Health Care Setting Communication And Teamwork - 1172 Words

In the health care setting communication and teamwork is paramount. They are both essential in providing high quality of care to patients. Health care professionals will have unique roles that ultimately piece together to reach a common goal and that is to provide a safe environment to satisfy their duties as practitioners to achieve a high standard of care and positive outcomes for patients. Interdisciplinary communication and teamwork among distinct medical workers is an integral part of professional development as it provides insight into one’s own role as well as the role of others involved in providing necessary care for patients. This report will explore examples of different healthcare roles involved in providing care for a patient†¦show more content†¦In a short time they must be able to meet the patient’s needs physically and mentally whilst still being able to optimise use of technology, remain dose efficient and achieve high quality images. Upon ente ring the patient’s environment, initial contact was made to confirm patient details and obtain consent for the examination. The patient’s state of consciousness did not permit the development of rapport. In this situation a prompt examination was required and patient care was critical, it could not be overlooked (Egestad 2008). The radiographer’s role was to adapt to the patient’s presentation and ensure patient comfort with minimal level of involvement from them. This allowed achievement of a diagnostic image and uncompromising care. In this acute setting and with the presentation of this chronic illness, efficiency is key. This allowed the emergency team to follow up immediately by assessing the chest x-ray and adapt their roles and continue their ongoing care (Egestad 2008). Nurse Routinely it is expected that nurses will be able to meet certain minimum requirements that are an essential part of caring for patients. Such as looking after a patient’s physical and mental state. Being able to provide a therapeutic relationship and counselling for both the patient and family. In this immediate scenario, as part of the initial evaluation; physical exam, assessment of the patient’s

Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma Free Essays

http://accrualperspective. wordpress. com/2012/10/10/zyngas-revenue-recognition-dilemma/ Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma Leave a reply Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma Zynga has been the focus of a highly disputed topic on bookings and revenues as of late. We will write a custom essay sample on Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unfortunately for the online gaming company, many accountants and financial analysts are not in Zynga’s favor on the way that the company has been recognizing revenues. To put the company in perspective, there are 26 million digital farmers via the vastly rampant FarmVille application run by Zynga. In the popular game, Facebook users build farms to produce crops and create the kind of productivity that they desire. This creates the need for virtual, heavy equipment, such as tractors, seeders and harvesters, all which can be bought with FarmVille Currency. Zynga makes money by allowing users to hurry the process by converting real dollars from their credit cards into the virtual currency necessary to get the equipment they need to get the job done. Like FarmVille, Zynga has users across a variety of applications such as CityVille, Words with Friends, and Mafia Wars, all of which using the same models. This type of unique revenue however provokes a unique question; that is, how is Zynga supposed to report revenues from these products that they’ve offered? According to the company’s 10-k report, it’s policies on reporting states that: * â€Å"For the sale of consumable virtual goods, we recognize revenue as the goods are consumed† * â€Å"We recognize revenue from the sale of durable virtual goods ratably over the estimated average playing period of paying players for the applicable game, which represents our best estimate of the average life of our durable virtual goods† And perhaps the most important: â€Å"If we do not have the ability to differentiate revenue attributable to durable virtual goods from consumable virtual goods for a specific game, we recognize revenue from the sale of durable and consumable virtual goods for that game ratably over the estimated average period that paying players typically play our games† This type of fina ncial reporting is simply too confusing and leaves the door open for too much alteration within the reports. Also, this type of unpredictable reporting technique allows the company to skew bottom-line profits and maneuver their earnings to reflect an untrue valuation of the company’s worth. These types of manipulations are especially alarming to users of the financials who are looking to invest in a company that appears to be growing, when in reality it is altering production numbers with every consecutive quarter. In regards to the revenue recognition dispute, the way their accountants estimate average periods that paying players actually play the Zynga games must be validated. In a recent article by Bloomberg’s Cory Johnson, he notes that Zynga has made changes to these estimates five of the last six quarters. These changes made drastically effect the net profits that Zynga is reporting to the public. By taking the estimate and distorting it, they are able to report profits when indeed there are none. It is curious that the auditor assigned to Zynga, Ernst Young, has allowed this method of accounting to be implemented when clearly it is affecting the bottom line. It is also curious that EY is also the auditor for the Zynga’s distributor, Facebook whose Zynga profits have accounted for roughly 12% of its revenue. This â€Å"independence† (or lack there of) calls into question the true authenticity behind these reporting standards and what they mean to the accounting profession as well as financial statement users world-wide. At any rate, this is a topic that needs to be brought to light, discussed and ruled upon. Zynga cannot merely go on reporting as they wish to provoke the appearance of a success while the true profits and losses go unnoticed. http://blogs. smeal. psu. edu/grumpyoldaccountants/archives/746#more-746 http://articles. businessinsider. com/2011-10-12/research/30269486_1_zynga-virtual-goods-bookings http://www. forbes. com/sites/francinemckenna/2012/04/23/how-zynga-facebook-and-groupons-go-to-auditor-rewrites-accounting-rules/ How to cite Zynga’s Revenue Recognition Dilemma, Papers

The Contribution of Marxism in Literary Criticism free essay sample

THE CONTRIBUTION OF MARXISM TO THE STUDY OF LITERARY CRITICISM It is evident that Marxism has made great contribution in the study and criticism of Literature, there is need to explain a little bit on Marxism before we discuss its contribution. Marxism is a social and political theory based on the works of Karl Marx and his followers, associated with the socialist and communist movements, these works mainly are Manifesto of the Communist Party and the German Ideology. It should be understood that Marx never formulated a complete literary or aesthetic theory, but he laid down the foundation to the emergence of Marxist literary critics, to mention only few ideas which we think are very important in the study and criticism of literature are: The history of any society is characterized by the history of the class and class struggle,that means oppressor and oppressed always are in constant opposition. The ruling class or those who own capital tends to perpetuate self interests and exploitation, with the help of ideological instruments and coercive instruments, all these make possible the maintenance of the status qua. Necessity of violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie for the sway of proletariat, this means that, proletariat can take power only through the use of force and not through peaceful means, therefore the oppressed people should get prepared for the revolution which need to be carried out by themselves. Law, morality and religion for Marx, are so many bourgeoisie prejudices behind which hark in ambush just as many bourgeoisie interests, therefore all these are should not be trusted at all,and once the working class takes an upper hand are to make sure all these are destroyed. Another idea is concerned with the role of ideology, as for him ideology is made of false consciousnesses and its role is to disguise the realities in the society. The ruling class control the means of production and superstructure, so the ideology is made to work on the ruling class’s interests. Consciousness, ideals, conceptions are produced by men depending on the material activity, intercourse, mode of production, and language of real life, of a single individual as well as the whole society, due to this Karl Marx argued that circumstance are made and can be changed by, also the nature of an individual is determined by material condition. After considering the basic ideas given by Karl Marx and hiss followers, it should be understood that Marxism is not one, but several branches of which attempts to understand the relations between the literary text and the social world, recognizing that Literature is a process and that the social world involves contexts of production and those of reception. Apart from that, all Marxists critiques agree on the fact that Literature should be analyses in n historical and materialist terms or in other words , as an integral part of a social structure resting on economic foundation. The following individuals are key figure on Marxism as a theory of literary criticism: Georg Lukas who ha contributed a lot on realism, Theodor Adorn o who came with the idea of culture industry, Pierre Macherey who has contributed on literature as one form of production and Walter Benjamin who explained the need to politicize art. Every individual here is Marxist with different position from the other,sometimes arguing against his fellow Marxist critic, and among the most significant issue which has led the divergence among the Marxist is realism, where by for example Lukas consider realism as the representation of social world exactly as it is but for Theodor Adorn o, although he agree that realism aim to reflect the social reality but is not the exact reality, therefore there is need to supplement the literary text as there is a lot of information left out by write, this is intentionally or unintentionally. The following are the contribution of Marxism on the study and and criticism of Literature: Emphasized the place of history in the study of Literature, as the Marxist critics argue that, history is the horizon within which Literature should be written and understood, up to now a novel, poem,or a play can only be best analyzed if the experiences of the people, their political and economic relations, and their social systems are all examined. Due to this emphasis, those who are considered as good writers tend to recast the historical record in an artistic way, without reducing a literary text into a history book, this has even made possible to trace the history of a particular society through the use of literary text, for example in Tanzania you can use a novel or a play to trace the history of Tanzania from pre colonial period to post independence era. This also can be seen through Ngugi’s novels whereby he begins from the history of his people as the starting point: from Kikuyu and Mum-bi, the Father and Mother of the tribe; the prophesies of ancient seers like Mugo wa Kibiro; the coming of European colonialists; the colonial encounter with Africans; the maumau struggle for independence and the post independence scene in Kenya Emergence of the view that, Literature should aim at a truthful reflection of reality, this means it must demonstrate both concrete and abstract potentialities of human being, the literary representation of this kind, implies a description of actual person’s inhabiting a palpable, identifiable world. This is put clearly by Lukas as he says .. Am interested in what is typical, in what one might call the ghostly aspect of reality .. ( pp. 112). For Lukas, great art is supposed to be a realistic art and which presents a social totality. Pierre Macherey also contributed to the discussion on the relations between the literary text and social reality (realism), for him literature reflects the social condition not exactly as it is, therefore in order to get the exact reality, there is need to uncover the significant absences in the texts, the ideological pressuppositions on which the text was at once founded but of which it could not speak. Literature is supposed to reflect the real situation of a society, simply because Literature is considered as a tool for social – political transformation, and for Marxist critics this is the most important aspect, that is why in the study and criticism of literature we find the aspect of change being much emphasized, for example Ngugi’s committiment to activism and need for change is seen through his novels like Devils on the Cross, Petals of Blood, and Matigiri, he calls upon the Kenyan masses to rise in a popular revolution and fight for their land and their rights, therefore the role of literature for the marxists is to cause change where change is due. This has influenced very much the belief that literature can enforce change in a particular society and this has made a writer to become an activist as the writer’s main goal is to heighten people’s feelings and desires to rise up and demand for radical change, this is put as follows by Marxist critics . Marxist agree that Literature is produced in material condition, that it reflects back upon those conditions and can help to change them ( pp. ) Due to this tendency, it has led the emergence of various literary works striving to bring social, cultural, economic and political change, for example in Sembene’s Gods Bit of Wood, he presents a massive strike of railway workersdemanding for their rights,better pay and improved working conditions, and this for marxists critics is supposed to be the main function of literature: to cause change where change is necessary. Furthermore, Marxism has contributed a lot on the understanding that literature reflects society’s superstructure, economic base and class relations, it is very important to define these terms, to start with uperstructure it means the institutions of the rulling class or those who wield power to govern, such institutions include the judiciary, the legislature, the exacutive, the military and the religious insti tution, in other hand the economic base is also often called the production relation or mode of production ,this is the process of production and the social and economic relations people engage in during the process of producing and sharing wealth between classes. This is explained by Philip and Patricia as they say the first question perhaps for each of Marxist critic is how does a literary work take its shape from society as whole, from its mode of production and being totally determined by its economic base or superstructure (pp . , this argument has helped to challenge the formalistic argument on art for arts sake, Marxists argue that there is nothing like objective literature as writer’s are bound to reflect their social class leaning on what they write, therefore a text can either reinforce the ideology of the superstructure, or challenge and expose it in order to promote the interest of the exploited and the oppressed. In addition to that, they contributed very much on the relationship between form and content, whereby they rejected the formalist emphasize on form alone and ignoring the importance of content, some Marxist literary critics have argued that in Literature the artistic content is the divisive element of the literary work as whole but also they appreciate the importance of form in making sure that the intended content is presented as it was aimed. Apart from this, they also argued that a form of a given work is not merely determined by content alone but there are other factors such as a style of a living class(writers class), the general level of the material culture of a given society, the influence of its neighbor, the inertia of the past or the striving of the innovation. , this view has led the domination of the notion that there should be the balance between the form and content as both of them are equally important. Georg Lukas goes beyond this kind of relationship between form and content, as he argues that content determine form, as he attempt to answer the question what determine the style of a given work of art, he says the intention of the work of art is very important in determining the form of a particular literary work. He put these in the following way . we are concerned here, of course with the intention realized in the work; it need not coincide with the writer’s intention ( pp. ) Due to the arguments given by Lukas, we find that style ceases to be a formalistic category rather is rooted in content, that is why we find a lot of literary works written on the perspective that content is very important than form, hence they little attention to the form, for example in Tanzania there are many literary works written during the time of Arusha Declaration, these works put much emphasis on the content rather than on form, hence no balance between the two elements, one example of such woks is Ngomoi’s novel Ndoto ya Ndaria , Senkoro’s novel Mzalendo. It should also be understood that , not all marxist critic follow Lukacs emphasis on content rather than on form, as there are number of marxist critics consider form also to be equally important as content. Another contribution made by Marxism is concerned with the relationship between Literature and ideology, it has been realized that Literature is a product of particular society or group, therefore it is not free from the ideological positions of the writer and the people , it is argued that ideology creates blind spots in people’s vision,also ideology is socially constructed with the aim to maintain the social relation, this is put clearly by Balibar and Macherey as they say Literature is one form of ideological states apparatus and its function is to reproduce the ideology within the french education system (pp. ) What does this mean to the writer, he or she should not propagate a dominant ideology for its own sake. Rather he or she should challenge certain ideologies that are considerable untenable, dangerous or misguiding for society. due to the existence of contradictory ideologies, there is no neutral literature, as each Literature is either of the oppressor or of oppress ed. Macherey says the objectivity of literary production, therefore is inseparable from social practices in a given ideological state apparatus. Furthermore Marxism provided a criterion on which the evaluation of a work of Literature is based, the basic criterion is that everything that aids the development and the victory of the proletariat is considered as good literary work and everything that harms or hinder the development of working class (oppressed) is considered not good, due to this perspective , there is a lot of literary works, written in favor of the development of the working class (oppressed) and are considered as good works as they address the social problems of a given society, for example a novel by Shafi Adam Shafi Vuta Nkuvute, portray a struggle between the ruling class and the oppressed , it addresses the social economic problems of the majority, this tendency has dominated the study and criticism of literature. Apart from that, Literature is produced in material condition, that it reflects back up on those conditions, and can help to change them, therefore it has helped the understanding that, Literature is not concerned with writer psychology but rather with the material condition of the society, therefore Marxist criticism recognize that consciousnesses and its products grow out of material condition, due to this ,Literature whatever its relation to ideology is never completely transcendent and nor may it ever achieve that degree of disinterestedness. Not only that but also has enabled the placement of a writer and a literary critic at a very significant position, as up to now they are considered as teachers of the society, a writer in Marxist perspective is supposed to be informed with the social conditions of his or her society, also a writer is supposed to suggest the ways towards overcoming the social and political problems,this means a writer is supposed to write for the people( majo rity) so as to change the existing situation which hinders the prosperity of the society, even for the case of a literary critic. Is also supposed to teach a writer, this is put clearly by lunacharsky as he says, in trying to teach the writer usefully, the Marxist critic must also teach the reader. The critic as a commentator as a person who warns of a poison which may taste sweet. ( pp. ) The last but not least is concerned with the acceleration towards the rise of other theories in literary criticism, such as Feminism, Black Aesthetics and Negritude,all these emerged as the reaction of class struggle where by one group in a society develop a feeling of being humiliated or oppressed by the other dominant group. Some of these theories emerged as a critic to Marxist literary criticism. After long discussion on the contribution of Marxism, it is very important in this section to discuss prominent individuals who have made significant ideas towards the study and criticism of literature, these figures are: Georg Lukas, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and Pierre Macherey. These people are discussed in the following order: Georg Lukas (1885-1971) He is the Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary critic and politician, Lukas was born in Budapest on April 15, 1885. From 1930- 1945 he lived in Moscow, editing the journal which was known as Literary criticism ( literaturnyi kritik) and writing books upholding the realism of 19th century against the modernism of his own time. Lukas works also represents one of the earliest attempts within Marxist criticism to address the problem of the relationship between form and content in developing a historical materialist account of literature, in 1930, Lukas started to develop a Marxist theory of the novel which would draw on Marxist critique of German idealist aesthetics. In his famous critique to the modernism, he argued that modernism was a formal reflection of bourgeoisie modernity in all its alienation, it also denies the role of history in literature, therefore he proposed realism literature to take the place of modernism literature, as for him great art is the one which is realistic and it must present a social totality. Theodor Adorno (1903- 1969) He is a German Marxist philosopher,sociologist and musicologist, in 1930 he become an associate of institute for social research of Frankfurt University, which spawned the Frankfurt School of which he went on to become a leading member, in this school they engaged in developing a critique of Western philosophy and providing analytic studies of contemporary culture. Adorno regarded the culture industry as potent force for holding the masses in a state of submissive ignorance and believed that only an avant- garde art which utterly repudiated realism might articulate any kind of oppositional position. Therefore it can be observed that Adorno do not concur with Lukas idea of rejecting modernism,but they concur on the importance of literary text to reflect the social reality. PIERRE MACHEREY He is a French Marxist critic, he contributed much on the idea that literature function is to reproduce the ideology, he also discussed the relationship between the literary text and social reality, to fulfill this he used the model which involved uncovering the significant absences in the texts, the ideological presuppositions on which the text was at once founded. he appreciate that Literature reflects the social reality, but for him this reality not is not the exact reality as he says .. literature can not be reduced to a straight mirroring, but it is true that the text does produce a reality- effect, more precisely it produces simultaneously a reality effect and a fiction effect (pp. , this for him Literary discourse institutes and projects the presence of the ‘real’ in the manner of an hallucination. Benjamin Walter (1892-1940) He is the German writer, Marxist theorist and aethetician. Benjamin was born in Berlin to a middle class Jewish family,he worked in Berlin a s a literary critic and translator. During the 1920s Benjamin developed Marxist learning, under the influence of the German Philosopher Ernst Bloch and the Marxist critic Georg Lukas. He wrote classic Marxist essays on aesthetics and literary topics, Benjamin argues that the rise of fascism and mass society are symptoms of a debased age in which art is merely a source of gratification to be consumed, but communism could politicize art and thus politicize the masses. All in all Marxism has contributed a lot on the study and criticism of literature, as it has made possible for literature to be considered as something very useful, especially on explaining the social conditions of a particular society and can be used to enforce change. REFERENCES Eagleton,T. (1997),Literary Theory:An Introduction,oxford:Blackwell Publisher Ltd Rice,P. And Patricia, W. (eds. ) (2001), Modern Literary Theory : A Reader,Easton Road-London: H odder Headline Group. Riv-kin, J. and Ryan, M. (1998),Introduction: â€Å"Formalism† In Riv-kin, J. and Ryan,M. (eds)Literary Theory: An Anthology,USA:Blackwell Publishers. Literary Criticism(2009). In Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online retried on11, November 2009

Planarian Lab Report Sample

Planarian Lab Report Paper There are efferent species which come in white, gray, black, brown and sometimes transparent. Planarians are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both female and male organs. They reproduce sexually but they cannot reproduce by fertilizing their own eggs with their sperm. Planarians can also reproduce asexually by regeneration. Planarians have become a vital model system for studying tissue regeneration and stem cell characteristics because of their quick ability to regenerate. Studying planarians will build on our current knowledge in the fields of regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. Flatworms themselves are preyed upon by a variety of predators and are intermediate levels of the food chain, so they are important because they feed other animals. Hypothesis All three worms were cut in half. We had expected all the planarians to regenerate. The prediction made was the planarian that was the longest, would regenerate the quickest and begin to behave normally first. Listed materials Seven clear Petri dishes Colored utensil to label Purified water Boiled eggs Tooth picks Flashlight Measuring tape Paintbrush Knife Procedure 1. Obtain six Petri dishes 2. Put enough water into the Petri dishes to cover the bottom of all six 3. Label the three dishes with the colored utensil with three names of choice (We choose Chubs, Delia, and Carol) 4. Use a flashlight to test the response of the planarians and measure them 5. Feed the planarians with boiled eggs by using a toothpick to gather a very tiny amount of food 6. Record the data for day one 7. Label the other three dishes with the names you choose but add a one to their name (Chubs 1, Delia 1, and Carol 1) 8. We will write a custom essay sample on Planarian Lab Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Planarian Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Planarian Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Place one planarian in each of the three dishes labeled with the original name with a paintbrush 9. Carefully slice the planarians in half with a knife 10. Use a paintbrush to move one half of the planarian into the matching named Petri dish 11. Clean the water of the original dishes and refill with clean water 12. All planarians should be in clean water 13. Feed all planarians with a tiny bit of boiled eggs 14. Measure the length of all half planarians and record 15. Test the reaction of the flashlight test on the planarians and record 16. Wash hands 17. Repeat steps 12-16 each day the planarians are observed and record Data and Observations Length of the Planarians in millimeters Chubs Chubs 1 Carol Carol 1 Delia Delia 1 Starting(whole) 14 17. 5 5 Day 1 7 8 10 3 2 Day 2 (split in 2) Chubs 1. 5 4 13 Died Day 3 12 Day 4 6 Day 5 Day 6 0 Reaction to the flashlight stimulation Starting Moved toward the light Day 1-6 No reaction Based on our results, the planarians all died after our sixth day of observing them. Chubs split in two after the first day but Chubs 1 died so we moved the second half of Chubs into a Petri dish and labeled him Chubs 1. . The longest over all (Carol) was actually the first worm to die completely by day four, including both parts. The worms that were mm long lasted the longest (Delia and Chubs 1. 5). On day five Delia was actually transparent on the half that she was growing back. It was interesting that Chubs split in half on day two, while the other part of him had died. Delia was the last survivor and almost th e shortest worm, living till day six. All the planarians reacted to the light the first day by moving closer to it, but after they were cut, none of the worms reacted at all. Conclusion It is important that we study such animals because more than half of planarian genes have parallels in people, and some of their basic physiological systems operate like ours. This could lead scientist into understanding how to regenerate human tissues or cells. If scientist learn how to achieve this than many different lath issues could be solved, for instances diabetes. This could also help scientist discover how to mutate the cells in other animals so they regenerate when they lose body ligaments in the wild. This could result in less deaths of animals and a lower extinction rate. Scientist do not study on humans because of their inability to grow back but one day hope to achieve this goal. The soft- bodied planarians move in a similar fashion as a slug. They use their foot to slither through a trail of slime, leaving most of the slime behind. The planarian extends a tube-like pharynx from its mouth to reach for food. Through this tube it secretes digestive juice onto its prey. The food is partially digested externally before it is sucked into the Castro vascular cavity where it is digested the rest of the way, and then diffused to the rest of the body. Without the pharynx, the digestive juice would not reach the food and it would not be able to ingest anything, which would lead to starvation. The pharynx is a specialized organ that allows the planarian to find and take in food. Our worms were all cut the same way, but gave very different results. The longest planarian parts died a lot quicker than the shorter pieces of worm. Concluding that our hypothesis had not turned out how we had expected based on our data results. A probable reason for the death of some of our worms could have been overfeeding them. Sometimes the chunks of egg was hard to get off, so we added more but then it all came out. Chubs 1 was over whelmed with food the first day, so he could have over eaten and died. Through performing this experiment, learned many things about how regeneration works. I was amazed to see the planarians moving after they had been cut into two pieces. I also enjoyed seeing how quickly the worms grew and regeneration does not take very long. I enjoyed his lab because it was very fascinating to see understand how a scientist could use regeneration to fix problems in the human.

Compare and contrast The Prioress and The Wife of Bath Essays

Compare and contrast The Prioress and The Wife of Bath Essays Compare and contrast The Prioress and The Wife of Bath Paper Compare and contrast The Prioress and The Wife of Bath Paper The Prioress is foolishly sentimental, She was so charitable and pitous / She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous /Knaught in a trappe. Chaucer uses the word charitable satirically as her kindness to animals seems to far exceed her kindness to people. This is another example of her superficiality. A similarity between the two women lies in their tendency to be overstated. For the Prioress, this materialises in her unnecessary attention to her appearance and behaviour, and her excessive entourage of Another Nonne and preestes thre. For the Wife of Bath, her appearance is flamboyant and her manner overbearing. However, the Wife of Bath has no reason not to dress to attract attention, unlike the nun who is sworn to celibacy, and should be modest. The Prioress makes unwarranted effort in her appearance; in his detailed portrayal of her, Chaucers concern is with how she eats rather than with how she prays; At mete wel ytaught was she with alle: /She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle, /Ne wette hir fingers in hir sauce depe /Wel koude she caries a morsel and wel kepe. The description of the Wife of Bath is brief and focuses on her physical appearance. Similarly, the Prioresss portrait conveys her appearance but it is not just her looks but her air and meticulous manner. As a nun, she should be self-effacing and unpretentious but her manners are almost courtly, as she strives to be polite and refined. Both women lack refinement but Chaucer favours the promiscuous Wife of Bath for her lack of pretence; she makes no secret of her desire to find a sixth husband. Her elaborate dress signifies her overt character as well as her wealth, accumulated from her husbands and her haunt with great pride. The Prioress presents herself as mild and appears to be the perfect lady but this is a fai ade. She is a member of the material and not the spiritual world, which places her as a social climber, using religion to obtain status while she lacks the faith required for her position. These two female characters in the Canterbury Tales are presented very differently and highlight Chaucers tendency not to judge on face value. If he were to do so, he would describe the superficially perfect Prioress as worthy rather than the brash and lowly Wife of Bath.

Arguments on Spanking

Three reasons people do not believe spanking is that spanking can cause harmful side effects, spanking is not more effective than other punishments, and spanking promotes child violence. Some of the harmful side effects that spanking can cause are children with depression, poor academic outcomes, or problems in the second half of life. Since side effects usually do not appear immediately, it is impossible to see side effects. It is also thought that spanking can not prove to be more effective than any other punishment. One of the main arguments supporting spanking is that it does not lead to any discipline. One of the main arguments for fighting spanking is that in more than 80 studies on spanking, the results of the survey show that more children experience more corporal punishment, they show more serious behavior. Review of the literature provides a background to understand how spanking affects children. Research on corporal punishment (physical) punishment is defined not as correc ting or managing children's behavior, but as use of physical strength to give children a pain 1. Corporal punishment by law 7. In general, spanking and slapping that do not cause serious physical harm are considered acceptable corporal punishments. Corporal punishment is often escalated to child abuse, Children's Corporal Punishment: Slapping. Standpoint of Inverse Span. Religious Tolerability: Abusing may escalate. As spanking for a while, it is common for parents to repeat spanking when a child is misbehaving. More serious spanking It may become abuser beyond the reasonable power threshold. Corporal punishment often reacts innocently to child's behavior excessively Jan Hunt. 10 reasons not hitting children natural children project: 2. In many cases of so-called bad behavior children are basic Ignore the needs, respond only to your own needs according to your age and experience. Sleep and nutrition, hidden allergy treatment But his greatest need is his parents concentration.

Testing the effectiveness of the use of value at risk in cases of Essay

Testing the effectiveness of the use of value at risk in cases of economic distress - Essay Example With the United States’s credit rating on the Standard and Poor’s being downgraded from triple A (AAA) to double A (AA), this has changed the landscape for various lenders to have to watch more closely, and with a more critical eye, what money they loan out and to whom they are loaning money. This will be discussed more later. The Monte Carlo simulation has a basic formula of â€Å"(b-a)+b.† According to the Monte Carlo Simulation (2011), â€Å"[T]he Monte Carlo Analysis technique utilizes the three estimates to repeatedly simulate the project’s completion date, while taking into account the statistical likelihood that each activity’s duration will be somewhere on the continuum between the three estimates. The result of this analysis will [have] X% chance that the project will be complete on or before date Y† (pgh. 6). The first simulation was conducted on Citibank Corp. bank. Portfolio returns are best when they are diversified. There are a number of wonderful stocks which one can invest in in order to see great returns. The key is to make sure that various percentages of stocks are bought in order to balance out any difficulties so that, if one stock tanks a bit, other stocks will recoup the loss. Supposedly, Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index on income return is 1.01%, while its capital return is 5%--for a total return of 6.01%. Class A shares have a total return of 3.89%. Meanwhile, Lipper Growth and Income Funds Index has a total return of 5.29%. The U.S. economy, this past year, did not see much growth in the first six months of the year. Markets have been adversely affected by the slowdown. Triggered by worries about the U.S. budget deficit, a very high (at least 9.1% nationally) unemployment rate, the European debt crisis, and a decrease of growth in China—such macroeconomic concerns kept stock markets in turbulence, causing the U.S. stock market to have a volatility index the likes of which have

The Context of Loss of Autonomy by an Employee of an Organization Research Paper

The Context of Loss of Autonomy by an Employee of an Organization - Research Paper Example Among the theories of autonomy, the best and the most commonly used theory was developed by Kant. Autonomy has a different meaning to different fields. For example in the field of medicine respect for the autonomy of patients is considered to be an important objective. However, it can compete with ethical principles. In the context of politics, it is referred to as the self-governing of the individuals. Now in the context of public sector organizations, they are most inclined towards employing the individual whose needs and values are consistent with the mission of the public service organization. A public sector organization often holds missions which have a broader scope and also are more thoughtful in comparison to a public sector. The hierarchy of the public sector workforce is therefore expected to exhibit the nature of work by attracting the individuals who wish to grab greater opportunities in order to fulfil higher needs. Earlier studies also reveal that employees of public s ector organizations hugely values monetary rewards. It has also found that they do not value an opportunity by which they can help society. Mostly in public sector organizations lack of autonomy hugely affects an employee’s morale. Due to less independence, they sometime could not present their skills and expertise in a particular area of interest. This also affects the growth of an employee. Employees also get highly demoralised and it hugely impacts the overall performance of the employee. In order to curb such happening organizations are also taking various motivational programs such as financial incentives.

Corporate finance Essay Example for Free

Corporate finance Essay There are three main reasons companies purchase investments in debt or stock securities. The first reason is if corporations have extra cash that they don’t need for immediate purchase of operating assets. The second reason is; Companies purchase investments to generate earnings from investment income. The third reason companies purchase investments is for strategic reasons. A company can exercise some influence over a customer by owning a significant, but not controlling, interest in that company. Or, a company may purchase a non controlling interest in another company in a related industry in which it wishes to establish a presence. (Weygandt, Kimmel, Kieso, 2010). Sometimes corporations will have excess cash for investment reasomns. It may invest in things, incase in the future the economy falls then it has money to fall back on when money is gone, or low. 3. Low-risk, high-liquidity, short-term securities such as government-issued securities are best when investing for short periods of time. 4. Debt securities, from banks and other financial institutions and stock securities from mutual funds and pension funds generate earnings when investing. 5. 6. Stocks of companies in a related industry or in an unrelated industry that the company wishes to enter Q: E12-2 Foren Corporation had the following transactions pertaining to debt investments. Jan. 1 Purchased 50 8%, $1,000 Choate Co. bonds for $50,000 cash plus brokerage fees of $900. Interest is payable semiannually on July 1 and January 1. July 1 Received semiannual interest on Choate Co. bonds. July 1 Sold 30 Choate Co. bonds for $34,000 less $500 brokerage fees. Instructions (a) Journalize the transactions. (b) Prepare the adjusting entry for the accrual of interest at December 31. A. Jan. 1 Debt investments $50,900 Cash $50,900 July 1 Cash $2000 Interest rev.$2000 July 1 Cash $33,500 Debt Investment $33,540 Gain on sale $2,960 Dec. 31 Interest receivable $2000 Interest revenue $2000 References Weygandt, J. J., Kimmel, P. D., Kieso, D. E. (2010). Financial accounting (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons.

The 19th Century Prose of Nathaniel Hawthorne :: Biography Biographies Essays

Nathaniel Hawthorne's 19th Century Prose      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne, a master of American fiction, often utilizes dreams within the annals of his writings to penetrate, explore and express his perceptions of   the complex moral and spiritual conflicts that plague mankind.   His clever, yet crucial purpose for using dreams is to represent, through symbolism, the human divergence conflict manifested in the souls of man during the firm Christian precepts of the Era in which he lived.   As a visionary in an extremely conservative Puritanical society, he carefully and successfully manages to depict humanity's propensity for sin and secrecy, and any resulting punishment or atonement by weaving dreams into his tales.   The dreams he refers to in many of his writings are heavily symbolic due to his Christian foundation, and they imply that he views most dreams as a pigmentation of reality.   Hawthorne's ability to express and subsequently bring to fruition the true state of man's sinful nature by parallelling dreams with reality represents not only his religious beliefs but also his true mastery of observation regarding the human soul.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An examination of Hawthorne's own narrative in his short story, The Birthmark, published in 1850 during the latter part of the period of Puritanism expands his observations of mankind with keen insight.         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Truth often finds its way to the mind close-muffled   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   in robes of sleep, and then speaks with uncompromising   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   directness of matters in regard to which we practice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   an unconscious self-deception, during our waking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   moments.  Ã‚   (par.15)    The prophetic statement was made by Hawthorne to open the reader's mind and perhaps inject an introspective glimpse of   his perspective that dreams do indeed contain precursors or warnings of future conscious realities.   He also contends that people often purposely disregard the contents of their dreams and do not face the realities that they are confronted with while in unconscious moments of slumber.  Ã‚   Hawthorne's writings are marked by intrinsic depth and a sincere desire to crawl inside of the characters he has created.   He accomplishes this objective by allowing them to dream. He makes his presence known by frequently commenting openly throughout his prose and interject a narrative of his assertions.  Ã‚   Hawthorne historically has his characters confront reality following a dream, or he reveals that

Mercury Athletic Footwear: Valuing the Opportunity Essay

Team 10 / Mergers and Acquisitions West Coast Fashions, Inc (WCF) was a large business, which dealt with men’s and women’s apparel. One of their segments was Mercury Athletic Footwear. WCF wanted to dispose off this segment. They just wanted to divest because they wanted to focus more on their core business and move it up to the elite class. John Liedtke was the Business Development Head at that time in Active Gear Inc. He had a clear idea that acquiring Mercury will shoot up AGI’s revenues for sure. It would also ensure an expansion of the key business. In order to get a clearer picture on the acquisition, he needed to compare and analyze the company’s financials well. By this he could gauge the pros and cons of this acquisition. Are the strategic reasons behind the Merger good enough? Explain As a team, we had different views on this question. Some reasons make us think that it may be beneficial for AGI to grab the opportunity but some make us think that it might not be as promising as it seems. Let us see why we feel it is a good idea for AGI to acquire Mercury. Active Gear Inc. Mercury Athletic Footwear Revenue $470,285mn $431,121mn % Revenue Product wise 42% Athletic 58% Casual 79% Athletic 21% Casual Operating Income $60.4mn $42,299mn Revenue growth 2% to 6% 12.5% Active Gear was one of the most successful firms in terms of profitability, in the footwear industry. Mercury looked like a good opportunity for an  attractive investment because they almost have the same revenues, while being smaller in size, in the market. The Percent revenue in the casual footwear in AGI compensates for the gap in Mercury. It’s a perfect balance. When we looked at the industrial average of revenue growth is 10% and AGI is below the standard, however Mercury is above by 2.55%. It is a good sign to move ahead for this acquisition, as it will enable AGI to remain at the top in the market. Both companies are in the same industry and have same products. Both Mercury and AGI does its manufacturing in China. AGI sourced its resources to the contract manufacturers in China. Mercury can leverage with these manufacturers as China just experienced a wave of consolidation favorable for these kinds of manufacturers. This, in turn, can enable AGI to have the opportunity to expand with its top retailers and distributors. Mercury’s cost of manufacturing is low and could help to sync the lower profit margins of AGI, which it had been facing from its suppliers, distributors and consumers. (Refer Case Page 5 and 3). Mercury had always been an autonomous body, which maintained its own financials, data management, resource management and distribution. This would pave a smooth way for AGI to take over. This smoothness could not have been expected had Mercury been totally under WCF. Now let us look at why some of the members of the team thought that the acquisition is not an appropriate decision: There would be strategic clashes because AGI focuses on Classic and elite products with long life, on the other hand, Mercury focused on flexibility and changed its pr oducts based on demand and trend. (Refer Case study Page 2 and 4). There is a huge difference in days Inventory between the two companies. It means that there must be a strategy of keeping their products on shelf. We also come to know that Liedtke believed that Mercury can adopt the Inventory Management of AGI and a bit incremental cost and then it might reduce the levels of DSI of Mercury. Mercury also concentrated on a different geographic section than AGI. We also think that this Acquisition might just entail a complete take-over of the Women’s line of Mercury. However, it might me a loss making business for AGI later (Refer case study Page 6). Review the projections by Liedtke. Are they appropriate? How would you recommend modifying them? We put the Exhibit 7 for reference: As a team we analyzed each segment’s projection: Men’s Athletic This segment indicated a 8,72% average growth rate from 2007-2011. According to the information in the case, Men’s Athletic revenue grew more 40% over the prior year and the average compound rate from 2004-2006 was of 29%, therefore the forecasted item should be based on this assumption from the case of CAGR of 29%. This projection seems conservative and it can be modified towards the expected 29% growth. Men’s Casual Women’s Athletic This segmented shows a growth rate of 2,50% from 2007-2011. According to the information provided in the case, the sales of this business line should be declining at 6,25% per year not increasing. Therefore its sales should decrease in this percentage not increase as projected per Liedtke. Liedtke projected for this business segment, an average growth rate 7,98% (2007-2001). The case indicates a growth from 2004-2005 of 13,5% per year . Therefore this can be somewhat a conservative growth projection. Since this has been solid growth, this could be increased to maintain the 13, 5% sales growth in the upcoming years Women’s Casual Lietdke’s projection assumed that this business line was going to disappear by the end of 2007 this is aligned with was its expected from Mercury management according to the facts stated in the case (page 6). Given this information we can conclude that the Women’s Casual as part of Mercury revenue generator would disappear, therefore this projection seems reasonable if Mercury does not merge. If merger happens this business line can be enhance by the synergies of both companies and it might be a positive approach to keep the brand alive. Estimated Capital Expenditures This projected expenditure was based on 5, 67% average growth rate from 2007 until 2011. The information in the case indicates that Mercury’s capital spending its little since they focus its resources in market research and product designs. Estimated Depreciation This item maintains an average growth rate of 5,67% for the years of 2007-2011. Because there is no more evidence of changes in depreciation this seems reasonable for Mercury’s operations. Cash Used in Operations From the Historical balance of exhibit 4, in 2006 Cash & Equivalents closed with a balance of $10,676. Liedtke projected a 61% decline for 2007 reducing the Cash line item to $4,161. This reduction might be since the historical Balance Sheet (2004-2006) was taking into account Cash & Cash Equivalents â€Å"† where the projected Balance Sheet (2007-2011) it’s only taking into account â€Å"Cash used in operations†. In addition, it might also be affected by the fact of â€Å"Men’s casual footwear† and â€Å"Women’s Casual Footwear† revenue are declining and not generating enough sales. Accounts Receivable The accounts receivable of Mercury, maintained flat growth with a 6% average growth rate from 2006-2011. Probably they have credit terms with retailers and shops, although there is not enough information in the case about this, therefore it seems an appropriate projection. Inventory According to Liedtke projections inventory also maintain an average growth of 6% until 2011. An inventory increase it’s necessary for this type of business, since Mercury needs to supply large retailers with their Footwear. In addition, this increase might be justified with the fact that, Mercury its receiving pressure from suppliers in China who need larger orders to operate at full capacity, therefore Mercury might be forced to make larger orders in the future to maintain its current relationship with the Asian suppliers. However, if Mercury it’s considering Women’s Casual as dead brand this can make the growth to be somewhat conservative. Prepaid Expenses According to Liedtke’s projection these expenses increased from$ 10,172 to  $14,747 in 2007 represented 42% increased. After 2007 Liedtke’s projected an average growth rate of 6% will maintain an average growth rate. Prepaid expenses might be rent of related to their operations however there is not enough information to assume that prepaid expenses can change aggressively over the projected years. Property Plant and Equipments This line item seems to maintain a flat and conservative growth since there is no indications of major changes in this area in the future of Mercury fixed assets. Trademarks &Other Intangibles The amount in trademarks and other intangible should not change since the company already owns the brands of the different segment. If in the future the merger happens then this might decrease Accounts Payable This was projected with a 5% average growth rate per year since 2007. For this type of business model seems reasonable that mercury maintains a conservative growth rate for the future years. The company already has established relationship with retailers and probably their credit terms will remain the same for the upcoming years. Accrued Expenses Accrued expenses which might be related to workers’ wages, increased from 16,981 to 22,778 in 2007 (21% increase). This increase seems somewhat aggressive since the company it’s probably expects to have less staff from the business lines, which are declining. Deferred Taxes Taxes might not suffer any changes, since this the taxes the company will have to pay for the upcoming years. Pension Obligation Projections of pensions seems reasonable and with no changes for upcoming  years. Nevertheless, if we assume that organizational changes will occur in the future such as lay-offs this line could be reduced. Value the target company, first by the DCF approach, and second, by multiples, using Liedtke’s baseline case. Explain all the assumptions that you make in this process We look at the valuation done by Joel L. Heilprin for Mercury when the WACC is 11.06% and the long run growth rate is projected at 2.78%: However, our DCF uses a WACC of 8.73% and a long-term growth rate of 3%. We do understand that there is a significant difference from Heilprin’s calculations; however, it is to reflect upon the probable different values of the treasury securities that we chose. Here is our DCF, but please refer to the excel file (attached through â€Å"Turn it In’) for all the formulas and values we used to give us an idea and to help us reach the solution. In one of our calculations we took Termination Value in 2007 based on the M&A. And in the other one, we took the Termination Value from 2011 because the FCF is growing slowly. (Please refer to the calculations in the Excel) Do you regard the value you obtained as conservative or aggressive? Why? Three calculations give different results because we took assumptions. The DCF method based on case assumption gives higher value than the P/E method. Based on the calculation we get two different market value of the company. The evident one is $236,988. This approach can be considered as aggressive. Moreover the target company has the steady financial statement with a low debt proportion, while the bidder has higher debt in portfolio. We combine the company by â€Å"Pooling Interest† method. This situation considers that the bidder, which tries to target the company with higher price, is considered to be aggressive. From our Lower WACC calculations we drop the Cost of Capital, which can inversely raise the enterprise value. With our high enterprise value we have a higher proposal value to the buyer, higher than Heilprin’s. What kind of synergies or other sources of value not included in Lietdke’s projections? How would you take them into account? The additional opportunities that the company has to improve the results are: Maintain line of Women casual revenues. AGI has the opportunity to add this line of products. AGI can use the infrastructure of Mercury without new investments. Additionally, AGI could change the Women casual brand of Mercury to their own brand, so changing the products style to the concept of lifestyle for women. The company could consider as minimum an EBIT of $0.5M similar to the 2004. Improvement in DSI, DSO, DPO. Mercury has fewer DSI, more DSO, and more DPO. If we analyze the next table, we can consider that AGI have the opportunity to match the DSI of Mercury with the ones of AGI. Additionally, the company has the opportunity of increase the PDO of Mercury with AGI, negotiating days of payment with the providers in China. These opportunities improve the Working capital in $17M for AP, and $22M for inventory. The total improvement for WC is $39M. Increase volume for their providers. AGI reduced the number of providers to allow them achieve more scale and put AGI in a better negotiating position. In that way, AGI could benefit from the bigger scale and continuing consolidation of their providers. Notice that the Gross margin of Mercury is 44%, while it is 50% for AGI. Therefore, with better negotiations for the Mercury products there is an opportunity for reducing COGS in $25M. Elimination of duplicated costs in China. Eliminate the surplus of people the company have in China. AGI manage their providers in China with 85 employees, and Mercury manages 73 professional. The merged company can eliminate at least the 73 professionals of Mercury. The value of 73 employees is $1.7M per year (assuming an average monthly payroll and related of $20k per employee).

Ethical Consideration Project

The health care delivery system is constantly changing it will continue to impact the kinds of services that are provided by religiously affiliated institutions. The pursuit of increased health care coverage and access at decreased cost will undoubtedly result in market and legal pressure on Catholic sponsored hospitals that provide health care, because it would contravene their ethical, moral, and religious principles. Currently, the law does not compel religious institutions to provide care that does not comport with their beliefs this is a means that has to stop especially concerning the well-being of the patient. This continual evolution of ethical, moral, and religious health care delivery, however, threatens to diminish, if not completely shut down the ability of these sectarian hospitals to maintain control over the kinds of medical care that they provide. Specifically, in this era pervasive federal and state regulations of health care delivery will put pressure on religious providers to give care even if it is against their philosophical foundation or they will risk the chance of going out of business because of the lack of government funding like Medicare and Medicaid. The states pursuit of reform and the provisional requirement of health care services are now increasing even more, hospitals are now more reliant on government funding so there is a tension between Catholic hospital and government to give patients the proper care that is needed which is not based on moral beliefs. Because Catholic hospitals frequently cite religious, and moral beliefs as the bases for rejecting patient demands for abortion, and in this case the morning after pill as discussed in the Brownfield case this looming conflict between religious freedom and patient access for care will continue to grow. This growing conflict has brought difficulty to the legal, social, and to the policy makers who must attempt to resolve this issue. In the Brownfield case the morning-after pill prevents fertilization or inhibits implantation of the fertilized egg. A rape victim should have the necessary treatment available or get referred to another hospital and in an event that they are not given the proper treatment they should have a viable claim for medical malpractice. I agree with the decision that was made by the judge and here is my reasoning. If the morning after pill is given to a rape victim it stops the attachment of a fetus which was conceived under a vicious crime which would not be considered an abortion since the morning after pill has prevented the attachment. I think that it is a patient’s right to control their own health care and that this should prevail over any hospitals moral and religious convictions, because we as patients need to know what is available and the best treatment out there to insure our well-being.

A Birds Eye View Essays

A Birds Eye View Essays A Birds Eye View Paper A Birds Eye View Paper It was a long summers day and the faint breeze blowing at me, but refreshing me as I passed under a tree. I felt the relief from the baking sun that was beating down on me and everything within reach. As I soared past the familiar sight, I had arrived to my home. I progressed swiftly up the spiral stone steps leading into a turret. It was strong and made out of roughly hewn, grey bricks, which at the present were quite rustic but charming. I could see for miles on end up here. The sky stretched out above me like an insipid blue sheet, every now and then, peppered with wispy, buoyant clouds that just seemed to hang there in the balance. The display beneath were merely squares and oblongs sewn together, it looked rather much like an enormous patched-work quilt. The fields were divided up with trees and hedges compiling of different greens and yellows. The cars and houses resembled little toys from a distance, and the farmers were ploughing through their rippling, satin-like fields, haymaking and patently getting ready for harvest. Autumn was approaching, it had been a year, but yet I still cannot forget. I found the whole house quite bizarre really. Wherever I seemed to go I would feel this kind of presence and coldness that seemed to be indescribable. It made me feel like some futile, inane supernatural believer. I felt quite weird being in such a large room so I decided to have a wonder around this grand house. The family had told me to feel at home and so I took the liberty of exploiting their hospitality and explored the old house. Talking about the family, they seemed very accommodating and friendly, and if it hadnt been for them, well, I would have still been in the middle of nowhere, I suppose. I wished that my father hadnt lived in such a derelict and deserted place. The weird thing is I dont really remember how I ended up there. They explained that they found me unconscious in my car although I found it strange when they were repeating to me the events because it sounded like I was just asleep. Nevertheless I was very gracious for their hospitality and I felt quite comfortable staying there. After all I would be going in a couple of hours. Each room that I entered gave the impression that I was not alone and the chill was still as palpable as ever. The night before, I recall hearing strange noises. It was like there were other people who had witnessed these weird happenings, but I was engulfed with tiredness that it could have been all a warped dream. Before I could progress any further, the butler appeared right in front of me. This startled me a little and he presented me with a plateful of breakfast delights. I hadnt eaten anything since the day before so I dug in at once. Wow, these look amazing, did you make them yourself? I asked. The butler didnt answer, and before I could question his silence, he had placed the plate down on a big oak table and departed the dining room. Soon all the family members started to file in and I thanked them again for their generosity and informed them of my departure. But that would be unwise! exclaimed the father. Im sorry, I replied in bewilderment. I mean well it seems like youre going to have to stay here for a while longer as there was a storm yesterday and many of the roads are closed so Im afraid you wont be leaving today he tailed off in a suspiciously. I wasnt sure how to reply, I mean these people had been really humble to me; I didnt want to offend them or anything. Well okay, I suppose I could stay here for another night or so, I mean I dont want to be a nuisance or outstay my welcome I looked sincerely at the family. Its not a problem, we like having another creature in the house remarked the mother. What she said bemused me a little, but I tried to keep a bemused look from creeping on to my face and instead gave a short smile back to the mother. but Im going to have to let my father know, I mean he was expecting me yesterday, so would it be possible to use the telephone, its just I cant seem to find my phone? I asked anxiously. Im sorry that wont be possible, the lines are all dead, said the father stiffly, and afterwards subsequently he walked off in a soldier-like manner. His loquacious nature had disappeared entirely. Now all the warmth of a loving family that I had felt the night before was gradually starting to vanish. When everyone else had finished breakfast, I was left there by myself. I hadnt felt out of place before but now I felt I was getting the cold shoulder. I wanted to get out of this place but I couldnt or maybe I could. I couldnt possibly talk to these people again after that little display, so I rushed back up to my room and searched for my bag. I took out a pen and a notepad and started to scribble down a sorry note. I paused, what would I say? That I couldnt actually talk to them because they were creepy. Scrap this idea I thought, Id just tell them face to face thats the least they deserved. I slipped on my jacket and grabbed my bag, hurryingly. I had rummaged every room but no one was to be seen anywhere until I reached the living room. The fire flickered and danced around the room, filling the room with a warm but a peculiar glow. The whole family was sat there eyeing me. A disturbing feeling rooted at the pit of my stomach. Im sorry, but as much as youve welcomed me here, I really do have to go now. I blurted out as quickly as I could pronounce the words. I thanked them yet again, and when I didnt hear a reply, I jammed my eyes shut and turned around to face the powering main door. I walked steadily towards it hoping that they would not impede or obstruct me from making my escape. Every step I took, the floorboards creaked in an eerie manner causing a cold sweat to cover me. As I managed to reach the door, I heard another set of feet following me. I didnt dare to turn round I didnt. I grabbed for the door handle and turned it with a quick cocking motion, but unsurprisingly it didnt open. I knew it, I murdered under my panting breath. I had no choice but to turn around. A tunnel of darkness pierced occasionally with flashes of brilliant light that surged out of the living room with a silhouette of who looked to be the mother. She was closing in on me although I couldnt see her face but her eyes still remained vivid and there was a glimmer of a smile in them. It was then, snip- its of my life flashed before my eyes. Why? Am I dying? I could see petal-like wings with a camouflaged dress that I somewhat admired on the woman. Her cheeks were rosy and soft but colourless at the same time. As she approached me, I dropped to the ground; it was like all my energy had been captivated out of me. What was happening? I kept questioning myself but I didnt have any answers. My vision started to blur and the last image I had was my reflection in her mirrored eyes. I could feel pain on my shoulder blades and the feel of ruffled feathers began to emerge, there was this unbreakable bond between us. Stop it! I shouted in agony. Stop it, youre hurting me. But they didnt listen. I strained my eyes and searched further a field and saw a thin road stretching away into the distance like a grey ribbon. Everything was as calm as a summers sea. The sun faded into a haze of amber and gold, filling the land with shadow. As I became restless and agitated, I peered down and immediately I felt a wave of dizziness and nausea wash over me. Everyone and everything was departing from the scene, abandoning me, all alone, deserted on top of a castle. I looked at the view for a few seconds but then a sudden wind gushed past me, which caused the flag to flap and my wings to spread. Nobody will ever notice that Im gone, Im all alone and no-one can know what I am. Ive always wondered what it would be like to fly and now I actually can, I dont want to anymore. Every second I spend thinking about what everyone looks like. What my family look like, but I cant see them I wouldnt be able to face them. Maybe one day a miracle will happen but in the mean time I can only wallow in my own pain. Although I still dont know why.

Total Economic Value of a Public Park Case Study

Total Economic Value of a Public Park - Case Study Example Though it is a short project, but I had to be careful in case of collecting information and applying them properly. My lack of knowledge and shortage of information were great limitations for this work, but the Park authority helped me very much by providing disc losable information. But they didn't disclose some confidential information, which is part of their business policy. I am very grateful to our instructor who has given me the opportunity to do the project that has enriched my knowledge, skills, and practical experiences on a mentionable place of a distinctive country. OVERVIEW OF KINGS PARK: Perth City is Western Australia's central business district. Kings Park is located on the western edge of Perth. It is a 4.06 square kilometers (1003 acre) park having mixture of: Grassed parkland; Botanical gardens and Natural bush land on Mount Eliza. The streets of Kings Park are another symbol of peace. They are lined with individual plaques. The plaques are dedicated by Western Australian Service men and women's family members, who died in World War I and World War II. Other than the tourist facilities and attractive sites, Kings Park also has: The State War Memorial; The Royal Kings Park Tennis club and A reservoir. Basically, it is assumed that the Kings Park is one of the profitable Parks in Western Australia. Because according to specialists, the places, which are situated in the centre of countries or districts, are more or less seem to be profitable. Kings Park is sort of that, but in some cases it could be better. HISTORY OF KINGS PARK: Officially the Kings Park was opened on 10 August of 1895. At the beginning, it was named Perth Park. People believe that the name was like... Officially the Kings Park was opened on 10 August of 1895. At the beginning, it was named Perth Park. People believe that the name was like that by its district where it is situated. In 1901, it was renamed as Kings Park to mark the concurrence of King Edward VII and the visit to Perth of George to the British throne. May Drive, one of the major roads, was named in the Princess's honor. Kings Park’s this kind of honor is rare in Park’s history. For this reason it gained and still now gaining fame and likings of people.New York's Central Park is smaller than Kings Park in size. Though New York’s Central Park seems to be bigger than Kings Park, but actually it doesn’t. No park was designated for public use in Australia before this one (in 1872). Australia's largest wildflower show and exhibition take place in Kings Park during September to October of each year. In Australia, rarely any park has this kind of arrangements for public entertainment. By identifyi ng the land to set aside for public, General John Septimus Roe (colony's first surveyor) recognized the qualities of the area and tried to protect it from any kind of disasters. Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority does not work under any Local Government sector. Since 1999, Kings Park has been administered by that authority. They also administer Bold Park. The administration building of Kings Park provides the options where the visitors can book guided walking tours, gather information, or reserve one of the facilities.

Research Paper - Flight Nursing in Community Setting

- Flight Nursing in Community Setting - Research Paper Example The essence of our lives lies with how effectively we play our part in the community; and the complete satisfaction of making life admirable can be attained through the profession of flight nurse. A flight nurse is the one, skilled to work in critical care settings and avail assistance to the community in emergencies. Flight nurse must be well experienced and expertised in all aspects of healthcare. Flight nurses, always well prepared for life saving activities makes their presence confirmed in all critical situations such as accidents, earthquakes etc. They aid in the essential intensive care of the seriously wounded or sick patients when being shifted to a healthcare facility through plane or helicopter. In addition to serving the people injured by disasters, they also go to remote areas to support people during the airlifting to provide healthcare facilities. The presence of flight nurse as a member among the passengers makes the journey safe and sound for the entire crew of the f light (Nursing Jobs and degrees-flight nurse, n.d.). The line of work of a flight nurse is highly demanding; and in addition to having the mentality of serving the community, a flight nurse must be all set to function in the highly challenging situations which could be even life threatening.

Health of children living in poverty in hong kong Essay

Health of children living in poverty in hong kong - Essay Example Acording to statistics in 2005, a family of three took home $8,000 while that of four and two earned a low income of $9,800 and $6,400 respectivley. Analysts have intimated that the growing disparity between the rich and the poor is one of the greatest contributor to the poor education levels of the children in Hong Kong as there is no possibility of bridging it to make things better. In essence, the rich only associate with the rich while the poor have no option other than to keep by themselves meaning that it is a continuing cycle of poor education access for the poverty stricken because they cannot free themselves from it. According to the General Household survey of 2012 (89), a significant percentage of the population above 15 years and less than 65 is economically inactive in Hong Kong hence explaining the high levels of poverty in the region. The statistics also shows that Sha tin, Kwai Tsing, Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin, Yuen Long, and Tuen Mun are the principle districts in Hong Kong that have continued to register high numbers of poor households. Ideally, child poverty tends to have an effect on the feeding of the same in that it creates malnutrition for those affected by the scourge because these children cannot afford to feed properly as per the nutrition requirements. Most of the children drop out of school because they have to fend fro themselves rather than study because their parents cannot afford to put them through school. Other than this, children living in poverty tend to have self-esteem issues as they tend to feel marginalized and humiliated because of their non-desirable financial status hence making them to avoid going to school(Ngo 2013). Poor health and poverty also means that these children are likely to fail attending school because they are forced to help their parents in fending especially those from single parent households.. On other the other hand,

Being friends before lovers can lead to a succesful relationship Research Paper

Being friends before lovers can lead to a succesful relationship - Research Paper Example â€Å"The commitment to marry is perhaps the most important and most complex decision made by individuals irrespective of geography or cultural background† (Srinivasan). The financial, emotional, and psychological implications of breakup from marriage in the life of the partners are immense. Therefore, many people want to benefit from others’ experiences and know whether friendship or love is a stronger predictor of success in marriage so that they can select the right partner for marriage. Different people hold different views regarding the strength of the role of friendship in making a marriage successful relative to that of love and vice versa, thus providing the topic ground for debate. There is no clear interface between friendship and love. Many feelings and emotions are common between friendship and love, including care, empathy, respect, sincerity, expectations, and honesty. The enormity of these similar factors incorporates subjectivity in people’s judgm ent of whether it was friendship or love that made the marriage of a particular couple successful. Therefore, there is no robust basis of people’s support for either friendship or love as the determinant of successful marriage. One thing that fundamentally differentiates between friendship and love is that friendship does not need a physical relationship to grow whereas physical relationship is a fundamental element in the growth of love between marital partners. Since sexual health of individuals may deteriorate over the time, something more important than love is required to sustain the marriages. Friendship between two people is a stronger predictor of success in their marriage than love. It is hard to mark a strict boundary between friendship and love since the two often overlap in several areas. Both friendship and love lay the basis of every successful relationship, be that a marriage, the relationship of a mother and a daughter, or any other kind of relationship. Peopl e make friends with individuals they can place confidence in and share their feelings, emotions, and secrets with and the same holds true for love. Like love, friendship removes the barriers people normally place between themselves and others to keep them from learning about their secrets. People make friends because they like each other’s personalities and characters, and accept each other along with all of their strengths and weaknesses. Love also demands pretty much the same. The most important factor that differentiates between friendship and love is sex. Sex between the marital partners is a fundamental cause and effect of love between them. When two people enter the contract of marriage because of their love for each other, the marriage is just as healthy as the physical relationship between the two. â€Å"[F]riends may engage in casual sex, but may also become involved romantically† (Barry and Madsen 1). One of the most important reasons why certain friends get married to each other is that they want to make love to each other in a way that is legitimate both in the eyes of the religion and the culture. â€Å"Marriage is a natural institution whereby a man and a woman give themselves to each other for life in a sexual relationship that is open to procreation –

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Legal Ramifications

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Legal Ramifications Robert Munro Law and Psychology Considering Dissociative Identity Disorder and  Legal Ramifications Dissociative identity disorder (DID) formerly known, as multiple personality disorder is a controversial psychopathology involving complex disturbances of the self and memory wherein multiple identities are said to coexist within the same person. The first known case of DID was recorded in the 1600s and experienced a steady spike in prevalence during the 19th century (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402406). The separate identities and periods of profound memory disturbance seen in DID lead to important questions when determining criminal responsibility in court proceedings. Defendants have claimed to commit serious crimes while in a dissociated state and under the guise of an alternate identities (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). DID is typically associated with severe childhood trauma and abuse but its origins are hotly debated bringing into question issues of malingering and false memories (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 592-600). The National Institute of Mental Health (Nimh.nih.gov, 2014) reports that although occurring in only 1.5% of the general population, DID is about as common as bipolar (2.6%) and schizophrenia (1.1%). In popular culture, DID has been depicted in horror films such as â€Å"Identity†, comedy movies like â€Å"Me, Myself Irene† and even the recent children’s film â€Å"The Lego Movie†. It is these factors of low but significant rate of occurrence of DID, amnesiac elements of the pathology, high comorbidity with other disorders and the myths created and portrayed by popular media, that form many challenges to having a critical understanding of DID. In this paper, I will discuss the scientific literature surrounding DID to dispel the myths surrounding the disorder and to provide an accurate account of the disorder. I will look at how DID is handled in court proceedings as a legal defense. Finally, I will argue that the topic of DID although involving a number of non-trivial problems should have a trajectory of further understan ding and a drive to create new policy when dealing with DID in the courtroom setting. In this argument, I call upon the importance of the false memory debate involving the children of abuse and posit that DID has similarly challenging issues and is just as worthy of serious discussion. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) describes DID as having the defining characteristic of the individual having two or more distinct personality states or an experience of possession (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp. 292-298). The average number of personality states reported is 10 but cases have been observed of as few as 2 to as many as 100 distinct personality states (Nami.org, 2014). The degree to which these personality states are evident or hidden varies with the psychological state of the person and the environment in which they operate. Prolonged periods of identity disruption or amnesia may occur when under extreme stress. Individuals that experience non-possession like symptoms on average do not have overtly evident identity disruption. However, individuals that do experience possession like symptoms do typically display overt identities and personality changes. It is important to note that whether the disorder presents with observa ble identity disruption or not, the disorder is still diagnosable through reported discontinuities in the sense of self and sense of agency and recurrent dissociative amnesias. People with DID report experiences of depersonalization where they feel as if they are observing themselves. They also report feelings of being powerless to stop their actions. Similar to Hollywood scripts, some sufferer’s experience changes in the voices of their inner dialogue or multiple bewildering independent conversations taking place in their mind involving these foreign voices. Individuals have also reported changes in preferences, attitudes and the somatic changes as if their body was suddenly a different shape. Observers of these individuals report outward changes to affect and behavior along with sudden breaks in speech as if cut off mid-sentence. Episodes of amnesia and memory disruption are very prevalent in cases of DID and present themselves in three ways according to the DSM. The first is through amnesia of important life events such as periods of childhood or the death of a relative. The second is through difficulties remembering what happened today or how to execute previously learned skills. Lastly, is the confusing discovery by the individual of evidence that points to periods of dissociation and amnesia that occurred at some unknown point in their recent past. This may come in the form of discovering injuries, written texts, or other bits of evidence that come as a surprise to the individual. Dissociated fugues involving dissociated travel are common, resulting in the individuals finding themselves somewhere they do not remember traveling. Awareness of these memory problems varies with the individual. These symptoms are commonly under reported or ignored by the individual from social pressure, lacking awareness or ou t of embarrassment at having a faulty memory. Already, we can see that DID is much more nuanced than popular media would lead us to believe. DID sufferers do not always present with obvious and flashy symptoms found in the movies. They also are likely to not know they are suffering from DID or to hide their symptoms in a bid to â€Å"not look crazy† (Tartakovsky, 2011). They are likely to be in the mental health system for several years before reaching a proper diagnosis. However, there is some overlap between our cultural understanding of DID and science’s understanding of DID. Memory gaps, voices and depersonalization do seem to occur frequently. We clearly have a powerful psychopathology but an insidious one that is hard to develop a treatment history for with memory gaps and variable awareness. This disorder is therefore hard to prove in court. This is only the beginning of the controversy surrounding DID though. The central controversy surrounding DID is how the disorder is caused. One side of the debate believes that DID comes about as a reaction to trauma (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402406). The other claims that DID is produced by improper psychotherapy (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 592-600) and a heightened hypnotic suggestibility found among DID sufferers. Both sides of the debate suffer from a lack of research with the National Institute of Health funding not a single treatment study (Tartakovsky, 2011). Individuals with DID commonly report having experienced extreme abuse in early childhood. When abuse is not reported, other extreme traumas are cited (Simeon, D. 2008). However, these claims of abuse are disputed in much of the same ways that are involved in the false memory debate (Frances, 2000). The hypothesis for a trauma creation model of DID is that the mind of the child experiencing severe trauma may try to shield itself from experiencing said trauma. In this defense mechanism, separate identities with different memories and experiences may result. It is further hypothesized that DID may be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder as it presents itself in children, mixing with a more frequent use of imagination and fantasy as a coping mechanism (Gillig, 2009, p. 24). The suggestibility involved in imagination and fantasy often debated when children are involved is at the heart of the competing cause for DID. As a part of the recovered memories movement, it is hypothesized that DID may be created through improper use of recovered memory techniques. In favor of the argument are claims that dissociative symptoms and memory gaps are seldom reported before in-depth therapy. The theory proposes that malingering and heightened suggestibility (found to be highest in DID followed by PTSD) can combine with attempts at hypnosis to form the role of a DID sufferer. The questions raised are important to consider in a legal context but it should also be noted that the DSM-5 contains information on the nature of malingering most often seen in DID diagnosis. In this respect, popular culture helps to differentiate malingering from actual pathology. Malingering individuals will rarely report subtle symptoms of the disorder and will over report well-known symptoms. This can be seen in an under reporting of comorbid symptoms and sometimes an enjoyment of having the disorder rather than being ashamed as genui ne sufferers often are. Unfortunately, there are reports of stereotyped alternative identities that are â€Å"all-good† or â€Å"all-bad† in a bid to escape punishment for crimes (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp. 297). Lastly, the validity of DID diagnosis and its use in the courtroom is challenged on the basis that is it very rarely diagnosed in children (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 678-683 Boysen, 2011, pp. 329-334). Proponents of the therapy-induced DID theory claim that this lack of DID diagnosis in an age range where DID alternate identities are known to occur may point to the diagnosis being a role played result of therapy and not a genuine pathology. The counter to the traumatic model of DID also points out that most research studies on DID rely on self-report of abuses and not on independently verified abuse by outside parties. In addition, outside of case studies, the same four researchers have published the majority of research involving groups. It is these several methodological shortcomings along with the potential for malingering and the dubious nature of proving amnesia beyond the shadow of a doubt that presents significant hurdles to genuine sufferers of DID and as a defense in the court of law. Today, among the field of psychology there is a consensus that that DID is closely related to PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder and is probably the result of an employed survival strategy with maladaptive results. However, this is a completely different story in the courts. When DID is used as a defense in court it is typically brought up as an affirmative defense of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). The defense is responsible for proving mental illness and meeting the requirements of insanity in that state. The first time DID was recognized as a mental illness that could excuse criminal responsibility was in State v. Milligan in 1978 (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). In this case, it was argued that the defendant was insane and not guilty of several counts of rape because they did not possess an integrated personality. Instead, the defendant was said to have within himself both identities that were criminally responsible and non-responsible. The public was outraged at this successful defense and the multiple personality defense failed notably in the trials that followed (State v. Milligan, State v. Darnall, State v. Grimsley, State v. Kirkland, etc). During this period the conversation raised several important questions on what criminal responsibility entails in a person with multiple personalities and several instances of expert testimony being inadmissible but we now turn to the strategies utilized in DID defense (NGRI) cases. The defense in DID cases usually utilizes one of three tactics in proving insanity with DID (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). The first and most prominent tactic is the idea that one of the other identities was in control at the time that the crime was committed. A second tactic is to try to prove to the jury that a particular personality of the defendant may meet the standards for insanity. Lastly, the defense may attempt to prove that the main personality or dominant identity of the defendant meets the standards for insanity. In other legal proceedings outside of DID, the dissociative state itself is hotly debated and it is not well established whether dissociation alone can provide reason for NGRI. Part of this debate concerns the question of whether personal control is removed during dissociation or if memories are simply not encoded for future retrieval (Kennett and Matthews, 2002, pp. 509-526). DID is unique in this sense in that it involves the idea of agency and personal identity. In the case of DID, an argument can be made for the level of autonomy and self-control being altered during dissociative and amnesiac states. Critics of this position counter that acquittal should rest on whether the criminal behavior is involuntary, regardless of the state of consciousness. However, as evident from case reports and the DSM-5, some suffers of DID do experience a frightening loss of control or being unable to self-direct action while in a depersonalized state. In more recent times, DID evidence has been rej ected in proceedings for failing to meet the requirements of reliability that expert testimony must possess. The controversies discussed earlier and difficulty in reliably diagnosing DID create a significant challenge to satisfying Daubert criteria. In addition to the hurdles of meeting Daubert criteria the court must consider the low base rate of DID prevalence and the high possibility of false positive diagnosis in the face of a malingering defendant. A multidisciplinary and multitechnique approach is taken to carefully diagnose DID but is criticized for relying on self-reported data and being susceptible to malingering. Some of the tools for diagnosing dissociative identity disorder include the ‘Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders’ (SCID-D), the ‘Dissociative Disorder Interview Schedule’, the ‘Dissociative Experiences Scale’ and the ‘Childhood Trauma Questionnaire’ (Farrell, 2011, p. 33). Although the SCID-D has been tested comprehensively and has been shown to have excellent reliability and validity, the fact still remains that dissociation alone does not necessarily denote lack of self-control. Despite the cynicism and incredulity of DID NRGI defenses, the experts in the field of psychology and law agree that there do exist genuine cases of dissociative amnesia and that the criminal culpability under these circumstances raises hard questions (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). In cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty by reason of mental illness, the legal policy makers and the attorneys of these cases face great challenges in undertaking this defense. However, I believe that these debates must be had in order to assure justice and humane treatment. Despite the obstacles involved in controversial clinical and legal issues, the field must press onward at all times in an effort to fully understand DID and bolster reliability in forensic expert testimony. There does exist a very real danger in the concept of false positives and malingering defendants but the practice of justice is not aimed at perfection and instead is aimed at the ethical and rational management of human fa ctors. One compelling argument to move in this direction instead of ruling all DID expert testimony inadmissible is that psychology is an evolving science and constructs such as DID may see major revision as more research is performed (Take the changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5). As this slow process matures the legal world will need to understand the full picture of DID, the most effective forensic tools for detecting malingering in DID suspected defendants and the degree to which criminal responsibility is thought to apply given challenges to self-control and autonomy present in some, but not all DID cases. Similarly to the false or recovered memory debate involving children, DID is a nuanced condition involving vulnerable populations and disturbances of memory with a high susceptibility to malingering and influences of the culture, the professionals and the court process. The law must engage with these difficult problems and move the profession towards a deeper understanding of all factors involved in dissociative identity disorder as a part of due diligence and to preserve justice.

The Process of Opening a Halfway House :: management, planning

There are elements that should be considered in having a winning business proposal. These elements include Solutions, Benefits, Credibility & Samples and Targeted. Solution includes stating the needs and problems that could or would occur then one would give solutions that one could be implemented. Benefits would include an outlined plan as to what benefits to be gained in doing business with this particular halfway house. Credibility and Sample is having a familiarity with clients in the area or having had a previous experience that can give a third-party endorsement that will give one the credibility. Targeted entails communication, which knows the correct language that is spoken by the intended clients that the business is trying to win. If the proposed clients are from an engineering background or financial department then use the appropriate jargon. Let’s say John from the time he was 14 years of age was on drugs in and out of juvenile homes. When John turned 18 years of age he commits a crime the sends him to prison where he spend the next 20 plus years of his life. Confined by concrete walls bob wired fences and being told when he could go to bed when to get out of bed. John is told when to eat and when not eat not even having a choice to what he can he eat his only choice is to eat what before him or not at all. The purpose of a halfway house or also called a recovery house is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, where monitoring and support will be provided. This is to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse where in most cases ex-convicts would be released directly back into society. The halfway houses that is being purposed is meant solely for the reintegration of persons who have been recently released from prison or jail, others are meant for people with chronic mental health disorders, and others are for ex-convicts with substance abuse issues. Unlike a Sober halfway houses are many times a voluntary places for residence where most residents may have no criminal records whatsoever. There is more often opposition from neighborhoods where families are fearful of halfway houses attempted to locate in there neighborhoods. Typically work-release program we utilize a halfway house instead of a high secure institution or facility for nighttime confinement and weekend supervision.

Character Analysis of Thomas Gradrind in the Hard Times Essay

Thomas Gradrind is the first character presented in the book Hard Times by Charles Dickens. He is one of the central figures through whom the author weaves a web of intricately connected characters and plotlines. The main central features of his character are his monotone attitude and appearance that is mechanized. Mr. Gradrind’s opening speech to a group of young students during the opening scene embodies his dryness and the hard fact that he impounds in his student’s heads.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gradrind is best described physically as an â€Å"obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders† by the narrator, which is suggestive of Gradrind’s unrelenting rigidity (Dickens, 2001, p.47). During the first few chapters, Gradrind expounds his philosophy of calculating his rational self interest. He believes that human nature can be governed by complete rational rules. He is also ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature and be able to tell what it comes to. He lives by a joyless, pure memorization approach to education and life.   In the novel, his dull approach regarding education is shown: Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the    principle on which I bring up these children.   Stick to Facts, sir!† (Dickens, 2001 p.47) By this philosophy, he was able to triumph financially and socially. Even his way of living as a hardware merchant is an implication of his fixation on hard material reality. He also became a member of the Parliament and this position allowed him to indulge his interest tabulating data about people from England. Though he is not a factory owner, he evinces the spirit of Industrial Revolution as he treats people like a machine that can be reduced to a number of principles of science.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although it seems that the narrator’s description of Gradrind seems depressing, the latter also undergoes significant change in the novel which later catches the narrator’s sympathy. This is when Louisa confessed to Gadrind that something really important is missing in her life and that she is unhappy about marrying Bounderby. This makes Gradrind realize that the education system that he has is not perfect. This is also proven when he learned that Tom, his son, robbed the bank of Bounderby. After Gradrind realizes his failures, he admits to himself that he is really sorry for relying too much on facts. The dilemmas of his children made him feel and learn love, compassion and sorrow. He later becomes a humble man and making his facts and figures in greater connection with the virtues of faith, hope and charity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the book, Thomas Gradrind was a man who clings to facts and statistical objects as the only truth. He believes that these are the important things that should be dealt with in order to achieve a healthy productive life. This makes him somewhat closed-minded since he solely sticks to his own vision of truth about life. He can be quoted as a perfectionist who strives to make his children perfect and raised them with perfection. Ironically, his children cannot absorb all that he was feeding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thomas Gradrind lives in a reality where he always depends on meanings and calculations. This trait of his was shown in his dialogues such as this: Herein lay the spring of the mechanical art and mystery of educating the reason without stooping to the cultivation of the sentiments and affections. Never wonder.   By means of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, settle everything somehow and never wonder† (Dickens, 2001 p.89) This implies that he has a scientific and mathematical approach to life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After being a prominent citizen of Coketown he later becomes one of the Parliament members. This gives him a chance to implement a one-sided practical philosophy on local schools. He is often viewed as rationalist, self-centered and cold. In raising and teaching children like Louisa, Tom, Jane, Adam, and Malthus, he sees to it that they are equally practical. They are also always forbidden to nurture emotions and fill their minds with imaginations. He also views love and forbearance as a means of regulating facts and figures. Not until Louisa runs to him in full distress of the impending misfortune when she marries Bounderby that he realizes the limitations of his philosophical notions about hard facts. Despite his stubbornness and fixation on logic, Gradrind is a great father to his children. He raised his kids well because he always wanted the best for them. He does things which he thinks will benefit their individuality. Thus, after hearing Louisa’s troubles, he makes it a point to change himself and support her in her agony. For his children, he learned to repent for his wrongdoing and became ready to change his ways that caused his children’s unhappiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main conviction of Gradrind in the story is his utilitarian point of view regarding facts and figures. Being a man of facts and figures, utilitarianism is manifested in his view of every individual. Rather than see people as a unique person, he develops a general view of people, which focuses on their productivity and usefulness in the society as a whole. He feels that everything in life can be measured through universal calculation and tabulations. Everything can be computed, from interior designing to marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Further analysis of Gradrind’s character suggests that he also mirrors the way people think during the era of industrialization. Charles Dickens wanted to explain to his readers the ideals and disadvantages of industrialization. Thomas Gradrind is an embodiment of how an individual embraces the beliefs and practices of industrialization. The way factory owners think during the time of industrialization is shown in the character of Gradrind. They are only after the monetary gain rather than the individual worth of the workers.   Dickens created an enduring tale that reflects the issues of an era filled with historical transformation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The philosophy of utilitarianism and its connection to industrialization is given enough meaning through Thomas Gradrinds character. After practicing the fact philosophy, his daughter Louisa made him realize that something is more important than the lessons of facts and figures. Before the novel ends, she ends up confessing to her father that â€Å"there seems to be nothing here but languid and monotonous smoke† (Dickens, 2001, p.78). She complains how mechanized the way her father raised her that brought her such misery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is in the near end of the novel that Gradrind realizes and sees his errors. He feels sorry for the way his children suffered his ideological principle. For the first time he did not dwell on facts and figures and humbly felt sorry for what he did, Dickens used Gradrind to tell readers how to understand that there is more to life than facts and figures. He wanted to use Gradrind’s character to show that everyone can change even the industrialized society during that time. Thomas Gradrind can be viewed by readers as character of change. He changed his philosophical ideals in place of something more important—his family’s happiness. Each individual has his or her own set of principles. Although it is worth sharing with others, it should not be shared to the extent of imposing it to others to follow. It should also not be used to manipulate other people. Gradrind can be an eye opener for many people who live under the influence of abusive power and authority. Louisa’s case made a turning point on her father’s life and paved the way for a better life for his children. Work Cited Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Norton Critical Edition 3rd Ed. 2001.