A White Heron

A White Heron – Alternate Ending â€Å"The tree seemed to lengthen itself out as she went up, and to reach farther and farther upward. † Her pale face glimmered in the new sunlight that appeared Just over the horizon. She sat atop the mighty tree for a lengthy amount of time, taking in the true beauty of the scenery. As Sylvia was drawn aback with the breathtaking view, a white flash caught her eyes. It was the heron. Sleek, mysterious and mind-blowing; it careened atop the treetops.She followed it attentively, being sure to know the exact location of its nest. After all, the boy back home was willing to pay a sum of none in trade for the location of the nest. Sylvia carefully made her way down the large tree, as she descended, she tired. When her bare feet reached the familiar wet ground of the forest, she knew she had a decision to make. Emotions welled up inside her, and she was overtaken by her conflicting thoughts. If she told the location of the bird, it would be killed.If she kept it to herself, however, it would remain in the world, but she would forgo the money and friendship from the hunter. Her tiny, torn up feet carried her across the forest floor as if they were not her own, as if they were automatic. A blank stare covered her face, and tears plagued her eyes. She loved all woodland beings, especially the heron. It was rare, and it was magnificent. Sylvia knew she was getting close to arriving back home to her eager grandmother, who wanted the money, and the hunter, who desperately wanted the heron.It was not a winning situation for her either way. She could not bear to see the bird destroyed, yet was so tempted to keep a friendship as well as help her grandmother. Just as she became entirely overwhelmed with the gravity of the situation, she had reached the gate and heard the ever so friendly voice call out, â€Å"Slyly! Slyly! Have you returned? † Panic stricken, she walked monotonously to the front porch. Two eager faces awa ited her arrival. One was familiar, wrinkled and warming; tender eyes looking softly at her filled with hope.On the contrary, the other was freckled and enthusiastic. The hunter looked at her keenly, wiped a crocodile tear from her face and asked, â€Å"Sylvia, did you find the location of the bird? † This was it, when her decision had to be made. Tear stricken and unable to decide, she replied with a meek mimes. † She took him into the forest to show him the location of the bird. Sylvia turned away as he raised his gun, eating one final glance at this magnificent creature. One thunderous, echoing shot later, and it was done.The pristine, white feathers were now stained with a crimson rose red blood. As the hunter gathered his kill, he could see the pain in her face. He looked down upon her with a bittersweet glance, â€Å"l am sorry to have taken this creature from your realm; rest assured I will compensate in paying your grandmother double my original offer. † He picked up the small tearful child with arms wrapped around his neck, and returned her home to her grandmother before saying his final goodbyes and being on his way. A White Heron By skies win A White Heron Sarah Orne Jewett was born in South Berwrick, Maine (actually she is a native of New England). I would say ‘A white Heron’ is one of Sarah’s best regionalism works. Sarah began to write stories at her young age. She wrote stories by her everyday life experiences and publishes at her teens. â€Å"In ‘A White Heron’ a young girl’s conflicted loyalties to her conception of herself in nature and to the world of men she will soon encounter are memorable and sensitively drawn†. This is the story of nine year old girl named Sylvia. This is the short story of Sylvia who is actually experiencing an innocent childhood life has found a new changes in herself and discover her womanhood by short period of time. We could say even this story also had the setting of Sarah’s own experienced place which is her native New England. In ‘A white Heron’ Sylvia was living with her grandmother. Sarah started this story by expressing the innocence of the 9 year old little Sylvia. Everybody said that it was a good change for a little maid who had tried to grow for eight years in a crowded manufacturing town, but, as for Sylvia herself it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm† She completely living a life which is opposite of city’s life. And Sylvia loved this peaceful and simple life with her grandmother and of course the other mother â€Å"Nature†. This story starts with Sylvia searching for her cow in one fine summer evening in the wood forest. It was her greatest pleasure to hide herself away among the high huckleberry bushes, and though she wore a loud bell she had made the discovery that if one stood perfectly still it would not ring†. It shows that Sylvia and her cow were playing hide and seek on that night while going back their home. â€Å"Suddenly this little woods girl is horror stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away. Not a bird’s whistle, which would have a sort of friendliness, but a boy’s whistle†. During their journey Sylvia heard a boy’s whistled and met that stranger. He was hunter and he was actually lost his way and asked for Sylvia’s help and he asked her â€Å"Speak up and tell me what your name is, and whether you think I can spend the night at your house and go out gunning early in the morning†. Sylvia continued her journey with her cow and the hunter and finally they reached home. â€Å"Mrs. Tilley was standing in the doorway when the trio came into view†¦ The young man stood his gun beside the door, and dropped a lumpy game bag beside it; then he bade Mrs. Tilley good evening and repeated his warer’s story†. Grandma and the hunter were talking and Sylvia was playing outside in the moonlight. â€Å"But as the day waned, Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful; the woman's heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love†. Hunter was very kind to them and he looks handsome. Next day Sylvia found some changes in herself. She felt like that she drawn for the stranger. Here some sort of her womanhood can be seen instead of her childhood innocence. We can say that her childhood innocence has started to move backward and her adult feeling comes forward. The hunter was looking for very rare white heron. He came to know that Sylvia is aware of all kind of birds. And he also knew that Sylvia and her grandmother are poor. â€Å"I can’t think of anything I should like so much as to find that heron’s nest, the handsome stranger was saying, I would give ten dollars to anybody who could show it to me†. He has given a try to know about the heron by asking indirectly to Sylvia by saying he could give ten dollars for anyone who helps him to find that bird. Sylvia could possibly accept that ten dollars and help the hunter to find the white heron. â€Å"No amount of thought, that night, could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy†. She was thinking about the pine tree which can be seen at the edge of the forest. She knew that she can find the heron over there and she went to that place next day morning itself. â€Å"She had often climbed there, and knew that higher still one of the oak’s upper boughs were set close together†¦she went up and reach farther and farther upward†. She reached top of the tree. And she came across the best things in her life. We could say she is experiencing the ‘symbol of natures’. From the top view she is watching the whole forest; she could see the see in the moon view. Finally here is the time for the sun rise and ready to find the white heron. â€Å"Look, look! A white spot of him like a single floating feather comes up from the dead hemlock and grows larger, and rises, and comes at last, and goes by the landmark pine with steady sweep of wing †¦ plumes his feather for the new day† As the sun started to glow Sylvia found the rare white heron and its nest. By reaching top of the big tree it-self shows that Sylvia has reached her womanhood and put aside her childhood innocence. Sylvia now knows the secret of white heron but she is decided not to reveal this to anyone. She doesn’t want to give up the life of the bird just for ten dollars even though money is important for her. She valued the bird’s life more than the money. She would not be satisfied and feel happier even with those ten dollars more than how she feels by saving white heron’s life. Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember! † Sylvia has discovered her womanhood by climbing the big tree and by keeping the secret of the bird. She has found the treasures of herself and love towards nature. Sarah explains the importance of moral values of young girls towards this story. She is claimed that Sylvia has taken the right decision at right time. She did what her heart said and she valued lives and nature more than money. In life our every day to day decision would bring big changes in our future.

Dimensional Fund Advisors Case Analysis Essay

1)DFA’s investment strategy is based on their belief in the principle that stock market is efficient. They attempt to match a broad-based, value-weighted small-stock index and position themselves in the market as a passive fund manager that still claimed to add value by capturing specific dimensions of risks identified by financial science. DFA’s investment strategy incorporates elements of both passive and active management. It is passive in the sense that like many other index managers, it focuses on the importance of diversification, lower turnover and lower fees than actively managed portfolios. It is active in the sense that it develops its small-value stock focus based on academic research and uses certain techniques (such as its unique trading method in obtaining discounts and lower transaction cost) to contribute to a fund’s profits eve when the investment is inherently passive. 2)DFA’s clients are mainly major institutions (including corporate, government, union pension funds, college endowments and charities) and high-net-worth individuals. The main concern of their existing clients is potential high costs due to illiquid nature of many DFA holdings. DFA’s new product is a family of funds managed to reduce tax payments and the new clients it tries to serve are investors who are eventual taxpayers on any taxable flower received by a DFA fund they hold. To serve this new client base, DFA needs to continue its strength in keeping trading costs low and focus on reducing the taxes paid by clients. Some new issues that DFA will face include the complication of tax-optimization (such as handling the trade-off between putting more weight on non dividend-paying stocks and assuming more portfolio tracking error and volatility) as well as the possibility that tax management may lead to higher transactions costs. 3)Based on information given in the case, DFA accepts semi-form efficiency which indicates that stock prices fully reflect all past prices and all publicly available information. DFA’s trading strategies reflects that it felt that on average the market price correctly incorporated all public information, so it is only concerned about whether there is negative private information known to the seller of the block of stocks but not to the market. DFA’s trading strategy such as avoiding stocks if news  announcements are coming in the near future or if stock has recently reported sales by insiders reflect a belief that stock prices can potentially not reflect all private information. DFA also does not accept the weak-form efficient because if stock prices only reflect all information in past prices, they would see the value of performance fundamental analysis of the firm they are looking at (but the case indicates that DFA does not performance fundamental analysis). 4)Fama and French’s three factor model attempts to explain the variation of stock prices through a multifactor model that includes a size factor and BE/ME factor in addition to the beta risk factor. Fama-French model essentially extended the CAPM (which breaks up cause of variation of stock price into systematic risk which is non-diversifiable and idiosyncratic risk which is diversifiable) by introducing these two additional factors. Fama and French find that stocks with high beta didn’t have consistently higher returns than stocks with low beta and this indicates that beta was not a useful measure under their model. Their model is based on research findings that sensitivity of movements of the size and BE/ME factor constituted risk, and therefore risks associated with small companies and risks associated with high BE/ME companies in addition to beta risk explain a great deal of the variation of stock prices. The two factors in Fama-French model(company size and company BE/ME)are both firm specific risk and not market related risk, and it would appear that DFA (which base a lot of their strategies on this type of academic research) is not utilizing macroeconomic variables. However, as Fama and French argued, these factors explained so much of the common variation in stocks that they essentially capture sensitivity to risk factors related to macroeconomic variables. Therefore, not directly using macroeconomic variables (which is inherently hard to find or predict), but using the size and BE/ME factor may be a better way to represent certain types of market risk. In addition, because DFA is positioned as a passive manager that adds value, its goal then would not be to beat the market, but to follow it with the belief that in the long run indices will perform better than active strategies (which may focus on designing products that addresses macroeconomic variables such as market timing, etc ). 5)The efficient market enthusiasts believe that small stocks will outperform large  ones, and stocks with high BE/ME will generate higher returns than stocks with low BE/ME. On the other hand, behaviorists believe that the size and value premia is not always true, and there are several variable factors need to be considered. For example, in the early 1980s, when the US went into a recession, the small companies were particularly performed poorly, even when the economy and stock market rebounded after a decade, those small stocks still continued to lag.Also, by late 1990s, value stocks’ return was surpassed by the spectacular performance of growth stocks due to the high-tech stocks with very high market capitalization and relatively low assets. However, DFA believes in the efficient market theory, they prefer small stocks over large ones and value stocks over growth stocks. 6)DFA should justify its belief by stating that although the systematic risk would cause certain efficient market theories to bereversed during such times (large stocks outperform small stocks; growth stocks outperform value stocks), the market efficient theory will eventually prevailin the long-run based on the historical data done by Fama and French. Other than the market efficient theory, DFA also believes in two other principles: the value of sound academic research and the ability of skilled traders. Those two factors can contribute to fund’s profits. Because of DFA’s ability to excel in those two areas, they believe that they can provide more value even in efficient market environment. 7)Trading costs associated with small and value stocks include illiquidity and adverse selection problems. To be more specific, the illiquidity of small stocks may cause the stock price move substantially when a purchased is made. Also, the information asymmetry may also result in the adverse selection problem. DFA manages the small stocks illiquidity problems by using block trade to extract a discount on a stock purchase, thus creating value for the clients. In addition,to avoid the adverse selection problems, DFA’s traders follow several steps: 1) DFA will not buy a stock if the target company is going to make major announcement. 2) DFA will leverage the research system to avoid stocks that are more likely to have negative prices in the near future. 3) DFA avoids stocks that have recently reported sales by insiders. 4) DFA pays attention to its sellers and the nature of stock  block they traded. 8)It’s not an embarrassment for DFA when small stocks underperformed large stocks in the mid of 1980s. Because systematic events can’t be possibly avoided. In fact, DFA’s small stocks portfolio outperformed other small stocks investing competitors during the recession. This suggests that DFA’s focused principles in academic research and traders’ ability are adding value to its investors. Besides, this event alone doesn’t prove either rational or behavioral explanation is more likely since the recession is a one-off event. Therefore, DFA should not abandon its small stocks strategy because in the long run the trend is more likely to reverse itself. Even if small stocks were to continue to outperform large stocks for another decade, DFA could still provide value then other small stock investment fund. And as more fund are trading on large stock, the benefit of return on large stock may eventually goes away, making small stock.

Hotel Rwanda

Roberto Cutout. It was released into the United States on December 22, 2004, but it released elsewhere in the world throughout 2005. The three main stars of the movie were Don Cheated, who plays Paul Reassigning the hotel manager, Sophie Conned, who plays Titian Reassigning, Pall's wife, and Nick Molten who plays Colonel Oliver, the United Nations peacekeeper.I watched this movie about a week ago on July 27th with a few of my friends who are also taking this course. The movie is not part of a series, but it is based on a true story. It is inspired by the novel An Ordinary Man by Paul Reassigning and Hotel Rwanda: Bringing the True Story of an African Hero to Film by Keri Pearson and Terry George. In Rwanda, there are two main ethnic groups, the Tutsis and the Huts , who are constantly fighting for power and control of Rwanda. Genocide constantly cleanses Rwanda streets as people turn away in fear.Paul Reassigning is a hotel manager for the Hotel Des Mille Isoclines in Kigali, Rwanda. He being a Hut helps his family and other people they know, most Tutsis like his wife, take refuge from the Hut army in his hotel. Before they even reach the hotel, they get taken by the Huts and Paul has to pay General Beginning one hundred thousand Francs to spare the lives of his Tutsis friends that first took shelter in their home and another ten thousand Francs for his wife and kids' lives.As they try to settle the few amounts of people they have in the hotel already plus the current guests, the Red Cross and other Huts and Tutsis arrive at the hotel taking refuge adding the total from one hundred to over eight hundred Rwanda. As the genocide increases, the Europeans staying at the hotel are flown out of Rwanda by the United Nations and sent back home to avoid the danger. Paul tries to get help from the Belgians and the French after the fighting grows, but the countries refuse to get themselves caught up in Rwanda problems. The U. N. Sakes a list of refugees able to leave the country and attempt to take them on trucks across the border, but Tutsis rebels ambush the trucks forcing them to return to the hotel. Paul and his family later get to escape to a U. N. Refugee camp where they find Titan's nieces, but her brother and sister-in-law nowhere to be found. They end up crossing past the rebel nine and drive to their new home in Tanzania, away from the war. In ten years, one million Rwanda, both Hut and Tutsis, were left for dead because of the genocide and hatred between these two ethnic groups.Which I believe is an unreasonably irrational thing to happen all due to hatred between human beings. The characters in â€Å"Hotel Rwanda† are based on real people and events that actually happened in Rwanda during the sass. Paul Reassigning was a real person that actually took care of hundreds of people in his hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. The people played in the film were accurate as to the real situation in the sass. The dates in the film were also right. So me online people, mostly Rwanda, say that the movie does not tell the story of the genocide correctly as it happened.These sources are not official since they are only people of Rwanda that live there and claim they fully and correctly know the story of the genocide and what happened with Paul Reassigning and his family. The events in the film were based on true events that happened in Rwanda during the sass, ending in 1994. â€Å"Hotel Rwanda† was mainly filmed on the spot in Kigali, Rwanda and Johannesburg, South Africa. The Hotel Des Mille Isoclines set was filmed in South Africa, but the original Hotel Des Mille Isoclines is located in Kigali, Rwanda.The scenes showing the city streets and most fighting scenes are shot in Kigali. The camp scenes along with some road scenes were filmed in South Africa. These locations were shown very accurately since they filmed part of the movie in the actual city where the movie takes place. The movie was filmed during 2004 and it releas ed on December 22, 2004. The wardrobes of the people shown in the film are accurately represented like the Huts, Tutsis, and militias wore during the sass in Rwanda. The ears and clothes of the people were portrayed very well as to how they were back then.The producers did a great Job of showing the time period during the movie Just by the clothes the actors wore. All around this movie was accurately shot and shown as the real actual thing. â€Å"Hotel Rwanda† was a very dampening movie because of the killing of innocent people and children, but it was very good. The actors were great, especially Don Cheated, playing Paul Reassigning, the most important role in the movie. The strongest points in the movie were how real they represented and filmed the Unicode as well as the emotions in the characters throughout each scene.The weakest point in the movie, I believe, is the ending where it ends with the Russianness on the road after they got off the bus. I was curious why they di dn't show the rest of their Journey to their new home in Tanzania and what happens after they get there. Which is most likely due to the length of the movie, which is understandable. It was kind of like a cliff hanger for me, so I did not really like the ending as much as I expected I would. I also enjoyed how the movie rose to a great lima and then stayed at a climax for a while until it dived towards the end once the family reached the U.N. Camp. The movie really kept me on â€Å"the edge of my seat† throughout the whole thing . After watching â€Å"Hotel Rwanda†, I was well aware of what happened with the Hut and Tutsis genocide. I did not realize how much damage was caused in Just one hundred days of the killings. The movie would have been better if it continued on about the Russianness' lives in Tanzania and how they managed to survive. I would definitely recommend â€Å"Hotel Rwanda† to anyone that enjoys watching historic events that keep you on the edge of your seat. Hotel Rwanda Textual Analysis: Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004) The horrible evidence of what Kant variously called the wickedness, corruption and perversity of the human heart is, unfortunately, not encountered only in memory, it is also met with among our current experiences. We are daily obliged to witness fresh atrocities as ethnic and racial hatreds seek to express themselves in the annihilation of their proponents’ enemies. Copjec, 1996;9) The above quote effectively demonstrates that debates on evil are not only still suitable for the issues emerging in a post-modern world, but are perhaps more suitable than ever before. The film which I will be discussing, Hotel Rwanda (2004), relates the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a man who sheltered over a thousand refugees in the hotel he managed during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.The film is useful as a focus point for the discussion of evil since the situation surrounding the events that took place during those months are often referre d to in terms of evil – not only on the part of the Hutu militia that perpetrated the atrocities, but also of the international community and the UN in particular, which did not intervene to stop the massacre – and it would be useful to analyse a couple of key points in this film more closely.After World War II, it was believed that the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis would never be allowed to happen again, but events in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, to name but two examples, have proven that the potential for acts of evil of this magnitude to occur are not specific to one culture or even to a place in time, but are expressions of – to use the words of Immanuel Kant – ‘a natural propensity to evil’ (1960;20) that is embedded in the human race.It might therefore prove useful to turn to psychoanalysis for a partial explanation with regards to how it is possible for people to change their behaviour in such radical ways, readily adopting new moral max ims that often oppose their previously adopted ones. According to Freud, when in a group situation, ‘the individual gives up his ego ideal and substitutes for it the group ideal as embodied in the leader’ The other members of the group are, according to this theory, ‘carried away with the rest by ‘suggestion’, that is to say, by means of identification’ (1921;161-162).According to this theory, the group – small or large – surrenders its free will to that of the leader, which makes them less likely to make their own moral judgements with regards to their actions and more likely to blindly follow the leader as well as the other members of their group. The issues of identity and legitimisation are also crucial to understanding how the Hutus felt justified in brutally murdering their former friends and neighbours. As is explained in the film, tensions between Tutsis and Hutus were virtually nonexistent prior to the arrival of the Belg ian colonists. The two ethnic groups are actually very similar – they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions†¦It was the Belgian colonists who saw Hutus and Tutsis as ‘distinct entities, and even produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity’ (BBC News Website). In other words, there were no violent issues of ethnic difference until the Tutsis were made – to use the definition provided by Richard Kearney – into â€Å"aliens†.For Kearney, this term refers to ‘that experience of alterity associated with selection†¦or sometimes with suspicion’ (2000;101). He goes on to say that ‘Aliens proliferate where anxieties loom as to who we are and how we demarcate ourselves from others (who are not us)’ (2000;102). This means that, in order to legitimise their own identity, groups must necessarily create a group of ‘aliens’ with whom they ca n misidentify. The tendency to use members of this group as scapegoats and perceive them as threats is clearly demonstrated in the build-up to the Rwanda massacre.As the economic situation in the country worsened, Tutsis were used to divert anger from the Hutu government. Subsequently, when the airplane carrying the Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down, the incident was used to make Hutus feel as if they were under attack. As one Hutu – who actively took part in the massacre – later relates; ‘Because the RPF were blamed for the death of President Habyarimana, we thought that they had started with the high-ranking officials and that they were going to end up doing the same to us ordinary people’ (BBC News Website).In other words, ‘When faced with a threatening outsider, the best mode of defence becomes attack’ (Kearney, 2000;104). The other side of evil as portrayed in the film, however, is the international community’s fa ilure to act. The UN soldiers in Rwanda are portrayed as good people who have their hands tied, yet their refusal to go against their orders is portrayed almost as cowardice in that they are failing to ‘do what is right’ and use their weapons in order to save lives.In a scene where the UN convoy – transporting refugees from the hotel to a secure camp – gets stopped at a militia roadblock, the refugees’ lives are in dire peril, and the fact that the soldiers will not shoot the Hutus that are about to kill unarmed men, women and children stands for what is now widely thought of as shameful unwillingness of the Western nations to recognise and stop the genocide. The outcome of this particular scene is that the UN soldiers do not use their weapons but most of the refugees are saved by the belatedly arrived local police force.The outcome of the lack of intervention from Western nations was the death of an estimated 1 million people. The crucial question for the purpose of this paper is whether the actions of those soldiers were evil. It could be argued that if they had used their guns against their explicit orders, many lives could have been saved, but it could also be said, on the other hand, that this act would have give the hostile militias a justification to kill the UN soldiers as well, which would have saved even fewer lives.In determining the evil nature of actions or people, should we consider first and foremost the intention or the consequence of action? It might prove useful at this point to outline a practical definition of morals in contrast to ethics in relation to this particular example. I would argue that morals are result-orientated whilst ethics in the true Kantian sense are interested solely in the consistent obedience of the law, a maxim which once adopted by an individual must be followed for its own sake, regardless of consequence or relative circumstances.Whilst morals must consider a situation in light not o nly of the law, but also taking into account the surrounding circumstances and possible outcomes, ethics dictate that anything short of upholding the law for the law’s sake is evil. Within this framework it is then possible to argue that the soldier’s actions were ethical but not moral. While it would have been impossible for them not to consider the outcome of their action, we could conclude that their decision to uphold the law overrode their need to help the refugees.Operating under a law that dictated that they would not use their weapons to protect the refugees, going against that would be – in Kantian terms – evil, as they would be breaking the law, and even if countless lives were saved as a result of that, Kant’s unforgiving sense of ethics would not spare them in the least, for the outcome of actions simply does not feature in his theoretical framework. By choosing to uphold the law the soldiers fulfil another crucial requirement of Kantia n ethical behaviour (or as he calls it, the ‘moral law’); the categorical imperative.In stating that one should never act except in such a way that they should will that their maxim should become universal law, Kant established that the most important factor of his ethics is consistency, as no double standards can be tolerated. It would seem reasonable to assume that the moral maxim of the soldiers in question is that violence without due procedure and full backing of the law is never justifiable.With that in mind, it could be argued that they would be happy to see that moral maxim adopted as universal law, since a world in which this maxim was universally adopted would most probably not have seen the Rwanda genocide taking place. BIBLIOGRAPHY Copjec, J. (1996) (Ed. ) Radical Evil, Varso Books Freud, S. (1991) Civilization, Society and Religions: ‘Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego’, ‘Future of an Illusion’ and ‘Civilization and its Discontents’ (The Penguin Freud Library) Penguin Books Kant, I. 1960) Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone, New York, Harper Collins Torchbooks, Australia Kearney, R. (2000) ‘Others and Aliens: Between Good and Evil’, in: Geddes, J. (Ed. ) Evil After Postmodernism: Histories, Narratives, and Ethics, Routledge Singer, P. (2004) The President of Good and Evil: Taking George W. Bush Seriously, London, Granta Books ‘Taken Over By Satan’ http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/3582011. stm Accessed on 14/03/2006 ‘Rwanda: How the genocide happened’ http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230. stm Accessed on 17/03/2006 Hotel Rwanda Textual Analysis: Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004) The horrible evidence of what Kant variously called the wickedness, corruption and perversity of the human heart is, unfortunately, not encountered only in memory, it is also met with among our current experiences. We are daily obliged to witness fresh atrocities as ethnic and racial hatreds seek to express themselves in the annihilation of their proponents’ enemies. Copjec, 1996;9) The above quote effectively demonstrates that debates on evil are not only still suitable for the issues emerging in a post-modern world, but are perhaps more suitable than ever before. The film which I will be discussing, Hotel Rwanda (2004), relates the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a man who sheltered over a thousand refugees in the hotel he managed during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.The film is useful as a focus point for the discussion of evil since the situation surrounding the events that took place during those months are often referre d to in terms of evil – not only on the part of the Hutu militia that perpetrated the atrocities, but also of the international community and the UN in particular, which did not intervene to stop the massacre – and it would be useful to analyse a couple of key points in this film more closely.After World War II, it was believed that the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis would never be allowed to happen again, but events in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, to name but two examples, have proven that the potential for acts of evil of this magnitude to occur are not specific to one culture or even to a place in time, but are expressions of – to use the words of Immanuel Kant – ‘a natural propensity to evil’ (1960;20) that is embedded in the human race.It might therefore prove useful to turn to psychoanalysis for a partial explanation with regards to how it is possible for people to change their behaviour in such radical ways, readily adopting new moral max ims that often oppose their previously adopted ones. According to Freud, when in a group situation, ‘the individual gives up his ego ideal and substitutes for it the group ideal as embodied in the leader’ The other members of the group are, according to this theory, ‘carried away with the rest by ‘suggestion’, that is to say, by means of identification’ (1921;161-162).According to this theory, the group – small or large – surrenders its free will to that of the leader, which makes them less likely to make their own moral judgements with regards to their actions and more likely to blindly follow the leader as well as the other members of their group. The issues of identity and legitimisation are also crucial to understanding how the Hutus felt justified in brutally murdering their former friends and neighbours. As is explained in the film, tensions between Tutsis and Hutus were virtually nonexistent prior to the arrival of the Belg ian colonists. The two ethnic groups are actually very similar – they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions†¦It was the Belgian colonists who saw Hutus and Tutsis as ‘distinct entities, and even produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity’ (BBC News Website). In other words, there were no violent issues of ethnic difference until the Tutsis were made – to use the definition provided by Richard Kearney – into â€Å"aliens†.For Kearney, this term refers to ‘that experience of alterity associated with selection†¦or sometimes with suspicion’ (2000;101). He goes on to say that ‘Aliens proliferate where anxieties loom as to who we are and how we demarcate ourselves from others (who are not us)’ (2000;102). This means that, in order to legitimise their own identity, groups must necessarily create a group of ‘aliens’ with whom they ca n misidentify. The tendency to use members of this group as scapegoats and perceive them as threats is clearly demonstrated in the build-up to the Rwanda massacre.As the economic situation in the country worsened, Tutsis were used to divert anger from the Hutu government. Subsequently, when the airplane carrying the Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down, the incident was used to make Hutus feel as if they were under attack. As one Hutu – who actively took part in the massacre – later relates; ‘Because the RPF were blamed for the death of President Habyarimana, we thought that they had started with the high-ranking officials and that they were going to end up doing the same to us ordinary people’ (BBC News Website).In other words, ‘When faced with a threatening outsider, the best mode of defence becomes attack’ (Kearney, 2000;104). The other side of evil as portrayed in the film, however, is the international community’s fa ilure to act. The UN soldiers in Rwanda are portrayed as good people who have their hands tied, yet their refusal to go against their orders is portrayed almost as cowardice in that they are failing to ‘do what is right’ and use their weapons in order to save lives.In a scene where the UN convoy – transporting refugees from the hotel to a secure camp – gets stopped at a militia roadblock, the refugees’ lives are in dire peril, and the fact that the soldiers will not shoot the Hutus that are about to kill unarmed men, women and children stands for what is now widely thought of as shameful unwillingness of the Western nations to recognise and stop the genocide. The outcome of this particular scene is that the UN soldiers do not use their weapons but most of the refugees are saved by the belatedly arrived local police force.The outcome of the lack of intervention from Western nations was the death of an estimated 1 million people. The crucial question for the purpose of this paper is whether the actions of those soldiers were evil. It could be argued that if they had used their guns against their explicit orders, many lives could have been saved, but it could also be said, on the other hand, that this act would have give the hostile militias a justification to kill the UN soldiers as well, which would have saved even fewer lives.In determining the evil nature of actions or people, should we consider first and foremost the intention or the consequence of action? It might prove useful at this point to outline a practical definition of morals in contrast to ethics in relation to this particular example. I would argue that morals are result-orientated whilst ethics in the true Kantian sense are interested solely in the consistent obedience of the law, a maxim which once adopted by an individual must be followed for its own sake, regardless of consequence or relative circumstances.Whilst morals must consider a situation in light not o nly of the law, but also taking into account the surrounding circumstances and possible outcomes, ethics dictate that anything short of upholding the law for the law’s sake is evil. Within this framework it is then possible to argue that the soldier’s actions were ethical but not moral. While it would have been impossible for them not to consider the outcome of their action, we could conclude that their decision to uphold the law overrode their need to help the refugees.Operating under a law that dictated that they would not use their weapons to protect the refugees, going against that would be – in Kantian terms – evil, as they would be breaking the law, and even if countless lives were saved as a result of that, Kant’s unforgiving sense of ethics would not spare them in the least, for the outcome of actions simply does not feature in his theoretical framework. By choosing to uphold the law the soldiers fulfil another crucial requirement of Kantia n ethical behaviour (or as he calls it, the ‘moral law’); the categorical imperative.In stating that one should never act except in such a way that they should will that their maxim should become universal law, Kant established that the most important factor of his ethics is consistency, as no double standards can be tolerated. It would seem reasonable to assume that the moral maxim of the soldiers in question is that violence without due procedure and full backing of the law is never justifiable.With that in mind, it could be argued that they would be happy to see that moral maxim adopted as universal law, since a world in which this maxim was universally adopted would most probably not have seen the Rwanda genocide taking place. BIBLIOGRAPHY Copjec, J. (1996) (Ed. ) Radical Evil, Varso Books Freud, S. (1991) Civilization, Society and Religions: ‘Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego’, ‘Future of an Illusion’ and ‘Civilization and its Discontents’ (The Penguin Freud Library) Penguin Books Kant, I. 1960) Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone, New York, Harper Collins Torchbooks, Australia Kearney, R. (2000) ‘Others and Aliens: Between Good and Evil’, in: Geddes, J. (Ed. ) Evil After Postmodernism: Histories, Narratives, and Ethics, Routledge Singer, P. (2004) The President of Good and Evil: Taking George W. Bush Seriously, London, Granta Books ‘Taken Over By Satan’ http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/3582011. stm Accessed on 14/03/2006 ‘Rwanda: How the genocide happened’ http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230. stm Accessed on 17/03/2006

Object Choice Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Object Choice - Term Paper Example Hence the difficulty of relating to other people is likely to lead to uncertainty. The relationship between the drive and objects results from the inside pressure of the organism and the corresponding nee. It is by this relationship that the aim is achieved. The valuable thing is the element of the drive and therefore not fundamentally connected to the drive but has to be constructed. An object does not need to be uncommon but should be anything that is vulnerable to human soul including his body through object human soul and narcissistic. Freud described a sequence of pre-genital stage, that is more understood as defined by the component drives than the genetically terms. Contentment of each part was connected to anal, oral, and phallic. The idea of part object exists in partial drive. The choice of the object therefore unifies the sexual yearning in genetic factors, and orients to others do not occur until puberty. The drive that specifically relates to the part or total object, a part of a person or a whole person, and to total object i.e. love or hatred are clearly differentiated. An object is renowned as a source of pleasure and love which are converted into an ego in the Narcissistic stage (Roussillon 42). In Freud’s, points out that hate and love should not be referred as drives for their objects but reversed for the relationship with the total ego of objects. Therefore, the choice of an object refers to the love object and not the drive object (Mitchell). In ego libido as opposed to object libido as referred by Freud, the object appearance is expressed in terms of limited sense of the external part of an object, which does not involve the ego. Moreover, it vividly emerge that he concentrates on psychological and intra-psychological theory. Roussillon analysis of Freud’s Anaclisis theory in chapter eight required more from self-preservation than is crucial from the object (Roussillon 232). The child was

Analyze federalism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyze federalism - Research Paper Example Federalism has the quality of holding local pride, ethnicities and supremacy, while letting the central government to manage common issues. In the United States, ‘federal government’ is generally assumed to bring up entirely the national government in Washington1. Federalism With Respect To Execution and Administration of Policy One of the most compound subdivisions of federalism analysis is that of political economic federalism. It includes federal bodies’ monetary situations and their political background. Incorporation with the global economy, impacts the cost-benefit analysis of federalism. The advantage of federalism is that it slices out variety within a nation, so that citizens can choose a place to move on which meets their requirements for policies such as taxation and consumer goods among others. Incorporation with global economy can raise expenses of regionalization if significant governments are permitted to use the status of the central government2. T he federalist system in the USA enjoys shared power between federal, state and local governments and involves a requirement for cooperation, harmonization, and interaction. In the American federalism system, the local governments possess most of the discretions and responsibilities for emergency and disaster management where federal organizations are envisioned to deliver monetary support and resources. State governments act as intercessor by enabling the operations of federal policies regarding emergency and disaster management at the local level3. Role Of Three Branches Of Federal Government The constitution comprises of a system which separates the authority where three branches of federal government can scrutinize and balance the role of each other. The three branches of federal government are ‘Executive branch’, ‘Legislative branch’ and ‘Judicial branch’4. Executive Branch: Executive branch comprises of the President, Vice President, and o ther Cabinet Officials such as State Secretary, Treasury Secretary, Defense Secretary and Labor Secretary among others. These officials are appointed by President and together they make up the executive branch. The role of executive branch is to implement the commandments4. Legislative Branch: The legislative branch comprises of the ‘Senate’ and ‘House of Representatives’. The most important role of legislative branch is to make the rules, regulations and laws. It is the duty of legislative branch to decide the policies and how the federal money can be used for the benefits of the country4. Judicial Branch: The judicial branch comprises of the Supreme Court as well as other courts. The judicial branch clarifies the implication of constitution and commandments that are issued by legislative branch. The role of judicial branch is to interpret the regulations and punish the criminals and the lawbreakers4. Interaction And Intersection Of Three Branches With Sta te Governments People interact regularly with the state governments. State governments comprise of police divisions, libraries, education and issuing licenses among others. Each state government has its own written structure and those are far more elegant compared to the federal equivalents. According to the 10th amendment of American constitution, each and every authority reserved for state government is not allowed to the federal government5. Executive Branch:

Interview question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interview question - Essay Example Areas that have improvements over the national average will be highlighted along with weaknesses from observation as compared to the achievement scores. Development of goals begins with the production of a time management plan that consists of the required curriculum elements and how best to incorporate psychological principles of learning (such as social learning theory) into the classroom environment. Proper planning for social and cognitive learning must be developed into a goal-attainment plan. 2. Three month goals include an introduction of youth psychology into the learning plan that includes role modeling of teacher and high performing students so as to incorporate them into the classroom teaching structure. Previous primary research studies that found success in motivating youths in the concrete operational stage of development will be used as the foundation for teaching style in the first three months. The goal is to promote more group learning for the younger children to re duce egocentric behaviors common to this stage of development to improve the social environment and motivate retention. Students will be delivered a survey or questionnaire instrument with language developed appropriate for youths of these age brackets to identify key needs.

Compare and contrast the concept of reception developed in Essay

Compare and contrast the concept of reception developed in contemporary film studies with that of audience and reception - Essay Example But the most short fallen movies are the ones which have culturally specific backbone, as audiences of different location follow different customs and traditions and cannot just accept some other ways over their own. Isaac Newton states that every action has an equal but opposite reaction and this law holds good for many everyday life tasks, some customary and some exclusive ones (Sadler, 1996,p.49). The law of reaction applies to the film studies to a greater extent. Media research has transmuted over the decades into a compound of different researches going on simultaneously. Towards the end of the twentieth century it was largely practiced as plainly researching the media that was quite concordant to content analysis. However, contemporarily audience research has become an integrated part of the subject, and many people refer to it while relating to media research (cited in Glossary of research methods). One inference devised through the contemporary film studies is that, what is famous in one place would not necessarily be popular in other place, that is, the films which are adored at one corner of the world, may not ineluctably get the same appreciation elsewhere. For instance, a film like Speed was among the thirteen most affluent Hollywood movies in Hong Kong in the whole twentieth century that was actually the eight most successful movies in the U.S. in 1994. In contrast, the most popular movie in America in 1994 was Forrest Gump, which was not particularly popular after it traveled across to Asia (cited in untitled document). It is not hard to comprehend rather tempting to look at, that the movie audience around the globe was mesmerized to enjoy the thrills and excitement of Speed and other contemporary Hollywood blockbusters without it being mandatory for them to have some background knowledge or culturally specific insight of the matter! But about Forrest Gump, there were some keen-eyed people in

Event Concepts and Contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Event Concepts and Contexts - Essay Example As such, the events sector in a given economy plays an important role in ensuring sustainable development of the region. Different individuals influence, or are affected by, the events conducted in a region. There are individuals who have interests in the events. There are those who take part in the decision making process in the planning of the events. Other individuals will be affected in some way through conducting the event. There are also individuals with the resources that are necessary to conduct the event. Every event also has some target group(s) that will be its audience. The actual participants in the events are also important parties to be considered. In general, an event will draw members from both the public and the private organizations. The success of an event will depend on the ability of the organizers to identify the key stakeholders and understand their needs. The organizers of an event need to engage the stakeholders just from the preliminary stages of the eventà ¢â‚¬â„¢s preparation. There is need to have a timely response to the needs of these individuals in order to meet the objectives set for the event. This paper focuses on Olympic Games as one of the events that are conducted on the international scene. The different stakeholders of this event are discussed with how they are closely attached to the events. There has also been a need to focus on the mechanisms that have been employed to engage these stakeholders in this mega-event. The Sporting event- Olympic Games Olympic Games constitute some of the mega-events that are conducted on the international scene. The event is organized after every two years with Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games alternating after every two years. Olympic Games involve a number of athletic competitions with athletes and players drawn from across the globe. The event has been in existence for centuries and has been hosted by different countries over this period. The recent hosts of the event inclu de Sydney, Australia (2000), Salt Lake City, Utah-USA (2002), Athens, Greece (2004), Turin, Italy (2006), Beijing, China (2008), and Vancouver, Canada (2010).1 The event is also scheduled to take place in London, U.K. (2012), Sochi, Russia (2014), and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2016).2 The recent Olympic Games were also accompanied by the Paralympics Olympic Games as was witnessed in the Salt Lake Olympic Games in Utah.3 Stakeholders of the Olympic Games For a given organization, a stakeholder is an individual, groups of individuals, or other organizations that are affected by, or can influence the operations of the organizations.4 The stakeholders in a given business organization include the employees, the shareholders, the customers, the suppliers, the government, the competitors, and the community among many others.5 Similarly, an event, whether organized for profit or not for profit, also has stakeholders affecting or affected by the conduct of the event. The stakeholders have diff erent ways through which they are attached to a given event. They have varied interest in the event as well as varied power to influence the planning and execution of the event.6 As such, there are primary and secondary stakeholders. The primary stakeholders have some formal relationship with the organizers of an event whereas

BCG Growth Matrix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BCG Growth Matrix - Assignment Example Market growth is the percentage at which the market is growing over a given period of time. Market or demand growth indicates opportunity. Low growth products or markets have greater competition and vice versa. Marketers and ecommerce owners can use industry analysis, published reports and third party tools to track sale rates to gauge market growth. Marketers should plot the market share and market growth at least annually for each product category on the BCG Matrix. The BCG Matrix has four quadrants. Products in the Dogs quadrant are those in the lower right quadrat. They have low growth and low market share. These products should be closed out. The Cash Cow products are those in the lower left quadrant (Roggio, 2014). They have good market share and low growth. These products are harvested from with the revenue being invested elsewhere. The Question Marks products are those in the upper right quadrant. They have low market share and high growth. These products are promoted and advertised. The Stars are the upper left quadrant. They have strong market share and high growth. Marketers hold on to the Stars and try to continue to grow with moderate advertising and marketing. The benefits of the BCG Matrix include helping marketers evaluate balance between the quadrants, seek experience and volume effects, prepare for the future, and manufacture new products at low enough prices to lead in the market share. BCG Matrix is also easy and simple to use. The limitations of the BCG Matrix is that it neglects synergism between product lines, the Dogs can earn more than Cash Cows sometimes, getting data can be a challenge, high market share sometimes does not reflect on profitability, low market share products can be profitable and small competitors with fast growing market shares are neglected. Roggio, A. (2014). Using the BCG Matrix for Ecommerce Marketing Decisions. Practical ecommerce. Retrieved from

The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Life Essay What is the meaning of life. The meaning of our lives, the purpose, and the dreams both dashed and realized, and the expectations forced upon us by others. In other words how do you translate what life is? Translation means to explain in simple terms. What is it supposed to be about? There are different answers for different people at different times in their lives. A persons lifetime is filled with self-examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? You have a beginning. Youre in the middle, and your story hasnt ended yet. If one would recognize the greatest things we have in life, they would not be asking this question. These great things are faith, hope, and love. Faith is the one that can keep one from asking questions. If God wanted us to know something, then we would know it. In most religions, Christian ones in particular, the question of meaning in life is inextricably wrapped up in a relationship with God. Living in, for, with, and through him. Therefore, how one answers the meaning of life question bears directly the existence of God. Soren Kierkegaard said to be the father of existentialism maintains that there are three basic answers to the question of the meaning of life. He called these stages of life, because he believed that people progressed from one stage to the next. Whether or not that is true, there do seem to be at least three fundamental outlooks on life. One is a life devoted to pleasure. This value perspective can be shown by a person whose only concern is for what they are doing now. They would rather gain from pleasures in life without any regards to how they might affect their future. Another stage is those choosing ethical and moral paths. People who are honest and loyal demonstrate this in their everyday lives. Finally, there is a live religiously. This has been the popular way of life for many of us. It is going to church and practicing your faith Stace argues, the present age has begun to weaken faith in God. The concept of a supernatural person has begun to seem unlikely to many people. The Bible no longer seems as respected for many Catholics. While many people say they believe in God they are beginning question whether faith and God are the answer to the meaning of life. Most of us whether we choose to admit it or not show that material things are what we base our lives around. These ideas are at the heart of existentialism, which is a view of life that says that human beings are the creators of their own sense of meaning or purpose. The most famous existentialist, John Paul Sartre in his books and novels developed several themes that portray existentialism. The first is the notion that existence precedes essence. A legacy of traditional philosophy has been that we have a fixed human nature. Sartre challenged that we have no such set purpose or meaning. Our real meaning or who we are is a result of our decisions. We are what we decide. The second associated concept is the importance of human freedom. Sartre believed that every human being has the freedom to live life as we choose to. He believed that we are often terrified by our freedom, and in fact frequently do not want to take responsibility for our own actions. This attitude Sartre called bad faith. Bad faith is an act of self-deception in which we rationalize our actions as being caused by circumstances instead of being self-caused. Basically blaming others for our own deceptions and mistakes. The third major concept of existentialism is the idea of the Absurd. The philosopher Albert Camus popularized this concept. The concept of the absurd is promoted by atheistic existentialist, such as Sartre and Camus. The similarity between Christian and atheistic existentialist is the significance of human freedom and the belief that we are the makers of our own lives One of the most significant pieces of the decline of religious faith is the continuing awareness that there may not be any purpose in life. Both Albert Camus, and Stace, write from this perspective. They believed that traditional Christians have found security in the belief that their lives are invisibly directed or orchestrated by God. That we have assumed that God has a plan for our life, that things happen for a purpose. But as we experience, if we do, the decline of faith or the reality of God in our lives, we come to realize that perhaps we are more responsible than God is for what happens to us. We begin to realize or suspect that it is we, not God, who is the creator of our lives. We are responsible for who we become. Of course, there are always going to be those people who doubt everything God stands for. For them, the body dies and eternity is darkness, I suppose. The fight is going to be, perhaps even as it has been a battle between those who reject God and the, and those who know that God is real. The soul is ones conscience. Without the acknowledgement of that soul, there is no inner voice that helps guide him in the decisions that he makes. Yet, the soulless atheists still seek to discover the meaning of life, and this is where the battle is fought. They are simply stating that there is no meaning to their lives they have no soul, there can be no meaning. Theists realize life isnt fair. People arent created equal. Atheists believe that until all people actually are equal, life is meaningless, and this is the connection we have to make for them. People are not equal, people will never be equal, and if this equality is the requirement for accepting the meaning of life, then life will always be meaningless. If ambition brings about advantage, those advantages must be neutralized. This is the goal of the atheist. If there is nothing but darkness after life, the goal must be to create heaven on earth. Everyone has questioned their purpose in life for example in his article, My Confession, Leo Tolstoy has gone through his life without ever really questioning the meaning. Then he periodically questioned it until one day he eventually could not picture himself living anymore until he came up with an answer to his questionings. All the things he was thought to be living by no longer made any sense or had any meaning at all to him. He tried to answer his question many different ways, but whichever way he went he kept coming up with a dead end. He first thought the answer must be his family. Although he loved them very much, as humans they are confronted with the same questions he is. They are living this lie right along with him pretending that they have all the answers, or just simply ignoring the questions. He next thought the answer to be in his work. Eventually, coming to the realization that with all of his success in art and poetry he had become distracted. He was using art as a decoy. Without knowing his answers to the meaning of life, it was wrong and useless to depict these lies to others. He soon felt as if life had stopped, and was even contemplating suicide when he came to the realization that faith is present in each one of us and is what makes our lives meaningful. Everyone must believe they have a purpose here, for if they didnt they would not be living at all. For life to have true meaning, that meaning must come external to the individual and be somehow consistent with life as a whole. Christians would argue that only God could grant this. It is the helping hand, which guides us through life with an honest and loving heart. Jesus is the only man to lead a true, meaningful life. His life is really the only life of meaning and it is only through him that we have the opportunity to live meaningful lives. Without accepting this answer, one will have only difficulty for the rest of their lives, especially in answering the question of the meaning of life. If you accept this answer, however life is much simpler, because your search is over. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life? John 14:6. The way the truth and the meaning of life itself. There are scriptural accounts of people claiming to see God, and while a witness is more proof than no witness is, there is no way to scientifically verify these statements. They must be accepted purely on faith. Some say that the existence of humans or planetary balance is proof that God exists. These do not prove He exists. Christians believe God is in control of everything in the universe, and created the same. God created all beings, and every atom in this universe. We know God exists because He says He does. The bible is His word, left for us to read. Psychologist Viktor Frankl wrote in Mans search for Meaning that we should not ask what we expect from life, but what life expects from us. He was making the point that people must deal with what daily tasks are put in front of them. Instead of arguing and complaining, we have to take action. Our strength is shown through the soul survival of the hardships we face. Which brings us to the problem philosopher John Hick was facing. In his article, The Problem of Evil he asks the question, if God is perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil. But evil exists; therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving. The very fact that there is such suffering gives good cause to doubt not only the value of the whole human race, but also the existence of God. A God that can be said to care in the slightest for whats been created, any God who has power over all things, who is anything other than a horrible monster who finds cruel unusual joy in squeezing every last drop of suffering out of them. It would rule out anything even vaguely resembling the God that Christians speak of. A God who deserves our utter hatred not our worship. However, Hick found that although harsh and painful, evil did have purpose in the world. He stated in his article, the finest characteristics of personal life must have a good deal in common with our present world. It must operate according to general and dependable laws: and it must involve real dangers, difficulties, problems, obstacles, and possibilities of pain, failure, sorrow, frustration, and defeat. Without these sufferings, we would not be able to know what happiness and love really was. Evil provides us with the possibility of soul making, and according to free will, we must choose our fate. The Laws of nature must be abided by without them the world could not exist. God may be creating the lesser of the evils. There must be suffering in order for God to give inner strength that compensates for loss, and gives the sufferer inspiration to live faithfully and effectively. What God provides are the resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. He gives the direction and power to make these resources work. He gives hope and wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. John Paul II gave us an outline of what is believed to be the salvific meaning of suffering. Suffering as he wrote in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, cannot be transformed and changed by a grace form outside, but from within? This question of human suffering is not answered directly by God. As man begins to share in the sufferings of Christ, the answer is discovered within in him. Suffering changes and can either increase or decrease, and in those moments Christians become aware of Gods closeness. We are given inner peace and spiritual joy when we suffer generously. When we are suffering we are never alone we are with Christ. With Christ everything has meaning whether its moments of happiness and peace or of pain and suffering. Nothing in life can be fully explained without God. . Look to the bible and Jesus gives us the answer. Love God with your whole heart, mind, body and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you do this, you are following all the commandments. Humble yourself and give the praise and glory to our creator. God the Father our creator is love and he loves you very much. God created us to worship him and he deserves all the praise because he is the first and the last. He has no beginning and no end. Just look around and take in all the beauty he has created. Everyone is special and made in the image of God. We are nothing without our creator. Sin will keep us from God for he is pure and perfect. It is hard to let go of pleasure and putting ones self first. However, the key to peace and happiness is to surrender your freewill to God, the author of life, and he will give you complete, happiness, peace, contentment and purity you are looking for. That is what we were created for. God is made evident every day when the sun comes up, and there is still air to breathe, and you made it through the night. One cannot believe that everything we know was created by accident. Things are just too perfect to have happened by chance. Man is too corrupt a creature to have invented the beautiful things in the world, as in faith, hope and love. He allows evil in this world because He wants us to have the opportunity to choose either Him or evil, thereby proving our love for Him. If His were the only game in town, then there would not be a free will conscious choice for Him. It is evident that the meaning of life has to far to complex for any one to fully understand or agree on the same answer. All these ideas of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All pieces to a puzzle that one has no way of fully figuring out. No one has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are roadblocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. This life is a stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. Only God could ever really show anyone true meaning.

Analysing isolation of DNA plasmid and Agragose of gel electophoresis

Analysing isolation of DNA plasmid and Agragose of gel electophoresis Introduction (a) The aim of this experiment was to successfully isolate a DNA plasmid from E.Coli cells (Escherichia coli). We then use commonly performed a method commonly used in biochemistry and molecular biology called agarose gel electrophoresis. This is used to separate DNA and RNA fragments according to length are used to estimate the size and charge of the DNA and RNA fragments or to separate protein by size. In this procedure as stated above, we used e.coli as these are plasmid containing cells. These cells were placed in a buffer and mixed with a solution of 1% (w/v) SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) which was mixed with sodium hydroxide. The alkaline solution (12.6PH) causes the molecular weight increases this causes it to become like chromosomal DNA. Using alkaline lyses is based on differential denaturation of chromosomal and plasmid DNA in order to separate the two. The double stranded plasmid and chromosomal DNA is converted to single stranded DNA due to the lyses of the cells which solubilises protein and denatures the DNA. Subsequent neutralization is potassium acetate allows only covalently closed DNA plasmid DNA to reanneal and stay solubilized. Chromosomal and plasmid DNA precipitate in a complex formed with potassium and SDS which is removed by centrifugation. Protein dodecyl sulphate complexes are precipitated die to it being insoluble in water. When centrifugation neutralizes the lysine it yields to a minuscule supernatant fraction that contains plasmid DNA a network of chromosomal DNA and protein Plasmid DNA is concentrated by from the supernatant by ethanol precipitation. Plasmid DNA isolated by alkaline lyses is suitable for most analyses and cloning procedures without further purification however if the isolated plasmid DNA is sequenced and additional purification step such as phenol extraction is used. (b) The aim of Agarose gel electrophoresis is to analyse the plasmid DNA that was extracted from the procedure before. The technique of electrophoresis is based on the fact that DNA is negatively charged at neutral pH due to its phosphate backbone. And like any other biological macromolecules can move within an electrical field. The rate of the DNA slows down when its moves towards opposite poles because of the agarose. The agarose gel is a buffer solution this is used to maintain the required pH and salt concentration. The agarose forms hole or wells in the buffer solution and the DNA inserted in through the holes to move toward the positive pole. As mentioned before the agarose gel slows down the rate of DNA so the smaller DNA moves faster than the larger molecules of DNA as the smaller ones fit through the whole easier. This causes the DNA to be separated by size and can be seen visually. To make the electrophoresis to function and separate DNA molecules it must contain an electro phoresis chamber.and power supply, combs which are placed in the chamber this is how wells are formed when agarose is placed in the gel, Trays that contains a special gel that comes in many sizes and and have UV-properties combs which is how wells are formed when agarose is placed in the gel, Electrophoresis buffer, Loading buffer, which has a thick consistancy (e.g. glycerol) so the DNA can be easily placed in the wells and one or two tracking dyes, these travel in the gel and help visualize how the process is being carried out and to moniter how far electrophoresis undergone. Ethidium bromide, is a dye used to stain the nucleic acids.  . Tran illuminator  (an ultraviolet light box), which is used to visualize ethidium bromide-stained DNA in gels.   Method for plasmid isolation 1.5 ml of culture that contains E.coli cells containing the plasmid pUC118 was inserted into an Eppendorf tube. This was then centrifuged at 13000 rpm for two minutes The liquid contained in the Eppendorf tube was discarded carefully by using a pipette and then inverting the tube on a test tube to remove remaining drops of the liquid without removing the bacterial pellet 200 micro-liters of solution A was added to the bacterial pellet. This ensured that the suspension is homogenized (mixtures are well separated 400 micro-liters of solution B was then added and mixed well these solutions contain the SDS and sodium hydroxide. This neutralizes the solutions 300 micro-liters of solution C which contains the potassium acetate which was also mixed and then was incubated on ice for 10 minutes This mixture was the centrifuged at 13000rpm for 5 minutes 750 micro-liters of this supernatant was transferred to a new Eppendorf tube whilst ensuring none of the precipitate was interfered with 10 micro-liters if RNAse solution was added to a duplicate tube and labeled as R+ 450 micro-liters of isopropanol was added to each test tube and mixed well This was then centrifuged at 13000rpm for 5 minutes The supernatants were then carefully removed and the DNA was retained 400 micro-liters of ethanol was added and allowed to stand for a minute it allow the salts to dissolve the liquid was carefully removed so as not to remove the DNA precipitate. The sample was then allowed to dry at room temperature Each pellet was then dissolved in 10 micro-liters of TE buffer Q1 The viscosity after 400 micro-liters of solution B was added and mixed a low viscosity was observed as it had a very watery texture. Q2 there was no viscosity after the transfer of 750 micro-liters of supernatant to a new eppendorf (a) Agarose gel electrophoresis The sample obtained from the experimental procedure above were then examined using the method of agarose gel electrophoresis The RNAse treated and untreated plasmids were examined. 10 micro-liters of loading buffer was added to 10 micro-liters of DNA for each sample The samples containing DNA mixed with loading buffer were then pipetted into the sample wells, and a current was applied. This was carried out for 30 minutes It was clear that the current was flowing as bubbles were observed to be coming off the electrodes. The negatively charged DNA migrated towards the positive electrode at the distal end, (which is usually colored red) It was analyzed that the smaller DNA molecules travelled quickly through the gel which showed that the procedure was carried out successfully as the DNA was separated according to size Results/ Discussion (a) Isolation of DNA plasmid The DNA plasmid was successfully extracted from the E.coli cells and then the DNA was the successfully separated according to size by using the agarose gel electrophoresis method. Solution A contains 25 mM of Tris-HCL (pH 8.0)50 EDTA. Tris is a buffering agent this maintains a constant pH. The EDTA is used to protect the DNA from DNAses which are degradative enzymes; the EDTA also binds divalent cations that are necessary for DNAse activity. The solution B contains SDS which is a detergent and NaOH. This neutralizes the solution, the alkaline mixture also causes the cells to rupture and the SDS the lipid membrane is broken apart and the cellular proteins are solubilized, NaOH converts the DNA into a single strands which is caused by denaturation. The solution C contains potassium acetate (pH 4.3) the acetic acid neutralizes the pH, allowing the DNA strands to renature. The potassium acetate is added its causes the SDS to precipitate, along with the cellular debris. The  E. coli chromosomal DNA is also precipitated. The plasmid DNA remains in the solution. The viscosity of this is very high as it has a very gel like texture. When the supernatant is placed in a new eppendorf tube after 5 minutes of centrifuge this causes the plasmid DNA to separate from the cellular debris and chromosomal DNA in the pellet. The isopropanol is then added this pulls the plasmid out and causes it to precipitate nucleic acids. After centrifuge a small white pellet was observed at the bottom of the tube after the supernatant was carefully removed this further purifies the plasmid DNA from contaminants. 400microliters of ethanol was added this washed the residual salt and SDS from the DNA. All these changes that were observed after the addition of these solutions were expected as they are what help us extract the DNA plasmid for an end product. (b) Agarose gel electrophoresis After placing the DNA plasmid in the wells electrophoresis was carried out. The results were then obtained and recorded. The size of the DNA fragment is determined from its electrophoretic mobility. The DNA fragments of know molecular weight markers are run on the gel and a graph of log MW against migration distance is drawn. There are three different forms of agarose DNA first theres the open circular plasmid DNA this is the first band that occurs on the picture. The circular plasmid is a  double-stranded  circular  DNA  molecule  that has been nicked in one of the strands to allow the release of any super-helical turns present in the  molecule. The open circular plasmid migrates more slowly than a linear or super-coiled  molecule  of the same size this is due to associated differences in  conformation, or shape, of the  molecules. this is why it is the first band that occurs on the picture result. Linear DNA has free ends, either because both strands have been cut, or because the DNA was linear  in vivo. The rate of migration for small linear fragments is directly proportional to the voltage applied at low voltages. At a specified, low voltage, the migration rate of small linear DNA fragments is a function of their length. Large linear fragments (over 20kb or so) migrate at a certain fixed rate regardless of length. This is because the molecules resperate, with the bulk of the molecule following the leading end through the gel matrix.  Restriction digests  are frequently used to analyse purified plasmids. These enzymes specifically break the DNA at certain short sequences. The resulting linear fragments form bands after  gel electrophoresis. It is possible to purify certain fragments by cutting the bands out of the gel and dissolving the gel to release the DNA fragments. This is neither fast nor slow in comparison to the other DNA plasmid. The super-coiled Plasmid DNA normally occurs naturally, there is super-coiling in DNA only if there is a replication of a DNA plasmid and this occurs for a small space of time and that is removed by cutting the DNA by specific enzymes, this is part of DNA replication mechinary. This type of DNA plasmid is the fastest as it is the last band shown out of the three this is Because of its tight conformation. The picture above shows the results obtained from the agarose gel electrophoresis. The lane numbers are marked over the wells. The lane before lane 1 that is titled M is the molecular weight marker. All three forms of plasmid DNA is present in this result, the open circular, the linear and the supercoiled. There is an extra band of RNA present however not clearly visible this is because the RNA fragments migrated ahead of dye front as diffuse a band, the ribonuclease gets rid of this band, a blue tracking dye cause the black smudge under the DNA plasmid and beneath that is the barley visable RNA. RNA is very unstable under these conditions, as a result RNA can be completely degraded befor the ribonuclease has been added. It can be seen that DNA is present more in one band then another, however the one with the less amount could have a bigger fragment. There seems to be logarithmic relationship between the size of the DNA fragment and the distance it travels on the gel. A standered curve can be made if we measure the length the bands in different lanes travelled if the fragment sizes are known. The more points plotted and the larger the separation there is on the gel, the results will be more accurate. Conclusion The experimental procedures carried out were a success, the DNA plasmid was obtained and the agarose gel electrophoresis resulted with in a clear picture as shown and outlined above, of the DNA being successfully separated. The uses of purified plasma in DNA research is for molecular cloning.

Communication Skills in Nursing | Reflection

Communication Skills in Nursing | Reflection This essay will present a reflective account of communication skills in practice whist undertaking assessment and history taking of two Intensive Care patients with a similar condition. It will endeavour to explore all aspects of non verbal and verbal communication styles and reflect upon these areas using Gibbs reflective cycle (1988). Scenario A Mrs James, 34, a passenger in a road traffic collision who was not wearing a seatbelt was thrown through the windscreen resulting in multiple facial wounds with extensive facial swelling which required her to be intubated and sedated. She currently has cervical spine immobilisation and is awaiting a secondary trauma CT. Mr James was also involved in the accident. Scenario B Mr James, 37, husband of Mrs James, the driver of the car, was wearing his seat belt. He had minor superficial facial wounds, fractured ribs and a fractured right arm. He is alert and orientated but currently breathless and requiring high oxygen concentrations. Patients who are admitted to Intensive Care are typically admitted due to serious ill health or trauma that may also have a potential to develop life threatening complications (Udwadia, 2005). These patients are usually unconscious, have limited movement and have sensation deprivation due to sedation and/or disease processes. These critical conditions rely upon modern technical support and invasive procedures for the purpose of monitoring and regulation of physiological functions. Having the ability to effectively communicate with patients, colleagues and their close relatives is a fundamental clinical skill in Intensive Care and central to a skilful nursing practice. Communication in Intensive Care is therefore of high importance (Elliot, 1999) to provide information and support to the critically ill patient in order to reduce their anxieties, stresses and preserve self identity, self esteem and reduce social isolation (Joà £o: 2009, Alasad: 2004, Newmarch:2006). Effective communic ation is the key to the collection of patient information, delivering quality of care and ensuring patient safety. Gaining a patients history is one of the most important skills in medicine and is a foundation for both the diagnosis and patient clinician relationship, and is increasingly being undertaken by nurses (Crumbie, 2006). Commonly a patient may be critically ill and therefore the ability to perform a timely assessment whilst being prepared to administer life saving treatment is crucial (Carr, 2005). Often the patient is transferred from a ward or department within the hospital where a comprehensive history has been taken with documentation of a full examination; investigations, working diagnosis and the appropriate treatment taken. However, the patients history may not have been collected on this admission if it was not appropriate to do so. Where available patients medical notes can provide essential information. In relation to the scenarios where the patient is breathless or the patient had a reduced conscious level and requires sedation and intubation, effective communication is restricted and obtaining a comprehensive history would be inappropriate and almost certainly unsafe (Carr, 2005). The Nursing Midwifery Council promotes the importance of keeping clear and accurate records within the Code: Standards of Conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008). Therefore if taking a patients history is unsafe to do so, this required to be documented. Breathing is a fundamental life process that usually occurs without conscious thought and, for the healthy person is taken for granted (Booker, 2004). In Scenario A, Mrs Jamess arrived on Intensive care and was intubated following her facial wounds and localised swelling. Facial trauma by its self is not a life threatening injury, although it has often been accompanied with other injuries such as traumatic brain injury and complications such as airway obstruction. This may have been caused by further swelling, bleeding or bone structure damage (Parks, 2003). Without an artificial airway and ventilatory support Mrs James would have struggled to breathe adequately and the potential to become in respiratory arrest. Within scenario B, Mr James had suffered multiple rib fractures causing difficulty in expansion of his lungs. Fractured ribs are amongst the most frequent of injuries sustained to the chest, accounting for over half of the thoracic injuries from non-penetrating trauma (Middle ton, 2003). When ribs are fractured due to the nature and site of the injury there is potential for underlying organ contusions and damage. The consequence of having a flail chest is pain. Painful expansion of the chest would result in inadequate ventilation of the lungs resulting in hypoxia and retention of secretions and the inability to communicate effectively. These combined increase the risk of the patient developing a chest infection and possible respiratory failure and potential to require intubation (Middleton, 2003). A key component of Intensive Care is to provide patients and relatives with effective communication at all times to ensure that a holistic nursing approach is achieved. Intensive care nurses care for patients predominantly with respiratory failure and over the years have taken on an extended role. They are expected to examine a patient and interpret their findings and results (Booker, 2004). In these situations patient requires supportive treatments as soon as possible. Intensive Care nurse should have the ability and competence to carry out a physical assessment and collect the patients history in a systemic, professional and sensitive approach. Effective communication skills are one of the many essential skills involved in this role. As an Intensive Care nurse, introducing yourself to the patient as soon as possible would be the first step in the history taking process (Appendix A) and the physical assessment process. Whilst introducing yourself there is also the aim to gaining consent for the assessment where possible, in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2008). Conducting a comprehensive clinical history is usually more helpful in making a provisional diagnosis than the physical examination (Ford, 2005). Within Intensive Care the Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure/Examination (ABCDE) assessment process is widely used. It is essential for survival that the oxygen is delivered to blood cells and the oxygen cannot reach the lungs without a patent airway. With poor circulation, oxygen does not get transported away from the lungs to the cells (Carr, 2005). The ABCDE approach is a simple approach that all team members use and allows for rapid asses sment, continuity of care and the reduction of errors. Communication reflects our social world and helps us to construct it (Weinmann Giles et al 1988). Communication of information, messages, opinions and thoughts are transferred by different forms. Basic communication is achieved by speaking, sign language, body language touch and eye contact, as technology has developed communication has been achieved by media, such as emails, telephone and mobile technology (Aarti, 2010). There are two main ways of communication: Verbal and non verbal. Verbal communication is the simplest and quickest way of transferring information and interacting when face to face. It is usually a two way process where a message is sent, understood and feedback is given (Leigh, 2001). When effective communication is given, what the sender encodes is what the receiver decodes (Baron:2005, Zastrow:2001). Key verbal features of communication are made up of sounds, words, and language. Mr James was alert and orientated and had some ability to communicate; he was breathless due to painful fractured ribs which hindered his verbal communication. In order to help him to breath and communicate effectively, his pain must be controlled. Breathless patients may be only able to speak two or more words at a time, inhibiting conversation. The use of closed questions can allow breathless patients to communicate without exerting themselves. Closed questions such as is it painful when you breathe in? or is your breathing feeling worse? can be answered with non ver bal communication such as a shake or nod of the head. Taking a patients history in this way can be time consuming and it is essential that the clinician do not make assumptions on behalf of the patient (Ashworth, 1980). Alternatively, encouraging patients to use other forms of communication can aid the process. Non verbal communication involves physical aspects such as written or visual of communication. Sign language and symbols are also included in non-verbal communication. Non verbal communication can be considered as gestures, body language, writing, drawing, physiological cues, using communication devices, mouthing words, head nods, and touch (Happ et al:2000, Alasad:2004). Body language, posture and physical contact is a form of non verbal communication. Body language can convey vast amounts of information. Slouched posture, or folded arms and crossed legs can portray negative signals. Facial gestures and expressions and eye contact are all different cues of communication. Alt hough Mr. James could verbally communicate, being short of breath and in pain meant that he also needed to use both verbal and non verbal communication styles. A patients stay in Intensive Care can vary from days to months. Although this is a temporary situation and many patients will make a good recovery, the psychological impact may be longer lasting (MacAuley, 2010). When caring for the patient who may be unconscious or sedated and does not appear to be awake, hearing may be one of the last senses to fade when they become unconscious (Leigh, 2000). Sedation is used in Intensive Care units to enable patients to be tolerable of ventilation. It aims to allow comfort and synchrony between the patient and ventilator. Poor sedation can lead to ventilator asynchrony, patient stress and anxiety, and an increased risk of self extubation and hypoxia. Over sedation can lead to ventilator associated pneumonias, cardiac instability and prolonged ventilation and Intensive Care delirium. Derlerium can be distressing for both the relatives andthe patient, who may have some recolection after the deleium epsiode (Mclafferty, 2007). Delirium is found to be a predictor of death in Intensive Care patients (Page, 2008). Every day a patient spends in delirium has been associated with a 20% increase risk of intensive care bed days and a 10% increased risk of morbidity. The single most profound risk factor for delirium in Intensive Care is sedation (Page, 2008). Within this stage of sedation or delirium it is impossible to know what the patients have heard, understood or precessed. Ashworth (1980) recognised that nurses often failed to communicate with unconscious patients on the basis that they were unable to respond. Although, research (Lawrence, 1995) indicates that patients who are unconscious could hear and understand conversations around them and respond emotionally to verbal communication however could not respond physically. This emphasises the importance and the need for communication remains (Leigh, 2001). Neurological status would unavoidably have an effect on Mrs Jamess capacity to communicate in a usual way. It is therefore im portant to provide Mrs James with all information necessary to reduce her stress and anxieties via the different forms of communication. For the unconscious patient, both verbal communication and non verbal communication are of importance, verbal communication and touch being the most appropriate. There are two forms of touch (Aarti, 2010), firstly a task orientated touch when a patient is being moved, washed or having a dressing changed and secondly a caring touch holding Mrs James hand to explain where she was and why she was there is an example of this. This would enhance communication when informing and reassuring Mrs James that her husband was alive and doing well. Nurses may initially find the process of talking to an unconscious patient embarrassing, pointless or of low importance as it is a one way conversation (Ashworth, 1980) however as previously mentioned researched shows patients have the ability to hear. Barriers to communication may be caused by physical inabilities from the patients however there are many types of other communication barriers. A barrier of communication is where there is a breakdown in the communication process. This could happen if the message was not encoded or decoded as it should have been (Baron, 2005). If a patient is under sedation, delirious or hard of hearing verbal communication could be misinterpreted. However there could also be barriers in the transfer of communication process as the Intensive Care environment in itself can cause communication barriers. Intensive Care can be noisy environment (Newmarch, 2006). Other barriers can simply include language barriers, fatigue, stress, distractions and jargon. Communication aids can promote effective communication between patient and clinician. Pen and paper is the simplest form of non verbal communication for those with adequate strength (Newmarch, 2006). Weakness of patients can affect the movement of hands and arms making gestures and handwriting frustration and diff icult. Patients may also be attached to monitors and infusions resulting in restricted movements which can lead to patients feeling trapped and disturbed (Ashworth, 1980). MacAulay (2010) mentions that Intensive Care nurses are highly skilled at anticipating the communication needs of patients who are trying to communicate but find the interpretation of their communication time consuming and difficult. The University of Dundee (ICU-Talk, 2010) conducted a three year multi disciplinary study research project to develop and evaluate a computer based communication aid specifically designed for Intensive Care patients. The trial is currently ongoing, however this may become a breakthrough in quick and effective patient clinical and patient relative communication in future care. This assignment has explored communication within Intensive Care and reflected upon previous experiences. Communication involves both verbal and non verbal communication in order to communicate effectively in all situations. Researching this topic has highlighted areas in Intensive Care nursing which may be overlooked, for example ventilator alarms and general noise within a unit may feel like a normal environment for the clinians however for patients and relatives this may cause considerable amounts of concern. Simply giving explanations for such alarms will easily alleviate concerns and provide reassurance. From overall research (Alasad: 2004, Leigh: 2001, MacAuley, 2010: Craig, 2007) Intensive Care nurses believed communication with critically ill patients was an important part of their role however disappointedly some nurses perceived this as time consuming or of low importance when the conversation was one way (Ashworth, 1980). Further education within Intensive Care may be requ ired to improve communication and highlight the importance of communication at all times. Communication is key to ensuring patients receive quality high standard care from a multidisciplinary team, where all members appreciate the skills and contributions that others offer, to improve patients care and the overall patient experience. Appendix 1, The History Taking Process: The questions are the key to a good interview. You need to use a mix of open ended questions and close ended questions. Open ended questions leave the door open for the patient to tell you more. Questions like when it this problem start?, have you had any recent health problems?, and can you show me where it hurts? are open ended. The patient feels free to provide additional information. While questions like does it hurt here?, did you have this pain yesterday?, and have you had the flu in the past month? are close ended. Close ended questions seek very specific, often yes or no responses from the patient and dont encourage the patient to provide any additional information. Good interviews are a mixture of both kinds of questions. (Secrest, 2009) Basic Elements: 1. Greeting a. Introduction b. Identification of patient and self c. Assessment of the patients overall appearance and demeanor 2. Personal history a. Age b. Occupation c. Sex d. Height / Weight e. Marital / Family status i. Children 3. Chief complaint (CC) or Presenting complaint a. Why is the patient seeking care? b. What other problems concern the patient? 4. History of present illness a. Location and radiation of complaint b. Severity of complaint c. Timing of onset d. Situation (setting) of onset e. Duration of complaint f. Previous similar complaints g. Exacerbating and relieving factors h. Associated symptoms i. Patients explanation of complaint 5. Past medical history a. Systematic questioning regarding previous adult illnesses i. Neurological/Psychiatric ii. Eye, ear, nose, throat iii. Skin/Hair/Nails iv. Musculoskeletal v. Cardiovascular/Respiratory vi. Genital-urinary vii. GI tract b. Childhood illnesses c. Surgeries, injuries or hospital admissions d. OB/GYM i. Birth control ii. Pregnancies / Births iii. Menstrual periods iv. Pelvic exams / Pap smears e. Psychiatric f. Immunizations g. Screening tests h. Allergies 6. Family history a. Disease history b. Parental health c. Childrens health 7. Drug history a. Current medications i. Prescription ii. Over-the-counter b. Drug allergies 8. Lifestyle (social history) a. Alcohol b. Smoking c. Recreational drug use d. Sexual life style/orientation e. Reproductive status f. Occupational issues (Secrest,2009)