Organization theory and design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Organization theory and design - Essay Example In this aspect, any active organization has a specific structure that fits needs; the other role of organizational structure is facilitating efficiency through allocation of roles and responsibilities. The arrangement of different organizational activities also promotes efficiency as well as efficacy in production. The concept of organizational culture has been studied in various fields such as anthropology as well as sociology on a wide perspective. However, from these studies, no clear meaning of organizational culture has been provided; despite the lack of a clear meaning, several definitions have been provided such as: A set of commonly comprehended issues that an organization’s actions are undertaken, for instance; a form of language that applies to a specific organization. On the other hand, other social scientists have also described organizational culture as a benchmark formulated to perceive things, a system of skills commonly applied in an organization to promote evaluation of issues and processes. In addition, organizational culture plays a significant role by promoting reconceptualization of issues and process in different sectors: That is, to enhance the understanding of various stakeholders and the important role their organizations play within the society. It also enables stakeholders to a gain a deeper understanding of their goals, objectives as well as determining ways in which they relate to one another within and outside the organization. Organizational design, specifically organizational structure plays a key role in promoting the success of any organization. Poor organizational structure i.e. inappropriate methods of duties allocation, inappropriate methodologies applied to guide the flow of resources. Moreover, organization culture also plays a crucial role by promoting proper relationships among workers hence creating a harmonious working environment

Vancomycin and Preventing Infections Dissertation

Vancomycin and Preventing Infections - Dissertation Example Fig. 1: Tricyclic glycopeptide structure of vancomycin (Ouelette & Joyce, 2010, p. 207) The three-dimensional structure of vancomycin forms a cleft that allows it to bind to late stage PG intermediates that have a D-alanyl-D-alanine terminus (Corey et al., 2012). Vancomycin is selectively toxic since the sequences L-aa-D-aa-D-aa of the peptide PG intermediates are only found in the cell walls of bacteria. Fig. 2: Figure showing the PG intermediates and vancomycin with its cleft where it binds to the D-Ala-D-Ala terminus (Corey et al., 2012, p. 138) Hydrogen bonding between the vancomycin glycopeptide molecule and the peptides of PG intermediates results in the formation of stable complexes (Reynolds, 1989). This in turn leads to the inhibition of transglycosylation and transpeptidation reactions by two important enzymes as they fail to bind to the terminus due to steric hindrance. Because of this, the elongation of the glycan chain is inhibited. The mechanism of action of vancomycin thus involves the binding of a â€Å"bulky inhibitor† (vancomycin) to the substrate (D-alanyl-D-alanine terminus) outside the cell membrane because of which the active site of two bacterial enzymes (transglycosylase and transpeptidase) cannot align and bind to the substrate. This unique mechanism of action of vancomycin renders drug resistance by most bacteria difficult, unlike most other antibiotics (Reynolds, 1989). Vancomycin Usage Vancomycin is used to treat severe infections such as pneumonia, endocarditis, abscesses, and empyema caused by MRSA, and also for the treatment of patients allergic to cephalosporins and penicillins (Ouelette &... Significant information exists for vancomycin use in the hospital setting, but not so much for outpatient and use in the community setting. Challenges to proper usage of vancomycin may be caused due to lack of patient education, minimal studies in relation to patient education and improper compliance with best practice guidelines. Healthcare workers can sometimes lack proper understanding on correct dosage for patients. After extensive literature review, it is clear that improper preventive application or incorrect utilization of vancomycin may lead to the increased incidence of vancomycin resistant bacteria. It is thus imperative for healthcare institutions, healthcare workers and patients to comply with best practices regarding treatment with vancomycin as it is one of the few remaining antibiotics that can be used for the treatment of infections with multiple drug resistant bacteria or in patients with allergies to other common antibacterial agents.

Reflective Diary on Change Management

Reflective Diary on Change Management ABSTRACT This report states my individual reflection during the process of learning CHANGE MANAGEMENT module. This covers personal viewpoint of my experience on the issues of change. The later part of the report argues on the constructive and destructive role of resistance as a part of change process. This analysis is applied to the organization (water utility) where change has been experienced. INTRODUCTION It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change- Charles Darwin to cope with a changing world, an entity must develop the capacity of shifting and changing of developing new skills and attitudes, in short, the capacity of learning A De Gues, The Living Company This report has been written as a part of my module course work to state my personal views and experience on various issues of change. The report also emphasizes on the resistance to change and its impact on the change process. I was a bit tensed before the module started because as a database student I had no prior knowledge of change management but after the completion of the module I have gained pretty good knowledge on change management in an organization and issues involved in it. In todays economy, change is all-pervasive in organizations. It happens continuously, and often at rapid, because change has become an everyday part of organizational dynamics. There are 2 types of work in an organization viz. normal delivery process, where the main business of the organization is done and the change activities, whereby necessary change is made to the business and the way it is done. Change externally appears to be changing jobs, places, products etc. but actually occurs first inside peoples heads. It has both positive and negative effects. Change Management can be defined in 3 ways: The Task of Managing Change: It is the task of managing change. Managing change itself has 2 meanings. Firstly, it refers to the making of change in a planned and managed or systematic fashion. The aim is to implement new methods and systems in an ongoing organization. This type of change occurs in information system development projects. Secondly, it refers to the response to changes over which the organization exercises little or no control. An Area of professional Practice: There are change management experts/change agents who claim that they help clients manage the changes they face or help the clients make changes. A Body of Knowledge: There is large, reasonably cohesive albeit elective body of knowledge underlying the change management practice and on which most practitioners agree. It consists of various models, methods and techniques, tools, skills and other forms of knowledge. All the practitioners are integrated by set of concepts and principles known as General Systems Theory (GST). WHAT HAVE I LEARNT? From the course module Change management and Systems Implementation I have learned: Definition of Change management: As described above. Nature of change: Before implementing change the nature of change is analysed. Three various levels of change are understood viz. Alpha Level Change Beta Level Change Gamma Level Change The Change Process: The process of change has 3 basic stages: Unfreezing Changing Refreezing This is based heavily on Kurt Lewins Adoption of the systems concept of homeostasis of dynamic stability. Force-Field Analysis: identify driving and restraining forces and try to increase the driving forces and reduce the restraining forces. Human Issues in Change Resistance to Change. Change Diagnosis. 7- s Framework. Culture and Strategy in Change Management. Strategy safaris. Various personality types involved in CM. From the overall module, the topic Resistance to change excited me a lot. I enjoyed that session in class and have also done extra reading and research on that topic from web. The later part of the report describes my views on various issues of Resistance to Change in any organization and how I applied those issues to the organization where change has been experienced. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE: Resistance is an inevitable response to change and will exist in any organization. It may happen at all levels of an organization. It is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that a change that is occurring as a threat to them. It can stimulate healthy discussion. Resistance is the last thing management wants during change process. In many instances if pervasive, resistance to change will have detrimental effects for the whole program. It may bring the change into disaster or worse collapsing the whole organization. It must not be ignored. Resistance may take many forms, including active or passive, overt or covert, individual or organized, aggressive or timid. Initially resistance was seen as an unfavourable thing a harmful problem that must be immediately resolved in anyway in order to achieve a successful change. In the early days Management experts agreed that resistance will bring nothing but unconstructive consequences to management as there was lack of support from people especially at management level. Waddell in her journal Resistance: a constructive tool for change management (1990) has found that resistance to change has long been renowned as a negative factor that may influence the success of any change process. She was supported by many experts like McGuire in her journal How to manage change (2003), Mabin in Harnessing resistance: using theory of constraints to assist change management (2001), Teare in Learning from change (2002), Karyn in her case study identifying resistance in managing resistance to change (2002) and Dym in his PhD paper Resistance in Organisations: How to Recognise, Understand respond to it (1999). Mabin found a survey that reveals the prerequisites for a successful change vision, mission, culture, communication and leadership. If those pre-requisites are not met the whole change will fail due to what is often termed as resistance to change (Mabin, 2001). Teare from his analysis of different scenarios of changes argues that the best suited managers are those with entrepreneurial type who would examine problems as whole, willing to take risks to challenge conventional practices and view change as an opportunity rather than threat (Teare, 2002). The 4 factors for failure in managing change are: Lack of consistent leadership. De-motivated staff kept in the dark. Lack of capacity: budget cuts, no spend-to-save policy, short-term approach to investment, stressed out staff working hard just to stand still. Lack of initiative to do something different. McGuire listed 4 key factors for success when implementing change within an organization: Pressure for change demonstrated senior management commitment is essential for change. Leadership is getting others to do what they want to do because they want to do it Eisenhower Pressure is the 1st thing that triggers change and it may come from external or internal organization (McGuire, 2003). A positive message should be communicated throughout the organization of the need and the case for change. Senior management should be supportive both privately and publicly and their commitment and the drive for change is essential if momentum is to be maintained for effective implementation. Teare concern was more on organizational de-layering (Teare, 2003). A clear,shared vision must take everyone with you. This is shared agenda that benefits the whole organization. Business are nothing more or less than organizational of people trying to a jointly defined future Professor Howard H Stevenson, Harvard Business School. The managerial level of the organization should not only work towards the change process but they have to be able to see the vision and institute the change plan to finally achieve this vision (McGuire, 2003). Teare suggested that organization must focus on its desired outcomes during the change process. The managers should be motivated with recognition of their achievements and should participate in change learning process. Exploring Capabilities Provide the resources time and finance. More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause Jim Cathcart According to McGuire organization should analyse its capabilities in dealing with change. It needs to know its existing capabilities, the abilities those may be required during the change process (McGuire, 2003). Action Plan plan, do, check, act and keep the communication channels open. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit Aristotle Follow the management methodology PLAN DO CHECK ACT A handy formulae to deal with resistance positively and effectively is D x V x F = R, where: D = Dissatisfaction V = vision F = First (or next) steps R = Resistance to change This says that Dissatisfaction, Vision, and First Steps are all necessary in order to overcome Resistance to change. The model most commonly used to illustrate elements of change and resistance to change is lewins force-field analysis: According to this model, pressing for change threatens stability and thus increase the power of forces maintaining the system. The most effective way to bring about change is to reduce the forces of resistance. Both forces (change and resistance to change) exist within the system and if the system depicts an interaction, the forces need to be conceptualized as interactive. According to kotter and Schlesinger (1979), there are four reasons that certain People Resist Change: Parochial self-interest some people are concerned with the implication of the change for themselves and how it may affect their own interests rather than considering the effects for the success of the business. Misunderstanding communication problems and inadequate information. Low tolerance to change certain people are very keen on security and stability in their work. Different assessments of the situation some employees may disagree on the reasons for the change and on the advantages and disadvantages of the change process. The main reasons for employee resistance are A lack of awareness about the change i.e. when the reason of change is unclear. Ambiguity where it is about costs, equipment, and jobs can trigger negative reactions among users. Comfort with the ways things are and fear of the unknown. When the proposed users have not been consulted about the change, and it is offered to them as an accomplished fact. When the change threatens to modify established patterns of working relationships between people. When the communication about the change timetables, personnel, monies, etc. has not been sufficient. When the benefits and rewards for making the change are not seen as adequate for the trouble involved. When the change threatens jobs, power or status in an organization. Fear of failure. Personality conflicts. Loss of status and/or job security. Lack of tact and/or poor timing. Disruption of cultural traditions and/or group relationships. The risk of change is seen as greater than the risk of standing still. People have no role models for the new activity. People fear that they lack the competence to change. People feel overloaded and overwhelmed. People have healthy scepticism and want to be sure new ideas are sound. People fear hidden agenda as among would-be reformers. People anticipate loss of status or quality of life. People genuinely believe that the proposed change is a bad idea. The different ways to deal with resistance to change are: Facilitation and Support: Where people are resisting change due to adjustments problems, Managers can head off potential problems by being supportive of employees during difficult times. Managerial support help employees deal with fear and anxiety during transition period. Education and Communication: Where there is lack of information or inaccurate information and analysis. Educate people about the change effort beforehand. Up-front communication and education helps employees see the logic in the change effort, this reduces unfounded and incorrect rumours concerning the efforts of change in the organization. Participation and involvement: Where employees are involved in the change process emotionally. When their hands are dirty, they realize that dirt is not so bad, after all. They also justify their involvement to themselves and so persuade themselves that is the right thing to do. Negotiation and agreement: When the other person cannot be easily persuaded, then they have to be given order. The manager has to sit them down and ask what they are seeking. Work out a mutually agreeable solution that works just for them and just for you. Manipulation and Co-option: Where the other tactics will not work or are too expensive. Co-option involves patronizing gesture in bringing a person into a change management planning group for the appearance sake rather than substantive contribution. These leaders can be given symbolic role in decision making without threatening the change effort. Explicit and Implicit Coercion: Where speed is essential and to be used only as last resort. Managers can explicitly or implicitly force employees into accepting change by making clear that resistance to change can lead to losing jobs, firing, transferring or not promoting employees. Depending on the degree and type of performance gaps, different organizational change interventions are designed to conserved resources and effectively close those gaps. The best way to understand resistance to change is to use the change management worksheet. This should be filled out separately by people in an organisation and then discussed. This tells the reasons why people in your organization resist change. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IN BRITISH GAS : British Gas was formed in 1940 and it commenced its operation in 1948 with the mission of supplying gas in Great Britain. By 1950 it became one of the monopolies among the various gas providers in the market. There vision is to be a leading supplier of energy and related services in there chosen market and to build position in Europe. There mission is to create value for there share holders and to provide cost effective services for optimum satisfaction of the customers by enabling good environment. They view them selves as partners with there customers, suppliers and share holders by creating value and prosperity for all the stake holders and there respective community at large. The main aim for change in this company to improve customer service in order to save time and improve corporation competitiveness. BRITISH GAS IN THE PAST In the past British gas had very complex system. The staff has to use different software for different queries. Customers services are not up to the mark as the salutation and DPA was very lengthy and customers has to wait for long time in the queue to get there queries resolved. There were different department for different services. British gas followed the strategy safari planning school. The new changes and implementations include drastic change in IT, better customer service user friendly software, maintaining integrity, training and recruiting new staff and providing more choices to the customer. The level of change in British gas is Alpha change. The alpha change includes implementation of effective software in order to improve customer satisfaction, improved IT infrastructure which leads to success in their business. Through the change is small its implications are large. From the Force-Field analysis, the driving forces and restraining forces are identified. The driving forces include: Customers willing to change to the new system. Later support from the staff (Willing to work overtime to get trained to new software.) though there was initial criticism. Instant approval by management members to change the present system. The restraining forces include: Few staff unwilling to adapt to new software as they have to get trained again. Requires extra investments for developing, installing and maintaining new software. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE: As a customer service agent working in british gas I have experienced this alpha level change of software in the implementation of queries from the customers. The change was declared by higher management people (My team leader) very suddenly. There was a mixed reaction from the staff, some have welcomed the idea but few opposed it. There was a initial criticism in the staff because of the following reasons: Comfort with the way things and fear of unknown. Fear of failure. Personality conflict. Lack of awareness. People had no role models. The change was surprise. Parochial self-interest. Unwilling to adopt new system. Misunderstanding. Different assessment of situations. Though there was initial criticism, the staff later cooperated very well in the change process as the management as taken necessary steps to deal with resistance like: They had facilitated the staff that had trouble working overtime to get trained to the new software. They educated the staff the reason for change and benefits of new software (how it will be better to them.) They got the people involved in the change process by encouraging them to take part emotionally. They had to sit down and work out mutually with the staff on the implementation of change. As there was pressure of drive from the management, communicated there vision to the staff in an understandable way and supplied the various available resources and acted upon the change towards its successful implementation. The staff later realized the advantages of new software as it reduced most of their work upon acting the queries from customers and made their job very easy and welcomed the idea without any contempt. CONCLUSION: After completion of this module I gained enough knowledge about the concept of Change Management and its implications. I enjoyed the module thoroughly. This knowledge will be very much useful for me in the future understanding of the change process in any organization I work for. The various concepts covered in this module have been very useful. The case study has given a practical experience of what all I have learnt in this module by providing a real-life scenario.

Essay --

Potty training is one milestone, eagerly awaited on by parents. Potty training is a process. The process of potty training takes between three and six months, depending on the child. Potty training takes time, dedication, and patience. There are many steps to training a child, some steps are more difficult and the steps may be difficult for the child to grasp. The process of potty training will be difficult and have setbacks along the way. Before starting the process you need to know if your child is ready. You need to be watching for signs of potty training readiness. The signs include increased interest in using the potty, child feels uncomfortable in diapers, child talks about the potty, child goes to the bathroom on a schedule, child follows instructions, and the child stays dry for longer periods of time. When it comes to age, there is no right age to start potty training because every child is different. Most parents think about training their kids between the ages of eighteen months and three years old. Be sure to not rush the child into potty training too soon from pressure of others. Also before starting the process, you need tools. You may need many different tools to complete this process. The tools include a potty chair, training pants, footsteps, and books or films on potty training. These tools will help the child feel excited about the process, be comfortable, and help them feel independent. Now, the fun part. The process of potty training a child. There are many steps to the process. First, introduce the potty. Introduce the potty to your child around their first birthday. To be successful at this, keep books and films on potty training in the bathroom and talk to he child about potty training on occasions... .... To do this you may use a sticker chart, give the child some candy, or buy the child something they want. Be sure not to go nuts. Doing this will make the child react to praise the same way they act to punishment. Praise and the reward the child, but don't over exaggerate and scare the child. The process of potty training takes time, patience, and dedication. To be successful at this process, stay consistent with the process. Talk to the child about the potty, encourage the child to use the potty, make the process fun, make it comfortable, and reward the child. Learning the process and knowing what you need to do, will help the child be successful at completing this process. Potty training may seem like a difficult task, but doesn't need to be. So, NEVER give up on your child or the process of potty training them. No matter what, you child will be potty trained.

Marijuana legalization Research outline Essay

Topic Sentence: Like alcohol in the 1920s, marijuana should be legalized because doing so would not only reduce crime, but make the substance more reliable and safer and would generate tax dollars. Background/History: Why is marijuana illegal? Why is it legal in some states and not in others? Marijuana became widely criminalized in 1937 when congress passed the â€Å"Marijuana Tax Act† 1 as a result of a national propaganda campaign against the substance. Harry J. Anslinger 1 led the campaign as the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. He used the themes of racism and violence to cause widespread hatred and fear of the drug in order to make it illegal. He was often quoted saying â€Å"Colored students at the Univ. of Minn. partying with (white) female students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy† and â€Å"Two Negros took a girl fourteen years old and kept her for two days under the influence of hemp. Upon recovery she was found to be suffering from syphilis.† 2 In 1996, Proposition 215 was passed in California and this allowed for the medical use of marijuana. Since then, 22 other states, D.C, and Guam have enacted similar laws. These laws have now decriminalized possession and/or legalized medical marijuana in the state. 1 How is it similar to the prohibition era before and after? It is similar to the prohibition era in that both the prohibition of alcohol and the prohibition of marijuana were country wide bans on the substance that carried some form of legal punishment for their sale, use, and/or possession. In contrast, the ban on alcohol was created as a result of legislators claiming that the grains needed to distill alcohol were needed for food as the country was at war. Then in December of 1917, the US congress enacted a permanent ban on the sale, transportation, importation, and exportation of alcoholic beverages. Similarly to supporters of marijuana prohibition, supporters of alcohol prohibition claimed that as a result, the  nation would become an overall healthier country and that crime rates would fall. In addition, the average worker’s productivity was supposed to increase, leading to greater economic prosperity for the US as a whole. However, none of these claims came true. Instead of promoting the nation’s health, the new alcohol made illegally was far worse for people and was often much higher in alcohol content. In addition, crime increased since illegal activity was required to make and distribute the newly illegal drug. Criminal activity then became organized as the benefit for large criminal enterprises to murder people and bribe public officials and law enforcement officers to move the bootleg brew became too tempting. Worker productivity failed to increase and jails quickly filled with people convicted of minor violations of the ban, which cost millions to enforce. In 1933, the prohibition of alcohol ended, causing a reduction in crime and creating many new jobs in the expanding liquor industry. 3 (Medical Uses/Benefits:) Although the Food and Drug administration have not supported the legalization for medical marijuana, doctors and researchers have found that the use of marijuana provides relief for many medical conditions and illnesses. According to the American cancer Society the use of smoked marijuana is not considered medicine (â€Å"The FDA’s Opposition to Medical Marijuana Legalization is based on science† 1). The reason the American Cancer Society believes that smoking marijuana cannot be used as a medicine because of the result of the damage to the lungs. (What are the medical benefits of marijuana?) OPPOSITION: National medical associations like the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics do not endorse the use of smoked marijuana as a means of medicine. This is because there is not enough evidence to justify its medical use. Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a schedule I substance. Substances that are placed in that category indicate that they have â€Å"a high potential for abuse, [have] no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and [have] a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.† 8 Marijuana then, being classified as such, has no medical value. That makes it quite difficult for scientist to study any potential medical uses, since  medical trials require permission from federal agencies like the FDA. With numerous conditions on researchers, it deters the researchers from conducting such studies. Although these associations do not advocate the use of inhaled or smoked marijuana as medicine, they do incite for more research to be done. While recreational usage of marijuana remains controversial, many people agree that the drug should be legal for medical uses. There are at least two active chemicals that researchers believe have medicinal benefits. One is CBD, which has medical effects without a high and THC, which has pain-relieving properties. One of the most well known uses is in the treatment of the eye disease â€Å"glaucoma†, which increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. According to the National Eye Institute, â€Å"Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma.† These effects are shown to slow the progression of the disease, preventing blindness. 4 5 Legal: What states have enacted bills regarding the legalization of marijuana? The first states to act were Colorado and Washington, both of which made the possession, cultivation, and use of marijuana legal in 2012 in addition to allowing sellers to obtain licenses to legally distribute the drug. Next came Alaska and Oregon in 2014 with similar laws that have already legalized the possession, cultivation, and use of marijuana but not necessarily the sale. In addition, 23 other states have either decriminalized cannabis possession and/or legalized medical cannabis. 6 Can marijuana be regulated like alcohol is? Does regulating marijuana make it safer? How much revenue and tax dollars has the legalization in certain states brought in. Based on current results in states that have legalized marijuana, the substance can be regulated like alcohol and regulation in fact makes it safer for consumption. Using Colorado as an example, not much has changed on the surface but the proof can be found in data reported about the state after a full year in which adults were allowed to purchase and grow marijuana legally in the state. According to state data, possession charges for the drug, which were at 30,000 in 2010, are expected to total below 2,500 for the year 2014. As for the regulation, the rules enforced by the Colorado Department of Revenue caused the state to bring in more than $40 million in  marijuana taxes alone, a majority of which will go towards efforts to prevent the use of the drug by youths and the promotion of overall mental health. Traffic fatalities are also near historic lows, and since the legalization have continued to drop. Colorado is also now seen as a state with one of the fastest growing economies as the unemployment rate is at its lowest since 2008, which is well below the national average.7 Conclusion: Efforts to legalize marijuana as medicine in the United States has grown significantly in recent years and will continue to grow. With modern technology becoming more and more state-of-the-art, the hope for medical marijuana to be nationally recognized, as a form of medical treatment remains strong. The legalization of marijuana will reduce crime activity, provide better treatment for certain diseases or illness, and could save the country up to 14 billion dollars per year in government spending enforcement. The billions of dollars being thrown away on marijuana prohibition is not going to make this huge market go away but will cause the bloodshed that inevitably comes with prohibition, just as it did during America’s hapless experiment with alcohol. Bibliography 1. â€Å"Marijuana Timeline.† PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. . 2. Inciardi, James A. â€Å"The War on Drugs: Heroin, Cocaine, Crime and Public Policy. Palo Alto,.† Inciardi, James A. The War on Drugs: Heroin, Cocaine, Crime and Public Policy. Palo Alto,. Mayfield, 1986. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. . 3. â€Å"The Prohibition Era.† The Prohibition Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. . 4. â€Å"What Is CBD?† Project CBD. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. . 5. Loria, Jennifer Welsh and Kevin. â€Å"23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana.† Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. . 6. â€Å"Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia

Suicide Essay

Suicide has always been an objective of primary interest and main concern to people of different cultures and historical periods. Suicide as a phenomenon has been discussed and described In literature, philosophy, and sociology. There are various definitions of suicide that have been proposed by the writers and researchers, such as the Intentional act of killing oneself, the act of terminating life, and the act of deliberate self-destruction. Some difficulties arise when we try to explain seclude specifically because the nature of suicide is very complex, and it is hard to justify suicidal behavior or distinguish it from other behavior.For example, a person, who knows that smoking leads to the serious health risks but deliberately engages in this activity and dies consequently, has not committed suicide. On the other hand, if a mentally ill individual arranges the circumstances for his or her deaths (by cutting veins, Jumping off buildings, etc. ), we can say that this person has com mitted suicide. In America, suicide rates are going up rapidly since 1999. But in our modern society, if a person commits suicide, it does not mean that that this person is bad and fragile. All of us experience problems during some periods of our lives.But the mall point Is that some people know how to handle these problems and some of them are getting lost because they see no light In the end of the tunnel and eventually give up. Thus, people normally commit suicide to end up agonizing emotional pain. These people are unable to see other options of solving their problems: they feel very isolated and distressed. The factors that contribute to stress or trauma and cause suicide are: financial situation, working environment, school, death of a loved one, loss of Job, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, etc.Philosophical revelation about suicide sakes us back to the time of Socrates, including Plato and Aristotle. In his Laws, Plato declared that suicide is outrageous and people, wh o committed suicide, should be buried in unidentified graves. However, according to Plato, suicide under some circumstances can be excused: when person's mind Is morally degraded; when suicide Is done by Judicial order; when the self-killing results from shame of participating In disgustingly unfair procedures.In contrast, the Stoics thought that suicide may be reasonable If the quality of life Is not available to an Individual and one's life is lacking the desired advantages. The philosopher Seneca claimed that an intelligent person â€Å"lives as long as he ought, not as long as he can. † (R. Frey, 1978) Suicide is forbidden by almost all religions and is viewed as a severe sin. Church has demanded that since suicide involves self-killing, then the person who destroys his or her life is sinning in the same way as if this person killed another individual.Life is given by God and it is sacred, therefore, the Christians are against suicide and euthanasia. Suicide violates God' s privilege in determining when people shall die. The nineteenth century carried new developments that have formed theoretical Hough about suicide topic. It was viewed as the predictable response of a suffering person who was Ignored by society. Also, It was the time of recognition of psychiatry as a telephone that could treat depression, hysteria and other disorders accountable for seclude.And finally, In the work of sociologist Druthers, suicide was described as a social disease producing extensive isolation. The sociologists had explained suicide analysis various causes, such as climate, season, and religion. Thus, he concluded that suicide rate is greater in the warmer months in all countries. He also masticates that suicide is greater in Protestant countries compared to Catholic countries. In general, Druthers viewed suicide as a social fact and considered social reasons, such as lack of connections between people and less integration in family constitution.Druthers developed t he four classifications of suicide: * Egoistic suicide. The factors responsible for it are depression and disappointment. He concludes that the people who strongly attached to their families or some other type of groups are less likely to come across these issues. * Altruistic suicide occurs when attachment is too great and the person is forced to commit self- ailing. Druthers provides examples of old and ill people or women who want to die after the death of their loved ones. Anomic suicide results from breakdown of standards and values, when a degree of regulation is too low. This can happen either during economic depression or quick economic expansion. * Fatalistic suicide occurs when regulation is too strong. The people are blocked by harsh discipline and they see no possible ways to improve their lives. Many of the modern sociological theories have been originated based on a Druthers idea of social integration. However, some of them have created new approaches in the study of s uicide.Thus Breed (1963) interviewed the families of people who committed suicide and introduced into sociology a research method, which provided sociologists with true situations of suicide. Are there any rational circumstances under which suicide can be morally Justified? The moral position on this question holds that it is wrong because people life is sacred. Although this theory is related to the religious version, it is also can be found in the work of Ronald Drink (R. Drink, 1993). Based on this view, individual life is valuable; and suicide violets our obligation to honor our lives.