sound and fury essays

sound and fury essays William Faulkner's fourth novel, The Sound and the Fury, which chronicled the decline of a once-esteemed Louisiana family, the Compsons, might have been a commercial failure after its 1928 release, but was always affectionately referred to by the author as his "most splendid failure" (Cape and Smith 1929). The Compsons illustrate the way in which a highly respected clan of the Southern aristocracy can, through a chain of unfortunate events, orchestrate their own fall from grace. Faulkner also uses the characteristics of the individual family members to illustrate the varying ways in which our search for self-worth in society at large can go awry. The title of the novel is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth: "And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing" (Shakespeare, Macbeth, V.v.23-29). This is symbolic of the Compsons displacement in the Southern society of the 1930s. Prior to the Civil War, they meant something. However, after the war, their aristocratic world was never the same, and as the South moved into the twentieth century, their airs and graces and heritage signified nothing. In fact, the Compsons life in the 1930s made a mockery of their history a century past. Southern families of the antebellum period were, like European nobility, obsessively concerned with breeding and lineages and marrying well. In the twentieth century, however, the Compsons breed a retarded child; two of the siblings have an incestuous affair; one conceives a child out of wedlock; and, in the words of John K. Roth, the Compson family ceases finally to be a place where love is sustained (Roth, 214). None of these things, in and of themselves, are clear indications that a famil...

Comedy and Plautus Essays

Comedy and Plautus Essays Comedy and Plautus Paper Comedy and Plautus Paper Aulularia is a comedic play written by Titus Maccius Plautus during a time when Athens was one of, if not the most powerful city-states in all of Europe. For this great society, historians use literary works to research and understand what the period was like. Aulularia is great play that can help historians investigate how slaves were, through Plautus’ humor you can catch how marriage and pro-creation is done and viewed in Ancient Athens. Titus Maccius Plautus, born sometime around 254 B. C. E. , (died in 185 B. C. E. in the village of Umbria was not always known as the famous comedic play-writer, but instead as the wandering miller. However, in his early age he is thought to have fled his hometown and made it as a carpenter/mechanic on the Roman stages (Plautus, Titus M, Aulularia). Plautus was in the great Roman army; there he was exposed to the Greek New Comedy and the plays of Menander (Plautus, Wikipedia). It wasn’t until around the age of 45 where he began writing plays while working his hand-mill, grinding corn for the households (Plautus, Wikipedia). Plautus’ work was simply Latin adaptations of this genre of comedy. The people of Rome found everyday life very entertaining (Titus Maccius Plautus, Theatre Database). While writing these plays he had to keep in mind that most of the audience was very un-educated. However, one thing that all Romans had in common was home and family life. Jokes were made about family life and stereotyped personalities. While politics didn’t make there way into these plays, the gods did. It was somewhat controversial in the way his characters portrayed the gods. Characters in stories can almost always be compared to a god, which left him accused of teaching the public indifference and mockery towards the gods. It was interesting how upper class citizens belittled the gods and soldiers ridiculed them. All the while pimps, courtesans, and parasites praised the gods. Plays were never the only entertainment occurring at a given time, which forced Plautus to compete for people’s attention against chariot races, horse races, and boxing matches (Plautus, Wikipedia). He would go to great measures to entertain his audiences and demand their attention. New Greek Comedy had plenty of slaves in their works usually being quite clever while playing the antagonist. However, Plautus used the slaves in his work a little differently in which they had much larger and active roles. Slaves were moved much further into the front of the action as a main character. This was Plautus’ best tactic in creating humor because people found it funny that slaves tricked their masters or compared themselves to gods. The inversion of roles by a devious and witty slave was comical and it wasn’t difficult to create a plot from there (Plautus, Titus Maccius, Theatre Database). Aulularia is a comedic play that takes place in present Athens (in relation to Plautus. ) Euclio (main character) is a very poor, older gentleman that lives in Athens. Euclio’s Household God blessed him by causing Euclio to discover the treasure in his home. However, soon you realize this is hardly a blessing because he obsesses over it, keeping it safe and pretty much ostracizes himself from the rest of the community (Konstan). Megadorus a very wealthy, older gentleman decides that he would like to marry Phaedria, Euclio’s daughter. At first Euclio is very skeptical of Megadorus because there is no reason an older rich man of Athens like himself, would want to marry a very poor mans daughter. The paranoid Euclio strongly believes that Megadorus knows of his gold. In a way he forgets about this when Megadorus tells him there is no need for a dowry to go along with the wedding that would happen that same day. Excited by this Euclio accepts the offer but no longer trusts that his home will be safe for his gold. He moves the gold to the temple of Fides. Strobilus (Lyconides’ slave) overhears Euclio talking and begins looking for the gold. When Euclio returns he beats the slave and threatens him. Euclio has no trust in Fides and decides to move it completely out of the city to a grove of Silvanus. Strobilus is all the while out of sight but keeps an eye on Euclio and when the time was right he went and stole the gold. Euclio returns and nothing is there and is absolutely crushed. Shortly after this Lyconides approaches him and informs him that the engagement of Megadorus and Phaedria. From here Lyconides explains that he has wronged his daughter at Ceres’ festival and asks her hand in marriage. Lyconides then comes across Strobilus who comes out and tells his master that he has found gold. The rest of the script has been lost but it is said that Lyconides returns the stolen gold to Euclio, who then gives Lyconides permission to marry his daughter. As a wedding present Euclio gives the gold to Phaedria and Lyconides (Plautus). The sole reason why Plautus created this play was for entertainment and he failed in his businesses. He became a play writer at 45 and brought a new wave of entertainment to Rome. â€Å"At all costs, he kept the pot of action boiling, the stream of gags and puns and cheap slapstick flowing. Anything to make the audience laugh and keep them from peeking in on the boxing match next-door† (Titus Maccius Plautus, Imagi-nation. com). In Aulularia you can see that he doesn’t particularly think highly of the upper class. Megadorus is a much older man but wants to ask Euclio’s young daughter Phaedria’s hand in marriage. This is out of lust with no regard to the social conflict. Megadorus seems so desperate for the young â€Å"flesh† that he is breaking the old tradition of a dowry. Also in Aulularia, he exhibits slaves to be much smarter than any Roman man in this play. Euclio is the poor victim who only wants his gold to be safe but cannot find a proper hiding place without having a peaceful mind. Despite the viewers finding this very comical, this has something to do with the fact that Plautus was not always wealthy and it took him a long time before he was living comfortably (Plautus). Aulularia says a great deal about the time period in Athens. Euclio was a metic in Athens, he a has permanent residency in the States but is not considered a citizen (Kempf). Euclio was very poor and really had nothing of value except for his gold. He lived a very un-easy way of life because he was paranoid that his gold would be taken from him. He lived in constant struggle and great poverty. Pythodicus says from the play, â€Å"Why, I tell you he begins bawling to heaven and earth to witness that hes bankrupt, gone to everlasting smash, the moment a puff of smoke from his beggarly fire manages to get out of his house. Why, when he goes to bed he strings a bag over his jaws. † Pythodicus is being a bit dramatic, but nonetheless, Euclio has to just hope that he lives to see another day because it is a constant struggle to put food on the table. Aulularia was a piece of literature that can really say something about slavery during these times. Athenians felt that they were superior to slaves in every aspect of life, but it showed that they could be devious and witty. Every slave featured in this play (Staphyla, Pythoidcus, Strobilus) seems to have some a decent amount of intelligence. Euclio’s old slave Staphyla, responded to him when told to watch the house by saying, â€Å"You aren’t afraid anyone will walk away with the house are you? I vow we’ve got nothing else there for the thieves to take- a full of emptiness as it is, and cobwebs. This was very surprising coming from someone who was threatened just moments before (Plautus). Megadorus slave Pythodicus. As noted before he is explaining how poor Euclio is and jokes about it with the cooks for the wedding. He is also the person who is overlooking the cooks and making sure everything goes as planned. This could job can only be given to someone truste d and responsible enough to carry out the task at hand (Plautus). Strobilus outsmarts Euclio and knows that he has a pot of gold that he is hiding. When he sees Euclio leaves the temple of Fides he sees him leave the city walls and climbs a tree well out of sight. He waits until after Euclio has left and digs up the pot of gold for himself. Strobilus even abandons his lookout for his master Lyconides to fetch this gold with the high hopes of buying his freedom (Plautus). The way marriage is done in Athens during this time was much different than the way that Megadorus goes about it. The Athenian marriage was an agreement between the bride’s father and the groom and sometimes the father’s brother (Kempf). This was the case in Aulularia. However the bride is supposed to give up all of her toys, and her hair is to be cut. On the night before the wedding the bride and groom take ritual baths and sang hymns to Hymen. The father was to make sacrifices to Hera, Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Peitho (The Women of Athens). None of these rituals were even mentioned in the play by Plautus. In the play the marriage was taking place within only a few hours of agreement between Euclio and Megadorus. This part of the play was not a good way to study the way marriage was handled in Athens during this time period. However the ending (or what remains of the ending) gives a much better idea of how the process is done. Lyconides another poor man, asks Euclio if he can marry his daughter. It was much more realistic for people to get married within their same social classes (Hunt, etc. all 98). In addition to this more realistic marriage proposal, Euclio’s dowry is the gold. In Athens during this time it was necessary for the father of the daughter to provide a dowry to the future husband (Kempf). Plautus instilled a lusty old man in almost all of his work for entertainment and this was no different in Aulularia. The old Athenian Megadorus wanted to marry Phaedria out of pure lust, and the thought of having â€Å"young flesh. † Eunomia says to Megadorus in Aulularia â€Å"Something that will make for you everlasting welfare. You should have children- God grand you may- and I want you to marry. † â€Å"Oh-h-h, murder! † Megadorus responds. In no way did Megadorus want children or have anything to do with the matter. In Athens it was the job of every man and woman to pro-create (Kempf). This does not give you the indication that this is the case at all and again is a poor piece of literature to use as a source for Athenian life back during this time period. However, if they take into consideration that this play is a comedy and this was one of the ways Plautus provided entertainment they would realize it is a mockery. This shows that Athenians looked down upon this behavior and it was not the â€Å"status quo† in Athenian society. Aulularia is a great piece of work to analyze when it comes to slavery, marriage, and pro-creation. Plautus’ work will go down as one of the great Athenian comedies and serve as a fantastic piece of documentation on Athenian society during this time period.

Risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Risk management - Essay Example There is a growing recognition that flood risk can be mitigated making space for water through sustainable management. Management of Flood has started considering dilemmas, challenges, and problems† (Begum, et al., 2007). Vulnerability and Flood risk is increasing due to changes in land use and development in flood prone districts as a result of socio-economic demand, changes in climate and rainfall pattern, increasing frequency of extreme events (Begum, et al., 2007). Jeddah is the most cosmopolitan and second-largest city in Saudi Arabia and the gateway to millions of Muslims who want to go to the holy city of Makkah. Jeddah city, which is the main porter of the country’s wealth, the largest seller of oil in the world at all times, and which has paved the way for single currency in the Gulf with its emergence as the second largest bloc in the monetary world, was affected by heavy rains. The rains which lasted for no more than two days caused massive flooding. This flood caused the deaths of more than 120 citizens (al-Ahmed, 2009). To lessen the embarrassment caused by these deaths, spokesperson and media reports reduced the number of flood deaths in the first four days to less than 80 citizens. (Abumansour, 2009) This massive flood was the strongest natural calamity that Saudi Arabia has seen in its history which is less than 100 years old. However the actual reason for destruction and death that occurred in November 2009 is the corruption in some of the sectors of the municipalities in Jeddah. More than four million citizens live in this city and the city still lacks treatment facility and a sewage system. Hundreds of bodies were found during flood rescue operations and some were registered as missing. The main street going to the Holy City was blocked with hundreds of cars floating in the water. The cars were dragged by the water that could not

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Dissertation

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments in Beijing, China - Dissertation Example ignificance of the Study 9 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions 9 Chapter 2 – Review of Relevant Literature and Research 12 2.1 Reasons Why Customer Relationship Management is Important for Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments 13 2.2 Information and Computer Technologies and Customer Relationship Management Systems 15 2.3 Forces that Influence Customer Relationship Management Implementation Efforts in Organisations 17 2.4 Customer Relationship Management in Restaurants 18 2.5 Customer Relationship Management in Airlines 20 Chapter 3 – Methodology / Methods Used 23 3.1 Research Approach for the Dissertation Project 24 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review 25 3.3 Design and Administration of the Survey Questionnaire 26 3.4 Analysis of the Survey Data 27 Chapter 4 – Data Analysis and Discussion 31 Chapter 5 –Conclusions, Recommendations and Suggestion for Further Work 122 Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire 125 Appendix B – Raw Data for the S urvey 135 Bibliography/ References 146 List of Figures Figure 4.1: Histogram depicting location of Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments from Beijing Included in the Survey 34 Figure 4.2: Histogram depicting Annual Turnover of Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 36 Figure 4.3: Pie Chart depicting Number of Employees at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing Included in the Survey 37 Figure 4.4: Histogram depicting Designation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 38 Figure 4.5: Pie Chart depicting Departmental Affiliation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 39 Figure 4.6: Pie Chart depicting Satisfaction with Efforts made for Implementation of CRM Initiatives at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 40 Figure 4.7:... From the research it can be comprehended that it is now important for hospitality establishments from around the world to understand how best to effectively manage relationships with customers. Times are difficult, and the rapidly changing business environment is highly competitive. Thus, it makes sense to try to retain customers and to make the right impression on all those who have had a first experience with a hospitality establishment, especially for establishments serving clients combining business with pleasure who may return. It is far more expensive to try to attract new customers than to try to retain the existing and during tough and competitive times, it is best for hotels to try to ensure that its clientele remain loyal. Thus, although academic literature and practical implementations of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) do not present a clear indication about what CRM is, it is clear that to know the customers and to serve them better it is important for a hospitali ty establishment to present superior interactions and knowledge about the customer. The use of information and communications technologies with data mining for knowledge gathering is now apparent in many hospitality establishments for supporting Customer Relationship Management and formulation of management strategy. Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs.

Go tell it on the mountain by James Baldwin Essay - 1

Go tell it on the mountain by James Baldwin - Essay Example In the story, a lot of trouble mars marriage because what connects the couple is not the connection of love but the pretence of commitment dominated by the love of money, wealth, and status. The Father wants to be associated with the fame and the respect of the future wife’s family. This greed drives this man which later turns to be sore when they finally reach the marriage life. The narrator says, â€Å"My father is only mindful of the wealth and the fame that he stands to benefit ultimately if he marries my mother.† The narrator also says that the father is concerned on the money-generating mission above any other things. The narrator says â€Å"my father only brags to my mother of the depth of his pocket and how he has money. He has to love to share with my mother.† The father is material driven. He seems not to care about anything and he has confidence in his money. He loves the taste of power and â€Å"he delights when he condemns people. He seeks to claim sovereignty over people: this is the arrogance of life that seems to content him.† The pain and confusion comes when it is evidently notable that the mother also has a different concept and weird perspective of a happy marriage. She is totally misled of what really makes a happy family relationship. The mother is dominated with ego and pride. She sees herself as the most intelligent creature on earth. This makes her to be coined in her own cocoon without being open with her fiancà ©. In any relationship where people have a lot to hide than share, trouble always shoots in. suspicion is always evident and mistrust always sets in between the couples. This creates constant disharmony and insecurity which results to quarrels and, fights and ultimately divorce. The mother is also driven by the illusions, which are farfetched from the reality. She lives with the illusions in the movie on how love affairs should be done. She has wrong concepts

Halifax & Bank of Scotland Essay Example for Free

Halifax Bank of Scotland Essay The UK has one of the most diverse and dynamic banking sectors in the world. Banking is now a highly competitive industry. Financial consumers are now more sophisticated as they are now more aware of available banking options. The assets of the UK banking system were i 3,441bn (August 2001), which were dominated by a dozen or so retail banks, with national networks, mostly serving domestic, personal and corporate customers. Currently, the big four banks HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Barclays, dominate retail and business banking, jointly accounting for 68% of all UK current accounts. Both Halifax, founded in 1853, and 306-year-old Bank of Scotland are seen as business icons in their regions. Halifax is based in England, while the Bank of Scotland has very few branches south of the border. A merger between these firms would increase the geographic scope for potential customers. Halifax started as a building society and is now more widely known as a big mortgage lender. In the wider community, the Halifax Bank has a very active community-banking sector catering for charity and non-profit organizations including housing associations, credit unions and community development operations. In comparison, the Bank of Scotlands strength lies in the corporate market. It would seem very likely that both firms would like to achieve higher profitability and growth opportunity through cross-selling products to each others customers. For example, the products developed by Halifax could be marketed effectively to Bank of Scotlands customers and vice versa. Because both banks operate complementary activities, it is possible the combining of both firms will result in synergies, which may also result in increased efficiency. There may also be opportunities to achieve savings through cutting some unnecessary costs. For example, the amount of staff needed for the combined firm is likely to be reduced. By merging together, the size of the combined firm will certainly increase, thus leveraging the combined spend to negotiate better deals. The market position of the combined firm will be strengthened. Its market share within the industry will increase, maybe even enough to compete with the big-four banks, thus increasing the competition within the banking industry. In reality, there are wide ranges of techniques that can help analyse a firms performance some firms may base their performance on sales, whereas others through the quality of products. Economists usually analyse a firms performance based on the amount of profit it is making. For a thorough analysis, this paper will be looking at the firms: market value, profitability, stability, value for shareholders, efficiency, and capital adequacy. It must be noted that firms within the banking sector are subject to many economic uncertainties, which can influence how well a firm is doing from year to year. In this case, these uncertainties include: interest rates, employment rates, as well as the condition of the equity markets. For example, the base rate in January 2000 was 5.75%, however, at January 2002, the base rate was at 4. 00%5. To analyse the performance of the banks before and after the merger, the firms financial accounts will be examined and ratios will also be calculated. 6 The main performance indicators that will be analysed include: Profit before tax; Total assets; Dividends and Earnings per share. In addition, the return on equity, cost:income ratio and the firms capital strength will be examined. These ratios will give a clear assessment of the firms performance compared with that of other firms. Before the merger, in 2000, Halifax and Bank of Scotland had market values of $22,105million and $11,762million respectively. Post-merger, in 2002, HBOS then had a market value in excess of $31billion7. This immediately signifies the success of the merger, as the combined company is worth now worth a lot more in the market. Figure 1 Profit before tax From an economic point of view, it is important that a firm makes a profit otherwise there would be no point of the existence of the firm. The Profit Loss account of a firm shows the results of trading over the previous 12 months. It shows the net effect of income less expenses. The reason that profit before tax is analysed rather than profit after tax is due to the fact that interest rates and inflation changes could affect the amount of tax that is paid each year. In 2000, Halifax made i 1,715million profit (before tax), compared with Bank of Scotland, which made i 911million. It would be expected that when both companies have merged together, the pre-tax profit should increase. Figure 1 shows that in 2002, HBOS made a pre-tax profit of i 2,909million, which is more than the separate firms pre-tax profit added together. This shows that HBOS are actually performing better than the previously separate firms.

What Is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Health Essay

What Is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Health Essay Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is a term used to define a group of problems a newborn will exhibit due to exposure for drugs like opiates, narcotics or anti-depressant during pregnancy. As almost every drug that passes through the mothers bloodstream is passed on to the placenta. Therefore any illicit drug abuse will lead the foetus to utero exposure of these substances which will make it physically dependent, same effect that will do the mother herself. Therefore, after the baby is born, this dependence still continues, but since he is no longer maintained through the placenta which passes on anything his mother has in her bloodstream, after some time, depending on the drugs active ingredient half-life, this supply of substance will be no longer available. This lack will lead the neonates central nervous system to become overstimulated causing withdrawal symptoms. Why is NAS a concern? The abuse of illicit drugs from a mother, not only puts the newborn at risk for NAS but even many other syndromes. These risks are mainly increased due to high chance that being a drug user, the pregnant mother may be reluctant to seek prenatal care, and therefore any conditions or complications the mother may be going through during the prenatal stage are not being screened by any medical specialist. A fact to consider is that most drug users, usually dont abuse of only one substance, which usually would lead to several complications during treatment of the newborn for withdrawals. Moreover, if the mother is an intravenous drug user, there is high probability of passing on to the child any infections acquired following use of infected needles, namely; HIV/AIDS. Apart from the NAS symptoms the neonate may have other problems related to this drug use which include; poor intrauterine growth, premature birth and birth defects. More problems were observed from the abuse of recreational drugs before and during pregnancy and findings through studies found that some drugs frequently cause specific problems in babies, for example; the use of heroin and opiates, like methadone, is likely to cause substantial withdrawal in the baby, with certain symptoms lasting between four to six months. Methadone users babies have a higher probability of seizure episodes than others. The use of marijuana reduces birth weight and size of the newborn, likewise with use of amphetamines, which in turn even increases the chance of premature birth and may be the cause of intracranial bleeding in the neonate. Cocaine abuse is mostly associated with poor foetal growth and may be even related to a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). These similar problems at birth are not only seen with illicit drug use, but even use of alcohol and cigarette smoking does damage the foetus. Complications with regards to alcohol abuse called foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), include slow growth both during and after pregnancy, specific deformities of head and face, heart defects and mental retardation. Smaller babies, premature births and stillbirths are at a higher chance of encounter to smoking women. Symptoms Nearly all substances lead to some sort of effect on the newborn, but NAS symptoms may differ with the type of drugs, doses taken, how long the mother abused from these drugs and whether the baby was born premature or full-term. Incidence of NAS varies with strength of drugs; Heroin and Methadone are more likely to cause NAS, although drugs like Cocaine, Amphetamines, Barbiturates (Anti-Convulsive) and Narcotics may also lead to withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol use during pregnancy can also cause withdrawals in a baby. Neonate can start to appear symptomatic as early as 24 hours to 48 hours after birth, when strong drugs with short half-life were used, or as late as 5 to 10 days with weaker and longer half-life drugs. Withdrawal symptoms as a consequence of alcohol abuse during pregnancy may begin within a few hours after birth. Common symptoms may include; excessive/high pitched crying, diarrhoea / vomiting, irritability to light/sound, trembling (jittering), seizures, sweating, fever, hyperactive reflexes, excessive sucking, poor feeding and slow weight gain, rapid breathing, insomnia, increased muscle tone and skin irritation. A neonatal is diagnosed with NAS when he/she exhibits a combination of these signs, since several signs may also be experienced by newborn having other problems, the baby will have to be closely checked to confirm NAS. A history of the mothers drug use during pregnancy, as accurate as possible, will be required to proceed with the necessary tests. This is argued about its reliability especially when mother, or worse, both parents are illicit drug abusers, but for the sake of the newborn, a background of what substance the child maybe withdrawing from is of extreme importance to start the right treatment to manage withdrawals as soon as possible. Diagnosing withdrawals in a newborn may require tests like; urinalysis, toxicology screen of first bowel movements (meconium) and typically an NAS scoring system is used. By means of assigning points to certain signs and symptoms and their severity, this NAS scoring system apart from helping to diagnose, it also aids in grading the severity of the withdrawal and may even help in treatment planning. Therefore once born and transferred to the postnatal ward, the baby is assessed for signs of withdrawals by the midwives using the NAS scoring chart. If the repeatedly four hourly assessments will get a score of 8 or higher, a doctor will be notified and it may be necessary for the baby to be transferred to the Neonatal and Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit (NPICU) to start any necessary treatment for the withdrawal symptoms observed. Treatment Treatment for NAS will be determined by a paediatric physician and will be specifically based on the neonates gestational age and overall health, the extent of disease, the babys tolerance for specific medications and therapies and expectations for the course of the disease. Neonates suffering from withdrawal are irritable and frequently hard to calm and to get comfortable. Snugly wrapping the baby in a blanket, gently rocking the baby and reducing lights and sounds usually helps a bit to manage this irritability exhibited. A higher-calorie formula may be recommended for the extra calories necessary due to their increased activity. Intravenous (IV) fluids are sometimes necessary to avoid the newborn becoming dehydrated due to severe vomiting or diarrhoea. Depending on the severity of the withdrawal symptoms, babies may need medications to help relieve the discomfort and other complications of withdrawal, seizures in particularly. The drug of choice is usually a drug similar to the one the mother used during pregnancy, which therefore is the substance the baby is withdrawing from, then dosage is slowly reduced when withdrawal symptoms are managed. Benzodiazepines are usually used for alcohol withdrawals and methadone for heroin and other opiate withdrawal. Prevention An attempt to break the cycle of reproductive morbidity or mortality starts from identifying substance abuse. Most of the birth defects mentioned to be cause of illicit drug use, could be possibly less if the mother stops using drugs as soon as she finds out she is pregnant or if possible before. Preferably both men and women should stop abusing of any drugs before conception itself to further reduce the chance of birth defects which can occur not only through the gestation stage, but even at gametogenesis. Whilst with most birth defects the termination of drug abuse from mother does only lower their probability, in the case of NAS this could be completely prevented, therefore is encourage to stop any abuse and seeking prenatal care. Drug screening at this stage prevents fully the transmission of any substances through the placenta to the foetus avoiding any future dependence. Health education is currently focusing on these problems as to prevent this growing social problem phenomenon to become oversized. Prognosis Children of drug dependents, do not only go through a rough period in the first days of their life due to the utero exposure of illicit substances, but also various longer lasting, or worse, lifelong medical disabilities will be incurred due to the exposure to different types of drugs. Adding up is the fact of the social challenges as son/daughter of a drug addict, for example, being socially left out from school friends or other groups. Moreover, looking at the economic aspect, which may be due to the persisting drug dependence of either or both parents, could easily be critical and lead to a low standard of living. Definitely the prognosis widely varies with all these variables, but surely if this drug addiction of any of the parents wont cease, it will be of no help for the baby, hopefully in good health, to have an amusing future ahead. Long-term problems in children, who were exposed to illicit substances during gestation, may symptoms related to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes leading to low IQ scores from births to methadone and cocaine users. The perception, speech and intellectual functions were found to suffer some disturbances to youngsters who were exposed to opiate drugs. Major part of the children born to a illicit substance abusing mother have been reported to suffer from behavioural problem, such as; low levels of learning and adapting to new situations and high sensitivity to their environment causing irritability, agitation, aggression, poor social skills. Marijuana use during pregnancy was associated with increased impulsivity, delinquency and hyperactivity exhibited in the exposed kids. None of the treatments used to treat NAS was proved to affect any final outcome of this prenatal exposure. Epidemiology Internationally, from the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs it is suggested that 6,000 babies, i.e. 1% of UK births, are born to drug abusing mothers each year. Due to their availability and recreational use cocaine, methadone and other illicit substance are now being preferred to the past higher ratio of heroin abusers. A broader image shows us that as much as European women use opioids during pregnancy as analgesic treatment, the number of pregnant women abusing of other drugs is somewhat similar. In Malta, although on low scale its still increasing in incidence from year to year. This is most likely due to the more common day to day recreational drug use around teenager and slightly older generations. Along with the availability, dependencies on certain substances have increased, leading to abuse from mothers even during pregnancies and the newborn suffering from NAS as an end result. From a conversation with a nurse from NPICU revealed me that the number of NAS in Malta is around 0.4% of all births in our country, but a number which is disturbingly on an incline. Conclusion Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and any other birth defects are usually topics that no one would like to converse about, as usually talking about these fragile human beings, born with some sort of problem, either being congenital or lifestyle-induced during gestation, does make both parties feel uneasy. Nonetheless avoiding to talk about these wont lower their incidence, it is actually the opposite, proper health education is one way where one can teach what someones habits can lead to. It is a known fact that there is little we can do with congenital conditions, but we can reason out that a least we should not help the number of premature births or still births increase. NAS is one of many conditions, which I personally think that recent changes in our lifestyles can easily lead us to newborns having similar problems. Main reason being, the increment of habitual/recreational drug use and availability amongst 14-30 age bracket, is probably one of the highest ever seen. Not considering the exaggerate number of alcohol abusers, which also can lead to similar conditions. In addition to the other problems linked to promiscuous sexual relationships leading to higher risks of infection which can easily be transmitted and later inherited by a newborn. Anti-drug abuse campaigns do already show some of the consequence these substances will do to your body. But maybe sometimes things look amplified and interest is lost whilst listening or even looking at a leaflet. More evident data should be used to incept the thought in the minds that these conditions are not out of this world, and clearly outline any possible remedies to prevent themselves and their babies from going through unnecessary pain. I would like to conclude saying that nowadays life presents us with enough and may be too many challenges. If we can minimize these with some thought and assertiveness, we can make at least our nuclear sized life a better place. Temptations during hard times do arise, but it is not fair on anyone to suffer from our bad decisions, especially those that should be a symbol of our love to life.