A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway Essay An old man sits alone at night in a cafà ©. He is deaf and likes when the night grows still. Two waiters watch the old man carefully because they know he won’t pay if he gets too drunk. One waiter tells the other that the old man tried to kill himself because he was in despair. The other waiter asks why he felt despair, and the first waiter says the reason was â€Å"nothing† because the man has a lot of money. The waiters look at the empty tables and the old man, who sits in the shadow of a tree. They see a couple walk by, a soldier with a girl. One of the waiters says the soldier had better be careful about being out because the guards just went by. The old man taps his glass against its saucer and asks the younger waiter for a brandy. The younger waiter tells him he’ll get drunk, then goes back and tells the older waiter that the old man will stay all night. The younger waiter says he never goes to bed earlier than 3 a.m. and that the old man should have killed himself. He takes the old man his brandy. As he pours it, he tells the old man that he should have killed himself, but the old man just indicates that he wants more brandy in the glass. The younger waiter tells the older waiter that the old man is drunk, then asks again why he tried to kill himself. The older waiter says he doesn’t know. The younger waiter asks how he did it. The older waiter says he tried to hang himself and his niece found him and got him down. The younger waiter asks why she got him down, and the older waiter says they were concerned about his soul. The waiters speculate on how much money the old man has and decide he’s probably age eighty. The younger waiter says he wishes the old man would leave so that he can go home and go to bed with his wife. The older waiter says that the old man was married at one time. The younger waiter says a wife wouldn’t do him any good, but the older waiter disagrees. The younger waiter points out that the old man has his niece, then says he doesn’t want to be an old man. The older waiter points out that the old man is clean and drinks neatly. The younger waiter says again that he wishes the old man would leave. The old man indicates that he wants another brandy, but the younger waiter tells him they’re closing. The old man pays and walks away. The older waiter asks the younger waiter why he didn’t let him drink more because it’s not even 3 a.m. yet, and the younger waiter says he wants to go home. The older waiter says an hour doesn’t make much difference. The younger waiter says that the old man can just drink at home, but the older waiter says it’s different. The younger waiter agrees. The older waiter jokingly asks if the younger waiter is afraid to go home early. The younger waiter says he has confidence. The older waiter points out that he also has youth and a job, whereas the older waiter has only a job. The older waiter says that he likes to stay at cafà ©s very late with the others who are reluctant to go home and who need light during the nighttime. The younger waiter says he wants to go home, and the older waiter remarks that they are very different. The older waiter says he doesn’t like to close the cafà © in case someone needs it. The younger waiter says there are bars to go to, but the older waiter says that the cafà © is clean and well lit. They wish each other good night. The older waiter continues thinking to himself about how important it is for a cafà © to be clean and well lit. He thinks that music is never good to have at a cafà © and that standing at a bar isn’t good either. He wonders what he’s afraid of, deciding it’s not fear but just a familiar nothing. He says two prayers but substitutes â€Å"nada† (Spanish for â€Å"nothing†) for most of the words. When he arrives at a bar, he orders a drink and tells the bartender that the bar isn’t clean. The bartender offers another drink, but the waiter leaves. He doesn’t like bars, preferring cafà ©s. He knows that he will now go home and fall asleep when the sun comes up. He thinks he just has insomnia, a common problem. Character Analysis The Old Man A deaf man who likes to drink at the cafà © late into the night. The old man likes the shadows of the leaves on the well-lit cafà © terrace. Rumor has it that he tried to hang himself, he was once married, he has a lot of money, and his niece takes care of him. He often gets drunk at the cafà © and leaves without paying. The Older Waiter A compassionate man who understands why the old man may want to stay late at the cafà ©. The older waiter enjoys staying late at cafà ©s as well. He thinks it’s very important for a cafà © to be clean and well lit, and he sees the cafà © as a refuge from despair. Rather than admit that he is lonely, he tells himself that he has insomnia. Like the old man, the older waiter likes to stay late at cafà ©s, and he understands on a deep level why they are both reluctant to go home at night. He tries to explain it to the younger waiter by saying, â€Å"He stays up because he likes it,† but the younger waiter dismisses this and says that the old man is lonely. Indeed, both the old man and the older waiter are lonely. The old man lives alone with only a niece to look after him, and we never learn what happened to his wife. He drinks alone late into the night, getting drunk in cafà ©s. The older waiter, too, is lonely. He lives alone and makes a habit of staying out late rather than going home to bed. But there is more to the older waiter’s â€Å"insomnia,† as he calls it, than just loneliness. An unnamed, unspecified malaise seems to grip him. This malaise is not â€Å"a fear or dread,† as the older waiter clarifies to himself, but an overwhelming feeling of nothingness—an existential angst about his place in the universe and an uncertainty about the meaning of life. Whereas other people find meaning and comfort in religion, the older waiter dismisses religion as â€Å"nada†Ã¢â‚¬â€nothing. The older waiter finds solace only in clean, well-lit cafà ©s. There, life seems to make sense. The older waiter recognizes himself in the old man and sees his own future. He stands up for the old man against the younger waiter’s criticisms, pointing out that the old man might benefit from a wife and is clean and neat when he drinks. The older waiter has no real reason to take the old man’s side. In fact, the old man sometimes leaves the cafà © without paying. But the possible reason for his support becomes clear when the younger waiter tells the older waiter that he talks like an old man too. The older waiter is aware that he is not young or confident, and he knows that he may one day be just like the old man—unwanted, alone, and in despair. Ultimately, the older waiter is reluctant to close the cafà © as much for the old man’s sake as for his own because someday he’ll need someone to keep a cafà © open late for him. The Younger Waiter An impatient young man who cares only about getting home to his wife. The younger waiter is usually irritated with the old man because he must stay late and serve him drinks. He does not seem to care why the old man stays so long. His only concern is leaving as quickly as possible. Brash and insensitive, the younger waiter can’t see beyond himself. He readily admits that he isn’t lonely and is eager to return home where his wife is waiting for him. He doesn’t seem to care that others can’t say the same and doesn’t recognize that the cafà © is a refuge for those who are lonely. The younger waiter is immature and says rude things to the old man because he wants to close the cafà © early. He seems unaware that he won’t be young forever or that he may need a place to find solace later in life too. Unlike the older waiter, who thinks deeply—perhaps too deeply—about life and those who struggle to face it, the younger waiter demonstrates a dismissive attitude toward human life in general. For example, he says the old man should have just gone ahead and killed himself and says that he â€Å"wouldn’t want to be that old.† He himself has reason to live, and his whole life is ahead of him. â€Å"You have everything,† the older waiter tells him. The younger waiter, immersed in happiness, doesn’t really understand that he is lucky, and he therefore has little compassion or understanding for those who are lonely and still searching for meaning in their lives. Themes Life as Nothingness In â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,† Hemingway suggests that life has no meaning and that man is an insignificant speck in a great sea of nothingness. The older waiter makes this idea as clear as he can when he says, â€Å"It was all a nothing and man was a nothing too.† When he substitutes the Spanish word nada (nothing) into the prayers he recites, he indicates that religion, to which many people turn to find meaning and purpose, is also just nothingness. Rather than pray with the actual words, â€Å"Our Father who art in heaven,† the older waiter says, â€Å"Our nada who art in nada†Ã¢â‚¬â€effectively wiping out both God and the idea of heaven in one breath. Not everyone is aware of the nothingness, however. For example, the younger waiter hurtles through his life hastily and happily, unaware of any reason why he should lament. For the old man, the older waiter, and the other people who need late-night cafà ©s, however, th e idea of nothingness is overwhelming and leads to despair. The Struggle to Deal with Despair The old man and older waiter in â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† struggle to find a way to deal with their despair, but even their best method simply subdues the despair rather than cures it. The old man has tried to stave off despair in several unsuccessful ways. We learn that he has money, but money has not helped. We learn that he was once married, but he no longer has a wife. We also learn that he has unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide in a desperate attempt to quell the despair for good. The only way the old man can deal with his despair now is to sit for hours in a clean, well-lit cafà ©. Deaf, he can feel the quietness of the nighttime and the cafà ©, and although he is essentially in his own private world, sitting by himself in the cafà © is not the same as being alone. The older waiter, in his mocking prayers filled with the word nada, shows that religion is not a viable method of dealing with despair, and his solution is the same as the old man’s: he waits out the nighttime in cafà ©s. He is particular about the type of cafà © he likes: the cafà © must be well lit and clean. Bars and bodegas, although many are open all night, do not lessen despair because they are not clean, and patrons often must stand at the bar rather than sit at a table. The old man and the older waiter also glean solace from routine. The ritualistic cafà ©-sitting and drinking help them deal with despair because it makes life predictable. Routine is something they can control and manage, unlike the vast nothingness that surrounds them. Motif Loneliness Loneliness pervades â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† and suggests that even though there are many people struggling with despair, everyone must struggle alone. The deaf old man, with no wife and only a niece to care for him, is visibly lonely. The younger waiter, frustrated that the old man won’t go home, defines himself and the old man in opposites: â€Å"He’s lonely. I’m not lonely.† Loneliness, for the younger waiter, is a key difference between them, but he gives no thought to why the old man might be lonely and doesn’t consider the possibility that he may one day be lonely too. The older waiter, although he doesn’t say explicitly that he is lonely, is so similar to the old man in his habit of sitting in cafà ©s late at night that we can assume that he too suffers from loneliness. The older waiter goes home to his room and lies in bed alone; telling himself that he merely suffers from sleeplessness. Even in this claim, however, he instinctively reaches out for company, adding, â€Å"Many must have it.† The thought that he is not alone in having insomnia or being lonely comforts him. Symbols The Cafà © The cafà © represents the opposite of nothingness: its cleanliness and good lighting suggest order and clarity, whereas nothingness is chaotic, confusing, and dark. Because the cafà © is so different from the nothingness the older waiter describes, it serves as a natural refuge from the despair felt by those who are acutely aware of the nothingness. In a clean, brightly lit cafà ©, despair can be controlled and even temporarily forgotten. When the older waiter describes the nothingness that is life, he says, â€Å"It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order.† The light it in the sentence is never defined, but we can speculate about the waiter’s meaning: although life and man are nothing, light, cleanliness, and order can serve as substance. They can help stave off the despair that comes from feeling completely unanchored to anyone or anything. As long as a clean, well-lighted cafà © exists, despair can be kept i n check.

Was the American civil inevitable Essay Example for Free

Was the American civil inevitable Essay Among all the historical events that have taken place in the history of the United States, the civil is ranked as the most important. From the day when the first gun shot was fired at Fort Sumter in 1861, the civil war changed the history of the United States forever. A lot of books have been written on this important topic with different authors giving different opinions (Guelzo, 2012). Based on this, there has never been consensus among Americans on whether the civil war was inevitable or not. Although there had been years of tension between the northern and southern states, the war erupted after a number of southern states made public their desire to break away from the union. The breakaway states formed what was known as the Confederacy while those that remained loyal in the union were known as the union. The first reason why the American civil war was inevitable was slavery. For a long time, the main economic activity in the southern states was agriculture. The demand for increased cotton production came in1793 after when Eli Whitney discovered the first mechanical gin. Although there were slaves in the united even before the eruption of the civil war, the number of slaves in the country grew by large proportions after the gin was discovered. On their part, the northern states were not agricultural and very few of them had slaves. These states were opposed to slavery and were pushing for abolition (Wagner et al, 2002). This ideological difference on the topic of slavery among the northern and southern states made the civil inevitable. The southern states were not ready to abolish slavery because that would have a huge impact on their economy. In addition, they felt that the northern states were infringing on their right to economic growth. None of the two states was ready to soften o n their as far as the issue of slavery was concerned and this made the civil war inevitable. The second factor that made the American civil war inevitable was the increased sectionalism among different states. As noted earlier, there were major ideological differences between the northern and southern states on a number of issues. Although sectionalism had existed in the country for a long time, it reached dangerous heights between 1800 and 1860. The northern states that were more industrialized than the southern ones became more economically powerful and built better cities. This made the southern states whose economy was agriculture based envious (Wagner et al, 2002). However, the fortunes of the southern states changed after the discovery of gin which created more demand for cotton. As abolition gained widespread attention, the southern states were living in constant fear of revolts by the slaves. In support of their stand, the southerners argued that they were preserving the culture passed down to them from the founding fathers of the country many of whom owned slaves. T hese differences caused a major rift in the largest denominations in the country namely Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodists. In addition, it resulted in a mass movement of whites from the south to the north making the south adopt a hard-line political position. The third factor that made the American civil war inevitable was the increasing protectionism between the northern and southern states. As noted earlier, there were huge economic differences between the northern and southern states. Whereas agriculture was the main economic activity in the southern states, the economy of the northern states was based on industries. Despite the increasing campaign against slavery in the northern states, the southern states were not ready to abolish. This was because the slaves offered cheap labor therefore eliminating any need to incur costs on mechanization. In addition, the southerners did not see any need for industrialization and were comfortable with buying manufactured products from other parts of the country instead of building industries (Guelzo, 2012). Although the economy of the northern states was doing well, their industries were faced increased completion from the full fledged European industries. More importantly, this made it hard for t hem to compete for cotton with Europeans who were offering very high prices for cotton from the south. Based on this, the northern states were in favor of trade tariffs and protectionism while the southerners were opposed to it. On their part, the southerners were in favor of free trade. These differences created negative competition between the two sides culminating in the civil war (Fuller, 2008). The years preceding the civil witnessed a territorial expansion of the country through acquisition of new lands. Many of the new territories entered the union as slave states and the southerners wanted to acquire more slaves to work on these new lands. On their part, the northerners wanted to stop any further acquisition of slave territories (Stampp, 1990). This resulted in bitter disputes between the two sides making the civil war inevitable. In conclusion, there were major ideological differences between the northern and southern states prior to the outbreak of the war. These differences were difficult to resolve amicably due to the hard-line stances adopted by both sides. The major central issue that caused the tensions between the northern and southern states was slavery. The northerners were opposed to slavery while the southerners believed it part of cultural inheritance. References Bestor, Arthur (1964). The American Civil War as a Constitutional Crisis. American Historical Review Edward Pessen (1980). How Different from Each Other Were the Antebellum North and South .The American Historical Review, Vol. 85, No. 5. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1853242 Fuller, Howard J (2008). Clad in Iron – The American Civil War and the Challenge of British Naval Power. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press Guelzo, Allen C. (2012). Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Covers Holt, Michael F. (2004). The fate of their country: politicians, slavery extension, and the coming of the Civil War Hill and Wang, New York. Krannawitter, Thomas L. (2008). Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Politics of Our Greatest President. Rowman Littlefield, London. Miller, William L. (2009). Abraham Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman Vintage Books. Quarstein, John V. (1999). The Battle of the Ironclads. Arcadia Publishing Stampp, Kenneth M. (1990). America in 1857: a nation on the brink. Oxford University Press, New York. Wagner, Margaret E. Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman (2002). The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference . Source document

Personality Disorder Carer and Family Support Impact

Personality Disorder Carer and Family Support Impact ARE PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL AND SUPPORT PROGRAMMES FOR FAMILY AND CARERS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING RELAPSES AND FACILITATING RECOVERY OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM PERSONALITY DISORDERS? ABSTRACT Background Carers and families of people suffering from personality disorder are in desperate need of support and services. Providing these services can reduce relapses and facilitate recovery in sufferers of personality disorder. The Research Question How can psycho-educational and support programmes for carers and families of those with personality disorder improve their recovery? Methodology The results of this study were obtained through a systematic literature review. Results Diagnosis and treatment of personality disorder are still complex and often confusing issues, even for professionals. Still, treatment can produce recovery and this recovery can be expedited if carers and families are provided with programmes to equip them to effectively face the challenges that personality disorder presents. Conclusions Providing psycho-educational and support programmes makes carers more effective and can help treat personality disorder. Social Workers can help to bridge a gap in the services that is adversely affecting the treatment outcomes of sufferers and hence placing greater strain on the Health System than is necessary. Contextualisation The carers and families of individuals suffering from personality disorders are an underserved population. Considerable strain is placed upon them and their loved ones and they are often at a loss as to how to effectively perform their duties and assist the recovery of those they care for. If more psycho-educational and support programmes for carers and families were provided, it is possible that treatment for personality disorder could be improved. Personality disorders can be defined as: â€Å". . . psychiatric conditions relating to functional impairment, or psychological distress resulting from inflexible and maladaptive personality traits.†1 Personality disorders are explained in the two most prominent classification schemes, the DSM-IV, where personality disorders can be found in Axis II, and the ICD-10. The definitions in these diagnostic classification systems are much the same. Defining ‘severe personality disorder has proved problematic for experts, who have yet to establish a generally accepted definition. The suggestion of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (1999) that severe personality disorder is marked by extreme societal disturbance and at least one extreme personality disorder has provided some guidance.2 Alternatively, having two severe disorders could mean that the sufferer has one disorder that expresses itself in more than one extreme way, or could simply indicate one deeply disturbing disorder. One study graded the severity of personality disorder on 163 subjects and found that the patients whose personality disorder was described as ‘complex demonstrated the greatest number of symptoms and recovered the least. Personality disorder carers are people who support a person who suffers from any form of personality disorder, whether they are relatives, friends or partners. Often, carers give sufferers emotional and financial support and may even act as informal social workers. Previous studies have shown that carers of people with personality disorder benefit from psycho-educational and support programmes. Psycho-educational programmes are educational programmes that contain an element of counselling or therapeutic activity for the family. The main aim of these programmes is to minimise the strain experienced by families and carers of people with mental illnesses, here personality disorder. Psycho-educational and counselling programmes exist ultimately to facilitate recovery and reduce relapses; indeed, the success of programmes is usually measured by examining relapse rates. Programmes attempt to provide adequate support, information, signposting to appropriate resources, advocacy and respite for carers. They also coach carers to increase their problem solving abilities, improve their communication and help them construct their own support networks. Support programmes for carers of people with a mental illness attempt to support the contribution that carers make to the lives of those they care for. They work toward advances in policy that will augment the services that satisfy carer requirements. Support programmes prompt dialogue between members of the government and carers, as well as encouraging carer involvement in the creation and delivery of carer and patient services. Further, support services connect carers with agencies to assist them in their role and facilitate modes of best practice in aiding carers. The Research Question This literature review examines a number of studies on personality disorder, its effect on carers and issues connected with diagnosis and treatment in an attempt to determine whether psycho-educational and support programmes for family and carers are effective in reducing relapses and facilitating recovery of people suffering from personality disorders. If social workers are to work effectively with this client base, they must put aside antiquated beliefs that personality disorder cases are hopeless and that those who suffer from personality disorder never get better. This study reveals that one of the greatest challenges to carers and families is obtaining the support they need and the services they are entitled to, and Social Workers can be instrumental in bridging gaps in the Mental Health system. Methodology This dissertation undertakes a systematic literature review of health care and psychological literature to address key issues in the support of carers of people suffering from personality disorders. Several different studies and a range of approaches were examined. Although the number and breadth of studies was a strength of the review, the variety of approaches made it challenging to compare the overall merits of one study against another. The literature was obtained through a variety of means. Google searches, journal articles, working group reports, service provider reports and academic papers were used. The research methods that appear in the utilised material included telephone interviews, questionnaires and surveys, face-to-face interviews and meta-analysis. Some were literature reviews themselves and some simply reported on the outcomes when a group of treated individuals was observed. Of the studies that involved observation of a group, very few included a control group in the study so methodological rigour was not as great as it could have been. Neither is it certain that studies where self-reporting was used are as empirically reliable as one would like, as sufferers of personality disorder tend to over- or under-report their symptoms . Some of the studies that were conducted recently showed positive outcomes, but the long-term follow-up for the same groups may make the figures less significant. Even where there has been longterm follow-up, some of those who took part in the initial study may not be included because of death, inability or unwillingness to participate, or inability to be located. The methodological rigour of the studies is further complicated by the fact that the process of diagnosis and treatment of personality disorder is fraught with complexities. The categories for personality disorder are somewhat defined by behaviours and are not theoretically based or grounded in common mechanisms of the disorder. The actions and symptoms of patients are so extremely varied that both diagnosis and treatment are difficult to present, much less to assess. Yet just because a comprehensive catalogue of truths about personality disorder cannot be presented does not mean that no reliable statements can be made. The evidence that is presented here is solid enough to make general assertions regarding the affects of carer support on patients based upon the evidence, and that is what it intends to do. Assessing the impact of support and education for carers upon the sufferers of personality disorder themselves proved more challenging than, for example, assessing the impact of treatment on sufferers, for which there is abundant literature. Still, the impact of psycho-educational and support programmes on consumers has been assessed and outcomes observed. Additionally, the evidence for the improvement of the lives of carers and the quality of care they give their charges is strong, and this fact bolsters the hypothesis that improved care for carers improves the mental health of those for whom they care. These conclusions are definitely linked, especially given the statistics that show that improvement for personality disorder takes place over a long period of time and is facilitated by positive interpersonal relationships with people who are equipped to deal with the symptoms that people with personality disorder exhibit. The presence of positive relationships with carers who are tr ained, educated and supported will assuredly improve the ‘treatment conditions for those with personality disorder. In narrowing the scope of the literature to be included in the study, several factors had to be noted. Some of the literature was so grounded in certain programmes for certain countries that many sections were not transferable to this review. For example, the results of the Network for Carers (2004) report were based upon specific programmes offered in Australia, so some information had to be excluded. However, this document was very helpful in establishing general facts about the needs of carers and the impact of programmes upon their ability to care for sufferers. It was also a thorough exposition of the opinions of carers,through which their voice was clearly heard. There were also other limitations regarding the particular demographic studied. The NHS National Programme on Forensic Mental Health Research and Development Expert Paper on Personality Disorders primarily assessed offenders with personality disorder and not merely members of the wider public suffering from the disorde r. Because of this, significant sections of the material had to be ignored. Still, this paper was useful in understanding the complexities of treatment and diagnosis of personality disorder, and provided definitions for contextualisation. In evaluating the quality of the data, the analytical tool Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was used to assist in making sense of the evidence. This tool is advantageous to those who are strangers to qualitative research, assessing the merits of a source with regard to rigour, credibility and relevance.CASP initially asks two screening questions, the first addressing research aims and significance. The second screening question considers whether the research interprets subjective experiences of participants.Answering these two questions with a ‘yes then leads to eight more questions covering issues such as recruitment strategies, collection of data and ethical issues. In a literature review there are several ethical issues that must be considered, especially when dealing with a vulnerable population such as sufferers of mental illness. For each study used in the review it was necessary to consider whether ethical standards were maintained throughout the study, includi ng the manner in which consent was obtained and the way that confidentiality was upheld. Another ethical consideration is the handling of the outcomes of the study with the participants after the study.9 In the data observed here, it is not always explicit that consent was obtained but is often implied. Eliciting feedback from carers carries implied consent even if consent was not explicit, for obviously no individual would be forced to comment against his or her will. Confidentiality is maintained through omitting names and keeping the results impersonal. Yet the information given for studies is in its final and often abbreviated form, and the background work is not always documented comprehensively enough to ascertain whether all ethical considerations have been taken into account. One ethical consideration that is not always considered is the treatment of ethnic minorities in research projects, especially those for whom English is not their first language. The wording of questions and the criteria by which outcomes are judged is often tainted by cultural bias for those being assessed outside their native surroundings. It is practically impossible to remedy this, because part of the methodological rigour of the study depends upon all participants being treated and assessed in the same way. Differentiation on the basis of cultural differences would compromise the consistency of the study, but the impact of cultural factors is most certainly felt by those of foreign origin. Discussion of Findings Traits The traits exhibited by sufferers of personality disorder differ immensely because of the wide scope of the disorder. Examples of traits range from anxiety, narcissism and compulsivity to defiance, abnormal attachments and avoidance of social situations. Sufferers may demonstrate an arrogant interpersonal style, or may show extreme submissiveness. Personality disorders are linked with negative results in the wider population such as marital breakdown, criminal actions and professional difficulties.The anomalies of personality disorder are apparent in the thought patters, expressions and levels of self-control of sufferers. The patient will display abnormalities in the way that he or she interacts with others which will appear in a range of circumstances. There are various types of personality disorders, and each has its own banners of dysfunction. It has been recognised that the kinds of personality disorders covered in DSM and ICD are a small cluster when contrasted with the array o f personality impairments that can be identified in large configurations of people.11 Personality disorders can be divided into three clusters, A-C. In the first cluster disorders relating to paranoia and schizophrenia are found. Cluster B includes antisocial and narcissistic disorders, and Cluster C focuses on avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Prevalence It is estimated that between 6% and 15% of the population have one or more personality disorders of some kind—different studies produce different results.13 The goal of one study was to estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in a local sample and discern the most common demographic groups therein. The frequency of the DSM and ICD personality disorders and the interactions between disorder clusters and demographic qualities was assessed in a local sample of 742 participants between the ages of 34 and 94 over two years.14 The results showed that the overall prevalence of DSM-IV personality disorders was approximately 9%. Among the disorders, antisocial personality disorder was the most common and appeared in almost 5% of those assessed. Dependent personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorders were rare. The prevalence of many of the individual disorders was only 1% to 2%. For ICD-10 disorders, the overall presence in the surveyed group was 7%. Again, the prevalence for individual disorders was 1% to 2%. The most common disorder in for the ICD disorders was dissocial personality disorder at 3%. Dependent personality disorder was, again, very rare. Who is affected? Studies dedicated to uncovering the risk factors for personality disorder produced a variety of results. Prominent factors that may lead to a personality disorder include having a parent who is involved in or has been convicted of a crime, having a parent with deficient parenting abilities and being part of a large family. Factors such as low intelligence also feature in the list of risk factors. However, this study and studies that are similar raise certain issues about the nature of judging which factors should be included as risk factors for personality disorder. These sorts of factors could be criticised for having prejudicial antecedent assumptions regarding what it means to be a functioning human being. It is likely that people from lower socio-economic classes will have a tendency to fit these categories more than their middle- or upper class counterparts.Care should be taken in describing risk factors to ensure the language used is not biased by class. In the study mentioned above, several demographic characteristics were assessed with regard to prevalence of personality disorder. The outcomes demonstrated that Cluster A disorders were more common in males than in females. Cluster A disorders were also more prevalent in participants who were divorced or separated than those who were married or widowed. Subjects who had never been married were the most susceptible sub-group of all. In the Cluster B category, men were again more prone to having a personality disorder than women. Cluster B disorders were most common in the youngest age range surveyed and least common in the oldest range. Further, this cluster was most prevalent in participants who lacked a high school diploma and was least prevalent in participants who graduated from high school and continued their education afterwards. The odds of having one of these disorders decreased approximately 6% for each year an individual aged. One possible explanation for the increase of prevalence of disorder with age could be that people of more mature generations are less likely to have, know about or report symptoms of personality disorder. The prevalence of Cluster C disorders was most closely related to marital status, again showing that participants who had never been married were most likely to have one of these disorders. The likelihood of having a Cluster C disorder was almost 7 times greater in those never married when contrasted with those who were married or widowed. The results of this study broadly match a number of previous studies whose results showed the prevalence of personality disorders in the general population to be 9-13%. However, there were some differences between previous studies on prevalence and this study. The present study found a notably higher prevalence of antisocial personality disorder and a much lower prevalence of histrionic and dependent personality disorders than previous studies. These differences could have been caused by methodological variants and the diagnostic criteria used such as which version of the DSM was utilised. The differences could also be a result of participant source, form of assessment, assessors experience and data collection methods. Notable strengths of the study were that the participants were obtained through a community sample and personally interviewed by psychologists who have a significant amount of experience in cross-examination. The limitations included the fact that not all subjects coul d be interviewed and that the sample size was not really large enough to pick up on very rare disorders. The results of other studies have been less conclusive. An American study examined the theory that personality traits stop transforming by the time an individual reaches the age of 30. One of the major strengths of this study was the sample size of 132,515. The subjects, aged 21-60, participated in a web-based Big Five personality measurement. The results of this study showed that qualities such as being agreeable and conscientious increased during adulthood up through middle age. The quality of being neurotic diminished for women but remained static for men.20 Both men and women decreased in openness after the age of 30, and while men increased in extraversion from 31 to 60, the same quality diminished in women in the same age range.21 While the sample size of this study was certainly impressive, one concern was that conducting the study over the internet might bias it toward younger subjects. Another concern was the cohort effect, since people of earlier generations might not engag e with psychological instruments with the same ease as those who are younger. Overall, the multiplicity in paradigms of change did not affirm either that personality does not change after 30 or that it does. The study concludes that the traits examined are complex in nature and subject to an array of developmental influences. Historical View The onset of the de-institutionalisation of mental health establishments has produced a number of benefits. There is now less public stigma placed upon sufferers of mental illness and their traits and presence in wider society has come a long way toward normalisation. Suffers of mental illness have become less isolated and enjoy greater freedoms, including the freedom to choose from a selection of services. From a governmental point of view, deinstitutionalisation has saved them an enormous amount of money. However, the responsibility for managing and caring for mental illness sufferers has been transferred from the institution to the local community, and specifically to carers. Carers are involved in every possible aspect of the lives of their charges, even to the extent that their role could be characterised as an informal social worker. But the burden of the role combined with the lack of training, education and support often results in the damage of the psychological health of th e carer, as well as strict limitations on their life outside the caring role. The striking impact of caring on the lives of carers and other factors led to the undertaking of research on the involvement of families in managing and treating mental illness. From this came solid evidence of the benefits of such involvement, and the needs of carers began to be recognised. In recent years services have been put in place to assure that the needs of carers are met, and education for carers has been pinpointed as the most beneficial service for carers and consumers. Carers need to be educated in order to feel equipped to perform their tasks effectively. Specifically, carers named a need for â€Å"education about mental disorders† and information about treatment options† as their most salient needs. These statements are reinforced by studies from various countries where carers named the same things as most important for their success. Historically, studies examining the impact of educational programmes for carers have come from two different hypotheses. The first is that the chances of a consumer recovering from a mental illness are augmented if an educated and informed family surrounds him or her. Such a family will have deeper knowledge and sympathy for the condition of the sufferer and will be equipped to manage challenging behaviours. The second hypothesis is that because of the implications of their role, carers have an inherent right to access to adequate services. They have a right to services that will enhance their individual welfare and their effectiveness as carers. Assigning a course of treatment to personality disorder has always been an inexact science. Personality disorder is particularly complex to treat because the prime method of treatment is not always apparent after a diagnosis has been arrived at. The type of treatment which will prove most effective for the patient differs from individual to individual. Case conceptualisations can be helpful in assessing the individuals issues, identifying areas of risk and determining proper treatment goals.24 There is an abundance of research about treating personality disorder, but the studies cannot always be relied upon due to their lack of sound methodology. While some forms of treatment for personality disorder can reduce relapses and facilitate recovery, there is no simple panacea for this ailment. Cognitive treatments including cognitive-behavioural approaches have produced some pleasing results with personality disorder patients, as have psychodynamic treatments. Diagnosis Individuals who suffer from personality disorder encounter several issues with their diagnoses. They may be diagnosed through the means of an interview, a self assessment questionnaire or other means. Clinical psychiatrists often diagnose patients through interviewing them with regard to the DSM or ICD categories. This method is slightly better for detecting the existence or not of a personality disorder, but shows low accuracy for particular types of disorder. Self-report questionnaires like the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-IV) and the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory (MCMI) are also used to diagnose personality disorder. These questionnaires are considered imprecise because individuals tend to over-emphasise or under-emphasise the issues they are having. In addition to these methods of diagnosis, there are several semi-structured interview schedules to assist professionals. These schedules feature lists of questions that correlate to the DSM or ICD and the clinici an may then mark the patient and determine whether he or she has a disorder according to the criteria. Interview schedules have shown that they are slightly more reliable than other forms of diagnosis, but this success is only relative and the results are still much less valid than is needed. Really none of the diagnostic tools should be considered better than any of the others, for they are all faulty to the extent that they cannot be relied upon. There is a problematic absence of consensus regarding the reliability of diagnosing in general and the consistency of different diagnostic schemes. Part of the problem is that the explanations of personality disorders in the DSM and ICD feature a concoction of psychological traits and displayed behaviours, so that it becomes uncertain whether the diagnoses are attempting merely to pinpoint deviant actions or to identify traits whose presence is significant for determining personality disorder. The solidity of diagnoses for personality disorder is frequently questioned, and there are only a few disorders whose diagnoses are considered reliable. The diagnosis that can be made with the most certainty is antisocial personality disorder, because this problem can be identified by external actions that can be easily observed. Those who diagnose individuals with personality disorder are not always able to be precise in identifying which personality disorder they are dealing with, therefore m ultiple personality disorder diagnoses are common. Clinicians often find themselves confronting comorbidity, and prudent professionals test for the full scope of disorders. Comorbidity is quite common, with male legal psychopaths having an average of three disorders each. Women may have four.28 There is a great amount of interaction between the descriptors of the various types of personality disorder and so it is difficult to tell them apart. When dealing with multiple diagnoses, it is advisable to keep all disorders in mind when constructing a treatment regime, even if many of the features of the respective disorders overlap. The classification of disorders is also problematic, because the categories lack the quality of homogeneity present in reliable psychological categories of other types. Categories of psychological dysfunction work best when each class is different from others and common elements are contained within one class. This is not the case with personality disorders. For example, there are literally hundreds of ways to satisfy the criteria for borderline personality disorder, and so individuals with the same diagnosis may have utterly distinct behaviours, symptoms and needs. Axis I disorders feature frequently in those who suffer from personality disorder, particularly where there is substance abuse or depression. The classifications for personality disorder tend neither to be theoretically based, nor to stem from statistical research, which is presumably part of the reason that precise diagnoses are so elusive. The categories are so unreliable that abandoning the categories altogether and composing a new classification system is often proposed. While this may be the ideal way to correct the flaws, the time and effort already invested in the use of the present system is likely to ensure its continued existence. One approach to dealing with personality disorder is the trait approach. This approach states that a minimal amount of theories can illumine the majority of human behaviour. Observing the personality traits exhibited by an individual and placing them on a continuum from truly normal to extremely dysfunctional is more faithful to the structure of t he human psyche and tells clinicians more about the true nature of the dysfunction suffered by the patient. Currently, the most extensively developed trait theory relating to personality disorder is the theory of psychopathology. Treatment Cognitive-behavioural treatments (CBT) aimed at treating personality disorders have a tendency to take a broad approach. CBTs engage an array of behaviours, thoughts, preconceptions and internal emotional mechanisms. Many treatments are residential and are conducted with a group. They frequently include tenets of other methods such as psychodynamic therapy. Therefore it is an arduous task to pick out what, if any, elements are effective in a multi-dimensional approach so that they can be improved and repeated. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a method of CBT focusing on female patients with borderline personality disorder. The goal of the therapy is to reduce or eliminate incidents of self-harm through group skills training. Group sessions address destructive thought patterns and social skills. Individual therapy can also be used. The outcomes for one study showed that women who were treated experienced reduced anger and self-destructive or suicidal thoughts. Their social skills improved and they required less psychiatric treatment. Arnold Lodge Regional Secure Unit has produced a treatment method aimed specifically at offenders with a personality disorder. The treatment programme centres on teaching patients socially acceptable mechanisms for problem solving. The patients work individually and with others and receive regular counselling. This regime is supplemented with services that are individually tailored to the needs of the individual, such as anger management sessions or substance abuse education. This form of treatment has been shown to reduce deficiencies in social functioning and self-control.32 While the initial studies are promising, long-term analysis will confirm or refute the true effectiveness of this type of treatment. Therapeutic communities, cognitive therapies and dynamic therapies may also be used to treat personality disorder. Therapeutic communities are tailored primarily for offenders and have produced promising results in terms of reduced recidivism and improved social integration. A study into the effectiveness of therapeutic community treatment of personality disorder explored whether this type of treatment improved the health of patients to the extent that the burden on Health Services eased. Several previous studies reported reductions in the use of psychiatric services after therapeutic community treatment. The previous studies were limited by the fact that they observed participants for one year only and lacked thorough follow-up. This study sought to fill the methodological gaps of the previous studies by tracking patients for years after treatment. They assessed the impact of treatment on Health Services by counting the number of admissions to hospital before and after treatment. Th e study found that therapeutic community treatment resulted in a statistically significant drop in in-patient admissions over the 3-year period. Those who were admitted to hospital tended to be the subjects who had the briefest experience of therapeutic community treatment. Another study involving therapeutic community treatment focused on individuals with severe personality disorder. The effect of p Personality Disorder Carer and Family Support Impact Personality Disorder Carer and Family Support Impact ARE PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL AND SUPPORT PROGRAMMES FOR FAMILY AND CARERS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING RELAPSES AND FACILITATING RECOVERY OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM PERSONALITY DISORDERS? ABSTRACT Background Carers and families of people suffering from personality disorder are in desperate need of support and services. Providing these services can reduce relapses and facilitate recovery in sufferers of personality disorder. The Research Question How can psycho-educational and support programmes for carers and families of those with personality disorder improve their recovery? Methodology The results of this study were obtained through a systematic literature review. Results Diagnosis and treatment of personality disorder are still complex and often confusing issues, even for professionals. Still, treatment can produce recovery and this recovery can be expedited if carers and families are provided with programmes to equip them to effectively face the challenges that personality disorder presents. Conclusions Providing psycho-educational and support programmes makes carers more effective and can help treat personality disorder. Social Workers can help to bridge a gap in the services that is adversely affecting the treatment outcomes of sufferers and hence placing greater strain on the Health System than is necessary. Contextualisation The carers and families of individuals suffering from personality disorders are an underserved population. Considerable strain is placed upon them and their loved ones and they are often at a loss as to how to effectively perform their duties and assist the recovery of those they care for. If more psycho-educational and support programmes for carers and families were provided, it is possible that treatment for personality disorder could be improved. Personality disorders can be defined as: â€Å". . . psychiatric conditions relating to functional impairment, or psychological distress resulting from inflexible and maladaptive personality traits.†1 Personality disorders are explained in the two most prominent classification schemes, the DSM-IV, where personality disorders can be found in Axis II, and the ICD-10. The definitions in these diagnostic classification systems are much the same. Defining ‘severe personality disorder has proved problematic for experts, who have yet to establish a generally accepted definition. The suggestion of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (1999) that severe personality disorder is marked by extreme societal disturbance and at least one extreme personality disorder has provided some guidance.2 Alternatively, having two severe disorders could mean that the sufferer has one disorder that expresses itself in more than one extreme way, or could simply indicate one deeply disturbing disorder. One study graded the severity of personality disorder on 163 subjects and found that the patients whose personality disorder was described as ‘complex demonstrated the greatest number of symptoms and recovered the least. Personality disorder carers are people who support a person who suffers from any form of personality disorder, whether they are relatives, friends or partners. Often, carers give sufferers emotional and financial support and may even act as informal social workers. Previous studies have shown that carers of people with personality disorder benefit from psycho-educational and support programmes. Psycho-educational programmes are educational programmes that contain an element of counselling or therapeutic activity for the family. The main aim of these programmes is to minimise the strain experienced by families and carers of people with mental illnesses, here personality disorder. Psycho-educational and counselling programmes exist ultimately to facilitate recovery and reduce relapses; indeed, the success of programmes is usually measured by examining relapse rates. Programmes attempt to provide adequate support, information, signposting to appropriate resources, advocacy and respite for carers. They also coach carers to increase their problem solving abilities, improve their communication and help them construct their own support networks. Support programmes for carers of people with a mental illness attempt to support the contribution that carers make to the lives of those they care for. They work toward advances in policy that will augment the services that satisfy carer requirements. Support programmes prompt dialogue between members of the government and carers, as well as encouraging carer involvement in the creation and delivery of carer and patient services. Further, support services connect carers with agencies to assist them in their role and facilitate modes of best practice in aiding carers. The Research Question This literature review examines a number of studies on personality disorder, its effect on carers and issues connected with diagnosis and treatment in an attempt to determine whether psycho-educational and support programmes for family and carers are effective in reducing relapses and facilitating recovery of people suffering from personality disorders. If social workers are to work effectively with this client base, they must put aside antiquated beliefs that personality disorder cases are hopeless and that those who suffer from personality disorder never get better. This study reveals that one of the greatest challenges to carers and families is obtaining the support they need and the services they are entitled to, and Social Workers can be instrumental in bridging gaps in the Mental Health system. Methodology This dissertation undertakes a systematic literature review of health care and psychological literature to address key issues in the support of carers of people suffering from personality disorders. Several different studies and a range of approaches were examined. Although the number and breadth of studies was a strength of the review, the variety of approaches made it challenging to compare the overall merits of one study against another. The literature was obtained through a variety of means. Google searches, journal articles, working group reports, service provider reports and academic papers were used. The research methods that appear in the utilised material included telephone interviews, questionnaires and surveys, face-to-face interviews and meta-analysis. Some were literature reviews themselves and some simply reported on the outcomes when a group of treated individuals was observed. Of the studies that involved observation of a group, very few included a control group in the study so methodological rigour was not as great as it could have been. Neither is it certain that studies where self-reporting was used are as empirically reliable as one would like, as sufferers of personality disorder tend to over- or under-report their symptoms . Some of the studies that were conducted recently showed positive outcomes, but the long-term follow-up for the same groups may make the figures less significant. Even where there has been longterm follow-up, some of those who took part in the initial study may not be included because of death, inability or unwillingness to participate, or inability to be located. The methodological rigour of the studies is further complicated by the fact that the process of diagnosis and treatment of personality disorder is fraught with complexities. The categories for personality disorder are somewhat defined by behaviours and are not theoretically based or grounded in common mechanisms of the disorder. The actions and symptoms of patients are so extremely varied that both diagnosis and treatment are difficult to present, much less to assess. Yet just because a comprehensive catalogue of truths about personality disorder cannot be presented does not mean that no reliable statements can be made. The evidence that is presented here is solid enough to make general assertions regarding the affects of carer support on patients based upon the evidence, and that is what it intends to do. Assessing the impact of support and education for carers upon the sufferers of personality disorder themselves proved more challenging than, for example, assessing the impact of treatment on sufferers, for which there is abundant literature. Still, the impact of psycho-educational and support programmes on consumers has been assessed and outcomes observed. Additionally, the evidence for the improvement of the lives of carers and the quality of care they give their charges is strong, and this fact bolsters the hypothesis that improved care for carers improves the mental health of those for whom they care. These conclusions are definitely linked, especially given the statistics that show that improvement for personality disorder takes place over a long period of time and is facilitated by positive interpersonal relationships with people who are equipped to deal with the symptoms that people with personality disorder exhibit. The presence of positive relationships with carers who are tr ained, educated and supported will assuredly improve the ‘treatment conditions for those with personality disorder. In narrowing the scope of the literature to be included in the study, several factors had to be noted. Some of the literature was so grounded in certain programmes for certain countries that many sections were not transferable to this review. For example, the results of the Network for Carers (2004) report were based upon specific programmes offered in Australia, so some information had to be excluded. However, this document was very helpful in establishing general facts about the needs of carers and the impact of programmes upon their ability to care for sufferers. It was also a thorough exposition of the opinions of carers,through which their voice was clearly heard. There were also other limitations regarding the particular demographic studied. The NHS National Programme on Forensic Mental Health Research and Development Expert Paper on Personality Disorders primarily assessed offenders with personality disorder and not merely members of the wider public suffering from the disorde r. Because of this, significant sections of the material had to be ignored. Still, this paper was useful in understanding the complexities of treatment and diagnosis of personality disorder, and provided definitions for contextualisation. In evaluating the quality of the data, the analytical tool Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was used to assist in making sense of the evidence. This tool is advantageous to those who are strangers to qualitative research, assessing the merits of a source with regard to rigour, credibility and relevance.CASP initially asks two screening questions, the first addressing research aims and significance. The second screening question considers whether the research interprets subjective experiences of participants.Answering these two questions with a ‘yes then leads to eight more questions covering issues such as recruitment strategies, collection of data and ethical issues. In a literature review there are several ethical issues that must be considered, especially when dealing with a vulnerable population such as sufferers of mental illness. For each study used in the review it was necessary to consider whether ethical standards were maintained throughout the study, includi ng the manner in which consent was obtained and the way that confidentiality was upheld. Another ethical consideration is the handling of the outcomes of the study with the participants after the study.9 In the data observed here, it is not always explicit that consent was obtained but is often implied. Eliciting feedback from carers carries implied consent even if consent was not explicit, for obviously no individual would be forced to comment against his or her will. Confidentiality is maintained through omitting names and keeping the results impersonal. Yet the information given for studies is in its final and often abbreviated form, and the background work is not always documented comprehensively enough to ascertain whether all ethical considerations have been taken into account. One ethical consideration that is not always considered is the treatment of ethnic minorities in research projects, especially those for whom English is not their first language. The wording of questions and the criteria by which outcomes are judged is often tainted by cultural bias for those being assessed outside their native surroundings. It is practically impossible to remedy this, because part of the methodological rigour of the study depends upon all participants being treated and assessed in the same way. Differentiation on the basis of cultural differences would compromise the consistency of the study, but the impact of cultural factors is most certainly felt by those of foreign origin. Discussion of Findings Traits The traits exhibited by sufferers of personality disorder differ immensely because of the wide scope of the disorder. Examples of traits range from anxiety, narcissism and compulsivity to defiance, abnormal attachments and avoidance of social situations. Sufferers may demonstrate an arrogant interpersonal style, or may show extreme submissiveness. Personality disorders are linked with negative results in the wider population such as marital breakdown, criminal actions and professional difficulties.The anomalies of personality disorder are apparent in the thought patters, expressions and levels of self-control of sufferers. The patient will display abnormalities in the way that he or she interacts with others which will appear in a range of circumstances. There are various types of personality disorders, and each has its own banners of dysfunction. It has been recognised that the kinds of personality disorders covered in DSM and ICD are a small cluster when contrasted with the array o f personality impairments that can be identified in large configurations of people.11 Personality disorders can be divided into three clusters, A-C. In the first cluster disorders relating to paranoia and schizophrenia are found. Cluster B includes antisocial and narcissistic disorders, and Cluster C focuses on avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Prevalence It is estimated that between 6% and 15% of the population have one or more personality disorders of some kind—different studies produce different results.13 The goal of one study was to estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in a local sample and discern the most common demographic groups therein. The frequency of the DSM and ICD personality disorders and the interactions between disorder clusters and demographic qualities was assessed in a local sample of 742 participants between the ages of 34 and 94 over two years.14 The results showed that the overall prevalence of DSM-IV personality disorders was approximately 9%. Among the disorders, antisocial personality disorder was the most common and appeared in almost 5% of those assessed. Dependent personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorders were rare. The prevalence of many of the individual disorders was only 1% to 2%. For ICD-10 disorders, the overall presence in the surveyed group was 7%. Again, the prevalence for individual disorders was 1% to 2%. The most common disorder in for the ICD disorders was dissocial personality disorder at 3%. Dependent personality disorder was, again, very rare. Who is affected? Studies dedicated to uncovering the risk factors for personality disorder produced a variety of results. Prominent factors that may lead to a personality disorder include having a parent who is involved in or has been convicted of a crime, having a parent with deficient parenting abilities and being part of a large family. Factors such as low intelligence also feature in the list of risk factors. However, this study and studies that are similar raise certain issues about the nature of judging which factors should be included as risk factors for personality disorder. These sorts of factors could be criticised for having prejudicial antecedent assumptions regarding what it means to be a functioning human being. It is likely that people from lower socio-economic classes will have a tendency to fit these categories more than their middle- or upper class counterparts.Care should be taken in describing risk factors to ensure the language used is not biased by class. In the study mentioned above, several demographic characteristics were assessed with regard to prevalence of personality disorder. The outcomes demonstrated that Cluster A disorders were more common in males than in females. Cluster A disorders were also more prevalent in participants who were divorced or separated than those who were married or widowed. Subjects who had never been married were the most susceptible sub-group of all. In the Cluster B category, men were again more prone to having a personality disorder than women. Cluster B disorders were most common in the youngest age range surveyed and least common in the oldest range. Further, this cluster was most prevalent in participants who lacked a high school diploma and was least prevalent in participants who graduated from high school and continued their education afterwards. The odds of having one of these disorders decreased approximately 6% for each year an individual aged. One possible explanation for the increase of prevalence of disorder with age could be that people of more mature generations are less likely to have, know about or report symptoms of personality disorder. The prevalence of Cluster C disorders was most closely related to marital status, again showing that participants who had never been married were most likely to have one of these disorders. The likelihood of having a Cluster C disorder was almost 7 times greater in those never married when contrasted with those who were married or widowed. The results of this study broadly match a number of previous studies whose results showed the prevalence of personality disorders in the general population to be 9-13%. However, there were some differences between previous studies on prevalence and this study. The present study found a notably higher prevalence of antisocial personality disorder and a much lower prevalence of histrionic and dependent personality disorders than previous studies. These differences could have been caused by methodological variants and the diagnostic criteria used such as which version of the DSM was utilised. The differences could also be a result of participant source, form of assessment, assessors experience and data collection methods. Notable strengths of the study were that the participants were obtained through a community sample and personally interviewed by psychologists who have a significant amount of experience in cross-examination. The limitations included the fact that not all subjects coul d be interviewed and that the sample size was not really large enough to pick up on very rare disorders. The results of other studies have been less conclusive. An American study examined the theory that personality traits stop transforming by the time an individual reaches the age of 30. One of the major strengths of this study was the sample size of 132,515. The subjects, aged 21-60, participated in a web-based Big Five personality measurement. The results of this study showed that qualities such as being agreeable and conscientious increased during adulthood up through middle age. The quality of being neurotic diminished for women but remained static for men.20 Both men and women decreased in openness after the age of 30, and while men increased in extraversion from 31 to 60, the same quality diminished in women in the same age range.21 While the sample size of this study was certainly impressive, one concern was that conducting the study over the internet might bias it toward younger subjects. Another concern was the cohort effect, since people of earlier generations might not engag e with psychological instruments with the same ease as those who are younger. Overall, the multiplicity in paradigms of change did not affirm either that personality does not change after 30 or that it does. The study concludes that the traits examined are complex in nature and subject to an array of developmental influences. Historical View The onset of the de-institutionalisation of mental health establishments has produced a number of benefits. There is now less public stigma placed upon sufferers of mental illness and their traits and presence in wider society has come a long way toward normalisation. Suffers of mental illness have become less isolated and enjoy greater freedoms, including the freedom to choose from a selection of services. From a governmental point of view, deinstitutionalisation has saved them an enormous amount of money. However, the responsibility for managing and caring for mental illness sufferers has been transferred from the institution to the local community, and specifically to carers. Carers are involved in every possible aspect of the lives of their charges, even to the extent that their role could be characterised as an informal social worker. But the burden of the role combined with the lack of training, education and support often results in the damage of the psychological health of th e carer, as well as strict limitations on their life outside the caring role. The striking impact of caring on the lives of carers and other factors led to the undertaking of research on the involvement of families in managing and treating mental illness. From this came solid evidence of the benefits of such involvement, and the needs of carers began to be recognised. In recent years services have been put in place to assure that the needs of carers are met, and education for carers has been pinpointed as the most beneficial service for carers and consumers. Carers need to be educated in order to feel equipped to perform their tasks effectively. Specifically, carers named a need for â€Å"education about mental disorders† and information about treatment options† as their most salient needs. These statements are reinforced by studies from various countries where carers named the same things as most important for their success. Historically, studies examining the impact of educational programmes for carers have come from two different hypotheses. The first is that the chances of a consumer recovering from a mental illness are augmented if an educated and informed family surrounds him or her. Such a family will have deeper knowledge and sympathy for the condition of the sufferer and will be equipped to manage challenging behaviours. The second hypothesis is that because of the implications of their role, carers have an inherent right to access to adequate services. They have a right to services that will enhance their individual welfare and their effectiveness as carers. Assigning a course of treatment to personality disorder has always been an inexact science. Personality disorder is particularly complex to treat because the prime method of treatment is not always apparent after a diagnosis has been arrived at. The type of treatment which will prove most effective for the patient differs from individual to individual. Case conceptualisations can be helpful in assessing the individuals issues, identifying areas of risk and determining proper treatment goals.24 There is an abundance of research about treating personality disorder, but the studies cannot always be relied upon due to their lack of sound methodology. While some forms of treatment for personality disorder can reduce relapses and facilitate recovery, there is no simple panacea for this ailment. Cognitive treatments including cognitive-behavioural approaches have produced some pleasing results with personality disorder patients, as have psychodynamic treatments. Diagnosis Individuals who suffer from personality disorder encounter several issues with their diagnoses. They may be diagnosed through the means of an interview, a self assessment questionnaire or other means. Clinical psychiatrists often diagnose patients through interviewing them with regard to the DSM or ICD categories. This method is slightly better for detecting the existence or not of a personality disorder, but shows low accuracy for particular types of disorder. Self-report questionnaires like the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-IV) and the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory (MCMI) are also used to diagnose personality disorder. These questionnaires are considered imprecise because individuals tend to over-emphasise or under-emphasise the issues they are having. In addition to these methods of diagnosis, there are several semi-structured interview schedules to assist professionals. These schedules feature lists of questions that correlate to the DSM or ICD and the clinici an may then mark the patient and determine whether he or she has a disorder according to the criteria. Interview schedules have shown that they are slightly more reliable than other forms of diagnosis, but this success is only relative and the results are still much less valid than is needed. Really none of the diagnostic tools should be considered better than any of the others, for they are all faulty to the extent that they cannot be relied upon. There is a problematic absence of consensus regarding the reliability of diagnosing in general and the consistency of different diagnostic schemes. Part of the problem is that the explanations of personality disorders in the DSM and ICD feature a concoction of psychological traits and displayed behaviours, so that it becomes uncertain whether the diagnoses are attempting merely to pinpoint deviant actions or to identify traits whose presence is significant for determining personality disorder. The solidity of diagnoses for personality disorder is frequently questioned, and there are only a few disorders whose diagnoses are considered reliable. The diagnosis that can be made with the most certainty is antisocial personality disorder, because this problem can be identified by external actions that can be easily observed. Those who diagnose individuals with personality disorder are not always able to be precise in identifying which personality disorder they are dealing with, therefore m ultiple personality disorder diagnoses are common. Clinicians often find themselves confronting comorbidity, and prudent professionals test for the full scope of disorders. Comorbidity is quite common, with male legal psychopaths having an average of three disorders each. Women may have four.28 There is a great amount of interaction between the descriptors of the various types of personality disorder and so it is difficult to tell them apart. When dealing with multiple diagnoses, it is advisable to keep all disorders in mind when constructing a treatment regime, even if many of the features of the respective disorders overlap. The classification of disorders is also problematic, because the categories lack the quality of homogeneity present in reliable psychological categories of other types. Categories of psychological dysfunction work best when each class is different from others and common elements are contained within one class. This is not the case with personality disorders. For example, there are literally hundreds of ways to satisfy the criteria for borderline personality disorder, and so individuals with the same diagnosis may have utterly distinct behaviours, symptoms and needs. Axis I disorders feature frequently in those who suffer from personality disorder, particularly where there is substance abuse or depression. The classifications for personality disorder tend neither to be theoretically based, nor to stem from statistical research, which is presumably part of the reason that precise diagnoses are so elusive. The categories are so unreliable that abandoning the categories altogether and composing a new classification system is often proposed. While this may be the ideal way to correct the flaws, the time and effort already invested in the use of the present system is likely to ensure its continued existence. One approach to dealing with personality disorder is the trait approach. This approach states that a minimal amount of theories can illumine the majority of human behaviour. Observing the personality traits exhibited by an individual and placing them on a continuum from truly normal to extremely dysfunctional is more faithful to the structure of t he human psyche and tells clinicians more about the true nature of the dysfunction suffered by the patient. Currently, the most extensively developed trait theory relating to personality disorder is the theory of psychopathology. Treatment Cognitive-behavioural treatments (CBT) aimed at treating personality disorders have a tendency to take a broad approach. CBTs engage an array of behaviours, thoughts, preconceptions and internal emotional mechanisms. Many treatments are residential and are conducted with a group. They frequently include tenets of other methods such as psychodynamic therapy. Therefore it is an arduous task to pick out what, if any, elements are effective in a multi-dimensional approach so that they can be improved and repeated. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a method of CBT focusing on female patients with borderline personality disorder. The goal of the therapy is to reduce or eliminate incidents of self-harm through group skills training. Group sessions address destructive thought patterns and social skills. Individual therapy can also be used. The outcomes for one study showed that women who were treated experienced reduced anger and self-destructive or suicidal thoughts. Their social skills improved and they required less psychiatric treatment. Arnold Lodge Regional Secure Unit has produced a treatment method aimed specifically at offenders with a personality disorder. The treatment programme centres on teaching patients socially acceptable mechanisms for problem solving. The patients work individually and with others and receive regular counselling. This regime is supplemented with services that are individually tailored to the needs of the individual, such as anger management sessions or substance abuse education. This form of treatment has been shown to reduce deficiencies in social functioning and self-control.32 While the initial studies are promising, long-term analysis will confirm or refute the true effectiveness of this type of treatment. Therapeutic communities, cognitive therapies and dynamic therapies may also be used to treat personality disorder. Therapeutic communities are tailored primarily for offenders and have produced promising results in terms of reduced recidivism and improved social integration. A study into the effectiveness of therapeutic community treatment of personality disorder explored whether this type of treatment improved the health of patients to the extent that the burden on Health Services eased. Several previous studies reported reductions in the use of psychiatric services after therapeutic community treatment. The previous studies were limited by the fact that they observed participants for one year only and lacked thorough follow-up. This study sought to fill the methodological gaps of the previous studies by tracking patients for years after treatment. They assessed the impact of treatment on Health Services by counting the number of admissions to hospital before and after treatment. Th e study found that therapeutic community treatment resulted in a statistically significant drop in in-patient admissions over the 3-year period. Those who were admitted to hospital tended to be the subjects who had the briefest experience of therapeutic community treatment. Another study involving therapeutic community treatment focused on individuals with severe personality disorder. The effect of p

What Constitutes Good Usage :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

What Constitutes Good Usage The idea of good usage can be explored in many facets. Many writers such as Dowst, Sale, Thomas and Albutt have enlightened me to their own views on what constitutes good or bad usage. The thought never occurred to me that I too am guilty in many ways of improper use of the English language, including grammar, word use, tense, structure, the list could go on. But then again what is termed good use by me may not be good to another. To me, my own personal use of language is acceptable and could probably stand some improvement. However, without learning grammar, syntax, diction, etc., I never would have been able to get to where I am now today. According to Audre Lorde in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, the American norm is à ¬white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian and financially secure.à ® This seems to be the epitome of one who has à ¬good usageà ® of the English language. I donà ­t see it that way. Good usage begins early in life and is a never-ending process. The population of today is becoming more diverse as ethnic groupsà ­ population figures present and project into the near future. According to Cyndee Miller in Advertising Age, the Asian American population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and is expected to reach around 15 million by early next century. To a good portion of this growing segment, English is not their first language. In fact, translating the English language into other languages loses a lot of à ¬formà ® rather than substance. Many languages do not have the same grammatical or structural form which makes it extremely difficult translating either way. So how can society judge what is good or bad use? Usage of English language has its purpose, to convey meaning and understanding to a certain audience. But how does that affect one who does not speak or understand the language? People still communicate in their own Native tongues and have so for many years. With the globalization of many companies today, communication is very critical. Without effective communication, markets of today would be limited as there would be no exports or imports, etc. The audience that receives the message communicated via English language plays a key factor in determining its à ¬properà ® usage. For example, when I go back and visit my relatives, ità ­s not important to use the à ¬officialà ® style for particular word use.

Zora Neale Hurston Essay -- Zora Neale Hurston

On January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston was born in the tiny town of Notasulga, Alabama. She was the fifth of eight children in the Hurston household. Her father John was a carpenter, sharecropper, and a Baptist preacher; and her mother Lucy, a former schoolteacher. Within a year of Zora's birth, the family moved to Eatonville, Florida; a town, which held historical significance as the first, incorporated Black municipality in the United States. In 1904, thirteen-year-old Zora was devastated by the death of her mother. Later that same year, her unaffectionate father removed her from school and sent her to care for her brother's children. A rambunctious and restless teenager, Zora was eager to leave the responsibility of that household. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and subsequently began domestic work for a white household. It was in this home that Hurston's intellectual spark was discovered. The woman for whom Zora worked, bought Zora her first book and arranged for her to attend high school at Morgan Academy (now known as Morgan State University) in Baltimore from which she graduated in June of 1918. The following summer, Zora held jobs as a waitress and a manicurist. She then enrolled in Howard Prep School, followed by a distracted jaunt at Howard University. Although she spent nearly four years at the esteemed institution, she graduated with only a two-year Associates degree. It was during this time at Howard, that Hurston published...

Essay --

LITERATÃ… ªRA 1. Dengzhe Ma, Jà ¼rgen Gausemeier, Xiumin Fan, Michael Grafe. Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality in Industry (The 2nd Sino-German Workshop). Springer, 2009. 2. RaghavSood. Pro Android Augmented Reality. Apress, 2012. 3. Gregory Kipper, Joseph Rampolla. Augmented Reality: An Emerging Technologies Guide to AR. Syngress/Elsevier, 2012. 4. Borko Furht. Handbook of Augmented Reality. Springer, 2011. 5. Buhalis D., Yovcheva Z. Augmented reality in tourism: 10 unique applications explained, 2013. Prieiga per internetÄ… (Ã… ¾iÃ… «rÄâ€"ta 2013-11-08): http://thinkdigital.travel/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/10-AR-Best-Practices-in-Tourism.pdf. 6. Webster Ã… ¾odynas. Prieiga per internetÄ… (Ã… ¾iÃ… «rÄâ€"ta 2013-10-28): http://www.merriam-webster.com 7. TarptautiniÃ… ³ Ã… ¾odÃ… ¾iÃ… ³ Ã… ¾odynas, Vyriausioji enciklopedijÃ… ³ redakcija, 1985. 8. Daniel Wagner, Dieter Schmalstieg. First Steps Towards Handheld Augmented Reality. Vienna University of Technology, 2010. 9. Alex Olwal. An introduction to augmented reality. Department of Numerical Analysis and Computer Science, 2010. 10. Irma Lindt. Augmented Reality in Pervasive Games. Fraunhofer FIT, Sankt Peterburgas, 2007. 11. Remi Paucher, Matthew Turk. Location-based augmented reality on mobile phones. University of California, Computer Science Department, Santa Barbara, 2010. 12. Andrew D. Wilson, Hrvoje Benko. Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., 2010. 13. Microsoft LightSpace: Behind the 3D Revolution. Prieiga per internetÄ… (Ã… ¾iÃ… «rÄâ€"ta 2013-10-31): http://www.technocentricity.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/microsoft-lightspace. 14. Azuma, Ronald; Balliot, Yohan; Behringer, Reinhold; Feiner, Steven; Julier, Simon; MacIntyre, Bla... ...ding to the results based on analysis of a scientific literature, analytical literature comparison and comparison of microprograms, it is offered to synchronize augmented reality microprograms creation platforms for mobile operating systems between all models of microprograms platforms. If these two operating systems be synchronized, than all augmented reality platforms for microprograms in the cognitive tourism will be available for more than 90% users of smartphones and tablets. Once be downloaded such mobile application, users could have possibility to reach all microprograms installed in this platforme tourism. Empirical analysis revealed that the biggest part of respondents agree with authors opinion – in new platform for cognitive tourism should be installed all seven models for augmented reality microprograms, which were analysed in this Master‘s thesis.

Delivering Customer Value Though Marketing Essay

Assignment: i) Describe and analyse the brand’s product, market positioning, pricing strategies and its target segment. ii) Critically evaluate if the brand’s marketing activity is delivering values to its customers. Why? iii) Suggest ways in which the brand can improve in its marketing strategies or activities. i) Describe and analyse the brand’s product, market positioning, pricing strategies and its target segment About UNIQLO: UNIQLO is a Japanese causal wear retailer. It is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Fast retailing Co. Ltd. The first UNIQLO was opened in Japan in 1984. Across years, successful brand strategies enable UNIQLO to be the fourth fashion retailer in sales volume in 2013, just right after Zara, H&M and Gap. Marketing mix is a useful tool to analyze UNIQLO’s strategies and its product development direction among competitors. Marketing Mix (4P): Overview UNIQLO’s product: UNIQLO provides a wide range of clothing, including Men’s, Women’s, Children’s, and even in Baby’s wear. UNIQLO manages this range of products  in order to satisfy the needs of different age groups and genders. Especially children and baby wear, not all its competitors provide these two lines, this can satisfy customers’ need. UNIQLO has their own R&D team, to design the latest fashion and life-style wear to customer. Also, its materials sourcing team help to bring the most suitable and sometimes the luxury materials into product development in order to give the best wearing experience to customers. Such as premium down, cashmere sweaters and premium cotton are the good examples. UNIQLO gain customer’s trust in quality guaranty. UNIQLO’s price: UNIQLO’s products are not expensive comparing to its competitors, such as Gap, Zara, etc. Although UNIQLO’s clothing requires similar price with other fast fashion retailers, its quality is relatively higher than them. It is due to the most fundamental UNIQLO’s direction, â€Å"Low price, high quality†. UNIQLO’s Place: UNIQLO’s strategies are for both local (Japan) and international. Stores are all over the world, including Japan, America, Euro, China, East and south Asia. This can show the determination of UNQLO to expand its business and build the brand internationally. All the stores of UNIQLO, are in central area, or popular district in the cities. Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, there are totally 21 UNIQLO stores in Hong Kong. The flagship UNIQLO store is in causeway bay Lee Theater, which is the most popular shopping area in Hong Kong. UNIQLO apply the same store strategy internationally, such as Tokyo, Osaka store in Japan, Shanghai store in China, New York 5th ave in USA. Another strategy to make UNIQLO a good place to shop is their total sale-floor method. UNIQLO tries to enlarge the floor area in every shop and include as many departments and clothing display as they can in the store. That can provide the convenience to customers to buy their favorite things in only one station. And the big display area can attract customer’s focus to their products and give a confidence that UNIQLO can provide everything that they need. UNIQLO’s promotion: New product development process in many other companies is very simple. Usually, from idea generation, testing, product producing and so on. However in UNIQLO, the first step of product development is customer feedback. That means all products in UNIQLO are responding to customer. This is also the concept they are promoting to the potential customer. â€Å"Cheap, simple design, but is perfect fit for daily use with a good quality†. This sentence shows that UNIQLO is promoting their image to public. Another way is UNIQLO promotes their products by sport sponsorship. Take Japan market as example, football league is extremely hot among Japanese. So, UNIQLO make good use of this opportunities to sponsor the uniform for a football team in J.League to increase visibility and exposure. Also, UNIQLO is the uniform sponsor for Japan’s Olympic athletics in 1998, 2002 and 2004. They also sponsor uniform for tennis players in high rank tennis competition. Exposure in different sport events can successfully promote UNIQLO as a very good ready-to-wear clothing brand to public. Market positioning: The clothing concept of UNIQLO is very strict forwards, which is â€Å"Low cost, and high quality†. They produce clothing with simple but fashionable design and good quality for wearing in every day. Their tremendous business expansion can prove that they successfully build their concept to customer and this represent that their business is on the tract. There are four factors that can help to analyze UNIQLO’s positioning, they are: 1. Product quality 2. Prices 3. Distribution 4. Image 1. Product quality UNIQLO is always proud of their products’ quality. Their CEO Tadashi Yanai had said that, they are a technology company rather than a fashion company. Their high quality clothing enables them to be worn every day. UNIQLO is positioning their product in a relatively higher quality compare to other fast fashion companies, such as Zara , H&M. These company concern fashion trend more than quality. However, UNIQLO is not a luxury brand, so their quality is not comparable to other luxury brand, such as LV, Gucci, etc. 2. Prices UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"Low cost, but High Quality†. UNIQLO’s price is fair, but they offer a better quality of clothes at the similar price compare to other fast fashion companies. UNIQLO’s price is not the cheapest one, but quality is the highest among its market competitors. 3. Distribution All the products UNIQLO selling are in their own stores. They do not have franchises or displays in department stores. So they can control all the promotion or logistics without third parties’ constrain. It is known as â€Å"SPA† (Specialty-store of Private-label Apparel), selling their own product in their store and exclusively. Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, they have 21 stores in Hong Kong, which has a broader coverage than its main competitors. Zara only have 7 stores in Hong Kong. However, comparing to the local competitors like Bossini and Giordino, UNIQLO does not have a greater advantage in store numbers, but their number of stores are already much higher than other international fast fashion brand in Hong Kong market. 4. Image UNIQLO is selling clothes with their functionality rather than fashion style. So, their image to customer is very simple, which is basic, simple, cheerful and comfortable. Comparing to Zara, and H&M , UNIQLO’s image is linked to quality and simple to mix and match for every day while the former two competitors focus more on trendy and fashion but sometime not easy to carry. Position Map: In this part, I am going to simply illustrate UNIQLO’s position with the position map by considering only two factors, Quality, and Price. LV & Gucci surely come to the top rank in both quality and price because they are luxury brands which have a very different position comparing to UNIQLO. UNIQLO, Zara and H&M can be grouped together due to their fast fashion nature. The price of their products is similar, but UNIQLO provides the highest quality while H&M is the last one. Bossini or other local fashion chains usually don’t provide a very high quality, but they have local network and channels to sell their product. They sell their product in a lower price comparing to other international brands in order to sell more and earn more. Local small bountique is the bottom one, in both quality and price. They target those people who concern money only but not quality. Target segment & Pricing Strategies: In this part, we need to identify UNIQLO’s target segment and then to anaylse it’s price strategies. Target segment: Few background recall: UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"low cost, high quality† as mentioned above. Its products are sold within a reasonable range. It provides a wide range of products including men’s, women’s , children’s and babies’ . Its style is â€Å"simple but trendy, easy to mix and match† . Then we can analyse the market segment by parts. Targeting: a) Demographics Age: Babies – Right target of it’s babies line Children – Right target of it’s children line Adolescent – Right target of it’s Men’s and women’s lines Adult – Right target of it’s Men’s and women’s lines Mature – Non-target , due to less fashion requirement of this group Elderly – Non-target , due to less fashion requirement of this group Gender: Both female and male are their targets Income: The target customers’ income is low to medium, due to its cost and its pricing level. b) Psychographics Value: For people who have a basic requirement on trend and pursuing good quality on clothing. Lifestyle: UNIQLO’s clothing is simple and comfortable. It is suitable for people who always have light exercise and sports in their living habits. Pricing strategies: After analyzing UNIQLO’s target segment, we found that their target population is very large. In order to enlarge the target group, a penetration price strategy is adopted by UNIQLO. Their target’s income is not high, they must have a price sensitive characteristic. So, UNIQLO try to maintain the products in a low to reasonable price to match the target’s income. In this sense, UNIQLO can make profit only when high volume of sales has been made. ii) Critically evaluate if the brand’s marketing activity is delivering values to its customers. Why? Customer value is the benefit that people will derive from their purchase of the goods or service. In this case, it means if UNIQLO’s marketing direction can generate benefit to customer after they bought the products. Overall, I think the existing brand activities of UNIQLO can deliver value to their  target customers because of the below reasons. 1. Technology focus: UNIQLO owns many technologies that its competitors do not have, such as Heat-tech, anti-smelling, lighting down, anti-UV, etc. These are the material advantages from competitors, indeed it gives extra value to customer and more attractive to buy UNIQLO but not buying other brands 2. Simple â€Å"trendy† design, There are not many fashion pioneers in the world. Most of the people in the world are relatively simple, especially UNIQLO’s target. UNIQLO hires some famous designers to develop a hybrid type of clothing that perfectly merge basic into trendy. It makes their â€Å"basic† wear easily to be carried and extra â€Å"fashion† value added onto it although people originally is seeking for basic style. 3. Convenient store location, Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, it owns 21 stores in Hong Kong. All of the stores are in population area, such as Kowloon Tong, Causeway bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, etc. Convenient stores location means customers can enjoy service or purchase easier. And after-sell service, such as goods return, can be accessed easily to customers. It is an intangible value. 4. Pricing strategies UNIQLO produces all the products by its manufacturing sites. So it can minimize the cost , and then sell them in a lower price. Its penetration strategy enables more people to access their products. Also, with their advanced technology and materials choosing, the ratio of price to quality can be utilized greatly to customers. 5. Excellent store visual merchandising, UNIQLO did very well in visual merchandising. First of all, different styles are well organized and distributed in distant area. In some multicolor basic shirts sectors, they make the whole sector to be more cheerful and colorful by folding the shirts subsequently and orderly. It can let customers to find  the color they want more easier and enhance visual conditions. Also, UNIQLO can let your family to buy clothes for all gender and age groups in only one stop. Every store of UNIQLO sell men’s, women’s and children’s at the same site. Their professional store visual management can increase buyer experience and enjoyment in shopping. All these marketing activities from UNIQLO can perfectly match the need of their target customers. So, we can say that UNIQLO is generating benefits to customers and even give them benefits out of their expectation. iii) Suggest ways in which the brand can improve in its marketing strategies or activities. In this part, we should identify the relative weak area of UNILQO first, and then target the weakness to formulate improvement way. a) Design too simple This is what UNIQLO proud of, but meanwhile it might be its weakness. UNIQLO emphasizes a basic style clothes that can be worn for every day. However, the fashion trend runs too fast recently, customers might be tired of plain pattern of UNIQLO clothes. So, in the future, I think UNILQO can maintain its original design and also add a few more fashionable and trendy lines. A fashionable and high quality apparel should be successful because it merge advantages of H&M and UNIQLO itself. b) Brand Image UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"Low price, high quality†. Due to this concept, it limits UNIQLO to build a â€Å"High End† image. This low end image make UNIQLO with less pricing flexibility. People will not buy a â€Å"low end† brand with a high price. In long term, apart from the original line and image, UNIQLO can expand its brand image towards â€Å"Middle end† or â€Å"High end† by expanding some attractive lines. It will definitely increase product’s attractiveness. c) Improve advertising and brand visibility UNIQLO is weak in advertising. Comparing to its competitors Zara and H&M,  these competitors are willing to spend much more on the public noise. Apart from product quality and store expansion, UNIQLO can expand the brand’s visibility and awareness with the aid of proper TV advertisement. d) Elderly market In the existing target segment of UNIQLO, elderly is not the main focus group. However, we can not underestimate the potential of this market, especially in some countries, such as Japan and Hong Kong, aging population is getting more. UNIQLO can put more resources on elderly by developing some specialist garment for people who need extra care. For example, heat-tech sweater is suitable them because elderly easily lose temperature. Also, UNIQLO can use its technology advantage to make some functional apparel to them like high elastic trousers which can provide protection from joint damage during walking. These functional products not only can attract elderly, but also can attract all age groups who need functional products. Moreover, they can invite some famous old celebrities to be the brand’s spoke person to increase the influencing power in this age group. Conclusion: Overall, UNIQLO is a very successful international fast fashion retailer in the world in both sale volume and inspiration in fashion. UNIQLO successfully use â€Å"Simple† to compete with others in this fast pacing fashion world. UNIQLO’s high â€Å"price to quality ratio† makes them very attractive to its target group, and penetrate brand image to more people. The existing brand’s activities are useful in expanding business and deliver benefit to customers. However in this challenging market, changes is the ever rules. UNIQLO should focus more the changing of people’s interest and the trend. Simple mix and match can be sword for brand building and harms if people change to pursue more fashionable styles. Reference: 1. http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ 2. http://www.uniqlo.com/hk/ 3. http://www.zara.com/ 4. http://www.hm.com/ 5. http://www.gap.com/ 6. http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=324 7. http://www.slideshare.net/ 8. http://www.wikipedia.org