HEALTH EDUCATION ON THE BENEFITS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS Research Paper

HEALTH EDUCATION ON THE BENEFITS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS - Research Paper Example They may also show signs of withdrawal. This may be followed by overeating or loss of appetite, suicidal thoughts, lack of concentration and difficulties in making decisions which previously they could handle with ease. Depression can be treated by use of antidepressants. These drugs are not only effective in treating depression but also a host of other disorders. A study has suggested that antidepressants are effective in curing individuals with severe depression. In the study, 35 clinical trials were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of antidepressants on patients. Some of the antidepressants used in the trial include venlafaxine, nefadozone, fluoxetine and paroxetine (Reinberg 23). This study found that patients who were severely depressed greatly improved on taking the antidepressant drugs. According to the authors, the antidepressants seemed to benefit more those who had severe depression. The study concludes that there is need to try more than one depressant on a patie nt in order to find out the antidepressant that works best. However, the study emphasizes that treatment of depression using antidepressants is only effective when it is focused on a particular patient, and involving multiple approaches. This approach also requires that follow-ups on patients’ recovery are regularly conducted (Reinberg 24). The study found that once an antidepressant is matched to a patient, then it will work best in curing depression. Current research is aimed at matching antidepressant drugs to patients. This means that patients will soon be receiving antidepressants that will work on them quickly (Reinberg 24). Another study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of using antidepressants in treating depression among adults, youths and geriatric populations. The participants included 4 geriatric patients, 12 adults and 4 youths on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) (Gibbons et al. 572). These were to be examined using the antidepressant fluoxetine. In addition , 21 adults were examined using venlafaxine. The results of the study showed that patients responded far better compared to placebo controls introduced into the study. Adults recorded an improvement rate of over 35% compared to the placebo controls (Gibbons et al. 573).Youths in the study recorded the highest treatment rates in comparison to the control. This study concluded that antidepressant drugs are effective in treating major depression, contrary to earlier suggestions that they were only effective in treating severe depression. However, the study concluded that antidepressants were more effective in youths and adult patients compared to elder patients. This study was conducted over a 6 weeks period. The study reports that 55.1% of adults treated with fluoxetine showed a positive response (Gibbons et al. 573). In controls, only a paltry 33.7% showed response. In addition to these figures, 45.8% of the patients showed subsidence in the depression levels. However, only 30.2% of the controls showed subsidence in depression levels. The drugs venlafaxine and fluoxetine produced similar results (Gibbons et al. 575).The study shows that antidepressants are effective in treating depression. Critics have raised a number of concerns about the effectiveness of antidepressants over placebos. However, more research continues to back antidepressants i

Self-Sacrifice in O.Henry's Gift of the magi and Rabindranath Tagore's Essay

Self-Sacrifice in O.Henry's Gift of the magi and Rabindranath Tagore's The Cabuliwallah - Essay Example O’Henry was praised as a valued US Southern writer who recorded the reality of the south of his time in his stories. His personal history is almost as interesting as those of his characters, and nearly as ironic, While many know his real name, few know his real history, since fact and fiction have become totally entwined, and the "legendary O. Henry †¦ is very different from the real William Sydney Porter. In his bit of autobiographica, which he published in the New York Times, April 4, 1909, Porter himself contributed to this legend." (Paine 351) Writing was probably a very good career for OHenry at that time, because he spent more than three years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and he was reclusive type in any case. It is not that he never went out, but he seldom revealed anything terribly personal about himself("Federico and the Magis Gift." 70-70). He is known for the interesting twists in his stories, the most famous of which is probably The Gift of the Magi. In the story a young couple were very poor each sacrifices their most precious possession in order to buy a beautiful gift for the other. The poignant irony is that each gift it is bought to accompany the precious thing that the other sacrificed. In the wifes case she had her long hair cut in order to buy a beautiful platinum watch fob for her husbands gold watch. The husband, in his turn, sold his gold watch to buy her some very expensive combs for her hair. I was found it rather sad that he actually sold the watch. I wouldve preferred that he pointed, since it was a family heirloom. Her hair will grow back, and they pawned watch could be redeemed. Rabindranath Tagore was born into a privileged family in 1871 and died in 1941 before the final split up of India. He was a fierce nationalilst, but was known to criticize Gandhi for being a bit too extreme. He did not

Founding Brothers Essay Example for Free

Founding Brothers Essay The novel, Founding Brothers, written by Joseph Ellis is a thought provoking novel on the intertwined lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and Ben Franklin. Ellis calls the 1790’s the most decisive decade in our country. The author exemplifies three major points in our nation’s history: George Washington and his prominent legacy; the collaborative yet antagonistic relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; and the many problems of the young union during its revolutionary era. George Washington was a monumental character and played a vital role in the molding of our country. Although, his reputation was nearly impeccable, he was great in stature, standing at six foot four. The farewell address was a key element to Washington’s legacy. In this he displayed how grateful he was to have such a remarkable opportunity to serve his country, although this only was the beginning part of his speech. Secondly he decided to stress the importance of the union. But it started in 1776 when Washington was being described as â€Å"Father of our Country† prematurely. Even Ben Franklin acknowledged Washington’s supremacy. In the 1790’s Washington was well known, he was the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention and the chief executive of the federal government. â€Å"Washington was the core of gravity that prevented the American Revolution from flying off into random orbits, the stable center around which the revolutionary energies formed† (Ellis 121). He impacted the government tremendously with his way of thinking and his attitude toward the need for national unity. He talked about independence from foreign nations; he devoted several paragraphs to this in his in his address. Washington always made the well- being of the country first. For example, when Continental Congress wanted help the French with an invasion of Canada, Washington opposed. He feared that that putting the France in possession of that capital that they would become greedy, and doubted that they would withdraw once they were ensconced in Canada. I think that he may have felt that also, America was young and still growing as a country. He was criticized for this decision. In closing on Washington’s legacy, I feel that there were many reasons why he retired. In short, he was just getting old and probably couldn’t take the political pressure. He was also going through a physical decline. Washington intended for his farewell address to be advice to his countrymen. He wanted them to sustain without, and without a king. Adams and Jefferson were indeed friends but had different agendas on how the country should be run. Their relationship was unique; they were great friends but even better competitors. The presidency drove them apart. Adams was a federalist, and Jefferson was a democratic republican so to speak. Through the Continental congress and diplomatic missions they became close friends. As they worked more together Adams developed more respect Jefferson, although he was less effusive. The low point of their relationship was definitely after the election in 1800. After this their relationship became more antagonistic. As politicians and colleagues they went through many phases. After the election they did not speak for a long 12 years. Adams felt that Jefferson had betrayed their friendship. After the death of Jefferson daughter, Abigail Adams began to exchange letters of condolences. Jefferson confused it as an invitation to reconcile with Adams family. The two disputed briefly, John didn’t find out until several months later. Finally in January of 1812, Adams sent a letter from Quincy to Monticello. â€Å"Why then, did Adams take the fateful step, which led to a fourteen year exchange of 158 letters, a correspondence that is generally regarded as the intellectual capstone to the revolutionary generation and the most impressive correspondence between prominent states in all of American history† (Ellis 223)? For the last 15 years of their lives they contacted each other through letters and rebuilt their friendship. On the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the Independence, both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other. They will never be forgotten for the inevitable and timely contributions to our young country. In the introduction Ellis describes the American Revolution perfectly with the statement â€Å"No event in American history which was so improbable at the time has seemed as inevitable in retrospect as the American Revolution†. America’s victory seemed beyond improbable seeing as how England had the greatest army of the Revolutionary era. The young colonists chose to seek out alliances with the French, Dutch, and Spanish due to their lack of monetary resources, experience or even the pure man power. British beforehand, even tried attacking the colonists politically which had their in leading to an inevitable rebellion. They initiated taxes, and other events such as the Boston Massacre took place that ignited the young colonists to take stand against Great Britain. Though faith, inspiration and prosperity the Americans shocked the world, defeated the odds and took the victory in 1783, securing their new independent world. This victory inspired countries worldwide to rebel against the tyrannical empires that were controlling them. This victory is evident in today’s society as America thrives as country that influences others and still is, independent. Founding Brothers truly exposes a much more personal point of view of our founding fathers and their irrefutable destiny. Joseph Ellis targets critical elements of their and what they thought was best for the young country of America. They molded something bigger than themselves during this revolutionary era. The author really brings to life the intricate detail of Washington’s legacy and the partnership between two great leaders Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Joseph Ellis’ statement was more than valid; it justifies American in a few short words.

Soil stabilization with lime in road construction

Soil stabilization with lime in road construction Soil Stabilization with lime Lime is another fundamental soil material that has been widely used as soil stabilizer for road pavement construction. Limestone is a soil material that discovered from sedimentary rock combining of high levels of calcium and magnesium carbonate composition as other small amounts of minerals. This is the extraction of underground mines and quarries all around the world. Therefore, the lime can be very cheap, it can be found everywhere in many countries. There is no transportation between long distances and it normally used to create a capping layer of road pavement from appropriate in- situ soils. In some road pavements, lime is considered to be a subbase layers that appeared the first part of a two part construction process using ordinary Portland cement and ground blast furnace cement. In general, the plasticity of soil material can be decreased by treating the performance of fine-grained soils. Once, the characteristic or physical property been changed, an improvement of workability needs to be made and also the volume of the material needs to be reduced. in addition, the strength of lime is basically depended on many elements such as curing time, curing temperature, water content and percentage of lime content. Types of lime. There are many types of lime have been introduced as soil stabilizer for road pavement. However, several types of lime have been commonly used there are dolomitic lime, calcitic quicklime, dolomitic quicklime and hydrated high-calcium lime respectively. The high calcium hydrated lime is used more often, this is because the hydrated lime is much less caustic than quicklime, the high calcium hydrated lime is a dry powder that made by a chemical reaction of quicklime with water to ensure natural affinity of the quicklime for moisture content. Easy to form the hydrated lime that is suspended or mud, often the process of pumping a variety of positions within the industrial plant. The alkaline as a result, having a pH of 12.4. Most hydrated limes have a combination of 75 percent cao and 25 percent H2O.Hydrated lime is used in a variety of industrial applications including water treatment, as an anti-stripping agent in asphalt, and in soil stabilization. Some hydrated limes are sold into the food grade market as well. Advantage The advantage of using lime as a soil stabilizer is basically concerned with many reasons such as reduced construction or operational cost during process of the project especically, reduce water use energy consumption and a reduction of Co2 emissions as well as saving time of operational processes. Stabilization with Lime-Fly Ash (LF) and Lime-Cement-Fly Ash (LCF). There is little for coarse-grained soils in soil stabilisation that can be achieved by the use of a combinations of LF or LCF. Lime -Fly Ash is also known as Coal ash which is a part of mineral residual from the burning of crushed coal. It is a combination of aluminum and silicon compounds. Once mixed with water anf lime, the mixture of soil can be created a strengthened cementitious mass accomplished of containing high compressive strengths. A combination of lime and fly-ash can also be used comomly as a soil stabiliser for stabilizering grainy materials when the lime can react with the fly-ash produced a agent. The combination of LF or LCF as a soil stabilisation is suitable for road base and sub-base materials. In gerneal,the appearance of Lime-Fly Ash or Lime-Cement-Fly Ash both them looks almost the same to the appearance of cement. When Fly Ash appear as circular particles that looks like a ball bearing while cement appears angular that looks like a crushed rock more. In addtion, Fly Ash contains strengthened cementitious quality so it can be used to replace the cement in a cement mix. Fly Ash can easily replace the cement in the concrete mixes that is good for saving costs during a soil stailisation process. There is another problem that needs to be considered once Fly-Ash as a soil stabiliser. The compressive strength of concrete mix with Fly-ash is approximately the same to the compressive strength of concrete without Fly-ash. There may be a slight decrease in compressive strength in the first, and then there is a slight increase after the first two weeks. Types of fly ash There are two different types of Fly-ash have been introducted to soil stabilisation or construction industry, type C and type F respectively. Type C Fly-ash is come from the combustion of lignite or subbituminous coal and the type C Fly-ash is also called as â€Å"high lime ash†this is because a high percentage of lime is contained in type C Fly-ash. The type C Fly-ash is a pozzolanic substance, when it is self-reactive with water . Type F Fly-Ash is produced from the combustion of anthracite or bituminous coal and sometimes it is known as â€Å"low lime† ash.It is required the addition of lime to make a reaction to produce a pozzolanic substance. TYPE F Provide sulfate resistance of cement equal to or better than Type V cement. Effectively controls heat gain during concrete curing. TYPE C When type C fly-Ash adds into the concrete mixes, it will contains a early strengths this is becuuse it contains its own amount of lime. Under this circumstance, it requires pozzolanic reaction to be started reacting eailer. Advantage; There are many advantages of using Fly-ash that concerned with the manufacturing of concrete pipe which contains a greater density of the concrete.the peremebility of a construction project can be improved by using a more dense concrete mix and reduce the probability of infiltration. Finaly, the workability of the project can also be improved by using Fly-ash material. A fly ash concrete mix will generally gain strength more slowly at early ages. After about seven days, the rate of strength gain of fly ash concrete exceeds that of conventional concrete, enabling equivalent strength at 28 days. This higher rate of strength gain continues over time enabling fly ash concrete to produce higher ultimate strength than can be achieved with conventional concrete. Stabilization with Bitumen Soil Stabilization with Bitumen which is an aggregate contains bitumen. It has a big difference in appearance when it compared to cement and lime soil stabilisation. The mechanism of bitumen is basically concerned with fine-grained soil that is a sealing or waterproofing phenomenon. The bitumen is coated by soil particles that can reduce the strengths of Soil by slowing down the penetration of water. In some construction project, the bitumen for soil stabilisation is widely used for bitumen bound pavement that is normally less than any other purpose of using. Normally, the bitumen for soil stabilisation will contain approximately about 4-8% of the soil without any water content. TYPES OF BITUMEN. Sand bitumen: a mixture of sand and asphalt, of which the sand particles cemented together, provide a more stable material. Bitumen with aggregate: asphalt mixture gradation and a good gravel or artificial aggregates, after compaction, provides a highly stable sub-base or water quality based on the quality of course. Bitumen with lime: a mixture of lime, soil and bitumen after a soil compaction, the compacted soil mixture may has characteristics of the bitumen treated materials that will contains a high PI value. In general, there are several types of bitumen used for soil stabilization. The type of bitumen which is to be used that based or depended on the different type of soil need to be used as a stabilizer, the processing for a road pavement construction and operational or weather conditions. Frost areas, tar as a binder, should be kept away because of its high temperature sensitivity. The asphalts substance can be slightly influenced by a change in temperature. According to a specific soil experiment, a good result can be perfectly achieved by the soil mixed quickly with liquid asphalt which is the stickiest one. One of the higher qualities for soil mixture that used for a central plant, the sticky grade asphalt cement should be used. There are many soil bituminous stabilization needs to be operated in a place where the bitumen material can be used directly for the soil and soil compaction can also easily be done during construction process. Emulsion is highly recommended to use in a soil stabilization construction, because of energy limitation and reduction of pollution control efforts. For a road pavement project, the engineer needs to decide what kind of the type of bitumen would be used that is based on operational or weather conditions and the cost of the project as well as the different types of equipment in the construction. There are several types of bitumen are introduced as below that would be used for the soil gradation indicated: Open-graded aggregate Rapid- and medium-curing liquid asphalts RC-250, RC-800, and MC-3000. Medium-setting asphalt emulsion MS-2 and CMS-2. Well-graded aggregate with little or no material passing the No. 200 sieve Rapid and medium-curing liquid asphalts RC-250, RC-800, MC-250, and MC-800. Slow-curing liquid asphalts SC-250 and SC-800. Medium-setting and slow-setting asphalt emulsions MS-2, CMS-2, SS-1, and CSS-1. Aggregate with a considerable percentage of fine aggregate and material passing the No. 200 sieve Medium-curing liquid asphalt MC-250 and MC-800. Slow-curing liquid asphalts SC-250 and SC-800. Slow-setting asphalt emulsions SS-1, SS-01h, CSS-1, and CSS-lh. For many road pavement design, the engineer use the bituminous stabilization which is the application of liquid to construct surface of an unbound aggregate road. There are SC-70, SC-250, MC-70, and MC-250 are respectively applied to the slow and medium curing liquid bitumen. Gradations for soil stabilization There are several soil gradations which is highly recommended to used for sub-grade base or sub-basematerial as show below in two tables Recommended gradations for bituminous stabilized sub-grade materials Recommended gradations for bituminous-stabilized base and sub-base materials MIX DESIGN In many soil stabilizations with a sub-grade material, there is one equation that needs to be applied for identifying the groundwork quantity of falloff asphalt. The equation as shown below: p = ((0.02(a) + 0.07(b) + 0.15(c) + 0.20(d))/(100 S)) X 100 Where, p = percent cutback asphalt by weight of dry aggregate a = percent of mineral aggregate retained on No. 50 sieve b = percent of mineral aggregate passing No. 50 sieve and retained on No. 100 sieve c = percent of mineral aggregate passing No. 100 and retained on No. 200 sieve d = percent of mineral aggregate passing No. 200 S = percent solvent The initial number of emulsified asphalt Once soil stabilization with sub-grade materials need to be involved in a road construction. The initial quantity of emulsified asphalt also needs to use for the sub-grade materials that can be determined by a table as shown below: Emulsified asphalt requirements For the final design stage the content of emulsified asphalt that need to be chosen based on the experimental results of the Marshal Stability testing. The test is used to determine the Marshall stability of bituminous mixture. There is a minimum requirement of Marshall Stability which required for sub-grade is 500 pounds. Once, the recommended quantities of bituminous materials need be added, if appearance of increased Marshall Stability is not shown for the soil particles, the soil gradation would be identified with more details or another type of bituminous materials need to be applied as a soil stabilizer. STABILIZATION WITH LIME-CEMENT AND LIME-BITUMEN In a road pavement construction project, the advantage of using combination stabilizers is that one of the stabilizers does not perform its effectiveness properly, the other one is able to compensate when treating a specified characteristics of a given soil. For example, lime has been used frequently with stabilizers such as asphalt or Portland cement in order to provide base courses for clay areas. Since plastic clays is not totally compatible with asphalt or Portland cement and the lime cannot corporate into the soil to make it friable, therefore, asphalt and the cement can be effectively mixed. Stabilization practice might be more expensive than conventional single stabilizer methods, but it could be still reasonably priced at places where base aggregate costs are high. There are many different types of cement as a soil stabilizer. But in this case study, two combinations of cement particle are concerned with lime-cement and lime-asphalt respectively. LIME-CEMENT Lime can be used as an initial additive with Portland cement or the primary stabilizer. The main effects lime gives is to reduce the plasticity of the soil. The main approach is to add enough lime I order to reduce the plasticity index to satisfactory levels. LIME-ASPHALT Lime can be used as an initial additive with asphalt or the primary stabilizer. The main effects lime gives is to act as an anti- stripping agent. In the layer capacity, the lime acts to neutralize acidic chemicals in the soil or aggregate which tends to interfere with bonding of the asphalt. 1-2 percent lime is basically needed for this objective. LIME TREATMENT OF EXPANSIVE SOILS. In a road pavement, the surface of an expansive soil is defined as those exceeding three percent expansion in the exhibition. The expansion of soils is concerned with a road pavement construction, when water is influenced in clay minerals. The plasticity characteristics of a soil particle can be used as an indicant for the swell potential of a soil which is shown as below: Swell potential of soils A treatment with lime would be introduced to determine the well potential of a soil. The lime can be used to reduce swell. For an expansive soil, A more or less degree of expansive soil may be present activities of the clay minerals. Once, the lime needs to be added that requires a minimum amount of the lime, it can reduce swell to acceptable limits. There is an experimental process for conducing swell test which can be found in ASTM D 1883. The depth of lime should be incorporated into the soil, in general, the equipment used by the construction of a limited. In general, A maximum required depth need to be calculated with 2 to 3 feet that can be treated directly without removal of the soil.

Jupiter Research Essay -- Papers

Jupiter Research Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in our solar system. This gas giant has a thick atmosphere, 17 moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Its most prominent features are bands across its latitudes and a great red spot, (which is a storm). Jupiter is composed mostly of gas. This enormous planet radiates twice as much heat as it absorbs from the sun. It also has an extremely strong magnetic field. It is slightly flattened at its poles and it bulges out a bit at the equator. Size: Jupiter's diameter is 88700 miles (142800km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth. Jupiter is so large that all the other planets in the solar system could fit inside it (if it were hollow). Mass and Gravity: Jupiter's mass is about 1.69 x 10(27) kg. Although this is 318 times the mass of the Earth, the gravity on Jupiter is only 254% of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared). A 100-pound person would weigh 254 pounds on Jupiter. Length Of A Day And Year On Jupiter =================================== It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its axis (this is a Jovian day). It takes Jupiter 11.86 Earth years to orbit the sun once (this is a Jovian year). Jupiter is made of gases and liquids, so as it rotates, its parts do not rotate at exactly the same velocity. It rotates very rapidly, and this spinning action gives Jupiter a large equatorial bulge; it looks like a slightly flattened s... ...ogen molecules move freely from molecule to molecule (like the electrons of a metal; that is what allows the electrical and heat conductivity. Core: At the centre of the planet is a molten rock, which is many times bigger and more massive than the entire Earth. It is 20,000*C, about three times hotter than the Earth's core. Internal Heat: Jupiter is a heat source; it radiates 1.6 times as much energy as it receives from the sun. Magnetic Field: Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field. The magnetic field is probably generated as the planet spins its deep metallic-hydrogen layer with electrical currents. Spacecraft Visits: Jupiter was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 10, which flew by Jupiter in 1973. Later fly-by visits included: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, and Galileo.

Internet Addicts in Danger Essay -- Technology Computers Communication

Internet Addicts in Danger Internet chat rooms have become a devastating disadvantage to the social interaction and growth of people in the world. More and more of the world’s youth are becoming addicted to Internet chat rooms. Not only are Internet chat room relationships leading to impersonal contact of people hiding flaws behind anonymity, they are leading to the abduction of many underage individuals. In an article published in The Age, a magazine in Melbourne, Australia, Doctor Mubarak Rahamathulla has researched teenagers that have become "pathologically addicted" to Internet chat rooms. Rahamathulla argues that this addiction could damage their social skills as well as their ability to form intimate relationships. Rahamathulla says that "The young people who are introverts who are having difficulties establishing a rapport with others are going to go deeper into these kinds of forums to interact with others, that will further shrink their social network." In Rahamathulla’s research he found that while Internet chat rooms are not the ideal form of communication for most of these "addicted" teens, it is better than no interaction at all. The research revealed that these teens are lonely, usually unpopular and that chat rooms contribute to some teenagers fearing one on one situations. Internet chat rooms do not seem like they are targeting this specific demographic, when it is considered that there are chat rooms for basically every interest any human in the world could think of. So, if Internet chat rooms are not targeting lonely, unpopular teenagers, but those are for the most part the people becoming "addicted" to these chat rooms, are these chat rooms making the people who are interested in them addicted and lonely ... ...there is no immediate solution for the problem that is at hand. But it is a problem that needs to be addressed. Internet chat rooms are making the worlds youth into anti-social, lonely people. Internet chat rooms are enticing children to go out and meet much older people that they should not be associating with and no one is stopping them. Parents and Internet companies both need to make drastic changes for the benefit of the world’s youth. Works Cited Barr, Elizabeth "Face the Music". 17 January. 2003 BCT Reporter "Should there be tighter laws governing the Internet?". UK Newsweek Regional Press. 25 July. 2003 Bruce, Iain "Fishnet Stalking; from the erotic to the pornographic, sex on the Internet is booming". The Sunday Herald. 8 December. 2002 Nader, Carol "Introvert Internet Addicts and ‘Social Risk’". The Age. 2 October. 2003 Statistics

Germany experienced a period of political calm Essay

The Stresemann years of 1924-29 have often been portrayed as the â€Å"golden years† of Weimar Germany; however this idea has been challenged my many historians. During this period there was an element of political calm but it was mainly typified by political inaction and a failure of coalition governments to agree on any important issues. Economic development did occur but was minimal, and the period was one of slow economic growth and â€Å"relative stagnation†. Similarly, there were several signs of social progress and cultural development, but the years were significantly characterised by cultural polarisation. Therefore the blanket statement: â€Å"Germany experienced a period of political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid 1920s† ignores the problems in Weimar Germany at this time and is therefore not entirely correct, each clause contains some validity. In politics, there was a clear reduction in extra-parliamentary attempts opposing the government and political system. This was particularly significant as the preceding 1919-23 period was characterised by such threats from the Left and Right of the political spectrum, for example the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch and the Beer Hall Putsch. However, the mid 1920s cannot be said to have been years of political stability. Despite the reduction in threats to the Weimar state, the parliamentary system failed to mature and develop – a political stagnation developed, not a political calm. Seven governments were formed and dissolved during the 1924-29 years, and only two of these claimed a working majority. This clearly illustrates the failures of the coalition system to produce a strong working government with sufficient support (something which was greatly needed in order to tackle the problems that faced the new democracy.) Instead, a â€Å"stalemate† ensued. Blame fo r this can be partly placed upon the political parties of this time, as up until 1914 they had no experience of forming governments or compromising in order form governments. Instead, parties acted more as interest groups rather than as national parties of  government. This was significant as the electoral system of proportional representation relies on the cooperation of political parties. However the German People’s Party (DVP)’s increasing association with the interests of business caused it to refuse to form a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 1924 and 1928 the SPD resisted becoming involved in the formation of any viable coalition government because they believed that a coalition with the â€Å"bourgeois† parties would lead to a compromise of party ideals. As a result the influence of the SPD in the Reichstag was significantly reduced and the parties rejection of political responsibility undermined the democratic system; contradicting the key concepts of representation and accountability. Other, smaller issues undermined the political system, as Chancellors fell out over very petty things such as the use of the imperial flag. Thus it can be concluded that throughout the years 1924 to 1929 politics was inefficient and suffered from stagnation. The simple claim that the years were a period of political calm is misleading as, despite illustrating a brief reduction in attempts at extra-parliamentary action, it ignores the many problems which underpinned politics at this time. Historians commonly argue that during the mid 1920s the German economy experienced currency stability, slow growth and â€Å"relative stagnation.† There was significant economic growth but it was underpinned by significant industrial unrest and unstable foreign investment. Therefore simple claims of economic development during this period do not show the whole picture. Having said this, there was a definite increase in monetary stability which can be attributed to the introduction of new currency in 1923, the Rentenmark, and also the consequences of the Dawes Plan which brought about a significant influx of foreign capital. The monetary stability brought about by the establishment of the Rentenmark was a great improvement after the hyperinflation of 1923 and helped the classes who had suffered most during this time. However, the foreign investment which enabled the reconstruction of German industry to take place was potentially dangerous as it could be quickly and easily withd rawn if there was a downturn in the world economy. Thus although it enabled a degree of economic progress, the measure could be seen as temporary and had the potential to bring disaster  upon the German economy if it fell through. Some of the growth in available capital was also due to the Dawes Plan though which decreased the rate of repayments, though. National Income in 1928 increased by 12% from 1913 levels and industry experienced massive growth. These positives are balanced by the sobering reminder that monetary stability was based on foreign capital, and the fact that other areas suffered change and unrest. Unemployment figures also question the image of the 1920s as the â€Å"golden years† of Weimar Germany. By 1928, 3 million Germans, accounting for 15% of the workforce, were unemployed. These figures suggest that many of the economic problems which would later surface were actually rooted in these supposed years of stability, and any economic progress related to the mid 1920s is only relative, in comparison to the dire state of the German economy in the periods directly before and after it. There was considerable social progress in the mid 1920s as advancements in welfare, housing and public health improved the standard of living for many German people. After the war there was an increased need for welfare and in 1924 the system for claiming relief and assessing the needs of the claimant was codified (although many claimants continued to receive benefits at a subsidence level.) Other changes in the law signalled social progress, such as the 1927 Labour Exchanges and Unemployment Insurance Law which introduced unemployment insurance. Thus the welfare state was significantly increased, though it remained imperfect. In general terms of public health, standards improved. Better health insurance and medical provision led to a reduction in deaths from certain diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. The position of women mainly remained the same as the proportion of women working outside the home increased only minimally. Although there was a growing number of women in ne w areas of employment in the civil service, teaching and social work, attitudes towards women working were generally conservative. However, arguably more significant than these minimal signs of social progress was the cultural polarisation which existed in this period. During 1919-24 a new style unique to the Weimar Republic developed and manifested itself in the media. The new movement stressed objectivity and matter-of-factness. Alienation from the Weimar Republic was a common theme of writing, theatre and cinema highlighted social issues with a new  seriousness and architecture was dominated by the Bauhaus movement. This â€Å"Weimar culture† was used to show the injustices that existed in Weimar society. However the objectivity of this new movement was in direct contrast to the nostalgic romanticism and escapism of popular literature. Similarly, the modern Bauhaus movement stood against the majority of Germans traditional taste. Some historians have claimed these supposed cultural advancements were just the movement of a â€Å"counterculture† which many opposed. It is also important that the cultural developments which did take place did nothing to help stabilise the Weimar Republic; instead they only served to further divide Germany society, this time on cultural lines. Neither culture showed particular support for Weimar Germany and its values, thus this limited form of social progress did nothing to improve the stability of the Weimar Republic. In conclusion, the statement: â€Å"Germany experienced a period of political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid 1920s† is only partly true. Germany did experience limited political calm, a somewhat greater degree of economic development, and a small degree of social progress. However the claims made in this statement are broad and ignore the complexities of German politics, society and economics in the mid 1920s. Although there were suggestions of political calm, many problems were evident within German politics at this time such as political paralysis – the above statement ignores this. There was monetary stability and cases of economic development during these years, far greater than social or political stability and improvements. However the causes of this economic progress and stability can be considered superficial, as fundamental weaknesses in the German economy ensured it remained far from stable. Lastly, there were improvements in public health and welfare services but they were limited and imperfect. Social developments were evident but what may be considered social progress by some engendered hostility in others, resulting in cultural polarisation. In contrast to the rosy image painted in the original statement, this period saw the beginning of economic pressures and social discord which were to worsen after 1929. Many historians have traced the weaknesses which contributed to the breakdown of democracy in the early 1930s back to this period.