Research: Children With Mental Illness Essay

The purpose of this paper is to critique an article from the National Association of Social Workers, Inc. The article selected is titled â€Å"Child custody loss among women with persistent severe mental illness.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) I selected this article due to its applicability to child protective services which is where my field practicum is taking place. The components of this article are clearly defined and broken down into subheadings as followed: Abstract, Introduction, Theoretical Framework and Research Design, Method, Analysis, Results, Discussion, Implications for Mental Health Policy and Services, Conclusion, and References. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The layout of the article makes it easy for the reader to follow and understand key elements and terms of the research. The title provides a clear cut description of what the article is written about as well. The variables are identified and defined under the â€Å"methods† subheading; it also provides a definiti on of individual variables, environmental variables, and how child custody is defined for the purposes of this research. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The statement of the problem is descriptively explained in the introduction and supported with statistical analysis provided in the research article. The purpose is clearly defined under the â€Å"theoretical framework and research design† section explaining that the study was to test the hypothesis which stated that by researching history of child custody loss among women with severe persistent mental illness the custody loss would be higher than those women who did not have this type of illness. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The hypothesis and research question provide insight into how the author plans to show a correlation and then build effective policies and interventions based upon this evidence. The research question asks â€Å"What are the circumstances under which women with severe mental illness lose custody of their children?† (Hollingsworth,  2004) This gives the reader a concise question that allows them to visualize the direction of the research itself. The rese arch question is quickly followed by characteristics that have been observed among the participants which define what may have led to a mother losing custody of her child. The article then provides examples of behavior patterns and socioeconomic factors that may impact the variables mentioned. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The theoretical framework and research section re-states the purpose of this research and also provides supportive information as to why this knowledge is important to obtain for the target population mention. The theoretical framework states that the author used the Human Ecology Theory, which fits the problem presented because there is enough past information available, and biopsychosocial elements provided to be able to test the hypothesis and provide reliable/measurable data. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Based upon the information in the article the Human Ecology Theory will view the mother with severe persistent mental illness in her environment, assist in predicting outcomes, and also provide measurable data. The data collected will enable social workers and mental health workers to connect these women and families to the correct resources so that the mother may regain custody and have access to the resources that she requires. The variables presented appear to be appropriate for the problem as it has been defined. The individual’s biopsychosocial information is measurable including whether there is a history of substance abuse and treatment for mental illness. The environmental variables are also measurable by gathering data related to the individual’s neighborhood, child behavior, poverty conditions, and social support. (Hollingsworth, 2004) It is important to mention that each term used in the variables section was further defined and a description was given as to how the information was considered from these separate groups. The author also recognizes that there are factors besides the mother’s mental illness that could play a part in her mental functioning. (Hollingsworth, 2004) I feel that it is important for the author to acknowledge these outlying factors that may influence the data that has been collected. The assumptions made in this article include some bias toward how child protective services and the legal system will treat a mother that has persistent severe mental illness. It is not hard to understand why this assumption is made and it is reasonable to assume that the legal system and  child protective services may assume too much based upon a quick assessment of the mother’s mental state. I feel that the discrimination based on the research information provided is also related to geographic areas more so than others. If there is a low income area that is lacking access to qualified mental health professionals it would be safe to assume that child protective services would remove the children since other resources are not available. The overall design of this article is constructed around quantitative data with the results of the research being constructed around this format; the author also provides some supportive evidence through qualitative research. The design is ap propriate to answering the research questions and providing an easy to follow guide for the readers to digest the information. In my opinion the author also did a good job recognizing different threats to the validity of the data that was collected. The author did this by recognizing what those threats were and how it was accounted for in the data that was collected, and what impact it may have had on the results. The sample selection was appropriately described and broken down into measurable categories. The author stated: â€Å"Participants were identified from among those enrolled in a National Institute for Mental Illness funded three-wave longitudinal study of mothers with severe mental illness.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) The author further explains that the sample size began with 379 women; after wave 3 of the study 322 women remained. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Women were removed from the study throughout the study depending upon different variables listed as disqualifiers, such as a mother losing custody of her child/children for less than three months. Some women chose to remove themselves from the study and others lost contact with the individuals conducting the study at different times which in turn made the women disqualified. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The process of collecting the data is clearly defined under the â€Å"method† section of the article. The author describes the structure of the questionnaire as a â€Å"3 wave longitudinal study.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) In my opinion the inconsistencies would come from the participant answering truthfully and consistently within the 3 wave study. In the 3 wave study the data was collected initially through structured interview questions, with some open-ended questions used, this is where some of the inconsistencies could be from depending on who was analyzing the answers. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The author stated that a â€Å"life  history calendar† was included in the 3rd wave to increase accuracy. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Another consideration would be to note that the participants were paid to participate in the study, but the interview was conducted in the privacy of the participant’s home. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The interviews were conducted by a trained female interviewer that was racially and ethnically similar to that of the participant. (Hollingsworth, 2004) This is note-worthy because it shows some variables that were not stated as having a possible influence on the results of the data collected. I would take into consideration that the interviewer, although professionally trained, may have had biases in favor of the participants that were subconsciously conveyed and could have led the participants to answer the interviewer in a particular manner. The results were able to depict what the variables between the participants that permanently lost custody of their children and those that did not lose custody of their children. One interesting finding is that women that were not married were more likely to permanently lose custody of their children. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The hypothesis for this provided by the author is that the married women more than likely had more immediate support in th e home. (Hollingsworth, 2004) One of the variables listed was the behavior problems from the children of women with persistent mental illness; the author notes that in order to determine whether this is the children simply reacting to the mother’s persistent severe mental illness or whether the children have true behavioral issues needs to be studied further. (Hollingsworth, 2004) With that being considered the results found that the children’s behavioral issues had little impact on whether or not the mother lost custody. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The implications recognized are geared toward mental health policy and services; the author states that one part of the study that was initially thought of as an individual variable was actually something that could be considered as an environmental factor as well. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The example given was that unmarried women may not be discriminated against due to be unmarried and this being the cause for their custody loss, but may have lost custody due to less resources than someone who has a partner.(Hollingsworth, 2004) The second noteworthy implication is that individuals with active symptoms of psychosis or depression can present a significant risk to their children, so the children are removed for their  own protection and not due to discriminatory factors.(Hollingsworth, 2004)

Money Is the Root of All Evil

Money is the root of all evil. Many of us grew up hearing that money is the root of all evil, but that is not really what scripture teaches us. Money is neither evil nor good. It is only what happens with money once it is in our hands that gives it qualities of either good or evil. Money can be many things, depending on how we relate to it. We need to understand the difference between a physical currency that is the basis for our lives and a material desire that is driven by greed. It is a fact that money makes the world go round and this is how we bargain for food, shelter, education, travel and just about everything in life has a price.Money is the reward for our work that allows us to enjoy the good things in life. It is the foundation for our social organizations and the donations to churches and charitable organizations that allows them to become established and function properly within our communities. From this point of view, money is not the evil; it is just a source of our s urvival. From the other hand, the love of money can destroys our lives. Not only money by themselves, but the desire of them. The greediness can destroy individuals, break up homes and even bring down nations.When the love of material possessions, social status and political power are the driving force behind our desire for money, we become rooted in evil. People can also make money there god. It depends on whether money is in control of the person or the person is in control of the money. It is clear, when money is in control of person it can make a lot of harm. To sum up, I should say that money is not evil, as I think. It's just the greed that's in the hearts of those who want it for needless riches and power that gives money the label of being evil.

Instant Coffee Essay

Everyone will not believe that coffee is the second people income in the world. There are 30 millions people who gain their income from growing coffee. As the article which had been read by Bob told that coffee has been grown by a lot of farmers in different countries. The type of coffee are Robusta, Arabica, and labarica . Usually, Robusta coffee use to make instant coffee. The first country which grows robusta coffee is Uganda and Indonesia is the second producer of this coffee. Generally, Indonesia is the fourth country which grows coffee in the world. The height of robusta coffee is below 6 meters .The next type coffee is Arabica. That is the coffee which Bob was drunk. It usually uses to make premium coffee. The height is between 600-2000 meters and the largest producer is Brazil, followed by Columbia and Kenya. The last is Labarica coffee. This coffee grows in few areas which has below 2000 high meters. It uses to make blended coffee. Based on the article there are also 3 style of coffee that is instant coffee, espresso coffee and brewed coffee. Brewed coffee is usually drunk by the European country. But, it was strange that U.K mostly choose instant coffee. Britannia supposes to choose espresso coffee while American chooses instant coffee. In Asian, Japan drink more brewed coffee. There is also institution which maintains market price of coffee, is called ICO who was made up by United Nations in 1963. They act as mediator between producing countries and consuming countries.

Teaching and Learning English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Teaching and Learning English - Essay Example Teachers and students may often identify the need for vocabulary learning, but fail to employ the techniques that would make the learning really effective, interesting, and easy. "The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A useful interpretation of 'meaningfulness' is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered. If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!" (Wright et al, 1984). Therefore, the significance of language games in the learning of vocabulary is remarkable. There are various reasons to consider the use of games as effective and advantageous tool for learning and teaching vocabulary which is one of the inevitable aspects of English language learning. ... Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way." (Huyen & Nga, 2003). Treated from the affective aspect of the learning process, a vocabulary game lessens the affective filter and encourages, in the learner, the creative and spontaneous use of language. More importantly, the use of such vocabulary games promotes communicative competence of the learner and motivates him/her in the learning process. By motivating the learner for the continuous use of the language in communication, the vocabulary games help him/her in developing, apart from the learning of vocabulary, language competency as a whole. To judge the vocabulary learning games by the standards of Cognitive Theory of Learning, they reinforce learning activity, thereby, ensuring and affirming the learning to be meaningful and complete. This technique of vocabulary learning reviews and extends the vocabulary competence of the learner and, therefore, finds it very useful tool of language teaching. The modern theories of learning and teaching, affirm the teaching activity to be centered on the student and teaching and learning of English vocabulary through games can be considered the one of the best example of student centered teaching. Like the student centered methods of teaching, in this method vocabulary teaching, the teacher is just the facilitator and the real performer is the leaner. This makes the learner more active in the learning process and he/she learns more effectively. The learning of English vocabulary through games also facilitates the learning procedure to be easy and effective, as the learners are made active by the practice or there is greater possibility for class cohesion. This is

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Impact on Women Term Paper

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Impact on Women - Term Paper Example African-Americans were considered inferior in a way and were not treated as equals to the rest of society. The president took it to himself to express his concern on this issues and the need to address them, but was assassinated before he could actualize the passing of the civil rights bill. The vice-president took over, and even though he had previously objected to a similar bill, he saw the need to push the 1964 civil rights act, in a bid to improve the living standards of the African-Americans within the United States society. The president signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 owing to the support given by the public who say the need for change. Initially, the powers to facilitate enforcement of the Act were weak but were enhanced as with time. This piece of legislation outlawed main forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion and gender. The Act ended unequal application of voter registration requirements where the Fifteenth Amendment sought to protect voting rights (Foley et al, 2007). In addition, the legislation guaranteed equal protection to all citizens in accordance to the law by ending racial segregation in schools, workplaces and public places. Public accommodation facilities such as motels, hotels restaurants, theaters among others, were barred from discriminating concerning race. Desegregation was also encouraged in public schools. The Act also provided equal employment opportunities by discouraging discrimination and the establishment of Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, which review employment complaints. The Community Relations service was also established to aid in resolution of disputes related to discriminatory practices, which are based on race, color or nationality. The landmark piece of legislation in the form of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had its impacts felt by many but mostly changed the lives of minorities as well as women. Initially, the bill did not include abolishing discrimination based on gen der, but following some amendments, women were included. Before the bill was passed, few women challenged male domination in the society concerning jobs and religion. The few who struggle to secure equal rights were secluded and punished for the same. The bill placed women on a level playing field by giving them equal rights and by protecting them through the law. This indicated to women that they also mattered just as much as men in the society did. The legislature also outlawed discrimination due to color, race, religion and gender among employers. In this regard, women were provided with an opportunity to secure employment competitively in accordance to their qualifications. In addition, women were presented with equal educational opportunities. The act also protects women from disparities that may arise in terms of compensation by advocating for equal pay. This way, they could also acquire credit facilities to improve their lives. Women are protected from all form advances that fit the definition of sexual harassment and has been established as a form of discrimination under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which involves unsolicited sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or conduct of a sexual nature with reference to matters of employment or at the workplace. Successful complaints have seen perpetrators punished in accordance to the law (Matonak n.d). In the event, that the Civil Rights

Windows 7 Workgroup Consultation for Sally Chu Assignment

Windows 7 Workgroup Consultation for Sally Chu - Assignment Example Keywords: UAC, user access controls, administrative users, users, Windows 7, workgroup, network Windows 7 Workgroup Consultation for Sally Chu In order for Sally to grant all six of her administrative staff members the same computer-access privileges, to allow them to run applications and use network printers, but not be able to make any accidental changes that can adversely affect their computers, the most effective and efficient way to create user accounts for these employees would be as follows. The first step would be to setup the profile for Sally’s administrators. In order to ensure that the administrators cannot make any changes that would adversely affect the computers themselves, the best bet is to setup the administrators on a standard user profile, instead of an administrator profile, as the administrator profile would have complete access to make any and all changes, while the standard use can use most software and change system settings that do not affect other us ers or the security of the computer itself. Once the standard user is setup, the next step is to setup the parental controls for that standard user, allowing for the use of games to be filtered out, and blocking any specific programs that she does not want the administrators to have access to, by setting the profile to only be able to use the programs from an allowed list, as specified by herself. Once the account is setup, and the parental controls are put in place, the settings in UAC, or User Account Controls, would need to be set, providing notification when programs try to make changes to the computer. This must be done for each profile that needs to be created, for a total of six (Microsoft, 2013). As Sally would like to provide a high level of authentication for her network’s users, she would like a dual authentication process. Two of the different methods that she could use in conjunction with requiring a password for network access are the option to use EAP (Extensib le Authentication Protocol), and setting to allow certain protocols. Selecting â€Å"Use Extensible Authentication Protocol† allows the selection of using one of three protocols for authenticating the VPN connection: Protected EAP (PEAP), EAP-MSCHAPv2, or Smart Card or Other Certificate; all three options will ensure the security and data integrity of the EAP conversation through the use of encryption. The default setting is EAP-MSCHAPv2, which is also known as Secure Password. By selecting the properties for EAP-MSCHAPv2, the ability to configure the connection to use the Windows login credentials in order to authenticate the connection. Selecting â€Å"Allow These Protocols† instead as the other alternative for providing the second level of security to the network connection will allow for the choice between three different connection types, all of which can be set to configure the Windows login credentials to be used; the three different authentication protocols tha t can be used by the connection are PAP, CHAP, or MS-CHAPv2. â€Å"The choice of these three types of authentication methods will only apply to PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, or SSTP tunnels; IKEv2 tunnels can only use EAP-MSCHAPv2 or certificates as their authentication methods† (Sourcedaddy.com, 2008). While there is an advantage into having the user’s use their Windows login credentials, namely that they will not have to remember a third set of login credentials, the disadvantage is that if an unauthorized user obtains that information, that will give them that much more access to the network itself. The user access controls set for the profiles themselves will ensure that the web based applications will run in protected mode, and by allowing the particular programs on the intranet in the

Critical Thinking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Thinking - Assignment Example God created the seven heavens and the Earth solely for humanity. The question of identity: The Quran accounts that Allah created human beings in a unique way, giving them special gifts and knowledge. The creation of man started with that of two people, Adam and Eve, male and female respectively, who then multiplied to bring forth generations of the Earth. For Weirder and Gutierrez (2011), they state that Allah created man as a responsible and dignified agent to meet the purpose of his creator. The question of morality: Through the adherence to study of Quran, the Muslims acclimatize with the ways of living of a moral life in their society. The world view has it that every aspect of life has three common goals: practicality, balance and moderation. Apart from the Islamic teachings, every Muslim has to choose what is tolerable for oneself and the society as a whole (Winter, 2008). The Islamic teachings account that the meaning of the existence of humanity is revealed through worshipping and obeying the teachings of Allah. Further, every Muslim has a purpose of involving in good deeds towards offsetting the bad deeds and correcting the mistakes made. Besides, the world view also offers its follower five pillars which acts as a platform for discerning their obedience. The world view presents Paradise and Hell as the destiny of man, depending on dominance of bad or good deeds. Essentially, A Muslim achieves Paradise by having good deeds outweighing his bad deeds. Only after death does a Muslim determines the level of his good or bad deeds. Hell is a destiny for the individual who do not follow Allah’s teachings besides not recognizing him as the one god. The question of origin: Both of the world views agree that God is the creator of everything in the World. Islam accounts for theistic evolution as part of God’s creation plan while Christianity refutes this theory, evolution,

Emotional Brain Systems are critical for understanding the many facets Essay

Emotional Brain Systems are critical for understanding the many facets of emotional experience.Discuss with reference to the historical development of affective neuroscience - Essay Example Although feeling these emotions are normal part of being human, it is inevitable for some people to experience emotional disorders. In the absence of fully analyzing the normal brain function, it can very difficult to determine the main factors that trigger the sudden emotional changes. The study of affective neuroscience is very much focused on analyzing the relationship between the normal brain functioning with the human emotions and mood swings. Over the past 30 years, a lot of research studies were conducted to explore the significance of the brain system with different types of emotions including how the emotion is being processed in the brain despite the individual cognitive, motor behaviour, motivation, and language development (Dalgleish, 2004). The main purpose of this study is to examine the importance of studying the emotional brain systems as a way to enable us to understand the many facets of emotional experiences that we encounter each day. Upon going through the main discussion, a literature review will be gathered to enable the researcher compare and contrast the different historical point-of-view of other people with regards to the development behind the study of affective neuroscience. Emotional brain is basically â€Å"a part of the human brain that generates emotions† (Young, 2005). Upon examining whether or not the brain produces emotions in response to unconscious and conscious perceptions, LeDoux explained in his book entitled â€Å"Emotional Brain† that a test was conducted in animals revealed that the amygdale which is a small part of the limbic system is responsible in producing neuronal responses in case a frightening stimuli is present (Hendrix, 1997). Basically, there are two ways wherein sensory input can be processed by the brain as proposed by LeDoux. These are classified as the following: (1) high road; and (2) low road (Hendrix, 1997). The ‘high road’ transfers the nerve impulse straight from the ears

Communication in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communication in business - Essay Example BASF is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany3. II. Aspect of BASF social performance: Verbund BASF always prided itself with its â€Å"Verbund† philosophy which meant total integration strategy which provided the company a competitive edge by improving its efficiency by restructuring4. One of the aspect of Verbund for instance is how they used byproducts of their production which could have been discarded as waste as an input for other production. Concretely is how BASF ingeniously capture heat energy into its plants and convert it into power to drive other machines in their plants5. Verbund has also allowed BASF to extend itself to a wide array of product lines with a well diversified revenue portfolio that brings in stability in the company while catering to a broader customer base6. But this concept of Verbund or integration which is the core of BASF corporate philosophy might have been taken into excess because it has been sued 35 class actions for price fixing in violat ion of the Anti-trust Law the United States. In the same vein, it was also sued in the United Kingdom for infringement of Fair Trade Policy (UK’s equivalent for Antitrust) for unethically â€Å"integrating† with other companies to the point of collusion that retards the mechanism of the market. III. Details of the case against BASF It is quite bothersome for a huge company such as BASF which is considered to be the largest chemical company in the world has 35 class action suit filed against it in the United States alone7. It indicates that there is something wrong with the company’s business practices. If it was only several cases, it could have been dismissed as a nuisance, but with 35 class action suits, the cases are worth to look at because it appears to be a business trend which is not exactly ideal. The cases hurled against BASF are serious that ranged from unfair company practice such as violation on anti-trust laws on price fixing, to exposing its employ ees to contaminated chemicals in the production of its fertilizers. Both allegations are serious offenses for it boils down to unfair business practice and total disregard for its employees’ safety and well-being. The lawsuit begun in 2004 when BASF together with Huntsman, Bayer, Dow and LyondellBasell were accused of price fixing. They were accused of price fixing â€Å"propylene  oxide (PO)-based polyether  polyols; methyl di-p-phenylene isocyanate (MDI); and  toluene  di-isocyanate (TDI) that were purchased from 1 January 1999 through 31 December 20048†. All of the parties that were accused opted to settle out of court with BASF offering a settlement amount of $51 million. It denied guilt to price fixing and justified that it was settling to save itself with the cost of a dragged litigation and the distraction of court hearing that will bother the company. This may have been approved by the Department of Justice in December of 2011 but still, the company is still facing a separate price fixing lawsuit from its isocyanates customers9.   Apparently, BASF has also a Fair Trading (Antitrust version in United Kingdom) case in UK which indicates that their alleged price fixing practices are not isolated in the US10. In Brazil, BASF together with Shell also faced class lawsuits and was in fact convicted to pay damages to its former employees. The class lawsuit was about contaminating its â€Å"

British Liberation Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

British Liberation Movement - Essay Example In order to be able to better understand about Gay Liberation (Gay Lib), not only does the history of this issue have to be discussed, but as well the present state that it is in, and what has come from it. The aim of this paper is to discuss the matter of Gay Liberation, as well as any and all key and related issues surrounding it, in order to allow us to attain a more knowledgeable and informed understanding on it overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. Gay Liberation is a term which is used to describe the radical lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered movement, which took place from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. This was not only a movement which took place in North America, but also Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In regards to the history of Gay Liberation, there are basically two different categories that can be considered: Gay Liberation during the first half of the 20th century, and Gay Liberation during the second half of the 20th century. ... fferent from the way that it had been during the first have of the 20th century, as a series of different developments took place during this time, developments which truly led to the creation of a gay liberation movement. It is truly fascinating just how much the way that homosexuality was looked at changed during the latter part of the 20th century, as it seemed to instantly go from being looked at as a horrific sin to being an issue that was not a deal to worry about at all. There are many different milestones that took place throughout the 20th century in regards to Gay Liberation, and the changes that took place from these milestones was incredibly far-reaching. For instance, the ban that had previously been put on the employment of homosexuals in most federal jobs was lifted, police harassment was sharply contained, and as well many large cities began to include sexual orientation in their civil rights statutes. Lisa Power is a woman who joined the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1996 as the Health Advocacy Team Manager, where she organized health promotion and information for people with HIV, and as well she developed the organization's work on new HIV treatments and with African communities in the UK. She has consistently been involved with human rights campaigns all throughout her life, first as a writer and activist for gay and lesbian rights and then, since the 1980s, in HIV and sexual health. One of Power's most respected and well-known books, No Bath but Plenty of Bubbles: An Oral History of the Gay Liberation Front, 1970-73, is a literary work which discusses the matter of gay liberation and how the Gay Liberation Front dragged homosexuality 'out of the closet', and into the public eye. It discusses all of the important issues, from how and when London

Common Core Essay Example for Free

Common Core Essay The common core is a set of standards which were developed by state leaders along with teachers, school administrators and many other people, not the Federal Government. The common core has standards. Standards which are not curriculum. Standards that â€Å"do not tell principals how to run their schools, and they do not tell teachers how to teach. Local teachers, principals, and district administrators ultimately decide how the standards are to be met and the curriculum to be use† (Laine and Minnich). The school districts still have to choose which textbooks to use and, which curricula they wish to add and drop. The basic standards of the common core are: Aligned with college and workforce-training expectations; Rigorous in content and include the application of knowledge through higher-order skills; Built on strengths and lessons taken from state standards; Informed by standards in top-performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in the global economy and society; and Evidence-based, clear, and aligned across a child’s K-12 education. The common core has many pros and cons to reforming the education system. In the Article The common core is a change for the better the authors mention that the common core provides a good foundation on what needs to be taught (Gardner and Powell). The authors also touched on the fact that students nowadays are â€Å"more mobile than ever†, families have to move around more to follow and find available jobs. With the common core all across the Country have the same standards. There is some consistency within all schools in America. If a family was to move from Maine to Nevada, it would be quite impossible to expect things to be the exact same. However, you can still have an idea of the standards and know what to expect. This is a great thing about the Common Core. Every Student this way is exposed to the same standards. Once students are mingled together in colleges and universities across the country the professors can expect almost every student to be able to do the same things, to a degree. Not to say that every student knows the  exact same co ntent, however they will all have graduated high school with the same skills. Skills that may be taught in a variety of styles, none the less resulting in the same skills. The common core requires teachers to be very specific and hand out rubrics, stating exactly the quality of work that is expected. This eliminates the confusion that can arouse from complicated projects or open research topics. The students will know exactly what the teacher is requiring of them. Ultimately making it easier on the students to provide what the teacher wants and getting the highest grade possible if the students puts in the effort required to meet the expectations. Effort: defined as â€Å"an earnest or strenuous attempt† by dictionary.com, is where a problem arises in the common core. The common core standard â€Å"Rigorous in content and include the application of knowledge through higher-order skills† is asking 21st century students to put in lots of effort, they can’t ask Siri to write their English paper or do their history project. Most high school aged students in the United States are not going to put in the required effort to achieve rigorous assignments. I know that when I was in high school my attitude was ‘if I wait to the last minute it only takes a minute’. That’s not because I was swamped with assignments or didn’t understand it. It was because I would rather be doing anything else, after having spent all day in classrooms with new information being drilled into my head. The absolute last thing I wanted to do was go home and spend more hours on homework. Making high school more rigo rous is going to prevent kids from being kids. Students in the United States are less motivated to learn and value education less and less. Stephen Krashen says that another problem with very rigorous assignments is â€Å"CCSS are so demanding that in English language arts classes, educators and students will have little time for anything not directly linked to the standards† (Krashen). I do not quite agree with this statement because the standards are not the curriculum being taught, just the way it is being taught. Teachers and schools have some free space to spend as much time as they feel necessary to focus on aspects they feel more important. The common core has pros and cons, just like anything in life. One set of standards isn’t going to please everyone in the United States. My personal opinion is that the common core has good intentions, but may be a bit unrealistic. If every school in America was teaching the same skills to the same degree, all students would have the same experiences entering college. There are 50 states with thousands of different schools in each states. Within those thousands of schools there are teachers who all have their own style of teaching. Not to mention the millions of students that all learn a little differently at a different pace. What are the odds that every state school, and teacher are able to provide every student with the exact same skills, using the exact same standards? There are good intentions behind it, and the United States can give it a chance, but I feel as though it may be unrealistic. Works Citied Fine, Sarah. Moving Forward With The Common Core. Education Week 30.8 (2010): 18-19. Professional Development Collection. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Gardner, Nancy S. Powell, Rod. The Common Core Is A Change For The Better. Phi Delta Kappan 95.4 (2013): 49-53. Professional Development Collection. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Krashen, Stephen. THE COMMON CORE. (Cover Story). Knowledge Quest 42.3 (2014): 36-45. Professional Development Collection. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Richard, Laine, and Chris Minnich. Common Core: Setting the Record Straight. Education Week 32.36 (2013): Web. 16 Mar. 2014

Data Manipulation Essay Example for Free

Data Manipulation Essay The tables required in the system will be Customer, Products, Staff and salary. The individual fields in each table will be as follows: CUSTOMER (CustomerID, Surname, FirstName and customer address) PRODUCTS (ProductID, Title, Description, Type and Amount) STAFF (StaffID, Name, address and contact number) STAFF SALARY (wages per hour, hours per day and days per week) There will be two reports produced. To produce a report for the products purchased; a query will be run to combine the data from the customer table and the product table. The user will be able to specify the products bought by a customer with the entire amount calculated to give the customer benefits of getting more offers. The second report will print the amount of salary each staff earns per hour, hours/day and days/week. The user is asked to enter the StaffID and name to enter its database. Output The two reports should be able to be viewed on screen with an option of printing it as well. The product purchased report should be printed so that they can give some discounts on particular customers who shop a lot at the store. The staff salary report should also be printed before any meetings so that they can decide on who to get paid more and who shouldnt. Backup / Security Strategy The main computer that has all the data needed should be backed up on a CD every week or even when a large amount of data has been input to the system. This CD should be kept away the main computer incase of a fire, theft or flood. There should be password security on the system so that people cannot hack into it. Access has a password protection before entering the data so that no one can hack into it. Part Three Initial Designs Form Design There will be 4 forms for the data entry. Frm Customer This form will be used for entering customer details. My initial design is shown below Frm Product This form is used to enter all the products available at the store and the prices of each product. Frm Staff This form will be used to enter the staff details. Frm Salary This form will be used to enter the salary of each staff working in the store. Report Design There will be 2 reports. These can be either printed or viewed on screen. Report customer list This report will come from a query, which combines data the customer table and the product table. The user will be able to enter the Customer name to enter the report for the customer report This initial design is shown below Report Staff Salary This report will show how a staff details and how much they earn and how are they rated between 1 to 5 stars for working. Mr. Smith can rate this every week. Menu Design The menu structure for this system will look like this: User Feedback on Initial designs The initial designs were shown to the manager of the store for his feedback and approval. Mr. Smith had the following comments and suggestions: I have looked at your designs very carefully and they appear to be useful for me and I did however think of 1 or 2 changes that could perhaps change 1) The product types should include which category it is in such as racing, shooting. It would also be easier and helpful if everytime you dont have to type in what category it is in. 2) Can the 2 reports be printed all together with a click of a button because it can be time consuming 3) Can you also do something that can calculate the amount of the products and salary for the staff Final Design Table design Four tables are required in this system. They are related as follows: The tables are defined as follows: Form Design The form designs were amended in accordance with Mr. Smiths suggestions and final designs are shown below. There is a combo box added for the category of the product, which can be easier to select the category instead typing it all the time. Query Design I will need to create 2 different queries. These will form the sources for my reports. QryCustomerlist This query will combine data from 2 tables. Using the customer table and product table. It will ask the user to give the customer name. This will then be asked to find out the customer details or the product details. For e.g. [Enter Customer name: ] QryStaffSalary This query will combine from the two tables, which are the staff table and the salary table. It will ask the user to enter the staff name to see the list of that particular staff detail For example: [enter staff name: ] Implementation We will be using Ms Access to make the system needed. I will show in steps how to create this type of a system. First open Ms Access then you will see Now the same way I need to enter 30 customer list Now we can type the detail of 30 customers without entering the product ID With the same way I also need to create the product table. After creating it the design looks like this Now I need to enter the details of the products Now we know the product ID so then I will need to add them in the customer table which does not need to be in an order because a customer may want something else. Now we need to create the relationship between these two table. Like these tables I created I will need to create another 2 more. After creating the table page will look like this After creating the staff tables I now need to create the details of them. Now for the staff salary table I need to enter the details Now I need to create the relationship between the Staff and the Staff Salary the same way as I did for Customer an Product. So open the relationship window Now as I have created the relationship between the staff and staff salary when I will open their table it will show After creating the tables I now need to create 2 query. Now I need to create a formula for which the system can calculate the total amount of the product from the quantity bought Now for calculating the VAT on these products I will do: Now I need to calculate the bill amount, which is, Amount adds the VAT. To check if these formulas work I will now test the system After seeing the amount formula working I will now need to save the work and so I will: This is how it will look like when it closes the query For the same way I need to create another query, which relates with staff salary and after it has been done it will look like this Now that Tables and Querys are finished I now need to create forms. Now need to align these in order Now I need to create title for the form . so I need to open the toolbox. It will look like this when I open the toolbox then where it says Aa click on it and make a box on the form Now I need to type in the title name. Now I have to organize the font and the font size Now I need to create command buttons for the system. After creating the commands I now need to create a the background colour now I need to save this form For the same way I will create another 4 forms and after I created it, it looks like Now I need to create reports Now finally I need to create a Main Menu, which indicate the user to use the system easily. Main Menu will also be create in the Form

Mount Etna: History and overview

Mount Etna: History and overview Mount Etna is also known as Mongibello in Italian. To ancient Greeks Mount Etna is known as the god of fire. They also believe that Cyclops, who is a one eyed monster, lives there. People can go skiing on Mount Etna in winter and you can go hill walking in the summer, but you have to be careful in case it erupts when youre there. Mount Etna also has some famous caves on it which people like to go and see. There is also a lot of wildlife on Mount Etna like Frogs, Toads and even some turtles are found in some of the ponds and lakes, there are also a lot of birds and even some rare golden eagles. Mount Etna has a lot of trees so in autumn when the tree leafs change colour lots of people come to see them. Mount Etna is strato volcano so its lava isnt as hot as other types of volcanoes. It is on the east coast of Sicily quite near Messina and Catania. Mount Etna has the most amount of eruptions in the world. It is the biggest active volcano in Europe, it is about 3326m high and it has an area of about 1190km ². The volcanoes height changes every eruption and some of the eruptions have reached the cities near the coast. The mountain is about 21m smaller now than 1865 because of the weather eroding it away. Mount Etna is by far the biggest active volcano in Italy, being almost 3 times as big as Mount Vesuvius which is the next biggest volcano in Italy. Geologists think it has been active for over two and a half million years. Mount Etna is one of the most active Volcanoes in the world. Its usually a quiet Volcano not a violent one because it erupts so often. Mount Etna erupts most impressive when the vents and the top erupt. Ash storms only happen if the vents erupt. The lava from Mount Etna can sometimes get up to 1000 degrees Celsius. Thousands of people live near and on the slopes of Mount Etna, their houses and property get ruined quite a lot. The surrounded areas of Mount Etna are good for Farms because crops and vegetables grow well on the volcanic soil. One of the eruptions in 122BC caused so much damage to a nearby city called Catania that its residents were relieved from paying taxes to Rome for 10 years. Mount Etna has 3 vent creators on its slopes, which have lava, rocks, and gasses coming out of them. Mount Etna erupted most violently in 1669 when the lava demolished nearby villages on the bottom of the slope. Some other violent eruptions have happened in 1971, 1983, 2001-02 making the Italian government to declare a state of an emergency. All these eruptions have been dangerous but the one in 1669 when it hit the outskirts of Catania was by far the most violent. Mount Etnas Eruption 1669 Mount Etnas eruption in 1669 is the worst eruption so far in its history. During Mount Etnas history it has erupted quite often, so people dont usually bother when it erupts because its not that violent, but the eruption on the 8th of March 1669 was by far the most violent. On the afternoon of the 11th of March a lot of vents from the volcano opened between two nearby cities, these vents caused a couple of very dangerous explosions and a huge amount of lava came out of them and flowed downhill. It produced about 830,000,000m ³ of lava. The eruption was caused by two months of earthquakes under and on the surrounding areas of Mount Etna. This was caused by the African crust pushing under the Eurasian crust. This made Mount Etna erupt. On the 11th of March a 9km gap cracked open from Monte Frumento Supino to Monte San Leo on the south side of the mountain. The biggest vent cracked open near Nicolosi and oozed with lava and it ended up shaped like a cylinder cone and it is now a popul ar tourist point and is called Mount Rossi. On the first day of the eruption a town called Nicolosi and two other villages nearby were destroyed by the dangerous pyroclastic flow which can get up to about a speed of 500mph. The next three days the lava was flowing south and another four villages were destroyed. At the end of March another two bigger towns were destroyed and the lava reached the outskirts of Catania at the end of April. At the beginning of the lava reaching Catania, the lava flow hit against the wall which was meant to stop the lava flow destroying Catinia. The wall was strong enough for a while but on the 30th of April the lava reached the top of the wall and poured into the city which made the wall fall down. After a while of the lava getting into the city it reached the harbour and filled it up. Some of the people that live in Catinia built walls next to all the main roads to stop the lava going onto the roads which would cause some accidents and deaths. Other people that live nearby tried to direct the lava flow away from the city but they did not do that good of job. Effects of Mount Etnas Eruption 1669 The effects left behind from the eruption in 1669 were talked about worldwide. More than 10 villages were destroyed and a lot more were badly damaged by the lava flow. The west side of Catania was also badly damaged. The west and southwest of the city which was the richer side of the city, with lots of fruit gardens, expensive villas and a few monuments from Greek and Roman time were turned into a wasteland from the vicious lava. Catania was now surrounded by lava in all directions apart from the sea side. The pyroclastic flow damaged the south and south west of the city, unlike the eruption in 1381 when it destroyed parts of the north side. The pyroclastic flow doesnt always do the most damage but it kills the most people because it can travel so fast, and people cant get away from it. About 200 000 people died and about 27 000 people were also left homeless from the devastating eruption. Plate Tectonics Most volcanoes in the world are on a constructive or destructive plate boundary. Mount Etna is on a destructive plate boundary. A destructive plate boundary is when one plate is getting pushed under another plate. Mount Etna was made by the African plate pushing under the Eurasian plate which makes a volcano form. Mount Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei are two other volcanoes which are also made by the African Plate pushing under the Eurasian plate. Most active Volcanoes are positioned near or along the edge of plate boundaries. Scientists are trying lots of different ways to find a better way of seeing under the earths crust below a volcano. Bibliography http://www.solcomhouse.com/etna.htm http://www.bestofsicily.com/etna.htm http://www.volcanolive.com/etna.html http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/etna.html http://www.destination360.com/europe/italy/mount-etna http://www.worldtravelguide.net/attraction/285/attraction_guide/Europe/Mount-Etna.html http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Articleid=366 http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Mount_Etna_-_1669_eruption/id/1371107 Myocardial Infarction (MI): Nursing Assessment and Care Myocardial Infarction (MI): Nursing Assessment and Care The purpose of this reflective essay is to critically analyse the clinical assessment and nursing care of a patient suffering from an Myocardial Infarction (MI). This essay also reflect my personal experience and knowledge I gained in a coronary care unit (CCU) which will be useful in my future development. I used Gibbs model to reflect on my experience of caring for a patient with a Non ST elevation MI or NSTEMI (Gibbs 1988).The National Service Framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease (CHD) set standards for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CHD (DH 2000).Myocardial Infarction (MI) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom (NICE 2002). Reflective practice is one of the key processes of learning within the health professions. It enables you to reflect on actions taken and analyse what you may have done differently and how you will handle similar situations in the future. Learning comes from how you handle different incidences and experiences and reflection is a key part of this. There are a number of models to choose from such as John’s model of reflection (1994), Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) or Atkins and Murphy’s model of reflection (1994). However, this essay will use Gibbs’ model of reflection (1988) to critically analyse the clinical assessment and nursing care of a patient suffering from a Myocardial Infarction (MI). This essay will use the model as devised by Gibbs as a framework. Gibbs’ model of reflection (1988) is based on six separate elements. It would be worth looking very briefly at each stage before continuing. Stage 1 of this model is the description. It requires you to set out the context of the event such as who was there and what was happening? Stage 2 is feelings. This is how you felt about the event and how you felt about the outcome. Stage 3 of Gibbs’ model is the evaluation. This requires you to consider the experience as a whole. What went well and what do you feel wasn’t so successful. Stage 4 is an analysis of the event as a whole. It requires you to break down the event into it’s separate parts and look at each part in more detail. What sense can you make of the situation? Stage 5 is the conclusion. This stage invites you to question what you might have done differently or what more could you have done given all the facts. The final stage of Gibbs’ model of reflection is an action plan. What would you do i f you encountered the situation again? What about your actions would you change? This is the structure that this essay will follow. Stage 1: Description I was working as a nurse in a Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in London. NMC guidelines (2004) requires healthcare providers to protect all patient’s confidential information. From this point I will be referring to the patient as Henry. Henry is a 45 year old male who was admitted into the Accident and emergency Unit of the hospital where I was working with crushing chest pains radiating to his left arm and his back. Henry had had no previous or family history of coronary disease. The initial observations showed that he had stage 2 high blood pressure (138/78), a heart rate of 85, respiration of 15 and a temperature of 36.5 degrees centigrade. Saturation was 100% at 28% oxygen via face mask. An ECG done in AE showed ST depression in leads 11,111 and AVF less than 1mm. TroponinI was>32ng/ml. In AE an initial dose of aspirin and 300mgs of clopidogrel was given to Henry. 80mgs of Clexane was also given, along with 5mg of morphinesulphate. 2 puffs of GTN spray was also administered. He was then transferred to CCU for further management. I first came into contact with Henry that morning when he was handed over to me. He had been in a stable condition when he was admitted to the CCU and had said that he had had a pain free night but later complained to one of the senior sisters that he had in fact been suffering but didn’t want to disturb anyone since the pain occurred from 4am onwards. When I first encountered Henry he was pale, cold and clammy. GTN spray was administered and I also started oxygen at 28% as his saturation was at 98%. Henry had said his pain was in his central chest and back regions. His ECG results showed ST depression 2mm in leads 11,111,aVF. At this point his BP was 126/80,his heart rate was 100, his respiration rate was 19 and he had a temperature of 36 degrees centigrade. Once I had informed the registrar of this I started a GTN infusion and his blood pressure dropped to 110/76. I then wanted to assess the level of pain that Henry had said he was in. I used a numerical rating scale to determine the level of his pain. This numerical scale provides a valuable measure of the understanding of the intensity of pain (Thompson et al, 1994). He had initially scored an 8 out of 10 but after the GTN infusion was administered this dropped down to 5. He was then started on 50mgs of Tirofiban in 200mls of normal saline and 20,000units of heparin infusion. During this time the registrar arranged for an emergency angiogram at a nearby hospital in London. I arranged for the transfer to be made in the hour. Upon his return, angiogram on his return I checked his angio site for bleeding. I did an ECG and placed him on a cardiac monitor. I checked pedal pulse and did circulatory check in his right leg every hour. I advised him to stay in bed for few hours to avoid bleeding. When it was discovered that Henry had an Inferior NSTEMI he was scheduled to have an emergency percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) which is performed by passing a balloon tipped catheter from an artery in the groin or arm and guided to the blocked artery of the heart (American Heart Association, 2008).The balloon is then inflated and removed, leaving in metalstent which squashes the fatty deposit that has been blocking the artery and therefore allowing blood to flow more easily. Jowett and Thompson (2003) argue that this method is very useful in alleviating symptoms and improving the prognosis of the patient. I was able to explain the procedure to Henry and then prepared him for the operation by shaving his groin and checking his bloods (including a coagulation screen). I also inserted venflon for intravenous access administered medications such as aspirin, informed the next of kin. The angiography had shown that Henry had 70-90% stenosis in proximal and midsegment section of vessel. The left coronary artery was free of obstruction therefore patient had PCI with drugeluting stents in the right coronary artery. The procedure was successful and I was able to start Henry on the first phase of his cardiac rehabilitation before his discharge. This involves a risk factor assessment and giving advice on how to lead a healthier life through reducing stress, having a healthier diet and taking regular exercise. I also gave him advice on his new drug regiment which would be an important part of his rehabilitation. Of course, longer term rehabilitation is required for patients who have gone through what Henry has gone through. He agreed to attend a exercise program once a week to be conducted in the hospital. A Myocardial Infarction (MI) can have a huge psychological effect on a patient. The changes that a patient is required to make to their lifestyle after suffering an MI can also have a damaging psychological consequences. Before Henry was discharged I had him fill out a questionnaire that would help determine his depression and anxiety levels based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. Stage 2: Feelings As a nurse I know that it is impossible to give round the clock, exclusive care to just one patient. I had other patients to attend to on that day who needed my care just as much as Henry. However, I still felt frustrated that Henry was in so much discomfort and I was also annoyed with myself for not having picked up on this when he had been initially handed over to me. It was left up to the senior sister to tell me that he had been pain during the night. I also felt frustrated that he didn’t feel like he could tell anyone about the pain that he had been experiencing. I felt that on the whole my communication skills had been lacking on this occasion. Had my communication skills been better, I could have picked up on the pain Henry was in much sooner. This is perhaps the strongest feeling I have about this experience. Overall I felt relieved that I was able to discharge Henry. CHD is a massive killer in the UK and working on the CCU one experiences many outcomes that aren’t as positive as Henry’s. Of course, I know his life is going to have to dramatically change as a result of his MI but I felt like I had done my best to prepare him for these changes. Stage 3: Evaluation This stage requires a reflection of the experience as a whole and to look at the aspects that were successful and also to look at aspects that weren’t so successful. Overall I was pleased at the outcome of this experience. However, there are always areas that could be improved on. Perhaps the greatest failure came from not knowing soon enough of the chest pain that Henry had suffered through the night. Had his pain been reported or picked up on sooner then I could have possibly prevented some of the myocardial damage. The GTN infusion could have been administered sooner. The purpose of this infusion is partly because it is useful for analgesia but also because it is useful for the control of ischaemia as it relaxes the smooth muscles, arteries and veins leading to vasodilatation (Hatchett and Thompson, 2007). Had I known of Henry’s chest pain right from the start it would have been possible for me to administer this as soon as he was handed over to me. The CCU I work in follows the ESC guidelines for management of NSTEMI. In accordance with this, I started Tirofiban and Heparin infusion. Tirofiban is a nonpeptide mimetic antagonist of glycoprotein 11b/111a receptor. Because Henry was limited by unstable signs and symptoms, protocol states that Tirofiban in combination with Heparin and Aspirin will have lower incidence of ischemia. I thought that the care that Henry received before his PTCA and the speed in which he was able to have this surgery was a great success. The PTCA was also a particularly successful. In the BHF Randomised Intervention Treatment of Angina (RITA3) trial of patients with NSTEMI, invasive strategies (PTCA or CABG) were found to be better when compared with more conservative strategies (Collnolly et al, 2002). I also felt that the care Henry received after his PTCA was very successful. The long term effects of this are yet to be realised but in the short term I felt that Henry responded very well to the lifestyle changes he was being asked to make. The long term care of patients who have suffered from CHD requires coordination across many different health care professions. It is often for patients to slip through the cracks and skip the parts of the rehabilitation that they find too hard. However, I felt that Henry was determined to get back to a normal life as soon as possible. Stage 4: Analysis The purpose of Gibbs’ model of reflection (1988) is to learn from your experiences. I feel that this stage has been adequately covered by the description given in Stage 1. In this previous section I have given a step by step breakdown of the events as they unfolded. Each part from Henry’s admission, to his treatment to the initial stages of his rehabilitation have been covered in sufficient detail above. Stage 5: Conclusion As already mentioned, one of the areas which I felt was most inadequate throughout this whole experience was communication. Jowett and Thompson (2003) argue that in the highly technical and invasive atmosphere of a CCU, good communication can sometimes be lacking. Ashworth (1984) argues that a patient needs to feel like healthcare professionals such as nurses need to be helpful, competent and approachable. Nurses in turn have to recognise the individual needs of the patients in their care. This is an area where there were obvious failures. Henry didn’t feel able to express the fact that he was in pain because he didn’t want to be a nuisance. In an CCU where it is a highly charged atmosphere, it is possible that the patient may feel quite a lot of discomfort but won’t speak up because they may feel that they are inconveniencing someone or also they may feel that everyone in the CCU is probably feeling worse than them so they should just deal with the pain and not speak up. This failure to communicate is both the fault of the patient and the healthcare professional but the healthcare professional should be able to recognise when a patient is in pain. Stage 6: Action Plan Clinically I feel all the proper guidelines and protocols were applied in the case of Henry. As has already been stated, what was lacking is the communication. I am likely to encounter similar situations again as a nurse in a CCU. CHU is a leading health concern in the UK so it is important that one is able to learn from experiences and use them when encountering similar situations. The role of nurse in a CCU is one that is rapidly evolving and changing so it is important to learn from experiences and apply this learning to everyday practice. What my experience with Henry has taught me is that I need to treat each patient as individuals with individual problems and with differing levels of communication skills. Some patients are good at communicating what they feel while others aren’t. Spotting that Henry was in pain sooner may have led to less damage of his heart tissue. Of course the damage had already been done before he came into hospital but I may have missed signs that I should have picked up on when he was initially handed over to me. As nurses we should be striving to make the patients in our care as comfortable as possible. This especially important in a CCU where patients are having to deal with a variety of problems and a wide range of emotions. It is easy to get caught up in the highly charged atmosphere and not see the patients as individuals. This is something that I aim to work on in my future career as a nurse. Bibliography and References: Bassand, J., Hamm,C,Ardissino D et al (2007) Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Non-ST-segment Elevation acute coronary syndrome:The task force for the diagnosis and treatment of Non ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes of the European society of cardiology. European Heart Journal 28:1598-1660. B .Scheller,U.speck,M.Bohm Prevention of restenosis; is angioplasty the answer. Heart 2007(93) 539-541. Derek L Connolly,Gregory YH lip and Bernard SP chin.Anti thrombotic strategies in acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary intervention.ABC of antithrombotic therapy BMJ.2002 325(7377): 1404-14 E coady Managing patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome Nursing standard 2006(20) 49-56. Fox KA (2004) Management of acute coronary syndromes: an update.Heart 2004(90-1) 99-106. Gibbs ,G.(1988) Learning by doing :A guide to teaching and learning methods.oxford. Hatchett,R. and Thompson,D. (2001) Cardiac Nursing:A comprehensive Guide,London,Churchill Livingstone. Harvey D white (2008) Implications of a new universal definition.Heart 2008(94-6) 679-683. Henriksson M Epstein,D.M and Palmer SJ (2008) costeffectiveness of an early interventional strategy in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome.Heart 2008(94) 717-723. Jowett,N and Thompson,D.(2003) Comprehensive coronary care.3rd edn.London:Bailliere Tindall. Libby P (2001) Current concepts of the pathogenesis of the acute coronary syndromes.Circulation. 2001(104-3), 365-372. Mathew B.earnest and Peter N. tadros march1,2007 consultant vol 47(3) National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (2000) A report on the clinical and cost effectiveness of physiotherapy in cardiac rehabilitation London:NSF. Nursing and Midwifery council (2002) code of professional conduct.London.Nursing and Midwifery council O Connor, S (1995) The cardiac patient:nursing interventions.London:Mosby. Ornish,D.,Brown,S.E.,Scherwitz,L.w., et al.(1990)Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart diseaseLancet,336,129-133. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (2002) Cardiac rehabilitation:National Clinical Guidelines. Edinburgh:SIGN Thompson, P (1996) The effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation.Nursing in critical care 1(3);215-220. Thygesen, K .,Joseph S., et al.(2007)Universal Definition Of Myocardial Infarction:Task Force For The Redefinition Of Myocardial Infarction.European Heart Journal(28) 2525-2538. World Health Organisation (1993) Needs And Actions Priorities In Cardiac Rehablitation And Secondary Prevention In Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.WHO Technical Report Service 831,Geneva, WHO . Wood,D., Mcleod, A., Davis,Miles,A.(2002) Effective Secondary Prevention and Cardiac Rehablitation.London:Ausculapius Medical Press. Woods, S.L., Sivarajan Froelicher,E.S. and Underhill Motzer, S.(2004) Cardiac Nursing, 5th edition, Philadelphia, Lippincott.

Comparison: the Jade Peony, horses Of The Night, Masque Of The Red :: essays research papers

Comparison: "The Jade Peony", "Horses of the Night", Masque of the Red Death" I noticed that i enjoyed most of the storys not only for the obvious reasons such as good charactors, mood, and imagery but also because of writing style and fluency. I noticed some storys I enjoyed reading even thought nothing in it really interested me too much, while other storys that were about topics I usally enjoy reading about I had to put down because I would end up going over every sentence two or three times each. So on that note I belive the most important part of writing is making it fluent and easy to read. The three storys I will compare and contrast are: "The Jade Peony", "Horses of the Night", and "The Masque of the Red Death." I intend to fine wether or not the author of these storys was sucessful in making it readable in the sence of comprehanceability and fluency. The first story I will be discussing is called "The Jade Peony" by Wayson Choy. I did not enjoy what this story was about nor did I enjoy reading it. Luckly it was short, If It wasnt I doubt i would have made it throught the whole thing. The main problem with this story was the inconsistance of the sentences, some sentences were too long while others were very short. The only way to truly fix this story would be to re-write it. The second story I chose to write about is called "Horses of the Night" by Margaret Laurence. I did enjoy reading this short story dipite the fact it seem to jump around alot; it would talk about somthing fairly in-depth then just suddenly jump to a different subject or time-era of the story. The author seem to show very good writing ability however so I think perhaps she did this on purpose either just for somthing different or maybe to give you a break from what she was currently writing about. And finally the third and personal favourite story i chose to include in this paper is called "The Masqe of the Red Death." This story is nice and easy to read even though it uses fairly large words and complex sentences. This story just happens to be writen by one of my favourite writers as well: Edgar Allen Poe. I enjoyed this story mainly because like i said it was easy to read

Identify and analyse the relationship between the business’s training :: Business and Management Studies

Identify and analyse the relationship between the business’s training and development programme and its management of performance and explain how these two functions may be influenced by different motivational theories HSBC puts a lot of emphasis on providing excellent training and development programmes. HSBC believe that it is this quality of training that has enabled them to become a successful organisation. The training programmes are usually carried out in a consistent and formal way. HSBC believe that this is a key way of motivating their employees. Ø Training and Development The main aim of training and development at HSBC is to develop and improve the employees within the company. Delivery The training cycle above shows that there are four different areas that need to be looked at (needs analysis, evaluation, delivery and design). These are the four most important factors that contribute to the success of the training programme. Using this cycle HSBC put a very specific training programme in place that all employees must follow while at the company. The programmes is as follows: 1) Induction Training 2) Job Specific Training 3) Personal Development Ø Performance Management The link between Training and Development and Performance Management For the training and development to be successful, performance management is needed to help each factor work effectively. Performance management enables employees to set individual objectives and the training and development aids them in meeting each one. This process is ongoing and HSBC has three stages of training and development that each employee must carry out. These three stages link to the training and development and performance of employees in the following ways: - Induction Training – these needs are recognised and then and planned out using performance management. - Job Specific Training – here the needs are also recognised and planned using performance management. After employees complete the training efficiency, accuracy and quality are analysed through performance management. - Personal Development – needs are identified and planned through performance management. There are various types of training an employee can use to develop himself/herself. Each employee recognises his or her individual training needs through performance management. After doing the training they feel it has not been effective then other methods of training will be looked at. The initial step of the training programme needs to be analysed. Here performance management is essential because management need to recognise the needs and requirements of the employee. This is a further example of the link between performance management and training and development. The next step is design. This involves discussion on the type of training that will be applied to the employee. The third and fourth stages of the cycle are Delivery and Evaluation and bring the process

Public Schools - Sex Education in the Classroom Essay -- Argumentativ

Sex Education in the Classroom      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teenage unplanned pregnancies continue to increase and the Aids epidemic is still wiping out entire populations rapidly worldwide. Here in the United States we hear little about the ongoing battle that is being fought between parents, educators and government officials, with the outcome having a significant impact on our children's lives. Programs that teach sex education in the classroom and promote distribution of condoms are constantly under siege by radical groups who believe very strongly in their religious teachings and choose to ignore the truth. The sex education programs are having an immediate impact on the choices the teenagers are making who attend them. To date any abstinence only approach has not had the decline in teenage pregnancies or the slowed transmission of sexually transmitted diseases as the do the programs that offer a wide variety of information pertaining to sex and follow through with access to birth control. Why not give our children t he very best information and products and allow them to make an informed logical conclusion, without all the propaganda and lies that only hinder our children's decisions. Condom distribution in schools does not promote sex; it simply prevents unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.    Realistically more teenagers are experimenting with sex than ever before in our nations history. With over 29 million young people between the ages of 13 and 19, approximately 12 million have had sexual intercourse. Out of those sexually active, more than 1.1 million become pregnant, three-fourths of these pregnancies were unintended, and more than 434,000 end in an abortion. "Common sense would tell us that the earlier a te... ...n to be safe and informed on all aspects of life, no matter how much it interferes with our view of how things should be? We still have to take into account the reality of the situation. Teenagers are sexually active and need to be protected by any means necessary.    Works Citied Avert. 24 May 2000. 25 May 2000. http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm. Harris, Hamil R. "Schools Give Condoms to 1,600 in First Year." Washington Post 06 Jun. 1993. PDC1 Lachance, Laurie L. Kid Source Online. 20 Apr. 2000. 24 May 2000. http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/teen.pregnancy.html#education. "Sex-education programs that work-and some that don't." Parade Magazine 12 Feb. 1995: 18-20. United States. Center for Disease Control. Adolescent Health Monograph Data Sources. 1994. 24 May 2000. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/ahson /datasour.htm.   

Curious Images Essay

Images are significant parts of our lives as they confine and define all that is familiar to us. Human mind has a tendency to associate feelings with images. Each feeling has a face; our fears, contemplations, pleasure, hope, failure etc. , all have a face. So vivid are these faces that as soon as an emotion or thought sprouts in the mind, an image flashes to gratify our senses; so strong is the grip of these images that we keep relating and projecting our thoughts, feelings and memories with them. We see an example of this in R. L. Stevenson’s â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.  Hyde†, where the personality of Mr. Hyde becomes active as soon as his Dr. Jekyll’s thoughts change. For this reason, something that is unknown always causes a feeling of discomfort as it has no visual representation. Our entire lives revolve around familiar and unfamiliar images. The conscious part of our mind always relies on these images to identify our world. Thus, images influence us strongly, sometimes manipulating us, while at other times, playing tricks upon us, like ceiling fan and motion pictures, as demonstrated by Oliver Sack in â€Å"In the Rivers of Consciousness†. Our perceptions sometimes makes us prisoner of our thoughts, binding us into bouts of endless torment. Society often slots our actions into bold categories of good and bad, which forces people to lead dual lives, becoming unwittingly, victim of these images. Dr. Jekyll from the â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† is one such person who is suffering from this inner conflict of maintaining a good image in the society (R. L. Stevenson). Due to this obsession he undertakes the task of transforming his personality chemically. â€Å"A change had come over me. It was no longer the fear of gallows, it was the horror of being Hyde that racked me. † (430). In an attempt to get rid of the evil side of his personality, Dr. Jekyll drinks a potion he creates, which brings out the personality of Mr. Hyde. However to his horror, he discovers that Mr. Hyde becomes more and more monstrous as days go by. This really bothers him because ironically Mr. Hyde had turned out to be totally opposite to what he had imagined. It becomes very difficult for him to keep this side of his personality hidden any longer and this fear of being discovered ultimately with a negative image causes him to kill himself. Tormented by his thoughts of wanting a good image for himself, Dr. Jekyll carried out a dangerous experiment which turned out to be a disaster. Here we see how images created in the mind can manipulate a person to create a harmony between the bigger image created by the society, making him a prisoner of his thoughts. In case of Dr. Jekyll, we also observe that thoughts, for example, of good and evil which translates into an image of moral stance, become more powerful when suppressed. â€Å"By then, Freud emphasized, the wish maybe disguised to the point of being unrecognizable. Things might even appear their opposites: pleasure as pain, desire as fear. † (Gelman, Dreams on the Couch). Here we take a look at Freud’s explanation of seemingly weird dreams. He goes on to explain that something which is like a social taboo, gets suppressed in the mind to an extent where it seems to be exact opposite. Such an image, due to getting suppressed becomes more powerful. â€Å"Thus there are two forces operating: the wish, and a defense against it, a censor. † (133). The wish or desire being a social taboo, causes the dreamer to dream exact opposite of what he desires. But this is not always the case, as argued by many other analysts. â€Å"There is no need to assume dreams have a latent content†, says Harry Fiss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (134). The images or memories which have been very significant to the dreamer must be taken into consideration as they remain in subconscious and influence our thought process. Thus, we see how the image created by the society influences the images created in the minds of people. Human mind works in a complex way to decipher the images which it keeps viewing, creating and transforming. Sometimes the captured image puts the mind into a trancelike state and at other times tricking the mind to cause an illusion. â€Å"Freed from inhibitions of verbal communication, it seems, we respond to visual imagery that may have been our earliest mode of thinking- one reason, perhaps, why the language of poetry can stir us as it does. That may explain, too, why some dreams can haunt us with a power more persuasive even than that of poetry, shimmering in the mind like lost cities or leaving us, for hours afterward, with an unaccountable feeling of terror. † (Gelman, Dreams on the Couch). A moment which might have been very significant in a person’s life lays hidden in the subconscious layers of the mind. Constant storage of images in our minds, sometimes cause them to jumble up. That’s why our dreams are made of up of images that sometimes make sense and very often do not, explaining why we sometimes have pleasant dreams and at other times suffer from nightmares. â€Å"When the analyst asked the patient if he associated anything with the â€Å"Malarial Area†, he decided, after some thought, that the phrase could be an anagram. † (137). Here we see how the patient’s long forgotten childhood memories distorted his dreams. â€Å"In this patient, whom they call Mrs. M. , there were â€Å"freeze frames† lasting several seconds, during which Mrs. M. would see a prolonged, motionless image and be visually unaware of any movement around her, though her flow of thought and perception was otherwise normal. † (Sacks, In the Rivers of Consciousness). Here we see Mrs. M. getting caught in a frozen moment. The similarity between these situations is how images manipulate these two patients to be caught in the moment. The interesting difference here is how perception creates an image, which one remembers in his dream with his eyes closed, and the other doesn’t with her eyes open. Images sometimes play a trick of optical illusion, causing the brain to believe and perceive motions differently. When we see a series of still images in quick succession, there is an illusion which leads us to believe that we are in fact looking at one continuous motion picture. This optical illusion tricks the mind into believing that which is not the case. â€Å"Another striking example of perceptual standstill could be demonstrated with a common visual illusion, that of the Necker cube. Normally, when we look at this ambiguous perspective drawing of a cube, it switches perspective every few seconds, first seeming to project, then to recede, and no effort of will suffices to prevent this switching back and forth. † (Sacks, In the Rivers of Consciousness). This perspective switching portrays an image which keeps changing and is not still. This is in huge contrast with the case of Mrs. M. , who experiences a standstill trance like state, where she perceives the image in front of her to be motionless. Her perspective doesn’t change for elongated periods of time, until perhaps someone interrupts her. Similarly, ceiling fan sometimes seems to be going in the forward direction, while at other times in the opposite direction. Further, as Sacks goes on to explain how people who suffer from migraine perceive what they see. The migraine patients in their delirium see flickering images, which accelerate to restore normal motion. In all these case, we see how moving images are perceived by the brain, sometimes rushing and causing fluid like motion. At other times, freezing and causing a trance like state. This concept has today advanced into the making of motion pictures, advanced imaging devices etc. From prehistoric times, man has given immense importance to images. This is confirmed by the ancient cave paintings. We see that drawing or creating images fulfills a deeper aspect of human personality, as it offers a very strong medium of self expression. Sometimes images form a pattern in the mind, locking us in that moment, as we see in the case of Mrs. M. â€Å"In the River of Consciousness† by Oliver Sacks. Sometimes they offer a familiar territory to which we are used to, while at other times, they act as agents in visual communication. Images take on a variety of forms and functions. They create patterns in our minds which make us happy, sad and fearful, as we keep relying upon them subconsciously. Often, we don’t realize how much our lives are influenced by them. The way we dress, work, live, are all influenced by the perceived images which we have created in our minds ever since we were born. This is a never ending process which continues as long as we live. Images rule our conscious and sub conscious, also influencing our dreams, as we observe in â€Å"Dreams on the Couch† by David Gelman. Living in a society, where images and appearances are very important, we often perform actions which do not always leave us happy. R. L. Stevenson’s â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† is a classic example of this. In such situations, our suppressed desires sometimes try to overcome our sensibility, till there comes a point where we are forced to look at the bigger picture. Are we truly what we portray ourselves to be or we pretend to be someone who we want to be? Whatever be the case, one cannot deny the impact that images have on our lives, positive or negative. Man, being a social animal adapts himself to put on various images sometimes for himself, sometimes for the society he lives in; sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. Works Cited Stevenson, R. L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 1886. (Gelman, Dreams on the Couch) (Sacks, In the Rivers of Consciousness)

All That Is Sarcasm

When dunces appear at every turn, or even when a friend is being unintelligent, one can be easily agitated with such annoyances. Although violence may seem like a good idea at the time, sarcasm is a better approach and it's easier on the knuckles. Sarcasm is less simple, however, so here are some quick tips to make those witty retorts we all love so much. When it comes to sarcasm, all remarks should be lighthearted–after all no one likes a jerk. Pick a phrase that isn't too degrading, but one that gets the point across so the person knows they're not being intelligent. For example, if a friend says, â€Å"Wow, the sky is really blue today,† an appropriate response could be, but is not limited to, â€Å"No way! I thought it was purple. † Also, the use of sarcasm in somber environments is strictly off limits. In a funeral setting, for instance, sarcasm is forbidden no matter what the remark is. Remember that sarcasm is more about being funny and less about twisting a knife. To add to the lighthearted nature, the proper tone must be taken for sarcasm to gain its intended effect. Using emphasis on different words will make sarcasm easily detectable. To exemplify, in the response ‘no way! I thought is was purple,' overemphasize ‘no way'. In doing so, the tone makes it blatantly obvious that sarcasm is present. However, do not emphasize too many words, or the phrase will sound choppy and will not flow with the conversation. Remember also not to put too much mirth in the tone or it may be hard to keep a straight face. After dropping a sarcastic remark, it's best to let the person realize rather than giving it away with hysterical laughter, so they don't feel completely incoherent. Although lightheartedness and tone make sarcasm effective, timing is also a crucial part. Being able to think on your feet is a must especially if the topic changes rapidly. In essence, when a person says something deserving of a sarcastic remark, quickly say the remark before the conversation changes subject. In the ‘purple sky' example, if the friend has already gone on to talk about their favorite football team, then the remark would become obsolete. Even though it may seem like using sarcastic remarks at the right time is an easy task, it does take some effort. Make sure that the thought is completed at the right time, and if it is not, don't feel compelled to say it. Now go, exchange tactful words with friends and let the witty banter ensue. There is no situation awkward enough, no force powerful enough, and no river wide enough to stop the complexities of sarcasm. With timing, tact, and tone, an apprentice will soon become a master of all that is sarcasm.

Racism in Disney Movies

Anastasia Trus WRTG 3020 Professor Pat Sullivan 30 March 2010 Racism in Disney During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media â€Å"are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,† such as racism. Giroux 32). Racist scenes in Disney movies are often identified as simply being â€Å"symbols of the time† when the films were produced. Furthermore, Disney racism is often passed over as simple humor, or as a simple guide to children's understanding of cultures. These explanations of racism in the films are incomplete because they fail to take into account the fact that the primary audience members of Disney films are not old enough to see the movies as relics of a different time and place. This is not to say that Disney films indoctrinate children with racist tendencies; nevertheless, racist scenes in still-popular films cast a blanket of insensitivity over the subject of racism. Disney’s reputation of being racially insensitive has never been more evident than in the time leading up to the release of its latest movie Princess and the Frog. Nearly everything about this film has caused a storm of criticism both from the public and from people within the film industry itself. It is curious that people are so enraged and concerned with this movie, when they ignore potentially more offensive racist elements in other films. If one analyzes society’s response to Princess and the Frog as a single phenomenon, then it does seem a bit odd that a children’s film could start such a heated social debate; however, after taking into account Disney’s history with racism and racial insensitivity, it is not surprising at all that the first black Disney princess would be such a controversial figure. Bombarded with accusations of anti-Semitism and racism, in the 1940’s Walt Disney was an avid supporter of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a â€Å"red-scare† anti-Semitic industry group that wanted to blacklist artists (Alan 12). Perhaps this is one of the reasons Disney’s past is filled with questionable cinematic material. Fantasia was released in 1940, the third theatrical full-length animation, as shown in Disney's canon of animated films. The original version of Disney's classic â€Å"Fantasia† (1940) features a character called Sunflower, a little black centaur handmaiden. Sunflower is an extremely insulting caricature, and a bluntly racist stereotype of the â€Å"servile grinning nigger† variety (Walker 22). In a featured scene during â€Å"The Pastoral Symphony† elegant white centaurs frolick through the woods and are waited on by Sunflower. She is noticeably smaller than the other centaurs—ostensibly because she is half-donkey instead of half-horse, but more likely to exaggerate her inferiority—and has a darker complexion. Her sole function in the film is to eagerly polish and shine the hooves of the tall, sexy Aryan centaur women who glare down their petite noses at this pathetic servant. Such scenes were later censored in the film due to the characters being considered â€Å"ethnically offensive during the civil rights movement† (Walker 26).? In addition to reinforcing the stereotype of blacks as inferior beings, the scene from the â€Å"Pastoral Symphony† also furthers racism by supporting segregation. Throughout the film the female Aryan centaurs pair up with the males of their â€Å"race,† leaving Sunflower alone and separated from the group. Rather than correcting the racism within the scene, Disney later chose to eliminate it from the film – as if it never happened. When the racial climate of America changed in the 60s, the portrayal of such insulting stereotypes in movies and television became politically incorrect, and Disney (fearing accusations of racism) deleted Sunflower from Fantasia for the theatrical re-release of the film. Her troubling presence was simply cropped out of the movie even though you can still see the Aryans she used to pamper. Eliminating Sunflower from the movie may have been intended as harmless and as an attempt to be politically correct; however, it is cinematic decisions such as this that contributed to Disney’s reputation of being insensitive to issues of race. It was insulting enough for Disney to include the smiling servant stereotype to begin with, but to make matters worse, they started denying Sunflower's existence with the Fantasia re-release in 1960. How does that possibly make things better? A few angered African American communities said, â€Å"No, you misunderstand. In our perfect, Fantasia world, Africans aren't servants. They don't fucking exist† (Weinman 64). A contemporary film critic said, â€Å"What's fun though is that Disney says they never had such a character! We're all delusional† (Brunette 123). Maybe it was â€Å"acceptable† in the past to portray characters that had such blatant racist features; nevertheless, it is strange to deny its existence to audiences who had already seen the original version. This is how we deal with our ugly past: we deny it, trivialize it, gloss over it with pretty distractions and wishful thinking. Doing so, we deny ourselves a glimpse of the compelling reality of naked history. The well-meaning rush to unmake evil deeds by hiding them from the critical eye of modern sensibilities does nothing to honor the people who lived and struggled in those different times (Walker 28). Sunflower’s existence may be news to younger generations of Disney fans, but she has been here all along, and her presence as well as her absence carry great significance, especially in the context of how viewers and critics respond to other potentially racist films. Dumbo, the fourth film in the Disney industry, was made in 1941 and produced by Walt Disney himself. It was originally designed as an economical feature to help generate income after the financial failure of Fantasia. The concerns people had against Disney being anti-Semitic and racist were sill strong, especially after Disney projected his own sense of alienation onto â€Å"others† in Hollywood, namely, Jews, blacks, and union workers. In retaliation against the studio entrepreneurs, who were predominantly Jewish, Disney refused to employ Jews in high-level positions at his studio or as actors in his live-action features. Not until 1969, two years after Disney's death, did a Jewish actor, Buddy Hackett, feature prominently in a Disney film, The Love Bug. Disney Studios also denied black workers even minimal opportunities, as technicians and support personnel. Because Walt Disney was an infamous racist, even for his time, it is not surprising that a film he produced himself would be racist as well. Dumbo is full of racist images and themes. Dumbo’s birth itself speaks to the foundations of racism when the other female elephants single Dumbo out because he looks different with his unusual ears. Considering the fact that â€Å"big-eared elephants are African,† it is especially racist that Dumbo, who is seen as different and even freakish would be associated with Africa (Lugo-Lugo 167). Because Dumbo is different from everyone else, he is ridiculed for it. Just because his ears are bigger than those of a normal elephant, he is ostracized from the rest of the group. He only has one friend (Timothy Mouse), who ironically is also socially shunned because elephants are generally supposed to be scared of mice. This could be seen as another form of racism where someone is ostracized because they are different. Furthermore, in the movie, when it is time to set up the circus in town, it is significant to take note of who performs the hard labor necessary to make the circus function. Not only are the circus animals themselves condemned to build their own chamber of humiliation, but there are also faceless black men working hard at this labor. The faces on these men are featureless, with no eyes, no mouths, and no noses – showing that they possess no individual identities, like a group of invisible men. This is characteristic of the time period because the 1940s were right before the Civil Rights Movement, and although slavery had been abolished, blacks were still segregated and considered as lesser people. The song they sing while working is very appalling: We work all day, we work all night We never learned to read or writeWe're happy-hearted roustabouts When other folks have gone to bed We slave until we're almost dead We're happy-hearted roustabouts We don't know when we get our payAnd when we do, we throw our pay away We get our pay when children say With happy hearts, It's circus day today. The lyrics of this song portray slaves working day and night doing backbreaking labor. However, it says nothing about the system doing something wrong because the slaves seem happy to do the work. The song even mentions that slaves are also satisfied with working for no pay. The lyrics suggest that money was not something they worry about. The lyrics are insulting to the workers, stating that they do not know when they will get paid, but it does not matter because once they do get paid they will just throw their money away. Furthermore, the lyrics construct and laud the image of the passive and content slave whose true payment and fulfillment is watching the joy of (white) children on circus day. Lyrics such as â€Å"we slave until we're almost dead† but, â€Å"we're happy-hearted† are utterly absurd and disgraceful. Slavery was a morally wrong institution and the fact that Disney condoned its practices in Dumbo is horrifying. Another overtly racist element in Dumbo is the characterization and function of the crows. Richard Schickel says, â€Å"There was one distasteful moment in the film. The crows who teach Dumbo to fly are too obviously Negro caricatures† (Shickel 113). Leonardo Maltint, after quoting Schickel, says that critics may be overreacting to the crows: â€Å"There has been considerable controversy over the Black Crow sequence in recent years, most of it unjustified. The crows are undeniably black, but they are black characters, not black stereotypes† (Maltin 56). Even though Maltint makes a valid point, he does not address the fact that the crows in the film are very specifically depicted as poor and uneducated. They also use slang words such as calling each other â€Å"brotha† and speak in southern accents with incorrect grammar. Any one of these characteristics could be ignored as having racial implications; however, by combining them into one character, it is very reasonable, indeed, almost necessary to interpret the crow as a black stereotype. The other big argument for the Black Crow sequence being interpreted as racist is that the leader of the group of crows, towards the end of the movie, is named Jim. Therefore, Jim the Crow can very well be construed as being a reference to the Jim Crow Laws, which were prevalent in the southern United States from 1876-1965 and promoted racism and racial segregation. The crows' racial identities as black are further implied when they perform their song in a jazz style complete with scat stylization. The song â€Å"When I  See an Elephant Fly† is part of the music style generally popular at the time in black communities. As the crows begin humiliating poor Dumbo, Timothy Mouse steps up to defend him with the following comments: â€Å"Suppose you was torn away from your mother when you was just a baby. Nobody to tuck you in at nights. No warm, soft, caressing trunk to snuzzle into. How would you like to be left out alone†¦ in a cold, cruel, heartless world? † What an ironic comment to make to a set of characters who represent African-Americans, who, at the time, would only have been a few generations removed from the time when black slaves were routinely torn away from their families. The mouse continues: â€Å"And why? I ask ya, why? Just because he's got those big ears, they call him a freak. † Finally, Timothy says, â€Å"And on top of that, they made him a clown! Interestingly, Timothy’s reference to the clown points to the time when the white power structure practiced minstrelsy by making clowns of the socially despised blacks. It is important to recognize that Dumbo is racist not because of any single scene or image, but because of the message produced when all the racist scenes and images are combined. Dumbo is a freak with big â€Å"African† ears who must be segregated from the others. Furthermore, the only role he can have in the circus is that of the clown. The crows also point to black stereotypes through color, dialogue, and even name. Finally, the blatant reference to slavery through the figures of the circus workers contributes to an overall feeling of racism in the film. In many ways, analyzing whether one scene is racist is not nearly as important as understanding that racist undertones are present and noticeable in Dumbo whether we as a society want them be or not. It is important to note that not all racism in Disney films is directed at African Americans. One of the most well recognized racist symbols perpetuated by Disney is the portrayal of the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp (1955). Like stereotypical Asians, they are buck-toothed and have slanted eyes, and speak in ridiculously exaggerated accents that bear little, if any, resemblance to actual Thai speech patterns. Their features, along with the banging of a gong at the beginning of their song, could not make the Asian-specific racism any more obvious, â€Å"We are Siamese, if you please. We are Siamese if you don't please! We are former residents of Siam. There are no finer cats than we am. † Goldmark comments: One can hear the confidence and superiority in their voices. Those two cats don't care about anyone but themselves, lacking any kind of empathy. They are sociopaths, prepared to ruin Lady's life because it is fun and it serves them. They are portrayed as cunning and manipulative, giving the widespread idea that all Asians act superior, are cunning and manipulative. (Goldmark 115) In the film, the Siamese cats function not only as a racial stereotype but also as a stereotype of the upper classes in Oriental countries: â€Å"The cats prance around arrogantly in a Hollywood-invented style that is supposed to represent what the audience should assume are mannerisms of aristocratic Siamese or Chinese† (Romalov 46). The ambiguity in the exact ethnicity of the cats is significant because it demonstrates how Disney films tend to combine different ethnicities under the umbrella of one: â€Å"(Disney’s films, like many Hollywood films, often tended to lump ethnic groups together into a kind of undifferentiated mass-Asians, Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, for example Arab and East Indians as another example. ) The cats even roundly sing of their supposed heritage† (Romalov 46). This practice of ethnic â€Å"lumping† is even more obscene in Aladdin where Arabic and Indian cultures are intertwined and assumed to be one and the same. Like Lady and the Tramp, Aladdin attempted to include other races in the film that had not been included in other Disney movies of the past; unfortunately, we see many of the same racist undertones in Aladdin that are present in the film’s predecessors. Perhaps the most controversial and racist part in Aladdin (1992) is a set of lines in the opening song, â€Å"Arabian Nights. † It is one of the most contentious messages found in the film and begins the movie’s â€Å"depiction of Arab culture with a decidedly racist tone† (Giroux 104). An Arab merchant sings the lyrics: â€Å"Oh I come from a land/From a faraway place/Where the caravan camels roam. Where they cut off your ears/If they don’t like your face. /It’s barbaric, but hey, its home. † The message that is given right at the beginning of the film is that the Middle East is a desolate wasteland where the justice system runs on a simple limb-removal policy. The opening song alone s ets a tone that alienates the Arabic community from Western culture: â€Å"One would have to be very naive to believe that Hollywood would dare to use such a song if it did not see Arabs as belonging to an `other' or `alien' culture. Successive themes drive home the view that these creatures are suspicious, lazy, unethical, and violent outsiders. They' most definitely are not like ‘us’†(Shaheen 50). The lyrics to the opening song in Aladdin caused an uproar in Arab countries and the words were later changed to: â€Å"Where it’s flat and immense/ And the heat is intense. † Not only are the lyrics violent, but they are truly an example of the worst kind of racism. Disney distribution president Dick Cook was quoted as saying the change was made after meetings with members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League but that â€Å"it was something we did because we wanted to do it [†¦] In no way would we ever do anything [†¦] insensitive to anyone,† he said (Shaheem 52). Yousef Salem, a former spokesperson for the South Bay Islamic Association, characterizes the film in the following way: â€Å"All of the bad guys have beards and large, bulbous noses, sinister eyes and heavy accents, and they're wielding swords constantly. Aladdin doesn't have a big nose, he has a small nose. He doesn't have a beard or turban. He doesn't have an accent† (Shaheen 56). This portrayal of Arab characters gives people a negative perception of Arabs. Furthermore, the Arab characters are mean whereas those who speak clear English and appear to be Americanized are â€Å"socially accepted†, or the â€Å"heroes† of society. In the first few scenes of the movie we see an Arab merchant, with a thick accent, wearing a turban and who is trying to sell stereotypical middle-eastern products (a vase which contains â€Å"a combination of hookah and coffee maker,† which can also produce â€Å"a million fries†). In addition, the movie shows Jasmine almost loosing her hand for giving a poor little boy an apple from the market stand. That is not accurate for most Middle Easterners who strive to help the poor and the homeless – they would not attempt to cut someone’s hand off for giving an apple to a poor child. These instances show the racist way in which people from the East are portrayed as barbaric. The film could also be considered racist in that it portrays Arab culture as deeply oppressive of women and brutally violent. Princess Jasmine is trapped mercilessly inside her palace home, and the palace guards threaten to cut off her hand at one point in the film. She is also constantly controlled by the men who surround her. Finally, she is the only other woman we see in the film besides the belly dancers in the opening scenes. What does that say in regard to the significance of women in Disney? Of course, Disney does not intend to offend anyone – that would be bad business. Most people who watch the movies are probably caught up in the Disney magic and do not notice these things. Problematically, one way in which Disney creates the magic is by using stereotypes that people respond to without thinking. Aladdin looks â€Å"right† for a hero; Jafar looks â€Å"right† for a villain; Jasmine looks â€Å"right† for a trapped princess. We as consumers do not think about it, but the practices and images we internalize as being â€Å"right† are very dangerous for society. For example, it is especially concerning that the upper class in the film, the royal family, appears white. The Sultan, Jasmine, and Aladdin are all fair-skinned and do not speak with accents, suggesting that they are more â€Å"white† than the other characters in the film. This image perpetuates the white power structure in America, and most viewers are only aware of this on a subconscious level (Shaheem 54). This subconscious awareness of practices such as racism in the media is especially hazardous for our society because if an individual is not perceptive of when she internalizes social evils, than she cannot be perceptive of when she perpetuates them. Even still, the fact remains that regardless of whether we think about it, recognize or denounce it, racism and stereotyping takes place in many Disney films, including the classic 1994 film The Lion King. The first and perhaps most noticeable example of racism in The Lion King mirrors a stereotyping practice seen in Aladdin. Like Jaffar in Aladdin, Scar is arguably one of the darkest colored characters in The Lion King. While the other heroic lions are lighter skinned, Scar is the only one with dark fur and a jet-black mane, reinforcing the stereotype where the darker and more ethnic character is the villain (Twomey 1). Another obvious example of racism in Aladdin, is seen with the hyenas, who are portrayed as stupid and violent, and are comprised of a lower-class animal group that feeds upon the scraps and leftovers of the more dominant, strong, intelligent creatures. This dichotomy is then reinforced by the use of stereotypes, classifying these stupid, low-class hyenas through the use of African-American (Whoopi Goldberg as â€Å"Shenzi†) and Latino (Cheech Marin as â€Å"Banzai†) stereotypes. It has even been said that â€Å"despicable hyena storm troopers speak†¦ in racially coded accents that take on the nuances of the discourse of a decidedly urban, black, and Latino youth† (Byrne 62). The speech patterns and accents of the hyenas present quite a stark contrast compared to the American and British accents of the rest of the cast. The hyenas also serve as an interesting opposition to the thoughtful, strong, and intelligent characters of the rest of the film, who represent the upper class, indeed, mostly â€Å"white† culture. That is not to say all African-Americans are poorly depicted. James Earl Jones voices the role of the powerful and wise â€Å"Mufasa†, and Robert Guillaume voices â€Å"Rafiki,† the wise shaman. Yet even with two of the strongest main characters being voiced by African-Americans, it is hard not to notice the stereotyping Disney seems to be making about Black, Latino, and lower-class culture. It is significant to recognize that The Lion King does not stop with racial stereotypes, but also cruelly targets other underrepresented groups including women and homosexuals. According to the Associated Press, Carolyn Newberger of Harvard University complained in the Boston Globe that â€Å"the good-for-nothing hyenas are urban blacks; the arch-villain's gestures are effeminate, and he speaks in supposed gay cliches† (Twomey 33). The film also furthers gender stereotypes by displaying women as subservient and dependent upon the strength of males. The strong-spirited Nala can be viewed as a counter to this, but just as with the racial stereotyping, one strong female character does not undo the overall statement being made about the weakness of women. It is the combination of Disney’s insensitive treatment of stereotypes targeting not only non-whites, but also women, and other minorities in films such as Aladdin and The Lion King that can help explain the 21st century’s response to The Princess and the Frog. Both before and after The Princess and the Frog was released, many of the film’s critics were very vocal about racism in the movie. Nearly everyone who has an opinion about the film has something different to say – in sum, nearly everything about the film is racist and offensive to someone and needs to be changed. As a starting point in analyzing the public’s critical response to Princess and the Frog, it is important to address all the criticism surrounding the black princess’s name. Many argue that the princess’s original name, Maddy, is to close to he slave term â€Å"mammy†: â€Å"A voice actor’s tongue wouldn’t have to slip very much to say â€Å"mammy† while ordering Maddy to do a chore, and in such a context, the name â€Å"Maddy† seemed both deliberately inappropriately evocative and easy for the audience to mishear† (Kareem 1). Furthermore, others argue that Maddy’s position as chambermaid fo r a spoiled, white girl is demeaning. Just as Disney changed the name of its protagonist to â€Å"Tiana,† they have also changed her from being a maid to being a prospective owner of a restaurant. True it is traditional for fairy tale protagonists to begin their stories with having a low social status, but a black heroine who is a domestic could be legitimately read not as a fairy tale trope but as a reinforcement of real world racial denigration (Kareem 1). Some may claim that it would be historically accurate for a 1920’s black woman to be a maid, but Disney does not even necessarily care about historical accuracy when animating actual history. Another point of heated debate in the film centers on the fact that the black princess ends up with an arguably whiter prince, Naveen (or at least a prince who looks white and is voiced by a Brazilian actor who also looks white). Whatever Naveen's ethnicity is, in her article â€Å"The Word on the â€Å"Princess and the Frog,† Disney’s First Film With a Black Heroine,† Nandra Careem quotes Shannon Prince who raises some interesting points about the problems behind Disney’s choice not to make him African American: Some might argue that portraying interracial marriage in film is good – but why then weren't any of the white princesses given non-white princes to save them from white villains? And since Disney doesn't give white princesses non-white princes, isn't this interracial relationship at the expense of black boys who deserve a hero just as much as black girls deserve a heroine? (Kareem, 1) Prince is not the only critic to take issue with the difference in skin color between the prince and princess. Cultural critic Hensley Jameson comments, â€Å"The prince is lighter than she is. What’s that say about black men? Sure, Boris Kodjoe is fine, and we come in all shades, but to be truly black, a character can’t be any lighter than Denzel Washington (Kareem 1). Originally the prince was explicitly reported as being the jazz-loving monarch of a European country. By giving the prince an olive, but still white, complexion and a Brazilian accent, Disney gets to go forward with their original white hero yet make him ambiguous enough to not be unequivocally criticized as white at the same time. Tiana isn't the problem,† says Angela Bonner Helm at Black Voices: â€Å"Was there any particular reason why her love interest, Prince Naveen of Maldonia, couldn't be black, too? Though America has a â€Å"real-life black man in the highest office of the land with a black wife, Disney obviously doesn't think a black man is worth the title of prince† (Kareem 1). The plot of The Princess and the Frog also follows Disney’s pattern of making their ev il characters more â€Å"ethnic† and darker than their good characters. The central villain in the film is the voodoo master, who is also African American. Elaborating on the presence of voodoo in the film, Careem comments that Disney grossly misrepresented the purpose and reality of voodoo: â€Å"The foundation of voodoo is not charms but monotheistic faith, belief in saints and spirits, and a focus on moral values such as charity and respect for the elderly. People do perform rites for protection and defense, but suffice it to say that voodoo is not about being a magician or a fairy godmother† (Mathews 1). The fact that Disney uses uninformed voodoo stereotypes rather than accurate facts in the film furthers the racist undertones in the film. The final major point of criticism in the film is concerned with the fact that the first black Disney princess spends most of the time in the movie as a frog: â€Å"Why does the black princess have to be a frog the whole time? Are they saying black people should be green instead of black? † wonders Shirley Wilson, a waitress at Rob’s diner who plans to boycott the movie: â€Å"when I watched the film I felt disappointed to learn that the heroine spends a significant chunk of the movie not as a black princess at all but as a frog. After decades of waiting, would it be too much to actually see an hour and a half of a black princess on the screen? † (Matthews 1). Wilson’s response to The Princess and the Frog is especially significant because it demonstrates how many people, even on a non-academic level have serious concerns about issues of race in the film. When addressing the critical response to The Princess and the Frog, it is difficult to ignore the fact that even though it has been over half of a century since the first Disney films were released, racism is still a point of criticism, both in the older films and in the ones being produced today. Furthermore, despite the fact that The Princess and the Frog features the first black Disney Princess, critics are even more upset about racism in the film than they ever were before – even in the case of more overtly racist films. Many of the points raised about racism and racial stereotypes in the film are valid and interesting; nevertheless, one cannot help but notice that they overshadow many of the advances Disney has made in eliminating other equally offensive stereotypes in their films. For example, whereas other Disney films typically lack the mother figure completely and perhaps only reference the mother when explaining the past, The Princess and the Frog includes a mother who is present for the entire film. It may not be obvious to most viewers of The Princess and the Frog, but Disney takes a huge and important step in introducing a mother figure to their film – their past practice of eliminating the mother figure is arguably sexist and offensive to the female identity. Another important change Disney makes in Princess and the Frog centers on the fact that unlike other Disney princesses who dream about meeting a prince, Tiana has realistic dreams and expectations – she wants to be a restaurant owner and works very diligently to achieve her goal. Despite this significant statement about female power, however, most film critics will probably instead choose to focus on the fact that Tiana, as an African American, is limited to owning a restaurant rather than a Fortune 500 company. Works Cited: Alan, Spector J. Cultural Diversity and the US Media. Albany: State Univ. of New York, 1998. Print. Brunette, Libby. Stereotypes and Racism in Children's movies. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002 Byrne, Eleanor, and Martin McQuillan. Deconstructing Disney. London: Pluto, 1999. Print. Giroux, Henry A. â€Å"Are Disney Movies Good for Your Kids? † Rethinking Childhood 10. 2 (2000): 32-115. Print. 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