Affirmative Action Case Study

In the Washington office of Price Waterholes. Issues The company affirmative action office has strongly advised him to hire a young black woman, June Tries. Mr.. Green believes Bob Young, a young white male, Is better qualified for the Job. 47 other plants have a young white male for this position. There are very few minorities working for this company. Comparison Chart on Mr.. Green's Evaluation June Tries bib young Masters in industrial relations from Cornell Degree in History small school. Ears of college as personnel major 3 Years experience as assistant personnel manager 5 Years experience as assistant personnel manager No union experience* Union experience* Mediocre References Good References Poor personality Good personality Ambitious – wants to progress within the company Not very aggressive – doubtful that he will progress within the company Members of management did not seem to like her** Members of management seemed to like him** Advertisement did not say uni on experience was necessary ** – All Philadelphia members of management are white males Why I Would Hire June TriesJune meets the minimum qualifications stated In the advertisement. The company affirmative action office strongly advised him to hire her. She Is something that the company does not currently have. She can bring new things to the table. She Is ambitious and wants to go father In the company. She Is goal oriented and Is driven to succeed. She Is opinionated, and seems to stand up for herself based on the fact that she said she would sue the company for delimitation If she did not get the Job. Based on the track record of current and previous personnel managers she could quite alcove in this company.Based off of their history the company does not come off well to minorities. I could not base all of my decision based off Mr.. Greens opinionated notes. For all I know Mr.. Green Just likes Bob Young because of his race and gender. Mr.. Green sounds like he already Jud ged Mr.. Trier's based on the fact that she is a black woman. The only good opinion he had about her was that she was ambitious. Why I Would Not Hire Bob Young He is not driven to move farther in the company. He is Just like all of the other managers, and seems to bring nothing new to the company.

Cornell University Johnson Graduate School Of Management

Traditional finance theories assume that financial market participants are rational, and argue that the financial market is always efficient and prices are always right.Behavioral finance, on the other hand, argues that securities market prices can be wrong, and that a lot of financial market phenomena can plausibly be understood only under the assumption that some market participants are not fully rational. This course gives an introduction to behavioral finance, and discusses its applications in investment management. We will first introduce the conceptual framework of behavioral finance, and then apply the framework to the study of individual stock trading and portfolio management. Topics covered in the course include: limits of arbitrage (i. e. why stock market mispricing can persist), investor psychology and behavior (and how to overcome our own irrational biases in stock trading), stock index predictability and market timing, stock portfolios that were shown to beat the market (including value, momentum, size, earnings quality, volume, earnings management, and many other effects), and applications of behavioral finance in quantitative asset management. As a summary of the course, we will apply the conceptual framework of behavioral finance to the understanding of China’s financial market (as an example of emerging markets).PREREQUISITES You must have taken an introductory level finance course that covers basic topics such as stocks and bonds, the CAPM, and the efficient market hypothesis. COMMUNICATING WITH ME My office hours are Monday, 4:30-6:00pm. You should also feel free to communicate with me by email. 1 TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS The required textbook is Richard H. Thaler (ed. ), Advances in Behavioral Finance, Vol. II, Russell Sage Foundation and Princeton University Press, 2005. For each session, there will be required reading and (occasionally) optional reading.All required readings are either included in the course packet or wil l be handed out in class. All optional readings will be posted on Blackboard. All classroom handouts will also be posted on Blackboard. The following books are optional supplementary readings and can be purchased in many bookstores or from online vendors. Behavioral Finance: A User’s Guide, by James Montier, Wiley Finance Series, 2002. ? An introduction of behavioral finance from a practitioner’s perspective. Advances in Behavioral Finance, edited by Richard Thaler. The first volume preceding our textbook. Contains some important early academic articles on behavioral finance. Irrational Exuberance, by Robert Shiller. ? A great book on the Internet bubble. The Myth of the Rational Market – A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street, by Justin Fox (2009). ? On the history of efficient market theory and behavioral finance. Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management – How to Build Optimal Portfolio That Account for Investor Biases, by Michael M. Pom pian. ? Written from the perspective of a wealth manager and practitioner.When Genius Failed, by Roger Lowenstein. ? An account of LTCM failure. CLASS PREPARATION There will be a reading, as well as an occasional case assignment, to prepare for each session. You are expected to be prepared for each session by doing the reading and working on the assignment for the case. Each individual is required to turn in the case assignment prior to the class during which the case is discussed. Those listed in the syllabus are subject to change during the semester, which will be announced in class when applicable. 2 GRADINGThe grade will be based on problem sets (10%), class participation and case assignments (10%), an exam (50%), and the final individual term project (30%). PROBLEM SETS Three problem sets will be assigned during the course, with the following preliminary schedule: Problem Set 1 Problem Set 2 Problem Set 3 Assignment Date 10/17 (Wed) – Session 2 10/29 (Mon) – Sessi on 5 11/7 (Wed) – Session 8 Due Date 10/24 (Wed) – Session 4 11/5 (Mon) – Session 7 11/ 14 (Wed) – Session 10 Problem sets are not included in the course packet, but will be handed out in class.Late submissions will not be accepted. You may work with other students in the class (from either section) for all the problem sets. (Of course, there is no reason to believe that an organized group is the best approach for everyone. ) A team of people need only submit one copy of their solution for a particular problem set. However, the number of students submitting one problem set solution is limited to no more than four. Every member of a group submitting a problem set solution will receive the same grade on that problem set. Solutions to each problem set will be made available.Grades on problem sets will be recorded by giving a â€Å"check-plus,† â€Å"check,† or â€Å"check minus. † Typically, the problem sets will not be discussed in clas s. EXAM There will be a (closed-book) in-class exam on Monday, November 19. TERM PROJECT A term project is the final requirement for the course. A detailed assignment on the term project will be handed out during the semester. Each individual needs to submit a written term project (into a box marked â€Å"NBA 5980† in 304 Sage Hall) no later than 1pm, December 6 (Thursday). ATTENDANCE POLICIES As mentioned above, class participation is a factor in determining the final grade.It is expected that all students attend all classes. It is also expected that students will be on time for class and will not disrupt the class by leaving early or by leaving and returning to class. We recognize that there are medical and other special circumstances that may cause a student to miss a class. Special circumstances may also arise that cause a student to miss part of a class. If such circumstances arise, students should contact the instructor (preferably by e-mail) and explain why it was nece ssary to miss part or all of a class session.This should be done before the absence if the absence is foreseen in advance and as soon as possible after the absence if the absence was unanticipated. Students who miss parts of class sessions or class sessions in their entirety without reasonable justification should expect that their class participation grade may be adversely affected in a significant way. 3 Schedule of Sessions and Reading List (Note: Advances is the abbreviation for our textbook: Richard Thaler (ed. ), Advances in Behavioral Finance, Vol. II, Russell Sage Foundation and Princeton University Press, 2005. ) Session 1 0/15 (Mon) Topics: Introduction and Examples of Extreme Mispricing Overview of the course, efficient market hypothesis, and extreme examples of market mispricing. Advances (pp 1-2; 8-12), Chapter 1, sections 1; 2. 3 How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? by P. Krugman (in packet) Anomalies: The Law of One Price, by Lamont-Thaler (in packet) Greenspan Concede s Error in Regulatory View (NYT) (in packet) Ignoring the Oracles, by Justin Lahart (in packet) Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier? by Raghu Rajan (2005) (posted on Blackboard) Advances (pp 102-169), Chapters 3-4Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 2 10/17 (Wed) Topics: Limits of Arbitrage LTCM and convergence bets, noise trader risk and other reasons for limits of arbitrage. Advances (pp 3-8), Chapter 1, sections 2. 1-2. 2 HBS Case: Long-Term Capital Management, L. P. (A) (in packet) Assignment on the Case of Long-Term Capital Management (to be submitted at the beginning of class on 10/17) How the Eggheads Cracked, by Michael Lewis (in packet) Advances (pp 79-101), Chapter 2 (academic and theoretical) Required Reading: Assignment: Optional Reading:Session 3 10/22 (Mon) Topics: Investor Psychology: Overcoming Our Own Biases Common human psychological biases in beliefs and risk preferences. How to overcome our own biases in stock trading? Advances (pp 12-22), Cha pter 1, section 3 Aspects of Investor Psychology, by Kahneman-Riepe (in packet) Required Reading: 4 Session 4 10/24 (Wed) Topics: Behavior of Individual Investors Behavior of individual investors, home bias and naive diversification, individual buying and selling decisions, disposition effects, individuals vs. institutions.Advances (pp 50-56), Chapter 1, section 7 Advances (pp 543-569), Chapter 15 Advances (pp 570-601), Chapter 16 Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 5 10/29 (Mon) Topics: Stock Index: Predictability and Market Timing Stock index-return predictability, equity premium puzzle, market timing and tactical asset allocation Advances (pp 173-201), Chapter 5 Change Agent: How Greenspan Finally Came to Terms †¦, by Schlesinger (in packet) Advances (pp 22-35), Chapter 1, section 4 (academic and theoretical) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 6 10/31 (Wed) Topics: Anomalies in Stock Portfolio ReturnsPortfolios that beat the market (even after adjusting for beta); the price effect of investor mis-reactions, momentum and reversal, post-earning-announcement drifts, post-corporate-event returns Advances (pp 35-41), Chapter 1, section 5. 0 Does the Stock Market Overreact? by DeBondt-Thaler (in packet) Advances (pp 353-388), Chapter 10 Required Reading: 5 Session 7 11/5 (Mon) Topics: Value and Momentum – Theories and Explanations Explanations of value and momentum effect; combining value and momentum; using volume to improve return predictability Advances (pp 41-47), Chapter 1, sections 5. -5. 3 (theoretical) Contagious Speculation and a Cure for Cancer, by Huberman and Regev (in packet) Price Momentum and Trading Volume, by Lee and Swaminathan (on Blackboard) All the News That’s Fit to Reprint, by Tetlock (on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 8 11/7 (Wed) Topics: Earnings Quality and Corporate Governance How to measure earnings quality? How to rank firms’ corporate governance? Can we use them to p redict stock returns? Do Stock Prices Fully Reflect Information in Accruals and Cash Flows About Future Earnings? y Sloan (in packet) Corporate Governance and Equity Prices, by Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick (posted on Blackboard) Earnings Quality and Stock Returns, by Chan, Chan, Jegadeesh, and Lakonishok (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 9 11/12 (Mon) Topics: Effect of Short-Sale Constraints on Stock Prices The asymmetry between buying stocks and shorting stocks; the costs and risks of short-selling stocks; disagreement of valuations among investors, short-sale constraints, trading volumes, and their effects on stock prices Read the Wikipedia coverage of stock short selling: http://en. ikipedia. org/wiki/Short_(finance) Disagreement and the Stock Market, by Hong-Stein (in packet) Short Sale Constraints and Overpricing, by Lamont (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: 6 Session 10 11/14 (Wed) Required Reading: Guest Speaker TBA None EXAM: 11/19 (Mon) 11/21(Wed): Monday, November 19, in class. No class, Thanksgiving Break Session 11 11/26 (Mon) Topics: Applications of Behavioral Finance in Asset Management Do value and momentum still work? What happened in August 2007?Discussion of issues in practical applications of portfolio strategies based on anomalies in behavioral finance Papers Study August Crisis, by Anderson (in packet) What Happened to the Quants in August 2007? by Khandani and Lo (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 12 11/28 (Wed) Topics: Application: Understanding the Chinese Stock Market (As an Example of Emerging Markets) Try to appreciate that many other markets around the world are quite different from the US stock market; understanding the Chinese stock market as an example of emerging markets. None Required Reading: 7 Cornell University Johnson Graduate School Of Management Traditional finance theories assume that financial market participants are rational, and argue that the financial market is always efficient and prices are always right.Behavioral finance, on the other hand, argues that securities market prices can be wrong, and that a lot of financial market phenomena can plausibly be understood only under the assumption that some market participants are not fully rational. This course gives an introduction to behavioral finance, and discusses its applications in investment management. We will first introduce the conceptual framework of behavioral finance, and then apply the framework to the study of individual stock trading and portfolio management. Topics covered in the course include: limits of arbitrage (i. e. why stock market mispricing can persist), investor psychology and behavior (and how to overcome our own irrational biases in stock trading), stock index predictability and market timing, stock portfolios that were shown to beat the market (including value, momentum, size, earnings quality, volume, earnings management, and many other effects), and applications of behavioral finance in quantitative asset management. As a summary of the course, we will apply the conceptual framework of behavioral finance to the understanding of China’s financial market (as an example of emerging markets).PREREQUISITES You must have taken an introductory level finance course that covers basic topics such as stocks and bonds, the CAPM, and the efficient market hypothesis. COMMUNICATING WITH ME My office hours are Monday, 4:30-6:00pm. You should also feel free to communicate with me by email. 1 TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS The required textbook is Richard H. Thaler (ed. ), Advances in Behavioral Finance, Vol. II, Russell Sage Foundation and Princeton University Press, 2005. For each session, there will be required reading and (occasionally) optional reading.All required readings are either included in the course packet or wil l be handed out in class. All optional readings will be posted on Blackboard. All classroom handouts will also be posted on Blackboard. The following books are optional supplementary readings and can be purchased in many bookstores or from online vendors. Behavioral Finance: A User’s Guide, by James Montier, Wiley Finance Series, 2002. ? An introduction of behavioral finance from a practitioner’s perspective. Advances in Behavioral Finance, edited by Richard Thaler. The first volume preceding our textbook. Contains some important early academic articles on behavioral finance. Irrational Exuberance, by Robert Shiller. ? A great book on the Internet bubble. The Myth of the Rational Market – A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street, by Justin Fox (2009). ? On the history of efficient market theory and behavioral finance. Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management – How to Build Optimal Portfolio That Account for Investor Biases, by Michael M. Pom pian. ? Written from the perspective of a wealth manager and practitioner.When Genius Failed, by Roger Lowenstein. ? An account of LTCM failure. CLASS PREPARATION There will be a reading, as well as an occasional case assignment, to prepare for each session. You are expected to be prepared for each session by doing the reading and working on the assignment for the case. Each individual is required to turn in the case assignment prior to the class during which the case is discussed. Those listed in the syllabus are subject to change during the semester, which will be announced in class when applicable. 2 GRADINGThe grade will be based on problem sets (10%), class participation and case assignments (10%), an exam (50%), and the final individual term project (30%). PROBLEM SETS Three problem sets will be assigned during the course, with the following preliminary schedule: Problem Set 1 Problem Set 2 Problem Set 3 Assignment Date 10/17 (Wed) – Session 2 10/29 (Mon) – Sessi on 5 11/7 (Wed) – Session 8 Due Date 10/24 (Wed) – Session 4 11/5 (Mon) – Session 7 11/ 14 (Wed) – Session 10 Problem sets are not included in the course packet, but will be handed out in class.Late submissions will not be accepted. You may work with other students in the class (from either section) for all the problem sets. (Of course, there is no reason to believe that an organized group is the best approach for everyone. ) A team of people need only submit one copy of their solution for a particular problem set. However, the number of students submitting one problem set solution is limited to no more than four. Every member of a group submitting a problem set solution will receive the same grade on that problem set. Solutions to each problem set will be made available.Grades on problem sets will be recorded by giving a â€Å"check-plus,† â€Å"check,† or â€Å"check minus. † Typically, the problem sets will not be discussed in clas s. EXAM There will be a (closed-book) in-class exam on Monday, November 19. TERM PROJECT A term project is the final requirement for the course. A detailed assignment on the term project will be handed out during the semester. Each individual needs to submit a written term project (into a box marked â€Å"NBA 5980† in 304 Sage Hall) no later than 1pm, December 6 (Thursday). ATTENDANCE POLICIES As mentioned above, class participation is a factor in determining the final grade.It is expected that all students attend all classes. It is also expected that students will be on time for class and will not disrupt the class by leaving early or by leaving and returning to class. We recognize that there are medical and other special circumstances that may cause a student to miss a class. Special circumstances may also arise that cause a student to miss part of a class. If such circumstances arise, students should contact the instructor (preferably by e-mail) and explain why it was nece ssary to miss part or all of a class session.This should be done before the absence if the absence is foreseen in advance and as soon as possible after the absence if the absence was unanticipated. Students who miss parts of class sessions or class sessions in their entirety without reasonable justification should expect that their class participation grade may be adversely affected in a significant way. 3 Schedule of Sessions and Reading List (Note: Advances is the abbreviation for our textbook: Richard Thaler (ed. ), Advances in Behavioral Finance, Vol. II, Russell Sage Foundation and Princeton University Press, 2005. ) Session 1 0/15 (Mon) Topics: Introduction and Examples of Extreme Mispricing Overview of the course, efficient market hypothesis, and extreme examples of market mispricing. Advances (pp 1-2; 8-12), Chapter 1, sections 1; 2. 3 How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? by P. Krugman (in packet) Anomalies: The Law of One Price, by Lamont-Thaler (in packet) Greenspan Concede s Error in Regulatory View (NYT) (in packet) Ignoring the Oracles, by Justin Lahart (in packet) Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier? by Raghu Rajan (2005) (posted on Blackboard) Advances (pp 102-169), Chapters 3-4Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 2 10/17 (Wed) Topics: Limits of Arbitrage LTCM and convergence bets, noise trader risk and other reasons for limits of arbitrage. Advances (pp 3-8), Chapter 1, sections 2. 1-2. 2 HBS Case: Long-Term Capital Management, L. P. (A) (in packet) Assignment on the Case of Long-Term Capital Management (to be submitted at the beginning of class on 10/17) How the Eggheads Cracked, by Michael Lewis (in packet) Advances (pp 79-101), Chapter 2 (academic and theoretical) Required Reading: Assignment: Optional Reading:Session 3 10/22 (Mon) Topics: Investor Psychology: Overcoming Our Own Biases Common human psychological biases in beliefs and risk preferences. How to overcome our own biases in stock trading? Advances (pp 12-22), Cha pter 1, section 3 Aspects of Investor Psychology, by Kahneman-Riepe (in packet) Required Reading: 4 Session 4 10/24 (Wed) Topics: Behavior of Individual Investors Behavior of individual investors, home bias and naive diversification, individual buying and selling decisions, disposition effects, individuals vs. institutions.Advances (pp 50-56), Chapter 1, section 7 Advances (pp 543-569), Chapter 15 Advances (pp 570-601), Chapter 16 Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 5 10/29 (Mon) Topics: Stock Index: Predictability and Market Timing Stock index-return predictability, equity premium puzzle, market timing and tactical asset allocation Advances (pp 173-201), Chapter 5 Change Agent: How Greenspan Finally Came to Terms †¦, by Schlesinger (in packet) Advances (pp 22-35), Chapter 1, section 4 (academic and theoretical) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 6 10/31 (Wed) Topics: Anomalies in Stock Portfolio ReturnsPortfolios that beat the market (even after adjusting for beta); the price effect of investor mis-reactions, momentum and reversal, post-earning-announcement drifts, post-corporate-event returns Advances (pp 35-41), Chapter 1, section 5. 0 Does the Stock Market Overreact? by DeBondt-Thaler (in packet) Advances (pp 353-388), Chapter 10 Required Reading: 5 Session 7 11/5 (Mon) Topics: Value and Momentum – Theories and Explanations Explanations of value and momentum effect; combining value and momentum; using volume to improve return predictability Advances (pp 41-47), Chapter 1, sections 5. -5. 3 (theoretical) Contagious Speculation and a Cure for Cancer, by Huberman and Regev (in packet) Price Momentum and Trading Volume, by Lee and Swaminathan (on Blackboard) All the News That’s Fit to Reprint, by Tetlock (on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 8 11/7 (Wed) Topics: Earnings Quality and Corporate Governance How to measure earnings quality? How to rank firms’ corporate governance? Can we use them to p redict stock returns? Do Stock Prices Fully Reflect Information in Accruals and Cash Flows About Future Earnings? y Sloan (in packet) Corporate Governance and Equity Prices, by Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick (posted on Blackboard) Earnings Quality and Stock Returns, by Chan, Chan, Jegadeesh, and Lakonishok (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 9 11/12 (Mon) Topics: Effect of Short-Sale Constraints on Stock Prices The asymmetry between buying stocks and shorting stocks; the costs and risks of short-selling stocks; disagreement of valuations among investors, short-sale constraints, trading volumes, and their effects on stock prices Read the Wikipedia coverage of stock short selling: http://en. ikipedia. org/wiki/Short_(finance) Disagreement and the Stock Market, by Hong-Stein (in packet) Short Sale Constraints and Overpricing, by Lamont (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: 6 Session 10 11/14 (Wed) Required Reading: Guest Speaker TBA None EXAM: 11/19 (Mon) 11/21(Wed): Monday, November 19, in class. No class, Thanksgiving Break Session 11 11/26 (Mon) Topics: Applications of Behavioral Finance in Asset Management Do value and momentum still work? What happened in August 2007?Discussion of issues in practical applications of portfolio strategies based on anomalies in behavioral finance Papers Study August Crisis, by Anderson (in packet) What Happened to the Quants in August 2007? by Khandani and Lo (posted on Blackboard) Required Reading: Optional Reading: Session 12 11/28 (Wed) Topics: Application: Understanding the Chinese Stock Market (As an Example of Emerging Markets) Try to appreciate that many other markets around the world are quite different from the US stock market; understanding the Chinese stock market as an example of emerging markets. None Required Reading: 7

Singnifcane of Role of Media

Using materials from Item C and elsewhere, assess the view that the mass media represent young people as a problem group? (18 Marks) Youth are often portrayed as a ‘problem group’ in society, and as a major source of anti – social behaviour, particularly young working class, and especially African Caribbean, males. The Mass Media often generate this excitement by creating stereotypes of young people as troublemakers, layabouts and vandals, and by exaggerating the occasional deviant behaviour by a few young people out of the proportion to its real significance in society.Media strongly affects youth culture. The media executives are quick to defend their role in youth violence and bullying while selling millions of dollars in ads focused on youth. TV producers, network executives, motion picture companies and others in the media deny any impact of their programs on the attitudes and actions of youth. This essay using materials from Item C asses the view the mass me dia represent young people as a problem group. Some Sociologist argues that the mass media represent young people as a problem group.This has been argued by Cohen. He argues that young people are relatively powerless and an easily identifiable group to blame for society’s problems and therefore the mass media are able to represent young people as a problem group. In his study he found that African Caribbean males are often used as scapegoats by the media to create a sense of unity through the creation of moral panic. Where they generated moral panics based on stereotypes means that all young people from a specific group get labelled as troublemakers and an antisocial problem group.A recent event that backs up Cohen study is the protest of the Rising in tuition fees to ? 9000, where young people were see a bad and making the situation even worse by causing trouble. Thus, showing that the media represent young people as a problem group. However, Signorelli’s (1989) conte nt analysis of over 14,000 American television characters and found that not only young characters were represent as bad but also older characters were also represented as troublemakers. Which therefore show that the media equally represent different age groups as a problem.However, Jewkes (2004) points out that young people are the usual targets of moral panics, their behaves regarded as a barometer to test the usual target of moral panics, Young people are the usual target of moral panics, their behaviour is ‘regarded as a barometer to test the health or sickness of as society’ Furthermore, Pearson (1983) argues that contemporary images usually categorise young people as a problem. He argued that during the â€Å"golden age† media had represented young people with low rates of crime and the youth had respected the police.Pearson believes that the media are in a permanent panic about whatever manifestation of ‘youth as a problem’ is current: the Hoo ligans of Victorian Times, the Teds of the 1950s or the Travellers of today. A recent event that backs up Pearson’s theory is the London Summer 2010 Riots where young people were represented in the media as trouble makers and cause of the whole disturbance, although after research had been conducted more adults were found to be looting and rioting than young people.As well as, the media did not show much of the Young people gathering together to clean the streets of London. Therefore this shows that the media represents young people as problem groups. However Pearson theory has been criticised†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In addition, Wayne et al. (2008) had conducted a content analysis of 2130 news items across all the main television channels during May 2006. They found that young people were mainly represented as a violent threat to society. They found that it was very rare for news items to feature a young pers on’s perspective or opinion.They note that the media only delivers a one-dimensional picture of youth, one that encourages fear and condemnation rather than understanding. Moreover, they argue that it distracts from the real problems that young people face in the modern world such as homelessness, not being able to get onto the housing ladder, unemployment or mental health and that these might be caused by society’s, or the government’s, failure to take the problems of youth seriously. Thus, showing the media represent young people as a problem group. Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL EDUCATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL EDUCATION - Essay Example Usage of incentives and rewards for student and teacher motivation, special programmes for backlog students and higher involvement of community and parents are also important for developing positive self concept among the aboriginal students. Research based school improvement projects like CTF (Creating The Future) developed by Northwest Regional Educational Library, U.S.A have to be implemented for better learning process in aboriginal students in Australia. The teaching process involves more flexibility while delivering the message to aboriginal students. With the change in time, the necessity of aboriginal students will vary and hence it should allow the education in more flexible manner by incorporating new principles. By adding diversified aspects like student self concept, rural and urban mix up, cultural and social aspects, effective audio-video aids, and student specific needs these strategies would certainly help the teacher of indigenous students to deliver a better job. Similarly, the encouragement given to the teachers in the form of incentives and selection of experienced and native teachers enhance the efficiency of teaching aboriginal students in Australia. Moreover, these strategies will provide a wider platform for teachers of indigenous students in understanding the needs and problems of students and formulating contextual class room teaching methods and hence they will be successful in generating positive educational e xperience among aboriginal communities in Australia. FN 1: Kathleen Cotton. 1993. Building Positive Student Self-Concept. Stevenson-Carson School District. Stevenson, Washington. North West Regional Educational Library. http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/7/snap25.html. FN 2: Lester Irabinna. 2001. Rigney Building Stronger Communities: Indigenous Australian Rights In Education and Language. Voice of the

Credit Card Fraud in the USA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Credit Card Fraud in the USA - Research Paper Example The onus falls on the merchants to pay for the credit card fraud and if it lacks in proper insurance, they have to incur the chargeback fee as well. The US is moving towards a cashless society but credit card theft has become a major concern of retailers, consumers, credit card issuers and the law enforcement agencies (Hearn, 1986). Credit cards were introduced in the 1950s and since then fraudsters have been finding ways to attack the system (Byrne, 2010). According to The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, there were 176.8 million credit card holders in 2008 and the average cardholder has 3.5 credit cards (Woolsey & Schulz, 2011). Credit cards represent the majority of the total $315 billion US financial fraud loss in 2005 while according to a European study more than 22 million adults were victims to credit card fraud in 2006 (Conlin, 2007). According to the 2009 LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study, retailers lose $100bn a year to consumer-facing fraud. Twenty-four percent of all retailers, 43% of whom have a strong online presence, reported increase in losses through credit card fraud. Most card fraud payment losses were borne by the card issuers (59%) followed by the merchants (41%), says Sullivan (2010). In 2006 the total fraud losses were estimated at $3.718bn as per table provided below: Source: Sullivan (2010). The process for approving card payments depends to a large extent on information. The criminals have an incentive to steal this information and this leads to attacks on computers, data breaches and ultimately payment fraud. Card fraud is the highest in the United States than countries such as UK, Spain and Netherlands. Better technology in the payment approval system can help combat fraud to some extent. Online payment approval permits automated checks against wider sets of information such as the cardholder’s zip code or transaction history (Sullivan, 2010). Criminals gather such information and use it to commit fraud. Criminals steal wa llets, intercept mail and get access to account statements, or even spy and gather information when the card is in use. Video cameras secretly placed can capture valuable information. Phishing and hacking are other modes through which criminals gather information to conduct fraud. Credit and charge card fraud cost cardholders and issuers millions of dollars each year. Earlier the fraud used to occur over the telephone when the fraudster posed as an organization representative and offered incentives in exchange for credit card information. Theft is the most common form of fraud but people can also use the card number without the knowledge of the owner of the card (FTC, 2009). The thief eyes the trash to collect discarded receipts or carbons through which it is possible to obtain the credit card number. Others ways in which fraud can occur is when dishonest clerks make an extra imprint and use the card details to make personal charges. Now the criminals use packet-sniffing programs on the Internet and steal credit card information electronically. The largest case in the US credit card fraud history took place in 2008 when Albert Gonzalez and his team attacked TJX and other companies (Byrne, 2010). They acquired more than 130 million debit and credit card numbers and stole tens of millions of dollars. These were basically of customers of 7-eleven and other retail giants.  

Project Proposal Requirements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Proposal Requirements - Essay Example The mission of the organization involves, distributing water and electrical services in a reliable, environmentally safe, and financially effective manner (Fried & Ferris, 2007). AADC has hundreds of employees; and hence it strives to adopt appropriate staff satisfaction measures. The staff motivation approaches used in the project are training, career development and challenging work environment. Job satisfaction entails the experiences of employees at the workplace, and also superior working life quality (Burgoon, 2006). Job satisfaction at AADC is effectively analyzed through significant factors like; working environment, general wellbeing, home-work relationship, work control, and stress at the work place. Employees generally enjoy their work environment, if they achieve significant attributes related to their job. The project aims at illustrating three significant issues at AADC. Firstly, the project will research on the levels of employee satisfaction at the AADC. Secondly, the project illustrates the types of employee satisfaction approaches, which are applied effectively and efficiently at AADC. Thirdly, the project aims at illustrating the management and staff relationship in formulating and implementing the employee satisfaction approaches at the workplace (Rode, 2014). High employee satisfaction levels are very important for the achievement of the short and long term objectives of AADC. This is because high job satisfaction levels increase the motivation of employees. There are several factors that influence motivation levels at the workplace. The factors are broadly categorized into four; environmental factors, effective employee recognition, individual factors, and psychological wellbeing. Communication processes within the organization should be effective, so as to ensure high satisfaction levels. The communication process should adequately involve the input of employees. Work environments which effectively recognize the

Label and Delinquency (Criminal Justice) Assignment

Label and Delinquency (Criminal Justice) - Assignment Example Finally, this paper aimed to assess the robustness of labeling in explaining the different types of delinquency (Adams, et.al., 2003). The analysis on this paper which shall now follow aims to offer an overview of how this research was conducted, the subjects used, and the overall findings of the research. It also aims to present a personal opinion on whether or not this student felt that the authors looked at relevant and pertinent information and data in the article, including the most interesting findings in the article and why. Finally a recap of the pertinent findings and this student’s overall opinion on the article including recommendations on how this article may be improved shall be presented in this paper. The research was conducted by assessing the high school students’ attitudes and behaviors regarding drugs and delinquency in Mississippi. Respondents were juveniles who were held in two training schools in July of 1992. The respondents were mostly from the rural areas. These respondents were also remanded to the custody of the Mississippi Youth Services for behavior which ranged from status offenses to gang-related activities. The research was conducted on group settings with about 25 juveniles per group. A research questionnaire was answered by said respondents. Researchers used overhead projectors and they read each item to the different respondents. There were 337 juveniles who were qualified for the research, and about 277 ended up participating in the study. Reasons like court appointment, preparation for release, and solitary confinement prevented the other respondents from participating in this research. Teachers, peers, and parents were also included as respondents. T hese three groups assessed the informal labeling placed on these delinquents. The data gathered was later coded based on the different variables included in this research. After coding, an index of six contrasting descriptive adjectives was used to

Macro forces analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Macro forces analysis - Research Paper Example Investment in Kenya provides the investor with a chance to access the other east African countries due to Kenya’s strategic location (Njuguna). The research starts with a preview of factors that have lend to Kenya as my choice, followed by a study of Kenya’s cultural, economic and political trends and also an analysis of its technological and competitive position in the international markets. This analysis ends with a recommendation of the investment opportunities in Kenya. Since 1963, Kenya has managed to maintain a diversified economy where the private sector plays a major role (Njuguna). Despite some periods of tension the country has not resulted to civil war or massive intervention in its economy. In the recent past various reforms have taken place including review of public private partnerships meant to attract investors, setting up of a competitive and transparent privatization programme and formulation of vision 2030 to guide Kenya’s investment through a clear outline of government plan for the economy and the requirements, benefits of partnerships (Linda). A number of factors make Kenya a strategic country for investment among many nations. These factors range from its location, availability of labour, favourable government policies, availability of raw materials for industries, availability of affiliate services, political stability, a favourable social structure and a high level of economic growth (Otieno). Kenya is currently at 57.1 on economic freedom making it 111th freest economy according to 2014 index. This score is 1.2 points higher than 2013 with notable improvements in labour freedom, monetary freedom and trade freedom. Measures have been implemented to financial management and efficiency. Kenya’s location is strategic due to its direct access to Indian Ocean that is endowed with a beautiful and extensive natural harbour at along its coast. This is the

Critical Literature Review Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Literature Review - Coursework Example A cultural change is required to counter the widespread acceptance of dishonest practices. De Vries, et al. 2011 Personality traits such as conscientiousness, honesty-humility/integrity are effective predictors of counterproductive academic behaviour. Jones & Spraakman 2011 Faculty member’s instigation of broad-based cheating among students caused the faculty’s dismissal, but administrators excused the students’ participation. Faulty integrity culture skewed students’ perception of ethical behaviour. Kisamore, et al., 2007 Students with poorly-adjusted personality traits are more disposed to cheat due to the influence and interaction of integrity culture. Kitahara, et al., 2009 Case study demonstrated the effectiveness of employing multifaceted, hybrid approaches to ensure academic integrity. Larkin, et al., 2012 Additional enticements to plagiarize and cheat are provided by the use of online media, due to the ease of transmitting exam questions and answer s. Okoro, 2011 Plagiarism in all its forms is often difficult to communicate to students when merely stated in policy. Guided instruction strategies involving student-teacher interaction reduces incidences of unintentional plagiarism. Spain & Robles, 2011 Adoption and enforcement of a systematic Academic Integrity Policy makes adjudication of academic dishonesty cases more effective, reduces future such incidences, and establishes a culture of academic integrity. ... Table 1: Summary of academic journal articles Critical Comparison Determinants of academic integrity: Integrity culture and personality traits A debate exists concerning the factors that determine academic integrity, most commonly cited of which are the academic integrity culture (Tippitt, et al., 2009), and students’ or faculty members’ personal characteristics (De Vries, et al., 2011). Tippitt’s findings on integrity culture is supported by the study by Jones & Spraakman (2011), that fittingly explored the role that faculty members play in advancing academic misconduct. Faculty members’ willingness to cover up graduate students’ plagiarism or other forms of cheating to avoid public scandal, and university administrators’ tendency to overlook these infractions and not discipline faculty members to avoid embarrassment, are common. The Jones et al. study made a good case for integrity culture because it focused on a specific instance where the faculty member himself instigated student misconduct by leaking the departmental examination and quizzes to his class. The faculty member was dismissed, but the administrators decided to excuse the students and merely reduced en masse their grades instead of disciplining them. The cultural issue surfaced in the fact that most of the students interviewed felt there was nothing wrong about obtaining an unfair advantage over the other sections, and did not feel they were responsible for reporting the conduct of their instructor or their peers’ participation. Integrity culture is also central in Thakkar and Weisfeld-Spolter (2012), who determined that acts constituting cheating

Banning the use of mobile phones in motor vehicles Essay

Banning the use of mobile phones in motor vehicles - Essay Example .................................5 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦6 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction to Australian Automobile Association: The Australian Automobile Association was founded in 1924 with an aim to represent the Australian motorists at national and international level. It coordinates and manages the activities of its constituting motoring clubs and is also considered as the ‘official voice’ of Australian motoring. It has been successful in influencing the public policy and is known for its high quality services and benefits to m ore than 6.3 million members all over Australia. It undertakes research on a continuous basis to analyze the actual situation and reflect the opinions of motorist across Australia. AAA is a part of Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT) and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which represents more than 100 million people in approximately 120 countries. It also supports a range of programs both nationally and internationally such as ANCAP, Australia’s best cars etc to promote driver and road safety, environmental protection as well as sustainable mobility. Banning the use of mobile phones in motor vehicles: In this submission, concerns regarding the use of mobile phones while driving have been discussed in order to present a safe system approach for safer drivers and safer environment. The pushing implementation of the tough policy with a total ban on the use of mobile phones in vehicles is opposed by AAA. First of all, mobile phones are an important means of communication. The distraction caused by mobile phones cannot be overlooked but there are many benefits as well. It provides valuable security and assistance in emergency situations. Moreover, in this rapidly growing world it is almost impossible to stop people from the usage of mobile phones in vehicles. According to a survey, between 2009 and 2010, approximately 50,000 drivers have been fined more than $11 million for texting, calling, receiving their phones. Hence, the government should seek other ways for road safety such as the introduction of driver education programs, systematic assessment of risk levels for safety improvement etc. Background: The discussion regarding the impact of mobile phones while driving and its contribution towards the increased risk of accidents is increasing day by day. In the recent years, due to the advancements in the mobile sector, particular attention is being paid to the use of mobile phones. This has given rise to the concerns about the pote ntial impact and role of mobile phones in a collision risk. Although, there are many safety issues involved with the mobile devices the implied benefits are also present. It may increase the productivity and efficiency of the employee by increasing the responsiveness to its clients and other coworkers. A mobile phone with GPS (Global Positioning System) can save a lot of time if a person is lost. However, researches have mostly shown the negative consequences of using mobile phones as a secondary task while driving. In Australia, on an average 1700 people die on Australians road each year and the ban on hand-held mobiles has been enforced since 1999. Analysis of the issue: Although driving is a very

The film Jimi - All Is By My Side Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The film Jimi - All Is By My Side - Essay Example The biggest disappointment in the film was that when the audience expected some depiction of creativity and humor on Jimi, they were shown depression and a gloomy tale that indicated Jimi as a speechless mystic who had no spirit. Instead of the director showing Jimi in tour within Europe and performing music, the director only showed violence, overdoses, and mental breakdowns. This is quite an unprofessional film making and would probably make the audience wish the film was over. One would feel like they are watching an interpretation of the events. The article by Ian Inglis, â€Å"Popular Music History on Screen: The Pop/Rock Biopic† According to Ian’s article, the film followed the expectation of the biopic. In the film, one can see how Hendrix grew to stardom as he passed through the hardships. However, biopic films are always very predictable and turn out to be boring. The film producers decided to choose the year before Hendrix was a superstar. A fascinating thing about the film is that it does not only indicate to the viewers the particular period in Hendrix’s life but also teases it out in a popular figure. Hendrix has been a hero of his own and Benjamin manages to convey a character that was quite difficult. It is the conflicting and philosophical elements of Hendrix’s characters that prove to be quite compelling. One can get the notion that if he had not been found playing guitar in New York, Hendrix would have been satisfied playing the guitar anywhere and buying some second-hand clothes.

Islam and Christian Traditions Essay Example for Free

Islam and Christian Traditions Essay Christianity and Islam see recurring themes in beliefs and practices. They share stories from past prophets that declare they know the word of God. God tells prophets about a time before earth and gives them knowledge to spread to man. Life holds sanctity that is not for man to wander and do as their physical bodies might allow. Both Islam and Christian traditions make examples and tell the history of how God desires man to live. There are foretellings of vast destruction when man lives among evils and sin. Muslims say that, like God, Allah will see and end of man and will only accept the faithful into paradise. Traditions of Christianity and Islam can relate to each other by commemorating a higher power as known as God. The higher power in Christianity is known as God, while the higher power in Islamic traditions is known as Allah. In Islamic traditions, Allah shouldnt be confused with the God known in Christianity because the word Allah is translated as the God in Arabic. Christian and Islamic traditions have cosmogony, eschatology, afterlife, moral codes, and duties that serve the purpose in their existence. Both Islamic and Christian traditions will see some similarities and recurring prophecies that exist in their practices. Christian traditions and cosmogony can be found in the Bible. The Bible is many stories that contains passages from prophets of God and is compiled of several books. The book of genesis describes how God created the universe. He made light, darkness, heaven, earth, fruits and vegetables. On the fifth and sixth day of the week to create the universe and earth, God made beasts and made man that resembles the appearance of God. Genesis 1:29 said to man, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food (BibleGateway, 2011). God warns Adam and Eve, the first of all mankind, that there is forbidden fruit that cannot be touched. Genesis 3:3 says, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die (King James Bible Online, 2013). When Adam and Eve consumed the forbidden fruit despite Gods warning, Adam and Eve were cursed by God to multiply the earth. Eve, the first woman, was created by God to provide Adam, the first of all man, companionship. It was in her mistake that Adam fell under temptation to then be commanded by God to take power of beasts and man to begin the teachings of God on earth. Prophets of God taught man to obey commandments in order to be prepared for the end of the world. Prophets, pastors, preachers, or bishops in Christian sects will preach the gospel of the Bible that predict when Christ will return to earth and reach final days before heaven. Most interpretations of the Bible explain how there is good and evil; Evil will cause suffering for mankind. Christians believe that Christ will return and save those who are faithful to God when there is a final judgment of man. Matthew 24:14 reads, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come (Christian Bible Reference, n.d.). Evil will be taught through deception, so God will need true believers. There will be a place in heaven for Christians to live with God after their trial on earth. Man will be accepted into heaven if he upholds morals and duties that Christians are taught. Many Christians believe that heaven is a place on earth. The book of Luke (21:32-33) reads, Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (King James Bible Online, n.d.). In heaven there will once be so much evil that the wicked will overpower the good through violent wars. Like earth, God will create a new heaven for the blessed people. Heaven will be free from evil for many years until its end of days only through destruction and misery upon its holy place. In heaven killing is much of a sin as earth. God commands man not to sin such as killing, adultery, worshiping idols, and stealing among other things. If man upholds these morals and duties, he will be accepted to heaven when salvation comes. Traditions in Islam are similar religious practices that are commemorated through the Quran and are told how the earth and man were created. Like Christians, Muslims believe that Allah, or the God, created a heaven, a world, and the universe with all materials in it that are living or not. The book of Surat Al-Baqarah (2:29), in the Quran, reads, It is he who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then he directed himself to the heaven, (his being above all creation), and made them seven heavens, and he is knowing of all things (Quran, n.d.). Islamic traditions began when the prophet Muhammad spoke with Allah. Allah told Muhammad of the creation of the first man on earth, who is known as Adam, who had a female companion. Allah also told Muhammad how Adam ate the forbidden fruit when he was restricted not to do so. Muslims eschatology tells how there will be an evil presence who will be violent and cause destruction. There is also an afterlife of heaven and hell as Christians believe. Although the evil are wicked, they too will be brought to heaven and see a final judgment from Allah. And as for those who disbelieves, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the hereafter, and they will have no helpers (Quran, n.d.). Islamic traditions say how there will be an end of time. There will be warnings from Allah on earth. An antichrist will appear before the last day who will be cruel to man. Followers of the antichrist and the unbelievers of Allah may never reach heaven. Heaven will be a paradise that the Quran describes, No empty talk will they hear there, nor any call to sin, but only the tiding of inner soundness and peace (Religious Tolerance, 2005). Morals and duties are important to Muslims in order to avoid sin and reach heaven. Allah tells prophets of his commandments so that man will be holy and plentiful. The ones who break the covenant of Allah even after its (binding) compact and cut (off) what Allah has commanded to be held together and corrupt in the earth, those are they (who are) the losers (Quran, n.d.). Allah tells man not to steal, murder, disobey parents, covet, or commit adultery among other things. When man disobeys Allah, they are expected to know sin from righteousness and should repent for forgiveness. ..Except for those who repent after that and correct themselves. For indeed, Allah is forgiving and merciful (Quran, n.d.). The man who doesnt repent may be a sinner for life and will be questioned on judgment day. The Islam and Christian traditions both believe in a God that share similar interests for mankind. God and Allah teach man how they can return to heaven after their days on earth after Adam and Eves tribulations. Prophets will spread the knowledge to man from God as a lesson not to fail under certain temptations and have faith in God to live in paradise with him one day. After time, the rise of evil is bound to cause awfulness when man turns to disobedience and non believing even during a salvation. Heaven will be free from sin and man can live in a peaceful place until it is once again ruined by tribulations. God will continue to confide with man in order for glory to persevere.

Drug Discovery Process Of The Bio Pharmaceutical Industry Biology Essay

Drug Discovery Process Of The Bio Pharmaceutical Industry Biology Essay The development of new pharmaceutical products is a long, expensive and uncertain process. It takes an average of 10 to 15 years for a new drug to move from the discovery phase into the marketplace, and the average cost for the development of a new drug is approximately $800 million. Out of 6000 compounds initially screened, only 6 are selected to move onto clinical trials, and out of those 6, only 1 compound is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the product is introduced into the market. The low success rates associated with new drug development is what makes the demand for resources at different stages of the development pipeline highly variable and very difficult to predict. Even after a drug is launched into the market, success is not guaranteed as toxic side effects may erupt when the drug is introduced to a larger sample of diverse population. This unpredictable process together with the companys annual fixed cost of Research and Development creates a major financial risk. Nevertheless, pharmaceutical firms decide to undertake this risky process because of the opportunity to develop a blockbuster drug, a drug that generates $1 billion or more each year in sales revenue for the company, and has the capacity to meet unmet medical needs of the population. Pre-Discovery To Understand the Disease Before any potential new medicine can be discovered, scientists work to understand the causes as well as other underlying factors in relation to the disease to be treated as well as possible. Target Identification (Choose a molecule to target with a drug) Once they have enough understanding of the underlying cause of a disease, pharmaceutical researchers select a target for a potential new medicine. A target is generally a single molecule, such as a gene or protein, which is involved in a particular disease. Even at this early stage in drug discovery it is critical that researchers pick a target that is drugable, i.e., one that can potentially interact with and be affected by a drug molecule. Target Validation (Test the target and confirm its role in the disease) After choosing a potential target, scientists must show that it actually is involved in the disease and can be acted upon by a drug. Target validation is crucial to help scientists avoid research paths that look promising, but ultimately lead to dead ends. Researchers demonstrate that a particular target is relevant to the disease being studied through complicated experiments in both living cells and in animal models of disease. Various stages in Drug Development Process The drug development process is highly regulated and follows a number of well-defined steps and milestones. Discovery and screening stage Emerging tools in molecular biology, cell biology and combinatorial chemistry help researchers understand diseases and identify specific targets for new drugs. Once a specific target is identified, drug development starts with the screening of a large number of compounds to find the non-toxic compounds with the desired biological effects. Typically, thousands of chemical compounds are tested in test tubes or individual cells (tissue cultures). Drug companies maintain large libraries of newly synthesized or isolated compounds. Compound from these libraries are tested for biological activity. Preclinical testing Preclinical testing involves a series of short term and long term animal and laboratory tests to generate data on if a compound is safe and worthwhile to test on people. The aim of preclinical testing is to understand what happens when the drug is metabolized, as well as to generate information about the optimal dose for the clinical trials. Animal studies provide data on the absorption, distribution and excretion of the compound. The chemical properties of the discovered compounds are studied in significant detail at this step. Steps for synthesis and purification are developed at this time. These help identify any acute toxicity issues that may arise. It usually takes 3-4 years to gather data in support of Investigational New Drug Application (IND). This application notifies the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of the drug sponsors intent to conduct clinical research on human. In parallel with the animal studies, the company has to conduct studies to determine how to manufacture repro ducible batches over time. Clinical trials The ultimate goal of clinical trials is to determine whether the drug works well enough in patients. The trials should address: whether the risk of toxic side effects outweighs the therapeutic benefit; which dose regimen provides the best response and the least number of side effects; if the drug is better than existing treatments or not. Clinical trials are divided in three phases Phase I (PI): In Phase I trials, the candidate drug is tested in people for the first time. These studies are usually conducted with about 20 to 100 healthy volunteers. The main goal of a Phase I trial is to discover if the drug is safe for humans. Researchers look at the pharmacokinetics of a drug: How is it absorbed? How is it metabolized and excreted from the body? They also study the pharmacologics of a drug: effects of the drug on the functioning of the human body. These closely monitored trials are designed to help researchers determine what the safe dosage range is and if it should move on to further development. Phase II (PII): The goal of this phase is to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug for a particular indication and how the drug behaves in people. These studies typically include 100-500 patients with a target disease or indication, divided into several subgroups. The subgroups are administered the drug in different dosages, by different routes, and on different schedules. Efforts are made to determine the common short term side effects and other risks associated with the drug when used on human beings. Phase III (PIII): The studies in this phase are conducted over a long term and on a large sample of 1000-1500 patient volunteers. The basic aim of this phase is to generate statistically significant data, about to evaluate the risks and benefits associated with the drug. The effectiveness and safety of the drug is carefully examined and dosing regiments duly noted which will lead to the FDA and the international regulatory agencies to approve the new drug. The results from these studies are used to develop the DRUG LABEL. The Drug Discovery process has many issues like Long Lead Times and Uncertainty that are plaguing the whole process and causing disturbances/tremors along the lines of New Product Development. Literature review A stochastic programming approach for clinical trial planning in new drug development Matthew Colvin, Christos T. Maravelias Due to changing circumstances in the managed-health-care environment, the profit margins of pharmaceutical companies and the productivity of their Research and Development (RD) pipelines have started to decline; effective patent lives have been shortened, and patents provide lower barriers to entry even while active. Therefore, it is imperative for pharmaceutical companies to manage their RD pipelines more effectively to reduce the cost of developing new drugs. This is a challenging task due to the highly stochastic nature of the RD process: if a drug fails a clinical trial, its development stops and all prior investment is lost; if it passes all trials, it enters the marketplace and profits are typically significantly larger than development costs. To effectively plan the clinical trials in the pharmaceutical RD pipeline, therefore, new systematic stochastic optimization methods are necessary.The paper presents a multi-stage stochastic programming formulation for the scheduling of c linical trials in the pharmaceutical research and development (RD) pipeline. The stages correspond to time periods, i.e. the planning horizon is divided into multiple periods. Scenarios are used to account for the endogenous uncertainty (a drug either passes or fails a clinical trial) in clinical trial outcomes. Given a portfolio of potential drugs and limited resources, the model determines which clinical trials (PI, PII, PIII) to be performed in each planning period and scenario in order to maximize the expected net present value of the RD pipeline. The proposed formulation can be used to address problems of medium size and serves as a basis for the development of advanced models for the management of the pharmaceutical RD pipeline. Knowledge networking to support medical new product development Kannan Mohan, Radhika Jain, Balasubramaniam Ramesh Pharmaceutical firms depend heavily upon their ability to rapidly develop and introduce new products into the market. Product development speed directly impacts their financial bottom-line as well as their ability to satisfy unmet medical needs of patients. However, development of new medical products is complex and time-consuming. It takes anywhere between 7 and 17 years and several millions to billions of dollars to launch new medical products. Some of the factors contributing to the length, cost, and uncertainty of this process are the stringent regulatory requirements of governmental entities like the FDA requiring the maintenance of design history for every medical product to show that the products were developed as per the approved plan and with extensive clinical trials, medical products are used to treat human beings whose well-being and safety are of utmost importance. Thus, failure of the product can have serious consequences, increasing possibilities for therapeutic interv ention brought about by newer technologies and enormous investments required in research and development, and testing. This paper addresses the issue of developing an approach to seamlessly integrate fragmented knowledge using knowledge networks. Semantic knowledge networks provide the ability to describe and follow the life of a physical or conceptual artefact. These have been used as effective solutions to support knowledge integration in knowledge intensive processes in multiple domains. Motivated by their effectiveness in supporting knowledge intensive processes, the paper proposes the creation and use of knowledge networks to facilitate integration of knowledge fragments that are generated and used in medical NPD. The development of a knowledge network should be guided by the unique characteristics of the medical NPD domain. The paper also provides the background on the process of medical NPD, along with unique issues in this area. New product development process and time-to-market in the generic pharmaceutical industry Janez Prasnikar, Tina Skerlj This article presents some important factors impacting on the lead-time of new products. In particular, we find a negative relationship between the incorporation of organizational tools and techniques, such as concurrent activity management and time-to-market. Further, there is an appropriate negative relationship between the integration of new product development departments in particular phases of the new product development process and the cycle-time of those phases. Appropriate capacity management and project management also contribute to a shorter lead-time of a new product. However, there are also some particularities of generic pharmaceutical companies. The retargeted products (where an existing product is launched in a new market) have longer time-to-market than completely new products. The generic pharmaceutical industry depends very much on local market conditions and it is often easier to launch new products in already existing markets than to launch existing products in n ew markets. Further, if the active pharmaceutical ingredient is sourced externally the time-to-market is shorter. The same is true of the external sourcing of the pharmaceutical formulation. Since generic companies often build their competencies in the market rather than on the technology used, strategic alliances and early supplier involvement in the new product development are important factors of their market success. Research objectives The Biopharmaceutical industry has many a process to be deeply understood and uniquely mapped, however, I would be looking at the following for the purpose of my project To understand the Drug Discovery Process and map it with New Product Development Understand how a pharmaceutical product is produced; identify all the stages from the Pre discovery phase to the Discovery phase and from the Pre clinical phase to the Clinical Phase and map it with New Product Development Identify the sources for reducing Uncertainty in the Drug Discovery Process One of the features that restrict the smooth functioning of the Drug Discovery process is uncertainty about the drug in trail. If the drug that is being tested fails the clinical trials phase, all the investment and effort towards drug development is lost, but if it passes all the trials, it enters the marketplace and benefits the company by providing profits that are typically significantly larger than the development costs. Identify the sources for reducing Lead Time in the Drug Discovery Process Drug development in the pharmaceutical sector is a lengthy process ranging anywhere from 7 to 17 years and costs the companies billions of dollars. Thus identification of sources for reduction in lead time and appropriate application of those steps would directly influence the costs and help in launching the product quicker than usual into the market. Research methodology Interaction with Biopharmaceutical Teams working on the Drug Discovery Process at the Biological Sciences and Biological Engineers (B.S.B.E) department at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Secondary Research from Scientific Journals Case study approach in Business Press and Scientific Journals Chapters Introduction to the Drug Discovery Process Detailed explanation of the Drug Discovery Process Convergence with the New Product Development Literature Review Analysis of the related topic as described in Business Press and other Scientific journals. Research Objectives Research Methodology: An outline of the different approaches available for research Explanation of the different approaches and their outcomes with respect to the project Results and Discussions of the case Management Insights Relation of the Drug Discovery Process with Management concepts Conclusions and Future Research

Child With Failure To Thrive Health And Social Care Essay

Child With Failure To Thrive Health And Social Care Essay In this review article, the definition, aetiology, evaluation, differential diagnoses, management, prevention and prognosis of failure to thrive are discussed. Failure to thrive (FTT) is a common problem in paediatric practice, affecting 5-10% of under-fives in developed countries with a higher incidence in developing countries. Majority of cases of FTT are due to a combination of nutritional and environmental deprivation secondary to parental poverty and/or ignorance. Many infants with FTT are not identified. The key to diagnosing FTT is finding the time in busy clinical practice to accurately measure and plot a childs weight, height and head circumference, and then assess the trend. In the evaluation of the child who has failed to thrive, three initial steps required to develop an economical treatment-centred approach are: (i) A thorough history including itemized psychosocial review, (ii) Careful physical examination and (iii) Direct observation of the childs behaviour and of parent-child interaction. Laboratory evaluation should be guided by history and physical examination findings only. Once FTT is identified in a particular child, th e management should begin with a careful search for its aetiology. Two principles that hold true irrespective of aetiology are that all children with FTT need a high-calorie diet for catch-up growth (typically 150 percent of their caloric requirement for their expected, not actual weight) and all children with FTT need a careful follow up. Social issues of the family must also be addressed. A multidisplinary approach is recommended when FTT persists despite intervention or when it is severe. Overall, only a third of children with FTT are ultimately judged to be normal. Keywords: Failure to thrive, growth deficiency, undernutrition. INTRODUCTION Although the term failure to thrive (FTT) has been in use in the medical parlance for quite some time now, its precise definition has remained debatable1. consequently, other terms such as undernutrition1 and growth deficiency2 have been proposed as preferable. FTT is a descriptive term applied to young children physical growth is less than that of his or her peers.3 The growth failure may begin either in the neonatal period or after a period of normal physical development.4 The term FTT is not, in itself, a disease but a symptom or sign common to a wide variety of disorders which may have little in common except for their negative effect on growth.5 In this regard, a cause must always be sought. Often, the evaluation of children who fail to thrive pose a difficult diagnostic problem. Some of the difficulties result from the numerous differential diagnoses, the definition used or misdirected tendency to search aggressively for underlying organic diseases while neglecting aetiologies based on environmental deprivation.6 In addition, early accusations and alienation of the childs parents by the health-care provider will make the evaluation and management of the child who has failed to thrive more difficult.7 In general, factors that influence a childs growth include: (i) A childs nutritional status; (ii) A childs health; (iii) Family issues; and (iv) The parent-child interactions.3,8,9 All these factors must be considered in evaluation and management of child who has failed to thrive. This paper presents a simplified but detailed approach to the evaluation and management of the child with FTT. DEFINITION The best definition for FTT is the one that refers to it as inadequate physical growth diagnosed by observation of growth over time using a standard growth chart, such as the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth chart.10 All authorities agree that only by comparing height and weight on a growth chart over time can FTT be assessed accurately.11 So far, no consensus has been reached concerning the specific anthropometric criteria to define FTT.11 Consequently, where serial anthropometric records is not available, FTT has been variously defined statistically. For instance, some authors defined FTT as weight below the third percentile for age on the growth chart or more than two standard deviations below the mean for children of the same age and sex1-3 or a weight-for-age (weight-for-hieght) Z-score less than minus two.1 Others cite a downward change in growth that has crossed two major growth percentiles in a short time.3 Still others, for diagnostic purposes, defined FTT as a disproportionate failure to gain weight in comparison to height without an apparent aetiology.6 Brayden et al.,2 suggested that FTT should be considered if a child less than 6 months old has not grown for two consecutive months or a child older than 6 months has not grown for three consecutive months. Recent research has validated that the weight-for-age approach is the simplest and most reasonable marker of FTT.12 Pitfalls of these definitions: One limitation of using the third percentile for defining FTT is that some children whose weight fall below this arbitrary statistical standard of normal are not failing to thrive but represent the three percent of normal population whose weight is less than the third percentile.5,6 In the first 2 years of life, the childs weight changes to follow the genetic predisposition of the parents height and weight.13,14 During this time of transition, children with familial short stature may cross percentiles downward and still be considered normal.14 Most children in this category find their true curve by the age of 3 years.6,14 When the percentile drop is great, it is helpful to compare the childs weight percentile to height and head circumference percentiles. These should be consistent with the position of height and head circumference percentiles of the patient.5 Another limitation of the third percentile as a criterion to define FTT is that infants can be failing to thrive with marked d eceleration of weight gain, but they remain undiagnosed and therefore, untreated until they have fallen below the arbitrary third percentile.6 These normal small children do not demonstrate the disproportionate failure to gain weight that children with FTT do.6 This approach attempts not only to prevent normal small children from being incorrectly labeled as failing to thrive, but also excludes children with pathologic proportionate short stature.14 Having excluded these easily distinguishable disorders from the differential diagnosis of FTT, simplifies the approach to evaluation of the child who has failed to thrive.6 A more encompassing definition of FTT includes any child whose weight has fallen more than two standard deviations from a previous growth curve.3,15,16 Normal shifts in growth curves in the first 2 years of life will result in less severe decline (i.e, less than 2 SD).13 Some authors have even limited the definition of FTT to only children less than 3 years old17,18 A precise age limitation is arbitrary. However, most children with FTT are under 3 years of age.6,8 EPIDEMIOLOGY In young children, FTT which does not reach the severe classical syndrome of marasmus is common in all societies.19 However, the true incidence of FTT is not known as many infants with FTT are not identified, even in developed countries.20-22 It is estimated to affect 5 10% of young children and approximately 3 5% of children admitted into teaching hospitals.3,5,23 Mitchell et al,24 using multiple criteria found that nearly 10% of under-fives attending primary health care centre in the United States showed FTT. About 5% of paediatric admissions in United Kingdom are for FTT.4 The prevalence is even higher in developing countries with wide-spread poverty and high rates of malnutrition and/or HIV infections.3,19 Children born to single teenage mothers and working mothers who work for long hours are at increased risk.22 The same is true of children in institutions such as orphanage homes and homes for the mentally retarded5,22 with an estimated incidence of 15% as a group.5 Under-feed ing is the single commonest cause of FTT and results from parental poverty and/or ignorance.19,22,24 Ninety five percent of cases of FTT are due to not enough food being offered or taken.25 The peak incidence of FTT occurs in children between the age of 9 24 months with no significant sex difference.22 Majority of children who fail to thrive are less than 18 months old.3 The syndrome of FTT is uncommon after the age of 5 years.3,22 AETIOLOGY Traditionally, causes of FTT have been classified as non-organic and organic. However, some authors have stated that this terminology is misleading.27 They based their opinion on the fact that all cases of FTT are produced by inadequate food or undernutrition and in that context, is organically determined. In addition, the distinction based on organic and non-organic causes is no longer favoured because many cases of FTT are of mixed aetiologies.3 Based on pathophysiology (the preferred classification), FTT may be classified into those due to: (i) Inadequate caloric intake; (ii) Inadequate absorption; (iii) Increased caloric requirement; and (iv) Defective utilization of calories. This classification leads to a logical organization of the many conditions that cause or contribute to FTT.10 Non organic (psychosocial) failure to thrive In non-organic failure to thrive (NFTT), there is no known medical condition causing the poor growth. It is due to poverty, psychosocial problems in the family, maternal deprivation, lack of knowledge and skill in infant nutrition among the care-givers5,11. Other risk factors include substance abuse by parents, single parenthood, general immaturity of one or both parents, economic stress and strain, temporary stresses such as family tragedies (accidents, illnesses, deaths) and marital disharmony.6,8,22 Weston et al,28 reported that 66% of mothers whose infants failed to thrive has a positive history of having been abused as children themselves, compared to 26% of controls from similar socioeconomic background. NFTT accounts for over 70% of cases of FTT.6 Of this number, approximately one-third is due to care-givers ignorance such as incorrect feeding technique, improper preparation of formula or misconception of the infants nutritional needs,29 all of which are easily corrected. A cl ose look at these risk factors for NFTT suggest that infants with growth failure may represent a flag for serious social and psychological problems in the family. For example, a depressed mother may not feed her infant adequately. The infant may, in turn, become withdrawn in response to mothers depression and feed less well.10 Extreme parental attention, either neglect or hypervigilance, can lead to FTT.10 Organic failure to thrive It occurs when there is a known underlying medical cause. Organic disorders causing FTT are most commonly infections (e.g HIV infection, tuberculosis, intestinal parasitosis), gastrointestinal (e.g., chronic diarrhoea, gastroesophageal reflux, pyloric stenosis) or neurologic (e.g., cerebral palsy, mental retardation) disorders.6,19,22 Others include genitourinary disorders (e.g., posterior urethral valve, renal tubular acidosis, chronic renal failure, UTI), congenital heart disease, and chromosomal anomalies.6,7 Together neurologic and gastrointestinal disorders account for 60 80% of all organic causes of under nutrition in developed countries.30 An important medical risk factor for under nutrition in childhood is premature birth.1 Among preterm infants, those who are small for gestational age are particularly vulnerable since prenatal factors have already exerted deleterious effect on somatic growth.1 In societies where lead poisoning is common, it is a recognized risk factor for p oor growth.5,31 Organic FTT virtually never presents with isolated growth failure, other signs and symptoms are generally evident with a detailed history and physical examination.32 Organic disorders accounts for less than 20% of cases of FTT.6 Mixed failure to thrive In mixed FTT, organic and non organic causes coexist. Those with organic disorders may also suffer from environmental deprivation. Likewise, those with severe undernutrition from non-organic FTT can develop organic medical problems. FTT with no specific aetiology Review of the literature on FTT indicate that in 12 32% of cases of children who have failed to thrive, no specific aetiology could be established.23,33-34 Causes of failure to thrive A. Prenatal cases: (i) Prematurity with its complication (ii) Toxic exposure in utero such as alcohol, smoking, medications, infections (eg rubella, CMV) (iii) Intrauterine growth restriction from any cause (iv) Chromosomal abnormalities (eg Down syndrome, Turner syndrome) (v) Dysmorphogenic syndromes. B. Postnatal causes based on pathophysiology: A. Inadequate caloric intake which may result from: i. Under feeding Incorrect preparation of formula (e.g. too dilute, too concentrated). Behaviour problems affecting eating (e.g., childs temperament). Unsuitable feeding habits (e.g., uncooperative child) Poverty leading to food shortages. Child abuse and neglect. Mechanical feeding difficulties e.g., congenital anomalies (cleft lip/palate), oromotor dysfunction. Prolonged dyspnoea of any cause B. Inadequate absorption which may be associated with: Malabsorption syndromes e.g. Celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, cows milk protein allergy, giardiasis, food sensitivity/intolerance Vitamins and mineral deficiencies e.g., zinc, vitamins A and C deficiencies. Hepatobiliary diseases e.g., biliary atresia. Necrotizing enterocolitis Short gut syndrome. C. Increased Caloric requirement due to Hyperthyroidism Chronic/recurrent infections e.g., UTI, respiratory tract infection, tuberculosis, HIV infection Chronic anaemias D. Defective Utilization of Calories Inborn errors of metabolism e.g., galactosaemia, aminoacidopathies, organic acidurias and storage diseases. Diabetes inspidus/mellitus Renal tubular acidosis Chronic hypoxaemia Clinical manifestations of FTT3,22 Commonly the parents/care-givers may complain that the child is not growing well or losing weight or not feeding well or not doing well or not like his other siblings/age mates. Usually FTT is discovered and diagnosed by the infants physician using the birthweight and health clinic anthropometric records of the child. The infant looks small for age. The child may exhibit loss of subcutaneous fat, reduced muscle mass, thin extremities, a narrow face, prominent ribs, and wasted buttocks, Evidence of neglected hygiene such as diaper rash, unwashed skin, overgrown and dirty fingernails or unwashed clothing. Other findings may include avoidance of eye contact, lack of facial expression, absence of cuddling response, hypotonia and assumption of infantile posture with clenched fists. There may be marked preoccupation with thumb sucking. EVALUATION A. Initial evaluation It has been proposed that only three initial investigations are required to develop an economical, treatment-centred approach to the child who presents with FTT and this include:35 (i) A thorough history including an itemized psychosocial review; (ii) Careful physical examination including determination of the auxological parameters; and (iii) Direct observation of the childs behaviour and of parent-child interactions. The Psychosocial Review: The psychosocial history should be as thorough and systematic as a classic physical examination Goldbloom35 suggested that the interviewers should ask themselves three questions about every family: (i) How do they look; (ii) What do they say; and (iii) What do they do? a. HISTORY (1) Nutritional history Nutritional history should include: Details of breast feeding to get an idea of number of feeds, time for each feeding, whether both breasts are given or one breast, whether the feeding is continued at night or not and how is the childs behaviour before, after and in between the feeds. It would give an idea of the adequacy or inadequacy of mothers milk. If the infant is on formula feeding: Is the formula prepared correctly? Dilute milk feed will be poor in calorie with excess water. Too concentrated milk feed may be unpalatable leading to refusal to drink. It is also essential to know the total quantity of the formula consumed. Is it given by bottle or cup and spoon? Also assess the feeling of the mother e.g., ask how do you feel when the baby does not feed well? Time of introduction of complementary feeds and any difficulty should be noted. Vitamin and mineral supplement; when started, type, amount, duration. Solid food; when started, types, how taken. Appetite; whether the appetite is temporarily or persistently impaired (if necessary calculate the caloric intake). For older children enquire about food likes and dislikes, allergies or idiosyncracies. Is the child fed forcibly? It is desirable to know the feeding routine from the time the child wakes up in the morning till he sleeps at night, so that one can get an idea of the total caloric intake and the calories supplied from protein, fat and carbohydrate as well as adequacy of vitamins and minerals intake. (2) Past and current medical history The history of prenatal care, maternal illness during pregnancy, identified fetal growth problems, prematurity and birth weight. Indicators of medical diseases such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, respiratory symptoms and fatigue should be noted. Past hospitalization, injuries, accidents to evaluate for child abuse and neglect. Stool pattern, frequency, consistency, presence of blood or mucus to exclude malabsorption syndromes, infection and allergy. (3) Family and social history Family and social history should include the number, ages and sex of siblings. Ascertain age of parents (Down syndrome and Klinerfelter syndrome in children of elderly mothers) and the childs place in the family (pyloric stenosis). Family history should include growth parameters of siblings. Are there other siblings with FTT (e.g., genetic causes of FTT), family members with short stature (e.g. familial short stature). Social history should determine occupation of parents, income of the family, identify those caring for the child. Child factors (e.g., temperament, development), parental factors (e.g., depression, domestic violence, social isolation, mental retardation, substance abuse) and environmental and societal factors (e.g., poverty, unemployment, illiteracy) all may contribute to growth failure.5 Historical evaluation of the child with FTT is summarized in Table 1. (b) PHYSICAL EXAMINATION The four main goals of physical examination include (i) identification of dysmorphic features suggestive of a genetic disorder impeding growth; (ii) detection of under lying disease that may impair growth; (iii) assessment for signs of possible child abuse; and (iv) assessment of the severity and possible effects of malnutrition.36,37 The basic growth parameters such as weight, height / length, head circumference and mid-upper-arm circumference must be measured carefully. Recumbent length is measured in children below 2 years of age because standing measurements can be as much as 2cm shorter.36,37 Other anthropometric data such as upper-segment-to-lower-segment ratio, sitting height and arm span should also be noted. The anthropometric index used for FTT should be weight-for-length or height. Mid-parental height (MPH) should be determined using the formula.40 For boys, the formula is: MPH = [FH + (MH 13)] 2 For girls, the formula is: MPH = [(FH 13) + MH] 2 In both equations, FH is fathers height in centimetres and MH is mothers height in centimetres. The target range is calculated as the MPH Â ± 8.5cm, representing the two standard deviation (2SD) confidence limits.14 Assessment of degree FTT The degree of FTT is usually measured by calculating each growth parameter (weight, height and weight/height ratio) as a percentage of the median value for age based on appropriate growth charts3 (See Table 3) Table 3: Assessment of degree of failure to thrive (FTT) Growth parameter Degree of Failure to Thrive Mild Moderate Severe Weight 75-90% 60 -74% Height 90 -95% 85 89% Weight/height ratio 81-90% 70 -80% Adapted from Baucher H.3 It should be noted that appropriate growth charts are often not available for children with specific medical problems, therefore serial measurements are especially important for these children.3 For premature infants, correction must be made for the extent of prematurity. Corrected age, rather than chronologic age, should be used in calculations of their growth percentiles until 1-2 years of corrected age.3 Table 2: Physical examination of infants and children with growth failure. Abnormality Diagnostic Consideration Vital signs Hypotension Hypertension Tachypnoea/Tachycardia Adrenal or thyroid insufficiency Renal diseases Increased metabolic demand Skin Pallor Poor hygiene Ecchymoses Candidiasis Eczema Erythema nodosum Anaema Neglect Abuse Immunodeficiency, HIV infection Allergic disease Ulcerative colitis, vasculitis HEENT Hair loss Chronic otitis media Cataracts Aphthous stomatitis Thyroid enlargement Stress Immunodeficiency, structural oro- facial defect Congenital rubella syndrome, galactosaemia Crohns disease Hypothyroidism Chest Wheezes Cystic fibrosis, asthma Cardiovascular Murmur Congenital heart disease(CHD) Abdomen Distension hyperactive Bowel sound Hepatosplenomegaly Malabsorption Liver disease, glycogen storage disease Genitourinary Diaper rashes Diarrhoea, neglect Rectum Empty ampulla Hirschsprungs disease Extremities Oedema Loss of muscle mass Clubbing Hypoalbuminaemia Chronic malnutrition Chronic lung disease, Cyanotic CHD Nervous system Abnormal deep tendon Reflexes Developmental delay Cranial nerve palsy Cerebral palsy Altered caloric intake or requirements Dysphagia Behaviour and temperament Uncooperative Difficult to feed. Adapted from Collins et al 41 Growth charts should be evaluated for pattern of FTT. If weight, height and head circumference are all less than what is expected for age, this may suggest an insult during intrauterine life or genetic/chromosomal factors.2 If weight and height are delayed with a normal head circumference, endocrinopathies or constitutional growth should be suspected.2 When only weight gain is delayed, this usually reflects recent energy (caloric) deprivation.2 Physical examination in infants and children with FTT is summarized in Table 2. Failure to thrive due to environmental deprivation Children with environmental deprivation primarily demonstrate signs of failure to gain weight: loss of fat, prominence of ribs and muscles wasting, especially in large muscle groups such as the gluteals.6 Developmental assessment It is important to determine the childs developmental status at the time of diagnosis because children with FTT have a higher incidence of developmental delays than the general population.36 With environmental deprivation, all milestones are usually delayed once the infant reaches 4 months of age.42 Areas dependent on environmental interactions such as language development and social adaptation are often disproportionately delayed. Specific behavioural evaluations (e.g., recording responses to approach and withdrawal), have been developed to help differentiate underlying environmental deprivation from organic disease.43 Assess the infants developmental status with a full Denver Developmental Standardized test.44 Parent-child interaction: Evaluate interaction of the parents and the child during the examination. In environmental deprivation, the parent often readily walks away from the examination table, appearing to easily abandon the child to the nurse or physician.6 There is little eye contact between child and parent and the infant is held distantly with little moulding to the parents body.6 Often the infant will not reach out for the parent and little affectionate touching is noted.6 There is little parental display of pleasure towards the infant.6 Observation of feeding is an integral part of the examination, but it is ideally done when the parents are least aware that they are being observed. Breast-fed infants should be weighed before and after several feedings over a 24-hour period since volume of milk consumed may vary with each meal. In environmental deprivation, the parents often miss the infants cues and may distract him during feeding; the infant may also turn away from food and appear distressed.6 Unnecessary force may be used during feeding. Developing a portrait of the child-parent relationship is a key to guiding intervention.11 LABORATORY EVALUATION The role of laboratory studies in the evaluation of FTT is to investigate for possible organic diagnoses suggested by the history and physical examination.33,34 If an organic aetiology is suggested, appropriate studies should be undertaken. If history and physical examination do not suggest an organic aetiology, extensive laboratory test is not indicated.6 However, on admission full blood count, ESR, urinalysis, urine culture, urea and electrolyte (including calcium and phosphorus) levels should be carried out. Screen for infections such as HIV infection, tuberculosis and intestinal parasitosis. Skeletal survey is indicated if physical abuse is strongly suspected. In addition to being unproductive, blind laboratory fishing expeditions should be avoided for the following reason:5,6 (i) they are expensive; (ii) they impair the childs ability to gain weight in a new environment both by frightening him/her with venepuncture, barium studies and other stressful procedures and the no oral f eeds associated with some investigations prevent him/her from getting enough calories; (iii) they can be misleading since a number of laboratory abnormalities are associated with psychosocial deprivation (e.g., increased serum transaminases , transient abnormalities of glucose tolerance, decreased growth hormone and iron deficiency);21 and (iv) they divert attention and resources from the more productive search for evidence of psychosocial deprivation. In one study, a total of 2,607 laboratory studies were performed, with an average of 14 tests per patient. With all tests considered, only 10(0.4%) served to establish a diagnosis and an additional 1% were able to support a diagnosis.34 Further Evaluation (1) Hospitalization: Although some authors state that most children with failure to thrive can be treated as outpatients,4,5,11,45 I think it is best to hospitalize the infant with FTT for 10 14 days. Hospitalization has both diagnostic and therapeutic benefits. Diagnostic benefits of admission may include observation for feeding, parental-child interaction, and consultation of sub-specialists. Therapeutic benefits include administration of intravenous fluids for dehydration, systemic antibiotic for infection, blood transfusion for anaemia and possibly, parenteral nutrition, all of which are often in-hospital procedures. In addition, if an organic aetiology is discovered for the FTT, specific therapy can be initiated during hospitalization. In psychosocial FTT, hospitalization provides opportunity to educate parents about appropriate foods and feeding styles for infants. Hospitalization is necessary when the safety of the child is a concern. In most situations in our set up, there i s no viable alternative to hospitalization. (2) Quantitative assessment of intake: A prospective 3-day diet record should be a standard part of the evaluation. This is useful in assessing under nutrition even when organic disease is present. A 24-hour food recall is also desirable. Having parents write down the types of food and amounts a child eats over a three-day is one way of quantifying caloric intake. In some instances, it can make parents aware of how much the child is or is not eating.11 Table 4: Summary of risk factors for the development of failure to thrive Infant characteristics Any chronic medical condition resulting in: Inadequate intake (e.g, swallowing dysfunction, central nervous system depression, or any condition resulting in anorexia) Increased metabolic rate (e.g, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital heart disease, fevers) Maldigestion or malabsorption (e.g, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, short gut, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease). Infections (e.g., HIV, TB, Giardiasis) Premature birth (especially with intrauterine growth restriction) Developmental delay Congenital anomalies Intrauterine toxin exposure (e.g. alcohol) Plumbism and/or anaemia Family characteristics Poverty Unusual health and nutrition beliefs Social isolation Disordered feeding techniques Substance abuse or other psychopathology (include Muschausen syndrome by proxy) Violence or abuse Adapted from Kleinman RE.1 Table 1: Summary of historical evaluation of infants and children with growth failure Prenatal General obstetrical history Recurrent miscarriages Was the pregnancy planned? Use of medications, drugs, or cigarettes Labour, delivery, and neonatal events Neonatal asphyxia or Apgar scores Prematurity Small for gestational age Birth weight and length Congenital malformations or infections Maternal bonding at birth Length of hospitalization Breastfeeding support Feeding difficulties during neonatal period Medical history of child Regular physician Immunizations Development Medical or surgical illnesses Frequent infections Growth history Plot previous points Nutrition history Feeding behavior and environment Perceived sensitivities or allergies to foods Quantitative assessment of intake (3-day diet record, 24-hour food recall) Social history Age and occupation of parents Who feeds the child? Life stresses (loss of job, divorce, death in family) Availability of social and economic support (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; Aid for Families with Dependent Chi