Practical Exam – Bio 125 Lab

Lab Due November 14, 2012 Practical Exam 1. a. The symbionts (Paramecium) of the termite belong to the kingdom Protista b. Paramecium living in the intestines of termites breaks down the cellulose walls of wood fibers releasing proteins that are absorbed by the termites’ digestive system. Paramecium benefit by having an environment to thrive and they ingest the wood fibers for their own nutrition as well. 2. c. An important ecological effect of diatoms is that when they die they hold onto CO2 trapped inside their silicon skeleton, carrying it to the ocean floor instead of being released into the atmosphere. . Autotrophic 3. Two characteristics that helped identify the euglena were: e. Two flagellas. f. Eyespot. 4. g. The bacteria in the picture labeled #4 is rod-shaped. h. Cyanobacteria are important producers of Nitrogen in marine environments. 5. i. Lactobacillus found in saliva produced lactic acid to cause Snyder’s medium to change color. j. The tube turned yellow a fter it was exposed to saliva. 6. k. Red algae have phycobilin pigments (phycoerythrin and phycocyanin) that mask the color of the chlorophylls.Brown algae have xanthophyll pigments that mask the green color of the chlorophyll. Green algae have cholorphylls a and b that give a bright green color. l. All algae have chlorophyll. 7. m. The hyphae of Rhizopus are coenocytic. n. Gametangia (hyphae fuse), plasmogomy occurs, karyogamy occurs forming Zygosporangium, sporangium form and haploid spores are released to germinate and form hyphae. 8. o. The function of gills in basidiomyctes is to produce spores. p. Basidiomycetes contain crosswalls (they are septate). 9. q. Yeast produces CO2, which makes dough rise. .Yeast ferment alcohol in brewing. 10. s. In mosses, the leafy green structure is the gametophyte. t. Gametophytes are haploid. 11. u. The plant pictured and labeled number 11 has vascular tissue. v. Sori are the sporangia structures found on the undersides of the fronds. 12. w. Th e cone labeled #12 is a female cone. x. The needle-like leaves of gymnosperms reduce the surface area, and thick cuticle and sunken stomata minimize water loss. 13. y. Body plan (c) shown on blackboard labeled #13 represents an acelomate. z. Hydras and jellies exhibit radial symmetry. 4. {. Eyespots in flatworms like planaria detect light and use them to move away from light sources. |. The concentration of sense organs at the anterior of this organism is cephalization. 15. }. Annelids such as the Earthworm, which was dissected in lab, have closed circulatory systems. ~. The digestive tract is complete because the digestive tract runs from mouth to anus.16. . The clitellum of the Earthworm is used in sexual reproduction. . Coelom in Earthworms aid in locomotion and function as a hydrostatic skeleton. 17. The function of hemolymph in an organism such as the Grasshopper is to transport nutrients. . Insects have 3 pairs of walking legs. 18. . Crayfish have an open circulatory system. . Male crayfish are generally bigger than females and have bigger claws. Also in male crayfish the two most anterior swimmerets are enlarged and hardened. 19. . The Perch is a vertebrate. . The lateral line organ is used to sense vibrations and pressure differences in water. 20. . The swim bladder in the Perch is used to maintain buoyancy. . Caudal fin is primarily responsible for propelling the fish forward. 1. . The front position of the mouth in the Perch is advantageous because it allows the Perch to eat and take in water as it swims forward. . No, most fish utilize external fertilization to sexually reproduce.22. . Rat belongs to class Mammalia. . Possess hair made of keratin. 23. . Yes, cephalization is apparent in the rat. . Cephalization is the concentration of sense organs at the anterior of an organism. 24. . Rat has a closed circulatory system. . Most rats utilize internal fertilization during sexual reproduction. 25. In plants the apical meristem can be found at the: . R oot tips Shoot tips 26. . The experiment of a Carnation placed into a beaker full of water and red food coloring demonstrated cohesion, adhesion and capillary action (transpiration) of water through the stem. . Xylem is the vascular tissue mainly involved in this process.27. . The leaves on blackboard labeled #27 are compound. . The leaves are from a dicot because they are arranged in five’s. 28. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is a monocot leaf. . The name of the cell at the end of the arrow is a guard cell. 29. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is the stem of a dicot. The vascular bundles are arranged in a ring in the cross-section of the stem. 30. . The secondary xylem growth rings of the woody stem can be counted to determine the age of a tree. . In the picture on blackboard labeled #30, the function of the structure at the end of the arrow is active xylem. This allows for water transport in the tree. Extra Credit 31. Two structural hallmarks of organisms cl assified mollusks are: muscular foot and mantle. 32. . Rhotifer is the smallest animal that has tissues and organs/organs systems. . The majority of these organisms reproduce by parthenogenesis.

Philip Roth- writer of Defender of the Faith Essay

Philip Milton Roth was born on March 19, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey to a lower class middle-class Jewish Family novels and made it the scenes there. There are certain stories that he wrote which talks about his family members and his own life as well. His father was an insurance of Austro-Hungarian stock. When he wrote Patrimony in 1991, he wrote this for his dad who is still in his early eighties but in that particular story he portrayed his father as an eighty-six year old who suffered from a brain tumor. He loves his family so much. And that particular novel won the National critics Circle award in 1992.(Bloom, 2003) Experience is the best teacher and those experiences should be put into words to produce one magnificent work that will mirror the past. An excerpt from one of his book says â€Å"Between first discovering the Newark Bears and the Brooklyn Dodgers at seven or eight and first looking into Conrad’s Lord Jim at age eighteen, I had done some growing up. I am only saying that my discovery of literature, and fiction particularly, and the ‘love affair’ – to some degree hopeless, but still earnest – that has ensued, derives in part from this childhood infatuation with baseball. Or, more accurately perhaps, baseball – with its lore and legends, its cultural power, its seasonal associations, its native authenticity, its simple rules and transparent strategies, its longueurs and thrills, its spaciousness, its suspensefulness, its heroics, its nuances, its lingo, its ‘characters’, its peculiarly hypnotic tedium, its mythic transformation of the immediate – was the literature of my boyhood.† (Roth in ‘My Baseball Years’, from Reading Myself and Others, 1975) Here we can say that the place he grew up and the experiences made him what he really is and clearly shows the readers what kind of childhood he has. He attended Rutgers university from 1950-51 then transferred to Bucknell university where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with a major in English in 1954. Then he studied at the University of Chicago where he receives his M.A. in English then in 1955 he joined the army but sooner discharged because of a back injury. He then continues his study at Chicago and worked there from 1955 to 1957 as an English teacher. He then dropped out from the Ph.D. program in 1959 and started to write film reviews for the New Republic. Also in that year Goodbye Columbus won the National Book Award and was made into film here it was based on a family of a middle-class Jewish which clearly shows the author’s technique that is experience based and observations about the Jewish way of living Roth is fascinated by the idea of Jews behaving badly, but for him the physical deviance is sexual. He undermines the icon of the mensch, the Jewish good-boy (buzzle.com). Portnoy’s complaint is also his work which became the number one best seller in 1969 and made a turning point in his career. Here Portnoy’s approach to hedonistic Western culture is ironic. This work of Roth for most readers finds it offensive because of the sex scenes and the presentation of Jewish Mother was criticized. (Bloom, 2003) Jewishness is Roth’s major territory in examining American culture. Roth has more ironic and characterized as â€Å"less loving† views on Jews’ life. The readers can identify the writer with the obsession on fictional characters. In his works he increasingly wrestled problems of identity. Sometimes, he views his own life as part of his fiction. In his work The Plot against America (2004) an alternate history in which the famous pilot Charles Lindberg is the 33rd president of the Fascist U.S Philip Roth is one of the characters suffering from his Jewish Background. When he experienced separation from his wife whom he got married in 1990 distinguished actress Claire Bloom, their relationship wayback 1970 was ended in 1996 and made his wife publish a book for him entitled Leaving a Doll’s House. We can see here that even his wife is using experience as a good source of thoughts and ideas in writing a book to clearly express one’s emotion and point of views.(Bloom 2003) In his work Defender of the Faith (1959) the social and critical context shows us the passion of Philip Roth for his works. Here Roth shows us two stories at the same time, first is the story of Marx’s recovery from war experiences and the other is his conflict with Grossbart. The author explores the struggle one man goes through in order to discover which value outweigh others. Marx is in a dilemma which should be first, a good sergeant, a good Jew or a good human being. As the story progresses, Roth allows us glimpses into Marx’s recovery: the parade ground at dusk evokes childhood memories that reach deep into his heart to touch him; later, he begins to send for law school catalogs and to write old girlfriends. (ftp.ccccd.edu) From here we can see points of the author about the conflict between Marx and Grossbart. Although they are both Jews, Grossbart is trying to get a special consideration and privilege. What is difficult for Marx is that Grossbart raises questions that the army at that time never considers. Like why is it that Jews don’t go worship on their Sabbath. Then Marx just realizes that Grossbart is not really a serious Jew. He just wants to manipulate the system which on the later part made Marx fight for his own sake. We can see that this work of Roth is full of complex irony. Sgt. Marx is the defender of faith which in fact should suggest a staunch religious champion, but as far as Marxs role in the story he does it so against his will and against his intention but what made him motivated is to have an equal and fair treatment to all his men and not to be partial to Jews.where unwillingly he became defender of faith to Grossbart. At the end of the story, however, when Marx has Grossbart’s orders changed to the Pacific, the irony is that he becomes most truly a defender of his faith when he seems to be turning against it. â€Å"You call this watching out for me what you did?† asks Grossbart. â€Å"No,† answers Marx. â€Å"For all of us.† The cause of the whole Jewish faith is set back when Jews like Grossbart get special favors for themselves, for other people will mistakenly attribute Grossbart’s objectionable qualities to the Jewish people as a whole. (It’s called â€Å"stereotyping.†) Thus Marx is unwillingly a â€Å"defender of the faith† when he helps his fellow Jew, yet he becomes truly a defender of the faith when he turns against him (ftp.ccccd.edu). Roth justifies his social context about Jews in this story and made many people realize what the term â€Å"Defender of the faith† really means. Works Cited Bloom, Harold â€Å"Blooms Modern Critical Views† Chelsea House Publishers, Defenders of the faith Notes: â€Å"Defender of the Faith†by Philip Roth Roth, Philip â€Å"My Baseball Years† from â€Å"Reading Myself and Others Book†, New York Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975

Job Satisfaction And Its Importance In The Workplace Education Essay

Job satisfaction is progressively going of import in the workplace. Employers now recognise that the â€Å" happier † their employees are, the better will be their attitudes towards the work, the higher their motive and the better will be their public presentation. Job satisfaction in any field of work depends a batch on how contributing the work environment is. The work itself, the wage and the range for publicity are merely some of the factors which have an impact on occupation satisfaction. â€Å" Educators ‘ occupation satisfaction is of import as it has a direct impact on pupils ‘ accomplishment and their hereafter calling † ( Pitkoff, 1993 ) . An pedagogue who is unsatisfied with his/her occupation tends to be unmotivated and more likely to get away from his/her duties. In these fortunes, we tend to see an addition in absenteeism among instructors. Such pedagogues normally show small concern in school affairs and this evidently has a negative impact on the public presentation of our kids. Assorted surveies have been carried out in the yesteryear to measure the impact of motive and occupation satisfaction on employee productiveness and public presentation ( Vroom, 1964 ) . Some of these surveies have found a positive relationship between occupation satisfaction and occupation public presentation which leads to the decision that satisfied employees tend to execute much better than less satisfied 1s.2.1 Definition of occupation satisfactionJob satisfaction is one of the most investigated subjects in the Fieldss of organisational behavior. The most-used research definition of occupation satisfaction is by Locke ( 1976 ) , who defined it as â€Å" . . . a enjoyable or positive emotional province ensuing from the assessment of one ‘s occupation or occupation experiences † ( p. 1304 ) . It is now recognized that occupation satisfaction is a planetary construct that besides comprises assorted aspects ( Judge et al. , 2001 ) including wage, publicities, colleagues , supervising, the work itself, acknowledgment, working conditions, and company and direction. Job satisfaction has besides been defined as â€Å" the extent to which a staff member has favorable or positive feelings about work or the work environment † ( De Nobile, 2003 ) . It refers to the positive attitudes or emotional temperaments people may derive from work or through facets of work ( Furnham, 1997 ; Locke, 1976 ) . Ivancevich et Al. ( 1997 ) defined occupation satisfaction as the feeling and perceptual experience of a worker sing his/her work and how he or she feels himself good in an organisation. Davis and Newstrom ( 2003 ) and Dessler ( 2001 ) depict occupation satisfaction as a set of favourable or unfavourable feelings for the employees to comprehend their work and that determine the possibility of a major temperament to accomplish higher public presentation. Therefore, occupation satisfaction refers to an person ‘s general attitude toward his or her occupation ( Robbins, 1998 ) . Jensen ( 2000 ) defines occupation satisfaction as: â€Å" a sense of personal growing most frequently measured by the extent of new challenges and larning state of affairss experienced † ( p. 1 ) . On the other manus, occupation dissatisfaction refers to â€Å" unhappy or negative feelings about work or the work environment † ( Furnham, 1997 ) . There exist many factors which may ensue in occupation dissatisfaction. Some of them are hapless on the job conditions, overwork, low degrees of wage, no range of publicity or calling promotion and deficiency of acknowledgment. But what is worst are the effects of occupation dissatisfaction which evidently affect both the employees and the organisation. It may ensue in loss of motive, deficiency of involvement, defeat, hapless productiveness, absenteeism and even high turnover rates. To sum up, we can state that occupation satisfaction describes how content an single with his or her occupation and besides implies making a occupation one enjoys, making it good, and being appropriately rewarded for one ‘s attempts. Job satisfaction farther implies enthusiasm and felicity with one ‘s work.2.2 Factors impacting occupation satisfactionJob satisfaction depends on several different factors such as satisfaction with wage, publicity chances, periphery benefits, occupation security, relationship with colleagues and supervisors and communicating within the administration. ( Nguyen, Taylor, & A ; Bradley, 2003 ) . Job satisfaction may take to be decrease by cut downing absences, undertaking mistakes, struggles at work and turnover. As work is an of import facet of people ‘s lives and most people spend a big portion of their working lives at work, understanding the factors involved in occupation satisfaction is important to bettering employees ‘ public presentation and productiveness.2.2.1 AgeAge is one of the factors impacting occupation satisfaction. Assorted surveies carried out in this field have shown that occupation satisfaction tends to increase with age. That is older employees tend to describe higher satisfaction and younger employees report the lowest occupation satisfaction rates ( Warr, 1992 ) . However, the survey carried out by Oshagbemi ( 2003 ) in United Kingdom ( UK ) , found that the relationship between occupation satisfaction and age was undistinguished for employees of the UK universities.2.2.2 GenderSeveral research workers have examined the relationship between occupation satisfaction and gender ( Mason, 1995 ) . However, most surveies have shown contractions in the relationship between occupation satisfaction and gender of the employees. On one manus, some surveies have found adult females to be more satisfied than work forces ( Ward and Sloane, 1998 ) , whereas other surveies have found work forces to be more satisfied than adult females ( Forgionne and Peters, 1982 ) .2.2.3 Working environmentIt is indispensable to supply employees with a work environment which is contributing to their overall development. They need an environment which is healthy and safe and which caters for both personal comfort and facilitates making a good occupation. As mentioned earlier, people spend a high per centum of their life-time at work. So we can state that employees expect more than money for the work they do. Hence, it can be said that holding a friendly and supportive environment can take to increased occupation satisfaction. Syptak, Marshland and Ulmer ( 1999 ) advise administrations to make everything they can to maintain the company ‘s equipment and installations up to day of the month. In their article, they besides recommend administrations to â€Å" avoid overcrowding and let each employee his or her ain personal infinite, whether it is a desk, a cabinet or even merely a drawer † ( p. 1 ) .2.2.4 Fair policies and patternsâ€Å" Persons who perceive that publicity determinations are made in a just and merely mode are likely to see satisfaction from their occupations † ( Witt and Nye, 1992 ) . Very frequently employees are demotivated and dissatisfied with their occupations because unjust policies and patterns prevail at their topographic point of work. It is hence of extreme importance for organisation to hold a just and equal system in footings of patterns and policies so that there is no favoritism and defeat. It is a fact that organisation which follows the right processs to advance employees creates a civilization of trust, trueness and beliefs in the whole organisation. When an employee gets just publicity, which is by and large based on his true appraisal, he gets a type of acknowledgment, and therefore, increases his occupation satisfaction. In other words, we can state that publicity provides chances for personal growing, more duties, and in creased societal position.2.2.5 Caring organisationTaylor ( 2000 ) suggested that occupation satisfaction is straight related to a company ‘s investing in its employees ‘ well- being. Arthur ( 2001 ) pointed out that employees want to believe their company truly cares about them. Care can be shown in assorted ways, but by and large it takes into consideration calling development, grownup intervention, being taken earnestly and being appreciated for a occupation good done. ( p. 221 ) . When people feel that the organisation for which they are working attentions for them and takes actions in order to better their work and lives, they are happy and this creates higher satisfaction. These employees moreover become loyal and committed.Advantages of occupation satisfaction to the administrationThe Frederick Herzberg ‘s theory and occupation satisfaction To better understand what keeps occupation satisfaction high, it is of import to remember Frederick Herzberg ‘s theory. The latter put frontward that satisfaction on the occupation depends on two elements: hygiene issues and incentives. Hygiene issues ( dissatisfiers ) Incentives ( satisfiers ) Organizational policies Work itself Kind of supervising Achievement Salary Recognition Interpersonal dealingss Duty Working conditions Growth chances Job security Harmonizing to the Herzberg ‘s theory, â€Å" Hygiene issues can non actuate employees but they can assist to minimise dissatisfaction, if handled decently † ( p. 1 ) . These issues are straight related to the employee ‘s working environment. On the other manus, incentives create satisfaction by carry throughing person ‘s demands for significance and personal growing ( Syptak, Marshland and Ulmer, 1999 ) . The above theory can be really helpful in steering organisations on how to keep employee satisfaction.Job satisfaction and productivenessSurveies have shown that, merely a few organisations believe that occupation satisfaction is a important component in their overall scheme and really small is being done to advance it. This can be due to the fact that many administrations fail to understand the nexus between occupation satisfaction and productiveness. Should we non care about occupation satisfaction? Is it true to state that happy workers are productive 1s ? In fact, in the right conditions and scenes, occupation satisfaction can to a great degree lead to higher productiveness. If employees feel that their occupations are fun and interesting, they will be more willing to give excess attempt at work for the benefit of the whole organisation. Alternatively if employees have the feeling that their businesss are nonmeaningful and deadening, they will hold a negative attitude which will decidedly take to a diminution in productiveness.Job satisfaction helps to make a better working environmentWhen employees are basking a higher grade of occupation satisfaction they tend to be more helpful and friendly with their co-workers at work. This helps to advance teamwork where sharing of information and cognition is enhanced. Furthermore surveies have shown that occupation satisfaction among employees may take to a better and safer working environment with lesser negative struggles which otherwise would hinder the smooth running of the organisation .Job satisfaction and absenteeism and turnoverHigh rate of turnover has ever been a great job to many organisations. It evidently consequences in loss of potencies and endowments and causes immense losingss in footings of extra costs. Harmonizing to Sattler and Mullen, by and large, the more productive people are, the more satisfied they tend to be and when employees feel satisfied they are less likely to go forth the organisation. ( 2007 ) . From this, we can state that in order to retain gifted people in the administrations, directors need to invent schemes in order to convey about occupation satisfaction. Once employees are happy and satisfied at work, the rate of absenteeism and turnover will be lower.Accomplishment and dutyHarmonizing to Herzberg theory, accomplishment and duty are two of import motivational factors which can be used to make occupation satisfaction at work. Noe ( 2005 ) suggests that larning can be facilitated by supplying employees with specific disputing ends and aims † ( p.111 ) . In this context, directors need to put clear and accomplishable ends to their employees. This will assist to supply employees with a sense of accomplishment on completion of undertakings and may convey approximately more satisfaction. Furthermore administrations need to authorise and promote their employees to take more duty. Such schemes do assist to convey more satisfaction in employees and do them more loyal, committed and will hold ownership involvements in their occupations.Employee satisfaction can take to client satisfactionNumerous surveies have been carried out to look at the nexus between client and employee satisfaction. Many of them have shown a relationship between employee satisfaction, client satisfaction and profitableness. For illustration, a survey carried out at Sears Roebuck & A ; Co. showed that â€Å" a five-point betterment in employee attitudes led to a 1.3 rise in client satisfaction which, in bend, generated a 0.5 addition in revenues. â€Å" Brooks ( 2000 ) reviewed the relationship between fiscal success and client and employee variables ( e.g. , client satisfaction, employee satisfaction, etc. ) and found that, depending on market section and industry, between 40 and 80 per centum of client satisfaction and client trueness was accounted for by the relationship between employee attitudes and customer-related variables. Similarly, Vilares and Cohelo ( 2000 ) found that sensed employee satisfaction, perceived employee trueness, and perceived employee committedness had a ample impact on sensed merchandise quality and on sensed service quality. In other words, when our staff is happy, our clients will be excessively. At the bosom of these enterprises is a strong belief that today ‘s employee satisfaction, trueness and commitment influence tomorrow ‘s client satisfaction, trueness and commitment-and, finally, the organisation ‘s net income and growing. Job satisfaction is a affair of great significance for employers. As shown above, organisations benefit a batch from satisfied employees in the undermentioned ways: aˆ? Lower staff turnover aˆ? Higher productiveness aˆ? Reduction in struggles and ailments aˆ? Punctuality ( decreased lateness ) aˆ? Better worked morale Therefore, we can state that occupation dissatisfaction affects both the administration and the employees negatively. If occupation dissatisfaction prevails, the administration is likely to be affected through hapless client service, quality production and profitableness. It is a clear and obvious that employees missing trueness and committedness will demo really small original thought and will remove themselves really frequently from work. All these put together will clearly ensue in hapless public presentation and low profitableness for the administration.Job satisfaction in the primary educational sectorIt is known to everyone that wages and acknowledgment are really scarce when it comes to the primary educational sector. Numerous surveies carried out by sociologists have confirmed this. Furthermore, as most of the instructors ‘ work is being carried out within the walls of closed schoolrooms, instructors frequently find themselves isolated from others without any support fr om equals and higher-ups. Due to such organizational construction, instructors do non have appropriate feedback from others and frequently happen it difficult to work together so as to better their work. Harmonizing to Frase, 1992, many instructors leave learning within the first three old ages of employment as a consequence of these conditions. Decision shapers hence need to happen ways to retain instructors in the profession and maintain them motivated and at the same clip promote satisfaction. Surveies have shown reasonably convincingly that instructors are motivated more by intrinsic than by extrinsic wagess. Pastor and Erlandson ( 1982 ) Carried out a study which found that instructors identify their demands and mensurate their occupation satisfaction by factors such as engagement in decision-making, usage of valued accomplishments, freedom and independency, challenge, look of creativeness, and chance for larning. In a study conducted by Brodinsky and Neill ( 1983 ) , a bulk of school decision makers ( and instructors ) cited three policies that efficaciously improved morale and motivated their staffs: shared administration, in-service instruction, and systematic and supportive rating.New Theories of Teacher MotivationFrase, 1992 identified two sets of factors that affect instructors ‘ ability to execute efficaciously and hence derive occupation satisfaction. These two factors are 1. Work context factors 2. Work content factors. Work Context Factors Work context factors are those which meet the basic demands such as aˆ? the category size aˆ? subject conditions aˆ? handiness of learning stuffs aˆ? the quality of the caput maestro ‘s supervising and his/her leading manner Harmonizing to Frase, 1992, the above context factors do non convey occupation satisfaction as such. However, during their absences or if non good handled, jobs which might impact the instruction and larning procedure might harvest. They may therefore take to occupation dissatisfaction. Work Content Factors Harmonizing to Frase, one time once more, work content factors are intrinsic facets related to the work itself. They include chances for aˆ? professional development such as farther on occupation developing taking to personal growing aˆ? Recognition of difficult work aˆ? challenging and varied undertakings aˆ? increased duty and authorization aˆ? accomplishment and authorization. Surveies carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics in the United States ( 1997 ) have clearly shown that instructors who do non experience supported in the above Fieldss are less motivated to make their best work in the schoolroom. Their informations confirm that â€Å" staff acknowledgment, parental support, teacher engagement in school determination devising and control in the schoolroom are the factors most strongly associated with teacher satisfaction † .Troubles pedagogues face in the schoolroomAs an pedagogue, it can convey much satisfaction to see pupils develop new accomplishments and competencies and accomplish success in footings of cognition. However, it may be thwarting when one is covering with unmotivated or disrespectful pupils. Very frequently, instructors must get by with boisterous behavior and force in the schools. Teachers may see emphasis in covering with big categories, heavy work loads, or old schools that are run down and lack many mod ern installations. Accountability criterions besides may increase emphasis degrees, with instructors expected to bring forth pupils who are able to exhibit satisfactory public presentation on standardized trials in nucleus topics. Many instructors are besides frustrated by the deficiency of control they have over what they are required to learn.Working ConditionssIt takes a nice work environment to learn good. Art 8 or the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation states that, we must better the on the job conditions and school environment so as to â€Å" best promote effectual acquisition and instruction, and enable instructors to concentrate on their professional undertakings. † Workload has to be just to be able to transport or tasks efficaciously and must non hold a negative impact on the wellness and safety of instructors. Besides, the governments must give equal instruction resources to all educational establishments.School climeThe values, attitudes, outlooks and behaviour more o r less shared by the members of a school community are by and large referred to as school clime. A positive school clime plays an of import function in furthering instructors ‘ public presentation, academic accomplishment of pupils and school motive. A positive school clime nurtures an ambiance of trust and common regard between each and everyone in the school. Teachers would wish to work in schools where they can experience comfy with their co-workers and the school leading. Therefore, making a healthy school environment for everyone Begins by back uping healthy relationships among the staff. Healthy relationships produce a clime conducive to honesty, unfastened communicating, and risk-taking ( Ames & A ; Miller, 1994 ) . In a true acquisition community, concerted acquisition and common regard are expected of module every bit good as pupils. Establishing a supportive school environment additions self-esteem and accomplishment ( Cantwell, 2003 ) .LeadershipTeachers are more satisfied when their caput instructors are good and theoretical account leaders. This includes actuating employees to make a good occupation and endeavoring for excellence. Effective caput instructors create constructions in which it is clear that instructors have a certain authorization. In certain schools some head instructors empower their instructors to work on certain undertakings like making a media and audio ocular room, or making other constructions for the benefit and public a ssistance of pupils every bit good as for staff members. Such sort of authorization and trust in employees yield committedness, trueness and higher public presentation at the topographic point of work. Such leaders motivate subsidiaries to make more than originally expected. They raise the consciousness of subsidiaries about the importance and value of designated results and ways of making them and, in bend, acquire subsidiaries to exceed their ain immediate opportunisms for the interest of the mission and vision of the organisation. ( Yammarino, Spangler and Bass,1993 ) .Teachers ‘ public presentationEducators ‘ occupation is one which does non bring forth touchable goods whose quality could be measured quantitatively. Their occupations consist of fixing students of 5-11 old ages old academically and assist them in their overall development. As a affair of fact, it is hard to mensurate their public presentation. A few old ages back, with superior system at the CPE degree, inspectors and school caput instructors used to measure the public presentation of their staff by analysing the public presentation of pupils in the concluding test. However, this is non an ideal manner of mensurating public presentation as there are other factors apart from the CPE base on balls rate which are linked to the instructor ‘s public presentation. Training After completion of a two twelvemonth sheepskin class at the Mauritius Institute of Education ( MIE ) , the pedagogue is posted in a given school and is assigned the duty of a category. The MIE together with the Ministry of Education offer auxiliary classs so as to upgrade the criterions of pedagogues and at the same clip maintain them abreast alterations happening in footings of methodological analysis, contents and course of study. Some of these classs are: aˆ? Certificate in Educational Management aˆ? Diploma in Educational Management aˆ? Advanced Certificate in Educational Management After the completion of these classs, pedagogues are eligible for a rise in their salary and furthermore are eligible to contend for occupations like Deputy Head Teacher and Head Teacher. It is a fact that the more positive the perceptual experiences employees have refering the utility and range of promotion the preparation Sessionss will supply to them, the higher will their occupation satisfaction. Promotional chances Promotion in the primary sector is based on senior status. It is merely after about 20 five old ages of service that a instructor will be automatically promoted to Deputy Head Teacher. From at that place, the latter will hold to wait for some five more old ages to draw a bead on to go the caput of a school. As a affair of fact, the promotional range is instead restricted and this is a existent demotivating factor to many pedagogues in the field.

EPortfolio Written Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EPortfolio Written Assignment - Essay Example In the recent years, technicians have used the portfolio for purpose of recertification. The portfolio contains a learning plan that presents the academic achievements and level in a nurse’s career. The learning plans helps a nurse evaluate his or her skills in the nursing profession by gagging the goals achieved in the education process. The second phase in writing a portfolio helps the nurse to set achievable future targets. The portfolio has validated information on the level of competency in a nurse career thus can used to create job promotions. Most nurses use their portfolios to enquire for job promotions and salary increment in their area of expertise. The portfolio is a career ladder that helps nurses to plan for their future in the impending years. In this case, nurses use this concept to market their skills in medical service provision. It allows nurses to have control over their profession. It allows them to interact with potential employers and illustrates ways in which they can meet the demands of nursing positions if offered a chance to practice at a specified professional level(American Nurses Association, 2008). The portfolio is a key to career transition. Nurses can practice advanced professional nursing after gagging their performance at lower levels. Nursing is a medical field of practices that is gagged according to the level of education. Nurses are allowed or disallowed to perform various practices in a medical institution depending on their education performance in the school of nursing. For instance the RPNs may work in a various section in the nursing career but cannot handle complex cases due to the number of years spent in the school of nursing school. In this case, they have only attained diploma in nursing. The RNs nurses are can care of patients in complex situations as they have a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The portfolio can be used to apply for a chance to pursue further education

Wage Earnings in Australia, Canada and the United States Research Paper

Wage Earnings in Australia, Canada and the United States - Research Paper Example The game of the numbers is to be adjusted in such a way that there must not be any ambiguity in the statistical manipulation and representation. The main objectives of the particular vary study to get insights in employment records as well as the comparison in the earning rates of USA, Canada and Australia. It was the topical history of America and the broadening of the monetary gap between those at the uppermost and bottommost level of the pay rate. In one of the study, Jack Rasmus (2004) writes that what is the instance of the phenomenon that anybody of us loves to make 200,000 USD per year after completion of 25 successful years on the job. There is a lot of difference in the value of money that is being generated by the workers on the job compared to last 25 years. They are making a very different value right now. If you would like to have the same value and same benefits, then it would be far impossible like you have to get the same advantages as the CEOs get at their jobs. This is the difference of time and value maximization. Things were thought to be regularized rather than alike today those are being worse with the passage of time. It is not only for the American lower wage earning employees who have to get enough economic substances to fulfill the routine matters; it is needed to generate monetary opportunists to find financial aid for the poorer people. Without holding to the economic environment, the lifestyle they deserve for is in the agenda of policy makers along with reviewing statistical monetary indexing and calculation of wages. If review of historical data may be made, we may get a clearer insight about the earning differences, the CEOs in United States got twenty four times more than an ordinary worker in 1965. This was not an end, the proportion raised to thirty five times in 1978, then it went up to a huge figure of seventy one times in 1989. After the debt crisis in USA in 2000, the recovery brought a greatest differential figure, that s howed that CEOs were earning three hundred times more than ordinary workers even who were working at their firms- A noticeable historical moment. After some time, the time turned in to a little change with top management remuneration rate with the economic bubble (worldwide) in 2008. History observed a decline in pay rate of CEOs or top managers at a slighter pace. But it did not mean to be a substantial increase in the pay outs of general workers. The hourly wage rate was suggested to be increased to increase the motivation level of the employees. It could cause in an extravagant state that vivid the opportunity for monetary and financial reforms within the organization. The economic bubble caused an extra ordinary unemployment and the wage rates were not said to be increased in near future. The remuneration declining rate for CEOs was six per cent approximately. The exact figure turned to 10.4 million USD from 11.07 million USD. Here we define the workers, the average work force i nclude all the employees who work in an organization below top management (middle management, first line management and non-managerial employees i.e., clerical workers). The wage earning discrepancy between CEO and the general working employees was observed more in last decade. However the gender discrepancy was insignificant to be observed because females are emerging as top management seats in prestigious organizations. In Canada, the situation was considerably worse; the wage

Sleep deprivation negatively affect driving performance and causes car Essay

Sleep deprivation negatively affect driving performance and causes car accidents - Essay Example The danger is even more compounded with the fact that people are often unaware of the fact that the failure to sleep increases the possibility and probability of accidents (Gregory, 2009) This paper seeks to address the importance of sleep, factors that cause sleep variations as well as the relation of this to work performance. Further, the paper illuminates on the relation of sleep build-up and sleep deprivation on accidents propensity, as well touching on the models and other conditions such as apnea in relation to work and injuries at the workplace. Sleep and Accidents Generally, accident that is caused as a result of sleep is regarded as accident caused by human error, and often times the impact of it is correlated to the task that was being carried out. Therefore, in an event where there is more speed in terms of performing the task, then the degree of injury is normally aggravated (Gregory, 2009). This therefore means that skiing are often more serious accidents than walking ac cidents. Accidents could even be more aggravated in areas where machines are many and work is machinated, in say Agricultural Industry, where there are a lot of different tasks and models and types of machines (Gregory, 2009). Broadly speaking, accidents causing injuries happen in the line of human interactions with the machines at the work place. Often times, these machines include cars, trucks, and others such as tractors among many others (Gregory, 2009). The manner in which a worker interacts with the machines is highly associated with his level of maturity, and accidents normally occur due to use of alcohol, use of other drugs such as caffeine or ‘build up of sleep debt which is the prime focus of this paper (Scott et al, 2006). One is then likely to ask the question: how can sleep deprivation cause accidents, and how is their impacts measured? The answer is that, while sleep and alcohol correlation is easy to measure, the former, accidents and sleep, has been largely dif ficult. The general agreement is however in the duration of sleep. Duration of sleep is sometimes as long as 6 weeks, and the risks is often analyzed within the confluence of the time of the day one sleeps and the amount therein. Further, it is also correlated to the amount of sleep one had the night before (Scott et al, 2006). Broad Factors that Impair Sleep and the effects Factors that impair sleep have been recognized as use of caffeine, talking radio, cold and other distracting activities. It is therefore often seen with students who stay awake at night having to dose during lectures. Another example worthy noting is the fact that Pilots stayed awake in the course of dogfights in World War II and fell asleep, thus crashed on their flight back to base (Gregory, 2009). Sleep Management and the Risks Involved Psychologists have identified two types of risks associated with sleep management. One is low performance or loss of it altogether when one falls asleep at the workplace. This often happens when the individual is â€Å"un-stimulated and bored even without sleep debt† (Gregory, 2009). The second one is observed in the decreased performance at the work place in

Critical analysis of the Urbanisation (cause-effect fram work) Essay

Critical analysis of the Urbanisation (cause-effect fram work) - Essay Example This is reflected in the increased importance given to health and environment concerns in the formulation of national plans for sustainable development, by many countries. It is essential that these plans are supported and implemented by all sectors contributing to economic development. It is essential that long-term intervention is directed at reducing the driving forces that generate the environmental health threats. Successful public health interventions concentrate on improving human environments and promote a more holistic perspective on health (Corvalan et al, 1999: 656). New tools are needed to ensure that intersectoral action is implemented in the way that the health sector functions. Improving coordination might be one of the most important ways in which we can help put the planet back on a healthy and sustainable path, states Schimding (2002: 632). forces that generate environmental pressures, creating changes in the state of the environment and eventually contributing to human exposures, states the World Health Organisation Report (1997: 2). Kahlmeier & Braun-Fahrlander (2004: 104) support the use of the frame-work. mediated health hazard may be the immediate cause of ill health, the â€Å"driving force† and â€Å"pressures†leading to environmental degradation may be the most effective points of control of the hazard. The â€Å"network† of connections within the framework can be used to identify cause-effect â€Å"pathways† or â€Å"trees,† depending on whether the framework is used to analyze the multiple health effects of a single driving force (eg, transport policy relying on car transport leading to increased motor vehicle related injuries, effects on the respiratory system, noise disturbance, etc) or to analyze the multiple causes of a single health effect, for example: acute respiratory infections in children resulting from driving forces such as poverty, household energy policies, housing policies, and agricultural policies

Copyrights Infringement Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Copyrights Infringement - Case Study Example There is a constant struggle between old economy based laws of copyrights and the new knowledge economy paradigms challenging legal, moral and ethical issues. Aggressive internet entities as Google providing client services which go beyond the normal course of business have raised a number of issues on copyright and trademarks. In the present case of a suit of likely copyright infringement being faced by Wanda, the client's hosts have reportedly displayed extracts of texts and images of books by US publishers. The US publishers are likely to sue Wanda for copyright infringement. Wanda is unable to terminate the arrangements with its clients or remove the items on the web sites on its own due to contractual obligations. The issues to be analyzed are as follows:- UK copyright law is based on the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which is the main legislation which governs intellectual property rights in United Kingdom.2 It essentially covers creators of literary works, in this case and rights to its dissemination including copying and issuing to the public. The authors have a right for being identified as the creators of the work. These are supported by international conventions. The Regulations cover all types of works appearing in a variety of media. A work has to be original and based on some skills and labour employed for the same. It does not however apply to an idea which can be replicated in a different form. The owner of the work is the individual who created it. Rights of a copy of a work cannot be claimed. The period of copyright is said to extend upto 70 years till the last remaining author of the work has passed away. It is therefore an offence to make a copy of the work or adapt it without the writers direct permission un less it, amongst other purposes, is used for educational purposes, critique or news report and included incidentally.3 The law regarding web designing and hosting is relatively clear for example, when a web page is designed under a contract, the webmaster is the owner of the copyright of the underlying code of that website.4 Similarly the content on the web site will also be the prerogative of the web designer and thus he becomes the service provider and hence liable for copyright action. From a preliminary analysis of the case and the UK copyright law it is apparent that there has been infringement which has occurred in the case of the text and images unless the following has been carried out :- (a) Permission of the writer has been taken. (b) It has been done for educational, news reporting, critique or other such literary purpose. In this case an additional factor will be if the source has been quoted which will not invite copyright infringement. (c) It is merely an incidental

UK MEDICAL LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

UK MEDICAL LAW - Essay Example the fact that medical professionals are deemed ready, willing and able to provide medical treatment and advice and by implication are bound to have the necessary skill and knowledge of a reasonable medical professional.3 A registered medical professional offering his or her service is held to this standard.4 In addition, Lord Brown Wilkinson held in Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority 1987] Q.B 730, CA [1998] AC 1074 that health authorities owe a duty of care to patients in their care.5 The question then turns on whether or not there was a breach of the standard and duty of care assigned to the medical profession on the part of Doctor Greene and/or Wilington hospital.. In determining whether or not there was a breach of the duty and standard of care, the Bolam test is applied. In Bolam v Friem Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582 the court devised a two-tier test to determine whether or not the medical professional or institution breached the applicable standard and duty of care.6 The first leg of the test inquires into whether or not the defendant professional acted in a manner that corresponds with the reasonable skilled person or vocation of the profession at issue.7 The second leg of the test inquires into whether or not the treatment or advice administered was consisted with a body of opinion in the profession.8 In ascertaining whether or not Doctor Greene, acting on behalf of and on the authority of the hospital complied with the Bolam standard of care, the court will look to the circumstances in which the treatment was administered and the attending physician’s post or position.9 On the facts of the case for discussion there is no specific evidence of Dr. Green’s position or post within the hospital, except that he is from the casualty department. The question then turns on whether or not a doctor in the emergency room who specializes in the treatment of children would have taken the action that Dr. Green took. Dr. Green

As Dianne Skafte Essay Example for Free

As Dianne Skafte Essay As Dianne Skafte stated in her book, â€Å"All the lives form the body of the Earth, and to that body all shall return†. The earth is viewed as the source of life with all the agricultural crops it gives to sustain the living. However, this very earth is also the home of the dead. People in different parts of the world plant their dead in the earth just like the seeds of their crops with the belief that their loved one will be born again as a new person, live in the body of an animal, or stay in the underworld. Otherwise, our ancients believed that the spirits who were returned to the earth become wise and that they gain the ability to turn into clairvoyants who can see the future and thus give guidance to those who are still living (Skafte 2000). This is the primary reason why necromancy was constantly used in the classical world. If a person decides to contact the dead, he or she will have the ability to know many hidden things. The act of necromancy falls under the umbrella of many different occult divination practices. The term was rooted from the ancient Greek language with the word ‘nekros’ meaning ‘corpse’ and ‘manteia’ or ‘prophesy’. Necromancy evolved through time and developed many different forms. Even though the Greeks may seem to be the civilization that is always connected to the act, summoning the dead was well-practiced by different civilizations around the world during these classical times like the Romans, Asians, Medieval Europeans, and Egyptians (Helium. com). The people living in the classical times look highly into their ‘necromaneias’ or the oracles of the dead. One famous act of necromancy was the one that happened in a hillside cave in Epiris where the famous legendary hero Odysseus was said to have summoned the dead at the place in order to get some guidance and information for his dangerous journey to home. Even though the Odyssey is only a fictional tale, Homer was able to base his writings from the actual practices of the many Greek necromancers that operate during their time (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). The place was also often connected to the worshipping of the goddess of the underworld, Persephone and the god of the dead, Hades. During the periods of medieval and renaissance times in ancient European history, the act of necromancy is considered as a normal part of the life of the people. There are other reasons why conjuring the dead is used. Wise-men ask for help from the spirits of the departed in order to seek for help in diagnosing the illnesses and giving cures to their patients. When it comes to families, they often seek for guidance from their dead loved ones and ask them to appear in their dreams. It was also believed that the souls of those who had already ‘crossed over to the other side’ have the rare ability in finding missing persons or even treasures that have long been lost. Spirits also help unearth some secret crimes that have been committed but were never given justice. The act of necromancy was so popularly used and believed in the ancient times that Catholic priests were even believed to have practiced the art centuries ago even though it was not openly discussed in their history books of their churches. Classical engravings also document some of the necromancy acts of famous philosophers and scholars of the time. Example of this is the one depicting John Dee, a 16th century mathematician with a famous necromancer. In the picture, the two were enveloped by a magic circle with signs of the zodiac and other symbols with a corpse in front of them. Another illustration was that of the Edward Kelly, an Elizabethan alchemist, and Paul Waring who are also protected by a magic circle while facing a corpse that has risen from the ground. All of these depictions were not fiction and were actual events. The use of the magical circle that shrouds both pictures mentioned serves as the protection of the humans from the forces of the spirit they have called that is mostly unhappy and unwilling to cooperate (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). During these times, scholars asking for the guidance and knowledge of the dead were not considered as an uncommon phenomenon. During the classical times, Nobilities or the Christian clergy were the literate members that compose high society. It is believed that either or both of these two groups were responsible for the spreading and practicing of the necromancy despite of the fact that is was strictly forbidden in Christianity. Access to necromancy is a kind of act that can only be accessible to those who belong to the scholars of Europe mainly because of reasons of accessibility, knowledge, and the procedures it use. Evidence to this fact is the number of confessions that a couple of Nobles and Clergy members expressed regarding their experience with the act. A closer look at the practices of necromancy also showed that the procedures are closely similar to Christian rites. In exorcism cases in Christianity, the spirits or demons were forces away through the use of the name of God, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus. This can be compared to the spells of necromancy which are similar to these rites in complete opposition (Necromancy. com). There are also examples of necromancy written in the Holy Bible. One of these is that on Samuel, chapters 28 and 31 that tell the story of King Saul and his abhorrence to David. In the story, he began doubting his decision of bringing David into his court because of the latter’s charisma in people and good skills of being a warrior. The King regretted letting David enter his kingdom when he started to notice that the people were already choosing the young man’s side instead of his. During that time, the Philistines were also preparing to attack. Out of desperation, King Saul disguised and went to see a ‘seeress’ to help him contact the dead. It shall be noted that the king has given an order to persecute all seers, wizards, and others that deal with the supernatural thus the need for his disguise as a common man. After the woman was convinced that she never have punishment for the request, she went onto a trance and related a vision to King Saul. According to the vision, she saw gods ascending from the earth which all gathered to form a man who is covered by a long mantle. As Saul bowed to the ground, he then recognized the spirit that possessed the woman as his deceased prophet, Samuel. But the vision was not the end of it. Samuel chastised the king for his evil attacks of David and said the because of King Saul’s violation of his covenant with the Lord, he will die the next day. The following die, King Saul’s soldiers were slaughtered and he mortally wounded. Knowing his coming fate, he decided to fall upon his own sword (Skafte 2000). Another example of necromancy mentioned in the bible was in Aeschylus’ Persians. In here, the necromancy procedure consisted of Queen Atossa asking the Persian elders to call Darius from his grave. The Queen brought some garlands of milk and different offerings like milk, honey, water, and unmixed wine and oil. The elders followed the queen’s request and called upon the deceased King asking for powerful death gods like Hades to send his soul in the face of earth. When King Darius was successfully summoned, he narrated the beating of the ground and the effect of the cries of the ‘necromantic cries’ on dead people like him (Bremmer 2002). This literary description supports the ancient beliefs about the two questions that are usually mentioned by the souls called through necromancy. The first is about the experiences and unknown secrets of the deceased while they are still living and the second, who is depicted by this story, are the relating of the souls of the ephemeral and magical things they’ve learned upon ‘crossing over’. There are many risks in calling the dead. One of these is through the perspective of Christians who condemn the use of the act. According to this side, the acquiring of knowledge from the dead is prohibited because it was not information that God prohibited to be released. According Christianity laws, there are only two legitimate sources of information that the living can use. These are the things that are revealed by the Lord and those that gleaned through a natural kind of revelation. Simply said, using necromancy to know secrets from the dead is also equivalent to stealing forbidden information. Second, spirits are not beings that people can simply call and command. The art of necromancy is divided into two different phases, the first of which is the calling of the spirit and the second is compelling it to do the bid of the necromancer. Since the spirits of the dead aren’t actually always willing to be called and ordered, there is a great risk for the necromancer and his assistant to be attacked by the former if they’re magical barrier is not that strong (Necromancy 101. com). Moreover, acts of necromancy should have well-defined motives because otherwise it will be considered as works of darkness, simply for the selfish whims of the person who wants to ‘call’ and can also turn out to be dangerous for the health and reason of the necromancer and his assistant. In necromancy procedures of classical times, necromancers are forced to inflict pain on the spirits they call just to force the latter to follow them. As a result of these, the souls are usually very unhappy towards the individuals, heightening the probability of them to become violent.Thus, there is a great risk that comes along with the valuable secrets a spirit may expose (Spence 1960). Bibliography: Bremmer, Jan N. 2002. The rise and fall of the afterlife: The 1995 Read-Tuckwell Lectures at the University of Bristol. Routledge. DeWaay, Bob. 2006. The Dangers of Divination. http://www. deceptioninthechurch. com/dangersofdivination. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Necromancy. 2009. Necromancy in History. Necromancy: Encyclopedia II. http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Necromancy_-Necromancy_in_history/id/1575928 (accessed June 14, 2009). Skafte, Dianne. 2000. When Oracles Speak. Quest Books. Spence, Lewis. 1960. Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New York: University Books. Townbridge, B. 2009. Necromancy explained. Helium. com. http://www. helium. com/items/246248-necromancy-explained (accessed June 14, 2009). Tyson, Donald. 2007. The Truth About Necromancy. Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. http://www. donaldtyson. com/necro. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Wendell, Leilah. 1997. Necromancy 101. The Occult Library. http://www. realmagick. com/articles/17/1817. html (accessed June 14, 2009).

Stresses for Trainee Counselling Psychologists | Review

Stresses for Trainee Counselling Psychologists | Review Title: A critical commentary on the following research paper: Kumary, A Martyn, B. (2008) Stresses reported by UK trainee counselling psychologists. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, March; 21:19-28 The prospect of entering any postgraduate training program can often be intimidating. Not only due to the academic commitment required, but because of the emotional demands and potential financial stranglehold placed on a student. These issues alone can leave trainees in both counselling and related psychological professions vulnerable to stress, which can not only damage the well-being of the student, but lower the overall quality of care experienced by patients when trainees are on placement (Cushway Tyler 1996; Kumary Baker 2008). Kumary Martyns make the simple argument, based loosely around Crushways (1992) study of UK clinical psychology trainees, that there are key aspects of training that impact on self-reported stress levels. These included poor supervision, financial costs, childcare, personal therapy and extra supervision. Some of these stressors identified cannot be thought of as essential or necessary aspects of training but this in itself is an area of key debate. (Kumary et al 2008). Other research has also highlighted the same key issues within counselling (Szymanska 2002), but has only looked at one issue in isolation and with this in mind, the present study was an investigation of UK counselling psychology trainees self-reports of their experiences of stress when training. One might go as far to question the rational of any study examining potential stress within such professions considering that having gone through an undergraduate degree already, students are already accustomed to a moderate l evel of stress and it simply goes with the territory (Cooper Quick 2003). On the other hand, such a study has never been conducted and may produce compelling results. Subjects were easy to identify and obtain although only UK counselling trainees who were studying for Part 1 of the BPS diploma were recruited. Are we to assume that this is when stress levels are at an optimal level? Questionnaires were sent out to all institutions. While the general characteristics of the sample are well represented, there was only a 41% return rate. This is good, but not outstanding in comparison to research conducted in similar domains, despite numerous follow-up e-mails and telephone calls (Robertson Sundstorm 1990). A financial incentive might have improved this return rate, but pre-paid return envelops were provided. However this data was collected in 2003, but not submitted for publication until 2007. Ethically, this delay in analysis and publication produces results that are already four years out of date in an education system that is constantly evolving (Hadley et al 1995). While such a simple methodology may initially seem sound, on closer inspection, the differences between the training programs of clinical and counselling are only glossed over and there is some evidence to suggest that the disparity between the two hinder a repetition of a seemingly straightforward approach last consulted in 1992 by Cushway. Aside from the time lapse, it is therefore important to consider the other issues surrounding the modification of a methodology previously used to investigate stress in clinical trainees. Firstly, counselling psychologist training tends to be less scientifically orientated than its clinical counterpart and most NHS posts are only open to Clinical Psychologists (Mayne, Norcross Sayette 2000). For example, it is generally accepted that counselling psychologists focus more on the therapeutic alliance with clients having to complete 450 hours of contact by the end of 3rd year training (Hadley et al 1995). While there are considerable similarities between the two disciplines, Norcorss (2000) documents many salient differences including professional activities, theoretical orientations, employment and training settings, graduate admissions and research areas. The question what are the differences in training clinical and counselling psychologists? -does not lend itself to an easy answer because psychology can be applied in so many ways. Traditionally, the main difference is in their training and perspective (Mayne et al 2000). It would appear to be an oversight on Kumary et als (2008) part to use a similar, modified methodology, previously applied to clinical trainees when the stress causing factors may be quite different. With these differences outlined in more detail, the old methodology would appear to require a more radical modification or adaptation from that used previously. Two main instruments were used to examine stress within the sample. The Counselling Psychology Trainee Stress Survey (CPTSS) and The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) (Wemeke, Goldberg Yalcin 2000). The CPTSS was developed from Cushways (1992) stress survey for clinical psychology trainees with four categories (academic stressors, placement stressors, organizational stressors and personal stressors). What is concerning is the lack of both research confirming the validity of the measure and the small brainstorm session using five trainees under those headings. Furthermore, from their discussion the CPTSS, constructed from 36 items, was only piloted on a further six trainees. This did lead to some changes being made with the authors settling on four descriptive categories slightly different from Cushways; academic demands, lack of support systems, placement stressors and personal and professional development. This displays neither convergent or discriminant validity. Finally, despi te other more valid forms of questionnaires available measuring stress (for example the Psychological Stress Measure (PMS), this study chose one which was quickly devised from a brief investigation and remains untested in the general population (Lemyre Tessier 2003; Trovato et al 2006). The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) on the other hand has been specifically validated for use in non-psychotic populations (Wemeke et al 2000). Because it is a shortened, 12-item version of the GHQ, it allows for quick completion, is likely to increase participant response, is quick to code and statistical mistakes also become less likely. For the purposes of this study, it appears to be the ideal choice and has been used to great effect in a large body of pervious work (Winefield, Goldney, Winefield, Tiggemann 1989; Vaglum Falkum 1999; Quek, Low, Razack, Loh 2001). A recent review by Jackson (2007) however, pointed out that the 28 item is usually used because the GHQ28 has been more widely used in other working populations, which allows for better comparisons, but the reliability coefficients have ranged from 0.78 to 0.95 in numerous studies and Jackson concludes (2007, p. 57) that: ‘In using this tool with postgraduate students conducting research in many areas of occupational health, the GHQ rarely fails to provide reliable and effective measures of well-being that usually correlate very highly with other measures of working environments or organizations Regardless of how carefully survey data is collected and analyzed, the value of the final result depends on the truthfulness of the respondents answers to the questions asked. Over the last twenty years, researchers have debated extensively about the truthfulness of peoples self-reports, and no clear cut conclusion has emerged (Zechmeister, Zechmesiter, Shaughnessy 2001). If someone is asked whether or not they enjoyed their bath, there is generally no need to question whether this accurately reflects their real feelings. However, in everyday life there are some situations in which researchers should have reason to be suspect. Survey research involves reactive measurement because respondents know that their responses are being recorded. Pressures may be strong for people to respond as they think they should rather than what they actually feel or believe (Zechmeister et al 2001). The term used to describe theses pressures is social desirability and in Kumary Martyns study (2008) the se issues are present in their entirety (Zechmeister et al 2001). For example, a trainee counselling psychologists attitudes towards their own stress and health levels, may be a far cry from their actual stressful behavioural responses. Both the questioners administered rely solely on self report and this gives rise to some further criticism. The approach is straightforward, but there is a trade-off between allowing for a simple analysis and the complex use of questionnaires in any survey based study. It is a fine balance that is difficult to maintain. Self-report questionnaires are all answered at different times and in different locations by each subject. As a result, the measures are vulnerable to inaccuracies caused by confounding variables. For example, a trainee filling in a stress based measure might have just had a particularly stressful day or experience that will effect their score. They could even have exams in a few weeks. Alternatively, reporting the issue of time-management and stress may be meaningless when the respondent evidently has time to sit down and take part in such a study anyway. The results from any self report also lack directness. While there is no ideal direct measure of stress, it is possible to get a better indication by measuring some of the physiological effects in the body. For example, stress might be better measured via heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, brain waves, muscle tension, skin conductance or temperature (Lemyre et al 2003). While more costly, such a study could be replicated using skin conductance monitors, worn by trainee counselling psychologists and correlate daily activities with any changes. This might produce results documenting what aspects of the course give rise to more stress and allow for re-development and changes to be applied where necessary. A more elementary approach might be to use an electronic pager device which asks every hour, how stressed are you now and what are your currently doing? In summary, researchers and clinicians must be careful when adapting clinical tools and methodologies to assess stress. They were designed for pathological disorders and validated using clinical populations and so the statistical distributions are not normal (Trovato et al 2006). As Lemyre et al (2003, p. 1159) state: The concept of stress refers to a set of affective, cognitive, somatic and behavioral manifestations within the range of functional integrity Despite this, thirteen items from the CPTSS were identified as being the most stressful issues in the sample population (none came from lack of support), which were split into two groups. The first included practical issues of finding time, funds and suitable placements. One item was also linked with negotiating these three key areas and could have a subsequent impact on their social life. A second group comprised of more general postgraduate issues: academic pressure and professional socialization. In order to determine a basis for the four groupings within the 37 single items of the CPTSS they were employed as four sub-scales (academic, placement, PPD and lack of support). These also gave acceptable levels of reliability. (Kumary et al 2008). The authors also found some good evidence for demographic variants in stress, with significantly higher stress ratings reported by younger participants and lower for those who were older. The GHQ12 results were in two scoring forms casesness and extend of distress with 54 participants identified as cases had significantly higher CPTSS scores than the 39 non-cases. Key findings from Kumary et al (2008, p. 24) included: The higher the stress rated for an aspect of counselling psychology training, the clearer the indicators of psychiatric distress became older participants had lower CPTSS ratings especially on placement issues men reported lower CPTSS ratings, most notably on academic items The support items attracted less attribution in comparison to academic, placement and PPD issues, despite pilot discussions (Kumary et al 2008), suggesting again that the methodology behind this study was flawed from the start. This does to some extent mirror Cushways (1992) data in that support was viewed by participants as a resource to ease training-induced stress, and participants viewed it as a resource to be used rather than a cause of stress because it was insufficiently provided. Again, with this knowledge available at the outset, why was the same methodology used? At this point, one might mention the issue of correlation and how this does not imply causation, but no profile of a stressed student was possible because most of the results were not significant. The authors admit themselves that the data collected is nothing to be proud of (2008, p. 25). It is difficult to believe that Krumary et al (2008) did not clearly see the unsophisticated and non-standardized status of the CPTSS as a serious issue before conducting such a study particularly when compared with more experimental research methods (Lemyre et al 2003). It is possible that the measures used were not sensitive enough to pick up on individual stress differences between participants. The fact remains however, that the fundamental assumptions were wrong and the question remains, do trainees in professions such as clinical and counselling psychology experience more stress than those within the normal population and if so are such emotional demands a critical part of training? Should t rainees be exposed to unacceptable stress levels and their apparent resilience used as an assessment criterion of professional suitability? (Hadley Mitchell 1995) The basis of this study is not sound enough to warrant any overall generalizations within the target population. The approach was oversimplified at the expense of generalized, poor-quality results. In this sense, the study has contributed little to our knowledge into how trainee counselling psychologists experience stress. The lack of an original approach is a reminder of how academic journals vary in the quality of the research they publish. It is nevertheless important that it was published to illustrate a methodology that clearly failed and thus prevents further repetition. This is the constant winding road of modern applied psychological research. References Cooper, L. C., Quick, C. J. (2003). The stress and loneliness of success. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 16, 1-7 Cushway, D. (1992). Stress in clinical psychology trainees. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 169-179 Cushway, D., Tyler, P. (1996). Stress in clinical psychologists. British Journal of Clinical Psychologists, 31, 169-179 Goldberg DP, et al. (1978) Manual of the General Health Questionnaire (NFER Publishing, Windsor, England). Hadley Mitchell (1995). Counselling Research and Program Evaluation. London: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company Jackson, C. (2007). The General Health Questionnaire. Occupational Medicine, 57, 79 Kumary, A Martyn, B. (2008). Stresses reported by UK trainee counselling psychologists. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 21,19-28 Lemyre, L., Tessier, R. (2003). Measuring psychological stress concept, model and measurement instrument in primary care research. Canadian Family Physician, 49, 1159-1160 Mayne, T. J., Norcross, J. C., Sayette, M. A. (2000). Insiders guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology (2000-2001 ed). New York: Guilford. Norcross C. J. (2000) Clinical Versus Counselling Psychology: Whats the Diff? Eye on Psi Chi, 5 (1), 20-22 Quek, F. K, Low, Y. W., Razack, H. A., Loh, S. C. (2001). Reliability and validity of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among urological patents: A Malaysian study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 55 (5), 509-513 Robertson, M. T., Sundstrom, E. (1990). Questionnaire design, return rates, and response favorableness in an employee attitude questionnaire. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75 (3), 354-357 Szymanska, K. (2002). Trainee expectations in counselling psychology as compared to the reality of the training experience. Counselling Psychology Review, 17, 22-27 Trovato, M. G., Catalano, D., Martines, G. F., Spadaro, D., DI Corrado, D., Crispi, V., Garufi, G., Nuovo, S. (2006). Psychological stress measure in type 2 diabetes. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 10, 69-74 Vaglum, P., Falkum, E. (1999). Self-criticism, dependency and depressive symptoms in a nationwide sample of Norwegian physicians. Journal of Affective Disorders, 52 (1-3), 153-159 Wemeke, U., Goldberg, D., Yalcin, I. (2000). The stability of the factor structure of the General Health Questionaire. Psychological Medicine, 30, 823-829 Winefield, R. H., Goldney, D. R., Winefield, H. A., Tiggemann, M. (1989) The General Health Questionnaire: Reliability and Validity For Australian Youth. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 23 (1), 53-58 Zechmeister, S. J., Zechmesiter, B. E., Shaughnessy, J. J. (2001). Essentials of Research Methods in Psychology, McGraw-Hill Higher Education Schizophrenia: the biological and psychological effect Schizophrenia: the biological and psychological effect The study of psychosis has been much published within the literature. Investigations into the biological, psychological and clinical aspects of the disorder have been greatly seen. An approach which views schizophrenia as a disturbance of information processing appears promising as a way of linking all of the aspects of the disorder. A review of the research in this area led to the suggestion that the basic disturbance in schizophrenia is a weakening of the influences of stored memories of regularities of previous input on current perception. It is argued that the link between information processing disturbances and biological abnormalities may be facilitated by the use of paradigms derived from animal learning theory (latent inhibition and Kamins blocking effect). In a number of animal model studies and indeed human subject studies, on an individuals pattern of performance in acute schizophrenics, the information gained is consistent with the cognitive model. The ways in which such an information-processing disturbance may lead to schizophrenic symptomatology will thus be outlined, with particular reference to the formation and maintenance of delusional beliefs. The core cognitive abnormality may result from a disturbance in any of the brain structures involved in the prediction of subsequent sensory input. The proposed circuit implicates in particular the hippocampus and related areas and is consistent with studies of brain pathology in schizophrenia. Thus, this paper will aim to provide an insight into the biological and psychological effects of schizophrenia and will give an insight into the current treatments available and their effects on the individual and their biological status. Introduction Understanding the varied presentation of the many types of psychotic disorders is still a major challenge within todays scientific capacity. The approaches utilized to clarify their complex nature of such disorders of the neurological system present an ongoing challenge, due to the complexity of the interaction between both biological entities (the brain) and the psychological effects. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review the evolution of our understanding of schizophrenia in terms of the biological and psychological effects of the disorder, based upon a review of the literature findings. Studies, which have been conducted regarding the life-long evolution of mental illnesses, especially schizophrenia, have been publicized for decades and this has managed to initiate the early standing of schizophrenia and of the nature of its chronic states. These experiences have further contributed to the views we hold today regarding the illness, leading in a third phase to the development of a biological-psychosocial model of its evolution which has proved useful for both theoretical and practical purposes. Finally, an understanding of therapeutic experiences and theoretical explorations based on the biological and psychological has helped to minimize the effects of the disease within the patient population. Biological basis of schizophrenia Across the findings within the literature, the question of whether schizophrenia is associated with structural or functional abnormalities of the nervous system, or both, appears to have become the principal focus in many of the biological studies of schizophrenia. A number of different methods of investigation of this system have been conducted including computed tomography studies, which have been able to reveal ventricular enlargement and cortical atrophy in a subgroup of schizophrenic patients. When such enlargement is found within the brain of the majority of patients in the early stages of the illness, they appear to be most severe in patients with negative symptoms and poor outcome. Quantitative neuropathological studies have tentatively demonstrated decreased volume of specific brain areas, neuronal loss, and other changes in the limbic system, basal ganglia, and frontal cortex. Dopamine (DA) remains the neurotransmitter most likely to be involved in schizophrenia, although t here is also evidence for disturbances of serotonin and norepinephrine. Post-mortem and positron emission tomographic studies suggest an increased number of D2 DA receptors in some schizophrenics. Neuroendocrine studies reinforce the role of DA in schizophrenics. Viral infections and autoimmune disturbances may be responsible for some types of schizophrenia, but there is no firm experimental evidence to support either hypothesis. The possibility that mixtures of structural abnormalities and functional changes involving DA occur in the same patients rather than independently as part of two syndromes (Type I, II) seems attractive. The symptoms of schizophrenia patients appear to be diverse, with different elements of the disease having different impacts on different individuals. Since Bleulers (1950) conception of the schizophrenias as a heterogenous disease composed of symptomaticlly different subgroups, attempts have been made to identify biological correlates of specific behavioral dysfunction. Diagnosis of the illness could be seen to have been fraught with difficulties. The initial lack of differentiation between the manic episodes of bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia still presents as being greatly problematic within studies published within the literature, and subsequent attempts to differentiate between subgroups of schizophrenics have yielded no discrete classification system. The search for an etiology has also been bedeviled by this lack of distinct classification. Nevertheless, the publication of and the conduction of a number of biological theories have contributed to an understanding o f schizophrenia by identifying specific dysfunctional neural areas in determining biochemical changes associated with symptomatology and in formulating new etiological hypotheses. Neurological correlation between neurological studies and the effects of schizophrenia have been examined by research conducted through the use of magnetic resonance imaging, computed and positron emission tomography, and, also postmortem morphological changes (Koning et al, 2010). Studies of cognitive function in association with metabolic and cerebrovascular activity have contributed to the identification of discrete neural dysfunction. In addition, development of the dopamine theory and its relationship to positive symptoms has assisted in diagnostic differentiation, while recent studies on the modulatory role of neuropeptides on neurotransmitters have expanded the scope of the dopamine theory. Several biological theories have been proposed for an etiology of schizophrenia. (Krabbendam et al, 2004) Perinatal complications and viral infection have been suggested either in isolation or in conjunction with genetic factors. Low birth weight has also been proposed as a predisposing or associated factor in the subsequent development of schizophrenia. The viral hypothesis has received impetus from recent research into retroviruses capable of genetic transmission and causing latent disease onset. It is also recognized that factors other than biological, in particular, Psychosocial influences may play an etiological role in schizophrenia. Discussion of these factors, however, will not be discussed in great detail in this paper due to time restrictions. The difficulty of diagnosis As etiological studies rely to a large extent on accurate diagnosis, it is important initially to identify diagnostic problems because this aids an understanding between the interplay between biological and psychological effects, which can be noted in schizophrenics. It has long been recognized that the term schizophrenia incorporates a heterogeneous collection of subgroups, possibly with different etiologies, disease processes, and outcomes. The subsequent categorization of such patients into meaningful groups therefore relies upon differences in symptomatology and long term outcome, and fall broadly into three categories- paranoid versus nonparanoid, negative versus positive, and chronic versus acute (Goldstein Tsuang, 1988) The literature proposes that paranoid groups show a better premorbid adjustment, cognitive performance, and prognosis than the nonparanoid group (Kumra and Schulz, 2008), it has been suggested that this represents a measurement artifact and depends on whether absolute or relative measures of paranoia are used. Studies using absolute predominance measures to the exclusion of other symptoms reject many subjects displaying both sets of symptoms. Many nonpredominance studies show no differences between the groups of an increase in negative outcome as paranoid symptoms increase. Other researchers have proposed that schizophrenics could be categorized into two types placed into their category upon the basis of positive or negative symptom preponderence. Type I, or the positive symptom group, display some of the Schneiderian first rank symptoms of hallucinations and delusions, while Type 2, or the negative symptom group, show affective loss or extinction, speech content poverty, psychomotor deficits, and a general loss of drive or will. One of the problems with this categorization is that many schizophrenics display both sets of symptoms and that schizophrenics with primary positive symptoms often develop negative symptoms over time (Phillips and Silverstein, 2003). This would mean that studies using young subjects showing predominantly Positive symptoms may not be adequately differentiating between groups. Recent refinements of the positive/negative dichotomy have led to a redefinition of negative symptoms congruent with familial genetic factors, developmental dys- function, and the development of psychometric scales to measure relative symptomatology (Pickett-Schnenk et al, 2006). However, the influence of neuroleptic drugs on attentional and extrapyramidal functioning could also contribute to the development of differential symptoms. Furthermore, the effects of early environmental factors, such as perinatal trauma and familial environment, and of concurrent disorders, such as depression, are not adequately taken into account in such studies. Thus, this highlights the difficulties, which can be seen when trying to relate the biological and psychological effects of schizophrenia to a certain pathological aspect of brain development. Within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; APA, 1987) chronicity is defined as persistence of disturbance for more than two years with further residual diagnosis if subsequent symptoms are primarily negative. It is assumed to be associated with negative symptoms within Crows typography (Crow, 1980). This classification is the most common in the literature because of its basis in psychiatric diagnosis and its relationship to poor prognosis and to biological and cognitive deficits. For the purpose of biological research, the argument appears to be somewhat circular however because, for example, research attempts to find biological correlates of subgroups that are often operationally defined by their biological correlates. Moreover, there is significant overlap between the two groups in that many initially acute schizophrenics subsequently become chronic (by definition). While researchers across the literature publications acknowledge the heterogeneity of the disease, they continue to rely operationally on a dichotomous diagnosis. Multiple research strategies on the same subgroup would assist in isolating behavioural and biological attributions and in refining diagnostic criteria. Biochemical research and the impact on our understanding of the effects of schizophrenia Disruptions of neural biochemical processes have been extrapolated both from the effects of psychomimetic drugs and from the actions of symptom-reducing neuroleptic drugs. Drugs such as amphetamine and L-dopa, which cause psychotic conditions (e.g., hallucinations and paranoia), are known to involve excesses of dopamine release (Goodwin, 1972). Although different classes of neuroleptics are known to block acetylcholine, noradrenaline, or serotinin transmission, all of them block dopamine, and symptom reduction is thought to emanate from the latter (Millar et al, 2001). Within the dopamine theory two models of dysfunction have been proposed: autoreceptor excess, and postsynaptic receptor mechanism deficit. Different classes of neuroleptics vary in whether action is pre- or postsynaptic, but an inhibition of dopamine transmission is effected by all classes. Two classes of dopamine receptors have been identified-D1 and DP as previously mentioned, and it is believed that they are related to schizophrenia and neuroleptic effects. Distinctions between the two are based upon their actions on adenylate cyclase: stimulatory for Dl and distinct or inhibitory for D2 (Murray et al, 2008). Dl neurons, which project from the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum, are implicated in Parkinsons disease. Inhibition of Dl receptors is believed to be the origin of neuroleptic side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia and parkinsonianism. D2 receptors are associated with the antipsychotic effects of neuroleptic drugs and form the mesolimbic dopamine system which projects to the frontal cortex and some limbic forebrain structures (Tseng et al, 2008). The proposition that schizophrenic symptoms are caused by an excess of D2 receptors was initially difficult to substantiate due to drug effects and disease process. In most postmortem studies showing higher densities of dopamine receptors, previous antipsychotic drug use is also implicated (Seeman, 1986). However, in several studies subjects had never been treated with neuroleptics and still evinced increased dopamine receptor density (Trower et al, 2004). The role of dopamine receptor anomalies has also been studied using differential effects of classes of neuroleptics on dopamine receptors. In vivo Positron Emission Tomography (PET) research using the ligand [Cl raclopride has indicated that diverse classes of neuroleptic drugs administered in clinically effective doses block D2 dopamine receptors in the putamen. suggesting increased D2 dopamine density in schizophrenic subjects (Thompson et al, 2001). Research on the role of the atypical neuroleptic, clozapine, on dopamine receptors has however yielded inconsistent results. It is thought that the relative absence of extrapyramidal side effects with clozapine administration is due to a selective effect on D2 dopamine activity in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens but not in the substantia nigra or striatum. Haloperidol, on the other hand, reduces dopamine activity in both areas. The effects of both drug classes have been observed in rats using in vivo extracellular sing le-unit recordings (Tseng et al, 2009). However, clozapine also acts antagonistically on cholinergic, a-adrenergic, his- tamine, and serotonin receptors and, in addition, the combination of haloperidol with the a-noradrenergic antagonist, prazosin, produces similar effects to clozapine administration, namely, reduced basal dopamine release in the striatum but not in the nucleus accumbens (Thimm et al, 2010). Studies on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of prolactin following clozapine administration have also yielded inconsistent reslults. Prolactin release is inhibited by dopamine and increased by conventional neuroleptics. However, in at least one study it has been found that administration of clozapine to human schizophrenic subjects produced no significant increase in prolactin levels 11 hours after administration, despite moderate to marked therapeutic effects (Meltzer, Goode, Schyve, Young, Fang, 1979). Several recent studies have also implicated Dl receptor blocks in the therapeutic effects of clozapine. A further obstacle to the initial acceptance of the dopamine theory has been the time discrepancy between drug administration and antipsychotic symptomatic effects. PET studies have shown immediate binding to dopamine receptor sites, yet their clinical effect is often delayed for several weeks (Tarrier et al, 1999). There have been suggestions that receptors blocks produce an initial overactivity of dopamine release to compensate for inhibition. Further evidence for the dopamine theory has come from measurements of CSF, and plasma levels of the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA). Although findings in unmedicated patients have not yielded consistent differences in HVA levels between schizophrenics and controls, neuroleptic treatment increases HVA levels (Abubaker et al, 2008). In unmedicated patients, a correlation between low HVA levels and cortical atrophy and ventricular enlargement has been found in at least one study. This has led to the suggestion that dopamine excess is related to Type 1 schizophrenia, an interpretation which is supported by a good response to neuroleptic drugs in this group (Crow, 1985). In addition, Allen et al (2008) has suggested a possible deficiency of dopamine in Type 2 schizophrenics. However, the Type l-Type 2 typography has not been fully supported, and there is evidence that neuroleptic drugs elicit response in negative symptom sufferers (Allen et al, 2008). From the evidence there is little doubt of the biological role of dopamine within some forms of schizophrenia. The influence of serotonin in schizophrenia was suggested by the antagonistic activity of the psychomimetic drug, D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), on serotonin transmission (Addinton and Addington, 1993). This has been studied in CSF by measuring levels of the serotonin precuresor, tryptophan, and the metabolite 5- hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA). At least one study has found reduced levels of 5-HIAA in schizophrenics and no difference between those on and off neuroleptics, but the latter group had only been drug free for a short time (three weeks). Therefore residual effects cannot be discounted. It was not stated whether subjects were also suffering from depression, which is known to decrease serotonin levels (Akbarian and Huang, 2009). Neither increasing nor decreasing serotonin levels have had a beneficial effect on schizophrenic symptoms (Akbarian and Huang, 2009). Monoamine oxidase (MAO) metabolizes dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline, as well as endogenous stimulants or hallucinogens such as phenylethylamine and diethltryptamine. It has therefore been hypothesized that decreased MAO activity could be contributory to schizophrenia. Studies have been conducted into platelet MAO activity in schizophrenics with varying results. Meltzer and Arora (1980) found that decreased MAO platelet activity was positively correlated with paraniod and positive symptoms. Other studies have found no un- usual MAO platelet activity in paranoid or hallucinating schizophrenics (Arts et al, 2008) Recent research has also considered the role of neuro-peptides in modulating CNS functions and the possible implications for schizophrenic symptomatology. Endorphins have been the subject of the most intensive study because of their association to proposed neural deficit areas both in biochemical and neuropathlogical research. The B, y, and (Y endorphins originate in the basal hypothalamus and modulate neurotransmitter activity in several structures of the limbic system and brain stem. Of all the biochemical theories of schizophrenia, the dopamine hypothesis has been the most consistently substantiated in research. The implication of other neurotransmitters, however, suggests a possible diffuse dysfunction with dopamine eliciting the most severe disruption. Efforts have been made to control for medication, but residual drug effects cannot be discounted. Many studies now use chlorpromazine equivalents to control for the effects of varying medication levels. The problem with this method is that, although different classes of neuroleptics all reduce dopamine levels either pre- or postsynaptically, they do not have equivalent effects on serotonin, MAO, or noradrenalin. Further problems are encountered when attempts are made to ascribe an etiological function to neurotransmitter activity. It is equally probable that any such changes are caused by the disease process rather than their being causal. Structual brain abnormalities The neuropathology of schizophrenia has received considerable recent interest in the light of positron emmission tomography (PET), postmortem, cognitive function and cerebral blood flow (CBF) research. While PET scans and postmortem investigation have concentrated on structural measurements, cognitive studies have provided tacit support for such structural changes. It has been hypothosized that neuropathological abnormalities identified in subgroups of schizophrenics could be in vitro developmental disorders either genetically transmitted or resulting from prenatal trauma (Ashburner et al, 2008). The most consistent findings across the publications within the literature have been differences in ventricular size, in some sections of the temporal limbic and nigrostriatal systems and basal ganglia, and in the prefrontal cortex. Measurements of ventricular size have however, shown considerable inconsistency, with some studies finding no significant difference between subjects and non-schizophrenic controls (Bles et al, 2010), and some reporting significant differences between chronic paranoid and hebephrenic subjects and normal controls (Bales et al, 2010). Evidence to date suggests that ventricular enlargement is only salient for a small subgroup of schizophrenics subject to chronicity or other, as yet unidentified, factors. Inconsistency in the results could be due to deviations in subject samples. It has been proposed that atrophy of specific neural areas could account for some schizophrenic symptoms. While some evidence has come directly from postmortem studies. Abnormalities have also been inferred from the results of PET and CAT scans and CBF measurements performed in conjunction with cognitive tasks designed to activate specific neural areas. Postmortem studies have identified significant cortical atrophy in the lateral nigro-striatal area (Birchwood et al, 2004) and in the limbic portions of the temporal lobe, specifically the amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus (Birchwood et al, 2004). Psychotherapies and social treatments The psychological effects and impacts of schizophrenia must be emphasized. Due to the impact of the different, aforementioned parts of the brain and the CNS in schizophrenia, the psychological impact of the disease is obviously one, which takes great effect as previously mentioned. Psychotherapies are thought to be important within the current treatment lines in schizophrenia and although antipsychotic medications are the mainstay of treatment for schizophrenia, pharmacotherapy alone produces only limited improvement in negative symptoms, cognitive function, social functioning and quality of life. Additionally, it has been found that a great number of patients continue to suffer from persistent positive symptoms and relapses particularly when they fail to adhere to prescribed medications. This underlines the need for multi-modal care including psychosocial therapies as adjuncts to antipsychotic medications to help alleviate symptoms and to improve adherence, social functioning and qu ality of life (Patterson and Leeuwenkamp, 20008). A short review of the evidence that has accumulated on the efficacy of the major modalities of psychosocial treatment highlights that treatments involving social skills training, psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural therapies (CBTs) can all have a role in the treatment of individuals with schizophrenia. The reasoning behind the success of each treatment can give guidance into the psychological effects of the disease. For example, Psychoeducational interventions provide information about the disorder and its treatment to patients and their family members, and additionally inform the patients and family members about strategies to cope with schizophrenic illness. From the literature findings, it is evident that an extensive body of literature has accumulated regarding the efficacy of these interventions. Meta-analyses suggest that these interventions reduce high expressed emotion among relatives, and decrease relapse and rehospita lization rates (Pitschel et al, 2002; Giron et al, 2010). In general, interventions that include family members are found to have a much greater level of success (Pharaoh et al, 2006). Multi-family psychoeducation group approaches, which provide family psychoeducation and additionally offer an expanded social network, are found to reduce rates of relapse as are peer-to-peer education programs for families and patients (Chien et al, 2006). Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) About a third of patients with schizophrenia continue to suffer from persistent psychotic symptoms despite adequate pharmacotherapy. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has therefore been presented as a system of treatment which has emerged to address this need, and is based on the hypothesis that psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations stem from misinterpretations and irrational attributions caused by self-monitoring deficits. CBT seeks to help patients rationally appraise their experience of disease symptoms and how they respond to them, thereby reducing symptoms and preventing relapse (Turkington et al, 2008). Meta-analytic evaluations of this data have found CBT to be effective in ameliorating positive symptoms (Rector and Beck, 2001) although effect sizes of CBT have been noted to be inconsistent across studies and a recent meta-analysis of six blinded studies (Lynch et al, 2010) found CBT to be ineffective in reducing any symptoms of schizophrenia or in preventing relapse; the fairness of this analysis has been questioned (Kingdon et al, 2010). CBT is reported to be ineffective in targeting negative symptoms and its effects on other treatment domains are not well studied. Although CBT is recommended as a standard of care for persons with schizophrenia (NICE, 2009) the results are thought to give the best outcomes in patients who are willing to comply with treatment. Cognitive remediation A substantive proportion of schizophrenia patients have impaired cognition, particularly in the domains of psychomotor speed, attention, working memory and executive function, verbal learning and social cognition. These deficits are robust and persist during the illness, and serve as rate limiting factors for functional recovery (Tandon et al, 2009). Several cognitive remediation approaches have been developed over the past two decades which involve compensation strategies to organize information, use of environmental aids such as reminders and prompts, and a range of techniques designed to enhance executive function and social cognition (Eack et al, 2010). Earlier reviews and meta-analyses which have been presented and published within the literature findings have suggested that cognitive remediation leads to modest improvements in performance on neuropsychological tests but has limited generalization to functional outcomes (Pilling et al, 2002) One large meta-analysis published by McGurk et al, (2007), however, found that cognitive remediation was associated with significant improvements in cognitive performance and symptoms, as well as psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia. Cognitive remediation has been found to be more effective in studies that provided adjunctive psychiatric rehabilitation in addition to cognitive remediation. Thus, it appears to be the case that the durability of benefits of cognitive remediation are not yet set in stone. Social skills training (SST) Schizophrenia patients manifest deficits in social competence and these contribute to poor outcome. The goal of SST is to improve day-to-day living skills by focusing on components of social competence such as self-care, basic conversation, vocational skills, and recreation. These skills are practiced mostly in group settings using techniques based on operant and social learning theory. Historically, token economy was the first such intervention that sought to improve the social behavior of patients with psychiatric illness. While effective, the results did not generalize beyond the therapeutic setting. A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of social skills training in schizophrenia showed a large effect size for improvement in skills, a moderate effect size for performance-based social and community skills and for community functioning, and a small effect size for symptoms and relapse (Kurts and Mueser, 2008) Conclusions Thus, in conclusion, and in review of the findings published within the literature, it si clear that the impact of both biological aspects of the disease and psychological impacts are prevalent within the schizophrenic population. In summary, research on psychosocial approaches to treatment of schizophrenia has yielded incremental evidence of efficacy of CBT, SST, family psychoeducation, ACT and supported employment. Relatively few rigorously conducted trials of psychosocial interventions have been reported in the early course of schizophrenia, a phase of the illness when effective interventions may yield long-term outcome benefits . More hypothesis-driven research is needed to examine active ingredients of the therapeutic modalities that work, to identify the synergistic effects of combinations of interventions, and to use the knowledge which we have gained from the biological impact of the disease and the understandings of the neurological circuitry and its implications in schizoph renia to aid the development of new methods of reducing the effects of schizophrenia on the patient population.