The Importance of Reading

I had an epiphany about reading and it changed my life. It was a day only several years ago when I first realized the numerous benefits I could realize from reading. Of course, I had been told all my life that reading was important. I was forced to do it in class after class beginning in elementary school and on up through high school. I had never read for enjoyment, had never gone to a book store and surveyed the stacks of tomes with pleasure, had never been to the library except when it was required for researching a particular assignment. To me reading was drudgery, a chore which interfered with more important things in life, like eating and sleeping. It wasn’t until I took an English class in my senior year, however, that the importance of reading finally penetrated my brain. I realized my teacher for that English class, Mrs. Smith, was different from others I’d had in the past from the first day I walked into her classroom. While she looked like a typical, older lady with her graying hair and pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses continually perched on the end of her nose, it was her attitude that set her apart from other instructors. From her roost atop a stool at the front of the room, Mrs. Smith ruled the classroom with short legs swinging to and fro above the rungs while her arms – complete with flabby â€Å"schoolteacher arm† – would wave about to lend emphasis to her words. Mrs. Smith could tell I was uncomfortable in her English class almost immediately. She watched me squirm in my seat during her lectures and saw the visible signs of upset when she handed out a reading assignment. I’m sure the groan I emitted was another clue to my discomfort. The next day, Mrs. Smith decided to address this issue with the entire class, without naming me specifically as the impetus for this particular lecture. I’ll never forget what she said, however. It was something along the lines of this: â€Å"If you are going to get ahead in this world, you need to continually inform yourself about many different matters. In order to keep yourself informed, you must read. I don’t mean sitting down to read â€Å"War and Peace† front to back, but more general reading. Take the opportunity to read anything you can. If you are sitting at the breakfast table eating a bowl of cereal, read the back of the cereal box. Take time to read a magazine article about something which interests you. Reading doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be boring.† For some reason, Mrs. Smith’s words made me come to the realization that reading was beneficial in a way that other teachers had failed to do. I took her advice. I began by reading the back of the cereal box while eating my breakfast later that week (and Trix, by the way, has the best reading material, although Cap’n Crunch comes in a close second). I started reading newspaper articles; smaller ones at first and then lengthier columns. While waiting for a doctor’s appointment or to get on an airplane, I read the signs posted on the wall, the advertising posters and billboards, and magazines that were left behind. Just a little bit at a time, I told myself. Remember what Mrs. Smith told you – that reading doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Mrs. Smith’s first assignment to the class included reading two short stories, William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† by Flannery O’Connor. We were to read the assigned stories and then analyze their meanings, and structure. Mrs. Smith helped us with an initial story we read in class and showed us how to read efficiently and what things to keep in mind as we read. She taught us to look beyond the obvious and delve deeper into the author’s motivation, history, and the lesson, or lessons, they were trying to convey. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading the two short stories. It didn’t take much time to read through them the first time and, using Mrs. Smith’s directives, the second time of reading brought to light many aspects of the story I had previously missed. There was a depth to the words that caused me to sit back and reflect further on what I’d read. In particular, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† made a great impact on me with its important statement regarding racism and reverse racism. Prior to reading that story, I’d really had no idea just how prevalent such issues were in the South and how it might adversely affect people. Although O’Connor wrote the work some decades earlier, the issues raised are as important today as they were back then. I wish I could say I became an avid reader overnight, but that’s not the way it happened. I did, however, begin to take a peek at some of the books for sale in various stores. If I happened to be at the drug store, I snuck into the aisle of bestsellers and looked over the covers, reading the blurbs of praise on the front. I wasn’t sure what subjects would interest me, but after reading some excerpts online, I decided that science fiction was the best fit for me and my personality. I tried reading â€Å"The Hobbit† but its length made it a chore so I opted, instead, for some shorter books, like novels based on the â€Å"Star Wars† movies. The volumes I chose couldn’t be classified as classical literature by any means, by I enjoyed reading them and I figured that if there were books that could hold my interest, me – the self-proclaimed non-reader – then they couldn’t be all bad. Next on my list are some of the more classical works of science fiction, like those by Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells. I’ve learned a lot along the way in my reading adventures. I’ve gotten an insider’s view to history, as well as what the future might hold. I’ve identified with characters and been surprised at endings which left me wanting to know more. An added benefit which I never would have guessed is that of greater confidence in writing. Attending college means that essays, term papers, and theses are required in order to pass most classes. When once I used to dread doing such assignments, I’ve found that, through reading, I am much more comfortable with the written word. This is what literacy means to me. It is the ability to use our skills – of reading and writing and comprehension – to further our knowledge as well as the desire to do so in order that we may better ourselves. No matter if you read a mystery novel or a history book, there is something in that volume which imparts further knowledge to the reader. In some cases, it is obvious – such as learning about the mistakes in history so future generations are not doomed to make the same mistakes. In other cases, it is not so obvious. But any book that causes the reader to think about something in a different way is doing its job by expanding our knowledge and inciting our curiosity. As Frederick Douglass once said, â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.† And by the way, thank you Mrs. Smith, wherever you are! The Importance of Reading I had an epiphany about reading and it changed my life. It was a day only several years ago when I first realized the numerous benefits I could realize from reading. Of course, I had been told all my life that reading was important. I was forced to do it in class after class beginning in elementary school and on up through high school. I had never read for enjoyment, had never gone to a book store and surveyed the stacks of tomes with pleasure, had never been to the library except when it was required for researching a particular assignment. To me reading was drudgery, a chore which interfered with more important things in life, like eating and sleeping. It wasn’t until I took an English class in my senior year, however, that the importance of reading finally penetrated my brain. I realized my teacher for that English class, Mrs. Smith, was different from others I’d had in the past from the first day I walked into her classroom. While she looked like a typical, older lady with her graying hair and pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses continually perched on the end of her nose, it was her attitude that set her apart from other instructors. From her roost atop a stool at the front of the room, Mrs. Smith ruled the classroom with short legs swinging to and fro above the rungs while her arms – complete with flabby â€Å"schoolteacher arm† – would wave about to lend emphasis to her words. Mrs. Smith could tell I was uncomfortable in her English class almost immediately. She watched me squirm in my seat during her lectures and saw the visible signs of upset when she handed out a reading assignment. I’m sure the groan I emitted was another clue to my discomfort. The next day, Mrs. Smith decided to address this issue with the entire class, without naming me specifically as the impetus for this particular lecture. I’ll never forget what she said, however. It was something along the lines of this: â€Å"If you are going to get ahead in this world, you need to continually inform yourself about many different matters. In order to keep yourself informed, you must read. I don’t mean sitting down to read â€Å"War and Peace† front to back, but more general reading. Take the opportunity to read anything you can. If you are sitting at the breakfast table eating a bowl of cereal, read the back of the cereal box. Take time to read a magazine article about something which interests you. Reading doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be boring.† For some reason, Mrs. Smith’s words made me come to the realization that reading was beneficial in a way that other teachers had failed to do. I took her advice. I began by reading the back of the cereal box while eating my breakfast later that week (and Trix, by the way, has the best reading material, although Cap’n Crunch comes in a close second). I started reading newspaper articles; smaller ones at first and then lengthier columns. While waiting for a doctor’s appointment or to get on an airplane, I read the signs posted on the wall, the advertising posters and billboards, and magazines that were left behind. Just a little bit at a time, I told myself. Remember what Mrs. Smith told you – that reading doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Mrs. Smith’s first assignment to the class included reading two short stories, William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† by Flannery O’Connor. We were to read the assigned stories and then analyze their meanings, and structure. Mrs. Smith helped us with an initial story we read in class and showed us how to read efficiently and what things to keep in mind as we read. She taught us to look beyond the obvious and delve deeper into the author’s motivation, history, and the lesson, or lessons, they were trying to convey. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading the two short stories. It didn’t take much time to read through them the first time and, using Mrs. Smith’s directives, the second time of reading brought to light many aspects of the story I had previously missed. There was a depth to the words that caused me to sit back and reflect further on what I’d read. In particular, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† made a great impact on me with its important statement regarding racism and reverse racism. Prior to reading that story, I’d really had no idea just how prevalent such issues were in the South and how it might adversely affect people. Although O’Connor wrote the work some decades earlier, the issues raised are as important today as they were back then. I wish I could say I became an avid reader overnight, but that’s not the way it happened. I did, however, begin to take a peek at some of the books for sale in various stores. If I happened to be at the drug store, I snuck into the aisle of bestsellers and looked over the covers, reading the blurbs of praise on the front. I wasn’t sure what subjects would interest me, but after reading some excerpts online, I decided that science fiction was the best fit for me and my personality. I tried reading â€Å"The Hobbit† but its length made it a chore so I opted, instead, for some shorter books, like novels based on the â€Å"Star Wars† movies. The volumes I chose couldn’t be classified as classical literature by any means, by I enjoyed reading them and I figured that if there were books that could hold my interest, me – the self-proclaimed non-reader – then they couldn’t be all bad. Next on my list are some of the more classical works of science fiction, like those by Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells. I’ve learned a lot along the way in my reading adventures. I’ve gotten an insider’s view to history, as well as what the future might hold. I’ve identified with characters and been surprised at endings which left me wanting to know more. An added benefit which I never would have guessed is that of greater confidence in writing. Attending college means that essays, term papers, and theses are required in order to pass most classes. When once I used to dread doing such assignments, I’ve found that, through reading, I am much more comfortable with the written word. This is what literacy means to me. It is the ability to use our skills – of reading and writing and comprehension – to further our knowledge as well as the desire to do so in order that we may better ourselves. No matter if you read a mystery novel or a history book, there is something in that volume which imparts further knowledge to the reader. In some cases, it is obvious – such as learning about the mistakes in history so future generations are not doomed to make the same mistakes. In other cases, it is not so obvious. But any book that causes the reader to think about something in a different way is doing its job by expanding our knowledge and inciting our curiosity. As Frederick Douglass once said, â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.† And by the way, thank you Mrs. Smith, wherever you are!

How Dreams and Dreaming Affect Individual Characters

Explore how dreams and dreaming affect individual characters in the novel. Remember to consider how the American Dream is represented in your answer. In the novel most of the characters have a dream. Each of the characters seem to have a sense of loneliness in each of their lives and their dreams are the things that keep them hoping for something better than their lives on the ranch. Lennie’s dream for one is based on his childlike personality, he wants to be with George and ‘tend to the rabbits’.At every point in the novel where he believes his dream will be compromised you see him fill with rage and throw a tantrum like a child would. When something goes wrong his brain comes back to the rabbits and how he can’t bear to loose his dream, this drives him to try and cover up or runaway from his wrongful acts. Lennie’s dream is tied to George’s and without George his dream is very unlikely to happen. Moving onto George, at first it seems his dre am is based on leaving Lennie to live his life as he chooses but as the novel progresses it becomes clear that he shares a dream with Lennie.This would be to ‘have a little house’ and ‘live off the fatta the lan’ and in this dream Lennie gets to ‘tend to the rabbits’. Compared to Lennie’s very childlike outlook on their dream George is very practical in his way of thinking for example his dream includes having ‘a cow and some pigs’ and ‘have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens’ so that they can ‘live off the fatta the lan’. A lot of the men in the novel that move from place to place often dream of having their own place, something that can belong to them and being their own boss.George is possibly the only person that gets close to his dream being achieved with a little help from Candy. Another character with a dream is Curley’s wife, who wants to be ‘in the moviesâ₠¬â„¢. Her dream is based upon naivety and how she is very easily led to believe things. On two occasions she has been fooled into this way of thinking once when she ‘was a kid’ and a show came to town and ‘one of the actors. He says I could go with the show’ but her mother wouldn’t allow it. On the second occasion she ‘met a guy, an’ he was in pitchers’ and was told ‘he was gunna put me in the movies.Says I was a natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gunna write to me about it. ’ She never received a letter and blames it on her mother once again, the way she talks about it is though she knows that it wasn’t going to happen but can’t bear admitting it so she makes her mother the scapegoat. Also she talks about her dream as though it’s in the past and wont progress any further than that. Candy and Crooks both dream of not being alone and a better life away from the ranch which is ul timately the true ‘American Dream’.Most of the conflicts that happen in the novel can be blamed upon the so called ‘American Dream’ when the dream world and reality collide. The American Dream contradicts itself by claiming it will do thing, for example equality when in reality Curley’s wife and Crooks are shown to have next to no presence on the ranch just because she is a woman and he is black. By the end of the novel it become clear to George that bitter Crooks is correct, his dream will never be achieved. Overall the novel highlights the impossibility of the ‘American Dream’ ever being achieved. In the end not one person has achieved their dream.

Block Diagram Of A Communication System Computer Science Essay

Block Diagram Of A Communication System Computer Science Essay The doorway to the nowadays wireless communication systems was opened by Guglielmo Marconi when he transmitted the three-dot Morse code for alphabet ‘ S ‘ by the use of electromagnetic waves over a 3-KM link in 1895. This laid the foundation of modern communication systems ranging from broadcasting, satellite transmission and radio eventually progressing to nowadays cell phones. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that wireless communication has indeed revolutionized our present society A sudden increase has been observed in the expansion of radio systems during the last two decades. We have seen great evolution in Wireless communication systems from 1G narrowband analog systems in the 1980s to the 2G narrowband digital systems in the 1990s. Now the existing 3G wideband multimedia systems are being deployed. In the meantime, research and progress in the future-generation wideband multimedia radio systems is vigorously being pursued worldwide. To connect mobile users to th e public switched network the United States introduced first radiotelephone service by the end of the 1940s. Improved Mobile Telephone Service was launched by Bell Systems in 1960s due to which lots of improvements like direct dialing and increase in bandwidth took place. IMTS formed the bases of the first analog cellular systems. The term cellular was used due to the fact that coverage areas were split cells, they had a low power transmitter and receiver. BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM Figure 1. Block diagram of a general communication system. ANALOG vs. DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS Definition of Digital A method of storing, processing and transmitting information through the use of distinct electronic or optical pulses that represent the binary digits 0 and 1. Advantages of Digital low-priced reliable Easy to manipulate Flexible Compatible with other digital systems The information in digital form can only be transmitted without any degradation through a noisy channel In corporated networks Disadvantages of Digital Sampling Error As compared to analogue, larger bandwidth is required in digital communications for the transmission of the same information. Synchronization in the communications system is required to recognize the digital signals, but this is not the case with analogue systems. Definition of Analogue Analogue is a transmission standard that uses electrical impulses to emulate the audio waveform of sound. When you use a phone, the variations in your voice are transformed by a microphone into similar variations in an electrical signal and carried down the line to the exchange. Advantages of Analogue less bandwidth is required More Accurate Disadvantages of Analogue Signal loss and distortion can be seen due to the effects of random noise which is impossible to recover GENERATIONS OF CELLULAR SYSTEMS The concept of cellular telephony was introduced in AMPS, short for Advanced Mobile Phone Systems. AMPS divided the total area into small regi ons called cells and this was from where the concept of cellular telephony started. Cellular Systems had many advantages such as they increased quality, capacity, reliability and availability of mobile telephone network. The generations of cellular systems are described below. FIRST GENERATION CELLULAR SYSTEMS First generation cellular telephone systems were introduced in 1980’s. They were based on Analog Frequency Modulation technique. Each channel was assigned a sole frequency.

Raymond Carvers Catherdral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Raymond Carvers Catherdral - Essay Example Robert had just lost his wife and was meeting her relatives in Connecticut. The narrator’s wife offers him a place to spend the night. While conversing with Robert, the narrator suddenly realizes that though Robert is blind, he is able to ‘see’ far better than the narrator with his eyesight. Thesis Statement The narrator comes upon the realization that even though Robert is blind, he is a better communicator because he uses his other senses of touch and perception as a means to establish a rapport with not only the narrator’s wife but his own wife Beulah as well. Thus Robert has had a much richer understanding with the narrator’s wife than the narrator himself- in comparison, their own conversational exchanges are few, terse and tensed. Discussion The short story writer Raymond Carver (1938-1988) has been acclaimed as one of the best proponents of this form of literature in the USA. His short but eventful life was tragic and interspersed with poverty and want. In a strange way, this state of affairs mirrors the life of Edgar Allan Poe, another short story writer of Gothic fiction. Both were slaves to the bottle. Born into a blue collar family where his father was a worker at a sawmill and his mother a waitress, Raymond nevertheless harbored a desire to write. This desire was sparked when Raymond attended creative writing classes in 1958 at Chico State College under the tutelage of John Gardner, another short story writer of some repute. Gardner took Carver under his wing and advised him to shorten his words from twenty five to fifteen to have a better effect. If that were not damning enough, the stringent editing of Carver’s editor Gordon Lish resulted in a further admonition and Carver having to condense his stories even further into five words for every fifteen. Of course, this would stifle Carver’s creativity and he ultimately rebelled against Lish (Halpert, 2005, 33). All writers love to have their own poetic license and freedom of expression. They also like the company of comrade souls with similar interests and outlook. This was probably one reason why Carter chose to divorce his longtime wife Maryann who was his childhood sweetheart (they had married when he was 19 and she 18 and had 2 kids by the time they were 20) and married another writer, Tess Gallagher in 1988. Their happiness was short lived though, Carver dying just six months into the marriage due to lung cancer. Carver uses a minimalist style and his stories are often sad and melancholy, yet they usually have a moral or lesson attached. One of more of the characters is likely to have been recovering from a tragedy, or set to become a victim of it. What is important is the reaction to this tragedy or circumstance. In Cathedral, the emphasis is on seeing rather than looking, feelings rather than appearances. The narrator does not seem to have a very good relationship or understanding with his wife. Their conversations are few and terse and strained, as though they are estranged or do not really understand or care for each other. For one, the narrator’s wife seems to recall her working experience with the blind man with pleasant memories. She especially recalls the way he touched her face, her neck, her hands etc. on her last day of work (Carver, 2008, 305). There is no sexual connotation here, it is just the element of feelings that the author wants to highlight. Despite his blindness, Robert seems to be imbued with a deep sense of

Week 3 Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 3 Assignment - Essay Example The issue about abortion is highly contemptuous both from the legal, philosophical and more especially theological perspective. While current law tends to be more liberal with the legalization of abortion in some states and some countries, the controversy and debate about its propriety is still as heated as before. The argument whether it is right or wrong has not yet settled and confounded by the equally heated discourse about the woman’s right to choose with what to do with her own body and the fetus/zygote right to live. The arguments about abortion are grounded on several philosophical and theological premises. First is the argument about when did life begin? Some posits that life begins at conception while others argue that life already begun at implantation. The Catholic Church brings forth the argument of its foremost theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas who believed that life actually begins at 40 days for male and 80 for female. He based this theological basis of his from the Greek’s view about fetal development. It became more acceptable however that life begun when the fetus acquired personhood and/or â€Å"ensoulment† which has the same value and right as any human being to live. Having accepted this standard of where life actually begun, limits the argument to the point of when a fetus gains personhood. Development in science has helped to settle this dilemma for it provided that the fetus is already a viable human life at the end of second trimester of pregnancy. But even if perso nhood or ensoulment is already established, there are however circumstances that would make abortion morally acceptable. This particularly true when the pregnancy and/or is threatening the mother’s life that continuing the pregnancy would induce the death the mother. Thus, in this instance, abortion becomes

Sustainability in chemical engineering Research Paper

Sustainability in chemical engineering - Research Paper Example Sustainable chemistry is the â€Å"chemistry that contributes to securing the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (Christensen, 2009). Chemical Engineering is a course or program that plays a significant role in sustaining a society through manufacturing products and making processes for a better environment. Chemical Engineering contributes to sustainability through green chemistry. The terms ‘green chemistry’ and ‘sustainable chemistry’ are used interchangeably (Hardy, 2004). The purpose of green chemistry is to eliminate or reduce the risk of chemical hazards which in turn obviates the need to establish expensive exposure controls and prevents accidents leading to environmental incidents. Research in green chemistry is directed at alternative feedstocks, reagents and catalysts, environmentally benign solvents, and making of recyclable chemical products. This is achieved by giving bio-based feedstocks preference over petroleum-based sources. For example, the important intermediaries of commodity chemicals’ production; adipic acid, catechol, and hydroquinone can be produced from glucose as a raw material instead of benzene (Abraham, 2005, p. 168). While recycling increases the overall production, the cost of production is reduced because waste materials are used rather than getting disposed off. The importance of clean air, clean water, and safe environment highlights the significance of green chemistry. Chemical engineering has contributed to the increase of sustainability by introducing a range of efficient and productive systems including the large lake bio-complexity systems, systems dynamic modeling and ecological engineering and restoration. Sustainable development is based on the approach to service systems and industrial products’ manufacturing. Companies like General motors and HP are using â€Å"design for environment† techniques

Web Server Hacking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Web Server Hacking - Research Paper Example To add to the attraction and profitability of these hacking attacks is the proliferation of insecure web applications (Zachary, 2006). These attacks on computer systems with negative intent are not new. They go as far back as the eighties when hackers used their skills to break into computer systems and perform their illegal activities. The advent of web based applications, though, has led to the increase of sophistication in hacking attacks. The skill required to perform these attacks, on the other hand has lessened proportionately. In order to understand the need for security in one’s computer system, he or she should realize the risks involved. Most operating systems have a default configuration that is not designed with security as the chief focus. The default setup, instead, focus on functionality, communications and usability. There is therefore a need to understand the server vulnerabilities in a system in order to perform particular functions to improve security (Leyde n, 2002). It is hence clear that web server hacking is an important topic that should be evaluated in detail and understood by users of computer systems. When one tries to break into or use a computer system wrongly, he or she is considered an intruder. ‘Using wrongly’ is not a restricted term and can be used to represent an act of stealing confidential information or a minor offense of just misusing one’s email for spam (Zachary, 2006). Presently, more people both through the internet and corporate intranets are continuously attempting to test the various systems’ security. The motive differs in every instance but revenge and stealing for profit are some of the motives driving intruders. ‘Hacker’ and ‘attacker’ are the two terms that are used in describing a person who tries to get into networks and systems. An individual that likes to get into their computer system

Health and safety in the organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health and safety in the organisation - Essay Example The employers have a moral duty in providing a workplace for the employees that is completely safe and secure and that has no ill effects on their health. A safe and healthy work environment that is conducive to productivity would bring out the highest level of performance of the employees. The employees would be able to concentrate on their work with a relaxed mind free from concern of their health and safety (Burke,  Clarke, and Cooper 58). Also, the employees would believe that the organization is concerned about their welfare which would have the probability to develop a loyal workforce. The organizations are also bound by the rules and regulations to protect the health and safety of their workers. The maintenance of health and safety includes preventive measures against the emission of hazardous substances in the production units, recycling of wastes to reduce the adverse effects of environmental pollution, resolution and sustenance of peaceful work environment with no conflic t between the workers, etc. Inability of the organizations to maintain a safe and healthy work environment may lead to damage of the health of their employees, organizational assets and other stakeholders, clients who are present at the workplace. The families of the employees may also be affected due to such unwanted incidents in the workplace. Such situations may lead to imposition of hefty fines on the organizations by the legal and regulatory bodies. Thus, organizational concern for health and safety has legal implications (Stellman 80). The occurrence of unsafe working environment and damage of health of workers may lead to increase in costs of the organization that include medical insurance, hospitalization expenses due to sickness or injury, etc. The disorder of health and safety would lead to increase in medical leaves, sick leaves, etc. As a result, the organization would face losses of productivity and business. Thus, health and safety in the organizations have financial i mplications as the financial losses would tend to increase in case of accidents occurring due to unsafe work environment. The health and safety in the organizations encompasses a range of other fields including workplace engineering, safety control mechanisms, workplace medicine, workplace hygiene, etc. The organizations allocate proportionate expenditures in these fields with an ultimate aim of ensuring health and safety of the organization. Any drawback in implementation of the health and safety policies of the organization may lead to hazards, which may be biological hazards, chemical hazards, health hazards, psychological issues, etc. The health and safety hazards vary from industry to another. The biological hazards may be due to infectious diseases that spread from one employee to another. The virus and infected bacteria may transmit from one individual to another leading to an epidemic situation. The chemical hazards may occur due to the non-maintenance of the operation units and storage plants. Harmful chemical emission from the production units may lead to damage of health and safety of the workers of the organization. Discriminatory and unequal treatment of labors may lead to

To what extent have feminist ideas influenced policy making since 1965 Essay

To what extent have feminist ideas influenced policy making since 1965 Critically discuss with reference to ONE of the followin - Essay Example While the first wave of feminism was primarily concerned with formal political rights, the second generation of feminist thinkers laid the emphasis on the issues of workplace and marital equality, as well as those of women’s representation in public agencies. This had an important impact on further policy making. National Organization of Women and the Struggle for Women’s Rights. While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was founded in 1965 in order to combat the gender discriminatory practices in the sphere of employment, its activity was judged to be unsatisfactory by many activists of women’s movement. In 1966, liberal feminists led by Betty Friedan, a celebrated author of The Feminine Mystique, formed the National Organization for Women (NOW) that aimed at integrating women â€Å"into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, assuming all privileges and responsibilities...in truly equal partnership with men† (qtd . in Thornham 25). The foundation of NOW was caused by repeated refusal of the EEOC officials to seriously confront the prevalent discriminatory practices in the labour relations (Banks 212). ... Constitution (Harrison 198). The activities of NOW mainly concentrated on creating publicity for the organisation, which was expressed through pickets and other public demonstrations, and on lobbying political establishment, including the Presidency. Nevertheless, their actions eventually proved rather fruitful for the further development of women’s movement and the adoption of equality legislation. The first influence of feminist movement on equal opportunities policies in the USA after 1965 may be traced in the controversy surrounding the inclusion of provision on sex discrimination in Executive Order 11246, which aimed at creating affirmative action programmes for racial minorities. As the 1964 Civil Rights Act had already provided for prevention of sexual discrimination in employment, the omission of sex discrimination clause in that Executive Order was regarded as an expression of neglect for the needs of women. Consequently, the efforts of several women’s organisa tions, including the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs and Federal Women’s Award Study Group, led to the inclusion of the provision against sex discrimination in the text of Executive Order in October 1967, with the NOW leadership asserting that it was a victory for their ideas (Harrison 202). Later on, NOW repeatedly clashed with the EEOC apparatus with regard to protective labour legislation. In 1967 EEOC was forced to back away from its previous non-interventionist attitude on such issues as labour rights for female workers and age and marital status discrimination at the workplace, with air flight companies being the

An Objective Way of thinking using mathematical principles Article - 1

An Objective Way of thinking using mathematical principles - Article Example Then one should seek to establish for each class of experience, what classes of knowledge are required for that class. For the Visual class of Experience one realises that all that can be acquired are those classes of knowledge that the individual’s senses can receive without any interpretation. This reasoning can be set out in the form of a series or SET of equations 3/ One of these classes is the ‘visual experience’ e.g. viewing the world that surrounds us for which the ONLY class of knowledge one requires to satisfy this class of experience, is that which can be gathered through the specific human’s senses e.g. for the sight sense, ‘colours that form shapes’. This applies to all the members of reality that make up the world that surrounds us. No further interpretation is required or can be made through the ‘visual experience‘. [See also the solution to Big Question 2 which details how the personal TEMPLATE works. For it includes what classes of knowledge the senses can detect and those that cannot be detected I.e. complete SET that can be used to represent any human.] 4/ Thus by adopting this thinking strategy of accepting what one receives through the senses without personal interpretation I.e. subjectivity [perceptions], everyone would be able to see the same / real world rather than seeking to create their own world. My appreciation for Roger Penroses essay asking "What is reality?" was diminished because he gave no clear-cut definition of what he means by "reality" (18 November, p 32). As a result, the discussion seemed like nothing so much as an overview of the implicit etymology and current range of English-language meanings of that word. One can easily imagine dictionary definitions that either include or exclude physical events at the quantum scale, or human mental events such as unexpressed thoughts. I am not a linguist, but I suspect that the words for "reality" in other languages may not exactly

Oil ; gas Essay Example for Free

Oil ; gas Essay The economy is affected by many factors that determine if it is strong or weak. These factors have to do with buyers consuming goods and services and at what rate they do this. Do the goods and services that are consumed by people created wealth, jobs and a better overall economy for a country. Throughout history some economies have evolved faster and stronger than others. Policies that the government places on industry, technology and the environment can all affect the prosperity of an economy. Of the factors that affect economic growth the industry of Oil and gas is one that holds a stronghold in the worlds and Americas economy today. When evaluating the economic growth factor of economy and specifically oil and gas on must consider the following questions:  ¨ What relationship does the factor have with the whole economy?  ¨ How does this factor affect economic growth  ¨ Is the factor a cause or effect of economic growth?  ¨ what would the economy be like if there were significant problems with this factor?  ¨ What relation does a central bank have to this factor? I will answer each of these questions in respect to how economy is affected by oil and gas. The economy in the United States today is greatly affected by oil and gas. When there are large reserves and an increase of active drills in respect to oil, the economy seems to receive a boost. This is because prices for such things like gas and oil fall and people are able to consume more gas at a lower price. There is more supply and prices fall, therefore people save money on gas and can consume other items in the economy. People working in these industries have more job openings and more jobs filled, therefore creating a lower unemployment rate and a higher national per capita income. The need for substitutes are not there so, consumers will consume oil and gas at a growing rate. Since, people use oil and gas for so many different things like heating there homes, driving their cars, and a variety of other sources, the overall GNP for the consumer will rise. Economic growth is affected through significant fluctuations in inflation of oil and gas. If you look throughout history when there have been fluctuations in gas and oil prices you have vast fluctuations in the economy of our country. The instability of this factor has cause government regulation to come into play in times of crisis. For example during the mid-seventies we had the oil and  gas shortage due to the Middle East cutting off supply to Importers of their oil. By doing this, they caused a shortage in a lot of countries creating rising oil prices and high demand. Consumers could not rely on the oil prices to be stable, therefore they consumed less of other products due to the inflation of gas prices and more of their dollar began to be spent on gas. Americans particularly started to come up with more efficient means of using and consuming gas over the past 25 years. Oil and gas is a resource that can be used up if not conserved properly. That is why OPEC was formed, as well as organizations such as NAFTA to help regulate trade of these commodities and bring organization to a disorganized status. In addition, governments like the United States impose taxes on gas to regulated the prices in order to ward off against supplies of oil affecting the nations economy. This only works to an extent, in the early to mid-eighties one states economy lived and died by the supply of oil. That state was Texas. When Texass oil rigs began to dry up, their economy went into a recession. Their reliance on the oil supply as their main revenue producer caused a lot of people to lose their jobs and demand and consumption for other products fell as well. This caused a spiraling effect which caused people from all industries to lose their jobs. Texass economy suffered and so did parts of the American economy with High inflation and high debt which caused the economy to suffer. Increased regulation and diversification of a countrys resources can stop this from being the case. Countries representing OPEC all live and die by the constant production of oil. While this factor is used to stimulate their countries economic growth, it should be used to stimulate the building of a countrys infrastructure. Oil-rich countries should use the positive affect oil has had on their countries to build strong governments and consumer demand for other goods. This powerful infrastructure that could be built will give the economy stability and allow for a countrys GNP to grow in a slow, steady, and positive way. The building of a strong middle-class will allow for countrys to prosper for many years to come. Instead what has happened is that economies of these countries are in a state of flux. What I mean by this is that their economies are very unpredictable and unstable and their reliance on oil has made the disparity between the rich and the poor a gap that becomes too large to overcome. One prime example of this is Brazil, Brazil has large  reserves of oil in a very large country. Brazil is a developing nation and is very unstable when it comes to central governments. In the 70s and 80s Brazil made large amounts of oil from its reserves. Instead of investing the money made (from exporting oil) into their countries future, the leaders of that country used the money to make themselves rich and left the country in political and economic disarray. The middle class of Brazil became almost non-existent and their seem to be but two classes in that country. Those classes were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The lack of infrastructure and consumer confidence in the economy due to the mishandling of oil profits lead to many political assassinations and increased crime rates throughout the country. It has taken and will continue to take Brazil years and years to recover from these economic crisiss , which all could have been avoided had Brazils government invested in its future. It is definitely true that an economy of a country can be vastly affected by the demand, consumption, and supply of oil. The affect that good supplies of oil has on a countrys economy is one that can only be measured in the sense that it is inevitable that they will be affected. As long as we drive cars that are fueled by gas and we use heat in the winter time, oil will always be a strong factor in determining the growth of a countries economy. In the United States, we have the strong infrastructure to adapt to problems that the instability of both the supply and demand of oil will cause. Countries need to look within themselves for managed growth in order to steady their economies if oil is what sparks their economy. A strong central bank and government will allow for funds to be invested in supporting the economy, the oil business, and consumerism. Once the infrastructure is set the shear reliance on oil will not be a factor, because the countrys economy will be able to handle the affect. When the day comes that oil wells ran dry and substitutes are needed the countries that will survive will be the ones that have braced themselves for the effect that this will have on their economy. Then these countries will adapt and overcome. Oil and gas should be used as helper of a countrys economy and not the passion by which it is run. The production of great income for a country and a higher GNP that oil production is something that should be able to benefit them for many years to come. If you look at the United States as a model you will see a country that handles oil with precision. When the oil industry is in a downturn, the  government can step in and regulate taxes and stimulate investment by having the central bank pump in funds that would not otherwise be used. When the oil industry is doing fine, the government can sit back and reap the prosperity of increases in employment and a rise in demand for oil. The prices will be lower for gas and oil, which means consumption will be up and the economy will be up too. Countries around the world can learn how to handle oil to the extent that it creates an agenda that the benefits far outweigh the costs. We know that oil and gas affects the economy and that it easily regulated by strong central government and bank. The infrastructure must be built up to manage growth. The leaders of the country should be committed to the development of the oil industry. Finally the consumers should be aware of how their role in the consumption of oil will affect the economy as a whole. When all parties are aware and committed to the prosperity of their country and to the industry then the consumption, supply, demand, profits, losses, and investment towards oil will be a mutually beneficial one for the country and its people.

Peer Assessment Essay Example for Free

Peer Assessment Essay This paper discusses the implementation of peer assessment strategy that I carried out in a primary school in Dar es Salaam during my practicum. It consists of a background, rationale, the implementation process and conclusion. The challenges encountered and their possible solutions on how to overcome them.. Background Black and William (1998) define assessment as all those activities undertaken by teachers, and students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. There are two major types of assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment. And thus, Peer assessment is one of the forms of formative assessment. Besides, Higher Education Academy- UK, (2006) is an alternative form of assessment in which learners are given the opportunity to measure and evaluate each other’s compliments of the specified learning outcomes. It is used to involve students more closely in their learning and its evaluation and enable them to really understand what is required of them. (Phil et al 2006) This is a form of formative assessment which teachers can use in class assignments, tests, presentations, project based work and practical tasks. These tasks can be performed by learners either in pairs, by multiple assessors’ or in groups. It is where learners consider and specify the level, value or quality of a product or performance of other equal status learners (Topping, 2008). This therefore means that learners are able to learn better because they assess their peers work and give appropriate feedback which helps them to improve their own work. It also leads to a number of benefits in terms of the learning process for instance encouraging thinking, increasing learning and increasing students’ confidence Gardner (2006), students find it easier to make sense of criteria for their work if they examine other student’s work alongside their own. It is uniquely valuable because the interchange is in language that students themselves would naturally use, because they learn by taking roles of teachers and examiners of others (Saddler, 1998) Rationale Eckstein and Noah (1992) argue that teachers teach to the test therefore leaving out some non-examinable but important skills set out in the curriculum. This is evident because most schools in the developing world concentrate on exams which is summative assessment and because of the backwash of this type of assessment, it impedes rather than promote social justice by locking many young people out of the education system, (Cunningham 1998). This summative assessment limits potential in enhancing teaching and learning which makes learners not to get prompt feedback to help them improve on their performance (Brooks, 2002). PA saves the teachers’ time because it takes a shorter time to mark and grade assignments using it than when a teacher marks all the books. This gives the teacher ample time to prepare for other lessons. By using PA, the teacher is able to give feedback to the pupils in a littler time than when the teacher uses traditional method of marking. PA was introduced with an intention to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning. It makes them feel valued because their suggestions are put into account. According to Irons (2008) PA encourages dialogue between the teacher and learners themselves as they negotiate the best assessment criteria when making a rubric to evaluate their work. This makes students really understand what is required of them. Phil Race et al, asserts that students learn deeply when they have a sense of ownership of the agenda and if PA is done using the students design, there tends to be a sense of ownership of the criteria used than when they apply the tutors’ criteria. Furthermore, PA allows students to learn from each other’s successes. In some instances students notice that the work they are assessing is better than their own efforts, therefore they can benefit from the work of the most able in the group. Similarly, it helps students to learn from each other’s weaknesses too. When they discover mistakes in their peers work, it is usually good for them as the awareness of ‘what not to do’ increases and therefore refrain from making the same mistake. (Phil et al 2006) Development My practicum was in a primary school in Dar es Salaam city. I was allocated standard seven to teach English. Standard 7A is rather a large class with a roll of fifty three pupils. Boys were twenty eight while girls were twenty five. All were present. This was a double English lesson of forty minutes each. The Topic was Comprehension, Sub-topic; The library; Lenders and Borrowers. My main objectives were; by the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to read, understand, formulate questions, discuss and be able to evaluate their peers work using a rubric. I made a detailed lesson plan showing the teachers and learners activities. My teaching and learning resources were standard seven text books, dictionaries, flash cards with new words written on them, pictures of a library. The lesson started at 8.00am to 9.20am. Implementation I introduced the lesson with a vocabulary song as a brainstorming activity that was led by one of the pupils. I explained what I expected of them throughout the lesson, then used the self-selecting method to form groups of six and told them to choose a leader. We went through the guidelines that they would follow in their discussion groups. The passage had six paragraphs so I gave each group a paragraph. The learners read the passage as they listened to one another, noted down difficult or new words, and then generated three questions from their assigned paragraph. I assisted to organise the groups and how they would present. One member quickly read their paragraph as the rest of the class listened, other members gave new words that they came across and the three questions they had formulated. As they presented their findings I was writing on the blackboard the new words they had encountered, and the questions they had constructed. Together we discussed meanings of these words as pupils tried using them in sentences and checking them out in the dictionary. I noted that discussions were being led in Kiswahili though it was an English lesson. Cummins in McKay (2008) and Ellis stated that the first language (L1) is important because sometimes learners first think in it to make meaning in English. However, the discussion was very lively and everybody tried to participate. It also concurred with Goetz (2002) that different views from learners influence the direction of a lesson creating new learning experiences for both the teacher and the learner. As a class, we discussed the questions on the blackboard then I asked them to write the work in their exercise books, collect and put them on the teachers table. Together we discussed and made a marking criterion on the blackboard. I asked the class prefect to distribute the books to the learners making sure that one did not mark his or her own book. They carefully used the rubric to mark their peers work, then returned them to the owners to check and in case of any complains i moderated and explained to their satisfaction. Finally I gave each a foolscap and asked them to write down what they felt about the new method of assessment. This exercise was mainly to analyze the learners’ reflections and to evaluate myself as a teacher. Challenges My first challenge was the English teacher assigned to me was not co-operative. He was not willing to hand over a candidate class to me. I made him understand that my input would be beneficial to his professional development and the students’ grades. During group work, some learners took it for story telling time. I had a rough time controlling the noise and putting them back to focus. The chosen group leaders helped me have order in the groups and ensured participation of all members. Code switching was common as I related with the learners and as they interacted in their discussion groups. It was a challenge because they did not have the confidence to express themselves. Very few picked courage and participated in English. The rest when picked upon would request to speak in Kiswahili. I encouraged them to have confidence and to continue speaking in English because practice makes perfect. The learning environment was not very conducive. The floor was dusty and had pot holes. This was likely to cause health problems and injury. Due to the large class, desks were not enough. Learners shared four or five per desk which was quite uncomfortable. I advised the administration to discuss the matter with stakeholders so that the class would be repaired and desks added. This class did not have any teaching learning materials on the walls. They only had text books which were inadequate in a ratio of 1:5. Sharing was a problem because not all could access them. I advised the teacher that teaching and learning aids helped students to construct knowledge for themselves and develop effective learning strategies, thus laying a solid foundation for life-long learning. I also urged him to improvise teaching aids by using locally available materials for example, carton boxes to write on vocabularies and sentence structures and hang on the walls. I realized that peer assessment can be time consuming if practiced in a large class. Grouping learners, discussions, presentations and awarding marks consumed a lot of time which affected the next lesson. Since the school had extra classrooms, I encouraged him to create an extra stream and transfer some learners from 7A and 7B to the new stream if learners were to benefit from this kind of assessment. This is because a class of fifty three was too large putting into consideration the slow learners and learners with special needs who needed special attention. Conclusion Peer assessment had good impact on the teaching learning process where the learners and I jointly got involved in the assessment process hence owning the entire peer assessment procedures integrated in the lesson. This resulted into meaningful learning where feedback was instant. However, there were some challenges which we jointly addressed with the learners. For PA to be successful, meaningful procedures have to be put in place. References Black, P. William. (1998).Assessment and classroom learning: Assessment in education,principles, policy and practice in Irons, A. (2008). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. London: Routledge. Cunning,G.K. (1998).Assessment in the classroom: constructing and interpreting tests. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Irons, A. (2008).Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. London: Routledge. Race, P., Brown, S. Smith. (2006). 500 Tips on assessment (2nd edition). London:

Depression and Suicidal Ideation: Mental Health Case Study

Depression and Suicidal Ideation: Mental Health Case Study Introduction Mental health nursing is a complex healthcare practice, because it aims to meet the needs of clients with mental health needs, which are usually also complex and require more than a single therapeutic approach. Mental health nurses usually provide supportive and therapeutic care adhering to nursing and healthcare principles of beneficence and non-maleficence, and adhere to the principles published in the national guidance, of client-centred care focused on service user need, as enshrined in the National Service Framework for Mental Health (Department of Health, 1999). Mental health nursing usually involves the provision of ongoing, supportive therapeutic interventions and ‘talking’ therapies, which can include counselling based on established principles. This role of the mental health nurse involves the formation of a therapeutic relationship with the client, in order to support the client to development self-management and coping strategies for the ongoing control of th eir condition and its symptoms, in conjunction with pharmacological treatments. This critical essay will explore the mental health nursing care of a particular, identified patient encountered in clinical practice, in whose care the author was directly involved. It explores the provision of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to a single client who had complex health needs and challenging symptoms, reviewing the usefulness and appropriateness of the therapy, the effects or projected effects on the client’s wellbeing and symptoms, and the issues surrounding such care for the client in relation to rehabilitation and recovery as part of their mental health journey. The essay will focus on the care of one client with depression and suicidal ideation, looking not at the acute phase of mental health care, but the rehabilitation phase where the client is being supported into ways of managing symptoms and returning to a useful, active social life where they can function effectively within society. The essay focuses on the goals and principles enshrined in the NSF for Mental Health (DoH, 1999), that of achieving the best possible standards of health and wellbeing for the client and the best possible control of their symptoms. It will explore the rationales and process of the therapeutic intervention, and use this intervention within a person-centred model of counselling, support and care. Client Background and History The client, who for the purposes of this essay will be called Lisa (this being a pseudonym used to ensure client confidentiality), is a 19 year old young woman with a history of depression and suicidal ideation. Lisa first presented to the local mental health services at the age of 16, after an acute episode of physical self harm and attempted suicide. Lisa’s self-harming behaviour takes the form of cutting, usually to the arms, legs and abdomen, although she has been known at times to also cut her face and neck. During her first admission, Lisa was diagnosed as having Depression with Psychotic symptoms. She has been managed with a combination of Fluoexetine and a range of other medications, but is known to have frequent relapse due to medication non-compliance. Lisa has a complex personal and social history which goes some way to explaining her current state of mental ill health. She was abandoned by her single parent mother at the age of 11, from which time until the age of 16 she spent in local authority care, a mixture of foster homes and care facilities. At age 16 she left care and went on the streets, but at 17 after her third hospital admission was able to get into a social support programme, secure accommodation for herself, and start to attend college. Lisa is still at college, studying beauty therapy. She has a history of sexual abuse, but for the past year and a half has been living a relatively stable life, with a good social life and a busy college life. Lisa has presented this time with a relapse in her Depression, and has demonstrated a strong suicidal ideation, low mood and being very withdrawn and apathetic. She has, this time, attempted suicide through overdose of a friend’s prescribed medication accompanied by severe cutting to the arms, legs and breasts. After being medically stabilised, she was admitted to the mental health ward, and after two weeks on the ward, fully compliant with her medication, was making some progress towards rehabilitation. Discussion Norman and Ryrie (2004) describe mental health nursing as a process of working with clients to allow them to develop the skills to regain control over their lives through managing their mental health. Ultimately, mental health nursing supports clients into a phase of recovery (Tschudin, 1995), which means that they are not overwhelmed by their symptoms and can manage them through a combination of medication, personal supportive therapies, and other support, in order to lead ‘normal’ lives within society and achieve personal goals. Mental health nursing is based upon a range of principles, some of which are scientific, some of which are more holistic (Norman and Ryrie, 2004). Mental health nursing supports clients through the acute phases of their illness, via crisis management, and through the chronic stages of their illness, through longer-term processes of rehabilitation (Perkins and Repper, 2004). Quite often, mental health service users are viewed in terms of their d isease and its treatment, but the provision of true client-centred care should start off with a good understanding of the client and their condition, their particular needs, and then be followed by a judgement about how best to help them towards recovery along the spectrum of mental health and illness (Perkins and Repper, 2004; Foreyt and Poston, 1999). Recovery cannot be considered as a finite point in time, but as an ongoing balance between the client and their illness, wherein the client aims to achieve the ability to function at the level they desire, through accessing appropriate support (Perkins and Repper, 2004; Greenberger and Padesky, 1995)). The judgement about what kind of support is best is based upon a number of factors, but most often, the decision about which of the many approaches to supportive therapies and counselling will be used is based upon both the client need, and the mental health nurse’s own knowledge about, experience of, and preference for, a parti cular form of therapy (Puentes, 2004). Mental health nurses, therefore, must have a good understanding of themselves, their philosophical orientation in relation to counselling, and the therapies on offer, and are most likely to provide those with which they have the most familiarity. In this case, the author is describing their own philosophical approach as matching that of their clinical practice mentor, who, as an experienced mental health nurse, is a strong advocate of client centred approaches to counselling. Gamble and Curthouys (2004) describe these approaches as being founded on Rogerian principles that include empathy, genuineness and unconditional positive regard. Rogers (1957 in Gamble and Curthouys, 2004) suggest that within a therapeutic relationship, which is a supportive relationship between client and nurse, with the express goal of attaining rehabilitation or recovery, there should be certain features which support the client towards ‘functionality’. Thus, there needs to be contact between tw o people, nurse and client, in which the client is in a condition of incongruence, and the nurse a state of congruence, and in which the nurse displays unconditional positive regard, and empathetic understanding, towards the client (Rogers, 1957 in Gamble and Curthouys, 2004). The nurse must be able to communicate these factors to the client, within the client’s frame of reference (Rogers, 1957 in Gamble and Curthouys, 2004 Bryant-Jefferies (2006) argues that the therapeutic relationship must be founded on empathy, and that in order to achieve empathy the nurse must employ active listening, and must attend to all the signs and the kinds of communication which the client displays, providing a sense of being ‘present’ with the client in whatever experience they are retelling or currently experiencing. One of the more challenging aspects of developing such a relationship with the client is the provision of unconditional positive regard, which Bozarth and Wilkins (2001 in Bryant-Jefferies, 2006) describe as an ongoing, unceasing and unflagging ‘warm acceptance’ of the individual, regardless of what they might say. Some authors describe this as the element of the therapeutic relationship that is most likely to support the client towards recovery (Bozarth and Wilkins, 2001 in Bryant-Jefferies, 2006). In this case, the mental health nurse (the author’s mentor) who was the prima ry support person for the client, fully aspired to such principles and to the concept of developing the best possible therapeutic relationship with the client. The literature consistently demonstrates that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is fundamental to the client achieving a state of mental health and wellbeing (DoH, 2001; DoH, 2006; Nice, 2004). The author agreed with this and felt that their own therapeutic philosophy was founded upon similar principles, making it appropriate to get involved in the case. The client was also happy to have the author present, as they were involved in there are from admission, and had spent some time observing the client during the acute phase to prevent further self harm. Depression is a surprisingly common, yet often serious mental illness, which can present in a variety of ways, with features such as â€Å"low mood, lack of enjoyment and interest, reduced energy, sleep disturbance,appetite disturbance, reduced confidence and self-esteem, and pessimistic thinking† (Embling, 2002; p 33). According to Embling (2002), these symptoms can have a significant effect on people’s ability to take part in normal daily life or social activities, and in particular, the low mood and predisposition towards pessimistic thoughts can have a negative impact on thought processes, leading to suicidal ideation (Rollman et al, 2003).. There are a number of individual and social issues which have been shown to have an association with depression, including physical illness (acute and chronic), poverty or low socioeconomic status and deprivation, divorce, bereavement or relationship breakdown, loss of a job or sudden, negative change in circumstances, ethnic minority status, and concomitant mental illness (Embling, 2002). It is a chronic condition which can manifest in acute episodes which are often successfully managed with pharmacological and non-pharmacological support, but the relapse rate is high for many patients (Embling, 2002). It can range from mild depression to severe depression or anywhere along a spectrum in between (Rollman et al, 2003). A wide variety of therapeutic approaches have been used in treating this illness, and in Lisa’s case, she had had some success previously with solution-focused brief therapy, but had found herself relapsing once regular, close contact with a mental health nurse had lapsed. Lisa admitted that she felt the time was right to take control of her life and find ways of coping with her illness more independently, and was keen for strategies which would allow her to avoid having such serious relapses, because they themselves had a negative effect on her life and potential career. Therefore, it was agreed that CBT might be the optimal approach. Luty et al (2007) argue that CBT is not always the most efficacious therapeutic choice for severe depression, but in Lisa’s case, it seemed worth trying, particularly as her worst symptoms were related to not maintaining her medication, and once she was on her medication, the focus had to be on keeping her well enough to keep taking the tablets. Other literature suggests that CBT is effective in patients who have had a history of sexual abuse (Price et al, 2001) This seemed to imply that the focused approach to support that CBT offered would the right way, particularly as it is so focused on relapse p revention. According to NACBT (2007) cognitive behavioural therapy is the term used to describe a variety of therapeutic or interpersonal interventions, all of which are characterised by a focus on the importance of how clients think, and how this thinking impacts upon their feelings, their responses to stimuli and stressors, and their actions. Its value lies in the fact that it is structured, directive, and also time-limited, strong focusing client and nurse on the current problem, on how the client feels and thinks at the single point in time that therapy is taking place (Embling, 2002). CBT is based on â€Å"the theory that the way an individual behaves is determined by his or her idiosyncratic view of a particular situation, thus the way we think determines the way we feel and behave †(Embling, 2002p 34). According to Embling (2002), Beck et al (1979) introduced CBT , suggesting that â€Å"CBT can treat depression as it helps the client to evaluate and modify distorted thought processes and dysfunctional behaviours† (Embling, 2002) p 38). According to NACBT (2007) CBT has expanded within the therapeutic domain to include a range of approaches based upon the sample principles, including, Rational Behaviour Therapy, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy , Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behaviour Therapy, all of which are based on what are described as â€Å"cognitive models of social response†. These in turn have been based on philosophical principles derived from Socratic thought, wherein individuals aim to attain a state of calm and tranquillity when challenged by stressful or difficult situations and experiences (NACBT, 2007). Thus the idea is to modulate the responses to life and experiences which precipitate symptoms of mental illness. The coun sellor directs the client to use inductive methods combined with principles of rational thinking and educative approaches, to support behavioural self-managed over the longer term , (NACBT, 2007; Sensky et al, 2000) and to prevent relapses (Bruce et al, 1999). Therefore, in CBT, the nurse provides the client with the ability to explore their behaviours, their responses and their typical symptomatic responses in particular in certain situations, and assists them in developing ways of mediating such responses so that they do not relapse into behaviours characteristic of their illness (Sensky et al, 2000; RCP, 2007; BABCP, 2007). Management of Lisa’s Care To begin with, it was really important to ensure that Lisa’s counselling and therapy was truly person-centred, in order to develop a good relationship between Lisa, the primary nurse and the author (NELMH, 2007; Moyle, 2003). The author hoped that Lisa would respond well to this approach because it would allow for the demonstration of empathy and a good understanding of how her life, previous mental illness and personal circumstances were contributing to her current illness, and therefore would support congruence in provision of support to meet her needs and address her specific concerns. However, the difficulty in achieving congruence here was that the author could not really claim to fully understand the effects of Lisa’s previous experience of sexual abuse or really relate to her experiences, and in particular, the author found some elements of her history, including the stories she told relating the sexual abuse, as very disturbing. The author discussed this with th e nurse mentor prior to the counselling sessions, and discussed how to achieve that true sense of congruence and presence, without communication their own abhorrence of the experiences that Lisa was relating. It was decided that it would be acceptable to tell Lisa that the author was appalled by these experiences, because this would underline the fact that she should not have had to suffer this abuse and that she was right to seek help in dealing with the effects on her mental health. Therefore, the author was able to enter into this counselling in supportive frame of mind, and able to achieve empathy without communicating negative feelings to the client. The focus of Lisa’s CBT was on the suicidal ideation/self-harming and the low mood and self-abhorrence that were the main manifestations of her depression. Collins and Cutcliffe (2003) show that one of the most common features displayed by mental health service users with suicidal ideation is hopelessness. This was certainly the case for Lisa, who displayed a sever pessimism about life and her ability to achieve anything like lasting recovery. Her goals to become a beauty therapist seemed unobtainable, and she felt she had no hope of making a new life for herself that was not ‘ruined’ by her previous life. However, Collins and Cutcliffe (2003) recommend CBT for this kind of pessimistic thinking because it focuses the client on establishing ‘hopefulness’ within their thought patterns. Other research shows that suicide risk can be reduced if individuals can experience others showing concern for them (Casey et al, 2006). This was supported by the author’s and the mentor’s firm belief in the efficacy of CBT for clients such as Lisa (Joyce et al, 2007). Thus, it was possible to establish an initial level of trust, and through the therapeutic relationship, the author was able to support Lisa in exploring her conditional assumptions (Curran et al, 2006) which led to the ongoing, spiralling pessimism, and then using CBT, we were able to set goals for each counselling session, set ‘homework’ which focused on self-management, and then reflect on progress as each session followed the previous one (Curran et al, 2006). The sessions focused on relapse prevent ion through changing cognitive patterns and schema, rehearsing relapse drills, and ensuring ongoing compliance with medication (Papakostas et al, 2003. While some authors argue for the need for inclusion of family or carers in therapeutic interventions such as (Chiocca, 2007), this was not possible with Lisa because she had no family and although she had a number of good friends made through her college course, none of them knew of her mental illness. The focus was therefore on health education, developing personal skills, and helping Lisa to cope with issues such as her current socioeconomic status (Jackson et al, 2006; Cutler et al, 2004). . Conclusion If, as Calloway (2007 p 106) suggests â€Å"nursing is defined as a profession that protects, promotes, and restores health and that which prevents illness and injury†, then using such a client-empowering form of therapy, one which is based on the development of realistic coping mechanisms (Salkovskis, 1995; Deakin, 1993), was the right approach with Lisa. Discussion with her revealed that focusing on relapse prevention, within an honest therapeutic relationship which addressed the factors affecting her mental health, and addressed the ways of thinking and behaviours which led to relapse, was the right approach, because these were, fundamentally, her primary needs. The person-centred approach, in particular, seemed to give her the positive, ongoing interpersonal contact she needed, such that she did demonstrate signs of moving into a state of rehabilitation and recovery. References BABCP (2007) CBT Today36 (3) Available form www.babcp.com Accessed 5-1-09 Bozarth, J. and Wilkins, P. (eds) (2001) Rogers’ Therapeutic Conditions: evolution, theory and practice Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. In: Bryant-Jeffries, R. (2006) Counselling for Eating Disorders in Women: Person-centred dialogues Oxford: Radcliffe. Bruce, T.J., Spiegel, D.A. and Hegel, M.T. (1999) Cognitive-behavioural therapy helps prevent relapse and recurrence of panic disorder following alprazolam discontinuation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67 (1) 151-156. Bryant-Jeffries, R. (2006) Counselling for Eating Disorders in Women: Person-centred dialogues Oxford: Radcliffe. Calloway, S. (2007) Mental Health Promotion: Is Nursing Dropping the Ball?. Journal of Professional Nursing 23 (2) 105-109. Casey, P.R., Dunn, G., Kelly, B. et al (2006) Factors associated with suicidal ideation in the general population: Five-centre analysis from the ODIN study. The British Journal of Psychiatry 189(5) 410-415. Chiocca, E. (2007) Suicidal ideation Nursing 37(5) 72. Collins, S. and Cutcliffe, J.R. (2003) Addressing hopelessness in people with suicidal ideation: building upon the therapeutic relationship utilizing a cognitive behavioural approach. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 10 (2) , 175–185 Curran, J., Machin, C. and Gournay, K. (2006) Cognitive behavioural therapy for patients with anxiety and depression. Nursing Standard 21(7) 44-52. Cutler, J.L, Goldyne, A., Markowitz, J.C. et al (2004) Comparing cognitive behaviour therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry 161 (9) 1569-1578. Deakin, H. G. (1993) Behavioural and Cognitive-Behavioural Approaches. Ch21 pp251-292. In Wright, H and Giddey, M. (1993) Mental Health nursing: From First principles to professional practice London: Chapman and Hall Department of Health (2006) From Values to Action. The Chief Nursing Office’rs Review of Mental Health Nursing London: DOH. Department of Health (2001) Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling: Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guideline London: HMSO. Department of Health (1999) The National Service Framework For Mental Health. Modern Standards and Service Models London: DOH. Diaz-Granados, N. and Steward, D.E. (2007) Using a gender lens to monitor mental health. International Journal of Public Health 52 (4) 197-198. Embling, S. (2002) The effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy in depression. Nursing Standard 17(14-15) 33-41. Foreyt, J.P. and Poston, W.S. (1999) What is the role of cognitive-behavior therapy in patient management? Obesity Research 6 18S-22S. Gamble, C. and Curthoys, J. (2004) Psychosocial interventions. In: Norman, I. Ryrie, I. (eds.) (2004) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: A Textbook of Principles and Practice Maidenhead: Open University Press. Gelso, C.J. Carter, J.A. (1985) The Relationship in Counseling and Psychotherapy. The Counselling Psychologist, 13 (2) 155-243 Greenberger, D and Padesky, C.A. (1995) Mind over mood. A cognitive therapy treatment manual for clients. New York: Guilford Press. Jackson, S.F., Perkins, F., Khandor, E. et al (2006) Integrated health promotion strategies: a contribution to tackling current and future health challenges. Health Promotion International 21 (Supplement 1) 75-83. Joyce, O., McKenzie, J.M., Cartern, J.D., et al (2007) Temperament, character and personality disorders as predictors of response to interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression. The British Journal of Psychiatry 190(6) 503-508. Luty, S., Cartern, J., McKenzie, J. et al (2007) Randomised controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression The British Journal of Psychiatry 190(6) 496-502 Moyle, W. (2003) Nurse-patient relationship: A dichotomy of expectations International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 12 (2) 103–109. NACBT (2007) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm Accessed 5-1-09 NELMH (2007) Relapse Prevention http://nelmh.org/page_view.asp?c=10did=820fc=001003005. Accessed 5-1-09. NICE (2004) Depression: Management of Primary and Secondary Care Clinical guideline 23 www.nice.org.uk Accessed 5-1-09 Norman, I. Ryrie, I. (eds.) (2004) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: A Textbook of Principles and Practice Maidenhead: Open University Press. Norman, I. Ryrie, I. (2004) Mental health nursing: origins and orientations. In Norman, I. Ryrie, I. (eds.) (2004) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: A Textbook of Principles and Practice Maidenhead: Open University Press. Ormel, J., Koeter, W., Van den Brink, G. and Van de Willige, G. (1991) Recognition, management, and course of anxiety and depression in general practice. Archives of General Psychiatry. 48 (8). Papakostas, G.I., Petersen, T., Pava, J. et al (2003) Hopelessness and suicidal ideation in outpatients with treatment-resistant Depression: prevalence and impact on treatment outcome The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 191(7) 444-449 Paykel, E.S., Scott, J., Cornwall, P.L. et al (2005) Duration of relapse prevention after cognitive therapy in residual depression: follow-up of controlled trial. Psychological Medicine 35 59-68. Peplau, H. (1989) Interpersonal constructs for nursing practice in: O’Toole, A.,Welt, S. 9eds) )1989) Interpersonal Theory in Nursing Practice. New York: Springer. Perkins, R. Repper, J. (2004). Rehabilitation and recovery. In: Norman, I. Ryrie, I. (eds.) (2004) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: A Textbook of Principles and Practice Maidenhead: Open University Press. Price, J.L., Hilsenroth, M.J., Petretic-Jackson, P.A. and Bone, D. (2001)A review of individual psychotherapy outcomes for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Clinical Psychology Review 21 (7) 1095-1121 Puentes, W.J. (2004) Cognitive therapy integrated with life review techniques: an eclectic treatment approach for affective symptoms in older adults. Journal of Clinical Nursing 13 (1) 84-89. Putnam, F. (2003) Ten-Year Research Update Review: Child Sexual Abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry. 42 (3) 269-278. RCP (2007) CBT. Available from http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.aspx Accessed 5-1-09 Revicki, D.A., Siddique, J., Chung, J.Y. et al (2005) Cost-effectiveness of evidence based pharmacotherapy or cognitive behaviour therapy combined with community referral for major depression in predominantly low-income minority women. Archives of General Psychiatry. 62 868-875. Rollman, B., Shear, M.K, (2003) Depression and Medical Comorbidity: Red Flags for Current Suicidal Ideation in Primary Care. Psychosomatic Medicine 65(4) 506-507 Salkovskis, P.M. (1995) Cognitive factors in depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and hypochondriasis. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 8(2) 80-84. Sensky, T., Turkington, D., Kingdon, D. et al (2000). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Persistent Symptoms in Schizophrenia Resistant to Medication. Arch Gen Psychiatry.57 165-172. Tschudin, V. (1995) Counselling skills for nurses. London: Elsevier.

The guidelines of the law :: essays papers

The guidelines of the law There are many different guidelines of this law that each state and school systems have to follow. The first of many is to hold states, school systems, and individual schools accountable for their test scores. â€Å"It sets a new standard for measuring achievement and has real consequences for schools that fail to make progress over time† (Heath, 2002-2004, para. 2). Each state will have to implement school testing and report their finding back to the government. The government will then send out the results from the tests. The government is very lenient on how the states set up their plans for improving their schools. School systems are allowed to build off their programs already in use. The government allows the use of systems that are already in place but it also states to send them their plans for improvement. If school systems fail to send in a report and a plan for change to the Department of Education, the government can take away their Title 1 funding (Hombo, 2003). The purpose of holding schools accountable for test scores is to show the teacher, parents, and other staff members what the school needs to work on improving. This will help to limit teachers passing children who are not up to the proper grade level because the person feels bad for the child because of his or hers living situation, (Sclafani, 2002-2003). The tests will be given to every student from grade four through grade eight. The National Assessment of Education Progress administers the test every two years. â€Å"NAEP has a new role: to act as a serious discussion tool in evaluating results of state assessments, and in providing a common base for comparison between states† (Hombo, 2003, p.4). This goes back to states being held accountable for their students test scores. States that do not receive the proper federal funding do not have to develop or implement the test (Boehner, 2001-2002). The No Child Left Behind legislation focuses on improving students reading levels, especially in the elementary years. â€Å"Only 32% of fourth graders are proficient readers who read at a fourth grade level,†(Heath, 2002-2004, para. 3). If school systems receive the money, they can then in turn apply for the Reading First Grants. These grants are used to pay for classroom reading instructions. They have to be used with programs that have been researched and are proven to work.

Poe - A perfect Plan of Guilt :: essays research papers

Revenge is sweet and guilt it torture. Montresor decides to dabble between revenge and guilt and ultimately learns that revenge has consumed him. This can be seen when Montresor is aware of the suffering that Fortunato is feeling as he begins killing him. The compassion that Montresor feels is coupled with guilt from the murder he committed. These feelings make Montresor’s perfect plan of revenge lead to a lifetime of guilt. Revenge has a thin line which can easily be crossed when the revenge no longer fits the crime. Montresor speaks of this during the first paragraph when he states â€Å"I must not only punish, but punish with impunity† (Poe 141). He wants to be exempt from harm as well as from guilt. This would make the revenge sweet, or satisfying. Montresor comments on a satisfying revenge at the end of the first paragraph by saying â€Å"A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong" (141). Montresor means that revenge must be satisfying, but can not consume himself. He can not step over this line and commit a crime himself. This act will cause guilt upon the avenger and eliminate any satisfying feeling that he might have received from the revenge. Montresor begins to be overtaken by his retribution almost immediately. His fascination with deception is his weak point. Montresor plans a revenge that would satisfy him for the insults that have been committed against him. While doing so he wants to be stealthy and states â€Å"it must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will† (141) He continues to deceive Fortunato by lying to him about the pipe of Amontillado and playing on his nature of a wine connoisseurship. Montresor would say â€Å"I have my doubts† (142) knowing that Fortunato would only become more motivated to taste the Amontillado and tell of its authenticity. It is this deception that he becomes carried away with. This becomes a game for Montresor. He uses Fortunato as a pawn, and plays each move very carefully. While Montresor has become fatally involved in his plan of revenge he still has not forgotten that Fortunato is a friend. When they are ready to go to the vaults, Montresor shows concern for Fortunato’s health.

Pumping Iron: Women and Sports :: Movies Television Film Females Essays

Pumping Iron: Women and Sports Ever since sports has been introduced into our society it has always been gender specific. Today, sports are still gender specific but not as much as before due to the change in social norms. Many people enjoy playing sports. For some it may be the competition, for others it may be for the love of the game. It has been difficult for individuals who enter non-traditional sports for their gender. Women have especially struggled with this matter until the Title 9 was issued. Before Title 9, many women were not allowed to participate in track and other sports that were not considered feminine. During the Victorian Times, women were only allowed to play sports that didn't make them look sweaty, tired or just messy. They had to stick to the norm of being conservative and looking proper. Can you imagine, they had to even wear skirts for baseball and other sports? How can you be comfortable and play well in that kind of an outfit? When it came to tennis, they had to look graceful like a ball erina. The main concern in playing a sport is enjoying it and playing it well. It never had to do anything with being part of a beauty contest. Women were given limitations into what sports they could participate in. However, realistically women were just as good as their counterpart when it came to playing sports in which they were not allowed to play. Being a female and seriously competing in a non-traditional sport is an arduous task. Many individuals question your sexuality, race and class just because you have decided to participate in a non-traditional sport. However, the main fact that is being disregarded here is that everyone has the capability of playing any sport that they want to play. There should not be any boundaries to anything because of gender. It is unfair because there are certain things that are acceptable and unacceptable in society which puts a lot of pressure on people that are into non-traditional sports. The question is, why does being accepted matter so much in society? Why is it so hard to be accepted for something that you want to do? I mean you are not hurting anybody yet you are made to feel guilty for trying to be good in a non-traditional sport. For this essay, I would like to use the movie "Pumping

Am Getting Old Now

I'm getting old now is a prose poem. It is quite vibrant and simple and presents the theme of cycle of life. It depicts the poet's acceptance of death and links with with his nostalgic memories of his mother. The first part of the poem symbolize his dream while second part signifies that he is close to death. He address death as a long lost friend whom he seeks to meet in the near future. Realizing that he has got less time to spend on earth he reminisce his past memories and dream a lot. In his dream he recollects how much love and pride his mother had in him. The poem is very touching and it instills in us the pain we feel when we reminisce about good things long lost. A few Key Points: Meeting of different cultures: tourist comes from modern world, and thinks he can dispose of this irritating beggar. But when she speaks she casts a spell, and shows him who is really in control. Woman rooted in where she lives – identified with sky and hills, and draws power from them. Things not what they seem: woman has more power than the poet suspects. Poem has a formal structure in triplets (three-line stanzas). Occasional half rhymes (â€Å"coin†/ â€Å"shrine†, â€Å"on†/ â€Å"skin†) and full rhyme to mark a pause: (â€Å"crone†/ â€Å"alone†). Lines are short but always with pattern of two stressed syllables, apart from in the final line, where the single stress brings the poem to a full stop. Most words monosyllables. Poem refers to old woman with third-person pronoun â€Å"she† and tourist with second-person pronoun, â€Å"you†. This makes poem like an account of real experience, putting reader in tourist's place. Coin which woman begs at the start of the poem, gives the ending its enduring image. Tourist's weakness is suggested in metaphor of â€Å"small change†, while â€Å"in her hand† indicates that woman has power over him. Her power also suggested by appearance – her eyes are â€Å"bullet holes†, dark spaces with nothing behind. â€Å"Cracks† (lines) in her face turn into cracks in sky, hills and temples, while the old woman remains invulnerable (â€Å"shatter-proof†). Crone† suggests the magical power of the old woman. CHURCH GOING Larkin starts his poem after making it sure that no ceremony was going on in the Church. It connotes that Larkin himself did not like ceremonies being performed in the Churches, perhaps due to people’s unconcerned attitude towards churches, otherwise he would not have said: â€Å"Once I’m sure here’s noth ing going on†. When Larkin says â€Å"Another church†, in line number three, it denotes that he has visited all the churches and every church of the city is empty. Perhaps, he has found some mental tranquility in the present church that is why he made his mind to stay in the Church for some time as it was his habit. There is a beautiful blend of similar and dissimilar objects in the poem. For example in stanza number four, line number 28 â€Å"after dark† and â€Å"dubious women† and in stanza number six, line number 48 â€Å"suburb† and â€Å"scrub† respectively. The ellipses, personification, humour, rhetorical questions, transferred epithets, synaesthetic imagery and irony combined make the poem a thing of beauty. The last stanza brings about the final and absolute conclusion. â€Å"A serious house on serious earth it is† pays tribute to churches. Everything of this world may wipe out, even â€Å"superstition, like belief, must die† but the essential uniqueness of churches can never obsolete and out dated. This final stanza not only brings about the ultimate message but it also removes the ambiguity of the poem. In the poem the poet asked his readers â€Å"And what remains when disbelief has gone? †. When everything will be annihilated, the church shall renovate humanity. This is a poetic reaction to the failure of organized religions of all traditions, not merely of Christianity, as the word â€Å"church† might lead us to suppose. Traditionally the way of devotion has been pointed out as the method of spiritual pursuit for the ordinary man of this Age of Kali. And organized religions, even though they are severely afflicted with schisms and sectarian conflicts and even open fights, flourish; and pilgrimage itself has become a billion dollar business the world over. But this is a far cry from the real way of devotion. Sri Aurobindo has expounded the nature of this path in his The Synthesis of Yoga. But he has conceded that in the religions of the masses, â€Å"†¦a most external form of ceremonial worship† , has a legitimate role to play. This is said in the light of the tantric gradation of spiritual pursuit which begins at the level of â€Å"†¦the herd, the animal or the physical being, the lowest stage of its discipline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But larger and larger segments of this herd is getting estranged from their usual beaten tracks and wandering away from moral ways and seeking solace in drugs and debauchery. This is a clear indication that mankind has come of age, that here after mankind has no use for organized religions of the traditional types. The clergy knows this; that is why it resorts to terrorism in desperation. A college professor's palm was chopped of by the agents of terror who speak for Islam. And the Christian management of his college had him dismissed. Do you know what he was accused of? He had used the name Muhammad in a question he had set for his students. The question required the students to apply punctuation marks to a passage that reported a conversation between a character named Muhammad and God. And well/hell, the professor got his palm chopped off in the name of the Merciful. If this is religion then religion is doomed. church going is rather reality of life.. according to the present generation church going is just a tradition that they have been following since childhood, so its a part of their practise more than faith. Larkin is not interested in any ceremony or any sort of prayers and priests instead he visits the church when it is silent. He does not have belief in church but cannot stop visiting it. However he still has that respect for church as he removes his clips of trousers as a mark of respect. Throughout the poem his thoughts reveal his concern for the present as well as future of and wonders what is their fate. It is worth noticing that even though poet is not a believer of these churches, he still continues with his traditions and not only him, in fact most of us do have the same mindset, be it a temple, mosque or church. Therefore the poem is applicable in present era.