The Monk :: essays research papers fc

The Monk: A Rebellious Offspring of the Age of Reason Understanding the Gothic novel can be accomplished by obtaining a familiarity of the Augustan point of view, which helps to develop a reference point for comparing and contrasting the origin of Gothic literature. The thinking that was being questioned by the Gothic novel was Augustanism; and without some understanding of Augustan principles and their role in eighteenth-century thought it is difficult to understand the purposes of the Gothic revival, either in terms of history or in terms of the way in which it offered a new conception of the relations between man, nature and a supreme being. David punter describes the political relationship of the Augustan thinker to the literary world, â€Å" It is tempting to see in Augustanism the doctrine of a small cultural elite holding on to power and status under increasing pressure, and that pressure as precisely that exerted by the new reading public on the homogeneity of the old literary establishment (p 31 Punter). This small number of e lite would have included, but not limited to, Fielding, Johnson and especially Pope. However, Fielding and Johnson were slowly stepping outside of the realm of the Augustan limitations. Fielding was undoubtedly Augustan in his beliefs in the stability of social rules and the necessity of a social and psychological compromise, but his mocking attitude towards literary stipulation represents a more moderate Augustan replication. Johnson, on the other hand, was a firm believer in these literary rules and yet it was his ‘Preface to Shakespeare’ which became the first significant breach in these limitations. Alexander Pope’s ‘Essay on Man’ embodies the cosmological, theological and ethical beliefs of the Augustan age; while at the same time exemplifying submission to the rules of literary form. The Augustan approach was intellectual with formal restraint; while relying on reason and traditionalism to create literary works. These stipulations were very con trolled by their boundaries and could not be exaggerated with out being broken. The Augustan critical attitude condemned spontaneity for its chaotic qualities, imagination for its objection to reason and liberalism for its opposition to traditionalism. Gothic fiction appears as a specific response to the Age of Reason’s order. During the late eighteenth-century, several different kinds of new fiction arose to challenge the Augustan tradition; leading the way was the Gothic novel. An interest in those things, which cannot be understood, for example religion and the soul, results in an overwhelming expansion of what is accepted as art in the literary world.

Dangers of a Totalitarian Society Exposed in Brave New World :: Brave New World

Dangers of a Totalitarian Society Exposed in Brave New World On a superficial level Brave New World is the portrait of a perfect society. The citizens of this Utopia live in a society that is free of depression and most of the social-economic problems that trouble the world today. All aspects of life are controlled for the people of this society: population numbers, social class, and intellectual ability. History is controlled and rewritten to suit the needs of the state. All this is done in the name of social stability. When one looks beneath the surface of this "perfect' society it becomes evident that it is nothing of the sort. Eugenics, social conditioning, and anti-depressant drugs have solved many of the problems faced by many modern societies; poverty, class tensions and overpopulation; but at the costs of individuality and with that their humanity. The citizens of "brave new world" are engineered to suite the needs of the state. Individual expression is impossible because everyone is conditioned to think alike. Brave New World is a book about a future that seems more viable and less brave with each passing day as our values become more materialistic and as our faith in God dwindles slowly to be replaced by technology. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World to increase our awareness of this frightening future we seem to be progressing towards so we can prevent it from happening. In the futuristic society of the novel, God has been replaced by science and technology as a source substance and meaning in life. As a consequence the words "Christ" and "God" are replaced with "Ford." This is done because Huxley believed that the shift in emphasis from God to technology occurred, to a large extent, with Henry Ford's introduction of the Model-T.1 Instead of using the Christian calendar this date is used as the opening date of a new era; the date is After Ford (A.F.) 632. This shift in importance is symbolized by substituting the Christian Cross with the Ford T.2 The motto of the new World State that now controls the world is "Community, Stability, Identity." This motto emphasizes the importance of the society over the individual. Community emphasizes the importance of the individual as a contributor to society.

A Dinner Menu

Burton Dinner Menu Some of my favorite memories of childhood revolve around dinner time. I have a huge family so once a month everybody tries to get together at my grandfather's house for dinner. Everybody takes turns cooking. I love cooking big meals, so when I turned 16 my mother told me it was my turn to cook for everybody. Of course she helped me out a lot. I had decided to make one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Marsala! In todays world it is so hard for all of use to get together. People have work or school and sports.It's nice that once a month we all take the time to get together. I enjoy every minute of it. I decided to start out the meal with a homemade salad straight from the garden. First I had to pick a bunch of vegetables from my mother's garden to use. The vegetables I decided to use are romaine lettuce, baby tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. I take the heads of lettuce and cut out the big chunky stem pieces. While I was doing that my mom diced the baby tomat oes, radishes, and cucumbers leaving the carrots for me because those are my favorite to cut.After the lettuce is cut and washed I move on to the carrots. I like the small slivers of them so I grab the grater and start on the carrots. A bag later and finally everything is cut and washed. Now comes the really fun part. I toss everything in the bowl and grab the huge spoon and fork meant for tossing the salad. My mom spins the bowl while I toss everything inside. Everything is topped with bacon bits and croutons. That goes into the fridge until everything is done. Now I get to start preparing the actual meal. I walk to the spice cabinet and start grabbing things I will need.I have to bring a basket with me to carry everything because the spice cabinet is in the upstairs kitchen. I toss the flour, olive oil, butter, the Marsala wine, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and dried chives. I walk to the fridge and grab the packages of chicken and the mushrooms. Once I get downstairs I grab a small bowl and mix the salt, pepper, and flour together. I put one teaspoon of oil in a skillet and put it on the stove and let it heat up slowly. I begin coating my chicken halves in the salt, pepper, and flour mixture, shaking off the excess.Once the il is heated I add a tablespoon of butter and start cooking the chicken until each side is golden brown. Usually that takes 3 or 4 minutes per-side. Once it is all cooked I put the chicken it in a pan and place that in the oven so it all stays warm. After that I put another teaspoon of butter in the pan I used to cook the chicken in, and toss the entire package of mushrooms into it. Once those have cooked for a few minutes I add the Marsala wine and chicken stock. I let that simmer for a bit so it thickens up a little. Once that is done I place the chicken back in the pan and toss in a pinch of ried chives.I let that cook on low heat for 5 minutes. I then grab out the plates and begin serving dinner. I place the big bowl ot salad in t he middle ot the table and we all take turns putting some on our plates. After dinner is done and cleaned up my mom and I start making the dessert, pumpkin spice cupcakes! I once again head upstairs with my trusty basket to grab all of my ingredients. I grab the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, baking powder, baking soda, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, milk, eggs, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract.I walk downstairs trying to avoid the kids that keep running up and down the steps. I preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease the cupcake tins. I sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and set it all aside. Next I Beat 1/2 cup of the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until it is all mixed together. I then add the eggs one at a time until they are all mixed in. After the last egg is added I stir in the milk and pumpkin puree.Slowly, I add ombine the dry mixture until everything is mixed together nicely. Finally the oven is preheated and I start scooping the cupcake mixture into the wrappers then into the tin. After 18 minutes they come out of the oven and are perfect! I set them all on a cooling rack and start on the cream cheese frosting. I beat the cream cheese and butter together while adding small amounts of confectioners' sugar until everything is mixed together and smooth. Then I add in the vanilla extract and one teaspoon of cinnamon. I transfer the frosting into a piping bag and decorate the cupcakes.Everybody rushes downstairs to get them while they are still warm. They smell amazing and taste even better. After everything was served and cleaned up we all sat down to relax and listen to my grandfather tell stories of his life growing up. Many of them we have all heard before, but none the less we sit and listen with intent. That one night a month is a day all of us look forward too. Family has always been important to all of us. These moments we all gather around the table to eat a home cooked meal, tell stories, and laugh are memories that I have and will always cherish.

Assignment System Evaluation Paper Essay

Epic is privately held health care software company. In 1979, it was established by Judith Faulkner. The organization central command was in Madison, Wisconsin, yet in 2005 the organization moved to Vernon, Wisconsin. The product’s business is health awareness associations, and it is a fascinating suite of human services programming fixated on a MUMPS database. (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multiple Programming System). It is a programming dialect that was made in the 1960 and afterward utilized for the health awareness associations. It is an altogether different language structure dialect and wording. MUMPS is an inherent database, empowering high- level access to plate stockpiling, utilizing a basic typical project variables. The programming dialect is likewise utilized as a part of keeping money systems and internet exchanging administrations. With the advancement of a prebuilt database, Epic programming is effortlessly introduced and kept up to the current IT fra mework in the association. Epic System gives the human services administration programming that incorporates monetary and clinical data over the association in one database. The frameworks programming incorporates booking, charging, enrollment, research facility, serious forethought offices, crisis, healing center drug store, radiology, surgery, inpatient, outpatient, electronic wellbeing records, to oversaw mind organization. Illustration, in the crisis room, Epic assists with a brisk path on effective patient mind by having a point and click on records to enlisting new patient in, taking care of charging inquiries and issues, to bunk accessibility, to an immediate connection to the drug store on this one patient. The framework additionally permits the clinic to import records to different doctors once the patient is discharged from the healing center. Today in the 21st century, more accentuation set on paperless and additionally going electronic, even in the restorative field. This framework  additionally permits more patients to be more included about their medications by having more get to their restorative records. By getting to webpage from their home patients can transfer photographs, overhaul medicines, and anaphylaxes that they may have, view proclamations, pay bills on the web, perspective test outcomes, plan errands, see past, and approaching arrangements and refill remedies. Along these lines, doctors need to be dependent upon the pace, on time, on a plan, and utilize a superior apparatus that has in excess of 100 separate claims to fame Epic is known to have quite recently that. Epic frameworks likewise permits doctors and other human services staff to get to the framework while making adjusts in the passages, or simply far from the doctor’s facility or office by synchronizing the product to their Pda’s, I cushions, and cell telephones. While far from the workplace or healing facility doctors and other human services staff looking over their patients outlines, seek postings, plan errands, send messages, e-recommend, do correspondences in the diagrams, and take a gander at clinical imaging catch. Arrangement Link on the Epic framework gives a supplier and a payor association leeway by adding an administration accessible to the bosses by means of web. The supplier can make referrals, get endorsements notices and surveys statuses of cases they are included. Arrangement Link administration permits them to print settlement guidance reports, spare telephone calls, and mailing costs. The payors can even get to their online premium receipts for installment. In 2002, there were simply more than 500 representatives at the Epic Corporation, today it is more than 3,800 workers there. The company has more than 165 clients from the fair size therapeutic gathering, huge restorative association, youngsters’ associations to a variable vast healing facility framework. Epic today has more than 50 million American individuals in the Epic programming wellbeing records. I worked with Epic Systems a year ago and what this framework can do does right by me that was some piece of the therapeu tic association going into the eventual fate of innovation. Epic has developed in the course of recent years; the inquiry is Epic going Global. In the event that this organization was to go worldwide, look how it would change the way individuals fly out and expecting to go to the healing facility abroad. It will decrease ineligible techniques, diminish copy requests, lessen the danger of prescription blunders and reduction  protection cost. Dickman in this article talked about keeping up the following key piece of Epic, and it is to recognize the up and coming era of pioneers for this organization, getting them prepared for the following period of Epic frameworks (Marc Eisen, 2008). Today the organization has gone worldwide, Epic Corporation has augment their aspirations to abroad in Holland. Dickman has expressed that the organization as of now have two agreement and investigating more. References Anonymous, 2013. Epic Corporation. Retrieved from www.epic.com Marc Eisen, June, 2008. Epic Systems: Epic Tale. Retrieved from: www.dailypage.com

Was Alexander Really Great?

Greatness is an umbrella term that can hold several different meanings and interpretations. In the case of Alexander the Great, it has a very specific meaning that reflects upon the achievements and success of his life time, despite the many character flaws and failings he undoubtedly possessed. Alexander the Great definitely deserves this appellation for three main reasons. Firstly, he conquered an incredibly vast area for his young age and lack of experience; secondly he left his mark on society which has lasted till contemporary day; and thirdly he completely revolutionized military techniques and styles.Firstly, Alexander the Great fought in horrific battles that rewarded him with a huge amount of land, resources and prosperity. He engaged in conflicts including the Battle of Granicus, Battle of Isus and the Battle of Tyre, leading him to conquer nations now known as Turkey,Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and a large portion of India. His ambition certainly paid off, and as Arrian, an hi storian living at the time of Alexander wrote, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦He would always have searched beyond for something unknown, and if there had been no other competition, he would have competed against himself. This source is quite reliable, as it reinforces other accounts of his attitude correctly, however Arrian basically recorded all the conquests of Alexander the Great, so it may be influenced or recorded with a certain bias that Alexander himself imposed. Secondly, Alexander the Great helped to establish Greek society and spread it over the world. He single handedly created a culture that has maintained itself till this very day. It truly is a great feat to form a society, including language, etiquette, customs and traditions that will last thousands and thousands of years.Historian Professor Paul Cartledge stated in his manuscript Hunting for a New Past â€Å"the great leader's achievements – both in his lifetime and posthumously are simply staggering, as they have lasted th e generations to still be evident today. † Cartledge’s opinion, although we must keep in mind it is only his opinion, is certainly reliable as he is a modern day expert on Greek culture and greek history, quoting in an edited and published official manuscript.Lastly, the military wisdom and knowledge that Alexander the Great not only possessed, but created himself, is astounding. The number of battles and wars he planned and executed is truly great, and especially in such a successful manner. This is one of his greatest attributes, and the skill he is most remembered for. A tapestry called Alexander the Great in Battle, discovered in 1661 by archaeologist Charles le Brun, reflects upon this concept. It depicts Alexander riding into battle and slaying his enemy with strategy and premeditated decision.Although it may be not completely reliable as it seems to portray the romantic myth of Alexander as a ferocious and fearless warrior, it does hold a concise example of his s kill in military prowess. Overall, Alexander the Great deserves his namesake because despite having many character flaws, he was an exceptional man who achieved some astounding feats. The vast land he conquered at such a young age, as well as his long lasting impacts on Greek society, and finally his military intelligence and success prove that Alexander truly was a great individual.

The Increase of Illicit Stimulant Use on College Campuses

The Increase of Illicit Stimulant Use on College Campuses Stephanie Lobe Upper Iowa University December 5, 2011 ABSTRACT Numerous studies are finding that college students in the United States are relying on stimulant medications prescribed for ADHD without a prescription and for nonmedical reasons, most commonly because students believe these medications can enhance their cognitive performance. Research finds that students report these stimulants have become a part of the college culture and are easier to obtain than alcohol.This paper will discuss the prevalence of use on college campuses in the United States and both the academic and nonacademic motivations these students use prescription stimulants illicitly. In the United States, the domestic sales for prescription stimulant ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine are increasing at significant rates. Between 1991 and 1999, sales of these prescription stimulants increas ed over 500 percent. As the rate of legal use increases, so does the rate of illegal or nonmedical use, especially on our college campuses.Data shows that these drugs have high abuse potentials and produce effects very similar to cocaine. Because of the potential for physical and psychological dependency and risk of abuse, the US Drug Enforcement Administration classifies these stimulants as Schedule II substances (Woodworth, 2000). Unfortunately, most students consider these drugs safe and do not realize the potential side effects and risk for abuse. There is a perception that nonmedical use of these drugs is morally acceptable if used for academic rather than recreational purposes (DeSantis, 2008).In, 2002, there had not yet been a lot of research conducted on illicit stimulant use on campus. At this time, Graf Low and A. E. Gendaszak surveyed undergraduates at a small college in the United States to gather information on the legal and illegal use of stimulants on the college camp us. The authors also wanted to explore how perfectionism and sensation seeking behavior contributed to abuse of both legal and illegal stimulants. Low and Gendaszak hypothesized that students influenced by perfectionism would be likely to abuse prescription stimulants (i. e.Ritalin, Adderall) and sensation seeking students would be more likely to abuse both prescription stimulants and illegal stimulants (i. e. methamphetamines, cocaine). Of 160 questionnaires distributed to students in an undergraduate psychology course, 150 questionnaires were returned. The questionnaires assessed selected demographic variables and the abuse of prescription and illegal stimulants during the previous 12 months. It is important to note that for this study, illicit stimulant use is defined as taking prescription stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin, etc) without a prescription.Illegal stimulant use is defined as taking the illegal â€Å"street† stimulants cocaine or MDMA (ecstasy). Participants were a lso questioned about their reasons for using stimulants. Two measures that have demonstrated reliability and validity with college students were administered to assess possible correlates of use: the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and the Sensation Seeking Scale. Ten percent of the students participating were prescribed stimulants by a medical professional and researchers automatically categorized them as non-abusers.In this journal article, the authors do not report the total number or percent of participants that were considered illicit users. They do report that analysis of the illicit users showed that 10% abused stimulants monthly and 8% weekly. There were a significantly higher number of men than women reporting illicit use, but no difference in their motivations for use. The common motivations for use were: to improve intellectual performance, to be more efficient and to use in combination with alcohol. Of the total of students participating, 34% reported taking cocaine , MDMA or both within the last 12 months.It was found that illegal stimulant use was highly correlated with illicit use of prescription stimulants. Researchers also found there was a correlation between having a prescription for stimulants and using illegal stimulants. Eighty-eight percent of the illegal users reported using MDMA vs. cocaine with men reporting greater use than women. Almost always, the motivation for illegal stimulant use was for recreational purposes. Sensation seeking and perfectionism were dichotomized based on a median split to produce categorical variables for analysis of variance.A two by two analysis of variance was carried out (high or low perfectionism by high or low sensation seeking) with the illicit use of prescription drugs as the dependent variable and gender as a covariate. The main effect for sensation seeking was significant, but perfectionism was not associated with self-reported use. However, the two-way interaction between sensation seeking and p erfectionism was significant. High sensation seeking perfectionists had the greatest self-reported abuse of prescription stimulants (Low, 2002).In the research study, Illicit Use of Prescription ADHD Medications on a College Campus: a Multimethodical Approach, both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews were conducted to collect data on college students’ perceptions of illicit prescription stimulant use and the prevalence of use. With the combined methods, 1,811 undergraduate students from a large, public, southeastern research university participated. Seventy-eight of these students had a prescription to treat ADHD and were removed from the study, leaving a total of 1,733 participants.This study found that of those participants, 34 % of used prescription stimulants illegally and for nonmedical reasons. The results suggested that illicit use of the stimulants was more common in Caucasians, men, upperclassmen, and students belonging to Greek organizations. Interviews with students allowed researchers to gather detailed information about their perceptions of stimulant prescription drugs, the circumstances of the first time they used a stimulant and what their motives were.During the interviews, it was discovered how prevalent illicit use of these medications are as well as how casually this use was discussed on campus with many students stating, â€Å"it’s no big deal†. Of the illegal users in the study, 63% used stimulants for the first time in college and for most the first time of use was at a time of high academic stress. For more than two-thirds of these users, this occurred during finals or when they had multiple tests in one day. First time users had little knowledge about the side effects of stimulant medication, the appropriate doses, or the legal consequences of using these drugs illicitly.Of illegal users, 72% reported using the drugs to stay awake and study longer or to concentrate on work. Many students claimed they cou ld be more productive and reported being able to study for up to 3-5 hours straight without getting distracted or taking a break. Others reported the stimulants made them â€Å"smarter† because they were able to memorize & retain information, grasp ideas and recall information better. One participant’s description of the drug Adderall was, â€Å"the stuff is like an academic anabolic steroid†. There were a few students that reported use of the stimulants for nonacademic purposes.Some these reasons included that the drugs gave them the ability to stay up all night for parties, be more talkative and social at parties and feel the effects of alcohol quicker. Students also reported that when crushed and snorted, the drugs produced a high similar to cocaine (DeSantis, 2008). In the study, Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulant Medication Among College Students, authors also investigate how prevalent illicit use is at a Midwestern campus as well as why students are abu sing these drugs. Three different methods were used to recruit students for the study.A list of randomly selected students residing in residence halls, 500 female and 500 male, was obtained from the university’s registrar office. A cover letter and questionnaire were sent to these students and then a second questionnaire was mailed to those who had not responded within two weeks. The researchers also held three sessions that were open to introductory psychology students who would receive credit for completing the questionnaire. The last effort to recruit students included researchers going door to door on men’s wings in residence halls.The combined total of responses was 552. The survey completed consisted of 85 items with the first section including questions about demographics and personal information. The questions on the remainder of the survey used a Likert-type scale (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree). Questions were separated into two sections for statistical analysis. The second section obtained specific information from individuals who reported they had illicitly taken stimulant medication.Results from the survey found that 17% of the men surveyed and 11% of the women surveyed had used prescription stimulants for non-medical reasons. Forty-four percent of the students surveyed reported that they knew someone who had used prescribed stimulant medication illicitly for academic or recreational reasons. Authors found that the main reason for use was to increase alertness and energy and use was associated with experiencing time and academic pressures of college life (Hall, 2005). The purpose of a study published in the Journal of Human Pharmacology andDrug Therapy was to explore illicit use of specific prescription stimulants among college students and the reasons and routes of administration associated with illicit use of these drugs. The study was conducted at a large Midwestern university in 2005. A ran dom sample of 5,389 full-time, undergraduate students were selected from the total population of 20, 138 full-time students. In order to produce reliable prevalence estimates for minority racial and ethnic groups, researchers oversampled 652 Hispanic, 634 African American and 244 Asian students.Students in the sample were mailed a letter describing the study and inviting students to self-administer a confidential web survey. Participants were eligible for a sweepstakes that included cash prizes, travel vouchers and other prizes. The final response rate exceeded the average rate for national college based studies of alcohol and other drugs with a 66% response rate. The final sample closely resembled the demographics of the overall student population and consisted of 4,580 undergraduate students.The results from the survey indicated that 8. 3% of the participants had used illicit prescription stimulants in their lifetime and 5. 9% had used them in the past year. Three out of four of t he illicit users reported taking Adderall and one out of four illicit users reported taking Ritalin. Unlike other studies of this nature, the authors report there were no differences in past year illicit prescription stimulant use between men and women. They did find statistically significant ethnic-racial differences in past year use with 8. % of Hispanics having used illicit prescription stimulants, 7% of Caucasians, 3. 4% of Asians, 1. 9% of African Americans and 3. 6% of those categorized as other. Sixty-five percent of the lifetime users began using illicit prescription stimulants during college rather than before starting college. Logistic regression showed students who began using prescription stimulants illicitly before entering college were three times as likely to use these drugs during college compared to those who had not used them before entering college.When looking at the motivations of students using illicit prescription stimulants, researchers found significant diff erences between gender and ethnic-racial groups. Men were more likely than women to report using these drugs to experiment, get high, and counteract the effects of other drugs. Women were more likely than men to report using prescription stimulants to lose weight, to help study, and to increase alertness. There was not a difference between sexes regarding the most frequently cited motive which was to help with concentration.There were no African Americans that reported using illicit prescription stimulants to get high, but over 20% of Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, and others reported this as a motive. The results for experimenting as a motive were similar. Most African American students who reported using prescription stimulants illicitly listed the motives to help concentrate or to help study. Students who reported using prescription stimulants illicitly before entering college were more likely to use these drugs during the past year to get high, lose weight or experiment.Students who did not start using prescription stimulants until enrolled in college were more likely to report the motive to help study. The results of this study also revealed findings about the routes in which students administered illicit prescription stimulants. Ninety-five percent of illicit users reported oral administration. Thirty-eight percent reported snorting the prescription stimulants and a very small percentage reported smoking, inhaling or injecting these drugs. Neither gender nor race-ethnicity were associated with routes of administration.However, students who began using illicit prescription stimulants before college were more likely to report snorting the drugs than those who started using during college. The authors report their study is the first to empirically document the claim that use of Adderall is the primary prescription stimulant used illicitly by college students. Hypothesizes to why the use of Adderall may be growing relative to other stimulants such as Ritlan, generally fall into three categories: availability, pharmacokinetic differences between stimulant drugs, and pharmacologic differences.In another study cited by the authors, college students reported Adderall was used more frequently because it was easily accessible, caused fewer emotional ups and downs, and was believed to work better overall. The authors explain that there are differences in the mechanism of action of Adderall that may result in this drug being more appealing to college students. The effects of the drug will last longer and may generate higher dopamine levels in the brain than occur when taking Ritalin (Teter, 2006).A study done by Rachel Judson & Susan W Langdon investigated illicit use of stimulant medications on college campuses considering the theory of planned behavior. This theory states that attitudes, beliefs about social norms, and perceived control work together to create intentions which predict health related behavior. The study included a total of 33 3 participants from two small competitive New England college campuses. Two survey forms were distributed – one for current stimulant prescription holders and one for non-prescription holders. The surveys were self-administered online.The study found that 20% of all participants reported illicit use of stimulants. Of the prescription holders, 46% reported illicit use (using for reasons other than prescribed or at increased doses) and of the non-prescription holders, 18. 3% reported illicit use. The two most predominant motives were to improve concentration and to increase alertness or stay awake. This indicates that academic reasons were more prevalent than recreational reasons for taking the medication. For non-prescription holders, the results were consistent with the theory of planned behavior.Attitudes, perceived norms and a sense of low control held by illicit users may act as rationalizations for their illicit use of stimulant medication (Judson, 2009). Many studies hav e been done investigating how perceived harmfulness influences nonmedical drug use and there have also been separate studies done investigating the association between nonmedical drug use and high sensation-seeking characteristics. This study takes both variables into consideration and explores whether the association between perceived harmfulness and nonmedical drug use vary by level of sensation-seeking.Participants included 1, 253 first year college students from a large, publicly-funded university in the mid-Atlantic region with an ethnically diverse student body. Personal interviews were conducted with participants and then participants were followed up with twice at six month intervals. Researchers examined the association between the two variables of perceived harmfulness and level of sensation-seeking characteristics because they believed it was important to consider the possibility that sensation-seeking characteristics can influence risk perception.Results from this study indicated that one in four students perceived a great risk of harm from occasional nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and analgesics. Low perceived harmfulness and high sensation-seeking were independently associated with increased risk of nonmedical use. At most levels of sensation-seeking, high perceived harmfulness did affect nonmedical prescription drug use; however, among high sensation-seekers, perceived harmfulness was not related to nonmedical use of prescription analgesics.This study found that individuals with low perceived harmfulness were approximately 10 times more likely to use prescription drugs for both stimulants and analgesics, as compared to those individuals with high perceived harmfulness. Another important finding was that individuals with low or moderate sensation-seeking tendencies were especially susceptible to the influence of perceived harmfulness (Arria, 2008). An article published online, New Findings on the Misuse of ADHD Medications by College S tudents, reviews one of the largest studies conducted regarding nonmedical use of stimulants on college campuses.In 2001, nearly 11,000 students attending 119 nationally representative, 4-year colleges in the United States were surveyed about their nonmedical use of prescription stimulants. The involvement of such a high number of universities across the country overcomes one of the major limitations of other studies done on this topic. Because most studies collect data from only one college, the results cannot be accurately generalized to college populations outside of that type of institution or region. This study found that the average rate for nonmedical use of stimulants during the participant’s lifetime was 6. %; during the last year was 4. 1% and during the last month was 2. 1%. The rate of use of stimulants varied dramatically across the campuses surveyed with rates ranging from 0% to as high as 25%. Findings from this study indicate that the highest rates of nonmedic al use of prescription stimulants are highest at colleges with competitive admission standards. More than 80% of schools with a past year prevalence rate higher than 10% had highly competitive admission standards and were located in the Northeast or Southern United States.Results of the motives for illicit stimulant use were comparable to other studies with the three top motivations being to help with concentration, to help with alertness and to get high (Ashley Children's Psychology Center, n. d. ). Most research studies regarding the illicit use of prescription stimulants on college campuses use a randomly selected sample size of over 1,000 participants. In the study, Illicit Use of Prescription ADHD Medications on a College Campus: A Multimethodological Approach, students participating in part I of the research, a quantitative survey, are recruited through a large introductory communications course.This course is a social science requirement and was selected to represent students from different majors across the campus. To ensure the upperclassmen were also represented in the study, additional surveys were distributed in an upper division communications course as well as the general student body. The second part of the study included qualitative interviews with 175 full-time, undergraduate students. The authors fail to report how these students were recruited.It is not know if these students were randomly selected from the general student population or if they were selected from the group of students who completed the survey. This research was done at a large, southeastern research university in the United States (DeSantis, 2008). Studies relating to the illicit use of stimulants on college campuses have found a significant variance in the prevalence of usage depending on factors such as admission standards and location of the university (Ashley Children's Psychology Center. (n. . ). Due to this, the study done at this southeastern research university canno t be generalized to the college population as a whole. This study used both quantitative and qualitative studies. Data was collected from surveys administered in the classroom as well as from scripted, in-depth interviews with students. The authors designed and pretested the 25-item survey for this study by conducting a pilot study of 94 students. After receiving feedback from the students, question wording and survey structure were revised.The interviews were conducted by students who had all completed an upper-division research methods course and were certified by the university’s institutional review board. Interviewers were assigned specific demographic groups to facilitate the comfort and trust levels of interviewees. Interviews with students allowed researchers to gather detailed information about their perceptions of stimulant prescription drugs, the circumstances of the first time they used a stimulant and what their motives were. Interviews revealed that many student s viewed illicit prescription stimulant use as part of the culture of ampus life (DeSantis, 2008). This study showed that 34% of the students who participated in the study had used prescription stimulant medications for nonmedical purposes. This rate is significantly higher than most published studies about stimulant use on college campuses; however, studies have found that rates vary greatly depending on demographic factors (Teter, 2006). The authors offer three explanations as to the reason their study reported a significantly higher prevalence rate of use on campuses: 1.ADHD stimulant use may be rising nationwide and as time passes, this phenomenon continues to grow; 2. Rates of use may vary on different college campuses and this campus may have a higher prevalence of use; and 3. The relatively high proportion of Greek students in the student body may have contributed to the higher prevalence rate. In relation to explanation 2, it was also noted that this study took place in a st ate that has been ranked as one of the top three states in the nation for ADHD diagnosis.To estimate the proportion of individuals who used illicit stimulants by demographic category, the number of users in each category was divided by the total number surveyed in each category. Using results displayed by demographic category use and non-stimulant use, data was cross tabulated by the same demographics factors and a chi-square analysis was conducted to examine statistically significant differences. The resulting data suggested that illicit prescription stimulant use was more common in men, white students, upperclassmen, and members of Greek organizations. Most other studies have published similar results (DeSantis, 2008).The study, Illicit Use of Specific Prescription Stimulants Among College Students: Prevalence, Motives and Routes of Administration found that there is a significantly higher prevalence of use in Caucasian and Hispanic students. These two ethnic groups reported rates of use at 8. 5% and 7%, respectively. Use for African Americans students was only 1. 9%. Another notable difference related to ethnicity was that while over 20% of Hispanic and Caucasian students reported one of the motives of using prescription stimulants was to get high; 0% of African American students reported that motivation (Teter, 2006).Quantitative data showed students’ primary motive for taking ADHD medication was to earn better grades in school. With the augmentation o the qualitative data, researchers discovered a myriad of more subtle motives defining when and why these students took stimulants. Researchers found that most students used prescription stimulants during finals week or periods of high academic stress. They also discovered some what some of the non-academic motives were such as staying up all night for parties, getting drunk quicker, and to be more social (DeSantis, 2008).Other studies have revealed similar findings with other non-academic motives bein g to help with losing weight, to get high, to experiment and to counteract the effects of other drugs (Teter, 2006). As discussed, the possible biases of this study were the fact that there was a high number of students in Greek organizations in the student body and that the study focuses on one campus noting the prevalence of use can vary greatly depending on the region the university is located in as well as other factors such as the competiveness of the school.The authors did not attempt to control these biases in their study, but in future studies an oversampling of students not involved in Greek organizations as well as a sample from several schools across the country could help control these biases (DeSantis, 2008). Each of these studies identifies the prevalent, increasing illicit use of stimulant medications for nonmedical uses, primarily motivated by academic reasons. It is apparent that most students do not know the dangers or risks of taking these medications and prescrip tion stimulants are more socially acceptable than other drugs.Many students appear rationalize their use because it is for academic reasons rather than recreational reasons. This is a terrifying trend that can result in many unwanted outcomes, the worst being death. References: Arria, A. M. , Calderia, K. M. , Vincent, K. B. , O'Grady, K. E. , & Wish, E. D. (2008, July 17). Perceived harmfulness predicts nonmedical use of prescription drugs among college students: Interactions with sensation-seeking. In National Institutes of Health. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2574828/ Ashley Children's Psychology Center. (n. d. . New Findings on the Misuse of ADHD Medications by College Students. In Ashley Psychology. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://ashleypsychology. com/Articles/010608. html [pic] DeSantis, A. D. , Webb, E. M. , & Noar, S. M. (2008, November). Illicit Use of Prescription ADHD Medications on a College Campus: A Multimet hodological Approach. Journal of American College Health, 51(3), 315-325. Retrieved November 12, 2011, from EBSCOhost. Hall, K. M. , Irwin, M. M. , Bowman, K. A. , Frankenberger, W. , & Jewett, D. C. (2005, January). Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulant Medication Among College Students.Journal of American College Health, 53(4), 167-174. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from EBSCOhost. Judson, R. , & Langdon, S. W. (2009, January). Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulants Among College Students: Prescription Status, Motives, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Knowledge and Self Diagnostic Tendencies. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 14(1), 97-104. doi:10. 1080/13548500802126723. Low, G. K. , & Gendaszek, A. E. (2002, August 1). Illicit Use of Psychostimulants Among College Students: A Preliminary Study. Psychology of Health and Medicine, 7(3), 283-287. doi:10. 1080/13548500220139386Teter, C. J. , McCabe, S. , LaGrange, K. , Cranford, J. A. , & Boyd, C. J. (2006, October 26). Illicit Use of Speci fic Prescription Stimulants Among College Students: Prevalence, Motives and Routes of Administration. The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 26(10), 1501-1510. doi:10. 1592/phco. 26. 10. 1501 Woodworth, T. (2000, May 16). DEA Congressional Testimony. Presented to the Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families. Retrieved November 13, 2011 from http://www. dea. gov/pubs/cngrtest/ct051600. htm.

National Security and Homeland Defense Research Paper

National Security and Homeland Defense - Research Paper Example This paper shows that the various agencies involved at the state, federal or local agencies make a perfect team in making the country safe for its entire citizen. Introduction There are many threats that face us daily in the society that we live. Whether it is from terrorist attacks, theft attack, attack amongst ourselves or threat issues, we are still faced with danger all around us. Many agencies are deployed to protect us from such kinds of attack. They investigate in to the matter and come up with solutions to our problems. They assure us that we will be all right and every single matter will be handled professionally in accordance with the laws that govern us. Given their different roles in the society, they work together to protect its citizens. The agencies involved are federal, State Law Enforcement agencies or local agencies that are the municipal or county police. The federal Given to them the duty under the United States Code, the Federal agencies that exist in the United States have the authority to enforce laws only at the level of federal. The federal agencies have the same powers as the police in that they both act together with the police. They are only given the permission to investigate issues within the range of power they are endowed. Their investigate powers is clearly seen nowadays especially after the USA patriotic act was passed. At the federal level, most of the duties of enforcement are placed under the department of Justice. An instance of a federal agency is the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Marshals. In addition to that, the homeland security department has many federal agencies that work together with it. An instance of a federal agency that works with the department of homeland security is the United States Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration (Reiss & Albert 1992). Since the government of the United States is structured as sovereign states in which each state is responsible for mai ntaining their own military, police and any other agency involved in the law making process, the constitution has not given the federal agencies to practice the benefits that a normal police has. The constitution has only allowed the federal agency to exercise their powers on affairs between states and any affair that is foreign. In the case of policing, if a crime happens at a different state, then the federal agency does not have any power. If the federal agency acts on a different state, then they have gone against the law of federal that governs the interstate relation and they can be charged by the jurisdiction of federal. The United States Secret Service As a part of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service is an example of a federal agency that exists in the United States. The United States Secret Service is involved in many responsibilities in the federal department. Responsibilities of the United States Secret Service The primary d uty of the United States Secret Service as stated in their mission is to protect the financial system and the payment process of systems n the United States. They are usually involved in crimes that involve any financial fraud whether it is institutional, electronic, identification of false documents or any money laundering process. It is also responsible for the protection of the President of the United States. That is the second main mission of the United Sta