontinuation during the first three months of treatment, pharmacists have a potentially crucial role in providing medicines information and conducting treatment monitoring for those patients at high risk of non-compliance. Studies need to be conducted to compare outcomes of pharmacist.s treatment monitoring of people commencing antidepressant medication and o ther health professionals monitoring.8 An investigation into the impact of nurses treatment monitoring, also demonstrated improved medication adherence.67 3.2.3 Medication management reviews Pharmacist conducted medication management reviews are crucial in identifying potential medication related problems among people taking medications for mental illness.8 Medication review services provided by pharmacists comprise of comprehensive medication history taking, patient home interviews, medication regimen reviews, and patient education.68 A randomised controlled study of pharmacist conducted domiciliary medication reviews was carried out in the United States. The patients involved in the study were individuals living independently in the community that were identified to be at high risk of medication misadventure. The results showed a significant decline in the in the overall numbers and monthly costs of medication, however, there was no major difference in cognitive or affective functioning between the intervention and control group. The majority of patients were unwilling to follow the pharmacist.s recommendations to discontinue benzodiazepines and narcotic analgesics.47 The great potential of pharmacist conducted medication reviews for people with mental illness may not be limited to optimising the use of mental health medication.8 Physical health care for people with mental illness is generally less than adequate. This is caused by the tendency among health professionals to focus solely on the management of the mental illness among people with both mental and physical illnesses. Pharmacist conducted medication reviews may be a comprehensive strategy to improve medication use for both mental and physical illness.68 3.2.4 Medication management reviews in nursing homes Older people who are cared for in nursing homes are arguably the most vulnerable patient group, and the useful contribution that pharmacists can make to the care of these patients has been documented.30 Older people are particularly sensitive to the effects of medication,69 regular use of psychotropic medication is associated with an increased risk of recurrent falls,70 and also long term usage is linked with tardive dyskinesia.71 Psychotropic medication use may also be connected with an increased rate of cognitive decline in dementia.72 The beneficial effects of psychotropic medication must be balanced against extrapyramidal and other side effects.73 In 1995 it was reported that psychotropic drug use in Australian nursing homes was 59%, although this figure has fallen in recent years.74 In Ireland, 19% of older people in nursing homes were reported to be taking phenothiazines,75 however, this figure is lower now following a tightening of the licensing indications of thiordazine. In the England, a study showed that 30% of residents in nursing homes were taking antipsychotics.76 Two studies have looked at the appropriateness of psychotropic medication prescribing in the United Kingdom. In Scotland antipsychotic medication use in nursing homes is 24%, it was found that 88% of these prescriptions were inappropriate if the United States criteria for use were applied. In England, 54% of prescriptions were found to be inappropriate according to the United States criteria.77 A study conducted in Denmark suggested that behavioural problems were a determinant for the use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, irrespective of the psychiatri c diagnosis of the resident.78 A randomised controlled study of pharmacist-led multidisciplinary initiative to optimise prescribing in 15 Swedish nursing homes was carried out. The study involved pharmacists participating in multidisciplinary team meetings with nurses and physicians at regular intervals within a 12 month period. A significant decline in the use of antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and antidepressants by 19%, 37% and 59%, respectively was observed in the intervention facilities.79 A follow-up investigation of the same intervention and control facilities three years later indicated that the intervention facilities maintained a significantly higher quality of drug use, with far fewer residents being prescribed more than three drugs that could lead to confusion, not-recommended hypnotics and combinations of interacting drugs.48 An additional randomised controlled study showed that pharmacist.s medication reviews in residential care facilities demonstrated significant reductions in the number and cost of medications prescribed. 10.2% fewer residents were administered psychoactive medications and 21.3% fewer hypnotic medications. The impact of medication reviews on mortality was also measured and a noteworthy reduction was observed.49 One study indicated that one hour per week of a pharmacist.s time can make a significant contribution to patient care in nursing homes. It was found that this input was well received by nursing staff and prescribers and that general medical practitioners accepted the pharmacist.s advice in 78% of cases.30 Physician.s recognition was 91% in south Manchester, where 55% of interventions resulted in treatment modifications. Community pharmacist.s in Northamptonshire analysed prescriptions of nursing home residents and provided prescribing advice to general medical practitioners. The advice was accepted in 73% of cases and it was estimated that pharmacist involvement could give a 14% reduction in the cost of prescribing.69 A randomised controlled trial in 1 4 nursing homes in England showed that a brief medication review reduced the quantity of medication overall with no detriment to the mental and physical functioning of the patients.58 A reduction in the use of primary and secondary care resources by pharmacist medication review services has also been shown.80 The recommendations provided by pharmacists included stopping and starting medicines, generic substitution, switching to another medicine, dose modification, changes in administration frequency, formulation change and requests for laboratory tests or nurse monitoring.30 Almost 50% of the recommendations were to stop medication and 66% of these were due to the fact that there was no indication for the drug prescribed. This suggested that medication regimes were not reviewed. Conversely, initiation of a new drug made up 8% of recommendations, which implied that indications were present but not always treated76. Pharmacists have an important part to play in multi-disciplinary heal th teams and they must be integrated into any proposed models of care. Nursing home residents are a vulnerable group of patients who deserve the same high-quality clinical care as people of any age living at home.30 3.2.4 Pharmacotherapy interventions to optimise prescribing Pharmacist.s educational visits to general medical practitioners have been shown to modify prescribing behaviour.54 Four studies have evaluated the impact of pharmacists educational visits to general medical practitioners to optimise the prescribing of benzodiazepines and other psychotropic medications prescribed for mental illness,50-53 two of which showed positive results.52-53 A cluster randomised controlled study carried out in the United States found that pharmacists educational visits to general medical practitioners were associated with a significant decline in the prescribing of potentially inappropriate psychotropic medications in intervention facilities.53 An Australian study of educational visits to general medical practitioners, conducted by three physicians and one pharmacist resulted in a noteworthy decline in the prescribing of benzodiazepines.52 In the Netherlands, groups of local pharmacists and general medical practitioners conduct inter-professional meetings to optimise prescribing. These pharmacotherapy meetings are undertaken as part of routine clinical practice. A cluster randomised study of pharmacotherapy meetings to discuss prescribing of antidepressant medications resulted in a 40% reduction in the prescribing of highly anticholinergic antidepressants, compared to a control group of practitioners that did not partake in these meetings39. The possible awareness of prescribing related issues generated by asking general medical practitioners to conduct a self-audit of their prescribing caused this overall reduction.52-53 Additionally, pharmacist.s initiatives to improve prescribing are most effective when both pharmacists and general medical practitioners have an opportunity to build rapport.39 3.2.5 Community mental health centres and outpatients clinics Two studies were carried out to investigate the effect of pharmacist delivered services to community mental health centres and outpatient.s clinics.56-57 In a controlled trial, pharmacists managed patient cases in a community mental health centre in the United States. Significantly better personal adjustment scores were observed from patients receiving case management from a pharmacist in comparison to those receiving it from a nurse, social worker or psychologist.56The patients also rated themselves as healthier and were considerably less likely to seek help from other health care providers. The medication service provided allowed the pharmacist to adjust medication doses and dose timing, and prescribe or discontinue medications under supervision. The cost effectiveness of incorporating a pharmacist as part of the health care team was also measured. It was estimated that a 60% cost reduction can be achieved when medication monitoring is conducted by a pharmacists instead of a clinic psychiatrist. The pharmacist also performed more medication monitoring of patients per month than the clinic psychiatrist and had more contact with each individual patient .56 In Malaysia, a study of patients discharged from hospital after admission for relapse of schizophrenia, who were identified as having poor medication adherence were allocated to receive pharmacist medication counselling or standard care.57 The importance of compliance to medication was also reinforced by the patient.s psychiatrists at follow up visits. At the 12 month follow-up, patients receiving counselling from a pharmacist and who were exposed to daily or twice daily medication treatments, had significantly fewer relapses that required hospitalisation than patients receiving standard care.57 3.2.6 Integrated mental health services The needs of people with recurrent, severe mental illness fluctuate over time and services must be coordinated, and be able to anticipate, prevent and respond to crisis. Integrated mental health services across primary and specialist services should promote early interaction and allow the provision of continuous care to meet patients needs.58 Prescribed medication is an important component in the successful management of mental illness. Accurate information should be transferred seamlessly between primary and secondary sectors to ensure the optimum care of these patients.59 The simple delivery of information to community pharmacists regarding drugs prescribed at discharge enables comparison with general medical practitioners prescriptions and any discrepancies can be followed up and resolved.82 Discrepancies that may occur can be described as any changes observed between supplies of prescribed drugs, including a wide spectrum of observed events.83 These can range from simple changes between supplies of prescribed drugs to more complex errors that might result in adverse reactions.60 This information transfer enables a cost-effective reduction in all unintentional discrepancies, including those judged to have significant adverse effects on patient care.58 An investigation that evaluated the impact of providing mental health patients with a pharmacist generated medication care plan at the time of discharge found that patients with care plans were less likely to be readmitted to hospital than those without. Information contained in the care plan included l ists of discharge medications, a summary of the patient education that was provided, and the potential adverse effects that need to be assessed. Community pharmacists who received copies of the care plan were also more likely to identify medication related problems for the discharged mental health patients than those pharmacists who were not provided with copies of the care plan, however, the results from this study are not significantly significant.57Other methods of transferring information such as electronic transfer have the potential to be of value in this patient population.84 People with mental illness have complex needs which are not recognised by organised boundaries.58When discussing discharge and after-care in the community, medication management must be prioritised.85Mentally ill patients are vulnerable and medication is a vital part of their well being. It is therefore essential that an accurate transfer of information between care settings minimises the potentially har mful discrepancies that can occur. Community pharmacist.s interaction in this area could prevent such incidents.58 3.2.7 Community mental health teams Most people with bipolar mood disorders and psychotic illnesses in the United Kingdom and Australia are managed by interdisciplinary community mental health teams (CMHTs).86 The potential benefits of greater involvement by pharmacists in CMHTs have been documented and debated for over 30 years.87-90 The majority of clinical team meetings conducted by CMHTs do not involve a pharmacist. A review of CMHTs in New South Wales found that just 1 in 5 had a designated pharmacist.91 Pharmaceutical care programs provided by phar

Culture of peace among students Essay

It was in 1989, during the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, in Yamoussoukro, Cà ´te d’Ivoire, that the notion of a â€Å"Culture of Peace† was first mentioned. Over the past ten years, the idea has come a long way. In 1994, Federico Mayor, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), launched an international appeal on the establishment of a right to peace; in February 1994, UNESCO launched its Towards a Culture of Peace programme; in 1997, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year 2000 as the â€Å"International Year for the Culture of Peace†; and in 1998, the same Assembly declared the period 2001-2010 the â€Å"International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World†. This is how the notion of a Culture of Peace conquered the world. What Does â€Å"Culture of Peace† Mean? Although the expression â€Å"Culture of Peace† took shape in 1989, such a culture already existed before the word was created. UNESCO’s creation is a testimonial to the existence of such a culture as early as 1945. Even though UNESCO has several mandates, it has but one mission, namely that of constructing peace. The purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world† (Article I of the Constitutive Act of UNESCO). The culture of peace is peace in action. Introducing such a culture is a long-term process requiring both a transformation of institutional practices and individual modes of behavior. Finally, in order to survive and become entrenched in our values, a culture of peace requires non-violence, tolerance and solidarity. The idea of consensus, or peace, is sometimes mistaken for an absence of conflict or for society’s homogenization process. However, in order to achieve mutual understanding, there must first be differences with regard to sex, race, language, religion, or culture. The quest for mutual understanding begins with the recognition of these differences and of a will to overcome them to reach a common objective. Achieving mutual understanding protects a society from self-destruction by letting it build foundations so as to design a new way to live together. Indeed, mutual understanding fosters certain values vital for peace, including non-violence, respect of others, tolerance, solidarity and openness to others. Mutual understanding does not mean homogenization of society. On the contrary, a culture of peace is enhanced by the variety of traditions. The fact that a common vision emerges from a multi-cultural society proves that living together is possible and that this society lives according to the pulse of a culture of peace. A culture of peace is thus a comprehensive union of existing movements, hence UNESCO’s desire to create a worldwide movement for a culture of peace and non-violence. The International Year for the Culture of Peace will be one of the key moments for the creation of such a movement. This global movement should help change the culture of war into a culture of peace by uniting all groups, agencies, associations, governments and, especially, individuals within a comprehensive network that works towards the emergence of a culture of peace. Body Peace in our communities and in the world requires a connection to respect for our multiple differences, and for the right of all people to justice, freedom, and dignity. This leads to trust, community, and co-existence. We understand we are all in this together, that all people have the same basic needs and desires, and so we act for the common good rather than for the benefit of a few. Peace is more than the absence of war, violence, or conflict, but we connect to the power of love that transcends fear, anger, sorrow, and aggression, and leads us to compassion and a desire to end the suffering of all. Education is the principle means of promoting a culture of peace. This includes not only formal education in schools, but also informal and non-formal education in the full range of social institutions, including the family and the media. The very concept of power needs to be transformed – from the logic of force and fear to the force of reason and love. Education should be expanded so that basic literacy is joined by the ‘second literacy’ of ‘learning to live together’. A global effort of education and training, supported by the United Nations, should empower people at all levels with the peace-making skills of dialogue, mediation, conflict transformation, consensus-building, cooperation and non-violent social change. This campaign should be based upon universal principles of human rights, democratic principles and social justice, and at the same time, build upon the unique peace-making traditions and experiences of each society. Content of theory-based peace education Could include: the role of values systems in religious and secular world views, the history and present day struggles for justice and equality in race and gender, the ethics of science and technology, understanding of the causes of violence and war and other local, national and international disputes, the theory of conflict resolution, visions of the future, political and social change, the economics of war and oppression, human rights and citizenship, violence, war and peacemaking in the media, nonviolence in literature and the arts. Content of practical expressions of peace-making for use in peace education Models of peace-making, peace history – local, national and international, the role of the United Nations and Non-governmental Organizations, how community groups affect peaceful change, vocations for social change, the role of personal and community health and nutrition in a healthy society, understanding other cultures through language, custom and stories, parenting and child care, bullying and anti-bullying methods, peer mediation and conflict resolution skills for children in the classroom. A useful description for positive peace has been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly. Recognizing the long term nature of the work, the U.N. General Assembly (Resolution 52/15) declared the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace. Broadly, cultures of peace include seven core elements that vary in form across cultures, yet are universals of positive peace. These elements may be envisioned as spokes of a wheel, a weakness in any one of which may produce systemic weakness or collapse. The elements are: †¢Social justice: institutionalized equity in distribution and access to material, social, and political resources; truth-telling, reparations, and penalties for infractions; full participation and power sharing by different groups; gender justice and full participation by women; †¢Human rights: rule of law and adherence to human rights standards; †¢Nonviolence: institutionalized arrangements for nonviolent conflict resolution and reconciliation; values and attitudes of civility; norms and processes that promote human security, cooperation, interdependence, and harmonious relationships at all levels;4 †¢Inclusiveness: respect for difference; participation by different groups; meeting identity needs; cultural sensitivity; †¢Civil society: strength and diversity of civic groups in sectors such as health, business, religion, and education; community action, support, and hope through these venues; full citizen participation in government; †¢Peace education: formal and informal, experiential education for peace at all levels; socialization of values, attitudes, and behaviors conducive to peace and social justice. †¢Sustainability: preservation of global resources; meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations. Psychologists may contribute to the construction of cultures of peace through work at many levels. Therapists who help to reduce family violence and to build equitable, nonviolent relationships in families contribute to cultures of peace. Educators who teach skills of nonviolent conflict resolution or work for social justice at the community level also contribute to the construction of cultures of peace. Concluding insights Peace is very important in our lives; it is basic requirement for our existence. In today’s world peace is also important because if we look around us, we see a number of nations who are at war with each other. We need a better world for our next generations. We can enjoy the benefits of the latest technological and scientific advancements only in times of peace. I realized that Peace is an ideal. It is both intangible and concrete depend upon the person’s situation; complex and simple by the way a person looks at it ; exciting and calming by how a person feels about it. Peace is personal and political depend who that person is; it is spiritual and practical how a person understands it; local and global how deep a person recognized it. It is truly a process and an outcome, and, above all, a way of being.