Technological society Essay Example

Technological society Essay Critically assess the contention that the introduction of new technologies into an organisation inevitably leads to deskilling. Although the deskilling debate only started in 1974, when Harry Bravermans thesis, Labour and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century was published, the causes for the argument had begun many years earlier, in the 1890s with the introduction of F. W Taylors ideas for reorganising work. Braverman (1920-1976) was a sheet metal worker, and a member of the American Communist party. It was his background in skilled trades that allowed him to analyse the changes that were taking place. As it was Braverman that first came up with the theory of deskilling, it is his definition that should be considered. His definition says that: skill represents the central asset possessed by workers, and that modern capitalist systems of work design, like Taylorism, degrade or deskill work, as a means of controlling and cheapening it. (Braverman, 1974). This Marxist analysis was a direct challenge to the long accepted views and implemented methods of Taylor. Braverman also argued that new technologies play a vital role in deskilling, and by working on new technologies workers build for themselves more modern, more scientific, more dehumanised prisons of labour. Taylor was an American engineer, who developed the idea of Scientific Management over 100 years ago. His principles of organising and controlling work recommended to managers that complex tasks needed to be split up into the maximum number of subtasks possible (Fincham Rhodes, 2005). There were other recommendations given by Taylor, namely the divorce of conception from execution. We will write a custom essay sample on Technological society specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Technological society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Technological society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This told managers that All possible brainwork should be removed from the shop and centred in the planning or laying out department (Braverman 1974:113) It was this that Braverman heavily criticised, and so it must be looked at how the introduction of new technologies could cause this to happen. One of the best known and earliest examples of Taylorism in practice in the workplace is at General Motors plants at the start of the last century. By using Taylors methods, and introducing the assembly line, output increased from 8,700 in 1906 to 34,000 in 1911, 300,000 in 1914, rising to 1.9 million in 1923. (Tolliday Zeitlin, 1992) These massive increases in production came without the use of skilled labour, by 1914, over half the workforce were Southern and Eastern European immigrants, many of whom had no relevant experience, and spoke little or no English (Meyer, 1981). It would therefore seem like the introduction of new technology that caused the giant increases in output did not affect all workers in terms of deskilling, the majority of workers would probably have become more skilled due to their employment. However, labour turnover was at 370% and 71% of these workers left within their first week. These workers were probably most likely to be the unskilled immigrant workers that did not have the reliance on their wages that American workers had for their families. Therefore perhaps deskilling was less prominent than it would first seem due to the introduction of new technology and the assembly line. However, we must also consider why labour turnover was so high at Fords production plants in the early 1910s. Assembly line work is notoriously boring, partly due to the removal of creativity and craft from the workers, which much have been demoralising as these workers had initially been employed for having these qualities. Therefore, the high labour turnover experienced may have been due to workers leaving due to the deskilling that was evidently in existence, and them moving to other production industries that had not yet implemented new technologies. There are also recent examples of the introduction of new technologies into an organisation causing deskilling. In the field of law, in the past lawyers were expected to have a broad knowledge of the law, but today this is not possible due to the volume of legal material that is produced (Webb, 1996). Today, IT takes a much bigger role in a lawyers position, due to the changes in legal practice that have happened due to the technology that was not in existence 10 years ago. Due to the increase in IT, jobs that once required highly skilled employees can now be carried out by less qualified workers (Onwusah, 1997). So again we can see that deskilling has been caused due to the introduction of new technologies. It is important to consider the choice of new technology that is brought into an organisation to see whether it will lead to deskilling. As has been seen in the previous examples, the introduction of the assembly line in motor vehicle manufacturing and the introduction of IT into the practice of law and other professional industries, new technology has caused and created deskilling. However, in some circumstances deskilling would not be caused, but reskilling would occur. In order for new technology to be implemented in an organisation, employees need to have the skills in order to use the equipment. Through training, workers can learn new skills, which are more relevant in todays technological world. A clear example of reskilling can be seen in the field of design. In the past the drawing of plans was very time consuming and required great precision, if points were just 1mm wrong then the whole plan would have to be started again. Now, due to the introduction of Computer Aided Design (CAD) these workers have not only become reskilled, they can use their existing skills in addition to learning new techniques. Employees in this field still need their precision skills, for example when using graphics tablets, but will also gain skills in using the relevant software. This evidence would tend to suggest that the contention that the introduction of new technology into organisations leads to deskilling was incorrect, and that it would depend on what type of technology was introduced. If technology completely takes over a persons role in a company, or takes away the employees need to have particular skills then deskilling is likely to happen, on the other hand if the introduction of new technology can work alongside employees in order to assist and aid them in their work then reskilling is more likely to occur. The type of organisation that the new technology is to be brought into is also an important factor in deciding whether deskilling will be caused. As we have already seen, in the production of motor vehicles deskilling is caused by new technologies. This can also be seen in other secondary sector organisations, for example the textile industry. In the past everything would be sewn by hand, requiring much skill, whereas from the middle of the 19th century technology was introduced, reducing the need for skilled workers, and deskilling those already in the industry. However, if we look at tertiary sector organisations reskilling is probably more likely. In the medical profession, workers at all levels in an organisation are likely to have gained more skills due to the introduction of new technologies than becoming deskilled. At the lowest level, for example a receptionist in a GP surgery, records are now stored electronically as well as on paper, increasing the complexity of their work. Looking at a higher level, a GP still has to go through years of training to become fully qualified, and now also has to be computer literate, for example in order to produce prescriptions and use diagnostic software. In addition to this, developments in the technologies available to surgeons have meant that much more skilled operations can be carried out, which in turn has increased the skill requirements required to perform operations. On the other hand, if we look at another service occupation, the field of banking, obvious deskilling has taken place. A bank clerk was once a highly regarded profession, requiring years of training. However, today the banks have reduced their qualification requirements for recruits. This is due to the computer age, as all transactions can now be carried out electronically, removing the skills that were once required. It cannot therefore be said that the introduction of new technology will always lead to deskilling in an organisation, each individual situation would need to be looked at separately in order to decide upon this. As it has so far been difficult to quantify whether new technologies will lead to deskilling or not, it is helpful to look at and consider any research that has been carried out on this subject. Data from the Swedish Level of Living surveys that were carried out between 1968 and 1991 by a group at the Swedish Institute for Social Research is probably one of the most important tools available when looking at deskilling due to the introduction of new technology. The surveys had a sample size of around 3,000 people, who were in employment and of working age. The differences between classes of jobs is shown to be important when looking at whether deskilling takes place. This can be seen from the diagrams on the next page, produced using results from the survey. Diagrams from (Jonsson, 1998:614). As we can see from these charts, there is a mixture of deskilling and upskilling, which can be related to the social class of work. For both sets of data, the two social classes that have obviously been upskilled are W4, which is lower grade white collar workers, including typists and B2, which is unskilled manual workers, including assemblers and cleaners. This is also supported by other works, for example The Coming of Post-Industrial Society, which claims that blue collar work has been upgraded through automation and technical development (Bell, 1973). On the other hand if we take the class of W1, which is the upper service class, including engineers, employees opinions are that this field has been deskilled due to the introduction of new technology, supporting the contention. However, data is only available up to 1991, and if a survey were to be carried out today then I would expect due to the massive increase in information technology over the past 15 years that peoples opinions would have changed to that of upskilling. Bravermans thesis on deskilling suggested that due to the degradation of work from the introduction of new technology, employees became bored in their role. However, the Swedish research seems to oppose this, as can be seen from the table below: (Jonsson, 1998:613) Over the time period, for both men and women, the percentage of monotonous content in jobs has decreased, suggesting again that there has been a general upskilling of jobs, contesting Bravermans views. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that this is a general trend, and that some lower level white collar workers may experience deskilling, due to the impact that the introduction of new technologies has on their roles. Finally the idea that the introduction of new technologies into an organisation will inevitably lead to deskilling must be considered. Few things can ever be certain to happen, and from the evidence that we have seen, deskilling is probably unlikely to occur in todays ever expanding technological society. In conclusion, it would seem that the contention that the introduction of new technologies into an organisation inevitably leads to deskilling is incorrect, and each individual situation needs to be looked at in order to see if the contention can be proved, however it would appear as the world gains a greater reliance on technology, skills are not being decreased, but the type of skills required is changing.

Sample Essay on Every Child is Unique

Sample Essay on Every Child is UniqueA sample essay on every child is unique to every child. It can be written from the most unusual or unique viewpoint of the child. If you are new to writing essays for children, or even if you are an adult writer, I would like to discuss a few things that will help you as a writer.The first thing you must do, to get started with writing a sample essay on every child is unique, is to write from the child's perspective. Think about your child, and think about how your child sees the world around him or her.There are a lot of writers out there who insist on using their own ideas when writing an essay for children. When you are writing an essay for children, your task will not be to use your own ideas as much as it will be to use your child's views of the world. What will you want to get across to your child? Your child might have a totally different point of view than yours, but you can draw on his or her perspective in the essay to help make a point. When you write a sample essay on every child is unique, you can do this by asking your child a question. Use your child's own viewpoint and ask him or her a question. You can even write the questions out yourself and make them as short as possible so they are easier for your child to answer.Another thing you can do to make your sample essay on every child unique is to include quotes that relate to the situation at hand. For example, you can write a story about a house fire and use a picture of the house to describe the fire. You can use quotes from books and movies that can help the reader relate to the story.Another way to make your own essay unique is to use a word that has been used in more than one sentence before. Just make sure the sentence is within the author's own thought process. You can use this as a sample essay on every child is unique because it relates to the child's own perspective of the world.When you are trying to write a sample essay on every child is unique, you should use the skills that you learned in your life, as a writer. If you know what goes on in someone's mind, and you are able to write from that person's point of view, then you can use those skills to make your writing unique.You can write a unique essay on every child is unique by creating your own essay and going through the process of finding information about your child. For example, a very unique essay on every child is unique can be made from the perspective of your child's own friends, and family. You will be surprised at how much you can learn from those who are already familiar with your child.

History of Social Psychology Essay Essays

History of Social Psychology Essay Essays History of Social Psychology Essay Essay History of Social Psychology Essay Essay As a scientific subject. societal psychological science is merely a spot older than one hundred old ages. with most of the growing happening during the past five decennaries ( McGarty A ; Haslam. 1997 ) . By most criterions. societal psychological science is a comparatively immature scientific discipline. In discoursing the discipline’s history. it should be noted that there are two societal psychological sciences. one in psychological science and the other in sociology. with the larger of the two being the psychological subdivision ( Jones. 1998 ) . The cardinal focal point of psychological societal psychological science is how the single responds to societal stimulations. whereas sociological societal psychological science focal points on larger group or social variables. such as people’s socioeconomic position. their societal functions. and cultural norms ( Stryker. 1997 ) . Although there have been calls to unify the two societal psychological sciences into a individual field ( Backman. 1983 ) -- and even a joint psychology-sociology doctorial plan at the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1967–their different orientations make it doubtful that this will transpirate in the foreseeable hereafter. In this historical overview. the psychological subdivision of th e subject will be highlighted. Wundt and The Dawning of a Scientific Discipline: 1862-1894 German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt ( 1832-1921 ) . who is widely regarded as the laminitis of psychological science. had a manus in the early development of what would go societal psychological science. In 1862. Wundt proposed that there should be two subdivisions of psychological science: physiological psychological science and societal or folk psychological science ( Volkerpsychologie ) . Largely due to his influential Hagiographas. by 1900 Germany’s one-year bibliography of the psychological literature listed over 200 articles per twelvemonth under the heading â€Å"social psychological science. † Despite his influence in determining societal psychological science in Europe. Wundt’s thoughts had small impact on American societal scientists because his Hagiographas were non translated into English and his construct of psychological science as the â€Å"science of the mind† was incompatible with the new behaviourist position in the United States that emerg ed during the early old ages of the twentieth century. Underliing behaviourism was a doctrine known as logical positivism. which contended that cognition should be expressed in footings that could be verified through empirical observation or through direct observation. This new â€Å"science of behavior† had small usage for Wundt’s construct of societal psychological science. This was particularly true for the societal psychological science developing in psychological science in America. but less so for sociological societal psychological science. Thus. psychological societal psychological science in America. which would go the rational nucleus of the subject. developed mostly outside the kingdom of Wundtian influence. The Early Old ages: 1895–1935 An American psychologist at Indiana University. Norman Triplett. is by and large credited with holding conducted the first empirical societal psychological survey. In 1895 Triplett asked the undermentioned inquiry: â€Å"How does a person’s public presentation of a undertaking alteration when other people are present? † The inquiry was prompted by Triplett detecting that a bike racer’s velocity was faster when he was paced by other bicyclers than when he raced entirely. Bing a racing partisan and wanting to larn what caused these different race times. he devised the first societal scientific experiment. In this survey. he asked kids to rapidly weave line on a fishing reel either entirely or in the presence of other kids executing the same undertaking. As he had predicted. the kids wound the line faster when in the presence of other kids. Published in 1897. this survey is credited with presenting the experimental method into the societal scientific disciplines. Despite the significance of this survey. it took a full coevals for research workers to understand the societal psychological kineticss underlying Triplett’s findings ( see the chapter 10 treatment of societal facilitation ) . Despite this achievement. Triplett did nil to set up societal psychological science as a distinguishable subfield of psychological science. Recognition for this accomplishment goes to the first writers of text editions bearing that rubric. viz. . English psychologist William McDougall and American sociologist Edward Ross. who each published separate texts in 1908. Consistent with the modern-day position in psychological societal psychological science. McDougall considered the person to be the chief unit of analysis in this new scientific discipline. while Ross. true to the modern-day sociological societal psychological science position. highlighted groups. Despite the startup of this new subfield within psychological science and sociology. societal psychological science still lacked a distinguishable individuality. How was it different from the other subdisciplines within the two larger subjects? What were its methods of enquiry? In 1924 a 3rd societal psychological science text. published by Floyd Allport ( older brother of Gordon Allport ) . went a long manner in replying these inquiries for psychological societal psychological science. Reading his words today. you can see the emerging position that would one twenty-four hours pervade the psychological subdivision of the field: I believe that merely within the single can we happen the behavior mechanisms and consciousness which are cardinal in the interactions between individuals†¦ . There is no psychological science of groups which is non basically and wholly a psychological science of individuals†¦ . Psychology in all its subdivisions is a scientific discipline of the person. ( Allport. 1924. p. 4 ) Allport’s construct of societal psychological science was proposed eleven old ages after John Watson ushered in the behaviourist epoch in American psychological science. Allport’s trade name of societal psychological science emphasized how the individual responds to stimuli in the societal environment. with the group simply being one of many such stimulations. Beyond this emerging individualist and behaviourist cast. Allport further shaped the individuality of American societal psychological science by lauding the virtuousnesss of the experimental method in analyzing such subjects as conformance. gestural communicating. and societal facilitation. The chase of societal psychological cognition through carefully controlled experimental processs would progressively qualify the field in the coming old ages. As Allport’s construct of societal psychological science gained American disciples. German societal psychological science was being shaped by the Gestalt position. which rejected both the bing European-inspired impression of a group head and the American individualist stand that groups were non existent in themselves. Alternatively. Gestalt societal psychologists contended that the societal environment is made up non merely of persons. but of dealingss between persons. and these relationships have of import psychological deductions. Therefore. Gestalt societal psychologists promoted an apprehension of groups as existent societal entities. which straight led to the tradition of group procedures and group kineticss that still exists today. These two schools of idea within psychological societal psychological science. one in America and the other in Germany. which were developing independent of one another. would shortly be thrust together due to events on the universe scene. The Coming of Age: 1936–1945 During the first three decennaries of the 20th century. Allport’s construct of societal psychological science emphasized basic research. with small consideration given to turn toing specific societal jobs or broader issues bearing on reform. However. by the mid-1930s. the subject was poised for farther growing and enlargement. The events that had the greatest impact on societal psychological science at this critical occasion in its history were the Great Depression in the United States and the societal and political turbulences in Europe generated by the First and Second World Wars. Following the stock market clang of 1929. many immature psychologists were unable to happen or keep occupations. Experiencing firsthand the impact of social forces. many of them adopted the broad ideals of the Roosevelt â€Å"New Dealers† or the more extremist leftist political positions of the socialist and communist parties. In 1936 these societal scientists formed an organisation dedicated to the scientific survey of of import societal issues and the support for progressive societal action ( Stagner. 1986 ) . This organisation. known as the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues ( SPSSI ) . contained many societal psychologists who were interested in using their newly developed theories and political activism to real-world jobs. One of the of import parts of SPSSI to societal psychological science was. and continues to be. the extract of moralss and values into the treatment of societal life. Its immediate impact on societal psychological science in the 1930s was to inculcate a more applied character to research. New countries of research spawned during this decennary were intergroup dealingss. leading. propaganda. organisational behaviour. voting behaviour. and consumer behaviour. In other states. universe events triggered alterations that farther distinguished American societal psychological science from its scientific cousins abroad. For illustration. the communist revolution in Russia at the terminal of the First World War led to a purge of individualist-oriented research and theorizing. a development that stood in blunt contrast to the increasing focal point on the person within American societal psychological science. In 1936. the Soviet Union’s Communist Party forbids the usage of psychological trials in assorted applied scenes. which efficaciously prohibited the survey of single differences. At the same clip. the rise of fascism in Germany. Spain. and Italy created a strong philistine and anti-semitic ambiance in these states. To get away this persecution. a figure of Europe’s taking societal scientists. such as Fritz Heider. Gustav Ichheiser. Kurt Lewin. and Theodor Adorno. immigrated to America. When the United States entered the war. many societal psychologists- both American and European- applied their cognition of human behaviour in a broad assortment of wartime plans. including the choice of officers for the Office of Strategic Services ( the precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency ) and the undermining of enemy morale ( Hoffman. 1992 ) . The constructive work ensuing from this coaction demonstrated the practical utility of societal psychological science. During this clip of planetary discord. one of the most influential societal psychologists was Kurt Lewin. a Judaic refugee from Nazi Germany. Lewin was instrumental in establishing SPSSI and served as its president in 1941. He steadfastly believed that societal psychological science did non hold to do a pick between being either a pure scientific discipline or an applied scientific discipline. His oft-repeated axiom. â€Å"No research without action. and no action without research† continues to act upon societal psychologists interested in using their cognition to current societal jobs ( Ash. 1992 ) . By the clip of his decease in 1947 at the age of 57. Lewin had provided many of societal psychology’s specifying features ( Lewin. 1936 ; Lewin et Al. . 1939 ) . With the terminal of the war. chances were bright for societal psychological science in North America. Based on their heightened stature in the scientific community. societal psychologists established new research installations. secured authorities grants. and. most of import. trained graduate pupils. These future societal psychologists were preponderantly white. male. and in-between category. Many of their wise mans were the European bookmans who had fled their native states and so remained in America following the war. Yet. while societal psychological science was booming in this state. the annihilating effects of the universe war virtually destroyed the subject overseas. In this postwar period. the United States emerged as the undisputed universe power. and merely as it exported its material goods to other states. it exported its societal psychological science every bit good. This trade name of societal psychological science reflected the political political orientation of America n society and the societal jobs encountered within its boundaries ( Farr. 1996 ) . Rapid Expansion: 1946–1969 With its extract of European intellectuals and the late trained immature American societal psychologists. the maturating scientific discipline of societal psychological science expanded its theoretical and research base. To understand how a civilised society like Germany could fall under the influence of a pitiless rabble-rouser like Adolf Hitler. Theodor Adorno and his co-workers ( Adorno et al. . 1950 ) studied the psychological parametric quantities of the autocratic personality. Some old ages subsequently. Stanley Milgram ( 1963 ) extended this line of research in his now celebrated obeisance experiments. which examined the conditions that make people more likely to obey destructive authorization figures. Social psychologists besides focused their attending on the influence that the group had on the person ( Asch. 1956 ) and of the power of persuasive communicating ( Hovland et al. . 1949 ) . Arguably the most important line of research and speculating during this period was Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive disagreement ( Festinger. 1957 ) . This theory asserted that people’s ideas and actions were motivated by a desire to keep cognitive consistence. The simpleness of the theory and its frequently surprising findings generated involvement and enthusiasm both inside and outside of societal psychological science for many old ages. Social psychology’s concern with social bias continued to asseverate itself during the fiftiess. For illustration. the 1954 U. S. Supreme Court determination to stop the pattern of racially segregated instruction was partially based on Kenneth Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark’s research bespeaking that segregation negatively affected the self-concept of Black kids. In that same twelvemonth. Gordon Allport ( brother of Floyd Allport ) provided a theoretical lineation for how integration might cut down racial bias. What came to be known as the contact hypothesis was a societal psychological design for cut downing ill will between groups by pull stringsing situational variables. This perspective toward understanding and â€Å"fixing† bias better fit the behaviourist societal psychological science practiced in America than the earlier developed autocratic personality attack. The decennary of the sixtiess was a clip of convulsion in the United States. with the state caught in the clasp of political blackwashs. urban force. societal protests. and the Vietnam War. Peoples were seeking for constructive ways to alter society for the better. Following this lead. societal psychologists devoted more research clip to such subjects as aggression. assisting. attractive force. and love. The groundbreaking research of Elaine Hatfield and Ellen Berscheid ( Berscheid A ; Hatfield. 1969 ; Hatfield et Al. . 1966 ) on interpersonal and romantic attractive force. for illustration. was non merely of import in widening the range of societal psychological enquiry. but it besides generated considerable contention outside the field. A figure of public functionaries and ordinary citizens thought societal scientists should non seek to understand the enigmas of love affair. Less controversial was the bystander intercession research conducted by Bibb Latane and John Darley ( 1968 ) . which was inspired by the 1984 slaying of Kitty Genovese in New York City. Despite the chariness of some. during the 1960s the federal authorities expanded its efforts to bring around social ailments with the counsel of societal scientists. Within this cultural context. the figure of societal psychologists rose dramatically. Among these new societal scientists were an increasing figure of adult females and. to a lesser grade. minority members. Whole new lines of enquiry into societal behaviour commenced. with an increasing involvement in the interaction of the societal state of affairs with personality factors. The battalion and diverseness of these lines of research would go on into the undermentioned decennaries ( Pion et al. . 1996 ) . Crisis and Reassesesment: 1970–1984 When societal psychological science foremost emerged from World War II and embarked on its rapid enlargement. one of the innovators in the field. Theodore Newcomb ( 1951 ) . expressed concern that outlooks were greater than anything that could be delivered in the close hereafter. By the seventiess. when solutions to societal jobs were no closer to being solved. and as the utility and moralss of experimental research came under increased examination. a â€Å"crisis of confidence† emerged ( Elms. 1975 ) . When this letdown and unfavorable judgment was followed by accusals from adult females and minorities that past research and theory reflected the prejudices of a white. male-dominated position of world. many began to reevaluate the field’s basic premises. Fortunately. out of this crisis emerged a more critical and inclusive field of societal psychological science. More strict ethical criterions were established. and although experiments remained the method of pick. research workers began carry oning more correlational surveies. every bit good as using other methods. Sing accusals of racial and gender prejudice. societal psychological science began traveling toward more responsible places. but such prejudices have yet to be eliminated from the subject ( Graham. 1992 ; Tesser A ; Bau. 2002 ) . Another of import development during this clip period was the importation of thoughts from cognitive psychological science in explicating societal behaviour. This â€Å"cognitive revolution† ( see p. 00 ) greatly enhanced theory and research in all countries of societal psychological science. and its impact persists today. Attach toing the societal cognitive accent was renewed involvement in the construct of the ego. which antecedently had been the focal point of merely sociological societal psychologists. However. with the declining influence of behaviourism. psychological societal psychologists rediscovered the penetrations of establishing societal scientists such as William James. John Dewey. Charles Horton Cooley. and George Herbert Mead. Soon the ego became a cardinal construct within psychological societal psychological science. An Expanding Global and Interdisciplinary View of Social Psychology: 1985–present By the seventiess. both European and Latin American societal psychological associations had been founded. and in 1995. the Asian Association of Social Psychology was formed. The societal psychological science that developed overseas placed more accent on intergroup and social variables in explicating societal behaviour than did its American cousin. In the mid-1980s. this abroad influence began to reshape the subject. as societal psychologists throughout the universe actively exchanged thoughts and collaborated on transnational surveies ( Fiske et al. . 1998 ; Vala et Al. . 1996 ) . Many of the new thoughts about societal behaviour were generated by bookmans from collectivized civilizations who were raised within societies that have a really different position on the relationship between the person and the group than that within the societies of traditional societal psychologists. Subsequent cross-cultural research found that certain societal beliefs and behaviours that were antecedently considered cosmopolitan were in actuality particular to the socialisation patterns of individualist civilizations. Based on these findings. considerable research attending was devoted to finding which facets of human behaviour are civilization specific–due to conditions bing within a peculiar culture–and which 1s are due to human’s shared evolutionary heritage. Although societal psychology’s â€Å"professional centre of gravity† still resides in the United States. European and Third World societal psychological science offers the full field chances to get away what some consider the restrictions of this â€Å"gravitational pull† to comprehend new universes of societal world ( Shinha. 2003 ; Tam et Al. . 2003 ) . This multicultural position will go on to steer research in the coming old ages. Contemporary societal psychologists have besides continued the bequest of Kurt Lewin and SPSSI by using their cognition to a broad sphere of mundane life. such as jurisprudence. wellness. instruction. political relations. athleticss. and concern ( Ellsworth A ; Mauro. 1998 ; Kinder. 1998 ; Salovey et Al. . 1998 ) . This involvement in using the rules and findings of societal psychological science is a natural branch of the hunt for apprehension. Despite the laterality of societal knowledge in the 1980s. some societal psychologists raised concerns about the comparative deficiency of focal point on emotions and motivations in explicating societal thought. These critics of bing societal cognitive theories argued that to believe of motivations and affect as simply end merchandises in a cardinal processing system was to dehumanise societal psychological science. In the early 1990s. a figure of societal psychologists sought to set up a more balanced position by intermixing the traditional hot and cold positions into what some have termed the Warm Look. These revised social-cognitive theories proposed that people employ multiple cognitive schemes based on their current ends. motivations. and demands. Theorists typically developed dual-process theoretical accounts. intending that societal thought and behaviour is determined by two different ways of apprehension and reacting to societal stimulations. One manner of information processing- related to the cold position legacy–is based on effortful. brooding thought. in which no action is taken until its possible effects are decently weighed and evaluated. The alternate manner of treating information–related to the hot position legacy- is based on minimum cognitive attempt. in which behaviour is impetuously and accidentally activated by emotions. wonts. or biological thrusts. frequently below the â€Å"radar† of consciousness. Which of the two avenues of information processing people take at any given clip is the topic of ongoing research. This attending to both expressed and inexplicit knowledge has late prompted societal psychologists to research how nervous activity in the encephalon is associated with assorted societal psychological procedures. including self-awareness. self-regulation. attitude formation and alteration. group interaction. and bias. Although the Numberss of societal psychologists who pursue such research is still comparatively little. the cognition they get refering the biological science of societal behaviour will doubtless play a function in reshaping bing theories. Indeed. the U. S. federal government’s National Institute of Mental Health- which has an one-year budget of 1. 3 billion dollars–has late given precedence to research grants that combine societal psychological science and neuroscience. In reasoning this historical overview. if the life of a scientific subject is correspondent to a person’s life. so modern-day societal psychological science is best idea of as a â€Å"young adult† in the societal scientific disciplines. Compared with some of the more constituted scientific disciplines. societal psychological science is â€Å"barely dry behind the ears† and still capable to turning strivings ( Abrams A ; Hogg. 2004 ; Brewer. 2004 ; Rozin. 2001 ) . Yet it is a subject where new and advanced thoughts are remarkably welcome. where new theoretical attacks and scientific methods from other scientific subjects are on a regular basis incorporated into the survey of societal thought and behaviour. and where members of the subject regularly inquiry the societal significance of their findings. In this on-going critical self-assessment. most societal psychologists are confident that their still-young scientific discipline will go on uncovering of import pen etrations into how we function as societal animals. Some of the mileposts of the field are listed in table 1. Table 1Some Milestones in the Field of Social Psychology The Dawning of a New Discipline and Early Old ages 1862: Wilhelm Wundt proposes that psychological science set up human or societal scientific disciplines ( Geisteswissenschaften ) to analyze the higher mental procedures affecting linguistic communication. societal patterns and imposts. faith. and art. 1897: Norman Triplett publishes the first scientific survey of societal behaviour. on a subject that was subsequently called societal facilitation. 1900: Wundt publishes the first volume of what would go a authoritative 10-volume set of Volkerpsychologie ( common people or societal psychological science ) which analyzed a broad assortment of societal idea and behaviour. 1908: Psychologist William McDougall and sociologist Edward Ross individually publish societal psychological science text editions. 1920: Willy Hellpach founds the first Institute for Social Psychology inGermany. Hitler’s rise to power leads to the institute’s death in 1933. 1924: Floyd Allport publishes the 3rd societal psychological science text. clearly placing the focal point for the psychological subdivision of the subject and covering many subjects that are still studied today. 1925: Edward Bogardus develops the societal distance graduated table to mensurate attitudes toward cultural groups. Shortly. Louis Thurstone ( 1928 ) and Rensis Likert ( 1932 ) further beforehand attitude graduated table development. 1934: George Herbert Mead’s book Mind. Self. and Society is published. emphasizing the interaction between the ego and others. The Coming-of-Age Old ages 1936: The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues is founded. Muzafir Sherif publishes The Psychology of Social Norms. depicting research on norm formation. 1939: John Dollard and his co-workers introduce the frustration-aggression hypothesis. 1941–1945: Social psychologists are recruited by the U. S. authorities for the war attempt. Rapid Expansion Old ages 1949: Carl Hovland and his co-workers print their first experiments on attitude alteration and persuasion. 1950: Theodor Adorno and his co-workers print The Authoritarian Personality. which examines how utmost bias can be shaped by personality struggles in childhood. 1951: Solomon Asch demonstrates conformance to false bulk judgements. 1954: Gordon Allport publishes The Nature of Prejudice. which provides the model for much of the future research on bias. Social psychologists provide cardinal testimony in the U. S. Supreme Court integration instance. Brown v. Board of Education. 1957: Leon Festinger publishes A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. stressing the demand for consistence between knowledge and behaviour. 1958: Fritz Heider publishes The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. puting the basis for ascription theory. 1963: Stanley Milgram publishes his obeisance research. showing under what conditions people are likely to obey destructive authorization figures. 1965: The Society of Experimental Social Psychology is founded. Edward Jones and Kenneth Davis print their thoughts on societal perceptual experience. exciting ascription and societal knowledge research. Rapid Expansion Old ages 1966: The European Association of Experimental Social Psychology is founded. Elaine ( Walster ) Hatfield and her co-workers print the first surveies of romantic attractive force. 1968: John Darley and Bibb Latane present the bystander intercession theoretical account. explicating why people frequently do non assist in exigencies. Crisis and Reassessment Old ages 1972: Attribution: Perceiving the Causes of Behavior. written by six influential ascription theoreticians. is published. Robert Wicklund and Shelley Duval publish Objective Self-Awareness Theory. depicting how self-awareness influences knowledge and behaviour. 1974: The Society for Personality and Social Psychology ( SPSP ) is founded. Sandra Bem develops the Bem Sex Role Inventory and Janet Spence and Robert Helmreich develop the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. both of which step gender functions. 1981: Alice Eagly and her co-workers begin carry oning meta-analyses of gender comparings in societal behaviour. reopening the argument on gender differences. 1984: Susan Fiske and Shelly Taylor publish Social Cognition. sum uping theory and research on the societal cognitive position in societal psychological science. The Expanding Global and Interdisciplinary View Years 1986: Richard Petty and John Cacioppo publish Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes. depicting a dual-process theoretical account of persuasion. 1989: Jennifer Crocker and Brenda Major print their Psychological Review article on â€Å"Social Stigma and Self-Esteem. † analyzing how people respond to being the marks of favoritism. 1991: Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama print their Psychological Review article on how civilization shapes the ego. 1995: Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson publish â€Å"Stereotype Menace and the Intellectual Test Performance of African Americans† in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. showing their research on how negative stereotypes can determine rational individuality and public presentation. 1996: David Buss and Neal Malamuth publish Sex. Power. Conflict. an emended text offering evolutionary and feminist positions on sex and gender interactions. A turning figure of societal psychologists attempt to incorporate these antecedently divergent positions. ( Because the transition of clip finally determines what events significantly shape a field. I will wait a few old ages before adding any more mileposts to this list. )

French Words Nouveau vs. Neuf

French Words Nouveau vs. Neuf English speakers sometimes find it difficult to translate new into French, due to confusion over the French words nouveau and neuf. In fact, the French adjectives have distinctly different meanings; the problem is actually caused by the fact that the English new has more than one meaning. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to remedy. Read over this lesson, learn the difference between nouveau and neuf, and you wont have any more trouble saying new in French. Nouveau Nouveau means new in the sense of new to the owner - a change or improvement; that is, something that is new because its different than what came before, regardless of whether it is brand new from the store. The opposite of nouveau is ancien (former).As-tu vu ma nouvelle voiture ?Have you seen my new car?(The car is not necessarily new out of the factory; new here means new to the speaker.)Il a mis une nouvelle chemise.He put a new shirt on.(He took off the shirt he was wearing and put a different one on in its place. The new shirt may or may not be new from the store; the important thing here is that it is different.)Cest nouveau.Its new.(I just bought/found/made it.)Nous avons un nouvel appartement.We have a new apartment.(We just moved.)Jai vu le nouveau pont.I saw the new bridge.(The replacement for the one that got washed out.) Nouveau precedes the noun it modifies and changes to agree in gender and number with it.nouveau - nouvelle - nouveaux - nouvellesNouveau has a special form for masculine nouns that begin with a vowel: nouvel. Note that une nouvelle is a piece of news and les nouvelles refer to the news in general. Neuf Neuf means new in the sense of brand new, fresh out of the factory, first of its kind. The opposite of neuf is vieux (old).Je nai jamais achetà © une voiture neuve.Ive never bought a new car.(I always buy used cars.)Il a achetà © une chemise neuve.He bought a new shirt.(He went to the store and bought a brand-new shirt.)Comme neuf.As good as new.(Its fixed, so now its just like new.)Nous avons un appartement neuf.We have a new apartment.(We live in a brand-new building.)Jai vu le Pont neuf.I saw the Pont neuf (in Paris).(Although this is the oldest bridge in Paris, at the time it was built and named, it was a brand-new bridge in a brand-new spot.) Neuf follows the noun it modifies and changes to agree in gender and number with it:neuf - neuve - neufs - neuves Remember that neuf is also the number nine:Jai neuf cousins - I have nine cousins. Nouveau vs Neuf In summary, nouveau means something has changed, while neuf indicates that something is newly-made. With this new knowledge, you shouldnt have any more trouble deciding whether to use neuf or nouveau.

Mosques in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mosques in America - Essay Example In order to develop a better understanding of the problem one should take a look at statistical dimension of Islam in the United States. Thus, the actual population of Muslims is two times larger that estimated one. In addition to that, the number of mosques increased greatly in the first decade of 2000. Moreover, the majority of mosques are relatively young: built less than 40 years ago. What is more important is that mosques in America feature a considerable amount of diversity. To begin with, it is not only Arabs, but various ethnic groups are represented in almost every mosque. Secondly, Shiite mosques which represent a second branch of Islam are also quite numerous in the United States. Thirdly, mosques can be found both in metropolitan areas and suburbs. As for the places which are used for a mosque, one should note that they include purchased, built or rented facility. The position of a mosque in the American society has had influence on its practices. It was found that mosques in the US preach flexible interpretation of Quran which is suitable for modern circumstances. The local spiritual leader feel general atmosphere of acceptable by the community. They also encourage Muslims to take active part in American society. Finally, the rate of conversion to Islam in the America reflects general interest to this religion. All in all, one might come to the following conclusions. First of all, the presence of Muslims in the American population may be more that it is estimated. Secondly, mosques were able to integrate successfully into American society. Finally, mosques reflect the diversity of the American social environment. This report contains all the necessary information that might be used to research the topic of a mosque in the United States. Another big advantage of it is the fact that the information that it is based on is relatively recent and reflects of the important cultural events that happened in the American society. The primary focus of

Choose one for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choose one for me - Essay Example From the current federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 an hour, various states have proposed different figures in order to raise the wage rate to a favorable amount (Shemkus 2). One of the bigger challenges in increasing the minimum wage rates is increasing the costs for the employers. Although the initiative ensures that the employees get reasonable payment for their services, it forces the employers to incur huge costs (Jacoby 3). Federal labor statistics reported that about 70% of the minimum wage rate employees work for less than 35 hours a week. This makes their earning to be less thus the increment will give such individuals the opportunities of living decent lives. Left-leaning Economic Policy Institute concluded that, â€Å"by increasing workers’ take-home pay, families gain both financial security and increased abilities to purchase goods and services, thus creating jobs for other Americans.† Nevertheless, the business-backed nonprofit Employment Policies Institute remarked that increasing the minimum wage rate does not lower poverty. Studies indicate that there is no relationship between high wage rates and the reduction of poverty therefore; this initiative might not be used as a way of reducing the poverty rates in various states. According to Shemkus (2-3), further studies have also found the relationship between unemployment and increasing the minimum wage rate. Opponents of increasing the minimum wage rate reiterate that by increasing the minimum wage rates, the employers would be overburdened that they may not hire more workers. This will make it more badly when many people will be unable to be employed. On the other hand, the rise in wage rate is seen as a special move that will enhance the consumer patterns of purchasing. Nonetheless, the consumer goods and services will increase in correspondence to increased minimum wage rates. Studies have indicated that by improving the minimum wage rates, individuals will live

An overview: Chikungunya fever

An overview: Chikungunya fever Introduction The derivation of chikungunya came from Tanzania, when there were reports of a dengue-like symptom outbreak in 1952-1953, in the Newala and Masasi Districts of the Southern Province. However, dengue was later excluded on the basis that this epidemic involved patients suffering from debilitating joint pains and shorter incubation period which are not clinical features of dengue. Consequently, the illness was called chikungunya; (Robinson 1955) a word from the Makonde dialect describing patients contorted posture (Lumsden 1955). Chikungunya is an arthropod borne virus (arbovirus) of the genus: Alphavirus from Togaviridae family. It is transmitted to humans mainly by day biting mosquito species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Townson and Nathan 2008). Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) contains a positive-sense single stranded RNA genome, enclosed in an icosahedral nucleocapsid (combination of nucleic acid and capsid) all enclosed in a phospholipid bilayer envelope. Embedded in the envelope are multiple copies of two encoded glycoproteins E1 and E2, a small glycoprotein E3, and a hydrophobic peptide 6K (Strauss and Strauss 1994). History There were no previous reported cases of chikungunya or dengue in Tanzania before the chikungunya epidemic in 1952 1953 thus, the inhabitants were highly susceptible in acquiring CHIKV infections (Robinson 1955). Prescott et al, 2002 stated that herd immunity; that is, the immunity that is acquired by a large proportion of the population either through vaccination, or from previous infections, thereby rendering the population resistant to the spread of the diseases. Furthermore, other factors could have contributed to the epidemic including records of unusually high rainfall during February to May 1952. Consequently, this condition was thought to provide suitable breeding environment for the mosquitoes to expand their population, suggesting that the main vector of transmissions were mosquitoes (Lumsden 1955). However, not only high rainfall was implicated in enhancing mosquitoes breeding environment, but also water filled clay jars dug in the inhabitants huts floor in preparation fo r the drought season. Consequently, these jars are rarely completely emptied, which further enhanced mosquitoes populations. Another contributing factor to the epidemic could be the living conditions and lifestyles of the indigenous populations. Animals such as fowl, pigeons and occasionally goats were reared in the inhabitants huts. Consequently, these vertebrates could also serve as CHIKV hosts, and thus, this has provided opportunities for transmissions between animals and humans. During early January 1953, the incidence of the epidemic has reached its peak (Lumsden 1955). However, once a person has acquired the infection, that person will become immune to further infections with the same virus (Robinson 1955). Subsequently, this means that as herd immunity increases, the number of viraemic inhabitants decreases. Aim Consequently, it has inspired this literature review on chikungunya in assessing its outbreaks incidence and prevalence, its associations with dengue and the vectors. Furthermore, from this to determine if it poses a risk that Western medicine should be planning for. Clinical Features Chikungunya has a viraemic incubation period of 3-12 days (Robinson 1955). Rezza et al. (2007) described chikungunya as a mild and self limited disease in most of the patients. with patients presenting with clinical features such as fever ranging from 39-39.8oC, fatigue, skin rash (sometimes itches), headache, joint pain (arthalgia), muscle pain (myalgia), diarrhoea, vomiting, photophobia, and conjunctivitis. Furthermore, Kannan et al. (2009) observed most of the above symptoms with inclusion of oedema, oral ulcers, nausea, and haemorrhage. Arthalgia and myalgia involves extremities such as wrists, ankles, hands, feet and phalanges. However, arthalgia, myalgia, oedema, lethargy, and weakness persisted even after fever had subsided (Kannan et al. 2009). However, the La Reunion outbreak observed vertical transmissions from mother to child, with newborns presenting with chikungunya infection without prior involvement of mosquitoes. These infants presented with fever, pain, poor feeding, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), petechiae, distal joint oedema, and thrombocytopenia. Also involved were severe neonatal infections including encephalitis and haemorrhagic fever. Furthermore, there were cases whereby transient brain haemorrhages were complicated by the presence of DIC (Gà ©rardin et al. 2008). Table 1: represents different clinical features that were associated with chikungunya infection during several outbreaks. Clinical Features associated with Chikungunya Most common Joint pain (96.6%) Fever Fever Fever Fever (96.3%) Joint pain Joint pain Arthalgia Headache (71.2%) Arthritis Fatigue Myalgia Muscle pain (62.6%) Myalgia Skin rash Headache Cutaneous eruptions (32.5%) Arthralgia Headache Anorexia Headache Muscle pain Nausea Rash Diarrhoea Itch/ Rash Sore throat Itch/ Rash Oedema Vomiting Oral ulcer Photophobia Eye pain Conjunctivitis Vomiting Eye congestion Least common Haemorrhage Reference Renault et al. 2007 Yosulf et al. 2008 Kannan et al. 2009 Distribution of Chikungunya The World Health Organisation (WHO) alerted the Global Alert and Response Network in March 2005, of an impending outbreak of chikungunya fever in the Comoro Islands. It was the first Southwestern Indian Ocean islands to be implicated in the epidemic, subsequently; other countries were later implicated in this epidemic. The emergence of the epidemic in Mayotte was imported from Grande-Comore by mid-April and by the end of April Mauritius was also implicated. Overall, the Southwestern Indian Ocean region was believed to be afflicted by the first emergence of CHIKV (Renault et al. 2007). In April 2005, a chikungunya infection which started in Grande-Comorre was imported into La Reunion (French Overseas Territory), became its first severe reported case, in March 2004 to April 2005. It resulted in the establishment of a wide operational epidemiologic surveillance system by the islands local authority with the following objectives monitor epidemic trends, characterise cases and detect new transmission clusters to provide orientations for prevention and vector control. Unfortunately, the collection of data was not conducted scientifically, as the figures of reported cases were not scientifically correlated (Renault et al. 2007). Moreover, there were also flaws in the correlation of the epidemic curve as the capacity of the surveillance system was not sufficient to evaluate the number of cases. Consequently, this resulted in an underestimated number of reported cases. (Renault et al. 2007). Approximately 3% cases did not correspond with the criteria defining suspected cas es as an abrupt onset of fever >38.5oC accompanied by debilitating joint pain. However, Renault et al. (2007) argued that these were mainly due to some atypical cases that were confirmed by laboratory testing and also due to errors in reporting cases. Moreover, there could have been misdiagnosis of chikungunya infection as not all of the atypical cases were laboratory confirmed; and also the previous year there were outbreak of dengue. By April 2006, 203 deaths which were either directly or indirectly attributed to chikungunya infection with the mortality rate of 0.3/1000 people with a median age of 79. Consequently, the number of deaths was minimal. Moreover, the low immune status of the individual as indicated by the age could have been a contributing factor to the death, as some of these individuals were presented with other underlying conditions. However, direct association between death and infection was not confirmed due to the absence of autopsies, consequently; this made it difficult to assess the extent chikungunya virus had on death. Mayotte, an island of the Comoros archipelago was involved in the first CHIKV outbreak in April 2005 to July 2006 affecting approximately 6346 residents. The outbreak involved two waves, with peak occurring in the second wave aroIn the Maldives, an outbreak occurred during December 2006 to April 2007 with 11879 confirmed and suspected cases. Out of the 197 inhabited Maldives islands 121 islands reported CHIKV. The epidemic was thought to be associated with unusually high rainfall from October 2006 to March 2007 and post tsunami construction activities which provided breeding sites for mosquitoes. (Yoosuf et al. 2008). On the east coast of Madagascar, in Toamasina, Chikungunya virus and Dengue type 1 virus outbreak were reported during January to March 2006. The study involved interrogating 4,242 residents in 27 neighbourhoods, of which 2,863 were suspected cases and of these 44 were hospitalised cases. 55 patients serum were sampled after passing the criteria which included having less than five days of fever as well as three of these symptoms: headache, myalgia, arthralgia, retroorbital pain or rash. The results included 24 dengue patients, 4 chikungunya and 10 co-infections. As the study was only based on clinical investigations, and only a few samples were analysed, there were insufficient investigation to measure the Chikungunyas and Dengues contributions in the 2 peaks of the epidemic curve. Furthermore, 2 of the 24 Dengue patients had IgM Chikungunya virus. This could be caused by false positive or false negative results, resulting in misdiagnosis or they were in fact co-infections (Ratsitor ahina et al. 2008). The cases represented on the map are either confirmed cases or suspected cases. Reference: 1 Krastinova et al. 2006, 2 Rezza et al. 2007, 3 Pastorino et al. 2004, 4 Sissoko et al. 2008, 5 Lumsden 1955, 6 Tamburro and Depertat 2009, 7 CDC 2009, 8 WHO 2008, 9 Yoosuf et al. 2009. Transmission of CHIKV CHIKV requires an invertebrate and vertebrate host in order to complete its replication cycle (Pardigon 2009). Invertebrate hosts also known as definitive hosts are mainly the Aedes mosquito species. The Aedes mosquito becomes infected subsequent to ingesting viraemic blood meal from infected vertebrate hosts. The blood meal containing CHIKV travel to the gut, there CHIKV undergo replication within the gut wall. Subsequently, CHIKV contain mechanisms permitting its penetration into the mosquitoes tissues. From there, it passes through either the bloodstream or by other methods (not well known) to different sites of the body such as the salivary glands where it undergoes further replication. Extrinsic incubation period (EIP) is defined as the time taken for the vector to transmit CHIKV after ingesting a viraemic blood meal. Subsequently, there are factors that could influence the length of the EIP including temperature which increases when the EIP decreases. This is thought to be an i nverse proportional relationship. Moreover, the quantity of viraemic blood ingested is another factor (Cook and Zumla 2009). Furthermore, Ross (1956) research demonstrated that a mosquito could harbour viral particles for up to 30 days. Gould and Higgs (2009) suggested that vertical transmission of CHIKV from infected mosquitoes result in infected mosquitoes eggs. These eggs, due to their dessicated nature, are able to survive for long period of time in the environment where it hatches during the rainy season. Sylvatic transmission cycle involves vertebrate hosts such as primates, birds, and rodents which serve as natural hosts (Pardigon 2009). However, humans were considered accidental hosts, resulting in urban transmission cycles producing epidemics. After taking a viraemic bloodmeal from an infected human the domestic mosquitoes can also become infected thereby contributing to the outbreaks (Gould and Higgs 2009). Distributions of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti The main vectors of chikungunya are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The vector involved in the 2005/2006 Mayotte outbreak was Aedes albopictus which resided locally on the island (Sissoko et al. 2008). Aedes albopictus was involved in the 2006 Dengue fever and Chikungunya outbreak in Madagascar. The mosquito was found in drums, buckets, coconut shells, discarded cans, pots wet containers and tyres (Ratsitorahina et al. 2008). In the 2007 Italian outbreak, the only vector present was Aedes albopictus (Rezza et al. 2007). The main vector associated with recent outbreaks was Aedes albopictus. Effect of climate change Most of the cases occurred after reports of high rainfall. Association with Dengue Fever and Malaria In the 1999-2000 Democratric Republic of Congo outbreak, patients had acquired simultaneous CHIKV and Plasmodium falciparum infection. However, there were not sufficient evidence to prove co-infection between the two but it was assumed by the authors that it was probable (Pastorino et al. 2004). Compared to CHIKV, dengue virus is of the genus Flavirivirus from Flaviridae family and contains 4 serotypes (Dayal-Drager 2004 cited by Seyler et al. 2009). The 2006 Madagascar outbreak showed that the mosquito can harbour both Chikungunya and dengue virus (Ratsitorahina et al. 2008). CHIKV is often masked by dengue fever due to similar clinical features. Consequently, a study by Vazeille et al. (2008) demonstrated that Aedes aegypti has a higher susceptibility in Dengue 2 virus and a lower susceptibility to CHIKV. Moreover, studies by Vazeille et al. (2008) and Moutailler et al. (2009) demonstrated that Aedes albopictus are more effiecient at harbouring CHIKV than dengue 2 virus. Importation into Europe France Between March 2005 to August 2006, 80 visitors from Chikungunya infected countries in the Southwest Indian Ocean region (La Reunion, Mauritius, Mayotte, Comoros and India) confirmed chikungunya infection at Pitià ©-Salpà ªtrià ¨ne Hospital in Paris, France (Hochedez et al. 2007). Italy In 2007, a massive CHIKV outbreak occurred in the Emilia Romagna region in northeastern Italy. There were 205 identified cases with frebile illness reported in Castiglione di Cervia and Castiglione di Ravenna villages (171) separated by the river in Revana province, and Cervia (13) and other villages (21), between July 4 to September 27. The epidemic was believed to be imported from Kerala, India (CHIKV epidemic infested area) by a man, who after two days of his arrival in Castiglione di Cervia developed frebile illness. The majority of the cases were the elderly (median age 60) representing increased incidence with age. Aedes albopictus which causes Chikungunya was also found in the area of the epidemic which further propagated the virus. Positive CHIKV sequences were detected in 90 captured Aedes albopictus mosquitoes from Castiglione di Cervia and 125 from Castiglione di Ravenna. Most cases occurred in Castiglione di Cervia and Castiglione di Ravenna Villages with peak incidence d uring third week of August. The 13 Cervia cases were local transmission introduced from Castiglione through migration (Rezza et al. 2007). Other European Countries Due to travelling, several European countries have encountered CHIKV from viraemic travellers from epidemic countries (Panning et al. 2008). The study was conducted at the Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany involved 680 patients. References Beran, G. W. (1994) Handbook of zoonoses. Section B: Viral. 2nd Edition. CRC Press LLC: Florida. CDC. (2009) Outbreak notice. Chikungunya in Asia and the Indian Ocean. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/content/outbreak-notice/chikungunya-fever.aspx. Accessed on 28th January 2010. CDC. (2008) Chikungunya Transmission http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/Chikungunya/CH_Transmission.html Downloaded on 8th December 2009. Cook, G. C., Zumla, A. I. (2009) Mansons Tropical Diseases. 22nd Edition. Saunders: China. Gà ©rardin, P., Barau, G., Michault, A., Bintner, M., Randrianaivo, H., Choker, G., Lenglet, Y., Touret, Y., Bouveret, A., Grivard, P., Le Roux, K., Blanc, S., Schuffenecker, I., Couderc, T., Arenzana-Seisdedos, F., Lecuit, M., Robillard, P-Y. (2008) Multidisciplinary Prospective Study of Mother-to-Child Chikungunya virus Infections on the Island of La Rà ©union. PLoS Medicine, 5(3), 413-423. Gould, E. A., Higgs, S. (2009) Impact of climate change and other factors on emerging arbovirus diseases. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 103(2), 109-121. Hochedez, P., Hausfater, P., Jaureguiberry, S., Gay, F., Datry, A., Danis, M., Bricaire, F., Bossi, P. (2007) Cases of Chikungunya Fever Imported from the Islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean to Paris, France. Eurosurveillance. 12(1-3). Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=679LanguageId=2. Accessed date: 12th November 2009. Kannan, M., Rajendran, R., Sunish, I. P., Balasubramaniam, R., Arunachalam, N., Paramasivan, R., Tewari, S. C., Philip, Samuel, P., Tyagi, B. K. (2009) A study on chikungunya outbreak during 2007 in Kerala, south India. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 129,(3), 311-315. Krastinova, E., Quatresous, I., Tarantola, A. (2006) Imported cases of chikungunya in metropolitan France. Eurosurveillance, 34(11). Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=3030. Accessed on: 28th January 2010. Lumsden, W. H. R. (1955) An Epidemic of Virus Disease in Southern Province, Tanganyika Territory, in 1952-53 II. General Description and Epidemiology. Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hgeine. 49(1), 33-57. Moutailler, S., Barre, H., Vazielle, M., Failloux, A-B. (2009) Recently introduced Aedes albopictus in Corsica is competent to Chikungunya virus and in a lesser extent to dengue virus. Tropical Medicine and International Health. 14(9), 1105-1109. Panning, M., Grywna, K., Van Esbroeck, M., Emmerich, P., Drosten, C. (2008) Chikungunya Fever in Travellers Returning to Europe from the Indian Ocean Region, 2006. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 14(3), 416-422. Paquet, C., Quatresous, I., Solet, J.-L., Sissoko, D., Renault, P., Pierre, V., Cordel, H., Lassalle, C., Thiria, J., Zeller, H., Schuffnecker, I. (2006) Chikungunya outbreak In Rà ©union: epidemiology and surveillance, 2005 to early January 2006. Eurosurveillance. 11(5). Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=2891. Accessed on: 12th November 2009. Pardigon, N. (2009) The biology of chikungunya: A brief review of what we still do not know. Pathologie Biologie. 57(2), 127-132. Pastorino, B., Muyembe-Tamfum, J.J., Bessaud, M., Tock, F., Tolou, H., Durand, J.P., Peyrefitte, C.N. (2004) Epidemic Resurgence of Chikungunya Virus in Democratic Republic of the Congo: Identification of the New Central African Strain. Journal of Medical Virology 74(2), 277-282. Pialoux, G., Gaà ¼zà ¨re, B.-A., Jaurà ©guiberry, S., Strobel, M. (2007) Chikungunya, an epidemic arbovirosis. Lancet Infectious Diseases 7(5), 319-327. Prescott, L.M., Harley, J.P., Klein, D.A. (2002) Microbiology. Fifth Edition. Boston; London : McGraw-Hill. Ratsitorahina, M., Harisoa, J., Ratovonjato, J., Biacabe, S., Reynes, J.-M., Zeller, H., Raoelina, Y., Talarmin, A., Richard, V., Soares, J.-L. 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