Prison Overcrowding And Its Effects On The United States...

Per Derek Gilna’s report on Increase in Federal Prison Population, Overcrowding, prisons have become overpopulated throughout a five-year span from 2006 to 2011 (Gilna, page 48). Prison overcrowding has become a plague in the United States for some time now. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics shows more than two-million adults are incarcerated in US federal and state prisons. There are many reasons that prisons are becoming overpopulated but not such a certain cause. To fix the problem, attention must be brought towards the causes of this problem. Its happen to become a serious issue because it affects the prisoners, tax payers, prison staff and millions of others living in the U.S. as well. To put a stop to this continuous problem, action must take place to start prison reform and to structure our country to punish criminals in manner that is more reasonable than how we currently do it in today’s world. Mostly everyone today might have some type of relation or connect ion to a person that may be in jail or prison. That person may have committed a more serious crime than others that probably made a mistake but somehow ended up incarcerated for a very long time whether they were innocent or guilty. The rate of incarceration in the US is indeed high. Nearly, 455 people per every 100,000 people are incarcerated (Smolowe, 1994). These numbers are higher than any other country in the world. Looking at South Africa, our second closest, there are only 311 people per ever 100,000Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Prison Overcrowding On The United States Essay1713 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States has the biggest imprisonment rate on the planet, and paying a high cost for it. Detainment strength finished in the mid-1970s when the jail populace expanded from 300,000 to 1.6million detainees, and the imprisonment rate from 100 for each 100,000 to more than 500 for every 100,000. Nonetheless, there is by all accounts little relationship between the wrongdoin g rate and the imprisonment rate (Clear et al., 2013). One of the causes of prison overcrowding comes about because of theRead MoreOvercrowding And Its Effects On The United States Prison System1178 Words   |  5 Pages Overcrowding prisons are an issue that has been influencing the United States prison population for decades, however what is the true significance of overcrowding. As indicated by Jeff Bleich (1989) â€Å"the term overcrowding is repetitive, since crowding already refers to a higher level of social density than is desired†. An overcrowded prison is a shocking condition that causes outrage and dissatisfaction among detainees (Haney, 2014). This condition is so undesirable that one can consider it as unconstitutionalRead MorePrison Overcrowding Essay1184 Words   |  5 Pages Prison Overcrowding Nicole Neal American Intercontinental University Abstract This research paper is to explore the impact of prison overcrowding. The United States has a, what seems to be everlasting, prison overcrowding problem. Not only does the United States have this dilemma, but also many other countries have overcrowded prisons as well. Many issues need to be addressed; ways to reduce the prison populations and how to effectively reduce prison cost withoutRead MorePrison Overcrowding And The United States1555 Words   |  7 Pagesones.† The prisons in the United States have been overcrowded for many years and require a change in order to fix this. Some of the main causes for prison overcrowding that will be covered in this paper are mass incarceration, long sentencing, recidivism, and prisoners of drug crimes. Overcrowding of prisons in the United States is a major issue that affects not only the prisoners themselves, but taxpayers and politicians. Although there are many different solutions to prison overcrowding such as buildingRead MorePrison Overcrowding : The United States1535 Words   |  7 Pages 2017 Prison Overcrowding The United States has the highest number of incarcerated individuals than other countries. Offenders are arrested every day for minor and major offences such as murder. America is hard on crime. When someone breaks the law the criminal justice’s system seeks an eye for an eye. Prison overcrowding has become a major problem in the United States, it is very expensive to house an inmate and there are other methods to punish offenders without sending them to prison for extendedRead MoreEffects Of Prison Overcrowding1345 Words   |  6 Pagesproblems and a few of the effects that prison overcrowding causes towards the inmates and the guards. I will first address the issue of violence that prison overcrowding causes. My next point will be the health of the inmates discussing both their physical and mental while in overcrowded prisons. Lastly I will discuss the physical and mental health of the correctional officers and how the job could lead to correctional officers having issues in their private life. Prison Overcrowding has become a majorRead MorePrison Overcrwoding in America and England1234 Words   |  5 PagesPrison overcrowding in the United States is due to many reoccurring charges that is being sentenced to inmates that have been released and returning. As the increasing inmate population is a growing concern in the U.S, many law enforcement agencies and academic expert have analyzed data about the situation and are working to combat it. Research shows that Drugs are mainly to blame. Of the inmates in federal prison as of September 2011, more than half or 50.4% was serving sentences for drug offensesRead MoreThe Overcrowding Of The Correctional Facilities1730 Words   |  7 Pagesthreat to maintaining this balance is the overcrowding of prisons. In 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that massive overcrowding of California prisons violates its prisoner’s eighth amendment right protecting them from cruel and unusual punishment (Boylan, 2015, p. 558). At the time California’s correctional institutions were at double their capacity, housing over 155, 500 prisoners in only 33 institutions (Specter, 2010, p. 194). The overcrowding of correctional facilities is one of theRead MoreIncreased Population of Prisons Essay1606 Words   |  7 PagesOvercrowded prisons and improper punishment systems are enormous social issues for our government. The United States has seen steady growth in its prisons. A projected increment in seen due to â€Å"get-tough† policies that locks up offenders for longer sentences (Ohlemacher, 2007, para. 1). The correction system had been through various phases of transformation, and the government had been tough on crime; this approach had resulted in rising prison populations. There are many factors that cause overcrowdingRead MorePrison Systems Do Not Control The Number Of Prisoners Sent1286 Words   |  6 PagesCrimes in America 26 March 27, 2016 Overcrowding in Prisons The prison systems do not control the number of prisoners sent to jails. However, they have to deal with the consequences of this fact. In the last twenty years, all over the world, it is experienced a rapid increase in the number of prisoners. This growth is not limited to any particular type of jurisdiction or political system - it is observed in all regions of the world. According to the incapacitation effect, the shorter the span of opportunity

Domestic Violence By Law Enforcement Officers - 1531 Words

Domestic Violence by Law Enforcement Officers: A Review on Police Brutality Joette Jackson Dr. Khalfani Sociology 101-008 April 1, 2015 Domestic altercation contributes the largest category of calls received by the po-lice annually. It is not surprising considering the vast number of womb who are abused by their significant others. Domestic abuse is a hard pill to swallow, it is a complex issue that plagues a society. Neither parties are likely to come forth with the traumatic details. It is easy to read on the internet about the perils of domestic violence. The common sto-ries of a man abuses woman, a woman kills child, for all to see. However, what causes violence to happen? Who really is to blame? The Judicial system†¦show more content†¦In recent years America has experience the largest amount of layoffs due to the poor economy. Imagine the weight of unemployment increasing daily, now imagine the stress that causes inside the households of Americans. Corsianos (2012) restated, the average Male officers in a large police department will cost taxpayers between two –and-a half and five-and- a half ti mes more than the aver-age female officer with regard to force liability lawsuit payouts. (National Center for Women and Policing 2002). Due to this Female officers are less likely to succumb to rage which leads to domestic violence. IMPACT ON VICTIMS Physical. Every nine seconds a woman is beaten by her spouse (Protection Against Crime, 2002). Seventy-five percent of the victims of intimate murders are female with a total of three to four million women being battered each year by their respective intimate partners (Protection Against Crime, 2002).The victims of domestic abuse by law enforcement officers endure a special kind of torture, that others in that similar situation do not. The victims are most likely to endure the dangers of professionals who are experienced in firearms, knowledge and training of subduing their victims, etc. During these types of events, one might lose the sense of control and order they once had in their lives. Victims of abuse may suffer physical and emotional pain from the ordeals they had to live through, long after their

Impact of Digital Technologies on Customer Behaviour Free-Sample

Question: What is the Impact of Digital Technologies on Customer Behaviour. Answer: Digital presence in simple terms means having space online. Today many companies and businesses have social media accounts, various websites, apps and other viable forms of online advertising so as to reach their customers and other interested investors. Due to the recent advancements and innovations in the technology sector, many people worldwide are at the liberty of convenience to many forms of digital channels of advertisement and marketing. With this, it is easy for a company to reach to customers and make customers get access to its database and access information about the offerings being given out by the particular company. Through this, a company can easily engage with its customers and by so end up building good customer relationships and brand loyalty. (Fume, 2015) For instance, Vodafone which is the second largest telecom company in the world with over a half a million subscribers worldwide after the Chinese firm China Mobile has been using and recently expounding its digital presence in the past years to engage its customers and in turn, create good consumer relations with its clients. Vodafone has a large customer base with a predominant existence of its services in the regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It owns and operates networks in more than 20 countries and has a partnership with networks in over 45 countries (Wuaglobal 2016, p. 1). As of 2014, it had a connection base of subscribers of over 435.9 million throughout the world. The big question now is how it gets to achieve good consumer relations with all these customers through the use of apps, websites, social media and other forms of customer-related technologies. In 2016, Vodafone launched a new small business focused application marketplace. The first country that went live with the application for small and medium sized businesses was Italy. The application marketplace was made up of four main apps. The apps included; Smart sales which were created basically for catalog and management of context. The smart hotel which was created with solution providing tools for those investors and businesses in the hotel sector. Smart mobility which was created to organize the notes of staffs and business expenses mainly. Site web which was created as a personalized website design page. Customers were enabled to directly download the apps and manage them online through the Vodafone's marketplace, and this helped in the improving of the consumer's experience on Vodafone. (Vodafone.com 2016, p. 1). With increased consumer experience Vodafone was and is still able to boast about its great consumer relationship with its customers. For the past five years Vodafone through its partnership with Designate a company with expertise in telecom digital design, have been able to create a digital self-service model with customers experience at its center. Through this initiative, the two of them were able to come up with an app MI Vodafone an app that gives the customers the pleasure of managing all their Vodafone services on a single platform. The app gives the users a tool through which they can manage both their individual products as well as their services together with their relationship with Vodafone. With the use of this app, the customers have been able to check in their day to day consumption, manage their bills, get access to information and change their payment plans all centered in one place. With this app, Vodafone has been able to redefine the relationship with its clients since it now offers highly visual and very transparent relaying of information. Users of Vodafone are now completely in control of their experience on Vodafone compared to the previous experience which was tedious and wasted a lot of money and time compared to the current system which is more efficient and effective. Currently, it only takes thirty seconds or less to access information on Vodafone and this great consumer experience makes the customers more satisfied creating a good customer relationship between the company and its clients. (Designate 2017, p. 32) Social media is not only just a platform where people socialize anymore in the contemporary world as it used to be some years back. Nowadays, social media is platforms that can help a company or a business create a good or poor relationship between a brand or itself and its customers. Vodafone being a telecom company had a very bad encounter with social media some time back in the years 2011 and 2012 in one of its operational bases Australia. To be more specific Vodafone Hutchison Australia a partnership between Vodafone and Hutchison had an experience with consumer backlash due to social media criticism. In the year 2011 and 2012, the company Vodafone Hutchison Australia lost more than 680000 customers mainly because of a widespread criticism on various social media platforms. To rectify the mistake, the new CEO Kim Clarke came up with a strategy through which the company gets to directly engage with its customers through the company's website and various social media platforms. Vodafone Hutchison Australia has now come up with a well-designed process of improving customers experience through ensuring that there is the practice of consistent and highly relevant social media engagement with its clients. To make sure that this is not just a strategy with no action the company has put up a network team of thirty-five agents. The agents are assigned to manage the company's social environment through a platform known as Radian 6. (CMO 2017, p. 45) With this the company has been able to ensure that it provides highly objective service level to its customers and thus create a good consumer relationship with its customers. This can be attributed to the recent improvements that have been noticed in the company's operation in the immediate present past. In New Zealand, Vodafone has a partnership with one of the local companies called Digital Mobile which is one of its largest dealers in New Zealand? Digital Mobile is mandated to mainly sell and support the products and services that are being provided by Vodafone in the New Zealands local market (Vodafone 2016). For a long time, the customers of the company have been used to signing their Vodafone contracts. They have been doing so using a paperwork system which was tedious, time-consuming, inefficient and very ineffective with the comparison to the new system since customers were returning incomplete contracts. Consequently, the company's employees had to go back to the customers and ask for the missing information. These always resulted in customers ending up not getting all the services they had applied or requested for, and at the end the customers became frustrated, and that stretched the company's relation with the customers (Ready Business 2015, p. 1). Recently, through the making of various consultations with various expertises the company has come up with an electronic signup system to make the signing process for the Vodafone contracts is more streamlined and becomes satisfying to the customers. Through the introduction of the self-sufficient electronic sign-up system, the customers are now able to sign up for their contracts using mobile data through a digital signing process. The employees in the company now don't have to go back to the customer for missing information on the contracts, but instead, they do it through the same platform. The new system now manages customer follow-ups, the signing processes and sends customers reminders thus reducing time consumption in signing up for contracts. (Secured Signing, 2017, p. 12). These have made sure the customers are highly satisfied and through the company has been able to create a good bond with its consumer bases hence making a good customer relationship between the company and its clients. In 2011, Vodafone Egypt during the Cairo ICT 2011 conference and exhibition' was able to introduce to its customers some apps which were tuned towards improving the consumer services the company was offering its clients. The apps were also focused towards improving its consumers' experience. One of the apps shirkers' which in English can be translated to my company' was introduced mainly to help companies increase their performance effectiveness and efficiency by allowing them to employ latest business management of finance and administration of customer relations through the internet (Indian Weekly 2010, p. 23). The app comprises of two other apps. One of them mallaffaty' which in English can be translated to my files' was made in such a way that it allows customers to save files on a program based on the internet and also allows them to retrieve them and also download them at any time. The second one is known as mawqe'ie' which can be translated into English to mean my website' application that helps the users to set up their websites and emails through very easy steps rather than having to look for expensive expertise. Another app they introduced is known as Hesabaty' which translates to my account' an app that offers the customers to manage their accounts through the internet (Dupre 2016, p. 1). Due to this apps introduction, Vodafone Egypt was able to create a good consumer relationship with its customers since customer satisfaction was improved and is now at its best. Also in 2012, Vodafone was able to introduce high internet speed through the 4G technology. Long term evolution LTE was introduced at a speed of 150Mbps which is the highest yet known internet speed so far.Through the introduction of this high-speed internet, customers have been able to have a very pleasant experience with the use of internet everywhere around the world. In the same year 2011, Vodafone was also able to come up with an app the Vodafone Buzz (Clariden Global 2017, p. 1). The app is mainly designed as a networking and chatting platform just like other social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Google talk. In addition to this Vodafone, buzz gives additional options like questionnaires, chat rooms, and games. To add on its long chain of network and technological modes of managing its consumer relationships Vodafone came up with a device called the Web box. This device is connected to the television so that both of them work at the same time. This enables the customers to listen to FM radio, access the internet and send and receive emails, short messages, and multimedia messages. With this Vodafone has been able to cement its consumer bases and thus created a great bond with its customers and by so doing it has been able to maintain its relationship with its customers (Vodafone Egypt, 2011) Vodafone has been on the verge of improving and transforming businesses throughout the globe. Through its workings, Vodafone was able to come up with transformation pathways for businesses and effective business models (Designate 2017, p. 13). Through its visions and focus Vodafone was able to come up with FSOM the Future State Operating Model whose aim was to deliver a unified set of standard processes in the business and corporate world across its many networks globally. With this the company has been able to introduce transformations in the business like BMT2 the Business Transformation Methodology which when applied transformed the company from a merger and acquisition growth technology company to a shareholder driven consumer focused company making it more flexible towards the management of consumer relations.(Digitalist,2014) Vodafone through its partnership with a Kenyan based Telecommunication Company Safaricom which is the East Africa's largest telecom company was able to introduce the worlds largest mobile money transfer platform known as MPESA which has its transactions accumulating to $ 50 billion a year (Telecom Lead 2016, p. 1). Through Vodafone, the platform is now operating in more than four countries, and it has helped users send and receive money conveniently through their mobile phones without having to go to banks and other financial institutions. With these Vodafone has been able to manage its consumer relationships. Conclusion Vodafone just like many businesses in the today corporate world has put emphasis to digital presence to create and enhance a good relation with its customers. Through the various innovations, it has made it has been able to remain one of the world's largest telecom companies. The above discussed are just some of the apps, social media, and customer-related technologies are just some of the many forms Vodafone is using to create and reinform itself for digital presence. References Clariden Global 2017, 2nd annual digital consumer care, contact center, and experience. Available from: claridenglobal.com/conference/digitalcustomercare-contactcenter2017/ (Accessed on May 6, 2017) CMO 2017, changing the brand one conversation at a time: Vodafone Hutchison Australia. Available from: www.cmo.com.au/article/462940/changing_brand_one_conversation_time_vodafone_Hutchison_Australia. (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Designate 2017, Nextgen digital relationships. Available from: https://designit.com/cases/nextgen-digital-relationships (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Digitalist 2015, Vodafone Turns Up The Volume On Business Transformation. Available from: www.digitalistmag.com/industries/telecomunications-industries/2014/04/23/vodafone-turns-up-the-volume-on-business-transformation-01249234 (Accesses on May 6, 2017) Dupre 2016, Vodafone Fastest Mobile Operator to Respond To Customers-Du Prepel. Available from: www.dupre.co.uk/mobile.../vodafone-fastest-mobile-operator-respond-customers/ (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Flume 2015, What Does It Mean To Have A Digital Presence?-Cover Magazine. Available from: flume.co.za/what-does-it-mean-to-have-a-digital-presence-career-magazine/ (Accessed on May 6, 2017) India Weekly 2010, India weekly Telkom news March 12, 2010. Available from: https://books.google.com/books?id=07nmDyIHCQIC (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Ready Business 2015, Ready Business Insights: Social Media in Hospitality-Vodafone NZ. Available from: www.vodafone.co.nz/readybusiness/digital-insights/social-for-hospitality/ (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Secured signing 2017, Digital Mobile Moves To Electric Signing for Contracts. Available from: www.securedsigning.com/resourses/case-studies/digital-mobile (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Telecom Lead 2016, Vodafone reveals digital cloud marketplace targeting SMEs. Available from: www.telecomlead.com/telecom-services/vodafone-reveals-digital-cloud-marketplace-targeting-smes-72137 (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Vodafone 2011, Press release for publication Cairo, 28 May 201. Available from: www.vodafone.com.eg/vodafoneportalweb/en/releaseDetail-page?dDocName=VF_017145 (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Vodafone cloud 2015, Vodafone cloud barometer. Available from: https://www.vodafone.nl/-assets/mgb/downloads/.../whitepaper-cloud-barometer.pdf (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Vodafone 2016, Vodafone launches new small business focused app marketplace. Available from: www.vodafone.com/business/press-release/vodafone-launches-new-small-business-focused-application-marketplace-2016-10-24 (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Vodafone 2016, Vodafone: ready business index. Available from: https://businessapps.vodafone.com.au/en/readybusinessindex (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Vodafone 2017, Future ready retail-Vodafone. Available from: https://www.vodafone.ie/content?id=BAU025225 (Accessed on May 6, 2017) Wuaglobal 2016, Vodafone Wins Digital Customer Experience Study SIM only plan-WUA. Available from: www.wuaglobal.com/.../vodafone-wins-digital-customer-experience-study-sim-plan-g... (Accessed from May 6, 2017)

Psychology Adrian Monk free essay sample

Adrian Monk, portrayed by actor Tony Shalhoub, is the main character in the USA Network series MONK. Monk is a former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department, suffering from an anxiety disorder known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as numerous phobias. After Monk’s wife was murdered, his disorder worsened leading to his suspension from the police force. When the series opens, Monk works as a private police homicide consultant and undergoes therapy to overcome his anxiety disorder and phobias. He is assisted by a private nurse who helps him cope with his disability on the job. Part One—Case Study Character Background The episode â€Å"Happy Birthday Mr. Monk† shows that Monk, born October, 17, 1959, is a California man of Welsh ancestry. Monk is 50 years old, and was born in Marin County, CA. He stated, â€Å"His alma mater is the University of California, Berkley. † His parents were very strict and authoritarian. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychology Adrian Monk or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Monk’s father Jack Monk abandoned the family when Monk was eight years old. Jack said that he was going to get Chinese food, but he never came back. Ambrose Monk, Monk’s brother, is agoraphobic and afraid to go out in public. Monk’s mom died in 1994. Because of these childhood family events, Monk is already a very sensitive and fragile person. Mr. Monk dislikes unorganized, rude, dirty, and filthy people. He also dislikes murderers, people who commit evil acts, and criminals on the loose. That is the reason he became a homicide detective. Mr. Monk likes people who help others, such as his physician and Trudy. In addition, he likes organized, clean, and tidy people. Mr. Monk’s strength is that he is a very clever detective. Plus, he has an amazing photographic memory, which helps him catch criminals. His weakness is that he has many phobias, which affect his performance as a detective. Mr. Monk doesn’t have any friends because of the weird and odd behaviors caused by his OCD. His family consists of his assistants/nurses Sharona, and then Natalie. He also works with people in the homicide department, namely Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Randy Disher. Stressors/Pathology Mr. Monk does not have any relationships with anyone, mainly because of his odd behaviors. He acts strangely in front people because of his OCD. In the episode â€Å"Mr. Monk Makes A New Friend† he annoys a new friend by calling him too much. Monk explains himself, stating, â€Å"I can’t not call him or hear his voice. † It is very annoying to call a friend every hour. That is one example of how Mr. Monk has difficulty with personal relationships. His wife, Trudy Monk, with whom he had a meaningful relationship, died in a car bomb. Before his wife’s death, Mr. Monk’s OCD symptoms had alleviated. After Trudy was murdered, the OCD symptoms intensified, and those around him could clearly see that he had issues, which affected his job performance and led to his isolation. When the series begins, Mr. Monk’s condition is somewhat stable, but his lives in an overly organized apartment. The battle Monk faces daily is how to make it through the day with his OCD. He tries to avoid everything that makes him uncomfortable or is viewed as a threat. Mr. Monk stresses over the fact that every room must be neat and tidy. Plus everything must be a multiple of 10; for example he buys a box of eggs, which contains 12 eggs and deliberately throws two eggs away. Mr. Monk doesn’t have any history of this disorder, but his brother was agoraphobic. Symptoms Other symptoms of OCD manifest themselves typically as ritual behavior such as repetitive hand washing. Mr. Monk needs to wash his hands every time he touches an object or shakes a hand. He becomes obsessed with shapes. For example, his toast has to be a perfect square. Numbers occupy his time. As mentioned above, everything must come in multiples of 10. He has the typical preoccupation with dirt and germs. For example, he can’t stay in an untidy or dirty room; he has to tidy it up. Mr. Monk is terrified of germs, milk, dust, and heights. So what Mr. Monk does all day is try to stay away from all of these fears. These symptoms never emerged in the series; rather, the viewer is led to believe that Mr. Monk had OCD since he was born. However, the viewer is also informed in conversations with the police sergeant and with Monk’s nurse and therapist that what triggered this disorder was the murder of his wife. Immediately after his wife died, his disorder worsened. Outcome of Case Monk’s treatment was to go to Dr. Charles Kroger for psychotherapy that would aid him to cope with his disorder. In the sessions, Mr. Monk talks about what he did during the day and the goals he accomplished. The treatment is not entirely effective, but it helps Mr. Monk relax and get all the stress out. In the long term, Mr. Monk cannot overcome his disorder because he cannot imagine that he can be cured. In addition, he is not a risk taker, meaning he could never do anything that would make him uncomfortable. Because of this, there is little hope that he will be able to completely overcome his disorder. This makes sense because his disorder is inherited, and not attributed to environmental causes. Part Two—Disease Diagnostic Criteria Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a pattern of recurring obsessions and compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming and interfere with a person’s daily functioning. They must cause marked distress (such as pain or physical harm to the person) or significant impairment. Usually, they take more than one hour of a person’s time. It is important to specify whether or not the patient has poor insight, meaning that the person does not realize that the obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive. At some point, the person must realize that their obsessions and compulsions are not reasonable (i. e. , normal). â€Å"Obsessions are consistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or stress† (DSM IV-TR, 300. 3). Most common obsessions are about contamination with dirt or germs, repeated doubts, a need to have things in a particular order, horrible impulse, the need to shout obscene words, or sexual impulses. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors which people do to reduce the anxiety or distress of the obsessions. For example, repeated hand washing is a compulsion, which satisfies the obsession of repeated thoughts of contamination from dirt. For a complete list of Diagnostic Criteria from the DSM IV-TR, see Appendix A. Etiology (Causes) Nearly 1 to 2 percent of the population suffers from OCD. Most of those begin to be afflicted in early adulthood, and it is often preceded by a particularly stressful event such as pregnancy, childbirth, or family conflict. It may be closely associated with depression, with the disorder developing soon after a bout of depression or the depression developing as a  result of the disorder. Men and women are equally affected. A fairly high proportion (as much as 50 percent) do not marry (Baldridge 2001). Although Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood, it may begin in childhood. Modal age at onset is earlier in males than in females: between ages 6 and 15 years for males and between ages 20 and 29 years for females. For the most part, onset is gradual, but acute onset has been noted in some cases. The majority of individuals have a chronic waxing and waning course, with exacerbation of symptoms that may be related to stress. About 15% show progressive deterioration in occupational and social functioning. About 5% have an episodic course with minimal or no symptoms between episodes (DSM IV-TR, 300. 3) No cause for OCD has been isolated. Four theories exist which try to explain the basis of OCD psychologically: guilt, anxiety, and superstition. 1) The theory of guilt has its origins in Freudian psychoanalysis. Freud believed that patients with OCD developed repetitive rituals, such as hand washing, to replace obsessive thoughts about sex. The obsessive ritual, then, was seen as a way to replace the guilt of being overwhelmed by forbidden, sexual thoughts. 2) The anxiety hypothesis poses that OCD behaviors develop to reduce anxiety. Many thought or action patterns emerge as a way of escape from stress, such as daydreaming during an exam or cleaning one’s room rather than studying for a test. If the stress is long lasting, then a compulsive behavior may set in. 3) The superstition theory proposes a connection between a chance association and a reinforcer that induces a continuation of that behavior. In other words, a particular obsessive-compulsive ritual may be reinforced when a positive outcome follows the behavior; anxiety results when the ritual is interrupted. 4) A fourth theory is accepted by those who believe that mental disorders are the result of something physically or physiologically amiss in the sufferer, employing data from brain structure studies, genetics, and biochemistry. Brain chemistry has been found to be altered in those suffering from OCD, along with increased metabolic activity. In addition, relatives of OCD sufferers are twice as likely as unrelated individuals to develop the same disorder, indicating that the tendency for the behavior could be inheritable (Baldridge 2001). Treatments OCD is one of the most difficult disorders to treat. Treatments usually fall into four categories: psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, drug therapy, and psychosurgery. The goal of psychotherapy in treating OCD is to find and then remove an assumed repression so that the patient can deal honestly and openly with whatever is actually feared. It is hoped that in dealing with the fear, the compulsions that have developed to replace the fear will lessen. The most effective type of psychotherapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder is behavioral therapy. It can help by desensitizing the patient to the feared object or situation. For example, the therapist will aid the patient in replacing the symptoms of the obsession or compulsion with preventive or replacement actions, such as a non vocal, internal shout of â€Å"stop! † when obsessive thoughts enter the mind or the action of snapping a rubber band on the wrist. Behavioral therapy may also help by gradually lengthening the time between the stimulus and response. For example, a patient may hold dirt and then gradually lengthen the amount of time after which he or she will wash his or her hands. While behavioral treatment can help to control OCD, it does not â€Å"cure† the disorder. Drugs used to treat OCD include antidepressants, tricyclic, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), LDS, and tryptophan. Antidepressants help by reducing depression by correcting the serotonin abnormality in the brain, which may decrease the need for compulsive behavior. MAOIs may help OCD associated with panic attacks, phobias, and severe anxiety. With drug therapy, it should be noted that when the drugs are stopped, the patient often returns to the obsessive-compulsive behavior. Psychosurgery to reduce OCD is a last resort. The patient would undergo a lobotomy in which the frontal cortex would be separated from the lower brain area in an 8-centimeter square area. A combination of behavioral therapy, psychotherapy and drug therapy is recommended. General Research Behavioral treatments are new ways to deal with the disorder. For example, someone with an obsession about germs might be asked to practice handling dirt and then not washing his hands for increasing lengths of time. With repeated exposure to the anxiety-provoking object or situation without performing the compulsion, usually the anxiety lessens, and the compulsion weakens its hold. Obsessions can fall into one of five categories: 1. Obsessive doubts, which are persistent doubts that a task has been completed. 2. Obsessive thinking, which is an almost infinite chain of thought, targeting future events. Obsessive impulses, which are very strong urges to perform certain actions, whether they be trivial or serious, that would likely be harmful to the obsessive person or someone else and that are socially unacceptable. 4. Obsessive fears, which are thoughts that the person has lost control and will act in some way that will cause public embarrassment. 5. Obsessive images, which are continued visual pictures of either a real or an imagined event. (DSM IV-TR, 300. 3) Compulsions on the other hand are repeated, ritualized behaviors. For example, fearing one has forgotten to turn off an appliance, such as a stove, is a common obsession. It is likely to be accompanied by a compulsion to check repeatedly, perhaps hundreds of times each day, perhaps to see if the appliance has been turned off. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors, the goal of which is to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress, not to provide pleasure or gratification. In most cases, the person feels driven to perform the compulsion to reduce the distress that accompanies an obsession or to prevent some dreaded event or situation. For example, those with obsessions about being contaminated may reduce their mental distress by washing their hands until their skin is raw. There is difference between OCD and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). A personality disorder is, on the one hand, a type of mental illness characterized by serious and persistent distortions in the total personality. Every perception, attitude, feeling and behavior is affected. OCD, on the other hand, is an anxiety disorder. Like other anxiety disorders, fear is at its root—fear of a hot appliance burning down the house, for example, or fear of the body being contaminated by germs. The fear produces an anxiety which can only be alleviated by a ritual, or compulsion, which will reduce the fear. Conclusion Evaluation of Case In conclusion, Adrian Monk has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. He satisfies the following OCD patterns of behavior: 1. Washer, because he is afraid of contamination; 2. Checker, because Mr. Monk repeatedly checks if the door is locked, or whether the oven is turned off. Mr. Monk checks everything a dozen time just to make sure. For example, he checks his oven if it is closed everyday at least twelve times; 3. Arranger, because he always arranges his utensils based on size and shape and his books based on color. He cannot function in a messy room or disorganized room. In addition, Mr. Monk has other phobias, such as fear of blood and fear of the woods. He is terrified of germs, milk, heights, and spiders. Mr. Monk has a rule that everything he has must come as a multiple of ten. When he buys milk, he gets 10 bottles even though he lives alone and the milk will expire before he has time to drink it all. Monk’s symptoms may improve with therapy, but his OCD will not completely resolve.