Overpopulation on Earth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Overpopulation on Earth - Essay Example He leaves a conclusion using this argument: "a planet with relatively few people, each of whom can live with dignity and a high quality of life, is far superior to a world where too many people, awash in pollution, stretch resources to the breaking point, and where billions struggle to survive at mere subsistence levels". Benjamin Zuckerman creates a topic that is really interesting and timely. His purpose of delivering his theme and thesis make the readers understand very well the situation as well as the main idea of the essay. But unfortunately, Benjamin Zuckerman fails to write his essay in a rhetorical manner. Although he uses some of the metaphorical questions and symbolism as he mentioned angels and pin which represent people and the Earth, still, the theme will be loved only by the topic-lover audience, it will not pass to the standard of good writers and keen readers. The style of the essay reflects the writer being a proletarian even though his viewpoint has a great sense. The topic is effective but he placed it inappropriately.

I - SEARCH PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

I - SEARCH PAPER - Essay Example economy to an extent that can only be speculative. What is known is that the impact will be nothing short of catastrophic regarding both the earth and economy. In much of the previous century, oil was largely viewed worldwide as an economic asset and ever-expanding tool for increasing mobility needs and is today the primary cause of air pollution through the medium of oil-burning automobile engines. The dependence on oil now threatens many national economies, their security and the environment as well. Not only can the world not endure fossil fuels being pumped into the atmosphere at the current rate for the next 30 years, most experts agree that in 30 years, the world’s supply of oil will be largely depleted. Only by quickly implementing alternative sources of automobile fuel and electricity on a large scale can this looming disaster be averted. Hybrid cars seem to provide at least a temporary answer until better technologies are developed. Because they burn less oil, hybrid cars are considered a step in the right direction. This discussion will review many aspects of the hybrid car including an explanation of what a hybrid car is and how they save fuel thereby emitting fewer pollutants, their popularity and their risks. In An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice-President Al Gore demonstrates with clever use of computer graphics the extent to which the U.S. is, by far, the unenviable world leader in fossil fuel emissions. His plea to change energy use habits is good advice for everyone and every nation but is unambiguously directed at an American audience. â€Å"First, we need to make major changes in our preferences and habits concerning our personal cars, housing patterns, and consumption patterns. This is true especially in the U. S. because our nation consumes the lion’s share of the world’s fossil fuels to sustain our rich standard of living† (â€Å"An

“Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen and the 19th Century Marriage Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Hedda Gabler† by Henrik Ibsen and the 19th Century Marriage Essay Marriage in the 19th century was a social and economic matter, rather than a matter of personal relationship. The morals of the era, including family morals, are often associated with the Victorian England, where they revealed themselves in the most ultimate and form, yet especially this kind of attitude towards marriage dominated throughout Europe. The hypocrisy of the 19th century marriage, which caused countless lives to be broken and countless people to be unhappy, inspired many prominent writers like Oscar Wild, Gustave Flaubert, Honore de Balzac, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky to refer to the motifs of protest against such state of things. Yet Henrik Ibsen is unique even in this society, he concentrates on the named subject in virtually every of his famous plays. One of those plays is â€Å"Hedda Gabler† first published in 1890. In this paper I will attempt to analyze Ibsen’s play in the context of the XIX century marriage, as well as the effect the play itself had on the social perception of family ties. I will argue that Ibsen managed to demonstrate how frustrating a hypocritical marriage can be and what a disastrous consequences it can cause not only for the married women, but for every person involved in the relation. I will further argue that the play can be viewed as Ibsen’s contribution to change of the entire social idea of the place of a woman in a family. Ibsen himself wrote that The title of the play is Hedda Gabler. I intended to indicate thereby that as a personality she is to be regarded rather as her fathers daughter than as her husbands wife. Here Ibsen refers to the key problem of marriage in the 19th century. A woman has not played any independent role in it. She has always been viewed as â€Å"belonging to some man†, whether it is her father, brother or husband. Correspondingly, she had no opportunity to develop her own life and turned out to be a toy in the hands of men, being entirely dependent on them in social and economic aspects . In Hedda’s case she is either a daughter of a general, or a wife of an academic. But what is worse, she is dependent not only socially, but even mentally. She does not seem to be very clever, yet this does not mean that she lacks character. At her first approach Ibsen stresses her â€Å"pale and opaque† face and that â€Å"her steel-grey eyes express a cold, unruffled repose† . She is no way a foolish maiden dreaming only of lavish and careless life, throughout the play she often acts as a person of firm will, yet of a bad, or rather undeveloped character. This personal underdevelopment includes both narrow outlook and lack of moral principles. Perhaps she has been taught everything possible about morals, but a person of her type would rather act in contrary to imposed principles. Hedda really â€Å"belongs† to her husband and she is constantly reminded of that. This makes her desire for power even stronger, as she demonstrates more and more masculine features as the play develops. Unwilling to accept the feminine stereotypes of behavior Hedda plays with her father’s pistols perhaps more to shock and confuse her family, because handling arms is surely not a proper thing for a young lady. Yet the play with the pistols is still comparatively innocent. It appears that Hedda plays her own game with the society. Her relatives treat her as an obedient toy, so Hedda starts using them as toys in turn. This is a game of arrogance and indifference. Hedda makes snobbish remarks to the surrounding people, insults Aunt Julie’s new hat. The game gradually becomes more and more dangerous, and ends with two suicides. It seems that in this game Hedda makes little difference between a hat and Lovborg’s life. What the world has given to Hedda that Hedda returns to the world, and in case her dreams of luxurious existence are ruined, she can ruin the world in turn. The dependent position of a woman in marriage is naturally followed by another aspect of 19th century marriage – restriction of a woman. Ibsen embodied this social barrier in the repeated image of a glass door. The barrier is easy to be removed or broken, which she â€Å"nervously† walks to, but which she never opens, dying inside the claustrophobic space of the house. A question might arise here why Hedda at all married Jorgen Tesman whom she never loved and whom she openly neglected? The most obvious answer is that Hedda was in need of money, since her fathers only heritage was a good name. Tesman was an acceptable choice to her. He is considerably prosperous, his scientific prospects look perfectly, his name is noble, and, what is most important, his character is not very strong, so Hedda can easily control him. What is less obvious is Hedda’s desire to revenge Lovborg who failed to meet her hopes. Whether consciously or not, Hedda is making her way towards actual murder and suicide from the very beginning of the play. Although even in the 19th century the declared ground of marriage was love, Hedda cries to the Judge not to â€Å"use this sickening word† . She has crossed out her dreams of love and she does not want even to remember them. However, Hedda at least has an idea of love and passions, while her husband has none. As Hedda married Tesman of convenience, so Tesman did to Hedda. He is attracted both by her origin and by her beauty, while her death impresses him in a strange way: â€Å"Shot herself! Shot herself in the temple! Fancy that! †. This last phrase shows his real attitude. He never loved Hedda, and his primary concern was his own social position which he hoped to improve with a good marriage and an image of a beautiful wife. In fact there are no good or bad characters in the play, no victims and no executioners. Hedda is often blamed as a â€Å"snobbish, mean-spirited, small-minded, conservative, cold, bored, vicious. Shes sexually eager but terrified of sex; ambitious to be bohemian but frightened of scandal; a desperate romantic fantasist but unable to sustain any loving relationship with anyone, including herself† . This all can be true, but other characters are not better. The basic defect of the situation is that men and women surrounding Hedda are completely unable to see her as a personality outside of her social position. To the last they believe that Hedda would act in the â€Å"accepted way†, whether it is Tesman who views his wife as a pretty doll or Judge Brack who blackmails Hedda to enter into the family and probably force Hedda to a love affair believing that Hedda would act as a women in hopelessness, in other words obey . Brack is surprised with Hedda’s rebelliousness against the rule and asks: â€Å"Are you so unlike the generality of women as to have no turn for duties? † . But what Hedda does not want to hear about are duties. In this company even Lovborg causes little compassion. An miserable alcoholic who almost ruined his talent saved not due to his own effort, but due to a woman, he is unable even to die in the way Hedda has determined, and his suicide looks ridiculous. Being finally cornered by the circumstances Hedda decides to commit suicide herself. All of her dreams are ruined, she is now convinced that nobody loves her, her dreams of freedom, luxury and passions appeared to be mirages. She is unable to dominate even in the situation she has herself created. Hedda realizes that she is not a romantic hero but a simple wife of an academic, she is imprisoned and powerless. Her possible motherhood can only aggravate her despair, for a child shall be born from a man she does not love, and childbirth will make her even more helpless and dependent. Thus suicide looks as a natural resort for her. There is an another strong social allusion in the play. Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted use to label Loveborg’s manuscript as a child, so burning a manuscript is a similar to child murder. When Hedda kills herself she kills her prospective children, as well as ruins her husband’s reputation thus doing two things he is afraid of. She commits suicide out of escapist intents but it is also a revenge to her husband, Brack, relatives and the whole world where such hypocritical marriage is possible. â€Å"Hedda Gabler† caused an ambiguous reaction of the public ever since premiere. The responses differed from calling it â€Å"Ibsens greatest play and the most interesting woman that he has created† to the devastating characteristic by George Bernard Show who emotionally observed: â€Å"What a marvel of stupidity and nonsense the author did produce in this play! It is incredible to think that only a score of years ago the audience sat seriously before its precious dullness†. American newspapers added oil to the flame of critique. The Philadelphian Ledger wrote after the American premiere â€Å"What a hopeless specimen of degeneracy is Hedda Gabler! A vicious, heartless, cowardly, unmoral, mischief-making vixen†. Yet I would emphasize a characteristic that remains actual until now. It has been provided by Justin Huntly McCarthy who wrote of the â€Å"he most interesting woman that he has created she is compact with all the vices, she is instinct with all the virtues of womanhood† . The debate has not ceased over the years. Hedda became a favored character in the feminist movement, the play has been staged in numerous interpretations, including even lesbian one. However such public interest is the best proof of the fact that Ibsen hit the nail. â€Å"Hedda Gabler† is a play about fatal marriage. It starts with return of Hedda from her wedding journey and ends with the beginning of her final journey. However, Ibsen managed to generalize his subject and make his play a story of woman place in the society. 19th century marriage did left little space for female existence in the world dominated by males. That what the play is actually about. The motif of domination is revealed throughout the play and it is not always possible to say who, except for faulty customs dominates the situation. After all Tesman is unable to control even himself, and Hedda can not take the leading positions in the family due to social restrictions. Death is her protest. Perhaps it would not be too general to say that Ibsen wrote not only of physical death of his character but of a spiritual death of womanhood in the 19th century marriage. Works Cited: 1. Ibsen, Henrik. Hedda Gabler. Digireads. com, 2005. 2. Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. 3. Templeton, Joan. Ibsen’s Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 4. Eyre, Richard. â€Å"Femme fatale. Richard Eyre would like to apologise to Ibsen for doubting the greatness of Hedda Gabler†. The Guardian. 5 Mar. 2005. 21 April 2009 http://www. guardian. co. uk/stage/2005/mar/05/theatre 5. Sanders, Tracy. Lecture Notes: Hedda Gabler Fiend or Heroine. Australian Catholic University, 2006. 21 April 2009 http://dlibrary. acu. edu. au/staffhome/trsanders/units/modern_drama/hedda_gabler. html

Skills Development for Child Nursing Course

Skills Development for Child Nursing Course Provide an in-depth reflective account that demonstrates how learning, during the three years of the child nursing course, has been achieved in relation to two areas of your practice which has informed and enhanced your development towards qualification as a Childrens Nurse. Introduction Reflection is a vital component of the development of nursing competence and reflexive nursing practice. Although reflection functions on many levels, including the personal level, in allowing student nurses to review experiences and incorporate them into their internal schema, one of the most important levels of reflection is the process of asking questions about practice, and through asking those questions learning about the self in practice, and the role of the nurse (Bowden, 2003). Reflection is an important aspect of developing competence in practice, as well as developing practice itself (Durgahee, 1998; Gustafsson and Fagerberg, 2004). Some authors view the ability of the nurse to reflect on practice and in practice as a fundamental component of providing truly holistic and client centred care (Gustafsson and Fagerberg, 2004), while others view reflection as a self-limited, flawed and biased practice which is of little or no use to developing nursing professionalism (Jones, 19 95). I believe that reflection, if properly used and structured, provides powerful insight into the self, into practice, and into the ways in which competence and practice develop over time and through experiential learning. Therefore, I have concluded that to make reflection effective and useful, it is important to use a reflective model, such as that of Gibbs (1988), which I have chosen for this essay. Although there are limitations to Gibbs’ (1988) model, particularly in applying it to the requirements of this essay, it provides clear guidance and useful questions to ask about the experiences that contribute to the reflective process. I have adapted this cycle to suit the processes and analyses of this essay, and so, while two cycles of reflection are outlined below, the conclusions are developed collectively. For the purposes of this essay, the final stage of the cycle is to be found within the Appendix (see Appendix 1), and thus the Action Plan is adapted to become the P ersonal Development Plan. The purpose of this essay is to engage in an in-depth, detailed process of reflection on two areas of practice and learning that have been important to me through my studies in the three year child nursing course. Using a reflective cycle to guide and direct the reflective process, I will explore the process of professional development, towards competence and expertise, in relation to Benner’s (1984) stages of development, examining the nature of competence in each designated area of practice. The first chosen area of practice is the skill of managing an intravenous infusion, because the use of intravenous infusions and the provision of intravenous medications is an important component of many clinical paediatric nursing scenarios, and the management of intravenous access and infusions is particularly problematic when nursing children. The other area of practice and nursing professionalism chosen is communication, with a particular focus on the development of communication skills with staff, in relation to the nursing handover within the acute hospital environment, and the development of communication skills with patients, using the example of providing health education and promotion for a patient with Type 1 diabetes. I have chosen to focus on specific examples of communication skills in practice because these relate strongly to my own experiences, and also allow for a deeper and more critical analysis of practice and my own development. This will also allow for a more co ncrete development of a personal development plan to encompass identified development needs and actions to achieve these during the first six months of practice as a Registered Children’s Nurse. The focus on critical analysis allows for the development of a skill of great value for my professional practice, deconstructing practice and reviewing it in the the light of other knowledge (Burns and Bulman, 2000). However, because of the complex nature of practice, and the reflective processes which question feelings and thoughts as well as actions, the reflective process is complex (Wilkinson, 1999). Thus, although there are two issues being reflected upon, they are drawn together in one discursive thread which signposts the learning and development, the acquisition of professional understanding, which signifies the transition from novice to competent practitioner. Discussion 1. Clinical Skill Development: Intravenous Infusion and Medication Management in Children’s Nursing Practice. Description: What Happened. During the three years of nurse training, the development of the skill of managing intravenous infusions, either of hydration solutions or of medications, was one which I developed almost from the beginning, when it was taught as a clinical skill in the university setting. The typical approach to teaching clinical skills was to provide the students with a lecture on the relevant theory, complemented by a practical skills session to apply the knowledge in a simulated environment, utilising mannequins. Every acute ward area of my clinical practice involved the care of patients with intravenous infusions, which included caring for children while the intravenous cannula was inserted, and then monitoring and care of the intravenous cannula site, and of the infusion itself. This skill was therefore not only a basic skill for nursing competence throughout my training, but also an important opportunity to promote health, prevent infection, and was fundamental to other aspects of care and tre atment. Over the three years, I first learned how to set up an intravenous infusion, safely and in a sterile manner, how to check the infusion, and how to check the infusion rate manually (ie, without the use of an infusion pump, although infusion pumps are standard best practice in children’s nursing). During clinical practice, I learned how to support a child during the cannula insertion, monitor the site, check the infusion and infusion rate, set up and check different types of infusion pumps, and how to change the IV line (which must be changed regularly). I also learned complementary skills such as drug and dosage calculations for infusions, and fluid balance calculations, both of which required numeracy skills Feelings: what were you thinking and feeling? Throughout my training, management of intravenous infusions was stressful, but in particular, the associated aspects of care were challenging. Supporting children who have intravenous infusions is problematic, particularly as the experience is often painful and distressing for them. Carrying out drug calculations was terrifying at the beginning of my training, and even by the end, despite increased competence and confidence, I would still have more than one colleague check calculations and dosage rates, and check infusion rates on pumps, to ensure I had made the correct calculations. I felt very lacking in confidence in this area. I also felt that while I focused on safety aspects of IVI use, including risk management and prevention of infection via the IV site, other colleagues did not seem to pay so much attention to this aspect of care. Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? It was good that I identified important aspects of this clinical skill, and the complexities of practice surrounding it. What was not so good was the lack of transparency in colleague’s practice, particularly in my earlier clinical placements. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? I became aware during my reflection on this element of my learning that it was very much something which became assimilated into the almost intuitive elements of nursing competence (Benner, 1984). This was because apart from the elements of the process which had been identified as distressing for the child, such as cannula insertion and removal, managing the IVI had become ‘second nature’, and checking the line, site and rate of the pump were activities that the qualified nurse carried out without any overt signifying of the action, as part of her interactions around the patient/bedside. Thus, making this overt was almost counter-intuitive. Certainly, it appeared to me that many staff did not record these observations every time they were made, and that they did not always communicate these observations to others, including me, as a student. As a student, a learner, I was required to take more time over such observations, to note their significance, and to evaluate their place within my nursing work. I was required to develop specific skills around the use of IV infusions and the management of whatever medication or fluid was being infused. This was a protracted learning process, which developed throughout the three years. I learned the importance of this for my practice. â€Å"Possible complications associated with short peripheral venous access include infiltration of infused fluids (nonvesicants) into the surrounding tissue, extravasation of vesicant medications or blood into the surrounding tissue, and phlebitis† (Hinkle and Hadaway, 2006 p 122). The clinical skill here also, therefore, included the component of determining when such complications had occurred. I also had to learn to observe for infusion reactions, which could range from mild to severe (Hinkle and Hadaway, 2006). Competency can be viewed as behaviours which are achieved or approved of in relation to the completion of a task, and competency is described in relation to that task (Gonczi, 1993). However, developing competence in IVI management is much more than simple task proficiency, and this may be true of much of professional competence in nursing (Preston and Walker, 1993). Not only does it appear that no single clinical requirement can be reduced to single task, but also, competence in that task may be affected by other contextual factors, including the presence of others, and how their contribution or lack of it can affect performance of clinical actions (Ashworth and Saxton, 1990). If we view competence as the ability to manage any situation holistically, making use of collaboration with colleagues (Meretoja et al, 2002), then even this process of reflecting on a clinical skill is very limiting, because the skill alone does not signify the whole of the learning process associated with th at area of practice throughout my training. One of the important elements of learning around this particular skill, however, was the gradual recognition of my own competence, which was signified most clearly when I no longer become ‘overt’ about assessing the IVI and monitoring it, but carried out this activity as part of my practice, almost automatically. Here, the skill had many facets, but this kind of ease was never achieved with the drug/dosage/infusion rate calculations. Numeracy competence is important for nurses, and nurses are required to demonstrate acceptable levels of numeracy in order to qualify (Bath et al, 1993). However, this was an area I struggled with, not because I had ever considered I had difficulties with numeracy, but because applying numeracy to clinical situations seemed to make drug calculations much harder. Over time, I found that if I visualised the calculations myself first, and wrote them out longhand, then checked them with a calculator, I usually reached the right conclusion, which showed that my own learning style influenced my ability to come to the right answer(Bath et al, 1993; Galligan, 2001). Hinchliff (2004) descrives Bloom’s (1972) learning domains, and this learning experience, throughout the three years, involved all three areas: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. In relation to the cognitive domain, I learned knowledge to underpin practice, consolidated this knowledge over time. In relation to psychomotor skills, these were about the practical ability to carry out necessary procedures and actions, including running fluids through an IV line, identifying, choosing, priming and setting up the correct line for the correct infusion pump, and the skills around removal of the cannula and dressing of the cannula after insertion, along with changing an IV bag. The affective domain refers to the attitude formation, which can be seen above to be about a positive attitude but an internalisation of much of the knowledge and practice to the point that aspects of these procedures became almost innate. It became apparent that this clinical skill could not be viewed in isolation, and also incorporated a great deal of discussion with the family and the patient, and in the case of most children, informing them of the need to take care of the IV line, and educating them about infection control, thus engaging them in their own care and in their own health promotion (Long et al, 2008). Prevention of trauma to the IV cannula or site, and ensuring maintenance of patency of the cannula and line, are important in minimising the amount of times the cannula needs to be resited, which is desirable because of how distressing this procedure is for most babies and children (Thomas, 2007). I became aware of this after viewing resiting of cannulae in a number of patients, most often due to either traumatic accidental removal. 2. Professional Skill Development: Communication in Practice: The Nursing Handover. What Happened During the three years of training, communication was identified as a professional skill, and it soon became apparent that this skill formed the basis of the majority of nursing actions and roles. Because of the complexity of communication in nursing practice, during this reflection I chose to focus on one aspect, that of providing handover for a designated patient, or group of patients, under my care, to the nurse taking over care. Engaging in this activity was a significant aspect of my development. Initially, in the first clinical placements, I observed this taking place, but did not really understand all the components of the process. Over time, I was encouraged by mentors to provide the handover report myself, and I found this demanded communication and information processing skills perhaps unique to the process and to the situation. I discovered that I needed to know the terminology and abbreviations used, the format of the report, and to remember the patient information and pr ovide a comprehensive report that did not omit important elements of care. During the initial experiences of this, I did miss out elements of care, but was always supported by a mentor who could augment my limited report and ensure patient needs were communicated. However, by the end of my clinical experiences I was expected to provide reports myself, and I did so, but became increasingly aware of the limitations of this form of communication, and of how it had become ritualised in practice (Strange, 1996). Understanding the nature of this element of communication became an important element of my learning, perhaps because I had found it so difficulty initially Feelings: what were you thinking and feeling? During successive experiences of handover, I came to a growing realisation that the format and nature of the handover report was not only extremely ritualised (Strange, 1996), but also constituted a unique form of communication, with certain expected behaviours and standardised formats. However, I started to feel, quite early on, that information was not necessarily being fully communicated, and I found myself increasingly frustrated with the process, because instead of providing a comprehensive report, it was more a kind of focused tick list of tasks, which did not really relate to my concept of holistic approaches to nursing care. I found myself learning how to give a ‘proper’ handover but wishing I could give a ‘good’ handover. Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? The good aspects of this experience were the fact that I was able to identify what was happening, and able to realise that I was frustrated with the process of handover, and the way it had become habitual. This prompted me to explore the evidence base surrounding this important aspect of nursing communication, which then enhanced my understanding. However, to cite what was bad about the experience, I must focus on the limitations of the process, because it made me feel that the handovers were, quite often, inadequate, and very limited, reducing patients to a list of problems and actions. Having said this, it also became apparent that handovers conducted at the patient’s bedside were an entirely different entity, and that communicating at the bedside included the patient and their family in the handover, and made them much more holistic and comprehensive. But it may not be appropriate to do this in all situations. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Developing professional skills is part of the complex acquisition of nursing competence, and this process can be viewed as an apprenticeship of sorts (Benner, 1984). Much of the professional competence that is assessed during nurse training is related to the standards set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2004), and are realised through a process of learning, negotiation and assessment which predominantly occurs through clinical practice. While a lot of this learning is directed and planned, development is through experiential processes, as in this case, in the development of the required verbal communication skills for providing ‘handover’ report. This emerged as a significant area of practice for me, particularly in relation to responsibility and autonomy after the transition from student nurse to staff nurse, because of the different expectations of the latter role. While in relation to performance, clinical skill and professional skill, the senior studen t nurse and the newly qualified staff nurse are similar, in relation to role and responsibility, and expectation, there is a sudden shift and competence takes on new meaning for the newly qualified nurse (Wade, 1999). Thus, I can see that my concerns about the nursing handover, and my ability to provide an appropriate, comprehensive report, were very clearly linked to this notion of responsibility, because a poor handover could impact on patient care (Sexton et al, 2004). The nursing handover report is a process which involved the communication of key information about patients on the ward, care plans, actions and imminent needs, and about the stage of their care journey (McKenna, 1997). It usually occurs as a communication between nurses at the point of shift change (McKenna, 1997), but it can also take place when a patient is transferred from one clinical area to another. According to Hopkinson (2003) the nursing handover is an important and significant activity in the hospital setting, relating to the proper management of care and the provision of continuity of care (Kerr, 2002). Although handovers have the same basic function, I have observed that they can vary from ward to ward, but that within each location, they seem to have a certain format or shape. While in some areas tape recorded handovers are used, in others, the staff provide a handover at each bedside. More commonly, handover occurs in a designated room (to ensure confidentiality), and may then in some circumstances be followed by a ward round to introduce the next shift to the patients and their family. It is important to include the family in this communication, because most sick children are accompanied by a parent or carer during their stay in hospital, for a large proportion of the time. The nurse may either hand over the care of one patient, a group of patients, or the entire ward, if they have been the nurse in charge of the ward for that shift. This requires that the nurse providing the report must have a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the patients, their needs and diagnoses, trea tments, and any pending results or procedures. Not only is it a process of communicating this information, it is also the time when colleagues might ask questions about care, and therefore also serves to demonstrate what the nurse has achieved, or not achieved, during the preceding time period, and tests the nurse’s knowledge of the patients. Yet some evidence suggests that handovers are limited and undermined by forumulaic approaches to providing the information, by incomplete communication, use of cryptic terminology, jargon and abbreviation, and can require that nurses have ‘socialized knowledge’ in order to understand them (Payne et al, 2000). Thus, it can be difficult for the student, or even the newly qualified staff nurse, to fully understand this communication because they perhaps are not fully socialised into the clinical area. Terminology and units of language may acquire different significance in specific areas of practice (Payne et al, 2000). Another identified limitation is the tendency to prioritise biomedical and physical aspects of care, reducing the patient to their disease and its treatment (Payne et al, 2000). The handover forms the initial part of the process of care planning for the nursing staff taking over care, although this is supplemented by a thorough examination of the patient records, and discussion with the patient and family. Having observed and participated in such processes, it is understandable that this communicative act developed some significance for me in relation to professional development, particularly in relation to future practice as a qualified staff nurse. Competence takes on new meaning at this transition (Amos, 2001; Ashworth and Saxton, 1990), because it signifies the point when I have to become responsible and accountable for my own actions, with no one else to cover any inadequacies or mistakes (Gerrish, 2000). Because it is viewed as a fundamental component of good quality nursing care (Pothier et al, 2005), ‘getting it right’ is understandably important. Handover can be viewed as a communicative act from a number of perspectives. It provides a forum for discussion, debate and questioning, as well as expressing one’s views and feelings about a particular case or cases (Hopkinson, 2002), which to me suggests that it is more than simply the presenting of information, but is also a form of self-expression for the nurse. However, it’s main purpose is to provide the information that nurses will then use to formulate their plans for care and their prioritisation of their workload for that shift (Hopkinson, 2002). For example, in one handover a colleague did not inform staff that a chest X-ray had been carried out, which meant that the next shift ordered another chest-X ray with resultant delays and confusion. Providing a good quality handover may be more significant than ever in the current clinical paediatric nursing environment, where every aspect of healthcare appears to have become more complex, requiring more multiprofessional input and collaboration, and in which patients are subject to complex and multifactorial assessments (Pothier et al, 2005). There is some evidence to suggest, however, that important patient information can be lost during the shift handover (Pothier et al, 2005), which reinforces my own conclusions about this communication. This may not, however, be due to simple acts of omission, but also due to the culture of ward areas and the ways in which nurses behave and exercise power, albeit a small degree of power, over the information they possess (Hardey et al, 2000). Some research suggests that the handover process is where tensions an institutionally-derived conflicts and drivers for nurses can become evident (Parker et al, 1992). It would seem that it is more tha n a simple process of dialogic communication (Kerr, 2002), but also serves a range of other functions, including social and protective functions (Strange, 1996). To me, this knowledge and understanding of the deeper and wider aspects of communication, of what is being communicated, how and why, during this process, signifies the journey of learning and development as a student nurse. Initially, I was the novice, viewing this process as a mere interchange of key information. Gradually, however, I developed an intuitive knowledge of the handover and its communicative role, intuition based on experience and on the processing of a range of cues and sources of information (Benner, 1984), leading to a degree of awareness that the handover signified more than simply an exchange of facts. It demonstrates competence in communication, but in adherence to cultural roles and expectations, and the ability to mange the competing demands and tensions of the nursing role (Kerr, 2002). Thus it empha sises a shared valued system amongst the nurses within the given context (Lally, 1999), which in some ways can demonstrate competence and acceptance, of me by qualified colleagues, signifying I have achieved nurse status, but also which can mean an enforced compliance with local behaviours and expectations which may be at odds with my own philosophy and principles of professionalism. Therefore, I realised that the communication skills of the nursing handover are both verbal and personal, involving managing myself, managing information, and managing the work environment and my colleagues (Lathlean and Corner, 1991). Achieving competence in the effective verbal communication skills associated with the handover is problematic, because from all that I have learned through my education, and my exposure to the ideals of professional nursing, the handover should be a detailed, comprehensive communication delivered without jargon or abbreviations, and which is inclusive of the patient and their carers. However, the conventions of the handover in different areas may oppose this. This is an area of development identified as important for my personal development plan. Conclusions The first conclusion I draw from this reflection is that it is impossible to see any area of nursing competence, or any clinical skill, as a discrete entity or area of practice. Every skill and professional role is inextricably linked with others, with aspects of practice, with other skills, demonstrating the complexity of practice and of the learning and development processes which lead me towards expertise and confidence, as well as basic competence. As I have demonstrated above, managing an intravenous infusion involved a range of skills and actions, including numeracy calculations, risk management and prevention, health promotion, patient support and education, care planning, and communication. Thus, it becomes evident that what may be identified as a discrete clinical skill intersects with multiple areas of practice and competence. This perhaps reflects holistic models of nursing, because it demonstrates that the nurse cannot deconstruct practice to such an extent as to make it fully task oriented, due to these intersections and the interconnectivity of different tasks. It would appear, from my reflections, that the ideals of ‘holism’ which are expounded in relation to nursing ideologies and philosophies can be viewed on the ‘micro’ level in practice, as well as the ‘macro’ level of the nursing philosophy. Every part of clinical practice is an element of a complex, yet connected, ’whole’, and therefore, competence in every part of practice is important in order to provide optimal standards of care in every respect. This is an important realisation for me, and one which I believe to be appropriate for this stage of my development. It might be that coming to this realisation earlier on in my professional development journey would have been too overwhelming. Coming to this realisation now, when I can signpost my own learning, development and competence, is more motivating than challenging, because it underl ines my commitment to providing the best possible care that I can, which in turn must be based on ongoing professional development, diligence and a focus on the patient’s needs. The second conclusion I draw from my reflective processes is that while a reflective cycle can guide reflection, it cannot provide the answers to the questions that are raised. The value of reflection lies in the ability to take those questions, answer them honestly, and to seek out the knowledge and information required to explore those answers in relation to practice as well as in relation to the self. As with my previous point, the process of professional development has led me to understand my role as one aspect of a greater whole, a complex network of professionals and roles, where roles and activities may overlap, but where the competence of each individual contributes to the whole, and where, if one component is missing, or lacking in some way, the whole is affected. If my communication skills are insufficient, this affects the work of others, their ability to meet patients’s needs, which impacts, sometimes significantly, on patient wellbeing and the patient experience. For children, who are perhaps the most vulnerable patient group, the impact is likely to be greatest. Therefore, reflection is no mere academic exercise, it is the means by which I can remind myself of my place within this network, and value my contributions whilst also appreciating the responsibility of my future position. Again, this is a motivation to provide excellence in practice, to ensure the continued quality of the whole. While the development of nursing expertise is viewed as a foundation to professionalism (Hodkinson and Issit, 2004), I would argue that expertise is still poorly defined because in nursing it is very complex, and the intersections of various domains of practice are blurred, such that, for example, clinical skills are inseparable from other skills. Personal effectiveness in the nursing role may be more important in terms of professional development (Hodkinson and Isset, 2004). There are implications of this, however, for my role as a newly qualified staff nurse, because the change in expectations (on my own part and on others’), may lead to challenging transitions and some degree of reality shock (Evans, 2001). My reflections here have identified the fact that the socio-occupational integration into my qualified role is probably the most problematic (Evans, 2001). However, it is apparent that having engaged in a good degree of reflective practice throughout my training, I have developed the skills to be able to analyse and reflect upon experiences and situations, and to take this reflection further, by applying theory and evidence to my own practice. This requires not only a great degree of professionalism, but a commitment to ongoing professional development, preparing myself for the transition (Yonge, 2002), and continuing to view my working life as a continual process of learning and development. References Agnew, T (2005) Words of wisdom. Nursing Standard 20(6),pp24-26 Amos, D. (2001) An evaluation of staff nurse role transition. Nursing Standard 16 (3) 36-41 Andrews, M., Gidman, J. and Humphreys, A. (1998) Reflection: does it enhance professional nursing practice?. British Journal of Nursing 7(7) 413-7. Ashworth, P. and Saxton, J. (1990).On competence. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 14, 3-25. Bath, J.B., Blais, K. (1993). Learning style as a predictor of drug dosage calculation ability. Nursing Educator 18(1), 33-36. Beaney, A.M., Black, A., Dobson, C.R. et al (2005) Development and application of a ris

An Analysis of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Essays -- GDP Economy Econ

An Analysis of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The current state of the economy in the United States has been slow in recent months. While the economy is not currently in a recession, we may eventually fall victim to the first recession we’ve had in nearly ten years. The economy in general is showing growth, just not much. It will be difficult to predict what exactly will happen to the US economy in the future. Many economists do not agree on what will become of the economy. Some feel that we will begin a recession over the next year, and some feel that there is significant policy implementation that will allow us to dodge a recession and regain our economic strength. There are many factors that make up the US economy. The means in which I will discuss the overall growth and current status of the economy is by analyzing the Gross Domestic Product, and discuss the factors that cause it to rise and fall. The GDP is the total aggregate income of the United States. It is comprised of consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports. The GDP in the fourth quarter of 2000 grew at a 1.1% annual rate, the lowest since a 0.8% increase in the second quarter of 1995. The below par performance in GDP is due to those factors that comprise the GDP. The most important of which is consumption. Consumption in the United States has been less than expected mainly due to low consumer confidence. Consumer confidence has hit a 10 year low with an index of 106.8 as reported by Alan Greenspan. In the past 2 months the index number has plummeted nearly 22 points, the biggest decrease since the 1990-1991 recession. The reason for this recent drop in consumer confidence is due to several key factors. One factor is the poor performance of the stock market. The Dow Jones is down from its peak that was hit last year, but has now rebounded slightly. The Nasdaq took a dive with the decrease in t he prices of tech stocks. The Nasdaq has fallen nearly 56% from its peak in March of 2000. The Wilshire 5000, which is a broader market, is also down by about 22%. Also a factor in dropping consumer confidence is the fear of more layoffs by major employers. The media has paid a lot of attention to large layoffs of companies, yet the labor markets still remain fairly tight. The natural rate of unemployment in the US is approximately 5%, which is higher than the actual rate... ...ints on congress never materialized. If the rate of domestic spending had risen at the same rate as inflation, at the end of his presidency, the government would have had a surplus of almost 250 billion dollars. The way that supply-side economics works is by increasing the disposable income of the taxpayer, which will inevitably increase consumption. The theory is that if people get to retain more of the money that they earn they will work better and longer thus increasing productivity as well as the quality of goods. President Bush’s tax cut plan if done correctly will help greatly to get the US economy to increase its growth. So is the United States in a recession? The answer is no it isn’t. The US has had a period of sluggish growth, but still it has been positive. The economy will have to grow at a negative rate over the next two quarters in order for the US to be in a recession. But is there cause for concern that a recession may occur? Yes there is, but the government’s interventions should keep the US from falling victim to recession. I believe that the economy will eventually pick itself back up and avoid a recession. The GDP will once again grow at a quick pace.

Druigs And Sports :: essays research papers

When athletes use drugs In many schools athletes are required to sign a contract in order to play sports. The contracts include of many rules and regulations that prohibit activities that will jeopardize the athlete's performance. The use of drugs and alcohol are strictly forbidden. Vandalism and other actions that would result in any type of illegal happenings is also banned. The main problem with the contracts is that the students don't always obey them. Many athletes will still go out and party and drink and smoke and get into other activities that will harm their minds and bodies. "Stimulants" are drugs that stimulate the central nervous system and produce an increase in alertness and activity. They include caffeine, cocaine, and the amphetamines. The amphetamines are composed of three closely related drugs that stimulate the central nervous system and promote a feeling of alertness and an increase in speech and general physical activity. Some people take these drugs under medical supervision to control their appetite, but many of these drugs are used at parties to "get high." Overuse and abuse have been associated with all of the stimulant drugs, but risks are the greatest with the amphetamines and cocaine. Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain and often induce sleep. Narcotics include opium and drugs derived from opium, such as morphine, codeine, and heroin. Narcotics also include certain synthetic chemicals that have a morphine-like action, such as methadone. Most of these drugs will leave a lasting effect for more then one day. Like a hangover from alcohol, these drugs will make you extremely tired or even sick the next day. Drugs are prohibited by athletic departments because they alter your performance. If an athlete uses one of these drugs they can have lasting effect on them sometime during a game or at practice. All drugs are illegal, and by athletes using them they set a bad example. Many younger students look up to the "star" athletes in a school and if they use drugs that is not a good impression to make.

In Jane Harrisons play Stolen Essay

In Jane Harrison’s play, ‘Stolen’, the characters of Ruby, Anne and Jimmy are utilised in order to position the audience to feel sympathetic towards those affected by the ‘Stolen Generation’. Through her plot Harrison is able to demonstrate the pain faced by the characters. Furthermore, through her script, she is also able to show the mental disintegration of the characters throughout time. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the ways in which she has used these particular facets of her play in order to rouse the emotions of the audience. Jane Harrison utilizes the script of the play ‘Stolen’ to position the audience to feel sympathy for Anne. Anne is an aboriginal female who, adopted at a young age by a white Australian family. Anne was chosen by the white couple because ‘she was by far the best’ (THE CHOSEN pg 7). Anne is seen to have a ‘good upbringing’ (THE CHOSEN pg 7) compared to the other characters in ‘Stolen’. She receives a ‘sense of security’ (THE CHOSEN pg 7) and ‘a good education’ (THE CHOSEN pg 7), but Harrison reveals to the audience that Anne has to confront problems that none of the other characters have to face. Later on in the play, Anne is confused when she asks the question ‘Am I Black or White?’ (AM I BLACK OR WHITE? pg 28). Anne is torn between her origin and the people she has been brought up with. Harrison demonstrates this theme of ‘not belonging anywhere ‘through the script. Phrases such as ‘We’ve given you everything’ (AM I BLACK OR WHITE? pg 28) opposed to ‘But we’re your real family’ (AM I BLACK OR WHITE? pg 28). Harrison creates a binary opposition between the aboriginals, Anne’s blood and race, and the white Australians. Anne is rejected from both families, thus being rejected from everyone she knows, not belonging anywhere. Therefore, Harrison presents her view to the audience that even though Anne was better of materially compared to the other characters she had to experience a different type of pain that the other characters in ‘Stolen’ do not have to encounter. Harrison portrays the message that all children of the ‘Stolen Generation’ suffered, physically and/or mentally. Harrison uses the character Ruby to show the audience how mentally affected a child from the ‘Stolen Generation’ can be. Ruby was taken away from her family at a young age, just like many other children of the ‘Stolen Generation’. Harrison positions the audience to see that Ruby had to go through hard times as a child in the orphanage. In the scene ‘UNSPOKEN ABUSE 1’ (pg 8), Ruby has come back from a weekend away with a white family, the other children are curious and ask Ruby â€Å"What else did ya do?† (UNSPOKEN ABUSE 1, pg 8), and Ruby replies with â€Å"Promised not to tell† (UNSPOKEN ABUSE 1, pg 8). The audience does not know what happened to Ruby on that weekend but by the language Harrison has used, it seems that whatever actions that occurred on that weekend had affected Ruby had changed her. Harrison shows the audience in ‘RUBY COMFORTING HER BABY’ (pg. 9), that Ruby was an ordinary girl who played ‘with her doll’ (RUBY COMFORTING HER BABY, pg. 9). This same scene also shows the audience the horrible memories that Ruby have in her young mind, as Ruby is nurturing her doll, she seems like she is pretending to be her own mother and the doll being her. Ruby tells her doll ‘I love you Ruby’ (RUBY COMFORTING HER BABY pg.9). When Ruby grows up and leaves the orphanage, she goes and works for a white family. One day, her family come to visit, but it is revealed to the audience that Ruby is mentally disabled and is not well. Ruby’s family want to take her home but Ruby replies â€Å"Don’t live in no home any more. I work for the Hardwick’s† (RUBY’S FAMILY COME TO VISIT, pg. 31). It is clearly shown that Ruby cannot see that those people are her family. Harrison displays to the audience that in Ruby’s mind, Ruby believes that she has no family, reinforcing the fact that the children of the ‘Stolen Generation’ suffered immensely. Harrison shows the audience throughout th e play, the downfall of Ruby’s mental state Jimmy is a character in the play ‘Stolen’, who is an aboriginal male who has experienced pain throughout the play and this is shown through the play with the Harrison’s use of the plot and script. The character Jimmy spent his childhood years in an orphanage. The audience see that Jimmy had been brought up with no parents, just like many of the other characters in ‘Stolen’. Like Ruby, Jimmy goes away with a white family for a weekend and comes back changed, more timid than before. Jimmy grows up and leaves the orphanage he enters a bar and some indigenous people recognised him as ‘Wajurri’ (JIMMY’S STORY, pg. 27), and they said they knew his mother. Jimmy comes to visit her but before he can meet his mother, she dies. Jimmy is so devastated that he kills himself to finally ‘go meet my mother’ (SANDY AT THE END OF THE ROAD, pg. 36). The characters Ruby, Jimmy and Anne have many similarities and differences throughout the play and Harrison uses these similarities and differences through the script and plot. Both Ruby and Anne eventually meet their families. At the end of the play, Anne is accepted by her aboriginal and white families, feeling a sense of belonging towards both of her families. The audience see that Ruby is become completely insane and even though she faces her family, she does not believe that it is her family and goes back to work. Jimmy does not get to meet his family. When Jimmy is grown up, he discovers that his mother is alive, but when he comes to visit her, he finds out that she has died. This was extremely traumatic for Jimmy, and he couldn’t endure the grief and resorts to ending his own life. Jimmy, Ruby and Anne all faced mentally enduring events at some point in their lives. But only the only happing ending out of these three characters is the one of Anne’s. Ruby’s end is a more tragic one, as she is permanently scarred from the events that have occurred to her in her life. Jimmy also suffers a tragic end as the he commits suicide. Harrison depicts the harshness and undergone by both of these characters. Ruby and Jimmy’s upbringing were very dissimilar in comparison to Anne’s, Anne living in a family that cared and provided for her, was contrasted by Harrison, towards Jimmy and Ruby’s lifestyle. Both Jimmy and Ruby were brought up in an orphanage with other aboriginal children whose families were also taken away from them. The play ‘Stolen’, written by Jane Harrison shows the audience the hardship undergone by the characters, Ruby, Jimmy and Anne. Though they are different in many aspects, these characters share the pain of not knowing where to belong and this is shown by Harrison puts forward this idea through her use of the plot and the script. WORKS CITED Harrison, Jane. Stolen. (3rd rev. Edition) Strawberry Hills: Currency Press, 2007