Pathological Gambling And Alcohol Addiction World Wide

Relating to the issue of subgroups, pathological gambling was originally classified as an impulse control disorder by the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000), though, based on its criteria similar to substance dependence, some researchers preferred to consider it a behavioural addiction (Blanco et al., 2001; Potenza et al., 2002). Goudriaan et al. (2006) provide a similar argument, stating that pathological gambling and alcohol dependence share common EF deficits, and it has since been amended to be a behavioural addiction the in the DSM-V (APA, 2013). The divisive topic of screening and diagnosis could have serious consequences on the quality of care, or form of therapy, a pathological gambler may receive or decide to enter. Whether they legitimately†¦show more content†¦More recent research reports that combining the twelve step program with professional psychotherapy increases abstinence rates to between 27% and 39% (Russo et al., 1984; Lesieur and Blume, 1991). The added psychotherapy could improve attrition rates even further using ‘Motivation Enhancement Therapy’ (Miller and Rollnick, 1991), a directive form of counselling that sees the therapist engage with the client in unravelling their uncertainty around the changes that will occur during treatment. This might include, for example, anxiety regarding re-integrating into society when ones addiction has rendered them socially withdrawn. Hodgins, Currie, el-Guebaly (2001) found that adding even just a phone call, in which a therapist applies this technique, to their on-going therapy can achieve a significant reduction in gambling over the following twelve months as compared to controls. Indeed, the main causal factor in the attrition rates for any therapy could be motivation – socially withdrawn or generally socially anxious gamblers may not feel comfortable undergoing therapy with a group of strangers, and we may be able to extrapolate from nicotine studies that suggest that greater anxie ty can lead to greater withdrawal symptoms (Zvolensky et al., 2004), which, in turn, is associated with reduced motivation to quit (Piasecki, Fiore, Baker,

Brief History of Honduras Free Essay Example, 3000 words

With GDP per capita at USD 2050 per year (1999), Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Americas. The economic growth rate is 5% but most of the people are still under the poverty line. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have classified Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) eligible for debt relief. Honduran currency is Lempira. Agricultural production Honduras, rich in forests and marine resources, is endowed with 1.8 million hectares of cultivable land but agriculture is yet to be developed in its full-fledged and finest form in the country. With 0.28 ha (hectare) per capita, it is the second-largest country in the region in terms of arable land with respect to its population. The northern coast is full of cultivable lands and presents beautiful and scenic greenery with tender crops of banana, sugarcane, palm oil, and tropical fruits. The southern belt is also equipped with lands suitable for sugarcane and sorghum production. But the southern regions are prone to recurring droughts. And people here have to cope up with haphazard cropping patterns. We will write a custom essay sample on Brief History of Honduras or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

The case of Adolf Hitler Free Essays

Adolf Hitler, a dreaded figure in the 20th century, was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, popularly referred to as Nazi party. He was an extreme autocrat and led Germany from 1933 to 1945 both as a chancellor and head of state. Hitler was a veteran of the Second World War. We will write a custom essay sample on The case of Adolf Hitler or any similar topic only for you Order Now As he rose to absolute power, he gained support by propping up German nationalism, anti-capitalism, anti-communism and anti-semitism using both his alluring oratory and cant. He sparked World War II in Europe when he re-armed Germany and invaded Poland in 1939. Hitler wed his long-time mistress Eva Braun at the fall of Berlin in 1945, but to avoid being captured by the Soviet army, the two committed suicide less than two days later (Joachim, 1974). But his regime has left many unanswered questions, even among psychoanalysts. The extreme heartlessness that marked Nazism and the Holocaust beats not only logic but also human understanding. It remains a puzzle how Germans collectively went out of their minds under Hitler and perpetrated one of the greatest horrors in history. During the war, Hitler-led Nazi forces engaged in constant cruel acts. This included the systematic murder of up to 17  million civilians, about six million of whom were Jews targeted in the Holocaust. Roman victims are approximated to be up to 1.5 million, while others included the disabled, ethnic Poles, homosexuals, Soviet civilians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. But was Hitler in his right senses as he oversaw all this? I believe not so. He is believed to have suffered from a mental disorder, particularly Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BDP generally involves prolonged disturbance of personality function in persons over the age of 18 years, although it is sometimes found in adolescents. It is typified by depth and inconsistency of moods. It normally involves abnormal levels of instability in mood, black and white thinking, chaotic and unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior; as well as a regular disturbance in the patient’s sense of self. This disturbance can, in severe cases, lead to periods of dissociation. (American Psychiatric Association, 2001). The disturbances can eventually have an insidious negative impact on much of the psychosocial aspect of life and without proper therapy, self-harming is often an open possibility. (Gunderson, 2001). An insight into Hitler’s life shows a manifestation of the various components of this disorder. This is attributable to claims that he had empty human relations, was inflexible and single-minded, had no human feelings, oversaw malevolent behavior, and eventually committed suicide, among others (Toland: 1991). Emotional torture seems to have been one of the main reasons behind Hitler’s situation, and his subsequent inhumanity. There is a strong correlation between child abuse and development of BDP.   Majority of BPD patients usually have a history of abuse and neglect as young children, especially if they were emotionally, physically, verbally, or sexually abused by parents. Loss of a caregiver or loved one could also be a central factor. (Gunderson, 2001). And this could answer the origin of Hitler’s condition. The loss of a younger brother, Edmund, to measles in 1900 caused permanent changes in Hitler. He transformed from a confident, outgoing boy who found school easy, to a depressed, sullen and detached boy who always battled his own father and his teachers. As a child, Hitler’s also suffered abuse that included brutal sadistic beatings as well as constant verbal humiliation by his father Alois Sr. He once even tried to escape from home by constructing a raft with friends, and his father beat him so viciously that the dad even thought he killed his son (Dorpat: 1999). Hitler’s mother was on her part depressed and forlorn about her marriage and felt guilt over her incestuous bond with Alois. She also failed to discipline Hitler and contain his tempers. It is this abuse and neglect, and his parents’ emotional withdrawal from him that may possibly have made Hitler suffer from BDP at a tender age. This trauma subsequently left him badly unprepared for social, academic and job-related pursuits. (Waite, Robert, 1993) With BDP deemed to be a result of a problem with emotional dysregulation, experts have even developed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), a method of cognitive therapy in BPD treatment. Yet, central to the success of this therapy is the conviction that BPD is a biological disorder exemplified by sharp sensitivity to emotion and amplified emotional intensity. Other experts believe that any biological components of BPD are probably related to changes that occur on a biological level as a result of emotional and psychological trauma. (Linehan, 1993). This biological perspective could thus also effectively correlate Hitler’s emotional distress with his disorder. Some existing literature further suggests that traits related to BPD are influenced by genes. People with BPD influenced by genes often have a close relative with the disorder, although Hitler’s father’s brutal treatment of his son does not suffice a conclusion that he suffered from this disorder as well. The diagnosis of this disorder in Hitler could thus explain could strange behavior that was so characteristic of him later in his life. Individuals with BPD are extremely sensitive to the manner in which others treat them and often react strongly to perceived disapproval or hurtfulness. Their self-image can change swiftly from exceedingly positive to extremely negative. They often resort to impulsive behaviors that include drug abuse and general recklessness. And this was characteristic of Hitler. He was addicted to amphetamine after the late summer of 1942. This went in tandem with his sadistic, malevolent, and antisocial behavior clearly depicted in the Holocaust and the World War II. He also showed signs of splitting. He held an image of himself as ostentatious; omnipotent and triumphant on one side and felt inferior, mortified and defeated on the other, making his behavior very erratic. (Dorpat: 1999). It is believed the diagnosis of this disorder accounts for Hitler’s ruthless and destructive personality transformation and lack of human feelings. It also explains the fact that he was distant, self-contained, withdrawn and without friends. The cognitive aspect of BDP is to an extent manifested in the form of quasipsychotic or micropsychotic symptoms among those suffering from this disorder. These symptoms include inner voices telling them to commit suicide, depersonalization and paranoid feelings. This usually prevails in the defeated side of the split and is fanned vulnerability, despair and self hatred. The fact that Hitler went on to commit suicide probably shows a direct manifestation of the cognitive component of BDP. (Heston, 1980).   And these symptoms are often suppressed using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This form of therapy involves a therapist engaging with a client in a bid to change both behavior and thought patterns.   Hitler was nonetheless never subjected to this therapy. In conclusion, it is evident that BDP took toll on Hitler’s emotions and served as the base for his malevolence and anti-social behavior. The disorder, perhaps coupled with several other mental challenges, resulted in acute psychiatric problems and played a major role in molding his personal; behavior, which depicted a man not in charge of himself. References American Psychiatric Association. (2001) Journal of Psychiatry. Dorpat,L.Theo, M.D.(1999). Trauma to Malevolence.Cambridge:MIT. Gunderson,G.J (2001). Personality Disorder: Washington:APP. Heston L. Leonard, M.D. (1980). Adolph Hitler:Doctors and Drugs. N.Y.Preston. Joachim, C. (1974). Hitler .NY:Prentice John, T (1991), Adolf Hitler: N.Y:Doubleday. Linehan,M.M (1993). Borderline Personality. N.Y:OUP Waite, R.(1993). Adolf Hitler. N. Y: DaCapo How to cite The case of Adolf Hitler, Papers

Engineering IMI Begins Restructuring Swiss â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Engineering IMI Begins Restructuring Swiss? Answer: Introduction IMI PLC is a engineering company with headquarters in Birmingham. It was formerly known as Imperial Metals Industries due in the 1990s, the company disposed the metal founding and metal smelting businesses. The company currently has three major divisions namely critical engineering, hydroponic engineering and precision engineering. Only a small portion of the revenues of the company is derived from UK (about 5%) while Europe, Emerging Markets and US account for more than 85% of the companys revenues. The products and services of the companies particularly deal with fluid control in various industrial applications found useful in oil gas, power, actuation along with petrochemicals. The company embarked on a decade long transformation process which enabled the company to divest the non-core beverage and business intelligence businesses and hence focus solely on the core businesses (IMI, 2016). The objective of the given report is to carry a critical analysis of the financials of the c ompany in order from the perspective of making an investment. State of the Industrial Engineering Industry The ongoing time for the industry is challenging primarily on account of fall in crude oil prices which has resulted in major projects being postponed indefinitely. The traction from the petrochemical industry continues to be lacklustre. Besides, the decline in prices of crude oil has also adversely impacted the economics of shale extraction. Further, the growth in the power industry in the USA in 2016 was quite lacklustre, however, the demand in this sector from emerging sector continues to be robust (IMI, 2017). It is quite possible that in the near to medium term, the crude oil prices could stabilise at moderately higher levels which would be positive for the industry and especially for iMI. Financial Analysis The primary financial analysis tool that has been deployed is ratio analysis which tends to focus on performance of the company in various aspects thus considers not only profitability but also capital structure, liquidity along with market performance. A time period of 5 years has been considered for the ratio analysis. Profitability Ratios The profitability ratios for the company over the last five years is summarised in the table indicated below (IMI, 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017). According to Damadoran (2008), the profitability margins are significantly as the businesses with higher profit margins tend to command higher P/E which creates wealth for the shareholders. Additionally, consistency is also essential. The gross profit of the company has continued to stay within 42% to 46%. It is critical to note that considering that majority of the revenues of the company are derived from outside UK in foreign currency, hence there are fluctuations in revenue owing to foreign exchange translations. Further, in 2014, the company sold the beverage business along with business intelligence to Berkshire Hathway in a bid to focus on the current engineering business. Further, in FY2015 and FY2016, the respective gross margins were lower on account of lower revenues (IMI, 2016; 2017). From FY2014, there has been a decreasing trend with regards to net profits which is attributed to lowering operating profits considering the nature of the business where economies of scale are clearly visible. Additional, in the recent years, there has been an increase in the interest costs as the amount of long term debt has increased especially in 2015 and 2016. The ROA and ROE tend to be higher for 2015 on account of a reduction of both total assets and equity due to sale of beverage and business intelligence business. Further, in the next two, there has been an increase in the total asset base and shareholders equity coupled with lower profits which have led to worsening of ROA and ROE (IMI, 2016; 2017). Efficiency Ratios The efficiency ratios for the company over the last five years are summarised in the table indicated below (IMI, 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017). The asset turnover reflects the ability of the business to derive sales from the existing assets (Christensen et. al, 2013) . In terms of asset turnover, there has been a drop in 2015 which may be attributed to the increase in assets particularly on accounting of increase in intangible assets due to acquisition. For FY 2013, there was a significant decrease in the revenue owing to a decrease in the oil prices which adversely impacted business. The asset turnover seems to have stabilised in the current year and going forward on account of ambitious geographical and product portfolio expansion, the company expects to grow the topline in a challenging industry environment (IMI, 2017). The inventory turnover represents the ability of the business to convert the inventory into sales (Brealey, Myers and Allen, 2008). The inventory turnover for the business has declined in the given period which may be attributed to mainly two reasons. One is the adverse industry environment especially for oil and gas along with petrochemicals. The other reason may be change in the business as in 2014, the business transformation for the company ended where it exited all retail businesses which typically have a higher inventory turnaround (IMI, 2017). The receivables turnover ideally should be high so as to ensure that the outstanding receivables are converted into actual cash in the least possible amount of time (Brigham and Ehrhardt, 2013). The receivables turnover has seen a decline which may be attributed to the change in business mix and also due to the difficult times that the oil gas coupled with petrochemicals is facing in the last couple of years as a result of which the credit period may have been extended by the company thus leading to higher financing needs (IMI, 2017). Liquidity Ratios The liquidity ratios for the company over the last five years are summarised in the table indicated below (IMI, 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017). The liquidity ratios are indicative of the short term liquidity of the company. There is a declining trend in terms of current ratio and the quick ratio also is following a similar trend. There is an improvement in 2014 on account of significant decrease in short term debt by about 78 million. Further, in 2015 there is a decrease in the current ratio on account of higher short term while in 2016 there is an increase in the payables leading to lower liquidity ratios (IMI, 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017). Despite the declining trend, considering the industry average value of current ratio at 1.4, the current values are not a matter of concern. Solvency Ratios The solvency ratios for the company over the last five years are summarised in the table indicated below (IMI, 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017). The solvency ratio tend to capture the capital structure of the firm along with the ability to service long term debt (Damodaran, 2010). It is evident that the balance sheet of the company is getting increasingly leveraged which is apparent from the respective increase in 2015 and 2016. This is on account of increasing long term debt which the company is aiming to use to fund the expansion into new geographies and also develop new products for the market. Further, considering the nature of the industry, the debt equity ratio should not pose any concern (IMI, 2017). On account of the increasing interest burden coupled with lower operating profit, the interest coverage ratio has been adversely impacted in the recent years. However, despite the fall, it remains quite healthy and does not pose much risk of interest default with regards to outstanding loans. Also, it is noteworthy that majority of the debt is long term which is essentially for expanding the business and only a very small amount of loan has been taken as working capital which augers well for the company (IMI, 2017). Market Ratios The market ratios for the company over the last five years are summarised in the table indicated below (Yahoo Finance, 2017) It is apparent from the table that post restructuring of the business, there has been an improvement in the P/E ratio of the company which augers well for the company. The P/E ratio is typically indicative of the future growth potential associated with the company on account of the renewed focus on the core business (Graham and Smart, 2012). Hence, from an investor perspective, it would be fair to expect that there is expectation that the company would deliver superior returns in comparison to the past. However, considering the industrial engineering sector P/E in excess of 35, the company is still trading at a significant discount (Burman, 2017). This may be on account of difficult ongoing environment and the niche player that the company is coupled with low topline growth and falling profitability margins owing to high raw material cost. However, a positive aspect for the company is that there seems to have been an improvement in the dividend yield which augers well for the shareho lders going ahead (Brealey, Myers and Allen, 2008). Critical Reflection It is apparent from the information in the public domain that the company is currently facing significant challenges owing to the low prices of crude oil and the consequent decrease in orders from oil gas, petrochemicals, automotive etc. This is also reflected in the recent announcement by the company where it cited these conditions and lowered the earnings guidance which also led to a decrease in the share price (Dyer, 2017). However, it is heartening of see that the company is coping up well with the industry challenges by carrying on restricting in the Swiss and the European operations with a bid to lower down costs. This is imperative considering off late the company has faced lower margins on account of rising raw material costs besides muted sales growth (Reuters, 2016). Another key aspect of the companys business model is the relative isolation to UK economy considering that 90% of the revenues are sourced from outside UK. In wake of Brexit, this augers well for the company as the impact on business would be quite negligible for the company (Simpson, 2017). Also, the attempt at restructuring the business which essentially ended in 2014 has been viewed positively by various brokerage houses which at the time had expressed positive views about the company. Additionally, the niche specialist engineering sector is expected to be highly in demand going forward as the various industries would focus more on efficiency for competitive advantage over peer group (Burman, 2017). Also, another factor which has been highlighted frequently is the P/E ratio of the stock which is lower than the sectoral average. However, it needs to be taken into consideration the similarity of IMI with other companies coupled with the potential growth (Burman, 2017). Considering the niche focus area and the current industry environment, in the near term growth would be essentially muted and hence the emphasis for the company would be on maintaining the margins (Jones, 2013). However, considering the cyclical nature of commodities coupled with Chinas economy coming back to track, the oil prices may start firming up sooner than expected and hence bring back higher growth prospects for the company which would potentially lead to re-rating of the stock (Burman, 2017). Corporate Governance Mechanism The corporate governance mechanisms adopted by the company are in line with UK Corporate Governance Code. Further, there is a periodic evaluation of the board which is carried by external and independent conduct and considers various aspects such as effectiveness and independence. There are various standing committees of the board namely Audit Committee, Nominations Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Each of these committees is headed by an independent non-executive director and also the membership of these committees is dominated by non-executive directors, which is in line with the global practices (IMI, 2017). Additionally, the various roles that are allocated to these committees are also in line with their respective roles. The audit committee besides the audit function is also entrusted with the management of the risk. Besides, the various board composition best practices and norms are also adhered to by the company which help in lowering the agency costs and provide confidence to shareholders about the accuracy of the various disclosures and financial information representation. The reports of the various committees have been highlighted in the annual report so that the key decisions and suggestions of these committees can be known by the investors and other users. Also, the company has no previous history in relation to the violation of corporate norms which augers well for the external stakeholders as it minimises the risk of corporate fraud (Christensen et. al., 2013). Valuation The asset value per share can be determined by dividing the net asset value by the total number of outstanding shares (IMI, 2017). Net asset value for the company as on December 31, 2016 = 583.2 million Total number of outstanding shares = 269.27 million Hence, asset value per share = 583.2/269.27 = 2.17 Compared to the asset value per value, the market value of the share at 11.29 is significantly highly which indicates the significant value that the market has given to the business and the future ability to generate profits. It may be stated that the current price is about 5x times the asset value on a per share basis (Damodaran, 2010). Conclusion On the basis of the above financial analysis of the company, the various trends associated with various aspects of the financial statements have been discussed. Based on this, it becomes evident that owing to the decade long restructuring program that finished only in 2014, the positive impact of the same is not reflected in the various ratios. This may be attributed to challenging industry environment for the company where the crude oil prices have fallen considerably which has had a negative impact on the demand of the services and products offered by the company. However, a positive aspect for the company is reflected in the form of increasing P/E ratio which represents that the marketing views the restructuring of the business in positive light as it would allow for higher focus on the core businesses and thereby create shareholders value in the long term. An additional factor which needs to be considered is that the current P/E of the stock is significantly lower than the industry average. However, considering the niche business that the company is based in, it is expected that there would be an enhancement of P/E at which the stock would trade in the future especially once the sentiments related to the oil and gas sector improve. Hence, from a medium to long term perspective, the companys share can be bought and it is expected that there would be outperformance of the index by the stock. References Brealey, R, Myers, S and Allen, F (2008), Principles of Corporate Finance, 9th edn., New York: McGraw Hill Publications Brigham, EF and Ehrhardt, MC (2013). Financial Management: Theory Practice, 14th edn., New York: South-Western College Publication Burman, R. (2017), Should You Be Tempted To Buy IMI plc (LSE:IMI) Because Of Its PE Ratio?, Simply Wall Street, [online] Available at https://simplywall.st/news/2017/09/12/should-you-be-tempted-to-buy-imi-plc-lseimi-because-of-its-pe-ratio/ [Accessed September 15, 2017] Christensen, M, Drew, M, Blanchi, R and Ross, S (2013), Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 6th edn., New York: McGraw Hill Damodaran, A. (2008), Corporate Finance, 2nd edn, London: Wiley Publications Dyer, R.(2017), IMI shares plunge as it warns oil price slump will hit second-half revenue, Proactive Investors, [online] Available at https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/181629/imi-shares-plunge-as-it-warns-oil-price-slump-will-hit-second-half-revenue-181629.html [Accessed September 15, 2017] Graham, J. and Smart, S. (2012), Introduction to corporate finance, 5th edn. Sydney: South-Western Cengage Learning IMI (2013), Annual Report 2012, IMI Website, [online] Available at https://www.imiplc.com/investors/annual-reports/2012.aspx [Accessed September 15, 2017] IMI (2014), Annual Report 2013, IMI Website, [online] Available at https://www.imiplc.com/investors/annual-reports/2013.aspx [Accessed September 15, 2017] IMI (2015), Annual Report 2014, IMI Website, [online] Available at https://www.imiplc.com/investors/annual-reports/2014.aspx [Accessed September 15, 2017] IMI (2016), Annual Report 2015, IMI Website, [online] Available at https://www.imiplc.com/~/media/Files/I/IMI/annual-reports/IMI-ARA-2015.pdf [Accessed September 15, 2017] IMI (2017), Annual Report 2016, IMI Website, [online] Available at https://www.imiplc.com/investors/annual-reports/2016.aspx [Accessed September 15, 2017] Jones, H. (2013), Should I Buy These Shares? IMI plc, Hammerson plc, The Sage Group plc, Meggitt plc And Capita plc, The Motley Fool, [online] Available at https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2013/08/02/should-i-buy-these-shares-imi-plc-hammerson-plc-the-sage-group-plc-meggitt-plc-and-capita-plc/ [Accessed September 15, 2017] Reuters (2016), Engineering firm IMI begins restructuring Swiss ops, [online] Available at https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imi-restructuring/engineering-firm-imi-begins-restructuring-swiss-ops-idUKKCN0VZ0TM [Accessed September 15, 2017] Simpson, S. (2017), IMI Plc Working On Self-Improvement Through Still-Challenging Markets, Seeking Alpha, [online] Available at https://seekingalpha.com/article/4077383-imi-plc-working-self-improvement-still-challenging-markets [Accessed September 15, 2017] Yahoo Finance (2017), IMI Plc, Yahoo Finance, [online] Available at https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/imi.l?ltr=1 [Accessed September 15, 2017]