Personal Protective Equipment Essay

Personal Protective Equipment is of major significance in workplaces all over the world. As the use of personal protective equipment is important, it’s only an extra form of protection, necessary where all hazards haven’t been controlled through other means. Personal protective equipment consists of a range of clothing and equipment, which is to shield worker’s bodies from workplace hazards. It is widely used to decrease the exposure of employees to hazards, and to avoid employees from illness or injuries while at work. Employees are accountable for wearing the personal protective equipment properly and using the necessary protection for their tasks. Although there are several types of personal protective equipment used in a workplace, three of which are very essential and should be used correctly in order for the employee to have the ideal protection. They are protection to your eyes, head and ears (noise). Loud, extreme noise can damage an employee’s hearing ability if he or she is not using the right type of protection to prevent the noise. It is extremely important to have the right kind of personal protective equipment for your ears to protect them from the loud noises. There are three main types of ear protection used in a workplace. Earplugs are the most frequently used to help keep the noise level down. Some of which are disposable that are made to fit into the ear canal just right, and reusable earplugs, which tend to be more dependable than the disposable ear plugs. Types of pre-formed earplugs, called canal caps, are also used vastly. They are usually attached to a headpiece because they might get lost if they were not properly attached. Earmuffs for hardhats are also a good form of ear protection. When employees are in extremely loud and noisy places, they have a tendency to wear the earplugs and earmuffs at the same time. Ear protection generally filters out the stable unnecessary noise; making is safer to work in loud workplaces. Some people do not understand how loud the noise actually is to them, and how dangerous the noise could be when exposed to them without the appropriate type of protection. That is why it is very important to be wearing the right kind of ear protection in certain situations where it is loud in the workplace. Another main kind of personal protective equipment is protection for the  eyes. It is very important for people to avoid damage to their eyes, so it is essential to have the correct form of eye protection while in a workplace that may be dangerous to the eyes. There are several different types of eye protection, some of which include; goggles, safety glasses, face shields and helmets. For those people who wear glasses, they are able to get prescription safety eyewear so they can see well and still have safety to their eyes. Since there are different potential dangers to a person’s eyes, such as chemical splashes, and light rays, employees have to be sure to wear the correct type of eye protection while in their workplace. A person’s eyes can be severely damaged at a work place if they are not wearing the appropriate type of eye protection for the specific task in which they are doing. It is also very important to follow the safety steps while using the eye protection and doing your job. The chief kind of protection and injuries that all employees should be aware of is head protection and injuries to the head and how to avoid them. A key type of protection for an employee’s head is a hard head. A hard hat is a hat that has an outer shell to seize things that are going to strike you and an inner suspension system that absorbs the force to further protect your head. It is widely necessary for employees to wear protection on their head at all times while in their workplace. People can be hospitalized or even killed from head injuries, just from something falling out of nowhere and hitting someone on the head. A hard hat is the most widely used protection for the head, but there are also several different types of head protection available for different types of work and jobs. An employee doing a type of work dealing with flames and sparks, they tend to wear a skullcap that is flame resistant and protects the person from sparks that might fly up. When an employee is working in a place with close corners, they would normally wear a bump cap. A bump cap is lightweight and is not as big as the hard hats and do not protect your head from heavy things that might fall on it. Overall, personal protective equipment is very important in workplaces all over the world. Knowing what type of protection to use in certain areas of work and how to use it is also very important. Personal protective equipment is a major part of safety for employees and helps them avoid hazards as well  as injuries. There are many forms of personal protective equipment that helps to protect a worker’s body from hazards that might occur in a workplace. The employer is responsible for determining which type of personal protective equipment their employees will wear for their job. OSHA gives a list of personal protective equipment required for each job, listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, therefore employees should know exactly what type of protection to use, and how it will protect them from the dangerous hazards that might occur. Knowing the importance of personal protective equipment in a job will result in avoiding injuries and hazards and may save lives for those wh o use it and use it properly.

Discuss the presentation of Curleys Wife Essay

      The dog comes to represent Candy’s precarious situation as an elderly and increasingly unwanted part of society. He sees the dog as foreshadowing of his eventual fate when he grows too old to work. He is afraid of being cast out as a nuisance, unworthy of life or protection and despised by the younger generation. His proposal of giving all his money in exchange for a place on George and Lennie’s planned farm is a marker of his desperate situation. The prospective of leaving the farm briefly endows Candy with the confidence to stand up to Curley’s wife after she threatens Crooks. This suggestion of bravery and friendship is indicative of the type of man Candy would be if not for his loneliness, which has crippled his self-belief and has left him near destitute and subservient. The above characters demonstrate the pitfalls of loneliness, and the dangers it poses to people and their well-being. In contrast to this George and Lennie, through a mutually beneficial relationship, are able to deflect the negative attributes of their solitary professions by travelling together (â€Å"I got you.. and you got me†). Most people have needs that require social interaction with people, something which George and Lennie are able to achieve through their mutual friendship, in spit of their hard living conditions. This enables them to function in a more stable and happier way. Their stability stems from a mutual dream of their own farm (â€Å"We got a future†); a dream that sustains them throughout their journeying, and as a result they’re not aimless like so many of the other workers in their situation who squander their monthly pay packets on alcohol, gambling and female company. This is in contrast to other itinerant workers, whose lives do not depend upon anyone, and so nobody depends on them. The memory of a former occupant of the bunkhouse, who â€Å"upped and quit, the way a guy will† represents those who are resigned to their situation, and demonstrates the desultory manner in which they lead their lives. Lennie and George enjoy a symbiotic relationship in which each is able to obtain something from the other. From Lennie, George acquires an emotional baseline which enables him to better assert himself, as well as a responsibility and duty towards others. George is aware of a meanness in himself (â€Å"a real smart guy†¦ ain’t hardly ever a nice fella'†), but through looking after Lennie he pacifies his character (â€Å"well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more†). From George, Lennie acquires a carer and sense of purpose through their shared dream of buying a farm. The stability George is afforded from Lennie gives him the ability to stand up for people without fear of reproductions, because he has protection in the form of Lennie, and even if he were to be sent away he wouldn’t be alone. His behaviour was calm but unwavering when he confronted Curley and Curley’s wife. His compassionate nature is shown when he tries to change the subject in the bunkhouse when his cohabitants are pressuring Candy to kill his dog (â€Å"I seen a guy in Weed that had an Airedale could heard sheep†), but Carlson recognises this attempt and was â€Å"was not to be put off†. Candy recognises this moral integrity in George and so decides to trust him with his money and enter into a partnership with him and Lennie and buy a farm. Because of the proposed partnership with Candy they do, briefly, have a chance of realising their dream. Steinbeck here demonstrates that trust in people is required in order to achieve your dreams. After George kills Lennie he chooses not to buy and live on his own farm with Candy as a form of self-punishment, (â€Å"I’ll work my month†¦ an’ I’ll stay all night in some lousy cat house†). George now accepts that without Lennie his dream of owning a farm is dead, so chooses to face a life of cruel loneliness as a normal itinerant worker with no goals or aspirations other than to numb the pain of existence. In conclusion Steinbeck continually uses characters that, in the context of their society, live with prior afflictions (such as skin colour, infirmity, mental ability, and even gender) which hinder them from functioning in society as isolated individuals, so must form alliances and partnerships to enable them to survive. This element of symbiosis stems from the environment in which they exist, where a man is only as powerful as his ability to work. He attacks the capitalist system in which people are regarded as labour and not given the rights or freedoms to enable them to put down roots and start families. His criticism of the American Dream of hard work promising prosperity and success, and a compassionate look at its victims, are core themes throughout the book. The lack of social security and level of expectation upon the individual to support themselves, or else face starvation, forces people like Lennie into work to survive, even if they’re danger to themselves or others. The inevitable tragedy was Lennie’s slowness being kept secret from Lennie’s wife, who unknowingly set the tragedy in motion. Steinbeck tells us the only way to improve things is to enable trust and openness in the workforce, and that this depends on workers rights and freedoms being protected. Though the enabling of trust and openness in the workplace, people would be empowered to work from a position of strength rather than need, vulnerability and defensiveness; and with loneliness reduced as a consequence life would improve for everyone. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

How people change management is related to Business Process Management Assignment

How people change management is related to Business Process Management - Assignment Example This paper explores the relationship that exists between people change management and Business Process Management. Organisational change management or people change management plays a very vital part in ensuring successful business process management. It involves changing the beheviour of people making up the organisation and equipping them with the necessary skills required to take the organisation into the desired direction. People change management helps organisational change managers as well as business process managers to create change awareness, reduce employee resistance, manage change impact and implement desired business process change effectively (Brocke & Rosemann 2010; Jeston & Nelis 2014). Business process management is a field usually focused on bringing efficiency in business process and increase the effectiveness and agility with which the organisation strives towards its set objectives. In many cases, organisations pursue efficiency in order to cut down production costs and contain employee lay-offs through cost control. Effectiveness in every business process is the sure means through which companies can attain their goals such as establishing high customer experience and hence satisfaction through excellent customer service. In the modern market, consumer dynamics are fast changing and organisations have to be in better positions to respond to changes in the markets (Brocke & Rosemann 2010). Agility enables companies to swiftly respond to the changes in the market and turn existing challenges into business opportunities. Change management is basically one of the most daunting tasks for managers. This is because it involves changing people. Organisational change demands the transformation of the culture of the organisation, which stills comes down to changing people within the organization (Brocke & Rosemann 2010). Every change

Miscommunication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Miscommunication - Research Paper Example Although the cultural exchange that he enjoyed between Australian culture as a function of his own native culture was almost invariably a pleasant and beneficial one, the nuanced levels of meanings that English and his native language provided meant that oftentimes he could not express himself in the correct way or took statements that would otherwise be harmless in English to mean something more sinister than they actually meant. Although this was not the norm, it happened to a large enough extent during my early childhood and adolescence to be a defining characteristic of my life as it related to living at home with my father. Although this brief analysis will point out specific instances in which the aforementioned factors have worked to provide situations in which miscommunication broke down and implied levels of meaning were unable to be successfully conveyed, it should be clearly understood by the reader that this is not meant to cast any type of aspersion onto the character of my father or exhibit any type of intellectual or developmental shortcoming that he may have experienced (Sweeney et al 2010). Rather, this man was the formative foundation for what I consider myself today and an intellectual in every sense of the word; he merely suffered from the fact that he came to a different country and a different culture later in his life and had difficulty acclimating to the new language structure and voca bulary as quickly as a younger person might have. One particular example I remember with a great deal of clarity was concentric around a compliment that my father was attempting to give to a woman he had met. My father was always attempting to strike up conversations with what most people would consider â€Å"strangers†. However, due to the fact that my father never met a â€Å"stranger† in his entire life, he actively sought to engage anyone and everyone in some type of conversation or verbal exchange. This was doubtless partly born out of his

E-commerce Issues for Small Business Dissertation

E-commerce Issues for Small Business - Dissertation Example As the paper declares Business to Business, Electronic Commerce has brought about a sea change in the way transactions are carried out between different entities in business. B2B provides a way for manufacturers to develop products for clients, circumventing the traditional channels involved in doing business. The manufacturer, vendors and customers can directly communicate with each other rather than letting intermediaries mediate. In facilitating easy access, E Commerce provides a cost saving method for different parties to a business to develop maximum productivity. The geographical barriers to conducting trade or manufacturing no longer exist. A manufacturer can sell or market through the Internet on a ‘virtual’ platform but will make huge profits in the real world as he can now get through to a buyer or supplier any where in the world. According to the research findings specifically E Commerce integrates telecommunications, computers and stream lined work processes. Business to Customer e commerce enables customers to directly get in touch with manufacturers. B2B helps organizations communicate. In both forms of this system, parties to a transaction avoid the unnecessary overhead costs and the impact of the technology does more to expand the business than before. The digitized transaction will require taxation and customs regulations to be reviewed to adapt to this change. In many parts of the world, resources are inadequate or stretched to produce mediocre good, which do not find worldwide markets. Even those firms, which aspire to international reach for their products, are hampered by poor infrastructure and unnecessary problems on the way. Additionally there are government regulations, which have not reacted to changing technological environments as rapidly as they should. Partly this may be due to political co mpulsions especially in developing countries, which impede quick decisions and action. There are developing countries, which could be serious players in the B2B scenario but are not cost competitive enough. Supply Chain Management (SCM) has been an issue in developing countries where it is a relatively new tool for production enhancement. The SCM model is delivered through channels using information technology and information exchange. For example, instead of having to actually send along inventory, a manufacturer can rely on the vendor managed inventory software for B2B, which relies on a certain level of information substituting actual inventory. Manufacturers principally use B2B processes, to pass down to suppliers their requirements of their manufacturing program. A traditional supply management program would have involved intricate formalities to be fulfilled. Electronic trading improves productivity, greatly

Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Identity - Essay Example For example a resolver in psychological terms consciously desires self growth, on a personal level such an individual acknowledges the importance of personal skills and greatly puts them to practice .Within a social context a resolver will be responsive to societies that provide an opportunity for self growth. According to Gergen Kenneth, a person’s identity can also include the relational self, pastiche personality and the strategic manipulator. In Social Anthropology, identity is used to refer to the idea of self hood which implies an individuals’ properties and individuality that makes such a person distich and unique from others. It is virtually difficult to have a clear definition of identity, its all depends on the field of study upon which one is relating to, however, there are some prominent people in the society whose roles and involvement is various fields easily spell out their identity. Such characters are Dr Manhattan whose real identity is John osterman, R orschach’s and Ozymandias identities in the vigilantism and as Nietzsche's Ubermench (Klock, 2002). All the three characters have featured in the Watchman besides the Comedian, the Nite Owl and the Silk Spectre. The main aim of selecting the characters was to present six radically opposing ways in perceiving the world in terms of morality. The Watchman is based on super hero properties acquired form Charlton Comics during the early 1980’s. Jon Osterman who was later referred to as Doctor /Manhattan, was changed not god like blue –skinned being after accidentally being disintegrated in an â€Å"intrinsic field Subtracot† Jon Osterman identity is the same as that of Dr. Manhattan is a number of ways. First of all, while still a normal human being, he involved himself in unusual things for instance, very few people would take dare become physicist due to its complexity. However Jon Oserman was intensively involved in the discovery which led to his transforma tion after being stuck in a chamber. As Dr. Manhattan, he continues to engage himself in unusual scenarios, for example even after being employed by the United States of America defense Ministry and infighting crime, he goes no with his physics research, his love for this subject leads him to b the inventor of the electric advanced vehicles. Both identities prove Dr Manhattan as a determined and very hardworking individual. However, there are some differences between the two personality identities and this has widely been influenced by the social surrounding. Previously he gains an indentify of a loving and caring man with ability of bringing his girlfriend along to the work station. On the other hand, Dr. Manhattan is view as a biter and emotionless super being; however his perception has been changed by exploitation by normal human beings. He claims that he is used a s a puppet and can even see all the strings attached to him â€Å"We're all puppets, Laurie. I'm just a puppet who can see the strings† (Gibbons, 2008), he knows that he has been turned into something lethal; he is excited that he knows the delight of not knowing. According to the Cote and Levin (2002) typology he can be regarded as a â€Å"searcher â€Å" with high sense of dissatisfaction ,quickly shows disdain for imperfection and mostly interacting with role

Is PTSD linked to criminal behavior Research Paper

Is PTSD linked to criminal behavior - Research Paper Example In chapter 8 it discusses in detail the possibility of a correlation between psychological disorders like PTSD and criminal behavior. It also furnishes very relevant and useful statistics pertaining to mentally ill offenders in state and federal prisons. It presents the conclusions from many studies regarding the prevalence of mental illness amongst criminals. It is a very informative source which facilitates important insight regarding the research question from a practical, statistical and academic perspective. Chapter 7 in this book is exclusively about childhood post traumatic stress disorder and criminal behavior. It delves on the ramifications of exposure to stressful and catastrophic events on children. The book summarizes various scientific studies that link childhood trauma to juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and criminal behavior. The approach of this book towards the question under consideration is very scientific and analytical. Chapter 7 also gives a detailed historical overview of the study of childhood stress and trauma and its relation to criminal behavior. Overall, it is a reliable scientific source that will make immense contribution to the research question. It is an elaborate and detailed, peer reviewed article that offers a literature review of the prior studies focused on the association between PTSD and criminal behavior in the offenders serving sentences in state and federal prisons. This article makes an immense contribution to the selected research question in the sense that it is a compilation of the approaches and views of the previous researchers associated with the issue of PTSD and criminal behavior. This is an immensely useful source as it examines the linkage between PTSD and violent behavior. The conclusions of this article are extremely reliable as it studies the association between violent behavior

Women Power and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women Power and Politics - Essay Example It occurs not because they are less active, but because their presence in parliament or in judiciary is minor. Society of today does not think of politics as men's place, however, the treatment of woman-politician and man-politician is still not the same. European countries are supporting involvement of women in politics because citizens of these states believe that a woman is more caring and thoughtful about her nation and treats all people as her children. As Amy Sowder has noted, Ireland, Latvia, Finland, Philippines and other countries have voted for a female president, while the Americans would never do the same choice. Why Does it mean that American citizens do not trust women and do not believe in their ability to lead the country to the further prosperity It has been noted at the first lecture that women use practical gender difference as the major concepts. I agree, because the American society is used to assumption that women are supposed to be subordinated by men and for this reason there is no place for them in politics. Amy Sowder used the words of Marie Young, Escambia Country commissioner, who said that men really believe that politics is their place, but because they cannot prevent women from political involvement they act as if men are just letting women to do it. Even though the article is written purely from feminine side, the point that women are able to push for change through teachers and parents is interesting and is reasonable. This quote is directly related to the concept of gender GAP - when people vote on the basis of gender. Women tend to express greater concern for social services and are more affected than man in this issue. Therefore, women are more community oriented while men are more power oriented. For this reason there should be a balance between women and men representation in politics. The author of the article "Women in Sudan" is focused on the representation of women in politics in Islamic countries. It is well-known that women from Islamic countries are lacking most of the rights granted to women in the rest of the world. However, the author notes that today the Islamic society has much changed: women present a strong exterior, possess toughness of mind and spirit. It to look at Sudanese women, it can be boldly said they females in Sudan are in much better position than in other more developed countries. For example, the quota system was developed under which women are guaranteed the seats in federal and state legislature. 25 percent of all federal seats are granted to women. The community understands that women can be effective in politics and change the life of citizens to better. The author expressed his opinion in the final two sentences: "It is very clear that there claims by newspapers such as 'The Times' that women's rights are in their "infancy" simply do not reflect the reality of the position, status and activities of women in Sudan. The fact is that within the Arab and Islamic world Sudan has led the way with regard to women's social, political and economic rights." I agree with this claim, but I wonder why the Islamic world were women were always in minor position has realized the benefits of women's participation in politics while United States has not I do think that women in politics are feministic issue because both men and women have equal abilities to think, to lead and to

The Cycle Shop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cycle Shop - Essay Example Shoulder movements such as shaking or nodding the head are movements created by an individual as an easier for the person to make a quick decision. People can also stiffen the body parts or at least reduce the movements by trying to control the reaction to the effect of the emotion. The slight head movements are hard to control because when a person is lying, for example, it is automatic for the expressions to occur and the individual may not have much ability to control it (Rosenberg & Ekman, 2005). Emotions expressed from the face such as blushing are also not easy to control because these are expressions, which occur as a result of tension in the body. One of the situations where the verbal and non-verbal expressions do not go together is when a person is telling the truth and his facial expression is suggesting that he intended to lie. In this process, the interviewer may be able to detect that the person is confused (Ekman, 2009). Other people may use the technique of looking down to avoid eye contact when they are lying even though it is also said the truthful people could make the same movements. Another situation is where one looks at an interviewee, and notices that his eye pupils are dilating. This is seen as a sign of lying, but it may not be consistent with the expression because at times the dilation may have been caused by bright light (Friesen & Ekman, 2003). There are a few emotional expressions which cannot be controlled. These are the expressions where the body does not necessarily have to produce any movements, but they are those that can be identified by just looking at a person’s face. They include paleness of the skin, redness of the face and eye blinking (Ekman, 2009). This is a situation where a person may be embarrassed or guilty and cannot control the changes occurring on his face. No matter how much the person may not want the interviewer to notice the expressions,

Unit 2 Assignment Exploring the 1960s Research Paper

Unit 2 Assignment Exploring the 1960s - Research Paper Example It ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Republic and dynamics of the world war being slightly modified by end of it (Gaddis, 2011). Though the cold war might well have ended two decades ago, yet the seeds sown back then are showing their impact in different forms. A prime example in this case can be the Mujahedeen that were nurtured by the Americans against the Soviet Socialists, became their own enemies; as a result America had to go to War in Afghanistan against them. Various other countries have turned rebellious due to the cold war and have made America insecure in many aspects. Other threats posed to the American nation as a whole include the bitter feeling that is left in the hearts of the then Soviet Socialists and present day Russia. They were humiliated at the end of it and their entire empire came down (Craig & Logevall, 2009). In terms of protection for the family, vigilance is the word; each member of the family should know their responsibilities. The threats faced immediately after cold war were the nuclear arsenal being possessed by the disintegrated soviet republic. That threat has vaporized to a large extent. While in public they should be cautious and should report and notice anything suspicious. Besides this the onus falls upon the government to protect the citizens from any kind of vulnerabilities that might exist in the surroundings (Tuttle, 1993). The cold war that lasted from 1950s to 1990s set up new paradigms for times ahead. What we see today is largely because of the cold war that established its roots deep into various countries political operations and foreign affairs. The end of cold war resulted in total submission and defeat of one of the power and left alone capitalist power United States to dictate terms in future. The then U.S.S.R has gone on back foot after being humbled at end of the war. The Berlin wall was another event which marked the end of cold war after the U.S.S.R

Indigenous Perspective Essay Example for Free

Indigenous Perspective Essay I agree with Professor Acuna and his historical statement. Along with Linda Tuhiwai Smith, their interpretations of the colonization of the Americas has long since been scene as the rape of a country for it’s riches, resourced and land is evident. The impact of the Catholic Church (I am catholic) at this time in history was one of the most devastating blows to the indigenous peoples of America, and the beginning an effort to wipe their cultures and history form the global historical record. The pillage of gold and the exploitation of the indigenous people clearly funded the beginning of Europe’s rapid expansion leading up to the Industrial Revolution. Without the vast amount of gold and wealth taken from the continent, Europe would have taken much more time to amass its wealth and the economical ability to pursue colonization around the globe. It is the perspective of the authors from both readings that our history from the perspective of currently accepted research is flawed. They claim, from an ethnocentric focus, any research conducted by a non-indigenous researcher is to re-inscribe a Western view. I agree that to legitimate and be considered â€Å"real† knowledge as they term it, such research should be from the perspective of an indigenous author. In addition, my perspective is that any non-indigenous researcher has to immerse themselves into the culture being studied. Smith especially argues that western research and critiques’ are but the cultural assumptions by a dominant culture, namely non-indigenous Americans. I think that Acunas adamant declarations asserting his self professed socialist views; that there is â€Å"insidious ethnic prejudice woven into the fabric of American culture†, and that minorities with an emphasis on Chicano and African culture are in fact victims of American society seems to be eccentric, but it does have the indication of validity to it. It was interesting to note that Professor Acuna actually had to go to court, in order to in order to obtain a position at an Institute of American Higher Education. Perhaps this is one of the best examples of his view on ethnic prejudice. I does seem to me that our current views on the history of the Americas should be expressed from the view of the ethnic culture that experienced it. What we read in grade school history books, does not tell us the perspective of the people who actually experienced colonization and its effects. The Mesoamerican’s were nearly wiped out and their cultures were devastated. These interpretations are clearly lacking. We are taught our history through rose-colored glasses that obstruct our vision of the destruction, enslavement, and rape of the early Americas through colonization of South and Central America. We are not taught that the cultures were largely wiped out by disease spread be their conquerors, or that the entire history of their culture was put to torch by catholic priests. Very few of the documents written by scribes of those cultures survived and exist today. What does exist is an enigma.

Definitions of Attitude Essay Example for Free

Definitions of Attitude Essay An attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment, but there is debate about precise definitions. Eagly and Chaiken, for example, define an attitude a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.[2] Though it is sometimes common to define an attitude as affect toward an object, affect (i.e., discrete emotions or overall arousal) is generally understood to be distinct from attitude as a measure of favorability. [3] This definition of attitude allows for ones evaluation of an attitude object to vary from extremely negative to extremely positive, but also admits that people can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object meaning that they might at different times express both positive and negative attitude toward the same object. This has led to some discussion of whether individual can hold multiple attitudes toward the same object.[4] Whether attitudes are explicit (i.e., deliberately formed) versus implicit (i.e., subconscious) has been a topic of considerable research. Research on implicit attitudes, which are generally unacknowledged or outside of awareness, uses sophisticated methods involving peoples response times to stimuli to show that implicit attitudes exist (perhaps in tandem with explicit attitudes of the same object). Implicit and explicit attitudes seem to affect peoples behavior, though in different ways. They tend not to be strongly associated with each other, although in some cases they are. The relationship between them is poorly understood. Jungs definition Attitude is one of Jungs 57 definitions in Chapter XI of Psychological Types. Jungs definition of attitude is a readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way (Jung, [1921] 1971:par. 687). Attitudes very often come in pairs, one conscious and the other unconscious. Within this broad definition Jung defines several attitudes. The main (but not only) attitude dualities that Jung defines are the following. †¢ Consciousness and the unconscious. The presence of two attitudes is extremely frequent, one conscious and the other unconscious. This means that consciousness has a constellation of contents different from that of the unconscious, a duality particularly evident in neurosis (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 687). †¢ Extraversion and introversion. This pair is so elementary to Jungs theory of types that he labeled them the attitude-types. †¢ Rational and irrational attitudes. I conceive reason as an attitude (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 785). †¢ The rational attitude subdivides into the thinking and feeling psychological functions, each with its attitude. †¢ The irrational attitude subdivides into the sensing and intuition psychological functions, each with its attitude. There is thus a typical thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuitive attitude (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 691). †¢ Individual and social attitudes. Many of the latter are isms. In addition, Jung discusses the abstract attitude. â€Å"When I take an abstract attitude† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 679). Abstraction is contrasted with concretism. â€Å"CONCRETISM. By this I mean a peculiarity of thinking and feeling which is the antithesis of abstraction† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 696). For example: I hate his attitude for being Sarcastic. Pasted from The classic, tripartite view offered by William J. McGuire[9] is that an attitude contains cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Empirical research, however, fails to support clear distinctions between thoughts, emotions, and behavioral intentions associated with a particular attitude.[10] A criticism of the tripartite view of attitudes is that it requires cognitive, affective, and behavioral associations of an attitude to be consistent, but this may be implausible. Thus some views of attitude structure see the cognitive and behavioral components as derivative of affect or affect and behavior as derivative of underlying beliefs.[11] Despite debate about the particular structure of attitudes, there is considerable evidence that attitudes reflect more than evaluations of a particular object that vary from positive to negative. Attitudes also have other characteristics, such as importance, certainty, or accessibility (measures of attitude strength) and associated knowledge.[12] There is also considerable interest in inter-attitudinal structure, which connects different attitudes to one another and to more underlying psychological structures, such as values or ideology.[13] Attitude function Another classic view of attitudes is that attitudes serve particular functions for individuals. That is, researchers have tried to understand why individuals hold particular attitudes or why they hold attitudes in general by considering how attitudes affect the individuals who hold them.[14] Daniel Katz, for example, writes that attitudes can serve instrumental, adjustive or utilitarian, ego-defensive, value-expressive, or knowledge functions.[15] The functional view of attitudes suggests that in order for attitudes to change (e.g., via persuasion), appeals must be made to the function(s) that a particular attitude serves for the individual. As an example, the ego-defensive function might be used to influence the racially prejudicial attitudes of an individual who sees themselves as open-minded and tolerant. By appealing to that individuals image of themselves as tolerant and open-minded, it may be possible to change their prejudicial attitudes to be more consistent with their self-concept. Similarly, a persuasive message that threatens self-image is much more likely to be rejected.[16] Attitude formation According to Doob (1947), learning can account for most of the attitudes we hold. Theories of classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning and social learning are mainly responsible for formation of attitude. Unlike personality, attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience. Tesser (1993) has argued that hereditary variables may affect attitudes but believes that they may do so indirectly. For example, consistency theories, which imply that we must be consistent in our beliefs and values. As with any type of heritability, to determine if a particular trait has a basis in our genes, twin studies are used.[17] The most famous example of such a theory is Dissonance-reduction theory, associated with Leon Festinger, which explains that when the components of an attitude (including belief and behavior) are at odds an individual may adjust one to match the other (for example, adjusting a belief to match a behavior).[18] Other theories include balance theory, origincally proposed by Heider (1958), and the self-perception theory, originally proposed by Daryl Bem.[19] Attitude change Main article: Attitude change Attitudes can be changed through persuasion and an important domain of research on attitude change focuses on responses to communication. Experimental research into the factors that can affect the persuasiveness of a message include: 1. Target Characteristics: These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and processes a message. One such trait is intelligence it seems that more intelligent people are less easily persuaded by one-sided messages. Another variable that has been studied in this category is self-esteem. Although it is sometimes thought that those higher in self-esteem are less easily persuaded, there is some evidence that the relationship between self-esteem and persuasibility is actually curvilinear, with people of moderate self-esteem being more easily persuaded than both those of high and low self-esteem levels (Rhodes Woods, 1992). The mind frame and mood of the target also plays a role in this process. 2. Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and interpersonal attraction or attractiveness. The credibility of a perceived message has been found to be a key variable here; if one reads a report about health and believes it came from a professional medical journal, one may be more easily persuaded than if one believes it is from a popular newspaper. Some psychologists have debated whether this is a long-lasting effect and Hovland and Weiss (1951) found the effect of telling people that a message came from a credible source disappeared after several weeks (the so-called sleeper effect). Whether there is a sleeper effect is controversial. Perceived wisdom is that if people are informed of the source of a message before hearing it, there is less likelihood of a sleeper effect than if they are told a message and then told its source. 3. Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in persuasion. Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes. When people are not motivated to process the message, simply the number of arguments presented in a persuasive message will influence attitude change, such that a greater number of arguments will produce greater attitude change.[20] 4. Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individuals cognitive evaluation to help change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is presented with the data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the content but at the source. This is commonly seen in modern advertisements that feature celebrities. In some cases, physician, doctors or experts are used. In other cases film stars are used for their attractiveness. Emotion and attitude change Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude change. Much of attitude research emphasized the importance of affective or emotion components. Emotion works hand-in-hand with the cognitive process, or the way we think, about an issue or situation. Emotional appeals are commonly found in advertising, health campaigns and political messages. Recent examples include no-smoking health campaigns and political campaign advertising emphasizing the fear of terrorism. Attitudes and attitude objects are functions of cognitive, affective and conative components. Attitudes are part of the brain’s associative networks, the spider-like structures residing in long term memory that consist of affective and cognitive nodes. By activating an affective or emotion node, attitude change may be possible, though affective and cognitive components tend to be intertwined. In primarily affective networks, it is more difficult to produce cognitive counterarguments in the resistance to persuasion and attitude change. Affective forecasting, otherwise known as intuition or the prediction of emotion, also impacts attitude change. Research suggests that predicting emotions is an important component of decision making, in addition to the cognitive processes. How we feel about an outcome may override purely cognitive rationales. In terms of research methodology, the challenge for researchers is measuring emotion and subsequent impacts on attitude. Since we cannot see into the brain, various models and measurement tools have been constructed to obtain emotion and attitude information. Measures may include the use of physiological cues like facial expressions, vocal changes, and other body rate measures. For instance, fear is associated with raised eyebrows, increased heart rate and increase body tension (Dillard, 1994). Other methods include concept or network mapping, and using primes or word cues in the era . Components of emotion appeals Any discrete emotion can be used in a persuasive appeal; this may include jealousy, disgust, indignation, fear, blue, disturbed, haunted,and anger. Fear is one of the most studied emotional appeals in communication and social influence research. Important consequences of fear appeals and other emotion appeals include the possibility of reactance which may lead to either message rejections or source rejection and the absence of attitude change. As the EPPM suggests, there is an optimal emotion level in motivating attitude change. If there is not enough motivation, an attitude will not change; if the emotional appeal is overdone, the motivation can be paralyzed thereby preventing attitude change. Emotions perceived as negative or containing threat are often studied more than perceived positive emotions like humor. Though the inner-workings of humor are not agreed upon, humor appeals may work by creating incongruities in the mind. Recent research has looked at the impact of humor on the processing of political messages. While evidence is inconclusive, there appears to be potential for targeted attitude change is receivers with low political message involvement. Important factors that influence the impact of emotion appeals include self efficacy, attitude accessibility, issue involvement, and message/source features. Self efficacy is a perception of one’s own human agency; in other words, it is the perception of our own ability to deal with a situation. It is an important variable in emotion appeal messages because it dictates a person’s ability to deal with both the emotion and the situation. For example, if a person is not self-efficacious about their ability to impact the global environment, they are not likely to change their attitude or behavior about global warming. Dillard (1994) suggests that message features such as source non-verbal communication, message content, and receiver differences can impact the emotion impact of fear appeals. The characteristics of a message are important because one message can elicit different levels of emotion for different people. Thus, in terms of emotion appeals messages, one size does not fit all. Attitude accessibility refers to the activation of an attitude from memory in other words, how readily available is an attitude about an object, issue, or situation. Issue involvement is the relevance and salience of an issue or situation to an individual. Issue involvement has been correlated with both attitude access and attitude strength. Past studies conclude accessible attitudes are more resistant to change. Attitude-behavior relationship This section requires expansion. (September 2012) The effects of attitudes on behaviors represents a significant research enterprise within psychology. Two theoretical approaches have dominated this research: the theory of reasoned action[21] and, its theoretical descendant, the theory of planned behavior,[22] both of which are associated with Icek Ajzen. Both of these theories describe the link between attitude and behavior as a deliberative process, with an individual actively choosing to engage in an attitude-related behavior. An alternative model, called MODE for Motivation and Opportunity as DEterminants was proposed by Russell H. Fazio, which focuses on motivations and opportunities for deliberative attitude-related behavior to occur. MODE is a Dual process theory that expects deliberative attitude-behavior linkages like those modeled by the theory of planned behavior only occur when individuals have motivation to reflect upon their own attitudes. Pasted from Theory of reasoned action From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The theory of reasoned action (TRA), is a model for the prediction of behavioral intention, spanning predictions of attitude and predictions of behavior. The subsequent separation of behavioral intention from behavior allows for explanation of limiting factors on attitudinal influence (Ajzen, 1980). The Theory of Reasoned Action was developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975, 1980), derived from previous research that started out as the theory of attitude, which led to the study of attitude and behavior. The theory was born largely out of frustration with traditional attitude–behavior research, much of which found weak correlations between attitude measures and performance of volitional behaviors (Hale, Householder Greene, 2003, p. 259). Pasted from Definition and example Derived from the social psychology setting, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) was proposed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1975 1980). The components of TRA are three general constructs: behavioral intention (BI), attitude (A), and subjective norm (SN). TRA suggests that a persons behavioral intention depends on the persons attitude about the behavior and subjective norms (BI = A + SN). If a person intends to do a behavior then it is likely that the person will do it. Behavioral intention measures a persons relative strength of intention to perform a behavior. Attitude consists of beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior multiplied by his or her evaluation of these consequences. (Fishbein Ajzen, 1975) Subjective norm is seen as a combination of perceived expectations from relevant individuals or groups along with intentions to comply with these expectations. In other words, the persons perception that most people who are important to him or her think he should or should not perform the behavior in question (Fishbein Ajzen, 1975). To put the definition into simple terms: a persons volitional (voluntary) behavior is predicted by his/her attitude toward that behavior and how he/she thinks other people would view them if they performed the behavior. A persons attitude, combined with subjective norms, forms his/her behavioral intention. Fishbein and Ajzen say, though, that attitudes and norms are not weighted equally in predicting behavior. Indeed, depending on the individual and the situation, these factors might be very different effects on behavioral intention; thus a weight is associated with each of these factors in the predictive formula of the theory. For example, you might be the kind of person who cares little for what others think. If this is the case, the subjective norms would carry little weight in predicting your behavior (Miller, 2005, p. 127). Miller (2005) defines each of the three components of the theory as follows and uses the example of embarking on a new exercise program to illustrate the theory: †¢ Attitudes: the sum of beliefs about a particular behavior weighted by evaluations of these beliefs ââ€"‹ You might have the beliefs that exercise is good for your health, that exercise makes you look good, that exercise takes too much time, and that exercise is uncomfortable. Each of these beliefs can be weighted (e.g., health issues might be more important to you than issues of time and comfort). †¢ Subjective norms: looks at the influence of people in ones social environment on his/her behavioral intentions; the beliefs of people, weighted by the importance one attributes to each of their opinions, will influence ones behavioral intention ââ€"‹ You might have some friends who are avid exercisers and constantly encourage you to join them. However, your spouse might prefer a more sedentary lifestyle and scoff at those who work out. The beliefs of these people, weighted by the importance you attribute to each of their opinions, will influence your behavioral intention to exercise, which will lead to your behavior to exercise or not exercise. †¢ Behavioral intention: a function of both attitudes toward a behavior and subjective norms toward that behavior, which has been found to predict actual behavior. ââ€"‹ Your attitudes about exercise combined with the subjective norms about exercise, each with their own weight, will lead you to your intention to exercise (or not), which will then lead to your actual behavior. Pasted from In psychology, the theory of planned behavior is a theory about the link between attitudes and behavior. The concept was proposed by Icek Ajzen to improve on the predictive power of the theory of reasoned action by including perceived behavioural control.[1] It is one of the most predictive persuasion theories. It has been applied to studies of the relations among beliefs, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behaviors in various fields such as advertising, public relations, advertising campaigns and healthcare. The theory states that attitude toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, together shape an individuals behavioral intentions and behaviors. Pasted from Extension from the theory of reasoned action The theory of planned behavior was proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 through his article From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. The theory was developed from the theory of reasoned action, which was proposed by Martin Fishbein together with Icek Ajzen in 1975. The theory of reasoned action was in turn grounded in various theories of attitude such as learning theories, expectancy-value theories, consistency theories,[2] and attribution theory.[3] According to the theory of reasoned action, if people evaluate the suggested behavior as positive (attitude), and if they think their significant others want them to perform the behavior (subjective norm), this results in a higher intention (motivation) and they are more likely to do so. A high correlation of attitudes and subjective norms to behavioral intention, and subsequently to behavior, has been confirmed in many studies.[4] A counter-argument against the high relationship between behavioral intention and actual behavior has also been proposed, as the results of some studies show that, because of circumstantial limitations, behavioral intention does not always lead to actual behavior. Namely, since behavioral intention cannot be the exclusive determinant of behavior where an individuals control over the behavior is incomplete, Ajzen introduced the theory of planned behavior by adding a new component, perceived behavioral control. By this, he extended the theory of reasoned action to cover non-volitional behaviors for predicting behavioral intention and actual behavior. Extension of self-efficacy In addition to attitudes and subjective norms (which make the theory of reasoned action), the theory of planned behavior adds the concept of perceived behavioral control, which originates from self-efficacy theory (SET). Self-efficacy was proposed by Bandura in 1977, which came from social cognitive theory. According to Bandura, expectations such as motivation, performance, and feelings of frustration associated with repeated failures determine effect and behavioral reactions. Bandura (1986)[full citation needed] separated expectations into two distinct types: self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. He defined self-efficacy as the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes. The outcome expectancy refers to a persons estimation that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes. He states that self-efficacy is the most important precondition for behavioral change, since it determines the initiation of coping behavior. Previous investigations have shown that peoples behavior is strongly influenced by their confidence in their ability to perform that behavior (Bandura, Adams, Hardy, Howells, 1980).[full citation needed] As the self-efficacy theory contributes to explaining various relationships between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behavior, the SET has been widely applied to health-related fields such as physical activity and mental health in preadolescents,[5] and exercise.[6] Concepts of key variables Behavioral beliefs and attitude toward behavior †¢ Behavioral belief: an individuals belief about consequences of particular behavior. The concept is based on the subjective probability that the behavior will produce a given outcome. †¢ Attitude toward behavior: an individuals positive or negative evaluation of self-performance of the particular behavior. The concept is the degree to which performance of the behavior is positively or negatively valued. It is determined by the total set of accessible behavioral beliefs linking the behavior to various outcomes and other attributes. Normative beliefs and subjective norms †¢ Normative belief: an individuals perception about the particular behavior, which is influenced by the judgment of significant others (e.g., parents, spouse, friends, teachers).[7] †¢ Subjective norm: an individuals perception of social normative pressures, or relevant others beliefs that he or she should or should not perform such behavior. Control beliefs and perceived behavioral control †¢ Perceived behavioral control: an individuals perceived ease or difficulty of performing the particular behavior (Ajzen, 1988).[full citation needed] It is assumed that perceived behavioral control is determined by the total set of accessible control beliefs. †¢ Control beliefs: an individuals beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (Ajzen, 2001).[full citation needed] The concept of perceived behavioral control is conceptually related to self-efficacy. Behavioral intention and behavior †¢ Behavioral intention: an indication of an individuals readiness to perform a given behavior. It is assumed to be an immediate antecedent of behavior (Ajzen, 2002b).[full citation needed] It is based on attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, with each predictor weighted for its importance in relation to the behavior and population of interest. †¢ Behavior: an individuals observable response in a given situation with respect to a given target. Ajzen said a behavior is a function of compatible intentions and perceptions of behavioral control in that perceived behavioral control is expected to moderate the effect of intention on behavior, such that a favorable intention produces the behavior only when perceived behavioral control is strong. Pasted from Cognitive dissonance is a term used in modern psychology to describe the feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel disequilibrium: frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.[1] The phrase was coined by Leon Festinger in his 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, which chronicled the followers of a UFO cult as reality clashed with their fervent belief in an impending apocalypse.[2][3] Festinger subsequently published a book called A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, published in 1957, in which he outlines the theory. Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements.[1] It is the distressing mental state that people feel when they find themselves doing things that dont fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold. [4] A key assumption is that people want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium. [5] Likewise, another assumption is that a person will avoid situations or information sources that give rise to feelings of uneasiness, or dissonance.[1] Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality. According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed dissonance reduction, which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.[6] This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior. Pasted from The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion[1] is a dual process theory of how attitudes are formed and changed that was developed by Richard E. Petty and John Cacioppo in the early 1980s (see also attitude change). The model proposes an elaboration continuum, which determines the extent to which arguments are processed and evaluated (high elaboration) versus peripheral cues such as source expertise or attractiveness (low elaboration) shape persuasion. The model is similar to the Heuristic-systematic model of information processing developed around the same time by Shelly Chaiken. Pasted from Central route Central route processes require the audience to use a great deal more thought, and therefore are likely to predominate under conditions that promote high elaboration. Central route processes involve careful scrutiny of a persuasive communication (e.g., a speech, an advertisement, etc.) to determine the merits of the arguments. Under these conditions, a persons unique cognitive responses to the message determine the persuasive outcome. If a person evaluates a message centrally as reliable, well-constructed, and convincing, it will often be received as favorable even if it is contrasting to the receiver’s original stance on the message. So, if favorable thoughts are a result of the elaboration process, the message will most likely be accepted (i.e., an attitude congruent with the messages position will emerge), and if unfavorable thoughts are generated while considering the merits of presented arguments, the message will most likely be rejected.[1] In order for the message to be centrally processed, a person must have the ability and motivation to do so. In order for the receiver to have motivation to centrally process a message it must have relevance to him or her. Peripheral route Peripheral route processes, on the other hand, does not involve elaboration of the message through extensive cognitive processing of the merits of the actual argument presented. These processes often rely on environmental characteristics of the message, like the perceived credibility of the source, quality of the way in which it is presented, the attractiveness of the source, or the catchy slogan that contains the message.[1] It is also frequently used when the argument presented is weak and/or lacking evidence. The peripheral route is a mental shortcut process that accepts or rejects a message based on irrelevant cues as opposed to actively thinking about the issue [2] The peripheral route is a process in which outside influences affect the decision making process. This is also the process used when the audience is unable to process the message. This could be from having a message that is too complex, or an audience that is immature. The most common influences would be factors such as reward. Reward could be objects like food, sex or money. These inducements create a quick change in mind and action. Celebrity status along with likability and expertise are other factors in the peripheral process that have become more popular. Humor within messages is a dominant influence in this process as well. Appearance also has the ability to gain the attention of individuals which can create an interest in the topic, but will not create a strong change in individuals. The goal of the peripheral process is to create change, this change can be weak and even temporary as opposed to the strong and lasting change in the central route. Choice of route The two factors that most influence which route an individual will take in a persuasive situation are motivation (strong desire to process the message; e.g., Petty Cacioppo, 1979) and ability (actually being capable of critical evaluation; e.g., Petty, Wells, Brock, 1976). Which route is taken is determined by the extent of elaboration. Both motivational and ability factors determine elaboration. Motivational factors include (among others) the personal relevance of the message topic, accountability, and a persons need for cognition (their innate desire to enjoy thinking). Ability factors include the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., the presence or absence of time pressures or distractions) or relevant knowledge needed to carefully scrutinize the arguments. The ability to understand the message that is being communicated. Distractions such as noise can affect the ability for one to process a message. An example of noise would be a persuader trying to share his message in a room full of crying babies, this would make it extremely difficult for listeners to concentrate on the message being given. Noise that you cant physically control would be if a persuaders listeners could concentrate on the message because they had something else on their mind which was more important than the persuaders message like a death in the family, or problems theyre having in their relationship. Another example of this is in children. A child will change their behavior because his or her parent told them to do so rather than taking the information given and processing it. As that child grows up, however, he or she will have a higher cognitive complexity, and therefore be able to process the information of the situation centrally in order to draw a conclusion of their own. (OKeefe) The subjects general education level, as well as their education and experience with the topic at hand greatly affect their ability to be persuaded. Under conditions of moderate elaboration, a mixture of central and peripheral route processes will guide information processing. There are benefits and consequences for both processes. An individual who disagrees with the message being presented will likely have a boomerang effect if he or she centrally processes the message and bounce farther away from the speaker’s goal. If that same situation takes place, but the message is peripherally processed, a weak change will not have as large of a negative effect on that individual. (OKeefe) Type of Elaboration: Objective Versus Biased Thinking Attitude, motivation, and ability strongly increase the likelihood that a message will be ingrained in the minds of listeners. Although, as the social judgement theory suggests, they may not process the information in a fair, objective way. Attitudes are general evaluations that people hold that correspond with how they perceive themselves in relation to the world they live in. One way to influence attitude is to give peripheral cues. Peripheral cues can be things that lead to good or punishing or they can invoke provide guiding rules or inferences. These are often effective because they cause the audience to draw the conclusion themselves, therefore, making them believe it is their own idea, so they buy in to it. (Griffin) Many of the evaluations are based on Cognitive intelligence, behavior, and guidance. Given a basic understanding of an individuals attitudes one can interpret which type of elaboration would better suit the situation. There are two types of elaboration a listener can possess: (Biased elaboration, Objective elaboration) Elaboration can lead to both positive and negative results depending on the audience who is receiving the message. Individuals who have a Pre conception of a certain topic are going to be much harder to persuade oppose to an individual who has an open mind about a topic where only the facts hold truth. Biased Elaboration: Top-down thinking in which predetermined conclusions color the supporting data. This is used on people who likely already have their minds made up about a situation before the message is ever conveyed to them (Cacioppo) Ex. Someone who has had a negative personal experience with motorcycles will probably have made up their minds and be biased in the way they process the message.[2] Objective Elaboration: Bottom-up thinking in which facts are scrutinized without bias; seeking truth wherever it might lead. These listeners let the facts speak for themselves and approach the message with an unbias mind. Which leads to a true unbiased result or opinion. (Cacioppo) Ex. A person who is listening to a motorcycle salesman and already has a mindset about them. This person would let the facts influence their attitude.[2] Testing the Elaboration Likelihood Model To design a way to test the Elaboration Likelihood Model, it is crucial to determine whether an argument is universally seen as strong or weak. If an argument is inconsistent in opinions of strength, the results of persuasion will be inconsistent. A strong argument is defined by Petty and Cacioppo as â€Å"one containing arguments such that when subjects are instructed to think about the message, the thoughts they generate are fundamentally favorable† (Griffin). In general, a weak argument that is universally viewed as weak will entice unfavorable results if the subject is instructed to and is in an appropriate environment to consider it logically (or when testing the central route of the Elaboration Likelihood Model). In turn, a strong argument under similar circumstances will return favorable results. The test arguments must also be rated for ease of understanding, complexity, and familiarity. To scientifically study either route of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the arguments themselves must be designed to have consistent results.[3] Conclusions of the Elaboration Likelihood Model In addition to these factors, the ELM also makes several unique proposals.[1] It is suggested that attitudes formed under high elaboration, the central route, are stronger than those formed under low elaboration. This means that this level of persuasion is stable over time and is less susceptible to decay or any type of counter-persuasion. Attitudes formed under low elaboration, the peripheral route, are more likely to cause a short term attitude change. Variables in ELM routes can serve multiple roles in a persuasive setting depending on other contextual factors (examples below). Under high elaboration, a given variable (e.g., source expertise) can either serve as an argument (If Einstein agrees with the theory of relativity, then this is a strong reason for me to as well) or as a biasing factor (if an expert agrees with this position it is probably good, so let me see what else agrees with this conclusion at the expense of information that may disagree with it).[4] Under condition s of low elaboration, a given variable can act as a peripheral cue. This could happen, e.g., through the use of an experts are always right heuristic. Note that, while this is similar to the Einstein example presented above, this is a simple shortcut, which, unlike the Einstein example, does not require careful thought. Under conditions of moderate elaboration, a given variable can serve to direct the extent of information processing: If an expert agrees with this position, I should really listen to what (s)he has to say. Interestingly, when a variable affects elaboration, this can increase or decrease persuasion, depending on the strength of the arguments presented. If the arguments are strong, enhancing elaboration will enhance persuasion. If the arguments are weak, however, more thought will undermine persuasion. More recent adaptations of the ELM (e.g.)[5] have added an additional role that variables can serve. They can affect the extent to which a person has confidence in, and thus trusts, their own thoughts in response to a message (self-validation role). Keeping with our source expertise example, a person may feel that if an expert presented this information, it is probably correct, and thus I can trust that my reactions to it are informative with respect to my attitude. Note that this role, because of its metacognitive nature, only occurs under conditions that promote high elaboration. Pasted from Attitudes Attitudes are evaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people. Attitudes can be positive or negative. Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can guide decisions and behavior. Implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that can still influence decisions and behavior. Attitudes can include up to three components: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Example: Jane believes that smoking is unhealthy, feels disgusted when people smoke around her, and avoids being in situations where people smoke. Dimensions of Attitudes Researchers study three dimensions of attitude: strength, accessibility, and ambivalence. †¢ Attitude strength: Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and that highly influence behavior. Attitudes that are important to a person tend to be strong. Attitudes that people have a vested interest in also tend to be strong. Furthermore, people tend to have stronger attitudes about things, events, ideas, or people they have considerable knowledge and information about. †¢ Attitude accessibility: The accessibility of an attitude refers to the ease with which it comes to mind. In general, highly accessible attitudes tend to be stronger. †¢ Attitude ambivalence: Ambivalence of an attitude refers to the ratio of positive and negative evaluations that make up that attitude. The ambivalence of an attitude increases as the positive and negative evaluations get more and more equal. The Influence of Attitudes on Behavior Behavior does not always reflect attitudes. However, attitudes do determine behavior in some situations: †¢ If there are few outside influences, attitude guides behavior. Example: Wyatt has an attitude that eating junk food is unhealthy. When he is at home, he does not eat chips or candy. However, when he is at parties, he indulges in these foods. †¢ Behavior is guided by attitudes specific to that behavior. Example: Megan might have a general attitude of respect toward seniors, but that would not prevent her from being disrespectful to an elderly woman who cuts her off at a stop sign. However, if Megan has an easygoing attitude about being cut off at stop signs, she is not likely to swear at someone who cuts her off. †¢ Behavior is guided by attitudes that come to mind easily. Example: Ron has an attitude of mistrust and annoyance toward telemarketers, so he immediately hangs up the phone whenever he realizes he has been contacted by one. The Influence of Behavior on Attitudes Behavior also affects attitudes. Evidence for this comes from the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and the effect of role playing. The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon People tend to be more likely to agree to a difficult request if they have first agreed to an easy one. This is called the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Example: Jill is more likely to let an acquaintance borrow her laptop for a day if he first persuades her to let him borrow her textbook for a day. Social Norms and Social Roles Social norms are a society’s rules about appropriate behavior. Norms exist for practically every kind of situation. Some norms are explicit and are made into laws, such as the norm While driving, you may not run over a pedestrian. Other norms are implicit and are followed unconsciously, such as You may not wear a bikini to class. Social roles are patterns of behavior that are considered appropriate for a person in a particular context. For example, gender roles tell people how a particular society expects men and women to behave. A person who violates the requirements of a role tends to feel uneasy or to be censured by others. Role requirements can change over time in a society. The Effect of Role Playing and the â€Å"Prison Study† People tend to internalize roles they play, changing their attitudes to fit the roles. In the 1970s, the psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a famous study called the prison study, which showed how roles influence people. Zimbardo assigned one group of college student volunteers to play the role of prison guards in a simulated prison environment. He provided these students with uniforms, clubs, and whistles and told them to enforce a set of rules in the prison. He assigned another group of students to play the role of prisoners. Zimbardo found that as time went on, some of the â€Å"guard† students became increasingly harsh and domineering. The â€Å"prisoner† students also internalized their role. Some broke down, while others rebelled or became passively resigned to the situation. The internalization of roles by the two groups of students was so extreme that Zimbardo had to terminate the study after only six days.

Poverty in the Caribbean

Poverty in the Caribbean Poverty in the Caribbean has been an irritating issue for as long as I can remember. It is an issue that has caused many governments in the Caribbean and world-wide, grief and even resulted in their loss at the polls or demise. In truth it is a very hard issue to overcome or rectify due to its magnitude of causes both internal and external to the particular country. To obtain an understanding of the psychology of poverty and its cause and effect in the Caribbean; one has to examine the following. Psychology, what is it? Simply put (according to the book UNDERSTANDING Psychology, 1992, pg.7, 9.) it is the study of human behaviour and mental processes. It covers every thing that people think, feel and do, and further seeks to describe, explain, predict and control behaviour. Poverty; according to the The Concise Oxford Dictionary means indigence, want, scarcity, inferiority and poorness. However, I prefer to agree with Professor Bournes opinion stated in his paper entitled Poverty and its Alleviation in the Caribbean 2005; in that poverty is not just defined as those individuals who live off less than one dollar per day ($1.00/day)(as described as the Millennium Development Goal for poverty reductions target 2000). But that it is a pronounced deprivation in wellbeing that is to be in poverty or to be poor is to be hungry, lack shelter, clothing, to be sick and lack health care to be illiterate and not schooled and further relating to the work to Amartya Sen, that states that, the state of being poor extends beyond income levels, but is also affected by unfreedoms which individuals are subjected to in terms of tyranny or bad treatment by the state and exclusion from participating in decisions and also being vulnerable to economic and natural hazards POVERTY IN THE CARIBBEAN When one looks at the islands of the Caribbean, in terms of their governmental and economic structure, levels of education, health care and income levels; they are all different. With this in mind the term poor might fit into different categories. Countries such as the Bahamas and the U S Virgin Island with their close affiliation to the U.S. and its almighty dollar might have a higher standard of living and poor in their country might mean middle class in another. To further emphasize their differences; I quote from Professor Bournes paper (according to the Surveys of Living Conditions conducted between 1996 and 2002), that countries such as Haiti and Suriname whose poverty line was 65% and 63% were on the high end of the poverty spectrum, while Belize, Dominica and St Kitts were between 30-40% and Anguilla, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Island were between 20-29%, while Barbados had 14% and Jamaica had 20%; concluding that at that point in time Barbados had the lowest poverty level in the Caribbean. CAUSES OF POVERTY In discussing this issue, due to my being Jamaican by birth and living here all my life; (with few exceptions of travel) and my familiarity with the intricacies of the country and the discovery that there are varied levels of poverty or being poor that exist in this little island . I have chosen to use Jamaica as my example and direct most of my discussion using this island; for I believe that Jamaica is indeed the melting pot of the Caribbean. If one looks widely one will be able to find a native of every Caribbean island living here; just look at our Psychology class! In this class of 21 students, we have Nigerians, (Africa) Guyanese, (South America) and Jamaicans. Quite a mixture indeed! The causes of poverty in my opinion are varied and I would like to start with that of: Slavery, (defined as the condition of a slave, which further means to be a helpless victim to or of some dominating influence; according to The Oxford Concise Dictionary) is still very operative in our Jamaican society and that of the Caribbean today. Although we boast of having one of the greatest Reggae singers of all time; we have still not fully understood the meaning of Bob Marleys song which states EMANCIPATE YOUR SELF FROM MENTAL SLAVERY In my opinion we as a Caribbean people although we have been made free for a number of years and in Jamaica it has been from 1838; over one hundred and seventy one years ago. Although physically we have been freed, we still possess a type of mentality that causes us to want hand-outs, and the need to be taken care of still exist.(just like when the slaves were on the plantation and looked to their slave masters for their total existence). The word independence or the need to be independent has still not been cemented in our minds; in order to create a change in behaviour that causes us to obtain a sense of determination that says that I will obtain or achieve any thing I put my mind, heart and abilities to.( in respect to the elements of time and opportunities) Unemployment and low income levels. I must agree with professor Bourne in his paper mentioned above that the governments of the Caribbean including Jamaica; have not been able to create an adequate amount of jobs for its people; as he states that unemployment is between 7 and 20% which is relatively high . Incidentally in Jamaica this has given rise to the hustler mentality. One has but to go to Down-Town Kingston, especially on a market day, that is on a Saturday and sees the amount of individuals who hustle for a living day by day. Hustling ranges from the buying and selling of legitimate goods, to dealing in drugs such as ganja, to that of the gambling of the now famous cash-pot which believe it or not puts food on many a table daily. As for low income levels, for example, one has but to look at the difference in pay of Registered Nurses in Barbados whose basic pay is approximately $77,0000 per month compared to the same category of nurses in Jamaica who earn $48,000 per month. Th is difference one might agree would affect the individuals ability to save for a rainy day, or to make investments, to maintain an acceptable standard of living or to even further ones self academically. Also the inequality of pay scales within a given country can affect its peoples poverty levels. Take for instance in Jamaica at this time of world wide financial depression when Nurses and other workers are negotiating for a better pay scale and who are just able to scoop out a meager existence from their meager salaries only to be informed of individuals earning $1.9 million per month for negotiating services. Look at the gross difference! Volatility of our economy and susceptibility to Natural disasters. I must concur with professor Bourne, when he states that the Caribbean economy is volatile and this volatility is a contributory factor to poverty. He further sates that economic volatility arises from several sources, all of which are not necessarily operative at the same time. The sources include economic dislocation caused by major adverse changes in international markets for Caribbean exports of goods and services. One has only to look at the issue of the decline in the export our bananas where the European and U.S. markets have now started to import Chiquita bananas instead of bananas from the Caribbean. This has impacted negatively on our economies (especially Dominica) in terms of job losses and loss of investments by the governing bodies of these countries involved. Professor Bourne also states that we are also affected by the acute fiscal difficulties arising from changes in flows of foreign and international debt. In Jamaica one has only to remember the harsh demands that the International Monetary Fund made on us in the past such as gross job cuts and can only pray that the new intended demands may not be as harsh. (One can only Hope!) As for Natural Disasters, we are quite susceptible in that we are at the mercy of hurricanes and floods. I remember Gilbert as if it was yesterday; when the roof of my house was lost. If it were not for the quick actions of the government of the day in issuing free zinc of which I was a grateful recipient. I would have remained roof-less until December of that year when the Insurance representative got around to evaluating the damages and ended up issuing a third of the estimated cost of repairs because he thought that it wasnt that great a damage! To think, I had Insurance! What about those who could not afford insurance because their low income levels? To further examine these hazards effects, just look at what hurricane Ivan did to Grenada; Ivan prac tically flattened Grenada in a few hours and destroyed infrastructures that took years to develop. It literally changed Grenadas means of existence for long time. Lack of proper Health Care and Educational facilities. Poor people in the Caribbean may be working but might still remain poor. This causes them to be unable to access proper heath care which might result in a rise in chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension and even psychotic illnesses such as depression. In Jamaica there is now free health care, but just how effective it has been is another matter. Take for instance my aunt of 82 years, she has a cataract in her eye and needs for it to be repaired surgically. She went to the Kingston Public Hospital to in October 2009, of this year where she got an appointment to return in December, 2009; where another appointment will be given for her to return some time in 2010! I could not believe it when I was told. Can you imagine, by the time December comes, much less 2010 my aunt may be home with the Almighty God! (dead) As for the ability of poor to access education; it can be taxing, with the ever rising cost of school fees, book s and uniforms the low income earners and even those of middle income can just barely get by. In Jamaica there is the PATH programme which is of some help to the poor in that it assists with school fees, uniforms etc.; thus taking off some of the financial strain from the parents. EFFECTS OF PROVERTY Based on the definition given above that states that being poor or living poverty does not only rely on low income or the lack there of , but also on the lack of proper health care ,proper infrastructure( such as roads, water), educational facilities, tyranny etc. In my opinion, when one looks at the lack or unavailability of these facets in the rural communities of the islands of the Caribbean, one realizes that people who think that the urban communities are a better place will want to migrate to these areas. This can be seen in my country Jamaica where the Government offices, best hospitals and schools are located in the two main urban cities that is Kingston and Montego Bay. This migration often result in over-crowding, further leading to a rise in squatter settlements which leads to an increase of tin the spread of disease; thus putting a further strain on the health care system. This type of migration not only happens with in a country, but can also be seen when the Haitians de fy dead at sea to come to Jamaica seeking a better life; thus putting further strain of the Jamaican economy. Although its not the only reason for the rise in crime and drug abuse this is still a contributing factor, as can be seen in the rise in the crime rate in these two cities. There is also a brain drain from the rural areas to the urban areas of a particular country and even between countries of the Caribbean and to countries such as the U.S. and Europe in order to obtain a better income, thus enhancing or providing for a perceived improved way of life. This results in the loss of valuable resources that in my opinion is not easily replaced, and if it is replaced costs these countries practically an arm and a leg to do so. One can also examine the effects of the lack of availability of proper health care; and in this case especially to the elderly, who either have very low income gained from their meager pensions or none at all. This makes them vulnerable and easier to succumb to diseases. For the remainder of the population, ill health (mental and physical) often results in low production levels and decreases the internal drive or motivation to succeed, thus increasing the levels of poverty. The negative effects of international markets on the economies of the Caribbean can be devastating. As was mentioned above; as in Jamaica our dollar is linked strongly to that of the U.S. and if the U.S. dollar falls , our dollar falls; resulting in tremendous losses on the stock market among other investment entities, further resulting in loss of jobs and the demise of companies especially the small businesses. Also if these international countries taste change as was also mentioned above, in terms of the bananas they consume; then there goes the banana industries in a down-ward spiral in these countries also. The inability of our countries to protect ourselves from natural disasters results in a negative effect in that these disasters often destroy agriculture, (which is the main stay of most of these Caribbean islands) infrastructure,(roads, water mains, gullies, electricity) government buildings and private homes. They indeed destroy what it has taken years of hard work, sacrifice, and determination to build. This puts a strain on economies emotionally, physically, and financially to rebuild every time such an occurrence takes place. ALLEVIATION OF PROVERTY I believe that in the Caribbean, in the same way that each island is unique in nature, so do the individual people and governments of each island have to identify unique ways in solving this problem of poverty. As seen in the report on the Cost of Poverty in the Caribbean by The International Institute for Social Political and Economic Change(IISPEC) and co-sponsored by UNESCO. (March 17-19, 2008). Grenada whose poverty level was 32% in 1998 has implemented Safety Net Programme allocation of funds, and established Food Basket programmes, and St. Lucia has implemented a Poverty Reduction Fund. I also agree with their list of initiative programmes that have been mentioned, such as. Focus on education training Provide scholarships to encourage more research, Make CDB/CTCS more national in focus De-politicization of poverty reduction/eradication programmes, Needs national consensus However I will endeavor to add a few other suggestions to both Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean, Focus on education training, Provide scholarships to encourage more research Make Caribbean Development Banks a national focus, De-politicization of poverty reduction/eradication programmes, i.e. to take political agendas out of programmes designed to assist the poor and the need for a national census in order to find out the peoples opinion on the matters brought forward to solve the problem of poverty. In Jamaica, at this time the governing bodies have implemented the Path Programme, which assists needy (poor) people in a financial way to be able to send their children to school to obtain an education, by way of cash payments. There is also the provision of free health care. In my opinion it is a good thought but I do not think that it can be properly maintained especially in this time of financial depression. If one will take the time to examine the following scenario, one might agree with me on point. Take a healthy young man who doesnt feel that he should work because hes comfortable hustling probably via cash-pot. He gets a girl pregnant and she gets totally free health care to have this child; the child goes home, grows , starts going to school and gets on the Path programme, where society sends this child to school free of cost. One could argue that this is a way of reducing the levels of both maternal and infant deaths by providing free health care; or that by assisting the child to go to school might reduce the probability that this child being uneducated might be a part of our crime problem in the future. Baring all this in mind I might agree; but I still contend that this might help to promote a freeness mentality that is so prevalent in our society; which we need to stomp out of our society, in order for us to improve our way of thinking and thus lift ourselves from poverty. To think even in the large industrial countries health care is not totally free, some one must pay for it! I prefer that my hard earn tax dollars be used to pay for free health care to be available to the elderly, the very young (12 years and under), the destitute, and the mentally and physically challenged; the most vulnerable in our society. I think safety nets can be put in place where a disaster fund is implemented to provide for hurricane and flood victims. Also in terms of providing employment I think the provisions of entities such as the HEART ACADEMY and free primary education are a GOD sent to poor people. However I think that the provision of more scholarships should be made to assist with further tertiary education. In terms of enhancing employment I think that the apprenticeship programme should be reimplementation where one can learn while they work and earn. We could also try to re-educate our people in terms of self reliance, to think that the soil is good in order to attract an increased interest in agriculture and along with this to allocate lands to these individuals in order for them to grow and produce more thus providing more jobs. SUMMARY I conclude that the Caribbean (including Jamaica) has a difficult task in ridding our region of poverty, but not insurmountable! I think that this matter has to be solved with each member state coming together as one. Take for instances at this time, if one looks at our super market shelves, one can see snacks originating from Trinidad and Tobago. But when Jamaica tried to export our patties to them it was barred. Although the states of the Caribbean have decided to be apart of the Caribbean Common Market, some states have not held up to their end the agreement. This results in discontent among member states and ultimately the loss of jobs and the increase in poverty due to their inability to allow free trade in the area. The states in the Caribbean need to realize that individually, compared to the international arena are small and relatively insignificant. But joining together and being one in mind set, we could be a force to be reckoned with. As a people we need to assist each other in terms of the transference of education, science and technology in order to boost each others economies. Thus providing an improved way of thinking and reasoning which will result in a motivated, determined move by the people of this region to rid ourselves of poverty. If not, then to a level that permits an acceptable standard of living. As the clichà © states together we stand, divided we fall we as people of the Caribbean need to learn and understand this. To allow this statement to change their mind set from one of individuality and selfishness to one of togetherness and fruitfulness which will ultimately raise the standard of life for our people and in time reduce the levels of poverty in order to maintain an acceptable standard of living; free from hungry tyranny and illness. What do you think? This is just a wish or fantasy! I should hope not. As I choose to think that it can be a reality IF WE WORK HARD AND KEEP FOCUSED!

Use of Brucellosis in Bioterrorism Essay -- Biological Terrorism Terro

Bioterrorism Brucellosis is a very threatening biological weapon in the sense that it does not cause fatality, but incapacitates its victims. Not only this, but it is hard to diagnose since the symptoms it induces are extremely nonspecific. Bioterrorism has existed for countless years, and there is no doubt that it will be used in the future. The only thing we have to worry about now is how it will be put to use. Despite going through the trouble of setting up pacts to prevent the use of biological weapons, its presence continues to cause problems on a worldwide scale. It is often said that what we fear the most is in fact fear itself. Happiness cannot negate it, but simply aids in distracting the mind from it; ignorance, on the other hand, harbors fear and provides it a space to grow and envelop the mind. This feeling of terror and insecurity arises from any situation that is presented to us in which we have no control over and is not within the boundaries of our own comfort zones. This flaw in man’s mental state has set in stone a gateway that has led to man’s greatest achievement. It is indeed a terrifying accomplishment, but none would be wise to deny its genius. The theory of this horrifying weapon has been used for thousands of years, and the world may someday fall at its feet. It would be a fallacy to say that it will not be used for years and years to come. Everything aforementioned can be summed up in one word: bioterrorism. Although a plethora of biological agents exist, one in particular acts as one of the most imp ortant destructors regarding animal disease—Brucellosis (Grey). Whenever the word â€Å"bioterrorism† is mentioned, one of the first agents people naturally think of is Bacillus anthracis, the ... ... It is quite a shame that the executive powers in the world feel the need to have such dangerous chemicals and substances to make them feel safe. There is much at stake with countries harboring deadly weapons, and the future seems bleak for generations to come. Works Cited Alton, G. G. and J.R.L. Forsyth. â€Å"Brucella.† Date unknown. 20 July 2007. . Anderson, Burt. Microorganisms and Bioterrorism. New York: Springer, 2006. â€Å"Bacterial Weapon Acting on Humans and Livestock.† Date unknown. 23 July 2007. . â€Å"Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases: Brucellosis.† 6 Oct. 2005. 20 July 2007. . Grey, Michael and Kenneth Spaeth. The Bioterrorism Sourcebook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Use of Brucellosis in Bioterrorism Essay -- Biological Terrorism Terro Bioterrorism Brucellosis is a very threatening biological weapon in the sense that it does not cause fatality, but incapacitates its victims. Not only this, but it is hard to diagnose since the symptoms it induces are extremely nonspecific. Bioterrorism has existed for countless years, and there is no doubt that it will be used in the future. The only thing we have to worry about now is how it will be put to use. Despite going through the trouble of setting up pacts to prevent the use of biological weapons, its presence continues to cause problems on a worldwide scale. It is often said that what we fear the most is in fact fear itself. Happiness cannot negate it, but simply aids in distracting the mind from it; ignorance, on the other hand, harbors fear and provides it a space to grow and envelop the mind. This feeling of terror and insecurity arises from any situation that is presented to us in which we have no control over and is not within the boundaries of our own comfort zones. This flaw in man’s mental state has set in stone a gateway that has led to man’s greatest achievement. It is indeed a terrifying accomplishment, but none would be wise to deny its genius. The theory of this horrifying weapon has been used for thousands of years, and the world may someday fall at its feet. It would be a fallacy to say that it will not be used for years and years to come. Everything aforementioned can be summed up in one word: bioterrorism. Although a plethora of biological agents exist, one in particular acts as one of the most imp ortant destructors regarding animal disease—Brucellosis (Grey). Whenever the word â€Å"bioterrorism† is mentioned, one of the first agents people naturally think of is Bacillus anthracis, the ... ... It is quite a shame that the executive powers in the world feel the need to have such dangerous chemicals and substances to make them feel safe. There is much at stake with countries harboring deadly weapons, and the future seems bleak for generations to come. Works Cited Alton, G. G. and J.R.L. Forsyth. â€Å"Brucella.† Date unknown. 20 July 2007. . Anderson, Burt. Microorganisms and Bioterrorism. New York: Springer, 2006. â€Å"Bacterial Weapon Acting on Humans and Livestock.† Date unknown. 23 July 2007. . â€Å"Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases: Brucellosis.† 6 Oct. 2005. 20 July 2007. . Grey, Michael and Kenneth Spaeth. The Bioterrorism Sourcebook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.