Should Beijing really be hosting the Olympics and would you go Explain Essay

Should Beijing really be hosting the Olympics and would you go Explain - Essay Example Since their inception, the modern games have been infused with politics, boycotts, and threats of non-participation. Some people see the games as a way of promoting and legitimizing the host city. Athletes may face an ethical dilemma by participating in a country where there are severe human rights violations. Still, the Olympic idealists hold the standard of de Coubertin and insist that politics and social issues remain clear of the games. These competing opinions on the value and purpose of the games have almost never been as pronounced as they are when we discuss the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The decision to hold the Olympics in China has been met with a series of protests that object to their history of oppression and violations of basic civil rights. While there are legitimate objections to the selection process, the ideals of sport, international cooperation, and cultural interaction makes Beijing an appropriate choice for the 2008 Olympics. The importance of the Olympics and the selection of the host city should not be underestimated. It offers economic advantage to the city in the way of tourism as well as an opportunity to exhibit the city’s and the host country’s best face. The enormous worldwide interest in the games can be seen by the escalating broadcast revenues and the attendant increase in viewership in recent years (see Appendix A). This also opens up the door to give a country an opportunity to present a faà §ade while they ignore the reality that lies just beyond the borders of the games. Will the world see the sweatshops and hardships that lay beyond the broadcasts, or will they only be shown the glossy face of the â€Å"New China† (See Appendix B)? Determining where fact meets propaganda is one of the challenges faced by the IOC, the media, and the viewing public. The biggest objection to Beijing hosting the Olympics is their dismal record on human rights. There has been evidence

Dynamics of multinational enterprises (Economics) Essay - 1

Dynamics of multinational enterprises (Economics) - Essay Example China tends to favor FDI through JV route because this gives them the opportunity to boost domestic industries, post high GDP numbers and maintain a perfect competition in the economy. China as an economy has always welcomed Foreign Investments but through Joint Ventures. The report will discuss the rationale behind such policy of China and how the country has benefited with this policy along with providing market advantage to incoming companies. In the recent past FISC approach have been prevent in entering new markets and company like Kotak has used this to a full effect. The report will also analyze benefits of using the FISC approach to market entry for China and Overseas. China has favoured FDI through joint venture route because they wanted all the industries and strategies to be tightly regulated under government supervision. This can only be done if strategies are local in nature and are made by local people. These local companies have been strongly ruled and regulated by Chinese Government. The republic of China Government doesn’t want to lose this control and want it to be tightly regulated (Berger & Udell, 2002). This analysis suggests that exports level from China towards America have risen again. This is resulting in huge balance of trade payment situation towards China. With this balance of payment situation the Chinese reminibi should appreciate against US dollars. But china follow a fixed currency regime, this is done to keep Chinese export competitive. With revaluation of Chinese currency the trade deficit will not narrow US trade deficit against China. The levels would be similar but it would make Chinese exports less competitive and hence will have an indirect impact on US trade deficit (Berger & Udell, 2002). The exports that Chinese make towards are funded indirectly by Chinese government. This is done by investing in Government of USA Securities by Chinese Govt. Hence

Investigating the effectiveness of Mobile Antivirus Application on Android and Windows Mobile Phone Essay Example for Free

Investigating the effectiveness of Mobile Antivirus Application on Android and Windows Mobile Phone Essay Chapter 1: Anti-virus Applications on Mobile Devices Mobile phone anti-virus software refers to security software programs which have been professionally developed to protect device users from viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious programs and removing them where possible. Anti-virus software programs have lately gained popularity due the increased incidences of malicious threats of attack on the web. There are several new viruses that are detected on a day to day basis on the cyberspace. While some of these viruses may be harmless, others are annoying and quite destructive. Certain viruses replicate themselves, but others may cause serious problems to the extent of erasing all data on a device drive. The use of anti-virus for device protection can be applied to multiple operating systems including Mobile Windows and Android mobile phones (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Antivirus software works in various technical ways to give protection to and remove viruses from mobile devices. This normally occur through two security scanning functions namely On-Access Scanning and On-Demand Scanning. The On-Access scanning works in real-time to ensure a mobile device is protected at all times by monitoring for viruses to any accessing in the mobile device, for example while opening a file or opening an application. Despite of the fact that this software slows down the speed of a device, its role in antivirus protection is so critical and should thus be enabled at all times. On-Demand Scanning offers antivirus protection only when activated to scan any particular area, folder, file, or drive. The program then provides a scan report about how many viruses that have been found in the scanned item. In the event that a virus is detected, the program will notify the user and recommend an action which includes either to deleting or quarantine the virus (iSoftwareRevie ws 2010). The rapidly increasing advancements of mobile phone technology to include a number of useful features have made android and windows mobile phones very popular pocket personal computers. This increased popularity has not however come with its own setbacks. Just like the ordinary personal computers, android and windows mobile phones have also been subjected to increased viruses attack. Virus attack has therefore become the latest and single biggest threat to the mobile phone industry. Subsequently, numerous companies dealing in software have come up with anti-virus for use in the android and windows mobile phones. These are mainly anti-virus software packages developed to provide anti-virus protection to mobile phones (iSoftwareReviews 2010). There are a number of anti-virus software programs for mobile phones that are available to the users. The main mobile phone anti-virus software includes AhnLab Mobile Security, Avast! PDA Edition, Avira Antivir Mobile, BitDefender Mobile Security, BullGuard Mobile Antivirus, Dr.Web Mobile Security Suite, F-Secure Mobile Security, Kaspersky Mobile Security, and Norton Smartphone Security. AhnLab Mobile Security software provides a solution for viruses and worms protection and removal. It runs under windows mobile and android mobile phones. Avast! PDA Edition is an antivirus protection for PalmOS and Windows CE, Android phones, and Pocket PC based devices (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Avira AntiVir Mobile provides professional virus and malware protection for pocket PCs, Windows mobile and Android mobile phones. BitDefender Mobile Security provides solution for virus protection and removal for PDAs and Smartphone that run on Windows mobile or Android mobile phones. BullGuard Mobile Antivirus provides solutions for protecting Pocket PCs and Windows mobile against viruses and other malicious programs. Dr.Web Mobile Security Suite is designed to provide anti-virus security solutions for pocket PCs that runs on Windows Mobile operating system. F-Secure Mobile Security is a complete mobile security software package that includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, a firewall and a remote control anti-theft feature for protection. Kaspersky Mobile Security also provides a complete protection package including Anti-theft protection, virus protection, firewall and anti-spam for SMS, EMS, and MMS. Norton Smartphone Security offers anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall for Windows mobi le and Android mobile protection (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Protecting an android and window mobile phone from attack requires a complete understanding of all application communication. This is important because software can only protect a device if and only if it is able to read the same information as the mobile phone device, subsequently application layer threats. It may not be possible within the technological framework for antivirus software to understand application communications or analyse application behaviour through the deep inspection of intrusion prevention packets, whether on individual basis or when reassembled into their original sequence. Similarly, network-level antivirus may detect a small number of known, easily identifiable security threats by simply examining pre-programmed patterns (Citrix Systems 2006).   Installation of antivirus is the best known way of protecting android and windows mobile phones. The best types of antivirus are the application firewalls since they operate at the application layer instead of the network level. The application firewalls are able to enforce correct application behaviour while preventing any malicious activity. This is because the firewalls are able to inspect the actual internet communication and understand the context of all client requests and application responses through which they are sent to the internet. A complete mobile phone security application needs to offer full protection of all the elements of an application as well as users of the application. In most cases however, security applications for mobile phones are only limited to the application programme and application data (Citrix Systems 2006). Thesis Statement Despite web devices continuing to face significant security threats, mobile phones go completely unprotected while web browsing, downloading applications, checking e-mail, conducting online banking and connecting to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. While mobile attacks are increasing rapidly and hackers are financially motivated to steal data, identities, and intercept corporate communications, it has become critical to protect mobile devices such as android phone and Windows phones. Background of the study Smartphone security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your system. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as intruders) from accessing any part of your mobile phone system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done. We use android and windows mobile for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs.   Although you may not consider your communications top secret, you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your phone to attack other systems, sending forged email from your phone, or examining personal information stored on your phone (such as financial statements). There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your Smartphone that indicate the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called signatures) provided by the vendor. New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your Smartphone so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date. Chapter 2: Android Phone Emulators An android mobile phone is a phone fitted with a set of software consisting of operating systems, middleware and other major applications. The main features of android include application framework for facilitating reuse and replacement of components, Dalvik virtual machine which is optimised for mobile devices, optimised graphics, an integrated browser, media tools for common audio, video and still image formats, SQLite for structured data storage, and GSM Telephony. Other features include Bluetooth, Camera, and Rich development consisting of a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling. Android technology is dependent on Linux version 2.6 to power the main system servicing including security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver models (Android Developers 2010). Android technology is made up of a multi-process system in which each application runs in its own process. A standard Linux facility is responsible for coordinating security between different applications such as user and group identifications assigned to the applications in Android mobile phone. The crux of the security applications is on the basis of the concept that no application, by default, has access to perform any operation with a potential of adversely impacting on other applications, the operating system, or the user. The applications that the Linux facility must grant permission include reading or writing the user’s private data, reading or writing another application’s file, performing network access, and keeping the device awake. The permission that an application requires is statistically declared in that application so that Linux facility can master the upfront during installation and not subject to change thereafter (Android Developers 2010). The antivirus software for mobile forms utilises various virus detection methods. The two main virus detection methods include signature based detection and behaviour based detection. Signature Based Detection makes use of virus signatures dictionary to compare the files when checking for viruses. A signature dictionary is a database containing very many virus signatures which the software manufacturer has so far found. The user is expected to continually update the virus signature directory as when new viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malicious programs appear. Failure to update the dictionary may lead to failure of the software to detect emerging viruses. The behaviour Based Detection is designed to monitor and control any activities in the device system for suspicious program behaviour. In the event that a suspicious behaviour is detected, the software probes further into that suspicious behaviour by applying the signature based detection to countercheck whether the activity is malicious or not. In the event that the suspicious program is malicious, an alert will be generated to notify the user. Android emulator is a virtual mobile device which runs on a phone system and allows the user to prototype, develop, and test android applications for possible malicious programs without necessarily using a physical device. This device mimics all the hardware and software features of a phone save for the fact that it cannot receive or make a call. As soon as a particular application starts to run on the emulator, it may make use of the services of the android platform to invoke other applications, access the network, and notify the user. The emulators also contain various debug capabilities like console from which the user can log kernel output, simulate application interrupts, and simulate latency effects and dropouts on the data channel (Android developers 2010). As stated earlier, android utilises a multi-process system in which each and every application runs on its own process. Since majority of the security between applications is granted at the process level, android emulators provide more detailed security features through a permission mechanism that enforces restriction on the specific operations that any particular process can perform and permission for granting ad-hoc access to specific pieces of data. While the emulators ensures that no application acts in a manner that can adversely affect another application, it is still possible for an application to encroach into the actions of another application as long as permission is forehand obtained in order to perform the foreign function not provided by the basic nucleus (Vennon 2010). The android emulators can also disallow these extraneous permissions on the basis of the certificates that were used to sign the application or by simply prompting the user. The permission that an application will require to function outside its nucleus is statistically declared by the emulators within the application and will be relayed to the Smartphone user, and the permission will not change. The android emulators consider malware to be malicious software designed to infiltrate a Smartphone system without the user’s informed consent (Vennon 2010).

Essential Aspects of Pantomime

Essential Aspects of Pantomime What were the essential aspects of pantomime and how have they come down to us in the present day? Although it is currently most commonly seen as a peculiarly British pastime, pantomime in fact has its origins in the medieval period of European history (Lathan, 2004). Specifically in terms of tradition and heritage, pantomime as it is known today emanates from Italy and the Commedia ‘dell Arte. This Italian street festival was akin to a carnival and it managed to combine elements of parody, drama and the aesthetically grotesque in order to create a unique fusion of art and farce. The characters tended to improvise their way through a set of well‑known plots, which involved a great deal of song and dance being integrated into the Commedia ‘dell Arte routine. These medieval festivals travelled through the towns and cities of Italy and then France in the Middle Ages, which helped to create an air of familiarity between the performers and the audience who would take part in the show. This is without a doubt the most significant tradition that has survived through to the modern era whereby the audiences of contemporary pantomime are expected to know the plot and the main characters and to take part in the proceedings at designated intervals within the script. As the quotation below suggests, this marriage between the performers and the audience has been an essential part of the longevity of the pantomime because of the way in which it managed to transcend historical divisions between classes. â€Å"All were considered equal during carnival. Here, in the town square, a special form of free and familiar contact reigned among people who were usually divided by the barriers of caste, property, profession, and age.† (Bakhtin, 1993:10) The existence of a stock set of characters and plots is likewise a historical tradition of European festivals that have managed to survive in the guise of the pantomime. There are only a handful of productions that are classed as pantomime in the modern era and these productions are almost always played exclusively during the festive Christmas period, which is another connection to its carnival past. ‘Snow White’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Dick Whittington’ and ‘Babes in the Wood’ are high profile examples of the pantomime titles that are produced each and every year in the UK. This deep-seated sense of repetition is an important part of the pantomime tradition as it continues the dominant theme of the medieval period, which was to breed familiarity in order to secure the participation of the audience in the plot of the play. â€Å"Magic, romance, suspense and comedy are the lifeblood of most theatre performance, but there is one factor of our pantomime tradition that exists in no other theatre production. The audience has learnt its lines and rehearsing its roles every Christmas since early childhood. Every English speaking person knows that ‘Oh No, its not!’ should be answered with ‘Oh Yes, it is!’ And that villains must be booed and hissed as they lay their evil plots.† (Bicat et al, 2004:9) Furthermore, these well‑know stories that constitute the foundations of the pantomime tradition all have their roots in fairy tales, which helps to further simplify the plot and aid audience participation. Traditionally, pantomimes require a battle between good and evil. The villain has historically always been the first actor to appear on stage and always to the left, which was used to donate hell in the Middle Ages. Conversely, the hero is supposed to appear on stage from the right – the manifestation of heaven in the past. Although the remainder of the pantomime production tends to descend into farce and improvisation, these central precepts remain an integral part of the festival in the modern era with plays overseeing a duel of good versus evil before inexorably concluding with the ultimate triumph of the hero over the villain. As time passed, pantomime was inevitably influenced by the evolution of mainstream theatre and it gradually took its place as an annual spectacle to operate alongside regular theatre productions. The two (theatre and pantomime) were especially closely linked during the Restoration period (1660‑1700) when the farce of pantomime was facsimiled in the most popular plays of the age. In the process, pantomime has had to move away from the notion of an almost entirely ad hoc, ad lib production into a more formal, organised play that is able to be divided into visible scenes and segments with a running time that is in line with the lifestyles of the contemporary audience. Thus, while it is correct to underscore the inherent differences between the festive, annual element of pantomime and the intrinsically more philosophical components of mainstream and high‑brow drama, there is no longer a sense that two completely different sets of rules apply. This is an important point and one that is all too often overlooked in the analysis of modern day incarnations of the pantomime. The most pronounced change prevalent in contemporary versions of traditional pantomime resides is the way in which productions are increasingly linked with young children. Whereas the adult section of the local townspeople would have constituted the overwhelming majority of the audience in previous centuries, there is today an association between the infantile and pantomime that is a central reason as to why pantomimes have been able to survive for so long in such a commercially aggressive contemporary economic climate. Without the active participation of children it is doubtful whether pantomimes would be able to entice the requisite audiences necessary to make a profit for the impresarios. Of much greater importance, without the festive childhood memories that pantomime bequeaths, much of the interest that remains in its tradition would more than likely begin to disappear. One thing is, however, for sure. Though pantomimes remain rooted in their medieval past, they will never lose their relevance to the contemporary audience as the list of modern‑day celebrities who have taken part in productions in recent years underscores. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bakhtin, M. (Translated by Helene Iswolsky) (1993) Rabelais and His World Bloomington: Indiana University Press Bicat, T., Staines, R. and Winslow, C. (2004) Pantomime: A Practical Guide Marlborough: The Crowood Press Frow, G. (1985) Oh Yes it is! : A History of Pantomime London: BBC Books Lathan, P. (2004) It’s Behind You! The Story of Panto London: New Holland Wilson, A.E. (1974) The Story of Pantomime London: Rowman Littlefield

An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An Inspector calls is set in 1912 and was written for a 1946 audience. What can it have to offer an audience in 2002? An Inspector calls. 'An Inspector calls' was written by J.B. Priestly in 1945, and was first shown to an audience in 1946. It was set in 1912, before the Second World War had started, and was to be shown, after the Second World War had ended. 'An inspector calls' is a dramatic, moralistic thriller. It is set around the death of a young woman: Eva Smith. The play begins with the Birling family celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila, to the wealthy Gerald Croft. In this part of the play you learn a lot about the social system of that era, the way people acted, and the way they thought. The doorbell, and the arrival of an Inspector interrupt their 'celebration'. From now on the mood changes, contrasting the light-hearted and happy mood; it now becomes tense and serious. The Inspector reveals each characters involvement in the death of Eva Smith, side by side with the flaws and evils in each characters' personality. This slowly reveals to the audience that the Inspector is a lot more then he seems, and that the play is not only a 'murder mystery', but also resembles a moralistic play of the middle ages, but in it's own socialistic manner. It also shows the flaws in the social system at the times, which are displayed in each character, and in the consequences of their acts. The audience are shown how some people ignore the reality of their actions, and even after seeing the consequence of their actions, refuse to change. Mr and Mrs Birling are portrayed as selfish and ignorant of their actions, while Sheila and Eric, as a contrast, have fully realised their mistakes and have changed the way they think. The inspector is successful in changing two of the characters, but is not successful in the rest. Priestly is in a way playing the Inspector, to his audience, showing them the consequences of their actions, and what will happen if they do not change. 'An Inspector calls' has many underlying messages, most of which are still relevant to us today. The question as to whether 'An inspector calls' is out of date, is a long argued and debated question. Both sides of the argument have valid points, and in order to come to a fair decision, you must consider both these sides of the argument. I am going to consider three statements about 'An Inspector calls' and after studying each one, am gong to come up with a decision.

The Theme of Friendship in Julius Caeser :: Julius Caesar Essays

The Theme of Friendship in Julius Caeser Throughout, William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the theme of friendship would prove to be a very delicate and manipulative element. This element would be the very entity that would seal Julius Caesar's fate. Brutus, Decius, and all the other conspirators would use this to their power, and to Julius's weakness. Friendship was used as a cover to blind Julius from the truth, from the plots against him. Flattery along with manipulation was used as a way of persuasion to soothe any feelings of doubt or weariness. These essentials would gain trust, the key to all friendships. This trust would be lost and transform into betrayal. Even though Caesar was plotted against and murdered by the likes of Brutus and Cassius, friendship still proved a strong theme because it would cloke the conspirators intentions. Julius was vulnerable to the power of friendship and was blinded by the shrewd ways of Decius, Brutus, and all the other conspirators. Decius uses flattery and persuasion to form a strong union with Caesar. Decius is an active member of the Conspirators, so he is very motivated into getting Caesar to go to the Senate House. The first thing that Decius says when he walks into Caesar's house is "Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar." Decius would also refer to Caesar as "most mighty". This would only make Caesar grow comfortable with Decius. Julius had lost all feelings of doubt and did not presume any caste of dire plot against him. Decius would deceive Julius into thinking that they had a resilient friendship by using his devious words. Caesar was not able to foresee his true faithful friends, such as Antony. He would grieve the killing of Julius and try to justify his murder by killing Brutus and Cassius. Antony was one of Julius's true and trustworthy friends. The conspirators had planned the death of Julius. Brutus and Cassius, along with Decius, knew they had draw in to Caesar close. Proving Caesar that they had a firm friendship, that would solidify their situation and leave Julius completely sightless to his doomed fate. Caesar's wife Calphurnia would have a dream. She would see Caesar's statue run with blood and men with swords surrounding him. The Theme of Friendship in Julius Caeser :: Julius Caesar Essays The Theme of Friendship in Julius Caeser Throughout, William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the theme of friendship would prove to be a very delicate and manipulative element. This element would be the very entity that would seal Julius Caesar's fate. Brutus, Decius, and all the other conspirators would use this to their power, and to Julius's weakness. Friendship was used as a cover to blind Julius from the truth, from the plots against him. Flattery along with manipulation was used as a way of persuasion to soothe any feelings of doubt or weariness. These essentials would gain trust, the key to all friendships. This trust would be lost and transform into betrayal. Even though Caesar was plotted against and murdered by the likes of Brutus and Cassius, friendship still proved a strong theme because it would cloke the conspirators intentions. Julius was vulnerable to the power of friendship and was blinded by the shrewd ways of Decius, Brutus, and all the other conspirators. Decius uses flattery and persuasion to form a strong union with Caesar. Decius is an active member of the Conspirators, so he is very motivated into getting Caesar to go to the Senate House. The first thing that Decius says when he walks into Caesar's house is "Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar." Decius would also refer to Caesar as "most mighty". This would only make Caesar grow comfortable with Decius. Julius had lost all feelings of doubt and did not presume any caste of dire plot against him. Decius would deceive Julius into thinking that they had a resilient friendship by using his devious words. Caesar was not able to foresee his true faithful friends, such as Antony. He would grieve the killing of Julius and try to justify his murder by killing Brutus and Cassius. Antony was one of Julius's true and trustworthy friends. The conspirators had planned the death of Julius. Brutus and Cassius, along with Decius, knew they had draw in to Caesar close. Proving Caesar that they had a firm friendship, that would solidify their situation and leave Julius completely sightless to his doomed fate. Caesar's wife Calphurnia would have a dream. She would see Caesar's statue run with blood and men with swords surrounding him.

Psychological Interventions for Schizophrenia Essay

This article surveys three types of psychological interventions (i.e. individual psychotherapies, group psychotherapies, and psychosocial skills training) for people with schizophrenia regarding their degree of effectiveness. Assuming patients are receiving adequate therapy, this article poses the following questions: 1. Do any of these interventions reduce relapse or psychopathology in persons with schizophrenia? 2. Do any of these interventions improve social or vocational functioning in persons with schizophrenia? 3. For psychosocial skills training, is there evidence that:  · this intervention results in skill acquisition by persons with schizophrenia?  · the effects persist over time?  · the effects generalize from the training setting into â€Å"real life†? As part of their cases studies, the authors used their own patients. But they used more from cases they have unearthed from Psyclit  and Medline  databases. They discovered that the research literature and case studies on individual and group psychotherapies are outdated (i.e. at least 10 years old) and methodologically flawed. However, those papers on psychosocial skills training are more acceptable. They are very recent and had more â€Å"controlled trials.† Accordingly, individual therapies do not really reduce symptoms, rates of relapse and hospitalization, nor do they help the patient adjust socially (Gomes-Schwartz 1984). Some studies suggest that group psychotherapy may be harmful (Schooler and Keith 1993). Despite the fact that psychosocial skills training appears to be the best of the three types of interventions, studies indicate that this type of therapy at best is limited in terms of the results. The authors admit that the research methodologies of many of their cited researches and studies are limited or ineffective, so future studies must be made. However, some conclusions can be made: First, individual or group psychotherapies are ineffective at best and harmful at worst. Second, psychosocial skills training are effective up to a certain extend but better models must be created to improve outcomes. Analysis Notice that the authors admit that there is a relative lack of merit of for many available literature or studies. This begs the question. Suppose that the research literature and studies available were closer to the ideal, and that the methodologies used by those studies were more sound and credible. Would the conclusions provided by the authors remain the same? The authors desire more reliable and valid studies, so different possible outcomes are likely. If, however, the same conclusions appeared despite better research findings were available, then the conclusions made by the authors would be placed on a more solid footing. Interpretation Therefore, in the same way that the concept of schizophrenia is still ill-defined, there exists no totally effective psychological treatment for schizophrenia (or to be more politically correct, to the symptoms which characterize â€Å"schizophrenia†). Integration According to p. 497 of our textbook: Historically, a number of psychosocial treatments have been tried for schizophrenia, reflecting the belief that the disorder results from problems in adapting to the world because of early experiences (Nagel, 1991). Many therapists have thought that individuals who could achieve insight into the presumed role of their personal histories could be safely led to deal with their current situations. Although clinicians who take a psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approach to therapy continue to use this type of treatment, research suggests that their efforts at best may not be beneficial and at worst may be harmful (Mueser & Berenbaum, 1990; Scott & Dixon, 1995b) The concept of mental illness including schizophrenia is questioned by many psychiatrists from the Anti-psychiatry Movement. The corresponding concept of normality is also an open question. Perhaps, a major overhaul of our conceptions of abnormality may be needed in order to produce more valid and desirable results. Conclusion Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder. Its accompanying symptoms render many afflicted people unproductive. So, effective therapy is needed. Even though the concept of schizophrenia (ill-defined to some extent) has been around for a hundred years, no effective and final form of treatment is available. Therefore, research in schizophrenia is a vast and open field. Researchers, from those who have faith in Psychiatry and those from Anti-Psychiatry, are welcome to conduct research and contribute to existing knowledge in search for that holy grail of finding a perfect cure or treatment for schizophrenia, even though schizophrenia (by current convention) has no cure. It is also the job of students of Abnormal Psychology or Psychiatry to be more aware of current research in schizophrenia. They have to decide as early as possible whether they would want to contribute in future research, since a breakthrough would greatly help many people afflicted with schizophrenia.