Thursday, October 31, 2019

Classic Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classic Literature - Essay Example ered around male characters, female characters are able to take on central roles as well and are frequently seen in positions of authority or importance even within the stories of the heroes. These themes, the importance of family and a different role for women than the traditional values of the Victorian age, can be traced through the works of three of the most popular Greek authors, Sophocles, Euripedes and Homer. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the action opens as Oedipus is approached by plague-stricken masses asking help from him as king. When he sees his people gathered around him as if he were a god, his response to them is paternalistic and godlike. His pride in his role is evident in the words he speaks in which he seems to be almost condescending to them for appealing to other forces than himself in their burning of incense to cloud the air. Throughout the remainder of the action, Oedipus’ personality clearly reflects a continued pride and a determination to maintain his family relationship within his nuclear unit as well as throughout his kingdom. A great deal of his story is actually predicated on an attempt to save his family. When Oedipus learned of his own prediction that he was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, he was determined to avoid this fate by taking his future in his own hands. He left his homeland in Corinth for the further realm of Thebes. Howeve r, when he is able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, a task that had not been accomplishable by anyone else, his natural pride in his own abilities rose to a new level. This pride is reinforced by the fact that he then became the king of Thebes and married Jocasta, the widowed queen of Thebes. Unfortunately, as it is discovered toward the end of the play, this widowed queen was the wife of the man Oedipus killed on the road, who turned out to be his own father. This made his wife his mother and himself the vile criminal he was seeking. After the disgrace he had

Monday, October 28, 2019

Serving Newton Essay Example for Free

Serving Newton Essay At the start of the years University Physics 1 degree course, the Physics Professor looked at the motley crew filling the lecture theatre. He knew some students were destined to survive, while others would drop-out. In a rather callous way, the professor wrote-off the previous twelve years of the students scientific education before introducing the course. Writing on the board just four symbols, he continued saying The single most important equation in the Universe is, F = m a . The experience could be likened to watching the rector at church, singing the praises of the most exalted one. From this equation he said, everything else, all other forces are derived, forces including motion, gravity, electrostatics and magnetism. This can be experimentally proven over-and-over again as a Law of Nature, as a Universal truth. But this was no rector, this was the bishop, the professor himself outlining Newtons laws of motion, showing the magic relationships that exist in the sciences. The Universe seemed to make sense at that moment, but then his reverent attitude turned. He introduced into this overview scheme of things, three body gravitational systems. At this point, he stated that Newtons laws failed, for this is where Einsteins approximations come into their own, for only they can accurately predict and solve the forces that exist between three or more bodies in the Universe. Something appeared to be very incorrect; for this did not ring true. It seemed impossible that a law of Nature, a known Universal Truth, could be wrong? The professor was expressing the common cosmological opinion that Newtons laws of gravity are deeply troubled, if not wrong, yet he found it amusing that cosmologists could not suggest any mechanism to explain gravity or to improve gravitational theory. To conclude his introduction to Physics 1, the professor said, Terrestrially, the laws of Physics work, but when one talks about matters cosmological, Newtons laws fail miserably, giving-way to Einsteins relativity. This statement appeared to be more contradiction than Science. The Earth exists as a tiny speck of dark matter, orbiting with the Moon around a rather common star. As the Earth is part of the Solar System, located in The Galaxy, situated in the Universe, what then, makes the Earth so different to any other cosmological body? How can Newtons laws only apply here? Surely, if Newtons laws fail miserably in the rest of the cosmos, they must fail here? For any law to be a Natural law, then the law must apply universally, throughout the entire cosmos, where-ever there is matter. How can Newtons laws be called Natural laws when they fail? Only one theory can be true, or the accepted theories must be wrong. If both are incorrect then some other law must universally apply. It is important to contemplate some historical facts about Newtons laws of motion. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1747) was a man and as such made mistakes, not just in life, but also in his mathematics, language and science. At the start of his academic career, the Great Plague (1666) closed the Universities, so he left Cambridge to work on his own in the country. Newton taught himself mathematics from just four books and within a year, was making valuable contributions to mathematics and science. When it came to logarithms and The Calculus, Newton had to invent them, developing his own ideas and concepts, or he had to encompass, correct and modify the works of others. Words like mass and energy were not contemplated in this period. There was no one available to teach Newton how to use these methods and equally, there was no-one who could correct or confirm his work. Newton sourced much theory from the works of others and when they seemed true, accepted such mistakes as well. He modified their concepts and ideas into his own constructs. His laws of motion corrected the discoveries of Galileus Galileus (the English xenoym is Galileo Galilei), using deduction and fluxions (The Calculus). Galileus did not include the objects initial motion u. t when he wrote the distance equation s = 1/2 at 2. Newtons correction made sense, where a minor change , s = ut + 1/2 at 2 , bestowed credit on him. Prior to Galileus discovery, the belief was that when a cannon fired a shot, the shell was given impetus by the detonation of the gunpowder. The shell would use up all this impetus as it rose, then fall to the ground when the impetus ran out.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Reflective Essay On Breaking Bad News To Patients Nursing Essay

Reflective Essay On Breaking Bad News To Patients Nursing Essay Im writing a reflective essay based on Gibbs model of refection, this is a six stage evaluation process and promotes good practice through evaluation of experiences, aids learning and better understanding on how to deal with similar situations in future practice, the six stages comprise of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and finally an action plan (Gibbs, 1998). The department of health (DoH) advises primary care, to use reflective practice and encourages integrated working with all professional within the community and hospitals of the local trust (DoH, 2000), which is incorporate in my reflection. All names and identities have been changed to maintain confidentially in accordance with the code of conduct (NMC, 2009). I will explore an experience I had whilst based in a local trust hospital, discussing a situation that I felt uncomfortable with and unsure how to manage emotionally, psychologically and professionally. This situation evolved after a patient had been giving bad news by a doctor and talks about the events after this occurred. I feel it is important to discuss breaking bad news as this area of communication is often an area that even the professional person finds difficult (Brewin, 1998). The inter-professional teams all have different education and preparation leading to different views as to how the subject should be managed and the best way to break bad news. Schildman et al. (2005) stated there is a need for specific education on breaking bad news, ensuring all professionals where proficient in this area with an aim to improve skills and continuity. By bad news Buckman (1984) described as any information given that is likely to dramatically alter a patients view of their future. The bad news that is delivered may not be about terminal illness or death but could be a lifestyle altering condition like diabetes, heart disease or HIV (Peate, 2006). Arber Gallagher (2004) defined bad news as any information given that is not welcome. Traditionally delivering bad news has been considered the doctors role, despite having little education or preparation in this area (Vandekieft, 2001). Although a nurse may not be delivering bad news directly, it is an inescapable part of healthcare (Price, 2006) and an integral part of their role (Tobin Begley, 2008). It is however, important to remember that the role of breaking bad news is not the responsibility of just one profession but should be a shared responsibility with all the inter-professionals within the multi disciplinary team (Jevon, 2010). Mr M, 72 year old male, admitted to the ward and initially presented with intense intermittent pain in pelvic area and legs. After several investigations with other hospital inter-professional teams Mr M underwent tests such as x-rays, cat scans and MRI scans. This led to a diagnosis that Mr M had bone and lung metastases, this is also known as secondary cancer. Metastatic cancer occurs when the cancer cells breaks from the primary site, relocate to another area of the body and then forms secondary tumours (American Cancer Society, 2010). Cancer is deemed as the most feared diagnosis in todays society (Kalber, 2009). The junior doctor had discussed these results with Mr M, whilst he remained on the ward and without another member of staff with him during the conversation. It is suggested that bad news should be delivered to the patient by someone they know (Lomas et al, 2004). This leads to a much debated subject as to who should break bad news (Brewin, 1998), due to the belief that some doctors are not well prepared and have lack of training and preparation for this task (Vandekeift, 2001). Whereas, the nurses have more communication with the patient and can build a better rapport (Jevon, 2010). The doctor with Mr M should have made him aware, that he had terminal cancer but we were unable to verify this. The written information in Mr Ms notes where thought by the nurses to be to brief and therefore not well recorded due to a lack of in-depth detail but the doctor could argue the notes were ok, they had acknowledge he had spoken to Mr M about his results. After the doctors consultation Mr M was positive and upbeat and still trying to do as much as he could for himself. Later that day he had spoken to me stating that the doctor wanted to run more test, informing me that they were going to look for the primary cancer site as this may be treatable. My intrinsic feeling was that Mr M thought he could be cured. This made me feel awkward and uncomfortable being around him and I found it difficult to know what to say to him, as I was aware of his terminal diagnosis. I was unsure as to what information the doctor had told Mr M or if the doctor had checked he had understood. As doctors have different education and views than the nursing staff it leads to professional indifferences. Mr Ms behaviour may have been his way of coping and could have indicated that he was in denial. Denial is a way for the individual to cope and regain some control, when bad news is delivered leading to an uncontrollable situation like a diagnosis of terminal illness (Burgess, 1994). I felt as if I was withholding information from him that he should be aware of. This made me feel as if I was lying to Mr M, something I was uncomfortable with and I felt compromised ethically, as I was more that aware of his rights to be informed and my code of conduct that states I should be open and honest (NMC, 2008). This made me want to avoid conversation with Mr M as I was unsure how to manage the situation and was worried in case he asked me any questions, as this could have led to further distress to myself or Mr M. However, it is normal when giving or receiving bad news to feel psychological distress but if supported and managed well you can avoid damaging long terms effects (Fukui et al, 2009). I had discuss with nurse in charge that I had concerns about Mr M and queried if he had definitely been told of his terminal diagnosis. Mr Ms mood and behaviour was monitored by the nursing staff over the next two weeks, with occasional subtle prompts for him to a sk any questions or to comment on how he felt. After this time the palliative care team were informed of Mr Ms situation and invited to the ward by the nursing team, to talk to Mr M and explain his illness was terminal, help him acknowledge this and start to come to terms with his situation and prepare himself and his family with what was to come. The palliative care team have more experience and practice in communication with those diagnosed with terminal cancer. The terminal patient can experience many different emotions (Peate, 2006), these have been studied by Kulber-Ross in the 1960s and Murry-Parkes in the 1980s. They both suggest that there are five stages of grief and structured these into models of bereavement (sometime known as the grief cycle). Kulber-Ross (1969) stated that not every person will react in the same way or go through all the stages in order. The five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression or grief and then Acceptance. A dying patient will often go through these stages whilst coming to terms with their own death (Kulber-Ross, 1969). I felt it was good that Mr M had taken onboard some of the information the doctor had told him and he was in good spirits and trying to do as much as possible. That Mr M was able to communicate well with the nursing team and had benefited from the expertise, kindness and knowledge from all the inter-professional teams from the porters who regularly moved Mr M and showed patience and understanding regarding his pain, to the reassurance given him by the radiographers and their expertise to minimise his discomfort, pain and the palliative care team who showed patience and understanding and with their unique knowledge were able to help Mr M come to terms with his terminal cancer, understand it better and help him cope with his situation. All these people are specialist in their own fields and were involved with Mr Ms care amongst several others. It was good that personally I had built a good rapport with Mr M, which helped me to be aware of his behaviour and highlight my concerns with th e nurses. Enabling me to raise awareness and question the nurses as to if Mr M had been informed of his diagnosis or question was he in denial? I thought it was bad that no-one who had worked regularly with Mr M i.e. a nurse was with the doctor when he was told his diagnosis and that it was a junior doctor that Mr M did not know very well. The information about the discussion hadnt been recorded in detail, as to what was said and if Mr M had understood this information. So we had to make assumptions due to the lack of detail, we could only ascertain if Mr M was in denial through time. Also that I felt I had to avoid communication with Mr M as I found it difficult due to his terminal illness and was unsure what to say to him. I realised talking about dying directly with the dying patient an area I was uncomfortable with and felt unprepared for and therefore avoided the situation. This is echoed by Trovo de Arujo and de Silva (2004) where he suggested that many people will approach communication differently with a dying patient; this includes avoidance patterns, which may be due to difficulties in coping with human suffering a nd death. I have to assume the doctor had given Mr M the correct information about his diagnosis, which left the conclusion that Mr M had not fully understood this information or was in denial about his terminal cancer. I should have contacted the doctor who consulted with Mr M to ascertain as to how the information was given and how he felt Mr M had responded to this. Explaining Mr Ms current behaviour and his understanding that they were still looking for the cause of the cancer and this when located could be treated. This may have improved the situation, by leading to the doctor returning to re-explain to Mr M with another member of the ward. It is now thought that the doctor may not be the most appropriate person to give bad news and in some situations it may be better for a nurse to do this role (Resuscitation Council UK, 2006). If I was presented with a similar situation, I now feel I would manage the situation better, as I have learnt through reflection of these events. Sometimes caring for a dying patient can be daunting as in our nursing role we believe we are there to improve a patients health so they will get better (Peate, 2006) but the reality is we have a unique role to assist the patient to health or to a peaceful death (Henderson, 19996). Common sense and forward planning, the use of a structured model can help prevent any distress or communication disasters (Walker et al, 2001). I feel that the communication of bad news should be delivered to a patient avoiding medical terminology (Back et al, 2005), as this reduces misinterpretation (Innes, 2009). The inter-professional teams will benefit the individual by supporting each other and drawing on each others knowledge, helping to reduce long term distress (Fukui et al, 2009) or further avoidance of distressing situations. It is also important to be aware that every patient will react differently to bad news (Kulber-Ross, 1969) and to remember their family will also require lots of information and support at this time (Dougherty Lister, 2008).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Comparing Lamb to the Slaughter to The Speckled Band Essay -- English

Comparing Lamb to the Slaughter to The Speckled Band 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are both murder mysteries. Like most murder mysteries each of the stories have a murderer, a victim and characters acting in a suspicious or unusual way. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is a 20th century story about a woman called Mary who kills her husband, Patrick Maloney, using a leg of lamb. This seems quite surprising at first as she seems quite loving and devoted to him- 'she loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man.' However a lot of Mary Maloney's behaviour in the first scene does seem quite worrying and peculiar. It seems that she is almost obsessed with her husband and this is shown by the way she is constantly trying to please him. Although the murder is a crime of passion Mrs Maloney manages to deal with it quite well. She is very calculating when realising quite what she has done and providing herself with a convincing alibi. When the detectives arrive to investigate the murder they seem to be taking it very seriously, however they don't really seem to consider Mrs Maloney as a real suspect. There is one point in the story where one of the detectives says 'acted quite normal very cheerful impossible that she' but this is an idea which is soon discarded. After a while the attitude of the detectives becomes more relaxed and not so professional. Mrs Maloney takes advantage of this by asking the detectives to stay for dinner. She then goes on to feed them the leg of lamb thus destroying the evidence. There is a moment of irony towards the end because when talking about the murder weapon one of the detectives says 'Probably right under our very nose' just as they are eating the leg of lamb. ... ...and' and 'Lamb to the Slaughter' are very diverse. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' Mr and Mrs Maloney both lived in a 'warm and clean' home. The atmosphere is of a happy and content household. In 'The Speckled Band' the murder takes place in an old, grey, stone house. The setting seems colder and emptier. The fact that Roylott keeps animals such as cheetahs and baboons adds a darker adds a more sinister feel to the story. This is more typical of a murder mystery but it may not have seemed so unusual when it was first written in the 19th century. I think the author of ' Lamb to the Slaughter' wants the reader to see Mrs Maloney as quite cunning and deceitful. He does this by showing that Mrs Maloney can use the fact that she was married to Mr Maloney and that she is six months pregnant to her advantage. Holmes would probably not have fallen into this same trap.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Duck and Cover Essay

Duck and Cover The society we live in today is so different than that of World War II. In that era the biggest threat of destroying society was the atomic bomb. In these times of today we face so many different threats of terrorism from other countries and from within our own cities. Even more than just terrorism, today’s society faces some many threats from within itself, such as Ganges in the inner cities, to the fall of inner city government through the influence from the sales of illegal drugs. The survival of a nuclear act was and all ways will be one of society’s main concerns. The atomic boom was the center of fear because, the technology had just been discovered and other countries had the technology in their hands as will. The U.S. had no real protection for the people from being acted by other countries, for the most part it was a wait and see game played with the threats between two countries. It seem to have such an impact on the people of that time it changed their life styles, from saving money for the further too the build and stocking boom shelters in their back yards. Comparing the threat nuclear war to the threat of terrorism today is different in many was in that terrorism has many different faces. Today’s terrorism comes not only from other countries but also comes from within the U.S. from some of our own people. Like the students of World War II, the students of today are still being taught to duck and cover, not for the fear of a boom but for the fear of a fellow student are someone with a cause, coming into the class and shooting it up. Technology has grown so much society of today really has no fear from other countries but more from the terrorism within the U.S†¦ For some children of today duck and cover is practice in their own homes trying to stay safe from the threat, right outside of their own front door.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Fall of Troy essays

The Fall of Troy essays Edith Hamilton takes the love story of Cupid and Psyche, Love and Soul, from a Latin writer of the second century A.D., Apuleius, who, similar to Ovid, creates beautiful, entertaining tales. Consequently, the author uses the Latin names of the gods. The story of Cupid and Psyche represents the determined love between mortal and immortal. Psyche, the daughter of a king, held a beauty which excelled her sisters and every other maidens on the earth. Her shining beauty made her seem a very goddess consorting with mere mortals (92). Her surpassing beauty, known all over the earth, caused men from across the world to journey to gaze upon her with wonder and adoration as if she beheld immortality. Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, could not even measure up to the loveliness of this mortal. Her temples neglected, Venus becomes enraged; all the praises once hers were now given to a mere girl destined some day to die (92). The jealous goddess immediately turns to her son Cupid, against whose arrows there is no defense (92). She commands the God of Love to make Psyche fall in love with the most appalling, unpleasant creature in the world. Cupid, however, falls in love with her and feels as if he had shot one of his arrows into his own heart (93). Not only does he fall in love with her himself, but he also prevents anyone from falling in love with her. Strangely, both her sisters, indisputably inferior to her, married kings. The beautiful Psyche remains solitary, only admired, never loved (93). Meanwhile, Cupid deceivingly allows Venus to believe that Psyches ruin will soon arive. Psyches father, disturbed by his daughters loneliness, travels to an oracle of Apollo to ask for advice. The god, whom Cupid had begged for his help, expressed that Psyche, dressed in deepest mourning, must go t ...