Violence, Gender and Elder Abuse

Women and Violence Professor Guelakis November 1, 2010 Violence, Gender, and Elder Abuse Elderly abuse has not been researched enough. There has been recent expansion on the research of abuse of the elderly. However, it is still lacking adequate theory because there has not been enough research done, data collected on why it happens, or the characteristics of the abuser and victim. Women are predominantly the victims of elder abuse and men the abusers. However, there has not been a firm definition of what elderly abuse is. Some experts suggest that elder abuse should be included in the definition of domestic abuse.Experts have found in their studies that women are the majority of the physically abused where men were the larger average of elderly individuals who were neglected. However, many experts also state that focusing on the definition of elder abuse is counterproductive in focusing on the issue that women are the majority of abused victims. Feminist theorists have failed to pro duce enough data here, although they have the expertise to contribute to this research. One of the main problems with elder abuse is the failure to acknowledge it as a form of real abuse.The ‘caregiver’ is already excused by be given this label as the ‘carer’. There is also the focus on the elder individual as the catalyst to the abuse, by pushing the carer to his or her limits. The elder individual is seen as overly dependent and adding stressors to the caregiver. ‘Granny-battering’, as elderly abuse was once called, has turned into a closer look at the perpetrator and his characteristics instead of the victims. Experts say that more attention should be placed on the predisposing factors, such as drugs, alcohol, and dependency.Spouse and child abuse research has been found to have similar pathological characteristics to elder abuse. Social norms support elder abuse against women in that women are dependent on caregivers financially, practicall y, and emotionally. There is little information, however, on the strategies, tactics, or coping skills because the victims have not been heard. Unfortunately, the lack of research, along with the â€Å"denial and inability† to recognize elder abuse has made it difficult to gain knowledge and accomplishment with this very valid form of abuse.

The Hijras of India

The hijras of India are unlike any you might see in any other part of the world. You might have occasionally come across men dressed as women, wearing garishly bright makeup. They immediately attract attention to themselves for all the wrong reasons and most often win ridicule. We are really not sure if eunuch, transvestite, gay or transgender is actually the right term for a hijra as their social mores are very unique and are almost above classification by western terms.One can attempt to know them by their social mores rather than by classification by taxonomy, so here goes: Who is a hijra? Is there no western classification to this transgender from India? Because of a lack of proper english definition, most research points to hijras associated with a matriarchal, hierarchical clan that encompasses LGBT orientations. Some relevant points here to help you understand who a hijra really is: 1. There are more than a million hijras in India, the largest presence in any country! . Hijras live in clans or all-male hijra communities. The hierarchical head of such a community is called a guru. The followers are chelas. The gurus and chelas live in harmony. 3. In larger cities, like Delhi and Mumbai, hijra communities could coalesce based on language and caste but they are mostly secular in their views on everything. 4. Their sharp clapping conveys their presence and orientation quickly to the normal folks. The clap I demonstrate in the audio is simply limp and incorrect.The hijra’s clap is a distinct horizontal flat palms striking against and perpendicular to each other, with fingers spread, as opposed to the common applause-style, vertical palm & closed fingers strike. I believe this is an extension to their physiological identity. It communicates ‘I am, who I am’. There is a sense of instant identification of the community they belong to. Sociologists actually think there are subtle variations in the ‘taal’ of the hijra’s clap that, apart from controlling the attention of ‘normals’ like us, are also used for internal codified messages.Modern hijras maybe dropping this unique aural identifier to possibly naturalize themselves into the rest of society. Apart from it being somewhat aurally arresting, the visual beauty of the henna design on their hands gets a resounding slap and abruptly snaps it out of it’s intended accent on their femininity. This could well be the reason why an activist, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi discourages the continuing use of the hijra clap, as it has come to only signify begging and extortion. 5. According to Indian surveys, less than 10% of the hijras are castrated . Castration is a hijra’s ultimate form of liberation. Either through a legal gender reassignment by a qualified doctor or an illegal unhygienic, and painful excision by another designated hijra spiritual head. The latter, can often lead to death, but is considered a pure form of nirwaan. Those wh o have undergone and survived the barbaric excision are accorded greater respect in the hijra community. Thankfully, contrary to popular myth, only 10% are actually castrated. Woefully, the deaths due to illegal excisions are not registered. 7.It is believed that because of their unique gender liminality, they have the power to express boon or bane to the recipient. Often called to celebrate weddings and births of newborns. 8. In a successful employment and empowerment scheme, they accompanied Indian tax collectors in the year 2005 and had a revenue share of 4% of the collections attributable to their skills. A euphemism for exhortation, if you ask me, both by the hijras and the tax collectors! 9. Unlike their western counterparts, they are neither men nor women and do not attempt to pass as one.I have a problem with this concept, as they do pick a dominant gender role, when they seek partnership. 10. The Aruvanis of Tamil Nadu have also stated that they do not like to be labeled as ‘hijras’ but as transgendered females. This is cause for some confusion. Was it due to social stigma associated by the term? 11. Most often, hijras are born male but aspire to be women and yearn for a man’s love. 12. Most of the hijras are poor and are discriminated against. They are not gainfully employed and will resort to beg or extort for money and are given to sex work. 3. Because of the lack of jobs many hijras are forced to prostitution and have higher rates of prevalence of HIV within their communities. ** 14. NGO’s employ hijra activists to ensure that their fundamental human rights are not violated. Illegal police custodies and lock-ups of hijras are quickly dealt with by the NGOs. One such promising NGO that has done stellar work with the hijra communities is SANGAMA in Bangalore. ** Sangama was set up in 1999 and is funded by the Bill Gates Foundation and the Fund for Global Human Rights among others.As well as organising protests and rallies, groups like Sangama have been instrumental in establishing community networks with monthly meetings and safe spaces such as drop-in centres for all sexual minority groups. Two thirds of their spending goes towards fighting against the spread of HIV infection through awareness programmes and condom distribution. According to Sangama, approximately 18-20 per cent of hijras are HIV positive. â€Å"Four years ago,† Rex says, â€Å"there were three to four AIDS deaths every month [in Bangalore], now there are three to four deaths every year. † http://petervas. wordpress. com

International trade and transportation law Essay

International trade and transportation law - Essay Example   Generally, the bills of lading used on international shipments include ocean bills of lading for cargo transported by ocean and air waybills for cargo transported by air. Some bills of lading are negotiable where as some are not. The difficulties of non negotiable bill of lading was explained by Chana (1999). He also discussed about the comparison of bills of lading in China, Hongkong and United States of America (Chanb, 1998). The status of bills of lading in China was also explained by Chen (1999). The letter of guarantee provided by the bank or any financial institution will be vital in some cases of bills of lading. For example in case of an Australian context i.e. Pacific Carriers Ltd. v. Banque Nationale de Paris, the bank who had given the letter of guarantee was held responsible for loss of goods (Derrington and White, 2002). Even though letters of indemnity are a common practice, in some of the ceses, they were criticized by the courts for violation of the facts (United Baltic Corp. v. Dundee Perth & London Shipping Co., 1928). By performing all the above mentioned functions, bill of lading contributes significantly to International trade of goods. With the bill of lading showing that a contract of carriage exists and that the goods have been received by the carrier, a buyer and his bank are assured that the delivery of goods according to the contract of sale is under progress. Similarly an exporter, holding a bill of lading as title to the goods, may, by choosing when to pass the bill to the buyer, decides when the latter takes delivery of the goods. Thus the bill of lading becomes an essential element in controlling payment procedures in international trade. Most important thing is that the extent of protection provided by bill of lading is quite enormous (Jan Ramberg, 1979). The standard format for documentary credit transactions in international trade is ‘The Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits’, or UCP 500 which will ensure

Comparison of the Figure of Achilles with Odysseus and Gilgamesh Research Paper

Comparison of the Figure of Achilles with Odysseus and Gilgamesh - Research Paper Example In Edel’s view, the definition of self-sufficiency cannot be limited with a mere reference to the 'self' of a man. It also involves the society in which he lives that comprises his parents, children, wife, friends and fellow citizens, "since man is by nature a social and political being" (Johnston par. 8). This paper is an attempt to compare and analyze the heroic figures Achilles and Odysseus, in the light of Aristotle’s statement. The thesis statement of this paper is that Achilles is a self-sufficient god-like figure, when compared to Odysseus, who constantly fights to reach his homeland and reclaim his family and home. Homer is the author of the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey', the two major Greek epic poems that form a significant part of ancient history and classic literature. The Iliad deals with the incidents that take place in the tenth year of the Trojan War, with special emphasis to the famous Greek warrior Achilles.Odyssey, on the other hand, deals with the return of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, in post-Trojan War. Achilles and Odysseus are considered as the greatest Achaean heroes of Trojan War. Odysseus is a great leader, orator, and tactician; whereas Achilles is a daring warrior, who is proud of his abilities. Homer does not portray Achilles and Odysseus in generic human forms. His heroes are men who are warriors, consistently indulging in activities that require unique traits and qualities, beyond the deeds of normal human forms. Homer portrays Achilles and Odysseus as men possessing different distinguishing qualities that make them absolutely fit for the ancient Greek notion of 'heroes'. According to Lash, a hero possesses "a consistent capacity for action that surpasses the norm of man or woman" (Lash 5). Lash also states that a hero is not superior to human norms. A man is defined 'hero' with regard to his â€Å"traits and unique style of action [that]mark him as having 'arete', excellence. In excelling and exceeding himself, the h ero becomes a model of higher potential for his clan, his race, his nation, and even for humanity at large" (Lash 5). Homer’s heroes are therefore males of exceptional abilities, with a great potential to excel a range of activities, and in doing so, become a source of inspiration to others. Achilles, the son of Peleus and Nereid Thetis, is a mighty warrior with god-like rage, which is uncommon among human forms. Homer mentions Achilles as god-like many a times and attributes the appearance of a God to him. Achilles is a self-sufficient man, as explained by Aristotle, except for his need for women. He is aware of his destiny that the city of Troy cannot be taken without his help, as prophesied by the seer Calchas. Achilles also knows that he is destined to die in the Trojan War. When Agamemnon offers material benefits for his participation in the Trojan War, Achilles replies that his life is more worth than these benefits. The sole aim of Achilles is to become an excellent wa rrior. He prefers death to dishonor, and yearns for a glorious death in the battlefield. When Agamemnon, takes away Achilles’ war-prize Briseis from him, Achilles turns against Agamemnon and refuses to fight for the Greeks. Achilles of The Iliad, on the other hand, is an archetypal hero who is in charge of the Myrmidons. He becomes arrogant and selfish, and turns against Greek forces. He asks Thetis to plead with Zeus, to bring failure to the Greeks, so that Agamemnon would realize his value. When Briseis is returned to Achilles, he with draws from fighting. Later, he is filled with rage, when Hector kills Patroclus, his friend, who fights in his place. Achilles returns to the fight and kills Hector. In rage, he desecrates the body of

Reflections on Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflections on Learning - Essay Example This led to a great improvement in my prowess on the field, and quenched my thirst for knowledge as a student. Some of the practical applications of our course open new doors to many opportunities that would have previously seemed distant. This has showed me that the growth in technology is diverse and the information to be gathered even the more. The following paper describes how my experience has been with the different concepts that I have acquired. It will also show some of the challenges I faced, and how they helped me to learn more from them. Reflection During my course curriculum, I came across many ideas. The ideas helped me understand the working of things in IT. In systems theory, some of the paradigms I learnt really gave me an in-depth understanding of how things work. I got to appreciate the connection between the different branches of IT and how they are interrelated. The most amazing and course changing moments are those when I learnt how all the branches are inter con nected and how the concepts from one branch spreads over to the other branches. This information helped me understand how to apply some frameworks and systems semantics from one platform to another .This kind of learning helped me open my mind up. It gave me an opportunity to be creative with my practices. During practical sessions, it was interesting to see how development of systems could be made easier by using time saving methods (Skyttner, 2008). These methods include; how to use different classes for different programs, and how to use data sets across different programs. These are some of the practices we got to learn. It showed me how technology could be used to achieve so much and make man’s work easier. Some of the insights I got were mostly from system design analysis and development. I got to learn the dynamics of implementing systems in organizations. I also learnt how these systems are used to improve the functionality of that organization (Skyttner, 2008). I und erstood the cost implications that are incurred by the organization. This also made me see how organizations justify the cost they incur when they have deployed a new system. They improve performance and make the staff understand why they need to embrace information technology. I learnt that this is achieved through training and making the staff understand the importance of this change. During the course, I faced numerous challenges that helped me learn a lot from the curriculum. Some of the concepts that were taught I had a problem understanding them and seeing their practicality. They posed a challenge especially when I had to justify their use, some concepts that were taught were also contradicting and they left me confused on which to apply. I later learnt that some of the concepts and practices might be contradicting, but they are applied in different scenarios. This is because the different scenarios require different approaches. This explained why some of the ideas might seem contradicting. An example is the approach used in programming. The two models; bottom up and top down, are applicable in different scenarios. Due to the extent of exposure we got from the class. My level of understanding of the topics we covered is sufficient. I knew this by trying different exercises to check and the results were quite satisfactory. I did the tests on a practical and theoretical level. This showed me that my learning was all rounded, and not skewed to one aspect. Conclusion Throughout the course,

International Business (Embraer Corporation) Essay

International Business (Embraer Corporation) - Essay Example The internationalization strategies that the companies resort to, often involve numerous factors. In the light of this fact, it should be stated that most governments are interested in attracting the financial resources of the Multinational Corporations. Therefore, while some companies develop their product, extend markets, increase the amount of workers, the others win governmental tenders, invest, and look for partners. Another aspect of the trade globalization strategy is closely linked with the opportunity to create employments all over the world. While the governments get an opportunity to reduce unemployment rates, the MNCs enjoy lower labour costs. The aim of the research is to analyze the globalization and expansion strategy of the EMBRAER (EMBRAER - Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A.). Since it is one of the largest aeronautical and aerospace conglomerates, it should be highlighted that the Brazilian globalization experience may be regarded as a universal path to success for other corporations with headquarters located in the developing countries. Company Overview. The company was founded in 1969 as a government owned corporation. It was engaged in developing and building aircrafts, including commercial and military machines. The globalization process of the EMBRAER Corporation started in 1994 when the company was privatized. The manufacturing capacities are concentrated in Brazil, and by 2010 the company had occupied the third place among the largest commercial aircraft suppliers (jointly with the Canadian Bombardier), while the first two places righteously belong to Boeing and Airbus. The total number of employees exceeds 17 000, and the expected net income in 2012 approaches to $ 350 million. Business units of the corporation are located in Brazil, USA, China, France, Portugal, and Singapore. In general, the internationalization of the aircraft business became the key driver of the expansion processes in EMBRAER. (King, 2006) In accordance with the official data, given on the website (Embraer Profile, 2012), the growth in 2000s was mainly stipulated by the increased demand for the ERJ aircrafts family. Considering the fact that the world demanded high flight safety after September 11, 2001, the company succeeded to adapt to the changed requirements of the aircraft building industry. The expansion strategy of the EMBRAER Corporation is mainly associated with the opportunity to invest into the aircraft and air transportation industries. Therefore, as it is stated in Kronemer (2006), American Airlines operates up to 200 ERJ jets. Regardless of the fact that AMR owns these aircrafts through the American Eagle Company, the EMBRAER had an opportunity to provision up to R$583.2 million. In the light of this fact, it should be stated that the described decision could influence the secondary market for medium sized jets, and the company performed essential restructuring the financial management oriented at international markets. Jo hnson and Turner (2003) emphasize that such a restructuring was needed for covering potential expenses, and getting financial guarantees linked with the ERJ 145 jets supplies. The next step was linked with the investments into the customer support network. Executive aviation is regarded as the sphere with the highest priority. On the other hand, the commercial aviation investments were

Managerial Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managerial Economics - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  accounting profit is the surplus money gained by the firm after deducting explicit costs such as labour from the total amount of revenue generated from its operations.   On the other hand, the difference between the firm’s accounting profit and implicit as well as explicit costs is known as economic profit. It is important for the managers to understand the difference between accounting and economic profits. Accounting profit denotes the firm’s market value to establish if it is operating viably. On the other hand, economic profit denotes if the firm’s economic condition is sound enough to continue with operations or halt them. It should be positive for a firm to carry own with operations.  This paper outlines that the majority of for profit firms are in business to generate profits from their operations. As such, the best way to measure a firm’s performance is to determine its current level of profitability compared to its previous profits for the same period. An increase in profits compared to the previous period entails that the firm is performing well while a decline in profits means that its performance is below expected standards since firms are mainly concerned with generating profits from their operations.     The major types of profits include accounting and economic profits as outlined in the prompt below.  Basically, accounting profit is the surplus money gained by the firm after deducting explicit costs such as labour from the total amount of revenue generated from its operations.  

Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Environment - Essay Example According to Leach (2002), the impacts of these policies on businesses can be short run or long run. Fiscal policies are used to influence levels of aggregate demand in the economy. For the supermarket case, it would be used to achieve price stability and employment regulation. If the government for instance increases its spending and decrease the taxes, then there will be an increase in aggregate demand for the grocery products in the economy (Leach). This brings economic boom to the industry. The increased aggregate demand may cause a need to increase supply hence invoking the need to increase employment. In this case, the supermarkets would at the end have to hire extra staff. When there is inflation in the economy, the government may try to stabilize the prices of the goods by reducing its expenditure, hence reducing aggregate demand forcing the businesses to reduce their prices, hence price stability in the whole economy. Crowding out effect is realized at times in this situatio n. Neri (2001) asserted that monetary policies highly influence the expenditure in an economy. When the central bank of any nation increases its lending rate to commercial banks in an economy, there will be a lag in the amount of money businesses can afford to borrow from the banks in turn due to the increased lending rates by commercial banks. Public sector spending is minimised at this time because of less money in circulation in the economy. Supermarket stores and other businesses will therefore have to reduce their expenditure since access to financial services from banks has been highly reduced (Neri). Impact of Competition Policy and Regulatory Mechanisms on Tesco Regulation of the grocery industry in the UK by nature of its competition is based on four major items; prices, location of the company, product selection and promotional procedures. The industry is regulated by the Fair Trading Act of 1973 which regulates the level of competition in the grocery industry. In analysin g the impacts of competition policy on Tesco PLC therefore, there has to be a consideration for the above four factors. In terms of entry into a market, the competition regulatory policies do not restrict acquisition. Tesco was experiencing completion in some areas and because of there being legislations on take-overs and barriers to entry, the small retailers were purchased by Tesco and therefore created more vivid market domination by this giant firm. According to the revised competition act of 1998 as indicated by a Lancaster university report†¦.†any merger, whether notified to the OFT or not, whether intended or consummated, can be referred by the Secretary of State (SoS) to the Competition Commission for investigation, provided it is above a threshold size†. It is like the act allows takeovers and mergers which kills competition from the small scale retailers. The second competition policy of great importance is the transparency policy. This is mainly applicabl e to the promotional industry. Tesco as a company uses the Tesco Clubcard to keep in touch with its customers. However, the act does not allow the company to remain discrete about its promotional contacts with its clients. This in some cases creates an implication of leaking private company information to the competitors. The third rule is on breach of regulatory rules and the consequences thereon. The Director General of Fair Trading has the express authority to investigate a breach. If a company is

Modern Furniture Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Modern Furniture Evaluation - Essay Example Preferred stock is a class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on the assets and earnings than the common stock. Preferred stock generally has a dividend that must be paid out before the dividends to common stockholders and the shares usually do not have voting rights. Each company can work out the details pertaining to the issue of preferred stocks. However preferred stock can be considered as a financial instrument that possesses the characteristics of both debt (with fixed dividend) and equity (potential appreciation). (Investopedia) A convertible debt or security is a bond or a share of preferred stock that can be converted at the option of the holder into common stock of the same corporation. The investor is provided with a fixed return from a bond or with a specified dividend from the preferred stock. In addition the investor has an option to covert it to common stock. As a result the company is able to sell a convertible security at a lower yield than it would have to pay on a straight bond or preferred stock issue. This is an advantage for issuing convertible securities. (James C.Van Horne) A Warrant is an option to purchase a specified number of shares of common stock at a stated price. When the holder of a warrant exercises his option he surrenders the warrants. Warrants are often employed as 'sweeteners' to a public issue of bonds or debt that is privately placed. As a result the company should be able to obtain a lower rate of interest than it would otherwise. For companies that are marginal credit risks the use of warrants may make the difference between being able and not being able to raise funds through a debt issue. Occasionally warrants are directly sold to investors directly against cash. On other occasions they are used in founding of the company issued as compensation to underwriters and venture capitalists. Mostly warrants are issued in connection with a debt issue often a private placement. (James C.Van Horne) A primary financial instrument evidences a direct claim against some other party. These instruments often are traded in the spot market with prices set by the usual forces of demand and supply. In contrast a derivative security derives its value from an underlying primary security. One of the examples for the underlying security for derivatives is the stock option. Movements in the price of the underlying asset, the stock in this case drive the value of the derivative instrument, the option. Derivatives may take the form of simple put and call options on stocks. These options were traded in relatively illiquid over the counter markets. However with the tremendous financial innovations occurred in the last two decades the role of derivative securities in the financial markets have increased manifold touching new heights. (James C. Van Horne) Modern Furniture Company Total Number of shares outstanding: 3,000,000 Cash Dividend Proposed: $ 1.60 per share Total Earnings of the firm $ 12,000,000 Earnings per share $ 4.00 Market Value of the Share $ 88.00 P/E Ratio P/E Ratio is given Market Value per Share Earnings per Share 88.00 4.00 = 22 Dividend Yield and Dividend Payout Ratio Dividend Yield is given by Annual Dividends per

The Impact of British Colonization in India Essay

The Impact of British Colonization in India - Essay Example Traders were frequently engaged in hostilities with their Dutch and Portuguese counterparts in the Indian Ocean. A key event providing the Company with the favour of Mughal emperor Jahangir was their victory over the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally in 1612. Perhaps realizing the futility of waging trade wars in remote seas, the English decided to explore their options for gaining a foothold in mainland India, with official sanction of both countries, and requested the Crown to launch a diplomatic mission. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the Mughal emperor Jahangir (who ruled over most of the subcontinent, along with Afghanistan). The purpose of this mission was to arrange for a commercial treaty which would give the Company exclusive rights to reside and build factories in Surat and other areas. In return, the Company offered to provide to the emperor goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful. The company, under such obvious patronage, soon managed to eclipse the Portuguese, who had established their bases in Goa and Bombay (which was later ceded to England as part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza). It managed to create strongholds in Surat (where a factory was built in 1612), Madras (1639), Bombay (1668) and Calcutta (1690). By 1647, the Company had 23 factories and 90 employees in India2. The major factories became the walled forts of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St George in Madras and the Bombay Castle. In 1634, the Mughal emperor extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal (and in 1717 completely waived customs duties for the trade). The company's mainstay businesses were by now in cotton, silk, indigo, saltpeter and tea. All the while, it was making inroads into the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade in the Malaccan straits. In 1711, the Company established a trading post in Canton (Guangzhou), China, to trade tea for silver3. In 1657 , Oliver Cromwell renewed the charter of 1609, and brought about minor changes in the holding of the Company. The status of the Company was further enhanced by the restoration of monarchy in England. By a series of five acts around 1670, King Charles II provisioned it with the rights to autonomous territorial acquisitions, to mint money, to command fortresses and troops and form alliances, to make war and peace, and to exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the acquired areas. The Company, surrounded by trading competitors, other imperial powers, and sometimes hostile native rulers, experienced a growing need for protection. The freedom to manage its military affairs thus came as a welcome boon and the Company rapidly raised its own armed forces in the 1680s, mainly drawn from the indigenous local population. By 1689, the Company was arguably a "nation" in the Indian mainland, independently administering the vast presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay and possessing a formidable and intimidating military strength. From 1698 the company was entitled to use the motto "Auspico Regis et Senatus Angliae" meaning, "Under the patronage of the King and Parliament of England"4. The efforts of the company in administering India emerged as a model for the civil service system in Britain, especially during the 19th century. Deprived of its trade monopoly in 1813, the company wound up as a trading enterprise. In 1858, the Company lost its administrative functions to the British government following the 1857 uprising

Background and conditions Essay Example for Free

Background and conditions Essay How is it possible that two people grow up together in the same family background and conditions, yet turn out to be strangers? How is it possible that two people who have lived together for many years are strangers to each other at the end? In Sonnys Blues, two brothers the narrator and Sonny, grows up together in Harlem, fall apart as they grow older, and live completely different lives. In Lullaby, Ayah feels that Chato, her husband, has remained stranger to her even when they have spend forty years together, facing all the hardships and sufferings given by life. In Sonny Blues, the narrator is the older brother who is conservative, determined, and a kind of family person. Sonny, who is his younger brother, is carefree and undecided about his future plans. It is sometimes very difficult to understand how two people coming from the same background live life completely opposite from each other. As the narrator and Sonny grow into adults, one moves towards success and the other moves towards failure. Once when their mother was dead, their lives completely changed. The narrator wants Sonny to finish his school and think about his future seriously. After knowing Sonnys plans to play jazz music, the narrator is surprised and annoyed. His conservative thinking and definition of success makes him unable to understand his brothers feelings. He fails to understand that music is Sonnys life and thats what he wants to do all his life. That makes him feel that he doesnt know his brother at all. He is like a stranger to him. The narrator, in some way or the other, wants his brother to be like himself and wants him to do whatever he thinks is safe and right for his future. So Sonny was forced to move in with his brothers fianci e, Isabel, where he has to stay until he finished high school. Sonny starts skipping school and eventually he ceases to go all together. He has been spending all his time with some musicians in a white girls apartment. He is scolded and screamed at by Isabels mother and that is what breaks him down and he runs away. After that, whenever the two brothers met they always fought awfully. It is hard to not be able to fit into society and that is why Sonny turned to drugs for a sense of belonging. Nobody was aware about this problem until it was too late. The narrator has never been a good listener to his brother. That is what I think is the greatest factor that gives him the sense of alienation towards his brother. Sonny was always kept away from his dreams. At the end of the story, the narrator for the first time listens to his brother after all these years and tries to understand him and the sufferings he has to face all his life and tries to console him. Thats when he hears him playing the piano and he ends up being proud of his brother. He becomes the important person in Sonnys life, on the way from suffering to success. They both end up happy and understanding each other much better. In Lullaby, Ayah, the old woman and her husband, Chato have lived together for forty years. Together, they have seen their three children getting apart. Ayah hates white people because she thinks that Jimmie, their eldest son, died due to them. BIA-Bureau of Indian Affairs, who consists of white people, takes away her other two children. On the other hand, Chato is always eager to learn white ways of living. He is fluent in both English and Spanish languages and works for white people in a horse farm. She hated him for teaching her to sign her name in English because thats what takes her children away from her. If she had not signed it, her children would never have departed. The white people fired Chato; he became ill after that. As Ayah describes it, That satisfied her. To see how the white man repaid years of loyalty and work. All of Chatos fine -sounding English talk didnt change things(Baldwin 127). This shows that Ayah was so rigid about her thoughts for white people that she didnt even spare her husband from criticizing. They got some money from the government that Chato spends for his wine. He was sick and drunk one evening when Ayah had to go to pick him up from the bar. That is when she feels a sense of alienation and estrangement towards Chato. She could not see him as a person so ill, drunk, and broken mentally from what he has faced after his sincere and loyal work toward white people. This feeling is very different from what the narrator in Sonnys Blues feels about his brother at some point in the story. Even if Ayah and the narrator in both the stories feel the sense of estrangement and alienation towards the people, so close to their hearts, it is different. The narrator and Sonny never stayed together for long when they grew up. They were always apart and different. Ayah and Chato were different in every way but they lived together all their life, they knew they had, and faced every suffering together. When Ayah sees Chato losing his strength to fight against the hard facts towards life, she feels this sense of estrangement. She has never seen Chato losing or giving up. She has always seen him facing the difficulties with courage and determination. She feels that they are old now. In Sonnys blues, both the brothers end up happily, but in Lullaby, the end is sad. Ayah has nothing to say about anything anymore. Her life has become memories. But the narrator and Sonny have a lot to do together in their life.

Quality of Life for the Patient and Family Essay Example for Free

Quality of Life for the Patient and Family Essay Quality of life has a different meaning for everyone. Many personal thoughts and feelings can come into play when caring for others during the end stages of life. However as a nurse and caregiver, these opinions must be put aside at this significant time. For some health care providers, we may feel that keeping the patient comfortable and having them surrounded by family is most important. However, for the patient, personal culture, lifestyle and value for one self as well as a sense of independence in handling this time alone is most imperative. Therefor a nurse must consider the individuals past experiences, present lifestyle and personal hopes in which they choose to live in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns at this stage. One must meet not only the physical needs of the patient but the psychosocial demands in this sensitive time of need. Seeking aggressive medical treatment vs. palliative care is something that is very personal and differs from individual to individual. Nurses’ opinions and suggestions of the â€Å"best care† should not be voiced to the patient or family, even if asked directly. For Mrs. Thomas, time also plays an important role. She is young and may have many other worries than those of an older age experience in preparing for end of life. A nurse must consider what areas of life are important to her and what is the relative importance of each of these areas. Personal perception that counting on family support is huge, but may not be possible in Mrs. Thomas’ situation as her children live out of town. STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE The nurse should look at several strategies that directly impact the patient as well as the family. Quality of life not only looks at the health status the patient but those directly involved in the care of the patient. This encompasses a broader set of planning including finances, housing, and employment. This will have a direct impact on the entire family. Three important strategies that are helpful to relieve overall stress and promote optimal coping skills include: 1) patient awareness of disease process, 2) available support from healthcare providers and 3) addressing physical as well as the psychosocial needs of the patient. Healthcare professionals must be prepared and speak directly with the patient and family when it is determined best to the physician’s ability, that the identified disease of breast cancer will cause death. Advance planning and preparation may be helpful in dying well if Mrs. Thomas is more aware about her status of disease. Physicians and nurses must change the plan of aggressive medical treatments of curing the disease of breast cancer and concentrate providing support and a comfortable well being of the deteriorating disease process. This in turn should provide a plan of care for relief of pain, contentment to the patient and focus on the overall whole being of quality of life. The homecare team can include doctors, nurses, home health aides, social workers, and clergy as well as trained volunteers. Most team members provide on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to deliver support. The patient and family should feel the comfort in calling these resources at anytime. The nurse must remind Mrs. Thomas and her husband that they are not â€Å"bothering† any team member by asking for assistance. The team must always work together and communicate the patient’s goals for end-of-life care. It is important for all to realize this is very individualized for each patient and family member. Each individual strategy should include caring for the whole person physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. It important for the team to develop strengths based perspectives of psychosocial interventions and listen to what the patient and family have to say to enable them to cope better. In doing so, the team must also communicate on each encounter with Mrs. Thomas and family as well as each other to assure that her and the husband’s needs are being met. HOLISTIC CARE A holistic nursing care plan in valuable in delivering care to the entire person in supporting the physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social and environmental needs. With this approach, nursing care needs to move away from viewing Mrs. Thomas as merely a diagnosis and treating her as a whole person. Nursing goals should be to develop immediate trust with the patient and family, provide comfort, supportive care, and symptom management. This can be achieved by effective communication and providing a calm, relaxed setting for Mrs. Thomas. Allowing her to speak openly and honestly about her feelings and emotions of grief, physical complaints such as pain, nausea, and difficulty sleeping is a good way to start to develop a trusting nurse/patient relationship. As a nurse, one must be supportive and be willing to listen openly. Once Mrs. Thomas begins to express these types of things, the nurse must review and evaluate every visit to improve specific concerns with her. More importantly, healthcare providers must display an openness to hear new concerns and prioritize the needs of the patient and family. FUNCTIONAL ABILITY Assessments to maintain the self functional ability for Mrs. Thomas should include creating a plan to achieve realistic goals and allow self care as long as possible. This in turn can give control back to Mrs. Thomas, help raise confidence and value her quality of life. Mrs. Thomas’ physical, social and environmental conditions should also be considered to help her care for herself. Discussing the 24/7 availability of visits from registered nurses and social workers, involving family and friends or volunteers that can help with running errands and meal preparation for adequate dietary intake, and discussing appropriate medical equipment to assist with ADLs such as performing personal hygiene can prove to be helpful. PROVIDING ADDITIONAL CARE When self-care is no longer possible, the importance of more frequent nurse and/or social worker visits, and interaction of clergy is valuable. In addition, further involvement of additional family, friends, home health aides or volunteers to assist not only with running errands, meal preparation and assistance with ADLs but being present in the home for longer periods to care directly for Mrs. Thomas becomes more imperative. The nurse can assist in making sure appropriate DME equipment is in the home. In addition, this turns out to be a time when additional emotional support is of great concern for Mr. Thomas. CHRONIC DEPRESSION Mr. Thomas already suffers from chronic depression and now has to endure immense and continuous stress to care for his wife with advanced breast cancer. Over time this takes a toll his health, ability to work, finances, and their own personal and family needs. Involvement of not only the nurse, but also social worker and bereavement counselor can help Mr. Thomas tremendously. Encouraging him to take his medications will help both him and his wife. Also, reassurance that it is okay to want quiet time and allowing others to help to care for his wife should be verbalized to him in a caring manner. Taking some of the financial worries away from Mr. Thomas may help as well. The social worker can discuss resources that are of no cost from community volunteer organizations and review the reimbursement of covered services from the insurance organization at the beginning and in ongoing care of his wife. Sharing the right information with the patient’s family is very important and can assist in better coping. Again, the home care team must offer an environment that provides the openness to hear all concerns and overall needs of not only the patient but also her family.

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary The fourth novel that I chose was Atonement by Ian McEwan. In the introduction, a young girl name Briony is producing a play to put on for her brother. Brionys mother, sister, and three cousins are introduced as well as a family friend and employee Robbie Turner. Throughout the day Brionys attempts to put the play together fail, and she eventually gives up on the endeavor. She witnesses an interesting encounter between Robbie and her sister Cecelia that complicates the adults relationship and moves the plot forward. 2. Rising Action After the relationship between Robbie and Cecelia, and the curious and scheming nature of Briony, is established, chaos ensues. Briony intercepts an intimate letter from Robbie to Cecelia, and from then on thinks that he is crazy and wants to hurt her sister. To make matters worse, she witnesses them in a position that to her, looks like he attacked Cecelia. On a hunt for two of the cousins that ran away, someone rapes the eldest cousin. Briony finds the victim first and immediately assigns the blame to Robbie. Robbie and Cecelia are thus torn apart through the rest of the book, while Robbie gets sent to prison for a crime he didnt commit and then off to war. The book follows the two lovers and their letters to each other. It describes their brief meetings and their estrangement to Cecelias family following the betrayal. 3. Climax The climax of this book is when Briony goes to see her sister after the many years of conflict. Briony goes to see Cecelia without knowing whether Robbie is dead or alive, or if they have seen each other since he went to war. During their meeting the reader finds out that Robbie and Cecelia are living in her apartment and are finally together again. 4. Falling Action After the dramatic moments of Briony and Robbies meeting, the book slows down. Robbie and Cecelia make their demands of Briony and the rest of the family to make atonement. The rapist from the beginning is revealed, and their lives at that time are resolved. 5. Resolution In the resolution, Briony goes back to her familys estate many years later for her birthday. Some young relatives put on her old play for her at the birthday party. In the last chapter of the book, you find out that the previous chapters are the pages of Brionys book, her final atonement, and that the ending where Robbie and Cecelia end up together isnt what really happened. Robbie and Cecelia both died in the war in the same year, and Briony never confronted them. Reader Response Journal #6 Describe your reading of The Wifes Tale. Was this story confusing? Were you surprised by how it ended? What phrases or sentences did the author use as clues to help you understand the story and its plot twists? Was this a good story? Why or why not? At first, I thought that this story was confusing. I assumed at the beginning that they were already human, so when the husband started getting bigger the fear in the other characters didnt make sense. Then the wife described all of the hair coming off as he grew and that didnt make sense either, unless he was a very hairy man. The wife used various clues though to help me understand what was happening. She specified that he stood up on two legs, which would be insignificant if he were human before, and then she started howling, which kind of gave her away, as well as the snapping at the branch. Also before that the story said that the change only happens in the dark of the moon, which is significant of a type of curse or werewolf. She also talked about her sisters mane, and described her community as a pack. I had a feeling that the husband eventually died just from the context at the beginning, but it seemed a little sad when I read the ending that he died. I thought this was a goo d story because of the twist and because it made me reread to figure out what was going on. It definitely keeps your attention, but the ending is sad and kind of gross and typically I dont like endings like that. Reader Response Journal #7 Describe one or two of the themes in The Growin of Paul Bunyan. Use examples from the story to show how the author presented these themes. One of the themes that I got out of the story is the need for people to sympathize with each other. When overcoming differences or conflicts in life, trying to view things from the other persons standpoint is invaluable. In the story, Paul Bunyan assumes several things about Johnny Appleseed; one of them being that Johnny had challenged him. The author showed that by assuming, he did more harm than good. The affect that Paul Bunyans actions had on Johnny is expressed when Johnny said, All the rest o my dreams is so much kindlin wood, so why dont you take this an see if its so easy to make it grow. Only when Johnny challenged Paul Bunyan to grow a tree did he finally value the hard work and effort that Johnny had put into growing all of the other trees that he cut down. The author shows this when Paul Bunyans tree dies and you see how much it affected him; he yelled, Johnny! Johnny! Why didnt you tell me how much it could hurt? Now that Paul Bunyan had experienced what Johnny went thr ough, when he saw that Johnny had turned his axe into a giant tree, he appreciated the creation and he never cut down another tree again. If we put ourselves in the other persons shoes when trying to solve a problem, overcoming it becomes easier and many potential trials are avoided in the process. I think that is one of the themes in the story. The Growin of Paul Bunyan The Growin of Paul Bunyan obviously has some very powerful themes. This assignment will help you work through the story, its characters, and its messages. In the Venn diagram below, describe the differences and similarities between Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Put the differences in the areas of the circles that dont overlap and the similarities in the area where they do overlap. Work hard Good at what they do. Like Trees Likes a Challenge Is Impulsive Likes to cut down trees Thinks Ahead Is Non-confrontational Likes to grow trees In the chart below, describe the physical characteristics of both Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. (You must include at least five things about each character.) EMBED Word.Picture.8 When Paul thinks hes won the contest with Johnny, why is he so disappointed with Johnnys reaction? Paul gets upset because he wants Johnny to admit that he won the challenge and that hes stronger than Johnny. He thinks that growing them is as easy as cutting them down, thus he won the contest. Describe four things Paul does to help this little seed grow. a. Paul runs back and forth 200 miles to carry water in his hands for the tree. b. He moves the rabbits away from the tree and carries many of them to the stream with him so they wont get the seed. c. He protects it from the cold by covering it with his hands and breathing on it. d. He shields it from the sun during the day. What happens to Pauls ax? Johnny turns it into a giant evergreen tree. What do you think is the meaning of the title, The Growin of Paul Bunyan? I think that the title is symbolic of Paul Bunyans dynamic change that he makes in the story. It is used not only in the sense that Paul Bunyan grows something, but that he grows himself. He becomes a better person after he learns a lesson from Johnny Appleseed. Do you think that this title gives the readers clues about the themes of the story? If so, how? The title of the story allows the reader to make inferences about what the theme of the story is. The fact that Paul Bunyan is already huge and couldnt grow much bigger physically implies that it is a different kind of growth. You could infer that the play on words suggests that the theme is that physical strength or size is not what is important, but it is the size of the inner person. How do you think a person who relies on the lumber industry for a living would respond to The Growin of Paul Bunyan? Why? I think that there are certain parts of the story that theyd agree with, and certain parts that would seem unreasonable to them. Its easy to agree with Paul Bunyan when he said that without logging people wouldnt have houses and many other materials that people use every day. But there is a reality to what Johnny Appleseed said about eventually not having any more trees to cut down. I dont think that the story was so much against logging as it was against cutting trees down for fun or to prove something. What do you think is the main theme of this story? I think that the main theme of the story is that it isnt physical strength that makes someone better than another, but that the most important thing is a persons inner qualities and their ability to grown and improve. What clues in the story helped you determine this theme? The last sentence in the story helped me to determine the theme. It explained what Paul Bunyan learned from the whole experience: A little man who chops somethin down is still just a little man, but theres nobody bigger than a man who learns to grow. Johnny showed that growing on the inside counts for more than physical strength by saying, Its always easier to chop somethin down than to make it grow. 11. Are there any minor themes that you noticed in the story? I noticed several minor themes throughout the story, such as: Having a talent doesnt make you a hard worker or a good person. To solve problems you have to see things from other peoples perspective. Sometimes we take things for granted until theyre gone. Theme Paper #1 By Kelsey Davis One of the six novels that I read was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It is 229 pages and takes place in the late 1800s in London. One of the major themes in this book is: the pursuit of pleasures and beauty does not result in a successful and happy life. This novel is about a beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, who becomes friends with two men: Basil Hallward, an artist, and Lord Henry Wotton. Basil becomes infatuated with Dorian upon seeing him for the first time, feeling that Dorian Gray will forever change his art and become his muse. Dorian has a similar effect on Lord Henry, who immediately claims Dorian as a lifelong friend. Lord Henry and his opinions and philosophies on living life fascinate Dorian; and when Basil paints a portrait of him, he, like Narcissus, falls in love with his own beauty. Under the leadership of Lord Henry, and the giving of his soul for eternal youth and beauty, he lives a selfish and debauched life, creating the theme for this story. Throughout this novel, there is much dialogue between Lord Henry and Dorian. The discussions that they have and how these affect Dorian establish a consistent theme throughout the book. Lord Henry continually gives Dorian the twisted advice to pursue the fulfillment of ones senses and to satisfy every whim. During their first meeting, Lord Henry says such things as: Youth is the one thing worth having. Be always searching for new sensations. But we never get back our youth . . . we degenerate into hideous puppets haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to. In response to this guidance, Dorian becomes less and less sensitive to others and more and more self-concerned and evil. He retains his beauty and youth while Basils portrait ages and becomes corrupt, bearing the sins of his soul. During the next twenty years, Dorians reputation gets worse, and his relations with others become scandal. Basil confronts Dorian about the things hes done and encourages him to change. After revealing the dreadful secret of his youthfulness, Dorian murders Basil. The sequence of events after Basils death reveal Dorians unhappiness and his dissatisfaction with the way his life has turned out. He tries to convince himself that he can change, but realizes, with the help of Lord Henry, that he cant and that his attempts would be out of vanity. He thus arrives at one conclusion: destroy the painting that had destroyed him and be rid of his last piece of conscience. As he does so the ugliness and age of the portrait go to where they belonged all along: to the living Dorian. Corrupt, ugly, and alone, Dorian kills himself. In this Hedonistic novel, Oscar Wilde shows how relying on superficial qualities leads to unhappiness. Dorians regrets are clear when he says, There is no one with whom I would not change places, . . . The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am. From personal experience, trying to pursue every sensation to the full may create a temporary happiness, but it is void of true fulfillment and satisfaction. Even in small actions, seeking self-gratification repels others and spoils good qualities. Theme Paper #2 By Kelsey Davis The fourth book that I read was Atonement by Ian McEwan, which is 351 pages. A major theme that I think the author was trying to get across is the gravity and significance of our actions. Atonement is about the consequences that came from a little girls accusation. One of the main characters, Briony, blames her sisters boyfriend for a terrible crime. Though she was a young girl and was relatively sincere in her accusation, she made a decision that affected the future of her family, and most importantly the accused. The novel follows the lives of three characters, Briony, Robbie (the accused), and her sister Cecelia. After Robbie gets accused of raping Brionys cousin, he gets sent to prison and then to war. Through the years, the love and relationship between Cecelia and Robbie is strained from their separation. Their intense pain and alienation from their family is described in the book vividly. The misery that Robbie goes through starts in chapter fifteen, which begins, There were horrors enough, but it was the unexpected detail that threw him and afterward would not let him go. Robbie later recalls the events before prison, before the war, before the sight of a corpse became a banality, and dreams of a future when he and Cecelia would no longer be isolated. In the book, Cecelia and Robbie are both killed in the war before they are able to fully reunite. In the last chapter, Briony is an old woman. She has written a book about her story, about Robbie and Cecelia, and offers it as her final atonement. In her book, she rewrites the ending of the lovers tale, so that they end up together and she is able to make her peace with them. Obviously from the way she wrote her book, she was never able to confront Robbie or Cecelia and thus somewhat absolve her guilt. She calls herself a coward for being unable to confront her sister after Robbies death. Her regrets are expressed at the end of the novel when she explains that in her lifetime she hasnt traveled very far. She says, Or rather, Ive made a huge digression and doubled back to my starting place. In the end, Briony can never be forgiven, and she takes her guilt with her to the grave. Her actions, even as a child, were very costly. She had to live with the fact that what happened to Robbie and Cecelia was because of her childish assumptions and her lies. I think this is the strongest theme of the book: that that we are all responsible for our actions, and, if our actions are bad, no one can take the blame or absolve the guilt for what we do but us. Anyone who has a healthy conscience knows that the bad things we do, intentional or not, are the hardest to forget. However unnatural and painful that is, it is the truth. Ian McEwan reminds his readers that our past and our decisions make us who we are. Theme Paper #3 By Kelsey Davis The book that I chose for my sixth reading was A Farewell to Arms, a 332-page book by Earnest Hemingway. This novel is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of an American ambulance driver in the Italian army during WWI, Lieutenant Henry. This story contains a lot of dialogue, so a prominent theme can be hard to interpret. However, the philosophy of life that Henry has throughout the story develops into its own theme. Through his beliefs and actions, Lieutenant Henry establishes a philosophy: life has no order, and no ultimate purpose. You have to make the most of it using your own personal values and find your own meaning. This is a major theme of the book. Henrys approach to life can be seen in his interactions with his friends and lovers. Also in his opinions of the war and of religion you can see evidence of his philosophy. Several times in the beginning chapters Henry shows his tendency towards instant gratification. When he takes his leave in chapter three, instead of taking a healthy vacation, he spends his days and nights drunk and in the company of prostitutes. In the beginning of his relationship with a nurse he states, I did not care what I was getting into . . .. I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards . . .. Nobody had mentioned what the stakes were. It was all right with me. Henry didnt have a total lack of integrity or morality in the book; this is shown by his loyalty to Catherine and his care for the priest, Rinaldi, and the soldiers beneath him. In many instances though, he showed that he didnt care about or c onsider outcomes. His drinking, for example, eventually resulted in jaundice but he didnt decrease his habit much. Henry didnt believe in a God, in an established order, or in ensured justice. The tragic events in Henrys life reaffirm his convictions of the hostility of life and strengthen endurance when under trial. He establishes his own order by sticking to courage and love. When he faces death from his own army, he escapes and flees to Switzerland with Catherine where they find happiness within each other. In the book, the war and Catherines death help to shape Henrys attitude towards life, and thus, the theme. Parts of Henrys philosophy I agree with. I admire his endurance, and his value of life, especially in light of the fact that he felt no higher meaning or purpose. I like that when he fell in love with Catherine, though he still cared for his responsibilities, he always did what made them both happy. I pity Henry though. Catherine was the only thing that made him truly happy; he couldnt be happy and find purpose on his own. Once she died he was alone, left with the same unordered universe he had before. All the meaning he found in life was in things that could be taken away from him. In the end, what sense of hope does that leave?

Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He killed three monsters and then he died. Not a very interesting fate, but it is none the less one that I find myself having to write about regardless of whether or not I want to. Thus it was, the mighty Beowulf of old England that went forth to slay the evils which plagued the lands of his own people as well as those of his neighboring tribes. The second battle was one that was brought about by Beowulf’s willingness to go and help an old friend, and thus he nearly lost his life once more. For those not acquainted with the story of Beowulf, he was said to be the strongest man ever to live, and given this he was fated according to their beliefs to accomplish certain things in his life. Some of these things being to be slaying of great monsters and winning of great wars. And thus that is what he did as he progressed through life. The epic is rather brief in terms of what an epic normally is, but, in this time he manages to travel to a distant land, and slay a monster that has taken over that land, and then after that feat he of course makes that monsters mother mad, you know you can do something to someone without making dear old mom mad. So, then Beowulf must kill the mother and then after they are both sent into hell, the land is free of tyranny and injustice Beowulf returns home a hero. After fifty winters of rule by Beowulf, a dragon attacks his people because of what was done by a thief, so Beowulf knowing in his old age that he would probably not survive this battle to slay the dragon, goes into battle anyway and slays the dragon and he himself is then slain, by injuries sustained by this fight. My focus is fate, and how no matter how Beowulf decided to do it he would eventually die for his people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Those of the age of Beowulf, were strong believers in fate and destiny. Everyone was born with a fate already assigned to them by the gods. And this was the case with Beowulf. â€Å"One of Hygelac’s thanes, Beowulf by name, renowned among the Geats for his great bravery, heard in his own country of Grendal’s crimes; he was the strongest man alive, princely and powerful. He gave orders that a good ship should be prepared, said he would sail over the sea to assist the famous leader, the warrior king (Hrothgar) since he needed hardy men.† (Crossley, Beowulf). Beowulf would set sail for Hrothgar’s kingdom an... ... their, â€Å"fate†. Beowulf takes with him the greatest of warriors when he goes to fight the dragon and they all falter, it is because there is uncommon valor and bravery within Beowulf, it was the same with Batman. â€Å"Gotham not only has a mayor, but a police commissioner, a police chief, and squads of officers, but it is Batman who defeats the city’s dragons†. (Beowulf to Batman, Rollin) Beowulf fulfilled two of the roles in Gotham, he was the mayor and Batman. It was this that made him great and it was his fate that led him to do it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I do hereby conclude, that the effects of the belief in fate has had great effect over society and history the like. However I do believe that in the delivery of an epic poem it is best to concentrate specifically on the material contained within the epic first and to then reevaluate the symbolic and hidden meaning after the initial meaning of the poem is understood. I have myself had to reread the poem in order do make enough sense of it to be able to write about it. Beowulf has many things, namely concepts and ideals contained within it that we should all take into consideration and perhaps even model into our own lives.

Medical Marijuana: Reducing Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients E

Medical Marijuana: Reducing Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients What is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. MS affects approximately 3.0 million people globally, with about 300,000 cases in the United States. Twice as many women as men have MS. The average ages for onset of MS is 20-40 years. In MS, cells in the immune system attack and destroy myelin, the fatty tissue surrounding nerve cells (http://www.phylomed.com/MS.html). Scar tissue replaces the myelin, interfering with the transmission of nerve signals and leading to numbness, fatigue, spasticity, loss of muscle control, and various other debilitating symptoms. There are four broad theories concerning the etiology of MS. The immune system, environment, viral infections, and genetics are possible factors attributed to the cause of MS (http://www.nmss.org/msinfo/cmsi/etiology.html). Although there are no cures for MS, this disease is not fatal. Advancements in technology and medicine enable people with MS to live 90-95% of the normal life span (Si bley, 12). What is Spasticity? Spasticity refers to an increase in muscle tone that causes muscle stiffness or spasms (Sibley, 105). There are two types of spasticity prevalent in people with MS: phasic spasms and a sustained increase in muscle tone. Phasic spasms sub-categorize into two types of spasticity: flexor and extensor. In flexor spasticity, the hips and knees of the person bend forward, due to tightening of the hamstrings. In extensor spasticity, the legs of the patient cross over at the ankles or lock together, with the hips and knees remaining rigid (http://www.nmss.org/msinfo/cmsi/spasticity.html). Spasms also occur less fre... ....M., Schonle, P.W., Conrad, B. Journal of Neurology, "Effect of Cannabinoids on Spasticity and Ataxia in Multiple Sclerosis." 1989; 236: pages 120-122. Petro, D.J., Ellenberger, C.E. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, "Treatment of Human Spasticity with Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol." 1981; 21: 413S-416S. Sibley, William A. (1996). Therapeutic Claims in Multiple Sclerosis: A Guide to Treatments (4th ed.). New York: Demos Vermande. Ungerleider, J.T., Andrysiak, Y., Fairbanks, L., Ellison, G.W., Myers, L.W. Advanced Alcohol Substance Abuse, "Delta-9-THC in the Treatment of Spasticity Associated with Multiple Sclerosis." 1988; 7 (1), 39-50. http://www.phylomed.com/MS.html http://www.nmss.org/msinfo/cmsi/etiology.html http://www.farmacy.org/prop215/apha.html http://www.marihemp.com/marimed.html http://www.marijuanamyths.com/med-myths.php3

Infidelity Essay -- Social Issues, Cheating, Mistress

Passionate instincts can overtake us, guilty feelings will wash over us, and paranoia will take control of us. Our body and mind propel us on a lustful, exciting, frightening bender as we take that one risk that could destroy everything. Since the beginning of man, humans have caved in to our polygamous nature through the act of infidelity, and men and woman have cheated on each other throughout history (Zur 2). However, different time periods and cultures have contrasting perceptions on adultery often depending on gender. Presently, when a socialite cheats on her partner, the news barely mentions the affair or focuses on her family life; in contrast, if an athlete partakes in extramarital activities with a mistress, the media will print it as the front page story. Yet, a person should learn life has not always been that way; as empires rise and fall, wars erupt, and civilizations die, society has changed their perceptions of social and cultural norms. A good way to see how cultu re changes over time is to read works from different eras since playwrights garner inspiration from their society and how people lived the bygone times. In ancient Greece, Medea, the sorceress, seeks revenge on her lover, Jason, who betrayed her when he married the princess of Corinth, Glauce; however, all the characters, excluding the chorus and Medea, behave nonchalantly about his infidelity because of their culture (Galens and Spampinato 180-181). Throughout his masterpiece, Medea, Euripides accurately depicts the ancient civilization's contrasting attitudes towards men's and women's adultery that differs from the present position of Western society. With their sexual endeavors, many Greek spouses destroyed the foundation of their marriages; y... ...ed the princess of Corinth; however, the characters, excluding the chorus, behave nonchalantly about his infidelity because they have been numbed by adultery in their culture. If Jason cheated on Medea in modern Manhattan with one of the richest socialites, modern society would respond very differently. Society would repeatedly chastise Jason much like they did with Tiger Woods and John Edwards, and Jason's heroic status would quickly diminish. Candidly, men and woman partaking in extramarital sexual rendezvous have never been a generational issues; the only change is the civilization’s view on adultery. Infidelity will constantly occur as humans pretend our species are supposed to be monogamous (Zur 2). We will have to fight our own natural instincts that attempt to take us on a shameful, exciting, frighting ride that could exterminate everything we own and love.

Organisational Behaviour: A Case Study Essay

Question one. Learning is a process of adapting to a change of behaviour or the ability to alter one’s way of acting as a result of influence from constant practice or experiences (Michas and Berry, 2000). Learning can either be viewed as a process or as a product of an already completed process. As a process, learning is viewed as a transformation of behaviour or a change in the mental state of an individual while as a product, learning is studied under the basis of various learning theories. The learning theory seeks to explain how and to what extent such a change is bound to occur. This theory is very essential in organisations because it helps to create high level professionals at the workplace. Depending on the situation and the willingness of the workers, different organisations can apply different learning theories at different times. Three main perspectives of this theory are known. This include behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. Behaviourism focuses mainly on the physical aspects of learning. According to Miller and Pace (2006), a change in behaviour is not influenced by the individual’s emotions or personal motives but rather, it is a lasting change in behaviour which occurs when triggered by a change in the surrounding environment. This approach has been found to yield changes such as discrimination, associations among other skills which do not require in depth internal processes. For instance, from the case study given, Diane’s behaviour changed when she started working at La Maison where the environmental factors taught her to be hard working and efficient in her work. Cognitivism perspective deals with matters linked to the brain-system. In this case, a learning process involves the internal processes which includes how the mind receives, organises, stores and retrieves data or any information received. It concentrates on the mental aspect of the the leaner’s thoughts, beliefs, ideas and attitudes towards the organisation. This approach of the learning theory has been in very helpful in explaining the intricate forms of behaviour which involve reasoning, solving problems and processing data to alter ones behaviour (Niederhausler et al, 2002). In the case study, this kind of learning theory is seen when a worker’s behaviour in an organisation are influenced by factors such as manager’s attitude, organisational culture among other factors which are not visible physically. The constructivism approach on the other hand views learning as a process of constructing new ideas and concepts. It is more or less the opposite of behaviorism in that it focuses on how an individual molds a certain form of behaviour emanating from past knowledge or experiences. From the case study, the constructivism kind of learning approach is evident where we see that Diane had learnt from previous experience how to give fast and quality services to the customers by balancing several plates on her arms. This was a positive kind of behaviour which ensured faster delivery much to the satisfaction of her customers. In an organisational concept, there are specific qualities associated with learning or change of behaviour in organisations. This depends on what is learned, how and when it is learned. Different organisations differ in their methods of learning mainly due to the fact that every organisation represents a collective combination of individuals from different backgrounds and more so, it consists of a units which have different roles and values which they use to achieve their future goals (Billett, 2007). According to Prange (1999), it is the individuals who learns and not the organisations which they work for. In this case, he argues that learning is a process which primarily takes place in the human brain. Another argument put forward by Perkins (1997) says that even though learning may take place in organisations, it is not always positive. That is, not all organisations learn well and in a way which is bound to propel their future goals into the right direction. For instance, different workers in an organisation may hold different views concerning the organisation’s future success depending on the kind of leadership style deployed in the organisation by its leaders. The three perspectives of the learning theory, behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism have several strengths as well as weakness on the workers of an organisation as observed from the case study given. The behaviourism concept of the learning theory has an advantage in that, every worker has a clear and concise goal which he or she is set to achieve and thus any change in the environment can stimulate its achievement automatically. However, this approach has been criticized in that the workers may at times encounter a situation in which the right stimulus do not occur thus hindering the achievement of the desired goals. For instance, if the workers in a hotel are used to responding to a certain stimulus such as tips in order to work effectively, the efficacy would sharply drop ones the tips cease to exist. For the cognitivism approach, the learners are trained to work in a certain way consistently with or without a stimuli. This is advantageous in that it avoids inconsistencies in the work place and ensures customer satisfaction t all times. On the other hand, this may be disadvantageous in that the workers mind may become accustomed to doing the same thing such that it may be very difficult for them to adapt to any slight change in the organisation. The constructivism approach is useful in that the leaner is able to adapt to many changes which may occur in the organisation based on previous situations. However, this approach has a major drawback in that it in some situations, divergent thinking may cause problems in the organisation. From the case study given, Diane the learner has a change of behaviour which is affected by the change in the environment or the climate created by her boss which makes her strive to do every thing in a perfect way. However, when she is quarreled, her attitude changes and she starts to do things in a slow inefficient manner. In this case study, a positive aspect of cognitive learning theory is also seen whereby, Diane’s behaviour is influenced by the high tips she gets from the customers and this motivates her to work harder even when the motivation she is getting from her boss is very minimal. In addition, it can also be deduced from the case study that all the workers at the La Maison where Diane works are taught how to work under pressure and work with excellence. This behaviour has been shaped by the workplace culture of practice from the instructions given by Godot their manager. This reflects a constructive learning approach. Question two. From the case study, the environment and the authoritarian leadership style exercised by Godot the manager of La Maison has a great impact on the behaviour of the workers and Diana in particular. From the organisational culture which emphasises on excellence and team-work, Diane behaviour was immediately inclined towards working to her best potential since the beginning which ensured that she did a good job. However, her behaviour changed when she was quarreled by the boss and she decided to work slowly and her efficiency was greatly reduced. Other factors which helped to shape Diane’s behaviour include the tips she got from the customers which motivated her to work more in order to get more tips. This forced her to go back to her efficient working pace even when her morale had really been put down by her boss. Many positive and negative reinforcements, punishments and extinction forces which may be used by Godot and his customers may be identified from the case study. Among the positive reinforcements used by Godot include his dedicated and industrious attitude towards his work which motivated the workers to put more effort in their work. His vision and the culture of team-work which he emphasised on also made the employees to work together to satisfy all the customers. However, Godot had very bad emotional outbursts and tempers which negatively affected the workers’ efficiency. For instance, after putting so much effort, Diane felt discouraged due to the fact that her boss did not even notice her hard work but instead, he was very quick to quarrel her when she committed a simple mistake. The insults he hauled towards the workers when the restaurant was crowded and they were unable to keep pace with the high number of customers also lowered the workers’ morale. In terms of punishments, Godot believed in punishing the workers when they went wrong by imposing fines to pay the price of their mistakes. This made the workers to feel angry and disappointed thus become less efficient in their work. As a good manager, Godot can improve the worker’s efficiency through complimenting them for their hard work and correcting them in the right way where they go wrong instead of insulting them. In addition, he should strive to improve his relationship with his workers in order to motivate them. The positive reinforcements acquired from the restaurant customers include good compliments to the workers and tips in terms of money for their efficient services. Negative responses such as less tips when the services were less efficient also helped to motivate Diane to work harder in order to please them and get more tips. Thus, by being appreciative, the customers helped to shape the behaviour of the workers in a positive way. Question three. The various reinforcements and punishments discussed above had a positive as well as a negative impact on Diane’s behaviour. For instance, when Diane dropped a bowl of bouillabaisse, she was fined the price of the bouillabaisse and the cost of cleaning the carpet she stained, as a punishment for her mistake. This made Diane feel very angry, disappointed and confused and as a result, there was a visible decline in her performance. This was a very negative impact on Diane’s behaviour. On the other hand, Godot’s industrious and dedicated type of attitude helped to shape Diane’s behaviour in a positive way in that she became very dedicated and efficient in her work much to the satisfaction of the customers and this conferred an overall benefit to the restaurant. The customer’s appreciative nature and the compliments they gave to Diane helped to motivate her more to work with greater efficacy. When the customer’s tips dropped, she was forced to go back to her original working pace in order to please the customers. This positively shaped her behaviour as it taught her to be hardworking and committed in her work at all times regardless of her boss’s attitude. Question four. Hourly pay rates and tips from customers especially in restaurants have proved to be very effective in reinforcing positive behaviour in workers. The hourly pay rates motivate the workers to work for long in order to maximise their pays and thus ensuring that high productivity at the workplace is achieved. The tips on the other hand inspire the workers to work extra hard in order to satisfy the customers who will in return give them larger tips. If the services are of poor quality, the customers are unsatisfied and they thus do not feel obliged to give tips to the workers. In the case of La Maison restaurant studied above, the hourly pay rates of $15. 0 offered plus the tips from the customers proved to be very effective in shaping Diane’s behaviour as well as that of other workers. The tips averaging around 20 percent per day motivated Diane to work harder because she knew that better the services meant more tips for her. When her efficiency in services declined, her tips also went down by almost half and this forced her to step up her pace in order to get back to where she originally was. In this case, it can be deduced that the use of hourly pay rates and tips can help an organisation to make more money because of the high quality services delivered by its workers. Conclusion. From the case study above, it is clear that every organisations has a great role to play in shaping the behaviour of its workers. An organisation can either have a positive or a negative impact on the attitude and behaviour of its workers depending on the kind of leadership style practiced by the leader and also the culture of that particular organisation. It is therefore upon the leaders to adopt the right kind of leadership which is geared towards cultivating a positive attitude in their workers as this will help them to work harder and maximise the profits incurred by the organisation.

Critical Incident Assignment Essay

In this assignment, I pass on give way and glow on a detai conduct contingency that I was confronted with during give littleons get laid A (here after volition be referred to as SEA). I go away suppose on the implications that my over full of life misadventureal has had on my praxis and I result relate it to hypothesis. In addition, I bothow for firebrand reference to four salutees of analytic opineing which shit been surfacelined by Tripp (1993). Tripps four progresses focus on the wherefore ch on the wholeenge, personal theory, intellection strategies and dilemma identification. I testament examine these four approaches and establish the ship fecal matteral in which I burn down develop my dogma put on.Moreover, I will prohibitedline further recommendations for my future day send which will be aimed throughout this assignment. lop (2008) points out that look displace swear out to develop the quality of program line and it provides fryren with value take ining experiences. In addition, being contemplative lets nonp atomic number 18il and only(a) to analyse and take up shipway to improve their sea captain person tuition. Nonetheless, Cottrell (2005) argues that there croup be barriers to unfavor qualified thinking beca rehearse both(prenominal) may assume that it is a negative activity. Therefore, one may feel that it is merely necessary to make overconfident comments alternatively than seeking for aras of development.Consequently, this does non lead to or provide constructive criticism for areas to conk a better practitioner (Cottrell, 2005). However, in my opinion, I think that it is important to ponder on and be over precise of my article of belief traffic pattern for the reason that I tin can learn from what I befuddle done, and occupy ways to progress in my future practice. Tripp (1993) advocates that pensive dogma is exact beca usage it enables one to evaluate the endings that they gull made, and apportion ways to develop and progress in their victor development.During my offset organization, I was confronted with a critical incident which conduct me to make a decision open up on my captain development. During my math lessons, tyke x (an side as an additive learner) continuously yel lead out without doting his roleplayforce up whenever I re triggered the mannequin questions. His roily demeanour un wanetled my instruct as strong as the babyrens learning which I found sort of intemperate to steal with. Every time that he procl experienceed out, I immediately informed him that I would non accept his answer because he did not book his hand up.Nonetheless, he would take that opportunity to embrace to ill-treat out without putting his hands up. This restrain their ability to focus and listen to the lesson that I was teaching. Consequently, to minimise the possibilities of infant x perturbing further lessons, I decided that he w ould sit with the teaching assistant (who stave the same voice communication as child x) so that he would draw less disruptive. Upon reflection, I think that I should relieve oneself firmly implemented the deportment charge strategy by being stricter. In addition, I could keep back immediately disposed child x a monition for shouting out.Nonetheless, I take a shit realised that I did not catch as much authorisation during my head start placement as I would have desired. During my dilemma, it was at that point that I had think close and question my teaching strategies to consider reasons screw child xs disruptive conduct during my lessons. Thinking strategies Tripp (1993) highlights that thinking strategies befriend broody thinkers to achieve a deeper taking into custody of a critical incident. When we think about(predicate) critical incidents, we essential consider non-events which reenforce the idea that when near liaison has come abouted, this usually means that some another(prenominal) things have not happened.In intercourse to my critical incident, I considered what had happened with child x alternatively than reflecting what had he did not do. Nonetheless, as I reflect on this critical incident, I have realised that if I thought about what did not happen with child x, it may have revealed wherefore he was being disruptive during my lessons. In addition, the thinking strategy helps me to reflect upon the fair and bad points of my critical incident. I was proud of(p) to see that child x was approbatory to participate in my lesson as he showed gigantic enthusiasm. Nonetheless, my incident also reveals the de exampleised point of my incident.Although child x was go in the lesson, his doings was disruptive and he interrupted my teaching which did not advantage the pupils learning. Due to the fact that I am a ruminative thinker, I could have thought about feasible alternatives and considered the incident from the childs poi nt of view. For instance, sooner than miserable child x undermentioned to the teaching assistant, I could have considered how he felt and the reasons wherefore he did not put his hand up during category discussions. If I chose to make an alternative decision, what would the burden be? I continue to ask myself a serial publication of questions. afterward my maths lessons, I proposed a serial of questions to myself why does he call out during my lessons? why do I have the expectation that he should put his hand up? Should I have imposed a different solution rather than have child x sit b line of battleing to the teaching assistant? Could I have handled the situation more than utilitarianly? I continued to ask myself a series of questions which enabled me to reflect on what I did and why I did it. Although I may not be able to find a solution to my critical incident, I aim to explore and analyse it by reflecting on my teaching practice.Dewey (1933) in Pollard (1998) highli ghts that reflective practice enables instructors to constantly monitor, assess and freshen up their own practice which allows instructors to learn from what they have done and develop in their master skills. In addition, as previously outlined, my straddle of enquiries fits in with one of Tripps (1993) approaches which is called the why repugn. This form of analysis allows one to continuously ask questions why? (Tripp, 1993, p 46). The why challenge Tripp (1993) conveys that the answers to questions that practitioners have, does not unavoidably reveal or lead to a conclusion that one is seeking for.Nonetheless, enquire why allows one to reflect and think about their practice and consider possible outcomes that could have arisen. Moreover, Tripp (1993) points out that when we ask questions, our ideas or actions can create either some form of reification or a normative line which underpins a indwelling point of view base on personal beliefs and opinions. We are operating from a deeply held belief which may not be appropriate to our or harmonic with our other beliefs (Tripp, 1993, p. 46) When we enquire about a particular situation, we tend to build our answers base on our former beliefs.With regards to the critical incident which took place between child x and I, I had to explore why I expected him to put his hands up to answer my questions? I expected that all children should put their hand up during sort out discussions because my former experiences in the schoolroom led me to the assumption that it was the norm for children to do so. Additionally, I think that the hands up constitution maintains ordinate in the schoolroom rather than permitting all children to shout out all at once. My rules and beliefs, repays a normative statement because it is what I believe is necessary (Tripp, 1993, p. 8).On the other hand, current research and ideas have opposed to children putting their hands up in class. Professor Dylan William (The Telegraph, 201 0) advocates that asking children to put their hands up isolates other students during class discussion. However, develop X highlights that no child is excluded and that they are all promote to move toward their full potential (School Policy 2011). Moreover, my beliefs and opinions led me to believe that all children should put their hands up and must not shout out in the class which led to a dilemma that I encountered during my teaching. dilemma Identification Tripp (1993) conveys that incidents contain dilemmas that teachers are ofttimestimes confronted with. In his reading, Tripp recommends Berlak and Berlak as they propose that the great stress in teaching is having to make decisions throughout their teaching career. Pollard (2008) continues that teachers use their professional idea to determine the nigh suitable form of action to take in any particular situation. During my critical incident (at SEA), I found myself in a predicament when child x constantly shouted out in cla ss.When he disrupted the other childrens learning, I had to immediately decide on how I would shell out with this situation. My immediate response was to have him sit next to the teaching assistant. My reason for placing child x with the teaching assistant, was because English is an additional terminology for him, therefore, I thought that it would be easier to place with an additional adult that spoke the same language as him. Nonetheless, reflecting back on this critical incident, there were many alternative routes that I could have taken rather than moving child x.I could have granted him a warning to ensure that he was aware that I would not take into account his disruptive conduct. Moreover, I could have upstage child x from the classroom in order for me to continue with my lesson. Nevertheless, being face with a dilemma does not allow much time to contemplate, particularly at bottom a class of 28 pupils. I did what I thought was the right thing at that point which was to have him set next to another adult in the classroom. The series of dilemmas that I was confronted with was a emanding experience which I expressed within my reflective journal I found it difficult to deal with child x, he does not put his hands up during classroom discussions I need to decide how I am going to deal with his behaviour (U1100711 Reflective Journal, 24th November 2011). Upon reflection of my dilemma, I made a decision based on my set. This relates to Tripps (1993) Personal speculation Analysis.Dilemma identification is expedient because why we chose one resolution rather than another enables us to identify the values inherent in our professional judgement Tripp (1993, p. 9) Personal Theory Analysis Tripp (1993) proposes that teachers use their professional judgement to deal with dilemmas that they are constantly confronted with. My personal beliefs and values encouraged me to make the decision to move child x nearer to another adult. I thought that if child x si t down next to an adult that he is more familiar with, he will be less disruptive in my lessons. Tripp (1993) conveys that teachers should also make decisions based on what is best for that childs well-being.Therefore, I believed that rather than shouting at this child for being disruptive, my values and professional judgement assumed that it was beneficial for child x as well as the class if I remained calm and rigid him with the teaching assistant. In addition, I had to consider the reasons as to why child x thought that it was necessary to distract his peers in the classroom he was doing it to gain attention he was trying to prove that he knew all of the answers English is an additional language for him, and so on. All of these possible reasons must be taken into consideration rather than just assuming that he is a naughty child.As confirmed by Tripp (1993), these examples convey that teachers are challenged with a series of dilemmas and decisions that they must make based on p ersonal theories and professional judgement (1993, p. 53). Although I was go about with a number of challenges during my critical incident, it was crucial for me to make a decision based on my theoretical and moral judgement. To conclude, it is apparent that teachers are commonly confronted with critical incidents which consequently place them in a dilemma that is often dealt with based on professional and personal judgement.As at a time outlined, the critical incident and dilemmas that I was faced with, allowed me to reflect, analyse and critique on my teaching practice. Consequently, I have found that reflective teaching has enabled me to think about the decisions that I have made and contemplate ways in which I can become a better and onusive teacher. After my first placement, I have learnt that I should enforce different teaching strategies to deal with a childs behaviour rather than placing with another adult in the class straight away.For my future placements, I aim to enfo rce the behaviour anxiety strategies more rigidly. Moreover, I intend to be more of an assertive and effective teacher in the future. Commentary Reflecting on what we do is essential to the development of professional judgement, notwithstanding unless our reflection involves some form of challenge to and critique of ourselves and our professional values, we simply reinforce existing patterns and tendencies (Tripp, D. , 1993, p. 12) The purpose of this assignment is to explore the implications of critical reflection within the scene of my critical incident.I will analyse a range of relevant literature, case strategies and theories which will be used to critically evaluate the significant issues in congenator to my teaching practice. Moreover, I intend to engage in a wider reading adjoin my critical incident in order to progress my professional development and to subsequently become a more effective teacher not only during my teaching practice, but throughout my teaching career . Tripp (1993) states that it is crucial to challenge and be critically reflective of ones practice as it is enables us to improve and progress in our professional development.Moon (2004) contributes to Tripps theory as she claims that our thinking allows us to learn from our previous experiences. In addition, this theorist (2004) points out that we can improve our professional development as a result of thinking critically. Nonetheless, the aforementioned theories have been challenged as Zeichner and Liston (1996), suggest that reflective teaching can be considered as an idealised and unrealistic practice due to the high demands and heavy workload that teachers are confronted with on a day-after-day basis.They continue that teachers do not often have the time to critically reflect on their practice for the reason that the classroom environment is fast-paced and busy which can make it difficult for teachers to reflect. On the other hand, I believe that critical reflection is essent ial for practitioners. This is because as I continue to engage with a wider reading of critical reflective activity, I have gained a greater understanding of how to deal with labyrinthine situations more efficiently within the classroom.My practice has enabled me to critically reflect on a variety of teaching styles that I adopted during my first placement. For example, I encouraged talk of the town partners during carpet time, reinforced children to work collaboratively, modelled examples on the interactive whiteboard and encouraged the pupils to display their work to the rest of the class. Adopting different teaching strategies has give me more confidence to develop my teaching practice and become more confident in some aspects of my teaching.Nonetheless, upon reflection of my first school placement, I found it instead difficult to deal with challenging behaviour whilst I was teaching. Pollard (2010) suggests that trainee teachers find it quite challenging to maintain discip line and order in the classroom, particularly if the children have realised a relationship with their own teacher from the beginning of the year. Subsequently, it is essential for me to explore behaviour management theories in order to reflect and consider ways to progress in my professional development and be able to effectively deal with challenging behaviour in the future.Moreover, throughout my placement, I found that my reflective journal has been a useful tool as it has enabled me to reflect on ways to develop my classroom practice and improve my professional development functional in an inner-city and multi-cultural school has been a positive and challenging experience for me. I have been exposed to different teaching strategies and have witnessed various ways that the pupils respond to the ply which is useful for my professional development. (U1100711, UEL Reflective Journal, 22 October 2011).Ghaye (2011) conveys that reflective practice is a businesslike and meaningful activity because it reinforces us to gain better knowledge and understanding of our practice. Moreover, although I was faced with many challenges throughout my first school placement, my reflective journal enabled me to consider reasons why I made the decisions that I chose to make during my critical incident. In addition, whilst on my placement, it was crucial for me to familiarise myself with the School Xs behaviour policy so that I was aware of what was expected of me during my placement.The Schools behaviour policy underlines the consequences of contrasted behaviour and points out that there are five levels of intervention. School X uses a staged approach which is recorded on a stage chart in each classroom from Years 3 to 6. In their response to poor behaviour, this approach is variable, depending on the age of the pupil. Pollard (2010) points out that behaviour management is a unremitting concern for teachers due to the large meter of children in the classroom. Furthermore , teachers constantly have to make quick decisions based on their professional judgement.Likewise, Roffey (2011) suggests that many teachers (particularly teachers with limited teaching experience) may not have much confidence when confronted with complexities within the classroom. She conveys that some teachers may not know what to do when they are put in challenging situations which in turn, can have a negative effect on the childrens learning in the classroom. On the other hand, school and disposal policies emphasise the significance of the holistic approach to teaching and they have highlighted the importance of considerably behaviour in schools.