Monday, January 27, 2020

Literature Review on Stress and Stressors in Bangladesh

Literature Review on Stress and Stressors in Bangladesh A Critical Review on Stress Scenario in Bangladesh Jannatul Ferdous Introduction Stress is a disruptive physiological and psychological reaction to events that make us feel vulnerable. A certain amount of stress is a foreseeable part of life; but acute stress can hinder our daily activities. It may causes disintegration of general health, frustrations, depression, anxiety, hysteria, cardiovascular accidents, muscular aches and pains, insomnia, hypertension, high blood pressure, cancers, sexual dysfunctions, allergies and other mental disorders (Rahman et al., 2012). Childhood cancers are increasingly becoming a matter of growing apprehension. In Bangladesh, yearly 5000-6000 children have been developing different type of cancers. Diagnosis of a chronic disease like cancer or coronary heart disease (CHD), and its treatment has a massive impact on all aspects of a patient’s life, their acquaintances and families. Sometimes these may cause post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) to the parents of the sufferer (Basher et al., 2012). Stress due to mental retardation is another significant area to focus. Parents experience epidemic physical and mental stress in the process of nurturing the mentally retarded children (Islam, Shanaz, Farjana; 2013). Socio-demographic factors play a crucial role in stress and coping mechanisms (Siddiqui, 2014). Psycho-education can be effectual in alleviating somatic symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction of exaggerated family members or caregivers at a greater percentage (Ara Chowdhury, 2014). There are some contradictory in research findings about the impact of age, sex, occupation, education, type of family, socio-economical status on stress. Differences in the design, sample and measures used in those studies also exist. The aim of this critical review is to understand the stress scenario in Bangladesh, their strengths and weakness in general. Method of Review A critical review was applied to explore the stress scenario in Bangladesh. In order to find out the appropriate published literature for the current review, available journals for psychological research: Bangladesh Psychological Journal, Dhaka University Psychological Journal, Dhaka University Journal of Biological Science, and Google Scholar, were consulted. The key words used in this literature search were â€Å"stress†, â€Å"education†, â€Å"psychology† and â€Å"Bangladesh†. A number of studies were initially found, but not all were appropriate for this review. Finally, a total of 5 original and most applicable published articles were incorporated for the review. These articles reflected studies conducted only in Bangladesh. Table 1 shows the studies with necessary information such as sample size, design, variables, and data analysis techniques. Table 1. Descriptions of the study Results Stress and Cancer Cardiac Patients Rahman et al. (2012) investigated the attitude toward stress of cancer and cardiac patients. They found that both cancer and cardiac patients expressed higher stress attitudes as compared to normal individuals. Regardless of gender and SES, cancer patients expressed higher stress attitude. In spite of type of individual and SES, female patients expressed higher stress attitude than their male counterparts that is partially supported by Islam et al. (2013). They also found that lower middle SES subjects expressed higher stress attitudes than upper middle SES subjects despite of type of individual and gender which are consistent with the findings of Havik et al. (1986). Childhood Cancer Parents Stress Basher et al. (2012) assessed the intensity of stress of the parents with a child anguishing from cancer. Their study may attempt to assess psychological misery and post traumatic stress reactions among the parents. They found leukemia in the highest frequency among all age groups of the sufferers. About 63.8% of the parents had certainly affected, 6.7% had severely affected due to the cancers of their children. 21.8% of the middle class parents (6-10 class educated, 31-40 years of age) with one child suffering from cancer in between 7-12 months, at the time of assessment, were found certainly and severely suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). These findings are partially supported by Siddiqui (2014). Mental Retardation Parents Stress In a study, Islam et al. (2013) found that parents of children with mental retardation (PCMR) shared greater stress score than the parents of children with no mental retardation (PCNR). Mental stress score was significantly higher among PCMR. Moreover, mothers had significantly higher mental stress score than the fathers of mentally retarded children that is partially in consonance with the findings of Rahman et al. (2012) which indicated that female patients were more exaggerated in coping with stress than their male counterpart. Parents shared more mental stress than physical stress which was supported by Gupta, 2010. But the overall study suffers from adequate generalizations due to convenient selections of schools. Socio-demographic Profile of Families Stress Siddiqui (2014) assessed the relation between various socio-demographic variables of families with mentally retarded children and stress. He found that mild to severe stress was perceived by the families of mental retardation. None of the families showed very severe stress. No statistical significance was found between family stress and affected children’s age, sex. Rahman et al. (2012) also reported no relation between stress and the sufferer’s gender. This may be due to rising information resources and amend in social attitude. But in a study Peshwaria (1995) have indicated significantly greater impact on parents due to having a girl retarded child. As regards the age of the child, some studies have shown lower age of the retarded child to have significant relation with stress (Upadhyaya et al., 2008), while Peshwaria (1995) have shown more psychosomatic problems as the age of their child increases. In this study, no significant relation was found between child’s severity of retardation and stress in the families that is supported by Upadhyaya et al. (2008). But Pisula Gorska (2002) indicated that parents of severe and profoundly retarded children have higher stress. Except maternal education, there were no significant relations between stress and mothers’ and fathers’ demographic variables. The reason behind the significant association of stress with maternal education may be because educated mothers can better understand the clinical aspect of their child’s condition. This is consistent with findings of Behari (1995). Another finding of this study is that stress is not significantly related with the family variables (nuclear/joint family, SES, presence of sibling). In contrast, Rahman et al. (2012) found that lower middle SES subjects expressed significantly higher stress attitude. Hornby (1994) shows that grandparental support decreases stress. Moreover, no significant difference was found in families with or without presence of siblings. But lower stress is reported by Leyser (1990) for higher number of siblings. Psycho-education Stress Ara Chowdhury (2014) investigated the impact of psychoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ educational intrusion for care givers of children with autism. They found that care givers, who acknowledged psychoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ educational interventions, showed significant decline in the score of mental health commotion on the GHQà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 28 except Ê ¹severe depressionÊ ¹ than those who did not. That means psychoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ educational intervention is effective in training the care givers to handle their children and in enhancing their quality of life. It may also be beneficial to deal with cancer cardiac patients, mentally retarded children. Conclusions Accessible literature on stress reports mixed evidence. In the first two studies, purposive sampling technique was used, and data of cancer and cardiac patients were collected from different reliable sources. So, research findings can be generalized for entire population of our country. Purposive sampling technique was also used for collecting data from two special schools of autism of Dhaka city in the last study. But the other two studies suffer from adequate generalization due to convenient sampling. Further ample studies are needed to conduct with a representative sample to determine more reliable information. Both prospective and retrospective studies are required to enumerate the incidence and prevalence of unfavorable consequences in delegate allies of survivors. Information about possible late-effects and psychological supports need to be provided by the treatment care providers to the parents and survivors (Sloper, 2000). Familial support, social support, positive emotional regulation, self help networks etc. act as defensive shield during times of crisis. Apposite program may be facilitated to help people managing crisis and their stresses. References Ara, J., Chowdrury, K. U. A. (2014, January). Impact of psycho-education on care givers  mental health and perceived stress of children with autism. Dhaka University Journal of  Biological Science, 23(1), 39-45. Basher, M. A. R., Karim, M. R., Sultana, N., Hossain, K. J., Kamal, M. M. (2012). Parents  stress in childhood cancer. Bangladesh Medical Journal, 41(1). Behari, R. (1995). The maternal attitude- Child rearing link for mentally retarded children: A case study. Disabilities and Impairments, 9, 44-51. Gupta, R. K., Kaur, H. (2010). Stress among Parents of Children with Intellectual Disability.  Asia Pacific Disab. Rehab, 21(2), 119- 126. Havik, O. E., Maeland, J. G. (1986). Dimensions of verbal denial in myocardial infarction.  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 27, 326-339. Hornby, G., Ashworth, T. (1994). Grandparents support for families who have children with  disabilities. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 3, 403-412.   Islam, M. Z., Shanaz, R., Farjana, S. (2013, January). Stress among parents of children with  mental retardation. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 12(1). Leyser, Y., Deckel, G. (1990). Stress in Parents of Mentally Challenged Children. The Journal  of Psychology,125(4), 251-254. Peshwaria, R. (1995). Understanding Indian Families having Persons with Mental Retardation.  National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), Secundrabad. Pisula, E., Gorska, S. (2000). The childs intellectual disability and the parents marital quality.  Studia Psychologiczne, 40, 87-106. Rahman, A., Ara, S., Haque, E., Shahrier, A. (2012). Attitude towards stress of cancer and  cardiac patients. Journal of Life Earth Science, 7, 33-41. Siddiqui, A. F. (2014, October). Socio-demographic profile of families with mentally retarded  children and its relation to stress. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 13(4). Sloper, P. (2000). Predictors of distress in parents of children with cancer: a prospective study.  Journal of pediatric Psychology, 25(2), 79-91. Upadhyaya, G. R., Havalappanavar, N.B. (2008). Stress in Parents of the Mentally Challenged  Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34, 53-59.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Date Rape :: essays research papers

The following morning is a dreadful, long one that stays with you forever. The memories in your mind keep crawling up every night when you fall asleep. You keep asking yourself, â€Å"Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong?† Yet no answer comes to mind, all that you can think of is being violated, being misled for a simple task-rape. Why does it happen to us? What do the men see when the door is opened and a gorgeous women stands in front of their eyes. The mind collapses trying to find a solution to the problem. It's like having an exam and the only way for you to score is to cheat. So all girls are just scores guys try to push themselves upon? The mind grows blank and the human body works with sexual instinct. Date rape is one of those things that one man can't find a proper answer for. There are so many possibilities that one might think of as the cause of the problem. Which one is the right one? Is there one specific answer that is physiologically correct? No. Everyo ne has his or her own opinion, whether it is from experience or from common knowledge. Date rape is mainly cased by the in-proper behavior of the rapist. A man who can rape a woman has obviously been brought up in an uncomfortable, improper raised environment. A young boy who watches violent sex related movies, is most likely to be sexually violent in his life. A child who is not taught from right and wrong is not going to understand what a girl might want out of a date compared to his urges. Men don't necessarily understand that "No" actually means no. Stubbornness works strongly with the mind. A young boy looks up to his father, he wants to be like his father, and act like his father. When the parents ignore their children it causes them to become very free in their decisions; it makes them believe that they can do whatever they please. For example, if a child is being ignored by both o his parents, than they are not around that child when he or she do something wrong. Yet the child doesn’t know that. The child thinks that if no one stops his or her actions than he can do it again. That is how bullies are raised-it leads the mind to more. Date Rape :: essays research papers The following morning is a dreadful, long one that stays with you forever. The memories in your mind keep crawling up every night when you fall asleep. You keep asking yourself, â€Å"Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong?† Yet no answer comes to mind, all that you can think of is being violated, being misled for a simple task-rape. Why does it happen to us? What do the men see when the door is opened and a gorgeous women stands in front of their eyes. The mind collapses trying to find a solution to the problem. It's like having an exam and the only way for you to score is to cheat. So all girls are just scores guys try to push themselves upon? The mind grows blank and the human body works with sexual instinct. Date rape is one of those things that one man can't find a proper answer for. There are so many possibilities that one might think of as the cause of the problem. Which one is the right one? Is there one specific answer that is physiologically correct? No. Everyo ne has his or her own opinion, whether it is from experience or from common knowledge. Date rape is mainly cased by the in-proper behavior of the rapist. A man who can rape a woman has obviously been brought up in an uncomfortable, improper raised environment. A young boy who watches violent sex related movies, is most likely to be sexually violent in his life. A child who is not taught from right and wrong is not going to understand what a girl might want out of a date compared to his urges. Men don't necessarily understand that "No" actually means no. Stubbornness works strongly with the mind. A young boy looks up to his father, he wants to be like his father, and act like his father. When the parents ignore their children it causes them to become very free in their decisions; it makes them believe that they can do whatever they please. For example, if a child is being ignored by both o his parents, than they are not around that child when he or she do something wrong. Yet the child doesn’t know that. The child thinks that if no one stops his or her actions than he can do it again. That is how bullies are raised-it leads the mind to more.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Hedging Currency Risk at TT Textiles Essay

It was a hot March morning in Kolkata in the year 2009. Sanjay K. Jain, —Joint Managing Director of TT Textiles, watched the sunlight stream in through his office windowpane. But his mind was elsewhere, tracking the movements of the Swiss franc (CHF) in the last few months and the world events that had caused them. The Swiss franc had touched 1.17 CHF/US$ from the previous year’s record of 0.96CHF/US$. That was good news for him. Or was it? The irony of the situation was not lost on him. Once, the Swiss had franc barely figured among all the different currencies that vied for his attention in the normal course of things. Yet, lately, it was the movement of the CHF that weighed on his mind most heavily. As an exporter to more than 30 countries, TT Textiles was no newcomer to the area of currency risk. TT Textiles usually used forwards to manage currency risks. However, during 2006-07, when the INR was expected to appreciate to an unprecedented high of 35 INR/US$, the company had entered into a swap deal based on the historical stability of the CHF against the US$. At the time, the deal had looked relatively safe and very lucrative. However, when  the global financial crisis struck in 2008, it started making sizeable mark-to-market losses. Luckily it turned around in 2009 and was no longer in the red. But with three months left on the contract, the big question Jain faced was whether to quit now or hold it till maturity. The textile and clothing industry in India had traditionally been an export-oriented industry. In 2008, it contributed four per cent to the overall GDP of India and accounted for 14 per cent of the industrial production and 14 per cent of total exports of goods . More importantly, India earned about 27 per cent of its total foreign exchange through textile exports. It was also the second largest employer after agriculture, providing direct employment to 35 million people and indirect employment to 45 million people. In 2008-09, the total sales generated by the textile and clothing sector amounted to US$33.4 billion from the domestic market and US$21.6 billion from exports. Professor Rajesh Chakrabarti prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. The author thanks Shashvat Rai and Anurag Sharma from ISB’s PGP Class of 2011 for assisting in the writing of this case. This case was developed under the aegis of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Case Development, ISB. Copyright @ 2013 Indian School of Business. The publication may not be  digitised, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted or transmitted, without the permission of the Indian School of Business. This document is authorized for use only by Christopher Alt at Clark University until July 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860. As a mature industry, the textile industry was marked by relatively low margins ï £ § varying from three per cent to 12 per cent depending on where in the value chain a specific company operated. The total market for textiles and clothing was expected to reach US$100 billion by 2015, with 43 per cent of revenues coming from exports. Specifically, textile exports were expected to yield US$22 billion and the domestic textile market was expected to yield US$28 billion by 2015.2 The US dollar was the dominant currency for pricing textile products worldwide, in a large measure even for exports to Europe or Latin American countries. TT Textiles Limited, the flagship company of the TT Group, was founded in 1978 by the family of Dr. Rikhab Chand Jain. It was India’s first knitwear company to go public. TT Textiles was a vertically integrated textile company with a presence in the entire cotton chain, from fibre to yarn to  knitted fabric and garments. It had manufacturing facilities in all the major garment centers ï £ §Tirupur, Kolkata, Delhi, Varanasi, Saharanpur and Kanpur. It had ginning units in Gondal, Gujarat and branches for cotton in Jalna, Maharashtra. The company’s core businesses were agrocommodity, cotton, yarn, fabric and garments, and its markets were spread all over the world, as shown below (also see Exhibit 1): Sanjay Jain, an MBA gold medalist from IIM, Ahmedabad and an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ACS) and Institute of Cost Accountants of India (AICWA), began his career at ICICI Bank before starting his own brokerage firm, which he later sold. He joined TT Textiles in 2001 and was instrumental in expanding the textile business and setting up the marketing network for raw cotton yarn in over 20 countries around the world. Approximately 75 per cent of TT Textiles’ revenues came from exports, and at any particular point of time, the company had an exposure of roughly US$25 million. The life of a typical export transaction in the industry   particularly of the kind that TT was party to   was less than three months. TT Textiles enjoyed a margin of five to six per cent in its business. Currency derivative products were relatively new entrants in India. Most Indian companies depended on their banks to hedge currency exposures. In a 2009 newspaper article, Ramesh Kumar, Senior Vice President and Head, Debt and Currency Markets of Asit C. Mehta, explained: This document is authorized for use only by Christopher Alt at Clark University until July 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860. Historically, in a controlled environment, India Inc. relied on banks for covering its foreign exchange requirements. †¦ Some of the companies trade actively in foreign exchange and have a separate treasury management unit for foreign exchange transactions. However, there are also large numbers of small and medium enterprises which participate in the currency market passively and depend on commercial banks (authorised dealers) for their requirement of foreign exchange and coverage of currency 3 The currency market was one of India’s biggest financial markets, with turnover on the spot and forward markets together yielding around US$12 billion a day in April 2007. Since September 2008, there had been both foreign exchange (forex) forwards as well as futures markets in the country trading the INR-US$. Derivatives on other currencies were not traded. The rupee-dollar forward market was an over-the-counter (OTC) market, the trades on which were settled through the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL), which was the clearing house for forex and interest rate trades in India. This minimized the credit risk associated with these agreements in the Indian market. According to Chakrabarti and De, â€Å"In 2006-07, 85,106 forex forward transactions went to CCIL for settlement, with a notional value of US$342 billion. By late 2006, forward market turnover was nudging US$2 billion a day. Foreign institutional investors were able to do transactions on the currency derivatives market that could be characterized as ‘hedging’ of the currency risk exposure on their Indian investment.† In addition to the domestic rupee-dollar forward market, there was active trading for cash-settled rupee-dollar forwards in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London on what were termed â€Å"nondeliverable forwards† (NDF) markets. For foreign institutional investors who had limited access to the forwards markets on the domestic INR-US$ markets, the NDF market did not suffer from the constraints imposed by capital controls. However, for domestic investors, this led to limited participation by financial institutions of the onshore currency forward market.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Site and Situation in Urban Geography

The study of settlement patterns is one of the most important subjects of urban geography. Settlements can range in size from a small village with a few hundred residents to a metropolitan city of over one million people. Geographers often study the reasons why cities develop where they do and what factors lead to a settlement becoming a large city over time or remaining as a small village. Some of the reasons behind these growth patterns are related to the areas site and its situation. Site and situation are two essential concepts in the study of urban geography. Site The site is the actual location of a settlement on the Earth, and the term includes the physical characteristics of the landscape specific to the area. Site factors include landforms, climate, vegetation, availability of water, soil quality, minerals, and wildlife. Examples of site factors include whether an area is protected by mountains or if there is a natural harbor present. Historically, such factors led to the development of major cities worldwide. New York City, for example, is located where it is because of several site factors. As people arrived in North America from Europe, they began to settle in this area because it had a coastal location with a natural harbor. There was also an abundance of fresh water in the nearby Hudson River and small creeks, as well as raw materials for building supplies. The site of an area can also create challenges for its population. The small Himalayan nation of Bhutan is a good example of this. Located within the worlds highest mountain range, the terrain of the country is extremely rugged, making transportation within the country very difficult. This, combined with the incredibly harsh climate in many areas of the country, has made much of the population settle along rivers in the highlands just south of the Himalayas. Only 2% of the land in the nation is arable, with much of it located in the highlands, and so making a living in this nation is highly challenging. Situation The situation is defined as the location of a place relative to its surroundings and other places. Factors included in an areas situation include the accessibility of the location, the extent of a places connections with another, and how close an area may be to raw materials if they are not located specifically on the site. Though its site has made living in the nation challenging, Bhutans situation has allowed it to maintain its policies of isolation as well as its own highly separated and traditionally religious culture. Because of its remote location in the Himalayas, entering the country is challenging and, historically, this has been beneficial because the mountains have been a form of protection. The heartland of the nation has never been invaded. Bhutan now controls many of the most strategic mountain passes in the Himalayas, including the only ones into and out of its territory, leading to its title as the Mountain Fortress of the Gods. Like an areas site, however, its situation can also cause problems. For example, Canadas eastern provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are some of that countrys most economically downtrodden areas, due in large part to their situations. These areas are isolated from the rest of Canada, which makes manufacturing and the little agriculture possible too expensive. There are very few natural resources in proximity to these provinces. Many are off the coast; due to maritime laws, the government of Canada itself controls the resources. Moreover, the traditional fishing economies of the region are today crashing along with the fish populations. The Importance of Site and Situation in Todays Cities As shown in the examples of New York City, Bhutan, and Canadas east coast, an areas site and situation played a significant role in its development, both within its boundaries and on the world stage. These phenomena have shaped history and are part of the reason why places like London, Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles were able to grow into the prosperous cities they are today. As nations around the world continue to develop, their sites and situations will continue to play a large role in whether or not they will be successful. Though todays ease of transportation and new technologies such as the Internet are bringing nations closer together, the physical landscape of an area, as well as its location in relation to its desired market, will still play a large role in whether or not a particular area will grow to become the next great world city.