Plato theory of forms Essay

Plato was a duellist and thus believed that there are two worlds; the material world and the world of ideas/Forms. The world of ideas or Forms is the true reality and the world of appearances is just reflections of world of Forms. Plato believed that our knowledge of the Forms was a priori which means that our souls knew the Forms before it was inside us, therefore we have knowledge prior to experiencing the objects with our senses. Plato believes everyone is born with an intuitive but imperfect understanding of the Forms. He also believes the philosopher is able, through using his intellect, to achieve true knowledge of the abstract Forms without using his senses. Plato’s theory of Forms can be seen as unconvincing to some who believe that abstract ideas e. g table, horse, beauty are actually names that have been invented to help people describe their experiences of the physical world. This is a materialistic view as it suggests that objects in this world are the real reality and our ideas can develop based on experience of things. Aristotle agrees with this and believes knowledge is gained through experience and that there is not an eternal World of Forms that is a priori to us. However, in Plato’s defence some believe that each variety of a Form shares a likeness for example each horse is slightly different yet they all share something that makes it resemble a horse. According to Bertrand Russell, Plato`s theory made a `very important advance in philosophy, since it is the first to emphasise the problem of universals’. Plato’s theory is often regarded as unconvincing due to the fact that Plato believes that every object and idea in the world of appearances is an imperfect copy of an image or Form in the World of Forms. This suggests that there is a perfect Form of things such as a cinema ticket, mud or an insect and so on. According to Bertrand Russell, his ideas of the Forms when taken to its extreme.

Diapedesis

The article describes that diapedesis is the movement of white blood cells called leukocytes from circulating blood stream into areas of the body tissue where there is ongoing inflammatory reaction in response to cellular injury. The article evaluates the present facts on diapedesis and itemized several unresolved issues yet to be studied for perfect understanding of the biology of diapedesis. Though the author notes that compressive definition is poorly defined in scientific study, he however noted that diapedesis is technically accepted as transmigration of leukocyte between â€Å"endothelial cell-cell junctions† (Dejana, 106).Other upcoming research also has it that it can migrate through the endothelial cell. The articles points out literature reviews by several other authors to justify the possibility of transcellular and paracellular movements of leukocyte through the endothelial cells. The clarity from these two propositions is necessary to assist scientists in understa nding the arrangement and nature of proteins found along the pathway.This will help modulate the process and achieve desired aim(s) in clinical practice. The findings thus hold that leukocytes cross by biochemical interaction with molecular adhesive proteins at that line the endothelial junctions (Dejana 106). Some of the notable molecules are ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. Considering the intracellular movement, the article discussed that leukocyte can evade killing by the lysosome unlike some pathogen, to cross over into the tissue undergoing inflammation.Subsequent to the attachment of leukocyte to the ICAM-1 or VCAM-1, there is reshaping of the cytoskeleton of the cell to form transmissible cup like structure. The article raises several questions like what factors initiate the cup like formation, and which proteins play role in cytoskeletal conformational change. Answers to several questions the author raises are fundamental to scientific breakthrough in maneuvering process of inflammation to less harmful and more beneficial process in diseases e. g. cancer and organ infectious and toxic exposure. Reference Dejana Elisabetha. The Transcellular Railway: insights into leukocyte. Natural Cell Biology (2008) , Retrieved: April 24,2009. 105 – 107. Site Available at:

Catcher In The Rye Psychiatric Analysis English Literature Essay

Catcher In The Rye Psychiatric Analysis English Literature Essay At the time of telling his story, Holden is in a patient in a mental hospital. He is telling his story to an unnamed listener. Pretend that you are a highly respected psychiatrist who is listening to Holden’s account. It is your responsibility to write a report on the mental stability of patient to determine whether or not he is fit for release. Below this is the standard psychiatric report sheet that you must fill out to examine Holden’s state of mind. Your evidence must be well documented and complete. Refer to specific incidences. You will need to research emotional depression, its causes, effects and treatments. (You might try searching ‘manic behavior†.) Account for the possible causes of Holden’s breakdown and suggest possible treatments. Remember, a person’s freedom depends on your professional judgment. Holden’s father is a lawyer who. He seems to be rather strict and very interested in appearances he shows this by making sure t hat Holden stays in exclusive prep schools, whether he has to to be or not. He never got to know Holden because of this. His mother is mentioned as being â€Å"nervous as hell†, having frequent headaches and sitting up smoking most nights. All of it is blamed on her never getting over Allie’s death. Holden never got to know his parents because he was for the most part sent to boarding schools. He never had a chance at developing a healthy relationship with his parents. Holden’s family is obviously very important to him. At the beginning of his account he begins with talking about his parents and his brother. Holden negatively criticizes them to conceal the fact that he truly loves them. Holden is constantly being sent from one boarding school to a new. The emotional distance between him and his parents strengthens his general alienation from everyone. STANDARD PSYCHIATRIC RELEASE FORM (page 2) 2. Sibling Relationships / Rivalries He has a good relationship with his sister, Phoebe. He loves his sister and admires her. He wants to protect Phoebe from the cruel world. Phoebe understands what Holden is talking about and what he is going through. Holden feels the constant need to protect her from the â€Å"cruel world’ around her. Phoebe is concerned about Holden’s future and what will happen to him when their dad finds out Holden got kicked out of boarding school (pg 164 Salinger). When Holden is going to run away to the west, she tells him that if he goes, she will too (pg 207 Salinger). After this Holden seems to be able to grasp the reality that she will be destroying her life if she runs with him, and decides that he will go home with her. This is the only time that Holden put another person ahead of himself and acknowledge that he has the capacity to change the lives of others. This judgment of his shows that there may be hope that Holden has the capability to heal into a fully functioning adult subsequently to his re-entry into the world after exiting the mental hospital.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Reflection - Essay Example ion, oil and other consumer products such as Band-Aid, Neutrogena, Listerine and Tylenol have proven, time and again, that they are safe to use and that they were manufactured to serve the needs and demands of consumers who are health-conscious and sensitive. As such, Johnson & Johnson’s management effectively thought of the â€Å"why† factor first which is to cater first to serving and addressing the health needs and well-being of their customers, more than others. Thinking about the â€Å"why† factor in my own life, people can understand my â€Å"why† without actually telling them through manifesting my personal beliefs, values and philosophies in the actions and behavior that is seen by others. For example, if I firmly believe in exhibiting just and fair treatment to others, despite diversity in cultural, ethnic, or racial backgrounds, I should be able to show equal and just treatment to all through communicating and interacting with other people in a respectful and congenial manner at all times. Likewise, the message that my â€Å"why† of leadership would focus on exhibiting traits and leadership style that would be an inspiration to others and would make them equally inspiring to those they meet. This would necessitate adhering to ethical, moral and legal codes of conduct and behavior that show genuine commitment and respect to valuing the development and growth of people I lead. In doing so, these followers would be enjoined to emulate my leadership style and assist in sharing and applying that inspiring style to others. The same message would be relayed to people who are supervising me. When they see that I could be an inspiration to my followers through the ethical, moral and legal standards of leading others; then, hopefully, they would also be inspired to follow the same style in leading. A simple example of a time in my life when I believe my actions were inspiring to others is by showing dedication and commitment in attaining exemplary academic

Physical Privacy walmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physical Privacy walmart - Essay Example information like this requires having some level of privacy, which can differ from time to time based on the situation and the consent of the owner of the information. All companies have different levels for the privacy of the employees and for everyone within the organization. However the levels do cause a number of issues within the organizations and also affects the working of the employees within the organization. Wal mart has been reported to intercept the phone calls of the employees and also the use of sophisticated surveillance operations. These included snooping into the lives of the employees as well. The company has been said to keep a watch on the reporters and critics as well. However this is not a goo idea as it cannot repair the reputation of the plaguing company. Wal Mart has a serious health issue and the thug – like tactics only create a bigger scope for the critics of the company. The company has been known to take a lot of interest in the spy toys and the criticism of their business is not well received by the company. The company has also led up the extent of recording the calls of the employees to spy on them. However the company has highlighted that this is mainly in the case of extreme cases and this is in accordance with the legal department. The company has been intercepting the calls and emails of its employees and the company receives a list of phone numbers and email addresses with which the employees have had any communication. This however when checked legally, has been considered to be legal. As per the law the companies have rights to keep a check on all the employees provided they use the office provided computers and phones (Zimmerman & McWilliams, 2007). It is illegal for companies to intercept personal calls or personal emails of the employees and the personal computers of the employees. However in the case of Wal Mart the company has taken this a step further and it intercepts even the personal emails and phone calls of the

Strategic Supply Chain Management Plan or proposal Research

Strategic Supply Chain Management Plan or - Research Proposal Example This atmosphere of work was also to increase the respect towards the work along with individual performances. This positive nature of people and working conditions have accumulated much more innovativeness as well as excellence to improve their business along with maximizing trust and integrity in all the internal as well as external relationships. Allowing these values to incorporate in the businesses, within few years, the Al Marai Co. entered into the world of numerous agricultural products (Almarai, 2015). In early 21st century, the company has replaced more than five decentralized processing plants and launched more than ten small as well as large dairy firms in the central region of Arabia. In perception of this sustainability, it included more than 70,000 shareholders along with business turn over exceeding SAR23 billion. It was clearly stated that, Al Marai Co. has created a long route of sustainable path in all these years. Consistently, by generating quality food parallel to the repeated expansion in the different fields within the domestic food market as well as took initiative to incorporate the modern technology. For the betterment of quality food, with productivity is likely to enhance the effectiveness of the overall company to operate within the globe. The growth strategy of Al Marai Co. was involved with geographical expansion, as well as innovation along with organic growth. Al Marai Co. has incorporated diversified product range such as, bakery products, along with new ‘premium poultry product brand’, named ‘Alyoum’ and baby food products ranges. Along with these, Al Marai Co. also has expanded its geographical territory with the help of launching a joint venture with the International Dairy and Juice (IDJ) Company (Almarai, 2015). Being a food manufacturing company Al Marai Co. showed a great sustainability in terms of their core competencies and values. Fundamentally, competencies were selected for developing the proper

Assess the economic benefits of Globalisation to developing countries Essay

Assess the economic benefits of Globalisation to developing countries within recent years - Essay Example 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) would lose more than 53% of its revenues if the American government asks them to restrict their operations within the United States (Barrera, pp. 17, 2007). Exxon Mobil is an American firm but it receives only 25 percent of its yearly revenues from operations within the United States (Welfens, 102-103, 1999). Finnish employees no longer form the majority at Nokia’s head quarter, which is a Finland based company; surprisingly, employees from China and India dominate the numbers (Chatterji & Gangopadhyay, 89-93, 2005). Honda, a Japanese automobile maker, has its biggest production plant in Ohio. When Pakistani government decided to impose a 25% duty on the import of cell phones, Nokia (Finnish company), Sony Eriksson (Japanese cum Swedish company), Samsung and LG (South Korean Companies) came into action and found ways to persuade the Pakistani government not to do so (Scholte, pp. 22-25, 2000). These were just a few glimpses and examples that how globalisation has affected each one of us. However, today we do not realize or feel that with such intensity but most of the products that we consume today, are manufactured or processed in strange lands, millions of miles away, lands that we have never seen or heard of. The rest of this paper is an attempt to asses the effects and changes brought by globalisation considering the specially the economic grounds. Despite the fact that there several definitions of globalisation but in its broadest sense, â€Å"globalisation refers to the rapid growth of linkages and interconnections between nations and social communities† that make up the present world system (Barrera, pp. 17, 2007). It is important to note that in economic terms globalisation has many forms. Firstly, it involves and facilitates trade between individuals, companies, corporations and

Any topic about electric.(BLACK HOLE ,ELECTRIC FIELD,circuit,) Assignment

Any topic about electric.(BLACK HOLE ,ELECTRIC FIELD,circuit,) - Assignment Example As that invisible black place pulls everything, it led to the formation of the name black hole. Powerful telescopes with specialized tools, stationed in both earth and space, can only detect these black holes. Despite exhibiting dangerous properties, black holes do not cause any major threat to earth and its people. Black holes are formed when star undergoes destruction, although not all stars destroy themselves. â€Å"While most stars end up as white dwarfs or neutron stars, black holes are the last evolutionary stage in the lifetimes of enormous stars that had been at least 10 or 15 times as massive as our own sun† [1]. The fact is that because of the massiveness of these stars and the resultant presence of vast gas in it, intense gravitational field normally builds up and tries to collapse the star. In a way, it can be said that increased fusion reactions that happens in the star’s core would be like a giant fusion bomb which can explode the star. Then when the star eventually dies, the above-mentioned nuclear fusion reactions stops as the fuel needed for these reactions burns up. However, at the same time, the intense gravitation of the star pulls the materials inwards and in the process compresses the core. Then, â€Å"as the core compresses, it heats up and eventually creat es a supernova explosion in which the material and radiation blasts out into space† [2]. After the blast, the remaining thing is the extremely compressed and exceedingly massive core, whose gravity is so intense that no material including light can escape from it. Then, as there is no force to control this intense gravity, an about-to-be formed black hole shrinks further to attain zero volume, after which the black hole becomes infinitely dense. As mentioned above, even the light that is generated from the collapsing star is unable to get out of it because of its intense gravitational pull. As the stars own light is trapped within its orbit, it makes the specific location invisible and

The Business of Beer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Business of Beer - Essay Example It must be stated then, that beer has a prominent place both in history and the present culture. Given its popularity and significance in society, it was only a matter of time before the profit-driven human being made a business out of this widespread drink. According to Wikipedia, the first breweries in history were actually the brewers' homes, specifically their kitchens.1 When brewing became industrialized, breweries were built as a different construction from the house. The brewery, Weihenstephan (in Germany) is believed to be the longest-standing brewery. While in Manhattan, Adrian Block and Hans Christiansen were the ones who established the first brewery in the New World. The year was 1612. Today, there is a long list of the current top breweries of beer. The Webtender index cites the following in its top 5: Aldaris, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (brewer of Budweiser, Michelob and Busch beers), UK's Aston Manor brewery, BO's Brewery and Bistro and Brewerania. The success of beer companies in the U.S. shows how the country is a favorable market for the beer industry. Paul Gatza, director of Brewers Association, states: "The craft beer segment has grown steadily over the past ten years, but in 2004 it showed its biggest increase since 1996. The strong growth in craft beer sales shows American consumers' continuing interest in flavorful American beers." Below is the table2 of the Top 10 craft brewers in the United States: We can see the Boston Beer Co leading the pack of the top breweries. Headed by Jim Coch, the Boston Beer Company is the award-winning brewer of the popular Samuel Adams Lager among its many styles of beer. The Success of Samuel Adams The company's interactive annual report in 2003 gave us a preview of the tactics used by a powerful beer brewery to further solidify its place in the industry. First, it is important to establish what kind of beer does the company specialize in. In the case of the Boston Beer Co, the answer is Better Beer. Simply put, the Better Beer category is defined as the opposite of the regular, mass-produced beer. We can identify Better Beer by its contrast from the rest of the market-usually it is imported, highly advertised and more expensive. The Boston Beer Co aims to lock the top position in this product category. Innovation, commitment and meticulous evaluation have paved the way to success of the company. The company put fervent focus on its products and its marketability. Its flagship brand, Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sam Adams Light are the company's standards, already guaranteed to appeal to the consumers because of its reputation and having passed the test of time. Then like a special treat, the company also came up with its "Limited Edition Beers", this includes Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Samuel Adams Triple Bock and Samuel Adams Utopias. These products were sold at a higher price due to its "in short supply" appeal. These strategies, along with venturing to other innovations (i.e. Twisted Tea), have helped the Boston Beer Co guarantee its place in the Better Beer competition. Having established its standard products (Samuel Adams Bosto

Mrs Alving in Ghosts by Ibsen Essay Example for Free

Mrs Alving in Ghosts by Ibsen Essay Through excessive parallelism and constant reference to â€Å"ghosts,† Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen portrays a view on the rewards of duty that clashes sharply with the accepted views of the time. In his native country of Norway, and indeed all around the world in the year 1881, ‘duty’ was seen as a powerful motivator in both religion and society. The abstract concept of duty was what constrained society into ‘acceptable’ boundaries, and people without a sense of duty were often shunned and rejected by their fellow citizens. Henrik Ibsen was well-known for his somewhat controversial plays. Just before writing Ghosts, â€Å"Ghosts† he wrote A Doll’s House about a young woman seeking to escape the bonds of duty. While the classic feminist story in A Doll’s House has a hint of hope for Nora Helmer, who decides to speak up for her own rights as a woman and as a human being, Ghosts seems to me to be the gloomy alternative, as Mrs Alving overcomes years of subordination to her immoral (and now deceased) husband. The woman, Nora, desires to free herself intellectually by breaking out of a marriage. Ghosts, in many ways, is an extension of â€Å"A Doll’s House†, with the main character Mrs. Alving acting as a future Nora. They are similar in some ways, but obviously they are both uniquely diverse. They play many of the same roles in their plays, and are probably the most similar two characters between Ghosts and A Dolls House. As literary critic Edward Boyer puts it, â€Å"In many ways Mrs. Alving is an older and more mature Nora, freer yet at the same time more bound. She too wanted to break out of a marriage once, but was sent back to her ‘duties’ by Pastor Manders, who thereby awakened the first doubts in her mind about transmitted doctrine. Ibsen focused his pieces on commenting on the often hypocritical sense of duty that people of his time supported. In his own words, â€Å"Ghosts had to be written; I could not let â€Å"the doll’s house† be my last word; after Nora, Mrs. Alving had to come. † Duty prompted her to create a life of lies, as she hid her husband’s alcoholism and other immoral acts. Duty prompted her to hide her husband’s pregnant mistress, and again to raise his daughter as her own. Even the names Ibsen gives the two women show the difference of hope in the two plays. In A Doll’s House, Nora is given a first name, and in fact she is listed by her first name in the written script whenever she speaks. In Ghosts, Mrs. Alving is seldom called by her first name (it is Helen), and rather is referred to as Mrs. Alving in the script when she has a line to say. She is regarded only as a wife, even ten years after her husband’s death. Ibsen utilizes many parallels between situations and characters in order to portray the desired results of duty and the actual results. Mrs. Alving can be compared to Mr. Engstrand, a hobbling old carpenter, and supposed father of Regina. Mrs. Alving is, obliged by her sense of duty, trying to gain control of her son Oswald upon his return home, while Engstrand attempts to evoke his daughter’s sense of duty so that she will come to work for him. According to George Meyer, â€Å"This parallel is†¦important because in the one case a father is trying to gain control of his daughter; in the other a mother, of her son. † Both characters also experienced a ‘commercial marriage’ in that Mrs. Alving married Captain Alving â€Å"for the sum of his fortune,† and Engstrand married his wife Johanna for a hefty bribe. Nora is a unique character, a kind not usually seen in most plays. She swings her mood often; she is either very happy or very depressed, comfortable or desperate, wise or naive. At the beginning of the play, Nora still plays a child in many ways, listening at doors and eating forbidden sweets behind her husbands back. She has gone straight from her fathers house to her husbands, bringing along her nursemaid which tells us that she hasnt really grown up. She also doesnt have much of an own opinion. She has always accepted her fathers and her husbands opinions. Shes aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was equal to him. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she believes that he is strong, that hell protect her from the consequences of her actions. Then, at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees how fake their relationship has been. She realizes that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll, a toy to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality. Although she tried to escape from her marriage, the young Mrs. Alving apparently did not have a sudden moment of realization of her duties to herself, her own honor, or her own pride. If she did, we are not told hem; she continued to live as her husband and as society expected her to. By the end of Ghosts, however, when the effects of her husband’s life of duplicity are clear, the older and wiser Mrs. Alving has obviously come to regret her silence. Boyer states, â€Å"She sees now that it was the limiting conditions, the lack of true joy, a goal in life, and meaningful work which destroyed the best in her husband. She sees too that she h erself was the immediate cause of his ruin, because she had made life intolerable for him with her conventional morality of duty. Mrs. Alving can’t be blamed for staying in her marriage though. In A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer had a place to escape to. Her friend Mrs Linde would eagerly provide a place to stay and her best friend Doctor Rank had invited her company, and expressed his love for her. The conclusion drawn up by the end is this: the embracing and enforcing of a corrupt sense of duty and false pride by the collection of characters has led to the successful projects-chaos and dismay. This symbolizes Ibsen’s conception of duty and double standard for men and women in the society. He believes that mankind has ‘taken it too far,’ and duty has degenerated love into a purchasable commodity as illustrated by not only the brothel but by Mrs. Alving’s and Engstrand’s commercial marriages. The free-thinking duty-free artists of Paris live happy lives in wholesome homes, while the duty-supporting end up in broken homes where hypocrisy and immorality run rampant.

Critical Issue Promoting Technology Use In Schools Education Essay

Critical Issue Promoting Technology Use In Schools Education Essay Although there has been a strong push to get educational technology into the hands of teachers and students, many obstacles to implementation still exist. Equipment may not be placed in easily accessible locations. Hardware and software often pose problems for teachers in the classroom, and just-in-time technical support may be unavailable. Teachers may lack the time and the motivation to learn technology skills. Professional development activities may not provide ongoing, hands-on training for teachers or practical strategies for implementing technology into lesson plans. Initial technology funding may not be sustained and thus not capable of providing upgrades, maintenance, and ongoing professional development. Fortunately, these obstacles can be addressed and overcome. This Critical Issue provides practical information for promoting technology use in schools. OVERVIEW: The push to provide technology in schools has been successful in recent years. According to Goldman, Cole, and Syer (2000), most schools have computer labs and many have computers in every classroom. More than 90 percent of all schools are connected to the Internet, and more than 33 percent of teachers have Internet access in their classrooms. Yet teachers readily admit that they are not making as much use of technology as they could. According to an Education Week survey, nearly 30 percent of teachers said their students use computers only one hour per week; nearly 40 percent said their students do not use computers in the classroom at all (Trotter, 2001). Although technology is more prevalent in the schools, several factors affect whether and how it is used. Those factors include placement of computers for equitable access, technical support, effective goals for technology use, new roles for teachers, time for ongoing professional development, appropriate coaching of teac hers at different skill levels, teacher incentives for use, availability of educational software, and sustained funding for technology. Placing Computers for Equitable Access Access to technology is an important issue for teachers and students. Although schools may have computers available, one factor that determines their use is where those computers are located. If computers are connected to the Internet but are not in a convenient location, the availability to students and teachers will be limited. Across the case study sites, there were five different strategies for allocating computers for student use:  · Distribution among the regular classrooms  · Computers in labs  · Mobile computer labs  · Incremental roll-out  · School-within-a-school The standard computer lab is commonly used in schools. If the use of the computer lab is carefully scheduled, it will provide high equipment utilization; on the other hand, keeping the computers in one place may be a barrier to using them on a continual but intermittent basis as a part of the curriculum. Some schools prefer to place computers in the regular classroom. These computers often are distributed through incremental rollout. In incremental rollout, technology is given to a limited number of classrooms at first and then expanded to an additional classroom each year. Sometimes the computers are distributed on a grade-by-grade basis with primary grades first and upper grades later receiving the most up-to-date equipment. This approach requires continual, yearly funding. Some schools have chosen to start with their Internet connection in the school library. This location necessitates that the library-media specialist is aware of educational sites to supplement students classroom activities. The library-media specialist also needs to work with teachers and the technology specialist to determine the best use of the equipment. In situations where software also is a limited commodity, the school library may house and catalog the software, as is done with other educational materials. This situation makes the software available to all teachers and allows teachers flexibility in assigning work to students. Whatever decisions are made on allocation of equipment, it is imperative that all staff members are included in the decision making and that long-term plans are made for acquisition and upgrading of materials. Such collaborative decision making and planning helps ensure staff buy-in, equity of access, and effective use of technology in teaching and learning. Providing Technical Support Without continuous technical support, technology integration in the classroom will never be satisfactorily achieved (Bailey Pownell, 2002). Most teachers have heard horror stories about equipment failure, software complexity, data loss, embarrassments, and frustration. They dont want to be left hanging with 30 students wondering why nothing is working the way it is supposed to be. When teachers are trying to use technology in their classrooms and they encounter difficulties, they need immediate help and support. Providing Time for Ongoing Professional Development Learning the new roles and ways of teaching that go hand-in-hand with technology integration requires that teachers have opportunities to participate in an extended process of professional development. Teachers need time to acquire technology skills and develop new teaching strategies for integrating technology into the classroom. Except for occasional in-service programs, teachers often have no time built into the school day for their own professional development. When professional development activities are conducted after school, teachers may not have the energy necessary for engaging in learning. Burgos (2001) notes, The research on staff development tells us that its least effective when its done at the end of the school day. Some researchers suggest that the ideal time for teachers to participate in professional development activities is during the summer, when students are not a consideration and teachers do not have as many demands on their time. But teachers are more likely to apply new instructional strategies if they receive feedback and support while trying the new strategies in their classrooms. Coaching Teachers at Different Skill Levels A school may be home to educators with a wide variety of skill levels in technology: computer gurus anxious to put the capabilities of the newest hardware and software to use; moderate technocrats, who implement basic computerized tasks; and the technologically limited. The problem faced by administrators and professional development staff of such a school is providing adequate training to bring all teachers to an adequate level of technical expertise so learning goals can be met. After the teachers skill levels are identified, administrators, teachers, and the technology specialist can brainstorm to determine what support and resources teachers need to advance to the next stage. Teachers can develop personal plans for professional development that include goals for using technology. These professional development plans can be competency driven, identifying specific areas where technology can be used effectively; they can specify outcomes to be achieved using technology, such as implementing specific projects with students; and they can list software applications that should be mastered by specific dates. By putting individual goals in writing, these plans formalize teachers commitment to using technology in the classroom, states Tenbusch (2002). Choosing Appropriate Software One barrier to technology integration is the difficulty many teachers face in finding and using appropriate software for instruction (Glenn, 2003). Teachers at novice or apprenticeship stages of technology integration may need guidance in locating multimedia software and Internet sites to support the schools learning goals, either because they are unfamiliar with these media or because they feel overwhelmed by the profusion of software on the market and sites on the Internet. Lack of time and experience to make good decisions about what particular products or sites have the potential of fostering learning goals can make technology integration a frightening prospect. Glenn (2003) succinctly summarizes the challenge: Problems exist with finding and using appropriate software or courseware for instruction. The number of high-quality curriculum materials has increased, and there is a wider variety; however, creating innovative learning opportunities for all students remains a fundamental challenge and elusive for far too many teachers. GOALS:  · The schools technology plan clearly identifies learning goals to be achieved through technology.  · Technology supports the instructional learning goals. It is integrated into instruction in meaningful ways so that it contributes to the attainment of high standards by all students.  · Technology is used for challenging, long-term projects that promote students higher-order thinking skills instead of merely for drill-and-practice programs to improve basic skills.  · All students have opportunities to use a variety of technologies to support their work on authentic tasks.  · All technology is in operable condition and is being used effectively and to the maximum extent possible.  · Just-in-time technology support is available for teachers and students.  · There is a flexibility in managing the technology to ensure that all students and teachers have equity of access.  · Professional development is considered an important part of the technology plan and the technology budget.  · The professional development component of the technology plan ensures that every teacher has allotted time throughout the school year for professional development relating to technology and its integration into the classroom.  · Professional development in technology is directly applicable to the classroom situation.  · A diverse portfolio is in place to ensure that funding is available to support technology and ongoing professional development. Administrators:  · Pursue funding strategies to provide the necessary technology, professional development, technical support, equipment upgrades, and equipment maintenance to achieve educational goals.  · Develop strategies for ensuring equitable use of education technology for all students and teachers.  · Acknowledge the benefits of plugging educators into technology improved student performance, increased student motivation, lower student absenteeism, and higher teacher morale.  · Understand the implications of preparing teachers for the Digital Age.  · Ensure that the school is providing professional development for effective technology use.  · Determine expectations for teachers in regard to their use of technology in their classrooms. Develop strategies for teaching the teachers and eventually winning teachers over.  · Read about technology implementation strategies in Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection.  · Provide all teachers and administrators with an Internet e-mail address. Use e-mail for all school announcements.  · Provide a networked computer on the desk of every teacher and administrator.  · Provide all teachers with on-site training in technology use. Ensure that teachers have adequate time to practice new skills, explore software, and become proficient with the schools technology.  · Involve teachers in identifying and pursuing technology professional development that is appropriate to their needs and skills.  · Encourage teachers to set their own technology integration goals as part of their individual professional development plans.  · Ensure that adequate technical support is available.  · Address any problems that arise with new uses of technology in the classroom quickly and efficiently.  · Use a variety of time and monetary incentives as well as job requirements that encourage teachers to use technology in their classrooms. o Provide release time for teachers to participate in technology professional development activities during the school day. o Pay for additional professional development activities, such as outside conferences and workshops that address specific classroom technology issues. o Pay teachers to act as technology mentors for teachers with novice technology skills. o Provide classroom-embedded mentoring, tutoring, and follow-up activities. o Financially reward teachers for designing good instructional uses of technology. o As an additional incentive, offer technology for classroom or personal use: laptop computers, technology equipment, and software. o Make teachers base pay contingent upon participation of technology professional development. o Include technological competence as one aspect of teacher evaluation. o Tie job security to technology professional development by adding technology competence to teacher evaluation, requiring technology-related professional development for contract renewal, or making technology professional development a requirement for re-certification.  · Periodically visit classrooms to determine teachers technology needs and to observe and encourage their integration strategies.  · Provide opportunities for teachers to observe effective technology use in other classes or schools.  · Recognize teacher successes with technology. Share these stories with the school and the community. Encourage teachers to share their successes with colleagues at conferences.  · Participate in professional development programs, study groups, and other technology activities with teachers and other staff members.

Marketing Principles :: GCSE Business Marketing BTEC Coursework

Marketing Principles A. Definitions 1. ABC ABC stands for activity based costing. This is defined as a method which identifies various activities needed to provide a product and determines the cost of these activities. I would say it is a method of breaking down the process of the business’ activity down to its root components. Then the causes of profit losses can be weeded out. For example, in a warehouse setting in which I worked, there were a few major departments which included receiving, stock dept., pick/pack, and shipping department. Merchandise traveled through the warehouse along this pathway. If say, production (boxes shipped) is down, we can specify the cause using this technique. Instead of just knowing that production is down, we may learn that the receiving dock is backed up , which leads to no merchandise for the stock dept., which results in orders being held up on the flows. Management can then find the cause of the backup in receiving and go from there. 2. ADEA Stands for the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which, according to text, prohibits age discrimination and mandatory retirement. It was established in 1967. It pretty much explains itself. Basically, there cannot be a maximum age for employees, and termination can not be based solely on age. A good example of this would be a mother returning to the work force. They may be frowned upon due to their age. I have read somewhere that people over the age of forty are in a protected class, and cannot be discriminated against by virtue of the law. 3. BARS This stands for Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale. It is defined as a rating technique that relates an employees performance to a specific job related incident. This definition doesn’t really help me. It seems that the procedure is to define certain personality traits that are essential for a certain function, then to rate the prospective employee based on a scale of these trait. For example, someone applying to be a chef would be hired on base on a number of traits, one being prior experience. A ten on the scale would be something like, â€Å"10+ years of experience in a 4 star restaurant†, while a zero would be â€Å"no experience†. The employees â€Å"worth† could be determined by a composite of all these scales.

Cannibalism Among Dinosaurs :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Cannibalism Among Dinosaurs Typically, when an individual browses through various newspapers or watches the evening news they are most likely to see or hear some new and groundbreaking news concerning a scientific breakthrough. As I was looking through various scientific journals I came across an article that caught my eye for numerous reasons, but one in particular. The heading of the article read, â€Å"Cannibal dinosaurs revealed by tooth marks.† These prehistoric creatures that have been viewed by the public for centuries as being wild and ferocious beasts, are presently being seen more then just that. Recent evidence originating in Madagascar is leading researches in the direction that dinosaurs consumption of food did not strictly adhere to the food chain but instead fed amongst their own kind. This recent discovery has left scientists with many questions to be answered. The discovery is quite important because any research up until now has failed to uncover any evidence that would reveal that dinosaurs fed among their own kind. Ray Rogers whom has been leading the ten-year excavation states in the article that there are at least 14 current day animals that still practice cannibalism such as lions, komodo dragons, crocodiles, hyenas, black bears and grasshopper mice, but in contrast, any evidence of cannibalism among dinosaurs is sparse. This article was also particularly interesting to me because this is a recent find and there is little to no literature published concerning the idea that dinosaurs may have been cannibals. This is a new fossil find in which makes any and all research being administered equally as important. The time period of these fossils date back nearly 65 to 75 million years ago to the late –Cretaceous period when dinosaurs neared the end of their existence on earth. The fossils that have been discovered that tend to persuade researchers to believe dinosaurs were cannibals have been located in Northwest Madagascar’s bone beds. Rogers states, â€Å" Fossilized soil samples from the same region are red and oxidized, hinting that the area was arid, with food in short supply. The animals may have traveled to the river to find sustenance and died there.

Anne Hutchinson a Woman with a Voice Essay --

In the book â€Å"Anne Hutchinson Puritan Prophet† Timothy D. Hall not only writes a biography of Anne but the whole state of Christianity in the late 16th and early 17th century. The story is about woman who was not afraid to speak out and voice her views. The author gives an in-depth story of all the events that were happening and how they influenced Anne to become such an important figure in history of protestant Christianity. Anne Hutchinson was influenced by a number of people in her life. The first influence must have been her father. Her father Rev. Marbury spoke out against many ministers in the Church of England because of their lack of qualification or corruption. He was sentenced for a year in prison. Anne read many of her father’s books which shaped her into a woman that wasn’t afraid to speak out. Anne was born July 17th 1591 in Alford England. She married William Hutchinson and they had 15 children. In 1634 she and her family moved to Boston. One of the driving factors of her move to Boston was the fact that her most admired preacher John Cotton had moved to Boston. She felt it was God’s will to move to Boston as well. Upon arrival to Boston she worked as a midwife and healer. She was a member of the church where John Cotton preached. She started her own bible study group with women, which later becomes one of the reasons she would be tried in court for. Anne then gets accused of heresies in the Puritan church. She is accused Antinomianism and Familism. She then is found guilty and gets banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the short seven chapters, the author paints a picture of a major dilemma that was between different religious individuals. Within the dilemma the story unfolds the influence of Anne in the... ... the Puritans and their development as a denomination. I would say that this book is written for specific audience. This book would suite someone who is interested in studying early 17th century Christian history. This book would also suite someone who wants to know the in-depth version of the biography of Anne Hutchinson. I think those specific audience would enjoy this book and could probably use it as a great resource. For someone who just wants an overall biography of Anne Hutchinson, this book would be overwhelming do to the level of detail that is involved. This biography not only tells Anne’s story, but really goes into the where she got her ideas and why she became who she was. The author explains the Puritan beliefs and the 17th century church in Boston well and puts it in understanding terms. This makes it a well-written book that you can enjoy reading.

Psychological Theories

Psychological Theory Psych525 Psychological Theory This paper examines how a person’s cultural ethnocentric perspective causes them to react to a person from another culture based on the behavior/social cognitive theory. For the purposes of description, this presentation will explore both Irish and Japanese ethnocentric perspectives and how they relate to one another using the behavior/social cognitive theory. Ethnocentricity Before continuing on to describe Irish and Japanese cultural interaction, there needs to be clear understanding of what is meant by ethnocentric perspectives. According to Segall, Dasen, Berry, & Poortinga (1999) an ethnocentric perspective is the belief that a person’s culture is the center of all. The other part of an ethnocentric perspective is that it promotes postive feelings of self while creating negative thought patterns about others (Segall et al, 1999). Behavior/Social Cognitive Theory This theory was built upon the theory that behavior is a learned response primarily learned through social environment (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Social-cognitive theorists also believe that a person’s cognitive functions allow for growth beyond the initial environmental contributors (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). A person’s culture represents their primary social environment and therefore is the predominant contributor to their personality development. This cultural awareness, or ethnocentric perspective, provides a framework of thought that affects a person’s future development. Behavior Cognitive theory presents points such as; avoiding conflicting stimuli and attempting to meet equilibrium state by means of using their cognitive elements. Cognitive elements are elements such as; values, beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes (Awa & Nwuche, 2010). The social aspect of this theory delineates the thoughts that evaluation of such experiences occur in context with uses past experiences. In addition, the social aspect of the theory helps to explain how as social beings we work as â€Å"information processing machines† (Landau et al, 2010). By the use of this combination of theories, we are able to explain and evaluate in a deeper way two very distinctive cultures. The Irish and the Japanese cultures are two cultures so deeply rooted, their culture serves as a means for further understanding cultural dynamics. Irish Ethnocentric Perspective Ireland’s culture is wrapped around its loss of freedom and loss of self after colonization by England (Howard, 2009). Ireland is a predominately Catholic nation while the colonizing English were Protestant causing considerable tensions towards England (Howard, 2009). The Irish view their nation as one of culture and peace in comparison with England’s militarism (Howard, 2009). The colonization by England, as with many other nations, resulted in a loss of language (Howard, 2009). A movement that picked up speed during the 1970’s allowed Ireland to regain its language (Pinter, 2010). The Irish also view themselves as Celtic, a subset of â€Å"white† (Chan, 2006). This racial identity was important because the English viewed them as something less evolved or refined (Chan, 2006). Irish pride is seen in the fight to regain their religion, their language and their national identity and independence from the English (Pinter, 2010). Japanese Even though it could be argued that ethnocentric bias mostly affects those countries that are diversely populated, Japan can be an exception. Japan is known typically to be composed of a homogeneous population. Japanese culture is known to isolate themselves politically and socially from outsiders. â€Å"Gaijin† is a term usually used in Japan to describe outsiders or an out-group. Prior to the 1860’s, the Tokugawa Shoguns adopted a policy enforcing the seclusion of their people. This policy restricted the contact between the Japanese society and people from the outside (Neuliep et al, 2001). A century has passed by, and most of the Japanese culture still maintains that seclusion mentality towards out-groups. The Japanese culture is an example of how even the most developed county can posses such ethnocentric biases. The Japanese culture is not willing to assimilate out-groups into their society. This perception goes as far as to treating Koreans who were raised in Japan, and speak the Japanese language as â€Å"Gaijin† or outsiders. The Koreans raised in Japan must undergo the discrimination and the prejudice (Neuliep et al, 2001). Conclusion References Awa, H. O. , & Nwuche, C. A. (2010). Cognitive Consistency in Purchase Behaviour: Theoretical & Empirical Analyses. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2(1), 44-54. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Cervone, D. , & Pervin, L. A. (2010). Personality: Theory and research (11th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Chan, S. (2006). ‘Kiss My Royal Irish Ass. ‘ Contesting identity: Visual culture, gender, whiteness and diaspora. Journal of Gender Studies, 15(1), 1-17. doi:10. 1080/09589230500486850 Howard, B. (2009). In Sunlight and in Shadow. Sewanee Review, 117(4), 665. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Maclaran, P. , & Stevens, L. (2009). Magners man: Irish cider, representations of masculinity and the ‘Burning Celtic Soul. ’. Irish Marketing Review, 20(2), 77-88. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Neuliep, J. W. , Chaudoir, M. , & McCroskey, J. C. (2001). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Ethnocentrism Among Japanese and United States College Students. Communication Research Reports, 18(2), 137-146. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Pinter, M. (2010). English or Irish? Cultural nationalist ideology in late 19th century Ireland. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series IV: Philology & Cultural Studies, 3(52), 233-242. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Segall, M. H. , Dasen, P. R. , Berry, J. W. , & Poortinga, Y. H. (1999). Human behavior in global perspective: An introduction to cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed. ). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson. Smyth, G. (2004). Ireland unplugged: the roots of Irish folk/trad. (Con)Fusion. Irish Studies Review, 12(1), 87-97. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Sturgeon, S. (2006). Maria Edgeworth, William Carleton, and the Battle for the Spirit of Ireland. Irish Studies Review, 14(4), 431-445. doi:10. 1080/09670880600984400

Psychological Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior

It has been stated that â€Å"marketing management rests upon some conception or other of how consumers behave (Foxall 2001).† I will proceed to demonstrate, beginning with an overview of consumer behavior as it relates to the psychological factors that cause one to comply with a given request, through to an examination of the various trends in marketing which are reflective of consumers changing demands as they respond to world events and societal evolution, why it is vital that marketers understand and evaluate consumer behavior. I will also demonstrate, through the use of examples, how various organizations are employing specific strategies based upon their understanding of consumer behavior to produce record growth and profitability in the marketplace. Psychological Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior As one social psychologist has termed the â€Å"weapons of influence,† there appear to be certain driving forces in human nature, or automatic psychological triggers, that propel individuals to respond in predictable ways to given requests (Cialdini 1993, p.3). One such force is the principle of Reciprocation, whereby one feels obligated to return a favor that has been provided him (Cialdini 1993, p.17). This principle is most clearly evidenced by the consumer's natural tendency to buy a product from someone after he has been extended a kindness or favor from him. It has been demonstrated that this psychological principle of the pressure to return a favor with a favor is so strong, that it even surpasses the need to like the individual extending the favor (Cialdini 1993, p.21). One example of the rule of reciprocation at work has been evidenced by the wildly successful marketing strategy of the Hare Krishna Society, an eastern religious sect known for its solicitation of funds from passersby in public places (Cialdini 1993, p.22). Having been mostly unsuccessful at raising funds through traditional methods of chanting on the streets while begging for donations, the group devised a brilliant strategy that essentially invoked the principles of reciprocation (Cialdini 1993, p.22). As an individual would pass by, a Society member, rather than ask for a donation initially, would hand the unsuspecting person a flower, offering it as a free gift from the Society and not accepting its return under any circumstances. Only then would the Society member ask for a donation (Cialdini 1993, p.22). The response was overwhelming, and a testament to the extraordinary power of reciprocation. The individual, aware that he had been given a gift and feeling the pressure to reciprocate, was often compelled to respond with a donation (Cialdini 1993, p.24). Another powerful psychological principle in a marketer's arsenal of tools is the commitment and consistency factor (Cialdini 1993, p. 37). It has been discovered that people feel a very powerful drive to be consistent once they have committed themselves to something (Cialdini 1993, p. 37). An example of this principle at play is witnessed through the offering of testimonial contests by such big-name companies as Proctor & Gamble and General Foods (Cialdini 1993, p.39). In these contests, the companies ask participants to write short essays, often for large prizes, which include praise for the companies' products. Usually no purchase is required; what is more important is that by forcing potential customers to record, in writing, praise for the company's product, the company relies on the psychological drive of the individual to believe what he has written (Cialdini 1993, p 40). Apart from the psychological triggers that persuade individuals to comply with given requests, marketers must seek to understand the equally intriguing psychological processes at work in the unconscious mind that cause consumers to choose one particular course of action, or product, over another (Zaltman 2003, p.53). One example of such an unconscious process can be seen in the overwhelming tendency of customers to choose a product offered for $9.99 over an identical one offered for $10.00 (Zaltman 2003, p64). Consumer Need: Practicality Or Emotionality? It has been stated that, contrary to popular belief, people do not so much buy things they don't need, but that the need is often based more upon emotions and feelings than it is upon concrete physical necessity (Danziger 2004, p.1). Though the gross domestic product in the United States has largely been generated by consumer spending since 1929-a full 60 to 70 percent of it- â€Å"the way consumers [generally] spend their money has changed significantly over the past 70 years (Danziger 2004, p.3).† It is claimed that, â€Å"today, over 40 percent of consumer spending is discretionary†¦ based on wants, not needs (Danziger 2004, p.4).† Changing Trends And Their Affect On The Marketplace Another important factor in predicting consumer behavior involves changing trends in the marketplace. Marketers must be ever vigilant to customers' changing needs as society evolves and new events cause consumers' wants and needs to adjust accordingly. A clear example of this is witnessed by the fairly recent change in menu selections offered by fast-food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King. Responding to a concern over the rising tide of obesity in the U.S. and around the world and consumers' increasing desire to maintain healthier lifestyles, such fast-food conglomerates have been adding healthier choices to their menu selections which includes salads, apple slices instead of French fries, and so on (Plunkett Research 2005). Another example of a change in consumer behavior was reflected in consumers' response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The airline industry, facing huge setbacks as a result of consumers' new reluctance to travel by air for fear of another terrorist attack, was forced to undergo massive restructurings to accommodate the new environment imposed upon them (Plunkett Research 2005). Consumers, wishing to reconcile their fears and need to reduce expenditures with the desire to continue enjoying and experiencing life as usual, were searching for ways-and bargains- to enable them to do this. Hence, there began a shift in the airline industry away from luxury to economy, as discount airlines began setting the new standard for air travel by luring passengers with price, not perks (Plunkett Research 2005). With Southwest Airlines and JetBlue leading the pack, these airlines have achieved success and profitability responding to consumers' changed needs, mainly by cutting maintenance, operating and labor costs, such as by offering a single-plane platform and an open-seating policy (Plunkett Research 2005). In the meantime, of course, as full-service airlines have struggled to compete with the burgeoning success of the discount model, some, like Delta, have begun developing their own low-cost models, which manage to keep costs down by hiring younger flight crews. Another shining example of marketers' need to understand and predict consumer behavior comes in the form of the relatively recent phenomenon of online delivery and piracy-or theft-of copyrighted music and video files ((Plunkett Research 2005). Forced to adapt to this trend following a 2002-2003 decline in music revenues, music companies have been seeking ways to safeguard their files â€Å"from illegal download and distribution,† as well as to capitalize on the internet craze by finding methods by which to distribute their files through legal means via the internet (Plunkett Research 2005).† Responding to this need, iTunes Music Store, a digital service provided by Apple Computer, Inc.,was launched in 2003, and it offers music files for download over the internet (Plunkett Research 2005). On a different front, automobile manufacturers have been responding to consumers' rising concern over escalating gas prices, which reached a record-high in September 2005 of $3.01 per gallon (Plunkett Research 2005). After suffering huge losses on their lines of minivans, pickups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the â€Å"big three† U.S. manufacturers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, are focusing on raising fuel efficiency for these bigger models (Plunkett Research 2005). In addition, as foreign car companies like Toyota, Honda, and BMW have continued to steal sales away from U.S. automobile manufacturers, partially due to a reputation for producing higher quality cars, these American manufacturers have been responding by designing new product lines, such as the hugely successful Chysler 300C, with its â€Å"eye-catching grill and boxy, elegant design (Plunkett Research 2005).† In sum, whether responding to a consumer's instinctual drives, which dictate that he or she will likely react in a certain way to a given stimulus, or evaluating the marketplace and consumer behavior based on world events and changing needs, marketing management does indeed rest on a conception of how consumers will behave, now and in the future.

Critique of a research paper Essay

Issues that are to be studied during a research are usually expressed in a statement referred to as a research problem or research question (Lawn et al 2010). The researcher needs to have enough knowledge concerning the field in which he or she wants to contact a research in order for him or her to be able to come up with a research problem which is strong enough to be studied (Manzoni et al 2009; Partridge & Dickey, 2009). The researcher is supposed to come up with ideas which have not yet been researched on or which needs further development for him or her to be able to come up with a researchable topic. In most cases the research question or problem helps the public to have better insights in the studied field and even fills some knowledge gaps that may be existing in that field. Thus researchers are supposed to do thorough research to know what has already been researched on for them to be in a better position to make some improvement on the knowledge that exists. The problem to be studied should be significant to the general public and the professionals in the field of study. According to this study the research problem was: the impact of poor essential newborn care practices on neonatal mortality in rural Karnataka. This research problem is relevant in any medical profession since it addresses an important issue, which affects many healthcare systems in the world (Lawn et al 2010). As outlined in the paper many neonatal deaths occurs yearly resulting from careless or lack of knowledge on how to take care of these neonatal. Even though the authors point out that some research has been performed on this research topic, they point out the need to understand the local settings of concerned regions for better interventions to be undertaken since child birth is often tightly linked to traditions of concerned communities especially in the developing countries like India. Thus their research problem is still relevant given that no research has been done in such settings. Research design The case study research has employed both qualitative and quantitative research design. In qualitative research designs, answers are given to experiences related to humans (Kain, Gardner & Yates, 2009). Concepts like grounded theory, ethnography, case studies and phenomenology are covered in qualitative research designs (Manzoni et al 2009). This study used interviews to collect data. The interviews were recorded in text form which is a characteristic of qualitative research. Thus the research qualifies to be described as qualitative. The concepts covered in the study were ethnography and grounded theory. This is because in the paper, the researchers consider different ethnic groups found in rural Karnataka. Furthermore, the participants were interviewed on various cares they offer to neonatal after birth hence this cover the grounded theory concept since giving care is a social responsibility. Therefore the researchers were trying to answer the question on how different birth attendants carry out their services to newborns in rural Karnataka. Quantitative research involves collection of data in numerical form. The authors claim to have used this design to obtain preliminary data for carrying out qualitative research. Even though the authors state that they used quantitative research design it is not clearly stated the data collected since the paper only talks of administration of questionnaires of which we are not told the kind of information that was to be collected. Justification of use of both qualitative and quantitative research designs From the authors’ point of view, the use of quantitative design was aimed at providing evidence for need to carry out the qualitative research (Lawn et al 2010). It is also pointed out that the quantitative research confirmed earlier research on the same issue on neonatal mortality. Thus it seems the quantitative research was done to also confirm earlier studies on mortality related to newborn. On the other hand, the use of qualitative design is justified. This is because; obtaining data such as on breastfeeding, place of delivery, delivery hygiene, cord cutting, cord care, asphyxia and thermal care can only be done using qualitative methodology. Recruitment of study participants Recruitment of participants was based on pregnancy. All those who were pregnant and those who became pregnant during study period were allowed to voluntarily participate in the study. The study employed proactive research design for sampling purposes. This was used to prevent recall biases, which are common in retrospective research designs. Data collection Interviews, focused group discussions and questionnaires were used to collect data from eleven villages within rural Karnataka (Kain, Gardner & Yates, 2009). The method used to choose these villages is not stated in the paper and thus we do not know whether it was done using statistical methods or not. Interviews which were done were semi structured (Partridge & Dickey, 2009). They were thirty nine in total with thirteen targeting mothers who had delivered recently, ten targeting grandmothers, nine targeting birth attendants and seven targeting informants. The interviews to mothers lacked specificity in time frame especially to mothers who had delivered and therefore could have been prone to errors. In addition the authors do not outline on how they come with the different numbers that they administered the interviews to. Thus, the numbers may not be statistically significant. The five different questionnaires were administered to pregnant mothers at different times. Three of the questionnaires were administered prior to parturition, one was administered within five days after delivery and the last questionnaire was administered during postnatal period. It is not clear on how those involved in the delivery of the questionnaires knew when the mothers had given birth to administer them on time. In addition, the significance of the number of questionnaires administered is not justified statistically. Eight focused group discussions were undertaken in the study. Of these, three were among groups of mothers, two were among elders and one was carried out among birth attendants. The group discussions may have been exaggerated by some participants and therefore some of this data may be unreliable to some extent. Furthermore the choice of the number of discussion and the number of participants in the group discussion is not explained hence may be statistically insignificant (Jatana et al 2010). Data analysis From the paper, the authors state that they carried out framework in the analysis of their data. This is a type of data analysis is majorly used in the analysis of qualitative data. The versatility of the method allows it to be used in different qualitative data analysis. This method allows organization of data into structured transcripts. Credibility, auditability and fittingness The truths about the findings as judged by participants constitute the credibility of the study (Lawn et al 2010). This study is credible to some extent given that the source of data used to make the conclusion is not one, that is, pregnant mothers, birth attendants and grandmothers are utilized to get credible data (Kain, Gardner & Yates, 2009). However, the choice of the numbers of those involved in interviews, group discussions and the number of questionnaires administered raises credibility issues on the research. Thus, clarity is required pertaining these issues in related studies. If the information presented in the report is accountable then the research is auditable. The coherent of the report determines the auditability of the research paper. The authors of this paper tried their best to remain focused on the problem issue. Thus the paper is auditable. If the participants are faithful then the paper is fitting. From the excerpts from the interviews presented in the paper, the participants seem to be real in relation to daily realities. Thus, the paper is fitting. References Lawn, J. , Mwansa-Kambafwile, J. , Horta, B. , Barros F. & Cousens, S. (2010). ‘Kangaroo mother care’ to prevent neonatal deaths due to preterm birth complications. International Journal of Epidemiology, 39(Suppl_1): i144-i154. Kain, V. , Gardner, G. & Yates, P. (2009). Neonatal palliative care attitude scale: Development of an instrument to measure the barriers to and facilitators of palliative care in neonatal nursing. Pediatrics, 123(2): e207-e213 Jatana, K. , Oplatek, A. , Stein, M. , Philips, G. , Kang, R. & Elmaraghy, C. (2010). Effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure and cannula use in the neonatal intensive care unit setting. Archives of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, 136(3): 287-291.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 10

Elena was serenely happy. Now it was her turn. Stefan used a sharp wooden letter opener from his desk to cut himself. Elena always hated to see him do this, use the most efficient implement that would penetrate vampire skin; so she shut her eyes tightly and only looked again when red blood was trickling from a little cut on his neck. â€Å"You don't need to take a lot – and you shouldn't,† Stefan whispered, and she knew he was saying these things while hecould say them. â€Å"I'm not holding you too hard or hurting you?† He was always so worried. This time,she kissedhim . And she could see how strange he thought it was, that he wanted kisses more than he wanted her to take his blood. Laughing, Elena pushed him flat and hovered over him and went for the general area of the wound again, knowing that he thought she was going to tease him. But instead she fastened herself on the wound like a limpet and sucked hard,hard , until she had made him sayplease with his mind. But she wasn't satisfied until she made him sayplease out loud as well. In the car, in the dimness, Matt and Meredith thought of the idea at the same time. She was faster, but they spoke almost together. â€Å"I'm an idiot! Matt, where's the seatback release?† â€Å"Bonnie, you have to unfold her seat backward! There's a little handle, you should be able to reach it and pull up!† Bonnie's voice was hitching now, hiccupping. â€Å"My arms – they're sort of poking into – my arms – â€Å" â€Å"Bonnie,† Meredith said thickly. â€Å"I know you can do it. Matt – is the handle right – under – the front seat or – â€Å" â€Å"Yes. At the edge. One – no, two o'clock.† Matt didn't have breath for more. Once he had grabbed the tree, he found that if he loosened pressure for an instant, it pushed harder on his neck. There's no choice, he thought. He took as much of a deep breath as he could, pushed back on the branch, hearing a cry from Meredith, andtwisted , feeling jagged splinters like thin wooden knives tear his throat and ear and scalp. Now he was free of the pressure on the back of his neck, although he was appalled by how much more tree there was in the car than the last time he had seen it. His lap was filled with branches; evergreen needles were thickly piled everywhere. No wonder Meredith was so mad, he thought dizzily, turning toward her. She was almost buried in branches, one hand wrestling with something at her throat, but she saw him. â€Å"Matt†¦get†¦your own seat! Quick! Bonnie, Iknow you can.† Matt dug and tore into the branches, then groped for the handle that would collapse the backrest of his seat. The handle wouldn't move. Thin, tough tendrils were wrapped around it, springy and hard to break. He twisted and snapped them savagely. His seatback dropped away. He ducked under the huge arm-branch – if it still deserved the name, since the car was full of similar huge branches now. Then, just as he reached to help Meredith, her seat abruptly folded back, too. She fell with it, away from the evergreen, gasping for air. For an instant she just lay still. Then she finished scrambling into the backseat proper, dragging a needle-shrouded figure with her. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse and her speech was still slow. â€Å"Matt. Bless you†¦for having†¦this jigsaw puzzle†¦of a car.† She kicked the front seat back into position, and Matt did likewise. â€Å"Bonnie,† Matt said numbly. Bonnie didn't move. Many tiny branches were still entwining her, caught in the fabric of her shirt, wound into her hair. Meredith and Matt both started pulling. Where the branches let go, they left welts or tiny puncture wounds. â€Å"It's almost as if they were trying to grow into her,† Matt said, as a long, thin branch pulled away, leaving bloody pinpricks behind. â€Å"Bonnie?† Meredith said. She was the one disentangling the twigs from Bonnie's hair. â€Å"Bonnie? Come on, up. Look at me.† The shaking began again in Bonnie's body, but she let Meredith turn her face up. â€Å"I didn't think I could do it.† â€Å"You saved my life.† â€Å"I was so scared†¦.† Bonnie went on crying quietly against Meredith's shoulder. Matt looked at Meredith just as the map light flickered and went out. The last thing he saw was her dark eyes, which held an expression that made him suddenly feel even sicker to his stomach. He looked out the three windows he could now see from the backseat. It should have been hard to see anything at all. But what he was looking for was pressed right up against the glass. Needles. Branches. Solid against every inch of the windows. Nevertheless, he and Meredith, without needing to say anything, each reached for a backseat door handle. The doors clicked, opened a fraction of an inch; then they slammed back hard with a very definitivewham . Meredith and Matt looked at each other. Meredith looked down again and began to pluck more twigs off Bonnie. â€Å"Does that hurt?† â€Å"No. A little†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You're shaking.† â€Å"It's cold.† It was cold now. Outside the car, rather than through the once-open window that was now completely plugged with evergreen, Matt could hear the wind. It whistled, as if through many branches. There was also the sound of wood creaking, startlingly loud and ridiculously high above. It sounded like a storm. â€Å"What thehell was it, anyway?† he exploded, kicking the front seat viciously. â€Å"The thing I swerved for on the road?† Meredith's dark head lifted slowly. â€Å"I don't know; I was about to roll up the window. I only got a glimpse.† â€Å"It just appeared right in the middle of the road.† â€Å"A wolf?† â€Å"It wasn't there and then itwas there.† â€Å"Wolves aren't that color. It was red,† Bonnie said flatly, lifting her head from Meredith's shoulder. â€Å"Red?† Meredith shook her head. â€Å"It was much too big to be a fox.† â€Å"Itwas red, I think,† Matt said. â€Å"Wolves aren't red†¦what about werewolves? Does Tyler Smallwood have any relatives with red hair?† â€Å"It wasn't a wolf,† Bonnie said. â€Å"It was†¦backward.† â€Å"Backward?† â€Å"Its head was on the wrong side. Or maybe it had heads on both ends.† â€Å"Bonnie, you arereally scaring me,† Meredith said. Matt wouldn't say it, but she was really scaring him, too. Because his glimpse of the animal had seemed to show him the same kind of deformed shape that Bonnie was describing. â€Å"Maybe we just saw it at a weird angle,† he said, while Meredith said, â€Å"It may just have been some animal scared out by – â€Å" â€Å"By what?† Meredith looked up at the top of the car. Matt followed her gaze. Very slowly, and with a groan of metal, the roof dented. And again. As if something very heavy was leaning on it. Matt cursed himself. â€Å"While I was in the front seat, why didn't I just floor it – ?† He stared hungrily through branches, trying to make out the accelerator, the ignition. â€Å"Are the keys still there?† â€Å"Matt, we ended up half in a ditch. And besides, if it would have done any good, I'd have told you to floor it.† â€Å"That branch would've taken your head off!† â€Å"Yes,† Meredith said simply. â€Å"It would havekilled you!† â€Å"If it would have gotten you two out, I'd have suggested it. But you were trapped looking sideways; I couldsee straight ahead. They were already here; the trees. In every direction.† â€Å"That†¦isn't†¦possible!† Matt pounded the seat in front of him to emphasize each word. â€Å"Isthis possible?† The roof creaked again. â€Å"Both of you – stop fighting!† Bonnie said, and her voice broke on a sob. There was an explosion like a gunshot and the car sank suddenly back and left. Bonnie started. â€Å"What was that?† Silence. â€Å"†¦a tire blowing,† Matt said at last. He didn't trust his own voice. He looked at Meredith. So did Bonnie. â€Å"Meredith – the branches are filling up the front seat. I can hardly see the moonlight. It's getting dark.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"What are we going todo ?† Matt could see the tremendous tension and frustration in Meredith's face, as if everything she said should come out through gritted teeth. But Meredith's voice was quiet. â€Å"I don't know.† With Stefan still shuddering, Elena curled herself like a cat over the bed. She smiled at him, a smile drugged with pleasure and love. He thought of grasping her by the arms, pulling her down, and starting all over again. That was how insane she'd made him. Because he knew – all too well, from experience – the danger they were flirting with. Much more of this and Elena would be the first spirit-vampire, as she'd been the first vampire-spirit he'd known. But look at her! He slipped out from beneath her as he sometimes did and just gazed, feeling his heart pound just at the sight of her. Her hair, true gold, fell like silk down to the bed and pooled there. Her body, in the light of the one small lamp in the room, seemed to be outlined in gold. She truly seemed to float and move and sleep in a golden haze. It was terrifying. For a vampire, it was as if he'd brought a living sun into his bed. He found himself suppressing a yawn. She did that to him, too, like an unwitting Delilah taking Samson's strength away. Hyper-charged as he might be by her blood, he was also delightfully sleepy. He would spend a warm night in – or below – her arms. In Matt's car it only got darker as the trees continued to cut out the moonlight. For a while they tried yelling for help. That did no good, and besides, as Meredith pointed out, they needed to conserve the oxygen in the car. So they sat still again. Finally, Meredith reached into her jeans pocket and produced a set of keys with a tiny keychain flashlight. Its light was blue. She pressed it and they all leaned forward. Such a tiny thing to mean so much, Matt thought. There was pressure against the front seats now. â€Å"Bonnie?† Meredith said. â€Å"No one will hear us out here yelling. If anyone could hear us, they would have heard the tire and thought it was a gunshot.† Bonnie shook her head as if she didn't want to listen. She was still picking pine needles out of her skin. She's right. We're miles away from anybody, Matt thought. â€Å"There is something very bad here,† Bonnie said. She said it quietly, but as if every word was being forced out one by one, like pebbles thrown into a pond. Matt suddenly felt grayer. â€Å"How†¦bad?† â€Å"It's so bad that it's†¦I'venever felt anything like this before. Not when Elena got killed, not from Klaus, not fromanything . I'venever feltanything as bad as this. It'sso bad, and it's sostrong . I didn't think anything could be so strong. It'spushing on me, and I'mafraid – â€Å" Meredith cut her off. â€Å"Bonnie, I know we can both only think of one way out of this – â€Å" â€Å"There'sno way out of this!† † – I know you're afraid – â€Å" â€Å"Who is there to call? I could do it†¦if there were someone to call. I can stare at your little flashlight and try to pretend it's a flame and do it – â€Å" â€Å"Trancing?† Matt looked at Meredith sharply. â€Å"She's not supposed to do that anymore.† â€Å"Klaus is dead.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"There's nobody to hear me!† Bonnie shrieked and then she broke down into huge sobs at last. â€Å"Elena and Stefan are too far away, and they're probably asleep by now! And there isn't anyone else!† The three of them were being pushed together now, as branches pressed the seats back onto them. Matt and Meredith were close enough to look at each other right over Bonnie's head. â€Å"Uh,† Matt said, startled. â€Å"Um†¦are we sure?† â€Å"No,† Meredith said. She sounded both grim and hopeful. â€Å"Remember this morning? We are not at all sure. In factI'm sure he's still around somewhere.† Now Matt felt sick, and Meredith and Bonnie looked ill in the already strange-looking blue light. â€Å"And – right before this happened, we were talking about how a lot of stuff – â€Å" † – basically everything that happened to change Elena – â€Å" † – was all his fault.† â€Å"In the woods.† â€Å"With an open window.† Bonnie sobbed on. Matt and Meredith, however, had made a silent agreement by eye contact. Meredith said, very gently, â€Å"Bonnie, what you said you would do; well, you're going to have to do it. Try to get through to Stefan, or waken Elena or – or apologize to†¦Damon. Probably the last, I'm afraid. But he's never seemed to want us all dead, and he must know that it won't help him with Elena if he kills her friends.† Matt grunted, skeptical. â€Å"He may not want us all dead, but he may wait until some of us are dead to save the others. I've never trus – â€Å" â€Å"You've never wished him any harm,† Meredith overrode him in a louder voice. Matt blinked at her and then shut up. He felt like an idiot. â€Å"So, here, the flashlight's on,† Meredith said, and even in this crisis, her voice was steady, rhythmic, hypnotic. The pathetic little light was so precious, too. It was all they had to keep the darkness from becoming absolute. But when the darkness became absolute, Matt thought, it would be because all light, all air, everything from the outside had been shut out, pushed out of the way by the pressure of the trees. And by then the pressure would have broken their skeletons. â€Å"Bonnie?† Meredith's voice was the voice of every big sister who ever had come to her younger sibling's rescue. That gentle. That controlled. â€Å"Can you try to pretend it's a candle flame†¦a candle flame†¦a candle flame†¦and then try to trance?† â€Å"I'm in trance already.† Bonnie's voice was somehow distant – far away and almost echoing. â€Å"Then ask for help,† Meredith said softly. Bonnie was whispering, over and over, clearly oblivious to the world around her: â€Å"Please, come help us. Damon, if you can hear me, please accept our apologies and come. You gave us a terrible scare, and I'm sure we deserved it, but please, please help. It hurts, Damon. It hurts so bad I could scream. But instead I'm putting all that energy into Calling you. Please, please, please help†¦Ã¢â‚¬  For five, ten, fifteen minutes she kept it up, as the branches grew, enclosing them with their sweet, resinous scent. She kept it up far longer than Matt had ever thought she could endure. Then the light went out. After that there was no sound but the whisper of the pines. You had to admire the technique. Damon was once again lounging in midair, even higher this time than when he'd entered Caroline's third-story window. He still had no idea of the names of trees, but that didn't stop him. This branch was like having a box seat over the drama unfolding below. He was starting to get a little bored, since nothing new was happening on the ground. He'd abandoned Damaris earlier this evening whenshe had gotten boring, talking about marriage and other subjects he wished to avoid. Like her current husband. Bo-ring. He'd left without really checking to see if she'd become a vampire – he tended to think so, and wouldn't that be a surprise when hubby got home? His lips trembled on the edge of a smile. Below him, the play had almost reached its climax. And you really had to admire the technique. Pack hunting. He had no idea what sort of nasty little creatures were manipulating the trees, but like wolves or lionesses, they seemed to have gotten it down to an art. Working together to capture prey that was too quick and too heavily armored for one of them alone to manage. In this case, a car. The fine art of cooperation. Pity vampires were so solitary, he thought. If we could cooperate, we'd own the world. He blinked sleepily and then flashed a dazzling smile at nothing at all. Of course, if we could do that – say, take a city and divvy up the inhabitants – we'd finish it off by divvying up one another. Tooth and nail and Power would be wielded like the blade of a sword, until there was nothing left but shreds of quivering flesh and gutters running with blood. Nice imagery, though, he thought, and let his eyelids droop to appreciate it. Artistic. Blood in scarlet pools, magically still liquid enough to run down white marble steps of – oh, say, the Kallimarmaron in Athens. An entire city gone quiet, purged of noisy, chaotic, hypocritical humans, with only their necessary bits left behind: a few arteries to pump the sweet red stuff out in quantity. The vampire version of the land of milk and honey. He opened his eyes again in annoyance. Now things were getting loud down there. Humans yelling. Why? What was the point? The rabbit always squeals in the jaws of the fox, but when has another rabbit ever rushed up to save it? There, a new proverb,and proof that humans are as stupid as rabbits, he thought, but his mood was ruined. His mind slid away from the fact, but it wasn't just the noise below that was disturbing him. Milk and honey, that had been†¦a mistake. Thinking about that had been a blunder. Elena's skin had been like milk that night a week ago, warm-white, not cool, even in the moonlight. Her bright hair in shadow had been like spilled honey. Elena wouldn't be happy to see the results of this night's pack hunting. She would cry tears like crystal dewdrops, and they would smell like salt. Suddenly Damon stiffened. He sent one stealthy query of Power around him, a circle of radar. But nothing bounced back, except the mindless trees at his feet. Whatever was orchestrating this, it was invisible. Right, then. Let's trythis , he thought: Concentrating on all the blood he'd drunk in the last few days, he blasted out a wash of pure Power, like Vesuvius erupting with a deadly pyroclastic explosion. It encircled him completely in every direction, a fifty-mile-per-hour bubble of Power like superheated gas. Because it was back. Unbelievably, the parasite was trying to do it again, to get into his mind. It had to be. Lulling him, he supposed, rubbing the back of his neck with absentminded fury, while its packmates finished off their prey in the car. Whispering things into his mind to keep him still, taking his own dark thoughts and echoing them back a shade or two darker, in a cycle that might have ended in him flying off to kill and kill again for the pure black velvet enjoyment of it. Now Damon's mind was cold and dark with fury. He stood, stretching his aching arms and shoulders, and then searched carefully, not with a simple radar ring, but with a blast of Power behind each stab, probing with his mind to find the parasite. It had to be out there; the trees were still going about their business. But he could find nothing, even though he'd used the fastest and most efficient method of scanning he knew: a thousand random stabs per second in a Drunkard's Walk search pattern. He should have found a dead body immediately. Instead he'd foundnothing . That made him even angrier than before, but there was a tinge of excitement to his fury. He'd wanted a fight; a chance to kill where the killing would be meaningful. And now here was an opponent who met all the qualifications – and Damon couldn't kill it because he couldn't find it. He sent a message, lambent with ferocity, in all directions. I have already warned you once. Now ICHALLENGEyou. Show yourself – OR ELSE STAY AWAY FROM ME! He gathered Power, gathered it, gathered it again, thinking of all the different mortals who had contributed it. He held it, nurturing it, crafting it for its purpose, and raising its strength with all that his mind knew of fighting and of the skill and expertise of war. He held the Power until it felt as if he were holding a nuclear bomb in his arms. And then he let it go all at once, an explosion speeding in the opposite direction, away from him, nearing the speed of light. Now, surely, he would feel the death throes of something enormously powerful and cunning – something that had managed to survive his previous strafings designed only for eldritch creatures. Damon expanded his senses to their widest reach, waiting to hear or feel something shattering, combusting – something falling blind, with its own blood tumbling nearby, from a branch, from the air, fromsomewhere . Fromsomewhere a creature should have plummeted to the ground or raked at it with huge dinosaur-like claws – a creature half-paralyzed and completely doomed, cooked from the inside out. But although he could feel the wind rising to a howl and huge black clouds pooling above him in response to his own mood, he still could sense no dark creature close enough to have entered his thoughts. How strong was this thing? Where was it coming from? Just for a moment, a thought flashed through his mind. A circle. A circle with a dot at its center. And the circle was the blast he'd shot away in all directions, and the dot was the only place his blast didn't reach. Inside him alre – Snap! Suddenly his thoughts went blank. And then he began, sluggishly, slightly bewildered, to try to put the fractured pieces together. He had been thinking about the blast of Power he'd sent out, yes? And how he'd expected to feel something fall and die. Hell, he couldn't even sense any ordinary animals bigger than a fox in the woods. Although his sweep of Power had been carefully made to affect only creatures of his kind of darkness, the ordinary animals had been so spooked that they'd gone running wildly from the area. He peered down. Hm. Except the trees around the car; and they weren't after him. Besides, whatever they were, they were only the pawns of an invisible killer. Not really sentient – not within the boundaries he had crafted so carefully. Could he have been wrong? Half his fury had been for himself, for being so careless, so well-fed and confident that he'd let down his guard. Well-fed†¦hey, maybe I'm drunk, he thought, and flashed the smile again at nothing, without even thinking about it. Drunk and paranoid and edgy. Pissed and pissed off. Damon relaxed against the tree. The wind was screaming now, swirling and freezing, the sky full of roiling black clouds that cut out any light from the moon or stars. Just his kind of weather. He was still edgy, but he couldn't find any reason to be. The only disturbance in the aura of the woods was the tiny crying of a mind inside the car, like a trapped bird with only one note. That would be the little one, the redheaded witch with the delicate neck. The one who'd been whining about life changing too much. Damon gave a little more of his weight to the tree. He'd followed the car with his mind out of absent interest. It wasn't his fault that he'd caught them talking about him, but it did degrade their chances of rescue a bit. He blinked slowly. Odd that they'd had an accident trying not to run over a creature in approximately the same area he'd almost crashed the Ferrari trying to run one over. Pity he hadn't had a glimpse of their creature, but the trees were too thick. The redheaded bird was crying again. Well, do you want a changenow or don't you, little witch? Make up your mind. You have to ask nicely. And then, of course,I have to decide what kind of change you get.

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Nursing - Essay Example In the medical professional, abortion is a safe practice when conducted under the right procedure and within the legal provision (Duda,  2012). However, the morality of the human community influences medical decisions. Consequently, medical practitioners debate whether the practice is moral or unethical. The public and medical opinions about doctor-assisted suicide has a close contention with 47% of the Us adults approving the practice while 49 percent disapprove the same or laws enacted to promote it (Pew Research Center., 2015). Specifically, morality is a critical issue that influences these decisions and perceptions. Fundamentally, cultural practices and the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 as well as the US Constitution promote Human life by providing the right to life (Institute of Medicine, 2015). The morality of using restraining devices on stubborn patients, the elderly and those with a mental disability continues to cause concern for medical practitioners, as well as friends and relatives of the patients (Lai,  2007). Principally, the medical importance of the practice is to ensure the safety of the patient, the nurse, and any other stakeholder in this context. However, the antagonists argue that restraining denies the patient their fundamental rights of freedom and liberty as well as non-discriminatory care. Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Approaching Death: Addressing Key End-of-Life Issues, author. (2015). dying in America: Improving quality and honoring individual preferences near the end of life. Pew Research Center. (2015). Chapter 1: Opinion about Laws on Doctor-Assisted Suicide | Pew Research Centers Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved from

Compare and contrast the ethical theories of Aristotle and Immanuel Essay

Compare and contrast the ethical theories of Aristotle and Immanuel Kant - Essay Example Man should be oriented by entities in his or her environment of the definition of what is morally good or not. However, if one should ask, what makes an ethical person? What are the characteristics that make him a good person? Aristotle and Kant’s ethical theories have laid out arguments claiming man’s ethics. However, there are significant ideas that make one theory triumph over the other. Aristotle and Kant speak of the highest good that man can do to society and his own – one that is not to be done just for the sake of being called ethical, getting material possessions or pleasing comments in exchange for it. It is done because it is â€Å"good in itself† (Johnson). Both also speak of happiness as ends of being virtuous. However, according to Aristotle, a virtuous life leading to happiness is not achieved without the possession of additional goods as well. A life perceived to be perfect by many, a life with wealth, power, acquaintances, and a physique h ighly appreciated by everyone. With this life also comes good upbringing, and good habits. Without these things, man will have the difficulty of reaching a virtuous status. Aristotle insists that it is necessary to have these desirable things to be able to reach happiness. In a negative light, this is unfair for those who are born without much fortune. If a woman has unacceptable physical features and is not wealthy enough, this theory already forecasts her future or to narrow it, her ability to push for a virtuous life. Another weakness of the theory is the limitation of which it is applicable to. Although it does not claim that only fortunate people are developed to be virtuous, it gives them an advantage to such a life. He points out that if a person who has these things, he will be raised to have good habits and with good habits, he is able to learn how to be virtuous. In reality, unfortunate people also achieve a virtuous life. It is within their strategies in life on how to ge t there. It is not dictated on what a person owns but how people perceive how they life supposed to be and how they would be able to reach that kind of life. Also another argument of Aristotle, because of this kind of upbringing, man will not have any reason for being truthful, openhanded, and brave because it is how one is brought up. Well, unfortunate people can also have this kind of upbringing without material and even physically acceptable attributes. They do well without asking anything in return because of their misfortune but they do well because they feel that it is the right thing to do and doing such will lead them to some state of happiness. In all fairness to Aristotle, he provides an ideal state of virtuous life that one ought to pursue. Kant, on the other hand, does not provide a status for which virtue can be obtained. He does not give material possession and physical attributes importance when it comes to being a moral person. He said that virtue does not insure wel l being (Johnson). Kant proposes that man should be rational with his actions based on the standards of rationality. There should be universality in a sense that man’s actions should be widely accepted by others as well. Kant’s theory suggests that in order for man to achieve a morality that is powerful enough to compel one from doing injustice to another or to himself, man will undergo challenges in a sense that one can learn what is good and what is bad. He also proposes that there is an â€Å"