Internal Fraud Case Study Essay - 650 Words

COVER STORY: INTERNAL FRAUD CASE STUDY Prepare a two-to-three page case study report on the following case: COVER STORY: INTERNAL FRAUD on pages 104-106 in Chapter 4: Billing Schemes of the Fraud Examination text by Wells. Discuss the coincidences involved in this case study. Use the 2009 Global Fraud Survey (also located in Doc Sharing) for references concerning perpetrator, size of fraud, detection, and controls. This case is about the $4 million embezzlement fraud by an employee of a magazine publisher, and how the fraud was discovered. The type of fraud discovered was a billing scheme that was found on accident. A billing scheme is, â€Å"Any scheme in which a person causes his employer to issue a payment by submitting invoices for†¦show more content†¦In doing so, they should have had someone else transporting the approved invoices to the accounts payable department. They should have also mailed the checks out to the clients rather than having someone come collect them. According to the 2010 Global Fraud Studies, â€Å"there was a strong correlation between the perpetrator’s position of authority and the losses caused by fraud.† 3 Managers took 41% of the cases. With coincidence two, McGrane’s secretary noticed that Miano’s behavior became extravagant. From him purchasing $800 in drinks, to having 5 cars, one of which was a Mercedes, to him purchasing a 2nd home for $416,000, and him talking about a new $18,000 boat. I think the secretary should have seen it as a red flag when she noticed Miano’s behavior becoming extravagant and reported it to a higher authority. Managers should take the time to analyze the lifestyles of their employees. Unexpected and unexplained changes in lifestyle may suggest that fraud has taken place. I think the activity and responsibilities of this type of employee should be monitored. With coincidence three, a red flag should have been the fact that Miano hadn’t taken a vacation in 4 years. According to the 2010 Global Fraud Studies, â€Å"frauds committed by higher-level perpetrators also took longer to detect.† 4 The median months were 18 months to detect fraud in managers. Then to take a vacation to go gambling isShow MoreRelatedInternal Fraud Case Study642 Words   |  3 PagesCOVER STORY: INTERNAL FRAUD CASE STUDY Prepare a two-to-three page case study report on the following case: COVER STORY: INTERNAL FRAUD on pages 104-106 in Chapter 4: Billing Schemes of the Fraud Examination text by Wells. Discuss the coincidences involved in this case study. Use the 2009 Global Fraud Survey (also located in Doc Sharing) for references concerning perpetrator, size of fraud, detection, and controls. This case is about the $4 million embezzlement fraud by an employee of a magazineRead MoreInternal Control and Fraud Detection in the Banking Industry (a Case Study of Guarantee Trust Bank Plc)11154 Words   |  45 PagesINTERNAL CONTROL AND FRAUD DETECTION IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY (A CASE STUDY OF GUARANTEE TRUST BANK PLC) BY OGUNDELE GBONJUBOLA 06271184 BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING, FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA, ABUJA, NIGERIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.SC) HONOURS DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING JANUARY, 2011 DECLARATION Apart from references of other people’sRead MoreThe Role of Internal Audit in Prevention of Fraud in Nigeria Banks . a Case Study of Equitorial Bank Lagos.9955 Words   |  40 PagesBackground of the Study 2. Statement of Problem 3. Research Objectives 4. Significance of Study 5. Scope and Limitation of the Study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Introduction 2. Types of Bank Frauds 3. Causes of Fraud 4. Effects of Fraud on Banks 5. Internal Audit function 6. Fraud and Internal Audit 7. Fraud Prevention 1. General Measures 2. Specific Preventive Measures 8. Elements of Fraud Auditing 9. Measures of Controlling Fraud in Banks 10. StatementRead MoreComparative Analysis Of Fair Value And Historical Cost Accounting On Reported Profit1659 Words   |  7 PagesTitle: Comparative Analysis Of Fair Value And Historical Cost Accounting On Reported Profit: A Study Of Selected Manufacturing Companies In Nigeria. (BESSONG, 2012) Study the importance of historical value and fair value cost accounting on reported profit. The study discussed how fair value accounting and historical cost accounting will have effect on the reported profit. However it is said that key objective of any business is to earn profit and it is also equally important to report the profitRead MoreCase Study 1 Fraud Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesCase Study1: And the Fraud Continues A business can not work out without an account system, which includes internal. Internal controls are used by companies to make sure financial information is accurate and valid. Strong internal controls are signs of a financially healthy company and protect the company’s integrity. Strong internal controls can also increase a company’s profitability. There are several types of internal controlsRead MoreDonald R. Cressey s Theory Of The Occupational Offender1163 Words   |  5 Pagespoint, they started embezzling from their employer (Wells, 2013, p. 13). Cressey’s hypothesis was that embezzlers or â€Å"trust violators† had three common characteristics (Wells, 2013, p. 13). These three characteristics would later become known as the â€Å"fraud triangle† (Wells, 2013, p. 13). Frist, the trust violator had to have a â€Å"non-shareable financial problem† (Wells, 2013, p. 13). A non-sharable financial problem was a problem that the embezzler, for whatever reason, wouldn’t share with someone elseRead MoreUmmary Of The Issues In The DHB Industries990 Words   |  4 PagesIndustries, Inc. case study.    Background: DHB Industries, Inc. (DHBI) case study concerns an accounting and financial reporting fraud. DHBI made protective body armour for the US military. The former CEO of DHBI, David Brooks (DB), misrepresented DHBIs financial statements, mislead the independent auditors in order to conceal his fraudulent transactions and he misappropriated DHBIs assets and funds for personal expenditures. Main Issues: (1)  Weak corporate governance and lack of internal accountingRead MoreInternal Control Of Nigerian Banking Sector1323 Words   |  6 PagesDISCUSSION This section of this chapter aims to interpret the findings and critically evaluate the study. This research indicates that internal control can prevent and detect fraud in Nigerian banking sectors. The first section of the findings contains the first objectives of this research which is to find out the employee knowledge based on the concept of fraud in banking sector. Therefore, According Biegelman, Martin T, (2013) said The penchant for extortion happens when three basic componentsRead MoreWeek1 Assignment Essay893 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Visit the websites for the Institute of Internal Auditor and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: http://www.theiia.org http://www.acfe.com In particular, read the code of ethics for both organizations at: http://www.theiia.org/guidance/additional-resources/ippf-processes/ http://www.acfe.com/about/cfe-rules.asp?copy=ethics 1. How do the codes complement each other? 2. Provide three other notable points of information from each site that either you learned for the first time or have foundRead MoreA Report On Occupational Fraud Essay1433 Words   |  6 Pages B Detection The 2014 ACFE Report on Occupational Fraud expressed that the longer frauds were able to go undetected, the more costly they became. One-quarter of the frauds in the study were detected in the first six months of their occurrence; and for those cases, the median loss was limited to $50,000. This is a more acceptable figure, considering that, the general median loss caused by frauds in the study was $145,000. Hence, we can see that early detection can prove to be less financially

A Long History Of Sexuality Is Conditioned And Inhibited...

â€Å"How we think about sexuality is conditioned and inhibited by a complicated history and, to make our problems worse, that history is in the power of those who have necessarily been antagonistic to women for a very long time. Males generally have been economically and socially superior to women since they became the primary producers and possessors of private property.† (Murphy Robinson, 1984: 251) One of Western societies biggest social taboos is sex. Even more so, there is a long history of repressed female sexuality. The years of absent representation of overtly sexual women has affected how they think and feel about their own sexuality, and allows them to be treated as a minority despite the gender being half the population. The first Ann Summers retail store opened in 1970, and current CEO Jacqueline Gold introduced the Party Plan in 1981. Presently, Ann Summers does well to help empower women, and is ultimately positive in terms of female sexulity representation and discussion. When Jacqueline Gold was appointed CEO in 1993, she was a key figure in turning the company s reputation around to focus on women and what they want. As constructive as this is, there are problems to the company’s marketing, specifically when looking at the Ann Summers Party Plan. Their approach can be considered heteronormative as a result of their phallocentric homosocial atmosphere. When thinking about the social taboos around female sexuality, there are many reasons for people to believe

Healthcare Administration Free Essays

Kudankulam will be anothet Uttarakhand with all these substandard technology. Stop this. Nobody on earth can give 100% safety to the local people. We will write a custom essay sample on Healthcare Administration or any similar topic only for you Order Now – Rev. Thomas Kocherry, Tamil Nadu , India The Need Today Is To Rid Our Minds Of The Influence Of Mullahs You have read or heard about Pakistan ‘s Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) recently deciding that DNA Tests may not be used as evidence in the absence of witness by four righteous adults; this apparen’t â€Å"ridiculous decision† angers most of you. However it is important to understand why traditional Muslims minds (like in case of CII) reach such absurd conclusions. This is because â€Å"Literalists† dominate Muslim thinking. They read Quran, Hadith and all scriptures in a literal word by word fashion; they translate Arabic words of 7th Century (when mankind didn’t know about circulation of blood or role of heart as a pump) to create legally binding commands in 21st Century (when heart transplant and travel to moon have become relics of past). In reality all Religions can only be understood as timeless principles to create a just society free of tyranny but Mullahs and all others under the influence of Mullahs interpret our religion to create situations of tyranny (Zulm, Injustice). Do you not see how they create sectarian disharmony and killings? How do you think they end up creating hatred against Shia or Sunni? What we need today is to rid our minds of the influence of Mullahs. When many of you get â€Å"stressed† and warn others not to talk of religion without fully understanding it. It is not â€Å"fear of God† it’s the psychological fear created by Mullahs, Allah is forgiving but Mullah is not. In the present day world no one can be an Aalam-e-Din without having a command of modern sciences (Biology, Physics and Chemistry even Finance etc) in addition to knowledge of Theology and History. Islam is a Code of Life for all times only because it has the elasticity to adjust with the changing times. – Moeed Pirzada, California AAPI And Its Young President Your cover story on AAPI’s Young Leadership and his vision for AAPI is very inspiring. Great to have such exceptionally great organizations and the many noble works they undertake. AAPI’s meteoric rise from a basement three decades ago to become one of today’s premier ethnic medical associations is a tribute to its past leaders, a network of hardworking committees, and a constituency of 100,000 physicians and medical residents. AAPI has become a force to reckon with. AAPI’s stellar role has come in for appreciation with the US political leaders and law makers. Hope, Dr. Shah is able to build on what he has inherited from its past presidents and take it to new levels of high achievements and great service to humanity. Rajiv Saxena, Illinois Historic Moment For Indian Americans As Srikant Srinivasan Confirmed US Judge Your report on India’s Chandigarh-born Srinivasan’s confirmation as the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, being unanimously approved by the US Senate with 97 voting in favor, is a historically prud moment for all Indian Americans. The 46-year-old has become the first South Asian to be appointed to the top American court amid speculation that he may one day be tapped for the Supreme Court. Justice Srinivasan has a distinguished and proven record of commitment to public service, and I look forward to his contributions to the bench. And he will offer a unique perspective and added diversity that is long overdue in our justice system. – Hemant Pancholi , North Carolina Well Written Editorial On Corruption Dear Ajay, I went through Asian Era and it is interesting to read and the quality is very good. In your editorial you have written well on world wide corruption with facts and figures. It is interesting to know different levels of corruption. Shijy Selvan Albert , Michigan JUL-AUG 2013 Durga Mandir New Jersey No Cash Offerings Appeal to Devotees Respected Devotees: Namaskar, With all the due respect I am making an humble appealâ€Å"Not to make any Cash Offerings at Durga Mandir† in Princeton , New Jersey . Please do visit Durga Mandir for all your ceremonial needs as usual. Under no circumstances this Appeal should be construed as boycott of the Temple . How to cite Healthcare Administration, Papers

Intersexuality And Scripture Essay Example For Students

Intersexuality And Scripture Essay Intersexuality and ScriptureSally Gross As a brute physical phenomenon, the bodiliness of people like us who are born intersexed challenges cherished assumptions about sex and gender made by many people within Western society. A variety of social institutions, including the dominant canons of medical practice and conceptions, much of the domain of the law itself, and some of the religious teachings which have loomed so large in the history of the West, tend strongly to support the notion that sex and gender is a dichotomy, and that any given human being is either deterninately and unequivocally male or determinately and unequivocally female. Congenitally intersexed physicality gives the lie to this dichotomous model of sex and gender. It is scant wonder, therefore, that fundamentalist Christians, who could be expected strongly to support the dichotomy which looms so large in the idealised model of the family, should feel threatened by the phenomenon of intersexuality and should seek to find religious arguments against it. It is not uncommon for Christian fundamentalists, faced with intersexuality as a brute fact, to adduce scriptural grounds for the condemnation of avowed intersexuality, at least, as unnatural and as something which is at odds with the will of God as expressed in the order of creation. This theological condemnation of lived intersexual identities also finds expression in unconditional support for surgical interventions, as early as possible, aimed at making the unacceptably ambiguous bodies of intersexed infants and children conform to the dichotomous model, in which there is no room whatsoever for ambiguity. This apparently religiously-motivated endorsement of surgery is insensitive to the fact that in most cases surgery is not necessitated by any real threat to the life or health of the infant, so that it is purely cosmetic in character. It is also insensitive to the fact that such aesthetically-driven surgical interventions frequently give r ise to medical problems later in life, and can therefore be directly detrimental to the health of an otherwise flourishing intersexed person. Two Biblical proof-texts in particular tend to be cited as part of this rejection of intersexual identities and to show that intersexed bodies must be cut into conformity with the male/female dichotomy. The first of these texts is Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. This is claimed to show that human beings are, by virtue of the divine ordering of creating itself, either male and not female or female and not male, and that nothing intermediate or ambiguous is sanctioned. The second of these proof-texts is Numbers 5:3 which, in connexion with those who contract particular ritual defilements, commands that you shall put out both male and female. Those who brandish this verse note that both male and female means everyone, and that this implies that there can be n o-one who is not unambiguously male or unambiguously female. Both proof-texts, but particularly Genesis 1:27, are cited in defence of an absolute division between the sexes which will not tolerate anything in between. Let us therefore look at Genesis 1:27. I am not personally a Biblical literalist, and doubt that the two Biblical stories of creation (a priestly account, in Genesis 1:1 2:3, and what is called the Yahwists account, in Genesis 2:4 2:24) were even intended to be taken literally. For all that, it is interesting to note that Genesis 1:27, the proof-text for Biblical literalists who wish to argue that hermaphroditism is somehow unnatural or unscriptural, is perhaps more herm-friendly than many Biblical literalists realise or than translations suggest; and there are early Jewish exegetical traditions which undermine its use as a scriptural rejection of intersex identity. Genesis 1:27 and Numbers 5:3 (which also has a section which the RSV translated as: both male and fema le, used as synonymous with everyone) have sometimes been thrown at me in order to argue that God created all human beings determinately male or determinately female with nothing in-between. It has been used, in my experience, to argue that a person like me does not satisfy the Biblical criterion of humanity, from which it was inferred that I am unbaptisable and could therefore not have been baptised validly. The use of either of these passages in this way is in fact odd and indeed rather comical, for there is a Rabbinical gloss on Genesis 1:27 which suggests that Adam, at least, most certainly did not have a clear and unequivocal gender identity, and indeed that Adam was an hermaphrodite. The verse states, in the language of its revelation: va-yivra elohim et ha-adam be-tzalmo, be-tzelem elohim bara oto, zakhar u-neqevah bara otam, and God created the man in his image, in the image of God he created him , male and female he created them . The shift from oto (singular) to otam (plur al) with reference to ha-adam (the man) is odd, and attracted attention. It is against this background that the following tradition is found: Rabbi Yirmiyah ben Elazar said: When the Holy One Blessed be He created the primal man , he created him an androgyne, and it is therefore said: male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). (Bere*censored* Rabbah, 8). This is an anecdotal gloss, of course, but it responds to the undeniable oddness of the grammatical shift from singular to plural in the Hebrew. The very fact that the language of the verse gave rise to this gloss in a context which paid careful attention to the fine detail of the text is surely telling. It does suggest that to use the verse in support of a razor-sharp division of humankind between male and female is perhaps misguided. What, then, of Numbers 5:3? The phrase which tends translated as male and female, and which is taken to imply that the division between male and female is an all-inclusive dichotomy rather than a continuum, reads mi-zakhar ve-ad neqevah, from male to female, in the original Hebrew. The form from A to B suggests a continuum of some sort precisely the kind of continuum which Colson alleges to be unscriptural. The form itself allows for the logical possibility that there are in-betweens. Again, examination of the Hebrew reveals that it is not the best verse to wrest out of context if one wants a proof-text to prove that physical intersexuality is an offence against the divine order of creation. On the subject of Rabbinical traditions about intersexuality, Tractate Yevamot in the Babylonian Talmud (leaf 64a) contains a tradition to the effect that Abraham and Sarah were intersexed. It states: Abraham and Sarah were tumtum, as it is said: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged (Isaiah 51:1) and it is written: Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you (Isaiah 51:2). Rabbi Nahman said in the name of Rabbah bar Abuha: Sarah our mother was an aylonith, as it is said: Now Sarai was barren; she had no child (Genesis 11:30) she did not even have a womb. The terms tumtum and aylonith are intersex categories. A tumtum is one physical sex is indeterminable because there are apparently no genitalia, although determinate natal sex can sometimes (but only sometimes) be revealed by means of the surgical removal of an occlusion. An aylonith is a woman without a womb clearly someone who might suffer from complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. (The Talmudic Rabbis were observant and shrewd, and seldom missed a trick. It is therefore not surprising that there are Talmudic references to other intersex conditions. A modern commentator speculates that one type of such Talmudic descriptions refers to Klinefelters Syndrome. Needless to say, they had not the foggiest idea about the genetic underpinnings, but certainly recognised that there were people of ambiguous gender.) The assertion that both of them were tu mtum on the basis of Isaiah 51:1 and 52:2 is apparently obscure, but the logic is something like this: Verse 52, suggests that Israel owes its existence to the intervention of God, who hewed Israel out from a metaphorical rock, and dug Israel out of a metaphorical quarry. The reference to the rock and to the quarry in 51:1 clearly stand in apposition to the references to Abraham and to Sarah in 51:2. Abraham is therefore to be identified with the rock, and Sarah with the quarry. This raises a question, however: why should God be said to have intervened, and why was the intervention compared to the hewing of something out of a rock (a stone cube, for example, does not emerge spontaneously from a piece of granite, and the nature of the rock has to be overcome in the hewing) or to digging something out of a quarry (where again, the nature of the rock of the quarry has to be overcome in the digging)? Hewing and digging are actions which involve substantial effort. The suggestion seems t o be that the birth of Isaac somehow required that God miraculously overcome the natures of Abraham and Sarah in a way which went far beyond the impediment constituted by their advanced age. The gloss therefore reads into this a hint that Abraham and Sarah were congenitally incapable of procreation by nature: this is why one gloss states that they were tumtum, and the second gloss in the passage holds that Sarah was affected by complete androgen insensitivity syndrome or by some other intersex condition. These two glosses about Abraham and Sarah, like many Rabbinical exegetical glosses of an anecdotal rather than of a legal character, are a trifle far-fetched and quaint. I have mentioned them simply as a curiosity. The main point which I wanted to make, however, is that there is a syntactic ambiguity in Genesis 1:27 which led Jewish commentators to suggest that our species was originally created androgynous. The syntactic ambiguity and this particular Rabbinical gloss were later sei zed upon by some of the philosophers of the Rennaisance, who viewed hermaphroditism as a mark of a wholeness which was subsequently lost. Thus, far from being the result of sin, the original hermaphroditism of our species on these accounts was viewed as a mark of the perfection which was subsequently lost, perhaps in consequence of sin. There is also a gloss on Genesis 1:27 attributed to a Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahman, also in the Midrash Bere*censored* Rabbah 8, which suggests on the basis of the syntactic ambiguity that the primal Adam was created Janus-faced presumably male on one side and female on the other and that the two halves were subsequently severed. The story of the formation of Eve from Adams rib does not tell against this, because the word tselah, translated here as rib, is used elsewhere to refer to a section, wing (as in the west wing of the building) or half of a stucture. It should be noted that the construal of these verses depends on the literal sense of the verses : they draw upon the language. The gloss about the original hermaphroditism of the primal Adam suggests, on a literalist construal, that it is a grave sin against revelation to view hermaphroditism as unnatural or as the consequence of Adams sin, for, as the gloss suggests, hermaphroditism predated Adams sin. It would seem to follow that, if one is wedded to Biblical literalism, it is the birth of people who are not hermaphrodites which might be the consequence of Adams sin. Hermaphroditism should perhaps be seen as a reminder of the situation before sin entered into things and messed things up. Many scriptural fundamentalists read scripture very selectively, treating as infallible translations and inadvertently belittling the actual text in the language of divine revelation, and ignoring untoward implications of particular passages. It might also be noted that Biblical literalists should also be very suspicious indeed of genital surgery performed on intersexed infants when no intri nsic risk to life and physical health is entailed by such surgery. This, too, is on scriptural grounds. The removal of gonads and such surgery is explicitly forbidden (see Deuteronomy 23:1, for example), at least where there is no intrinsic risk to life. The burden of scripture is in fact such that those who take its exhortations seriously should positively welcome the notion of a spectrum which includes people who are intersexed. Such people are indeed bound by Scripture to respect the sense many people who are intersexed have that violence was done to them in infancy by surgery, and to accept that it is right and proper that we be able to remain physically as we are and to identify as intersexed. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Essay

Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Example

Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Conflict theory primarily argues that it is the economic system of capitalism itself that produces crime however, in order to understand the causes of corporate crime, the neoliberal framework and its utilization must be examined. Neoliberalism accords the state not to intervene or regulate the market, and in effect produces inequality but most importantly crime. Criminal acts are committed by the elites that are following the core of the neoliberal doctrine which is maximizing profits while minimizing costs. Corporate crimes are committed by executives or executive officers n behalf of corporations to further their own interests or the interest of the organizations. These crimes can result in harming the working class which may consist of employees, consumers, stockholders, or the general public (Snider, 2005; pg 170). These crimes vary from marketing unsafe products, maintaining unsafe workplaces, defrauding workers, environmental pollution, price fixing, anti-trust violations and other malpractices (Passas, 2005; pg 773). The analysis and understandings of the causes to corporate crime is crucial to Criminology because it costs society severely and entails; physical costs, financial costs, environmental amage, undermines the democratic system and undermines economic growth. However, these crimes remain unpunished because neoliberal knowledge claims allow these acts to remain invisible, unregulated, neutralized, difficult to prosecute, ambiguous in the law and in criminal status and have a lack of responsibility. Marxism hypothesizes that society is structured based upon the relationship of people to the production of material goods. In other words, those who own the means of production also control the works, politicians as well as the development of criminal and economic law. Following the Marxist perception, this essay will argue that corporate crime is not caused but rather it is a by-product of the neoliberal framework elites govern society by. We will write a custom essay sample on Control Theory Corporate Crime specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Control Theory Corporate Crime specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Control Theory Corporate Crime specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer THE POWER OF THE NEOLIBEARL DOCTRINE To begin with, the neoliberal framework was designed to benefit individuals and organizations of elite status which allowed them to gain independence and power from the state. This then allows them to engage in criminal activites and Justify them as responding to competitive forces from the market. Neoliberalism accords the government an active role in securing and producing the conditions for the market ut disagrees strongly with government intervention Codi, 2008; pg 67), which means the markets must be set free to follow their internal logic which is profit. This means that in order to cut costs; the most inexpensive means may be an illegal means. Key elites in the New World economy have invested billions of dollars, reputations and the power of nation states in obtaining certain interpretations (of laws, issues, scientific data) accepted and others rejected these claims are called neoliberal knowledge claims (Snider, 2005; pg 181). Furthermore, they push for certain nterpretation of laws of how to govern the market in accordance with the neoliberal privileges in a number of ways. For example, interpreting scientific data in ways that prove genetically engineered plants are safe, is worth a trillion dollars to the transnational companies that hold the patents on this genetic material and to the nation-states which grantee their legitimacy (Snider, 2005; pg 181). On the other hand, inequality is more closely related to the acceptance of the neoliberal ideology and its allied ideology of globalization; for instance, employees frightened of losing heir Jobs to third world works are more likely to accept lower wage Jobs, unsafe work conditions and higher levels of exploitation (Snider, 2004; pg 266). The neoliberal framework (that encourages pro-business behaviour) allows corporations to utilize whatever means possible in order to maximize profits which may result in exploiting the working class in a countless number of ways; from inducing them to consume harmful products to forcing them to succumb to unsafe working conditions. This result in a conflict between the culture of competition and ethical standards however, orporations are not like humans they are artificial legal entities with perpetual life chartered by the government for their existence (Nadar, 2004; pg 8). Corporations have achieved a status where they have all constitutional rights that people have except the right against self-incrimination. Corporations engage in criminal activites on a number of different levels that harm and affect the general public however, the public for the most part remains unaware of these activites because these elites invest in hiding the truth which thereby renders their actions invisible. THE INVISBALITY OF COPRORATE CRIME Secondly, Marxists argue that is it the connected ability of the powerful to manipulate values of society which is why corporate crimes are rendered invisible. Academics find it difficult to analyze corporate crime because large scale survey data is not available so researchers have to rely on non-objective crime statistics collected by impartial government agencies such as StatsCan or the Home Office which usually yield tiny samples (Snider, 2005; pg 186). Corporations do not want sociologist investigating their business practises, unlike traditional offenders they have the ability to resist such incursions. On the other hand, the Justice department for the most part has an inadequate budget for investigated let alone prosecuting corporate crimes. Police agencies cannot keep up with the geographic bounders of victimization, the mobility of the offenders and the complexities of the crimes because they usually involve investigating and prosecuting at the same time and also extensive knowledge of the corporate infrastructure which policing agencies, for a reason, are not equipped for (Schlegel et al. 1999; pg 15). According to Marxism, the law is developed and implemented by the elites to control the working class and rime is a product of class-based inequality, the policing agencies are funded by the government which are heavily influenced by the elites therefore, conflict theory asserts that criminal law is designed to target the working class in order to protect the interests of the elites. Conversely, unlike street crime there is a general lack of media attention with regards to corporate Wrongdoings however, in the rare instance that these cases are nature (Williams, 2008; pg 474) these are neutralizations, which purposely overlooking their status as crimes. Business culture from the neoliberal framework ot only provides incentives to engage in illicit activites but also contains justifications that can be used to neutralize ethical restraints; this is part of the neoliberal knowledge claims. For instance, when corporate Wrongdoings do surface to the publics attention they are quickly neutralized as accidents, isolated episodes, bad apples or voluntary consent. Accidents are portrayed as unintended, unanticipated and unavoidable events that could not be reasonably prevented (Williams, 2009-04-21). Isolated episodes are when organizations or individuals momentarily depart from their usual ethical behaviours and engage in criminal ctivites (Williams, 2009-04-21). In addition, bad apples is a theory of corruption that asserts the problem of an individual engaging in misconduct rather than the department as a whole, which means a lack of responsibility (Williams, 2008; pg 476). Last, voluntary consent is a neutralization for harms inflicted on employees that work in dangerous industries, the harms are neutralized by stating that those employees consented to those risks and conditions however, the company may not have fully disclose all the risks and harms (Williams, 2009-04-21). Corporate crime is systemic owever; its ability to neutralize its criminal activity and characterize it as rare accidents or uncommon wrongdoings allows it to continue without question. In addition to neutralizations, in the rare event that corporate crime is prosecuted, one of the most common ways of differentiated corporate crime from street crime is to point at the lack of Mens Rea which is the criminal intent to inflict harm (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 17). Nevertheless, clear conscious decisions are made when cutting back on workplace safety budgets, quality control funding etc. with the knowledge hat with these decisions human life may be harmed however, because corporations are seen as impersonal, faceless and complex entities which results in a lack of responsibility and therefore the harms are dismissed because there is no definitive way of knowing whether the intent was there. Moreover, because elites have the resources and are finically equipped they invest in hiding these truths. THE FAILURE OF REGULATION Moreover, the neoliberal framework asserts that the market remain deregulated, with that deregulation, corporations continue to engage in criminal activites until hey accumulate imbalances that contribute to finical crisis, the government must then intervene with regulations however, those regulations are quickly removed by corporate influence. History of regulation in Canada was weak from its initial attempt at regulating the market. To start with, Canadas Combines Investigation Act was designed to prevent competition in the market and to do so it criminalized corporate monopolies (companies that dominant specific products or services in the market), mergers and price discrimination. However, the legislation was weak because no rosecutions against corporations were registered, it never received adequate funding or enforcement and each attempt to strengthen it was strongly opposed by the elites (Snider, 2005; pg 173). This act lasted for over 96 years until 1969 when the Interim Report on Competition Policy was created and its policy implications were act it had little political support due to the political pressures from corporations (Snider, 2005; pg 174). For the next 10 years, several versions of the Bill were created and each weaker than the last finally in 1976 attempts at reforming laws that govern he market were abandoned (Snider, 2005; pg 174). In 1984, the Conservative government was elected with the new Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; following the neoliberal doctrine he denounced the anti-American and anti-business stance that the previous Canadian laws attempted to accomplish and created the Competition Act (Snider, 2005; pg 175). This Bill encompassed the neoliberal ideology, it compelled the government to create the conditions necessary for market exchange, it promoted competitiveness and enhanced business prosperity however to do this, mergers, monopolies and price discrimination was decriminalized. On the other hand, influential Criminologist Edwin Sutherland advanced the concept of corporate crime that not only revealed new types of crime but it also threatened to expose the traditional myth of the neutrality of the law (Shover et al. , 2006; pg 78). He pointed to the role of privileged and their power in shaping of the law as well the existence ofa double standard of Justice in the implementation of the law, with regards to benefitting the upper-class and controlling the lower class offenders. This concept raised the basic question about the nature of law and the intentions of the criminal ustice system. Furthermore, the neoliberal framework furthers the prevalence of greed, the systemic nature of corporate corruption, the necessity of regulation and the inherent instability of the capitalist mode of production (Williams, 2008; pg 472) that creates discernable forms of real harm. The neoliberal doctrine pushes for the failure of regulation in market societies which allows corporations to create their own governing through political influence and suitable environments for their malpractices. In addition, the Neoliberal doctrine has provided the means for corporate entities o gain insurmountable powers and influence in the political and economic realm; this allows them to keep the market and their behaviour unregulated and decriminalized. The main reason why their criminal practises remain legal and respected is that these industries have the ability to mobilize financial, political as well as other resources in order to avoid stricter regulation (Passas, 2005; pg 772), Furthermore, the globalization of markets (the dismantling of trade barriers between nations and the integration of economies Oodi, 2008; pg 17)) is another component of he neoliberal framework and it furthers the fragmentation of regulation. The more a corporation grows into new geographic areas, the less subjected it is to control, accountability and supervision. An example of this is the use of child labour in developing countries that export the manufactured goods to developed countries, the same countries that criminalize that practise (Passas, 2005; pg 775). This demonstrates the double standard set by capitalists nation-states whereas the laws that are created to criminalize these practises are only applicable when it is not in he best interest of these corporate entities. In contrast, over regulation and government interference in corporate business practises are claimed to be rendered uncompetitive or unprofitable, so when governments assert some form of regulation, thereby negatively affecting local communities or the whole country (Passas, 2005; pg 777). Corporations threaten governments by downsizing and taking their business elsewhere- to a less regulated state, therefore governments must obey these demands because they have become so dependent on their services, employment, and financial contributions to the economy. Furthermore, the government not only allows them to remain unregulated but corporations also activity participate in defining and legalization their own criminality. Ironically, when policy makers and legislatures, write laws outlawing rape, burglary, armed robbery, larceny and theft they do not consult or negotiate with the criminals who committed those crimes (Kappeler et al. , 2005; pg 160) but when legislatures enact laws in regulating corporations they actively seek input and advice from those they seemingly are setting out to punish thus, decriminalizing corporate Wrongdoings. Also, the laws that have been created to criminalize illegal acts by corporations are made to be so complex and full of loop holes that they are almost impossible to enforce. Decriminalization is the successful reduction of restriction, oversight thereby permitting individuals and organizations to operate with greater latitude (Snider, 2005; pg 83). Decriminalization in relation to corporate crime occurs daily, privileged and powerful interests have been successful in revising the internal revenue code to their advantage, leading to a substantially increased share of the tax burden shifted o the working class citizens (Snider, 2005; pg 85). This close relationship of the state and corporate criminals illustrates the state regulation of traditional crime while punishments for corporate criminals are being eliminated; incarceration rates for traditional blue-collar criminals are doubling. The working class are criminalized because of the inequality and brutalization of low wages and the frequent threat of unemployment. Prison which is seen as the control tool for the working class is both a material deterrent and an ideological weapon (Schlegel et al. 1999; pg 96) of the apitalist state ensuring the suppression of threats from below. The power gained by corporations allows them to strongly influence governments in relation to criminal law and policy making but most importantly making them dependant on corporations for their services. CATERING TO CORPORATE NEEDS Additionally, governments have now become so dependent on corporations for their economies that, employers are considered to be doing governments favour merely by setting up shop (Snider, 2005; pg 171). This means that nations and their subunits compete to offer business the best tax breaks, the highest subsides, the owest minimum wage levels and the least regulation (Passas, 2005; pg 775). The decriminalization of once illegal activites attracted international and fortune 500 companies to set up shop in Canada, shortly after these corporations convinced governments into massive privatization, keeping minimum wage at its lowest form possible with regards to inflation, decertifying unions as well as a variety of other exploitation and harms to the Canadian working class. The organizations that engage in what used to be called corporate crime seem to now be responded by reasoned persuasion, rewards with tax breaks and market incentives. Harsher punishments fill and overfill the prisons of modern capitalist societies (Snider, 2005; pg 174). Contrastingly, in an attempt for the government to appear fair to all its citizens, it has created laws that can be used by the non-capitalist class to protect themselves against the powerful such as: anti-trust monopoly laws, consumer laws, progressive tax and factory safety laws. However there is an immense struggle to have those laws evoked in the working class interest (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 98). Contrary to common assumption that these legal practises and industries are beneficial to society; as llustrated by the government catering to corporate needs, society is actually worse off by allowing certain operations and practises to continue. In a sense, the more these industries flourish the more societies fail for the non-capitalist citizens. Lastly, the neoliberal stronghold that drives elite behaviour has taken grasp of government officials, policy makers and politicians to further their own personal gains. To ensure corporate interests corporations need to obtain access; this is done through social contracts, personal favours, paid lobbyists and monetary contributions . The privileged gain the access needed to ensure their perspectives are known and taken seriously by political leaders and state managers (Shover et al. , 2006; pg 87). Then, these politicians make sure that the public is aware of the contributions and higher quality of life they receive by the presence and services of these industries. Critics say that one of the key reasons to why corporate crime is not pursued; is the all to close relationship between the financial regulators and the finical industry this is because many of the leaders in the securities commissions ome from the financial industry or were lawyers that previously served them (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 15). An example of this close relationship; a real-estate investor saw that a company that he had invested in was committing fraudulent crimes, he decided to report this to the Ontario Securitas Commission (OSC) and a sister company the Investors Dealers Association (IDA) [ a combination of up banks and brokerages]. The realtor realized that the one of the men he was reporting to about the fraudulent crimes was the same man that was committing those crimes nd was a member of the IDA (CBC Sunday Night, 2008- 11-23). It was concluded that the people he was complaining to were the same people that were the problem. Another instance of this relationship is of David Wilson who is now presently head of the Ontario Securitas Commission (OSC); he was previously the chief executive officer of the bank of Nova Scotia (who is guarding your money? ). Presently, Canada has a patch work of 13 regulators, provincially and other self-regulating watchdogs that attempt to regulate the markets of Canada (Biggs et al. , 2003; pg 3). They all regulate ndependently of one another and have different policies on regulation, this shows that there is no serious attempt at regulating the markets of Canada. Arguably, the credit crisis that we are seeing recently in Wall Street had already happened in Canada but did not receive publicity because the securities regulation system in Canada works with the investment industry to cover up its own bad behaviour and fraudulent activities (CBC Sunday Night, 2008- 11-23). According to Bay street analysts, it is estimated that Canadian investors loose $20 billion a year in fraud but are unaware of it (Zedner, 2006; pg 5). Moreover, politicians have been bought by fraudulent activity turns out to be working with those that commit those crimes. In summary, criminal law works, is the message, and harsher criminal law works best. However when it comes to crimes of marketing unsafe products, maintaining unsafe workplaces, defrauding workers, dumping toxic waste, misrepresenting the benefits or not disclosing the risks of products- criminal law does not work. According to Marxism, this is because criminal law is created to protect the interests of the elite and to control the working class from breaking out of the cycle of nequality created by the capitalist neoliberal claims. Breaking out of the cycle or disobeying its elements means committing a crime, criminal law is then a form of social control. Deviance and crime represent conflicts in society which are managed by the suppression of the ruled by the rulers. The public is unaware of the crimes because of the massive lobbying by corporations, elite investment in scientific, sociological and political knowledge claims, neutralizations of corporate incidents, decriminalization of corporate Wrongdoings and the generally invisibility of corporate crime. This then leads the public to believe that corporate crime is not a threat to society or their means of living. Also, the rare incidents that are available to public knowledge are deemed as natural incidents that occur from time to time because of the competitive nature of neoliberal capitalism. Conversely, elites have invested in convincing the public that street crimes are committed by the working class; and are imminent threats to society therefore, need deterrent action in order to maintain the quality of life in capitalist societies. Neoliberal claims further the rowth of corporations allowing them to participate in creating the laws that govern their activites; these claims have swayed politicians, market watch dogs, policy makers and governments. By this governments favour corporate actors because of the economic gains they will obtain for personal interests rather than providing a decent minimum wages, quality working conditions, safe products etc. for the working class. This proves that corporate crimes are a by-product of the neoliberal capitalism framework rather than having specific causes and this claim is an important tool for Criminology in order to understand corporate crime. The neoliberal ideology that has been adapted by elites and politicians ensures that the illegal and criminal acts that corporations commit remain invisible. From this essay, it has been noted that criminal law is used by corporate actors and politicians in order to maintain social order and suppress the working class. However, in a larger context and using the Marxist perception; how have laws and criminal Justice, as forms of social control, been used to contain class struggle and maintain class divisions at different times in different societies? Biggs, C. , Coleman R. (2003). Rules and Prevarications. CMA Management, 7(3) 1-20. CBC Sunday Night. (Nov. 23, 2008) Who is guarding your money? CBC, Toronto. Dean, Jodi (2008). Enjoying Neoliberalism. Cultural Politics 4(1), 47-72. Kappeler, V. , Potter, G. (2005). The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice (4th Ed. ). Illinois: Waveland Press Inc. (Course Text) Nadar, Ralph (2004). Legislating Corporate Ethics. Journal of Legislation, 30, 193-204. Passas, Nikos (2005). Lawful but Awful: Legal Corporate Crimes. The Journal of Socio- Economics, 34, 771-786 Schlegel, K. , Weisburd, D. (1999). White-Collar Crimes Reconsidered (Revised Ed). Boston: Northeastern. Shover, N. , Hochstetler, A. (2006). Choosing White-Collar Crime. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Snider, Laureen (2000). Sociology of Corporate Crime: An obituary. Theoretical Criminology, 4(2), 169-206. Snider, Laureen (2004). Resisting Neo-Liberalism. Social and Legal Studies, 13(2), 265-289 Williams, James (2008). The Lessons of Enron. Theoretical Criminology, 12(4), 471-499. Williams, James (2009) White-Collar Crime l. Criminology. York University. (Lecture) Zedner, Lucia (2006). Liquid Security: Managing the Market for Crime Control. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 6(3), 276-288.

How to Write an A+ Aviation Research Paper

How to Write an A+ Aviation Research Paper Aviation is an exciting subject, and the chances are that if you are to write a research paper on a topic in aviation, you will come to enjoy the process. There are lots of sources, topics you can write about, examples you can provide, and the list goes on. Aviation is wide and vast, and if you have faced an aviation research paper, you will have to do preliminary research the issue you think is impressive enough. You will likely not encounter research on defining aviation. For example, the professor asking you, what aviation is and or what it is not. Earlier generations did such, and your professor would consider that too unchallenging for students of today. A lot of knowledge has been exchanged ever since the Wright Brothers made their first flight and so defining aviation is more or less not even an academic question. Before we go even further, research is a big word to a student. It means tedious literature searches, reading, sampling, testing, interviewing, observing, and so forth. So mind that no matter what you are walking into, it will require serious attention. You may probably ask yourself, why an aviation research paper? Could there have been another research topic after all? As a student who is preparing to take up some essential duties and responsibilities in a future career that may be aviation, you have to enter the job market when ready. The professor is bound by duty to make you the best professional there can be. In that case, an easy academic task will not help you get there. Challenging ones tend to stretch your mental capabilities which employers need out here. The first step is settling on a topic. Choose the Topic to Hit the Audience You have to understand that your professor is keeping an eye on a few critical items when it comes to a research paper which is why you have to exercise care and wittiness when choosing one. Not every topic is a winning topic. And even if so, there are topics that just automatically align you with good grades; those deal with current issues that have raised controversy in the academia. How about some examples of such problems? Discuss some transformative events in the aviation industry that led to milestone innovations towards safety. How has terrorism impacted the aviation industry? Discuss passenger’s perception change as well as the changes made by the federal government and their impact on the aviation industry. Does the loss of Malaysian Airlines MH370 signal a new threat to the aviation industry? What could be some potential solutions to such a problem? In the age of global warming, the aviation industry has come under ridicule for releasing greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere. How accurate is such a statement? Innovations in the aircraft have recently opted for carbon fiber fuselage. To what extent do you think the material is safe enough? Is it a better option compared to aluminum or even titanium? How far has jet fuel innovation gone? Is there a reason to continue improving the quality of jet fuel? How will technology impact the future aviation industry? Do incidences of hacking threaten the industry or are they incidental events? Now we all know quite well that we cannot enter the professor’s mind and understand his/her topic appraisal criteria. But remember, this as a rule of thumb for many academicians. How well has the student tackled the topic? Does the student seem to understand what they are writing? Is there sufficient evidence supporting the claims made? Does each new point hang on relevant and verifiable evidence? To what extent do the arguments reflect trends, events, and incidents of relevance to the academia? Does the paper merely seek to complete an assignment or does it demonstrate an analytical thinker beyond the restrictions of academics? How â€Å"independent† does the language in the article sound? Did the writer incorporate own thoughts or did they lift off experiences from other material? Every rubric sent to you by the professor is more likely to elucidate on the areas you need to address. It will be easy to know what topic would fulfill the rubric and what ways of developing the paper will earn you more marks. If there is no rubric provided, then the above criteria need to be taken to heart. The rubric is in that case implied and not explicitly stated. Sometimes, your professor would just like to know how well you can develop the paper without being too â€Å"spoon-fed† in the process. However, here are a few keynotes on how to choose a winning topic. Ensure you are comfortable with the topic: Research is not an easy endeavor as it may seem. The first thing you want to make sure is that you are very comfortable with the topic you chose. Let it not be too challenging to the point that will eventually be fumbling while developing the paper. And do not settle on such an easy topic just for the sake of it. Ensure sufficient literature and examples is surrounding the topic: Research papers are typically detailed papers with a distinct direction and purpose. One of the defining features of any research paper is the ability to draw from other literature and relevant examples that feed into the authority and authenticity of your article. So only settle on a topic that fulfills such criteria. Ensure the topic is compelling and worth inquiry: Researches have been conducted for decades, and you might think that a good aviation research topic has already been done somewhere else. To stand from the crowd and make the professor give attention to your paper, make sure the topic is compelling and screaming attention. Something to do with a current issue, a critical matter, or along the lines of an ongoing debate could attract more attention. If you noticed, the given topics stretch your reasoning to think what is beyond the ordinary. That is what your professor wants to get from you. But before you begin the writing process, here are some pre-writing tips that will help with the research. Start the Writing Properly Conduct preliminary research: Before you begin wiring, you need to have a broader perspective on your research topic. Search relevant literature and read lots of them to find out what knowledge loophole your research can fill. Your professor will want to understand how you flesh out your ideas, and that is where preliminary investigation comes in. Thesis: Theses denominate every research paper. The thesis is your main argument. It is the main argument about aviation that pushed you to write the aviation research paper. All your discussions will revolve around the thesis. Make sure your thesis is straightforward, defensible, and has to be a standalone sentence preferable appearing as the last within the introduction. Outline: If you do not like outlines, then this is unfortunate because there is just no way you can develop a quality aviation research paper without one. Your professor will likely want to see your outline. He/she can use it as a fair assessment of the quality of your work. But even then, you need an outline as a guide to flesh out your paper. Mind the Set Paper Structure of Your Research Paper We have come far off. Just as a reminder, we introduced aviation research, then talked about how to choose a winning topic. We provided examples of worthy topics, then talked about three basic pre-writing tips. Let us talk about how an aviation research paper needs to be structured. Introduction It is standard that every research paper has an introduction. You cannot express yourself unless you let your readers understand what you have in mind or what you decided to undertake before presenting or writing. The introduction is your entry point. It is where the reader your professor begins to understand what your paper is all about. Your introduction should invoke your professor’s interest and entice him/her to read along. Justify why you had to conduct the research and what you will be writing about in brief. The last sentence of your introduction should be your thesis. Do not overwhelm the reader with too many explanations in the introduction. Make it short, intriguing, and up-to-the-point. Body After the introduction, here comes the body. Consider the body of your aviation research paper as the bulk of everything you will be writing. The body of your aviation research paper flows according to the way your arguments flow, and you must ensure that ideas are successive. When you present an idea and develop it in a paragraph, the next one should succeed seamlessly. Do your best to make the reading of your work coherent. The body must contain the following: Headings: Your headings must capture a compelling theme you would like to put across. Make your headings short, on-point; use them only when necessary. In other words, use headings sparingly. Paragraphing: Use paragraphs to develop the body. The body of your aviation research paper is built on paragraphs. Make sure that each paragraph discusses or details an idea. Succession: Each paragraph should end in such a way that it leads to the next. As we mentioned before, each paragraph builds from the previous one into the next. It creates the much-needed coherence for your professor to understand your arguments. Conclusion After exhaustively writing the body, the research paper needs a formal conclusion to cap it all. A conclusion serves at least three purposes. Reiterating the main points: After reading through the long body, a reader may lose track of the ideas that you have presented. To remind them again, you need to mention them while concluding. Confirming or disconfirming the thesis statement: Do you remember that the thesis guided your aviation research paper from the beginning. You sort out to confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis. The midsection of the conclusion should be dedicated to making a logical explanation why the outcome of the study turned out so. Elucidating gaps and paving the way for new research: While developing your research paper, you must have come across some grey areas that were not directly related to your thesis. If not, then your findings could have suggested that more may need to be done to confirm a claim you made. Take the last part of your conclusion to tell the reader about an area that may require further study in the future. The Outline Do you remember that an outline is crucial for your aviation research paper? Any competent research paper will need an outline that guides its development. Think of an outline as the items that will appear in your article from top to bottom. The outline primarily deals with the arrangement of the ideas (i.e., topics) and sub-ideas (i.e., subheadings) as you can see in the example below. Introduction Entry point _____________ Justification _______________ Thesis statement ______________ Body Heading #1 ____________ Point #1 ____________ Point #2 _____________ Point #3 ______________ Heading #2 _____________ Point #1 ___________ Point #2 ____________ Point #3 ____________ Conclusion Reiteration __________ Thesis confirmation/disconfirmation ___________ Future research ___________ Remember to keep your outline as brief as possible without explaining more than is necessary. Your outline gives the reader a sneak peek into your research paper and should, therefore, keep words to a minimum. Your professor is looking for the arrangement of the paper, and the ideas you present and not necessarily the content of your paper. He/she will look for that in the paper itself and not the outline. The Must-Do Polishing Activities Our Writers Advice Assuming you have developed your paper according to this aviation research paper guide from top to bottom from the introduction to the conclusion, what do you do next? Well, the very last phase is perfecting your paper. As a student writing a research paper, language proficiency is not taken lightly by the professor assessing your work. Not at all. Therefore you must perfect your paper in such a way that it is flawless by the time you are submitting it to your professor. The following are some of the tips that could help you perfect the aviation research paper you have tirelessly developed. Walk off the table: Writing is a tedious mental process, and most likely by the time you are done writing your aviation research paper, you will be exhausted. Such a state is not ideal for perfecting your paper. You need a vibrant mind, and the only way to do that is by giving yourself some rest, preferably for about 24 hours, and returning to your work after. With a sharp and refreshed mind, you will be able to identify even small mistakes. Perfect the paper: It is virtually impossible to write without errors. For example, you may confuse ‘their’ and ‘there’ so many times in your paper. The word editor may not identify such syntactical errors, and you will have only one option: going through your paper word for word. Identify all mistakes, check the use of language, spelling, tenses, and so forth. One more reading: Professors are keen when it comes to paper perfection. The rubrics they provide always mention language mechanics as one of the fundamental criteria that will be assessed. So to avoid losing marks, read through your paper one more time. References: One more important part of your paper is the list of references. As you go through your paper one more time, make sure that all in-text citations are placed correctly, and that they feature in the reference list. The citation technique must be consistent throughout your paper. Following these aviation research paper writing tips, you have all chances to produce a worthy research paper that will definitely bring you an appropriate mark. Good luck!

Contemporary Moral Issue (Philosophy) Assignment

Contemporary Moral Issue (Philosophy) - Assignment Example This is a number which cannot be determined with accuracy. The number is in the thousands, however, the exact number cannot be determined. One can only determine the answer to this question by saying the number of lives lost on September 11, 2001, exceeded one thousand. Based upon the number’s one can declare that the lives lost would be a moral determinant in declaring war. Whether, or not the governments of Afghanistan, and Iraq have been harboring terrorists is a question open to debate. One cannot determine with accuracy whether, or not the governments of Afghanistan, and Iraq have been harboring terrorists. Therefore, to base the morality of the War on Terrorism on this question alone would be difficult. How could one determine this with accuracy? If the governments of Afghanistan, and Iraq were harboring terrorists then it would make the war morally correct. To determine the morality of the War on Terrorism based on how many new powers law enforcement has been given through the United States Patriot Act is almost up for debate it. How could be one mind the new powers given to law enforcement through the USA Patriot Act? Whether, or not terrorists are being tortured in Iraq, and Afghanistan is open for debate. There is no factual evidence whether, or not the terrorists are being tortured. If terrorists are being tortured this would be an immoral act in itself. However, this would not make the War on Terrorism an immoral act. How many soldiers, and civilians were killed in Iraq is up for debate. One might say it is part of being in the middle of a war zone. This is part of the soldier’s job. The soldiers knew there might be a chance of death when the soldiers joined the military. Whether, or not the death of the soldiers, and civilians makes the War on Terrorism, an immoral act should not be debated. The civilian deaths are a tragedy, but only a mere side

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 424

Assignment Example They search talent and make sure the right companies consume it the right way. Menasa and Partners has its values and norms. They have a highly passionate staff who is interested and keen in the future of their candidates and clients. Before appointing a recruitment partner there are several areas where the staff ponders over. They look for the staff who is interested in the company. Moreover, they would also highlight the consultants who provide the best advice. The company`s culture and market value are also fully highlighted. The staff of Menasa and Partners is well experienced and well aware of the National Recruitment Standards and Companignes. They understand the market value and know how to attract candidates. These Recruitment Compaigned are essential. They are responsible for locating individuals to the best available geography where they can excel. Menasa and Partners respect both public and private organizations. They keep note of the national and international standards. Talented candidates from Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman and Bahrain are located where they are needed best. Companies all over the world are in need for the perfect vacancy. Instead of going through hundreds of CVs and carrying out interviews, the companies convey Menasa and Partners their requirements. The staff of Menasa and Partners, works adequately to look for the right people needed for a

Domestic Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Domestic Violence - Essay Example The new policy insists that children be taken from their households even with only two incidences of problematic behavior then the parents will have to undergo treatment, therapy or counseling before the children can be given back to their care. This method actually severs family ties and changes developmental needs of children significantly. Maintaining the family as complete and intact ensures that the children will have the connection and bond with their families, even it may be dysfunctional. It is, then, important to guarantee their safety while protecting the family as a unit. The new policy may protect the children from harm, but it does not protect them from the disadvantages of being disconnected from their families. The new policy should, then, recognize the needs of empowering the parents with problem behaviors to continue correcting their behavior while their children are with them to be able to provide them their developmental needs, as well as, a positive environment.Th e Department of Job and Family Services may have the best in their minds when they created this policy. However, they forgot to take account the importance of family connections and the primary developmental needs of children when they imposed that children should be taken away from their families if there is a case of problematic behavior in the family. Taking children away from their parents should be the last resort unless they are the direct victims of their parent’s abusive behavior.

Quality Life For Older People: Dementia

Quality Life For Older People: Dementia There is no mental disorder that is inevitable in old age. Older people describe their overall well-being as good. Hence there is such a thing as normal ageing in terms of mental (as well as physical) health. Nevertheless, as in all age groups, mental disorder is not uncommon in older people and there are some disorders that become more prevalent as age increases. Mental disorder in old age can be divided into two broad categories: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Organic disorders These are characterized by confusion, which may be acute (i.e. delirium) or chronic (i.e. dementia); à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Functional disorders Such as depression, anxiety and panic; but also psychotic disorders, such as late-onset schizophrenia (formerly known as late paraphrenia) In addition, drug and alcohol misuse and dependence can (like many disorders) continue into old age, or emerge for the first time when the person is older. Similarly, it should not be forgotten that personality difficulties do not necessarily disappear with ageing. (Wolstenholme et al, 2002) Epidemiology The prevalence of mental disorder in elderly people depends on exactly which age group is examined and where they are living. In community surveys of all people aged over 65 years, approximately 5% are found to have severe organic brain disorders (mainly dementia) and a further 5% to have mild symptoms of forgetfulness. 2.5-5% will have depression severe enough to warrant treatment with a further 10% complaining of minor depressive/anxiety symptoms. Late onset schizophrenic illnesses are much less common, perhaps 0.5-1.0%. (Landau et al, 2008) If one looks at the very elderly (greater than 80 years) the rates of organic disorders, mainly dementia, are much increased, (e.g. 20%) whereas other diagnoses may occur less frequently in other words organic disorder is (as one might expect) a disorder associated with increasing age. In residents in local authority homes, hospitals or other institutional care, the rates for both organic and functional disorder (particularly depression) are much increased about 30% for each type. It is probable that mental disorder will have contributed to the person entering the institution, e.g. dementia making them unable to survive safely in their own home but the combination of losing ones home and familiar surroundings can also aggravate existing confusion and/or depression. (Landau et al, 2008) Ethics and Law The main ethical concern in older people relates to the issue of capacity. In some jurisdictions (e.g. Scotland) there are now laws around incapacity. Capacity legislation will appear shortly in England and Wales. Irrespective of the legislation, however, the need to maintain the older persons ability to make autonomous decisions is clearly of ethical importance. Autonomy can be undermined by both professionals and families for both benign and malignant reasons (Colin, 2008). The presumption should always be that the person has the capacity to make a particular decision. Judgements about capacity should always be made with respect to a specific ability: a person may not be able to drive, but may still be able to run his or her own finances. Having a particular capacity (or competence) means that the person can recall and understand the relevant information and that the person shows evidence of weighing up the information as he or she makes a decision (which need not be the decision t hat the person assessing capacity would have reached). (Colin, 2008) If the person lacks capacity, those involved must act in the persons best interests. These have to be understood broadly. The criteria for assessing a persons best interests should include: taking account of what the person has said or stipulated (e.g. on an advance directive or living will) in the past; taking account of what the person now says when enabled to participate in the decision; taking account of the views of all those other people involved in the persons welfare, insofar as this is practicable, especially as regards what they think the persons wishes would have been under the present circumstances if the person had been able to express his or her wishes; making sure that the least restrictive course of action is taken. There are particular procedures to be followed if the person lacks certain capacities. For instance, there is a variety of steps to be taken (involving the Court of Protection) when the person cannot manage his or her finances; and if the person lacks the capacity to drive, the requirements of confidentiality may be put aside in the interests of public safety. Having said this, however, the doctors duty is to be on the side of the patient and it is an affront to the persons standing as an autonomous individual if his or her abilities are undermined without due cause. The General Medical Council offers advice on such issues. (Van, 1996) The Aging Population The table (based on 1991 projections) shows the age structure of the UK population for the years 2001 to 2041. The increase in the proportion of elderly people is in the 75-84 year group (+39%) and more particularly in those 85+ years (+55%). Meanwhile, the numbers of younger people changing little. The vast majority of these older people live at the present time in their own homes, only 6% being in institutional care (residential homes or hospital). The over-85 group are predominantly women, the majority widowed and living alone. The very elderly group have high consultation rates with general practitioners, with many more home visits and occupy up to 50% of all NHS beds (medical, surgical and psychiatric). They are more likely to have complex combinations of physical, psychological and social difficulties, which require multidisciplinary assessment and treatment. (Birk and Harvey, 2006) Dementia About 5% of the general population over 65 years suffer from severe cognitive impairment with further 5% showing mild changes, which may progress with time. Dementia refers to a global impairment of mental function which follows a chronic and progressive course. The symptoms and signs have usually been present for at least 6 months (Birk and Harvey, 2006). The impairment of mental function is commonly associated with deterioration in emotional control, social behaviour, motivation and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). These non-cognitive features of dementia, which are often the most upsetting aspects for family carers and friends, tend now to be referred to as Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia (BPSD). Dementia is related to progressive cerebral degeneration, which may be caused by a variety of pathological processes, such as Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Post mortem changes found in the brains of people with dementia suggest the following diagnoses (approximate figures): Alzheimers disease 50% Vascular dementia 15% Dementia with Lewy bodies 15% Mixed vascular/Alzheimers disease 15% Other causes 5% Alzheimers disease Alzheimers disease is characterised by a gradual insidious onset and progressive course, often beginning with memory failure before other cognitive functions (e.g. language, praxis) become affected. Non-cognitive features (depression, psychosis, wandering, aggression, incontinence) are common. Physical examination is often normal, as are routine blood investigations. (Farrer, 2001) Computerized tomography (CT) scans may be normal or show generalised atrophy and dilatation of ventricles. CT scans also play a role in excluding other possible causes of confusion (e.g. space-occupying lesions, haemorrhages). Angled CT scans afford better views of the medial temporal lobes, which can show marked atrophy. However, this is not specific for Alzheimers disease. Hippo-campal atrophy is also seen with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) provides information on how the brain is functioning, usually by tracing blood flow using radio-labelled technetium. In Alzheimers disease SPECT scanning can show a generalized decrease in blood flow, or biparietal and bitemporal hypo-perfusion. However, the diagnosis must always be made on the basis of the overall clinical presentation rather than solely on the appearance of scans. (Farrer, 2001) Dementia with Lewy bodies Dementia with Lewy bodies is characterised by the triad of fluctuating cognitive impairment, recurrent visual hallucinations and spontaneous Parkinsonism, though not all occur in every patient. As with Alzheimers disease, onset is insidious and may begin with cognitive problems, Parkinsonism, or both. Cognitive impairment initially affects attentional and visuo-spatial function, with memory initially relatively spared. As with Alzheimers disease, non-cognitive features are common. Parkinsonism consists mainly of bradykinesia rather than tremor and, once again, routine blood investigations are normal. CT scan may be normal or show generalised atrophy and dilatation of ventricles, with less temporal lobe atrophy than in AD. Blood flow SPECT can show similar changes to those seen in Alzheimers disease, though DLB is more likely to be associated with occipital hypoperfusion than Alzheimers disease, a finding which may relate to the hallucinations and visuospatial disturbance. Parkinsonis m in DLB is associated with nigrostriatal degeneration, similar to that seen in Parkinsons disease. It is possible to image nigrostriatal degeneration using SPECT scanning with a ligand for the dopamine transporter (FP-CIT or DaTSCAN imaging) which can be helpful in assisting with the diagnosis of Parkinsons disease. In the future it is hoped such imaging methods may be helpful in diagnosing DLB as well. (Mo Ray, 2009) Vascular dementia In contrast, vascular dementia usually has an abrupt onset, often in association with a recognised stroke, and is associated with a fluctuating course, a stepwise decline and often reasonable insight at least in the early stages of illness. An exception to this course is subcortical vascular dementia, which may cause some 20% of all vascular dementia, when sudden onset and a stepwise course may not be seen. Patients will often have risk factors for vascular disease, for example high or low blood pressure, ischaemic heart disease or peripheral vascular disease, but also diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolaemia. Physical examination is likely to reveal focal neurology and a CT scan would be expected to show evidence of cerebrovascular disease. (Mo Ray, 2009) Other dementias Other causes include rarer degenerative processes, e.g. Fronto-temporal dementia, Huntingtons disease, in addition to alcoholic dementia, tumours, haematoma, etc. In some cases no discernible pathology is found. (Mo Ray, 2009) Clinical assessment and management By careful history taking (usually from patient and informant) and examination of both physical (particularly neurological) and mental state, it is possible to predict the likely underlying pathology in most patients with dementia. No specific diagnostic tests are yet available, but clinical diagnosis may be usefully supported by structural brain imaging methods such as CT or MRI scanning and functional imaging techniques such as SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography) scanning. It is important to develop methods of establishing the aetiology of dementia during lifetime (Eastwood and Reisberh, 1996): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To assist in predicting course of illness and determining prognosis. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To inform management decisions; for example specific treatments are becoming available for Alzheimers disease (cholinesterase inhibitors) and vascular dementia and it is necessary to know which patients should receive which treatment. Patients with dementia usually present either because of failure to cope or with disturbed behaviour occasionally with both. They often lack insight into their illness or, in the early stages, deny it. People with dementia require: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ An assessment of the cause and severity of the dementia (cognitive impairment and behavioural abnormalities); à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ An assessment of deficits in function and the need for care (dependency); à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ An assessment of the persons social situation; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provision of treatment and care appropriate to the identified needs; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Support for carers both practical and emotional; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Review of the above points is the treatment and care appropriate and beneficial? About 50% of cases of dementia have concurrent physical health problems. The burden of care produced by a physically sick patient with dementia is greater than that of a fit one; therefore, diseases should be sought and treated where appropriate. Dementia may also be complicated by: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Emotional liability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Depression à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Psychotic features (i.e. delusions and hallucinations) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Behavioural disturbances (i.e., wandering, aggression, incontinence) These may be helped by pharmacotherapy, counselling and explanation and support to relatives. Such patients may respond either to antidepressants for liability and depression, or antipsychotic agents for psychotic features and some behavioural disturbances. Patients with dementia are often sensitive to side effects of psychotropic drugs and so it is important to begin therapy with very low doses of medication and monitor carefully for side-effects, particularly extra-pyramidal problems. In 2004, the two drugs Risperidone and Olanzapine were recommended not to be used for the control of agitation and disturbed behaviour in dementia because of the risk of stroke. The use of antipsychotic medication to control agitation and other difficult behaviours in moderate to severe dementia remains common but controversial. (Birk and Grimley, 2005) Memory Clinics The assessment of forgetfulness is often undertaken by memory clinics. These exist in a variety of forms (some being very clinically focused and others having a research basis). The aim is to provide thorough assessment (clinical history, with mental state, neuropsychological and physical examinations and appropriate investigations e.g. blood tests and neuro-imaging) in order to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Some clinics then initiate and monitor the use of medication (e.g. the cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimers disease). Increasingly, memory clinics are seeing people with milder symptoms, many of whom will be anxious about the possibility of dementia. Some such patients will have other conditions, such as depression (i.e. pseudo-dementia) or other physical illnesses. (Seltzer et al, 2004) The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is now sometimes made in people who present with forgetfulness but who do not satisfy the criteria for even a mild dementia (because, for instance, their everyday activities are not impaired). A proportion of people given the diagnosis of MCI will progress to develop dementia on followed-up. Identifying MCI may, therefore, open up the possibility of early treatment. But MCI is not uncontroversial, because some people given this label will show no such progression of symptoms and might be more properly regarded as normal. (Seltzer et al, 2004) Acute Confusion (Delirium) Elderly people seem particularly likely to develop confusion in response to a wide range of stimuli either physical insults or sudden social change. This presumably reflects the reduced ability of the aged brain to cope with such events, particularly if it is additionally damaged by a dementing process. An acute confusional episode may sometimes be the first evidence of an underlying dementia. Elderly patients with acute confusion are seen throughout medical practice, e.g. 20% of all acute medical ward admissions are found to be acutely confused. In elderly people apathy, under-activity and clouding of consciousness are more common presentations of delirium than the florid, overactive restless, hallucinating states usually described in relation to younger patients. Causes include (Birk et al, 2006): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Intercurrent physical ill-health à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Adverse reaction to a prescribed drug or drugs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Catastrophic social situations, e.g. a move into residential care Acute confusion should be regarded as indicative of underlying disease and investigated medically. Untreated it has a 40% mortality rate. The clinical approach is to complete a full physical examination looking for evidence of infection, stoke, MI or other illness. A review of medication should focus on drugs started or stopped recently. Until the underlying cause is determined and treated, a small dose of an antipsychotic agent may reduce the severity of delirious episodes. (Birk et al, 2006) Functional Disorders Depression This is the most common psychiatric disorder found in old people (if milder cases are counted) and the second commonest single underlying cause for all GP consultations for people over 70. The majority of depressive syndromes are of mild to moderate severity. About one fifth of cases are severe and carry the risk of suicide especially in men, in those which fail to remit within 6 months of onset and in those who feel physically ill (hypochondriacal) especially if they have the delusional belief that they suffer from cancer. Depression in old age may be precipitated by adverse life circumstances: bereavement; loss of health; threat of bereavement or loss of health in a key figure. As with younger patients, those who suffer from depression may have vulnerable personalities (i.e. they may be anxious and obsessional by nature) or they may have no close confidantes (i.e. they may be socially isolated). More recently evidence has emerged suggesting that depression occurring for the first time in later life may be associated with subtle brain abnormalities, such as an increase in white matter lesions (detected on neuroimaging), which may reflect hidden or undetected cerebrovascular disease. (Rands et al, 2006) Depressive illness in old people shows a wide range of clinical presentations. The typical picture of low mood, anhedonia and vegetative disturbance of sleep and appetite seen in younger people may predominate. Some patients become apathetic, withdrawn and appear to lose their cognitive abilities (this is called depressive pseudo-dementia as cognitive impairment may be so marked as to mimic organic dementia). Others may present with a picture of severe agitation and restlessness, accompanied by delusions of ill health or poverty, e.g. that they are dying of a brain tumour, that their bowels have stopped working and are rotting inside them, or that they are unable to pay for their hospital treatments. The clinical approach with mild cases of depression is unlikely to involve the Old Age Psychiatry Service, since they will be treated by the Primary Health Care Team. Support and counselling may be supplemented by the use of antidepressants. More severe or persistent cases are likely to be referred for specialist assessment and treatment. The majority of cases respond as well to treatment as younger patients perhaps even better! Poor outcome is often the consequence of inadequate treatment. The older tricyclic antidepressants are often not well tolerated, postural hypotension, urinary and gastrointestinal side effects being prominent. (Rands et al, 2006) Dosage should be titrated to the maximum tolerated, starting doses generally being 1/3 1/2 of those for younger patients. Newer antidepressants such as SSRIs have a particular place in the treatment of the elderly. Delusional depressions require the addition of neuroleptics for unresponsive or severe depressions ECT is a safe and effective treatment. Lithium carbonate has a valuable place in prophylaxis of recurrent episodes and is also effective in potentiating or augmenting the antidepressant actions of tricyclics. Many elderly depressed patients have previous or current physical illness. Not only must this be taken into account during treatment (e.g. tricyclic antidepressants are usually avoided in a patient with ischaemic heart disease and, in patients with a high risk of bleeding, SSRIs should be used with caution), but also physical illness must be treated in its own right to maximise the patients chances of recovering from the depression. (Rands et al, 2006) Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders do occur in old people, about half of it persisting from early life and half coming on for the first time in response to the stresses of ageing. A common precipitant stress is that of failing physical health, e.g. developing an acute phobic state after a fall from a bus, leading to a fracture and a period of reduced mobility. Behavioural methods of treatment may be effective. Diffuse anxiety and loss of confidence, even if precipitated by an adverse event, may indicate an atypical form of depression. Such patients respond better to antidepressant, rather than anxiolytic, drugs. (Rands et al, 2006) Paranoid States It appears to be a normal feature of ageing that individuals become rather more inflexible in their attitudes and fearful of adverse influence by the outside world. Elderly people are often not only physically and financially disadvantaged, but they enjoy relatively low social status and are often the victims of attack or deception. It is, therefore, perhaps not surprising that persecutory ideas (which we tend to lump together as paranoid symptoms) often emerge. The main conditions in which paranoid persecutory symptoms occur are as follows (Corey-Bloom, 2000): Late onset schizophrenia/delusional disorder This was formerly known as paraphrenia. The typical subject is an elderly spinster, with sensory impairments (deafness or visual impairment), living alone and isolated. Her self-care skills are good and she is apparently normal apart from the possession of a complex delusional system in which she believes she is the victim of a conspiracy (usually to defraud her). She hears third person auditory hallucinations, may smell odours, which she interprets as poison gas pumped into her room and misinterprets chance occurrences as having special significance. This psychotic illness, similar to schizophrenia in younger life, responds to antipsychotic drugs if the patient can be persuaded to take them. The delusions, however, seldom completely disappear but instead become encapsulated: the patient is no longer bothered by them although he or she never gains full insight into their delusional nature. A depot injection given by a Community Psychiatric Nurse is often a useful vehicle which improv es compliance with medication and provides regular contact with the patient. (Corey-Bloom, 2000) Acute confusional state/delirium Paranoid symptoms are common during delirium, the patient misinterpreting events because of his/her altered level of consciousness. The management of these symptoms has already been described neuroleptic medication may help to reduce agitation and behavioural disturbances. Paranoid Reactions to Forgetfulness These usually occur in independent old people who explain their experience of forgetting where things have been placed by accusing others of stealing them. Objects stolen are usually everyday ones, e.g. cups, teapots, pension book, money or glasses. Stolen objects often are returned or reappear in the usual place. The most likely cause of forgetfulness and paranoid misinterpretation is, of course, a dementing process. Neuroleptic medication is seldom of benefit in these circumstances. (Corey-Bloom, 2000) Assessment Procedures Clinical diagnosis of dementia includes identifying the cause of the cognitive impairment, which may be a treatable non-dementing process, delirium, or depression (Rockwood et al., 2007). When an illness that is associated with dementia is identified, the severity and character of cognitive impairment is commonly assessed in conjunction with the degree of illness and the potential for other psychiatric disorders such as depression (APA, 2000). Diagnostic assessments include a review of the patients medical history, a physical exam, and evaluation of depression, delirium, and cognitive status (Beck, Cody, Souder, Zhang, Small, 2000). Physical assessment results may identify treatable physiological imbalances that affect cognition (Freter, Bergman, Gold, Chertkow, Clarfield, 1998). Referral to neurology, neuropsychiatry, or a geriatric specialist in dementia has been stated as an important element in diagnostic assessment (Beck et al., 2000). Other elements in the assessment process commonly include neuro-imaging that can support the findings of assessments, and over time, the progression of the disease (Van Der Flier et al., 2005). Studies have also indicated that research using electroencephalography (EEG) might be an inexpensive tool that could contribute to the differentiation of dementias. Another important set of tools for assessment of cognitive deficits is neuropsychological testing (Sano, 2007). Neuropsychological assessments include testing for deficits in cognitive abilities such as current intellectual functioning, orientation, attention, verbal and non-verbal memory, verbal fluency, naming of items, and executive functioning (Petersen Lantz, 2002). Neuropsychological testing has been suggested as providing a contribution to clinical data in diagnostic assessment for dementia, differentiating between different types of dementias, early detection of cognitive loss, and identifying potential interventions (Sano, 2007; Savla Palmer, 2005). The diagnosis of dementia, even with the use of diagnostic tools, remains primarily based on observational data and judgment of the combined clinical data. The process involved in dementia assessment and diagnosis can be overwhelming and has been reported as one reason for delaying diagnosis (Sternberg, Wolfson, Baumgarten, 2000). There is also evidence that suggests that differentiating between MCI that can precede AD, and memory loss that does not have emerging pathology, poses difficulty and hesitation in requests for formal assessment (Shah, Tangalos, Petersen, 2000). The literature also suggests that there is a strong need for individuals and families to bring their concerns forward to a physician for assessment as often the first indication that an older adult is experiencing cognitive problems occurs during a crisis situation (Boise, Neal, Kaye, 2004; Borson, Scanlan, Watanabe, Tu, Lessig, 2006). In AD, memory loss has been described as insidious and can include a period of concealment preceding diagnostic investigation related to a need to preserve feelings of self-worth, identity and control (Keady Gilliard, 1997, p. 245). A diagnosis of dementia coinciding with a health crisis (e.g., stroke leading to vascular dementia) or with a progressive neurological disease (e.g., Parkinsons disease) are reported more frequently because of a higher associated incidence and known relationship with these disorders (Lindsay, Hebert, Rockwood, 1997; Wientraub, Moberg, Duda, Katz, Stern, 2004). The most common impetus for diagnostic evaluation is a realization of memory problems by the individual, or their family and social contacts, or associated with upsetting behaviour in social situations. Thomas and OBrien (2002) described behavioural changes that have been reported in dementia categorized as psychotic symptoms or possible alterations in mood or motivation. Psychotic symptoms include delusional ideas and beliefs (e.g., believing that misplaced articles have been stolen), hallucinations (e.g., seeing and speaking to people who are not physically present in a room), and misidentification of individuals (e.g., mistaking a son for a husband). Subtle changes in mood or motivation that may initially go unaddressed but increase in level of concern include apathy (e.g., lethargy), agitation (e.g., wandering, repeated dressing and undressing), aggression (e.g., verbal and/or physical, or increasing frustration with common tasks), sleep disturbances (e.g., up during the night related to distortions in sleep cycles), changes in eating habits (e.g., progressing to dependency for awareness of meal times) and personality changes (e.g., depression or unsubstantiated suspiciousness of motives of family members). Dementia and depression have been reported as the two most common medical problems in older adults (Leplaire Buntinx, 1999). However, the ass ociation between depression and dementia severity has not been confirmed, and in some instances depression has been misdiagnosed as signalling cognitive impairment (Maynard, 2003). Diagnostic Procedures These are of primary importance and include both psychiatric and medical history-taking together with physical examination and mental state assessment (including cognitive examination). Investigative procedures, e.g. EEG, blood tests, CT, MRI or SPECT scans are used as necessary. There are now operational criteria or consensus statements for the diagnosis of the main types of dementia (e.g. Alzheimers, Lewy body, vascular and fronto-temporal dementias), as well as for functional disorders. Many of the investigative procedures used in old age psychiatry are aimed at excluding other conditions in order to satisfy accepted international diagnostic criteria (e.g. the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition, and ICD-10). Thus, the diagnosis of Alzheimers disease requires that other systemic or brain disease[s] should be absent. This suggests the importance of blood tests (e.g. to exclude amongst other things vitamin B12 or folate deficiency) and brain scans (e.g. to rule out the possibility of tumours or haematomas). On the other hand, some diagnoses can be clinched by a particular finding on investigation (e.g. the finding on CT of multiple cerebral infarcts in a person whose history is in keeping with a diagnosis of vascular dementia). A functional scan, e.g. SPECT, might be a useful means to confirm a diagnosis of fronto-temporal dementia in someone where the anatomical scan (e.g. CT) only shows very mild frontal lobe atrophy. Such a scan might then be used to explain this bewildering and distressing condition to the family. Illnesses in old age are commonly multiple, so that patients often suffer from several disorders simultaneously. Investigations become important, therefore, in functional illnesses too, not only because certain conditions need to be excluded (e.g. hypothyroidism in depression), but also because other physical conditions might make some psychiatric symptoms worse, or might preclude the use of certain medications. For example, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, if not optimally treated, might exacerbate anxiety and panic; or a bleeding disorder or ulcer might limit the use of SSRIs. Disorder of Function Diagnosis alone does not tell you how severely disabled someone is. Two people with the same condition may behave very differently, e.g. dementia due to Alzheimers disease may render one person unsafe for independent living, but simply slow the other one down in the time taken to complete the daily crossword. It is important therefore to assess the functional disability that an old person suffers from and decide whether it can be relieved. Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists play an important part here, but the doctor needs to be aware of this aspect of illness when he/she is taking a history. No