Mount Everest and Peak Climb Mt

The book I chose for my independent reading project was Peak by Roland Smith. My favorite character in this book is Peak Marcello. Peak is my favorite character because he is smart, caring, and brave. I can’t believe that he climbed a skyscraper! I wish that I had the climbing skills that he has. It seems like Peak has been climbing his whole life, probably because his father, Josh Wood, is a professional climber and he taught him how to climb. Since Peak’s mother, Teri Marcello, fell of a 30 ft. wall when she was free-climbing and broke her back and shattered her hip, I agree with her that climbing is very dangerous.I think the relationship between Peak and his father is interesting because Peak’s father hasn’t been around much in his life, but when Peak got in trouble he was there. I also think that the relationship is interesting because Peak doesn’t call his father â€Å"dad,† he calls him by his first name. Because Peak got in a lot of t rouble and had to leave the U. S. and live with his father in Thailand, I felt sad when Peak’s two younger twin sisters started to cry because they knew that they wouldn't be seeing their role model for a long time.I think that Josh only let Peak live with him because he was 14, and if he reached the summit of Mt. Everest before his next birthday, he would be the youngest person to ever climb it. I want to know more about Zopa, the man who is helping Peak climb Mt. Everest. I know that he was a Sherpa, which are mountain people who live on the slopes of the Himalayas. He is also a Buddhist monk but has gotten permission to put aside his vows for a couple of weeks to help Peak.I like the way that the author wrote the book because it is very easy to understand what is going on. If I were Peak right now I would be so confused because so much is happening in such a small amount of time, and I’d be scared because I am afraid of heights and I don’t know if I would wan t to climb Mt. Everest. I can’t believe that Peak is so calm during this time and isn’t freaking out like I would be. I predict in the future that Peak will have a closer relationship with his dad and will be the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest.

The Big Idea: How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution

In the latest Ease of Doing Business ranking from the World Bank, one country made a spectacular leap—from 143rd on the list to 67th. It was Rwanda, whose population and institutions had been decimated by genocide in the 1990s. On the World Bank list, Rwanda catapulted out of the neighborhood of Haiti, Liberia, and the West Bank and Gaza, and sailed past Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Poland. On one subindex in the study, the ease of opening a new business, Rwanda ranked 11th worldwide. You can see and even smell the signs of Rwanda’s business revolution at Costco, one of the retail world’s most demanding trade customers, where pungent coffee grown by the nation’s small farmer-entrepreneurs is stocked on the shelves. And in Rwanda itself the evidence is dramatic—per capita GDP has almost quadrupled since 1995. [pic] Rwanda: From Genocide to Costco’s Shelves This is the kind of change entrepreneurship can bring to a country. As Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, put it recently, â€Å"Entrepreneurship is the most sure way of development.† He is not a lone voice: Economic studies from around the globe consistently link entrepreneurship, particularly the fast-growth variety, with rapid job creation, GDP growth, and long-term productivity increases. You’ll see more palpable evidence of surprising entrepreneurial success stories on the Costco shelves. A few steps away from the Rwandan coffee, you can find fresh fish from Chile, which now ranks second only to Norway as a supplier of salmon. The Chilean fish in America’s supermarkets were supplied by hundreds of new fishing-related ventures spawned in the 1980s and 1990s. A few aisles over are memory USBs invented and manufactured in Israel, a country whose irrepressible entrepreneurs have been supplying innovative technologies to the world since the 1970s. And just around the corner, the Costco pharmacy sells generic drugs made by Iceland’s Actavis, whose meteoric rise landed it, in just 10 years, among the top five global generics leaders. Rwanda, Chile, Israel, and Iceland all are fertile ground for entrepreneurship—thanks in no small part to the efforts of their governments. Though the companies behind the products on Costco’s shelves were launched by innovative entrepreneurs, those businesses were all aided, either directly or indirectly, by government leaders who helped build environments that nurture and sustain entrepreneurship. These entrepreneurship ecosystems have become a kind of holy grail for governments around the world—in both emerging and developed countries. Unfortunately, many governments take a misguided approach to building entrepreneurship ecosystems. They pursue some unattainable ideal of an ecosystem and look to economies that are completely unlike theirs for best practices. But increasingly, the most effective practices come from remote corners of the earth, where resources—as well as legal frameworks, transparent governance, and democratic values—may be scarce. In these places entrepreneurship has a completely new face. The new practices are emerging murkily and by trial and error. This messiness should not deter leaders—there’s too much at stake. Governments need to exploit all available experience and commit to ongoing experimentation. They must follow an incomplete and ever-changing set of prescriptions and relentlessly review and refine them. The alternatives—taking decades to devise a model set of guidelines, acting randomly, or doing nothing—all are unacceptable. But the government cannot do everything on its own; the private and nonprofit sectors too must shoulder some responsibility. In numerous instances corporate executives, family-business owners, universities, professional organizations, foundations, labor organizations, financiers, and, of course, entrepreneurs themselves have initiated and even financed entrepreneurship education, conferences, research, and policy advocacy. As we shall show later in this article, sometimes private initiative makes it easier for governments to act more quickly and effectively, and all stakeholders—government and otherwise—should take every chance to show real leadership. To make progress, leaders need practical if imperfect maps and navigational guidelines. From what we know from both research and practice, here’s what seems to actually work in stimulating thriving entrepreneurship ecosystems. Nine Prescriptions for Creating an Entrepreneurship Ecosystem The entrepreneurship ecosystem consists of a set of individual elements—such as leadership, culture, capital markets, and open-minded customers—that combine in complex ways. (See the exhibit â€Å"Do You Have a Strong Entrepreneurship Ecosystem?†) In isolation, each is conducive to entrepreneurship but insufficient to sustain it. That’s where many governmental efforts go wrong—they address only one or two elements. Together, however, these elements turbocharge venture creation and growth. When integrating them into one holistic system, government leaders should focus on these nine key principles. [pic] Do You Have a Strong Entrepreneurship Ecosystem? 1: Stop Emulating Silicon Valley. The nearly universal ambition of becoming another Silicon Valley sets governments up for frustration and failure. There is little argument that Silicon Valley is the â€Å"gold standard† entrepreneurship ecosystem, home to game-changing giants such as Intel, Oracle, Google, eBay, and Apple. The Valley has it all: technology, money, talent, a critical mass of ventures, and a culture that encourages collaborative innovation and tolerates failure. So it is understandable when public leaders throughout the world point to California and say, â€Å"I want that.† Yet, Valley envy is a poor guide for three reasons. One is that, ironically, even Silicon Valley could not become itself today if it tried. Its ecosystem evolved under a unique set of circumstances: a strong local aerospace industry, the open California culture, Stanford University’s supportive relationships with industry, a mother lode of invention from Fairchild Semiconductor, a liberal immigration policy toward doctoral students, and pure luck, among other things. All those factors set off a chaotic evolution that defies definitive determination of cause and effect. Further, Silicon Valley is fed by an overabundance of technology and technical expertise. Developing â€Å"knowledge-based industry†Ã¢â‚¬â€the mantra of governments everywhere—is an admirable aspiration, but achieving it requires a massive, generation-long investment in education as well as the ability to develop world-class intellectual property. On top of that, a knowledge industry demands an enormous technology pipeline and scrap pile. Consider that top venture capitalists invest in at best 1% of the technology-based businesses they look at, and a significant proportion of that select group fails. A third limit is that although Silicon Valley sounds as if it’s a place that breeds local ventures, in reality it’s as much a powerful magnet for ready-made entrepreneurs, who flock there from around the globe, often forming their own ethnic subcultures and organizations in what Gordon Moore, one of the Valley’s graybeards, calls an â€Å"industry of transplants.† And difficult as it is to foster an ecosystem that encourages current inhabitants to make the entrepreneurial choice and then succeed at it, it is even harder to create an entrepreneur’s â€Å"Mecca.† 2: Shape the Ecosystem Around Local Conditions. If not Silicon Valley, then what entrepreneurial vision should government leaders aspire to? The most difficult, yet crucial, thing for a government is to tailor the suit to fit its own local entrepreneurship dimensions, style, and The striking dissimilarities of Rwanda, Chile, Israel, and Iceland illustrate the principle that leaders can and must foster homegrown solutions—ones based on the realities of their own circumstances, be they natural resources, geographic location, or culture. Rwanda’s government took a strongly interventionist strategy in the postgenocide years, identifying three local industries (coffee, tea, and tourism) that had proven potential for development. It actively organized the institutions that would support those industries by, for example, training farmers to grow and package coffee to international standards and connecting them to overseas distribution channels. Rwanda’s immediate priority was to provide gainful employment to millions of people. Its efforts led to about 72,000 new ventures, almost entirely consisting of two- and three-person operations, which in a decade tripled exports and reduced poverty by 25%. Chile also focused on industries where it had copious natural resources—such as fishing. As in Rwanda, the government took a powerfully interventionist approach to its entrepreneurship ecosystem in Augusto Pinochet’s early years, and the dictator’s free-market ideology made it easier for Chile’s middle class to obtain financing and licenses for fishing operations. The government also weakened labor (sometimes brutally) to reduce new ventures’ input costs and kept Chile’s currency inexpensive to maintain competitiveness in export markets. Natural resources often are not a key component of an ecosystem, however. Frequently, entrepreneurship is stimulated when such resources are scarce, requiring people to be more inventive. Taiwan, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand, resource-poor â€Å"islands† far from major markets, all developed ecosystems based primarily on human capital. So did Israel. In the 1970s and 1980s, its unique ecosystem evolved haphazardly out of a combination of factors, including spillover from large military R&D efforts, strong diaspora connections to capital and customers, and a culture that prized frugality, education, and unconventional wisdom. 3: Engage the Private Sector from the Start. Government cannot build ecosystems alone. Only the private sector has the motivation and perspective to develop self-sustaining, profit-driven markets. For this reason, government must involve the private sector early and let it keep or acquire a significant stake in the ecosystem’s success. Start with a candid conversation. One way to involve the private sector is to reach out to its representatives for early, frank advice in reducing structural barriers and formulating entrepreneur-friendly policies and programs. If the necessary expertise doesn’t exist domestically, it can often be found overseas among expatriates. In the 1980s the Taiwanese government engaged with the Taiwanese diaspora, consulting prominent executives in leading U.S. technology companies and establishing ongoing forums to collect their input. The government actually built programs based on the suggestions of these expats, who liked how their ideas were implemented so much that they returned home in droves in the 1990s, many of them to occupy prominent policy positions or run the new plants that were established. For example, Morris Chang, the former group vice president of Texas Instruments, came home and eventually set up and ran TSMC, Taiwan’s second semiconductor-fabricating plant. Taiwan: Bringing Expat Entrepreneurs Home Design in self-liquidation. In 1993 the Israeli government created Yozma, a $100 million fund of funds that in three years spawned 10 venture capital funds. In each one, Yozma, an Israeli private partner, and a foreign private partner with proven fund management expertise all invested approximately equal amounts. From the start, the Israeli government gave the private sector partners an option to buy out its interest in the funds at attractive terms—a fact often overlooked by other governments that copy the Yozma model. That option was exercised by eight of the 10 funds, profitably for the government, I might add. Five years after the founding of Yozma, its remaining assets were liquidated by auction. The government’s exit served as market proof that real value had been generated and is one of the reasons that the Israeli venture capital industry not only became self-sustaining but simultaneously achieved a quantum leap in growth. 4: Favor the High Potentials. Many programs in emerging economies spread scarce resources among quantities of bottom-of-the-pyramid ventures. And indeed, some of them, such as the Carvajal Foundation in Cali, Colombia, have dramatically increased income for segments of the population. But focusing resources there to the exclusion of high-potential ventures is a crucial mistake. In an era when microfinance for small-scale entrepreneurs has become mainstream, the reallocation of resources to support high-potential entrepreneurs may seem elitist and inequitable. But especially if resources are limited, programs should try to focus first on ambitious, growth-oriented entrepreneurs who address large potential markets. The social economics of high-potential ventures and small-scale employment alternatives are significantly different. Whereas 500 microfinanced sole proprietorships and one rapidly globalizing 500-person operation create the same number of jobs, many experts argue that the wealth creation, power to inspire other start-ups, labor force enrichment, and reputational value are much greater with the latter. One organization that recognizes this is Enterprise Ireland, an agency responsible for supporting the growth of world-class Irish companies. It has created a program specifically to provide mentoring and financial assistance to high-potential start-ups, which it defines as ventures that are export-oriented, are based on innovative technology, and can generate at least â‚ ¬1 million in sales and 10 jobs in three years. The global nonprofit Endeavor, which focuses on entrepreneurship development in 10 emerging economies, has to date â€Å"adopted† some 440 â€Å"high-impact entrepreneurs,† who, with Endeavor’s mentoring, are turning their successes into role models for their countrymen. Not all high-potential ventures are technology based; in fact, I’d argue that the majority are not. SABIS is a perfect example. An educational management organization founded in Lebanon many years ago as one school, SABIS now is one of the world’s largest EMOs, teaching more than 65,000 students in 15 countries, with the goal of reaching 5 million students by 2020. 5: Get a Big Win on the Board. It has become clear in recent years that even one success can have a surprisingly stimulating effect on an entrepreneurship ecosystem—by igniting the imagination of the public and inspiring imitators. I call this effect the â€Å"law of small numbers.† Skype’s adoption by millions and eventual $2.6 billion sale to eBay reverberated throughout the small nation of Estonia, encouraging highly trained technical people to start their own companies. In China, Baidu’s market share and worldwide recognition have inspired an entire generation of new entrepreneurs. Celtel’s amazing success as sub-Saharan Africa’s leading regional mobile provider and acquisition by Zain for more than $3 billion stirred the region’s pride and helped African governments fight â€Å"Africa fright† among investors. In Ireland it was Elan Corporation and Iona Technologies, listed on Nasdaq in 1984 and 1997, respectively, that served as guiding lights to a gener ation of budding entrepreneurs. Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Shareholder Value—and Better Government Early, visible successes help reduce the perception of entrepreneurial barriers and risks, and highlight the tangible rewards. Even modest successes can have an impact. Saudi Arabia, a nation with a dearth of entrepreneurial ventures (aside from the powerful family business groups), is fighting hard to tear down the numerous structural and cultural obstacles entrepreneurs face. One young Saudi, Abdullah Al-Munif, left his salaried job, tightened his belt, fought the bureaucracy, and started a business making chocolate-covered dates. He ultimately grew the business, Anoosh, into a national chain of 10 high street stores and turned an eye to overseas markets. Now when Al-Munif appears as a panelist at entrepreneurship seminars, he is swamped by aspiring Saudi entrepreneurs who take inspiration from his bravery, realizing that neither capital, nor technology, nor connections are essential to success. Overcelebrate the successes. Governments should be bold about celebrating thriving entrepreneurial ventures. Media events, highly publicized awards, and touts in government literature, speeches, and interviews all have an impact. This is not as straightforward as it may seem, because many cultures discourage any public display of success as boastful or an invitation to either bad luck or the tax collector. Whereas in Hong Kong even small-scale entrepreneurs drive black Mercedes to project their status, in the Middle East flaunting one’s success publicly can attract the envy of neighbors or, worse, the evil eye. Kenya’s first international call center, KenCall, founded by Nicholas Nesbitt and two partners in 2004, built an international presence by overcoming many bureaucratic and structural barriers, including the lack of a high-speed optical fiber hookup to the international communications grid. The Kenyan government didn’t wait until KenCall became big to sing its praises; even when it was a fledgling operation, the government brought in foreign delegations for visits, promoted the company in official publications and press releases, and hosted an international outsourcing conference. Government officials also used KenCall’s example to push for reforms, which expedited the construction of East Africa’s first undersea optical fiber link—an example of how entrepreneurial success can facilitate structural change, not just the other way around. 6: Tackle Cultural Change Head-On. Changing a deeply ingrained culture is enormously difficult, but both Ireland and Chile demonstrate that it is possible to alter social norms about entrepreneurship in less than a generation. Until the 1980s employment in government, financial services, or agriculture was the main aspiration of Ireland’s young people. There was zero tolerance for loan defaults, and bankruptcy was stigmatized. Parents discouraged their children from setting out on their own, so few nurtured dreams of starting their own business. But by the 1990s, after successful pioneers paved the way, hundreds of new software companies had been launched in Ireland. Some exported products; some went public. Many achieved healthy sales revenues. Just as important, entrepreneurs learned that it was possible to fail and regroup to try again. â€Å"If you wanted to be respected and taken seriously, you needed to be a founder with a stake in a company trying to do something,† recalls Barry Murphy, who was national software director at Enterprise Ireland’s predecessor in the 1990s. In her research, University of Minnesota professor Rachel Schurman has described how Chileans’ negative image of entrepreneurs as greedy exploiters was transformed in just one decade, as a direct result of the Chilean government’s concerted effort to liberalize Chile’s economy. Until the 1980s, Chile’s well-educated middle class wasn’t entrepreneurial, avoided opportunity-driven investment, and preferred to consume rather than save and invest. But by the 1990s, Chile’s new middle-class entrepreneurs were telling Schurman: â€Å"Today the youth, everybody, wants to be an entrepreneur. If a successful empresario is interviewed in the newspaper, everybody reads it. Why was he successful? How did he do it? It’s a model that never existed before†¦.† The media can play an important role not just in celebrating wins but in changing attitudes. In Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Dà ­a, the largest daily newspaper, supported local entrepreneurship by running a weekly page of start-up success stories. On the small island, these stories have quickly become part of the social dialogue and have raised awareness about the opportunities entrepreneurship presents, as well as the tools it requires. 7: Stress the Roots. It’s a mistake to flood even high-potential entrepreneurs with easy money: More is not necessarily merrier. New ventures must be exposed early to the rigors of the market. Just as grape growers withhold water from their vines to extend their root systems and make their grapes produce more-concentrated flavor, governments should â€Å"stress the roots† of new ventures by meting out money carefully, to ensure that entrepreneurs develop toughness and resourcefulness. Such measures also help weed out opportunists. In 2006 Malaysia’s Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development awarded 90% of some 21,000 applicants about $5,000 each in business support, strong evidence of the government’s commitment to entrepreneurship. The program was part of an affirmative action program largely aimed at indigenous Malays, who were less entrepreneurial than the country’s business-minded Chinese immigrants. Yet Malay entrepreneurs themselves attribute the disappointing results partly to the fact that funding was too loose and even stigmatized the Malay recipients as less capable. More broadly, Malaysian entrepreneurship-development programs, considered by many, including myself, to be among the most comprehensive programs in the world, have been criticized for actually inhibiting entrepreneurship among the Malays by unwittingly reinforcing their lack of risk taking. Similarly, recent reports on South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment program have reached the conclusion that BEE has discouraged entrepreneurship among the bulk of black South Africans and has benefited primarily the elite and well-connected. In fact, the hardships of resource-scarce, even hostile, environments often promote entrepreneurial resourcefulness. New Zealanders call Kiwi ingenuity â€Å"number 8 wire†: In the country’s colonial days, the only plentiful resource was 8-gauge fencing wire, and New Zealanders learned to fix and make anything with it. Icelandic entrepreneurship is built upon a legacy of â€Å"fishing when the fish are there, not when the weather is good.† For years incubators or entrepreneurship centers that provide financial help, mentoring, and often space to start-ups have been popular with governments. But I have seen scant rigorous evidence that these expensive programs contribute commensurately to entrepreneurship. One municipality in Latin America established 30 small incubators, but after several years only one venture out of more than 500 assisted by them had reached annual sales of $1 million. Though Israel’s renowned incubator program has helped launch more than 1,300 new ventures, relatively few of them have been big entrepreneurial successes. On the basis of my discussions with Israeli officials, I estimate that, among the hundreds of Israeli ventures that have been acquired at hefty valuations or taken public, at best 5% were hatched in incubators. And incubators definitely are not a quick fix. When well conceived and well managed, they can take 20 years or longer to generate a measurable impact on entrepreneurship. Poorly conceived and managed, they can be white elephants.

Juvenile Detainees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Juvenile Detainees - Research Paper Example It is the officer’s responsibility to ensure that the young detainees are provided with special education and psychological restoration, in order to help them regain their well-being and prevent recidivism. Correctional officers come across many unique situations in their profession, where the detainees require special attention and consideration. Cases of substance abuse, sexual abuse, children suffering from mental disorders, those belonging to minority groups and children with disabilities often come under this purview. Keywords: Juvenile delinquency, deterrence, correctional officers, alcohol, drug and mental disorders (ADMs), detaineesDealing with Juvenile Detainees The role of a juvenile correctional officer is probably one of the most challenging ones, requiring a strong sense of solidarity as well as sensibility towards the juvenile detainees. The responsibilities of a correctional officer extend beyond mere provision of security and supervision. The future of a juveni le detainee often depends on the actions of his/her correctional officer. Such a role can only be fully surmised when the tasks, responsibilities and the tribulations faced by an officer, in relation to the detainees assigned to him, are fully understood. The neurobiological and psychological states of children and adolescents are very fragile, especially in the case of juvenile delinquents. Most juvenile offenders are found to have psychological disorders and mental ailments, which expose them and the correctional officers to dangerous and often life threatening situations. Young detainees are found to have a higher incidence of suicidal tendencies, substance abuse and criminal inclinations that often place correctional officers in unique situations that need to be dealt with meticulous, clever as well as humanitarian approaches. On account of their violent history, juvenile delinquents take a long time to rehabilitate and get back to a normal life. â€Å"Understanding principles of child development and children’s mental health can help guide the design and implementation of more e?ective interventions for youth who have committed minor to moderately severe o?enses† (Arredondo, 2004, p. 135). I. Dealing with Juvenile Delinquents with Disabilities Most juvenile detainees are found to be mentally retarded or possess certain disabilities in learning and cognition, apart from emotional disturbances. These may be regarded as the primary factors that place these juvenile delinquents at their present disposition. In order to ensure their full recovery and rehabilitation, special child development strategies and literacy initiatives are required. Correctional officers may often find themselves in a situation where they have to deal with mentally retarded juvenile offenders, especially when they have a history of substance abuse, mental disturbances and fits due to stress and depression, collectively called as alcohol, drug and mental disorders (ADMs) b y medical health professionals. Such detainees engage in personal as well as public assault, posing a threat to themselves, other juvenile detainees and the correctional officers too. A. Special Education and Child Development Programs Children in juvenile detention centers require special educational programs keeping in mind their requirements and disabilities. It is found that juvenile detainees who are provided with the necessary education and skills find it easier to revert to a normal life with lesser

Humanitarian intervention only occurs when it supports the interests Essay

Humanitarian intervention only occurs when it supports the interests of the powerful. Discuss - Essay Example tarian intervention aims at protecting lives, it poses a challenge for the international community, whose foundation builds on principles of sovereignty and non-military intervention. Following world events that occurred in the 1990s especially in Rwanda, Kosovo, Chechnya, Serbia, and Haiti, the world came together to establish laws that prohibited genocide, forbidding oppression of civilians and principles for upholding the fundamental human rights. These are the humanitarian principles from which intervention could be justifiable in the event of abuse. The sovereign states are supposed to protect their citizens, but in the event of oppressive regimes, the international community will be obliged to provide humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention especially in terms of military saw a rise in the 1990s, more so among the liberal states, which championed for new humanitarian regulations among the international community. According to the United Nations, there was a need to protect forcibly harmless civilians from risks such as oppressive, tyrannical regimes and genocides. Although the United Nations agrees to this norm, there is no day that the United Nations Security Council has ever authorised military intervention, leaving the role solely to the powerful nations such as the United States, Britain, and France. These powerful nations call for humanitarian intervention if and only if, they have vested interests in the states that need help. For example, in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the world looked the other way when the country needed humanitarian assistance most because strategically, the powerful nations had no interest in Rwanda. It is evident that the powerful nations will provide humanitarian i ntervention either to safeguard their interests or any future interests in the state they are aiding. They just do not provide humanitarian assistance if they do not stand to gain either through political cooperation or economic reasons. Therefore,

Evidence based practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evidence based practice - Assignment Example In addition, through literature review McMillan and Small (2007) obtained various information and concepts regarding creation or development of a better research design. McMillan and Small (2007) describe the research design as a three-group comparative design with repeated measures in a bid to attaining their objective whilst answering the main research question. In their bid to obtaining sufficient data, McMillan and Small (2007) confirm that their research design is a clinical trial. Participants were drawn from a large non hospice in which the researchers claimed that patients received proper home care. McMillan and Small (2007) used an experimental study to obtain sufficient data to find answers to the research question. Experimental study engages different researchers in obtaining sufficient data to make proper conclusions on the subject of discussion. The evidence showing that this journal is a peer-reviewed article is the indication that after about 6 to 8 weeks editorial committee of the journal engages in serious review of the articles produced. The journal of Oncology of Nursing has an editorial committee headed by Susan Moore. This editorial committee ensures that there is a production of the articles or journal twice every month. 7) Is there evidence of any conflict of interest that might introduce bias into the way the study is designed, or the way the results are viewed? Do the authors have any potential financial gain from the results of this study? From the article, there is no evidence of conflict of interest between the authors. This is because each author of the article is determined to obtaining the research objectives and answering the research questions. Therefore, there will be little room for the tow authors to have a conflict of interest. The authors have possibility of obtaining financial gain from sale of the journals containing their

Discuss the relationship between the design of religious architecture Essay

Discuss the relationship between the design of religious architecture and the interests and requirements of the religious tradit - Essay Example This paper will provide more insight into this analogy through discussing four historical religious architectures: the Altar of Zeus, Egyptian pyramids, Suleymaniye Mosque and St. Peter’s Basilica. The Altar of Zeus was created by ancient Greeks, Egyptian pyramids were erected by ancient Egyptians, Suleymaniye Mosque was developed by Muslims and St. Peter’s Basilica was designed by Romans. The Altar of Zeus provides a good Hellenistic Greek sculpture example, which was built between 166 and 156 BCE. The altar is crafted with art and sculpture, which depicts narrations. The Gigantochamy frieze, which adorns the base of the altar, has at least 100 distinct panels that show combats between gods and giants. Here, one connects with the Greek legend where Zaas decided to abandon Gaia’s after the new gods (led by Zeus and in support by Zaas) defeated the old gods (led by Cronus). The East Frieze sculpture, on the other hand, constitutes significant Olympic gods such as Hecate, Artemis, Zeus, Athena and Ares. In the same way, the north, south and west frieze sculptures continue with sculptural and relief narrations of various Greek gods.1 The altar, also known as the Altar of Pergamon, stands at 115 feet in width and 110 feet in depth. The altar was accessible through a stairway, from the west, which led up to a roofed hall extending to the front and sides of the altar. This altar is very important to the people, who regard it highly and it’s highly respected. It has been in existence for quite a long time and many people have high regard for the altar. Due to this fact, the altar of Pergamon is well preserved and taken care of. Ancient Egyptian pyramids held similar themes in architectural designs. The pyramids were erected on the west bank of the River Nile. This was in accordance with Egypt’s religious doctrine which stated that the dead should rest where the sun sets.2 In addition, most pyramids were covered with limestone, which was meant to give them a shiny appearance from a distance. Despite the fact that the pyramids were designed as tombstones for prominent persons such as kings and queens, they were embalmed with religious material. Outstandingly, the pyramids were meant to purify bodies in wait for the afterlife. Within the pyramids were sculptures, paintings and carvings, which portrayed spirituality. In addition, there were illustrations upon the tomb walls, also known as the Book of the Dead, which were meant to guide the deceased in their atonement of sins in preparation for the afterlife. The pyramids also consisted of airways and tunnels, which served to prevent decomposition. The Suleymaniye Mosque was named after Sultan Suleyman who requested it to be built after the Sehzade Mosque was not deemed as satisfactory. Sinan had built the Sehzade Mosque to commemorate the death of Prince Mehmed who had died of smallpox. The Suleymaniye Mosque was completed in 1557 and was of remarkable interior spa ce, height and intricate detail.3 The mosque consisted of four lengthy and thin minarets and a dome, which had a height of over 50 meters. Surrounding the mosque was a kulliye comprising of public baths, schools for teaching Quran, Hadith and primary school children, library, soup kitchen and a hospital. The public baths were situated near the entrance of the mosque since Muslims would take off their shoes before

Management project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management project - Essay Example Generation Y are engaged in extensive internet and new technology usage. They are innovators in the social media platforms. The youth segment accounts for high mobile and broadband internet for accessing information and online purchasing. With increased demand from this market segment, the airline industry went on to introduce more flights at cheaper rates. The impact of youth travels is not only limited to the travel industry but to the technology and telecommunication industry as well (Richards, and Wilson, 2004) The author Moutinho (2011) in his book explains the impact of youth travellers on the global tourism sector. More than 20% of the total international travels were the youth. The total international travels accounted for 940 million in 2010. The global tourism industry received $165 billion in 2010 from young travellers and also expects this number to grow in the coming years. The young population has driven the change in the communication technology and has forced the tourism industry to build new communication system to interact with them. The tourism industry has benefitted from the new market segment of not only through increased revenue but also allowed them to integrate their strategy with sustainability. The youth travel industry accounts for 190 million travels a year and its rate of growth has exceeded the growth rate of travel industry. The annual international youth trips are expected to reach 300 million trips by 2020 (Moutinho, 2011). The author Loudon (2001) explains that youth travel contributes to the development of local communities and the economies. It is seen that young travellers spend as much as 60% of their travel budget in the destination place. Small economies are solely dependent on the tourism sector for their revenue and the travel receipts from the young travellers contribute to the earnings of the local community. Local communities benefit from the

The Grammar Of Words Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Grammar Of Words - Essay Example There are various ways the numbers can be transformed from singular to plural. In the case of the ones provided in the question, the answers are: one syllabus, many syllabuses or syllabi; one ox, many oxen; one fish, many fish or fishes; one antenna, many antennae or antennas; one hippopotamus, many hippopotamuses or hippopotami; one octopus, many octopuses; one nucleus, many nuclei; and one focus, many focuses or foci. We notice in the nouns above that in the cases of syllabus and octopus the word end in -es. In the other cases it ends with -en for ox, and -i for nucleus. In the cases of syllabus, fish, antenna, and hippopotamus, these words in plural end with -s or -i and the speaker is free to pick his choice. Nonetheless, English is easy because of the limited consonants and vowels. Any learner finds it easy to pick the language and begin to use it as soon as he begins to learn it. However, the problem is when the learner gets to grammar, the rules could be complex and the learner can get confused at the initial stages.

Creativity & innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Creativity & innovation - Essay Example ticket number, phone number e.tc. It can be used to pay for the event either by using cash or bank cards. This will cut some cost incurred to pay the cashier. Indeed, this key card is intelligent it will work smartly and deliver as it is expected. The key ring will come in different pattern or shape, for example, monkey, panda, rabbit e.tc. The client will choose the best shape they wish. The key ring will have a small card inside that has a chip embedded on it. The chip will require a period of 3-5 months to design and produce. Designing and producing the key ring will have to involve the stakeholders in the banking industry since the purchasing of the tickets will use bank cards. One of our team members has volunteered in the designing of the key card. The chip will be made by chip manufacturing, company which will do the following processes. The silicon from sand is refined till it is 100 percent pure. The silicon is molten and referred to as ingot; it is then sawed into a wafer. Upon completion of the chip manufacturing, the chips will be sent to us and we insert it to the different shapes, which we get from toy shops. People will be able to purchase the king ring from an automatic vending machine or online. Using any of the platforms, the king ring will be delivered to the client at no additional cost. Upon receiving the king card, the client will just swipe the key ring on the machine, then, choose on the classification that they want e.g. vocal concert. The event that will be held some later days will pop-out and they choose which one they will attend. They can buy the tickets by either pay using cash or bank cards. After payment is done, they swipe the king ring again and the relevant information will be saved e.g. ticket number. On the day of an event, one will just need to swipe the king ring at the check-in office and attend the event. To ensure this service is efficient, we

Art & the Pregnant Form Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Art & the Pregnant Form - Essay Example Through the years, the way in which the pregnant form has been represented, misrepresented and ignored has been a growing theme, coming into full flower in the modern art world in a variety of media. What is painted or sculpted and how this is done reveals much about the prevailing attitudes of the time period in which the art work was created. From the fully clothed, questionable nature of early artists’ renditions of pregnant women to the fully nude and exposed form of today’s pregnant sculptures, the art of the pregnant form has definitely advanced into the worldview. To gain an understanding of how this change came about, it is necessary to learn more about some of the artists that have participated in this centuries long debate about how best to portray the multiple aspects of the pregnant woman – her impending motherhood, her swelling form, her newfound tenderness. Among these artists are Jan van Eyck, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Lucien Freud, Marc Quinn an d Ron Mueck. By looking at how these artists portrayed pregnant women as well as their motivations in doing so, we can begin to gain an understanding of how the cultural attitude toward pregnancy and the female form has changed. Jan van Eyck is the earliest of these painters, having painted his â€Å"Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife† in 1434. This painting has been largely acknowledged primarily due to the various examples of symbolism contained in the painting as well as for its unique perspective. However, left mostly out of the conversation is the idea that Arnolfini’s wife is pregnant. Closer inspection indicates that Jeanne de Chanany is not actually pregnant but is instead wearing the voluminous clothing popular for the early Renaissance period. â€Å"Although many modern viewers mistakenly assume Giovanna is pregnant, art historians familiar with 15th century painting point out

Research in the Counseling Profession Essay Example for Free

Research in the Counseling Profession Essay The importance of research lies in the treatment of the client. When counseling treatments are proven and backed by research, this is more effective that using some form of treatment that is new and not backed by research. One of the most prolific things that stands out to me as a student of counseling is the code by which we should all follow and the one thing that we vow never to do and that is â€Å"do no harm†. If we do not research the plan of action that we are to use with our client and to know that this treatment is the proper treatment for the problem or problems presented than the likelihood of doing more damage than good is probable. We must as counselors deliver and disseminate evidence-based treatments for the advance of our profession (Sheperis, Young Daniels, 2010). As the world evolves the language and procedure of the counseling profession also does, therefore it is of great importance to stay on top of the newest research out there. Working in the field of law enforcement for twenty years I have been through many CISD’S. We see that the ongoing use of CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) is just one design that examination and evidence-based preparation have to find whereas they fit into the counseling profession to better help the counselor work with someone that has seen things that are sometimes unimaginable to them. This is where research keeps the counselor in the mix of things by exploring the new evidence based training and procedures that are out there that show promise this will make the counselor more effective within this population. Scholar Practitioner Model The scholar-practitioner model is often used in reference to the â€Å"Vail model after the 1973 Vail Conference on Professional Training in Psychology† (Vail, 1973). In this model it is the student that learns how to comprehend and relate academic conclusions to the training. The students are thereby trained and instructed to be and take part in research to gain better understanding of the subject material that is presented before them in the clinical setting. â€Å"A counselor is a scholar practitioner. This implies that a counselor is a highly trained profession who uses new knowledge generated through research to positively change his or her clients’ life. In light of this statement, it is important to recognize the role of research in counseling profession. Research can be described as the process through which hypotheses are tested and proved or disapproved through data collection and analysis† (Sheperis, Young Daniels, 2010). What this entails is that it is the process in which through new knowledge passes into the counseling profession. Research gives us an avenue to explore new information in the counseling field and the new information is what makes the counselor more adaptable to the client and their needs. Research in all things can provide a firm foundation in which to back up the practices of the counselor. Conclusion No two clients are the same as no two days are similar. They are ever changing, whereas one treatment might work for one client, whereas another client of theirs presents with like issues, this one treatment may not fit the need or the new client. It is always good to learn as learning is a lifelong process. The more you know the more valuable you are to the client as a counselor.

The Hellenistic Period In Greek Religion

The Hellenistic Period In Greek Religion The Hellenistic period, (from 323 B.C. to 30 B.C) refers to the time between the passing away of Alexander the Great and the growth of the Roman Empire under Augustus. This term Hellenistic in many occasions was used to create a distinction from the classical Hellenic period that preceded it. At this time of the three hundred years, the Greek culture was highly dominant in both the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic religion particularly consisted of a variety of spiritual belief and practices of the people who existed at the time of the ancient influence of the Greek culture and the Roman Empire. Many years back, between 540 and 300BC during Alexanders Era, Greece exhibited unique characteristics in their architecture deigns, culture and tradition as well (Lockard 171). In the same period, Hellenistic age, Greek empire experienced the end of Alexanders era as Atigonus and Seleucustook over thus becoming the new rulers of the empire. However, these two leaders had their own specific territory to rule since Greece had been divided into several (three) parts (Martin 75). Greece, Macedonia and the near east constituted the three divided parts, which initially formed Greece previously ruled by the great Alexander. Antigonus controlled Greece and Macedonia, whereas, his counterpart, Seleucus, controlled the near east. These events had significant influence to Greeks economy, culture among other various aspects. However, our discussion will majorly concentrate on the culture of Greece during the historical period, Hellenistic age. During the period of Greek dominance, there existed a lifelong continuation of the Hellenistic religion. In essence, Greek gods and goddesses continued to be worshiped including the ancient rituals and practices that symbolized their spirituality. However, new religions from other nations and countries were adapted and brought change including the Egyptian gods such as Isis, the Syrian gods of Hadad and Atargatis provided a new dimension for those people in search of fulfillment in the present and afterlife. Despite the existence of these gods and goddesses, Hellenistic rulers were also commonly worshiped by people at this period. In Egypt for example, the ptolemies had taken up the worship of the pharaoh and established themselves everywhere as god kings. Some rulers even received the divine godly status in many parts of Greece (Mikalson 195). The socio economic and political turns that were occasioned due to Alexanders missions, the policies of his predecessors and wars brought massive changes to the religious cultures and traditions. The degree of these changes however, varied so much for Greeks living in the different cities and parts of the country. A good example was the Athenians who conventionally restored their old religious cults, festivals and a spiritual practice in the fifth century B.C.E. At the same period in Alexandria, there was a major contrast due to the clear heterogeneity of Greeks, Egyptians, the Jewish deities and the common religious practices in this multiethnic society (Mikalson 57). By design a the area had a mixed population of different cultures in the Greek world as all the residents and citizens of one city were never expected to worship in the same kind of sacrifices and festivals. As a result of religion bringing together these several nationalities to create a homogeneous city that is does not restrict religious policies of its rulers became possible. The changes attributed to Hellenistic Greek religion largely came from this religious multiculturalism in other metropolitan areas and Alexandria eventually affecting all other parts in Greek world. During the Hellenistic period the Greek religion had turned out to be a highly developed polytheism of a comprehensively anthropomorphic kind. The Greek gods were just merely male and females with normal human passions and sins but more powerful indeed but not so righteous than the people who worshiped them. The Greeks believed there was nothing lifeless about their gods, whether it is being portrayed by the chisel of the sculptors; to them they were warm, living and breathing human figures. However, there was no doubt in the moral quality in worship as it was regarded as a propitiation of risky tyrants. After the successful conquest of Alexander, the Greek culture spread like wild fire all over coming into closer contact with other civilizations in Egypt and the near East. Although the loss of independence of some Greek states to Macedonian rulers had a significant impact on their religion, the development of new philosophical systems never change their religion. There were instances of a decline in Hellenistic religion due to the discerning rise in atheism, skepticism and agnosticism and also an increase in superstitious beliefs, mysticism and astrology. The Greeks continued to worship the same gods giving similar sacrificial offerings, festivals and dedications as it was in the classical era. This period in the Hellenistic religion did not witness new religious practices as only minorities of Greeks were concerned with them (Fairbanks 121). Another key aspect of religion in the Hellenistic period was the institutions of cults that were dedicated to renowned rulers in the various Hellenistic Kingdoms. The initial cults were established under Alexanders rule whose power, stature and conquests had elevated him to a level the dictated special recognition. Many of his heirs extended his worship to the extent that in Egypt he was honored as god under Ptolemy Soter. Later on Ptolemys son declared his late father as god and went ahead to proclaiming himself as a living god and by doing so, made the Ptolemies adapted to earlier Egyptian concepts of worshiping Pharaoh. In some parts the practice varied since a ruler ended up receiving divine status and not full godly status. During 307 BCE in Athens, Demetrius and Monophthalmus were honored and respected as saviors for liberation of the city. As a result of these, alters were mounted and annual festival to mark the celebrations were founded including the introduction of the offic e the priest of the saviors. It was rare to find a temple being dedicated to rulers but in many occasions their statues were regularly erected in different temples and kings would end up being worshiped as sharing gods. Interestingly during the Hellenistic period the use of magic was evidently practiced as part of the religion of the time. Sanctuaries for witchcraft and oracular shrines were very popular including the use of charms and also incidences of casting cursing spells on others. Various symbols would be seen placed many house doors as a belief in bringing good luck or even prevent misfortunes for the occupants of the household (Fairbanks 234 ). Charms were designed and cut from precious stones and believed to carry protective power and sometimes were used to cast evil spells. There were also astrological beliefs that heavenly bodies like stars and planets had the capacity to influence a persons future, this arose commonly in Babylonia where it was specifically applied to a king or a nation. However, the Greeks in the Hellenistic age sophisticated this concept into an extremely complex system of Hellenistic astrology. During the Hellenistic era, worship generally consisted of sacrificial offerings of a number of domestic animals in holy alters that were accompanied by prayer and hymns. The worshipers would eat part of the sacrifice leaving the rest to be burnt for the purposes of appeasing the gods. The Greek authority extended into the field of religion as during the early times the ancient roman gods in most occasions were recognized with Greek gods. In addition, there were alternatives to religion that were presented in the Hellenistic philosophy the most common system being stoicism. This religious philosophical concept taught the beliefs about life as to live in accordance with the rational order which was believed to rule the entire universe (De Gruyter 207). It further explains that people must accept their fate in accordance to the divine will. There was also an extensive mythology in the Hellenistic Greek religion that consisted of a lot of stories about gods and goddesses and how they af fect the life of earthy beings especially humans. Even though many of the myths revolved around heroic actions most of them were recognized as part of religion in all times.

South African Public Hospitals Health And Social Care Essay

South African Public Hospitals Health And Social Care Essay The words crisis and health care follow each other in sentences so often in South Africa that most citizens have grown numb to the association. Clinicians, health managers and public health experts have been talking about a crisis in access to health care for more than half a century, and the advent of democracy has not alleviated the situation. South Africas inability to adequately respond to its many crises is also the result of a national healthcare system designed to provide treatment rather than prevention. The over-dependence on hospital-based care in South Africa not only makes the healthcare system expensive and inefficient, but also precludes much-needed investments in primary and preventative care. Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi honestly conceded that the public health system faces very serious challenges'(Philip 2009). In this review I describe the crisis in childcare and its consequences for the health of children, characterise the underlying reasons for the crisis, examine current interventions and explore some medium and longer term solutions. How severe is the crisis? It is not surprising that the publics perception of health services are often determined by stories about the care offered to children presented in the media. For instance, in one week in May 2010, two stories dominated newspaper and media headlines in Gauteng. One was the death of seven newborn infants and the infection of 16 others as a result of a virulent infection (subsequently identified as a norovirus) acquired by the infants at the Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital. At Natalspruit Hospital in Ekhuruleni, 10 children similarly succumbed to a nosocomial (hospital acquired) infection (Bodibe 2010). These types of events, with large numbers of children acquiring infections in hospitals are not uncommon, although only a fraction grabs the headlines. Outbreaks occur at regular intervals at hospitals throughout the country. An outbreak of Klebsiella infection was responsible for 110 babies dying at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Durban, according to the organisation Voice that threatened a class action case against the Department of Health. The national health department itself has identified infection control as one of six key areas that needed improvement in the public health sector (Department of Health 2010). Poor health care at several Eastern Cape hospitals left more than 140 children dead in one of South Africas poorest districts within the first three months of 2008 (Thom 2008). A task team investigating these deaths in the Ukhahlamba district concluded that they were not the result to any particular disease outbreak or exposure to contaminated water as initially suspected, but rather that the health service available was hopelessly defective. (Report on childhood deaths, Ukhahlamba District, Eastern Cape) The Ukhahlamba task team, comprising of three experienced public sector paediatricians, painted a grim picture of Empilisweni Hospital childrens ward where most of the deaths occurred. Problems identified included: The structure and layout of the physical facility was inappropriate no nurses station or work surfaces, no separation of clean and dirty areas and no play or stimulation facilities, The ward and cubicles were overcrowded and no provision existed for lodger mothers, who paid R30 to sleep on the floor next to their children, There were grossly inadequate services no oxygen and suction points, too few electrical sockets, no basins or showers and too few toilets in the patient ablutions, and an unacceptable ward kitchen, Extremely limited clinical equipment, Staffing deployment and rotation did not promote effective care, with few nurses dedicated to the childrens ward and doctors changing wards every two months, leaving the ward devoid of experienced personnel, There were limited policy documents and no protocols or access to appropriate clinical reference material or guidelines, Clinical practices were ineffective or dangerous, particularly regarding infection control and the preparation and distribution of infant feeds and medicines, Not a single hospital record included details about the prescribing or administration of infant feeds. Fluid management was badly documented. Three of the children appeared to have died from fluid overload due to inappropriate and unregulated fluid administration, The majority of the children were never weighed, their nutritional status was not assessed nor their HIV status established. The task teams audit of 45 of the deaths revealed that most of the deaths occurred within the first 48 hours of admission to hospital and were in infants who were self-referred. The dominant diagnoses were diarrhoeal disease, pneumonia and malnutrition. The task team concluded that These deaths are more likely the result of poor care of a vulnerable impoverished community with high rates of malnutrition among the infants and poor utilisation of the available health services. The pathetic situation described at Empilisweni Hospital is not unique and similar abject conditions can be found at many of the paediatric wards at the 401 hospitals in the country. While objective evidence to support this contention does not exist, paediatric practitioners in many provinces and settings would readily acknowledge the veracity of the claim. The explanation offered by different investigations of adverse events occurring at public hospitals countrywide is remarkably similar. Uniformly, there is a combination of overcrowded wards, understaffing, overwhelming workloads, a breakdown of hygiene and infection control procedures, and management failure with a lack of auditing or monitoring systems to identify and respond to problems at an earlier stage. Increasing child mortality What is not contentious is that South Africa is one of only 12 countries where childhood mortality increased from 1990 to 2006 (Childrens Institute 2010), with a doubling of deaths in children under the age of five years in this period (from approximately 56 to 100 deaths per 1000 live births). The 2010 UNICEF State of the Worlds Children estimates South Africas under 5 death rate to be 67 per 1000 for 2008 (UNICEF 2009). This high rate ranks South Africa 141st out of 193 countries. The national statistic also hides marked interprovincial variations; from about 39 per 1 000 in the Western Cape to 111 per 1 000 in the Free State (McKerrow 2010). A single disease HIV- is largely responsible for the increased mortality. Countries with a similar economic profile (Gross National Income [GNI]) as South Africa such as Brazil and Turkey boast about four-fold lower under 5 mortality rates (U5MR). South Africas high U5MR is even more disconcerting when compared to poorer countries such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam. These two countries U5MRs are roughly five times lower (15 and 14 per 1,000 respectively) despite having a GNI less than one half to a third of South Africas (UNICEF 2009, World Bank 2010). Despite being classified as a high middle income country, South Africa has high levels of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, HIV, tuberculosis and parasitic infections normally found in poorer countries. Similarly, there has been little success in reducing undernutrition in children a quarter of South Africas children are stunted (short). Further, as a result of increased urbanisation and economic development, the country is also experiencing increasing levels of traumatic injuries and chronic diseases of lifestyle such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease that are more typical of better resourced countries. These diseases mainly affect adult populations but are increasingly being identified in children. The worsening in child health has occurred despite significant improvement in childrens access to water, sanitation and primary health services. Almost 3000 new clinics have been built or upgraded since 1994, health care is provided for free to children under 5 years and pregnant women (Saloojee 2005), and the child social support grant is reaching 10.5 million children (more than half of all children in the country) (Dlamini 2011). These achievements have been marred by several shortcomings. Many new clinics and the district health systems are not yet adequately functional because of a lack of personnel and finances, poor administration, and expanding demands. Public tertiary health care (academic hospital) services have severely eroded. Characterising the crisis The World Health Organization, in 2000, ranked South Africas health care system as the 57th highest in cost, 73rd in responsiveness, 175th in overall performance, and 182nd by overall level of health (out of 191 member nations included in the study) (World Health Organization 2000). What explains this dismal rating? Despite high national expenditure on health, inequalities in health spending, inefficiencies in the health system and a lack of leadership and accountability contribute to South Africas poor child health outcomes. Hospitals operate within a dysfunctional health system Poor hospital care is but one marker of a dysfunctional health system that comprises blotches of independent services rather than a coherent, co-operative approach to delivering health care. Most primary health care services for children are only offered during office hours, with some clinics restricting new patients access to services by early afternoon a waste of available and expensive human resources. Some clinics lack basic diagnostic tests and medication. Consequently, many hospital emergency rooms are flooded with children with relatively minor ailments because their caregivers choose not to queue for hours at poorly managed local clinics, or prefer accessing health services after returning from work. The referral system in which patients are referred from clinics to district, regional or tertiary hospitals according to how serious their health problems are has disintegrated in many parts of the country. Children who require more specialised care often cannot get it either because they get stuck within a dysfunctional system or because there is no space for them at the next level of care. Transport to secondary and tertiary level hospitals is problematic, resulting in delays or non-arrival, increasing the severity of the disease and treatment costs when the child does arrive. District hospital services are the most dysfunctional (Coovadia 2009), with patients often by-passing this level of care in settings where access to secondary (regional) or tertiary care (specialist) services are available. Despite cut-backs in budgets, tertiary care settings continue to attempt to provide first-class services, which although commendable, may result in over-investigation and treatment, and denial of essential care to children who reside outside their immediate catchment areas (because the hospital is full). Changing health environment Some of the increasing stress faced by the public hospitals may be attributed to the changing health environment in which they operate. Two factors are most responsible for the change: rapid urbanisation and the AIDS epidemic. Urban, township hospitals are particularly affected by the burden of increased patient loads, and barely coping with the demand. Although a national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS exists, the ability to implement the plan is constrained by the enormous demands on human and fiscal resources demanded for its implementation. The budget allocated to HIV/AIDS has increased from R4.3 billion in 2008 to an estimated R11.4 billion in 2010 (13% of the total health budget) (Mukotsanjera 2009). New initiatives aimed at strengthening the HIV/AIDS response, include a national HIV counselling and testing campaign and the decentralization of antiretroviral treatment from hospitals to clinics with nurses now providing the drugs. About a third of children at most South African hospitals are HIV infected. HIV-positive children are hospitalised more frequently than HIV-negative children (17% compared to 4.7% hospitalised in the 12 months prior to the study) (Shisana 2010). Children with AIDS tend to be sicker and often require longer admissions despite suffering from the same spectrum of illnesses as ordinary children. Greater numbers of patients, higher disease acuity levels and complications, and slower recovery rates all impact on limited resources. High mortality rates take an emotional toll on doctors and nurses. Hospital paediatrics, which has always been a popular and rewarding choice for newly qualified doctors because of modern medicines ability to quickly restore desperately ill children to health has now become much more about chronic care delivery because of the high number of HIV infected children in the wards, many of whom are re-admitted regularly because of recurrent infections. In recent years, young doctors have been dissuaded from selecting primary care disciplines, such as paediatrics, and have moved instead to pursuing specialities where contact with patients is limited, such as radiology, for fear of acquiring HIV from work-related accidents such as needle-stick injuries. The availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy to increasing number of children nationally, thou gh still limited to fewer than half of all eligible children, has the potential to return paediatrics to its previous status as a rewarding and fulfilling specialty. Inequity Inequities and inequalities abound in South African health care spending generally, and specifically regarding childrens health. Of the R192 billion spent on health care in 2008/09, 58% was spent in the private sector (Day 2010). Although this sector only provides care to an estimated 15% of children, two-thirds of the countrys paediatricians service their needs (Colleges of Medicine of South Africa 2009). Furthermore, of the R90 billion provincial public health sector budget, about 14% is spent on central (tertiary) hospital services (Day 2010), which primarily benefits children residing in urban settings and wealthier provinces such as the Western Cape and Gauteng. Similarly, marked inequities exist in the number of health professionals available to children in different provinces with, for example, one paediatrician servicing approximately 8,600 children in the Western Cape, but 200,000 children in Limpopo (Colleges of Medicine of South Africa 2009). This differential exists among most categories of health professionals. The current health system claims to provide universal coverage to children. Yet, from a resourcing, service delivery and quality perspective, the availability and level of service is inequitable with many patients and communities experiencing substantial difficulty in accessing the public health system. Rural and black communities remain most disadvantaged. Apartheid age differentials continue in present day health care. Thus, for instance, while the formerly whites only Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital now mainly serves a black urban population, its resources including ward facilities, staff-patient ratios and overall budget still show a clear positive bias when compared to the resources available to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital located in Soweto (a former black hospital) (von Holdt 2007). Nationally, the most stressed hospitals are those with the lowest resources per bed. The least stressed hospitals continue to be those with previous reputations as high-quality institutions (mostly previously whites only hospitals) that provide them with a kind of social capital (von Holdt 2007). Management capacity crisis The battle for the control of hospitals South Africa has embraced the concept of health services delivered within a three-tiered national health system framework national, provincial and district. Provinces are charged with the responsibility of providing secondary or tertiary hospital services, with district services having responsibility for district hospitals and clinics. Existing legislature allows hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) considerable powers in the running of their own hospitals. However, there is a dysfunctional relationship between hospitals and provincial head offices, which often assume authoritarian and bureaucratic control over strategic, operational and detailed processes at hospitals but are unable to deliver on these. There is a blurred and ambiguous locus of power and decision-making authority between hospitals and head offices (von Holdt 2007). Hospital managers are disempowered, cannot take full accountability for their institutions and are mostly unable to decide on matters such as staff numbers and appointments, drawing up their own budgets or playing any role in the procurement of goods and services. The structural relationship between province and institution is a disincentive for managerial innovation, giving rise to a hospital management culture in which administration of rules and regulations is more important than managing people and operations or solving problems, and where incompetence is easily tolerated. Hospital managers lack of control undermines management accountability and promotes subservience to the central authority. The role of provincial health departments should really be about controlling policy regarding training, job grading and accountability. Silos of management Most South African hospitals have essentially the same management structure where authority is fragmented into separate and parallel silos. Thus, doctors are managed within a silo of clinicians, nurses within a nursing silo, and support staff by a mesh of separate silos for cleaners, porters, clerks, etc. The senior managers in the institutions have wide spheres of responsibility but with little authority to make decisions or implement them (von Holdt 2007). As an example, a clinical department such as paediatrics is headed by a senior or principal paediatric specialist who has no control over the nurses in the paediatric department. In the wards, nursing managers are responsible for effective ward functioning, but have little control over ward support staff such as cleaners or clerks. A senior clinical executive (superintendent) has responsibility for the paediatric (and other) departments, but can exercise little substantial authority over it because power lies within each of the silos (doctors, nurses, support workers). As a result, the clinical executive has to attempt to negotiate with all parties. Doctors and nurses do not determine budgets, or monitor and control costs. In essence, those responsible for using resources have no influence on their budgetary allocation, while those responsible for the budget assume no responsibility for the services that the budget supports. Most clinical heads have no idea what their budgets are and costs are not disaggregated within the institution to individual units or wards. Thus, what should be managed as an integrated operational unit (for example, a ward or clinical department) operates instead in a fragmented fashion with little clear accountability. In this circumstance all parties are disempowered, and relationships oscillate between diplomacy, persuasion, negotiation, angry confrontation, complaint and withdrawal. In the process few problems are definitively resolved, with negative consequences for patient care. Where institutional stress is high, the fragmented silo structures generate the fault lines along which conflict and managerial failure manifest (von Holdt 2007). Financial crisis Insufficient expenditure on health, hospitals and child health Between 1998 and 2006, South African annual public per capita health expenditure remained virtually constant in real terms (i.e. accounting for inflation), although spending in the public sector increased by 16.7% annually between 2006 and 2009 (National Treasury 2009). Nevertheless, the small increases in expenditure have not kept pace with population growth, or the greatly increased burden of disease (Cullinan 2009). In 2009 the country spent 8.9% of the gross national product (GDP) on health (Day 2010), and easily met the World Health Organisations (WHO) informal recommendation that so-called developing countries spend at least 5% of their GDP on health (World Health Organization 2003). However only 3.7% of GDP was spent in the public sector, with 5.2% of GDP expended in the private sector (Day 2010). In per capita terms R9605 was spent per private medical scheme beneficiary in 2009, while the public sector spent R2206 per uninsured person (Day 2010). Although the health of mothers and children has been a priority in government policy since 1994, including in the latest 10 Point Plan for Health (Department of Health 2010), it has not translated into movements in fiscal and resource allocation. Children comprise nearly 40% of the population (Statistics South Africa 2009), but it is unlikely that a similar proportion of the health budget is spent on child health. No reliable data exist, as government departmental budgets do not specifically delineate expenditure on children, easily allowing this constituency to be short-changed or ignored. Poor fiscal discipline A lack of accountability extends throughout the health service, and includes the lack of fiscal discipline. Provincial departments of health collectively overspent their budgets by more than R7.5bn in 2009/10 (Engelbrecht 2010). Provincial departments frequently fail to budget adequately, resulting in the freezing of posts and the restriction of basic service provision (e.g. routine child immunisation services were seriously disrupted in the Free State province in 2009 [Kok D 2009]). Every year, budgetary indiscipline results in critical shortages of drugs, food supplies and equipment in many provinces, particularly during the last financial quarter from January to March, and during April when new budgetary allocations are being released. Stock-outs of pharmaceutical agents, medical supplies such as disinfectants or gloves or radiological material, and food or infant formula, may annoy staff but may have devastating consequences for patients, including death. Most of these stock-outs are the result of suppliers terminating contracts because of failure of payment of accounts. In Gauteng, medical suppliers are currently owed more than half a billion rand by the Auckland Park Medical Supplies Depot, the central unit from which medicines are distributed to provincial hospitals and clinics. The largest amounts owed by the depot are to two pharmaceutical companies (some R130 million) (Bateman 2011). A recent embarrassing occurrence is the return of R813 million to Treasury at the end of the past financial year by the health department because of unspent funds (Bateman 2011). Most of the money was budgeted to revive collapsed and unfinished infrastructure at hospitals. This function belongs to the Department of Public Works, and hospitals have little influence on the functioning of this separate department a further example of fragmented services. Treasury has nevertheless allocated funds for the revival or construction of five academic hospitals by 2015, mainly through public private partnerships. These are Chris Hani Baragwanath in Soweto, Dr George Mukhari in Pretoria, King Edward VIII in Durban and Nelson Mandela in Mthatha, as well as a new tertiary hospital for Limpopo. Provincial health departments are beginning to show modest success in rooting out fraud and corruption, but their efforts have revealed widespread swindling costing taxpayers billions of rands, much of it deeply systemic (Bateman 2011). The bulk of endemic corruption involves dishonest service providers with links to key health department officials, looting via ghost and multiple payments loaded onto payment systems. In the Eastern Cape an external audit of anomalies in four health department supplier databases revealed R35 million in duplicate or multiple payments in 2010 (Bateman 2011). Some 107 suppliers had the same bank account number, 4 496 had the same physical address and 165 suppliers shared the same telephone number. Less sophisticated fraud involved the bribing of district ambulance service directors to transport private patients. Theft of equipment, medication and food is pervasive, aggravating existing bottlenecks in supply chain management. Almost R120 000 worth of infant formula destined for malnourished babies or infants of HIV-positive mothers was stolen in the Eastern Cape in 2010 for which three foreign national businessmen and four health department officials were arrested. Eight nurses at Mthathas Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital were arrested for allegedly stealing R200 000 worth of medicines (Bateman 2011). In KwaZulu-Natal, a report to the finance portfolio committee revealed 24 high priority cases involving irregularities, supply chain and human resource mismanagement, overtime fraud, corruption, nepotism, misconduct and negligence, amounting to nearly R1 billion. Among others, the former health MEC, Peggy Nkonyeni faced charges of irregular tender awards amounting to several million rands (Bateman 2011). Ten health department officials in Mpumalanga, including its chief financial officer, appeared before a disciplinary tribunal on charges of corruption. Three separate probes uncovered massive fraud and corruption in the department, including irregularities with tender procedures and the buying of unnecessary hospital equipment. Perversely, Sibongile Manana, the health MEC, was removed from her post by the provincial Premier, and given the Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture portfolio. The Premier justified this decision by claiming that the reshuffle of his executive council was to rectify instances of mismanagement and wrongdoing uncovered by a series of forensic audits (Bateman 2011). Human resources crisis Staff shortages Staff shortages are a critical problem in most public hospitals, and are the result of underfunding as well as a national shortage of professional skills. Almost 43 % of health posts in the public sector countrywide are vacant, and more concerning appear to be increasing (up from 33% in 2009 and 27% in 2005) (Lloyd 2010). Some institutions are running with less than half the staff they need, with more than two-thirds of professional nurse posts and over 80% of medical practitioner posts in Limpopo unfilled (Lloyd 2010). Shortages of support workers such as cleaners and porters exacerbate the problem, since nurses and doctors end up performing unskilled but essential functions. Shortages of nurses in particular are generating a healthcare crisis in South African public hospitals (von Holdt 2007). Nurses have a wide scope of practice, and bear the brunt of increased patient-loads, staff shortages and management failures. Ironically, a number of nursing colleges were closed down in the late 1990s as part of governments cost-cutting measures while government made it very difficult for foreign doctors to practice in the country. The situation is now being addressed with recognition of the need for both more nurses and doctors to be trained. However, the constricted resources available limit a speedy or meaningful response and considerable investment in new facilities and trainers is required over the next decade to address the current deficit. Throughout the country, doctors and nurses constantly make decisions about which patients to save and which to withhold treatment from based on available staff and physical resources, rather than medical criteria. Because of the pressure on beds, children are sometimes denied admission to hospitals, not referred appropriately or discharged prematurely, thus facing the danger of deterioration, relapse or death. Conditions of service Understaffing and vacant professional posts and are the result of a number of factors, and vary in different locations. They include failure to establish new posts despite the increased demand for services, frozen posts because of insufficient funding being available and lack of suitably qualified staff. This lack may be because of pull or push factors. Pull factors attract staff away from the public service and include emigration and movement to the more lucrative private sector. Push factors such as poor salaries, the inability of hospitals to satisfy the simple creature comforts of staff, particularly in rural or township settings, and a blatant disrespect by hospital administrators of the professional status of staff induce staff to leave the public service. The high death rate of health workers from AIDS has further exacerbated the skills crisis. The Occupational Specific Dispensation was a measure introduced to specifically address the poor salaries paid to nurses and doctors. Although the intervention has been successful in retaining some staff in public sector hospitals and even enticing private sector nurses and doctors back, this financial incentive was insufficient to prevent national strikes by both doctors in 2009 and the entire health sector in 2010. Much of the dissent and unhappiness related to conditions of service, rather than the declared dispute about the size of the annual increase of the pay package. The long and bruising six-week strike was a sad indictment of the poor levels of professionalism of health workers, with wards full of newborn and young infants in many hospitals being abandoned instantly and completely with no interim plans for their feeding or care. This necessitated emergency evacuations or alternative arrangements by practitioners who were willing to place their little patients needs above th ose of the strike action, and by concerned members of the public. Undoubtedly, many hundreds of childrens lives were lost during this industrial action but the details of these deaths and any consequent punitive action has been conveniently ignored in an attempt to placate further strike action by the responsible parties. Aberrant staff behaviour Absenteeism among health workers is rife, even at well run institutions such Durbans Addington Hospital (Cullinan 2006). This is mostly due to stress, but nurses moonlighting in private hospitals to supplement their state salaries is also a factor. At hospitals where management was weak, such as Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London or Prince Mshiyeni in Durban, nurses also turned up late, left early, and often neglected patient care such as regular monitoring of vital signs (Cullinan 2006). Hospital managers ability to take disciplinary action is severely limited by the centralised nature of provincial health bureaucracies. In many provinces, the provincial head of health is the only person able to dismiss staff. Hospitalised children are the most vulnerable, since they cannot demand services or advocate for their own needs. Thus missed feeds, failure to receive prescribed medication timeously or missed doses, inattention to monitoring vital signs and delays in responding to sudden clinical deterioration are daily occurrences in childrens wards countrywide. Service delivery crisis Inadequate patient care There is a crisis of caring at hospital throughout the country. Evidence of poor service delivery at hospitals is disputed, ignored, and mostly tolerated by readily accepting the excuse of low staff morale, staff or resource shortages and no money (Saloojee 2010). The caring ethos that characterises the health profession has eroded to the degree that most patients are grateful for any acts of kindness directed to them. Many patients can recount how their most basic needs, such

Bruce Stovel’s A Contrariety of Emotion’: Jane Austen’s Ambivalent Lovers in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride Prejudice

Bruce Stovel’s A Contrariety of Emotion’: Jane Austen’s Ambivalent Lovers in Pride and Prejudice The hero and heroine in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice forever intrigue critics, and in Bruce Stovel’s essay, they are once again analyzed. Thoroughly researched and imaginative in scope, Stovel’s â€Å" ‘A Contrariety of Emotion’: Jane Austen’s Ambivalent Lovers in Pride and Prejudice† presents a novel interpretation of Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship. Stovel believes that the lovers’ relationship is neither love-at-first-sight nor hate-at-first-sight. Instead, he firmly believes that since Pride and Prejudice is comic, it has a â€Å"both/and rather than an either/or vision† (28). Drawing the definition of â€Å"ambivalence† from the Oxford English Dictionary, Stovel clarifies that what Elizabeth and Darcy feel toward each other is ambivalence – â€Å"the coexistence in one person of the emotional attitudes of love and hate, or other opposite feelings, towards the same object or situation† (27). Sandwiching his analyses of the ambivalent lovers between his deliberations on Austen’s intentions and other critics’ inductions, Stovel is able to lodge his essay in a broad, meaningful context. However, this strength of Stovel’s essay is also a flaw, because as Stovel spews forth a list of what other critics think, the reader is left to wonder what Stovel himself thinks. When Stovel finally reveals his opinions, he speaks of â€Å"moral patterns† and â€Å"psychological states† as being ambivalent characteristics of Elizabeth (28). Although Stovel’s idea has great potential for expansion, he fails at explaining this concept clearly. It is difficult to grasp the connection between the â€Å"moral† engagement of Elizabeth in â€Å"protecting herself from her own sharp intelligence† and her being â€Å"humiliated by Charlotte’s defection† (29). After all, Elizabeth prides herself on being a â€Å"studier of charact er† (Austen, 38) and she is shocked at – not â€Å"humiliated by† – Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth cannot believe her friend’s defection, because she has previously told Charlotte that it is unsound to believe â€Å"it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life† (Austen, 21). Stovel states that Elizabeth’s â€Å"psychological predicament† is being unable to think well of others (Stovel, 29). This is untrue, because Elizabeth admires her sister Jane for thinking well of everyone, and she â€Å"could easily forgive [Darcy’s] pride, if he had not mortified [hers]† (Austen, 19). In short, Stovel is correct in uncovering the contrarieties of Elizabeth’s thoughts and emotions, but he does so with some poor examples from Austen’s text.

Comparing Marriage in Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman, She Stoops to Conq

Separation between Love and Marriage in Mary the Wrongs of Woman, She Stoops to Conquer and Moll Flanders      Ã‚  Ã‚   Our aim in this paper will be to analyze and discuss the different ways in which love and marriage were dealt with during the eighteenth century and to what extent these two terms were linked together or considered as opposite. To accomplish this matter we are going to focus our attention on several works that are representative from this period and that reflect in an accurate way the social mores and more specifically, marriage conventions and romantic love. Throughout this discussion we will be emphasizing the idea that marriage is represented in these works as an institution completely detached from love and that it pursues more than anything else economic purposes and an rising in the social hierarchy. First of all we should account for the situation of English women during the eighteenth century, that despite several social improvements, continued having less rights or freedom than men within the family and marriage as an institution. Patriarchal forms were still a deep-rooted custom that ruled society, which was male-centered. Marriage was often forced on women as their only way of having a recognized position in society, but at the same time led them to slavery. Women's property could be spent to the discretion of the husband as she was considered, together with all that she owned, a possession of the husband. Significantly relevant is the fact that the convention of marriages arranged by parents was still widely accepted. Evidences of this aspect can be found in Goldsmith's work She Stoops to Conquer. At the very beginning of the play Mr.Hardcastle expresses that he has already chosen a husband for... ...and stability. However, the existence of arranged marriages and consequently the lack of love, turned matrimony into a prison where women were locked. A male-ruled world transformed women into virtual slaves that had no rights, and the cases where marriage was the result of a true and passionate love can be counted for as exceptional. Works Cited Wollstonecraft, M., Mary The Wrongs of Woman, Oxford World's Classics.  Ã‚   (1976) Defoe, D., Moll Flanders (1978) Penguin English Classics.   (1999) Goldsmith, O., She Stoops to Conquer Dover Thrift Editions. (1991) Stone, L. The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800, (1979) Pelikan   Ty, E. Unsex'd Revolutionaries: Five Women Novelists of the 1790's.   University of Toronto Press, Toronto.   (1993) Spencer, J., The Rise of the Woman Novelist: From Aphra Behn to Jane Austen Oxford Press (1987)

Grenada :: essays research papers

For a country as powerful as the United States, there comes a responsibility to protect its allies, neighbors, and supremely itself. However, there are times when this sense of responsibility misleads the U.S. into using force that is excessive or unnecessary. We are walking a fine line of political laissez-faire and obligation to intervene, but add the element of a  ¡Ã‚ °Lyndon Johnson ¡Ã‚ ¯s obsessive fear of the spread of Castro-style communism ¡Ã‚ ± (Musicant 363), and consequently, we will find ourselves resurrecting gun boat diplomacy and the Monroe Doctrine. Although under the veil of ensuring safety to our citizens, the invasion of Grenada is an example of where we overstepped our legal bounds, fabricated justifications and reacted without preparation, inconsiderate of the criticism which was definite to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A main concern of the United States was its 1,000 citizens on the island. Of these citizens, 600 were medical students at St. George University. Because of the political turmoil, the U.S. stated to its public that the students and citizens on Grenada were in danger. President Reagan also stated to the press that there was no way for our citizens to get off the island. However, the State Department had issued a formal note to Grenada asking about the safety of its citizen, to which the minister of external affairs replied,  ¡Ã‚ ° The interest of the United States citizens are in no way threatened by the present situation ... which the Ministry hastens to point out is a purely internal affair ¡Ã‚ ±(Musicant 374). The Chancellor of the school, Charles Modica, was announcing that the students were in no danger, and that the school was expected to continue to have good relations with the  ¡Ã‚ °Government ¡Ã‚ ± (Weinberger 108). This display of good will coincid ed with the report Margaret Thatcher, Britian ¡Ã‚ ¯s Prime Minister, received from the Deputy High Commissioner in Bridgetown, Barbados, who had visited Grenada, that the British citizens were safe and that the new regime was cooperating in making arrangement for those who wished to leave(Thatcher 330). The same cooperation was being offer to the U.S., contradicting the President ¡Ã‚ ¯s statement, which was made long after notification from Grenada that Americans were free to leave on regular or charter flights. Also clearly in contradiction was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North report to the press stating that the airports were open for two hour even the day before the invasion (Speakes 161-162). There was no evidence that the student or citizens were in any danger, except during the invasion.

World, in Hounding Me

World, In Hounding Me The poem â€Å"World, in Hounding Me† written by â€Å"Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz† explains her ethos and thought process in order to give a greater understanding of her psyche and in doing so, is also judgmental about modern life. She wishes to enrich her mind, spirit and existence with the understanding of beauty and humility. In the poem, it states, â€Å"How can it harm you if I choose, astutely, rather to stock my mind with things of beauty, than waste its stock on every beauty's claim? . Rather than making herself look beautiful on the outside, she focus on making herself beautiful from within by finding the goods she has in her and understanding the importance of her existence in the world.She wishes to avoid the corruptions of wealth and vanity. The poem states, â€Å"Costliness and wealth bring me no pleasure; the only happiness I care to find derives from setting treasure in my mind, and not from mind that's set on winning treasure. . Sh e doesn't want happiness that only last a moment. She wants happiness that lasts a life time and beyond. She asks to be a simple woman with simple pleasures and not be made to enter the race of accumulating â€Å"things† and wealth. The poem states, â€Å"I prize no comeliness. All fair things pay to time, the victor, their appointed fee and treasure cheats even the practiced eye. â€Å".She doesn't want anything that can be gain through wealth and power. She seeks the pleasures of life that is given by god. She wants to accumulate knowledge and understanding of her psych and also judgment about modern life. She believed life isn't about looking pretty or gaining happiness through wealth. Instead she believed that everyone is beautiful inside and that the happiness is gain through the pleasure of life given by god.

John Stuart Mill And Liberalism Essay

John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806, Pentonville, England – May 8, 1873, Avignon, France) was one of the greatest and most influential liberal thinkers of the XIX century and also a famous political economist and a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1865 to 1868 (Plank). As a prominent thinker, Mill introduced a new doctrine of liberty and can be considered as a first-rate liberal and a second-rate utilitarian (Reeves). John Stuart Mill (Source: httpwww. liberalinternational. orgeditorial. aspia_id=685) Conceived for the first time as a short essay in 1854, Mill’s famous and enormously influential book On Liberty that he published in 1859 is considered one of the founding philosophical works of classical liberalism and also one of the most fundamental texts on the concept of liberty. In the book which concerns social and civil liberty, the philosopher explores the nature of the power that society can legitimately exercise over individuals, and advocates their moral and economic freedom from the state (John Stuart Mill; John Stuart Mill: Political Philosopher). The most important point and basis for liberty made by Mill in his book is that â€Å"Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign†. Individuals exercise their sovereignty both through their judgment and actions. The main ideas that Mill explains in his On Liberty could be grouped into the following sections. 1. Mill opens his treatise by pointing out that the government is a â€Å"dangerous weapon† if it is not appropriately controlled and if its authority is not limited by the liberty of the citizens. In this way, Mill suggests, citizens will be ruled by a government whose rule is guaranteed against oppression and tyranny. However, at a given stage society develops into democracy â€Å"Page # 2† which does not fear tyranny any longer but where the majority can easily criminalize or marginalize a minority group of society and encroach on their rights or liberty. Mill calls it the â€Å"tyranny of the majority† and believes it is much worse than the tyranny of government because it is easier for individuals to be protected from a tyrant than â€Å"against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling†. He saw a danger of the old repression of despotic rulers being replaced by â€Å"despotism of custom†. Rules of conduct, thus, would be based on the majority opinion and there would be no protection in law against its tyranny (John Stuart Mill). He emphasizes that social tyranny is the greater danger than political tyranny for modern nations such as Britain (Heydt). As in Mill’s view the prevailing opinions within society are not necessarily the correct opinions on the one hand, and an individual has the right to choose whatever preference for his moral beliefs on the other hand, Mill concludes that this situation is wrong and unjust. In this case, individuals will be harmed, then their sovereignty over themselves will be impaired (John Stuart Mill). 2. Mill argues for a need of rational principle that would govern individuals within society, and thus introduces and explains his so-called harm principle which is supposed to regulate the limits of intervention in an individual’s actions. Individuals can act as they wish as long as their actions do not harm other individuals. Society should not intervene if the action affects only the individuals that undertake it even though these individuals are harming themselves. In Mill’s view, in a civilized community society has the right to legitimately exercise power over any individual against his will only in order to prevent harm to others. However, Mill distinguishes two categories of â€Å"harms†. If an individual fails to pay taxes, rescue another drowning individual, or appear in court to give evidence, then these acts (which he calls acts of omission) should be qualified as harmful and may be regulated. But if individuals give their consent to take risks without fraud or force, for example, by accepting unsafe employment offered by others, this is not considered as harming them (acts of commission). â€Å"Page # 3† In this case, society is not allowed to intervene except when individuals sell themselves into slavery (John Stuart Mill). 3. Children can’t take care of themselves and may instead harm themselves unintentionally. That is why, Mill explains, they do not have sovereignty over themselves, the harm principle can’t be applicable in this case and society is allowed to interfere with them against their will. Barbarians fall into this category, too. Mill states that barbarians can’t be sovereign over themselves and that despotism over them may be justified in cases when the end result is the improvement of their life. But as soon as they become more civilized and have the capability to decide for themselves, they must be given liberty from the government and its tyranny. Good examples of this, Mill illustrates, are Charlemagne and Akbar the Great who compassionately controlled and â€Å"helped† barbarian nations better manage their lives (John Stuart Mill). 4. According to Mill, human liberty includes several components without which individuals can’t be truly free: †¢ Individuals are free to think as they wish, and to feel as they do (the freedom to opinion and of speech). Mills argues that the freedom of speech is necessary for social progress because allowing people to freely express their opinions and ideas, even if they are false, is useful for two reasons. First, in an open exchange of ideas individuals are likely to understand that some of their beliefs may be erroneous and will thus abandon them. Second, in the process of debate individuals reaffirm their beliefs and prevent them from turning into mere dogma. Mill believes that it is important for individuals to understand why their beliefs are true (John Stuart Mill). †¢ Individuals are free to pursue tastes however â€Å"immoral† they may be considered by others so long as they are not harmful to others (John Stuart Mill). â€Å"Page # 4† †¢ Individuals are free to meet with other individuals (the freedom of assembly) (John Stuart Mill). 5. Mill believes that religion should be criticized in the same way as are other systems of thought regardless of the offence that such criticism may cause. One of main purposes which governed Mill’s philosophical endeavours all his life was his commitment to replace Christianity with a Religion of Humanity (Carey). 6. Mill’s liberal ideas made him an advocate of the development of efficient local government and associations and he fiercely opposed central control. He argued for the parents’ obligation to educate their children but disapproved of a central education system run by the state (John Stuart Mill). In what concerns individual freedoms, it is quite important to understand that Mill gives the specific justifications for them because he believes they will promote the progress of civilization and will be good for society. Mill does not regard liberty as a standard of value and does not mention any natural rights of individuals in his discussions. Instead he is mainly concerned with the utility of rights and freedoms of individuals for the social progress (John Stuart Mill; John Stuart Mill: Political Philosopher). Many critics point out that Mill underestimated the important role of social order and custom as a source of security or freedom. His liberalism is also weakened in the eyes of other critics who do not share his extremely optimistic view of human nature. They are particularly pessimistic about his rosy belief that it is humans’ conditioned engagement in a continuous attempt to achieve personal development that results in the existence of diverse personalities and viewpoints (Reeves). Mill is also often criticised for justifying the right of one developed nation to exercise despotism over other underdeveloped nations (or â€Å"barbarians† as he calls them) on the grounds that it brings them the benefits and advantages of higher civilization (John Stuart Mill and Liberal â€Å"Page # 5† Imperialism). Despite criticism, the remarkable greatness of Mill lies in his readiness and willingness to combine both his thoughts and actions. He was a progressive philosopher who was ready to go to jail for his beliefs. It is not surprising then that six years after he published his great book On Liberty, he decided to stand for parliament in order to better implement his beliefs. His most known initiatives include the introduction of an amendment to the Reform bill in a successful attempt to give women equal voting rights; his relentless pursuit of Governor Edward Eyre for having brutally suppressing an uprising in Jamaica; his fierce opposition to the suspension of habeas corpus in Ireland; his successful campaign against an attempt to prohibit demonstrations or meetings in public parks, and many others (Reeves). By and large, Mill’s career as a liberal politician could be regarded as a relative failure. His performance was usually acclaimed, but he often found himself in opposition to the aims and wishes of his electors. He was quite reluctant to compromise with his own principles just to get support of his electorate, and this resulted in his failure to be re-elected in 1868 (John Stuart Mill: Political Philosopher). 200 years after his birth, Mill’s liberalism is still relevant(Source: http://www. prospect-magazine. co. uk/article_details. php? id=7439) Mills was aware that On Liberty as well as many others of his philosophical works raised several important problems, such as the tyranny of â€Å"uniformity in opinion and practice† which would be more faced future generations than were by his own and that some critics believed that these problems were exaggerated because they were looking more at contemporary facts than at existing tendencies (Reeves). It may be argued that the issues that Mill was interested in and consistently dealt with in his time are without a doubt still relevant and important today (Plank). BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Carey, G. W. The Authoritarian Secularism of John Stuart Mill. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. nhinet. org/carey15-1. pdf 2. Heydt, C. John Stuart Mill: Overview. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. iep. utm. edu/m/milljs. htm 3. John Stuart Mill. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill 4. John Stuart Mill and Liberal Imperialism. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. antiwar. com/stromberg/s051802. html 5. John Stuart Mill: Political Philosopher. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. john-mill. com/ 6. Plank, B. John Stuart Mill. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. liberal-international. org/editorial. asp? ia_id=685 7. Reeves, R. John Stuart Mill. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. prospect-magazine. co. uk/article_details. php? id=7439