Introduction

A lot of studies have been done on the effects of the Iraq war in the US. Much emphasis has been placed  on the economic downturns that the country has been subjected to. However, there is an even more intense repercussion of the war; its health effects. Considerable evidence points to the fact that American soldiers from Iraq report high cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is therefore imperative to analyze the severity of this problem and to look for ways in which the problem can be solved.

Evidence on PTSD among US soldiers

The essay shall focus on a study conducted by Hoge et al (2004). The latter authors found it necessary to asses the mental health conditions of US soldiers after the Iraq war owing to the fact that most mental health studies conducted amongst soldiers were usually done years after the war had taken place. Consequently, participants had minimal recollection of the events and it therefore became difficult to get to the root of the problem. Furthermore, studies conducted years after wars have occurred also impede the necessary changes required to reduce these mental health problems. Through their studies, the latter authors were able to nip the problem in the bud. They did this by examining soldiers straight from deployment.

Hoge et al (2004) first started with a survey of soldiers who has just been assigned to Iraq before commencing duty. They did the same with soldiers who had just been deployed to Afghanistan. Their aim was to compare the mental health status of these two categories of soldiers. It was also necessary to use a control and this was done by obtaining data from the Marine Corps.

The survey involved a total of two thousand, five hundred and thirty soldiers. Almost half of them -1962- represented soldiers before deployment while the remaining number represented soldiers after the war. The researchers were careful to survey the soldiers one week before their deployment. Those who were asked questions after their service were given time to settle in and seek medical help. They interviewed them four months after returning.

Before conducting the survey, the researchers were quick to explain to the respective soldiers about the purpose of the survey. They were also clear about the survey’s voluntary nature and how it was to be conducted. The research managed to obtained a very high response rate i.e. ninety eight percent. Additionally, the survey also adhered to sampling principles by ensuring that participants represented the over all population. This was done by comparing demographic characteristics of participants with the existing cases. (Hoge et al, 2004)

The survey checked for numbers of mental disorders. However, PSTD was analyzed against the backdrop of the indicators set up by the country’s authority on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Care was taken to ensure that only the symptoms brought on by the Iraq war were recorded and little attention was given to any other scenario. Participants’ Post Traumatic Stress level disorder was aggregated and compared against a total of eight five. Those candidates who recorded a performance of greater than fifty were considered as serious cases of PSTD while those who had fewer score were considered as normal. Since the symptoms were seventeen, it may not be plausible to note all of them down in this paper. However, the symptoms can be categorized under three groups i.e. :

Hyper-arousal
Avoidance symptoms
Intrusion symptom
Also, alcohol abuse was an indicator

Results of the study

It was found that a substantial portion of the participants from Iraq recorded higher Post traumatic Stress Disorder than those ones from Afghanistan. It was also found that American soldiers recorded significantly higher levels of post Traumatic stress disorder after their service at war than before the war. Additionally, a large number of them recorded increased alcohol abuse in the process. Consequently, most of them spiraled into a depressive state. (Hoge et al, 2004)

The research also found that the number of participants who took part in the survey reported a strong correlation between their Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the experiences they had to go through. The following were cited as some of the possible causes of the PTSD by the participants

Killing people
Handling dead persons
Having the knowledge that a colleague had been killed
Being shot

Hoge et al (2004) also established a pattern that linked exposure to fire fights with prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The latter plotted the number of firefighters that soldiers had been subjected to against the prevalence of post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was found that the relationship was linear. Consequently, the two factors are strongly related. The researchers also plotted a graph of rate of PTSD against claims of injuries or being wounded. It was also found that there was a relationship. The amount of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder increased with a state of being wounded or injuries. (Hoge et al, 2004)

The research also gave in-depth insight into the nature of soldier’s perceptions about Post Traumatic Disorder. It was found that a substantial number of them were not interested in receiving help for their problem. Only thirty eight percent of them asserted that they would seek psychiatric help. Additionally, only twenty eight percent of the respondents asserted that they had sought help. When asked why they behaved in that manner, they cited stigmatization and lack of access to mental health care.

Implications of the research

The research found that soldiers from Iraq reported higher cases of post Traumatic Disorder than those ones from Afghanistan. One possible explanation of this is that the intensity of violence or traumatizing activities was much higher in Iraq than it was in Afghanistan.

It was also found that there was a relationship between the existence of injury and prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This finding affirms what has been found in other studies concerning wars; that soldiers who have received physical injuries are more likely than those who left unharmed to exhibit PTSD.

Since the research encompassed participants who represented similar demographic traits as the overall population, then it is safe to transfer these findings to the entire population of US soldiers in Iraq. However, the findings in this report are not without fault. They were obtained from soldiers who were not severely deformed as the latter category had been prohibited from taking part in the survey. Additionally, the research was also limited by the fact that soldiers who had been sent away by the government could not take part in the process. Consequently, the research could not incorporate the opinions of the latter groups. (Hoge et al, 2004)

Nonetheless, this does not undermine the overall usefulness of this survey. Findings from this research can be considered fairly accurate owing to the fact their measurements were well placed. For instance, the authors chose an ample time to survey the soldiers. This was four months after their experience in Iraq. Statistics show that most people depict Post Traumatic Stress disorder around three months after the traumatic event has occurred. Consequently, by choosing to interview them, four months after the war, then the researchers’ findings can be deemed as fairly accurate. Also their findings are reliable because their PSTD measurements before the war concurred with usual occurrences in other populations. They found that only five percent of the soldiers had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before the war. This was in line with prevailing rates in the American population. This was a green light that further measurements were being done accurately.

The research also found that those soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress disorder refrained from seeking medical assistance due to the fact that they feared stigmatization from other soldiers. This was even worse for those soldiers who really needed the assistance. This reason was the major force behind low psychiatric assistance for this problem. This implies that certain interventions need to be put in place to curb such fears . There are a number of ways in which stakeholders can tackle this problem of stigmatization. (Hoge et al, 2004)

First of all, they could choose to educate members of the military about the issue of stigmatization. They should also change their health models so as to allow greater anonymity in mental health issues. They could ensure that counseling is done confidentially so as to prevent these cases of low treatment fro Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Besides the latter, health services within the military ought to look for a way of addressing the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Screening. As it is currently, most soldiers are only subjected to checks for depression but no PSTD checks are in place. Since this is such a severe problem, then it should be given precedence. (Hoge et al, 2004)

Conclusion

The paper was examining the prevalence of Post traumatic stress Disorder among soldiers from Iraq. It was found that there was a considerably high prevalence rate among these soldiers. PSTD was closely linked to the nature of a soldiers’ experience; i.e. those who had engaged in numerous firefights and also those who had been exposed to greater military activity.

It was also found that most of the soldiers who needed help the most did not seek it because they feared stigmatization from their colleagues. Possible solutions to these include; sensitization, anonymous counseling and rigorous testing for Post Traumatic Disorder. By instituting these changes then future military personnel will be greatly assisted.

Reference

Hoge, C., Castro, C., Messer, S., Mc Gurk, D., Cotting, D. & Koffman R. (2004): Combat Duty in Iraq and                       Afghanistan, Vol. 351, No. 13, p 13-28


Author is associated with SuperiorPapers.Us which is a global Research Papers and Term Papers Writing Company. If you would like help in Research Papers and Term Paper Help you can visit www.SuperiorPapers.Us
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Conducting an internet search not long ago, i happened to discover a useful new tool that i would like to share with you – an advanced pdf spellcheck tool. Using words to effectively communicate with others can help us to realize a variety of objectives – financial, social, political, you name it. It’s a safe bet that the latest news on the subject is going to reach its goal of making a believer of you.

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One can successfully argue that the written word is a very important mode of communication in the modern age. Good news for writers everywhere: with modern computer technology, the formerly difficult task of proof-checking your work in the intricate english language for various mistakes has never been easier. Writers everywhere are now able to enjoy a sophisticated new utility which will instantly and successfully scan the text you’ve created, locating any mistakes. Saving you both time and frustration, this program lets you correct your writing so you can easily prevent spelling and grammar faux-pas, for instance. Think of writing english papers that are accomplished, correct, and unforgettable without having to enlist the help of a proofreader or tutor.

Many people struggle with writing; anyone searching for proven techniques to aid the writing process really should consider adding such a useful tool to their computer’s repertoire. Your writing will benefit immediately, as this solution empowers you to easily enrich your text by providing the help you need with grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Fortunately, this software is always there when you need it, so it’s convenient and easy to proof your project with any of a wide range of writing programs – Eudora, word processing tools – whatever you choose. Tell you the truth, it has the added bonus of making the writing process not only less daunting, it will actually be something you’ll enjoy.

I imagine editing proposals or important articles isn’t one of your favorite tasks, then you should quickly get an advanced pdf spellcheck tool. It’s certain that, in many situations, these systems are a reliable way to go rather than pricey proofing assistance, for example. As technology keeps advancing rapidly, It will be very interesting to see what happens to man-made intelligence in the generations to come. You are now aware of the help that’s available; You really should see for yourself how helpful this technology is – actually it can be done after a quick and easy download and installation. In these exciting times getting acquainted with innovative concepts and inventions has become easier and fascinating at the same time due to the capacity of the web.


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Based on experiences of actual users, we know that an innovative Word spell check tool can dramatically improve your writing competence without your even trying. In all likelihood, i don’t need to prove to you the usefulness of taking the time necessary to preserve our competence in english – a sometimes difficult, but always worthwhile task. You no doubt think about the way you project yourself to the world, so be sure to read on the following article to the end.

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Written language is most certainly the most significant tool for human interaction in present day culture. In recent years there seems to be a series of advances in anything related to the subject of writing analysis. It used to be a dream for many of us, but not so long ago an advanced artificial intelligence that helps you with your writing struggles was developed. Saving you both time and frustration, this program lets you correct your writing so you can easily bypass the scorn of potential readers for example. Visualize your reaction upon noticing a glaring english error at the moment you’re emailing your Cv to a potential employer.

If you are still wondering, this isn’t another word processor; it’s as different as night and day since this solution was very painstakingly designed based on a state-of-the-art self-learning technology. With this technology you can better communicate with others, particularly if the english language has always been difficult. And who is this unique program designed for? College students, doctors, writers – anyone and everyone. Becoming more confident in your writing abilities is an important key point that can enhance the distinction and respectability of whatever you write in the english language.

The moment you try out an innovative Word spell check tool you’ll immediately be aware of the wonderful assistance that it delivers. Always remember that writing is your most significant way of expressing thoughts and ideas, thus it’s important for it to be upheld with both care and competence. This we know for sure: the word processors that we are familiar with don’t do a thorough job with ensuring the correctness and readability of your text. But will it make what we write impressive, full of style, and free of errors? You need to try it first before you can answer that question. One more thing – wait a minute before you submit your next assignment – check it for errors by using this solution.


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Writing english is not an easy proposition and can be time-consuming – would an advanced spelling checker be the solution to the constant struggle? Your writing reflects your level of education and how well you perform in what you do. What i’m about to show you is of great assistance to both english native speakers and those who learn it as a foreign language.

Click here for an advanced spelling checker!

Being responsible for reports or other documents with improper grammar is very distressing. If you care enough to check and correct all your projects in the english language to be sure of their correctness, Be sure to read on. Recently on the lookout for writing utilities, i discovered an interesting solution which efficiently and insightfully analyzes and proofs your sentences and paragraphs. Saving you both time and frustration, this program lets you nip spelling and grammar problems in the bud and keep those errors from appearing in your final document – for example. In case you missed the english lesson where your teacher explained when you should use colons vs. semicolons, for instance, this specialized tool can be invaluable.

Is one tool capable of solving all our english writing woes? Clearly, it requires a bit more than that, but the impact in many areas is amazing. Through the use of these applications, proper english will no longer be a thorn in your side, even if the written language is hard for you. Producing correct and readable text can be easy – with this technology you can instantly analyze any amount of digitized words you have to proof (provided they aren’t graphics). Writing english like a pro can be a difficult and time-consuming endeavor – you have to devote a lot of time and energy to mastering the language; with this technology your writing assignments become much easier.

Naturally, the job of coming up with a utility like this is very involved; that is why a web search for an advanced spelling checker won’t provide a wide range of suitable choices. It’s certain that, in many situations, common english checkers are an excellent substitute for a costly proofreading agency. This we know for sure: conventional word processors aren’t enough in the areas of verifying correct english grammar and readability. To conclude, i’m hopeful that you view this report as beneficial to your ongoing quest for hints on how you can enhance your writing abilities. By the way, if you have children that go to school, you’ll no doubt discover that this will aid them to enhance their english abilities – now and in the future.


Want to write English like a professional in just a few minutes? Visit: EnglishSoftwareGuide.com
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Great business presentations come from the effective use of several skills, all of which can be learned. In this article, I discuss how you handle questions from the audience.

If your presentation is part of a seminar or workshop, people expect to be able to ask their questions and have them answered, but sometimes they don’t know when to ask.

If you are making a business presentation to the management group, they want answers and will have no hesitation in interrupting you any time they want.

The way you handle questions and answers can have a huge impact on your presentation. Perhaps you share two complaints that often come up in my presentation workshops:

1) You can never follow your planned presentations because people keep interrupting with questions that pull you off track.

2) You invite questions at the end, nobody asks any and you fade back to your seat in silence — not the rousing finish you had hoped for!

Here are my suggestions for handling both these situations.

1) Begin by telling them you will have a Q&A session at the end and you will take all the time necessary to answer all their questions. Then any time someone interrupts to ask a question, you can politely say, “I’m glad you asked that question, and I do intend to answer it. However, the details fall more naturally into a later part of my presentation, so please bear with me until I reach that part. If you’d like more details, I’d be happy to fill them in during the Q&A session at the end.”

This is a very reasonable request and most people will go along with it. Adapt the wording to suit your personal style as well as the audience and situation.

2) When you have finished delivering your content, but before you do your “big close”, say something like, “And now, just before I bring my presentation to a close, I’d like to invite any questions you may have.” Complete your Q&A, and then close with your planned “big finish”. If there are no questions, you can slide easily into your planned close and leave the platform, or the front of the room, with your head held high, a smile on your face, and the confidence that you have left your listeners with the final thoughts that YOU want them to have.

Remember, it’s your show, and you must control as much of it as possible — and that includes Questions and Answers.



Helen Wilkie is a professional speaker and workshop leader specializing in communication at work. For more of her articles on presenting and other workplace communication skills visit her website at http://www.mhwcom.com and her blog at http://www.communi-keys.com
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When making a presentation, is it the content of your talk, or your delivery of it that will contribute the most to the success of your talk? In short, the answer is both.

Many presenters have been mis-led by presentation skills trainers into thinking that delivery is all-important. This is based on a misunderstanding of research carried out by Albert Merhabian into face-to-face communication. Merhabian concluded that the impact of your message is delivered by:

Words 7% – Tone of voice 38% – Body language 55%

Taking this research at face value, many presentation skills trainers therefore argue that what you say is relatively unimportant compared to how you sound and how you look. Undoubtedly it is true that if you look very nervous and mumble in a monotone voice, the audience will probably not listen to what you are saying. However, if you want to deliver a presentation that achieves something and is valued by the audience, this is a dangerous conclusion. The research really applies to the emotional nature of communication. For example, if I told you I was happy, but I looked and sounded sad, you would not believe my words (7%), but would instead believe my tone of voice and body language (93%).

To be truly successful, your presentation has to provide value to your audience. If you audience does nothing differently as a result of listening to your talk, my argument is, what was the point of you giving the talk? If the world is the same at the end of your talk as it was before your talk, what was the point in giving it?

To provide value then, your talk has got to achieve something and to do that it must have the right content. It is no use just having a ’subject’ to talk about, you need to have a mission! For example, don’t give talks just to provide information. So many presenters just tell their audience about what they do. No audience will be interested in this and consequently will do nothing as a result of listening to it. All the audience are interested in is ‘What’s in it for me’. So don’t tell them what you do, tell them what you can do for them.

Once you have sorted out your content, you can then concentrate on the delivery. To keep people’s interest you need to vary your tone of voice, just as you do in normal conversation. If you feel strongly about something we need to ‘hear’ that it’s important to you, as well as take onboard the words. The key to presenting with emotional variety is to keep your language very simple. If you use complex or formal language, you will become so concerned with getting your words out fluently that you will sound serious and lacking in emotional variety.

You also need to look and sound confident. Have a strong ‘mission’ for your talk and keeping the language simple will make it far more likely that you will be more confident in your delivery. To make it even easier to deliver your messages, try to deliver as many of your messages as possible with stories or examples. Don’t give abstract examples; make them real, add some human interest and if you can, some humour as well.

So, by keeping to a few simple messages that provide value to your audience, you give yourself a chance to deliver them with confidence and emotional variety and achieve something by getting the audience to do something as a result of listening to you.



Bob Malloney, a personal and business skills trainer for over 20 years, can help you to make a real difference to your working life, all from the comfort and convenience of your PC. Streaming video courses that replicate instructor-led training in Personal Organisation, Presentation Skills, Relationship Selling and Negotiating Skills. Register now for a free, no obligation 7-day trial at >
http://www.videocoaching.tv
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Are you an aspiring journalist? Do you want to start a career in writing news articles? Do you want to see your name published on reputable newspapers? Then, let me help you increase your chances of making it top on this field.

Here’s how you can jumpstart your career in newspaper article writing:

1. First thing to do is to prove yourself. Publishers will not hire you unless you can convince them that you’re the perfect person for the job and that you deserve their trust. So, before sending your application, make a name for yourself first. You can do this by sending articles to newspapers for free. Yes, you will not gain monetary rewards for doing so but you can increase your chances of getting published. These can make your portfolio more impressive.

2. Be determined. Here’s the truth; being a journalist isn’t easy. It will take a lot of patience, determination, perseverance, and long hours before you can get a decent story. If you want to stay on top of the game, you must remove the word “give up” on your vocabulary. You must know how to “fight” for your story and how you can make an article about it.

3. Early bird catches the worm. Strive to be the first one on the scene. Sometimes, this would mean getting up as early as 2:30 am to cover stories. But don’t worry as your effort will pay off. You see, being the first one to write about a particular story will help you easily get recognized in this field.

4. Be professional. Keep in mind that you’re representing the newspaper that you’re writing for anywhere you go. So, it’s a must that you project a professional image. Dress appropriately and act professional when doing interviews and research. Choose the words that you’re going to use all the time.

5. Practice a little PR. You need to build as many connections with different people as possible. These includes not only your fellow journalists but also people who might be able to give you the information you need for your stories like policemen, people who are working in the government, etc. These people can give you exclusive information that can turn into explosive news articles.

6. Develop a strong work ethic. Impress the people that you’re working for by being a good employee. Always show up on time, maintain professional demeanor at all times, always be positive, and take initiative. Also, honor your commitments and make sure that you always do your job really, really well.

7. Be passionate about your job. This is one thing that can surely help you succeed in this field. Make sure that you have the right reasons for writing your articles. It’s not good if you’re only doing this to make money. You see, when you love what you’re doing, you are most likely to produce great results.

8. Listen to seasoned journalists. Pay attention to those people who are considered gurus in this field. Take their tips seriously. Get to know the elements that made them successful. It is only through this that you’ll be able to follow their footsteps.

Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it at a high price. Internet Marketing Sean Mize
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Over the years, marketing strategies and campaigns have evolved a lot. Nowadays, companies use a wide array of techniques to reach out to their potential customers, but sales letter writing to pursue the customer still holds its importance in a big way. Though, ways of writing such letters might have altered over the years, the motto remained the same. We need to examine the contemporary state of affairs to understand the significance of words. These days, most of the stuff is sold online. And, this is pretty different from selling your products directly. Hence, your words do come forth as important marketing tools, as they not only explain everything about your services and products, but also convince your target audience. At the same time, you can also use the same words to sell same products many times. It is a one time investment that can yield great results in a longer run.

When it comes to writing sales letter, you need to have enough of prior experience in writing and strong marketing acumen, which can help you analyze your target audience without much effort. On the other hand, you need to keep track of all the evolving marketing trends. On a broad scale, you need the amalgamation of copywriting skills and a bit of marketing and research skills to make it easier and effective for you – while preparing a sales letter. If you are new to this field, then there are various ways to improve your copywriting skills. Besides analyzing and studying the modern trends of business letter writing, you can also do a thorough online research. In fact, there are many reliable websites, which do provide comprehensive information about copywriting and effective sales letter writing.

Obviously, it is not an easier task for a common marketer to prepare a persuasive letter without having any prior experience in copywriting. While writing a sales letter, you need to stick to some basic rules like keeping your target audiences in mind and try to relate your product with their emotions. At the same time, you should also describe your product in detail to avoid any sort of misunderstanding.


This article is written by a technical writer, working at Synapse Interactive, a Sales letter writing service provider in India. Our strong and argumentative sales letters can convince your customers to buy your product. For more information please contact us.
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Just as there are 17 ways to skin a cat, there are multiple ways to write an article for the purpose of article marketing (promoting a product or service using the written word). In this article I’m going to share three steps that, if followed, will give you an article that can drive prequalified, targeted traffic to your web site.


Click here for a free copy of the Article Marketing Tricks special report with more great ways to use simple little articles to drive traffic to your site. Get it at the http://ArticleMarketingExplained.com site.
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There are several people in this world, who are quite internet savvy but are not totally aware of what content writing is. In very simple terms, any writing done for web portals, web pages, and online business pages can be categorized as content writing. This includes blogs, articles, reviews, and any other written content, meant to provide information, concerned with that particular site.

Website content writing has grown as a field in the past few years and a number of organizations have risen in the domain. These organizations employ talented and trained writers and editors, who will understand the specific needs of the clients and then create content that is in exact accordance.

With SEO content writing, clients can also ensure that their websites get high ranking, because an SEO expert will be able to pick out the important key words for a particular site. This will allow for the increase in traffic at a particular website, which will in turn mean, better business opportunities for the owners of the website.

While many might see website content writing as nothing more than regular writing, there is actually much more to it. Such a style of writing needs to factor in various points including internet specific language, business to business or business to customer specific terminologies as well as an in-depth understanding of how technical information needs to be put across in a simplistic style.

Professionals from the world of content writing will be able to guide clients en-route to creating the perfect content for their site. Such writers will be able to research associated information and blend it into the details provided by the client. For instance, if the client owns an organization, which designs and tailors, designer clothes, a content writer will be able to find out about the latest trends of the global fashion industry and create an article or a web page, in tandem. For a client from the engineering sector, they will be able to achieve similar targets. By doing this, clients can be assured that professionals from their specific domain will receive all the information they require, and a layman will get an idea of what the business entails.

If a client is interested in ensuring that his or her site gets special attention on the numerous search engines, then an SEO content writing company will be able to help. Writers from such an organization will be able to make sure that SEO specific keywords are inserted into the text in an appropriate manner. While content writing might seem like an all-encompassing field, there are various sub domains, each catering to a precise requirement.


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