English society and lifestyles Essay

He also demonstrates his strength by bending a fire poker in half, this proves that he is dangerous and willing to go to any length to get what he wants. Because of his butch, scary description in the first part of the story, he may come across and un-educated. He is actually very cunning, he thinks of all the fake things in his room, these lead to the deaths. He is very clever, even Holmes addresses him as cunning. Jabez Wilson Jabex Wilson is a character in the story ‘the red headed league’ he is the owner of a local pawnshop, he is given a false job in the story. The fake job he is given, although simple pays very good money, he takes the job and leaves his partner in charge of his pawn shop, him taking the job shows that, like anybody in Victorian England, he would do anything for money, he also took on his assistant , Vincent spaldling, because he offered to come at half wages. Vincent Spalding Vincent Spalding is the character of Wilson’s’ assistant in ‘the red headed league’. He tricks Wilson into leaving him the shop so that he can dig to a nearby bank. He is actually john clay in disguise, john clay is a famous bank robber who is wanted by the police. he is very cunning with the way he works, he fixed a fake advertisement, fake job, fake identity all for one job, this in some ways shows that he has determination and devotion to what he does. The place of servants The place of servants throughout these stories, is not very obvious. in ‘the speckled band’ the manor house in which Helen Stoner and Dr Roylott live, is said to have a room for the maid. this shows that housing was provided for servants. It shows that although there is a definite hierarchy between master and servant, considerations are made on the part of food, and housing. The role of women In the three stories which I studied the role of women varies, in ‘the man with the twisted lip’ Mrs. St Clare comes across as the type of woman that stays in and cooks and cleans at her husbands demands, she has dinner for him at his arrival home in the evening and doesn’t ask where his money comes from or what he does, she just accepts that it is money. Whereas is ‘the speckled band’ Helen Stoner is much more independent of her self, she rides on the train and dog cart in the early hours of the morning without permission, she tries to find out for herself the cause of her sisters death and seeks out her own help even though she is fully aware of her stepfathers capabilities. The nature of Law and Order Compared to real Victorian England the police in the stories come across as very laid back, in †the red headed league’ they are fully aware of the happenings and still offer to make all of it ‘disappear’ even though it is a very large investigation, and is very important. Although the police are satisfactory to the community, Holmes always seems to outsmart them, as it were, always get there first. But yet he is not a part of the police service, he isn’t running a private service for money because he only asks for the expenses to be paid. this shows his devotion to the service and how he doesn’t do it for the money. Transport and communications The transport in the stories is quite modern in some parts, in the speckled band, Helen stoner uses a train to reach Holmes, this shows that train run at all hours, because she was traveling at early hours of the morning. She also used a ‘dog cart’ or horse and carriage. Communication was not really mentioned in the stories but telephones are mentioned a few times, this shows more than telegram communication is used . Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 15

Jez recognized them immediately-not the individuals, but the type. They were ‘wolves, and they were thugs. Somebody's hired muscle. She didn't have her stick, but she didn't need it. She could feel a dangerous smile come to her lips; part anticipation and part sheer fury. Suddenly she wasn't tired, wasn't sore, wasn't anything but perfectly in tune with her body and dying to use it as a weapon. She launched herself like a streak of red lightning, passing Claire easily and knocking the human girl flat before landing in front of the ‘wolves. A guy and a girl. They snapped to attention in front of her, each dropping into a fighting stance. Behind her, she could hear Claire say, â€Å"Ow.† â€Å"Good morning and welcome to the Bay Area,† Jez told the ‘wolves; then she snap-kicked the girl in the face. The girl flew backward. She wasn't out of commission, but it had wrecked the joint attack they had been about to make. The guy knew this, but he was a wolf, so instead of waiting for his partner to recover, he growled and threw himself at Jez. Oh, Goddess, this is too easy. As he drove a punch at her face, Jez turned sideways and let his fist whistle past her. Then she threw her left arm â€Å"* around his left hip, holding him in what was almost an embrace. A deadly one, though. At the same instant she slammed her left hand up to his chin, striking with enough force to stun him. He staggered in her arms, snarling. Bristly hairs erupted on his face. â€Å"Sweet dreams, Fido,† Jez said. She hooked her left leg around his right just below the knee and brought him crashing to the platform. His head hit the concrete and he went limp. Somewhere behind Jez, a sort of thin shrieking had begun. Claire. Jez ignored it, and ignored the two or three people scrambling for the stairs- avoiding the down escalator because it was right beside Jez. She was focused on the female werewolf, who was back on her feet. â€Å"Do yourself a favor and don't even try anything,† she said, grinning. â€Å"You're way outclassed.† The girl, who had reddish-brown hair and a feral expression, didn't answer. She simply showed her teeth and lunged for Jez. With both hands reaching for Jez's face. You'd think they would learn, Jez. thought. Especially after what just happened. Even as she was thinking it, her body was making the right moves. She grabbed the girl's leading arm with both hands, then twisted, pulling her off balance. She took the girl down with a pull drop, flipping her to the platform. As soon as the girl was flat Jez locked the arm she still held and began to apply leverage against the elbow joint. â€Å"Don't move or I'll break your elbow,† she said pleasantly. The girl was writhing in pain, spitting and struggling and hurting herself worse. Absently, Jez noticed that Claire had stopped shrieking. She glanced up to make sure her cousin was all right and saw that Claire was on her feet, staring openmouthed. Jez gave her a reassuring nod. Then she looked back at the female ‘wolf. Now that the fight was over she had the leisure to wonder what was going on. There were plenty of people who might want to kill her, but she couldn't think of any reason for them to target Claire. And they had been targeting her; Jez was sure of that. This was no random thing. This was two ‘wolves attacking a human right in public, in front of witnesses, as if they didn't care who saw them. This was something planned, something important. She gave the girl's arm a little twist, and the girl snarled wildly, glaring at Jez with reddish eyes full of animal fury and hatred. â€Å"Okay, you know what I want,† Jez said. ‘I need answers, and I don't have much time. What are you doing here? Who sent you? And why do you want her?† She jerked her head toward Claire. The girl just glared harder. Jez applied more pressure. â€Å"Look, I can make time for this if I need to. I can do this all day. After I break this elbow I'll do the other one. And then I'll break your ribs, and then your kneecaps-â€Å" â€Å"Filthy halfbreed scum,† the werewolf snarled. Jez's heart gave an odd lurch. She tried to quiet it Well, now, that was interesting. Somebody obviously knew her secret. And since they'd been going for Claire, they knew Claire was connected with her†¦. They knew about her family. Jez saw white light. She threw sudden pressure against the ‘wolfs elbow joint. The girl screamed, a sound more of anger than of pain. â€Å"Who hired you?† Jez said softly, each word coming out like a chip of ice. â€Å"Who sent you after my cousin?† She stared into the reddish eyes, trying to reach into the girl's soul and yank an answer out of her. â€Å"Nobody messes with my family,† she whispered. â€Å"Whoever sent you is going to be sorry.† She couldn't ever remember feeling so angry. And she was so focused on the girl, so intent, that it wasn't until Claire screamed that she realized someone was approaching behind her. â€Å"Jez, watch out!† The yell woke Jez up. Without releasing her hold on the female ‘wolf, she turned around-just in time to see a male vampire stalking her. He must have come up the down escalator. And behind him, unbelievably, was Claire, running and getting ready for a flying tackle. â€Å"Claire, don't!† Jez yelled. She struck the female ‘wolf once, with deadly accuracy, on the side of the jaw to knock her out. Then she sprang toward the vampire. But Claire was already grabbing him-a completely futile and foolish gesture. He whipped around and seized a handful of dark hair, and then he was holding Claire in a choke hold, putting her body between him and Jez. â€Å"One more step and I'll break her neck,† he warned. Jez skidded to a stop. â€Å"You let go of my cousin,† she spat. â€Å"No, I really think we need to talk first,† he said, the beginnings of an ugly grin on his face. â€Å"You're the one who's going to give answers-â€Å" Jez kicked him. A roundhouse kick to his knees while he was busy talking. She didn't worry about keeping it nonlethal. She only cared about breaking his hold on Claire.- It worked. He lost his grip, stumbling sideways. Jez grabbed Claire and thrust her out of the way, shouting â€Å"Run! The escalator's right there!† But Claire didn't run. â€Å"I want to help you!† â€Å"Idiot!† Jez didn't have time to say that Claire couldn't help her; could only hurt her. The vampire had recovered and was moving toward her in fighting position. He was big, probably over two hundred pounds. And he was a full vampire, which gave him the advantage of strength and speed. And he was smarter than the ‘wolves; he wasn't just going to lunge. And Jez didn't have a weapon. â€Å"Just keep behind me, okay?† she snarled under her breath to Claire. The vampire grinned at that. He knew Jez was vulnerable. She was going to have to keep half her attention on protecting Claire. And then, just as he was about to make an attack, Jez heard the smack of footsteps on concrete. Running footsteps, with a weird little hesitation between them, like somebody with a limp†¦. She flashed a look toward the stairs. Hugh had just rounded the top. He was out of breath and bleeding from cuts on his face. But as soon as he saw her and the vampire he waved his arms and yelled. â€Å"Hey! Ugly Undead! Your friend missed me! You want to have a try?† Hugh? Jez thought in disbelief. Fighting? â€Å"Come on, hey; I'm here; I'm easy.† Hugh was hopping toward the vampire, who was also flashing looks at him, trying to assess this new danger while not taking his focus off Jez. â€Å"You want to go a few rounds?† Hugh dropped into a boxer's pose, throwing punches at the air. â€Å"Huh? You want to try for the title?† All the time he was speaking, he was dancing closer to the vampire, circling to get behind him. Beautiful, Jez thought. All she needed was for the vampire to shift his attention for one second-just to glance behind him once-and she could kick his face in. It didn't work that way. Something went wrong. The vampire tried to glance behind him. Jez saw her chance and made the kick, a high kick that snapped his head back. But somehow instead of falling backward the vampire managed to blunder forward straight at her. She could easily have gotten away-except for Claire. Claire had obediently kept behind her-even when behind her meant standing right by the BART tracks, on the yellow metal squares that marked the edge of the platform. Now, as the vampire stumbled forward and Jez began to slide out of the way, she heard Claire gasp, felt Claire clutch at her wildly. She knew what had happened instantly. Claire had tried to run the wrong way and was teetering on the edge of the platform. More, she was taking Jez with her. There was a distant rumble like thunder. Jez knew she could save herself-by getting rid of Claire. She could use Claire's body as a springboard to propel herself away from the drop. That way, only one of them would die. Instead, she tried to twist and throw Claire away from her, toward safety. It didn't work. They both lost their balance. Jez had the strange, surprised feeling one gets in the middle of a fell-where's the ground?-and then she hit it It was a bad fell because she was tangled with Claire. All Jez could do was try to keep Claire* away from the third rail on the far side of the track. The impact winded both of them and Jez saw stars. She could hear Hugh screaming her name. The distant thunder had become a roaring, whizzing sound, carried through the tracks underneath Jez. Down here, she could feel a rattling that wasn't audible from above. It was a noise that filled her head and shook her body. She knew absolutely, in that instant, that they were going to die. Both of them. Crushed to pieces under the train. The white dragon would run right over them and not even know it. There was simply no chance. Claire was clinging to her desperately, clawing Jez's arms hard enough to draw blood, and gasping in the breath for a scream. And even if Jez had been a full vampire, she couldn't have lifted Claire the four feet to the platform fast enough. There was nothing to save them, no hope. No rescue. It was over. All of this flashed through Jez's mind in the single instant it took her to look up and see the train bearing down on them. Its sleek white nose was only thirty feet away, and it was braking, but nowhere near fast enough, and this was it, the actual moment of her death, the last thoughts she would ever think, and the last thing she would ever see was white, white, white- Blue. It happened all at once, filling her vision. One second she could see clearly, the next the entire world was blue. Not just blue. Fiery, dazzling, lightning-shot blue. Like being inside some sort of science-fiction special effect. There was blue streaming and crackling and sizzling all around her, a cocoon of blue that enfolded her and shot past her and disappeared somewhere ahead. | I'm dead, Jez thought. So this is what it's like. Completely different from what people say. Then she realized that she could hear a faint shrieking sound beneath her. It was Claire. They were still holding on to each other. We're both dead. Or we've fallen into some kind of space warp. The rest of the world is gone. There's just-this. She had an impulse to touch the blue stuff, but she couldn't move because of Claire's grip on her arms. It might not have been safe anyway. Where it flowed over her, she could feel a sort of zinging and tingling as if all her blood were being excited. It smelled like the air after a storm. And then it disappeared. All at once. Not by stages. But it still took Jez several moments to see anything, because her eyes were blinded with dark yellow after-images. They burned and danced in front of her like a new kind of lightning, and she only gradually realized where she was. On the train tracks. Exactly where she had been before. Except that now there was a huge, sleek BART train two feet in front of her. She had to tilt her head to look up at its nose? It was gigantic from this angle, a monster of white, like the iceberg that sank the Titanic. And it was stopped dead, looking as if it had always been here, like some mountainous landmark. As if it had never moved an inch in its history. People were yelling. Shrieking and yowling and making all kinds of noise. It seemed to come from far away, but when Jez looked she could see them staring down at her. They were at the edge of the platform, waving their arms hysterically. As Jez stared back at them, a couple jumped down to the tracks. Jez looked down at her cousin. Claire was dragging in huge breaths, hyperventilating, her whole body shaking in spasms. She was staring at the train that loomed over them with eyes that showed white all around. A loudspeaker was booming. One of the people who had jumped, a man in a security guard's uniform, was jabbering at Jez. She couldn't understand a word he was saying. â€Å"Claire, we've got to go now.† Her cousin just whooped in air, sobbing. â€Å"Claire, we have to go now. Come on.† Jez's whole body felt light and strange, and when she tried to move she felt as if she were floating. But she could move. She stood up and pulled Claire with her. She realized that somebody was calling her name. It was the other person who had jumped to the tracks. It was Hugh. He was reaching for her. His gray eyes were as wide as Claire's, but not wide and hysterical. Wide and still. He was the only calm person in the crowd, beside Jez. â€Å"Come on. Up this way,† he said. He helped her boost Claire to the platform, and then Jez scrambled up and reached down to help him. When they were all up, Jez glanced around. She knew she was looking for something-yes. There. The werewolves she'd knocked out. It seemed a hundred years ago, but they were still lying there. â€Å"The other guy got away,† Hugh said. â€Å"Then we have to get out of here fast.† Jez heard her own voice, sounding quiet and faraway. But she was beginning to feel more attached to her body. Hugh was guiding Claire toward the escalator. Jez got on the other side of Claire, and they both helped keep her on her feet. The security guy was behind them, yelling. Jez still couldn't understand him and ignored him completely. When they reached the lower level, she and Hugh began to walk faster, pulling Claire along with them. They shoved Claire through the handicapped gate by the ticket window and vaulted over themselves. From down here, Jez could see that the train was smoking all along its bottom. White smoke that sizzled up into the muggy air. â€Å"We can't go on the street,† Hugh said. â€Å"They've got cars out there.† â€Å"The garage,† Jez said. They both headed for it, a multi-story brick building that looked dark and cool inside. They were almost running with Claire, now, and they didn't stop until they were deep within the bowels of the garage, with emptiness echoing all around them. Then Jez sagged against a brick pillar. Hugh bent over with his hands on his knees. Claire simply folded to the ground like a marionette with all its strings cut. Jez let herself breathe for a few minutes, let her brain settle down, before slowly lowering herself beside her cousin. They all looked as if they'd been in an accident. Hugh's shirt was ripped and there was drying blood all down one side of his face. Claire's hair was wildly disheveled, and there were scrapes and small cuts on her face and arms. Jez herself had lost a lot of skin to the tracks, and her forearms were bleeding where Claire had scratched her. But they were alive. Beyond all hope, they were alive. Claire looked up just then to find Jez gazing at her. They sat for several moments simply staring into each other's eyes. Then Jez reached out to touch her cousin's cheek. â€Å"It was you,† she whispered. â€Å"All that time-and it was you.† She looked up at Hugh and began to laugh. He looked back, his face pale in the semi-darkness. He shook his head and began to laugh, too, but shakily. â€Å"Oh, Goddess,† he said. â€Å"I thought you were dead, there, Jez. I thought I'd lost you.† â€Å"Not while she's around, apparently,† Jez said, and laughed harder. She was slightly hysterical, but she didn't care. Hugh's laughter sounded a little like crying. â€Å"I saw that train-and there was no way it was going to stop in time. And then-that light. It just shot out-and the train hit it. It was like a physical thing. Like a giant cushion. The train hit it and it squashed and the train went slower and then it kept squashing-â€Å" Jez stopped laughing. â€Å"I wonder if the people on the train got hurt.† â€Å"I don't know.† Hugh was sober now, too. â€Å"They must've gotten thrown around. It stopped so fast. But it didn't smash. They're probably okay.† â€Å"I just-from the inside, it looked like lightning-â€Å" â€Å"From the outside, too. I didn't imagine it would look like that-â€Å" â€Å"I didn't know it would be so powerful. And, think about it; she's untrained-â€Å" There they were, an Old Soul and a vampire hunter who'd seen everything the streets had to offer, babbling like a couple of kids. It was Claire who stopped them. She had been looking from one of them to the other, getting more and more agitated. Now she grabbed Jez's arm. â€Å"What are you guys talking about?† Jez turned to her. She glanced at Hugh, then spoke gently. â€Å"We're talking about you, Claire. You're the Wild Power.†

A Confederacy of Dunces as a Criticism of Higher Education

Whether in an effort to become more educated and to obtain more lucrative jobs or due to the need for better education in an increasingly technological job market, the United States has seen a rising trend in the percentage of individuals who choose to attend college and graduate school. Not only has the number of individuals seeking higher education increased, but criticism of higher education has increased as well. Common criticism has included the idea of colleges and universities being more concerned with financial aspects than with their students, as well as the idea of students using higher education not to become more educated individuals, but to increase their chances of earning higher wages after college or graduate school. A Confederacy of Dunces' satirical focus on education and learning provides examples of these and other criticisms of higher education. More specifically, the characters of the story show the reader the educated are not always the ones who fare the best in terms of their emotional well-being and their ability to function in society. In looking at the characters in the novel there seems to be an inverse relationship in terms of the amount of education a character has received in comparison to that character's ability to function normally in society (to not cause others distress, to contribute physically and mentally, etc. ) For example, Ignatius has the greatest amount of education and proves himself the most socially backwards, followed by Myrna, then by Mrs. Levy, an overconfident psychologist with no more than community college experience. Also, the reader is shown that the most educated characters are also the most satirized and laughable characters in the story. Two obvious characters, the characters of Ignatius Reilly and Myrna Minkoff, illustrate some of the possible detrimental effects of higher education. Although it is difficult to comment on Myrna, evidence is provided throughout the novel that portrays Ignatius as a much more sociable and pleasant individual before his days at college. For both of these characters education has distorted their view of society in such a way that it makes them miserable to be part of such an â€Å"abominable and debauched† society. Ignatius complains throughout the novel about other's lack of intelligence and their supposedly â€Å"distorted† view of society. Not only has Ignatius and Myrna's view of society been affected by higher education, but their ability to function socially in society has been affected as well. Neither character is able to maintain a long lasting relationship with others than themselves. Also, Ignatius has difficulty finding employment and has even greater difficulty keeping any job which he obtains. Myrna herself would undoubtedly face similar difficulty if she did not receive substantial funding from her father. Finally, Myrna's view on sex, one that clashes with the social norm, and her propensity to discuss this subject almost gets her raped by a university janitor. Another character who is highly involved in academia, Professor Talc, helps to illustrate the criticism of college being a business for those who run it and by those who work for it. Professor Talc himself admits that he does not know or teach much at all-that his lectures are vague, that he is only popular because of his humor, and that he is not qualified to teach college level Social Studies. Talc's disinterest in educating his students supports the idea that many professors view their work only as a secure job with substantial benefits. Another example of Professor Talc illustrating criticism of higher education comes in the episode of his meeting with a female student. While Talc originally believes that the student set up the meeting either because of her interest in his class or because of her interest in him, the actual motive of the student is only to find out the grade of her most recent project. This episode represents the common criticism of higher education simply providing a means to an end. While the primary goal of a college education was at one time to become a more educated individual, this goal has shifted to receiving good grades, obtaining a good job, making a lot of money, etc. In the author's final attempt to satirize, and therefore criticize, higher education, Professor Talc, the novel's symbol of higher education itself, ends the story being mocked and ridiculed by both teachers and students. In comparing the less-educated characters of the story, the reader is shown that although these characters may not be the most materially well-off or have the greatest intellectual capacity, they do finish the story as the most emotionally, and in some cases financially, stable characters of the story. Also, although they are not formally educated, these characters are able to function well in everyday, practical situations. One such uneducated character who finishes the novel better off than many of the educated characters is Ignatius' mother. By the end of the story, Mrs. Reilly is free of Ignatius, who oppresses her social interests and forces her to cook and clean, and has a chance at marrying Claude Robichaux, a well-off and apparently sympathetic man. Mrs. Reilly has little education and therefore seems to expect and desire little. Unlike those who desire a good job and a good income simply because they attended college, Mrs. Reilly is satisfied by more simple pleasures: the company of friends, dancing, bowling etc. Her simple pleasures illustrate the ideal of the Zen road to affluence-if you do not desire a lot, it takes very little to be happy. In comparing this to higher education, again many of those individuals who attend college and/or graduate school do expect and desire more: a more lucrative job, more socially affluent friends, a wealthier, more attractive spouse. Higher education may also perpetuate the need to be competitive-the need to work increasingly hard in order to get ahead. Evidence of this idea can be found in the fact that an increasing percentage of the population attend college and/or graduate school than in years past. No longer is a high school education sufficient to secure a well-paying job. Both Darlene and Jones also prove to be less educated characters who end the story in better emotional and financial situations than many of those characters who have received some type of higher education. Both Darlene and Jones finish the story with better, more secure employment as well as newfound happiness. Darlene, who is portrayed in the novel as somewhat flaky, demonstrates the idea that â€Å"ignorance is bliss†. As a result of her lack of intelligence, Darlene expects very little, and her highest goal is only to be a well-paid exotic dancer. After reaching this goal at the close of the novel, Darlene's exuberance again shows that if one does not have a lot, it will not take much to become content. Although also appearing uneducated, Jones proves to have a great deal of common sense that allows him to function in society. In this way Jones provides the reader with evidence that knowledge gained through higher education is not the only type of knowledge one needs in order to be successful and achieve goals. In comparing Ignatius with Jones the reader notices this difference between â€Å"book smarts† and â€Å"street smarts† and their use in functioning in society. Using his common sense, an intelligence that Ignatius clearly lacks, Jones can tell when whites are scared of him, and is also able to figure out Lana Lee's scam, using it to maintain job security and eventually to get a more desirable job. In an apparent attempt to both satirize and criticize higher education, John Kennedy Toole creates characters in A Confederacy of Dunces who offer proof that the business of higher education perpetuates competition and the desire to achieve more than others. This increased competition in turn causes both stress and an increased likelihood of falling short of set goals, both eventually leading to unhappiness. Also, as seen in the character Ignatius, the intelligence gained as a result of college or graduate school may cause the educated to look down upon and even to dislike the members of society with average or below average intelligence. The author further mocks education by leaving each character in a particular position at the end of the novel. While the uneducated characters tend to end up better off, the educated characters generally prove unhappy by the end of the story.

Global Warming and other Ecology Issues; The Energy Crunch Essay

Global Warming and other Ecology Issues; The Energy Crunch - Essay Example These gases allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere then trap some of the solar energy which heats the earth (Breuer, 1980). It is a delicate balance and because these greenhouse gases have been artificially augmented by man-made sources, more build up in the atmosphere has occurred thus trapping more of the sun’s energy and reflecting less back in to space. This occurrence is causing the earth to warm. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases. Although deforestation is contributing heavily to the excess of CO2 in the atmosphere, a larger portion is caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuels are burned by factories, vehicles and electricity-producing power plants to name a few sources. Other greenhouse gases include methane, which is released when vegetation is burned during land clearing, during oil exploration activities and the coal-mining process; chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which is the substance that cools refrigerators and provides the propulsion in aerosol cans and nitrous oxide (N2O) which is the lesser cause of CO2 (Breuer, 1980). It is generated from both man-made and natural processes. Although warnings about the human generated causes of an enhanced greenhouse effect and the subsequent catastrophic outcomes have been sounded for over 100 years, global warming has only recently become an important political matter. One would have to wonder what enormous problems this will cause not only to people and property but to the health of the global economy as a whole. Entire sections of various countries will be forced to abandon their homes and businesses. The process will be a slow and torturous one. Agriculture activity, land masses and the very air we breathe will suffer a radical change from the effects of global warming. The question before us is, are we stewards of our earth and will we preserve it for future

What Is Human Services Common Intervention Strategies Essay

What Is Human Services Common Intervention Strategies - Essay Example The second issue is related to the ambiguity to differentiate among similar terms such as "community services," "welfare services," "human services." These terms are used interchangeably with different focus. It indicates and adds to the failure of the stakeholders in differentiating, defining and drawing a line where needed to the detriment in distribution of resources for executing welfare programs and development work under the umbrella of social services or human services. The 1962 amendments to the Social Security Act initiated a policy change by states and the federal government contributing equally, which was erstwhile limited to advanced states conducting social service programs. The purpose of the social services under the Social Security Act are "to help maintain and strengthen family life" and to assist families "to attain or retain capability for the maximum self-support and personal independence consistent with the maintenance of continuing parental care and protection." The administrative guidance stresses on services to help receivers â€Å"achieve employment and self sufficiency (Randall, 1975). The history of social services development and expenditure starting in 1969 till 1972 by Derthick provides a mirror of the legislation and functioning of social services. The area of Human Services is widely defined, distinctly meeting the purpose of fulfilling human needs via an interdisciplinary knowledge base, stressing on taking precautions, treating human issues, and showing dedication for raising the general standard of life of the people deserving attention. It is the responsibility of the human services professionals to encourage better service delivery systems by looking not only at the quality aspect of human services, but also by desiring to provide better reach, answerability, and cooperation among professionals and organizations in service delivery (NOHS, 2009). The goal of human services professionals as well as agencies is to empower the groups doing human services by: * Enlarging professional growth opportunities * Encouraging professional and agency-wide recognition through certification * Increasing internal and external information exchange * Supporting and enforcing a social policy and agenda * Fostering the monetary sustainability and development of the stake holding agencies (NOHS, 2009). The Nature of Generalist Practice Generalist practice for human services is based on the creation of social work values, insight, and abilities that can be used on people and organizations as appraisal and intervention strategies for different-in-size systems by creating and using people, families, groups, and communities (Bemidji State University, 2011). According to the Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD), generalist social work functionaries collaborate with people, families, groups, communities and agencies in a range of social work environments. Generalist practitioners observe customers and their systems from a stren gths outlook so that the inner abilities of all human beings could be identified, advocated, and structured. By employing a professional problem resolving process, they communicate, measure, factor services, support, guide, tutor, and manage with clients by remaining on their and their systems’ side. It is the job of generalist practitioner to involve in community and institutional growth and check its service performance for bettering the service delivery system attuned towards the client (Bemidji State University, 2011). Common Intervention Strategies Human services intervention strategies depend from agency to agency guided by certain skills

Tort Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tort Law - Assignment Example Besides, in a contractual relationship, the responsibility imposed by law is in the directions of the other party, by whom there is privity of agreement. In tort, the responsibility lies in the directions of the members of the public or world at large, with whom there is no requirement for any contract. â€Å"A tort is a civil wrong for which the legal remedy is an action brought by means of civil proceedings by or on behalf of the injured party for damages or some other legal remedy desired by the person who has suffered the wrong† (Law of Torts Including MV Accident and Consumer Protection Laws-I 1). Fact of the Case: The case provides a summary of the gas leakage in Pub. And also this particular case brings out the various ethical matters concerned in the disaster. Ben, who is the employer of the Maid Marion Gas Company, carelessly fixed pipe work which caused leakage of gas into the pub. Chef of the pub Charlie lit a gas in the kitchen and consequently this caused a blast and fire in the pub. So, Donald the barman, suffered harsh burns and consequently a recurrence of the clinical depression from, which he had undergo some long ago. Parties involved: Parties involved in this case are, Alan, Emma, Charlie and Donald. Alan can claim against the Maid Marion Gas Company for nervous shock and negligence. In tort law, Negligence is depends on the existence of a contravention of the obligation of care, owed by one person to another. Alan came home later, subsequent to the fire, and saw that his pub had been completely destroyed. He was so distress that he is till date suffering from insomnia and nervousness. Company should take due care for preventing any kind of the leakage. Gas is such a hazardous substances and leakage of gas can create lots of tragedy in the society. And also, it will create environmental pollution in the society. Here the leakage is mainly because of the careless on the part of the employer Ben. But at the same time, it is the duty of the company to check all those things because it is such a toxic substance. Emma and Charlie are the secondary victims of the gas leakage. Because of this, they faced nervous shock. So, they also can claim against the Maid Marion Gas Company for the nervous shock. Charlie is the chef of the pub, he lit a gas stove in the pub kitchen and a few minutes later this caused a blast and fire in the pub. That time he was outside in the garden, he was not injured in the explosion but felt himself accountable for the injuries undergone by his co-worker, and has now had a nervous breakdown. Like Emma, who is the girlfriend of Donald and also who had lived with Donald for some years, reached at his hospital bed some hours later, after he had an emergency operation. She was extremely shocked to see him greatly bandaged. Since then she has not slept sound and has suffered panic attacks. And also, Donald can claim compensation from Ben and Maid Marion Gas Company for the injury that he has faced. Donald can also claim under Workman Compensation, because his injury was caused at the time of work and also in the working premises. Donald is the primary victim of the tragedy. Both Ben and Company are jointly liable for the injury of Donald. They are also liable for the vicarious liability and negligence. â€Å"Vicarious liability is the principle of law that holds one party liable for the acts (or inactions) of another† (Beyer 3). Vicarious liability, which is general in some parts of law, refers to lawful duty for the actions of another. If a rule holds X accountable for Y's actions, then X's responsibility is said to be vicarious. Conclusion: A tort is an offence that is privately impeached, usually for damages, though some tort

Role Of Notch Signaling In Oncogenesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Role Of Notch Signaling In Oncogenesis - Essay Example Extensive research in notch pathway has identified either dysregulation or faulty signaling in cancers and many other diseases like multiple sclerosis, tetralogy of Fallot and Alagille syndrome. Because Notch signaling pathway is involved in the progression and development of several malignancies, it is considered a novel therapeutic target and if the research on this aspect is fruitful, it can have the highest therapeutic impact in modern clinical medicine (Wang, Li, Banerjee and Sarkar, 2008).The Notch signaling pathway The most important constituents of the Notch signaling pathway are the receptors. There are basically four types of Notch receptors which are single- pass transmembrane receptor proteins. They are Notch1 through Notch 4. Each of these is a heterodimer which is proteolytically cleaved and lies at the surface of the cell. The receptor is made up of 2 domains, the ectodomain and intracellular domain. Both these domains are associated in a calcium dependent, noncovalent interaction. Ectodomain is large and constitutes the outside part of the cell surface. The intracellular domain is smaller and tethered to the membrane. The ectodomain part of Notch receptors interacts with certain ligands of adjacent cells. These ligands belong to Jagged and Delta- like families and are named as JAG1, JAG2, DLL1, DLL3, and DLL4. The interaction between the receptor and ligand induces a couple of proteolytic cleavages causing the release of the intracellular domain part of the receptor from the cell membrane.

Knowledge management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Knowledge management - Essay Example cess of KM formation involves creation, capture, storage and distribution of knowledge or information, needed for the organization during appropriate times. KMS will aid the leaders in the overall functioning of the organization and will provide them a good back up to all their strategies. Actually, these ‘systems’ by backing up the leaders will optimize their performance and it will directly show in the optimum performance of the employees. So, this paper will analyze this theme of Knowledge Management using the article titled Knowledge Management featured in the magazine, The Economist, and how that it is vital for the employee and organizational success. The article starts off with the words by renowned management guru, Peter Drucker, who in 1980’s itself hypothesized that that Knowledge Management will be a key process in future for the optimum functioning of the organizations. â€Å"The typical business [of the future] will be knowledge-based, an organisation composed largely of specialists who direct and discipline their own performance through feedback from colleagues, customers and headquarters. For this reason it will be what I call an information-based organisation.† (The Economist).So, Knowledge Management will raise the efficiency level of the leaders, aid them in actualizing an optimal organizational environment and thereby will enrich the knowledge and skill of the employees. Focusing on the importance of employees in the process of Knowledge Management, the article opines that the ‘content’ that is developed and stored in the heads and hearts of the employees need to be optimally used for optim izing organizational functioning. The article further states that the effective knowledge of the workers will become valuable assets or properties for the organization. So they need to be further developed and various forms of that knowledge also need to be preserved through technological means. â€Å"They had become properties whose most valuable asset

The Use and Abuse of Power in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Use and Abuse of Power in Management - Essay Example Hence, power is an inherent characteristic of organisational action. Leaders and organisational management find â€Å"continued opportunity to sharpen their power-use skills in every contact they make in the group and with relevant stakeholders† (Fairholm 1993: 37). Power is an essential part of the organisational decision making undertaken by managers, and forms the medium of leadership. It plays a critical role in the selection of key staff, in resource allocation, in promotion actions, reorganisation decisions, and in the development, flow, and use of information. Power is also considered in motivational terms to be the critical difference â€Å"between the person who seeks to control the conduct of the individual and the group, and the leader who exercises control over the results they achieve† (Fairholm 1993: 46). In contemporary organisations, effective leadership depends on the use of power for success; therefore skilled use of power forms the core accomplishment in organisations. Contrasting with the use of power is the other side of the corporate coin in the form of abuse of power by organisational leadership. Increasingly, large corporation engage in corruption, and misuse of the immense power they have built up. The corporate world is overreaching the power it has amassed, similar to power in other domains such as in politics, which also exceed their limit when permitted. Due to its excessively predatory practices, the atmosphere in today’s corporate world has been termed as ‘piratical’. Abuse of power reveals itself in several ways. The most disturbing occurrences pertain to â€Å"the efforts of corporations to conscript the political process for their own benefit through their large financial contributions, both legal and illegal† (Clinard 1990: 6). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of power in organisations. The dynamics of power will include the theoretical back ground on the use and abuse of power by leaders, examination of a case study and illustrations through organisational examples. THE DYNAMICS OF POWER IN ORGANISATIONS According to Pfeffer (1992), besides organisational leaders, the members of an organisation vie with each other for dominance. They compete for the power to get their own way, while confronting competitive action by others in their intimate work group. This situation takes five aspects into consideration. Organisational participants interact continually with people in an interdependent relationship with them. The participants are in a competitive situation regarding who among them will achieve the desired goals. Scarcity forms a part of the situation to some extent. â€Å"The participants attach enough importance to the situation, goals, or approach that they are willing to engage their energy in this relationship† (Fairholm 1993: 30). These five dimensions of the power relationship also defines typical organisa tional life. Employees’ understanding of a situation increases by viewing the relationship in political power terms. Theoretical Background: Use and Abuse of Power in Organisations Leadership is a relational term, it identifies a relationship in which â€Å"some people are able to persuade others to adopt new values, attitudes and goals, and to exert effort on behalf of those values and goals† (Hogg 2005: 53). The relationship is almost always defined within the

AT&T sales management plan - BODY ONLY no abstract or conclusions Term Paper

AT&T sales management plan - BODY ONLY no abstract or conclusions - Term Paper Example The AT&T organization holds workshops for the different managers in the organization. These workshops enable them to acquire adequate skills in using the sophisticated equipment the organization sells. The management is also able to have a feel of what their customers require. The organization should focus on a few areas such as increasing their negotiations for sales with their customers. They should use online training to enhance support among their users’ performances. The sales team should also been assigned with the task of tracking the results of their sales and reporting them to the organizations management. This will in turn enable the management to make improvements on the products that are performing dismally. The sales team will rely on building more stable and accountable relationships with their customers to ensure their sales remain high. The organization has entered into an agreement with other producers of technology to improve on their product’s quality. This ensures that their sales and profitability levels remain high (Still, Cundiff and Govoni, 2006). An example of such an agreement was entered into with Cisco systems, which was meant to create products that were compatible with their widely used technologies. They should enter into similar agreements in future to enhance their productivities and profitability. The sales management is charged with the responsibilities of planning, controlling, directing and staffing the sales team activities. They are left to plan the strategies the team will use in order to accomplish the organizations objectives. This is because the sales team mingles directly with the customers and understands their needs better. They are left to control the teams activities to ensure their activities reach a wider market. The sales team has experience in the field and should employ methods that increase the

Green Bay Head Coach Essay Example for Free

Green Bay Head Coach Essay In the famous educational video about football in the NFL called The Winning Edge, Green Bay Head Coach Vince Lombardi, gave his famous saying: â€Å"Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. †(Lombardi, 1967) Lombardi would later go to say that this was the biggest mistake of his life. He wished to say that the attempt to win is what really counts; the hard work and effort that propels one to accept only the best from himself is what really counted. This is what I would stress to my little league teams as a coach and thus, an important role model for young boys as they try to discover themselves and how what morals and values they will accept and which they will reject. Millions of young kids play organized sports in this country and only a handful each year are allowed to reach the heights within that sport that would allow them to get paid for their efforts in the professional game. For the other 99% sports will end for them at a time when they are just coming into adulthood. And if that individual has not fully grasped the concept of fair play, sportsmanship and a hard work ethic, they will most likely be lost to a life of underachievement and sloth. Aristotle said† I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. (Metcalf, 1999) As a little league coach, I would stress that winning is an important aspect of the game and than in winning, the game becomes more fun. I would not so idealistic to say that winning was of no consequence and that as long as one tried their hardest, that was all that was expected. That is true to some degree but for the older boys, such an ideology would serve as an impediment to their success in life. If one first envisions that he will succeed at a task, then the hard work will come naturally and that the ends don’t always justify the means. Winning at all costs for a young boy does nothing but stunt his emotional and mental growth. Fathers who try to live their dreams through their children serve as an unmistakable impediment for themselves, their sons and for the game as a whole. This is also true with regard to coaches. Babe Ruth starts at the age of thirteen so as a little league coach, I would be molding the minds of children possibly under the age of ten. Cutthroat tactics at such a young age could forever warp their sense of morals and worth ethic for the rest of their lives. For the vast majority of children who grow up playing organized sports, their careers will end at the time when the law regards them as adults and thus, their actions must resemble that definition. For the naturally gifted player whose glory on the field has come easily to him, all too often will elude him in real life situations. And without a strong work ethic behind him, it is unlikely that he will be able to shake off his upbringing which is now serving him as an impediment to his success in other areas of his life. A person who expects victory to come easily or to come through cheating, will be more likely to apply the same logic when it comes to earning a living or succeeding academically in college or in the workplace. Cheating in little league might cause the offender to be suspended for a game. In the real world, cheating can lead to expulsion from the university or even prison. The lessons that ten year old boys, many of them growing up without a father and who are desperately searching for a male role model, will listen intensely at what a coach has to say and will be greatly affected by the lessons that he learns on the field.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay Example for Free

Coffee and Starbucks Essay 1. Introduction In the UAE the coffeehouses take the first concern of the residents. The residents look for the coffeehouses as a place of enjoyment and the perfect place for hangout with friends. One of the most popular coffeehouse in the UAE is Starbucks; the branches of Starbucks cover all the emirates in most popular places. In this report we’ll conceder The Coffee Bean Tea Leaf as a competitor of Starbucks and analyze both of them depending on the SWOT and Marketing Mix analysis. 2. Client Company â€Å"Starbucks†. This company founded in the UAE in 2000, it is especially brand for coffee with Coffeehouses. Starbucks features a variety of coffees, hand-crafted beverage, teas, water, freshly baked pastries, sandwiches and salads. It is including also in their product compilation of music CD’s ranges for all testes. Starbucks have very friendly employees make the customers feel comfortable to visit them again. The qualities of the products Starbucks provide make them reach this level of popularity. 1 Target Market. Starbucks focus on the demographics, psychographics and lifestyle of their customers. Also with the information that Starbucks collected regard the target market segment for the better to its customers. The demographic helps Starbucks to locate its target market. It is target the both male and female, around 18-30 years old, but you can see that’s it provide product for everybody. Starbucks provide non-coffee beverage for children to supply for the whole family. It is customers primarily in their final years of high school, in university or just working. Most of them have a good education, and the people who have job, it include a high salary. The psychographic of Starbucks based in charity and the arts. Also it is sponsored the different kind of events. Starbucks aims to target people who are generous and charitable, also people who like fun and enjoy their time. It sells a lifestyle to both customers and employees, it appeals a new style to it’s coffees an age-old beverage, so that’s today it is one of most famous coffees around the world. 3. Competitor Company â€Å"The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf† It is an international coffeehouse company, founded in 1963 in California. They provide a variety of hot/cold coffee and tea drinks and related. Beside snacks like sandwiches, salads, muffins, cakes and a selection of pastries. There are 11 branches in the UAE 9 in Dubai (Sahara Shopping Center, Ibn Battuta Shopping Center, Zayed University †¦). The Coffee Bean provides it’s customers with a well trained friendly customer service to satisfy them and ensure their loyalty. 4. Major Finding of Competitive Analysis 2 SWOT analysis |SWOT analysis |Starbucks |Coffee Bean Tea Leaf | |Strengths |-Brand name recognition |-Changing the menu and adding new products regularly | | |-Good reputation |-Providing variety of products coffee tea products | | |-coffees bottled beverages sold at retail (Frappuccino|-Breakfast meals light lunch meals | | |bottles sold in petrol stations) |-On-line store at www.coffeebean. com | | -Location (significant markets / crowded shopping malls/| | | |airports) | | | |-Free internet wireless access | | | |-On-line store at www. starbucks. com | | |Weaknesses |-Little promotion / offers |-Locations (little number of branches in less crowded | | |-Considering more on coffee products than other products|places) | | |(Tea juices) |. -Small awareness of brand name | |Opportunities |-Widen Product Range to reach new target market |-Expand branches in the market | | |-Improve the speed and efficiency of service |-Apply marketing strategy to increase brand awareness among| | |-Increase promotions offers |customers | | |-Internet wireless access grabs new market (Students and| | | |tourists) | | |Threats |-Change in consumer tastes and interest |-Customers prefer recognized brand | | |-Increase in competition |-Local competition | 3 Competitive Advantage. By searching the two organizations we got a clear knowledge about them and the tools they use to grab customers and reach success. Referring to table1 the SWOT Analysis table; it shows the differences between the two coffeehouses in the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats areas. The major different which make Starbucks stronger than Coffee Bean is the recognized brand name and the reputation that Starbucks have. These make Starbucks more known and preferred from customers who look for famous places that sells good quality products. Also the location and number of branches plays a significant impact in this case. This is because Starbucks is more spreading in the market in strategic and core places like the airport (see appendix 1). 5. Strategic recommendation: Even though Starbucks is more popular than Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for its high quality coffee and products, it has more than 40 branches in UAE, but it need to achieve its competitor advantage to maintain its market leadership. However Starbucks has some weakness that covers its strengths that needs to be looked at and improved. One of the most noticeable difference about Starbucks and other competitor is its menu that is rarely changed and its prices that the competitor has trampled them by their less price and good quality. Even that there are promotions done in Starbucks but not as much as others, for that they need to increase their promotion to rout their competitor who has attractive promotion threw their advertisement that Starbucks has some weakness in. They should focus on creating their own way of advertisement that can be shown everywhere which advertise their promotions and not relay on Starbucks name popularity only. Also one of the significant weaknesses that Starbucks has is their products that are more specified on coffees more than other kind of products such as tea and Fresh juices for this they have to widen their products range to grab new market and win customers. 6. Conclusion As it shown and known Starbucks in one of the biggest companies in the whole world that has its own reputation in its products. Starbucks has its own way of rousing it sales and improving its organization. However, they are special than other coffeehouses by their brand name, products and services, but they have some weaknesses at the same time, which can be overcome by reaching their competitors strengths. Even more Starbucks is well known of their spreading in the market by the number of branches which is increased daily approximately one by day in the world. Appendix 1 Marketing Mix Analysis (7 Ps). |Marketing Mix elements |Starbucks |Coffee Bean Tea Leaf | |(7ps) | | | |Product / Service |Coffee, hand-crafted beverage, tea, ice blended drinks, freshly|hot and cold coffee and tea beverages, sandwiches, salads and a | | |baked pastries, fresh sandwiches, salads, cakes and cookies. |selection of pastries and cakes | | |Plus coffee related accessories | | |Price |-The prices are in a middle range not too different from other |-Middle range prices | | |coffeehouses. Example : |-lower a little than Starbucks | | |(Frappuccino = 15 AED) |Example : | | |(Cappuccino = 12 AED) |(Ice blended drink = 14 AED) | | |(Cheesecake = 14 AED) |(Cappuccino = 11 AED) | | | |(Cheesecake = 10 AED) | |Promotion |-Advertise for new products in newspaper |-Special promotion for Breakfast Meal | | |-Seasonally products (summer / winter) |-Free drink after 12 purchases | | |-Promotion banners and brochures in the shop |-limited Belgium coffee for this season | | |-on-line website |-Promotion banners in the shop | | | |-on-line website | |Place |41 branches around the UAE in significant crowded places |11 branches in the UAE | | |like the air port |9 in Dubai | | |27 in Dubai |1 in Al Ain | |. |5 in Abu Dhabi |1 in Sharjah | | |5 in Sharjah | | | |2 in Al Ain | | | |1 in Ajman | | | |1 in Ras Al Khaimah | | |People |-Most of Starbucks employees are educated and special trained |-Staff are well trained to serve customers | | |to work in Starbucks |-Employees are welcoming and friendly dealing with customers | | |-Starbucks apply a friendly polite customer service to comfort |-Coffee Bean apply a great customer service to win the customers | | |it’s customers | | | |. Employees are trained to satisfy customer’s wants by asking | | | |their preferred taste and providing information on each product| | | |plus giving some suggestions | | |Process |Order, pay and get the order |The process of ordering takes normally maximum 4 minutes as branches are| | |This process takes 2 – 3 minutes normally, but in busy branches|usually not too busy | | |customers will have to wait more | | |Physical evidence |-Starbucks apply an international uniform and decoration for |-Coffee Bean apply a relaxing atmosphere for their customers decorating | | |all it’s branches around the world |the branches in light colors like beige and soft music | |. |-Starbucks trade mark is appearing all over the Cafe from the |-Employees working in Coffee Bean, ware practice uniform | | |decoration to the cup of coffee and tissue |-The Coffee Bean logo appears everywhere in the cafe letting the | | |-Starbucks atmosphere is unique and comfy, they provide |customer recognize it | | |customers with different choices of seating from chairs to | | | |couches while playing music that suites different tastes .

Impact of Work-Related Stress, and Treatment

Impact of Work-Related Stress, and Treatment Stress as the modern day back pain Abstract It has been estimated by MIND, the mental health charity, that in excess of five million people in the United Kingdom are suffering such an extreme level of work related stress as to put them at risk of a complete breakdown (cited in Laurence 2005). The pressures on individuals suffering from stress frequently results in them being absent from work although, whilst they remain in work there are effects on the level of accidents and the productivity rates. With the significant financial loss that this gives business, it would be expected that managers are highly proactive in reducing the causes and effects of stress. This report sets out to determine if this is true and to measure people’s knowledge of stress, their awareness of its prevalence and the ways in which it is being controlled. The research suggests that managers have very little knowledge of any of these areas. Despite the increasing level of publicity in both the public and professional press, the problem of stress remains unmonitored and its effects inaccurately measured by the majority of the companies questioned. The guidelines produced by the Health and Safety Executive and the legal requirements under the Health and Safety at Work Act have seemingly had no impact on organisations. Failure to recognise and address the issue of work-related stress will, therefore, lead to it becoming a blight on British industry, being misunderstood, unchecked and poorly measured, as the problem of non-specific back pain was for much of the second half of the last century. The costs of work-related stress are well reported. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reports that over 40 million days a year are lost to British industry because of stress-related problems (Health and Safety Executive 2004). A recent report by the mental health charity, MIND, states that more than five million people in the United Kingdom are suffering such as extreme level of work related stress as to put them at risk of a complete breakdown (cited in Laurence 2005).Their report goes on to say that for every  £10 generated in the economy,  £1 is lost due to stress related issues and that â€Å"less than 10% of companies have a policy to deal with it† (cited in Laurence 2005pg. 16). ACAS report the Health and Safety Executives findings of 1995 that the cost to society of work related stress was  £3.7 billion. Lord Layard reported to a Government seminar more recently that he estimates the current costs to be  £25 billion (cited in Laurence 2005). It is noted that they do not define what is included in these costs. The most recent statistics show that disability claims due to mental and behavioural disorders has risen from 28% of the total claims submitted in 1997, to 37% in 2003 and is expected to continue to rise (Personnel Today magazine 2005). The subject of stress is appearing more often in both the popular press and professional publications. O’Driscoll et al refer to the work offset and Schuler who suggest that there are four main reason for this: â€Å"concern for individual employee health†¦the financial impact on organisations†¦organisational effectiveness and legal obligations on employers to provide safe and healthy work environments† (O’Driscollet al 2002 pg 188). The question remains as to how organisations are monitoring, reducing and managing the stress experienced by their employees and how they can improve in these areas. Literature Review Stress is not a new phenomenon. It was first identified in 1910 by Sir William Osler who identified that some patients appeared to be under strain during medical treatment. In was not until 1936 that a specific definition of stress as a reaction to a demand on a person was reported by Selly (O’Driscoll et al 2002). A major period of research was in the1950s, when Lazarus et al examined the effects of stress on work performance. McGrath noted that stress is due to â€Å"environmental demands exceeding a person’s resources and capacity, when the outcomes are important for the person† (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002 pg 190) and French et al formalised the role of the environment in stress by saying that â€Å"strain can result from the mismatch between the person and the environment on dimensions important to the well-being of the individual† (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002 pg 190). Lazarus continued his work to examine the three phases of cognitive appraisal of stress. He identified that these are primary – the initial reaction to a risk, secondary the assessment of how to overcome the source and reappraisal judging whether or not the reaction to the source of stress was successful (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002). This work was important as it initiated more investigations into coping mechanisms. Behr and Franz’s work differentiated between the concept of stressors as â€Å"the environmental stimulus or event† and strains â€Å"the person’s response to the stimulus or event† (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002 pg192) and this differentiation became and has remained important when looking at how to reduce stress in the workplace (Fontana 1989). It is recognised that stress is a natural aspect of life, but also that work-related stress is becoming global in nature and affects both manual and professional staff in industrialised and developing countries. The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology have measured certain jobs as being prone to more than 6 one stress scale rating of 1 to 10. These include miner, police officer and prison officer (Health and Safety Executive 2004). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the American equivalent of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive. NIOSH is a Federal agency responsible for â€Å"conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related illness and injury†(Saunter et al 1999). Their report, publication number 99-101, cites three statistics to illustrate the problem of work-related stress in the USA. Northwester National Life found that work is the main stressor for a quarter of people, Princeton Survey Research Associates report that three quarters of workers think there is more stress at work than the previous generation experienced and St Paul Fire and Marine Insurance found that health complaints are much more likely to be duet factors associated with work than with family or financial problems(Saunter et al 1999). This leads us to determine the exact nature of stress. Fontana makes the point that it is not so much â€Å"the events that determine whether we’re stressed or not, as our reaction to them†(Fontana 1989 pp. 3). He goes on to call individual’s reaction to potentially stressful situations as a result of their cognitive appraisal of the situation i.e. what one person sees as being stressful, someone else will not. He cites the philosopher, Epictetus, who said â€Å"men are not disquieted by things themselves, but by their idea if things† (Fontana 1989 pg. 63). The Health and Safety Executive echo this view in defining stress as â€Å"the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them† (Sautà © ret al 1999). Similarly, the European Commission’s definition is: â€Å"the emotional, cognitive, behavioural and psychological reaction to aversive and noxious aspects of work, work environments and work organisations. It is a state characterised by high levels of arousal and stress and often by feelings of not coping† (Health and Safety Executive 2004). Selly noted that stress is not always a detrimental emotion. He defined the difference between â€Å"eustress†, which is seen as positive, motivating and challenging circumstances, which give people an opportunity to stretch themselves and achieve self-satisfaction, and â€Å"distress†, which is where people cannot cope (cited in Foot et al1999). Within the human resources professional publications, it is frequently cited that there is no actual definition of stress or its symptoms as it is not a recognised medical term (Personnel Today magazine 2005).However, several writers have described the body’s reaction to stress and the effects it has. Fontana defines stress as the demand on the adaptive capacity of the body and mind and highlights that too little of this demand leads to boredom and under stimulation, whereas too much results in being overstretched and overwhelmed. When faced with a challenge, the natural reaction of the body is that of fight or flight – either standing the ground and confronting the source of the challenge or by strategically withdrawing. This fight or flight reaction is meant to be a short term, immediate reaction to perceived danger as a method of survival. If its allowed to continue, it can have an adverse effect. As Fontana points out, â€Å"our modern society doesn’t usually allow us physically to fight or run away when we face stressors so that we are allowed to relax. We remain in a state of preparedness for action which we aren’t permitted to take† (Fontana 1989 pp. 6). The body’s responses to stress can be divided into four categories. Firstly, several chemicals are released into the bloodstream including adrenalin, no radelin, thyroid hormones and cholesterol. These stimulate the body through increasing the reflex rate and increasing the blood supply and blood sugar levels to increase the metabolism. However, if this increase in metabolism is not dissipated through physical activity, it can increase the likelihood of heart disease, strokes and kidney disease and aggravate diabetes (Fontana 1989). A racing metabolism can lead to tiredness and exhaustion. The second response is the redirection of blood from those organs which can cope with this forth short term, such as the skin and the stomach, to the air passages in the lungs to increase the aeration of the blood to feed the muscles. Again, if this continues over an extended period of time it can resulting digestive problems, bouts of unconsciousness and malfunctions of the body’s natural temperature control mechanism. The third reaction is an increase in concentration abilities. This is caused by the release of endorphins and cortisone which lowers the body’s natural immunity system and decreases the body’s sensitivity to pain. Again, over the long term, this can result in increased susceptibility to infection, ulcers and extreme allergies. Finally, because the blood thickens to accelerate the clotting process in the case of injury, it also becomes more difficult to move round the body, putting pressure on the heart and possibly leading to heart disease and str okes (Fontana 1989). The phenomenon of â€Å"burn out† is described by Malachi as the state where â€Å"emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation of others in the work context, and feelings of low personal accomplishment on the job† lead to an inability to function in the work environment (cited in O’Driscoll teal 2002 pg. 202) and is seen as the end result of unchecked stress. The causes of stress may come from several sources. Work is seen by many as being a primary source. General organisational problems include insufficient or poorly communicated process and procedures, unclear roles and responsibilities and a lack of basic tools and facilities. A lack of support functions which are often viewed as non-essential, not only increases the workload of individuals who have to do more in their day-to-day activities, but can also lead to feelings of worthlessness. The increased tendency to long or unsociable hours can not only affect the body’s natural circadian rhythm, but can make it difficult to establish and maintain those things which people find help to diffuse their stress e.g. relationships and hobbies. Lack of prospects in apposition can be stressful, although, as will be discussed later, thesis not the case for everyone. A lack of job security is seen as an initiator of stress and becomes particularly significant during a time of change when other stressor may be encountered such as having to alter established work routines and methods. Apart from these general organisational problems, there are a whole host of specific conditions which lead to high levels of stress (Fontana 1989). NIOSH summarise these as: â€Å"the design of tasks, management style, interpersonal relationships, work roles, career concerns and environmental conditions† (cited in Saunter et al 1999). NIOSH relate a list of eighteen work-related areas that can produce stress (cited in Saunter teal 1999). These are referred to in more depth later in the report. What also needs to be taken into account are the sources of stress outside the workplace which lead to the symptoms being displayed whilst artwork. These include domestic problems and also more deeply seated psychological issues such as obsessionality, sensation seeking and over-identification (Fontana 1989). It has been suggested that certain personality types are more susceptible to stress. Commonly used is the distinction between Type And Type B people, as initially defined by Cooper and Bram well (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002). Fontana describes this distinction impersonality types as being generally accepted by psychologists and medical doctors. A Type A person displays the characteristics of competitiveness, impatience and inflexibility. They work better when given tough deadlines and will tend to take a leadership role. They set themselves high standards to achieve and our highly self-critical if they don’t achieve them. Although Fontana does not provide details, he claims that Type A people are more likely to develop heart disease and high blood pressure. He goes on to suggest that Type A people are more likely to be susceptible to stress as they are highly competitive and â€Å"mobilised almost permanently for action† (Fontana 1989 pg. 72). Other writers, Gangster and Schaubroeck 1991, Haskins, Baglioni and Cooper1990 and Froggatt and Cotton, all cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002,debate whether Type A people are subject to increased stress because they put themselves in more situations that can be deemed as being stressful because of their competitive nature, or that they are more likely to experience stress in any given situation NIOSH report that whilst some employers believe that remain competitive in the economy, organisations need to exert pressure on their employees to maximise productivity and reduce costs, research shows that organisational performance is adversely impacted by th e increase absenteeism, error rates and poor motivation. Similarly, they have found that those organisations that incorporate policies that encourage good health in employees showed a corresponding healthiness in their competitiveness in the economy (cited in Saunter et al 1999). This differentiation as to the relative importance of environmental factors over personality traits has remained an important factor in stress research and, consequently, the approaches to managing stress in the workplace. Ivancevich et al suggest three approaches to managing organisational stress. These are: â€Å"reduce the number or intensity of stressors experienced by employees, help employees modify their appraisal of the stressfulness of the situation or help employees in coping more effectively with stressors and their consequences† (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002 pg 213). Kahn and Bossier, 1992, identified that the majority of action taken in relation to stress occurred at the second level i.e. involved in changing the way people viewed stressful situations through training and employee assistance programmes (EAPs),rather than trying to remove the actual source of the strain (cited in O’Driscoll et al 2002 pg 213). O’Driscoll (2002) argues that the evidence for the effectiveness of these programmes is limited and that there are questionable benefits to training employees to be able to cope with poor working conditions or practices. Despite this, NIOSH report that nearly half of large companies in the United Sates offer stress management training to their employees, usually involving such topics as time management and relaxation techniques. They point out that these types of interventions have only a short-term effect on the symptoms of stress as well as emphasising the need to alleviate the root causes of the stress (cited in Saunter et al 1999). Elkin and Rosh have put forward a number of actions that could be taken to resolve the stress at source. These include task redesign, allowing flexible work patterns, empowerment of employees and reviewing reward systems to ensure they are equitable. Evaluations of these interventions are reported by O’Driscoll as being positive, but he goes on to emphasise that their use has been limited (O’Driscoll et al2002). Burke noted that the â€Å"removal or reduction of stressors is the most direct way to reduce stress since it deals with the source† (Burke1993 pg. 85). Whilst he does concede that â€Å"these approaches may entail immediate costs for the organisation†, he also notes that â€Å"these will be offset by long-term benefits not only for individual employees but also the organisation as a whole† (Burke 1993 pg. 85). NIOSH recommends combined approach, as even if the causes of stress for the majority of employees were removed, because of individual appraisal of stressors, it would be impossible to remove them all. They also emphasise the need for the size and nature of the organisation to be taken into consideration, as what is possible and desirable for a large multinational may not be appropriate or practical for a small enterprise (cited in Saunter et al 1999). NIOSH identify that the three main factors required for an individual to be able to â€Å"reduce the effects of stressful work conditions† are: â€Å"balance between work and family or personal life, a support network of friends and co-workers and a relaxed and positive outlook† (cited insurer et al 1999). They also advocate a basic programme to initiate actress prevention programme. This involves awareness building for all employees, securing the support and commitment of the senior management team, seeking an utilising employee input to all areas of the programme and ensuring the technical skills of stress management are incorporated through training specific employees of using the resources of consultants. They see employee involvement as being particularly useful when looking at the job design causes of stress and the employee have first-hand knowledge of the tasks (cited in Saunter et al 1999). The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations of 1999 made employers legally bound to undertake risk assessments in the workplace to identify the potential hazards and to take measures to reduce them. Within the definition of potential hazards was stress. As there remained some confusion as tithe nature and causes of stress, the HSE developed a series of standards to be used by employers to identify and manage the key causes of stress at work. These are: â€Å"the demands made on employees, the level of control employees have over their work, the support employees receive from managers and colleagues, the organisational policies in place, the clarity of the employees role within the organisation, the nature of relationships at work and the way that change is managed†(ACAS 2004). In the second half of the last century, a common problem for businesses was the amount of absence from work due to no specific back pain. As it’s difficult to prove that someone is not suffering from back pain, concerns existed as to how it could be controlled. It is suggested that, not only may work-related stress take this position as the main cause of absence from work, but also that the two conditions are related. Occupational Health magazine has reported the findings of research which indicates that musculo skeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most common symptoms of stress (Occupational Health 2004). It is suggested that the rise in incapacity benefit claims related to mental or behavioural problems is directly linked to the decrease in claims for back problems and this is due to doctors being more likely to diagnose mental problems as they have less of a stigma than previously for patients. It is therefore possible, that there has been no actual increase in the amount of stress related illness, rather that it is now called that whereas previously people reported one of the symptom of stress which was back pain (Personnel Today magazine 2005). The difficulties in determining whether a reported illness is merely symptom of the deeper underlying problem of stress leads to questions being raised as to amount of stress experienced by today’s workers. Charlesworth (1984) suggests that â€Å"as many as 75% of all medical complaints are stress related† in the United States. Methodolgy The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first section was asked only of those in senior management positions such as general managers and personnel managers. This was done to determine organisational policies, procedures and measurement of stress. The second set of questions was asked of everybody and included the senior managers so that the effects of stress on them could also be measured. The questionnaire was sent out to variety of business types including catering, production and financial services. The objective was to gain an overall view of the effects of stress on businesses, not to concentrate on those industries which have been classed as particularly stressful as this would have given a distorted view. A limitation of this approach is noted however, as being that some of the respondents indicated low levels of stress or no stress at all and may have therefore been unable to answer all the questions from personal experience. The main objective of the questionnaire was to collect information on the effects of stress in the workplace, the cost of stress and the benefits of a stress free environment. The questionnaire included admixture of quantitative questions to determine factual information and qualitative questions to collect opinions. As the research did not want to suggest answers to the respondents, all the questions were asked aspen questions. Providing multiple-choice answers may have had detrimental effects on the replies received, as it would provide options the respondent may not have considered. However, it is accepted that there may have been an effect in that people did not realise that point was relevant. For example, in the question regarding the symptoms of stress, the respondents might not consider backache unless it was suggested to them. Two exceptions to this were question nine in the manager’s questionnaire and question eight in the general questionnaire which examined the respondents views on the sources of work-related stress given by NIOSH (cited in Salter et al 1999). The replies given to all the other questions were then categorised byte writer. When collating the replies on managing stress, the guidelines set out by the Health and Safety Executive were used and the writer determined which category the answer came under (demands, support, control, policies, role and change). It is accepted that this was a potential weakness in this part of the questionnaire as it was based on the writer’s opinion. The questionnaire was distributed in a postal format to non-senior managers following personal visits to the organisations to conduct separate survey with the senior managers and to gain their consent. Whilst this method has benefits in that respondents would be more likely to be honest as the replies were anonymous (except for those in specific management positions), there are also drawbacks in that a low response rate was expected. To overcome this, the number of questionnaires sent out allowed a population sample of one hundred tube expected with a return rate of 20%. The actual number returned was seventy-five. The questionnaire was conducted on a face-to-face basis for the management roles, as it was important that their questionnaires were returned to provide important information as to policies and procedures. This resulted in a 100% return rate of management surveys. The responses from the general questionnaire were subdivided into those from management and non-management with the supervisors being defined as managers. This allowed better analysis of the results. Where appropriate, it is indicated whether the respondents were manual workers, office based and/or customer facing as this is seen as being relevant to the research. As stated earlier, as the purpose of the research was not to determine which job sectors are more stressful, the results do not differentiate between organisations. Questionaire Managers 1. What do you understand by the word â€Å"stress†? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents An inability to cope with something that causes panic 4 31 Anxiety 5 38 Fear of failure or not being able to continue 7 54 Depression 2 15 When you have too much to do and not enough time or resources to do it 8 62 When you cannot remain rationale about a situation 2 15 Losing control 1 8 Don’t know 0 0 2. What causes stress? Answer Number of respondents % of respondents Too much to do and not enough time to do it 6 46 Different things for different people 4 31 Don’t know 2 15 Other 1 8 3. What would indicate to you that an employee is suffering from work related stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Through being absent and giving stress as the cause 10 77 They would submit a grievance 1 8 They would tell their manager 1 8 Other 0 0 Don’t know 1 8 4. Do you or your organisation, actively measure stress levels amongst your employees, and if yes, how? Answer Number of respondents Percept of respondents Absenteeism reported as due to stress 10 77 Performance measures 1 8 Combination of these 1 8 Do not actively measure 1 8 5. How do you evaluate the success of any interventions to reduce stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Look for a reduction in absenteeism with stress given as the reason 12 92 Don’t measure 0 0 Staff surveys 1 8 Don’t know 0 0 6. Where is the emphasis of your efforts to manage stress Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Reducing or eliminating the causes of stress 1 8 Helping employees to modify their appraisal of the stressfulness of situations 0 0 Helping employees in coping more effectively with stressors and their consequences 2 15 Managing attendance issues 8 60 None of these 0 0 No effort 0 0 Don’t know 2 15 7. How do you balance people’s needs for challenge and achievement under pressure with ensuring they are able to cope? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents By setting realistic targets 9 69 By allowing people to work at a rate they feel comfortable with 0 0 By asking them 0 0 By identifying when stress occurs and reducing it 2 15 Bu setting consistent expectations 2 15 Other 0 0 Don’t know 0 0 8. What do you feel are the main causes of stress in life in general? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Financial problems 10 77 Relationship problems 6 46 Peer pressure 2 15 Work 3 25 Traffic 7 54 Concerns over the environment 3 25 Concerns over politics 4 30 Concerns over war or terrorist attacks 4 30 Concerns over family members 9 75 Don’t know 0 0 9. Which of the following factors do you believe cause stress to your employees in your workplace? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Workload – too much or not enough 2 15 Pace/variety/meaningfulness of work 6 46 Autonomy 2 15 Shift work/hours of work 3 23 Physical environment (noise/air quality etc.) 2 15 Isolation at the workplace (e.g. working alone) 0 0 Role conflict 0 0 Role ambiguity 0 0 Level of responsibility 0 0 Under/over promotion 0 0 Job security 0 0 Supervisors 0 0 Co-workers 0 0 Subordinates 0 0 Threat of violence 0 0 Participation in decision making 0 0 Management style 0 0 Communication patterns 0 0 None of these 0 0 10. What are your legal obligations in terms of identifying and managing work-related stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents There aren’t any 7 54 Comes under HASAW Act 2 15 Have to complete risk assessments which includes assessing possible sources of risk 1 8 Other 0 0 Don’t know 3 23 11. What are the HSE standards that organisations should use to identify and manage stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Don’t know 13 100 Could name all six 0 0 Could name five 0 0 Could name four 0 0 Could name three 0 0 Could name two 0 0 Could name one 0 0 12. What actions do you take under each of the HSE standards: Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Demands 7 54 Support 6 46 Control 4 31 Policies 7 54 Role 0 0 Change 5 38 Other 0 0 Don’t know 0 0 a. demands – ensuring employees do not become overloaded and unable to cope with the amount of work they are asked to do (job design, flexible hours and training) b. support – management style and degree of intervention c. control – allowing employees to have input into how they complete their tasks d. relationships – personnel policies on grievance, poor performance etc. e. role induction, objectives f. change – managing change 13. How would one of your employees alert management if they were experiencing work-related stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Through grievance procedure 8 62 During appraisal 7 54 Through formal representatives e.g. union of employee consultative committee 4 31 Would just say 0 0 Don’t know 0 0 Other 0 0 14. What are the symptoms of stress? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Being absent from work 4 31 Panicking 4 31 Nervousness 2 15 Heart problems 1 8 Crying 7 54 Alcohol and drug use 6 46 Accidents in the workplace 1 8 Don’t know 0 0 Other 15. What is the absence rate in your organisation? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents 0 – 2% 7 69 2 – 4% 5 8 4 – 6% 0 8 6 8% 1 15 Don’t know 0 0 16. What percentage of this absence level is due to stress related illnesses? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Less than 10% 9 69 More than 10% but less than 30% 1 8 More than 30% but less than 50% 1 8 More than 50% but less than 75% 2 15 More than 75% 0 0 Don’t know 8 62 17. What is the financial impact of stress in your workplace? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Calculated the same as any absence from work 13 100 Don’t measure 0 0 Don’t know 0 0 18. What do you include when you measure the financial impact of stress which you do not include when measuring the cost of other reasons for absenteeism: Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Reduced productivity 0 0 Employee turnover 0 0 Absenteeism 0 0 Medical costs 0 0 Recruitment 0 0 Use of temporary staff 0 0 Retraining costs 0 0 Loss of production 0 0 Poor customer service 0 0 None 13 100 19. Which level of employee do you feel is more susceptible to stress in your organisation? Answer Number of respondents Percentage of respondents Senior managers only 0 0 Blue collar workers only 3 23 Middle managers only 0 0 All management levels 8 62 Everyone is equally susceptible 2 15 Don’t know 0 0 20. What type of

My Father Was a Paradox Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about my fa

I'll miss my father, I already miss him, greatly... I'll miss his stories, his laughter, the fire of his opinions, and especially the quiet strength of him. Yet, I think it's one of the truths of the world that the people we miss the most are also the ones that we can't miss, because we carry so much of them with us. My father was something of a paradox. On the one hand he stands out in my mind for his stories, his wit, and the fire of his opinions. Anyone who's argued with him, and that's quite a few of us, knew that he had strong opinions and argued them with zeal. On the other hand, at the same time, he was a quiet man, who kept a lot of what he felt on the inside, someone who taught more by example than by lecture. Did he believe that there was something for us after death? I don't really know. I asked him about God and the after life years ago. He explained to me what agnosticism meant to him, that you could never really know, a... ...ver really miss him. He's in everything I do, and everything I am. If you ever need a story about him just ask... Or hang around a bit, they burst out on their own. One of the last full sentences he ever said to me was that he ought to go off and "set old Bill Shakespeare right on a few things." Somehow, I expect that Bill's now learning what a lot of us know, what an experience it is to know my father. And his stories will never be the same again.

Theres a Stranger in my Words :: Creative Writing Essays

There's a Stranger in my Words As I sit here and stare at the Mac I wonder who sits at my back? If they knew what I write Would they curse me and bite Or start up some verbal attack? Well, as I walk through the swirling, smoke filled sky of the Hagg-Sauer doorway, squeezing my eyes shut against the reflected sunlight, I thought about how I would approach this project. How to say what I need to say, without saying it in a way that has been said a thousand times, in a million-million words. The voices in my head struggle to escape to the paper, but there's this thing in between my thoughts and your eyes...my mind. Language that I would _never_ actually use in speaking to someone seems to just flow, driven by some primal "college survival" instinct, from my fingertips when I sit down at the word-hatcher with an assignment in hand. This has become a real dilemma, as I now struggle for true expression and attempt to beat back the demons of 15 years worth of practice at the 'official style' of writing. _I feel that I have become quite well adapted to writing the language which has become the "common coin of the realm" at colleges and Universities._ I could sit here and write puffed up, stagnant, and wordy paragraph after paragraph, and still hold the interest of many of my instructors. But that is not my desire...I seek to free my muse from the shackles of formulae, the bondage of format, and the unrelenting ambiguity of "the same old stuff." When does your _voice_, that engaging part of your writing which bridges topic and audience, become sensible and engaging? Is it when you _feel it_ working, when the point seems to be making its way onto the page or screen in front of you? Does it depend more on the person reading the thing you gave them? If this is true, then our discussion begins to degenerate into the absurd... If the success of my writing comes from you, the reader, then I can never be sure of its effectiveness before talking to you about it, can I? And if this is the case, then maybe it is best that there _is_ a fixed format to write into with college work. Pigeon holes, indeed! And yet, when the smoke clears and the debris is swept away, sometimes I feel that the real me, my thoughts and feelings, come through onto the page.

Pro Legalization of Euthanasia Essay -- Argument for Euthanasia

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast, my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws, you lay me in the dust of death (Psalm 22) Some might say euthanasia is wrong, it is murder, it is an inhumane act. But is it not inhumane to see another person’s unbearable suffering and not release them when they long to be released? Is it not cruel to watch a person in a vegetative state, with no brainwaves showing, fed by a machine, â€Å"breathing† with the help of a machine and not let them be liberated from their pain? Prolonging one’s suffering when an easier, more painless way out is possible is not â€Å"the right thing to do†. Giving the person the choice of release is. Euthanasia is. What is euthanasia? The basic definition of euthanasia is the practice of ending a life so as to release an individual from a painful, incurable disease or intolerable suffering. There are said to be two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive euthanasia is â€Å"stopping (or not starting) some treatment which allows a person to die, the persons condition causes his or her death† (Mackinnon, 12). An example would be â€Å"withdrawing a respirator or feeding tube† (Landau, 80). â€Å"Passive euthanasia is a brutal death. Allowing someone to starve to death and die of thirst, the way we do now, is barbaric†. â€Å"That’s what the Nazis did in the concentration camps† (quoted in Manipulating Life, 33). Active euthanasia on the other hand is an act of â€Å"merciful killing†. It is defined as â€Å"The act of administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a persons death† in case of incurable terminal illness (MacKinnon, 126). Euthanasia is... ...hical Choices in an American Hospital, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Landau, Elaine, The Right to Die, Franklin Watts, USA, 1988 MacKinnon, Barbara. Euthanasia, Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, second edition. Wadworth Publishing Co 1998. McCuen, Gary E., Manipulating life: debating the genetic Revolution Gary E. McCuen Publication, Inc, 1985 Report of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association. (Transcript), v10, Issues in Law & Medicine, summer, 1994, p 81-90 Thomas A. Shannon, Bioethics: basic writing on the key ethical questions that surround the major, modern biological possibilities and problems, Third Edition, New Jersey, 1987 Varga, Andrew C. The Main Issues in Bioethics. Paulist Press, 1980 Hollard, Ninnet B. Controversy: Shall It Be Legal? www.freeesays.com/topic/PAS_47A/Middles_pon_1/controversy5/ Pro Legalization of Euthanasia Essay -- Argument for Euthanasia I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast, my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws, you lay me in the dust of death (Psalm 22) Some might say euthanasia is wrong, it is murder, it is an inhumane act. But is it not inhumane to see another person’s unbearable suffering and not release them when they long to be released? Is it not cruel to watch a person in a vegetative state, with no brainwaves showing, fed by a machine, â€Å"breathing† with the help of a machine and not let them be liberated from their pain? Prolonging one’s suffering when an easier, more painless way out is possible is not â€Å"the right thing to do†. Giving the person the choice of release is. Euthanasia is. What is euthanasia? The basic definition of euthanasia is the practice of ending a life so as to release an individual from a painful, incurable disease or intolerable suffering. There are said to be two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive euthanasia is â€Å"stopping (or not starting) some treatment which allows a person to die, the persons condition causes his or her death† (Mackinnon, 12). An example would be â€Å"withdrawing a respirator or feeding tube† (Landau, 80). â€Å"Passive euthanasia is a brutal death. Allowing someone to starve to death and die of thirst, the way we do now, is barbaric†. â€Å"That’s what the Nazis did in the concentration camps† (quoted in Manipulating Life, 33). Active euthanasia on the other hand is an act of â€Å"merciful killing†. It is defined as â€Å"The act of administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a persons death† in case of incurable terminal illness (MacKinnon, 126). Euthanasia is... ...hical Choices in an American Hospital, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Landau, Elaine, The Right to Die, Franklin Watts, USA, 1988 MacKinnon, Barbara. Euthanasia, Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, second edition. Wadworth Publishing Co 1998. McCuen, Gary E., Manipulating life: debating the genetic Revolution Gary E. McCuen Publication, Inc, 1985 Report of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association. (Transcript), v10, Issues in Law & Medicine, summer, 1994, p 81-90 Thomas A. Shannon, Bioethics: basic writing on the key ethical questions that surround the major, modern biological possibilities and problems, Third Edition, New Jersey, 1987 Varga, Andrew C. The Main Issues in Bioethics. Paulist Press, 1980 Hollard, Ninnet B. Controversy: Shall It Be Legal? www.freeesays.com/topic/PAS_47A/Middles_pon_1/controversy5/