Example Essay On Interprofessional Collaberation In Practice Nursing Essay

Example Essay On Interprofessional Collaberation In Practice Nursing Essay Section 1 According to Cullen et al (2003), in order to meet the demands of a modern National Health Service (NHS) professionals are encouraged to work collaboratively and form partnerships to ensure seamless delivery of care. Interprofessional Education (IPE) is advocated as a means to enable professionals to understand one another and break down boundaries between them. (p.427). The nature of nursing care is predicated on an idea of working within a team, and a premium is almost always placed on communication, not just as a means of caring for patients and ultimately saving lives, but also to alleviate the stresses and strains associated with frontline care. Whilst the idea of communication being important is not new, the formation of IP teams, particularly within the realm of nursing, is. Cullen et al set out in order to try and better understand what positive lessons could be learnt from such a process. This essay will seek to try and understand the thinking that went into this study, base d on the real life experiences of the author. Cullen et al conclude their study with the point that The development of IPE aided communication and collaboration between the academics and health professionals and helped to break down professional boundaries. Testing out new methods through action research has enhanced our understanding of the implications for students and teachers. (p.432). Whilst I ultimately found this to be the case, I would like to go into a bit of detail as to why exactly I came to these conclusions. Having met the group for the first time, we were all introduced and began to mingle. Given how short we had all known each other, it was difficult to establish any common points of reference. One imagines that within the workplace, where relationships are formed and cultivated over a longer period of time, always within a professional context, such relationships would be less artificial or constructed. Nonetheless, our different perspectives were in no way artificial, and it was useful to try and understand ever yones reasons for choosing to study what they do, even if few of us had had the chance to put those studies to consistent, long-term effect under the professionals rigours of frontline care. As such, many of the early discussions were very much more theoretical, idealistic even, than they might possibly be after a few years of experience within frontline care. There was however, a certain amount of agreement too. All of the students were aware of the positive benefits of IPE and felt that by virtue of being medical students, they were in some way isolated from the larger university student body as a whole. This had both positive and negative effects. Whilst some argued that it brought the students closer together, others admitted that they felt isolated at times. Either way, it is clear that stereotyping is not a positive factor in IPE. As Fraser et al (2005) acknowledge, Professional stereotyping is considered to cause barriers to effective working relationships and team approaches to care. Learning together at undergraduate level can promote different professional groups understanding and respect for one another and an appreciation of the importance of team working in the health sector. (p.271) This collaborative way of thinking helped us formulate our first group sentence, Poor communication is the lack of ability to articulate to and interpret information from other Health Care Professionals (HCPs), which then tied in closely with our second sentence: Negative attitudes towards other HCPs leads to a  breakdown in communication. As Koubel and Bungay (2010) showed, this is key for any multidisciplinary approach to have any sort of success. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the question in hand, social work provides some useful analogues. Social workers form partnerships with people: helping them to assess and interpret the problems they face, and supporting them in finding solutions. They have to know how the law works and be fully up to speed with the social welfare system. They will liaise regularly with other professionals teachers, doctors, nurses, police, lawyers acting on behalf of the people they are working with. (http://www.socialworkandcare.co.uk) Furthe rmore, as Brayne and Carr (1999) point out,social workers are the creation of government; government is therefore accountable to the public for their work and obliged to regulate their activities. Second, social workers as caring professionals are themselves accountable to their users and to the public at large. (p.6) The same is very much true of healthcare professionals, and interprofessional relationships need to be understood in this context. There is a duty not only to provide the patient with the best care possible, but also to deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Accordingly, interprofessional relationships need to be fostered to deliver the most efficient and effective care possible. What exactly does this involve? Of course, in the professional arena, job roles are to a certain extent prescribed by job titles. However, within the stress of the workplace, roles can become muddled and confused. Accordingly, one of our major tasks involved role definition. It is not simply enough to be clear with one another: practitioners need to define their roles and act accordingly. As Skott (2001) notes, Professional nursing care is formed and carried out in a social cultural process. The discipline of nursing should study narrative communication to understand how individual and collective levels are connected in experiences of sickness and cure. (p.249) Nonetheless, Brereton (1995) has shown that there are still a great deal of holes in the critical thinking towards communication in nursing care: The theory-practice relationship and the use of communication and interpersonal skills in nursing have been recurrently identified as issues causing concernà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦there appea rs to be a reliance on mentors to assess student progress and determine whether they have knowledge underpinning practice. Classroom teaching was recognized as idealistic but the divisions in participants opinions led to difficulty in determining whether a theory-practice gap actually exists. (p.314). As a group, we all came to the conclusion that one of the key aspects of IPE is avoiding stereotypes. This was viewed as a fundamental basis for the following points: It is important to value each professions individual contribution to overall patient welfare. Varying perspectives exist, but any barriers must be overcome in order to promote holistic care. Pre conceived notions of any member of the Multi disciplinary team need to be challenged. Hierarchical states of mind have no place when a multi disciplinary team is working towards service user goals. Whilst communication and stereotyping avoidance may seem like natural bedfellows, it was interesting to be exposed to a group which arrived with preconceived notions of how the nursing profession worked. Whilst my experience of frontline care is limited, my brief experiences have shown that stereotyping is endemic. This may range from physicians making certain judgements about the role or usefulness of nurses, or even vice versa, but throughout the conference, it became clear that attitudes such as these had no place within the professional world of HCPs. Not only do they create a negative, hostile atmosphere, but they also prevent HCPs from doing their job properly, and ultimately, pose a threat to the treatment of patients. Word count 1195. Section 2: In many ways, learning about IPE has been a natural development from the direction my studies were already taking. Anyone interested in nursing is, almost by definition a communicator, as it is a profession in which discussion, listening, and mutual understanding are key. Nonetheless, the things I have learnt from IPE have helped me to understand previous experiences better. Reeves (2001) looked into the 15-month project which evaluated the effectiveness of interprofessional education (IPE) for first and second year medical, nursing and dental students on a community-based placement, using a process-based approach which tracked the education and social processes connected to IPE. Such an approach has helped overcome some of the problems of using before-and-after designs. (p. 269) He found that community-based IPE placements were deeply beneficial in aiding students development, as the on-the-job nature of the tasks they faced forced them to adapt on the spot, often needing to adapt with the help of other HCPs. In my experience this was also the case. When I was helping geriatric patients who were acutely ill, I found that IPE skills became increasingly important. Leff et al (2005) note that Acutely ill older persons often experience adverse events when cared for in the acute care hospital (p.798) Given the anxiety caused to elderly acutely ill patients, any efforts that could be made to accommodate them should be encouraged, and accordingly, the research is both worthwhile and timely. Whilst much literature exists regarding home nursing for end of life care, it is relatively sparse for elderly, acutely ill patients. Zarit (2004) in particular, using the case of disabled patients facing end of life care, note that family members provide a considerable amount of the care for people with terminal illnessesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and family caregivers must be recognized as an essential part of the treatment team. By clearly recognizing this role, physicians and other health care providers encourage caregivers to be more confident about their abilities to care for their loved ones. (p.170). Zarit goes on to argue that the role of family carer is not only beneficial to the part played by the healthcare professionals, it can also be a cost-effective way of giving patients the best palliative care that they need. He even argues that patient surviva l rates can be affected by paying close attention to family members at the front-line of care. Thus, he recommends that a psychologist or other health care professional familiar with end-of-life care included as part of the treatment team. Although time and effort are required, these strategies may help caregivers provide the care they want to and provide better home care at a reduced risk to their own health. (p.170). Furthermore, as Leff et al go on to point out, Patients, but not caregivers, had increased satisfaction with hospital-at-home care, and there was some evidence that substitutive models may be cost- effective. However, with some exceptions, most of these models would be difficult to distinguish from augmented skilled nursing services, community-based long-term care, or home-based primary care services in the United States. (p.798) As we can see, there are clearly a number of benefits associated with care at home. However, for the caregiver, such situations can also create a raft of potential problems. Whilst most academics agree that the influence of the family is generally a positive one, not much critical thinking has been devoted to what role the family play in allowing HCPs to perform their job as they should. Outside of the hospital environment, the familys role is much greater, and often, in my experience at least, they feel that this entitles them to a greater degree of say in the patients care. Whilst I would generally agree with this, I had one experience in particular which made me question this. Because of the increased role of the family in this case, they felt that they knew best about how to care for their acutely ill family member. However, there was evidence to suggest that they were not delivering the right level of care. Since returning home, the patients condition had deteriorated, and there was a strong argument to be made for readmission into hospital, something the family were completely against. Whilst the physician in charge was willing to watch and see how the situation developed, the critical care nurse was pressing for readmission, the difference in opinions shows the power dynamics between the physician and nurse and has been noted without in-depth discussion between the two, created a barrier to effective collaboration (Manias Street 2000). However, the family was a low-income family, and as such, used to receive visits from social workers. Accordingly, there was a great deal of IPE needed to deal with the situation. For example, whilst the social worker was not responsible for the health of the patient, and were visiting the family on other grounds, they were consulted on what they thought was occurring under the familys supervision. This involved the nurse in charge communicating with the social worker, an interdisciplinary approach that necessitated diffe rent public sector workers working alongside each other. The interaction between the nurse and social worker showed a co-ordinated effective collaboration between HCPs to provide a service to improve the quality and decision making process of patient care (Spry 2006). However, there were also certain problems at our end. The physician in charge of the patient seemed unwilling to get actively involved. He was well-known to be a poor communicator, and seemed more involved in other aspects of his work than dealing with the patients, particularly when they were no longer in the hospital. However, since nothing could be done without his authority, it was frustrating for myself and the nurse to get anything done with him dragging his feet. Likewise, although the social worker was very willing and able to perform their job, they felt put upon when discussing any problems that fell without their remit. As such, it was left to myself and the nurse in charge to orchestrate managing the problem. Cheek and Rudge (1994) look closely at the socio-aspects of nursing to deconstruct the power relations implicit within the socio-political context of the health care arena in which nursing operates. (p.583) They found that womens health and nursing practice were exem plars of the limiting effects of such discourses. (p.583) Seeing the reaction the female nurses inquiries, it certainly felt that her sex was a limiting factor on how she could get stuff done. The conference was very clear in that one of the major points of IPE was to avoid stereotypes. One of the largest stereotypes is that all nurses are women, and it felt like, the physician in particular, was labouring under some outdated view of nurses that was close to the era of Florence Nightingale than the present day. Of course, gender stereotyping works both ways. McDonald and Bridge (1991) found that Nurses planned significantly more ambulation, analgesic administration, and emotional support time for the male patient, despite the presence of individuating information. More accurate, effective nursing care is possible when nurses are aware of the effect of gender stereotyping on nursing care. (p.373) However, in this instant, it very much felt like the opinion of the nurse in charge was being undermined due to her sex. Although the patient was eventually readmitted, it wasnt done without much bureaucratic leg-dragging, and I was left feeling that this was a poor example of interdisciplinary care. It could have been improved by more willingness of those in charge to define roles clearly, avoid stereotypes, and place the care of the patient at the forefront of their concerns. I hope that in my future career I am able to learn from this, and apply the things I have learnt to an array of challenging real-life situations. Word count 1293.

Analysis Of An American Social Welfare Policy Social Work Essay

Analysis Of An American Social Welfare Policy Social Work Essay Social welfare policies are an integral part of any political system. Many countries across the world have formulated social welfare policies to cope with the numerous social issues affecting society. There are many underprivileged people in society who include the unemployed, poor and disabled, and these require assistance from the state in order to achieve their potential. Social welfare in the US includes healthcare, empowerment, housing and other programs geared towards assisting the poor, unemployed and marginalized in society. Such programs include Medicaid, AFDC (Aid for families with dependent children), WIC (women, infants and children) programs, veteran programs and others. The US social welfare policy has been in existence for over two centuries and it traces its roots to British Poor Laws which were used by British colonies (Brown et. al. 12-17). These laws differentiated between people who were unable to work due to unemployment and those unable to do so due to physical health or age. The previous group was assisted with employment in workhouses while the latter was granted cash or other forms of assistance by the government. It is important to understand the US social welfare system in order to assess whether the objectives it was formed to attain are in fact being accomplished. This will enable us to make recommendations on whether the policy should be improved, remain the same or scrapped altogether. This paper will evaluate the US welfare policy in detail. It will assess its history and reasons why it was developed. The policy description and analysis will assist in evaluating the welfare policy. Afterwards an assessment will be made on whether the policy is effective in meeting the needs of the American society. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end of the paper. Historical background It has been stated that the US social welfare policy has been in existence for over two centuries and it traces its roots to British Poor Laws which were used by British colonies. The government realized that there were the poor and marginalized in society and that some of them were unable to meet their basic needs due to lack of employment. The huge number of unemployed people was a burden to society and contributed highly to acts of deviance which were experienced then. There was also the need to take care of war veterans who had contributed to the stability of the US through sacrificing themselves to defend their country. Congress approved programs aimed at supporting war veterans as early as 1862. Before government intervention, there was also some form of welfare which was practiced by villages. For instance, when families required assistance and friends and neighbors were unable to provide sufficient help, villages provided such help through workhouses or almshouses and poor re lief systems. There was also Mothersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ pension law which helped single mothers bring up children comfortably as well as cash allowance for the poor. In some states, aid for the blind was provided as early as the 1920s. However, these were mainly laws formulated to cater for specific objectives and were not necessarily a government policy as is in the modern world. The welfare policy was developed to cater for needs of families which suffered the Great Depression. The Great depression which occurred in 1929 and lasted for almost two decades before global economies recovered. It caused collapse of many economies and stock markets, massive unemployment, deflation of products and a general decrease in disposable incomes of most households. After the Great Depression, the government decided to develop a welfare policy which targeted families and households among other deserving groups. In 1935 the Social Security Act which defined policy programs was passed under President Roosevelt. Various social welfare policy programs including Aid to Dependent Children and unemployment compensation were developed as a result. In addition, government agencies such as Department of Labor, Department of Housing, Depar tment of Education and department of Agriculture were also formed to oversee the implementation of the welfare policy (Taylor 68-73). In subsequent years, various other policy programs were developed to meet modern needs. For instance, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act passed in 1996 under President Clinton aimed at assisting the poor and empowering them to obtain employment as opposed to dependence on aid. The problems which necessitated development of the welfare policy will be discussed in the following section of the paper. Problem description necessitating policy There were several problems which necessitated the development of the social welfare policy. It is important to understand that different generations faced various problems throughout history although most were similar. This section of the paper will analyze the reasons necessitating development of the social welfare policy at different points in time depending on problems prevailing at the time. Initially, it has been discussed that social welfare was developed due to four major reasons. The first was to address the problem of poverty and unemployment. It was realized that friends and neighbors were sometimes unable to assist the poor in society who were beginning to be a burden to society. Many unemployed people were poor and had begun participating in social vices since they were unable to afford money for basic needs. There were no clear statistics on poverty levels but it was believed that over 10% of the total population lived in poverty. The second reason which necessitated de velopment of the welfare policy was the old and especially the war veterans who had sacrificed themselves for the country. Such categories of people were unable to work effectively due to age or injury and they began receiving support from the state. However, the modern welfare policy system began due to the effects of the Great Depression. It has been discussed that the Great depression which occurred in 1929 and lasted for almost two decades caused collapse of many economies and stock markets, massive unemployment, deflation of products and a general decrease in disposable incomes of most households. The Great depression was a massive problem which caused a fall of crop prices by over 50%, collapse in construction industry, over 50% decline in tax revenues and personal incomes, collapse in logging and mining industries and an over 25% increase in overall US unemployment rate amongst other problems (Modigliani 41-43). These were huge financial problems which threatened the survival of many families and businesses and the government developed the welfare policy aimed at supporting the affected families and households among other deserving groups. This facilitated the 1935 passage of the Social Security Act which defined policy pr ograms under President Roosevelt. Other welfare policies have been passed under President Clinton and these aimed at assisting the poor meet modern challenges and empowering them to obtain employment as opposed to dependence on aid. Policy Description There are two major policies which will be discussed as far as policy description of the US social welfare system is involved. The first is the 1935 the Social Security Act passed to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act passed to cater for the poor and marginalized in society. The 1935 the Social Security Act This Act was passed under President Roosevelt and it formed the basis of developing the welfare system as is used today. The Act advocated for development of programs which limited the threats to American society including poverty, old age, burdens of widows and orphans as well as unemployment. These problems were made worse by the Great Depression which occurred during this period in history. The Act provided various benefits to unemployed people and retirees, with lump-sum payments being made after their death. The payments which were made to retirees were funded by taxes on the payrolls of current workers, with half the payments being funded by employers. The old, families with depended children and unemployed were financed by funds in various states which were advanced by the central government. Many minorities and women were locked out from these programs. This was due to the fact that the Act did not cover employees in domestic service, agricultural labor, government employees, nurses, teachers and social workers. This locked out minorities and women who dominated these sectors. The Act also discriminated against women who received insurance programs based on children or husbands. Minorities such as blacks received lower funds for assistance in some states due to the perception that blacks needed less money for maintenance. During this period, approximately $35 million was paid out in welfare programs by the central government. It is important to note that these welfare programs were long term in nature and did not have strict time limits where people could rely on welfare. 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act It has been discussed that this Act was passed under President Clinton. It had a significant impact on the goals and methods of assistance on the poor in society. The bill was passed with the belief that welfare programs were encouraging immigrants to relocate to the US where they became social burdens to society (Frum 325-327). It aimed at providing short term assistance to families as opposed to long term assistance as was being previously practiced. It also led to the change of long term welfare programs to short term ones. For instance, the 1935 Aid to Families and Dependent Children program was replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. In addition to shortening the length of welfare programs, this Act also increased eligibility standards required by those claiming benefits. These included reduction in immigrant welfare assistance, stricter conditions for eligibility for food stamps and recipient work requirements (David 33-37). The objectives of the program were requi ring welfare recipients to obtain employment after 2 years, ending welfare as an entitlement form, encouraging two parent families, limiting welfare support from federal funds to 5 years and enhancing child support enforcement. Welfare support came from both the federal and state government, with $650 billion being payable in welfare programs in 2009. Policy Analysis It is important to analyze the welfare policy which has been discussed in the paper in order to evaluate its legal and ethical implications. The major goals of the modern welfare system are to prevent dependence on welfare while at the same time assisting the old, unemployed, poor and single families amongst other target groups. The aim of the previous welfare system was to assist families, the old and unemployed mitigate the effects of the Great Depression. The intention of the 1935 the Social Security Act was to provide assistance to these marginalized groups. This was a noble intention since the great depression threatened the survival of many families and businesses. However, there were defects in the programs since they discriminated against minority groups and women. They were also long term support programs which indirectly encouraged reliance on aid by the needy. Since the needy were assured of financial support, some became comfortable and did not see the need to look for em ployment since the government was supporting them. However, these weaknesses were later discovered and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was passed. This Act corrected the weaknesses in the earlier legislation since it supported the previously discriminated groups including women and minorities. It also limited the timeline for welfare support and made welfare eligibility more difficult to discourage reliance on welfare both immigrants and native US citizens. This is an important step since it encourages people to empower themselves as opposed to relying on government support. The welfare policy enables the unemployed and poor to seek employment. This improves their relations with the rest of society since they are not seen as burdens that rely on support from public taxes as was previously the case. It also enables the recipients to improve the quality of life since it empowers them to seek financial stability and empowerment. Governments across the world should embrace welfare policies which help the needy b ut at the same time discourage them from relying on aid in the long run. Summary and conclusion The US welfare system has been discussed in detail. The system traces its roots to the 18th Century when villages assisted the needy and old in society. However, the modern form of welfare which is practiced today was developed from the 1935 the Social Security Act which was passed to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression. The Great depression caused the collapse of many businesses and loss of jobs by households due to massive unemployment. The Act aimed at providing long term support for the poor, needy, unemployed and the old in society. However, it faced two main weaknesses which were discrimination against minority groups and women, and encouraging reliance eon aid by beneficiaries. In order to solve these weaknesses, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was passed. The Act supported the previously discriminated groups including women and minorities and limited the timeline for welfare support and made welfare eligibility more difficult to discourage r eliance on welfare both immigrants and native US citizens. This encouraged recipients of welfare to look for employment opportunities and empowered them in the long run. It also improved their relations with the rest of society since they are not seen as burdens that rely on support from public taxes as was previously the case. It is important for governments to develop social welfare policies which are similar to those applied in the US. These will assist the marginalized and empower them to seek financial empowerment through obtaining meaningful employment. Such programs should not encourage recipients of welfare to depend on it in the long run. They should have feasible timelines when recipients of welfare should cease dependence on such programs. Only recipients who are unable to gain employment due to unique circumstances such as age or disability should receive long term welfare assistance. The programs should also have strict eligibility requirements to prevent abuse by able-bodied people capable of gaining employment. This will improve the social welfare of society in general.

Food Safety in Singapore: Enforcing Hygiene Safety Standards Essay exam

Have you ever found unwanted ingredients that could be carrying harmful bacteria in your food? Hair, flies, worms or maybe even a cockroach leg? How about going in and out of the restroom repeatedly after dinner at a nearby hawker centre? According to statistics from the Ministry of Health Singapore, there were 6947 cases of food poisoning with three deaths in 1998. Also, in the same year, 9125 food premises were shut down for failing to fulfill the standard hygiene requirements. In fact, the World Health Organisation has pointed out that food-borne diseases can be effectively reduced if both commercial and domestic food handlers practice correct, hygienic food practices. Of course, all this relates back to the food poisoning cases from the Rojak Geylang Serai stall, which caused over more than 150 people to fall ill and the deaths of 2 unfortunate people. What exactly were the problems which could have caused all this damage? The first possible problem is that some greedy hawkers value money over the quality of the food they cook, thus resulting in customers going down with fo...

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot Essay -- Mill Floss George Eliot

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot It is said that George Eliot’s style of writing deals with much realism. Eliot, herself meant by a â€Å"realist† to be â€Å"an artist who values the truth of observation above the imaginative fancies of writers of â€Å"romance† or fashionable melodramatic fiction.† (Ashton 19) This technique is artfully utilized in her writings in a way which human character and relationships are dissected and analyzed. In the novel The Mill on the Floss, Eliot uses the relationships of the protagonist of the story, Miss Maggie Tulliver, as a medium in which to convey various aspects of human social associations. It seems that as a result of Maggie’s nature and of circumstances presented around her, that she is never able to have a connection with one person that satisfies her multifaceted needs and desires. Maggie is able, to some extent, to explore the various and occasionally conflicting aspects of her person with her relationships between other characters pr esented in the novel. â€Å"From an early age, Maggie needs approval from men...Maggie is not shown in any deep relationship with a female friend.† (Ashton 83) A reader can explore into Maggie Tulliver’s person and her short development as a woman in four primary male associations: her father—Mr. Tulliver, her brother—Tom Tulliver, her friend and mentor—Philip Wakem and her dangerous passion with Steven Guest. Maggie unconditionally loves her father although he has been the unconscious root of many of her misfortunes. â€Å"Tom’s and Maggie’s young lives are blighted by the gloom, poverty, disgrace and death of their father...Maggie is obliged by her father’s failure to leave school...It is the misfortune of a clever girl denied any activity other than domestic.† (Ashton 50) In the time period of the setting of the novel, women were regarded as male property, to take care of household matters and without skill, originality and intelligence of a man. Mr. Tulliver cared deeply for his daughter’s future but inadvertently oppressed Maggie through his views of women. This idea is represented in his dialog with Mr. Riley of Maggie’s â€Å"unnatural† intelligence: â€Å"It’s a pity but what she’d been then lad—she’d ha’been a match for the lawyers, she would. It’s the wonderful’st thing.† (Eli ot 68) Mr. Tulliver by nature was stubborn, opinionated and led his family to disgrace as a result. However, there is ... ... caused them both much pain. Maggie was also allowed to experience the type of love that can exist between siblings, despite all of their disagreements, Maggie and Tom were able to realize that their bond was deeper than could have been imagined. George Eliot artfully created such relationships in this novel in a successful method to analyze and probe into the complexities of human interaction. This comes along with the message that it may be possible to have everything that one may want in life, just not all at once or at the same time. Works Cited Ashton, Rosemary. The Mill on the Floss: A Natural History. Twayne’s Masterwork Studies. Boston, G.K. Hall & Co. 1990 Byatt, A.S. â€Å"The Placing of Steven Guest†. Appendix, The Mill on the Floss, Middlesex, Blays Ltd, St Printing; Penguin Classics. 1979 Carlisle, Janice. â€Å"The Mirror In the Mill on the Floss; Toward Reading of Autobiography Discourse†. Studies in the Literary Imagination. Vol 23:Issue 2. [EBSCO] Masterfile Premier 1990 Edinborough and London. â€Å"Brother and Sister† The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems. London, Blackwood 1874 Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. Middlesex, Penguin English Library, 1979.

Elie Wiesels Night: Reaction Paper :: essays research papers

Night Reaction Paper #1 p. 78 This is the scene where Elie is in the hospital part of the camp because of the operation that he has just had done to his foot. After Elie and his father decide to stay, leave the hospital, and be evacuated with the rest of the camp, he explains how he found out that the Russians liberated the rest of the people in the hospital two days after the evacuation. This part absolutely floored me because I couldn’t imagine first, making that big a decision, and secondly, finding out that the decision changed the course of your life forever was a huge shocker. I couldn’t even imagine finding that out and not being frustrated with myself. #2 p. 87 This is the part of the book where Rabbi Eliahou is looking for his son. He asks Elie if he has seen him, and Elie suddenly remembers that he did see him, and that he was in fact trying to lose his father in the midst of everyone running because he had become too much of a burden. This scene really affected me because I thought that it was horrible the way that a son would give up on his father and completely throw away the relationship that he has with him because of the conditions that they were going through. Since I have such a valued relationship with my mother, I could never imagine leaving her like that, but I guess that everyone changes drastically after being put through the torture that these people went through. #3 p. 94 This is the scene where the S.S. comes into the cattle cars and orders that the Jews throw out all of the dead. After they rob the dead men of their clothes, they see Elie’s father. Some of the men try to throw him outside, even though he isn’t dead yet, but only Elie knows that. After arguing with the men, Elie shows the men that his father is breathing weakly and is still alive. I couldn’t ever imagine having to fight with someone to save my mother when she was still alive. In that situation, I think I would have just broken down a long time ago. I don’t think that I could have lasted as long as Elie did in the camps.

Animal Abuse

Many people have taken animals for granted since a long time. Thomas Edison once said, â€Å"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. † Animal cruelty is an ongoing problem that many people disregard in today’s society. It is mainly caused by the use, neglect, and intentional mistreatment of animals, all of which can still be prevented by stricter laws, awareness, and education. It’s said that an animal dies in a laboratory every three seconds. An estimated 25 to 35 million animals are helplessly used in the United States each year for three main purposes; biomedical and behavioral research, education, and drug and product testing (Fox, 58). Animals range from mostly rodents to rabbits, cats, dogs, and monkeys. The conditions in which laboratory animals are kept in are not good at all. Cages are too small and the animals are deprived of social interaction (59). Three examples of the use of scientific research on animals are the Draize test, LD/50 test, and toy tests. The Draize test is the most common procedure to test for irritation. Animals used in this test are rabbits, mainly due to their extremely sensitive eyes. Because rabbits have no tear ducts, it makes it easier for scientists to observe because the rabbits cannot wash test materials out of their eyes. In performing this test, a rabbit’s head is placed in stock to prevent the animal from scratching or pawing at the eye in which a substance has been placed. The lower lid of one eye is pulled down and away from the eye. Then, the test substance such as nail polish remover, shampoo, or mascara is dropped into or smeared on the eye. The other eye acts as a control. Testers look for redness in the affected eye, swelling, and other signs of irritation. Corneal ulcers and blindness are often the result. After the test, the rabbits are either killed or used in another test (McCoy 47). The LD/50 test was developed in England in 1927, by a mathematician. This test is often criticized as unreliable and cruel. The objective of this test is to measure how much of a chemical is required to cause death. The majority of animals used in this test are dogs, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs. In just one single test, up to 200 animals may be used. Laboratory animals are force-fed toxic substances by a stomach tube. Then the animals are observed for two weeks or until death. The animals that survive are usually killed later, as if it’s nothing. Other procedures include the inhalation of a chemical or substance. Animals are forced to breathe the vapor or powder of a chemical or substance. Sometimes, these chemicals are applied to the skin of an animal. In all these tests, observers look for signs of poisoning, bleeding from the eyes, nose, or mouth, difficulty in breathing, tremors, paralysis, and coma (McCoy 106). Toys are often needlessly tested on animals to determine their safety. To test toy guns, manufacturers point the guns in animals’ faces and see if the plastic pieces discharged hurt the animal. Substances like modeling clay are force-fed to animals to test its toxicity. Other tests involve dropping toys on animals to see if any parts hurt them. Not only are these tests cruel, they are unnecessary. Most toy companies have new high-tech methods of testing their toys for safety without harming animals (Various Authors, 61). Animals weren’t created to entertain. Examples of this are the zoos, circuses, and rodeos. At zoos, large captive animals pace back and forth in small pens and other animals just lie around in their cages bored. Many healthy animals are snatched out of their natural habitats and brutally transferred to a cage, where they are prevented from following their most basic instincts, such as gathering food. When capturing chimpanzees, poachers usually shoot the mother and kidnap the child. After all this, statistics show that only one in ten baby chimps survive the journey to the zoo. Zoo animals also suffer from mistreatment. They lack privacy and cannot live according to their natural needs. Aquatic animals have very little water, animals that once lived in herds are alone, and animals of all types are prevented from natural mating, flying, running, climbing, and other instinctive behaviors. Animals bred in zoos are often sold to laboratories for experiments or to circuses. Some zoo animals end up in â€Å"wild game† parks or hunting preserves; where people pay thousands of dollars to shoot a lion or tiger at point-blank range (Various Authors, 64). Both the Draize test and LD/50 test should be banned. They are not only inaccurate, but the Humane Society of the United States stated that its results are of little value in diagnosis and treatment (McCoy, 49). The toy tests should just be completely banned because it is just plain mean and pointless. Many people don’t realize this but circuses are one of the greatest examples of people’s cruelty to animals. Not only are circus animals taken out of their natural habitats, they are confined in cramped cages. Sometimes they have inadequate food and drinking water. When it comes to training, they endure tight collars/muzzles and are whipped, prodded to perform senseless tricks for the sake of entertainment. Some circus animals are drugged to make them more obedient, and others have their teeth and claws removed. When circus animals have outlived their usefulness, they are usually sold to zoos, private collectors, game farms, or research laboratories. They don’t get a moment of peace, even after they are done performing (Various Authors, 65). Rodeos are basically defined as a demonstration of a person’s domination over an innocent animal, rather than their skill in riding. Rodeo animals suffer a lifetime of stress by being transported from one rodeo to another. These animals are captive performers, housed in tiny trailers and pens, then whipped into frenzy for the sake of a show. Electric prods, sticks, painful ointments, and other devices are used to enrage animals and keep them in line. Many suffer severe bruising, neck and back injuries, internal hemorrhaging, and broken bones. Several rodeos don’t even offer veterinary care to animals, which often undergo open wounds, skin infections, cracked hooves, and other maladies (Various Authors, 66). There are various and simple preventions to help stop animal cruelty. One being PETA; one of the many organizations for animal rights. PETA is responsible for ending the use of the Draize test. Their tactics consists of organizing boycotts, promoting shareholder resolutions and alerting the general public (McCoy, 47). Although the federal Animal Welfare Act was created, the animals being researched in laboratories receive little protection under this act because the United States Department of Agriculture does an inadequate job of inspecting animal research facilities, and an even worse job enforcing the law when violations are found. If this act is taken seriously, there would be fewer problems. There are countless alternatives to scientific research including non-animal laboratory tests, clinical tests on human beings, cell and tissue cultures in vitro; microorganisms and other species believed to have limited or no feeling for pain or suffering. There is also a large data base of ingredients and products that have been previously tested, as well as computer models that can provide answers in research procedures or techniques. This alternative would involve fewer animals per experiment/study and that leads to less pain and discomfort (McCoy, 52). Another easy prevention is education. Respect for animals is learned, not inborn. In reality, children have complex feeling about animals, including fear, and the potential to be cruel. Children need adults’ guidance and supervision when it comes to animals. It’s hard for children to understand because children are exposed at a young age, the stereotype of how animals are. Dogs, cats, rabbits are often portrayed as the good ones, while snakes, bears, and cheetahs are seen as the dangerous, bad guys. Despite these stereotypes, all animals are equal and should have the chance to be treated fairly. Other ways to teach children to be kind to animals are writing letters to companies that test on animals, and reading books about friendly animals (Harnack, 89). All these preventions are straightforward and simple to follow. Animal cruelty is an ongoing problem that many people disregard in today’s society. It is mainly caused by the use, neglect, and intentional mistreatment of animals, all of which can still be prevented by stricter laws, awareness, and education. Clearly, empathy is no longer understood or experienced. It is not too late to help animals who suffer every moment of their lives in unethical experiments and abuse inflicted on by humans.

Satellite Radio: A Closer Look

The twenty first century marked a new turning point for the radio industry. In 2001, satellite radio was introduced to the public by Sirius and XM companies. The two companies remain to be the leading players in the satellite radio industry. Sirius and XM companies obtained their lead when they were awarded in an auction with the license to utilize the frequencies developed by Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). The said radio service was commissioned in 1992 to establish radio frequency segments for satellite broadcast in the radio (Kevin). Among the two broadcast satellites initially launched by XM radio are Rock and Roll. The launching was made in San Diego and Dallas last September 2001. After the successful turnout of the launching, XM radio decided to introduced satellite radio to the entire nation in November 2001 (Satellite Radio USA). Through the satellite radio, listening to one’s radio while traveling has become more convenient. Radio frequency is a common problem among radio listeners who are traveling. Oftentimes, they need to change stations because the frequency of the radio stations which they initially listen to has limited frequency. The average frequency of traditional radio is 0 to 40 miles from the source. The radio satellite on the other hand can reach to as far as 22, 000 miles from the source. Thus, a traveler need not frequently change the radio station that he is listening to. How Satellite Radios Work Unlike the analog radio which broadcasts radio frequency to local stationary transmitters and thereafter to the listeners, satellite radio utilizes mobile satellites in ord er to transmit programs to the listeners. The use of mobile satellites allows the radio system to cater to a wider audience since satellites have the capacity to transmit signal from all over the globe. Satellite radios allows the radio frequency transmitted to bounce off and reach the listeners (Walker). Interested listeners can avail of the service after they have purchased the necessary programming service. A device is given to the client to enjoy the service. The said device is programmed into a database in order to allow it to receive radio transmissions from specific radio satellites. Entry into the database allows the sending of signal to the devise in order to decrypt the satellite frequencies and give the listener radio reception (Walker). In contrast to traditional radio which can be accessed for free, satellite radio needs subscription before one can be enjoy the use thereof. Satellite radio companies do not earn money from advertisements but through subscription. Just like cable television, programs on satellite radios are not bombarded with lengthy advertisements. One can enjoy the comfort of listening to his favorite music or programs without any interruption. Benefits from Satellite Radio Since satellites radios allow a more liberal way of listening to radio programs by extending the limit of the coverage, there are more benefits that can be generated from it. Among the benefits is the wide array of radio programs that could be accessed. Listeners can choose to listen to many different programs. They have the liberality to choose which is more adept to their taste and interest for the day. There are more than 60 music channels and 50 other channels dedicated for news, sports, weather, traffic and talk (Satellite Radio USA). Satellite radio is recommended for people who have penchant for listening to the radio for long hours and for those who are in search for specific programs such as ESPN, FOX or BBC among others. The subscription paid for such services is cheaper compared to cable television. Thus, satellite radio does not only provide specialized program listening but it also gives the pocket a breather. If one is only after news in cable television or sports, then he could just opt for this service. The same amount of information could be generated at a cheaper price. Jobs Created Aside from the wider coverage that satellite radio provides to listeners, it also gives an avenue for more jobs in the broadcast industry. Since there is a growing market for the satellite radios, there is a need to employ people who will maintain the system and update the devices that the listeners utilize. People from the engineering department as well as those who are knowledgeable with technical matters, can find good jobs in this field. In addition, people who man the broadcast are also given job opportunities. Among the jobs opportunities are: writer for news, sports, talk programs and many others. Proof readers, editors, news readers, news anchors and assistants for such individuals can have fulfilling jobs in this industry. They have an avenue to exercise their skills and interests in their field of interests. With the rising number of subscribers, there is a possibility that employment in the satellite radio industry will continue to prosper. More programs and maintenance of the existing programs will need more people to man it. If the satellite radio reaches worldwide then there will be more job opportunities for the said field. However, if there are jobs that are created in this industry there are also jobs which are lost or on the verge of being lost. Jobs Lost Among the jobs that are being threatened by the satellite radio industry are those which are related to the terrestrial radio industry especially those who are employed in small radio companies which only have limited coverage. Each city has its own radio company which caters news and other events to the locality. Due to the satellite radio innovation, these companies are being threatened with the possibility of closing. They can hardly compete with the satellite radio which provides an array of program line up. Through the said innovation, people are no longer left with merely an AM or FM radio. They have the capability to explore other genres and listen to the type of program which will suit their taste. The growing interest of the people for such programs make cause the local radio companies, especially those which are only operating on a small scale, to collapse and be erased in the radio industry. Disk Jockeys or DJs, radio commentators and technical support of such companies may kiss their jobs good bye if the advertisers would see that there are only a few people patronizing these programs. Local radio industries operate based on the number of people who listen to their programs. They adjust to the tastes of the listening public in order to convince companies to advertise their merchandise in their programs. Advertisers will only waste their resources if there are no significant number of people who are listening to their programs. Aside from employees of the local radio companies, people who specializes on advertisement for radio may also lose their jobs. They will have to shift their interest for television advertisement or print advertisements. Effect on local terrestrial broadcasters As indicated earlier, satellite radio threatens the existence of local radio companies. The existence of which may not be significant for avid listeners of satellite radios however, for those who are interested in listening to local news, traffic and talk programs, the lose of local radios has a great weight. The advantage of local radios is their regionalization or focus only to a specific locality. News, traffic updates and issues pertaining to the locality are widely aired by such radio companies. Their limited jurisdiction allows them to have better focus with the issues as well as with the programs that they create. Most likely, they will adjust their programs based on the interest of the most people in the locality. They will try to please their market as much as possible and give them the satisfaction that they long for a radio station. They also have an advantage in terms of advertisement since they reach their the people locally and regionally. Local companies can advertise their products with such radio stations, unlike in satellite radios which caters to a wide area. Another advantage thereof is the fact that it is free. There are no special devices or subscription fees that needs to be paid. One only needs his radio in order to have access to the programs (Colliano1). Despite these advantages, terrestrial radios are still on the verge of losing their space in the radio industry. Such phenomenon cannot solely be attributed to the introduction of satellite radios but also because their have lost their edge which is to provide the latest song in the music industry. Through the introduction of MP3s, internet downloads and other music gadgets, the edge of radio continued to fade. The latest songs can be availed of easily through other means than by listening to the radio. This reduces the anticipation from the clients to listen to the latest songs. In addition, radio industries have also abused their good will by infusing too many commercials between their programs (Colliano2). Although advertisements are meant to inform while providing entertainment, too much of it in between programs may irritate the listeners. It suspends their eagerness to listen to the program and thereafter leads to the lose of interest to listen further. Effect on other industries Through the development of satellite radios, other industries are also affected, some positively and others negatively. Among those industries which can benefit from the introduction of satellite radios are cable programs and channels. Aside from television they can have a new avenue to simulcast their programs. Technical and manufacturing industries can also benefit from the manufacture thereof especially if the number subscribers have increased to greater numbers. More subscribers would mean more devices which will ensure the working of the system. The industry which are feared to suffer, aside from local radios is the radio advertising sector. They will have no avenue to market their products if the local radio are abolished by the society. Another industry is the music industry. The local radio provides a good avenue for musicians to advertise their music. The wider the avenue for the launching of their music, the greater is their chance of topping the charts. Rising singers or musicians have lesser chance of introducing their music to a larger audience. Profitability of the Satellite Radios It has been predicted that the two companies which have licenses to operate satellite radios will start to generate great profits by the year 2009. Although it is enjoying profits now, it is still small considering the high cost of maintenance and operations of the system (Seeking Alpha). Financial writer Robert Walberg (2006), indicated in an article that Sirius, one of the two licensed companies to operate satellite radio is in serious trouble with its finances. The company fails to gain significant profit during the span of years that it has been operating. Walberg fears that if the trend continues, then Sirius may face serious financial burdens in the future. The company, however, aims of increasing its profits and presumed that more money will be credited to the company as radio satellites continue to be known globally. Among the factors which contribute to low profit are the high costs for product marketability, limited number of subscribers and the high cost that it pays to those who maintain their radio programs. Compared to the traditional radio which does not pay much for its maintenance, satellite radio operators have more to lose and to earn in order to survive. If the trend continues then, the two companies, Sirius and XM may also face downfall. Sirius intends to increase it market and gain more subscribers in order to generate higher profits and more investors in the future. Nevertheless, financial analysts still maintain a positive view regarding the viability of satellite radios in the market. The introduction of satellite radios in the market both have its positive and negative effects, however, more than just providing strong competition in the radio industry, satellite radios shows the ingenuity of man and its unending quest for improvement. The use thereof and the elimination of local radios is left to the public to be decided on. Only the people can determined which type of radio broadcasting should dominate the airwaves. The pros and cons should be adequately waived in order to determine the best system which will serve the public at large and at a more beneficial state.