Mise-En-Scene in Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver is about Travis Bickle, a â€Å"sick† taxi driver who is both a prophet and/or a mad man. We are never allowed to know what the movie itself thinks of him, we are never told to love him or hate him and the movie never states whether he is ethically right or wrong. This movie is not about the answers to the problems of the society. It is just about the questions and unknowns. It is just an interesting journey in the modern society that could make people discuss about Travis hours and hours. Talking with other people, I was amazed how people can think of him in different ways. Some say he is â€Å"sick†, some say he is their â€Å"prophet†. The fast cuts in the editing (when he practices with the guns) make us enter in his state of mind. But also, some long takes force us to analyze and understand what happened (Very high-angle takes that Scorsese calls â€Å"Priest shots† after the massacre. ). The movie switches dynamically between these styles, which leaves the audience an infinite ways of thinking about the Travis. This is beyond doubt not a journey like Odysseus where the hero always moves forward. In Taxi Driver the hero's journey is always around the same circle. He does not meet any new people or experience new situations. Same people turn around him, or maybe he turns around the same people and he repeatedly recognizes similar concepts in them. In a realistic movie the fact that he meets with those people so many times and in so many different places would be a mistake. However, this is not a realistic movie. Palantine who was already around him (thanks to the posters and Betsy) gets into his car (which is highly unlikely to happen); he sees Iris in many different unrelated places (three times); Scorsese appears in the movie twice (the unknown one of these is in the scene where we first see Betsy. He is also watching her in the back. ). Also different people reminds him of similar concepts: Betsy and Iris are both woman who are to be saved from the lives they are stuck in, and he sees many different people who cannot communicate with him. This circle with Travis in its center is also represented in the camera movements: either the camera is traveling around him or it is panning to show the panorama of the New York life through his eyes. Moreover, in two different scenes the camera and Travis make the other 180 degrees of the circle and meet at the same place. These formal elements help us understand and feel how Travis is also encircled and alone in that sick world. The fact that this is not a realistic movie is also proved by some of the elements in the narrative. First of all, Travis is described as someone who never sleeps, and we really never see him sleeping. Secondly, the time gaps between the shots (sometimes a week, or maybe a month: after he first signs up for the job, the next shot is in his apartment, and he describes his daily routine. ) also prove that this is a stylized movie. Lastly, although he is almost illiterate (- Education? – Yes, some, you know, here and there! ), he has a diary and we hear him telling us what he is writing. He sometimes even becomes poetic. All of these are almost implausible for an ordinary taxi driver. As a final point about the realism, I think the appearance of Scorsese himself is to remind us that â€Å"this is just a movie† and that we should not get into the story too much. I think he appears at a very important point, when everything starts to boil and the audience risks to be caught in Travis' delirium too much. Travis' alienation and loneliness is one of the most underlined ideas in the movie. Even when he is with other people he is very seldom shown as having a real communication with them. One very interesting shot is when he first sits in the cafe with his friends. He sits on the other side of the table and they are on the other sides of the frame. They seem like they are very far apart from each other. Also, when Travis talks with other people (except Iris and Betsy) he never looks at them. There are even some shots where we see what he is looking at, which shows his disconnection with those people. Naturally, for a person so disconnected to the society â€Å"exchanges† are very important. It could be an exchange of a gun or a paper or feelings. Scorsese emphasizes these using some unusual high angles, looking at the action from above. It happens four times in the movie: in the taxi office, in the movie theater, in the gun exchange, and most importantly when he first declares his love to Betsy in the campaign headquarters. In the last one, there is only a shot of the desk from above and the camera is panning in a strange way with no obvious reason. However, we know from the two other scenes that this shot underlines the â€Å"real exchange† of feelings between Travis and Betsy. Furthermore, in one of the best shots of the movie, after his useless and empty talk with Wizard the camera just stands and watches his cab going away and fading in the streets while Wizard is looking at him. The scene announces his detachment from the people and the society. As Taxi Driver is not moving forward as a movie, there is no reason for an obvious change in style. The dizziness of the colors and the fact that the background is often out-of-focus in the whole movie reminds us that there is no way to see the society in a sharper way and finding solutions. We are almost lost in it. Very shiny colors, especially reds, blues and greens, form the main palette of the movie. However, there are some slight changes of colors. For example, in the scenes where he continues his relationship with Betsy, a peaceful green dominates the screen. In the scenes leading to the final massacre, red becomes the leading and threatening color. Again, after that, green again becomes the main color as the scenes have a feeling of calm in them. Moreover, the Sport's street is darker than many of the places in the movie suggesting a mystical feeling, which prepares us to the climax that happens there. Other important things I want to note about the mise-en-scene are the costumes and the hairs. Travis often changes the way he is dressed and his hairstyle according to the situation. He becomes a very nice-looking guy when he is going to meet with Iris or Betsy. He wears his nice shirts brushes his hair. When he is going to show his anger or his dark side he either wears his marine or leather coat and leaves his hair as it is or even, at the end, shaves it. These changes show the instability of his personality and the two opposite characters of Travis Bickle, a prophet and a sick guy. When he looks nice, we tend to like him; when he looks crazy, we are afraid. Furthermore, the costumes and the hairstyles help Scorsese call attention to one of the most important parallelisms of the Taxi Driver that I already mentioned. Betsy often wears red clothes as Iris does when they meet with Travis. In addition, they are both blondes. That forces us to understand the parallelism between them; according to Travis they are both to be saved from the lives they are stuck in. The climax of the film is obviously the massacre as it is probably the most intense and shocking scene of the film. It is shot and edited as if it was a dream and we are never sure whether it really happens or whether it is just Travis' imagination. The only thing we know for sure is that it is the explosion of his unexpressed feelings toward the society and the manifestation of his hate against the people. The use of red and some unusual high angles stress the dreamy quality of the scene. Sport's reappearance and Travis' survival despite the shot that just missed his throat are out of our worst nightmares. Again, Scorsese does not expect us to believe in it. He just wants us to meditate in what happened. The following scenes also have the same dreamy mood. The greens dominate the night scenes and an interesting peacefulness is expressed with the very slow panning of camera and the tender voice of Iris' father. Also the fact that Travis got away without going into prison and Betsy's way of looking that shows her admiration for him make the scene seem like a wonderful dream. At the very end, although Travis is again driving the car, his face is lightened very strongly in a way we are not used to in the movie (It was always dark! ). Is he enlightened? Is he a prophet? However, suddenly, something happens and his face seems red in the mirror, but he fixes it. Is he a lunatic? Is he dead or dreaming? You won't find the answer to these questions in this movie.

Benjamin Franklin the printer

Of the writing of books, there is no end (Ecclesiastes 12. 12b, New International Version) so the holy bible says and this is no more true than in the case of Benjamin Franklin the printer, a printer, politician, scientist and one of the founding fathers of the United states of America. As such, history writers have always depicted him – as with most other historical figures of note – as a larger than life figure.In this account, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S.   Wood, Benjamin is portrayed as a normal human being with flaws like all other persons, one with lots of clashing views on accepted norms of the day and who always sought to improve himself not by striving against the odds but by remodeling himself as appropriate in order to ensure balance and order in his life and this attribute may be considered one that earns him the phrase â€Å"the man with many masks. † In this account, Gordon has tried to bring forth the true Benjamin as he is not depicted by most other writer.Though not very conclusive on his private life and affairs, it still does shed more light on the kind of man Benjamin was especially the principles of life that he held and how if circumstances demanded he would be flexible in his ways to achieve these life goals. Key among them was frugality and hard work which he preached to all who cared to listen and also practiced from an early age as can be seen by his apprenticeship and eventual elopement and setting up of his own printing press.Gordon as such then depicts Benjamin as most historians have; the virtuous man we have always been made to think Benjamin was. In the day and age when a father’s love was mostly to his first born son, Benjamin did not enjoy much attention from his father and this may have led to his character of not revealing much about who he really was and coming from a Puritanism family he also can have acquired the self enlightenment trait which caused him to have and ho ld his own opinion on almost every other norm of that day.In this way, Benjamin would be portrayed as an individual who driven by prior lack tries to right things so as to satisfy an emptiness within himself which is an aspect not seen in other works about him. Reading through the book for anyone not necessarily a fan of Benjamin Franklin or colonial history, this book stirs in one a deeper desire to get to know this man how he lived his life and how this impacted on life and politics of the day and future- our present generation. Not being a critic of Benjamin, Gordon merely pierces the veil on who Benjamin really was and this account written in real life can be considered a worth having book.Simple in plot and easy to follow plot, one is able to visualize Franklin as he was and also answer questions about him that are otherwise obscured in the mythological figure that he has been turned into. Raised in a lowly family of a soap and candle making father, Benjamin’s impoverish ed childhood and adolescence, stirred in him â€Å"an anger† with the wealthy for their seemingly easy life and mannerism, this in itself spurred his ambition to rise from a commoner into a gentleman so as to be able to pursue his other interests; social advocacy and science.The book gives an explanation about how this persona grew and why it grew. Franklin is seen as the man of his age who rose from a nobody, into a self-made â€Å"gentleman†, a leading diplomat and scientist revered by all especially in Europe where he served his diplomatic duties. Through sheer hard work, frugality in spending and cultivation of important friends, he was able to amass enough wealth by age 42 (in 1748) to retire from business and begin pursuing his other desires.It is during this period while pursuing one of his desires – serving the public good- that he was sent to England to represent the American colonies interests to the British that a transformation began to occur. Wood e xposes Benjamin as an ardent supporter of the Royal British Crown, who could not envisage an independent colony free of control from the king and who thought of the king as being wisdom itself and more humane than the parliament of the day.He cherished the thought of a unified â€Å"†¦glorious English empire†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but this began to change from 1765 when parliament imposed the stamp act, one which he strongly opposed, on the colonies. At home, Benjamin was seen to be part of it by recommending a friend as stamp distributor for Pennsylvania an action he quickly regretted and made him champion the repeal of the act – this act earned him repute at home but enemies in England – and opened his eyes to the colonies increasing resistance to crown control.It also reinforced his increasing discontent with England and marked the completion of his Americanization. He henceforth became a supporter of the revolution demanding independence from England. Back home in 177 5 after completing his tour in England, Franklin was appointed as ambassador of the American colony to France a country he had in his earlier years fought against during the seven year’s war. His handling of his country’s affairs in France: securing their support in the revolution war against England reveals his diplomatic and charming traits.He was able to make many friends and his reputation as a true American was more upheld by these new friends mostly the French who helped create the mythical figure we today know of Benjamin Franklin. This made Franklin indispensable to the success of the emerging young American nation in Europe. Woods shows that Franklin as an individual who could easily take a situation and use it to achieve his goals. In France, the French believing he was a Quaker, he played the part so well to continually reaffirm this held belief and thus to them he was a symbol of republican simplicity – an ends to a good in Franklins view.His Poor Ri chard’s Almanac was considered to true a moral philosophy by the French that they deemed him as a symbol of true democracy, an image they helped create and propagate and one still held by today’s America. Though wood does not elaborate on it, we may never know for sure if this was Franklin’s intention or just a happenstance that he just rode on to achieve his goals. On the issue of principle, Wood does depict Benjamin as a puritan who strongly upheld and advocated principle.He shows Franklin as an individual who was consistent in thought but also explores instances where due to circumstances around him, Franklin had to change his view even though his fundamental principles remained unchanged. This Wood has expertly brought out in a way that apart from showing Franklin’s strong and flexible character also reveals though just a bit, his ability to switch masks quickly and play the new role with perfection and zeal unimaginable.Finally, towards the end of hi s life, Franklin a former slaveholder despised and strongly fought against owning slaves preferring personal hard work as a source of satisfaction and thus helping change the view of social mobility and dignity of manual labor among the Americans later on after his death. Wood doesn’t claim to be exhaustive about Franklin in this account but does delve a lot into his professional life exposing the man we think we know in new light that most of us do not know but still seeming to revere him as a true American, indeed as â€Å"the first American†.Benjamin Franklin still remains difficult a subject to understand but his life does serve as a valuable teaching tool as well as a reference point for most of the political and day to day life of America, the symbol of true capitalism with its goods but minus its evils. An imperialist turned patriot, scientist, inventor, businessman, politician; Franklin still had a social and private life which is not well explored and explaine d as much in depth as his public life in this account.In conclusion, this account provides the reader with a true insight of who Benjamin Franklin was without all the mythical nature we have always been taught to believe of him. Room still exists for further exposition of Benjamin Franklin but this account can be considered to be among the best in demystifying Benjamin and exposing him as human and wrought with shortcomings which he did not allow to peg him down but used them to move on.He himself acknowledged his shortcomings and did not try to prove to be above or better than others but extolled the adherence to trying to live a principled life above all else. It is an interesting and enlightening read worth anyone interested in learning more about the founding fathers and colonial America. ? References Wood G. S. , (2004). The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. New York, NY: penguin publishers

Accused of witchcraft Essay Example for Free

Accused of witchcraft Essay The Crucible (395) , John Proctor (276) , Mary Warren (139) , Elizabeth Proctor (106) , Witch (2) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints ? Parris : Why not? Now there are no spirits attacking her, for none in this room is accused of witchcraft. So let her turn herself cold now, let her pretend she is attacked now, let her faint. (He turns to Mary Warren.) Faint!  Act 3, Page 85  This is when the court first has the idea of getting Mary to prove the other girls are frauds by getting her to pretend to faint. She will not because she is afraid of what the girls will do to her. Or cannot, for fear of the court  This is one of the highest points of tension in the whole play because everything and everyone is focused on Mary, relying on her in one way or another to either tell the truth or to lie. But there is so much pressure on Mary that she can’t say anything. The pressure builds and builds until Mary cracks then Abigail launches a perfectly timed attack. Just when people are confused about whom to believe Abigail turns on Mary and makes them believe her.  The girls turning on Mary is a dramatically effective part in act three. This is because when the girls turn on Mary you feel sorry for her due to the fact she is torn between telling the truth to the court or joining the girls again to prevent them from accusing her.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?† Danforth, Act 3, Page 87  When Danforth asks her this question Mary snaps and pushes herself away from Proctor.  Mary Warren, Act 3, page 88  This is when Mary’s delicate relationship with Proctor breaks down and she will no longer cover for him and put herself at risk from being accused by the rest of the girls.  Abigail : (Looking about the air, clasping her arms about her as though cold): I – I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come. (Her eyes fall on Mary Warren.)  Mary : (Terrified, pleading): Abby!  Mercy : (Shivering): Your Honour, I freeze! Proctor : They’re pretending!  Hathorne : (Touching Abigail’s hand): She is cold Your Honour, touch her!  Mercy : (Through chattered teeth ): Mary, Do you send this shadow on me?  Act 3, Page 87  This is when the girls first start to turn on Mary, she is a very fragile person and when they start to turn on her she doesn’t know what to do. She was used to pointing the finger of accusation not having it pointed at her and on her own she can’t cope. So she betrays the truth and goes back to the safety of the girls and being the accuser not the accused. Mary finally breaks down and accuses Proctor of witchcraft. Fearful for her own life, Mary realizes that the only way to save herself is to accuse Proctor of coercing her into attempting to overthrow the court. In this case the accusation contains some truth: Proctor did force Mary Warren into testifying, yet in this case the purpose is to promote true justice rather than to dispute it.  Elizabeth lying to protect Proctor is a dramatically effective part in act three because there is a lot of tension when Elizabeth is brought into the court. Miller uses dramatic irony when Elizabeth doesn’t know that Proctor has confessed to lechery and that they are testing her to see if Proctor was telling the truth. Elizabeth doesn’t know that it is Abigail that is being tried and so she lies to protect her husband but in fact by lying she is in the eyes of the court proving that her husband is a liar. Miller uses the frustration of Proctor as his wife is lying but there is no way he can tell her that by trying to protect him she is actually getting him into more trouble â€Å"Look at me, to your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery! (In a crisis of indecision she cannot speak.) Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!†Ã‚  Danforth, Act 3, page 91  You can see by this, that Danforth doesn’t give Elizabeth much choice and practically puts the words into her mouth. By saying is your husband a lecher he leaves her no choice but to say â€Å"no†. What kind of woman would call her husband a lecher in front of a court? â€Å"(There is a knock. He calls to the door.) Hold! (To Abigail.) Turn your back. Turn your back. (To Proctor.) Do likewise. (Both turn their backs- Abigail with indignant slowness) Now let neither of you turn to face goody proctor. No one in this room is to speak one word, or raise a gesture aye or nay. (He turns towards the door, calls.) Enter!  Danforth, Act 3, Page 90  The Audience feel frustrated because all that Elizabeth has to do is tell the truth and Abigail’s ruthless revenge will be stopped and the truth will be brought to light but there is no way Elizabeth could know this so she does what she thinks is the right thing and tries to protect her husband. In this scene Miller uses dramatic irony very effectively. Danforth makes the trial look fair but in fact gives Elizabeth no choice  but to lie.  Danforth : â€Å"Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!  Elizabeth : (Faintly): No, sir.  Danforth : Remove her, Marshal.  Proctor : Elizabeth, tell the truth!  Danforth : She has spoken. Remove her!  Proctor : (crying out): Elizabeth, I have confessed it!  Act 3, Page 91  This point is the dramatic climax of the whole scene because it is the point where Elizabeth finally finds out what she has done, and she is distraught. Hale tries to reason with Danforth when he says, â€Å"Excellency it is a natural lie to tell† this shows that Hale is the voice of reason but for most of the time he is not listened to, like Proctor who spoken sense throughout – both are shut out in their ways. To save her husband from accusations of witchcraft, Elizabeth must condemn him for lechery. Miller establishes that Elizabeth is an honest woman who never lies, yet at the moment in which her honesty is most critical she chooses the noble yet practical lie that she believes will defend her husband. As Hale notes, it is a natural lie for Elizabeth Proctor to tell, yet an incredibly ill timed one; Elizabeth Proctor chooses dishonesty at the precise moment that her integrity matters the most. Act 3 of ‘The Crucible’ is so effective because Arthur Miller uses a wide variety of emotions for his characters and a good variety of action. One minute the scene can be rather quiet with just simple conversation and the next minute it can be very chaotic with characters hurling accusations and abuse at each other. The reason this play is so effective is because Miller uses moments of calm as well as moments of extreme action, if it was just action, action, action all the time the audience would become immune to it and the really important parts wouldn’t stick in your mind as much. Act 3 is relevant to the play as a whole because it is the Act where a lot of important things happen and it is the most dramatic, with a lot of tension and anger between different characters. It is what the first two acts have been building up to and you could say it is the climax of the whole play.  When Arthur Miller wrote the play, â€Å"The Crucible† in 1953 the contemporary audience could relate to the play due to the media coverage that was occurring at the time. This era was concerned with the political movement of communism; the McCarthy trials. The contemporary audience saw Miller’s play as relevant because of the effects of mass hysteria- the destruction of the community in Salem. Miller felt that the play had relevance although he didn’t write it for that.  The reason why the crucible is still so widely liked even though the witch trials are long gone is because it demonstrates the terrible effects of mass hysteria and what it can do to normally rational people.  The story reminds its readers of an ugly blemish on human history. It reminds us that man is not perfect, and that we can make mistakes. However, even with these mistakes, we can cleanse ourselves and purify ourselves by making right what is wrong. Accused of witchcraft. (2017, Nov 01).

To what extent does education and improved documentation impact Annotated Bibliography

To what extent does education and improved documentation impact hospitals compliance - Annotated Bibliography Example The involvement, intended to enhance antidepressant prescription compliance and usage of behavioral healthcare services, achieved a modest effect on usage of psychotherapy in conjunction with antidepressant medications and on uniformity of antidepressant medication usage. Moreover, intervention patients on combination medication were more prone to remain on antidepressant pills into the continuation period of treatment. This article documents a study that was aimed at evaluating compliance to radiation therapy for medical patients with higher level HNSCC at a metropolitan tertiary-care county healthcare facility. The study was conducted using retrospective review method. Data was retrieved from the charts of one-hundred and thirty six successive patients who had received prior advice to undertake chemo-radiotherapy for recently detected HNSCC from 2004 to 2006. Demographic data and information regarding tumors was gathered, as well as compliance of patients to radiation treatment. Duration of treatment, total dose, and hypothetical "loss of loco-regional control" was computed and benchmark compliance data were retrieved from select journals. Fifty-five of the participants did not start treatment or relocated to other health facilities. Twenty-five percent of the remaining patients had improper general treatment paths. Fifty-nine percent of the patients obtained below the useful dose due to missed t reatment days while sixty-three percent of patients had more than ten-percent computed loss in loco-regional control. Multivariate and univariate analysis did not produce any extrapolated value for node status, gender, stage, ethnicity, or primary site on compliance. Patient and tumor traits assessed in this study do not forecast compliance. The study recommended that future research evaluate interventions to enhance compliance and measurement of its effect on survival. This article is about a report on methodical review looking into research

Gender Equity in the Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender Equity in the Classroom - Essay Example The role of an educator in an intercultural classroom is to ensure the each and every student in the classroom is able to communicate and amicably work with people from other cultures with tolerance, understanding and respect. The educator has to not only impart information about his / her subject to the student, but they must do so in such a way that every student, irrespective of cultural background can understand what is being taught and does not feel left out or belittled. One aspect that is often left unnoticed in education is gender inequality, which can definitely leave certain students feeling left out or neglected. Whether they are aware of it or not, there is always some discrimination based on gender in every school and by every teacher. Each person has a stereotypical idea of the behavior that should be exhibited by boys and girls and this idea influences their interaction with their students. Numerous studies have revealed that boys are encouraged to be straightforward a nd unreserved and are praised more often for academic performance than girls. A girl is expected to be good at studies while boys do not have the same level of expectations from their teachers. This assumption of a non-physical distinction in their abilities is exactly the bias that needs to be rooted out of educational institutions. A girl is criticized for speaking loudly, while a boy is excused for doing so.

Is One Child Policy in China Effective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is One Child Policy in China Effective - Essay Example The implementation of the one-child policy saw the light of day early 1980s. This legislation came in to curb the unprecedented population increase that took place a couple of decades before 1980s. Formulation and drafting of the policy had started late 1970s, but the actual implementation took place in 1980 and subsequent years. Even though population increase was getting out of control, it was difficult to get the policy operational. Since the 1980s, one-child policy implementation has been dynamic due to the adoption of some specific changes from time to time.In light of the provisions made in the policy, there are a number of purposes served by the one-child requirement. The ultimate goal of the policy is to control and manage Chinese population. The operational aspects of the policy were designed to reduce births in the country. With reduced births within and across the country, population growth rate would significantly reduce. In other words, the essence of the policy is to re duce fertility levels, discourage couples from having many children, and ultimately reduce the general population in China (Wan, 2012).To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the policy promotes family planning through use of contraceptives. Government-funded agencies conduct massive awareness and creation and public education on matters of population, social welfare, and economic development. In essence, the purpose of the policy is to enhance the interconnection between the three variables.

Planning Function of Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning Function of Management - Case Study Example Ethical issues involve (1) a safe working environment for employees and (2) provide customers with fair and up-to-date information. In this case, planning is concerned with the long-term development, its essential character, its personality, its essence. Therefore, planning is concerned with decisions which have enduring effects that are difficult to reverse. WorldCom creates safe and friendly atmosphere which helps employees to increase productivity and avoid conflicts. While planning is a process that should generate receptivity to change and foster a responsive and proactive posture for the staff, it has been suggested that when rigidity is found in the process, the benefits and intent of the process have been lost through misuse (Sims 2003). Fair and up-to-date information is the main requirements applied to all spheres of WorldCom business. Social responsibility issues include (1) fair competition and (2) equal treatment of all employees in spite of their cultural background, age or gender. WorldCom supposes that planning should be implicitly receptive, even flexible, to change or to new ideas if it is to lead a complex bureaucratic agency into a changing environment with some assurance of success. It develops its business strategies and marketing plans in accordance with rules established by the industry. Diversity management helps WorldCom to eliminate cultural and age differences, and provide employee with equal opportunities. The planning process through which a staff progresses may be extremely valuable if the staff is able to confront and clarify its mission, if the awareness for change in a turbulent environment is afforded greater appreciation and acceptance (Issues in Corporate Social Responsibility 2007). The company's strategic panning is influenced by new products, legal strategies and competition. Managers acknowledge that the steps involved in the process are few and uncomplicated, but the technique and craft, even artistry, are complex. Strategic panning involves stakeholders working collectively to (1) review selected basic considerations or conduct a strategic analysis, (2)

INFORMING AND INVOLVING EMPLOYEES HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

INFORMING AND INVOLVING EMPLOYEES HRM - Essay Example Employee participation and involvement are two different terms with two different outcomes. Cox, Marchington and Suter (2009) consider employee involvement and participation (EIP) a loose term as it can give rise to different perceptions of the terms. Different definitions and interpretations have been given of the term EIP which ranges from encouraging commitment to achieve organizational success or exercising influence over their work or personal involvement of organization al workers. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) employee involvement (EI) is defined as ‘a process of employee involvement designed to provide employees with the opportunity to influence and where appropriate, take part in decision making on matters which affect them’ (LTSN, n.d.). Employee participation (EP), on the other hand, is ‘a process of employee involvement designed to provide employees with the opportunity to influence and where appropriate, take part in decision making on matters which affect them’. Thus employee participation has a direct impact on decision-making whereas employee involvement amounts to support, understanding, commitment and contribution (AC219, n.d.). EI has been identified as a means to secure commitment and high performance which has resulted in an increase in the interest in employee involvement and participation. EI has been a major area of growth in the UK since early 1980s. It includes team-working (including self-managed teams), team briefing, downward communications, two-way communications, suggestion schemes, problem-solving groups, and financial participation (including profit-sharing schemes). Performance is a function of ability, motivation and Oppurtunity. This suggests that the selection process should be rigorous and the training systems should be improved to increase the ability levels.

Group discussion and leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Group discussion and leadership - Research Paper Example The best leaders in any environment are transformational leaders since they are inspiring and have the capacity to empower and develop the confidence of their followers. Therefore, when a leader embodies such traits their followers tend to respect them more and this results in more successful teams. Group facilitation often requires one to have strong leadership attributes so they can not only control and manage the group but also discipline and act as the mediator when there are problems between the members (AHRQ 11). A leader should strive to set an example for the members and thus they should exemplify the attributes that the want the members of their group to embrace (Wright 30). For instance, if one wants group members to be diligent and punctual they should ensure they engender these virtues so they set an example thereby leading from the front. When a leader walks the talk, his followers are likely to admire and copy them as opposed to when they just issue instructions and ord ers without adhering to them and expecting their followers to comply. When facilitating a group it is crucial that the leader is well informed on the subject matter; however, not implying that they should necessarily be more knowledgeable than everyone else should, but they should at least have the basic information. A good leader must be competent in the field they expect to lead otherwise they will lose their authority and respect and as a result, their effectiveness and legitimacy as leaders would be seriously jeopardized (Bui). During my experience as a group leader, I was not very keen on gathering the prerequisite information and I made the mistake of assuming that since everyone else will have carried out his or her own background research, I would not be conspicuous in my ignorance. This turned out to be a costly assumption since most of the members had either carried out narrow research and some completely neglected theirs. Thus, during one of the meetings I realized that t he majority of the members expected the few diligent researchers to do the legwork for the rest of the group that was contrary to our group’s rules. Normally, I would have heavily reprimanded them, but in this case I was no different from them and when they realized I had not done my part they seemed to feel justified in their non-compliance. Additionally one should be a good time manager so that they can manage the activities of the group and divide the time efficiently so that each activity and each member is allocated enough time. Facilitation further calls for one to be a very good listener, as in this case they can understand the needs of the individuals in the group by listening objectively without interrupting or being judgmental. Therefore, one can discern the members concerns and learn to listen for and spot common grounds, and use them to create unity by taking advantage opinions or views shared by all the members. Much of a facilitator’s job involves plannin g and organizing; thus, to effectively lead a group one must have good managerial skills so they can plan ahead for group activities as well as prepare contingencies by considering all possible scenarios. I believe I presented most of the qualities mentioned herein apart from the aforementioned incident where I had neglected my research, as I always planned for the group activities, researched exhaustively on the subject and even prepared other activities just in case the initial plans did not materialize. During my

Social Movements Essay Example for Free

Social Movements Essay All societies undergo changes. In some cases these may be gradual, i.e., spread over a long period of time. In others they may be rapid. Social change, as we know by now, does not take place merely by chance or due to some factors predetermined by fate. There are several forces operating simultaneously in society, which bring about change. Some of these may be external to social institutions. Changes caused by a change in the economy or the production relations are one such instance. At the same time, there are change- producing agents inside a society as well. Social movements are one of these internal forces, which contribute to changes. A social movement is defined as â€Å"sustained collective action† over time. * Such action is often directed against the state and takes the form of demanding changes in state policy or practice. * Such collective action is often marked by organisation. Spontaneous, disorganised protest cannot be called a social movement. * This organisation may include a leadership and a structure that defines how the members relate to one another, make decisions and carry them out. Those participating in a social movement have shared objectives and ideologies. * The social movements are designed to promote change or resist change in the society in which the attempt is made. So collective attempt may be to alter, inaugurate, supplant, restore or reinstate all or some aspects of the social order. In the recent literature, a distinction is often made between old and new social movements. This distinction is often stipulated on the ground that while old social movements are generally class-based and concerned with issues of economic redistribution, the new social movements (NSMs) are commonly a feature of post-industrial or â€Å"postmodern† societies. They are not narrowly caste based and generally raise questions like ecological protection and climate change or hitherto neglected issues of gender, justice, sexuality etc. However this distinction is neither precise nor universally valid. Old social movements were class based such as working class movements and peasant movements or anti-colonial movements. NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (NSMs) New social movements are the products of a post-industrial social formation where the welfare state had made classic forms of exploitation and deprivation obsolete but where modern society created new forms of alienation. These movements demonstrated that class had become redundant as organising form of social identity and action. Some of the recent movements particularly in and after the 1960s in Europe such as peace movement, ecological movement, women’s movement etc. are called ‘new’ social movement. In India, enormous increase of middle class and in student population as well as a surge of political activism in the 1970s and 1980s engendered a new phenomenon, described as new social movements. These movements revolve around the issue of identity – dalit, adivasi, women, human rights, environment etc. They are called ‘new’ social movements because they have raised the issues related to identity and autonomy which are non-class issues and do not confront with the state. Issues that animate NSMs are less concerned with economic production and redistribution than with removal of corruption, protection of environment, provision of civic utilities, gender equality and child rights, employment , rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised section of population like those living in hilly and forest areas and victims of big dams. Good governance and human rights generally are other areas where NSMs are much in evidence. Characteristics of New Social Movements are described below: 1. The New Social Movements (NSM) are not directing their collective action to state power. They are concerned with individual and collective morality. Individual membership or participation and motivation in all sorts of social movements contain a strong moral component and defensive concern with justice in the social and world order. These movements are primarily social and are more concerned with cultural sphere and mobilisation of civil society on socio-cultural issues than with the political issues like seizure of power. 2. The new social movements are not class–based. They are multi-class. In fact, they do not subscribe to the theory that society is divided on class line and the classes are antagonistic. The new social movements are either ethnic or nationalist and plural. Women’s movement is an example. NSMs are not concerned for the benefit of one class or group. They are concerned for the good of every one irrespective of class. 3. The new social movements are confined to and concerned with civil society. NSMs raise the issue of the ‘self-defence’ of the community and society against the increasing expansion of the state apparatuses: agencies of surveillance and social control. 4. NSMs are not around economic issues of land, wages or property. They are primarily concerned with self- identity and autonomy of an individual and community against the state, market and social institutions. Therefore, dalit movement for dignity and adivasis movement for their autonomy are treated as NSM. 5. These movements tend to focus on single issues, transient questions, regional and local issues and even sectional interests (which are aimed towards narrow identities than larger objective interests) for this reason they are often called â€Å"micro movements†. they catch on the long felt needs of locals and masses at the disempowered grassroots in the top heavy political and economic systems of India. 6. NSM organisations tend to be segmented, diffuse and decentralised. 7. New social movements tend to focus on issues that cross national boundaries, and hence they become internationalist. Environmental movements, LGBT Movement are examples of NSMs that transcend international borders. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and New Social Movements on the national and Global planes have flourished as never before. Various New social Movements in India Environmental Movement The Indian environmental movement is critical of the colonial model of development pursued by the post–colonial state. The post–independent state failed to build up a development agenda based on the needs of the people and continued to advocate the modern capitalist agenda which led to the destruction of environment, poverty and marginalisation of rural communities. The environmental movement in India advocated the ideology of ‘environmentalism of the poor’. It not only critised modern developmentalism but also strongly advocated the revival of traditional ‘self –sufficient village economy’. The environmentalist stated that local communities were best suited to conserve natural resources as their survival depended in the sustainable use of such resources. A significant characteristic of environmental movements in India is that they have mainly involved the women, the poor and disadvantaged masses who have been directly affected by or are victims of environmental degradation. Thus, these movements are primarily political expressions of the struggle of local communities and people who are victims of environmental degradation or abuse of resources. The origin of modern environmentalism and environmental movements in India can be ascribed to the Chipko movement in the central Himalayan region. Chipko as a spontaneous movement started in the early 70s and got organized under the able leadership of Sunderlal Bahuguna. It was ignited by the opposition of the people of the Tehri-Garhwal region to the felling of trees by outside contractors. In the Himalayan regions, forests form an indispensable source of livelihood for the tribal population living there. Chipko literally means ‘hugging’ the trees. The movement articulated the concerns of forest-based communities such as depletion of forests, erosion of soil and consequent landslides, drying up of local streams and other water resources and shortages of fuel and fodder for domestic consumption. It also fought against the construction of the Tehri dam which threatened the eviction of around 25,000 hilly residents. Though the movement has not succeeded in all its endeavours, it has achieved some commendable victories. Getting ban on felling trees above an altitude of 1000m and forcing the government to announce certain forest areas as protected regions are some of the successes of the movement. Chipko, being a non-violent resistance movement, embodies the Gandhian spirit of struggle. Chipko movement inspired green cover movements elsewhere in the country, the most important being the Appiko movement in the Western Ghats against the over-felling of trees and covering forest lands with commercial trees replacing the natural ones. Like the Chipko, the Appiko movement revived the Gandhian way of protest and mobilisation for sustainable society in which there is a balance between man and nature. The other popular movements of importance in India, which have environmental protection as one of their objectives, relate to major dams. Notable among them are Tehri Dam, Silent Valley Project and Narmada Valley Projects. In fact, the most popular movement in the environmental history of India is the movement against the Narmada River Valley Project called Narmada Bachao Andolan. Though the movement started as early as late 1970s, along with the clearance of the project, it received momentum only during late 1980s. To start with, this movement was cantered around the issue of human rights. Due to improper implementation of the rehabilitation programmes by the State the human rights activists have become the articulators of anti-dam protests. Their demands included complete stopping of the dam, resettlement and rehabilitation benefits to the oustees. These demands were aptly supported by environmentalists who oppose construction of large dams for ecological reasons. The movement, however, gained wider public attention with mobilization and organization of oustees (mostly tribals ) and the joining of the eminent social workers like Baba Amte, Sunderlal Bahuguna and Medha Patkar. Though its wider public attention is due to its coverage (impact) in three states, the most notable feature of this movement is the international support it has received. The campaign forced international financial agencies like World Bank and USAID to withdraw funding for the project. While this Gandhian movement could not stop the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, it did force the states concerned- Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh- to address the issue of rehabilitation of the displaced more seriously than before. Thus environmental and ecological movements became prominent in India since the 1970s.The issues raised by them concern all sections of society in varying degrees. These issues are also related to people’s dignity, environmental rights and their decision-making rights on the issues concerning them. Women’s Movement Throughout the period after independence the prevailing view was that development, industrialization and economic growth would deliver the results as they had been seen elsewhere in the developed world; all would be beneficiaries of development, women included. This soon proved not to hold true in the Indian society. A report from the Committee on the Status of Women in India released in 1974 showed that not only had the conditions for women in India not improved, for many women, especially the poor, the conditions had worsened. Gender differences had become greater in political participation, education, health and employment. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth of numerous women’s groups that took up issues such as dowry deaths, bride burning, rape and sati and focused on violence against women. They stressed the sexual oppression of women in a way previous reform or feminist groups had never done. Some of the earliest autonomous women’s groups were the Progressive Organization of Women (POW, Hyderabad), the Forum Against Rape (now redefined as Forum Against Oppression of Women), Stree Sangharsh and Samata (Delhi). Among the first campaigns that women’s groups took up was the struggle against rape in 1980. This was triggered by the judgment of the Supreme Court to acquit two policemen who were accused of raping a minor tribal girl, Mathura, despite the fact that the High Court had indicted them. This led to country- wide demonstrations. Several other rape cases became part of this campaign that culminated after several years of protest in Government agreeing to change the existing rape law. The amended law was enacted in 1983 after long discussions with women’s groups. The POW in Hyderabad organized new and fresh protests against dowry. In the late 1970s, Delhi became the focus of the movement against dowry and the violence inflicted on women in the marital home. Groups, which took up the campaign, included ‘Stree Sangharsh’ and ‘Mahila Dakshita Samiti’. Later, a joint front called the ‘Dahej Virodhi Chetna Mandal’ (organization for creating consciousness against dowry) was formed under whose umbrella a large number of organizations worked. The anti-dowry campaign attempted to bring social pressure to bear on offenders so that they would be isolated in the community in which they lived. Women’s organizations also succeeded in getting the dowry law changed. There were several campaigns in the eighties relating to women’s rights. Among them was a campaign, in 1985, in support of the Supreme Court judgment in the divorce case where Shah Bano, a Muslim woman, had petitioned the Court for maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Act and the Court granted her demand. The orthodox Muslims, however, protested against interference with their personal law. In 1986, the government introduced the Muslim Women’s (Protection of Rights in Divorce) Bill denying Muslim women redress under Section 125. Women’s associations protested against this outside Parliament. The Committee of the Status of Women also stated in its report that seats should be reserved for women in municipalities, and proposed that panchayats should include women to secure a minimum percentage of female participation. In 1993 this was adopted nationally when the Constitution Act 1992 (73rd Amendment) and The Constitution Act 1992 (74th Amendment) were passed, relating reservations for women to panchayats and municipalities. One-third of seats in all panchayats and municipalities nationwide, as well as one-third of the position of being chairpersons in the bodies, were reserved for women .The reservations acts were passed without any opposition in the Parliament, and with only a minor debate. However, the bill on Women’s reservation in Parliament has not yet been passed. Over the years it has become clear that changing laws alone means little unless there is a will to implement them and unless there is education and literacy which makes women aware of their rights and allows them to exercise them effectively. It was this realization that has led the women’s movement to take up, in a more concerted manner, programmes of legal literacy and education, gender sensitization of textbooks and media. The issues today are sexual harassment at the work place, the violence of development, caste and communal violence, lobbying for increased political participation of women in the highest levels of decision-making, etc. The success of the women’s movement has not been in the number of women appointed to office or in the number of laws passed but in the fact that it has brought about a new consciousness on the entire question of women in Indian society.

Features of Perfect Competition

Features of Perfect Competition Contrast the features of perfect competition with those of oligopoly. (10) The comparison between perfect competition and oligopoly will be based on the following: number of buyers and sellers, nature of product, and barriers to entry of firms. Number of buyers and sellers Perfect competition is a market structure that is characterised by many buyers and sellers with each firms output representing an insignificant proportion of the total output. Hence, sellers cannot influence prices by changing its level of output. Thus, they accept the market price as given i.e they are price takers. Each firm then faces a perfectly elastic demand curve as shown in fig 1a. An example of a market that comes close to the perfectly competitive model is that of agricultural farming. How much the farmer sells his wheat for will depend on the prevailing price of wheat in the market. On the other hand, an oligopolistic firm produces a significant amount of the total market output. The seller can either influence the price or output. It can sell more by lowering price or increase price but sell less. This indicates that the firms demand curve is downward sloping. In addition, due to the small number of firms prevalent in the market, each firm now makes its decisions based on the reaction of other firms in the same industry. No firm can afford to ignore the actions and reactions of other firms in the industry. For example, there are only a few car manufacturers in the US such as Chrysler, GM and Ford Motors. If Ford Motors wants to increase sales, it can lower the price of its cars so that some buyers will switch from either Chrysler or General Motors but the increase in quantity demanded will be insignificant given that Chrysler and General Motors will follow the cut in price. This behaviour can be summarized by the kinked demand curve. Nature of product In perfect competition, each seller produces an identical product, thus they are perfect substitutes for each other. Since consumers think that the products are the same, they will not show any preference towards the goods of one firm over another. This means that sellers are not able to arbitrarily raise their prices for fear that consumers switch to other firms. Firms in perfect competition are price takers, and the demand for their goods are perfectly price elastic, hence the horizontal demand curve. In oligopoly, firms may either be producing a homogenous product or a differentiated product. When the product is differentiated, the oligopolist can increase the price and the output would not fall significantly. This implies substantial market power for the firms in an oligopoly. Even when the good is homogenous like steel or aluminium, the firm is likely to differentiate in terms of the services and terms of conditions, hence the downward sloping demand curve. Barriers to entry There are no barriers to entry or exit in a PC industry so the markets will consist of a large number of small sellers. The implication of this is that the firms in perfectly competitive industry will earn normal profits in the long run as supernormal profit earned by the firms in the short run will be depleted by the entry of the new firms into the industry. It is relatively easy to lease a plot of land to grow wheat and in the event that the farmer chose to give up wheat farming, he could easily terminate his lease with the landlord. The start up cost is low as all he needs are some simple tools and seedlings. In oligopoly, there are significant entry and exit barriers. For example, in car production, there are very high initial fixed costs such as the setting up of the assembly line and only if the firm produces a very large output level will the average cost fall significantly. The lower cost associated with a big output serves as an entry barrier for new firms as their initial d emand is usually low. Exit is also difficult, as it is not easy to dispose of the firms fixed assets. Other forms of barriers could be patent rights, exclusive ownership of certain raw materials and legal barriers. So the oligopolist can earn supernormal profits even in the long run. 2b. Discuss why oligopoly is a more common type of market structure compared to perfect competition. (15) Perfect competition is an ideal model and so it is difficult to find markets that have all these characteristics. There are some markets in the real world that approximates perfect competition. Examples of such markets are farming, the stock exchange market and the foreign currency market. These markets possess some of the characteristics of PC as explained in part (a). However, even in such markets, some of the characteristics are hard to fulfil. For instance, buyers and sellers may not be price takers. In the stock exchange market, there are some individuals or institutions that can influence the price of shares through their large holdings of a particular companys shares. The product is also not homogenous if stock of different companies are considered., Thus, if they were to sell their shares, price will fall. Knowledge is not perfect either. Although buyers and sellers do have easy access to information through their brokers and the Internet, there are some who do have insider i nformation and use that to their advantage. Moreover, managers tend to reveal more information about their companies to financial specialists rather than to small investors. In the real world, most industries do not have that many firms. In fact, in industries such as automobiles, air-craft manufacturing industry, oil industry, steel industry, supermarket chains and pharmaceutical industry, the industry is dominated by a few large firms. Most firms would rather face less competition so that their market power can be consolidated and secured. Oligopoly is thus a more desired form of market structure as far as sellers are concerned. Oligopoly is a more common market structure. It can be attributed mainly to the high entry barriers. Barriers to entry refer to any impediments that prevent new firms from competing on an equal basis with existing firms in an industry. An effective barrier for new firms to enter the industry is substantial economies of scale. The production of some goods involves very high initial fixed costs. Good examples are the petroleum industry and the manufacturing of aircrafts. For example, Airbus and Boeing must construct huge expensive structures to build the A380. Thus, for the production of such goods, the larger the output the greater is the economies of scale enjoyed by the firm. Such industries have very large Minimum Efficient Scale, and hence, only a few firms exist in such industries. Economies of scale are not the only source of barrier to entry. Other barriers to entry can be the possession of superior technical knowledge or sterling reputation for quality or efficiency. Take for example, high end sports cars like the Ferrari is such well known brand names that it is quite impossible for any new auto firms to replicate them. For years, they are the symbol of quality and luxury, an image that the carmakers have painstakingly cultivated. Production of such cars also requires superior technical knowledge, which is jealously guarded by the manufacturers. Thus it is not easy for new firms to enter such industries. In addition, existing firms could have spent millions on advertising to build and maintain brand loyalty. It will require a substantial period of high advertising costs and low revenues for new entrants if they want to establish themselves. Also, they can spend large amounts on advertising to make it difficult for a new entrant to differentiate its product. With the high entry barriers, firms are able to earn supernormal profits in the long run and have the financial strength to block the entry of new firms. Such firms can also adopt predatory pricing to further keep out competitors. Their huge profits allow them to cut prices drastically to drive out competitors. They can maintain excess production capacity as a signal to a potential entrant that with little notice, they could easily saturate the market and leave the new entrant with little or no revenue. Besides, huge profits allow firms to spend generously on RD. The discovery of new and better products allows them to compete more effectively in the market and also keep out other firms. For instance, in the pharmaceutical industry, millions of dollars are required to discover a new vaccine or a new drug. Hence the presence of high entry barriers results in many oligopolies. Globalisation and liberalization With increased globalisation, many domestic firms are threatened by the entry of big foreign firms or MNCs. Bigger firms have a competitive advantage in terms of pricing. Domestic firms can survive as long as there is government legislation to prevent the entry of foreign firms. But most governments are liberalizing their domestic industries. In order to compete with foreign firms, domestic firms have to merge. A merger would safeguard their survival as well as to allow them to compete more effectively. For instance, the merger of DBS bank with POSB and UOB with OUB , are all meant to expand the size of each bank so as to better compete with other international banks such as Citibank and Standard Chartered etc when MAS liberalize the financial sector to encourage competition. Hence globalisation has increased the tendency for mergers and the formation of oligopolies. Conclusion There are not many industries in the real world that satisfy the characteristics of the perfectly competitive model given it is an ideal model. On the other hand, the characteristics of an oligopoly are more easily met. The nature of production is more favourable to an oligopolistic kind of market. There are many advantages to being big. Some firms are big due to high entry barriers natural or man-made, while others expand internally or externally through mergers and acquisition in response to a changing external environment. The main reason for oligopoly being a common market structure can be attributed to benefits of economies of scale which gives firms the incentive to merge and be large. It will lower their costs and give them higher returns to meet potential competition and as a consequence, they have huge incentives to erect barriers to deter entry by new firms, and to consolidate their position.

September 11 and the Death of Moral Judgment :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

September 11 and the Death of Moral Judgment The nation is in crisis: a national security crisis and a crisis of moral judgment. What is the right thing to do? People disagree. Then comes the big mistake: observing disagreement, people conclude that there is no right answer, no way to make a judgment. Worse, they conclude that to judge is arrogant and dangerous, so that in an odd twist, the only thing that appears to be morally irresponsible is the attempt to make a morally responsible judgment. On the contrary, abdicating judgment is the problem. Democracy itself is based on the notion that reasonable people will disagree and that it is possible to make judgments about our disagreements - not that there is necessarily one right answer; there may be several partially right answers. But there are certainly some wrong answers and better and worse judgments about them. So, how do we judge? First, we can think clearly about the words we use. Second, we can stop looking for pure good or pure evil; innocence and guilt are not found in pure forms in the real world. Third, we can learn to distinguish among kinds and degrees of evils (And there are plenty of kinds: cruelty, neglect, exploitation, etc.) To illustrate: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Many people fighting for very different causes call themselves "freedom fighters." But they usually let us know what they mean. Osama bin Laden's statements tell us that his goal is to free the Muslim world of infidels and their influence. He seeks freedom to establish theocratic regimes that would suppress women, as well as religious and political dissidents. We can argue about whether or not this is "freedom" in any meaningful sense, but the important thing is to be clear about what he means. For the sake of argument, let us say that he is a freedom fighter. Martin Luther King was a freedom fighter. Mahatma Gandhi was a freedom fighter. Neither could be called "terrorist" by any stretch of the imagination. They renounced violence as a means. Osama Bin Laden, on the other hand, embraces a strategy of targeting civilians in order to terrify and intimidate the population, undermine opposing governments, and achieve his political aims. Whether he is a freedom fighter or not, he is a te rrorist. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" This is an important practical principle, but it is not a moral principle.

The Beautiful Natural Environment of the South of France Essay

The Beautiful Natural Environment of the South of France The south of France has often been described as having one of the most beautiful natural environments in the world. Many visitors, from painters to pilgrims, have found the pleasant Mediterranean climate to be both relaxing and inspiring. It is also a region that played host to some of the most lively social activity in the early 20th century. From Marseilles to Monaco (actually an independent country), southern France was a site of much popular focus in the 1920’s. It is a featured setting in many movies and novels of the time because of its consistently warm and enjoyable weather conditions. Most of the action in Ernest Hemingway’s The Garden of Eden transpires in the area, as it was a popular vacation site for young couples as well. Hemingway begins more than one chapter in the Garden of Eden with a description of the prevailing wind conditions. It is the warm winds of the Mediterranean that make the provinces of south France a subtropical feel while they share the same latitude as New England (discoverfrance.net). Gusty winds herald the beginning and end of summer, the latter of which is featured in Hemingway’s work. The Mediterranean is not the only source of the wind in southern France, however. Desert winds swept north from Africa sometimes reach the normally pleasant region (Mitchell). Without the salty barrier of the Mediterranean, the southern part of France would very much resemble a small, northern portion of the Sahara Desert (discoverfrance.net). Occasionally, hot air will rise from Algeria and sweep along many sand and dust particles on its way northward across the sea. These Saharan siroccos move into... ...un of Provence. Online Resources http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Provinces/Provence-2.shtml. - A chapter on Provence and the other southern provinces of France in a guidebook for travelers interested in the particulars of French geography. http://www.le-guide.com/ouveillan/weather/index.html. - Basically a few charts describing the normal climate conditions for various months in the south of France. Descriptions on weather and tourism consisting of a few sentences accompany the data of each month. http://www.provencebeyond.com/nature/index.html. - An in-depth look at the wildlife and plant life of the southern areas of France. While hysteria is no longer a medical condition, it is important to note its effect both on the medical world and the steps it took to cure it as well as the effect it had on women and their standing in society,

Kerouac and Barthelmes Rebellion Against Corporate America Essay

Jack Kerouac and Donald Barthelme's Rebellion Against Corporate America      Ã‚  Ã‚   Oh America, home of the red, white, blue, and green. Green as our greenest grass. Green as our forefather George on a one-dollar bill. You too can work your way up our market-economy mountain to your own little green house. Climb the corporate mountain to provide for your wife in her little green dress. With the green beneath your feet, reach for the gold in the sky. Oh America, this mountain is rich. As many Americans eagerly began and continued their climb toward the financial stability the Sixties promised, a counterculture of writers and thinkers emerged seeking to climb their own mountains, to tell their own story of the climb the way they understand it. For Jack Kerouac, the story was The Dharma Bums, where a man discovers himself in the mountains' minimalist, Buddha-like grace. Donald Barthelme borrows America's market-economy mountain of materialism and attempts to reclaim it in his prose poem, "The Glass Mountain." Through their respective mountain narratives, K erouac and Barthelme fight a personal fight against the raging currents of corporate America.    Jack Kerouac's mountain in The Dharma Bums comes to represent what Kerouac, or rather the main character Ray Smith, conceives as the ideal standard of living. During Ray's climb of Matterhorn with Japhy Ryder, Ray looks at Japhy with a particularly illuminating realization,    [W]hat does he care if he hasn't got any money: he doesn't need money, all he needs is his rucksack with those little plastic bags of dried food and a good pair of shoes and off he goes to enjoy the privileges of a millionaire in surroundings like this. (Kerouac 77)    Ray then resolves to beg... ...nt stories, Jack Kerouac and Donald Barthelme both participate in a personal rebellion against corporate America through their writing. Today, it is difficult to determine what the influence of their rebellion was on corporate America. We can be certain, however, that their resistance of corporate America brought them to a greater understanding of themselves and their surroundings. Not only do Kerouac and Barthelme provide an illuminating glimpse at the transformation of corporate America in the twelve years between the dates the writings were published, but they also allow us a unique look at America's mountains through their eyes.    Works Cited Barthelme, Donald. "The Glass Mountain." Taking It to the Streets. Ed. Alexander Bloom. Wini Breines. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1976.

Project Management Essay

Table of Contents Activity on the node network diagram3 Determination of the timing of activities and the total float4 The project duration and the critical path†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 The earliest date the project can be completed given the starting date – Monday 7th May 2012†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 The effect on the duration of the whole project if:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 Activity F is delayed by one day5 Activity N is delayed by one day6 Activity O is completed one day early †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 The limitations of Network diagrams†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 7| 5| 12| | D| | 7| 0| 12| 1. Activity on the node network diagram 5| 2| 7| | C| | 5| 0| 7| 0| 4| 4| | A| | 0| 0| 4| 4| 1| 5| | B| | 4| 0| 5| 12| 1| 13| | E| | 21| 9| 22| 12| 6| 18| | F| | 16| 4| 22| 12| 8| 20| | G| | 14| 2| 22| 12| 10| 22| | H| | 12| 0| 22| 22| 10| 32| | I| | 22| 0| 32| 32| 4| 36| | J| | 32| 0| 36| 36| 1| 37| | K| | 45| 9| 46| 36| 6| 42| | L| | 40| 4| 46| 36| 10| 46| | M| | 36| 0| 46| 36| 2| 38| | N| | 44| 8| 46| 46| 4| 50| | O| | 46| 0| 50| 50| 1| 51| | P| | 50| 0| 51| 51| 1| 52| | Q| | 51| 0| 52| Legend: Earliest start time (EST)| Duration| Earliest finish time (EFT)| | Task | | Latest start time (LST)| Total Float| Latest finish time (LFT)| Critical Path The project duration: 52 days A, B, C, D, H, I,J,M,O,P,Q 2. Determination of the timing of activities and the total float The earliest start time (EST), the earliest time at which the node could be reached, and the earliest finish time (EFT), the latest time by which the node must be reached if the project is to finsh by its required completion date, are produced by a forward pass through the network. The first step of the forward pass is calculating the earliest start time, commencing from the unique project start node and finishing at the unique project completion node. The first task of the project is A, hence the earliest start time of task A may be set to zero since no information has been given as to the starting day of the task. The next step is determining the EFT, which is calculated by adding the EST to the duration of the task. Given the duration of every task, the proces of calculating the EFT of every task is quite straight forward assuming that the EST of every task is the EFT of the previous task. However, when it comes to a merge activity the largest value must be taken. The latest event times, refering to the latest start time (LST) and the latest finish time (LFT), are the times when a particular task may commence without delaying the project duration and when the particular task may be completed without delaying the project duration. Usually such times are required when the project has an established target finish date. The latest event times are calculated using the backward pass technique. Such technique begins by determining the latest finish time of the last task of the project completion and works backwards to the start node. Since no inforamtion has been given regarding the target finish date of the project, the LFT of the project is equal to the EFT in which the project can be done. Hence, the LST can be calculated by subtracting theduration from the LFT. Working backwards, the LST of the previous task is to be the EFT of the task with the determined EST. It is important that when it comes to a merge activity the smallest value must be take n. Once the LFT of every task is completed the total float can be calculated by the following formula: Total float = latest time of finish event – earliest time of start event – duration 3. The project duration and the critical path The project duration was determined by adding the EST of every task to the durtation of every task carried forward from one task to another. Hence, the longest path determines the duration of the project and therefore establishes the critical path since the longest necessary path through a network of activities when respecting their interdependencies is considered to be critical. Furthermore, the critical path may also be determined as the path with the least float. In fact, the critical path determined above has the least float (0) and the longest duration of the project (52 days). 4. The earliest date the project can be completed given the starting date – Monday 7th May 2012 The earliest finishing time of the project as established in the diagram is that of fifty two days. Given that the project can be completed using a five day working week, therefore it will take ten weeks and two days to complete  the project. Calculating the weeks and days from the 7th of May 2012, the earliest date in which the project can be completed is on Tuesday 17th July 2012. 5. The effect on the duration of the whole project if: a. Activity F is delyaed by one day. The delay in activity F will not affect the duration of the whole project as such because the increase in duration will not exceed the total float of activity F, therefore does not exceed the duration of activity H which forms part of the critical path. Activity F can only affect the duration of the project if it delays by five days as it will surpass the amount of days that the activity is allowed to float. b. Activity N is delayed by one day The total float of activity N is that of eight days. Therefore, the amount of days that activity N will be delayed does not affect the duration of the project. In this case, in order for the duration of the projet to be effected the delay time of activity N has to be of nine days as it will surpass the duration of activity M which is part of the critical path. c. Activity O is completed one day early Given that the activity forms part of the critcal path, therefore the duration of the project will be affected not only by being completed early but also if the activity had to delay since the total float is that of zero. In this case, since the activity will be carried out one day sooner than expected, the project will be completed one day early and the duration of the project will be that of fifty one days instead of fifty two days. 6. The limitations of Network diagrams In project managent network diagrams have several advantages when it comes to scheduling projects. One major advantage is that it helps project managers identify the most important activities which may affact the project schedule. However, such diagrams have also limitations to their use in scheduling a project. For large projects a network diagram may not be the ideal scheduling technique because of several activities and dependency  relationships that can make the diagram complex to carry out and difficult for other employees to understand. Furthermore, if the plan of the project changes during the completion of the project, the precendence network will have to be done all over again. In addition, such diagram therefore, may be considered as a time consuming technique. The techniuqe may also take too much to identify all activities and inter-relate them to multiple project paths. Network diagrams may also not be suitable for first time projects because if project cannot be broken down into distinctive activities with known duratrion for every activity then the precendence diagram cannot be drawn. The most critical factor is the duration because on a new project the duration for certain activities may be difficult to estimate, hence the network diagram may be far from actual. Another limitation of network diagrams is when a shift of resource occurs. When the network diagram encounters re-allocation of resources such as employees being transfered from one acvtiviy to another, the activity completion time may be changed because of stoppage or other relevant reasons and the plan of the project may be disrupted. A network diagram may consist of parallel paths with the same durations. This is considered to be a problem within such diagram because project teams may find it diffuclt to chooose the most critical activities, hence create uncertainty on which path will be the critical path within the project. This may also cause the project teams to disagree as one team may choose one path to be critical and the another team may choose the other path to be the critical path.

Nursing questions Essay

The nurse is performing her admission assessment of a patient. When grading arterial pulses, a 1+ pulse indicates: Above normal perfusion. Absent perfusion. Normal perfusion. Diminished perfusion. Murmurs that indicate heart disease are often accompanied by other symptoms such as: Dyspnea on exertion. Subcutaneous emphysema. Thoracic petechiae. Periorbital edema. Which pregnancy-related physiologic change would place the patient with a history of cardiac disease at the greatest risk of developing severe cardiac problems? Decrease heart rate Decreased cardiac output Increased plasma volume Increased blood pressure The priority nursing diagnosis for the patient with cardiomyopathy is: Anxiety related to risk of declining health status. Ineffective individual coping related to fear of debilitating illness Fluid volume excess related to altered compensatory mechanisms. Decreased cardiac output related to reduced myocardial contractility. A patient with thrombophlebitis reached her expected outcomes of care. Her affected leg appears pink and warm. Her pedal pulse is palpable and there is no edema present. Which step in the nursing process is described above? Planning  Implementation Analysis Evaluation An elderly patient may have sustained a basilar skull fracture after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. The nurse knows that basilar skull factures: Are the least significant type of skull fracture. May have cause cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks from the nose or ears. Have no characteristic findings.  Are always surgically repaired.  Which of the following types of drugs might be given to control increased intracranial pressure (ICP)? Barbiturates Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors Anticholinergics Histamine receptor blockers The nurse is teaching family members of a patient with a concussion about the early signs of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following would she cite as an early sign of increased ICP? Decreased systolic blood pressure Headache and vomiting Inability to wake the patient with noxious stimuli Dilated pupils that don’t react to light Jessie James is diagnosed with retinal detachment. Which intervention is the most important for this patient? Admitting him to the hospital on strict bed rest Patching both of his eyes Referring him to an ophthalmologist Preparing him for surgery Dr. Bruce Owen, a chemist, sustained a chemical burn to one eye. Which intervention takes priority for a patient with a chemical burn of the eye? Patch the affected eye and call the ophthalmologist. Administer a cycloplegic agent to reduce ciliary spasm. Immediately instill a tropical anesthetic, then irrigate the eye with saline solution. Administer antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection The nurse is assessing a patient and notes a Brudzinski’s sign and Kernig’s sign. These are two classic signs of which of the following disorders? Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) Meningitis Seizure disorder Parkinson’s disease A patient is admitted to the hospital for a brain biopsy. The nurse knows that the most common type of primary brain tumor is: Meningioma. Angioma. Hemangioblastoma. Glioma. The nurse should instruct the patient with Parkinson’s disease to avoid which of the following? Walking in an indoor shopping mall Sitting on the deck on a cool summer evening Walking to the car on a cold winter day Sitting on the beach in the sun on a summer day Gary Jordan suffered a cerebrovascular accident that left her unable to comprehend speech and unable to speak. This type of aphasia is known as: Receptive aphasia Expressive aphasia Global aphasia Conduction aphasia Kelly Smith complains that her headaches are occurring more frequently despite medications. Patients with a history of headaches should be taught to avoid: Freshly prepared meats. Citrus fruits. Skim milk Chocolate Immediately following cerebral aneurysm rupture, the patient usually complains of: Photophobia Explosive headache Seizures Hemiparesis Which of the following is a cause of embolic brain injury? Persistent hypertension Subarachnoid hemorrhage Atrial fibrillation Skull fracture Although Ms. Priestly has a spinal cord injury, she can still have sexual intercourse. Discharge teaching should make her aware that: She must remove indwelling urinary catheter prior to intercourse. She can no longer achieve orgasm. Positioning may be awkward. She can still get pregnant. Ivy Hopkins, age 25, suffered a cervical fracture requiring immobilization with halo traction. When caring for the patient in halo traction, the nurse must: Keep a wrench taped to the halo vest for quick removal if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary. Remove the brace once a day to allow the patient to rest. Encourage the patient to use a pillow under the ring. Remove the brace so that the patient can shower. The nurse asks a patient’s husband if he understands why his wife is receiving nimodipine (Nimotop), since she suffered a cerebral aneurysm rupture. Which response by the husband indicates that he understands the drug’s use? â€Å"Nimodipine replaces calcium.† â€Å"Nimodipine promotes growth of blood vessels in the brain.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces the brain’s demand for oxygen.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces vasospasm in the brain.† Many men who suffer spinal injuries continue to be sexually active. The teaching plan for a man with a spinal cord injury should include sexually concerns. Which of the following injuries would most likely prevent erection and ejaculation? C5 C7 T4 S4 Cathy Bates, age 36, is a homemaker who frequently forgets to take her carbamazepine (Tegretol). As a result, she has been experiencing seizures. How can the nurse best help the patient remember to take her medication? Tell her take her medication at bedtime. Instruct her to take her medication after one of her favorite television shows. Explain that she should take her medication with breakfast. Tell her to buy an alarm watch to remind her. Richard Barnes was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis. What response by the patient indicates that he understands the precautions necessary with this diagnosis? â€Å"I’m so depressed because I can’t have any visitors for a week.† â€Å"Thank goodness, I’ll only be in isolation for 24 hours.† â€Å"The nurse told me that my urine and stool are also sources of meningitis bacteria.† â€Å"The doctor is a good friend of mine and won’t keep me in isolation.† An early symptom associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) includes: Fatigue while talking Change in mental status Numbness of the hands and feet Spontaneous fractures When caring for a patient with esophageal varices, the nurse knows that bleeding in this disorder usually stems from: Esophageal perforation Pulmonary hypertension Portal hypertension Peptic ulcers Tiffany Black is diagnosed with type A hepatitis. What special precautions should the nurse take when caring for this patient? Put on a mask and gown before entering the patient’s room. Wear gloves and a gown when removing the patient’s bedpan. Prevent the droplet spread of the organism. Use caution when bringing food to the patient. Discharge instructions for a patient who has been operated on for colorectal cancer include irrigating the colostomy. The nurse knows her teaching is effective when the patient states he’ll contact the doctor if: He experiences abdominal cramping while the irrigant is infusing He has difficulty inserting the irrigation tube into the stoma He expels flatus while the return is running out.  He’s unable to complete the procedure in 1 hour.  The nurse explains to the patient who has an abdominal perineal resection that an indwelling urinary catheter must be kept in place for several days afterward because: It prevents urinary tract infection following surgery.  It prevents urine retention and resulting pressure on the perineal wound It minimizes the risk of wound contamination by the urine.  It determines whether the surgery caused bladder trauma .The first day after, surgery the nurse finds no measurable fecal drainage from a patient’s colostomy stoma. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention? Call the doctor immediately. Obtain an order to irrigate the stoma. Place the patient on bed rest and call the doctor. Continue the current plan of care. If a patient’s GI tract is functioning but he’s unable to take foods by mouth, the preferred method of feeding is: Total parenteral nutrition Peripheral parenteral nutrition Enteral nutrition Oral liquid supplements Which type of solution causes water to shift from the cells into the plasma? Hypertonic Hypotonic Isotonic Alkaline Particles move from an area of greater osmelarity to one of lesser osmolarity through: Active transport Osmosis Diffusion Filtration Which assessment finding indicates dehydration? Tenting of chest skin when pinched Rapid filling of hand veins A pulse that isn’t easily obliterated Neck vein distention Which nursing intervention would most likely lead to a hypo-osmolar state? Performing nasogastric tube irrigation with normal saline solution Weighing the patient daily Administering tap water enema until the return is clear Encouraging the patient with excessive perspiration to dink broth Which assessment finding would indicate an extracellular fluid volume deficit? Bradycardia A central venous pressure of 6 mm Hg Pitting edema An orthostatic blood pressure change A patient with metabolic acidosis has a preexisting problem with the kidneys. Which other organ helps regulate blood pH? Liver Pancreas Lungs heart The nurse considers the patient anuric if the patient; Voids during the nighttime hours Has a urine output of less than 100 ml in 24 hours Has a urine output of at least 100 ml in 2 hours Has pain and burning on urination Which nursing action is appropriate to prevent infection when obtaining a sterile urine specimen from an indwelling urinary catheter? Aspirate urine from the tubing port using a sterile syringe and needle Disconnect the catheter from the tubing and obtain urine Open the drainage bag and pour out some urine Wear sterile gloves when obtaining urine After undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy, a patient is retuned to the room with continuous bladder irrigation in place. One day later, the patient reports bladder pain. What should the nurse do first? Increase the I.V. flow rate Notify the doctor immediately Assess the irrigation catheter for patency and drainage Administer meperidine (Demerol) as prescribed A patient comes to the hospital complaining of sudden onset of sharp, severe pain originating in the lumbar region and radiating around the side and toward the bladder. The patient also reports nausea and vomiting and appears pale, diaphoretic, and anxious. The doctor tentatively diagnoses renal calculi and orders flat-plate abdominal X-rays. Renal calculi can form anywhere in the urinary tract. What is their most common formation site? Kidney Ureter Bladder Urethra A patient comes to the hospital complaining of severe pain in the right flank, nausea, and vomiting. The doctor tentatively diagnoses right ureter-olithiasis (renal calculi). When planning this patient’s care, the nurse should assign highest priority to which nursing diagnosis? Pain Risk of infection Altered urinary elimination Altered nutrition: less than body requirements The nurse is reviewing the report of a patient’s routine urinalysis. Which of the following values should the nurse consider abnormal? Specific gravity of 1.002 Urine pH of 3 Absence of protein Absence of glucose A patient with suspected renal insufficiency is scheduled for a comprehensive diagnostic work-up. After the nurse explains the diagnostic tests, the patient asks which part of the kidney â€Å"does the work.† Which answer is correct? The glomerulus Bowman’s capsule The nephron The tubular system During a shock state, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system exerts which of the following effects on renal function? Decreased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Decreased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water While assessing a patient who complained of lower abdominal pressure, the nurse notes a firm mass extending above the symphysis pubis. The nurse suspects: A urinary tract infection Renal calculi An enlarged kidney A distended bladder Gregg Lohan, age 75, is admitted to the medical-surgical floor with weakness and left-sided chest pain. The symptoms have been present for several weeks after a viral illness. Which assessment finding is most symptomatic of pericarditis? Pericardial friction rub Bilateral crackles auscultated at the lung bases Pain unrelieved by a change in position Third heart sound (S3) James King is admitted to the hospital with right-side-heart failure. When assessing him for jugular vein distention, the nurse should position him: Lying on his side with the head of the bed flat. Sitting upright. Flat on his back. Lying on his back with the head of the bed elevated 30 to 45 degrees. The nurse is interviewing a slightly overweight 43-year-old man with mild emphysema and borderline hypertension. He admits to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. When developing a teaching plan, which of the following should receive highest priority to help decrease respiratory complications? Weight reduction Decreasing salt intake Smoking cessation Decreasing caffeine intake What is the ratio of chest compressions to ventilations when one rescuer performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an adult? 15:1 15:2 12:1 12:2 When assessing a patient for fluid and electrolyte balance, the nurse is aware that the organs most important in maintaining this balance are the: Pituitary gland and pancreas Liver and gallbladder. Brain stem and heart. Lungs and kidneys.

Dreams: The Peach Orchard

Hina Matsuri – The famous festival of dolls celebrated in the shroud of pink peach blossoms. During the doll festival, dolls represent the peach trees – without the peach trees, the dolls would represent nothing. A similar event happened in the life of a young boy who lost an orchard of peach trees after being cut down, one after another, by his own family. The boy felt a sense of loss during this, supposed to be, an enthusiastic and very memorable day. The young boy got scolded after providing six servings of a particular food, when there are only five people to be served. The boy, however, did see a sixth person. It was a young girl in pink dress or kimono, which he followed soon after towards the orchard. Eventually, he saw the dolls from his sister’s collection brought to life in the peach orchard. They first speculated on the boy’s innocence and they found out how the boy loved the peach trees and the orchard. The dolls, being moved by the boy’s tears and sympathy, performed a slow graceful dance. The dance was accompanied with gagaku music and after the dance the boy saw an illusion of the peach trees in full blossom. However, it was only momentarily. The truth eventually came out, where the scene shows the chopped peach trees in the orchard. Nevertheless, a glimpse of hope was provided for the boy after seeing that there is a new peach tree in the orchard and it was just about his height. The young girl who ran to the orchard may be the representative of/ or doll symbolizing the new peach tree. The movie ended showing the young boy sadly looking at the new peach tree as the scene fades to black (Kurosawa, 1955). Reference Kurosawa, Akira (1955) Dreams: The Peach Orchard. Warner Bros.