Political Parties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Political Parties - Essay Example As a result, most of the citizens of the country prefer to have the branding as independent voters instead of being staunch republicans or devout democrats. The bad reputation of the political parties in the United States has led to the formation of other institutions that have taken over the functions designed for the political parties. The essay will analyze the various ways in which the major political parties in the United States have failed in their duties as political parties and how the other institutions have taken over those responsibilities. The analysis will have the inclination of also evaluating whether the result if the take-over by other institutions have led to a more or less democratic country of the United States. One of the major functions for the political parties in the United States is the provision of candidates to run for various government offices in the country during the elections. The running candidates come from the main political parties this helps the voters decide on which candidate to choose, and especially depending on the party that they represent. Another major function for the political parties is to inform the public on the major issues in the country. They take a stand on a variety of issues and offer alternative ways of tackling situations. They also have the responsibility of ensuring the ruling political party does not take over the complete control of the country. This is through ensuring that the president exercises his powers responsibly and in the benefit of the nation. The political parties also form the government and especially the legislature where they ensure that they have representatives for the policies and ideologies of the political party. The rise of the Independent voters in the United States is an indication of the loss of power, influence, and importance of the political parties in the country.

Adoption of Biometric System to Control ATM fraud Essay

Adoption of Biometric System to Control ATM fraud - Essay Example Looking forward to hearing from you and partner with you in providing business solutions that give value to your customers. Yours faithfully, Head of Business Security Systems Practical proposal about ATM fraud Introduction Fraud attempts targeting Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) cards are on the rise. Skimming is one of the techniques used by criminals in this case where they scan or copy personal information from the magnetic strip of a credit card or ATM card. With this information, all the fraudsters need is fake ATMs and use the Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access one’s bank account and defraud customers. This has gone to the extent of bank-owned ATMs with the recent percentage of this criminal activity going as high as 24% in Europe (Abagnale 89). The act is often perpetrated by techno-savvy individuals, where they use a microchip fixed at an ATM or cardholders which copies information from the magnetic strip for all the cards that are being used on a given m achine. The information is then copied and printed on fake cards. This has led countries like Canada to adopt more protection for their ATM cards. A typical example is the use of chip-and-PIN debit cards which have more protection in the form of an extra layer of chip material. Cards developed through this technology are hard to replicate thus reduced losses as a result of card skimming (Bianchini et al., 233). Business transactions world over are increasingly being settled using cards as opposed to cash-based settlements and therefore, without embracing innovative technologies that aim to prevent fraud than detection, card issuers and users will remain vulnerable. As use of cards increases, so are ATM Fraudsters. Most card issuers mainly banks continue to incur huge costs in terms compensations, card replacement, and cost of investing in fraud prevention and detection mechanism. Therefore, there is a need for card issuers to be ahead of the game by innovating and adopting far near fraud-proof technologies (Newman, 3-4). Proposed Solution Since the chip-and-PIN is not foolproof, we need to employ the use of more sophisticated technologies. One such technology that has stood the test of time is the biometric technology, which involves automated identification and data capture (AIDC). The system has automated methods of verifying the identity of persons using physiological attributes as opposed to the chip and PIN, which involves manual keying in of information on a keyboard. Normally, the technology works by capturing the physiological or behavioral characteristics for the first time which is then stored in a central database. Information recorded may include facial properties or fingerprints. Every time a customer accesses a point of services, installed devices captures, verifies and identifies the person and then gives them access. Since it is almost impossible to impersonate one’s physiological attributes, this technology is more recommended to card i ssuers. The technology has been tested in both private and public institutions with remarkable success. In fact, most organizations are now moving towards adoption of this technology.  

Bowstring Effect for Cervical Angina

Bowstring Effect for Cervical Angina Bowstring effect of longus colli secondary to Luschkas  joint  hyperplasiaa potential factor contributing tocervical angina Running title: Bowstring effect for cervical angina Highlights: Thirty-eight patients affected by cervical vertebra disease were involved. All the patients in Group cervical angina relieved syndromes after operation. Bowstring effect of longus colli might be a factor contributing to cervical angina. Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate Luschkas joint hyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy and explore their role in cervical angina (CA) pathogenesis. Materials and Methods: After informed consent, 38 patients affected by cervical vertebra disease were included. Of these, 19 cervical angina patients were included as Group CA. As amatchedcontrol group (Group C), another 19 patients were included. All Patients were maintained under general anesthesia and underwent anterior cervical fusion surgeries. The degree of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy were evaluated using Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI) score, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, and radiological parameters were also evaluated. Results: There was no significant difference in Cobb’s Angel, Sum ROM and Segment ROM between two groups. The osteophyte area of Luschka joint in Group CA was higher than that in Group C. The musculuslonguscolli area of the pathological cord segment in Group CA was lower than that in Group C. All the patients in Group CA relieved syndromes after operation, and there was no recurrence in follow-up. JOA score increased, while NDI score and VAS score decreased after operation in both two groups (P Conclusion: Anterior cervical surgery could effectively improve the symptoms of CA. Luschkasjointhyperplasia could result in bowstring effect of longus colli, which might be a pathogenic factor of CA. Evaluating the degree of Luschkasjointhyperplasia might assist in the diagnosis of CA. Keywords: cervical angina; bowstring effect; Luschkasjointhyperplasia; pathogenesis Introduction Chest pain is a frequent complaint in the Emergency Department (ED) in the world 1. Each year, more than 7 million patients present to EDs with chest pain 2. Only 20% to 25% of patients with acute chest pain will actually have acute coronary syndrome 3-5. Cervical angina (CA) is one potential cause of noncardiac chest pain being overlooked 6. It is defined as chest pain resembling true cardiac angina but originating from disorders of the cervical spine 7.Oille 8 firstly described the symptom in patients with chest pain of cervical nerve root origin. According to the Jacobs’s study 9, common manifestations associated with CA included arm and neck pain, upper arm radicular symptoms and fatigue, parasternal tenderness and occipital headache 10. Patients should be well aware of this presentation in their clinical examinations, unfortunately and in fact, a number of patients still appear to be diagnosed as coronary artery disease, and thus undergo unnecessary medications 10. Generally, CA originates from a cervical discopathy with nerve root compression 11,12. The pathogenesis of cervical angina can be explained by the fact that cervical neural roots from C4 to C8 contribute to the sensory and motor innervations associated with ante rior chest pain, and patients with true cervical angina are more likely to have disease at the C6 and/or C7 level 12. Some reports have indicated that anterior cervical surgery to correct nerve root or spinal cord compression might be a useful measure for CA 7. However, the diagnosis of cervical angina remains unresolved. The present study evaluated the degree of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy of 38 cases of cervical vertebra disease using Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), and aimed to explore their role in CA pathogenesis. Materials and methods Subjects Between June 2008 and June 2013, a total of 553 patients who underwent anterior cervical fusion surgeries enrolled the match-paired retrospective cohort study. Reviewing the clinical charts in retrospect, 489 patients had presented with complete follow-up (more than 12 months) data. Of these, 19 cervical angina patients were included as group cervical angina (Group CA). As amatchedcontrol group (Group C), another 19 patients were included according to age, gender, weight, most pathological cord segment, the number of pathological segment, the MRI high T2 signal and complications of Group CA. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) have cervical angina as their primary complaint; (2) consent to the standardized evaluation program at the cervical angina clinic 13. The exclusion criteria were as follows:(1) malignant disease; (2) cervical infection (specific/non-specific) or inflammatory joint disease; (3) cervical spine traum; (4) severe osteoporosis; (5)combined with heart disease. Surgical Technique All Patients were induced and maintained under general anesthesia. All surgeries were performed by one surgeon using as described previously 14-16. A right-side oblique incision was pursued for the anterior cervical spine, followed by Robinson’s anterior decompression and inter body fusion or subtotal spondylectomy with autologous iliac bone grafting. In ossified posterior longitudinal ligament, the essential technique was resection of the ossified plaque anteriorly with complete decompression of the spinal cord 16. The surgery was approved by local Ethical Committee and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards. All patients gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Postoperative treatment Postoperative patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics for 3 days, and then replaced with oral antibiotics as anti-inflammatory therapy. The drainage tube and drainage fluid properties were carefully monitored, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage and neck hematoma were timely treated. The drainage tube was pulled up 24 hours after operation. Dehydrating agent was used to relieve reactive oedema caused by spinal cord decompression. Small dose of hormone therapy was employed for three days. Cervical X ray films were needed after operation, and a neck collar was fixed for six weeks. Follow-up exam was scheduled for more than 12 months. Detection index and postoperative evaluation CT (SIENMENS SOMATOM sensation cardiac 64, 120 kV, 300 mA, slicethickness: 1 mm, reconstruction slice: 1 mm, C1-T1) and MRI were performed in all patients. For MRI, T1- and T2-weighted images in at least two planes (in most cases a sagittal and an axial slice, Figure 1) were obtained from each patient. The Cobb’s Angel, Sum ROM, Segment ROM, Area of LJO and Area of LC were measured through X-ray filter, CT scan and MRI by two independent orthopedic surgeon 17. Disease-specific clinical data one week preoperatively and postoperatively collected measures included modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI) score, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score 18. Statistical analysis Data were analyzed usingSPSS 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Continuous data are reported as means  ± standard deviation (SD). Paired t tests were used for comparing paired variables in the same vertebrae. Value of P Results Subjects’ characteristics Table 1 showed the characteristics of the included 38 patients. There was no difference in age, gender, weight and the number of pathological cord segment between Group CA (n=19) and Group C (n=19). There were 11 cases whose pathological cord segment located in C5/6, 8 cases in C6/7, 4 cases in single segment and 12 cases in 2 segments in both two groups. The median follow-up were 38.42  ± 15.06 months and 33.32  ± 12.69 months in Group CA and Group C, respectively. Clinical presentation before and after surgical treatment As shown in Table 2, there was no significant difference in Cobb’s Angel, Sum ROM and Segment ROM between the two groups. The osteophyte area of Luschka joint were 11.14  ± 4.11 mm2 and 9.56  ± 3.49 mm2 in left and right respectively of Group CA, which were 6.1  ± 2.19 mm2 (P 2 (P = 0.002) higher than those in Group C. The musculuslonguscolli area of the pathological cord segment were 51.56  ± 14.79mm2 and 58.58  ± 13.98 mm2 in left and right respectively of Group CA, which were 4.83  ± 13.43 mm2 (P 2 (P = 0.001à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °lower than those in Group C. The osteophyte area of Luschka joint in left of Group CA was higher than that in right, and the homolateral musculuslonguscolli area of the pathological cord segment was lower than contralateral area, while the differences were not statisticallysignificant. All the patients in Group CA relieved syndromes after operation, and there was no recurrence in follow-up. JOA score increased from 9.42  ± 1.86 to 12.89  ± 1.91 (P ) after operation in Group CA and increased from 9.42  ± 1.86 to 12.68  ± 1.89 (P (P P P > 0.05). VAS score decreased from 5.89  ± 5.89 to 2.63  ± 1.07 (P P P Discussion The current match-paired retrospective cohort study evaluated the degree of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy in 38 patients with cervical spine disease using JOA Scores, NDI, VAS scores and radiological parameters. The results showed that there was no significant difference in Cobb’s Angel, Sum ROM and Segment ROM between two groups (P Group C. The musculuslonguscolli area of the pathological cord segment in both left and right of Group CA were lower than those in Group C. All the patients in Group CA relieved syndromes after operation, and there was no recurrence in follow-up. JOA score increased, NDI score and VAS score decreased after operation in both Group CA and Group C (P P musculuslonguscolli atrophy might assist in the diagnosis of CA. Luschkasjointhyperplasia could result in homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy and bowstring effect, which might be a pathogenic factor of CA. Anterior cervical surgery could effectivelyimprove the symptoms of CA, while the subjective standards such as JOA could not well display the severity of the CA. CA, a noncardiac chest pain, is the most common pathological condition underlying pseudoangina 10. The mechanisms of pain production in cervical angina have been a matter of considerable speculation 19. Cervical spine disorders may often be present with pain in the upper anterior chest and scapular areas, resembling true angina pectoris 20. Some studies have suggested that pain in CA is a radicular pain, secondary to root compression by a herniated disk, osteoarthritic spurs, or compression in a narrow intervertebral foramen 21. While other studies have speculated that the referred pain may be caused by painful foci in the neck caused by factors such as disk degeneration, facet syndrome, or anterior or posterior longitudinal ligaments 22. Besides, some cervical angina is myelopathic pain 23. However, more and more investigators believe that CA is mediated through the sympathetic nervous system. The present study found 19 cases of CA, accounting for 3.8% of the surgical patients at the same period, which is similar to the scale of Nakajima 10. Among the 19 patients, 11 cases pained in the praecordia and accompanied by sweating, 5 cases pained in interscapular region and 3 cases pained in epigastrium. There were paroxysmal and continuous. It was worth mentioning that the preoperative JOA score was significantly higher in Group CA than that in Group CA, while there was no significant difference in JOA score and improvement rate between the two groups. JOA could only reflect the onset of the sensorimotor function and bladder function but not reflect the severity of the chest pain. The results found that the preoperative neurological function of Group CA was better than Group C, while the improvement rate of JOA period was lower than Group C. CA appears to be relatively unknown clinical syndrome compared with other angina. Prompt and accurate diagnosis requires a strong sense of suspicion in patients with inadequately explained chest pain. Routine MRI examination, or even if myelopathy is suspected, is insufficiently informative for the functional assessment of CA, a number of patients even appear to be diagnosed as coronary artery disease. Nine cases of patients were diagnosed in Department of Cardiology in the present study, and the other 10 cases presented chest pain without abnormal T wave, while the cervical spine MRI found definite compression of the spinal cord. All the 19 patients in Group CA relieved pain syndromes after cervical vertebra surgery, which proved the diagnosis of CA. It is necessary to indicate some limitations of this study. Firstly, as a match-paired retrospective cohort study, it was different to do completely same on the CA diagnostic criteria. Besides, although the population was highly selected according to the standards of match-paired retrospective cohort study, the patient sample was small, which would have caused selection bias.Furthermore, the osteophyte area of hyperplasia and the area of musculus longus colli were detected on MRI and CT respectively, and it was difficult to insure the same plane. Therefore, larger randomized studies and longer long-term studies are needed to evaluate the role of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy in the medical and surgical management of CA. In summary, the present data suggested that evaluating the degree of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy might assist in diagnosis of CA. Luschkasjointhyperplasia could result in homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy and bowstring effect, which might be a pathogenic factor of CA. Anterior cervical surgery could effectively improve the symptoms of CA, while the subjective standards such as JOA could not display the severity of the CA. Table 1 Clinical Characteristics of the Study Population CA, cervical angina Table 2 Image Examination of the Study Population Table 3 Function Scores of the Study Population JOA, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores score; NDI, Neck Disability Index score; VAS, Visual Analog Scale score Figure legends Figure 1 Area measuring of Luschkasjointhyperplasia and homolateral musculuslonguscolli atrophy A. targeting for biggest hyperplasia slice on CT axial; B area measuring of musculuslonguscolli according A. Figure 2 Comparation between two groups in subjective scores, * statistically significant. 1

Video Games: Positive Agents Of Change Essay -- Video Games Essays

Video games have come under fire recently. Many people claim the graphic violence and adult themes in the games have affected younger generations and caused many violent acts. Others claim that video games have contributed to obesity and a lack of communication skills. Both of these claims are most often an older generation's misunderstanding of today's youth and the overreaction of the media. Rarely does the mainstream media portray video games for what they really are, a new way for kids to interact and share meaningful experiences all without being in any danger. Video games have endless possibilities and should be thought of as tools to teach the youth rather than the cancer that ravages them. Although many people see video games as a problem, they are actually a positive force because they have infinite possibilities for good. Video games have become one of the most popular pastimes for kids these days. With the advent of powerful graphics processors and more innovative chip designs, games are becoming incredibly realistic. This realism is what brings many gamers to the industry. Realism, in a sense, is why the gaming industry has taken off and increases profits every year. Video games are not just a fun hobby or pastime, they are way for gamers to escape the world and imagine themselves in an entirely new landscape. Video games are dreams with controllers. While driving through a racetrack in a video game, one doesn't feel as if they are sitting in front of a TV playing a game, they feel as if they are the car. This is a hard phenomenon to explain but video games are such a global activity inside the brain that the user actually feels as if he is in the game living the experience. This, is obviously lim... ...deo games are a great way for kids and even adults to get away from the world for a while. Players are wrapped up in their own virtual world and can express how they are feeling through the game. Video games can also have great positive side effects and could even be the training mechanism of the future for many professions. The people who argue against video games on the grounds of violence and desensitization misunderstand the attitude of children toward video games and imply that humans are no more complicated than â€Å"monkey-see monkey-do.† Video games still have a lot of potential and they can be used for much more than just relaxation and fun. They can be a social medium, an agent of change. A good video game can be like a work of art that inspires people to try new things or change the way they think about something. But above all else, video games sure are fun.

Business Communication Trends Paper

University Of Phoenix Introduction to Business Communication Trends Paper Business Communication is a tool that allows you to improve the performance of your employees, performance of teams within the company. It also allows you to improve the performance of the entire organization, with the common goal helping company to fulfill it’s mission. (http://www. skills2lead. com/definition-of -business-communication. html). Business Communication plays a major role in my daily activities at work. I work for a cellular phone company and in this business things change daily. We constantly have to come with ways to rely this information effectively to the agents on the floor. For example we have a section called new and changed, the agents are supposed to read this everyday. This section tells them about the latest updates or about any changes that have been made. For some reason the agents were not reading this everyday like they should so that made the company think what can we do to make the agents read the material? The company decided to do simulations that the agents had to interact with, which kept their attention, and the at the end there were questions that had to be answered about the reading, and you have to score a 80% or better to pass. By communicating with my agents, and fellow managers I am able to keep my daily work activities organized. This way I stay organized is by putting everything on my calendar such as lunch, meetings, etc†¦. For example when i go to lunch I send out an email to everyone in the office letting know I am gone and when I return, this lets the make the other managers aware of how many of them are left on the floor, and if we are short or not usually if another manager is gone I will hold off on lunch until they get back to ensure there is enough coverage of the floor. By communicating this helps me to let everyone know when I am available and when I am not. If I did not communicate it would make things very difficult this helps me to not be double booked for two interviews at once and not to have anything scheduled during my lunch break. The trend that I am seeing the most in my current work place is team work. Team work is very important because you want to get everyone’s opinions and different views on situations. When working in customer care there are a lot of issues that may arise one of the most common issues is when a customer returns a phone but still gets charged for it on their bill. It can be frustrating at times because it takes up so much time to look up this information, and agents are logging off of their phones to do research, which is taking money away from the company. My company gets paid by billable hours so if an agent is not on the phone we lose money. So my boss started communicating with his bosses to see what could be done to get the problem we were having under control, and still bring in more money. So my boss started thinking how can we resolve this problem, and still make more money. He ended up getting with other directors from other sites to get ideas on how this can be resolved. And they all came up with getting a equipment department internally. By doing this the regular agents no longer had to get off of their phones to research equipment, and since we would have special trained agents that meant more money for the company. So they pitched the ideas to their boss and six months later we have our own equipment department within the site. By communicating their ideas and thoughts, and showing how this would benefit the company the directors got what they wanted, and they did it by working together. Communication is in almost everything we do rather it is in a marriage, at work, or at home just to name a few. In order to improve and move forward we have to communicate. In a Business communication is key each and every department is working towards particular goals to help the company achieve what they set out to, but the ultimate goal is to make more money for the company.

Homophobia in Schools Essay

Homophobia is more alive than ever. Each day homophobia takes places in the world through vicious spoken, written and physical acts. One place in society that homophobic acts are alive and predominant is in our schools. Homophobia takes places in a variety of ways in school, from offensive jokes, threats, harassment, or physical assault made towards lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender youth. As Campos describes in Diverse Sexuality and School, â€Å"homophobia denotes a fear or hatred of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender youth; it encompasses the prejudice or discrimination experienced by such persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity† (8). Society may be advancing in the aspect of understanding, but schools still have a long way because all students need to be educated on every type of sexuality. From a personal reflection, I recall taking a class on teen education in my tenth year of grade school; I do not recall being educated on any other sexuality other than heterosexuality and this was only six years ago. Today I ask the question, why? Are teachers just as homophobic as some students are? In a Canadian report entitled, Every Class in Every School: Final Report on the First National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools, Taylor and Peter explore alarming statistics. â€Å"70 percent of all LGBT and non-LBGT students reported hearing expressions such as ‘that’s so gay’ every day in school, and almost 48 percent reported hearing remarks such as ‘faggot, lezbo, and dyke’ every day in school. 10 percent of students have heard homophobic statements from teachers. 70 percent of LGBT students said they feel unsafe in school† (Taylor and Peter 15). These facts are alarming, scary, and most of all true. The focus of my research is to focus on homophobic acts and examples, the effects of these acts, and ways to overcome homophobia. Homophobia is defined as a extreme rage and fear towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender which causes devastating effects; the only way to overcome homophobia is through education in our schools, education on the beauty, tolerance, and acceptance of each individual’s diversity. To truly understand homophobia, it is important to hear real-life stories and incidents that have perpetrated young homosexual, bisexual or transgender youth. The stories that will be introduced truly show that some adolescents have extremely difficulty accepting persons who do not conform to the social norms of society. Homophobia acts become a part of the daily routine at school. â€Å"I was chased all the way to my house by a mob of students as things were thrown at me and I was kicked and hit† (Campos 34). If these students chasing the young individual do not get caught, the students believe their mistreatment of a homosexual youth as permissible and justifiable; they will do it and again. As Campos describes, â€Å"befriending, supporting or defending a gay or lesbian youth is risky for a nonviolent heterosexual youth because they could potentially be labelled as gay or lesbian and face potential harassment as well† (34). They biggest fear for heterosexual youth is that he or she does not want to be called gay or lesbian because the heterosexual youth knows that he or she will become the next victim. It is truly a game of fear. An example of fear is shown in the following taken from Gender, Bulling and Harassment: Strategies to End Sexism and Homophobia in Schools, â€Å"On February 12, 2008, 15 year old Larry King was shot in the computer classroom of his California junior high school by another male student after Larry had asked him to be his valentine. Larry was known in his school not only for being openly gay but also wearing high heels, nail polish, and makeup. The tragic incident is one of the more recent and extreme examples of why it was important to write this book† (Meyer 9). The outcome of extreme homophobia is devastating as shown in the above example. The extent a heterosexual youth would go just to eliminate the label of being associated with a homosexual youth is inhumane. What bothers me the most is the extreme spectrum between the acceptance and hatred of non-heterosexual youth; there is not a â€Å"free to be† attitude all together. For example, we have Nicole who won’t associate with Kayla, who is a lesbian, because she fears Kayla will like her and other girls will think Nicole is also a lesbian; therefore Nicole calls Kayla a â€Å"dyke† everyday in gym class and bullies Kayla because she wears boxers. Then on the other side of the spectrum, we have Hayden who is more than happy to accept his best friend Max as homosexual. In fact, Hayden asked Max to join the soccer team with him and the rest of the soccer team warmly welcomed Max as one of the guys. Both examples are very possible in society and schools today and both examples reflect the culture of the school as a whole. Unfortunately, the example with Kayla and Nicole is something that takes place much more frequent than the story of Hayden and Max because â€Å"rarely do schools contribute positively to gay and lesbian youth’s sexual identity development† (Campos 23). Schools lack education on sexual and gender diversity which leads to horrible acts causing LGBT youth to endure the overwhelming effects of homophobia. The effects on a LGBT youth because of homophobia can be fatal. In the past few years, there have been numerous suicides as a result of homophobia and bullying. In Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth, Campos introduces us to Robbie who is a 14 year old gay youth who ended his life. In Robbie’s suicide note he wrote, â€Å"I am sorry for the pain that I have put everyone through, I hope I can find the peace that I couldn’t find in life.† One can only imagine the amount of unbearable pressure and pain that Robbie endured every day of his young life to believe that his only option was to take his life. However, students still do not stop bullying despite the fact that they are killing non-heterosexual youth, emotionally and physically. â€Å"LGBT youth face three major problems: (1) isolation, (2) family difficulties, and (3) violence† (Martin and Hetrick, 85). Suicide among homosexual youth is one of the greatest at risk factors because some researchers beli eve that no other group of youth suffers more than gay and lesbian youth. The biggest reason for these effects is because of the lack of education, supports and resources. Schools choose not to teach about homosexuality because either a) teachers do not feel competent enough, b) teachers do not feel comfortable enough in regards to school policy, or c) teachers are also homophobic. Whatever the reason may be, schools must put students first. When gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth face unacceptance from their teachers who are supposed to be their role models, the youth feels â€Å"cognitively, socially, and emotionally isolated and alone leading to the development of severe problems† (Campos 30). Some problems that occur among school personnel are that they are wrongly educated on what it means to be homosexual and the effects of homophobia. In my research and personal interactions I have found that school personnel assume that gay and lesbian youth have a sexual identity crisis or an internal conflict which causes them to consider suicide. â€Å"The fact is that most gay and lesbian youth consider suicide as a means to escape the pa in of prejudice, rejection and isolation† (Campos 21). The question is how the youth reaches the point of choosing suicide as the only option left. The best way to answer this question is to sit back and think about one’s adolescence as a heterosexual individual. As a heterosexual individual you were more than likely able to roam the hallways freely without be ostracized, alienated, ridiculed, condemned or harassed every day. I am not assuming that one, as a heterosexual youth, did not face harassment at all, but not on a daily routine and normal part of the day. The daily routine of feeling unsafe within the doors of the school would become unbearable. As Campos describes in Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth, â€Å"they began to feel anxiety, fear, worthlessness, stress, isolation, and depression† (20). The result of these feelings lead youth to engage in self destructive behaviours, beginning with skipping classes, dropping out, running away, and abusing substances. To validate this previous statement, Safe Schools Coalition in Victoria, BC, features official research on the impact of homophobic bullying. The following excerpt, taken from the SSVC website, explains why homophobia is so serious. â€Å"Critical new research has found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth who experience high levels of school victimization in middle and high school report impaired health and mental health in young adulthood, including depression, suicide attempts that require medical care, sexually transmitted diseases and risk for HIV. This is the first known study to examine the relationship between school victimization during adolescence – specifically related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The study demonstrates the importance of addressing and preventing anti-LGBT victimization at the structural or school level to reduce health disparities among LGBT young people. The study is published in the Journal of School Health, the journal of the American School Health Association† (SSVC) The last question left is â€Å"what can one do?† to overcome homophobia. There are many things within the school – academically, socially, and morally – that need to be altered, changed and transformed.