Prison Reform Essay

Reform was a major issue in early 19th century America because it was a time when more middle-classed Americans were able to devote time to social causes and issues that they saw that concerned them. One of these important social movements was prison reform, and how men and women in prison were treated. In the early 1800’s the United States was regarded as having the best penal system in the world. This is why during the early 1800’s Alexis de Tocqueville was sent from France to the United States to study the penal system there. What he was coming here to study was how the system of prisons had been reformed already by Americans. Many individuals, in particular religious advocates who took up the cause of prison reform, had established themselves as the voice of prisoners. They felt that while prisoners needed to do time for their crimes and be punished accordingly, they also had the right to have good conditions within the prisons themselves. These people had a goal of creating prisons that were conducive to not only punishing individuals, but reforming them became an important part of their time in prison. These religious reformers felt that prisoners should be reformed to become good citizens and, if they never left jail, then at least they could be religious individuals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The successes of these reformers were that they did create a great amount of interest in reform. Many new prisons began to be built that would be more conducive to reforming prisoners. These successes were shortly lived, however, because sadly the prisons did not go up as quickly as the prisoners were going in and therefore old prisons that were not good conditions were still in use, and many prisoners still languished in them, in even worse conditions than before.

Analyse the effects of education on the developing countries Essay

Analyse the effects of education on the developing countries Development is one of the themes of modern society and there are a variety of elements influencing the development. Many countries experience declares that education gradually play a more and more vital role in development. Education policies which depend on the specific national conditions can lead to a different result. Overall, primary education may be a key to promote the influence including population, health and economic growth. Secondary education not only provides some skilled workers to society, but also is the foundation of higher education. When the country tries to develop the high-tech economy and to transform the social structure, the tertiary education will make a necessary and positive effect on its development. In the education system, basic education is the foundation of secondary and tertiary education. But primary education is not only a part of the education system. It is a very important element which impact on the level of mass culture, Social stability, economic development, population growth and public health. These parts and primary education are interrelated and interact on each other. It is an efficient way to develop these together and lead to a steady and rapid development of society by improving basic education. To make it clear we can put it into a chart(see appendix 1). There are 800 million illiterate adults who are very hard to find a high-income job in the earth, although the world develops rapidly. To solve this problem, universal basic education is a prime way. For example through popularize basic education farmers are able to read the instruction of fertilizer and some agriculture machine, which has an obvious effect in increase of agricultural productivity (Brown, 2008). The situation in industry is similar because of the higher efficiency. There is no doubt that mass culture level and economic growth would also get ahead because of this. In this respect, both Bangladesh and Iran can serve as models which have successful adult literacy programs (Brown, 2008). Widening gap between rich and poor is a source of instability of society (Brown, 2008), while primary education is an important way to narrow it. In most instances, especially for those countries whose rich-poor gap is it is en ormous, it is a key to improve the living standard of the poor by universal basic education. Education could also decrease the crime rate (Stephen, Linda, 2003). Therefore, the narrower Rich-poor gap can provide a steady social  surrounding in order to a better foundation for economic growth. Economic growth also has feedback in education. When government has enough money to invest to the education, the better education surrounding and higher teacher level would surely improve education, and finally reach a benign circulation. It is justification for public spending on education, because it is based on the high social rate of return. The study shows that investment of primary education can bring the highest social rate of return, followed by secondary and tertiary education (Gupta et alï ¼Å'2004) For developing countries, overpopulation is usually regarded as a basic and important problem. The increase of population would Significant bring the decrease of per capita resource, which also brings huge stress on environment and government. To solve this problem, it is a basic way to spread basic education especially for women. If girls accept more education, they would marry later, and have fewer children, which is a win-win-win situation (Plan 2008). Furthermore, they will have a higher expect and more requirements on their children. Meanwhile, they would focus more on their children’s quality instead of quantity. No doubt that this situation has a positive effect on Population quality Education also has a great effect on public health. First point, Use female education as an example, data shows that there is obvious relationship between educational attainment of mothers and mortality rates of under-5 children (Unicef, 2005). They are also more likely to have healthier children (World Bank, 2008). For the adult, once they receive more medical knowledge, the chances of infection by various diseases get significantly lower. For example, the best way to cure disease like AIDS is teach people how to prevent it. Health also has effect on education. In this aspect, Health and poverty usually work togethe r. In poor areas, children usually hungry or ill, so it is hard for them to have a good state to study. Secondary education, linking primary and tertiary, is the easiest to be undervalued. Occasionally people purely regard lower-secondary as the continuance of basic education and upper-secondary as the preparation of higher education, and the effect of secondary education itself is ignored. However, data given by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of Austrian Academy of Sciences shows that secondary education provides a big boost to economic growth in low-income countries. The annual GDP growth  rates in a country with half population in secondary and universal primary (13%) is twice as much as that in one with merely universal primary (6.5%) (Lutz et al, 2008). Another research suggests the return of secondary education is 18.2% for men and 17.0% for woman (Goh & Gopinathan, 2008). Education begins to differentiate at secondary level, upper-secondary especially. Usually secondary education is classified into academic secondary and vocational secondary. Academic secondary education is mainly pre-tertiary education and sometimes pre-vocational education. Graduates from academic secondary school are easier to find a ‘white-collar’ job, which is believed to be safe, comfortable and well-paid in Asia (Goh & Gopinathan, 2008; Holsinger & Cowell, 2000). Students in Asian are fond of academic secondary schooling due to the preference for ‘white-collar’ jobs, but all students are not suitable for academic secondary education. Vocati onal secondary schooling, which is specifically aimed at job skills, may be more beneficial to other students. Despite of low matriculate quality, many Asian countries seems still successful in vocational secondary education, Singapore for example. Since 1964, Singapore offered vocational secondary education to students who fail in entering academic secondary school. Because of vocational schooling, many of them master some basic skills, become skilled workers and find a job. When Singapore developed labor-intensive industries and were in huge demand for labor in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, vocational secondary schooling provided large quantities of workers for nation. Simultaneously, as the low mark students are matriculated in schools instead of coming into society too early, they are protected from unhealthy practices in society (Holsinger & Cowell, 2000). As vocational secondary education help people to find a work, it also decreases unemployment rate. In Africa, a good illustration of success in training programs is Zambia. Most training graduates can be employed in half a year. Unfortunately, in most of Africa where vocational training remains in low quality, graduates from training school still have difficulty in obtaining employment. Namibian for example, five years after graduation, the unemployment rate of graduates is as high as one fourth. That means vocational secondary education is ineffective when it is in poor quality (Kingombe, 2008). Like academic secondary education, vocational secondary education can also be provision for post-secondary education. In Singapore,  after four years of vocational secondary education in the Normal Technical (NT) streams, most NT students enter the Institute of Technical Education to receive ‘high-tech’ education since 1992 (Goh & Gopinathan, 2008). secondary education provides high return at low cost. Academic secondary education sometimes seems still expensive and indirect to occupation, while vocational secondary education significantly increases the quality of workforce and the employment rate. Many poor countries with a scarcity of educational resource cannot afford to invest higher education. Therefore, secondary education may be the most cost-effective choice (Lutz et al, 2008; Goh & Gopinathan, 2008; Holsinger & Cowell, 2000). Tertiary education can play a vital role in the country’s development. However, only the appropriate policy of tertiary education can make great positive effect on the development. South Korea is a good case in point. The very important prerequisites whether the policy of the tertiary education is efficient and suitable is basis: average education level; economic level and so on. Before the Korea War (1950-1953), Korea’s industrialism had just started　(Sacad and Shaw, 1990). The military force not only interrupted the industrialism, but also damaged national economic seriously, remaining the fact that Korea’s per capita gross national product (GNP) was even less than that of the poorest countries, such as Sudan. At this circumstance, South Korean government decided to encourage the massive industries and to recover the nation economic (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2008). To achieve the goal, in the early 1960s, South Korea needed a large number of generally skilled labour　to take part in the industrialism reforming, which was the main reason why the government focused on the development of primary and secondary education in this period of time, which are talked clearly in the last paragraph. Without a solid economic and education foundation, tertiary education can never make an obvious effect on the development. Almost meanwhile, the tertiary education started to grow although the enrolment was far less than that of primary and secondary education. There two reasons why the government didn’t pay too much attention to the tertiary education. First one was the nation’s GDP per was still too low to invest the tertiary education. Second one is that people at that time didn’t receive the universal basic education. Later in the early 1970s the export which focused on light manufacturing and electronic goods accelerated (Kim, 2005), which  needed the certain skilled labour. However, the labour who had general education couldn’t match the reality, leading to the result that the government turned to emphasise on the vocational education (Kim, 2005). Developing the tertiary education to produce the adapted labour was urgent. However, because the production didn’t refer to much high-tech, the development of university remained slow while the vocational education greatly expanded. The labour who had received the vocational education helped relieve the talents shortage to support Economic sustainable development effectively. During 1960s-1970s, the nation economic grew rapidly. In mid-1970s-1980s, Korea’s major industry had become heavy and chemical industry and its main export had transformed kinds of like iron industry, shipyard, precision manufacture and so on (Kim, 2005). In this case, the problem of lacking of high-tech talents to support economic was becoming more serious, especially in the engineering and scientific areas. At this circumstance, when the vocational education can not meet the practical needs, the boom of university was inevitable. Hence, the government’s attention and investment in university education increased in the next decade. In addition, the private investment on university education also increased. With the encouraged policy, the universities developed rapidly during 1980s. A study shows, ‘ in the mid-1970s, the re were more than 7% of high school graduate who enrolled into the university. Compared to other developed countied, Japan gained the goal in the 1950s, Taiwan in mid-1960s, and the U.S. in the 1930s ‘(Phelps et. Al, 2003; Hayhoe, 1995). It shows that developing the university education is the necessary way for every country which is determined to develop high-tech economic. Some studies point out the technology change which can improve the productivity will make obvious progress or facilitate some new product when the long-term growth is keeping more than 50%. With rapid development of information technology, the economic and social structure is changing day by day. Trade made a active effect in South Korea’s export-oriented economy and during 20th century it occurred many problems such as the freedom of the market. When the government noticed the various problems, they realized Korea should become a knowledge-based society and its economic should be the knowledge-based economic. Therefore, university concentrated on the informational technology, such as semiconductor, Information and  communication technology, which made a huge progress during this period of time (Kim, 2005). Moreover, computer, cellular phone and memory chip were the major export product, which also showed the transformation of the economic segments. University education plays a more and more important role in the social transformation. The case of South Korea claims that when the general education is already comprehensively done, the appropriate investment and policy on tertiary education will show the effects on the development in an obvious way. The case of South Korea claims that when the general education is already comprehensively done, the appropriate investment and policy on tertiary education will show the effects on the development in an obvious way. In conclusion, primary education fully promotes economy and society in the poorest countries. In slight wealthier countries, secondary education leads to a leap of economy, and paves the way to further promotion. On a solid foundation of primary and secondary education, the developing countries will achieve considerable development with the help of tertiary education. When education is adapted to national conditions, it helps maximum of economic and social development. List of referenceBrown, L. (2008) Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save civilization. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Earth policy institute Steurer, Stephen J; Smith, Linda G (2003) Education reduces crime: Three-state Recidivism Study Plan (2008) Playing the Price[online], Available from:http://www.plan.org.au/mediacentre/publications/research/paying_the_price[07 Dec.2010] Gupta, s., Verhoeven,M., Tiongson, E.R. (2004) Helping countries Develop: The role of Fiscal Policy Unicef (2005) Investing in the Children in the Islamic World http://www.unicef.org/pulications/files/Investing_Children_Islamic_World_full_e.pdf [07 Dec. 2010] Lutz, W. and Goujon, A. and KC, S. (2008) Education: the Key to Development. p. 12-15. [oline]. Available from: [9 October 2010]  Goh, C.H. & Gopinathan, S. (2008) ‘The Development of Education in Singapore Since 1965’. In Lee, S.K, Goh, C.B, Fredrikson, and Birger (ed) Toward a  Better Future: Education and Training for Economic Development in Singapore since 1965.The World Bank: 2008.p.12-38 Holsinger, D.B. & Cowell, R.N. (2000) Positioning Secondary School Education in Developing Countries. Paris: December 2000. [Online] Available from: [22 October 2010] Kingombe, C. (2008) ‘Evaluating the Effects of Vocational Training in Africa’. OECD Development Centre Policy Insights. Paris: April 2008. P. 1-3 Encyclopedia of the Nations (2008) Balance of payments – Korea, Republic of (ROK) – export, growth, power [online]. Available from [8 Dec 2010] S, Kim and Ju-Ho Lee (2004) Changing Facets of Korean Higher Education: Market Competition and the Role of the State* [online] March 2004 Available from : [8 Dec 2010] Bloom, D.Canning, D. Chan, K. (2006) Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. Washington D.C. Harvard University

Case Study Wal-Mart Essay

Evaluate the general environment of Wal-Mart using the framework in Chapter 2. What are the key opportunities and threats facing Wal-Mart? (This is the â€Å"OT† of a SWOT analysis)Wal-Mart’s builds its stores in towns with a population size of 5000-25,000 people. Wal-Mart has recently started to tap into the more populated city suburbs by building smaller less obtrusive stores in those regions. Wal-Mart targets every age group from infants to senior citizens. Wal-Mart’s geographically places it’s stores in rural less populated areas with very few employment opportunities. Wal-Mart tries to attract all income levels by selling brand name items along with generic brand items. Wal-Mart approaches its global market by evaluating market potential based on economic and political risk, growth potential, and availability of real estate for development. In countries that had became saturated Wal-Mart used acquisitions to acquire ownership. In markets that were not saturated and land was easily accessible Wal-Mart used organic growth. The technology that Wal-Mart uses to run their business is unmatched. They have a network of satellites that can track a person purchase and automatically refurbish those items from suppliers without any human intervention. Wal-Mart maximizes efficiency by using effective technology to gain a competitive advantage. Wal-Mart has grown into a global empire and has become the world largest private employer and the number one retailer in the world. Despite all of this success Wal-Mart still has a huge opportunity to grow. Wal-Mart continues to adapt to the ever-changing economy by remodeling their store and by placing the customer as their number one priority. Wal-Mart took advantage of its rural locations early on and gained a significant competitive advantage, now Wal-Mart is taking on the urban environment by placing stores in the outskirts of major metropolitan areas. At first local residents rejected the idea of having a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood for fear it would drive down property value and unwanted individuals to their suburbanite neighborhood. Wal-Mart quickly resolved this problem by changing the format and size of their stores located in these regions. The only threats to Wal-Mart faces are mostly from within (eg..) lawsuits employee disputes and the threat to become unionized. Use Porter’s Five Forces Model to analyze the global retailing industry. Given this analysis, is the industry attractive or unattractive? Support  your decision. Wal-Mart is a huge threat to new entrants. Wal-Mart has created huge barriers to new entries by offering one stop shopping. Wal-Mart’s Super Centers offer everything from prepared meals to sports gear. Grocery chains have taken a huge hit because of this, even Kmart is feeling the heat, there stock hit rock bottom in 2004. The discount clothing and apparels have also taken a bite from this retail giant. Wal-Mart has produced a very proficient economy of scale from incremental improvements that they have acquired since becoming so large. Manufactures scramble to try and keep up with the huge demand that Wal-Mart places on its suppliers, this further reduces the prices of goods and services for their customers. Small-scale entries are nearly impossible in a region where Wal-Mart is located. Large-scale entries face the retaliation factor when trying to tap into Wal-Mart’s market because suppliers are forced to do things the Wal-Mart way. Wal-Mart has successfully customized many of their products and forced manufactures have been forced to produce the Wal-Mart brand. Wal-Mart has taken total control of the bargaining power of suppliers. Wal-Mart has a small group of buyers based in Bentonville Arkansas that’s in charge of managing the purchasing of all retail stores. Wal-Mart is responsible for selling 35% of all pet food, 24% of all toothpaste, the largest volume of jewelry, groceries, DVDs, CDs, toys, guns, diapers, sporting goods, bedding, and numerous other things. This has put the retail giant in a very favorable negotiating position with suppliers. Wal-Mart has generated a huge market of loyal buyers by supplying them with the lowest possible prices for quality products. With Wal-Mart having such a huge share of the market and good prices there is no need for buyers to seek deals elsewhere. Wal-Mart has proven to be a huge threat of substitute products in several industries for example the jewelry industry, Wal-Mart has become one of the leading jewelry dealers in the North America. Wal-Mart has also created its own brand name for several of its items that have been so successful that manufactures are forced to produce products bearing the Wal-Mart brand. Wal-Mart competitors have to be very calculated with their responses because Wal-Mart is so large it can really drive a business under ground (Kmart). What is Wal-Mart’s business-level strategy? Is the strategy appropriate to offset the forces in the industry? Do you recommend any changes? If not, support your decision why you would not recommend any changes. Wal-Mart uses Integrated Lost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy. Wal-Mart has offset the forces in the industry by creating the most efficient supply chain in the industry. Efficient production has allowed Wal-Mart to keep cost low and pass own saving to its customers. Wal-Mart has successfully used Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy by setting the pace in new technology and adapting quickly to new technologies in their external environment. Concentration on the needs of its core customers (discount retailers), Wal-Mart has created a friendly family environment that’s economically smart and beneficial to its patrons. Flexibility is one of Wal-Mart’s strongest assets, which allows them to complete primary and support activities in ways that allow them to produce somewhat differentiated products at a low cost. I would not personally recommend any changes to this strategy because it has made Wal-Mart the worlds largest retailer. What is your evaluation of the leadership at Wal-Mart?Wal-Mart has become the most successful business in the world through its un-yielding leadership. Mr. Walton has laid the foundation for success for years to come. The leaders at Wal-Mart focus on providing the customer with the highest possible quality at the lowest possible cost. They have redefined the retail industry with their cutting edge technology and flexibility that is un-matched by any competitor. The fact that upper management travel in economy class shows a lot about the character within the organization. The leadership at Wal-Mart has made the world we live in much smaller through economic availability and convenience. The leaders at Wal-Mart are a true example of profit through customer satisfaction. Works Cited Hitt, M., Ireland, R., & Hoskisson, R. (2007), Strategic Management, Competitiveness andGlobalization: Concepts and Cases. 7th ed. Mason: Thomson South-Western(August 21, 2006). Global Labor Strategies: Wal-Mart: The Homefront. RetrievedSeptember 18, 2007,

James Doolittle in Aviation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Doolittle in Aviation - Essay Example This was not only saving on the cost of fuel for landing and taking off but also saves a lot of time. His acceleration tests indicated that pilots are people who are highly skilled, have endurance in their work and whatever situation they are in when airborne as well as being marked with courage. Aviation is not a very smooth and easy career but with enough education and the characteristics mentioned above, Doolittle showed that all was possible in aviation. He helped create the Air Force Association in 1947 which as meant to assist the military pilots with their aviation issues only they could understand. His most notable achievement according to Krebs, (1993) is the development of instrument flying which involved pilots being trained on using different instruments to navigate and even take control of the aircraft during weather conditions such as clouds, fog, and precipitation among others which were previously hard to maneuver. What his contributions did is make aviation a more lo vable and less feared career. It also made the pilots already in the field become proud of their achievements and especially when the association was formed where they got to share. The development of the instrument flying enabled the pilots to prevent blind flying which was brought about by confusion in motion senses during flying. His courage also gave the other pilots and pilots aspirants have the courage to try out their own â€Å"tricks† that would ensue in later aviation developments and discoveries.

Starbucks Cafe Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Starbucks Cafe - Assignment Example Today Starbucks Cafà © has divided its product into multiple segments. The first segment is its core customer base that visits the establishments on a weekly basis. These customers are the bread and butter of the business since the generated the firm most of its revenues. The second segment the company is targeting is Starbucks enthusiasts that want to incorporate a daily routine of Starbucks coffee drinking without the hassle of going to the store. The segmentation strategy has been accomplished by selling Starbucks coffee products at supermarkets. The third market segmentation is the penetration of Starbucks into the low end coffee market. The strategy was implemented without hurting the brand value of the company by rebranding Seattle Best Coffee. Seattle Best Coffee was a perfect product to compete with the new players in the gourmet coffee industry such as Dunking Donuts and McCafe. The new product could be sold at locations that Starbucks in the past did not visualize as suita ble for its products such as fast foods and cinemas.Sometimes in business choosing an accelerated growth strategy can have consequences in the long run. The company simply grew too fast. The company became so large that they saturated the United States market with too many coffee shops. The growth was amazing and its founder and the shareholders that invested in the firm from the start should be proud of their accomplishment. Now the problem lies in the expectations of the current and future shareholders. It is unrealistic to predict that Starbucks will ever return to the profit growth it once enjoyed. The organic growth model saw its demise in 2008. The firm will continue to generate good solid profits. It is highly possible for the firm to experience negative growth. Some stores have been closed already and I expect more stores to close down in the United States in the near future. The only way for the firm to achieve sales growth in the future is by expanding its international op erations. The company has to identify the best locations that offer a good balance between population size, customer income, low competition, and the high demand for coffee.

Elementary Reading Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Elementary Reading - Article Example Three articles discuss this matter extensively. The first one is Susanne Lapps article entitled â€Å"Literacy and the English Language Learner,† which discusses different behaviors of English Language Learners (ELLs) inside the classroom. The second one is the article by Karen Cadiero-Kaplan, entitled â€Å"Literacy Ideologies: Critically Engaging the Language Arts Curriculum,† which discusses how, for whom, and for what purposes literacy is defined. The third article is written by Rebecca Wheeler and R. Swords and is entitled â€Å"Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom†. It discusses the best way to teach Standard English to ELLs for classroom use without disregarding the fact that these individuals have a language that is correct in their own right. It is ironic how the world seems to clamor for diversity, yet fails to adapt to it in the most basic classroom setup --- interaction between teachers and students. These two images above directly show how respect for diversity should be supported. Classrooms nowadays are becoming more and more culturally diverse, thus, the need for a greater weight to be placed on a students individuality and background. The common points among the articles stressed in these images are: To answer these common points stated in the articles, it is good to understand that modifying classroom instruction and lecture content and style is essential in ensuring that native speakers, ELLs, and those that come in between, are provided with fair range of classroom experience that would benefit everyone (Lapp, 2010). Additionally, background of every student should be taken into consideration because it is possible that what is learning for Native American students may be different from what is learning for those of, for example, Arab immigrants. It is good to understand that literacy is set within the political boundaries of

Should base level funding for critical infrastructure protection Research Paper

Should base level funding for critical infrastructure protection against foreign terrorists organizations include domestic (internal) threats - Research Paper Example ously increased their capacities in terms of sophistication and potential damage, there is need to take necessary steps to guard key infrastructures both private- and publicly owned against these developments. In order to effectively tackle cases of terroristic attacks against CI, base level funding for protection against foreign terrorist organizations should include domestic or internal threats. Indeed in today’s modern world, without critical infrastructure a society cannot function optimally. In fact, it is only in times of peace and relative security that critical infrastructures are characteristically, for granted taken. It must however be appreciated that when one critical infrastructure is annihilated, the entire nation somehow feels the effects of the loss (ITAC, 2006). In some cases, the loss may be as great in magnitude as to affect one or more countries significantly. Owing to their significance, critical infrastructures are always naturally become vulnerable targets for terrorists – foreign or those that exist within the nation’s borders (ITAC, 2006). It is in appreciation of this fact that the government in conjunction with its citizens and other stakeholders must always ensure that these infrastructures remain secure and function properly. In the US, currently, there is no clear policy as to how base level funding should be used. This therefore means that in cases of need, funding meant for foreign terrorist protection could be used to solve issues related to domestic threats. While terrorist gangs have often resorted to using bombs and other violent methods, it must be appreciated that they are likely to change tactics soon or later. Instead of engaging in physical combat, terrorists may opt to target information systems and other cyber assets in an unprecedented way. This could of course have a devastating effect since most of the country’s critical infrastructure is run or controlled by computers which in most cases are networked (ITAC,

In Preventing a Brave New World (pp. 317-329), Leon Kass concludes Essay

In Preventing a Brave New World (pp. 317-329), Leon Kass concludes that reproductive and therapeutic cloning of human embryos - Essay Example He points out that â€Å"revulsion† (Kass, 2001) is not the basis of his argument as he points out that â€Å"repugnance† (Kass, 2001) of the past is silently accepted in the present. He moreover observes that disgust is not something that is emotional and hence he is not being emotional when he criticizes the cloning of the human embryos but it is a deep thought into the matter makes him talk against the mechanism. He compares cloning with the incest relationships and other unethical activities like disfigurement of corpse or feeding on human flesh. Kass observes that as murder, rape or bestiality cannot be ethically justified, in the same manner reproductive and therapeutic cloning of human embryos stands unjustified on the ground of ethics. Kass (2001), in his composition, says that cloning is resisted not only because it is strange to take up something like this but because he â€Å"intuit† that it is not novel and cloning for him is the violation of things t hat he dearly holds. In the book he criticizes cloning on the grounds of unethical experimentation, threatening the identity of human being and his or her individuality, transforming the essence of procreation into manufacturing. He also argues against it on the ground of despotism that it heralds on the children, thereby becoming the harbinger of parenthood perversion. He makes sure he is not misinterpreted when he is arguing against cloning. He points out that he is against the creation of reproductive cloning and not against the cloning that is used for the research work (Kass, 2001). On ethical grounds Kass argues that the cloning experiment has an adverse and unethical effect on the child to be born. Its not that they would be only affected adversely on the ethical grounds there can serious dangers to their life, as the experiment of cloning has failed mostly among the animals. Incidents of fetal deaths and the deaths of the stillborn infants cannot be avoided in the process of cloning. He also points out that the so called proclaimed successes are actually failure. It has also been revealed very recently that there remains a high chance of disability and deformity among the cloned animals that lives after birth. He justifies his argument by citing examples of clone crows which has heart and lungs problems and cloned mice which develops pathological obesity later on in its life span. It has been also observed that a cloned animal fails in attaining normal development milestones. Though he argues on the ethical grounds of relationships and the associated problem that would arise from cloning he actually argues on a strong scientific and logical terms. His argument against cloning stands justified on the basis of the facts and figures that have been provided by him (Kass, 2001). He also puts forward an argument on the basis of identity and individuality crisis. It will be like a dilemma for the person who has been cloned, as not only will he have concerns a bout his distinguishing characteristics but also that he will have an identical appearance as his father or mother. This would lead to serious identity crisis. He indicates the adverse effect that a homey case can have if engaged in infra familial cloning. Cloning of the husband and the wife gives birth to a twin parent child relation. Eventually no parent will be competent to take care of the clone of himself or herself as one treats his or her own child. This creates a series of perplexity in the relationship, the way they are perceived. Like if the daughter is the clone of

TAXATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

TAXATION - Essay Example Furthermore, the nature in which we tax savings can be used to explain the difference between individual taxation and corporate taxation and this is because the behavior differences between these forms of entities can clearly be stated. Still, savings realized due to taxation has an influence overall amounts of savings in the economy; in addition, how these savings are spread helps in explaining wealth distribution. This is because the amount of investments depends on the amounts of savings and by extent it is through investments that we are able to create wealth. Lastly, the manner in which taxation is done will determine an individual’s decisions on the amounts to save and the extent to which they are able to take risks while spreading their savings on assets (Angelopoulos & Malley 2010). Looking at taxation on savings in UK currently, we will take the approach of reviewing the taxation of; income tax, the NICs, and the capital gains tax. There is a complexity and unfairness on taxation of these forms of incomes; for instance, owner occupied housing, cash and shares held in ISAs savings are out of the taxation bracket. Therefore such forms of incomes are not taxed on returns as well as withdrawal. This form of treatment is not applicable in case of ISAs making the TEE treatment only available for investments in equity as opposed to savings in cash. The current system also provides a very in the taxation of pensions, here, savings is within the incomes that is subject to taxation. In addition, fund income is as well not subjected to taxation though withdrawals are taxed (Ainslie 2005). This is called the EET regime and it favors pensions since the taxation of pensions under it would consistently yield a zero as a normal return to savings. The pension saving is also su bsidized since 25% of the fund can be withdrawn without being taxed if the withdrawal is in lump sum. The pension contributions by the employers are also subsidized and tax favored, as they are

The importance of banqueting and what type of events there are and how Essay - 1

The importance of banqueting and what type of events there are and how banqueting fits in - Essay Example Many guests introduce each other during a banquet and thus one can consider banqueting as a social event. Here you meet new people and make friends. Even the marketers, now days, use banqueting to promote and advertise their products. Many marketers even hold lucky draws and other brand activities during a banquet and all of this signifies the great importance that banqueting holds for people of our generation. A special event is a one-time event and does not recur on a continuing basis. This makes it unique and it basically held for the purpose of ground breaking, grand opening or other significant moments in life. Concerts and job fairs are also considered as special programme because they cannot be repeated or reproduced. Since, special events are one-time events, special management techniques are required to make these events a success. Many people suffer from improper management of these events which kills the purpose of these events. Therefore, planning these events is the key. You need to make sure that you have the resources and manpower to arrange and successfully host the event. A good starting point in the event management is developing a check list of the resources that you need. A written checklist is important because it can be referred to in the future and important details are not forgotten. Once the event is successfully stage, you need to take some time after the event to evaluate the significance of the event, that is how well it was hosted and stage. For this, a written document is better because you can write down the details while still fresh, reducing the chances that you forget your mistake and they might reoccur again. These steps make events unique and fulfill the purpose of ho lding special events. Banqueting fits in any event as a closing gesture, and signifies the end of an event. The food that is to be

Science Reaction Rate Between an Acid and Metal Investigation Essay Example for Free

Science Reaction Rate Between an Acid and Metal Investigation Essay PROBLEM/RESEARCH QUESTION In this investigation, a controlled experiment will be conducted to determine whether the varying concentration of an acid alters its reaction rate with a metal substance and if so, what is the resultant relationship between the rate of reaction and the concentration of the acid. In particular, we will be reacting Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) with Magnesium metal (Mg) and collect data based on the resultant hydrogen gas produced by the reaction. Word Equation: Magnesium + Sulfuric Acid → Hydrogen gas + Magnesium Sulfate Balanced Equation: Mg (S) + H2SO4 (aq) → MgSo4 (aq) + H2 (g) Research will be formulated by conducting a controlled experiment in which we will react 0. 05g of Magnesium metal ribbons (Mg) with 10mL of four different H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid) solutions varying in concentration and determine the time it takes for the reaction to produce 20mL of Hydrogen gas with each varying concentration. HYPOTHESIS I hypothesise that as the concentration of the H2SO4 solution increases/strengthens (measured in molarity mass), it will correspond to an increased/quicker rate of reaction with Mg metal. Hence, I also hypothesise that based on the above premise- the 2M solution of H2SO4 would be the quickest to produce 20mL of H2 gas when reacted with magnesium, as it is the strongest of the four concentrations being trialed. My hypothesis is based upon the scientific reasoning that a more concentrated solution has more particles of the altering reactant (in this case H2SO4) present in a specific volume/amount of space than those present in a more dilute solution. Hence, at a higher concentration, particles are more likely to collide and react with one another, forming a larger number of new bonds between the two reactants. The â€Å"Collision Theory† (which summaries the previous sentences) infers that the rate of reaction is impacted by how often molecules collide with one another. This can be applied to my hypothesis to suggest that with the occurrence of more collisions in the reaction- due to a higher percentage of particles in the more concentrated H2SO4 solutions- it will result in the formation of more bonds and hence, lead to a quicker rate of reaction between two reactants, leading to a quicker production of 20mL of H2 gas. Macintosh HD:Users:160161:Desktop:Screen Shot 2015-03-22 at 2.41.05 pm.png VARIABLES The independent variable (the variable being changed): The independent variable is going to be the varying concentration- measured in molarity mass (M)- of Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution. Four different concentrations will be trialed- 0.5M, 1.0M, 1.5M and 2.0M- each three times and then averaged out so that we achieve a more accurate result. We will alter this variable by changing the concentration of the H2SO4 solution in order to determine a relationship between the strength of an acid and its rate of reaction with a metal substance (in this case: Magnesium metal). The different concentrations have been prepared in the laboratory before the experiment and hence, we do not have to self-prepare the concentrations in class. The dependent variable (the variable being measured): The dependent variable is going to be the varying rate of reaction between a magnesium metal ribbon (Mg) and different concentrations of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). In particular, we will measure and record the time taken by the reaction to produce 20 mL of hydrogen gas in an inverted measuring cylinder. This will indicate the rate at which each concentration reacts and allow us to draw conclusions on how altering the concentration affects the rate of reaction between an acid solution and metal substance. We will measure this variable through the application of a stopwatch and gather recordings/data in seconds. The stopwatch will start when 10mL of H2SO4 is poured into the test tube, reacting with the magnesium ribbon, and will stop timing when the volume of water in the inverted measuring cylinder has decreased by 20mL- indicating that it has been replaced with an equivalent amount of hydrogen gas. The control variables (the variables kept the same): The other variables, which we need to keep constant, are: * The volume of H2SO4 being added to each reaction. This will be kept constant throughout the investigation by accurately measuring 10mL of H2SO4 solution for each trial in a measuring cylinder. This is vital for a fair test as varying it would mean that reaction rate is not only being altered by the effects of varying concentration but also that of volume. * The same climatic conditions present around the experiment. The climatic conditions, in particular temperature will remain the same throughout the experiment to prevent natural processes and disturbance from impacting the experiment. These will be kept the same as no windows will be opened or closed and the air conditioning will not change in temperature or switch on/off after the experiment has started. Temperature, itself, possesses the ability to change the rate of reaction and hence, it is vital to keep it controlled and constant so that the results only reflect the impact of varying concentration. * The same mass of Magnesium (Mg) ribbon to be reacted with the H2SO4 solution (0.05g). The laboratory technician will keep this constant beforehand, as they will provide us with the pre-cut ribbons for our experiment. This mass has been chosen, as it is a sufficient for a distinct reaction to be witnessed in a suitable period of time. * Preventing cross contamination from occurring between trials and different concentrations of H2SO4 solution. To prevent cross contamination, we will clean the two measuring cylinders and test tube with distilled water before each trial, ensuring that no residue from previous trials remain in either of the instruments. * The target volume of H2 gas to be produced by the reaction in each trial- 20mL. This will be kept constant by first determining the ideal amount and then clearing calculating on the measuring cylinder 20mL less than the water level inside it so that it is clear during the trial when to stop the stopwatch. Pre-determining a target volume is vital for us to be able to effectively compare and form a relationship between the concentrations of H2SO4 and time taken to produce the same amount of hydrogen gas. * The same person handling the stopwatch during the experiment. Identifying one group member to handle and use the stopwatch before the experiment and then ensuring that he only handles it during each trial will control this variable. It is vital to reduce the impact human error and keep the experiment as accurate as possible. ALL EQUIPMENT IS TO BE KEPT CONSTANT TROUGHT THE EXPERIMENT TO OBTAIN CONSISTENCY EXPERIMENTAL PLAN Materials/Equipment: * 1x Test Tube * 1x Delivery Tube * 1x Rubber Stopper * 2x 50mL Measuring Cylinders * 1x Plastic Container * 1x Retort Stand and Clamp Set * 1x Laptop * 1x Desk * 1x Stopwatch * 2x Distilled Water Bottles * 12x 0.05g Magnesium Ribbons * 2500mL of water (H2O) * 30mL of each H2SO4 Solution (0.5M, 1M, 1.5M 2M concentrations) Macintosh HD:Users:171321:Desktop:Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 8.27.40 pm.png Setup Plan: Independent Variable Control Variable Control Variable Control Variable Dependent Variable Concentration of H2SO4 solution (M) Total volume of H2SO4 solution per trial (mL) Mass of Mg ribbons added to reaction each trial (g) Amount of Hydrogen gas produced per trial (mL) Method: 1. Collect all necessary equipment from the equipment table- all equipment should be in one tray. 1. Setup the retort stand and clamp on a stable desk. The clamp should be fixed approximately half way up the stand. 1. Open up Photo Booth or a similar video/image-capturing program on a laptop so that evidence of the experiment and setup can be visually shown. 1. Place the plastic, ice-cream container on the desk adjacent to the retort stand and fill it 2/3 of the way up with water from the tap. 1. Fill one of the measuring cylinders with 100mL of water and place inverted into plastic container. Ensure to cover top with hand until fully submerged into container so to prevent leakage of water. 1. Take delivery tube (with rubber stopper attached to one end) and place through inverted cylinder (side without rubber stopper). This should not be difficult, as water pressure of plastic container will keep 100mL in measuring cylinder whilst tube is being inserted. 1. Measure out 10mL of the 0.5M, H2SO4 solution in second measuring cylinder and pour into large test tube. 1. (Start of trial) Place one strip of magnesium ribbon (0.05g) into large test tube and immediately cover top of tube with rubber stopper end of delivery tube. Ensure that it is firmly attached and air tight. As soon as reaction begins with H2SO4 solution already in test tube, start timing the rate of reaction using the stopwatch. 1. Measure and record the time it takes for the water level in the inverted measuring cylinder to decrease by 20mL. This will indicate that it has been replaced by 20mL of hydrogen gas. 1. Reset the experiment by rinsing the measuring cylinders and test tube with distilled water; refill the inverted measuring cylinder with 100mL of water and carefully place back into plastic container with delivery tube passing through it. 1. Measure another 10mL of 0.5M, H2SO4 solution in second measuring cylinder and pour into test tube. 1. Repeat steps 8 and 9 again, adding the 0.05g, Mg ribbon to the reaction in the test tube, cap of the test tube with the rubber stopper end of the delivery tube and time until 20mL of H2 gas has been produced in inverted measuring cylinder. 1. Rinse all equipment with distilled water once trial 2 is completed and measure out another 10mL of 0.5M, H2SO4 solution. Reset experiment like in step 10 and pour measured solution into clean test tube. 1. Begin trial 3 and repeat steps 8 and 10 again. If the previous two trials yielded similar results, trial 3 should also be of similar time length. If at the end of three trials, there is an anomaly within them, it may be required to complete a fourth trial to clean up data. 1. Repeat steps 7-14 again with the 1M, 1.5M and 2M H2SO4 solutions. The process is the same with the only variable changing being the concentration of H2SO4. 1. Once finished, record gathered results onto laptop and return all equipment. Ensure to clean all test tubes and measuring cylinders with distilled water before returning. 2. Write up report, ensuring to include a marked-scattered graph and results table with averages established for each concentration of H2SO4 tested. If required, process the data to achieve a desired relationship between the two variables. *NOTE: Capture pictures throughout experiment with the laptop and remember to write down all observations. RESULTS Results Table: Time Taken To Produce 20mL of Hydrogen Gas (sec) From a Reaction Between Magnesium Metal (Mg) and Different Concentrations (M) of Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) Concentration Of H2SO4 (M) Time Taken to Produce 20mL of Hydrogen Gas (sec) Graph: I think the best kind of graph to use to display these results would be to create a marked line graph with a line of best fit (Trendline): Observations Throughout the investigation we collected and gathered observations using our five senses, with the sound of the reaction, the sight of the reaction and the heat of test tube all extending our knowledge and understanding of this phenomenon. The fizzing sound that the reaction was creating was because of the chemical bonding taking place between the metal and acid. The fizzing was also visible to the eye, as when the magnesium was added to the reaction in the test tube, it combined with the H2SO4 and produced bubbles. Furthermore, particles of higher concentration H2SO4 collided and reacted with the magnesium particles to produce magnesium sulfate and hydrogen gas at a quicker rate. The heat developed in the test tube also varied significantly with more concentrated solutions radiating warmer temperatures due to higher levels of friction and energy in the reaction. DATA PROCESSING The relationship achieved in the above graph between the two variables is of a quadratic, inverse relationship with no modifications made to the data. To achieve a linear relationship between the independent and dependent variable, me must process and modify the results. This is outlined in the table below: Concentration Of H2SO4 (M) Modification Rule New Value of Independent Variable (graphed) Time Taken to Produce 20mL of Hydrogen Gas (sec)- Average Modification Rule New Value of Dependent Variable (graphed) 0.5M 1/r Graph: I think the best kind of graph to use to display the modified results would be to create a marked line graph with a line of best fit (Trendline): DISCUSSION Our results show a wide range of relationships between the data. For instance, the shape of our initial graph shows an inverse, quadratic relationship between the concentration of H2SO4 and time required to produce 20mL of H2 gas from its reaction with Mg metal. The polynomial trend line displays this relationship in the first, raw data graph with an equation of y = 602 254x + 350, creating a â€Å"minimum† parabola. From here, we were able to deduce a set of modified results- taking into account two specific rules required to develop a linear relationship from an existing inverse relationship (represented in the table above). Macintosh HD:Users:160161:Desktop:Screen Shot 2015-03-23 at 7.03.05 pm.png Hence, the second graph provides us with a linear relationship between the two variables in that it possesses a straight line with the equation: y = x + 350. The value of the modified gradient is one, signifying that for every additional 1/0.5M rise in concentration of H2SO4; an equivalent ratio of decrease is experienced for the time taken to produce 20mL of H2 gas. In relation to the research question, our data collected clearly shows that the rate of reaction between an acid and metal substances is quickened by an increase in concentration of the acid substance. The data looks fairly reliable as there are no anomalies or outlier’s present- with the data plotted on the marked scattered graph all being located along the trend line which intersects each mark near-perfectly, suggesting the data’s accuracy with the rule. However, there was slight variation between the three trials of each concentration, suggesting slight variation between the conditions for each trial. CONCLUSION The results gathered are sufficient and clearly show a distinct relationship detailing that the stronger the concentration of the H2SO4 solution, the quicker/faster its rate of reaction with magnesium metal, proving my hypothesis valid as I had hypothesized that â€Å"as the concentration of the H2SO4 solution increases/strengthens (measured in molarity mass), it will correspond to an increased/quicker rate of reaction with Mg metal†. Evidence from the data collected shows that the strongest concentration of H2SO4 (2M) only required an average of 80secs to produce 20mL of H2 gas, where as the most dilute solution trialed (0.5M) required an average of 240secs- more than any other trialed concentration. There is enough evidence to show that unless the data is modified and processed, a linear relationship is not formed between the two variables, indicating that there is no direct proportionality between the increase in concentration and time taken to produce 20mL of hydrogen gas. This occurs because the reaction between H2SO4 and Mg is an exothermic reaction so a small amount of energy has been released/transferred out of the experiment as the reaction progressed. EVALUATION Our experiment went quite well and we were able to collect all the necessary readings required. We encountered very few problems during the course of the experiment and were able to conduct three trials for each H2SO4 concentration, thus improving the reliability of our data and deeming the experiment fair and valid. We had a sufficient sample size of four different concentrations at equal intervals of 0.5M-adequate for this experiment and allowing for a conclusive relationship to be established. The extensive range of data collected through the conduction of three trials for each concentration of H2SO4 allowed us to obtain an accurate trend line and formulate justifiable conclusions. Furthermore, our results for each concentration of H2SO4 were similar each trial with no major outliers in the data, implying that our control of the constant variables was successful, all data was precise and accurate averages were deemed. Analyzing our results, we were able to achieve the phenomena (affects of concentration on the rate of reaction between a metal and acid substance) we were interested in and hence were able to answer our research question in the affirmative that the concentration of an acid (in this Sulfuric acid) does effect its reaction of rate with magnesium metal, with the relationship being that an increase in concentration (molar mass) equates to an increased/quicker rate of reaction- evidenced by the time taken to produce 20mL of hydrogen gas. Our method was fairly clear, concise and allowed us collect our data in a fairly orderly way, doing so for most tests. It allowed us to complete the experiment with accuracy excluding the effects of the one, major problem (mentioned above) that were inevitable based on the way the experiment was conducted. Although our method and experimental plan were quite accurate, easy to understand and allowed us to achieve our target of determining a distinct and logical relationship, there are still many improvements that could be made to it to improve the validity of our results and further experiments could be carried out to extend this investigation. These include: * Completely eliminating human impact in the experiment by a valve of some sort to add the magnesium ribbons to the reaction in the test tube with the rubber stopper already firmly attached to the test tube. This will mean that the slight deviation in data is not experienced. * Using a larger sample size- (i.e. 8-10 different concentrations of H2SO4) so that the relationship gathered can be further strengthened and backed up by more evidence. * Investigate whether changing the concentration of H2SO4 has an impact on the time it takes for the reaction to reach equilibrium (the end of the reaction) and form a relationship from there. * Use different types of acids and metals with different properties to investigate if the rate of reaction is similar to that between Sulfuric acid and magnesium or it is quicker/slower. * Trialing different factors that affect the rate of reaction such as temperature or agitation and evaluating their influence compared to that of altering the concentration.

Kristens Cookies Essay Example for Free

Kristens Cookies Essay The bottleneck in the process, which is the time required to bake the cookies, will need to change (decrease) in order to fulfill a demand of 25 dozen cookies per night. Currently, Kristen and her roommate have one oven which can bake one dozen (one tray) cookies in 10 minutes. If Kristen and her roommate were to purchase a second oven, this 10 minute bottleneck in the process could potentially be reduced to a 5 minute process task. This would make the mixing of ingredients the bottleneck, which is a 6 minute task. Due to the bottleneck shifting to another shorter task due to the original bottleneck’s task time decreasing, the max rate of production will also increase as shown below: d) 30 dozen per night? The answer is the same as part c. e) 35 dozen per night? The answer is the same as part c. iv) It is midway through the first night of business with a setup as described in the case. A rush order comes in that wants the cookies in 30 minutes. Do you accept the order? Yes or no. Explain how you decided. Assuming Kristen and her roommate are working on a previous order when the rush order is received, the rush order would only be accepted if it had been received at 11 minutes into the order prior to the rush order and 24 minutes into the order prior to the rush order. This is shown visually below: Figure 3: Resource Utilization For Rush Order Received 11 Minutes Into Prior Order Figure 4: Resource Utilization For Rush Order Received 24 Minutes Into Prior Order These diagrams show that as long as the rush order is received between these times in the prior orders workflow, there will be no resource conflicts and the rush order can be successfully completed. If the rush-order was received prior to that stretch of time, there will be resource conflicts or extended wait-times as shown in the figures below: Figure 5: Resource Conflict For Rush Order Received Earlier Than 11 Minutes Into Prior Order Figure 6: Resource Conflict For Rush Order Received Later Than 24 Minutes Into Prior Order In order to mitigate the resource conflicts caused by accepting an order earlier than 11 minutes or later than 24 minutes into the previous order, wait times would need to be introduced in order to allow the resource to complete a task for one order and then perform the task for the rush order. This would introduce inefficiency into the process and most likely impact receipt of future orders. v) We need to consider business strategy: will the process capacity be higher if Kristen offers only non-customized cookies of one type? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this alternative strategy compared to what Kristen now plans? The process capacity will not change in the short term if Kristen offers only non-customized cookies. The case study makes it clear that the process that Kristen follows requires specific amounts of time to be spent at each step. However, in the long term, Kristen’s capacity will increase as she becomes more adept at making the one type of cookie she has elected to make. This will reduce the time required at some of the process steps (but not necessarily all) and ultimately increase the output capacity her and her roommate are able to achieve. Pros of non-customized cookies: Time spent shopping will be reduced, as will overall variability in price of ingredients. Kristen and her roommate will become more efficient due to standardization They will become much better at making one type of cookie rather than many; total flow time will ultimately decrease from 27 minutes. Bottleneck will not decrease due to increased efficiency because cooking time is set. However, time spent mixing may increase as might the time spent receiving the order, packaging the cookies, etc. As cookie quality increases due to standardization, demand will increase. Assuming more resources are not brought in, supply will likely stay the same. This will allow Kristen to increase the price for her cookies. Cons of non-customized cookies: Less variety will cause Kristen to set herself into a niche market. Some customers may not like the cookies Kristen bakes; others may have allergies, etc. Initial profits may not be as high as they would be if Kristen were to sell multiple types of cookies.

Evaluating Two Middle Range Theories Nursing Essay

Evaluating Two Middle Range Theories Nursing Essay The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two middle range theories abilities to test the concept of comfort for the practice question Do neonatal nurses who care for dying infants who attend an end of life care educational training program compared to neonatal nurses who do not attend the program experience a difference in comfort levels (Comfort Level for Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI)) when caring for a dying infant? A summary of two middle range theories the Comfort Theory (Kolcaba, 1994) and the Theory of Self-Efficacy (Resnick, xxxx) will be summarized and then critiqued using Smith and Liehrs (xxxx) Framework for Evaluating Middle Range Theory. The discussion will conclude with a summary of strengths and weakness of the theories and a research hypothesis to reflect that reflects the most appropriate theories conceptual definitions and propositions. Introduction Background Despite nurses as frontline caregivers for dying patients and their families many nurses have identified that they struggle with the responding adequately to the emotional devastation to parents and siblings when caring for a neonate with an unresolved terminal condition (Frommet, 1991). With the advances in neonatal care and life sustaining treatments, sick and very preterm infants do not often die in utero, at birth, or shortly after birth, but instead they often live much longer in a healthcare paradigm of comfort care and dignified death. This relatively new emersion of the end of life model integrates a more holistic approach which considers a more comprehensive view of the patients needs (emotional, spiritual, and medical) (Mallory, 2002; Mallory, 2003; WHO, 2002). With this paradigm shift, health care professionals are obligated to assess the adequacy of their own knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about death and dying. Multiple studies regarding nurses preparation for dealing with death and dying have consistently found that nurses that nurses do not feel educationally prepared to care for dying patients and insist that healthcare professionals should receive additional education on end of life care to bridge the deficit gap (Frommet, 1991; Robinson, 2004; White, Coyne, Patel, 2001; Beckstrand, Callister, Kirchhoff, 2006). These findings have led to a further observation that nurses caring for these complex patients regularly experience moral distress from competing principles of their personal, collegial, organizational, and religious/spiritual ethics (Frommet, 1991). Practice Problem To help ease this moral distress an evidence based end-of -life educational training program for NICU nurses has been successfully implemented in several neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to increase the nurses comfort level of caring for neonates and their families at the end of life (Bagbi, Rogers, Gomez, McMahon, 2008). To determine if an evidence based end of life educational program impacts nurses comfort levels in caring for dying infants and their families a question was developed using the population (P) intervention (I) compared to (C) outcome (O) format (Newhouse, Dearhold, 1997). The following discussion will focus on this PICO question Do neonatal nurses who care for dying infants who attend an end of life care educational training program compared to neonatal nurses who do not attend the program experience a difference in comfort levels (Comfort Level for Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI)) when caring for a dying infant? During the intervention a monthly 1 hour, neo natal end of life education program will be conducted over a 6 month period of time based on research about what nurses would like to know about caring for a dying infant (Robinson, 2004). For the purpose of this problem, comfort is defined as the ability of the NICU nurse(s) to show adequate knowledge and skills in providing neonatal end of life care for dying babies and their families. For this problem comfort will be measured as a score on the ordinal scale of Comfort Level Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI). The instrument consisting of 15 items, measured on a 5 point Likert type scale equates scores of 1=never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often, 5=always measures the level of comfort a NICU nurse has caring for dying infants as opposed to their perception toward pediatric or neonatal end of life care (Bagbi, Rogers, Gomez, and McMahon, 2008). In evaluating the score, the higher the reported score the greater level of comfort NICU nurses have in caring for dying babies. Testing the Concept of Comfort A portion of Kolbacas (1991) Theory of Comfort and Resnicks (2008) Theory of Self-Efficacy, two middle range theories, will be used to test the concept of comfort for providing an organizing structure. Based on previous studies about nurses comfort when caring for patients, propositions five and six of Kolbacas Theory of Comfort seem to be a promising fit for this problem (Kolbaca, 1991, Kolbaca, XXX). These propositions collectively propose that patients, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team agree upon desirable and realistic health seeking behaviors (HSBs) and if enhanced comfort is achieved, patients, family members, and/or nurses are strengthened to engage in HSBs, comfort is further enhanced (Kolbaca, 1991). However, comfort as defined conceptually in this case as knowledge and skill can alternatively be equated with a sense of competence or self-efficacy of the NICU nurse to care for a dying infant and their family. There are many examples in the nursing literature linking self-efficacy to knowledge and skill (xxxx, xxxxx).) Self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills are also central to Banduras theory, which is the basis for Resnicks (xxxx) Self-Efficacy theory. Self-efficacy as described in Resnicks (xxxx) Theory of Self-Efficacy for this context is described as the judgment about the nurses ability to organize and execute a course of action required to attain designated types of performances. The theory states that perceived self-efficacy, defined as the individuals judgment of his or her capabilities to organize and execute courses of action, is a determinant of performance (Resnick, xxxx). Self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment (Resnick, xxxx). According to Resnick (XXXX) theory individuals with higher levels of self-efficacy for a specific behavior (caring for a dying infant) are more likely to attempt that behavior. There are many examples in the literature using the Theory o f Self-Efficacy to support nursing education interventions (xxxxx, xxxxx). For these reasons, Resnicks Theory of Self-Efficacy (xxx) will be used to test the concept of nurses comfort or knowledge and skill (self-efficacy) in caring for dying infants and their families. The purpose of the following discussion is to summarize, describe, analyze, and evaluate these theories using the Framework for the Evaluation of Middle Range Theories (Smith, 2008) and conclude with a synthesis and research hypothesis to reflect conceptual definitions and propositions of the theory with the best fit. Theory Summaries: Comfort and Self-Efficacy Kolcabas Comfort Theory The Comfort Theory is a humanistic, holistic, patient need based nursing derived middle range theory (Kolbaca, xxxx). The concept of comfort has had a historic and consistent presence in nursing. In the early 1900s , comfort was considered to be a goal for both nursing and medicine, as it was believed that comfort led to recovery (McIlveen Morse, 1995). Over time comfort has become an increasingly minor focus, at times reserved only for those patients for whom no further medical treatment options are available (McIlveen Morse, 1995). The term comfort is used as a noun (comforter), adjective (comforting), verb (to comfort), or adverb (comfort the patient) (xxx). It is also used as a negative (absence of discomfort), neutral (ease), or positive (hope inspiring). Webster (1990) defines comfort as relief from distress; to soothe in sorrow or distress; a person or thing that comforts; a state of ease and quiet enjoyment free from worry; anything that makes life easy; and the lessening of misery or grief by calming or inspiring with hope. The origin of comfort is confortrare which means to strengthen greatly(Kolcaba, 1992). Based on the diversity of these terms comfort is a complex term. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). Over a period of years and revisions Kolcaba (1994) developed the comfort the ory which continues to evolve and change with changes as recent as 2007 (Figure 2). Kolcaba (1994, 2001, 2003) has defined comfort as the immediate state of being strengthened through having the human needs for relief, ease, and transcendence addressed in four contexts of experience (physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental). The terms relief, ease, and transcendence are types of comfort that occur physically and mentally (Figure 2). The terms are defined based on definitions from medicine, theology, ergonomics, psychology, and nursing (Kolcaba Kolcaba, 1991). Relief is the state of having a discomfort mitigated or alleviated. Ease is the absence of specific discomforts. Transcendence is the ability to rise above discomforts when they cannot be eradicated or avoided (e.g., the child feels confident about ambulation although (s)he knows it will exacerbate pain). Transcendence, as a type of comfort, accounts for its strengthening property and reminds nurses to never give up helping their children and family members feel comforted. Interventions for increasing transcendence can be targeted to improving the environment, increasing social support, or providing reassurance. The three types of comfort occur in four contexts of experience: physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental. These contexts were derived from an extensive review of the nursing literature on holism (Kolcaba, 1992). When the three types of comfort are juxtaposed with the four contexts of experience, a 12-cell grid is created, which is called a taxonomic structure (TS) (Figure 1) . Taken together, these cells represent all relevant aspects (defining attributes) of comfort for nursing and demonstrate the holistic nature of comfort as an important goal of care. All comfort needs can be placed somewhere on the taxonomic structure, and the cells are not mutually exclusive. A sample pediatric case study using the TS as a guide for a holistic comfort assessment is demonstrated below (see Figure 1). The concepts for the middle range for Comfort Theory include comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health-seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity (Kolcaba, 1994). All of these concepts are relative to patients, families, and nurses (Kolcaba, 2003; Kolcaba, Tilton, Drouin, 2006). There are eight propositions which link the above concepts together. All or parts of the Comfort Theory can be tested for research (Peterson Bredow, 2010). In the comfort theory, Kolcaba asserts that when healthcare needs of a patient are appropriately assessed and proper nursing interventions carried out to address those needs, taking into account variables intervening in the situation, the outcome is enhanced patient comfort over time (Kolcaba, 2007). Once comfort is enhanced, the patient is likely to increase health-seeking behaviors. These behaviors may be internal to the patient (eg, wound healing or improved oxygenation), external to the patient (eg, active participation in rehabilitation exercises), or a peaceful death. Furthermore, Kolcaba asserted that when a patient experiences health-seeking behaviors, the integrity of the institution is subsequently increased because the increase in health-seeking behaviors will result in improved outcomes. Increased institutional integrity lends itself to the development and implementation of best practices and best policies secondary to the positive outcomes experienced by patients (Kolcab a, 2007). To translate the concepts to practice the effectiveness of a holistic intervention can be targeted to the taxonomic structure for enhancing comfort in a specific patient, family, or nurse population over time. Holistic comfort is defined as the immediate experience of being strengthened through having the needs for relief, ease, and transcendence met in four contexts of experience (physical, psychospiritual, social, and environmental).The comfort theory has been operationalized in many research settings with a variety of patient and target populations ranging from end of life care to the comfort of nurses (xxxx). Resnick Theory of Self-Efficacy Self efficacy is described as a way to organize an individuals judgment of his or her capability to execute a course of action. The Theory of Self-efficacy states that self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations are not only influenced by behavior, but also verbal encouragement, reflective thinking, physiological sensations and role or self-modeling (Bandura, 1995).. Through self evaluation an individual judges their capability to perform and established self expectations which is visually depicted in the conceptual model (Appendix 2) (Resnick, 2008). Resnicks Theory of Self Efficacy is based on Banduras social cognitive theory and conceptualizes person-behavior-environment as triadic reciprocity the foundation for reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1977, 1986). Most of the research into self-efficacy beliefs among older adults has been quantitative and has consistently supported the influence of those beliefs on behavior. However, it has not been established how efficacy beliefs actually influence motivation in older adults, or what sources of efficacy-enhancing information help strengthen those beliefs. Kolcabas Comfort Theory: Description, Analysis, and Evaluation Theory Description Historical context. The Comfort Theory is a humanistic, holistic, patient need based nursing derived middle range theory (Kolbaca, xxxx). The concept of comfort has had a historic and consistent presence in nursing. In the early 1900s , comfort was considered to be a goal for both nursing and medicine, as it was believed that comfort led to recovery (McIlveen Morse, 1995). Over time comfort has become an increasingly minor focus, at times reserved only for those patients for whom no further medical treatment options are available (McIlveen Morse, 1995). The term comfort is used as a noun (comforter), adjective (comforting), verb (to comfort), or adverb (comfort the patient) (xxx). It is also used as a negative (absence of discomfort), neutral (ease), or positive (hope inspiring). Webster (1990) defines comfort as relief from distress; to soothe in sorrow or distress; a person or thing that comforts; a state of ease and quiet enjoyment free from worry; anything that makes life easy; and the lessening of misery or grief by calming or inspiring with hope. The origin of comfort is confortrare which means to strengthen greatly(Kolcaba, 1992). Based on the diversity of these terms comfort is a complex term. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). Over a period of years and revisions Kolcaba (1994) developed the comfort the ory which continues to evolve and change with changes as recent as 2007 (Figure 2). Structural Components. Assumptions. Kolcabas Theory of Comfort (1994) makes four basic assumptions about reality. She assumes that humans beings have holistic responses to complex stimuli; comfort is a desirable holistic state that is germane to the discipline of nursing; human beings actively strive to meet, or to have met, their basic comfort needs, and that comfort is more than the absence of pain, anxiety, and other physical discomforts (Kolcaba , 2009). Concepts. Kolcaba defines six concepts of comfort which are relative to patients, families, and nurses (Table 1) . The term family, as defined by Kolcaba (2003) encompasses significant others as determined by the patient (Kolcaba, 2003; Kolcaba, Tilton Drouin, 2006). The first concept is of comfort needs which is the relief/ease/transcendence in physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural and environmental contexts of human experience. Comfort interventions in the model are defined as interventions of the health care team specifically targeting comfort of the patient, family and nurses. Intervening variables are positive or negative factors over which the health care team has little control, including physical limitations of the hospital or patients home, cultural influences, socioeconomic factors, prognosis, concurrent medical or psychological conditions. Health-seeking behaviors are those behaviors of patient, family or nurses (conscious or unconscious) which promote well-being; may b e internal, external or towards promoting a peaceful death. The final concept, institutional integrity, added in most recently, are values, financial stability and wholeness of health care facilities at the local state or national levels. Propositions. To help test the concept of nurses comfort caring for dying infants, propositions five and six of Kolcabas comfort theory are examined. These propositions state that patients, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team agree upon desirable and realistic health seeking behaviors (HSBs) (five) and if enhanced comfort is achieved, patients, family members, and/or nurses are strengthened to engage in HSBs, which further enhances comfort (six). These propositions provide rationale for why nurses and other health care professionals should focus on the patient, family, or in this case the nurses comfort beyond altruistic reasons. Because health seeking behaviors include internal and external behaviors almost any health-related outcome important in a healthcare setting can be classified as a health seeking behavior (Peterson Bredow, 2010). The desirable and realistic health seeking behavior (HSB) for this study is nurses comfort (knowledge and skills) to relieve moral di stress in caring for a dying infant and their family. Several studies support that moral and other types of distress are frequently observed in nurses who care for dying infants (Frommet, 1991) and most importantly indicate that nurses are seeking education regarding patient end of life issues (XXXXX). It is believed that reducing this distress and frustration can be affected through an effective end of life educational programs and is likely to improve the knowledge and skills nurses need to help increase their comfort level in caring for dying infants (xxxxx). Functional Components. Visualizing the concepts in the conceptual model, the Theory Analysis and Evaluation To analyze and evaluate Kolcabas Comfort Theory (1994) the substantive foundation, structural integrity, and functional adequacy of the theory using Smith and Liehrs (2008) Framework for the Evaluation of Middle Range Theories is discussed below (Appendix 1). Substantive foundations. Assessing the substantive foundation of a middle range theory is based on four criteria (Smith, 2003). The first criterion evaluates whether the theory is within the focus of the discipline of nursing. Kolcabas comfort theory successfully addresses four concepts comprising the metaparadigm of nursing, defining the concepts as they correspond to the theory (Dowd, 2002; Kolbaca, 2007) as well as presents a diagram of how the Comfort Theory relates theoretically to other nursing concepts (Figure 2) (Kolcaba, 1994) . Nursing is described as the process of assessing the patients comfort needs, developing and implementing appropriate nursing interventions, and evaluating patient comfort following nursing interventions. Person is described as the recipient of nursing care; the patient may be an individual, family, institution, or community. Environment is considered to be the external surroundings of the patient and can be manipulated to increase patient comfort. Fi nally, health is viewed as the optimum functioning of the patient as they define it. The ability of the framework to suggest interventions that help guide nursing interventions to increase comfort supports the discipline of nursing, and in doing so meeting the first criteria. The second criterion evaluates whether the assumptions are specified and congruent with the focus. The four assumptions in the Comfort Theory are explicitly stated and so meet the second criteria. Comfort theory (xxxx) assumes that humans beings have holistic responses to complex stimuli; comfort is a desirable holistic state that is germane to the discipline of nursing; human beings actively strive to meet, or to have met, their basic comfort needs, and that comfort is more than the absence of pain, anxiety, and other physical discomforts (Kolcaba , 2009). Because the Comfort Theory (XXXX) substantially describes the concept of comfort at the middle range level of discourse, the third criterion of the substantive foundation is met. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). The Comfort Theory provides an excellent description, explanation, and interpretation of the comfort concept in multiple domains and practice settings. Comfort theory is at the middle range level in that is defined in a measurable way and can be operationalized in both research and practice settings. The final criterion for this category evaluates if the origins are rooted in practice and research experience. The Comfort Theory has been used in numerous practice and research settings to provide a framework where patients have comfort needs and enhancing their comfort is valued. It has also been used to enhance working environments, especially for nurses, and most recently as a framework for working toward national institutional recognitions. More specifically parts are all of the theory have been used to test the effectiveness of holistic interventions for increasing comfort (xxxxxxx), to demonstrate the correlation between comfort and subsequent HSBs (xxxxx) and to relate HSBs to desirable institutional outcomes. It has also been used as a framework for helping families make difficult decisions about end of life (xxxxx). International and national healthcare institutions have also used Comfort Theory to enhance the work environment for nurses (xxxx). In these cases, nurses comfo rt is of interest and is theoretically related to the integrity of the institution. Summarize specific studies and tools used here. Structural integrity. There are four criterion for evaluating structural integrity. The first criterion is that the concepts are well defined. The concepts (defined above) of comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health-seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity are clearly defined and easy to understand. There are numerous examples of applying the concepts in the literature for further clarification (xxxxx). The second criterion of structural integrity is that concepts within the theory are at the middle range level of abstraction. The concepts of the Comfort Theory-comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity are near the same level on the ladder of abstraction at the middle range level. They are more concrete because they can and have been operationalized and measured (xxxxx). The third criterion of structural integrity is that there are no more concepts than needed to explain the phenomena. Overall, the concepts adequately explain the phenomena of comfort. The theory is synthesized and organized in a simple manner. Lastly, the fourth criterion evaluates whether the concepts and relationships among the concepts are logically presented with a model. In the Comfort Theory (1994) model the ideas are integrated to create an understanding of the whole phenomenon of comfort in a model. The Comfort Theory (1994) model is a great example of presenting the concepts and statements in a linear logical order so the appreciation of the theory can be recognized (Smith, 2003). Functional adequacy. Because the criterion for functional adequacy overlap somewhat the five criterion will be discussed collectively. The five criterion include: theory can be applied to a variety of practice environments and clients; empirical indicators have been identified; published examples exist of research and theory in practice; and that the theory has evolved through scholarly inquiry. The Comfort Theory easily meets all of these criterions. For example, the Comfort Theory has been used widely in a variety of research in practice settings and patient and family populations. Even though the Comfort Theory has been used most widely with patients and families at the end of life and surrounding holistic palliative care nursing interventions, there has been a broad application of the theory in other populations as well including mothers in labor (xxxx), Alzheimer patients (xxxx), pediatric intensive care unit patients and families (xxxx), patients on bedrest (xxxx), those underg oing radiation therapy (xxxx) and for infants comfort and pain (xxxx). Most recently research of using the theory in practice has expanded to support institutional nursing recognition and comfort in the nursing working environment. In each of the populations mentioned above a psychometric comfort instrument has been developed as empirical indicators of concepts in the theory. However, the empirical indicators extend beyond empiricism and some include perceptions, self reports, observable behaviors and biological indicators (Ford-Gibloe, Campbell, Berman, 1995; Reed, 1995). The Comfort Theory (1994) has also been revised with the latest revision in 2007. The empirical adequacy of the Comfort Theory is evidence of the maturity of this theory (Smith, 2003). Summary The Comfort Theory (1994) is a well defined and well tested theory. Its strength lies in the versatility, adaptability, and testability of the concepts. The comfort theory clearly defines the concepts in the theory and the relationship between them. Because the comfort theory meets most of the substantitive foundations, structural integrity, and functional adequacy criteria the Comfort Theory (1994) is a strong middle range theory. An area that could increase the generalizability especially for nursing institutions is a change in the term in the model of nursing interventions to comfort interventions (xxxxx). Resnicks Self-Efficacy Theory: Description, Analysis, and Evaluation Theory Description Historical context. Resnicks Theory of Self Efficacy is based on Banduras social cognitive theory and conceptualizes person-behavior-environment as triadic reciprocity the foundation for reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1977, 1986). The cognitive appraisal of these factors results in a perception of a level of confidence in the individuals ability to perform a certain behavior. The positive performance of this behavior reinforces self-efficacy expectations (Bandura, 1995). Structural Components. Although it is not explicitly stated, the core of this theory assumes that people can consciously change and develop or control their behavior. This is important to the proposition that self-efficacy also can be changed or enhanced through reflective thought, general knowledge, skills to perform a specific behavior, and self influence. This perspective is rooted in the model of triadic reciprocality (foundation for reciprocal determinism) in which personal determinants (self-efficacy), environmental conditions (treatment conditions) and action (practice) are mutually interactive influences. Therefore, improving performance depends on changing some of these influences (Bandura, 1977). In order to determine self-efficacy an individual must have the opportunity for self evaluation to evaluate how likely it is he or she can achieve a given level of performance. Concepts. The two major components of self efficacy include self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations (Table 2). Self-efficacy expectations are judgments about the personal ability to accomplish a given task. Outcome expectations are judgments about what will happen if a given task is accomplished. These two components are differentiated because individuals can believe a certain behavior will result in a specific outcome, however, they may not believe they are capable of performing the behavior required for the outcome to occur (Bandura 1977, 1986). For example, a NICU nurse may believe attending an end of life education series will increase his/her knowledge and skill and ease moral distress, but may not believe that they could provide sensitive care for some ethical, religious, or moral reason. It is generally anticipated, but not always realistic that self-efficacy will have a positive impact on behavior. There are times when self-efficacy will have no or a negative impa ct on performance (Vancouver, Thomspon, Williams, 2001). Bandura (1977, 1986, 1997) suggests that outcome expectations are based largely on the individuals self-efficacy expectations, which generally depend on their judgment about how well they can perform the behavior; can be disassociated with self-efficacy expectations; and are partially separable from self-efficacy judgments when extrinsic outcomes are fixed. Because the outcomes an individual expects are the results of the judgments about what he or she can accomplish, they are unlikely to contribute to predictions of behavior (Bandura, 1977). Judgments about ones self-efficacy is based on four informational sources including enactive attainment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological state. The first source, enactive attainment, or the actual performance of a behavior has been described as the most influential source of self-efficacy information (Bandura, 1986,; Bandura Adams, 1977). There has been repeated empirical evidence that actually performing an activity strengthens self-efficacy beliefs due to informational sources (Bandura, 1995). The second source, vicarious experience or visualizing other similar people perform a behavior, also influence self-efficacy (Bandura, Adams, Hardy, Howells, 1980). Conditions that impact vicarious experience include amount of exposure or experience to the behavior (least experience causes greater impact) and amount of instruction given (influence of others is greater with unclear guidelines) (Resnick Galik, 2006). Another source verbal persuasion or exhortation i nvolves telling an individual he or she has the capabilities to master the given behavior. Verbal encouragement from a trusted, credible source in counseling or education form has been used alone to strengthen efficacy expectations (Castro, King, Brassington, 2001; Hitunen et al. 2005; Moore et al., 2006; Resnick, Simpson, et al., 2006). The final information source physiological feedback or state during a behavior can be important in relation to coping with stressors, health functioning, and physical accomplishments. Interventions can be used to alter the interpretation of physiological feedback and help individuals cope with physical sensations, enhancing self efficacy and resulting in improved performance (Bandura Adams, 1977). Propositions. To help test the concept of nurses comfort caring for dying infants,

Sexist Attitude in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart Da

Sexist Attitude in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness This paper will discuss the way Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness relies, both thematically and formally, on values that could be called sexist. By "sexism" I mean the those cultural assumptions that make women be regarded, unjustly, as in different ways inferior to men: socially, intellectually and morally. Since Heart of Darkness has often been regarded as one of the best and profoundest discussions of morality in English literature, this issue is very important. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is how the narrative itself is thought of as unsuitable for women. The narration takes place on a small sailing boat, waiting for the ebb of the Thames to bring it out to the sea, and the listeners to Marlowe's story, of whom the primary narrator is one, are all men. They are, moreover, all comrades, and can be assumed to share certain fundamental values. Some of these values, a blind patriotism for example, are questioned by Marlowe's narrative, while others, such as the contemporary attitude towards women are only confirmed and reinforced. There are not only very few female participants in the story. The secondary, although most important narrator Marlowe, at several points defines the story as itself ill-suited for feminine ears: Girl! What? Did I mention a girl? Oh, she is out of it - completely. They - the women I mean - are out of it - should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own least our gets worse. Oh, she had to be out of it. You should have heard the disinterred body of Mr. Kurtz saying, 'My Intended.' You would have perceived directly then how completely she was out of it. (Conrad 75) Here, Marlow fores... ...n of action either to become passive, or to deviate from their righteous ways. By analogy, the voyages of Kurtz and Marlowe, and the enterprise of discovery of colonization themselves, can be seen as essentially masculine acts. Such acts, always perpetrated, it seems, by white men, simply befall, happen to, passive peoples or cultures. As a result, these peoples are turned into the mere receivers of the actions - military, educational, sexual - of others, and are thus, to an extent, "feminized". In this way, the racist discourses of Conrad's times can be understood as connected to the assumptions by which women were, and still are, subjected to social and cultural oppression. Works Cited: Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Norton, 1988. Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa". In Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays. New York: Doubleday, 1988.

Ancient Indian Architecture :: Papers

Ancient Indian Architecture The Science of Architecture and Civil Construction was known in Ancient India as Sthapatya-Shastra. The word Sthapatya is derived from the root word Sthapana i.e. 'to establish'. The technique of architecture was both a science and an art, hence it is also known as Sthapatya-kala, the word Kala means an art. From very early times the construction of temples, palaces, rest houses and other civil construction was undertaken by professional architects known as Sthapati. Even during the Vedic times, there existed professionals who specialized in the technique of constructing chariots and other heavy instruments of war. These professionals have been referred to in the Rig Veda as Rathakara which literally means 'chariot maker'. The excavations of the ruins at Mohenjodaro and Harrappa (today in Pakistan) proved the existence of a developed Urban civilization in India. The Indus valley civilization is dated around 3000 B.C. Thus since the last 5000 years. India has had an urban civilization. The existence of an urban civilization presumes the existence of well developed techniques of architecture and construction. These techniques would no doubt have had been systematically stated in record books for transmitting them to the later generations as well for being used as reference media for actual construction. Unfortunately, as far as the Indus Valley civilization goes no such records have been preserved either as rock edicts, manuscripts, etc., or in folk tales and legends. But the fact that cities on the scale of Mohenjodaro had been constructed bear testimony to the existence of a systematized and highly developed technique of architecture 5000 years ago. But in the later ages, from about the 7th century B.C., we have both literature references as well as archeological evidences to prove the existence of large urban civilizations in the Ganges Valley. Like in most other sciences, even remotely connected with religion, in architecture also the scientific ideas and techniques have been integrated with philosophy and theology. This was so as the majority of the large constructions were temples.