Monday, September 30, 2019

Energy Society Essay

The Kyoto Protocol The official name of the Protocol is The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is an agreement by 165 countries for mandatory targets for the reduction of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These gases—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and several fluorinated gases are believed to contribute significantly to global warming. The targets of the Protocol are primarily industrialized countries, which are expected to reduce their combined emissions to 95% of 1990 emission levels between 2008 and 2012. The Protocol was agreed on in 1997, although it only took effect in 2005. Between the years 1990 and 2000, the overall emissions of industrialized countries have been reduced by 3%, but largely because of the drastic reduction of emissions from former Soviet countries because of their failing economies. Other industrialized countries overall had an increase of 8% emissions. It is estmated that emissions from industrialized countries will be 10% above 1990 emission levels by the year 2010. For industrialized countries, the emission reduction target of the Kyoto Protocol is only around 5%, and many climate scientists are concerned that this is not enough to curb the effects of global warming. They believe that in order for the agreement to actually help solve the problem, the emission rates would be cut down by 60%. This has led to the opinion that the agreement lacks real value, more so without US backing. However, advocates believe that the Protocol lays out the groundwork for future negotiations. Emission reduction laws were already signed in many countries and would continue to take effect even when the Protocol itself has ceased to exist. â€Å"Happy Kyoto Day† – This site has an unusual approach to the problem of determining the Kyoto protocol’s merit. According to the author, â€Å"In and of itself, the Kyoto treaty won’t solve global warming or avert disastrous climate disruption.† The author states that the protocol is essentially a catalyst. It will put the world in an environmentally aware mindset—even if the Kyoto protocol fails, it will force the world to come up with something better. It will also encourage economic changes that strive towards greater efficiency and sustainability. Lastly, the protocol â€Å"is a symbol, a conscious step in the right direction for the planet. â€Å"Kyoto & global warming: good stuff or part of a dark conspiracy to dominate the world?† – According to this site, â€Å"global warming alarmism† is indeed the â€Å"mother of all environmental scares.† The author states that it is definitely not settled whether human activity has had any significant effect on global warming; global warming is a theory, not a fact. Some effects of the Kyoto protocol would include â€Å"impoverishing the USA and creating intense disaffection within the ranks of the working classes.† Basic necessities would become very expensive. â€Å"Electricity would double in cost, fuel would skyrocket.† Lastly, the author claims that the Kyoto protocol is a political â€Å"device to lead the Social Communists closer to world dominion.† One of the worst effects that global warming could have would be the rise of sea levels, due to the melting of ice caps and to thermal expansion of the world’s waters. A hundred years from now, if the worst global warming predictions come true, millions of people will be displaced from their homes, which will be submerged. This will have drastic economic and cultural impacts. The effects of the mass displacement on the economy could reach far into the future. The loss of farmland, of business districts, etc. may spawn another (much worse) Great Depression in many areas. Forced cultural dispersion will be commonplace, making the ubiquitous problem of the generation gap much more considerable. Many people who would call themselves environmentalists would not necessarily have good knowledge of environmental issues. They may pay lip service to the environmentalist cause without inconveniencing themselves in any respect to protect it. But I would venture to say that a majority of those who call themselves environmentalists would be willing to go out of their way to ‘serve’ the world. However, it is certain that, as in other controversial issues, there would be much hypocrisy. If by ‘environmentalists’ we mean those who are—or claim to be—‘concerned’ about the environment, then certainly most of them would just be claiming belief in the cause, but be too lazy. In them would be an awareness of an ideal—the preservation of the environment—but a lack of initiative, probably because of the lack of any immediate incentives. References    Kyoto Protocol, 2006, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Greenhouse Office, Available at: http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/kyoto/index.html The Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, Available at: http://www. climatechange.govt.nz/about/kyoto.html Cascio, Jamais, 2006, Happy Kyoto Day, Available at: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002119.html Kyoto & global warming: good stuff or part of a dark conspiracy to dominate the world?, 2006, Available at: http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/e4978f31-0439-4b70-bbf3-f0ce93a09a42 Q&A: The Kyoto Protocol, 2005, BBC News, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/ 4269921.stm The Kyoto Protocol – A brief summary, 2006, European Union, Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/ environment/climat/kyoto.htm Kyoto Protocol, 2006, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Available at: http://en.wikipedia. org/w/index.php?title=Kyoto_Protocol&oldid=80236719 Kyoto Protocol comes into force, 2005, BBC News, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ science/nature/4267245.stm

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Australia’s Foreign Relations to 1945

Introduction Australia’s presence and participation in global affairs have been commendable over decades now. Australia officially referred to as commonwealth of Australia is in the southern hemisphere. Australia comprises of the mainland of Australian continent, Tasmania Island and other smaller islands in the pacific and Indian oceans. Like other countries, Australia has undergone numerous milestones over the past centuries which have influenced its present developments. Australian foreign relations with other countries including the US, UK and other Asian countries are of great importance are.Having interacted with these countries at different times of history, Australia has been able to share common policies and interests with these nations. Firstly, the UK which colonized Australia since the 18th century had great influence on its current foreign policy. The trade relations between Australia and America as well as the joint participation in WW II influenced its foreign po licy and relations. These interactions are also evident with other Asian countries like New Zealand, Japan and China which have shared common experiences in war as well as trade.This essay will discuss the importance of Britain, Asia, and the US in shaping Australian foreign policy since the 1788 settlement to WW II (1945). Australia has a rich and appealing foreign policy which makes it a trusted ally to many nations across the globe. The foreign policy of Australia includes various separated but inter-related policies in the fields of trade, security, defence, foreign aid and international commitments. Being a signatory to different treaties in the UN, Australia has been steadfast in attending to issues of global interest.In regards to trade and foreign aid, Australia is always in the forefront in fostering the spirit of globalisation. It is however notable that the foreign policies and relations of Australia are fast in upholding and promoting the interests of Australia. As far a s security and defence is concerned, Australia is always vigilant in addressing any threat to national security. The development of the current and past foreign policies specifically between 1788 and 1945 was greatly influenced by the UK, US and Asia .The UK which was the first to arrive in Australia in the 18th century greatly influenced Australian foreign policy from settlement (1788) to the WW II. It is worth noting that Australia was a victim of tyranny of distance as well as a colony of Britain. Till 1942, Australia showed little or no independence in foreign policy. This is because it was under Britain influence. Despite that Australia was a dominion of Britain and that it had right to determine its foreign policy, it never showed independence. The issues of culture, military, economics and politics were greatly influenced by Britain.It is hereby notable that Britain had great importance in forging Australian foreign policy on the issues of politics, security, defence and econ omics. Since the settlement in 1788 to 1930s, Australia had no international embassies apart from London. The main concern for Australia was on trade and economics. Britain hereby played a key role in modelling Australian foreign policy on trade, culture and economics which helped in meeting the interests of the Australian citizens . US played a key role in building Australian foreign policy since 1788 to 1945.Based on the strong trade relations, Australian extended these relations from trade to security. The fears of Japan invasion in 1930s was a real problem to Australia. Despite this problem, Britain was unable to defend Australia thus seeking the support of US. Based on this phenomenon, it is evident that the fear of Japan invasion influenced Australian foreign policy between 1918 and 1945. Australia extended its trade ties with US to security and defence relations. This is one of the foreign policy of Australia whereby it sought to ensure strategic relations with other countrie s .The foreign policies adopted by Australia on security and defence before 1945 were influenced by the US. This can be attributed to the continued threat of Japanese threat and hostility to Australia. As a result of the open hostility between Australia and Japan during the Paris Pease Conference in 1919, Australia depended on US from defence. During this period, Australian defence planning borrowed from US. In the 1920s, Australian demonstrated an open stereotype and prejudice which was influenced by the US.There was a growing negative stereotype of Japanese by Australia is a potential threat to national security. In response to this scenario, Australia developed and implemented foreign policies which were aimed at enhancing its security and countering Japanese invasion. The foreign policy on security was also allied to the US as a potential strategic partner. The Japanese invasion in China in 1933 had a significant impact on Australian’s attention. In this regard, Australia moved fast to ensure it had strong ties with US, hence strengthening its defence. In light ith this phenomenon, it can be established that Australian foreign policy between 1918 and 1945 was influenced by US due to the threat of Japanese invasion hence prompting it to enter into strategic alliance with the US . The stay of British settlers in Australia since 1788 had great influence and importance to Australia’s foreign policy since 1788 to 1945. The models of Australia’s legal and political systems as well as policies on trade and security were influenced by Britain. The foreign policy on immigration adopted by Australia till 1945 was influenced by Britain.It is important noting that Britons dominated the culture, language and the entire make-up of Australian society. Due to the domination of Australia by Britain, its national identity was relatively indistinct from that of Britain. This made the two nations to share same philosophies and practices as far as foreign policy and relations were concerned. The immigration policies adopted by Australia favoured Irish and Britain. This manifests the strong influence of Britain to Australia’s foreign policies before 1945.The establishment of the Immigration Restriction Act was a major manifestation of Britain’s influence to Australian foreign policy. In this policy, Australia effectively banned Asia migration into the country for the next 50 years. There was also preceding legislations which prohibited the employment of contract labourers as well as the deportation of those already in the country. These developments had great influence on Australian foreign relations till 1945 . Asia has played a critical role in influencing the foreign policies of Australia from 1788 to 1945.The relationships between Australia and other Asian countries of; Malaysia, Singapore, New-Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, and China was of importance in modelling its foreign policy. The quest for peace and regional sta bility was a major issue which influenced Australia’s foreign policy. This can be evident in the 1944 agreement with New Zealand which dealt with welfare, security and advancement of people in the different independent territories. The need for peace and security for its people can be viewed as the major concern for Australia which influenced its foreign policy during this time.Alongside the security concerns, Australia was also focused on boosting its economic prospects. In order to ensure prosperity and sustainability in national development, Australia was keen to ensure regional cooperation with other Asian countries. This was aimed at enhancing the economic prospects of the country . The importance of US in the foreign policy of Australia is very evident through the continued cooperation between the two countries. In the periods before 1945, the US was regarded as Australia’s key ally in WW II.The entire foreign and defence policies of Australia directly depended o n US support. He strong ties between US and Australia influenced its foreign policy on the Southeast Asia. Despite that at times Australia acted independently on foreign policies, it always pursued policies which impressed the US. It is important noting that Australia was ever submissive and subservient to US wishes. Nevertheless, at times Australia pursued different foreign policies which contradicted those of US as in the case of Malaya and West New Guinea.The fear of Australia from foreign invasion had a role in the dependency of Australia’s foreign policy on US . Conclusion It is apparent that the foreign policy and relations of Australia to 1945 was influenced by Asia, Britain and America. The interactions of these countries with Australia played a key role in shaping its foreign policy from 1788 to 1945. The key issues of concern were defence, security, trade, and migration. As observed in the discussion, the US was very influential on the foreign policies of Australia on defence and security.This was also the case of Asia which influenced Australian foreign policy on regional cooperation and security. These insights demonstrate the significance of Britain, Asia and US in modelling Australian foreign policy between 1788 and 1945. Bibliography Dunn, Michael. Australia and the Empire: From 1788 to the Present (Sydney: Fontana/Collins, 1984), 75-154. Esthus, Raymond. From Enmity to Alliance: US-Australian Relations, 1931-1941 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1964), 83- 132. Grey, Jeffrey. A Military History of Australia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 45-98.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Gustave Flaubert and Madame Bovary Essay

Madame Bovary consists of a Realist critique of Romanticism with Emma Bovary portrayed as the emotionally overwrought romantic who destroys herself and others in her attempts to fulfill her unrealistic dreams. For writing about such a horrible woman Gustave Flaubert, the author, was charged with corrupting the morals of French society. He was acquitted of the charge at a public trial. The major characters of the novel include Emma Bovary, the title character and the villain who brings ruin to herself and others in her efforts to realize her romantic illusions; Charles Bovary, a mediocre country doctor who is lackluster at best but deeply in love with his wife Emma; Leon, a law clerk who is a fellow romantic to Emma with whom he eventually has an affair; Rodolphe, a â€Å"gentleman† landowner and womanizer with whom Emma has an affair; and Lheureux, a merchant and money-lender. Lheureux† in French means â€Å"the happy,† and this character becomes happy by preying upon Emma as she attempts to buy the reality of her dreams. Selections, Summaries, and Commentary We meet Charles Bovary who struggled in school to become a doctor. He assumed a practice at Tostes, France, and married. But his wife died. One evening, Charles was summoned to a farm to set a broken leg. Here Charles made the acquaintance of Emma Rouault, the daughter of the patient. Char les, at the invitation of Mr. Rouault, ate breakfast with Emma; and, among other things, they talked of Emma’s dislike for the country. They had closer contact when both of them reached for Charles’ riding crop after it had fallen to the floor. â€Å"Instead of returning to [the farm] in three days as he had promised, he [Charles] went back the very next day, then regularly twice a week†¦. † Though Charles never had the nerve to ask Mr. Roualt for the hand of his daughter, Roualt figured things out, and the marriage was contracted. â€Å"Emma anted a midnight wedding with torches, but old Rouault could not understand such an idea. † It was a country wedding. They walked a mile and a half to and from the church, Emma’s dress trailing on the ground and gathering grass and thistles. After the ceremony, the guests ate until night. â€Å"Charles, who was anything but quick-witted, did not shine at the wedding. † Two days after the wedding, Charles and Emma left for Tostes. Charles now â€Å"had for life this beautiful woman whom he adored. For him the universe did not extend beyond the silky circumference of her petticoat. For Emma, on the other hand, things were different, â€Å"Before [her marriage to Charles] she thought herself in love; but since the happiness that should have followed failed to come, she must, she thought, have been mistaken. And Emma tried to find out what one meant exactly in life by the words bliss, passion, ecstasy, that had seemed to her so beautiful in books. † Emma, we learn, had been fed a steady diet of romanticism at the convent where she was placed at age thirteen. â€Å"Accustomed to the quieter aspects of life [in the country], she turned instead to its tumultuous parts. She loved the sea only for the sake of its storms, and the green only when it was scattered among ruins. † She found herself attracted to the mystical aspects of the religious life. An old maid at the convent kept the girls dreaming. She [the old maid] knew by heart the love-songs of the last century, and sang them in a low voice as she stitched away. She told stories, gave them news, ran their errands in the town, and on the sly lent the big girls some of the novels, that she always carried in the pockets of her apron, and of which the lady herself swallowed long chapters in the intervals of her work. They were all about love, lovers, sweethearts, persecuted ladies fainting in lonely pavilions, postilions killed at every relay, horses ridden to death on every page, somber forests, heart-aches, vows, sobs, tears and kisses, little boatrides by moonlight, nightingales in shady groves, gentlemen brave as lions, gentle as lambs, virtuous as no one ever was, always well dressed, and weeping like fountains. Girls at the convent hid keepsakes with engravings. Here [on the engravings] behind the balustrade of a balcony was a young man in a short cloak, holding in his arms a young girl in a white dress who was wearing an alms-bag at her belt; or there were nameless portraits of English ladies with fair curls, who looked at you from under their round straw hats with their large clear eyes. † After Emma returned home to the farm, she became disgusted with the country. When Charles came to call on her father, she saw Charles as her knight in shinning armor, come to rescue the damsel in distress. Something â€Å"sufficed to make her believe that she at last felt that wondrous passion which, till then, like a great bird with rose-coloured wings, hung in the splendor of poetic skies, — and now she could not think that the calm in which she lived was the happiness of her dreams. † Emma is a victim of the mass media, dying because she read the escapist, romantic fantasies and mistook them for reality. She wondered, â€Å"Why could not she lean over balconies in Swiss chalets, or enshrine her melancholy in a Scotch cottage, with a husband dressed in a black velvet coat with long tails, and thin shoes a pointed hat and frills? Charles’ talk, in contrast, was dull. He provoked no emotions in her but disgust; he had no desire to do or see anything. Charles’s conversation was commonplace as a street pavement, and every one’s ideas trooped through it in their everyday garb, without exciting emotion, laughter, or thought. He had never had the curiosit y, he said, while he lived at Rouen, to go to the theatre to see the actors from Paris. He could neither swim, nor fence, nor shoot, and one day he could not explain some term of horsemanship to her that she had come across in a novel. A man, on the contrary, should he not know everything, excel in manifold activities, initiate you into the energies of passion, the refinements of life, all mysteries? But this one taught nothing, knew nothing, wished nothing. He thought her happy; and she resented this easy calm, this serene heaviness, the happiness she gave him. Flaubert writes that â€Å"ennui, the silent spider, was weaving its web in the darkness, in every corner of her heart. † But after a few months, Emma and Charles were invited to the Vaubyessard estate by the Marquis d’Andervilliers (â€Å"Another Village†). Charles had cured the Marquis from an abscess in the mouth, and the Marquis had requested some offshoots of the cherry trees that were in the Bovary’s little garden. When the Marquis came to thank Charles personally, he saw Emma. He thought her pretty and sophisticated enough to invite to the chateau. Charles and Emma arrived at nightfall along with many others. An elaborate dinner was served, and they prepared for the ball. When Charles intimated that he would dance, Emma replied, â€Å"Why, you must be mad! They would make fun of you; stay in your place, as it becomes a doctor. And when he kissed her on her shoulder, â€Å"’Don’t touch me! ’ she cried; ‘I’ll be all rumpled. ’† The dancing began, and when the atmosphere grew warm and heavy, a servant broke out the window panes. Through the windows Emma â€Å"saw in the garden the faces of peasants pressed against the window looking in at them. † She was reminded of her own heritage, the days of the farm, but â€Å"the splendor of the present hour† made her almost doubt she had ever been there. Supper was served, and at three o’clock the cotillion (more dancing) began. Emma danced with a Viscount, and proved to be a highly courted partner. Charles, in the meantime, had spent five consecutive hours watching people at the card tables â€Å"without understanding anything about it. † Lunch was served the following day, and then Charles and Emma left for Tostes. Emma believed the life of Vaubyessard to be the kind of life she wanted and deserved, and her immediate surroundings grew even more dreary. â€Å"She longed to travel or to go back to her convent. She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris. † She became increasingly irritated with Charles and her surroundings to the point of becoming ill. She suffered from heart palpitations, and she exhibited altered states of hyperactivity and torpor. She constantly complained about Tostes, and Charles thought that perhaps her illness was due to the town itself. From that thought on, â€Å"Emma drank vinegar to lose weight, contracted a sharp little cough, and lost all appetite. † The Bovarys moved to a new town, Yonville (â€Å"yonder village†), a small market town some twenty miles from Rouen. Here the Bovarys had a daughter, whom Emma names Berthe, after a young lady she had encountered at Vaubyessard, and the Bovarys sent Berthe to be nursed by a carpenter’s wife. Emma was not a very good mother. She really wanted a son who would be free to â€Å"explore all passions and all countries, overcome obstacles, taste of the most distant pleasures. † She did not care for the realities of motherhood. On one occasion, after returning home, Berthe approached Emma. â€Å"‘Leave me alone,’ repeated the young woman quite angrily. Her expression frightened the child, who began to scream. ‘Will you leave me alone? ’ she said, forcing her away with her elbow. Berthe fell at the foot of the chest of drawers against the brass handle; she cut her cheek, blood appeared. Emma then felt sorry for her treatment of the child. The Bovarys met Leon Dupuis, a clerk for the town notary. Leon and Emma were fellow romantics. They spoke of their desire for change as opposed to routine. They talked about their desire for walking in the country, witnessing sunsets, visiting seashores, mountains, lakes, waterfalls. They related their love for music and reading by the fire. The two of them fell in love with one another, but did not yet allow themselves to express their love. â€Å"Weary of loving without success,† Leon eventually left for Paris to pursue a law degree. Emma became unhappy and ill again. A â€Å"gentleman† named Rodolphe Boulanger brought one of his workers, who wanted to be bled, to see Dr. Bovary. Rodolphe had just acquired an estate that consisted of a chateau and two farms that Rodolphe cultivated himself, â€Å"without, however, taking too many pains. † Rodolphe â€Å"lived as a bachelor, and was supposed to have† a sizeable income. When Emma was called to assist in the bleeding, Rodolphe became infatuated with her beauty. But he only desired her as a mistress. Flaubert described Rodolphe as â€Å"having had much experience with women and being something of a connoisseur. † Rodolphe thought to himself, â€Å"Three gallant words and she’d adore me, I’m sure of it. She’d be tender, charming. Yes; but how to get rid of her afterwards. † His present mistress, an actress in Rouen, was beginning to bore him. During an Agricultural Fair, Emma and Rodolphe strolled around, arm in arm, eventually ascending to â€Å"the council room† on the first floor of the townhall. The room was empty, and Rodolphe suggested they could enjoy the show there more comfortably. Flaubert showed his appreciation of irony when, in the background, he awarded the first prize for manure at the same time Rodolphe told Emma, â€Å"A hundred times I tried to leave; yet I followed you and stayed†¦. As I would stay to-night, to-morrow, all other days, all my life! † Also, as Emma and Rodolphe gazed at each other, â€Å"as their desire increased, their dry lips trembled and languidly, effortlessly, their fingers intertwined,† a prize was awarded to an old peasant woman for fifty-four years of faithful service at one farm. Emma was susceptible to Rodolphe’s charms. After some six weeks, a time chosen by Rodolphe for the purpose of not appearing too eager, he visited Emma. He knew just how to play her. When Charles returned home, Rodolphe suggested that riding might be good for Madame Bovary’s health. Charles thought it a good idea. At first, Emma objected, but Charles talked her into it. She and Rodolphe rode and walked. Sometime into their first outing, Emma â€Å"abandoned herself to him. † Charles bought her a horse. Emma and Rodolphe rode regularly, and they began exchanging letters, placing them in the cracks of a wall located near the river at the end of the garden attached to the Bovary home. If Charles left early enough, she would sneak off, on foot, to see Rodolphe at his estate and return to Yonville before anyone awoke. She would cry when she had to leave Rodolphe, and her farewells would go on forever. Rodolphe suggested her visits were too dangerous; she was compromising herself. So, Rodolphe began coming to the garden at night, throwing sand against the shutters, and Emma would sneak out after Charles had retired. Six months passed. Rodolphe became increasingly indifferent, and Emma became uncertain herself. One day, news of a new surgical procedure for curing clubfoot reached the apothecary at Rouen. Emma, who wanted more fame and excitement for her husband, and the apothecary, who wanted fame for himself, urged an unwilling Charles to carry out the new operation on a crippled servant at the inn. The servant was pressured and finally consented after the operation was offered to him at no charge. At first, the operation appeared successful, and Emma was delighted with Charles and his prospects. But the device in which they strapped the servant’s foot caused swelling. In response, the device was tightened even further, and gangrene set in. A surgeon was called in for consultation. He laughed and scolded Charles. The surgeon had to amputate the servant’s leg to the thigh. Emma was no longer delighted. â€Å"Everything in him [Charles] irritated her now; his face, his dress, all the things he did not say, his whole person, in short, his existence. † The disastrous operation was further proof of Charles’ stupidity and incompetence, and Emma turned to Rodolphe to fulfill her dreams. She sent Rodolphe love notes, and the two of them made plans to leave for Italy. Emma was apparently willing to leave without Berthe. When she firsts suggested the idea of leaving, Rodolphe asked about the fate of Berthe. Then, Emma, who had obviously not thought of Berthe before, said they would take Berthe with them. But no further mention of Berthe was made in their succeeding plans, and Emma rarely gave Berthe any attention. Rodolphe, who had no real intentions of running off with Emma, postponed the departure on several occasions, and then they set a specific date. On the day of their departure, however, Rodophe sent a letter to Emma through a servant. In the letter he ended the affair and announced that he was leaving without her. He had his servant echo his plans to depart, but he was not actually planning to go anywhere. Though, later in the day, he did decide to go to Rouen. Emma saw him leaving as he passed by the Bovary home. She was devastated and became ill. Charles stayed by her side for forty-three days, neglecting his own affairs. Charles thought the theatre may be good medicine, and so he and Emma went to Rouen to see an opera. The whole experience began to reawaken Emma’s romantic being. After the second act, Charles went to get Emma something to drink and ran into Leon. As the third act began, the three of them left to talk elsewhere. Leon, as it turns out, after his schooling in Paris, had come to Rouen to work as a clerk. Because the three old acquaintances talked through the opera, Emma did not get to see the third act; and since Emma now seemed energized, Charles suggested that she stay the night and see the third act the next day. Charles, however, must return home. Emma stayed, and she and Leon began an affair. As Flaubert wrote it, Emma and Leon apparently consummate their feelings for one another during a long carriage ride through Rouen. When she returned to Yonville, she was informed that Charles’ father has died. Emma was by this time substantially indebted to a shopkeeper and moneylender by the name of Lheureux (â€Å"the happy,† as in the seller of happiness), and he suggested that Emma obtain the power of attorney over Charles’ father’s estate. She manipulated Charles into giving her this power of attorney, and she even earned his gratitude for going to Rouen to have Leon look over the legal papers. Emma’s stay in Rouen lasted three days, after which Leon came to Yonville at times and sent Emma secret letters. Emma then began to make weekly trips to Rouen under the pretense of taking piano lessons. She manipulated Charles into asking her to refresh her skills in this area. She and Leon would stay in a hotel, and she was running up all kinds of debts with Lheureux, spending freely on her trips to Rouen and satisfying all of her whims. Lheureux lent her money on the value of Charles’ father’s estate. Charles was unaware of her spending and her adultery. Leon and she began seeing each other more frequently. She began billing Charles’ patients herself, without his knowledge, and selling things in order to pay on her bills. She gave Berthe no attention. Finally, someone wrote Leon’s mother, telling her that Leon was ruining himself with a married woman. Leon’s mother wrote her son’s employer who then indicated to Leon how important it was to break off the affair. Leon wanted to end it, but he was in love. Eventually Emma’s unpaid bills ran long overdue, and her creditors obtained a judgment against her. On her return from a visit to Rouen, the maid showed her a judgment that commanded her â€Å"by power of the king† to pay the sum of eight thousand francs. She went to Lheureux, who by this time had sold the debt at a discount to a banker at Rouen. Emma tried to talk Lheureux out of the judgment. She â€Å"even pressed her pretty white and slender hand against the shopkeeper’s knee,† but Lheureux would have none of that. She owed a vast sum of money, and the sheriff’s officers arrived to confiscate the family property. Emma tried frantically to raise the money. She went to Leon at Rouen and urged him to borrow the money for her, and she even suggested that he steal the money from his office. Leon tried to borrow the money from lenders, but to no avail. On the next morning, people gathering in the market read a notice indicating that the Bovarys’ furniture was for sale. Madame Bovary went to see the town notary. The notary was in business with Lheureux and, so, knew all about Emma’s plight. But he listened as she told him all about it. He then made it clear, in a not so subtle manner, that he would expect a sexual relationship if he were to lend her the money she needed. Emma appeared insulted by his forwardness, shouted that she was not for sale, and left in a fury. She was surely not opposed to exchanging herself for money, but the notary was too crass and straightforward about it. Had he concealed it in more romantic language, she probably would have consented. Later, as Flaubert wrote, â€Å"perhaps she began to repent now that she had not yielded to the notary. † At last, when she heard the sound of Charles coming home, she went to the town’s tax collector and offered herself to him in return for the money. He was offended by Emma’s advances. While Emma was running around, thinking about how to get the money, Charles learned of his family’s financial ruin. Emma, at least, turned to Rodolphe. But even though it seemed the two of them could once again become lovers, Rodolphe was either unwilling or unable to help. Out of shame and despair, Emma poisoned herself with arsenic she obtained from the pharmacy through an unwitting assistant. She hoped to make her death short and sweet. She said, â€Å"Ah! It is but a little thing, death! â€Å"I shall fall asleep and all will be over. † But she suffered long and horribly with vomiting, sweating, pain, moaning, and convulsions. Charles, unable and in no shape to help his wife, called in another doctor, but to no avail. â€Å"A final spasm threw her back upon the mattress,† and she died. Charles appears to be the true hero of the novel. He genuinely loved Emma, would have done anything for her, offered her a decent li fe, was a good husband, a good provider and a good father. But, he was a real human being with real human characteristics and flaws. At the end of the novel, however, Charles becomes a genuine romantic, engulfed by authentic and understandable emotions. Charles decided in favor of a mausoleum for Emma’s tomb, and he wrote the following instructions: â€Å"I wish her to be buried in her wedding dress, with white shoes, and a wreath. Her hair is to be spread out over her shoulders. Three coffins, one oak, one mahogany, one of lead. Let no one try to overrule me; I shall have the strength to resist him. She is to be covered with a large piece of green velvet. This is my wish; see that it is done. The pharmacist and the priest, we are told, â€Å"were much taken aback by Bovary’s romantic ideas. † Charles’ mother shared their view. But Charles now had become a romantic just like Emma, emotionally overwrought with the death of this woman he so dearly loved, refusing to sell any of her possessions to satisfy her debts. Flaubert writes of Charles, â€Å"He was a changed man. † â€Å"To please her, as if she were still living, he adopted her taste, her ideas; he bought patent leather boots and took to wearing white cravats. He waxed his moustache and, just like her, signed promissory notes. She corrupted him from beyond the grave. † Soon, though, Charles discovered the love letters from Leon and Rodolphe hidden in a secret drawer of Emma’s desk; and, shortly thereafter, Charles died of love sickness. A surgeon â€Å"performed an autopsy, but found nothing. † All of Charles’ belongings were sold to satisfy debts, and there remains just enough to send Berthe off to her grandmother. But the grandmother died the same year, and Berthe fell under the care of a poor aunt who sent her â€Å"to a cottom-mill to earn a living. †

Friday, September 27, 2019

Personal statement to LSE MScFinance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal statement to LSE MScFinance - Essay Example The two wonderful years that I have studied with this fine institutionwo-year experience at th have further intensified my interest in this subject. It has been a joy to tackle difficult problems in my Corporate Finance course. I am happy to see how financial theories are closely linked to everyday functions. I appreciate mechanism of successful agile investors who are quick to spot market opportunities and foster business ideas. Therefore, I am very excited to explore more about corporate finance, financial valuations and forecasting. Pursuing a Masters will not only equip me with relevant professional knowledge but also broaden my future career path. LSE is the ideal choice for me because of its internationally renowned reputation, strong expertise in finance related areas as well as the sophisticated career services that are on offer. I believe that studying accounting and finance for my Bachelors degree has further prepared me for a Masters in a finance-related field. Studying financial accounting modules has taught me how to prepare financial statements, extract crucial information from company reports and evaluate and compare businesses. On the other hand,aking managerial accounting and auditing courses have helped me to make strategic business decisions, cultivate greater commercial and business awareness and, at the same time, given me a deeper understanding of contemporary regulatory environments. Finance has always been my favorite subject. It is marvellous to see how sophisticated products, such as futures and swaps, have been specially tailored for clients to transfer risks between counterparties. I have also enjoyed studying the behaviors of stock prices and empirical tests of asset pricing models. Economics is another subject that has always been appealing to me. Business cycle models and international trade theories have helped me to better understand government policies and the macro

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Organization Structure and Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organization Structure and Performance - Essay Example Starbucks Corporation is the â€Å"flat organization† with no hierarchy structure as they provide an equal opportunity for all members to voice their opinions and provide feedback. There is democratic leadership in Starbucks Co. that pulls subordinates into the decision-making process. The Chairman of Starbucks, Schultz decided to treat employees as family, and called them partners. He provides a work environment that encourages hardworking among employees and they treat each other with dignity and respect. satisfy customers and shareholders, through its competitive advantage. Its retail business is currently structured as Starbucks U.S. and Starbucks Coffee International (SCI) has presence in 55 markets including United States (Anonymous, 2011). Starbucks will move to a new three-region organizational structure: (1) China and Asia Pacific: All Asia Pacific markets and China, (2) Americas: United States, Canada, Mexico and Latin America and (3) EMEA: Europe, U.K., Middle East, Russia and Africa (Ford, 2005). A President for each Region will oversee the company-operated retail business, working closely with both the licensed and joint-venture business partners in each market. They will also work closely with Starbucks Global Consumer Products and FoodService team to continue building out Starbucks brands and channels in each region (Rainey & Thompson, 2006). The fit between organizational strategy, structure and leadership is Starbuck’s Mission and its set of Principles that address the structure and leadership in the organization whilst strategically directing the organization to achieve the customer satisfaction at all times. Application of these principles can be used as a guideline for all employees from managers to workers to aim to achieve the company’s goals, while maintaining required standard in professionalism. According to its mission statement, â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a

Should Advertising to Children be Restricted in Any Way Assignment

Should Advertising to Children be Restricted in Any Way - Assignment Example Young children, having a limited capacity to reason, often do not know the best for themselves for which they rely on parents for protection and guidance. More and more advertisements try to attract children to unhealthy habits that give rise to childhood obesity, malnourishment, and sedentary lifestyles. Further, advertising to children also has psychological implications. Psychologists studying the minds of children point out a visible change in the thinking of children as a result of consuming huge amounts of televisions ads. Advertising has caused children to be more materialistic thereby replacing their intrinsic interest towards things they actually like. Hence, the downsides of advertising targeted towards children are visible in children’s unhealthy habits and changes in their attitudes. Given the scope of the issue, efforts can be made on a community level in order to advocate against advertising targeted towards children. In this regard, a coalition with the community and organizations with similar interests can be formed to add more substance to our voice against advertising to children. An alliance can be formed with ‘Action for Healthy Kids’ which is a collective focused towards healthy eating and other health issues faced by children, many of which including obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and undernourishment, are products of unhealthy habits promoted by advertising. ‘Action for Healthy Kids’ operates in every state of the United States including New Jersey which will help find local support for the cause and that which is able to translate into a larger impact. Additionally, a coalition with the New Jersey government’s Division for Consumer Affairs could be built because the division has been involved with similar efforts that s eek to protect consumers related to healthcare issues.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Health Care Business Plan Proposal Research Paper

Health Care Business Plan Proposal - Research Paper Example This business plan proposal will include a succinct examination of the market of the proposed center and the services to be provided and the equipment to be used. The business plan proposal will also describe the organizational structure of the health care center, which will include an examination of the organizational structure and a complete analysis of the employee makeup and remuneration practices. The next part of this business plan proposal will be focused on a marketing analysis of the proposed health care center. This will include the business demographics of the organization, the target market and the marketing techniques that will be used. This will also include a competitor analysis, which will be analyzed in the context of business growth and breaking into the current niche. The last part of this business plan proposal will outline a financial analysis of the proposed health care center. The financial analysis will outline the expected types of revenue, which includes an analysis of the service provided, the labor to be used, suppliers, space requirements, and other income statement items. This will help in determining the profitability of the new venture. This is a new company targeted at providing health care services to the part of the population affected by HIV and AIDS. This will be done by providing testing, counseling, and follow-up services for the afflicted patients. The company will be family oriented, meaning that the whole family is encouraged to turn up for the tests and care provided by our organization. The initial funding for the organization will be found through a partnership of two directors, who will henceforth work as equal partners in the organization. Therefore, the main service provided by the proposed health care center include testing, counseling and the provision of medicines, mainly Anti-retroviral, to the patients visiting the center. As already stated, the main services provided by our health care center

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Environment xenoestrogens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environment xenoestrogens - Essay Example Until now, the focal area of endocrine disruption has been on the chemicals that mimic oestrogens (xenoestrogens). But, the recent proof suggests that quite a number of abnormalities in the human breast could be interceded by means of the androgen receptor. The main identified risk factor remains lifetime exposure to oestrogen. In view of the involvement of oestrogen in the development, progression and treatment of breast cancer, questions have to be asked concerning potential interactions of the many chemicals in the environment which can be stored in breast tissues and which can mimic the action of oestrogen. The source of such compounds can be dietary, from plants (phytoestrogens) or from environmental contaminants of food/water (xenoestrogens) but I have proposed that an alternative route for exposure may be through the long-term regular application to the underarm of a variety of cosmetic ingredients with oestrogenic activity. The molecular basis of oestrogen action involves the interaction of the oestrogenic ligand with intracellular oestrogen receptors, ER' and ER', which function as ligand-activated transcription factors to alter the expression patterns of hundreds of genes and to regulate growth of human breast cancer cells. This project will compare the ability of different oestrogenic ligands to bind to ER, to regulate gene expression and to increase cell growth. A substantial literature search will be used to identify the oestrogenic potency of the many oestrogenic ligands which can enter the human breast and calculations will be carried out to estimate exposure of the human breast to individual chemicals and to complex mixtures of chemicals. Much of the existing focal point in the field of endocrine disruption is in the backdrop of the oestrogenic action of a variety of artificial chemicals. The capability of a chemical to unite to the oestrogen receptor, either in vitro or in vivo, has been in use as an explanation of oestrogenicity. The concern is that whether exposure to the chemicals which have steroid-like action can disturb the regular endocrine function, which can lead to distorted reproductive capacity, endometriosis, infertility, and cancers of the uterus, breast, and prostate (Colborn 1995, Jensen et al.1995, Safe 1995). The occurrence of a powerful anti-androgen can actually create an 'oestrogenic environment', thereby producing indications which directs to oestrogen exposure. Vertebrates generate steroids through a system which inhabits the chronological degradation of cholesterol to progestins, hence androgens (e.g. testosterone) and finally oestrogens (e.g. 17'-oestradiol). This pathway is available

Monday, September 23, 2019

Lesson plan review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lesson plan review - Essay Example With effective preparations, the teacher presents himself appropriately and with appropriate examples to help the young learners understand the subject. The young learners rely extensive on examples given. The teacher must therefore develop appropriate examples using the vocabularies with the view of improving the young learners’ conceptualization of the words and their usage. Additionally, the preparations included the preparation of the course materials such as the writing board and marker pen, the review of the course books and the writing pads. Reviewing the book beforehand prepares the teacher for the lesson thus preventing confusion in front of the leaners. The teacher will also review past lessons in order to assume a progressive nature to teaching. This will include preparing the contents to fit his or her last lesson. This way, the teacher begins the class by reminding the leaners of the previous class thus testing their memories. Such an approach to teaching makes learning a progressive process with learners always making effort to learn something new, to implement this more effectively, the teacher develops several brief questions in advance to ask the pupils in the course of the lesson. In building an effective background for the lesson, the teacher reads several books to develop and effective understanding of the vocabularies, he or she seeks to teach the young learners. The books will include both the course books among many other relevant books that may contain similar concepts with his or her reach. Extensive reading makes the teacher comfortable with the concepts to teach. Additionally, the extensive reading makes it possible for the teacher to select an appropriate assay for the class. The appropriateness of the essay improves the success of the lessons since the essay will include the appropriate vocabularies and their suitable usage. The teacher will help the pupils understand the story and the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Portfolio Trading Strategies Essay Example for Free

Portfolio Trading Strategies Essay Profits in equity are a function of timing and costs. Trading strategies are essentially focused on maximizing profits through cost maximization which in turn is linked with transaction costs. Thus cost of trading in also a consideration for determining trading strategy. Transaction costs are said to include commissions, execution and opportunity costs. (Collins. Fabozzi : 1991). Commissions are most easy to define as these are fixed and relate to the fees paid for trading. However there is a problem of measuring execution and opportunity costs as these are neither fixed nor can be easily measured. While a number of approaches have been developed for measuring opportunity and trading costs, a method to suit all circumstances has not been evolved thus far. The complexities involved and since minor differentials make major variation in profits an effective strategy to constantly provide yield is difficult. Investment strategies thus attempt to rationalize trading to provide benefits from execution as well as opportunity costs. Since there is no uniform strategy that can assure trading profits it is very difficult to balance the large number of factors which affect trades. Timing in fact is a constant which affects both opportunity and execution costs. Opportunity Costs and execution costs are both a variable component of transaction costs. Thus profits in transaction are determined by opportunity and execution costs and the balance that will be maintained between these. Opportunity costs are the performance shortfall that arises from a failure to execute the desired trade at the desired time. These indicate the difference between actual investment and the performance of a desired investment. This is adjusted for fixed and execution costs. Thus opportunity cost is incurred for not being able to implement the desired trade. Since opportunity costs are missed investment opportunities, these could in some respects be called hypothetical costs and thus are difficult to calculate. (Collins. Fabozzi : 1991) Execution costs arise out of the demand for immediate execution and are said to reflect the demand for liquidity and the trading activity at the time and date of conducting trade. (Collins. Fabozzi: 1991). These vary with the investment style and trading demands of the investor. Both information motivated traders and information less traders could use strategies to benefit from execution costs. The information motivated trader acts in the belief that he has superior information to that available to the average dealer. Thus he executes the trade using this information for making profits. This style of trading has a large price impact. On the other hand the information less trader allocates wealth based on a price which has been factored in the trade. These have a lesser impact than information motivated traders. The problem measuring execution costs occurs as the difference in the price of the costs in absence of a trade is not observable. (Collins. Fabozzi: 1991) Execution costs are determined by market impact and market timing costs. Market impact costs are the bid/ask spread and a price concession that compensates the buyer or seller for the risk that the investor’s transaction is information motivated.   The Market timing costs arise due to the fact that at the time of execution of the trade the asset’s price moves for reasons which are not related to the transaction.   Market impact measurement is dependent on the pre trade measures, the post trade measures and also average measures which can be undertaken throughout the day. These approaches aim to define the fair value of the trade at a particular time. It is this that determines execution costs. Market making strategy thus attempts to balance opportunity and execution costs. Patient trading strategies may result in high execution costs while aggressive trading strategies could impact the other way. (Collins. Fabozzi: 1991). On the other hand the cost management methodology is designed to capture maximum elements of the transaction process. (Collins. Fabozzi: 1991). Execution costs are also shown to be higher in an automated trading process in Paris relative to the New York Stock Exchange with floor based trading with human intervention. The lower execution in floor based system suggests that there is benefit in human intervention in the trading process. This is possible as the NYSE specialist is able to maintain narrow spreads, can anticipate future order imbalances and also helps reduce the volatility of transitory movements in share prices. Thus as specialist and floor traders use the human intellect to make time preferred trades, execution costs in manual trading are considerably lower than those in automated trading. This is also supported by the role played by market makers in forming prices and providing liquidity in the securities market as per example gleaned from the trading behavior of market makers on the New York Stock Exchange. (Madhavan. Smidt: 1993).       Reference Madhavan, Ananth. Smidt, Seymour. (1993). `An Analysis of Changes in Specialist Inventories and Quotations`, Journal of Finance, Vol 48, 1993 2. Venkataraman, Kumar. `Automated Versus Floor Trading: An Analysis of Execution Costs on the Paris and New York Exchanges, Journal of Finance, Vol 56, No. 4 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collins, Bruce M. Fabozzi, Frank. (1991).   `A Methodology for Measuring Transaction Costs`, Financial Analysts Journal, March/April 1991. Preferred language style: English(U.K.)

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Examining Strategies For Improving Medication Administration Nursing Essay

Examining Strategies For Improving Medication Administration Nursing Essay Providing care for the patient is the responsibility of nurses. Nurses are the one who are close with patients. They are responsible and accountable to make sure that the treatments and needs of patient are fulfilled. Medication administration is a part of the nurses responsibility in order to make sure clients get the correct medication as supposed. Medication administration error is a universal health care concern.Thus the strategy in improving medication administration system is important to enhance safety. The administration of medication by nurses is the final step in a process that involves multiple steps carried out by a number of health professionals (medical practitioners, pharmacists and registered nurses). The accuracy, efficiency and safety of administration of medications rest primarily with nurses. Medication administration is an activity that is prone to errors, in part because of the development of new medical devices and new drug products that available to fulfill the demand in health care setting. Thus to prevent medication administration error, six rights should be main concern for the nurses in giving medication. There are many type of medical error that leads to injury and may jeopardize patients safety. According to Hughes and Ortiz (2005) the most common type of medical error that happen universally is medication error. Senior citizens are at the highest risk of being affected by this type of errors, since they are the largest consumers of medication (New Tech Media, 2006). However, this is especially true in regards to medication errors. A proper understanding of the contributing factors that increase medication errors is the first step toward preventing them. There are many factors, such as training deficiencies, undue time pressure, and nursing shortages that may have contribute to medication errors. The amount of nursing education and the years of nursing experience are two factors that may have relationship to medication errors. Due to the fact that nursing staff is a large cost to hospitals, these organizations are constantly trying to manage expenses. This is supported by Yang (2003 ) who states nursing professionals typically represent the largest employee group in hospitals, and have become a primary target for redesign measures. Consequently, medication errors are costly and seem to be proportional to the staffing of nurses. Since nurses make up such a large portion of the staff population, it is important to understand the incidents that influence behind these medication errors. These issues of medication errors were present even at the time when Benjamin Franklin founded Americas first hospital and he stated that patients ultimately suffer and die without good nursing care (Clarke, 2003). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Health care professionals work is hectic and stressful. All the heavy workload had causes the nurses to pay much less attention in giving proper medication administration to patients.I discovered during my clinical posting that sometimes the nurses tend to take for granted so as whether the patient did consume the medications given or not after leaving the medication on the patients bedside . Occasionally proper procedure was not followed by nurses for medication administration. It happens when the nurses just copy down the name of patient in a piece of paper during pass over the report , without rechecking in the patients medication administration record. This unintentional act sometimes will lead to medication administration error when bed of the patient is exchange with another patient or the patient has been transferred to the other ward or may be discharged from the hospital . There is also happen an error due to some of the nurses borrowing medication from another patients cart and administering an unlabelled medication or syringe. This improper practice will harm the patients and can cause medication administration errors. On the other cases, the nurses do not follow the correct time for medication administration. For instance, they just merely combine the medication that should be given at 4p.m with 6p.m. In that case, the effectiveness and toxicity of medication can be query. Thus, medication error can be some way again linked to an inconsistency applying the six rights of medication administration. Definition of terms Nurses A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled; One that serves as a nurturing or fostering influence or means (C.L.R James,2009 ) Working experience Work experience is the linking of a period of activity in a work setting (whether paid or voluntary) to the programme of study, irrespective of whether the work experience is an integral part of the programme of study(Harveyet al,2002) Incident Any other incident in which researcher is unsure about exposure potential. 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Medication administration is a crucial part in nursing . Having a study concerning the incident of contributing factors that lead to medication error is important as this study creates awareness about the medication error and it consequences will affect patients safety. Such prevention methods could be taken to reduce the cases of medication error in hospital setting. Through this study, the management team of the hospital may take a serious action to solve the problem arised. Besides that, the nurses may realize the significance of medication administration process to overcome the factors that contribute to medication administration error. Furthermore, nurses need to perform their duty in ethical manner and obey the correct standard procedures as guided by the ministry of health. The function beyond the limit of nursing practice acts or ones ability is to endanger clients life will put the nurses open to malpractice suits such medication administration error. Therefore, it is crucial part for nurses to always be aware of entire the medication administration process in order to maintain the safety of the patient. 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1.4.1 General Objective The general objective for this study is to provide reasons about incidence of factors that contribute to medication error among the nurses. This study also helps to determine the barrier towards medication error which can used as guidelines for the nurses to be more caution on certain situation during administering medication in the hope of facilitating improvements to medication administration processes. 1.4.2 Specific Objective The specific objectives of conducting this research are: 1) To identify the most factors which contribute to medication error 2) To indicate the relationship between working experience with all the contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the commonest factors that contributed to medication error perceived by nurses? Is there any relationship between working experience with all the contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error? 1.6 ADVANTAGES OF RESEARCH 1. This study able to provide reasons about factors that contribute to medication error among the nurses. 2. This study helps to determine the barrier towards medication error which can used as guidelines for the nurses to be more caution on certain situation during serving medication LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Nurses are the group of health care providers who are closest to the patients. They have a major responsibility in administration of medication for patients, particularly in the wards. The issue of medication administration error (MAE) within the acute-care setting has long been the focus of research. Since nurses are intimately involved in the delivery of medications and the final person who occupy the link on medication administration, thus they are accountable for the responsibilities in medication error. It is important for nurses to understand the factors that contributed to medication administration errors in view of the fact that the burden of reporting medication error falls heavily on nurses. Prevalence of medication error Medical errors harm an estimated 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States of America (Joint Comission International ,2007).In Malaysia the Malaysian government does emphasize on the medication safety whereby the government encourages researchers to conduct research on medication safety (Institute for Health Systems Research ,2008). In view of the fact that the prevalance of medication administration error is increasing globally, the serious action should be taken to minize it from occur. Medication The oxford Concise Medical Dictionary stated that, medication is a substance that is administered by mouth, applied to the body, or introduced into the body for the purpose of treatment (p.417). Medication Administration In administration of medication, the nurses must follow several principles that have been set up to prevent medication administration error. While administering medication, the nurses should implement the Six Rights to make sure the effectiveness of the drug effects and gain improvement in treating the disease. The six rights are involved before, during and after giving the medication. According to Bennet (2008), the six rights of medication administration includes the following; right medication, right dose, right client, right route, right time and right documentation. It is a must for the nurses to follow the standard protocol outlined for the implementation of medication administration. Medication administration error An article from joint comission international (2007) stated that errors are common as medications are procured, prescribed, dispensed, administered, and monitored but, they occur most frequently during the prescribing and administering actions. Since, the parts of administering process are bound to nurses job, so that they are responsible for their action and conduct. Mayo et al (2004) found that some medication errors are not reported because nurses are afraid of the reaction they will receive from the Nurse Manager. Hence, the real incident of medication error that occurred cannot be measurable since the nurses do not take responsibility to report the incident. Medication usage is a multidisciplinary process, which begins with the doctors prescription, is followed by the review and provision of medications by a pharmacist, and ends with the preparation and administration of the medication to the patient by a nurse. Inadvertent errors or accidents are encountered if there is a break down at any stage in this process, which leads to overwhelming consequences for the patient and for the career of the healthcare professional (Gladstone 1995). The impact of medication errors can be devastating to the confidence and self-esteem of the healthcare professional. Consequently, healthcare professionals are unwilling and indisposed to report any medication error unless there is an obvious harm to the patient. Factors that contribute to medication error Nurses need to prioritize significant responsibilities for safe patient care. In this hectic and stressful environment, serious medication errors are appearing significantly as a basis for successful malpractice cases against nurses (Lilley et. al, 2005). Proper medication process and system analysis approach are the essential link in the prevention of medication errors from occurring in health care setting. Asim and Nagy ( 2007) in their study showed that there were statistically significant differences in responses across the participants years of experience and the current clinical working area about the medication error to occurred. Research done by Fu et al.(2007) showed that medical wards and intensive critical units are the commonest areas for medication error. Knowledge and practice Henry (2005) revealed that, most of the types of medication administration errors occurring are due to omission of dose, wrong doses. The other study done by Fu et al. (2007) showed the wrong dose is at the highest to occur. Undeniable to say that, most of the errors can occur when the nursing duty during medication administration is not taken seriously. In addition, medication error can occur due to nurse attitude who do not check whether the right patient received the right medication. Medication administration error can occur when the nurse failed to check the patients arm band with the patients medication administration record or calling the patient by name to make sure the right patient receiving the medication. According to (Nancy et.al 2003 ; Ulanimo et al, 2007) through their observations that had been done, they found that nurses were failing to compare the patients wristband with the medication administration record before giving the medication to the respected patient. Whats more, spelling errors and the similarities amongst the appearance different medication can cause confusing to the nurses. Unfamiliarity with drug medication such as new drug name with similar drug packing can cause medication administration error Fu et al (2007). The potential for medication errors will increase and leads to injury to the patient. Cases reported by FDA-Food and drug administration (2008); medication errors associated with Flomax and Volmax, Zantac and Zyrtec caused patient to suffer. For that reasons, unfamiliarity with the medication can cause the medication error to occur. Besides drug administration, there are other factors that lead to medication errors taking place such as interruptions while administering the medication. In the research done by Pape et al.( 2005) ,it mentioned that conversations with other staff members and visitors or multi-tasking that occurs during medication preparation and administration can result in errors. Thus, the normal procedures for checking the six rights are easily neglected. So that, reducing unnecessary conversation and other distractions is an important aspect in administering medication safely to patients. Personal issues Abandon the six essential rights of administering the medication, are latent conditions evidenced to be a part of factors that contribute to medication error. Personal factors mentioned in connection with prescribing errors included physical and mental well being, skills, and knowledge. However, there are few associated factors that contributed to medication error to happen among nurses. The factors are time pressures, fatigue or exhaustion a part of nurses (Mayo et al; Ulanimo et al, 2007). Study by Nick Barber et al (2002), 18 interviewees reported that they had felt tired, hungry, or unwell, and that these factors might have contributed to the error. A considerable percentage of reported that they omitted to give medication or gave at the wrong time, and also indicated that other nurses gave incorrect medication or incorrectly administered treatments; practice issues which were related to the nursing shortage and causing moral distress (Marj.T Mrayyam,2011). Healy and McKay (2000) also found workload to be most significantly correlated with mood disturbance. However, Payne (2001) did not find a significant relationship between workload and burnout, although levels of burnout in her study were lower than in related studies. The reasons for this variation are unclear, but seem likely to include differences of stress hardiness (Simoni Paterson 1997), of coping mechanisms (Payne 2001), of age and experience (McNeese-Smith 2000) or of the level of social support in the workplace (Ceslowitz 1989, Morano 1993, Healy McKay 2000). Hospital setting and workload The terms hectic, hassly, and busier than average were used to describe workload. Sometimes, workloads made nurses change their usual practice to try and save time From the study, it was shown that, it is not only the practice itself that contribute to medication administration error but other external factors can also contributed to medication errors such understaffing, inexperience nurses, design deficiencies, and inadequate equipment while administering the medication( Carlton Bleggen, 2006). Nurses and workload is one of the major factors that should be considered .Most of the hospitals are lacking of nurses and this small issues will lead to big impact of nurses practice. Stordeur et al. (2001) attempted to rank stressors in order of severity of impact, the main ones being ranked as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High workload, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Conflict with other nurses/physicians, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ experiencing a lack of clarity about tasks/goals, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a head nurse who closely monitors the performance of staff in order to detect mistakes and to take corrective action. Lack of staff Staffing issues were also mentioned and included inadequate staffing, the effects of new or locum staff, and attending to another doctors patient. Providing cover for absent colleagues not only increased workload but also meant that care was being given for patients the doctor did not know. Several doctors drew the distinction between those patients whom they had admitted and knew throughout their stay, and those whom they had to take over for only part of their treatment. The most commonly used unit-level workload measure is the nurse-patient ratio( Pronovost PJ et al (2000). The nurse-patient ratio can be used to compare units and their patient outcomes in relation to nursing staffing. Previous research provides strong evidence that high nursing workloads at the unit level have a negative impact on patient outcomes (Olson V et al, 2004). Hospital nurse staffing is a matter of major concern because of the effects it can have on patient safety and quality of care. Nursing-sensitive outcomes are one indicator of quality of care and may be defined as variable patient or family caregiver state, condition, or perception responsive to nursing intervention (Needleman et al, 2003) Briefly, medication administration error should be avoided because direct results of the error can cause harm to the patient as well as increased health care costs. Moreover, indirect results include harm to nurses in terms of professional and personal status, confidence, and practice. Thus, to maintain the professionalism in delivering of care to the patient, medication administration process should take seriously among the nurses. In a 1999 study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, entitled To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, It is estimated that medication errors cause over 7,000 deaths annually. This chapter will explain on the research methodology of the study consist of research design, population, sample, setting and data-collection instrument. 2.1 Research design Research design is an overall plan for conducting study on order to answer the research questions (Polit et al; 2001: 67). The research designs signify the steps which will be used in conducting the research. According to Burns and Grove (2001:223) , research design is a guideline for the research process in order to achieve the intended result which will be the reflection of reality. Polit (1999:155) state that the research design will includes the most important decisions in research methodology that researcher makes in conducting the study. This study used cross-sectional; quantitative non-experimental correlation study using assisted-administered questionnaire to reveal the question incident of contributing factors that lead to medication error. 2.2 Population and sampling Population is an entire group of people that is interested to the researcher as define by Brink (1996:132-133).Burns and Grove (2001:366,810) define population as the whole set of individuals who meet the sampling criteria. A sample taken from population and it will include in the study which representing research population, if random sampling procedures has been adhere to. Random sampling would give every individual in the whole population the same and unbiased chance of participating in the study. Simple random sampling will be used in this study. The respondents are consisting of Registered Nurses in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang (HTAR) .The sample will be taken randomly from several discipline in HTAR. In order to get significant result, a sample size calculation formula has been used to determine the size of the sample for this study. Inclusion criteria for respondents are: Registered Nurse with Malaysia Nursing Board Understand Malay and English language and generally healthy. Have working experience at least 1 year. The participants are involves in direct patient care. Have an experience in administering the medication Exclusion criteria area: Unregistered nurses with Malaysia Nursing Board Have working experience less than 1 year Do not have an experience in administering medication 2.3 Research setting The study setting will be conducted in HTAR. The unit chosen is medical ward, surgical ward, Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics and gynecology ward, Pediatrics ward, Emergency Department and orthopedic ward. HTAR is chosen because affordable cost and time constrain for me. 2.4 Study period Data collection February to April 2011 Data Processing/ analysing and writing up April to May 2011 Grantt Chart (refer to appendix ) First phase Screening for initial data from hospital record (secondary Data) in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Identify the discipline units to be study Second phase Pilot study done to confirm feasibility of the study Collection and analyzed the questionnaire Third phase Obtain consent from subject The data are collected by using questionnaire in order to obtain the information regarding the study Fourth phase Analyze the data collection and writing up 2.5 Data collection Dempsey and Dempsey (2000:195) define questionnaires is a paper and pencil data collection instrument filled in by the respondents for the purpose of the research study. Characteristics of questionnaires had been listed out by Gillham (2000: 5-8) as below: A questionnaire is less expensive than interview. A lot of sample can be taken within short period of time. Questionnaires can reduce cost of using telephone and travels thus it is also feasible to be used by researchers who have full time jobs. Questionnaires are an easy way to get more information within a limited period of time. Respondents able to complete the questionnaires at their own time without pressure. Anonymity can be guaranteed. Reassuring the respondents that no one will know any feedback from them. This aspect was deemed to be very important in this study as the respondents could be reassured that they could state their honest opinions about factors might contribute to medication error without fear that employer would take action to them if their knowledge level is low. The research contents will display out numbers, facts and figures .No names should be mentioned not even the researcher nor did the supervisor know who provided which answers for specific questions. No different questionnaires are distributed; all questionnaires are standardized to limit the bias. 2.5.1 Development of questionnaires The development of questionnaires was based on the literature review (Chapter 2) and other research instrument used in similar studies. The questionnaire is compiled and discussed by researcher and supervisor. Changes suggested were implemented. Most of the changing pertaining to rephrasing specific items so that each items had only issues to address rather than multiple issues. There is part of questionnaires that had been corrected and combined from previous study to ensure the objective of study answer. 2.5.2 Pilot Study Pilot study was done to determine feasibility of the instrument .This shows a trial administration of newly developed questionnaires in order to identify the potential -problem encountered by participant. Brink and Wood (1998:259; 373) explained that pre-testing enabled the researcher to interact with the participant similar but they were exclude from the real respondents participating in actual study. These ensure the researcher to predict what would happen to the main study regards to participation. Pilot study was conducted with five staff nurses with year of experience more than 1 at the same hospital but different target unit which they will not selected to participate in the actual study. No apparent problems were encountered during the completion of the questionnaires. 2.5.3 Structure of the questionnaires The questionnaire is conducted in Malay/English language and is assisted-administered questionnaire. The questionnaires will be distributed to the nurses in the unit by the researcher. The researcher needs to explain about the objectives, target population and significance of the study. Some of the respondents will answer the questions by themselves and some of them need assistance while answering the questionnaires. The data obtained will be statistically analyzed using SPSS software. An effective strategy for nurses will be formulated based on the findings. The questionnaire is distributed to the whole chosen unit consist of 30 registered nurses in HTAR. The questions based on a structured questionnaire that composed of three parts.(refer to the appendix) Part 1 that consists of demographic data : year of working experience Part 2 Question consists of six incident of contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error. Factor 1: This section using closed -ended question (dichotomous question) directed towards the knowledge regarding the process for medication administration. This questionnaire edited from study that had done by Raja Lexshimi R.G et al (2009). Factor 2-6: This section is questions regarding factors contribution to medication error edited from the result of study done by Fu et. al (2007) which categorized into five categories which using Likert scale. The respondents are asked to indicate how much the declarative statements given from each category will influence to contribute to medication error. Personal neglect Heavy workload Unfamiliarity with medication New staff Complicated order 2.6 Data Analysis To identify the level of knowledge among nurses towards serving medication .It is also to identify the most incident of contributing factors which lead to medication error. A significant value of 0.05 was used to test for significance for all statistical tests. The chi square analysis was performed to determine the association between incident of contributing factors and the years of experience. The data collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 18. 0. 2.7 Research Variable Dependent Variable In this study, the dependent variable is years of experience Independent Variable In this study, the independent variables are the 6 incident of contributing factors ; Knowledge, Personal Neglect, Heavy Workload, Unfamiliar Medication, Newly staff and Complicated order. 2.8 Validity and Variable According to Polit and Hungler (1999:418), validity is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is designed to measure. The content of the questionnaire is adapted from the previous survey and study that had been done. Moreover the questionnaire used will be reviewed by a philosophy doctors (PhD). 2.9 Ethical consideration Permission from HTAR will be obtained from hospital authority to conduct this research. Each participants who involve in this study will be given inform consent. Furthermore, before distributing the questionnaire, each participant will be explained about the purpose of the study and consent form was given to the participants. They are free to agree or decline their participation in the study at any time. All information obtained from the participants will be kept confidential. The participants took 15 to 30 minutes to answer the questionnaire and the researcher collected it back after finished answering. Polit and Hungler (1999: 131-134) revealed that researcher therefore need to exercise care that the rights of individuals and institution are safeguarded. Administer medication is an everyday activity in nursing practice and nurses should have enough knowledge in order to perform this important job. The finding of these study shows that nurses knowledge in serving medication is sufficient. Most of the f=29 (96.7%) registered nurses able to answer the questionnaire correctly automatically make knowledge as low incident that will contribute to medication error. Reflected from the result, King (2004) and Coombs et al have similar result which reported the same. Nurses have the knowledge but the knowledge is limited especially on drugs administration. 43.3% did not know the frequent recommended site for heparin injections is at the abdomen (Caffrey, 2003).Nurses should improved their knowledge and highlight on different route of administer medication. Gerry Helen (2003) reported that time-span of experience and level of professional education was linked with level of knowledge in the administration of medications. Having extra educational qualifications among nurses were found to have contributed to a improved knowledge of medications. However in this study, 26.7% nurses practice wrongly which they did not check the patients ID band prior administering medication. It is also surprise 23.3% nurses violate the practice by administering medication prepared by other nurses. Benners and others (2002) agree source of errors include delivering too much medication, missed doses; wrong route; and wrong medication deliver due to misidentification of client. Mattan (1998) revealed that administering medicine effectively was a aspect of practice but it lacked quality, which is due to poor knowledge in pharmacology and practice. Manias et al. (2004) indicated that nurses infatuated the necessary knowledge and skills in medication administration such as monitoring effects of medication, assessing and evaluating patients condition prior to medication administration. In many cases drug errors arise as a result of nurses failure to follow policy (Keill and Johnson, 1993). 2) Personal Neglect From the data analyse, 18 (60%) nurses show personal neglect is in the low incident contribute to medication error. Nevertheless 4(13.3%) nurses indicate in the middle of administering drug, there was interruptions by others. A new study shows that interrupting nurses while theyre nursing to patients medication needs increases the likelihood of error. As the number of distractions increases, so do the number of errors and the risk to patient safety.    According to the study reported in the April 26, 2010 issues of the  Archives of Internal Medicine, four interruptions in the route of a single drug administration doubled the likelihood that the patient would experience a major mishap. 26.7% nurses indicate that personal neglect as a medium indicator of medication error. 3)

Friday, September 20, 2019

Effects of Homework in Therapy Sessions

Effects of Homework in Therapy Sessions Activities given to clients to complete in between therapeutic sessions have become a commonly used component of psychological therapies, especially cognitive approaches (Beck et al., 1979). What is sometimes called homework has been used to help address a wide variety of clinical problems including depressive disorders, schizophrenia and social phobia. This essay critically examines the empirical studies on homework and its influence on treatment outcomes. The term homework can include a wide variety of different activities given to clients. Scheel et al. (1999) provide some typical examples of those most often used by cognitive therapists: those involving reframing meanings, validation of internal experiences, social interactions and decision making. It has been hypothesised that homework is effective by encouraging the client to practice new skills learned in therapy outside of those therapeutic sessions (Burns, Adams Anastopoulos, 1985). While the term homework has been criticised for its unpleasant connotations with schoolwork (Coon et al., 2005), the real, practical question is whether the process itself actually improves patient outcomes. Despite its broad use within cognitive therapy, there has been relatively little research into its effectiveness until recently (Kazantzis, Deane Ronan, 2000). Broadly two types of studies have been carried out to examine the effect of homework on treatment outcomes: correlational and those with a control group. Correlational studies have generally found a positive association between adherence to homework and a more positive outcome. For example Burns and Spangler (2000) found that compliance to homework was significantly associated with reduced depression. These authors also report that their effect sizes were large, translating to an average reduction of 16.6 points on the Beck Depression Inventory for those who completed their homework compared with a reduction of only 2.4 points for those who did little (or no) homework. Other studies have also reached similar conclusions (e.g. Burns Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991; Leung Heimberg, 1996). Despite these positive results these types of st udies are always open to the criticism that they are weak evidence because of their correlational design. It may be, for example, that homework compliance is simply a result of improvement rather than a cause. Better designs incorporating a control group which can, therefore, impute causality have not produced such definitive results, are far fewer, and older. Some have shown positive effects for homework (e.g. Kazdin Mascitelli, 1982), while others have failed to show a positive effect (e.g. Blanchard et al., 1991). This uncertainty was underlined by a meta-analysis of both the correlational and control group studies carried out by Kazantzis et al. (2000) which reported a weighted average effect size for 27 such studies as 0.36 only a small to moderate effect far smaller than that reported by Burns and Spangler (2000). This meta-analysis has also been criticised for including studies that were not controlled and some which had poor designs (Lambert, Harmon, Slade, 2007). The majority of studies since Kazantzis et al.s (2000) meta-analysis have also been correlational. Coon and Thompson (2003), for example, examined the use of homework in older adults with mild to moderate depression. Using a regression analysis they found homework was associated with better outcomes but this is still effectively only correlational data. Rees, McEvoy and Nathan (2005) recruited participants with both anxiety and depression and found homework was associated with better outcomes. But, again this study was correlational in design. For anxiety disorders, however, even correlational studies have proved less conclusive than for depression. Some studies of anxiety have found positive correlations (e.g. Wetherell et al., 2005), while others have not (e.g. Woody Adessky, 2002). For more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, empirical work is only just emerging and the results of two studies have found no relationship between improved schizophrenia symptoms and home work compliance (Dunn, Morrison Bentall, 2006; Granholm et al., 2006). In conclusion, the picture emerging from the empirical literature is positive for the effect of homework compliance on outcome only when the correlational data is examined. This work suggests mild to moderate depression is responsive to homework, while anxiety disorders and psychosis is less so. Unfortunately these types of studies find it difficult to counter the argument that homework compliance is simply a result of a better outcome, rather than a cause. Controlled experimental designs, which can make this causal distinction, have been few and are generally much less conclusive. Consequently, while the use of homework in cognitive therapy seems likely to do little harm (although the term may have some stigma attached), the extant research is yet to definitively demonstrate it has more than a marginal benefit. References Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy for depression. New York: Guildford Press. Blanchard, E. B., Nicholson, N. L., Radnitz, C., Steffek, B. D., Appelbaum, K. A., Dentinger, M. P. (1991). The role of home practice in thermal biofeedback. Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 59, 507-512. Burns, D. D., Adams, R. L. Anastopoulos, A. D. (1985). The role of self-help assignments in the treatment of depression. In: E. E. Beckham W. R. Leber (Eds.), Handbook of depression treatment, assessment, and research (pp. 634-668). Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press. Burns, D. D., Nolenn-Hoeksema, S. (1991). Coping styles, homework compliance, and the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 59, 305-311. Burns, D. D., Spangler, D. L. (2000). Does psychotherapy homework lead to improvements in depression in cognitive-behavioral therapy or does improvement lead to increased homework compliance? Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 68, 46-56. Coon, D. W., Thompson, L. W. (2003). The relationship between homework compliance and treatment outcomes among older adult outpatients with mild-to-moderate depression. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11, 53-61. Coon, D. W., Rabinowitz, Y. G., Thompson, L. W., Gallacher-Thompson, D. (2005). Older Adults. In: N. Kazantzis, F. P. Deane, K. R. Ronan L. LAbate (Eds.). Using Homework Assignments in Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (pp. 117-152). New York: Routledge. Dunn, H., Morrison, A. P., Bentall, R. P. (2006). The relationship between patient suitability, therapeutic alliance, homework compliance and outcome in cognitive therapy for psychosis. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 13, 145-152. Granholm, E., Auslander, L. A., Gottlieb, J. D., McQuaid, J. R., McClure, F. S. (2006). Therapeutic factors contributing to change in cognitive-behavioral group therapy for older persons with schizophrenia. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36, 31-41. Kazantzis, N., Deane, F., Ronan, K. R. (2000). Homework assignments in cognitive behavioral therapy: A Meta-Analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 7, 189-202. Kazdin, A. E., Mascitelli, S. (1982). Covert and overt rehearsal and homework practice in developing assertiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 250-258. Lambert, M. J., Harmon, S. C., Slade, K. (2007). Directions for future research on homework. In: N. Kazantzis L. lAbate (Eds.). Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy (pp. 407-423). New York: Springer. Leung, A. W., Heimberg, R. G. (1996). Homework compliance, perceptions of control, and outcome of cognitive-behavioral treatment of social phobia. Behaviour Research Therapy, 34, 423-432. Rees, C. S., McEvoy, P., Nathan, P. R. (2005). Relationship between homework completion and outcome in cognitive behaviour therapy. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 34, 242-247. Scheel, M. J., Seaman, S., Roach, K., Mullin, T., Mahoney, K. B. (1999). Client implementation of therapist recommendations predicted by client perception of fit, difficulty of implementation, and therapist influence. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 308-316. Wetherell, J. L., Hopko, D. R., Diefenbach, G. J., Averill, P. M., Beck, J. G., Craske, M. G., et al. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life generalized anxiety disorder: Who gets better? Behavior Therapy, 36, 147-156. Woody, S. R., Adessky, R. S. (2002). Therapeutic alliance, group cohesion, and homework compliance during cognitive-behavioral group treatment of social phobia. Behavior Therapy, 3, 5-27.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Impact of Film and Television: 1950’s to Present Essay -- Television M

Impact of Film and Television: 1950’s to Present Today, Film and Television are among the most internationally supported commodities. Financially, their contributions are enormous: both industries are responsible for the circulation of billions of dollars each year. Since their respective explosions into the new media markets during the mid-twentieth century, film and television have produced consistently growing numbers of viewers and critics alike. Sparking debate over the nature of their viewing, film and television are now being questioned in social, political, and moral arenas for their potential impact on an audience. Critics claim that watching films or television is a passive activity in which the viewer becomes subconsciously absorbed, and creates a reliance or "addiction" to the media. Advocates, however, argue that viewing such programs is an active process in which audience members are able to choose to what they are exposed, and interpret messages based on their individual needs and background. Perhaps both views are t oo extreme. Film and television from the 1950s to present, as will be explored in this essay, are extremely useful media, often underestimated within the label of "entertainment"; unfortunately, they may be partially responsible for current socio-cultural problems, too. A few of the benefits of these media are obvious. It is generally agreed that film and television create a psychological escape and state of relaxation for the viewer, and that as communications devices they deliver important information within a moment’s notice. The most widespread argument in support of film and television, however, is their power as a tool of education and awareness. As they deliver varying global perspecti... ...Deal. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. Grenier, Richard. Capturing the Culture: Film, Art and Politics. Washington: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication on Data, 1991. Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Toronto: Penguin Books, 1949. Barnouw, Erik. Tube Of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Greenfield, Patricia Marks. Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and Computers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984. Postman, Neil. Technopoly: The Surrender Of Culture To Technology. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Williams, Raymond. Television: Technology and Cultural Form. New York: Schocken Books, 1975. Supplementary Resources: Crowther, Jonathan, ed. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Life of Queen Elizabeth I Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Life of Queen Elizabeth I Queen Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace on September 7, 1533. She died on March 24, 1603, of natural causes. Her father was Henry VII. His second wife, Anne Boleyn was Elizabeth's mother. King Henry wanted a son, but received a daughter, instead, from his second wife. Before Elizabeth's third birthday, Henry had her mother beheaded on charges of adultery and treason. Elizabeth was brought up in a separate household at Hatfield (not known). King Henry's third wife gave birth to a son. This boy was named Edward. Edward was declared first in line for King Henry's throne, while Mary (Daughter of Henry's first wife) was declared second, and Elizabeth was declared third and last in line for the throne. Elizabeth received a thorough education that was normally reserved for men. She was taught by special tutors of whom, the most known, was a Cambridge humanist by the name of Roger Ascham. Roger Ascham wrote about Elizabeth, "Her mind has no womanly weakness. Her perseverance is equal to that of a man and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. With the help of these tutors, she was not only fluent in two languages, but in four languages. She was fluent in the languages of Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. When Henry died in 1547, her brother, Edward, took over the throne at ten years of age. Edward, with a short reign on the throne, died in 1553, and Elizabeth's half, older sister, Mary took the throne. Mary, like Edward, died on November 17, 1558, after a short time on the throne.In October 1562, Queen Elizabeth almost died of small pox. In 1584, Europe's other major protestant leader, William of Orange, was assassinat... ...ious, and economic forces and over her representation of herself began to show severe strains. Bad harvests, continued inflation, and unemployment caused strain and a loss of public morale. Charge of corruption and greed led to widespread popular hatred of the Queen's favourite, to whom she had given large and much-resented monopolies. Queen Elizabeth continued to make brilliant speeches, to exercise her authority. But she suffered from bouts of melancholy, ill health, and showed signs of increasing debility. As Sir Walter Raleigh remarked, "a lady surprised by time." On march 24, 1603, having reportedly indicated JAMES VI as her successor, Queen Elizabeth died quietly. The nation accepted the new King quite enthusiastically. But long before her death, she had transformed herself into a powerful image of female authority.