Behavioral therapy

Behavioral therapy is also known as behavioral modification. It is a psychological method based on the principle that one can change the badly adjusted, maladaptive, observable, specific and self destructive behavior, through learning new and more suitable behaviors (Skinner, p 194). The origin of this theory can be traced back to the school of behaviorism which indicates that one can scientifically study psychological matters through observation of overt behavior without necessarily involving interior psychological states.Skinners theory of behaviorism accepted and supported that internal state could be part of a certain kind of behavior without necessarily being the main cause; however, he declared that through environmental manipulation, one could improve on them. The behavioral theorists include Hans Eysenck, Joseph Wolpe, Harry Solomon, Ogden Lindsley and B. F Skinner and they all had different ways of looking at behavioral problems. Eysenck’s perspective saw behavioral p roblem as connection between one’s behavior, the environment and personality characteristics. For the sake of this study, I will focus on B.F skinner’s behavioral theory (Skinner, p 198). Origin of behavioral therapy Edward Thorndike did experiments to discover the ability of dogs and cats to solve problems. He constructed wooden crates and he would cage the animals each in their own crate. The animals would escape from the crates. Though initially he just wanted to show that dogs and cats’ achievement could be controlled, he realized that he could measure the intelligence of these animals using his tools (Lindsley, p 34). He would set the animals for the same kind of task and observe how long it took to complete the given task.He learnt that there was no difference in performance between the animals that started an assignment and the ones that first observed the others performing (Skinner, p 89). He also learnt that when an animal did something that made it to successfully get out of the box; the animal was likely to repeat that action when faced by the same kind of problem. He concluded that reward reinforces the relationship between stimulus and action. He later formalized it to be called the law of effect (Skinner, p 199). Classical conditioning theory then came to explain that there is an association between reflex and the neutral stimulus.Watson used rats in his experiments to improve on the law of effect and apply it in behaviorism. He made a maze which the rats were supposed to follow. Once they had mastered the routes, he started putting blocks at different points of the maze (Skinner, p 94). If a route was blocked, the rats would then follow another route indicating that they had memory. Once the second route was blocked they would follow the other available route. He observed that when the reward for an action done was less, then the rats performed the task more slowly (Lindsley, p76). B.F Skinner came to improve on Thorndike an d Watson’s work by studying objectively behavior sequences over a prolonged period of time. He came up with the concept of operant conditioning which related the operant response and the reinforcement. This theory is based on the proposal that learning could help in change of overt behavior. People change their behavior as a result response to the occurrences in their surroundings. A given response leads to a certain outcome. When one reinforces a certain pattern of Stimulus-Response, a person’s response becomes conditioned (Skinner, p 97).The key element in this theory is reinforcement; this is anything that supports the response that is desired. Reinforcement could be positive or negative. Positive reinforcement makes one be encouraged to do more of the action that led to positive results. It includes attaining satisfaction after doing something, being recognized, being praised for work well done among others. Negative reinforcement on the other hand involves the act ions that make one increase the frequency of responses once a certain stimulus is withdrawn. Aversive stimulus results to the reduction of responses (Skinner, p 200). Behavioral Therapy This is a report about Paula a client who was referred to therapy by the general practitioner of the hospital. Following a thorough physical checkup performed on Paula the GP feels that Paula’s heart is sound enough and her condition is psychological. (Getzfeld, 2004). Paula’s case is not an isolated case of psychological dysfunction and in fact a sizeable number of people suffer these attacks in silence. (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). This is perhaps due to the feelings of embarrassment and stupidity that they feel they might be accused of.Additionally, panic attacks are not well known to many and hence the stigma. Nonetheless, panic attacks are not insignificant and can have a crippling effect in someone’s life. They are a symptom of underlying stressing and traumatic events in the patient’s life. (Feather & Ronan, 2006). This report gives a diagnosis of Paula’s case. It gives a comprehensive analysis of what is the onset of Paula’s con dition, the triggers and the effects of her attack. At the end of the report it will give the findings and recommendations on the way forward for Paula in getting treatment for her condition.Diagnosis Paula has been experiencing an array of symptoms that occur frequently at the workplace and outside home. These symptoms include dizzy spells, shortness of breath, dizziness and lightheadedness as well as chest pains and fast heartbeats. Paula feels that there is cause for alarm because these symptoms may be an indication of a heart attack. For this reason she has sought medical help from her general practitioners, and she has even visited a cardiologist for a sonogram and echocardiogram. Both these tests showed no defects or indication of heart attack.Nothing is wrong with Paula’s heart and apparently the symptoms may be a psychological related. The doctors at the company clinic where Paula works suggested that she try to relax more and steer away from caffeine, nonetheless the attacks still persevere despite Paula’s attempts to relax. She sought a second opinion from another physician who also gave similar diagnosis i. e. her attacks are a psychological problem hence she needs to sign up for therapy. With that Paula came to the clinic. Brief history of PaulaIn order to clearly diagnose Paula’s condition information from her life experiences both in the present and from the past had to be sought. Paula is 27 years old, single and lives at home with her parents. She has a good job at a securities and bond trading company which she has worked for loyally since she graduated from university with a BA in economics seemingly her life was be smooth and no developmental milestones have been experienced on her part. Prior to her recently persistent attacks she was ready to enroll for MBA.Her father died soon after she graduated from University after a brave fight with cancer, emphysema and the killer heart attack. Her mother has some health problems although nothing too serious. Her grandparents died of cancer; her grandma of breast cancer and her grandpa of colon cancer, she feels that cancer runs in the family and is afraid of it too. This is the reason why she stopped smoking and does not drink alcohol. She says matter of factly â€Å"I have enough bad seeds in me†. Paula is the only child not by plan but out of natural misfortune.She had a little brother who died at the age of three out of heart defects that developed with age. He also had other birth defects that Paula was unwilling to disclose. This memory made her teary. Obviously, the death of the little boy had deep-seated effects in all the family members. (Feather & Ronan, 2006). According to Paula, her parents did not try to get pregnant again and the option of adoption was too devastating to consider. Paula’s mother and friend at work feel greatly concerned over her condition and Paula feels that as well. Paula feels that it is time she had greater c ontrol over her problem.The medication she has been taking i. e. Xanax and Contac zonk her out and she refers to herself as a ‘walking dead’ when she is on this medications. The persistent attacks seem to be triggered by anything major to Paula and given the nature of her job she reports frequent dizzy spells, faints and attacks at work. She remembers a case whereby a client fell through and all the blame was pinned on her. At the same time a coworker at the workplace had shown particular interest on Paula as a woman. All these major events occurring concurrently in her somewhat laid back lifestyle triggered an attack.In the moment of it all, the other workers got wind of her weak point and she is afraid that they might think of her as ‘chicken’ or incompetent of handling such a demanding job. Frequency of attacks Paula’s attacks have been with her for a long while. She points out that ever since she entered university she started experiencing them. The stress levels were high what with the huge load of work, pressure from men in campus and the need to fit in since the university was small and everyone knew everyone else. In her high school it was easy to be an invisible wall paper and stay unnoticed when necessary.Unfortunately in university this was not the case and she lacked the necessary support systems or good outlets to channel the stress she was feeling. She also recalls her father’s death which affected her greatly. It was overwhelming for her although she had suspected it would happen soon. This reminded her of her brother’s death. For this reason Paula feels ‘life is very unfair’. The death of loved ones caused her to withdraw from life completely. At school she would get sweaty and the dizzy spells prior to presentation and even before she lost her virginity she had a panic attack.Paula’s case now involves her mothers, her co-workers the doctors and now psychiatrist. Before, it was her personal problem and she felt she could deal with it. Now her life is significantly affected and people around her are worried. Doctors feel that it is time she saw a therapist to uncover the real cause of the problem. Her mother feels strongly about the same as also the people at work. Assessment and investigation plan It seems that Paula is suffering from severe depression which manifests itself in panic attacks.(Alpert & Fava, 2004) She has not developed the expression skills and seems to bottle up feelings of anxiety, frustration, hurt and stress. She has managed to deactivate her social life and is highly dependant on her mother for comfort although she does not disclose her inner feelings to her mother as well. Notably, at 27 and with a good job she is still unattached to anyone and does not go out with friends. Throughout the sessions she makes no mention of significant persons other than her mother. Even at university she frequently went home to be babied.Her family back ground is a troubled one with a history of heart diseases and cancers. Her loved ones seem to be consumed by these diseases and she feels afraid of being the next. Panic attacks manifest either as ‘a way of getting through tough situations’ as she puts it or as a reaction to overpowering feelings of loss, excitement or expectations. After reviewing Paula’s case in detail it is recommended she have behavioral therapy as a start treatment program since it is the best therapy linked to activating the client from depression, a condition that is the underlying cause of Paula’s panic attacks.BATD (Behavioral Activation treatment for Depression) overview, foundation and Assumptions. This treatment option bases its foundations from cognitive therapy. It basically involves activating the client from depression by encouraging them to make connection between powerful experiences both in the present and in the past with the symptoms that they may be having. In Paulaâ €™s case it is panic attacks. The basic assumption of this therapy is that depression and subsequent symptoms of depression arise from life expenses of the patient and not the genetic predisposition. (Cooper, Smith & Upton, 1994).Vulnerability is severed by traumatic life events. This therapy encompasses assessment and treatment of cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects of the clients. This means that its efforts are channeled toward sharpening social skills of the client through training and reinforcements, imparting relaxation techniques as well as therapy to help relax the client, increasing pleasurable activities in the clients life say situations with more laughter and easiness, training clients on assertness and emotional expressions and restructurings the clients patterns of thoughts and cognitive perceptions.(Gortner & Jacobson, 2000, Martell, Addis & Jacobson, 2001) These areas are greatly emphasized because they alter the client’s beliefs of the world aroun d them and eventually how they choose to resolve their inner problems or conflicts which are evident in behaviour. According to Beck, Rush, Shaw and Emery (1979 p. 118) mentioned in Jacobson, Mortell and Dimidjian 2007, p. 257 ‘the aim of this therapy to bring about change in the clients negative outlook in life’. The beliefs and expectations of a person indecent in his cognitive make up ultimately affect behaviour.The behavioral activation therapy recognizes that some depressions and subsequently panic attack may be or a result of genetic predisposition, it greatly emphases environmental factors as a great a preventative measure for depression maintenance. Course of treatment Paula’s treatment will commence with the establishment of therapeutic rapport with the therapist while they discuss the objectives and goals for the therapy and the sessions. This will be achieved by encouraging Paula to ask questions and be as comfortable as possible during the sessions.Pa ula and the therapist will explore the implications that her depression has had on Paula’s life for instance she lacks a social life, she cannot do her daily tasks any more, she will lose her job and so on. Under this treatment the therapist will be performing some functional analysis on Paula to gauge how well Paula is responding to treatment. For example, she should be able to start driving her car to work and performing her duties at work. The use of home works will be helpful to both Paula and the therapist in finding areas that the therapy should concentrate on.The therapy sessions will also explore the strategies that Paula should use to avoid a relapse. Paula intervention plan The first step in her treatment plan is to get her to talk more about her unpleasant life experiences. So far she has registered commendable progress into talking about her father and her young brother. When she first came in she was fidgety and kept checking her pulse over her neck. She had a pa nic stricken look but now she has relaxed a little.It is impossible to accurately state the duration that Paula might take to show full recovery since depression can be hard to overcome with the lack of proper support systems and the troubling environment at her workplace. Nonetheless, Paula sounds really determined to get over this problem and regain full control of her life. A two hour session with the psychiatrist thrice a week for a month and once a week for the following two months is recommended. This will be flexible enough for Paula to manage work and treatment. The significant people in Paula life i. e.family and coworkers need to give Paula all the support she needs to overcome this milestone. This is because her depression is not just an inner problem but the environment also triggers her attacks. The boss could encourage Paula to take some early days off and maybe some days be allowed to work from home until she is ready to work full time. The mother needs to continue be ing there for her daughter but on the other hand encourage her to be more independent. This will ensure that she is strong enough to handle life situations on her own and avoid a relapse in case she dies.The coworkers may be a bit more supportive when she experiences panic attacks and let her know it is nothing to be ashamed of. Again, Paula should expand her social networks and support system and this will a particular area where she will be trained during therapy sessions. Paula seems to over think her situations and the events in her life. A case in point is where she is quick to say that her coworkers will recommend she be transferred to the mail room because of the panic attacks. She feels that she should ‘never’ have an attack at the office again.She says ‘everyone will laugh and say look at the retard at it again. ’ She also seems to have planned out her suicide and thought of the consequences i. e. she would go to hell, it would be painless if she o verdosed on Aspirin, she would play some sad music, the suicide letter and other details fully planned. This seems to be Paula’s pattern of thinking and it is detrimental. In therapy, I will be interested in activating Paula’s spontaneity and her ability to accept her vulnerabilities and limitations towards having a fuller life. Measuring progressIn order to gauge progress on Paula’s treatment the therapist should be able to find improvements in Paula’s frequency of panic attacks. Ideally, they should reduce in the first month of treatment significantly. Additionally, her patterns of avoidance will be evaluated to see how well she is able to confront her fears. (Carr, 2001). For example, she avoids getting close to any man who might show interest in her hence stays away from social scenes like movies theatres and social gatherings. She also marks all the exit points to a place just incase she suffers another panic attack.Driving is also a problem to her a nd she has to be driven by her mother. She also avoids going out doors and stays in mostly where treatment will be effective, Paula should be able to take on her daily activities and develop healthy relationships with new people. The therapist will also make use of homework whereby Paula can try to engage in a task she feels prohibitive or unable to handle and see how well or not she manages the situation. This homework will allow her to self monitor her own progress and in therapy session discuss the feelings of accomplishment and pleasure derived from engaging in that activity.Results of the actions So far Paula has impressively shed light on her life. She has made the first big step towards treatment and that is the resolution to seek professional help. The diagnosis is that Paula is suffering from panic disorder which overlaps severe depression. She has had traumatic life experiences and suppressed them sufficiently. However she has reached a point where the emotions and negativ e psychological beliefs can no longer be bottled up hence the frequent panic attacks.The panic attacks have greatly eroded her self-esteem to a point that she planned a suicide although did not execute it. After evaluating her case I recommend psychiatric assessment just to ascertain this diagnosis so that the next level of therapy i. e. relaxation therapy and psychoanalysis can commerce. Although Paula is not actively keen on attempting another suicide, the risk is inherent and she needs close monitoring by her family and friends before and during therapy until she is strong enough to stand on her own.Paula should enroll in an activity that will enable her to think outside herself and her problems as well as boost her self-esteem. Yoga and social gatherings will particularly do her a lot of good. (Gortner & Jacobson, 2000). Lastly but importantly, Paula’s GP and cardiologist input would also be necessary in affirming this diagnosis so that Paula is well convinced that her pa nic attacks are purely psychological and not heart attack related. This will encourage her to continue the treatment. ConclusionPanic attacks are surmountable behavior activation therapy is a good way of assisting clients who suffer these attacks. The collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist should be useful in uncovering the depression in clients who suffer depression. The patterns of avoidance that Paula has developed such as avoiding relationships and friendships with others, avoiding social places staying away from work among others are crippling to Paula’s life and need to be confronted. Paula has to find a way of dealing with her problems in healthy ways. Behavioral therapy Behavioral therapy is also known as behavioral modification. It is a psychological method based on the principle that one can change the badly adjusted, maladaptive, observable, specific and self destructive behavior, through learning new and more suitable behaviors (Skinner, p 194). The origin of this theory can be traced back to the school of behaviorism which indicates that one can scientifically study psychological matters through observation of overt behavior without necessarily involving interior psychological states.Skinners theory of behaviorism accepted and supported that internal state could be part of a certain kind of behavior without necessarily being the main cause; however, he declared that through environmental manipulation, one could improve on them. The behavioral theorists include Hans Eysenck, Joseph Wolpe, Harry Solomon, Ogden Lindsley and B. F Skinner and they all had different ways of looking at behavioral problems. Eysenck’s perspective saw behavioral p roblem as connection between one’s behavior, the environment and personality characteristics. For the sake of this study, I will focus on B.F skinner’s behavioral theory (Skinner, p 198). Origin of behavioral therapy Edward Thorndike did experiments to discover the ability of dogs and cats to solve problems. He constructed wooden crates and he would cage the animals each in their own crate. The animals would escape from the crates. Though initially he just wanted to show that dogs and cats’ achievement could be controlled, he realized that he could measure the intelligence of these animals using his tools (Lindsley, p 34). He would set the animals for the same kind of task and observe how long it took to complete the given task.He learnt that there was no difference in performance between the animals that started an assignment and the ones that first observed the others performing (Skinner, p 89). He also learnt that when an animal did something that made it to successfully get out of the box; the animal was likely to repeat that action when faced by the same kind of problem. He concluded that reward reinforces the relationship between stimulus and action. He later formalized it to be called the law of effect (Skinner, p 199). Classical conditioning theory then came to explain that there is an association between reflex and the neutral stimulus.Watson used rats in his experiments to improve on the law of effect and apply it in behaviorism. He made a maze which the rats were supposed to follow. Once they had mastered the routes, he started putting blocks at different points of the maze (Skinner, p 94). If a route was blocked, the rats would then follow another route indicating that they had memory. Once the second route was blocked they would follow the other available route. He observed that when the reward for an action done was less, then the rats performed the task more slowly (Lindsley, p76). B.F Skinner came to improve on Thorndike an d Watson’s work by studying objectively behavior sequences over a prolonged period of time. He came up with the concept of operant conditioning which related the operant response and the reinforcement. This theory is based on the proposal that learning could help in change of overt behavior. People change their behavior as a result response to the occurrences in their surroundings. A given response leads to a certain outcome. When one reinforces a certain pattern of Stimulus-Response, a person’s response becomes conditioned (Skinner, p 97).The key element in this theory is reinforcement; this is anything that supports the response that is desired. Reinforcement could be positive or negative. Positive reinforcement makes one be encouraged to do more of the action that led to positive results. It includes attaining satisfaction after doing something, being recognized, being praised for work well done among others. Negative reinforcement on the other hand involves the act ions that make one increase the frequency of responses once a certain stimulus is withdrawn. Aversive stimulus results to the reduction of responses (Skinner, p 200).When considering this theory, schedules of reinforcement are considered to be very important. Principles under this theory are that positively reinforced behavior is very likely to reoccur. Shaping is also a principle that states that in order to reinforce behavior, information should be provided in small amounts. Stimulus generalization principles talks of reinforcement being generalized across stimuli that are similar to the original one (Lindsley, p 56). Behavior modification using B. F Skinner’s theory Behavior modification refers to a straight forward therapy technique that bases its arguments on skinner’s theory.It indicates that one can extinguish the unwanted behavior through the removal of the reiforcer and at the same time, behavior that is desired can be obtained and maintained via reinforcement . This argument has been used in solving many psychological problems. It is the preferred method when dealing with children. Other disorders which can be corrected using this therapy are anxiety disorders, phobias, eating disorders, anger management, aggressive behavior and substance use. All these are eliminated through changing the activities and behavior that may have contributed to such disorders (Skinner, p 96).Token economy is a derivative of behavior modification and it is used in institutions like prisons, juveniles, and psychiatric hospitals. This involves giving tokens to these people whenever they behave in a certain required way. When they revert to poor habits, the tokens are withdrawn. This is one way of behavior modifications that these institutions have used in order to keep order within the institutions. At times, Behavioral therapy methods are brought together with additional psychological involvements like medication (Skinner, p 197).This technique uses the follow ing approaches when using behavioral therapy to change a negative behavior to a positive one; systematic desensitization, flooding, behavior modification, prevention of exposure and response, operant conditioning, observational learning, contingency management, matching law, habit reversal training and covert conditioning (Lindsley, p72). Best fit patients for behavior therapy Behavioral therapy can be used as a tool to treat various problems like mental illnesses and their symptoms especially those that have maladaptive behavior.These conditions include phobias, eating disorders, anger management, aggressive behavior and substance use. Organic disorders like insomnia and incontinence could also be handled using the behavioral techniques (Skinner, p 205). This technique works very well in the treatment process of obesity. This process starts with the analysis of the activity and eating patterns in addition to other habits like dieting methods. After all this information is collected , the therapist uses it to come up with positive methods that can be used to promote weight loss, a positive self image and get healthier eating practices.The therapist does an analysis to the behavioral cause of stress in a patient. An appropriate method of treatment is then established. Cognitive therapy This therapy focuses in altering the bad behavior through changing the patterns of thinking behind them. It involves the emotions and the thoughts of the individual and the way they can be changed so that this person starts behaving more appropriately. This therapy can be used to correct many disorders like schizophrenia, autism, shyness, neurosis, stress disorders, attention deficit disorders, social phobias, mental disorders and addictions (McCullough, Para 24).It involves helping patients to triumph over difficult situations and modifying dysfunctional emotional, behavior and thinking responses. Treatment is all about bringing together the beliefs of the client and those of the therapist and testing them. It may also include testing the kind of assumptions an individual makes in life and also identifying the extent of distortion of thoughts that renders them unhelpful and unrealistic (Kohlenberg, p 234). Once the therapist challenges the way an individual thinks about something, that person is likely to change the way of thinking.Initially, this therapy was used to treat people suffering from depression. Beck came up with a list which contained ‘errors’ in thinking. He suggested that the errors maintained depression. They included selective abstraction, minimizing positives and magnifying negatives, over generalization and arbitrary inference (Kohlenberg, p 234). Historical development of cognitive therapy The theory of cognitive therapy came to be more than 50 years ago and it suggested that thoughts act as a go-between to stimuli like emotions and external events.A stimulus brings out a thought which can be a weighed up judgement of a kind and this further leads to a certain emotion. People’s evaluation of thought about a certain stimulus is what results to an emotional response and not necessarily the stimulus itself. Beck also came up with the etiological theory of depression under cognitive therapy. The theory indicated that people think negatively because their thinking is inclined to negative interpretations. People suffering from depression acquire negative schemas which are important ways through which information about the future; the world and the self are processed.These schemas are adopted early in life maybe during childhood or puberty as a result of going through stressful events in life. When such people come across situations that are similar to the ones in which the negative schemata was established, it becomes activated in the current situation (Kohlenberg, p 235). Beck also explained about the negative cognitive triad which constitutes negative biases and negative schemata. He proposed that pe ople who are depressed are very likely to make unconstructive evaluations of their future, world and selves.Depressed people are impossibility thinkers according to Beck. The cognitive triad indicates that a negative schema results to cognitive bias which fuels negative schema (Kohlenberg, p 237). Researchers suggested that depression could occur as a result of responding to perceived or imaginary loss. It could also be caused by self critical characteristics of the ego. Many psychologists wrote about cognitive features of depression trying to identify the cognitive components that caused depression. They also tried to develop many cognitive intercessions that could be used to treat depression.Since then, there have been many successful cases of patients suffering from depression getting well through cognitive therapy. His theory was opposed by behaviorists who claimed that mental causes of problem was unmeaningful and non scientific. With time, it was merged with the behavioral the rapy so as to deal with the problems that it could not have dealt with on its own (Kohlenberg, p 240). Strategies under cognitive therapy Cognitive therapy uses two strategies i. e. emotional focused and problem focused strategies.The problem focused strategy aim at directing the client in the process of identifying the problem. The therapist then helps the client to identify the responses that are utilized in the process of reducing distress in a situation. They are also evaluated to check how effective they are. The therapist and the client then develop and examine alternative responses to see how beneficial they can be to a client. When faced with a stressful situation, the client feels empowered to make mindful alternatives and chose among them the best way in which to respond.This gives the patient a kind of control over situations as they try different methods of getting out of distressful situations (McCullough, Para 32). Emotional focused strategies also aim to get the same outcomes as the other strategy. This perspective aims to alter the perception of the client on the distressing event. It therefore helps in changing the level of perceived suffering. The client is helped to redefine the problem which aids in the transformation of a disaster into a challenge or even an opportunity.The process of restructuring the event can be achieved through various ways like selective attention, distancing, minimization, and looking for constructive value from any given bad situation. When all these happen, the patients get the feeling that he is in control of the situation and this contributes to reduce the levels of stress (Kohlenberg, p 245). Best fit patients for cognitive therapy Since this technique was discovered, the most common condition that it has treated is depression.Patients who have depression are allowed to undergo self evaluation to check whether they act, say and do things the way they are supposed to do and how the patient views all these. Skills deficits are also established so that the therapist can know the source of the problem. Life experiences in terms of how satisfied the patient has been by the kind of life that he has lived (McCullough, p 24). The expectations of the patient are also evaluated in order to know how realistic they are. The therapist checks on the kind of self talk that the patient usually has.If it is negative, then it could be a source of depression since the patient seems not to believe in his capabilities and this could lead to negative repercussions like being fired (Kohlenberg, p 254). The process goes on to evaluate the kind of automatic thought that the patient has. In most cases, there is consistency in that a person who usually has positive automatic thought is likely to have them, in most situations and the same case applies to negative automatic thoughts. Irrationality or rationality of ideas is evaluated because irrational ideas could cause depression.Depressed patients tend to generalize in most cases. The therapist works to find out the extent of generalization in his depressed patients. Cognitive distortion is also checked so that the therapist can be in a position to tell the extent of depression. Optimism versus pessimism is evaluated given different situations. All these are ways through which therapists can know the causes of depression and get ways of tackling it (McCullough, p 25). Comparison and contrast between behavioral and cognitive therapyBehavioral therapy focuses on how one can change from bad behavior through strategies like reinforcement. On the other hand, cognitive therapy focuses on how there can be a change of behavior due to a change in how a person thinks about a certain situation. While cognitive therapies deal with emotions and thoughts that direct a person towards behaving in a particular way, behavioral therapy on the pother hand focuses on how to change and eliminate the bad behavior (Kohlenberg, p 263). While behavioral therapy deals w ith observation of behavior, cognitive therapy deals with the cognitive elements.

All Conflict in Literature Is, in Its Simplest Form, a Struggle Between Good and Evil Essay

â€Å"All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil. † This statement means that all the themes and struggles in literature, when broken down to their most simplest forms, are a conflict between good and evil. Usually in conflicts, there are two sides that fight over one thing. One side is considered good, while the other side is considered bad. The people that are good do it for the right thing while the people that are bad do it for the wrong reasons. This is considered to be in every conflict when carefully analyzed. This statement is not valid because a conflict does not have to be about good and evil. A conflict can be internal, where a struggle takes place in the character’s mind. Something can happen to a character that emotional scars him or her, or cause mental instability. Also, there can be a conflict between two sides but it does not mean either one is good or evil. For example, two sides are fighting each other to gain territory from the other. Neither is good or bad because they fight for the same reason, defeating the other to take what they have. One example of a book that proves this is The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger. In this book, the main character Holden Caulfield is faced with several conflicts. Some of these conflicts include conflicts with himself and conflicts with society. Holden has a hard time dealing with everyday life and secludes himself from the outside world. He believes everyone around him is phony but in actuality, Holden is the biggest phony. Most of this is caused from the death of his brother which made him mentally instable. The conflict in this story is not about good and evil, but the fact that the main character is unable to deal with others because of the way he views things. Another book that proves this is The Iliad, by Homer. There is no good or bad in this story, because each of the characters are caught in their own conflicts. On the Greek side, Menelaus wants to defeat the Trojans and take Helen back while Agamemnon wants to take over Trojan territory. On the Trojan side, Hector wants to get rid of the Greeks while Paris wants to keep Helen. Achilles does not want to get involved in the war but he fights for the Greeks to avenge his cousin’s death. These chain of conflicts all start from Helen leaving the Trojans for Paris, which leads to the war between the Greeks and Trojans. Although most conflicts are between good and evil, they do not have to be. The first example used shows that conflicts can be internal, where a problem occurs in the character’s mind through which the character reaches a new understanding of things. The second example shows that conflicts do not have to have a good or evil in them, conflict is caused because of personal reasons. The statement given may seem true but after analyzing several books, it can be proved to be false.

Organism Physiology Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organism Physiology Paper - Essay Example There is an oral sucker around the mouth region and a ventral sucker which is present in the middle of the body and is used for adhering to the host organisms. There is no definitive body cavity and the organs are present embedded in a matrix composed of connective tissue. Somatic muscles pass through the tissue and attach to the outer tegument. The alimentary canal along with a muscular pharynx and esophagus is well-developed in flukes. The intestine is a branched tubular organ which may contain secondary and tertiary branches. The main branch however, leads to the excretory vesicle which also collects the two lateral collecting ducts of the excretory system. In the process of digestion food enters the sac-like gut from the mouth and gets digested. The undigested food then comes out from the mouth as the excretory system is not very specialized. As most trematodes are hermaphrodites with the exception of the blood flukes, they carry the male and female reproductive organs in the sam e body. The male organ is composed of two testes along with accessory glands and ducts that leads to the cirrus, which is equivalent to the penis. The penis then enters the common genital tract. The female reproductive organ contains a single ovary with a seminal receptacle and yolk glands which connect to the oviduct and later expands into the oocyte. The female uterus extends from the oocyte and enters the common genital tract. The fertilization is through self or cross-fertilization. The eggs of the female assemble in the oocyte and then pass through the uterus via the genital tract into the genital pores where fertilization occurs. In the case of the blood flukes, the general body structure remains and the male and female remain in close association within the fold of the tegument on the ventral surface of the male (Castro, 1996). The characteristic flat shape of the flukes is the physiological response of the organism with regard to

Information System Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information System Outsourcing - Essay Example It is easier so outsource the development of information technology and systems and workers do not require complex infrastructure to begin their work. As the outsourcing market is highly competitive internationally and has a high level of mobility, it poses a certain degree of threat that major operations might be to other countries that are better able to provide a stable supply of skilled workforce. China has replicated the Indian model, is taking a more sustainable approach towards creating a stable flow of skilled workers and seems determined to grab a substantial market share in the outsourcing business. IBM is one successful business that has been able to retain a large pool of highly skilled labor in India. Its labor force has increased substantially from thirty-five thousand employees to well around sixty thousand headcounts. Its success is deeply rooted based on its ability to pay premium wages to its employees based on its international standing and its ability to charge its clients a premium based on its brand image. British Petroleum similarly outsourced its entire information technology system development program without enough geographical diversification and found after a year that none of the information technology firms in India was able to provide any satisfactory program for implementation. In conclusion, it is clear that outsourcing has its benefits for both parties but also adds significantly to the risks. A better strategy for outsourcing is the use of multi-sourcing to avoid risks related to non-performance and delays.

INTERIM PROJECT REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INTERIM PROJECT REPORT - Essay Example They have become an expensive and drag-back problem in many ways. Accidental though avoidable back injuries are responsible for thousands of hours of lost output in the place of work and millions of dollars in lost returns. If you add health related costs, that including employee reimbursement claims and medical care that includes a range from simple first aid to key surgeries, and the expenditures incurred by the World’s business and industries makes them slug behind. Project scope and introduction In reference to The National Safety Council 1990 "industrial accident specifics", job related accidents caused injuries to the back more than any other body parts that were studied during the1989 research study. It was noted that back injuries were responsible for twenty-two percent of all the reported cases. All industry stakeholders, including employers, workforce, customers and the economy in general are all enormously affected. (Daltroy, L.H., Iversen, M.D., Larson, M.G., Lew, R., Wright, E., Ryan, J., Zwerling, C., Fossel, A.H., Liang, M.H. (1997). A controlled trial of an educational program to prevent low back injuries. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 337, Number 5, 322-328.) Guidance, education and preventive methods in work surroundings are not only a requirement for the wellbeing and safety of the workforce; they are also a legal obligation. Most countries’ labour laws require that employers meet the terms of the safety principles and policy in the place of work or they face huge fines. The aspect of plummeting the causes and frequency of back injuries in the places of work is not only critical for the well being of the workforce but also for the economic well-being of the business. As an employment prerequisite, each worker has the duty to work and act carefully on all jobs, at all times. An individual’s responsibility is to the business, their family and to an extent, themselves. (Amdam, R. P. (2010).  Insights into the S ustainable Growth of Business. Bradford: Emerald Group Pub.) Project Control It is very essential for a business like JIM’S CLEANING to make available a secure and healthy work environment. There are numerous situations where the regulations do not always comprise a specific situation hence you have to take time to constitute a level playing status and put into practice one’s own intelligence and education in order to carry out the task at hand without any injury incidents. . Any employee contributing to an injury has to explain what caused the injury thus the employer will be able to comprehend the reason and thwart any potential similar injuries. It is referred to as safety counselling. Counselling serves two essential roles: 1) To give details on how the worker contributed to the injury, hence getting to know what went wrong and how to go about the predicament. 2) To put into a document the actuality that the business is concerned about the safety of all workers and takes the necessary action to guarantee that injuries can be avoided through training. Safety counselling is not planned as a punitive action. It is simply a training means to make workers aware of what they did wrong and the procedures that should be taken to avoid similar injuries. With such kind of measures in place should an employee continue demonstrating hazardous activities or continue to defy

Effects of Platelet-rich Plasma Injections Thesis

Effects of Platelet-rich Plasma Injections - Thesis Example History of Injury Most of the patients had missed at least one game or practice within the last year due to an elbow injury (93.8%) with only one individual making all their games and practices (Table 2). In addition the majority of patients reported diagnosis of a UCL injury, although four (25%) had been given no diagnosis. The diagnoses included tear to the UCL (83.3%), partial UCL tear (8.3%), stress fracture (8.3%) and torn flexor tendon (25%). Many individuals were diagnosed with multiple types of injuries; hence the percentages indicate what percentage of diagnosed patients had a particular type of injury. Treatments that had been taken for the injury varied across rest, therapy, steroid injection, PRP or surgery. All patients had been given PRP injections, as this was a criterion for inclusion in the study. In addition, each patient had used at least one other method, with one patient using all five types, and eight patients (50%) using all but steroid injection as a method of treatment. Rest and therapy were the most popular treatments aside from PRP, with 14 patients (87.5%) using rest as a method of treatment, and 15 (93.7%) reporting use of therapy. Surgery was also popular, with ten patients (62.5%) reporting using surgery as a treatment for their UCL injury. Most patients had a single PRP injection, with only one patient having two and one having three. Time from the PRP injection to first picking up a baseball to throw ranged from two weeks to 16, with an average of 7.3 weeks. Patients were asked to give level of pain on a scale of 0-10 both before the PRP injection and the first time they picked up the baseball to pitch following the injection. The average score before the injection was 3.6, while afterwards it was 6.6. A total of 11 patients (68.8%) reported decrease in pain between before the PRP injection, and the first time they picked up the ball afterwards, four (25%) reported an increase in pain, while one did not give a pain level for after PRP injection. The result for the individual that did not give a pain level can be disregarded for this calculation, making the total proportion of patients that reported a decrease in pain to be 73.3%, and the proportion that reported an increase in pain to be 26.7%. There was some correlat ion between level of pain and weeks recovery time, but not in all cases (Figure 1). Figure 1: This graph shows the level of reported pain per patient compared with the number of weeks of recovery before they picked up the ball to pitch. Reported complications were relatively low, with only three patients (18.8%) reporting a long term increase in pain following the treatment, one (6.25%) reporting tingling or numbness, one (6.25%) reporting increased pressure and tightness, and four (25%) reporting decreased mobility in their elbow. Satisfaction with the PRP treatment was given on a scale of 0 to ten, with an average of 6.8. However, the average does not give the true picture, as responses were dichotomous, with most patients being either highly happy

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Paraphrasing - Essay Example Moreover, this lab experiment made it possible to design and create center-tapped transformer and full-wave bridge rectifier circuit and examine their waveforms as well as give explanation for them. It was not easy to realize how to get the waveform of the second circuit, however the task was implemented. In general, this lab experience was done effectively for both circuit designs. This lab experiment goal was achieved, and it became possible to determine the maximum safe operation current for the zener diode. It also became possible to find out how to chose the source voltage and the resistances for the zener circuit. Additionally, it became easier to get to know and examine how the zener diode is working. In general, this lab experience was done effectively for both circuit designs. This lab experiment goal was achieved, and it became possible to determine the maximum safe operation current for the zener diode. It also became possible to find out how to chose the source voltage and the resistances for the zener circuit. Additionally, it became easier to get to know and examine how the zener diode is working. In general, this lab experience was done effectively for both circuit designs. This lab experiment goal was achieved, and it became possible to determine the needed results of the three parts of this experiment. Also it has to observe the behavior of the circuit when there are set and changeable voltage regulators. Overall, this lab experience was done effectively for this lab circuit design. 2. NPN: The meter reading is high when placing the negative lead to the base terminal and the positive lead to either of other two terminals. Also, in the NPN transistor, by placing the positive lead to the base terminal and the negative lead to either of the other two terminals. PNP: The meter reading is low when we put the negative lead to the base terminal and the positive lead to either of other two terminals. Also, in the PNP transistor, by placing the

Oepidus the king Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oepidus the king - Essay Example The tragedy of â€Å"Oedipus the King† was presented at the third year of the Peloponnesian War, when plague was raging in the Athens. The tragedy â€Å"Oedipus the King† has in itself many references to eyes, sight, and blindness. In the centre of the story there is a man, who identifies the theme of the tragedy that is considered to be the theme of moral self-identity. It seems that in this drama the most important ideas regarding the nature and destiny of a man are expressed. The tragedy consists of a big variety of symbols and the specific symbols of blindness and sight are connected with the themes of knowledge and ignorance in it. And it is done so capaciously, simply and convincingly that it is available for the understanding even of an inexperienced reader. For example, the next lines show us that sight is used in ignorance way, while blindness can open much more: â€Å"†¦So I say this to you, since you have chosen to insult my blindness— you have y our eyesight, and you do not see how miserable you are, or where you live† (Sophocles, Oedipus the King), or other example that presents a blindness as symbol of knowledge: â€Å"He will be blind, although he now can see. He will be a poor, although he now is rich. He will set off for a foreign country, groping the ground before him with a stick† (Sophocles, Oedipus the King).

White Privilege Essay Example for Free

White Privilege Essay In the aftermath of the election victory of Barack Obama, white supremacists rushed to online discussion forums to vent anger and disbelief that voters had chosen an African-American candidate as the next president of the United States. The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors and exposes extremist activity and rhetoric, said anger among white supremacists and other right-wing extremists in response to Obamas victory, resulted in an avalanche of vitriolic ranting postings on racist Web sites. At one point, the chatter so overloaded the server of the most popular white supremacist internet forum, Stormfront, which was temporarily shutdown. The notion that racism is a violation of human rights is not a new one, as those who have experienced it effects would testify. The ground-breaking progress gained by the civil rights movement of the 1960s in the United States has steadily eroded over the past decade, and the issues and incidents of racism as well as anti-Semitism, homophobia, and violence against women are ones that need to be addressed with increasing urgency. While the courts are more and more frequently relying on civil rights laws to prosecute racially motivated violence, the common abuses of basic human rights are often overlooked. In fact, the encroachment of white supremacist ideologies into the social fabric of our politics, our institutions, and our laws means that intolerance 1. is becoming the rule of the day, and the overt violation of the persons and property of individuals and groups is not only easily accepted, but part of the status quo. America has moved into a new era of white supremacy. The new tactics used by white supremacists and far right organizations must be exposed so that we can work together to mitigate their effectiveness. This includes a discussion of the relationship between three converging and ever-growing factionsthe ultra-conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and the far right. In this context, racism cannot stand alone as the sole antagonist of human rights violations. The victims of white supremacist ideologies and politics include immigrants, gays and lesbians, Jews, and women, as well as people of color. From the ranks of homophobes, anti-abortionists, racists, anti-Semites, and those who are simply afraid of a fast-changing world, white supremacists find willing allies in their struggle to control Americas destiny. Hate groups cannot be dismissed as a more complex than the virulence of a few fringe fanatics. With the breathless way the media covers hate groups, it is sometimes easier to characterize them simply as misfits or extremists, rather than acknowledge them as part of the larger problem of widespread racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. FBI statistics report that 65 percent of Americas hate crimes are committed by whites against blacks. A good portion of such hate crimes are what we call move-in violence, when neighborhoods, schools, churches, or jobs are finally integrated 2. 30 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Terror over the visibility of the lesbian and gay movement lays behind the numerous hate crimes against gays and lesbians (and their allies) the fastest-growing hate crime category in the country. Some of the haters, living on the United States borders, are petrified at the thought that brown hordes of Mexicans, Chinese, or Haitians may swarm over them if they cease their militant rhetoric and violence toward these immigrants. If they live near Native American reservations, the aim of their violence is to challenge the few remaining treaty rights granted native peoples. Other white supremacists want to save the white race by controlling the behavior of white womenthey attack interracial couples, lesbians, and feminists. They join the anti-abortion movement, believing they can prevent white women from getting legal abortions. Racist far right organizations have been quick to glorify anti-abortion violence, making it yet another hot issue to fuel the fires of the white revolution. Hate groups have decided that they are no longer willing to wait for the white revolution, the violent backlash against human rights movements. They want a fast solution before, as they put it, the white race is extinct. These fanatics are terrorists who use bombs, murder, arson, and assaults in their genocidal war. Some skinheadsfor example, the Fourth Reich Skins arrested a few years ago in Los Angeles or the Aryan National Front, convicted of murdering homeless people in Alabama are in the vanguard of this street-level violence. Meanwhile, older survivalists like Randy Weaver, who was acquitted of killing a federal marshall in an Idaho firefight in 1992, 3.are barricaded in mountain shelters with stockpiles of weapons, awaiting the final Armageddon. Impressionable, often alienated people, both young and old, are natural recruits for this movement. They bring new energy and a willingness to display their hatred aggressively. They also expand the influence of the white supremacist movement, into the anti-abortion movement, into the anti-gay movement, into the English only movement, opening new avenues for the expression of hate. In the 21st century, the image of organized hate is rapidly changing. It is no longer the exclusive domain of white men over 30. It is becoming younger, meaner and more violent. Many people join the movement as teenagers, including a remarkable number of young women. This new and dangerous increase accounts for nearly one-third of the membership of some hate groups. The increase in the number of women, coupled with a strategic thrust to reform the public image of hate groups, has expanded womens leadership. These new recruits do not fit the stereotypical image of wives on their husbands arms. In fact, many of them are college-educated, very sophisticated, and display skills usually found among the rarest of intellectuals in the movement. Of particular concern in this early 21st century is a continuing convergence of sections of the white supremacist movement with the radical Christian Right, as represented by Pat Robertson, and nationalist ultra-conservatives, as represented by the crackpot Tea Party members and conservative Republicans such as Rick Santorum. This alliance is between religious determinists who think that ones degree of Christianity determines one’s future, economic determinists who see themselves in a 4.war of the haves against the have-nots, and biological determinists for whom race is everything. All believe they are in battle to save Western civilization (white Europeans) from the ungodly and the unfit (people of color, gays and lesbians, and Jews). What many Americans fail to realize is that, increasingly, white people are being literally scared out of their wits by demagogues, who crystallize for them their fears of people of color, lesbians and gays, the government, the media, welfare mothers, immigrants, the economy, health care, and the list goes on. The fact that race relations in the United States are usually presented as a black/white model disguises the complexity of color, the brutality of class, and the importance of religion and sexual identity in the construction and practice of white supremacy. This simplistic model, which fails to convey many of the important aspects of white supremacy, cannot specifically explain how white supremacy influences American culture and politics. White supremacy is an ideology that manipulates US politics and affects all relations in American society. It is sustained by rigid ideological categories. The construction of racial categories, although varying greatly over time, has always been based on the economic, social, and political aspirations of people of European descent. Throughout European history, racial definitions have been based on lineage, characteristics, skin hue, and religion. At the present time, there are not safe places for the victims of this type of violence to turn. No homeless shelters, no womens shelters, and often not even 5.police departments offer them support. The first step in building these resources is to recognize the magnitude of the problem so that human rights activists can come together to offer help and support to those outside the majority rule. A concerted, prolonged effort to teach young people about the true impact of white supremacy and its prevalence in American society is fundamental to breaking the cycle. To ignore this issue is to build intolerance into the next generation. An understanding of the historical and institutional effects of racism and the other isms that dominate our culture and society is vital to understanding present bigotry and abuse. In conclusion, when we recognize that racism, homophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia flow from the same spring, and that they permeate every aspect of the lives of all Americans, we can then take steps together to make the United States a place that respects and honors the dignity of all people. 6. A Childs Tale By Gloria A. Loftin Let me tell you a tale my child of blue and grey of a world gone wild Let me tell you a tale my child of men in hoods and capes of hearts full of rage and hate Let me tell you a tale my child of men of god of greed and wealth Let me tell you a tale my child of peace and hope for all the world Let me tell you a tale my childÃ'Ž

The Future Of Education Essay Example for Free

The Future Of Education Essay Students nowadays used to communicate with people because they are expecting the continuous connection of information. Against the way, they live their lives to put away their personal technology during a class session because there are a few reasons for student expect what they learn at school have the connection with the real world(Kelley, 2009). Besides that, the student can easily access the information by search from Google and a lot of relevant websites will recently produce. Students today grow up with gadgets and everything is on fingertips. That’s how technology conquers student mind and the way they think. This evolution of the study can lead to the generation of innovative students. Live in twenty-century era fully change the ways of working in all area of life. Modern technology hundred percent influenced the changes in education system. This revolution era needs a concrete development plan in education, but over time it must have some factor that will defect the plan which is can be a factor that limits of the contemporary role of education management. The educational institution that applied this new environment will be more modern and successful where people in there does not look like having a traditional way of teaching and learning such as only using the book as their available sources of knowledge.Innovative happen when the people have a creation of ideas, can do something that is outside of the box and keeps the task to be practice. Creativity and innovation are more important in the twenty-first century whereby the knowledge society has been developed so well(Mishra, 2014). One of the factors that people can reveal their creative and innovative skill i s by education. It shows because in education have a learning process where it is can help especially student to hit the road by showing what they have. The nature of online instruction does not allow an instructor to perceived important non-verbal cues that signal in order to be understanding. Other than that, a successful online student can be describe self-motivated, self-directed, exhibiting an internal locus of control with above average executive functioning, communication, interaction and technological skills(Kauffman, 2015). When new idea has been generated, created and developed it show that hat how the innovative behavior been described and the process of a student learning. According to research done by (Thurlings, Evers, and Vermeulen (2015) state that there are a few reason that lead to the changes of teacher behavior because form teaching it can affect the creation of innovative student. Firstly is keep up to date with a quickly changing especially with the community of people. This is because it will lead to demands in knowledge where in fact will increasing for both students and teacher. The next reason is upcoming ne w technologies and understanding of deep things about the teaching require. It is important because it will lead to have a creative idea by apply it with the connection of technologies. Third is the school itself need to show a good example and act which is as the starting point for more innovative behavior of people who is lawfully live a country so they can stay competitive. Education is extremely important in order to help student showing their ability in order to create interesting new things and creative ideas. All technologies are a group of people or devices that are made up of smaller parts of other technologies. That is how the change tries to get better and how they are built through combination and recombination. Some of those technologies in the assembly will be harder and more pre-decide, some softer and open to change by the end users. Softer technologies are those that combine humans in their design and putting into law, where allowing tools to be used in any ways(Anderson Dron, 2014). Social technologies are basically and mostly soft. Other than that, the application of social technology is unable to be separated from the processes, rules, normal behaviors and ways of doing things that are grouped together with them. The technologies provide opportunities and the users as a people, groups, and networks decide how the best use for selfish reasons.

History Of Intruder Knowledge Versus Attack Sophistication Information Technology Essay

History Of Intruder Knowledge Versus Attack Sophistication Information Technology Essay Intrusion detection is a necessary security infrastructure for any organization. Its a process of noticing or monitoring the events like imminent threats or unexpected new attacks, standard security practices, acceptable policies and existing attacks that occur in a network or computer. Detecting process is mainly based on signs of incidents. The process which attempts to block these detected incidents is known as intrusion prevention. Both the Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) are principally focused on log information, identifying incidents, blocking incidents, reporting incidents to administrator. The regular problems when handling IDS is analysis of system generated events, because in a busy network there will be so many events to analyse with help of some monitoring tools and devices but its very hard manage due to unwanted outcomes, undetected threats and unmanageable threats. These threats can cause a serious damage to the network or organi zation. Research Question and Objectives: Every organisation recurrently face problem because of threats. As an Information Systems Security student I would like to do some research in Intrusion detection system. My main aim is to do an experiment on the Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) with help of Snort to detect network based attacks. Presently how the security infrastructure of the organizations is facing problems with imminent threats and malicious attacks? How it can be reduced by intrusion detection system? In what way the tools and techniques can be used to experiment the network based attacks? The research objectives are planning and implementing IDS, Monitoring for critical security threats and detecting them network wide, detecting malicious users on the network, proactive administration, regular network maintenance, 24/7 security event management, Signature and protocol tuning, alerting and preventing the detected threats. Hopefully all these objectives can be achieved by implement a network security with Snort. Snort is a flexible, small, light-weight and cross platform tool which is very suitable for NIDS. While working on this research network may also need some other computer running with tools like Suricata and Bro which are also familiar for NIDS and Experiment will also examine the integration of OSSEC with the analyst console Sguil. Literature Review: The Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are vital modules of defensive methods to protect a network or computer system from abuse. Network intrusion detection system examines all inbound and outbound network activities and notices the attack in network or computer. IDS are a passive monitoring system it alerts when distrustful activity takes place. It inspects the network traffic and data. It identifies the probes, exploits, attacks and vulnerabilities. It responds to the malicious events in several ways like displaying alerts, events log or paging an administrator. It can reconfigure the network and reduce the effect of the malicious activities like worms and virus. It precisely looks at intrusion signatures or hacker signatures so that it can distinguish worms or viruses from general system activities. Intrusion detections are categorized as misuse detection, anomaly detection, passive and reactive system, network based system and host based system. This picture shows history of Intruder Knowledge versus Attack sophistication Source: http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/IEEE_IDS.pdf Misuse detection: In misuse detection IDS investigates the gathered information and compares it to huge databases of attack signature. Primarily IDS look for particular attack which was already documented. It is very similar to anti-virus because the detection software has good collection of intrusion signature database and it compares packets against the database. Anomaly detection: In anomaly the administrator provides the baseline, network traffic load state, typical packet size, breakdown and protocol. Anomaly detector compares the inspected network segment to normal baseline and examines the anomalies. Passive and Reactive systems: In passive systems IDS perceive a potential security breach, signal alerts and information of logs. Coming to reactive system IDS reacts to the distrustful and malicious activities either by shutting down the user or by reprogramming the firewall to stop or block network traffic from a malicious source. Network based IDS: IDS are network or host based solutions. Network based intrusion detection systems (NIDS) is an independent platform which categorizes network traffic and examines multiple hosts. They are hardware appliances hence they consists of network intrusion detection capabilities. It does consist of hardware sensors which are located along the network or demilitarized zone. NIDS gains access over network traffic by connecting to network hubs and switches and they are configured got network tap or port mapping. The sensor software will examine all the data packets which are going in and out of the network. NIDS are comparatively cheaper solutions that HIDS. It also need less training and administration but it is not as flexible as HIDS. NIDS system must have a good bandwidth Internet access and regular updates of latest worms and virus signatures. Best example is Snort Host based IDS: Host based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) are not suitable for real time detection. It has to be configured properly to use in real time. It has software agents which are installed on individual host computers within the system. It analyse the packets going in and out from that specific computer where the intrusion detection software is installed. It also examines the application logs, system calls and file system changes. HIDS can provide some addition features which not there in NIDS. For instance HIDS are capable to inspect activities which are only able to implement by administrator. It detects the modifications in the key system files and can also examine the attempts to overwrite key files. Trojans and backdoors installation can be detected and stopped; these particular intrusions are not generally seen in NIDS. HIDS systems must have internet access and also frequent updates of worms and virus signatures. Certain application based IDS are also a portion of HIDS. Best examp le is OSSEC. IDS Protection Source: http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/IEEE_IDS.pdf Intrusion detection system (IDS) vs. Intrusion prevention system (IPS): Most of them believe like IDS IPS works similar and IPS is future way of IDS. But it is like comparing an apple and banana. These two solutions are very different from each other. IDS is passive it monitors and detects but IPS is active prevention system. The IDS drawbacks can be overcome by implementation, management and proper training. IDS is a cheaper implementation that IPS. However, by looking at IPS benefits most of them believe that IPS is following generation of IDS. The main point to remember is that no single security device can prevent all attacks at all the time. IDS and IPS works satisfactory when they are integrated with some addition and current security solutions. The combination of firewall and IDS gives protection to system so IPS is usually considered as next generation IDS. Presently IPS also has both types of HIPS and NIPS as like IDS. IPS can some more actions like dropping the malicious data packets, sending an alarm, reorganizing the connection and/or stoppi ng the traffic from the malicious IP address, correcting CRC errors and few more like cleaning up unwanted network and transport layer options. Snort: Snort is free and open source software which is used for network intrusion detection (NIDS) and network intrusion prevention system (NIPS). Martin Roesch was the creator of snort in 1998 but now it is maintained by a network security software and hardware company known as Sourcefire. Roesch is the founder and Chief technical officer of Sourcefire. The latest version is 2.9.0.5 and it was released on 6th April 2011. It is written in C language and cross-platform so that can run on any operating system. It is also a licensed by GNU general public license. Over a decade Snort has been recognized as the best prominent software in the security Industry. Snort is a great piece of software used for NIDS. It has ability to perform real time traffic analysis, protocol analysis, content matching, Internet Protocol networks packet log and content search. It can even examine probes or attacks, buffer overflows, OS fingerprinting, common gateway interface, stealth port scans and server message block probes. Snort mainly configured in three modes network intrusion detection, sniffer and packet logger. In NIDS mode it can examine network traffic and inspect it against ruleset provided by the user. As a sniffer it read all network data packets and displays them on the user console. As a packet logger it writes all log packets to the harddisk. Some 3rd party tools like Snorby, RazorBack and Base interface with snort for administration, log analysis and reporting. Snort provides dramatic power, speed and performance. It is light weight and protects against latest dynamic threats by rules based detection engine. Its source code and ruleset are regularly revised and tested by worldwide security professionals. It is most popular for IDS and IPS solutions with more than 205,000 registered users. There are minimum 25 companies that are incorporate with Snort for network security assistance. Snort vs. Suricata vs. Bro Source:http://blog.securitymonks.com/2010/08/26/three-little-idsips-engines-build-their-open-source-solutions/ Suricata and Bro: Suricata is also an open sources which is used for IDS and/or IPS. Open Information Security Foundation (OISF) has developed it. First standard release was in July 2010. It was written in C language and can run in Linux, Mac and Windows operating systems. It was licensed by GNU general public license. Suricata is a new tool when compared with other Opensource IDS and very best in all as shown in the above figure. As its new software there are no much research papers and journals. Bro is open source and UNIX based, it is used for NIDS. It was written by Vern Paxson and licensed by BSD. It runs on any Linux based operating system. These two tools are very good very there is no much research and literature on them. But these two are quite good when compared to Snort. OSSEC and SGUIL: OSSEC is an open source HIDS. It does log analysis, rootkit detection, windows registry monitoring, active response and integrity checking. It offers IDS for all Linux, Mac and Windows Operating systems because it has centralized cross platform. It was written by Daniel B in 2004. SGUIL is a pool of free software modules for Network Security Monitoring and IDS alerts. It was written in Tcl/Tk and run on any OS which supports Tcl/Tk. It integrates with Snort and generates alert data and session data from SANCP. Full content can be retrieved my running Snort in packet logger mode. Sguil is an application of Network Security Monitoring (NSM) Critical evaluation: The gathered information from different sources gives a brief idea of research. Literature covers all the aims and objectives of the research which was drawn and supported from the pool of journals, research papers, white papers, blogs and wikis. Introduction gives the over idea of the research going to takes place. Research question focuses on the field of interest and research area. Objectives mentions the clear tasks what are going to be achieved and its designed as a step by step procedure like starting with planning and implementation of IDS and later the steps that have to be achieved in the research area and ends with the some necessary applications like Snort, OSSEC and SGUIL which are very important to achieve the most out of Intrusion detection. Literature review covers almost each and every necessary step that is required in the research area. It is also very relevant to the research area and completely confined to it without any deviations. Intrusion detection and different types of IDS are clearly explained. Host based intrusion detection systems and Network based intrusion detection systems are clearly explained with help of graphical images. The differences between IDS and IPS are mentioned and it also explains why IPS is more powerful. Lastly main application like Snort, Suricata, Bro, OSSEC and SGUIL are completely covered with features. But the interesting finding during literature search is Suricata and Bro. Both are very good for IDS and they are having more advanced features than the Snort. However there is very less research done it that area. So there is a need of qualitative data by taking interviews of some security professionals and lectures. At last, in brief literature covers all the parameters of research question, objectives, methods and outcomes of different IDS and applications which are suitable for IDS are well organized and documented. Research Methods and Methodology: I would like do the research according to Inductive process because I am sure about the topic and I want to know the outcomes of the experiment. As inductive research moves from specific point to general I selected it and start working. In this research I am planning to implement an experiment in small network with some applications. I am using these methodology and methods for the sake of researching, investigating and evaluating the research area. I have got some set of research problems and classifications. According to explanatory research action I have set some aims to achieve. As a next step collected a pool of information required, organized the required out of it, analysed information and evaluated the literature, planning the experiment in all possible ways to detect more threats even in a busy traffic network. Now it is an important time to start my experiment before that I have to do some qualitative research by conducting interviews about Suricata and Bro because I need some assistance on suricata and bro to take a advantage of it. I am not interested on survey because as they are new applications people might know less about it and I thing its waste of doing. Case study and field study are also better to do because they can have depth look at issue or problem. But problem with field study is they may consume more time and they are very expensive. Quantitation method will be used analysing some numerical values, graphs and proportions. Experiment design can be categorized by certain criteria Controlled experiment, Cross-sectional designs, Quasi experimental designs and Pre experimental designs Methodologies discussed in the literature review are from user view so I might vulnerable to attack and have plan well for the implementation of experiment. These vulnerabilities can be fixed face to face interviews with security professionals and can also do by narrowing hypothesis. After the experiment the observations and analysis must be tested with hypothesis of proposed theory. Finally I will use both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection process. I have planned to continue my experiment with the same Inductive research approach. Objectives Methods Planning and implementation of IDS Literature review, research papers and interviews Detection process Literature review, case study and research papers Network maintenance, proactive administration and security Management Literature review, white papers, blogs, case studies Signature and Protocol tuning Interviews, updates from, on-going researchs and literature reviews Implementing of security management tools Interviews, case studies and some more qualitative approaches Budget: Issues of access and ethics: Potential outcomes: Expected Impact: The experiment impact would be more informative and extremely useful in the field of intrusion detection. Research will clearly show the intrusions events and blocks them even at the busy network traffic time. It may also show some new advantages because of the suricata and bro. In my opinion this research is going to detect and block all the intrusions up to date. Depending upon the qualitative approach some more methods of suricata and bros can be implement to network to get the best out of it. Conclusion: The research at first started with a study of intrusion detection and then after I have drawn some boundaries with that following objectives. During literature collection I found some other interesting tools like Suricata and Bro which are predominately better that Snort. Though they are good but I couldnt find much literature and research area with them. So finally I decided to do an experiment on IDS with a small network consisting of Snort IDS and secondarily I am planning to keep one computer with Suricate IDS and other with Bros IDS and see the difference of these three tools from another angle. If I am successful dissertation can end up like Snort vs Suricata vs Bro or else minimum I can be successful with Snort. Using the research methodology of data collection and critical evaluation the literature work is investigated and evaluated. Lastly the outcomes of the theory are assumed from the research. I have already spoken to Neil regarding my dissertation idea and selected him as my supervisor. Finally I thank Neil Richardson and Louise Webb for providing ne this opportunity.

Blue Hotel :: essays research papers

It is not surprising for an author’s background and surroundings to profoundly affect his writing. Having come from a Methodist lineage and living at a time when the church was still an influential facet in people’s daily lives, Stephen Crane was deeply instilled with religious dogmas. However, fear of retribution soon turned to cynicism and criticism of his idealistic parents’ God, "the wrathful Jehovah of the Old Testament" (Stallman 16), as he was confronted with the harsh realities of war as a journalistic correspondent. Making extensive use of religious metaphors and allusions in The Blue Hotel (1898), Crane thus explores the interlaced themes of the sin and virtue. Ironically, although "he disbelieved it and hated it," Crane simply "could not free himself from" the religious background that haunted his entire life (Stallman 5). His father, a well-respected reverend in New Jersey, advocated Bible reading and preached "the right way." Similarly, his mother, who "lived in and for religion," was influential in Methodist church affairs as a speaker and a journalist in her crusade against the vices of her sinful times (Stallman 5). This emotional frenzy of revival Methodism had a strong impact on young Stephen. Nonetheless, he -- falling short of his parents’ expectations on moral principles and spiritual outlook -- chose to reject and defy all those abstract religious notions and sought to probe instead into life’s realities. Moreover, Crane’s genius as "an observer of psychological and social reality" (Baym 1608) was refined after witnessing battle sights during the late 19th century. What he saw was a stark contrast of the peacefulness and morality preached in church and this thus led him to religious rebelliousness. As a prisoner to his surroundings, man (a soldier) is physically, emotionally, and psychologically challenged by nature’s indifference to humankind. For instance, in the story, "what traps the Swede is his fixed idea of his environment," but in the end, it is the environment itself -- comprised of the Blue Hotel, Sculley, Johnnie, Cowboy Bill, the Easterner, and the saloon gambler -- that traps him (Stallman 488). To further illustrate how religion permeated into Crane’s writing, many scenes from The Blue Hotel can be cited. Similar to the biblical Three Wise Men (Stallman 487), three individuals out of the East came traveling to Palace Hotel at Fort Romper. The issue explored is the search for identity and the desire of an outsider (the Swede) to define himself through conflict with a society.

Free Capital Punishment Essays - Murderers and Rapists Deserve Another Chance! :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Capital Punishment Essays - Murderers and Rapists Deserve Another Chance! When turning on the television, radio, or simply opening the local newspaper, one is bombarded with news of arrests, murders, homicides, serial killers, and other such tragedies. It is a rare occasion to go throughout a day in this world and not hear of these things. So what should be done about this crime rate? Not only is it committing a crime, but today, it is signing your life over to the government. This is a risk one is taking when he decides to pull a trigger or plunge a knife, but is it really up to our justice system to decide one's fate? There are many issues that address this question of capital punishment such as religion, the effect on society, restitution being denied, the possible "wrongly accused", and the rights of the convicted. But how often do these concepts creep into the public's mind when it hears of our 'fair, trusty' government taking away someone's breathing rights? The Bible states "Thou shalt not kill," and this being a sin should have to be amended within oneself. However, the Bible also states "Don't judge others' personal convictions." It is the government's responsibility to punish people that disobey the law to keep our world in tact but is it their right to take away their lives? It is a Christian's responsibility to point out to those who sin that they do so and this country, trusting in God as it says it does, should do just that. So if the government stands strongly by this statement that's on the dollar bill, may they line up all the liars, adulterers, Buddhists, thieves, covetous and murderers at the chair. If they shall look into this one sin as so evil may they see all ten commandments so holy. The society is so confused as to what is "right." More and more children are becoming murderers themselves. The reason is obvious: they see that if they kill someone they go to jail, get the death penalty, and the government, who they know as the "good guy" kills them for punishment. Lesson learned: the finger is pointing to its own actions. Learning morals is only as hard as people make it. Why complicate things? Some people think that restitution is granted when one is sentenced to the death penalty.

Case Study of the Spanish Retail Chain Zara

The Spanish retail chain, Zara, owned by Inditex is a retailer that has been so successful in our world of globalization and new technologies today by simply adopting a new approach in the industry. With their simple business model of speed, flexibility, and high fashion, Zara has the competitive advantage to be sustainable. Zara was founded by Amancio Ortega Gaona (Ortega), in 1975 and went on to become the flagship brand of the holding company, Industria de Diseno Textil, SA, popularly called Inditex, which was founded in 1979. As of 2002, Inditex operated six separate chains, that being, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, and Oysho. However, each chain operates independently and is responsible for its own strategy, product design, sourcing and manufacturing, distribution, image, personnel, and financial results. Zara, which contributes around 80 per cent of group sales (Grant 2005, p. 398), is by far the largest, most profitable, and most internationalized of the chains. Its stores can now be found in the most important shopping districts of more than 400 cities in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. With year-on-year sales increasing at around 25% over the last 5 years, it has become one of the world’s fastest growing retailers (University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing). Discussion The global apparel market is a consumer-driven industry (Criag, Jones & Nieto, 2004) in which profits derived from â€Å"unique combinations of high-value research, design, sales, marketing, and financial services that allow retailers, branded marketers, and branded manufacturers to act as strategic brokers in linking overseas factories†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ with markets (Collins 2003, p. 44). Zara's business model can be broken down into three basic components: concept, capabilities, and value drivers. Zara's fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that will enable Zara to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demands and tastes. The main business tactics of the company in context of its business model is:- (i) Short lead time: More fashionable clothes and embracing quick changing customer's tastes. (ii) Decentralized Management: Taking advantage of the intelligence and trust the judgment of employees. (iii) Lower quantities: Inventory will be formidable burden in perishable products. (iv) More styles: Providing more choices for customers and more chances of meeting the customers taste. At the heart of Zara's success is a vertically integrated business model spanning design, just-in-time production, marketing and sales. The distinctive vertical integration feature of Zara’s business model, has allowed the company to successfully develop a strong merchandising strategy. This strategy has led Zara to create a climate of scarcity and opportunity as well as a fast-fashion system. Currently, H&M is Inditex’s major competitor. Swedish retailer H&M has been growing at an average rate of 20% annually in the past two decades. These two European retailers are known for their ‘fast fashion’ had unique business models and growth strategies which have enabled them to expand quickly and successfully beyond their own borders. With the European markets becoming saturated, Both companies are expanding outside Europe and establish their hegemony in the world market. Yet what is it that distinguishes Zara from H&M and its other competitors? In its process of expanding globally, Zara, unlike its competitors such as Gap, Benetton, and H&M, does not use cheap Asian outsourcing. Eighty percent of Zara’s materials are manufactured in Europe, with fifty percent made in Zara controlled facilities in the Galicia region of Spain near headquarters. Though the cost of production in Spain more expensive compared to Asia, Zara still manages to maintain competitive advantage over its competitors in regards to operations. Zara maintains local strategic partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers in Europe and this proximity gives Zara great flexibility in adapting their product lines based on up to date market trends and consumer behaviour while decreasing costs of holding inventory. This proximity effect and the flexibility give Zara its competitive edge in comparison to their peers. However, the business strategies adopted by Zara, does have its setbacks to Zara’s success. The vertical integration concept often leads to the inability to acquire economies of scale, which means Zara cannot gain the advantages of producing large quantities of goods for a discounted rate which leads to higher costs being incurred as they have to set a higher pricing of Zara products outside of Europe in order to cover supply costs. Zara has not invested in distribution facilities to support their global expansion. As a result, despite being able to quickly supply their stores at present, they may not be able to supply to a larger number of retail locations due to their â€Å"centralized logistic† model. Even though Zara has been successful at scaling up its distribution system, the centralized logistics system might eventually be subject to diseconomies of scale as Zara continues to open stores all around the world and ships product from its single Distribution Center in Europe. This system may work well with the current number of stores because majority of the stores are centralised in Europe. However, Zara won’t be benefiting from short lead times and low operational cost with a single central Distribution Center model in terms of globalisation and branching out into other countries. Conclusion To successfully expand globally, Zara should focus on one country at a time. Our team concludes that Zara’s current focus should be international expansion in a country that has an open trade market with well formed trade regulations as this provides a safer business environment. During the globalization process, Zara should maintain short lead time, quick inventory turnover, leading fashion brand and low advertising cost as its competitive advantage. As a result of their product cycle, Zara gives their customers the feeling of scarcity because new items are presented weekly and are often not restocked, and this encourages customers to come to the stores and buy frequently. As such, Zara invests more in their store layouts as compared to marketing. Their cost advantage and ability to maintain brand recognition and customer loyalty along with other factors such as regional distribution center, vertical integration, outsourcing and eye-catching window displays are essential elements for Zara to build value in the company and to continue to re-invent and innovate themselves to stay fresh in the apparel industry.

The Last Rajah Ratan Tata Case Analysis

Ratan Tata – a living legacy responsible for the eminence of the largest conglomerate, Tata Group in India. The Tata Group is usurping global existence rapidly, with ownership of organizations in almost every major international market. It vested a combined market capitalization of more than $32 billion in a diversified range of operations, including consumer products, energy, engineering, information systems, communications, consultancy services and materials (Dobbs and Gupta 2009).SOURCE PROBLEMThe liberalization for India’s economy in the 1990s (Pawan 2001), coupled with the bold yet accurate foresight of Ratan Tata had a part to play. Despite Tata Group’s exceeding achievements in gaining meaningful presence geographically, uncertainty lurks ahead. McClearn (2005, 49-53) wrote that the information technology powerhouse requires at least a trillion dollars on infrastructure investments to overcome poverty. The underdevelopment fundamentals of the countryâ€⠄¢s facilities may deter the furtherance of Tata Group locally. Ratan Tata admitted to another imminent problem – the lack of a suitable successor for his position. Tata Group will be deprived of an able leader to help the organization in soaring greater heights (Luthans and Doh 2009).SECONDARY PROBLEMS1. Short Term a. Difficulty in Talent Development and its retention: The case study revealed a few looming issues that may result in the downfall of this mega-group. The unsatisfactory working environment, together with the high income disparity has compelled locals to leave for greener pastures  overseas (Murray 2008). There is constant pressure as Doh et.al. (2011, 85-100) had stressed, the incumbent to have a committed team of leaders that addresses talent development and its retention in Tata’s business strategy.b. Struggles with owning Corus: The acquisition of Corus has burdened Tata Steel with $7.4 billion of debts. To worsen the matter, the Trade Union represen ting Corus workers wanted the new management to pump in a further $600 million for assurance of their livelihoods. To execute social responsibility over the workers or for the betterment of the whole business, Tata Steel surely has a tough decision to make (Luthans and Doh 2009).c. Procurement of Jaguar and Land Rovers – wrong move : Tata Motors may rack up more losses than profits with the buying of Jaguar and Land Rovers from Ford in 2008. The instant stardom that Tata Motors enjoyed due to a rise in prestige was nothing compared to the mammoth loss that both automobile brands had incurred – $510 million in 10 months since their acquirement. The real challenge is its sustainability in the next two years, while waiting for an upward stir in the premium segment (Srivastava 2009).2. Long Term a. Slimming down of the Group’s business: The diversification of Tata Group’s businesses has grown too wide, losing focus on the core industries that are actual profi t churning. Ratan Tata has failed to streamline its existing 100 business involvement to just 12 during his stint (Luthans and Doh 2009). As the baton of leadership passes on, the new successor will shoulder this heavy avocation on top of his portfolio.5. ANALYSISThe tight labour market and intensification of the mergers and acquisitions have brought many talented employees to the driver’s seat. Bidarka and Ajay (2008, 72,74) explained on the reality of a talent crunch in India, which will directly impact the total workforce of Tata Group since  90% of its employees are locals (Tata Sons Ltd 2012). To aggravate the situation further, Gupta (2011) reported on the extreme poor working conditions in Jamshedpur that may subject the 20,000 workers and 700,000 residents into considerable health hazard. Employees will avoid negativity at all costs and look for better opportunities elsewhere.Since acquisition of Corus took place in 2006, Tata Steel was pressured under the aftermath of the recession concurrently. The steel production in UK has hit rock-bottom for years because of the volatile demands from user industries such as automobiles, consumers’ durables and capital goods (Gopalakrishnan 2011). The high operational cost in UK marginalized the profit yielding which made recovery more precarious. Guarantees of jobs for workers in UK are impossible, with themselves in hot soup.Tata Motors has a long-standing reputation for truck-making, but are new to continental car-makes. Many dealers ponder if the Indian manufacturer could uphold the quality and reliability associated with the brands, and more essentially, revive the ‘already tarnished’ repute due to complaints of land rovers in Britain (Luthans and Doh 2009). Nonetheless, even if Tata Motors was prepared to propel its whole business strategy to an extravagant sphere, justice cannot be done to the two brands. SUVs have lost its novelty among consumers, resulting in a drastic drop in demand. Bad economy has stagnated the desire in owning premier-line cars, putting Tata Motors at tough spot (Srivastava 2009).Ratan Tata believes in not putting all eggs into a basket when it comes to investment of businesses, but loses his head when the intention of rapid international growth overtakes his rationality. His over-diversification has resulted in causalities such as absorbing substantial amount of debts and employment resentment due to downsizing (Luthans and Doh 2009). Such unfavourable circumstances can be mitigated with better management and putting himself ahead of the curve.Getting ahead of the curve means envisioning what the future may hold, and that requires a degree of courage. Mr. Cyprus Mistry, the deemed ‘dark  horse’ took everyone by surprise when Ratan Tata appointed him to takeover his reins in December 2012 (Udas 2011). Though Ratan Tata sang full praises of Mr. Mistry, analysts remained conservative. Corporate watchers are skeptical abou t this new successor’s leadership capabilities as little was known about him (BBC News 2011). Afterall, he was appointed to lead the group out of the economic slowdown and debts.If Tata Group is the only organization in India in debts, it is obviously an understatement. Goyal (2011) revealed that India’s public debt has made up 70% of her gross domestic product. Apparently, borrowing was made for the development of infrastructure to bring Indians out of their financial scarcity. What had hindered the progress was the mindset deeply embedded in most Indians, asking ‘why’ instead of ‘why not’. The nation’s mentality had created intolerance for laziness, for shoddy products and for open corruption (Rajan 2005). Tata Group will need to bite the nail in order to flourish its business in its home ground.6. CRITERIA OF EVALUATION: GOALS AND TIME FRAME Upon establishment of problems that Tata Group encounter, a framework of the goals and timeli ne is proposed to help the management forecast the future of the mega-group:7. ALTERNATIVES To illustrate the above criteria of evaluation, the strategy statements (S1 to S4) are crafted to assist the management in formulating sound plans to rectify the identified problems:S1: Tata Group should follow a sound business plan which addresses talent development, retention and occupational health safety of employees.S2: Tata Group’s strategy for the next three years is to increase the local presence and revenue in India by 20% at the end of the third year, by breaking the vicious cycle of the detrimental attitudes displayed by Indians.S3: Tata Group’s strategy for the next three years is to concentrate on the three highest earning holdings: Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services, helping them to recover from their debts as soon as possible and escalate the overall group’s international revenue by 40% at the end of the third year.S4: Mr Cyprus Mistry sh ould reduce the number of under-performing industries that Tata Group is investing by 10 every year. During the whole course of downsizing, he should refrain from diversifying into other businesses that will subject the organization to more debts.8. RECOMMENDATIONS AND JUSTIFICATIONSa. Managing and retaining talents: These intangible skills of the workers are hard to retain and are important in maintaining the financial health of any organization (Katz 2000). Therefore Tata Group needs to address the needs of talent at all levels of the organization. It can offer the frontline staff and technical specialists with a rise in wage rate. The increase as proposed in the earlier section may not be significant to Tata Group in terms of amount, but can provide a lot more to the lower-income families in India (Guthridge et. al. 2008).While the middle executives to top management are driven by monetary returns, other factor such as training and development and welfare package may affect their staying power. By sending staff to upgrade their skills relevant to their jobs and re-deploying the senior staff to train the inexperienced are ways to show that the organization values their employees. By insuring all employees with necessary health care benefits and providing a safe, conducive working environment shows that the organization cares their employees. The two methods adopted side-by-side by Tata Group will keep employee satisfaction high because it enables employees to expand their capabilities and grow within an organization. Retaining of employees is expected (D’Amico 2008).b. Putting the wrong moves right: If the group desires to attain S3 and S4, the wrong moves earlier must be reversed to turn the tables around. The gradual reduction of the businesses focus is related to the concentration in the three key holdings to the  group’s empire. With less distraction in other areas, Mr. Mistry can consolidate the available cash-flow, coupled with soft loa ns from the European Banks to help make room for the manufacture of Nanos, an economical car costing less than $3,000 that spawn a craze in India and the Western continents in 2010. The new launch is projected to capture the India and overseas market gradually, providing an anchor for steady earnings while re-paying the existing debts incurred by Jaguar and Land Rovers (Srivastava 2009).c. Government Intervention: Tata Group’s livelihood in India is grim, unless a total reformation takes place in India. The whole situation is not hopeless with more and more younger individuals being educated in comparison with the older generations. They, freed from past baggage, tend to be more tolerant of competition and open. Complementing with the moral ethics and skills learned in schools, there is a hope for Tata Group to expand locally without human capital as the obstacle (Rajan 2005).9. IMPLEMENTATION, CONTROL AND FOLLOW-UPBelow is a step-by-step illustration on the proposed strategi es, with the limitations, follow-up actions and contingency plans highlighted: a. Managing and retaining talents:Steps: 1. Increase wage rates at a $0.25/hr every year for a period of 3 years. 2. Send middle to top management for work-related enrichment courses that empower them with more knowledge to handle difficult problems. 3. Group Insurance schemes to be introduced across the board, with better health benefits for workers who are consistently exposed to bad working conditions. 4. Deployment of senior staff to train inexperienced employees to cut down on unnecessary downsizing.Limitations:– Interference of Trade Unions. – Better alternatives available for the same positions at overseas. Follow-Up: To see if the objectives set in the earlier framework has been  met under Contributions to Employees after implementing the strategy for a three-year period. Contingency plan: Outsourcing of jobs to other nationalities like Cambodia or Laos where labour cost is compara tively low (Kei 2011).b. Putting the wrong moves right: Steps: 1. Dump under-performing industries gradually, prefably 10 per year. 2. Micro-manage instead of macro-managing by concentrating the fund usage to expand or sustain the three key holdings. 3. Due to the uncrowded market of economical cars in India and overseas, make and deliver as many Nanos as possible to increase market share geographically. 4. Refrain from new investments in untapped business.Limitation: – Emergence of other competitors with similar car-make. – Wrong judgment by Mr. Mistry to wind-up possible profit churning business. Follow-Up: To see if the objectives set in the earlier framework has been met under Total Revenue Locally, Total Revenue Overseas, Streamlining the business and Debts Incurred. Contingency plan: To engage market research analysts to assess on the profitability of its existing business before any decision of closure is made.c. Government Intervention: It is unlikely to draw t he implementation steps for this strategy as it is beyond the control of Tata Group.10. CONCLUSION Tata Group’s survival over a century is not by sheer luck. Ratan Tata has made an imperative difference by elevating the whole group to higher grounds locally and worldwide. Whether Mr. Mistry can carry on the legacy left behind by Tata himself, it is still premature to tell at this stage.