Thursday, October 31, 2019

Statment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statment - Essay Example He will show his likes and dislikes by reaching out, laughing and smiling, or discarding objects, crying, becoming stiff, agitated and hot. He cries to indicate discomfort or hunger. James has some sense of cause and effect. Along with the development of his logical thinking, his ability to anticipate events is also developing. Recent assessment has shown that he is functioning securely at level P2(i) of the level underpinning the National Curriculum. James daily life must follow a regular routine in order to allow him anticipate the next event in his day. He is touch dependent in the sense that holding an object allows him to gain and understand information about his environment. Although sometimes shy, James warms up to adults who show him support in his learning endeavours. He eagerly participates in activities for at least 20 minutes when surrounded by familiar adults. This sense of familiarity prevents him for participating in large and noisy groups thus limiting his self-occupation skills. James is a social person who enjoys the company of other people. He is always aware of familiar adults and enjoys one on one interaction activities with them. James has been observed to turn his head towards familiar adults who talk to him and respond positively to them by gesturing and smiling, sometimes he also uses vocalizing techniques in order to communicate with them. Due to James limited movement control caused by his cerebral palsy, he is unable to sit, stand, or walk without support. Therefore he constantly needs to be assisted in all his activities. These activities include changing his clothes and maintaining his body positions. He is totally dependent on those around him for mobility as he is wheelchair bound and must use leg gaiters when walking. James upper body suffered most of the effects of cerebral palsy which is why he finds it hard to reach for items

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Final assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Final - Assignment Example In doing so, analyses of the elements of leadership approach, leadership type I applied to manage the situation is also conducted and how I led the team towards successfully achieving the goal is laid down. Brief Overview of the Situation or the project at hand For most of my life I served in the Air Force and come from Fort Worth Texas. However I also designed houses for 15 years and during one of those assignments I came across a project that was challenging, tested my capabilities and arouse my creativity. The house was for an elderly couple who had certain specific needs to be catered, was budget conscious and with a tight schedule yet I was fascinated in designing that particular house because it was the first time I was designing a house that would be physically suitable for elderly couple. The house was to be built on a rocky land measuring 3000 Sq ft. in Fort Worth and I started designing the house in 2011 to be delivered by the end of 2012. I was the chief designer for the p roject responsible for making the house plan, getting approval from local agencies and heading a team consisting of building contractor who would be building the house and a team of supervisors and subcontractors for various works such as plumbing, electricians etc., I was in charge of designing the house plan according to the clients requirements and getting his approval and delivering to the building contractor for actually building the house according to the plan and monitoring whether the house is coming according to the plan and tackling any challenges or problems arising. It was my responsibility ultimately to see to it that the house is made perfectly according to the plans, under the budget and delivered on time. Leadership approach applied to the situation I applied the Fiedler’s contingency leadership approach for accomplishing this project. It is a leader-match theory that matches leaders with situations appropriate to them (Fielder, 1967; Fielder & Chemers, 1974). Contingency here suggests that effectiveness of a leader is dependent on the fitting of leadership style to the given situation. The three situational or contingency dimensions identified by Fielder are â€Å"Leader-member relationships, Task Structure and position power† (Robbins, 2012, p. 368). When the leader has more control the situation is deemed to be favourable and when he has little control then it is an unfavorable situation and leadership style needs to be applied accordingly. Control on the team is more when leader- member relations are better, jobs are highly structured, and position power is strong (Robbins, 2012). Contingency theory framework is mainly concerned with matching leadership styles with situations and two types of leadership styles emerge within the framework that are task oriented style and relationship motivated style (Northouse, 2013). In this project being the chief designer I faced both favorable and unfavorable situations. As leader member re lations with some team members were good and with others it was poor. Some tasks were highly structured as there was only one way of doing things, others were unstructured as many alternatives available for doing the task, as we were developing innovative design, team members were not familiar with it and there was no single best way of doing it. I enjoyed strong position power being the Chief designer of the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Anaphylactic Shock Critical Care Case Study

Anaphylactic Shock Critical Care Case Study Introduction (200 Words) In this project a medical case is going to be studied deeply with literature support as a case study. My topic is about an anaphylactic shock that happened to patient in hospital while I was doing my clinical placement it is a very interesting case to be considered. An evidence-based information will be provided and identified such as: the definition, the symptoms, the diagnostic features and tests, the progress and the treatment and alternatives. The benefits behind studying a case is effectiveness of delivering the information. As stated by Davis and Wilcock, 2014 that it allows the application of theoretical concepts to be demonstrated and will encourage an active learning, increasing the student enjoyment and interest of the topic and their desire to learn and it also provide a developmental key in learning skills such as problem solving, communication and team work. It is an enjoyable and challenging way of studying filled with evidence-based practice that will enhance the level of doing researches and studies that will help in future studies. Nursing Assessment (300 words) The patient has been received in Accident Emergency in resuscitation room (RR). J.A.M 52 years old Bahraini female. The patient had an insect bite in that day while she was walking in public walking area, she stopped walking and itching occurred all over the body. While driving home after the insect bite the patient felt drowsy and hit another car near her house and loss consciousness. J.A.M was brought to the unit by 999 ambulance fully awake, well oriented, alert, afebrile, no respiratory difficulties, no complains of pain, skin is warm and dry, pallor and shivering with rash on the face gave history of feeling nauseated and vomited 4 times. Vital signs Checked and recorded Temperature 37.4C, Spo2 98%, Pulse 118/Minute, BP 145/43, HGT 7.6 Mmol/L. The skin was mainly involved representing pale colour and rash on the face, the cardiovascular system represents tachycardia, and the immune system is responsible for this reaction against the insect bite. The patient denies any chest pai n, denies shortness of breath, the patient is known case of dyslipidemia on tablet Lipitor, no other history of other illness, no history of surgery and no history of any allergy. The patient can handle the basics of activity daily living such as eating, bathing, toileting, dressing and she is able walk and get out of the bed but she is not able to perform certain activities such as food preparation, housekeeping and driving a car. After the acute symptoms have been treated the family should be given health education about how to prevent possible future allergic reaction and the importance of seeking help as quick as possible if they do not know how to deal with the situation. Physical examination was done for cardiovascular system representing chest is equal in shape, no bounding or heaving, no lifting with heartbeat. Upper lower extremities are normal in color and capillary refill within 3 seconds, skin is warm periphery with no edema. S1 is heard in all sites and S2 is heard all sites but louder at base and tachycardia observed. Skin is pale, dry, soft, warm. No edema, lesions or odor, good turgor, no signs of insect bite, rashes on face. Medical Diagnosis and other pertinent medical information (500 words) When received the patient the physician has requested ECG, blood tests as following: Full blood count, Cardiac enzymes, Liver function test, Electrolytes, serum, PT + APTT, ESR. Some of the results was not approved but most of the results were normal, this table shows the most important values and abnormal findings: Date Diagnostic Test Rationale Findings 12/11/14 Electrocardiography (ECG) Can be examined to detect dysrhythmias and alternations in conduction indicative of myocardial damage, enlargement of the heart or drug effects. (Kozier and Berman, 2012) The result is Normal valves, no vegetation observed, the heart produces rapid electrical signal, tachycardia. 12/11/14 Complete blood count (CBC) The CBC identifies the total number of blood cells (Leukocytes, erythrocytes and platelets) as well as the haemoglobin, haematocrit (percentage of blood volume consisting of erythrocytes), and RBC indices. Because cellular morphology (shape and appearance of the cells) is particularly important in accurately diagnosing most hematologic disorders, the blood cells involved must be examined. (Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010) The results are normal except: WBC: 24.5 High. Platelet count: 536 High. Red cell size 20.6 High. Haemoglobin: 8.5 Low. Haematocrit: 0.27 Low. Mean cell volume, Hb, Haemoglobin Con are Low. Band forms: 15. 12/11/14 Fluid (Urea) Electrolytes Fluid and electrolyte balance is a dynamic process that is crucial for life and homeostasis. Potential and actual disorders of fluid and electrolyte balance occur in every setting, with every disorder, and with a variety of changes, that affect healthy people, (e.g., increased fluid and sodium loss with strenuous exercise and high environmental temperature, inadequate intake of fluid and electrolytes) as well as those who are ill. (Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010) Patient Fluid (Urea) electrolytes results are normal. 12/11/14 Serum Initial diagnostic test begin with serum laboratory studies, including but not limited to CBC, complete metabolic panel, prothrombin time/partial thromboplastic time, triglycerides, liver function tests, amylase, and lipase. Studies such as carcinoembrynoic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen (CA). (Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010) Liver function test are normal. Cardiac enzymes are normal. Creatinine is normal. The patient was diagnosed as having an anaphylactic shock, the case was chosen because it is very common and could happen to anyone by exposure to an allergen of any kind which is in this case an insect bite. The community may not be aware about how dangerous is developing a serious reaction from a small allergen such as insect bite. The statistics was not specified in Bahrain but in some countries worldwide: â€Å"Systemic allergic reactions to insect stings are reported by 0.3% to 7.5% of persons in the United States and Europe’’. (Ruà «ff et al., 2009) An anaphylactic reaction is an acute systematic hypersensitivity that occurs within seconds or minutes after exposure to an allergen or foreign substance. It is a result of the relationship between Antigen and Antibody, The immunoglobin E is the responsible for human allergic reaction. The person may have a hypersensitivity to the venoms of insects (hymenoptera), stings in any part of the body can trigger anaphylaxis . The signs and symptoms includes Itching, nasal congestion, chest tightness, wheezing, cyanosis, dyspnea, generalized itching over the body, urticarial, tacky or bradycardia, pallor, decreased blood pressure, circulatory failure leading to coma and death, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. (Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010) All the required tests has been done to the patient in RR except antibody screening which refers to a special protein that is found on the surface of RBC to check for RH positive or negative. (Mayoclinic.org, 2014) IV cannula inserted once received the patient, Injection Hydrocortisone 300mg IV given, Injection promethazine 50mg IV given, Injection adrenaline 0.5mg s/c given, Injection Ranitidine 50mg IV given. Patient put on Cardiac monitor, Dexamethasone 10mg IV given, old file requested, chest x-ray requested, Paracetamol 1g IV, changed the patient and kept clean, Injection rocephin 2g given on Right Arm. The physician advised to be kept on 1.5 litres of Normal Saline for 12 hours, 2-4 litres of Oxygen on nasal cannula, kept the patient covered with necessary blanket to keep her warm and comfortable. Impact of the condition on the patient’s Quality of Life (200 words) The patient may move on to anaphylaxis which is dangerous fatal stage thus the treatment did a great job in reducing this effect by using drugs such as: epinephrine (Adrenaline) which inhibits the mediator release from mast cell and basophils and protect the patient from upgrading to anaphylaxis. The hydrocortisone prevented relapse or protracted anaphylaxis. Lockey, 2014 states that the oxygen therapy will deliver the required oxygen to the patient which makes her comfortable. Promethazine will act on receptor as antihistamine which will reduce the itching and has a sedation effect will put the patient into more comfort. Ranitidine will prevent gastric acid secretion which reduces the nausea and vomiting. Rocephin is an antibiotic which inhibits the bacterial cell wall synthesis and will lead to cell death (Skidmore-Roth, 2012). Normal saline to maintain hydration of the patient. After receiving the treatment patient is feeling better, nausea and vomiting reduced, itching reduced, t he patient is comfortable with the treatment. Discussion (700 words) The patient treatment started with requesting blood tests which shows any abnormal values to be treated. Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 advised that treatment starts with removing the causative agent which is the insect venom but the patient did not know the exact site of the bite thus physical examination clarified that there is no proof of an insect bite. Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 admits that the patient should be given the necessary emergency support of basic life functions which was given already to the patient, Epinephrine was given as vasoconstrictive. Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 states another drug named Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) included in treatment of this condition to reverse the effect of histamine and reducing the capillary permeability but replacement alternative was given which were Promethazine and Ranitidine that acts on H1 and H2 receptors (Antihistamine) (Skidmore-Roth, 2012). Another medication which was stated by Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 albuterol through nebuliza tion to reverse the histamine bronchospasm if occurred. Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 recommended that IV lines should be inserted to provide access to administer fluids and medication, IV cannula was inserted to the patient. They also state that respiratory status is measured by monitoring respiratory rate and if there is any abnormal lung sound and pulse rate any rhythm to be monitored regularly, cardiac monitor was put on the patient to assess the respiratory status and vital signs of the patient. The physical examination of the chest clarify that lung sounds are normal. Oxygen was applied to the patient to help compensate breathing pattern. The patient was assessed for previous allergies or exposure to such antigens and the understanding of the patient about this condition to prevent any future complications. Locky, R. 2014 recommended that the family should be educated about how to avoid the allergen and know the underlying causes of any allergy. Lockey, 2014 recommends that the p atient should be given an auto injector which is a syringe that automatically injects single dose of medication when triggered and to be educated about it and the necessary information such as: dose, expiry date, route of administration. Such device is given to many people that are at high risk of developing anaphylaxis only during an anaphylactic emergency. The patient and the family should be also educated about prevention of exposing to the allergen by wearing protective clothes that is covering all the skin when needed to do such sport in public area and the onset symptoms that occurs when already exposed to such allergen. As stated in Brunner and Smeltzer, 2010 there is early simple management that could be done by the patient or the relative by removing the venom or stinger of the insect when found, wound care to be done using water and soap, scratching to be avoided to prevent histamine, to apply ice on the bite site as it will reduce the swelling and decreases the venom abso rption by the body. In my opinion, the patient should be identified by wearing an allergy warning band that contains emergency information in case if the patient fainted or lose consciousness. The allergy should be documented in the patient file to avoid any further exposure to allergy and to avoid using the venom immunotherapy (VIT) which treats certain medical conditions. The patient should be monitored carefully during hospitalization because any adverse complication may occur suddenly. The patient should be referred to an allergist or immunologist to follow up regularly to maximize the quality of life. Conclusion and recommendations (100 words) An allergic reaction could develop anywhere in the nursing practice such as administering certain drug that the patient allergic to or using and device that has an allergen element. Nurses must highly prioritize the general assessment done when receiving patients specially asking for allergy for any medication or substance or any allergic reaction that occurred in the past, because we held such responsibilities to prevent any fatal complications that occurs because of anaphylactic reaction, shock or anaphylaxis. Nurses must be aware of such symptoms to detect an early reaction which could be preventable as soon as possible. This will be beneficial to the patients and nurses to deliver the maximum health outcomes. References Brunner, L. and Smeltzer, S. (2010). Brunner Suddarths textbook of medical-surgical nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Davis, C. and Wilcock, E. (2014). Teaching Materials Using Case Studies. [Online] Materials.ac.uk. Available at: http://www.materials.ac.uk/guides/casestudies.asp [Accessed 30 Nov. 2014]. Kozier, B. and Berman, A. (2012). Kozier Erbs fundamentals of nursing. Boston: Pearson. Lockey, R. (2014). Anaphylaxis. [Online] Mayoclinic.org. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anaphylaxis/basics/treatment/con-20014324 [Accessed 30 Nov. 2014]. Lockey, R. (2014). Anaphylaxis: Synopsis. [Online] Worldallergy.org. Available at: http://www.worldallergy.org/professional/allergic_diseases_center/anaphylaxis/anaphylaxissynopsis.php [Accessed 30 Nov. 2014]. Mayoclinic.org, (2014). Rh factor blood test Why its done. [Online] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/rh-factor/basics/why-its-done/prc-20013476 [Accessed 30 Nov. 2014]. Ruà «ff, F., Przybilla, B., Bilà ³, M., Mà ¼ller, U., Scheipl, F., Aberer, W., Birnbaum, J., Bodzenta-Lukaszyk, A., Bonifazi, F. and Bucher, C. (2009). Predictors of severe systemic anaphylactic reactions in patients with Hymenoptera venom allergy: Importance of baseline serum tryptase—a study of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Interest Group on Insect Venom Hypersensitivity. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 124(5), pp.1047-1054. Skidmore-Roth, L. (2012). Mosbys 2012 nursing drug reference. St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier/Mosby. Appendices Page 1 of 7

Friday, October 25, 2019

Can a Firemans Ball be regarded as a documentary? :: essays research papers

Can A Fireman's Ball be regarded as a documentary? www.peacefulschoolsinternational.org/sftp/glossary.htm www.filmschools.com/glossary.html www.whitenoiseproductions.com/Glossary.htm www.dvdauthority.com "A film whose narrative is derived from non-fiction and does not feature actors" The ideas for this film came about purely by accident after Milos Forman and his co-writers had retired to the country to think of a proper follow-up film to Loves of a blonde. They decided to take the night off and go to the local Fireman's Ball and on the following evening they played cards with the firemen in this little town in the mountains. Using the time he spent with the firemen, he was able to bring a level of authenticity to the film. "Most definitions delineate documentary as a nonfiction work. Instead of filmmakers conceiving the film's subject in their imaginations, they find the basis of their works in real life and real events." "Instead of providing an outlet from the everyday world, documentary seeks to address our world and to educate us about it." Tries to inform the viewer of life under the Socialist Government. "Documentary subjects come from life, not from the imagination. The subjects chosen tend to possess some kind of cultural relevance, be it historical, social, or scientific." "The word "documentary" is rooted in the earliest, anthropological use of film to "document" or record field work. Now, it can mean everything from a classic documentation of life in a remote part of the world to a filmmaker's personal exploration of any subject under the sun." "Documentary subjects come from life, not from the imagination" "A documentary is a work in a visual or auditory medium presenting political, scientific, social, or historical subjects in a factual and informative manner." It is not a documentary in the traditional sense in that it is staged using scripts and is not outright informative. From the beginning of Milos Forman's career we see the mixture of black humour and observations of everyday life used in his films. A Fireman's Ball has the same type of humour and is based on the lives of a small community and their fire department. All of the firemen seem to be unable to perform their jobs due to their lack of competence. Apart from the fact that the firemen all seem hopeless, the prizes from the raffle keep getting stolen, the beauty pageant is a failure, the old man's house gets burnt to the ground because the firemen can't shovel snow on the flames fast enough and all he gets is the useless raffle tickets, even although this seems dull or sad it is actually quite entertaining and hilarious in some parts.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The movie fracture is an example of a psychological drama

The movie fracture is an example of a psychological drama, played by set of talented movie actors. Among the talented actors in Hollywood, Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling are chosen to play the two lead roles of the movie. A multi awarded and one of the most popular actors in his time and at present, Anthony Hopkins played the lead role in the movie fracture as the Tem Crawford.Who was a local engineer who had attempted to murder his wife after discovering that her young wife Jennifer that was played by another young talented actress Embeth Davidtz, which was having an affair with local police detective. On the other hand, Ryan Gosling a talented actor as well, plays the critical role of the movie as the young and promising district attorney who is about make a defining moment of his career as a lawyer moving to a much glamorous law firm.From the moment Ted Crawford discover that her young wife Jennifer is having an affair with a local police detective, he then starts to master plan the process of killing her wife. One day after making all the necessary plans, Crawford held his wife Jennifer inside their house and he shot her on the head in point blank range. This incident cause alarm to the community and police respondents starts to move all over the place.Among the entire hostage negotiator who responded on the crime scene, only one detective Nunally was allowed to enter the house where Crawford shot his wife. Upon entering the crime scene he saw Ted Crawford on the floor and was shocked when he sees Jennifer his long time lover that was in the other room swimming on her own blood. Due to this crime Ted Crawford was held liable for shooting his wife and will face court trials.This case was handled by Willy Beachum, a young and talented district attorney as his last case before moving to a better position in a law firm. With his record of 97% successful conviction cases Willy Beachum had achieved as a local district attorney, he accepts to handle the case bef ore leaving district attorney’s office. With the belief that this case will no longer be a difficult one for this case is an open case of attempted murder, Willy does not made the needed preparations as much as he did on his previous cases. Apart from Willy's knowledge he did not thought this case will be a battle of psychological intelligence between him and Ted Crawford. In the end, Ted Crawford was acquitted on doing frustrated murder on her wife Jennifer.In relation of the movie fracture by Anthony Hopkins to business law,   the scenario of the battle between the two leading character of the movie Ted Crawford and Willy Beachum on the court could be perfect to cite. Furthermore, this movie has something to do with law cases such as frustrated murder and probably business law in terms of actions of the leading role. Business law is often characterized as corporate law that was divided into many different areas. One of its is the law of negligence or malpractice.In the mo vie fracture, Ryan Gosling as the young successful district attorney Willy Beachum, may violated some the law of malpractice. This law is type of professional negligence in which a practitioner in a professional field is generally accepted failure to perform or achieve professional standards as required to their duty. In the case of Willy Breachum that was portrayed by the famous actor Ryan Gosling, as a district attorney he may possibly violated the law of malpractice in which he failed to perform professionally on the case of Ted Crawford.It is understandable though in court trial a winner and a loser are inevitable. However, on the movie fracture the public district attorney Willy Beachum had possibly committed negligence since he do not give enough attention and did not make needed preparation upon handling the case of Ted Crawford resulted to the not guilty verdict of the court to the person on trial.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal

Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal Middletown Hospital is a 200-bed, not-for-profit-general hospital that has an emergency department with 20 emergency beds. The emergency department handles on an average 100 patients per day. The hospital’s CEO has authorized the Six Sigma Team (SST) to address complaints received from patients seeking treatment between 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. The complaints are centered on waiting times and poor service. During this time the data indicates that approximately 70% of the department’s admissions occur (University of Phoenix, 2009, Course Syllabus). To address these complaints and improve performance of the emergency department the Six Sigma Team must understand process improvement proposals. The process must identify the reason of the bottleneck; identify the correct data collection method; the use of capacity planning; accurate analysis of the scheduling and controlling techniques; and identify a recommendation on staffing or alternative sources of care. Process Improvement Proposals A process improvement proposal is a mechanism to define the opportunities needed to reduce the number of steps, interactions, decision points, reports, and the length of the defined practice (Langabeer, 2008). Three key areas need to be addressed when improving a current practice. According to Langabeer (2008), these areas include increasing capacity, reducing the use of resources, and reducing the amount of variation (p. 79). For example, if the emergency department is currently seeing patients at a rate of four per hour during normal business hours, and this rate drops to one per hour during the period listed a bottleneck will result. To address this issue the department needs to provide the resources necessary to avoid the problem. However, when the reason for the bottleneck is known the correction must include steps to preserve resources. These steps must address reducing the cost per patient, removing excessive steps, and exposures that are unnecessary. Because the data shows the bottleneck occurring after normal business hours the third key area is equally important for successful performance. This area involves the development of control tools. These tools will assist the department when variation occurs, these tools can include the development of contingency plans to use other hospital resources available after normal business hours; for example the use of clinical examination rooms for patient overflow. Process of Improvement Method Edward Deming introduces a method known as the Deming Cycle to identify bottlenecks within organizational structures. The Deming Cycle comprised of a continuous process cycle that involve planning, implementation, assessment and decision-making. Deming postulated that â€Å"business processes should be analyzed and measured to identify sources of variations that cause products to deviate from customer requirement† (Arveson, 1998, para 1). Each step gives operation managers the feedback needed to determine if they are meeting current objectives. Arveson also suggest that this checklist will help reduce bottlenecks from happening while increasing productivity within every department. Comparing the Middleton Hospital use of Six Sigma methodology to Deming Cycle both methods can help reduce bottlenecks issues with waiting time that occurs during interval time of 6:00 p. . to 10:00 p. m. Six Sigma methodology uses phases of defining a problem and provide an alternative solution to the problem. The next phase includes measuring the solution’s outcomes, analyzing the outcomes’ goals and effectiveness, improving any flaws that was identified in the improvement process, and controlling any costs or activities to contain cost and resource deficiency (National Association of Health Care Quality, 2009). The Six Sigma system addresses each problem measuring a quantitative solution to be addressed by upper management and delivered to department heads for implementation. Appropriate Collection Methods Middletown Hospital needs to look at different ways of collecting data. Data collection can be subdivided into three categories with service type, department, and floor. This collection of data is valuable tool that managers need to have in order to understand the flow of business within each department. With the collection of data it will allow managers to calculate the volumes of patients during specific times. The SST will require data collected from all computers used to monitor access to the admission system. Additional data will have specific times at which the patient reported to various stations of treatment, and when the patient was discharged. A multivariate trend forecasting method will be more appropriate in this setting; the use of multiple variables about the item being forecasted allows seasons and cycles to be combined with other variables and improve forecast accuracy (Langabeer, 2008). This will give operation managers better forecasting abilities as they will be able to see trends. Finally, the SST will need to analyze the amount of resources or assets available to serve demand (Langabeer, 2008). Quantitative data needed to measure capacity will include: the number of available beds and treatment rooms, the number of key providers and other staff available at each point of care between 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. , and availability of key medical technologies and equipment. Examples of key medical equipment are diagnostic imaging, X-ray and laboratory equipment. Methods to Analyze The first step in analyzing the cause of Middletown Hospital’s emergency department bottleneck is to perform a capacity analysis that will help to identify appropriate assets and resources to serve the increased need within each emergency department. The analysis should capture statistical data in time series format that will show sequential data recorded during different time periods throughout the day. Data should be included from time periods when the emergency room is successful in handling demand as well as occurrences of the bottleneck. Creation of a control chart can also be useful in discovering areas of daily operations that are contributing to the current issue of meeting demand. Middletown Hospital is aware that they can not keep up with the demand placed upon each department with current needs. In knowing the limitations, data from the other 20 hours in which emergency department is in operation can be used to obtain values for a mean and average to be used to create a control limit. Taking data from the entire day can be used to obtain a standard deviation value as well. Data and observations that show a large deviation from the mean will alert the staff to areas that need to be updated or streamlined. The control data that is being recorded should be able to define staff ratios, numbers of patients seen, time of day, day of the week, equipment or technology malfunctions, ime of patient visit, reason, and duration. A control chart can help Middletown Hospital distinguish normal and abnormal processes within their patient delivery service. Bottlenecks Operation managers need to handle many different jobs at once. These jobs can be dealing with bottlenecks, and forecasting. Operation managers need to look at current flow of business to determine the proper amount of staffing needed to handle problems in the future. By working with an accurate forecast managers are able to see what is expected and when the flow of business will occur. When increasing staffing in any department the profitability will decrease at start, but soon will rebound as more patients realize they are receiving treatment at a faster pace. According to Langabeer (2008), one of the keys to increase throughput or capacity is to remove these obstacles or bottlenecks, which is called de-bottlenecking (p. 96). Increasing the number of staff on during peak times it will be easy to reduce the number of complaints and increase the profitability of every department. Being able to remove the barriers will allow managers to see the results within days instead of weeks. Within any department comes demand and being able to predict the demand allows managers to become better forecasters. According to Langabeer (2008), â€Å"forecasting is a collaborative process that estimates the volume of patients that will be served over a specific time period. More precisely, it is a projection of demand that will occur along three dimensions: service type, location, and time dimensions† (p. 97-98). Managers will have to better look at the forecasting they are doing in order to make sure they are using the most current data in order to predict flow and handle problems. Recommendation on Staffing Middletown hospital’s ability to move patients smoothly through the emergency department has become a conversation of complaint for patients. Due to the high volume of patients being seen during the hours of 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. changes need to be made to optimize waiting times and efficiently treat patients. The emergency department is averaging 100 patients per day which, means that 70 of them are coming through the emergency department between 6:00 p. m. and 9:00 p. m. According to Langabeer (2008), in health care, wait times are frequently a source of poor patient satisfaction and process inefficiency (p. 10). The hospital emergency department is currently plagued with a lack of staff scheduled at key times and needs to look at alternatives to better manage the movement of patients. Creating a solution for Middletown hospital means using multiple channel servers to reduce check in time and maximize on hand staff’s time management. Because a majority of the iss ues arise at a key time in the day the revision of the patient routing and flow is required. According to Hall (2006), therefore, by altering patient routing and flow, it may be possible to minimize patient waiting times and increase staff utilization (p. 221). Bottlenecks occur in a hospital emergency department because of the triage concept of putting most significant injuries first. This means many minor care issues will be pushed back. Combating this issue creating a fast track lane to handle minor care issues will decrease patient complaints and wait time. These concepts should reduce the wait time of patients within this three hour block and maximize their experience in the emergency department at Middletown hospital. Conclusion Bottleneck is often the result of an organization lacking the capacity to meet the needs of clients in delivering a particular service. Middletown hospital was given a recommendation to review its current organization capacity by examining their processes, resources, technology. Middletown hospital was able to define other available resources which could be used to assist with meeting their patient demand. Reference Arveson, P. (1998). The Deming Cycle. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://www. balancedscorecard. org/TheDemingCycle/tabid/112/Default. aspx Hall, R. (2006). Patient flow: reducing delay in healthcare delivery. Los Angeles, CA: Springer Science Business Media, LLC. Langabeer, J. (2008). Health care operations management: A quantitative approach to business and logistics [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Sudbury,MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from University of Phoenix, OPS/HC571 Health Care Operations Management Web site. National Association of Healthcare Quality. (2009). JHQ 174: Lean Six Sigma in health care. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://www. nahq. org/journal/ce/article. html? article_id=250 University of Phoenix. (2009). OPS/HC571 course syllabus. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from University of Phoenix OPS/HC571- Course Materials Web site.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Four successful careers for the hopeless romantic

Four successful careers for the hopeless romantic This is the time of year when people tend to have romance on the brain. Flowers! Jewelry commercials! Ads for upscale restaurants! If you’re a hopeless romantic, it’s kind of like the Super Bowl. But what if you want to turn those lovey-dovey feelings into a career, something you can build professionally? Believe it or not, there are options out there for you. 4 careers for people who love romance1. Wedding/special event photographerIf you have a knack with a camera, being a wedding photographer gives you a front-row seat to some of the happiest days of people’s lives. Everyone’s dressed up, people are (usually) on their best behavior, and your goal is to capture the romance for posterity. Plus, being a photographer has the advantage of being a flexible career, or side business, with many weddings and special events happening outside of standard business hours.What you’ll need: High-quality cameras and related equipment, plus training on how to use it. Courses on professional photography are highly recommended.What it pays: The median salary is $32,490 per year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.2. FloristFlorists and floral designers are usually the go-to retailers for romantic life events, with busy seasons around holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc. Floral designers are there for the good, the bad, and the celebratory, providing flowers and delivery to a range of customers.What you’ll need: Workers in a retail floral shop will need the basics (a high school degree and   customer service skills). If you’re looking to become a floral designer, you’ll likely need vocational courses and on-the-job training. Creativity and artistic flair are very helpful, as are good customer service skills to help your customers find the right way to say it with flowers.What it pays: The median salary for floral designers is $26,350 per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.3. Chocolatier/CandymakerIf you’re more interested in food service than flower service, you may want to consider becoming a chocolatier. This is not the most common path in food service, but what’s more romantic than high-quality chocolates to go with those flowers and gifts? Chocolatiers are artisans who create edible masterpieces, playing with flavors and structures to create the perfect bite.What you’ll need: To become a chocolatier, you’ll need a solid base in the culinary world, and may need to complete a pasty chef course. You’ll also need to meet your state’s licensing and food handling regulations, so be sure to check what your state requires.What it pays: The median salary for chocolatiers is $21,000 per year, but experienced pastry chefs can make more.4. Marriage counselorSometimes love needs a little help, and marriage counselors are licensed health care professionals who can help couples work on their relationships. This is not a job for the starry-eyed romantic who thinks all relationships are a romcom-ending away from happiness, but rather a practical career for someone who believes that therapy and hard work together can overcome challenges in love and life. Plus, health care careers are a very stable, practical bet for long-term career longevity.Marriage and family therapy in particular is a field that’s growing- the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of jobs in this area will grow more than 23% by 2026.What you’ll need: Marriage and family therapists typically have a master’s degree or higher, plus complete an internship or residency. Licensing requirements may vary by state, so be sure to check your own state’s requirements.What it pays: The median salary for marriage and family therapists is $48,790, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.If you love the very idea of love, there are ways to live that out in your professional life as well. Choosing a career that helps make other people happy can be a key to long-term career satisfaction. If you have the skills and the inclination to work in one of these service fields, you may find yourself with even more love to go around.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Communism After the Fall essays

Communism After the Fall essays In his introduction to The Lexus and the Olive Tree, published in 1999, Thomas Freidman states that [t]he world is 10 years old. It was born when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Cold War system was replaced by a new, very greased, interconnected system called globalization. As a result of the fall of the Soviet Union, as signified by the fall of the Wall, and the death of the Cold War system, which had been dominated by two super powers and their perceived black and white politics, every country, but primarily communist countries, which include the former members of the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Cuba, has had to re-evaluate its form of government and its relationships with other countries. In this paper I will study the changes that have take place as a result of the failure of communism and the dominance of capitalism in China, Cuba and North Korea. China is the most unusual of the countries I will study. It is unusual because of the continuous change its political systems have undergone during the 20th century. For most of the last 2000 years, the defining principles of Imperialist China were based on the teachings of Confucius. Amongst it many tenets Confucianism taught that all people have their place and should accept it, and that upper classes would rule and the peasantry follow. In addition, the ruler was to be the father to his people and look after their basic needs. It required officials to criticize their rulers and refuse to serve the corrupt. However, as a result of isolationism, the impact of foreign occupation, and the lack of the technological advances experienced in the West, the Chinese revolted in 1911. In the late 1920s the revolution splintered under Chiang Kai-shek who moved the Kuomintang party to the right and the Communist Party of China (CPC) which had come under the control of Mao Tse-tung and the C DC was almost destroyed. However, as would be expected when a c...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Zebra Facts

Zebra Facts Zebras (Equus spp), with their familiar horse-like physique and their distinct black and white striping pattern, are among the most recognizable of all mammals. They are native to both the plains and mountains of Africa; mountain zebras climb over 6,000 feet high. Fast Facts: Zebras Scientific Name: Equus quagga or E. burchellii; E. zebra, E. grevyiCommon Names: Plains or Burchells Zebra; Mountain Zebra; Grevys ZebraBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: Grevys and plains, 8.9 feet; mountain, 7.7 feet  Ã‚  Weight: Plains and Grevys zebra, about 850–880 pounds; mountain zebra, 620 poundsLifespan: 10–11 yearsDiet:  HerbivorePopulation: Plains: 150,000–250,000; Grevys: 2,680; mountain: 35,000Habitat: Once widespread in Africa, now in separate populationsConservation Status: Endangered (Grevys zebra), Vulnerable (mountain zebra), Near Threatened (plains zebra) Description Zebras are members of the genus Equus, which also includes asses and horses. There are three species of zebra: Plains or Burchells zebra (Equus quagga or E. burchellii), Grevys zebra (Equus grevyi), and mountain zebra (Equus zebra). Anatomical differences between the zebra species are fairly sparse: In general, the mountain zebra is smaller and has evolutionary differences associated with living in the mountains. Mountain zebras have hard, pointed hooves that are well-suited for negotiating the slopes and they have conspicuous dewlaps- a loose fold of skin underneath the chin seen often in cattle- which the plains and Grevys zebras do not. Various species of asses, including the African wild ass (Equus asinus), have some stripes (for instance, Equus asinus has stripes on the lower portion of its legs). Zebras are nonetheless the most distinctively striped of the equids. Westend61/Getty Images Species Each species of zebra has a unique stripe pattern on its coat which provides researchers with an easy method for identifying individuals. Grevys zebras have a thick black hairy strip on their rump that extends towards their tail and a broader neck than the other species of zebras and a white belly. Plains zebras often have shadow stripes (stripes of a lighter color that occur between the darker stripes). Like Grevys zebras, some plains zebras have a white belly. Zebras can cross breed with other members of equus: A plains zebra crossed with a donkey is known as a zebdonk, zonkey, zebrass, and zorse. The plains or Burchells zebra has several subspecies: Grants zebra (Equus quagga boehmi) and Chapmans zebra (Equus quagga antiquorum). And the now-extinct quagga, once thought to be a separate species, is now considered a subspecies of the plains zebra (Equus quagga quagga). Habitat and Distribution Most zebra species live in arid and semi-arid plains and savannas of Africa: Plains and Grevys zebras have different regions but overlap during migrations. Mountain zebras, however, live in the rugged mountains of South Africa and Namibia.  Mountain zebras are skilled climbers, inhabiting mountain slopes up to elevations of 6,500 feet above sea level. All zebras are extremely mobile, and individuals have been recorded to move distances of greater than 50 miles.  Plains zebras make the longest known terrestrial wildlife migration, a whopping 300 miles between the Chobe River floodplains in Namibia and the Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana. Diet and Behavior Regardless of their habitats, zebras are all grazers, bulk, roughage feeders that need to consume large daily quantities of grasses. They are also all full migrant species, migrating seasonally or year-round depending on seasonal vegetation changes and habitat. They often follow long grasses that grow after the rains, altering their migration patterns to avoid adverse conditions or find new resources. Mountain and plains zebras live in family groups or harems, typically consisting of one stallion, several mares, and their juvenile offspring. Non-breeding groups of bachelors and occasional fillies also exist. During parts of the year, the harems and bachelor groups join together and move as herds, the timing and direction of which are determined by seasonal vegetation changes in habitat.   Breeding males will defend their resource territories (water and food) that range between one and 7.5 square miles; the home range size of non-territorial zebras can be as large as 3,800 square miles. Male plains zebras ward off predators by kicking or biting them and have been known to kill hyenas with a single kick. Robert Muckley / Getty Images Reproduction and Offspring Female zebras sexually mature at the age of three and give birth to between two and six offspring over their lifetimes. Gestation periods are between 12 and 13 months, depending on species, and the average female gives birth about once every two years. Male fertility is far more variable.   Reproductive pairing is played out differently for different species. While plains and mountain zebras practice the harem strategy described above, Grevys zebra females do not join males in harems. Instead, they form loose and transitory associations with many other females and males, and females of different reproductive states group themselves into sets that use different habitats. Males do not ally with the females; they simply establish territories around water.   Despite their stable long-term harem structure, plains zebras often coalesce into herds, forming multi-male or uni-male groups, providing polygamous opportunities for males and polyandrous opportunities for females.  Ã‚   Diana Robinson Photography/Getty Images   Conservation Status The Grevys zebra is listed by the IUCN as Endangered; the mountain zebra as Vulnerable; and the plains zebra as Near Threatened.  Zebras once roamed all habitats in Africa, with the exceptions of rain forests, deserts, and dunes. Threats for all of them include habitat loss resulting from drought associated with climate change and farming, continuing political upheaval, and hunting. Sources About zebras. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 2018.Gosling, L.M., et al. Equus zebra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species e.T7960A45171906, 2019.Hoekstra, Jon. Big Discoveries Still Happen – Zebras Make Africa’s Longest-Known Terrestrial Wildlife Migration. World Wildlife Fund, May 27, 2014.King, S.R.B. and P.D. Moehlman. Equus quagga. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species e.T41013A45172424, 2016.Rubenstein, D. et al. Equus grevyi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species e.T7950A89624491, 2016  Walker, Martha. Equus zebra: mountain zebra. Animal Diversity Web, 2005.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Keegan v Newcastle United Football Co Ltd Essay

Keegan v Newcastle United Football Co Ltd - Essay Example 2million in addition to interest which will be assessed if the parties do not agree. In the United Kingdom, Constructive dismissal is covered under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Prichard, 2005, p. 15) Facts Mr Keegan was appointed the Manager of the Club (for the second time) under a written Contract signed and dated 16 January 2008. The then Chairman of the Club, Chris Mort, had approached him about the position a few days earlier, and asked him to meet Mike Ashley (the owner) before deciding whether to take up the appointment. Therefore, a meeting was arranged to take place on 16 January 2008 in London; in attendance were Mr Keegan, Mike Ashley, Mr Mort and Tony Jimenez. After lengthy negotiations and discussions, the Contract was signed between Mr Keegan and the Newcastle United Football Club, and Mr Keegan was appointed the Manager of the Club at an initial salary of ?3million per annum. The primary case for Mr Keegan is under the contract’s terms. Before the signing of the contract, they had agreed that he was to have the final say, and this is the basis on which he signed the contract on. Also, he asserts that at this meeting, Messrs Ashley, Jimenez, and Mort has expressly assured him that he would have the final say. However, the Newcastle Club argues that nothing was expressly said at the meeting regarding whether Mr Keegan will have the final say. In the case, the Club argues that Mr Keegan was told that there was a possibility that Dennis Wise (who was the then Manager of Leeds), would be appointed to this post. As such, the Club argue that under this structure, Tony Jimenez and the Director of Football would be responsible for recruitment of players and they would have the final say, not Mr Keegan. There are several events that culminated to the resignation of Mr Keegan on 4 September 2008. On 30 August 2008, almost at the end of the transfer window Mr Keegan was telephoned by Mr Wise and was told that he had a great player for the Club to s ign, namely Ignacio Gonzalez, and therefore he should look him up. Mr Keegan tried to do a background search about the player and could not even locate him on the internet and so was not satisfied that he will make a good player. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr Keegan had made it clear to Mr Wise, Mr Jimenez and to Mr Ashley that he strongly objected to the signing of Mr Gonzalez, the Club went ahead with the deal and the transfer was concluded on 31 August 2008. The Club defended its move as being motivated by commercial interests of the Club. The Club described these commercial interests as: the signing of the player on loan would be seen as a â€Å"favour† to two South American agents who were influential and would look Club favourably in the future. Whereas it is clear that Mr Keegan had concerns concerning the nature of this deal, his primary objection to it was that it breached the term of his contract by which he, as the Manager, would have the final say. Mr Keegan st ated that despite several attempts by both sides to find a way forward, there seemed to be no headway and he thus concluded that he had no option but to leave the Club. Legally, Mr Keegan argued, the Club had breached

Friday, October 18, 2019

Carrico Ending 42 Years On High Court Research Paper

Carrico Ending 42 Years On High Court - Research Paper Example Appointed judiciary members, unlike elected ones, are likely to be impartial. Effective judiciary systems are those that consist of appointed judges because they do not have to seek popularity among the masses, unlike the elected judges do. Mandatory retirement provisions ensure that the judiciary remains effective in delivering quality public service. They establish racial and gender equality among male and female, white and non-white judges. These provisions allow for continuity in the judiciary with the incorporation of fresh talent from young judges. Carrico Ending 42 Years on High Court Ethical advantages and disadvantages of an appointed vs. an elected judiciary There is a current tag of forces in various American states as they consider switching from appointing their members of judiciary to electing them. One of these States is Tennessee, where the judicial bench has always been appointed since the 1970s, but the system is being flawed by conservative legislators whose opinio n is that appointed judges are unaccountable to the electorate. Accountability is thus one of the greatest advantages of an elected judiciary as opposed to an appointed one. ... Besides, majority of the public is disinterested in judicial elections and would not give them the attention given to presidential elections, for example. This means that the current judges who would be most profound would be easily believed by the public leading to voting back incumbent judges regardless of their suitability for the positions. On the other hand, appointed judges are in a better position to do their work in a non-partisan manner, without their rulings being influenced by the opinions of their electorate. Electing members of the judiciary thus has a disadvantage of influencing elected judges to rule in favor of popular opinion (Packer, 2007). Putting judges in a position to seek votes from the public also means that they have to seek funds to drive their campaigns. Those who grant them funds would often have vested interests in the judges perhaps to influence the outcome of certain cases, which creates a opportunity for corruption in the electoral system of the judici ary. Appointing judges for lengthy periods of time or for a lifetime has also been a successful way of running the judicial system as in the case of retiring Chief Justice Carrico, who has served at the high court for 42 years without compromising his standards of service. When members of the judiciary are appointed for lengthy periods, they are not put in any compromising situation to woo the public and other supporters for anything. This ensures that they carry on their duties with diligence without compromising their duties and positions. This has been successful with Carrico and it can be with other judges as well, as long as periodic performance reviews are carried out to determine whether they remain on the bench or not. Ethical advantages of

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 89

Journal - Essay Example e use of the term â€Å"nigger† during communication with person of black origin can be a barrier to communication since the term is open to different interpretation. Therefore, racially oriented form of communication acts as a barrier to effective communication. Homophobic language has been cited as one of the barriers to effective communication. Homophobic language refers to use of homosexual orientation language during communication (Kadushin 44-49). One of the most commonly used homophobic term is â€Å"That’s so gay.† The reason use of such homophobic language is a barrier to communication is that it is open to infinite interpretation by the other party. For instance, â€Å"your phone is so gay!† could be interpreted to mean the phone is bad or good by different people. The same phrase could also sound offensive to a gay person causing a barrier to effective communication. Sexist way of communication on the other hand tends to discriminate one gender during communication. For instance, talking to a gender balanced audience in a way insinuating everybody is male can be termed as sexist language. A good example is using the term congressman to refer to the person holding the congress title without considering that it could be a lady. Such kind of communication gives the wrong message to the parties involved hence causing a barrier to effective communication. Conclusively, effective communication calls for articulate consideration of gender, race, sex, professional, and other types of diversities. It is important for the communicator to understand the context in which the communication is made in order to eliminate these barriers to

International Assignments Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Assignments - Research Paper Example The specific issues covered in the study include expatriates, pre-departure training components, expatriates performance appraisal, selection and recruitment strategies for expatriates, staffing alternatives, importance of offering high-quality mentoring for expatriates and how to measure return on investment for international assignments. Pre-departure training is very crucial for workers who have been assigned an international mission to represent their companies (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010). The training equips the assignees with company’s objectives and personal coping mechanisms in the host country in order to avoid pre-mature return of the expatriates. It enables the expatriates to relate between host country and home country and establish the mechanisms for overcoming challenges that may arise as a result of differences between the two countries (Stahl et al., 2012). The company’s workers will have to be sensitized about the cultural differences between the home country and host country (Stahl et al., 2012). Various nations have different cultures that may affect the expatriates relate with business partners and citizens in the host country. Inadequate understanding of the  background  of the people in the host country can make the lives of the expatriates extremely difficult and can result to conflict due to what may be seen as interference or disrespect of culture of the people in the host country by the expatriates (Stahl et al., 2012). Therefore, pre-departure training aims at orienting the expatriates with information regarding the cultural values of the host country in order to alleviate culture shock as the expatriates take up their new jobs. The amount of training offered will depend on the prior exposure of the expatriates to particular of the country they  expect to operate  (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010). This entails  briefing the expatriates

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Corn production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corn production - Essay Example (ibid.)† The five criteria for case selection according to Smelser (1976: 4) is as follows: â€Å"(1) appropriate to the kind of theoretical posed by the investigator†¦ (2) relevant to the phenomenon being studied†¦ (3) empirically invariant with respect to their classificatory criterion†¦ (4) reflect the degree of availability of data referring to this unit†¦ and (5) decisions to select and classify units of analysis should be based on standardised and repeatable procedures. The social issue that I have chosen is the issue of bio-ethanol production and agro-fuels – a contentious issue debated upon in an age of energy vulnerability and land shortages. The proponents of agro-fuels laud initiatives by the US government to embark on massive corn ethanol production, chiefly to decrease reliance on fossil fuels. On the other hand, its opponents argue that there are risks to small-farmers in rural places of production and can deepen inequality. The researc h that I have chosen was written by Gillon (2010). In the said paper, Gillon (2010, p. 723) looked at corn ethanol production in the state of Iowa, United States and looked at the dynamics and relationships between big business – i.e., the ethanol corporations – and the small farmers. He also examined the policies and politics that surround ethanol production. He began by looking at the related literature from a more global perspective, arguing that â€Å"each agrofuels controversy implies a renegotiation of social and ecological relations, whether the issue is food crises, land use change, market relationships, or struggles over industry participation and ownership. (page 726).† His premise is that the ethanol frenzy is emblematic of the tendency of capitalism to rely on â€Å"environmental fixes† (ibid.) – whereby bioethanol is promoted to supposedly reduce greenhouse gases, but â€Å"consumption levels and accumulation based on extracting cheap corn from the Midwestern landscape. (page 727)†. One of the cental conclusions that Gillon derives from his research is that contrary to the assertions of the proponents of bio-ethanol, small farmers do not stand to gain from the bioethanol boom. This is because, in his words, â€Å"despite simplistic assertions that rural benefits will arrive on the heels of an ethanol industry, the risks, costs, and opportunities associated with biofuels industry development fall unevenly. (page 733)† Interviews with the Iowa farmers demonstrated that the rising input prices and land rents made any profits that came their way from corn production negligible. Another conclusion that the research makes is that the depressed rural economies from which the ethanol are sourced are the ones paying the price for the desires of consumers in urban communities. Whilst the urban consumers benefit from the reduced costs of fuel and the so-called environmental friendliness of renewable energy, th e rural areas are paying environmental costs that are invisible in the bio-ethanol discourse. The author gave the example of Cargill, a biodiesel plant in Iowa Falls, Iowa that disposed 135,000 gallons of liquid oil and grease into a stream, thus compromising water quality in the area. Another point is that the increase of corn production on the land to feed into the ethanol project puts tremendous pressures on the land and on the environment – more than any other crop, corn production emits the highest levels of green house gases (page 739.) It is also prejudicial to the Conservation Reserve

What was Race Uplift for African Americans Essay

What was Race Uplift for African Americans - Essay Example The African American population represents the multiracial characteristics of the American society. Earlier, the African Americans were forced to undergo a number of problems like racial segregation, discrimination, marginalization, slavery and forced labor. Earlier, the African Americans were forced to undergo a number of problems like racial segregation, discrimination, marginalization, slavery and forced labor. Within this scenario, the efforts undertaken by the African American leaders helped the African Americans to consider that gaining legal rights can solve the problems faced by them. To be specific, African Americans considered that equality in the mainstream society can help them to attain race uplift. Thesis statement: Within the context of African American activism, race uplift is interconnected with the unending effort to gain legal, political, economic and social rights, and the contributions of the African American leaders are most important because the same helped the m to move towards development, in general. African Americans and race uplift First of all, the history of African American activism is linked with the problems faced by the African Americans in the mainstream society. Earlier, the African Americans were not aware of the fact that legal rights can be gained by the means of activism. Gradually, the African Americans came to realize the fact that idleness cannot solve their problems. So, some of the African Americans decided to protest against slavery. This revolutionary spirit originating from helplessness was most important for the African American race uplift in future. Michael Ezra stated that, â€Å"In terms of African American self-help initiatives, in the decades that followed Reconstruction, a generation of â€Å"race uplift† black American leaders emerged, whether integrationist, Pan-African nationalist, back-to-Africa proponents, or Nation of Islam separatist† (2). Within this context, Emancipation Proclamation was an important initiative from the side of the government. Henceforth, the African American population came to realize that gaining legal rights can lead the community towards political liberation, a key factor behind race uplift. The Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement helped the African Americans to gain a number of rights. To be specific, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped the African Americans to be away from discrimination in the society. So, one can easily identify the fact that African Americans considered race uplift as a means to attain their ultimate aim, i.e., equality in the society. To be specific, race uplift of African Americans is not limited to the context of their community, but extends to the context of activism aiming to gain legal, political, economic and social rights in the society. Major contributors of African American race uplift: The political leaders, social reformers, human rights activists, and civil rights leaders were the major contribut ors of African American race uplift. For instance, the leaders, reformers, and activists like Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Booker Taliaferro Washington, Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, etc are generally considered as the major contributors of African American race uplift. One can see that the African Americans leadership is an amalgamation of different classes in the community. For instance, the African American political leaders considered that political liberation can help the African Americans to be in the forefront of development. On the other side, the African American social reformers considered that gaining social rights can accelerate the progress of African American community. The African American human rights activists and civil rights leaders worked for the community to educate the members on the importance of rights and duties in the society. So, one can see that the contributors of the African American race uplift worked hard to accelerate the upwar d mobility of the African Am

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Corn production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corn production - Essay Example (ibid.)† The five criteria for case selection according to Smelser (1976: 4) is as follows: â€Å"(1) appropriate to the kind of theoretical posed by the investigator†¦ (2) relevant to the phenomenon being studied†¦ (3) empirically invariant with respect to their classificatory criterion†¦ (4) reflect the degree of availability of data referring to this unit†¦ and (5) decisions to select and classify units of analysis should be based on standardised and repeatable procedures. The social issue that I have chosen is the issue of bio-ethanol production and agro-fuels – a contentious issue debated upon in an age of energy vulnerability and land shortages. The proponents of agro-fuels laud initiatives by the US government to embark on massive corn ethanol production, chiefly to decrease reliance on fossil fuels. On the other hand, its opponents argue that there are risks to small-farmers in rural places of production and can deepen inequality. The researc h that I have chosen was written by Gillon (2010). In the said paper, Gillon (2010, p. 723) looked at corn ethanol production in the state of Iowa, United States and looked at the dynamics and relationships between big business – i.e., the ethanol corporations – and the small farmers. He also examined the policies and politics that surround ethanol production. He began by looking at the related literature from a more global perspective, arguing that â€Å"each agrofuels controversy implies a renegotiation of social and ecological relations, whether the issue is food crises, land use change, market relationships, or struggles over industry participation and ownership. (page 726).† His premise is that the ethanol frenzy is emblematic of the tendency of capitalism to rely on â€Å"environmental fixes† (ibid.) – whereby bioethanol is promoted to supposedly reduce greenhouse gases, but â€Å"consumption levels and accumulation based on extracting cheap corn from the Midwestern landscape. (page 727)†. One of the cental conclusions that Gillon derives from his research is that contrary to the assertions of the proponents of bio-ethanol, small farmers do not stand to gain from the bioethanol boom. This is because, in his words, â€Å"despite simplistic assertions that rural benefits will arrive on the heels of an ethanol industry, the risks, costs, and opportunities associated with biofuels industry development fall unevenly. (page 733)† Interviews with the Iowa farmers demonstrated that the rising input prices and land rents made any profits that came their way from corn production negligible. Another conclusion that the research makes is that the depressed rural economies from which the ethanol are sourced are the ones paying the price for the desires of consumers in urban communities. Whilst the urban consumers benefit from the reduced costs of fuel and the so-called environmental friendliness of renewable energy, th e rural areas are paying environmental costs that are invisible in the bio-ethanol discourse. The author gave the example of Cargill, a biodiesel plant in Iowa Falls, Iowa that disposed 135,000 gallons of liquid oil and grease into a stream, thus compromising water quality in the area. Another point is that the increase of corn production on the land to feed into the ethanol project puts tremendous pressures on the land and on the environment – more than any other crop, corn production emits the highest levels of green house gases (page 739.) It is also prejudicial to the Conservation Reserve

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis on Lux Toilet Soap Ad Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis on Lux Toilet Soap Ad Essay Lux Toilet Soap Susan Sanders Devry University Lux Toilet Soap A 1954 ad for Lux Toilet Soap states, â€Å"Luscious is the word for Greer Garson’s complexion and she keeps it that way with Lux Toilet Soap. † This statement is an example of how emotional appeal is used in the ad to grab the reader’s attention. The advertiser uses character appeal by including information about Garson’s success in the ad to make the reader want to use the product. Logical appeal is used when a refund is offered to leave the reader with no objections to trying the product. The Greer Garson Lux Toilet Soap ad was effective in raising product awareness and profits due to its usage of these appeals. Garson is pictured against a white background with a vine of grapes in hand in the ad. Purple is the color theme here, as Garson’s eye makeup, necklace and grapes are of this color. This gives the ad a sense of sophistication, warmth, luxury and even a little mystery. This grabs the reader’s attention and makes her want to read the ad. The reader’s attention is then drawn to a sentence below Garson in which the first word, â€Å"Luscious,† is of a larger font size than the rest of the text. The color pink draws the reader to look in the bottom right corner of the ad, where a Lux Toilet Soap wrapper reveals the bar of soap. This completes the attraction, femininity, and smooth texture of the ad. The image and larger-sized text are present in the advertisement to appeal to the reader’s emotion of craving for Garson’s flawless skin. Women of this time were open to ideas on how to look as beautiful as possible. This could have been to succeed in their careers or simply to please a man. Looks play a large role in any aspiring actresses success because she is trying to talk people into casting her for roles. In addition, having and taking care of a family was a very important part of women’s lives. They had to look their best in the hopes of getting a husband. This advertisement had their solution and informed the readers to use Lux Toilet Soap to get that desired look. If the picture of Garson wasn’t enough to get the reader to find character appeal in the advertisement, there is also smaller blue text at the bottom of the ad informing them of her credentials. The ad states, â€Å"Besides being beautiful, Greer Garson is intelligent (she’s lectured Shakespeare), talented (probably won more awards than any other film actress) † There is also a statement at the top of the ad promoting a movie Garson most recently starred in, â€Å"Her Twelve Men. † The ad then goes on to state her insistence on the use of Lux Toilet Soap in her home and dressing room, as well as the statistic â€Å"Greer’s used Lux for years now-she believes in it, like 9 out of 10 Hollywood stars do. This information about Garson’s career leads readers to trust in her belief of the soap’s effectiveness. It suggests that the reader should want to use the Lux soap because successful and beautiful people like Garson do. If it plays some part in Garson’s success, then the reader might have that same luck with life as well, after using Lux soap. As the reader continues through the text, the final appeal is utilized, logic. The a d states that â€Å"Miss Garson’s luscious complexion is as good a recommendation as we know of for using Lux Toilet Soap. If you find Lux isn’t everything a good soap can be, we’ll return what you paid for it. Fair enough? † After being presented this offer, the reader runs out of objections to trying the product. Reasoning tells them to buy it, try it, if it isn’t satisfactory, get a refund, and no loss would be incurred. The offer leaves the reader with a feeling of obligation to buying the product. It is important that the ad achieves this because it ultimately leads to higher sales profit. Lux Toilet Soap was not the only solution to uneven or imperfect complexion.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Why STIs are called silent infections

Why STIs are called silent infections In the following paragraphs I will be discussing why sexually transmitted diseases are called silent infections. I will also be discussing the topic of urinalysis and its components and how these components may reveal if the body is functioning normally or abnormally. . The information pertaining to these subjects relates to the knowledge I have gained through my readings of The Human Body in Health Disease, as well as personal knowledge and opinion. Explain why sexually transmitted diseases are often called silent infections, and discuss why this is especially true for women. The reason sexually transmitted diseases are called silent infections is that many of them are asymptomatic infections which produce no visible or immediate physical symptoms, thus an individual may be infected with an STD and not know it for days or weeks, even up to years because there are no symptoms present. The bacterium called Chlamydia trachoma, which produces the disease Chlamydia, can be asymptomatic for months and up to years. When symptoms occur they may be very minor at first in women, such as: vaginal discharge, frequent urination that may be painful, pain during sex, vaginal itching and burning. Since a yeast infection (candida albicans) can produce these same symptoms in a woman they may just treat it as a yeast infection and not see a doctor till the symptoms progress or are not relieved by current treatment for some time. This may not be the case with men, since the most common symptoms of a yeast infection in men are extreme itching of the penis glands and red sores on the penis, but they may also experience burning while urinating and uncommonly have discharge from the penis. With Chlamydia, a man that shows symptoms will most likely also have burning while urinating and penis discharge. Yeast infections in men are not as common and these kinds of symptoms usually causes a man to go straight to the doctor instead of the drug store. The disease Chlamydia is very common, and if diagnosed early it can be treated very effectively, but left untreated it can cause a number of health issues such as: conjunctivitis, which is an eye infection or pinkeye; urogenital infections such as yeast infections; systematic infections which are infections that are spread throughout the body, and also progress to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which causes infertility and sterility, and if untreated may cause death through septic shock. The bacterium syphilis (treponema pallidum) is another good example of a STD that takes a number of months to cause any visib le or physical symptoms and has three stages that it may progress through if left undiagnosed and untreated. The first stage, primary syphilis is highly contagious and produces chancre sores on the outside and inside of the vagina, the penis and scrotum and also the mouth. This stage can be treated with antibiotics, and if left untreated it may resolve itself within a month or so, but if this disease is not treated in the first stage it is possible that it will recur later as the second stage. The second stage, is secondary syphilis, is also highly contagious and at this point the disease has spread throughout the body and its organ systems. In this stage the symptoms may include sore throat, fever, headaches and a skin rash on the hands and feet. Also, the individual may develop wart-like sores on the penis or vagina areas. Besides the wart-like sores, all other symptoms may not be recognized as caused by a possible STD since these symptoms are similar to the common cold and allerg ic rash. So once again, the disease may be silent in it diagnosis and goes untreated so it can progress to the next stage, as well as most likely infecting others. The third stage is called tertiary syphilis and the disease is still affecting the body and its organ systems (systematic stage) throughout. By now many of the organ systems may be showing signs of the disease, and may be developing problems which can cause many serious health issues and possible death. The STD HIV and trichomoniasis are also asymptomatic in most individuals for some time. These are just a few of many STDs an individual may contract that may show no immediate symptoms and can go untreated, and can continue to spread from individual to individual. The reason STDs are especially silent diseases for women is that they may move to other parts of the body and cause damage of secondary infections/diseases without producing any symptoms. If some symptoms do develop they may present themselves as a common infection, such as, yeast infection or urinary tract infection. STDs that go undiagnosed in women can spread through the reproductive system (cervix, uterus and uterine/fallopian tubes) as well as the blood and other organ systems. The two STDs I discussed above, syphilis (treponema pallidum) and Chlamydia trachoma, are good examples of silent STDS, and both can produce few or no symptoms and are very commonly undiagnosed or untreated, thus causing secondary diseases like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can cause infertility, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy and increase the risk of contracting HIV if exposed to the virus; This why I believe that STDs are especially silent diseases for women. Describe the different components of a urinalysis and discuss what each may reveal about the normal or abnormal functioning of the body. Give specific examples Urinalysis is the process of examining urine through three specific methods. The three methods used are microscopic, physical and chemical examination. Through the use of these methods, a lot can be determined about how the body is functioning and be a very helpful tool in discovering problems or diseases that may be occurring within the body and its organ systems. The physical characteristics of urine that are examined are; color, odor and specific gravity. The color of urine is normally straw-colored, transparent yellow or amber. This is mainly caused by pigment (urochrome), as well as substances we regularly ingest. There are many things that can change the color of urine or cause it to be cloudy, such as certain food, vitamins, dehydration, bile, blood, bacteria and certain drugs. Thus when urine is an abnormal color it may just be from types of foods the individual is eating or vitamins or drugs, but it could also indicate developing problems such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, kidney stones, urinary tract infection and acute glomerulonephritis. Therefore, when urine appears an abnormal color during an examination, it would be further tested chemically and microscopically to confirm the findings of the physical examination. The odor of urine is normally very minor, and when this is not the case it may indicate such diseases as diabetes mellitus or a bacterial infection of the kidney or bladder. The presences of a strong odor may also just be from B vitamins or food like asparagus, garlic, and curry, so abnormal strong smelling urine would also be confirmed in the same manner as color. The urine specific gravity is the level of chemicals/substances in the urine, as well as water content. If the urine specific gravity is above or below the normal range (1.001-1.035 g/ml) it indicates that there is some type of disease or disorder present. When the specific gravity is increased it may indicate that the individual is dehydrated or has developed kidney stone. Also, d iseases such as renal arterial stenosis, congestive heart failure and glycosuria can cause an increase in specific gravity. If the specific gravity is low it may be a sign of such diseases as pyelonophritis (kidney infection), renal failure and diabetes insipius-nephrogenic. It can also be caused by an individual ingesting an excessive amount of fluid. As with the other physical examination processes any abnormal findings would be confirmed through further testing before treatment was performed. The chemical and microscopic processes are used to look for normal and abnormal substances and the concentration of these substances in the urine such as the pH level and normal and abnormal compounds. The normal compounds that will be found in urine are such things as; mineral ions (chloride, potassium and sodium), urine pigments, nitrogenous wastes (ammonia, creatinine, urea and uric acid) and suspended solids or sediment (bacteria, blood cells and casts). All these substance are normal characteristics of urine that are unneeded waste products that the kidneys have excreted during the reabsorption process. The mineral ions levels of chloride, potassium and sodium in the urine will be influenced by the individual intake of these minerals and the bodyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s need for them at the specific time they are consumed. The nitrogenous wastes ammonia, creatinine, uric acid and urea are also normal at certain levels. These substances are a byproduct of protein being broken down. If the kidneys do not excrete these nitrogenous waste products they will build up to a toxic level within the body at a very fast rate. If there are low levels of these substances in the urine it may be an indicator that there is a problem with renal function, such as acute or chronic renal failure. This would cause these substances to stay in the blood, instead of being cleansed out by the kidneys and excreted out in the urine. The presence of bacteria, blood cells and casts in urine is normal in some aspects. There are certain levels of hyaline cast that are normal for urine to contain; these are produced by deposits of cells and minerals that have broken free from the walls of the renal tubes into the urine. There are usually very few, if any, red blood cells in urine. The presence of very low quantities of red blood cells is possible in a perfectly healthy individual and especially in women because of menstruation. Urine will most likely contain some bacteria becau se of contamination during the process of giving the sample, but normally there should be no bacteria present if the sample is not contaminated by bacteria from the vagina or penis. I will be discussing the process used to examine casts, bacteria and blood cells in urine, as well as what abnormal levels of these substances may indicate later in the following paragraph. Abnormal compounds that may be found are: acetone, albumin, bile and glucose. The presence of these compounds can reveal a problem or disease in the body. For example, the presence of glucose in the urine (glycosuria) is a good indicator that the individual has diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus causes the blood glucose concentration to increase beyond the renal threshold and the kidneys cannot reabsorb the excess glucose, so the excess glucose stays in the urine. Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of the pancreas islet cells that produce insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. When bile is present in the urine it may indicate the common bile duct is blocked, which may be caused by gallstones. It may also indicate other liver disorders such as hepatitis and cirrhosis. The substance albumin (protein) may normally be found in urine at low levels between 0 to 8 mg/dl. If the albumin levels exceed this level it may indicate there is a problem occurring in the kidneys, such as the glomer uli of the kidney may be damaged, causing it to allow protein to leak into the urine during the filtration process of the blood. This could be caused by kidney diseases and other contributing factors, such as diabetes or hypertension. The presence of high levels of the substance acetone in the urine can be produced by factors that involve diabetes mellitus that is not properly controlled. This may be caused by a lack of insulin secretion, which increases glucose supplies in the blood, but less entering the cells to use for fuel. Thus in the bodyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s attempt to create homeostasis it breaks down fat for energy, and as a result of using fat for energy it produces acetone that ends up in the urine as waste. The pH level can be an indicator of a number of problems that are occurring within the body. The normal pH level should be between 4.6 and 8.0 in urine. When pH level is low, or has increased acidity, it may indicate the individual is dehydrated or has diabetic acidosis, which is caused by uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or respiratory acidosis, which is caused by the retention of excess carbon dioxide in the body. When an individual has a high pH level, or increased alkaline, it may be an indicator of a urinary tract obstruction, which is an obstruction within the urinary tract that may be caused by kidney stone (calculi) or a tumor. Also, it may be caused by chronic renal failure, which is when the kidney starts to fail and does not properly process blood and create urine. These are just a few of the things high or low pH levels may indicate. Some compounds such as suspended solids or sediment (bacteria, blood cells and casts) are examined through the microscopic process after being spun in a centrifuge to push these substances to the bottom of the test tube. These substances at the bottom are then examined for the presence of abnormal cells, as well as high levels of blood cells, which may indicate things, such as bladder infect ion, kidney infection, bleeding within the urinary tract, and also prostatitis which is inflammation of the prostate gland, as well as other symptoms depending on the type of prostatitis. This process is also used to examine the urine for casts. Casts are tube-shaped particles that are composed of ether minerals, kidney cells, or red or white blood cells that have formed in the renal tubules of the kidneys. Then as the urine passes through these tubules they dislodge from the walls of the renal tubules and flow out of the body in the urine. There are many different types of casts and by examining which type that is in an individualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s urine, it may indicate if there are health issues developing such as chronic renal failure, renal tubular necrosis, bleeding within the kidney, interstitial inflammation and dehydration. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is normal to have some hyaline casts in the urine, but such types as fatty casts, white bl ood cell casts, granular casts and waxy casts are indicators of problems occurring within the renal system or diseases in other parts of the body. In conclusion, there are many types of STDs that show no immediate symptoms, and that if left untreated can cause a number of serious health issues and even death. However, many of these STDs are completely treatable with no lasting effects or damage if diagnosed before they progress and affect other organs system of the body. For any individual, regardless of gender, regular check-ups and screening for STDS is necessary; even if safe sex is practiced, it is very possible to contract an STD from another person just through physical contact, such as kissing or just touching their hands when certain diseases are present. It is important for every individual, no matter what age or gender, to have regular physicals to not only be screened for STDs, but also for other diseases that may be developing within the body, and a number of diseases can be diagnosed through the process of urinalysis.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Essay on Character, Symbolism, and Language in Linda Pastans Ethics

Use of Character, Symbolism, and Descriptive Language in Linda Pastan's Ethics  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      As people evolve from children to young adults and finally to maturity, they find that they are constantly faced with difficult decisions.   Learning to make the right choice in a difficult situation is one of the hardest lessons to learn.   Many people make choices without considering what the results may be.   They only look to the future for knowledge instead of considering the knowledge already discovered in the past.   In Linda Pastan's "Ethics," the author has painted a picture of the difficulty people have when they refuse to realize that the most difficult choices to make are also the most important.   Through Pastan's use of character, symbolism, and descriptive language, the theme of this poem is presented for thought.   While choices are made every day without much thought, Pastan has made clear that choices made without the benefit of wisdom are almost always regretted.    The portrayal of the speaker is one way the author has reinforced her theme.   The speaker is young and in school (1).   An instructor asks the class to make a difficult choice in a hypothetical situation.   Many young people today are faced with making these types of decisions everyday.   They try to make choices without considering all facts.   For example, many young adults are uninterested in heritage and history.   Like the speaker who sits "...restless on hard chairs..."(6), and makes a different decision each time "...always half-heartedly..." (9), young people today do not realize the importance of knowledge.   Some of them are in school only because their parents insist on it.   They show no interest in the rich history of society.   They are too busy... ... When the speaker declares that "...earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas..." (22-23), the message that its never too late is clear.   People can start learning from the past and from past mistakes.    Pastan has created a vivid example of the difficulty of making choices in "Ethics."   People seldom realize the repercussions their choices may make.   As people grow older and learn more, they tend to see how ignorant some of their choices were.   The same can be said of society.   Although a great many wrong choices have been made along the way, it is not too late for society to once again put value on what it already has instead of what it might have.    Works Cited Pastan, Linda. "Ethics."   Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.  Ã‚   4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs.   Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1995. 855. Essay on Character, Symbolism, and Language in Linda Pastan's Ethics Use of Character, Symbolism, and Descriptive Language in Linda Pastan's Ethics  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      As people evolve from children to young adults and finally to maturity, they find that they are constantly faced with difficult decisions.   Learning to make the right choice in a difficult situation is one of the hardest lessons to learn.   Many people make choices without considering what the results may be.   They only look to the future for knowledge instead of considering the knowledge already discovered in the past.   In Linda Pastan's "Ethics," the author has painted a picture of the difficulty people have when they refuse to realize that the most difficult choices to make are also the most important.   Through Pastan's use of character, symbolism, and descriptive language, the theme of this poem is presented for thought.   While choices are made every day without much thought, Pastan has made clear that choices made without the benefit of wisdom are almost always regretted.    The portrayal of the speaker is one way the author has reinforced her theme.   The speaker is young and in school (1).   An instructor asks the class to make a difficult choice in a hypothetical situation.   Many young people today are faced with making these types of decisions everyday.   They try to make choices without considering all facts.   For example, many young adults are uninterested in heritage and history.   Like the speaker who sits "...restless on hard chairs..."(6), and makes a different decision each time "...always half-heartedly..." (9), young people today do not realize the importance of knowledge.   Some of them are in school only because their parents insist on it.   They show no interest in the rich history of society.   They are too busy... ... When the speaker declares that "...earth's most radiant elements burn through the canvas..." (22-23), the message that its never too late is clear.   People can start learning from the past and from past mistakes.    Pastan has created a vivid example of the difficulty of making choices in "Ethics."   People seldom realize the repercussions their choices may make.   As people grow older and learn more, they tend to see how ignorant some of their choices were.   The same can be said of society.   Although a great many wrong choices have been made along the way, it is not too late for society to once again put value on what it already has instead of what it might have.    Works Cited Pastan, Linda. "Ethics."   Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.  Ã‚   4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs.   Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1995. 855.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Memory - Our Version of History :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Memory - Our Version of History How the memory works in the human mind continues to fascinate those who look. It has the ability to take in everything that our senses can give to it, store all of that information, and then recall both recent and past recollections upon our request. Patricia Hampl discovers in her own personal recollection "an unsettling disbelief about the reliability of memory, a hunch that memory is not, after all, just memory" (131). Psychiatrists, psychologists, and writers continue to study the mystery in the relationship between the mind and the memory: the objective past, the invention of our own version of history, and the symbolism in personal memories with respect to self-reflection. Hampl reflects to discover she invents in her memoir of the piano lesson. Returning thirty years later to a special place in his memory, Stephen Jay Gould "had conflated the most prominent symbol of my old neighborhood, the tennis stadium, with an important personal place" (116). I can see how this happens when a person sometimes adds a little color or excitement in retelling a story to keep the attention of the audience in everyday life. But these accomplished authors are writing memoirs, not fiction, and their memories are still partial untruths. Could my written memories contain untruths as their written memories do? The only way I may find the answer is to write about the first memory I remember as a child. It is a long time ago and I remember that I am three years old. Daddy is holding me near his shoulder and I have my arms around his neck. We are in Sacred Heart Church by ourselves. Daddy just keeps looking straight ahead. His glasses are resting on his nose that protrudes so far from his face. I think about his nose because we always play "noseys" before I go to bed at night. His tinted glasses are hiding his eyes that always smile at me. I want to see his smiling eyes but right now I can see the top of his head better. Daddy does not have much hair on the top of his head. It reminds me of when he says, "The beard on my face makes up for the lack of hair on my head." I laugh to myself and remember telling him to move his beard to the top of his head but to leave his mustache where it is.