Consequences of Technology

Matt Unick Prof. Rhone 11/15/12 ENG 101 Consequences of technology The most significant event in history has been argued by many scholars through the years. The industrial revolution, the renaissance, or even the Neolithic revolution all have been the top choices. One event that doesn’t get as much attention is the event that is happening in the world today. The world is going through a technology surge unlike ever before. It is an increasing advancement in technology with every passing day; some might look back at it as a modern day renaissance.The increasing advancements of today’s world has the potential benefits of creating a perfect modern society of; no illness, easily accessible transportation, and maximum efficiency. The potential of technology in today’s world were unrealistic thoughts a few decades ago. Though the positives of technology can lead to extraordinary opportunities the reliance on it will be the destruction of humanity. The negative aspects of technological advancements includes the extinction of simple survival instincts, technology is gradually making humans dumber, and creating an unhealthy increase in human beings.Technology is improving our everyday lifestyles and the efficiency of life itself, but relying on technology proves to be negative. The world has limited resources which means limited resources to fill our electricity. Without electricity most of the technology that is relied on will be useless. There will be no more ‘google it’ to provide information at any given moment. Simple activities used to survive hundreds of years ago are long forgotten. The processes of farming, hunting, gathering, finding natural medicine, and domesticating animals are now unknown to the common man.In Julia Davies article she discusses how dangerous it has become to rely on technology. â€Å"A year ago there was an explosion in Shrewsbury that knocked out the hospital's power for several hours. Some of the electri cal equipment did not work. The only people who did not panic were the older healthcare professionals because we were able to use ‘Look, Listen, Feel' and knew what was happening with our patients. † (Davies) She argues that professionals in the medical field don’t know how to take care of patients without the technology that’s given to them.Technology is extremely beneficial but Julia shows that relying on it proves it can be costly. Evidence also shows that technology has also been making us dumber. Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo have given us the power to grasp a world of information at any given moment. With the information at the tips of our fingers society as a whole should be moving towards a new stage of intellect; however it seems that the human mind is regressing. Nicholas G. Carr, the writer of the article â€Å"Is Google making us stupider? † argues the effects of the internet.Carr states the short term memory is stronger than before, yet the long term memory is slowly getting worse. The capacity to concentrate is being weakened through regular internet usage. â€Å"The faster we surf across the Web—the more links we click and pages we view—the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements. † Carr argues that the internet’s goal is to get users to move from link to link because it creates more capital for the company through advertisements. The last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought. It’s in their economic interest to drive us to distraction. †(Carr) This proves that our attention span is getting worse because of greedy companies wanting people to move from site to site as fast as possible. Using the internet has formed thinking differently and the thinking that’s used in how we use the internet is now being brought into society. C ritical thinking has been forgotten, the internet has changed how the mind works.Information isn’t absorbed, analyzed, or applied it is used only when needed, slowly making the human race dumber. Advancements in the medical field have increased within this technology surge era. The life expectancy for humans has changed a century ago from 50 years of age to around 76 years of age according to â€Å"Life expectancy by age, 1850-2004†. Research in the medical field only continues to grow; for example the field of cloning has the potential to discover the cures to diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and potentially more. Human Cloning) Technology proves to be beneficial for human life expectancy. However, the longer humans live the more populated the world gets, which is negative towards human health. Professor Guillebaud argues in Steve Connors article â€Å"There is no way that a population of nine billion – the UN's medium forecas t for 2050 – can meet its energy needs without unacceptable damage to the planet and a great deal of human misery. †(Connor) Overpopulation is inevitable, it happens to every species.Unlike every species though, the human race has the power to control overpopulation. Increasing advancements in technology will only speed up the rate of overpopulation. In an overpopulated world water and other resources to survive will become scarce. Guillebaud also states â€Å"Unless we reduce the human population humanely through family planning, nature will do it for us through violence, epidemics or starvation. â€Å"(Connor) People will be struggling to survive and they will eventually turn to necessary means to prevail.Technology isn’t going away, but limiting it can define our survival. This means to not misuse the advancements in society that are given. Technology has extraordinary potential to improve efficiency in the world. It has to be taken in consideration what adv ancements in technology would be positive and negative for the world. The way technology has been used and the way it continues to be used will be the reason for the destruction of humanity. Work Cited. Carr, Nicholas. â€Å"Is google making us stupid? The Atlantic July/August 2008: Web. Nov. 12, 2012 Connor, Steve. â€Å"Overpopulation ‘is main threat to planet'† The Independent Jan. 7, 2006: Web. Nov. 24, 2012 David, Julia. â€Å"Over-reliance on technology is bad news for care. † Nursing Standard 25. 3 Sep 22-Sep 28, 2010: Web. Nov. 12, 2012 â€Å"Human Cloning† Kiplinger Washington editors 80. 1 Jan. 3, 2003: Web. Nov. 18, 2012 â€Å"Life Expectancy by Age, 1850–2004† Information Please. Pearson Education, Inc. 2007. Web. Nov. 15, 2012

Effects of Bio fuels on the Environment Essay

Bio fuel is a type of fuel that is made out of both living or lifeless biological material and specifically, the plants as per the definition given by Shepardson, (2009). According to Shepardson, most bio fuels are in the form of esters, alcohols among others and a good example of this type of fuel is bio ethanol and bio diesel. This fuel is mostly used in vehicles and for it to be considered as a bio fuel according to Connor Steve (2008), it must consist of about 80% of renewable materials. The production of this kind of fuel has been said to be impacting negatively on the environment however though this is the case, the benefits of bio fuels cannot be dismissed altogether. As a result of this disagreement, a lot of discussions have been held over this issue something that has polarized the society between those who argue that it does not impact negatively on the environment and those that maintain that it does. This becomes the basis of this essay where the paper will take a stand and support the claims that indeed bio fuels impact negatively on the environment. According to Mongobay. com (2008), there are various types of bio fuels and one of these is E10 which over time has been greatly improved in terms of quality in that initially it contained about 90 percent of petroleum and 10 percent of ethanol but of late it is called E100 because it is almost made up of ethanol alone and about 4 percent of water. The invention of this type of fuel according to Shepardson (2009) is something that has greatly revolutionised the transport industry. These fuels have particularly been cited as one of the best ways to reduce green house gas emissions unlike it is the case with other types of fuel especially fossil fuels. Even though they are praised for this, the negative environmental consequences they have are innumerable. One of these effects according to a scientific study that was conducted in 2008 contradicts the alleged potential of this fuel to reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide among others; this is as per the Mongobay. com (2008). As per this study, Mongobay. com (2008) argues that growing crops with an aim of producing bio fuel leads to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This claim according to the Green Website. co. uk is given weight by reports that were published in a science journal known as Journal Science that showed that plants that are specifically grown for the production of this fuel produce more carbon dioxide than what these plants can naturally absorb. According to these scientists Mongobay (2008), it would take decades to reverse the trend or to balance what they termed as ‘carbon debt’. Or in other words the amount of oxygen released to the atmosphere in the course of growing these crops and is yet to be absorbed. The US and the European Union have particularly been on the forefront in propagating the idea for the production of biomass as the surest way of controlling global warming (Shepardson, 2009). According to Shepardson this has forced researchers from all over the world who aims at protecting the environment to conduct researches in their bid to understand better how this would impact on the environment. One of the researches that were conducted as per the report compiled by Connor, (2008) shown that clearing Amazon’s forested land to grow soybeans would create a carbon debt that would take 319 years to be restored not mentioning the magnitude in which forests and bushes would be destroyed to grow these crops Production of biomass is labour intensive and requires a big land according to Sawahei (2009), what this means is that a lot of bushes and forests are cleared to produce raw materials for bio fuel thereby leaving the ground with no cover thereby increasing the possibility of soil erosion taking place. To Sawahei, the world requires large tracts of land for it to feed its population now amounting over six billions. By growing biomass as an alternative source of fuel would require more land that what is needed for growing crops as per the Action for Global Health (2008) and eventually there will be no natural vegetations as all land will either have been cultivated for crop production or biomass production or both. According to the Action for Global Health (2008), this greatly destroys the environment considering that vegetation cover protects soil erosion and again it is a habitat to millions of animal species (Sawahei, 2009). Apart from this, the risk of polluting water sources with phosphates and nitrates from fertilizers that are applied to boost crop production are very high (Biofuel, 2003). Water is also polluted by chemicals that are used in the production of biomass such as pesticides sprayed to get rid of pests that attack and destroy these plants. These chemicals not only pollute water but they also kill micro organisms present in the soil that in one way or the other keep the eco system working (Action for Global Health. 2008). Rogercopenh (2008) contends that by the United States embarking on campaigns to push for the use of bio fuels might mislead many third world countries into substituting land meant for growing food crops for biomass production because of the money this business would bring. According to Rogercopenh (2008) this might in turn lead to the encroachment of forests and other natural habitats which are home to millions of wild animals. It should also not be forgotten that when this green matter is harvested, there are chances that some will rot thereby producing a very bad smell and apart from rotting, some of these plants produce bad odour naturally and thus they are an environmental hazard in that they pollute the air. As per the evidence given by Franke and Reinherdt (1998), Bio fuel also kills biodiversity in terms of the variety of plants growing in a field. For biomass to be produced in large quantity, enough to keep the world going, then its production must be professionally done. What this means according to Franke and Reinherdt (1998) is that a whole field is filled with only one type of plants leading to what is known as monoculture and by doing this, other types of plants are not given a chance to grow something that indirectly leads to their extinction (Franke and Reinherdt, 1998). In doing this according to Randooke (2009), animal are also not spared in that deforestation must take place, grasslands must be cleared and wetlands are destroyed. The truth is that these areas are habitat to many species of animals and thus what this means is that these species will be killed while others are displaced. Trees naturally preserve water catchments areas and thus when land is prepared for the cultivation these reserves are destroyed (Randooke, 2009). According to the Action for Global Health, (2008) the whole bio fuel production process requires a lot of energy and basically the type of energy that is used is fossil fuel. The argument raised by the Action for Global Health (2008) is that the amount of carbon that is emitted by burning bio fuels is absorbed by crops that are grown purposely for bio fuels production but the problem is that the amount of carbon that is emitted during their production considering that carbon emitted during planting, spraying, treating and harvesting season where machines that uses fossil fuels is not cleared from the air. This claim is supported by Sawahei, (2009) who argues that even after these crops are harvested, more carbon is emitted to the atmosphere in that coal or other forms of fossil fuels such as gas are used to heat the raw materials that are used in the production of bio fuels. Though bio fuels are heavily criticised in that they cause serious negative environmental ramifications according to Connor (2008), there are other various researches that have been done which prove otherwise. Researches show that production of other forms of fuel such as fossil fuel leads to the release of more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than it is the case with bio fuels (Science for environmental policy, 2008). One research that strongly supports this claim is the one that was done in the United Kingdom. According to the same source, what they call first generation process Life Cycle Analysis, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by over sixty percent unlike other forms. As per Biofuels (2003), the second generation process carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by over 80 percent. Generally according to this report, carbon dioxide emissions can be saved by an average of about 50 to 60 percent. Another advantage of using this kind of fuel according to the Greencar website (2009) is that bio fuel does not contain sulphur which is one of the main components that causes acid rains. Also considering that it is made by bio degradable materials, its chances of destroying the soil are low unlike other fuels such as fossil fuels which contaminate water sources and destroy soil when they leak into them (Science for environmental policy, 2008). In consideration of the massive evidence that is provided here above, one is justified to say that biofuels are an environmental hazard. There are a lot of researches that have been done by different researchers and most of them point to the fact that the production of bio fuels produces many effects that in one way or the other destroys the eco system for example, fertilizers that are applied on crops meant to produce biomass releases phosphates and nitrates thereby destroying soil and water. Another way through which biofuels destroys the environment is that despite the fact that a lot of forests and bushes have already been cleared for crop production, more land is snow needed for biomass production something that leads to soil erosion due clearance of bushes and the destruction of habitats that are home to many species. This indirectly leads to the extinction of these species whether plant or animals. Bibliography: Action for Global Health. 2008. New study demonstrates bio fuels negative impact on poverty, hunger and environment. Available at http://docs. google. com/gview? a=v&q=cache:elry2KJk0UgJ:ec. europa. eu/environ ment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/1si4. pdf+biofuels+,+negative+impacts+,e nvironment&hl=en&gl=ke Biofuel, 2003. Bio diesel Impacts on the environment. http://www. biofuelus. com/biofuel/biodiesel/biodiesel-impact-on-the- environment. php Connor Steve, 2008. Biofuels make climate change worse, Scientific Study concludes. Available at http://www. independent. co. uk/environment/climate-change/biofuels- make-climate-change-worse-scientific-study-concludes-779811. html

Cost Behavior and Allocation Essay

Analyze the complexity of cost behaviors in health care organizations and describe how costs are classified according to their relationship with volume. Health services managers are vitally interested in how costs are affected by changes in volume. Before costs can be managed, one must have an understanding of how and why costs are being incurred. For, example medications dispensed from the pharmacy are variable costs items since the more often medications are dispensed to the patient, the higher to the total medication costs (Lang, 2012). In this example the cost is driven by the prescription of the medication for the patient, which leads to dispensing the medication and incurring the cost. If the medication is not prescribed the total cost would be zero. The salary of the Director of the Pharmacy is a fixed cost, at least over the short run because that person is paid the same salary regardless of how many, or how few, prescriptions they fill. The text defines the relationship between an organization’s total costs and volume as cost behavior or underlying cost structure, is used by mangers in planning, control, and decision making. The primary reason for defining and organization’s underlying cost structure is to provide healthcare managers with a tool for forecasting cost and profits at different volume levels (Gapenski, 2012). The cost structure of both fixed and variable costs- that is some of the costs are expected to be volume sensitive and some are not- is typical in healthcare organizations. Total variable costs increase or decrease proportionately as volume changes, but variable cost rate remains constant as long as volume remains within the relevant range. Fixed, costs, in contrast to total variable costs, remain unchanged as the volume varies. The Academy of Healthcare Management Journal states, when attempting to improve profitability by decreasing or controlling costs, cost behavior is particularly important. If activities are limited or decreased to lower variable costs without consideration of fixed costs profits may actually decrease. In conclusion, total costs are merely the sum of the two. Because total variable costs are tied to volume, total variable costs increase as the volume increases even though fixed costs remain constant. Discuss the importance of cost allocation and how it may be leveraged by health care organizations. Cost allocation is essentially a pricing process within the organization whereby managers allocate the costs of one department to other departments. Cost allocations within healthcare organizations must establish prices that proxy those that would be set under market conditions. Costs within a health services organization must be allocated. Overhead costs of the business, such as those incurred by administrators, facilities management personnel, financial staffs, and housekeeping and maintenance personnel must be allocated to those departments that generate revenues for the organization (Gapenski, 2012). The goal of cost allocation is to assign all of the costs of an organization to the activities that cause them to be incurred. Health services managers track and assign costs by individual patient, physician, diagnosis, reimbursement contract, and so on. Much of the motivation for more accurate cost allocation systems comes from the recipients of overhead services. Mangers at all levels within health services organizations are under pressure to optimize economic performance, which translates into reducing costs. To assign costs from one activity to another, two important elements must be identified: a cost pool and a cost driver. A cost pool is a grouping of costs that must be allocated, while a cost driver is the criterion upon which the allocation is made. Clearly, the proper allocation of overhead costs is essential to good decision making within health services organizations. In conclusion, revenues must exceed the total of both fixed costs and variable costs combines in order for an organization to be profitable.

Compare and contrast high involvement and low involvement processing Essay

Compare and contrast high involvement and low involvement processing. Discuss how and when consumers go through these different - Essay Example What is Consumer Involvement? The study of decision-making behavior reflected by the customers is known as the customer involvement. The buying pattern of consumers varies from product to product based on the perception of consumers towards a product pertaining to its importance or relevance for the customer. In this manner, the study of purchasing behavior of customers enables businesses to understand the level of involvement each consumer has towards a product or service. The literature for consumer behavior is not considered in the modern business world as complete, without discussing customers’ involvement. For this reason, marketers have carried out extensive research in the area and have asserted that for understanding involvement, it is also important to consider the socio-psychological aspects as well. Although, researchers and marketers have fallen short of prescribing a comprehensive definition for the term â€Å"involvement†, but Kapferer and Laurent (1985) h ave suggested that there are five types of involvements. First level of involvement is for interest in the product, then involvement because of risk importance, risk probability, sign value or involvement due to hedonic value of the product. Other researchers like Schiffman and Kanuk (1991) perceives involvement as the reaction to ego’s call, perceived risk of the product or the importance of purchase of the product. Another perspective of consumer involvement is presented by Hansen (1981). He views involvement as: "Variations in the extent to which the individual is more or less motivated toward a specific piece of information, product, or the like. With high involvement, more psychic energy is released for handling incoming information, sorting it out, and making choices" (Hansen, 1981). The definition presented by Hansen (1981) is also supported by researchers like Mitchell (1981) who also suggested that consumers are motivated by businesses to commit high involvement in t he purchasing decision so that they can close study the product, its attributes and its benefits. Moreover, Hensen’s (1981) definition is also close to perfect as it defines involvement on the basis of motivation that a marketing strategy of a business produces amongst consumers. To summaries the various definitions of involvement found with the review of literature, it can be asserted that involvement refers to the degree of attraction and the level of individual experiences an individual feels towards a product at the time of making a purchasing decision. The next section of the report would discuss the most important aspect of marketing studies, i.e. consumer behavior and its relevance to consumer involvement. Consumer Behavior and Consumer Involvement Consumer behavior is a wide area of marketing studies, which deals with the understanding of patterns depicted by individual or group of customers towards a particular product or service. It consists of a purchasing process, which includes the selection of a product, securing the product, disposing the product and experiencing the performance of the product. Therefore; consumer behavior is the study of attitude shown by consumers while purchasing and using a product or service. The study of consumer behavior requires marketers and

Comptemporary issues in business pshcholgy 1 Essay

Comptemporary issues in business pshcholgy 1 - Essay Example Prior to psychoanalysis’s inception, phrenology was the popular psychology of the Victorian era (Wohl, 1996). The study of the skull formation and its resultant implications of the individual’s intelligence and place on the evolutionary scale was simple, easy, and accessible, and more often than not it was used to justify racism and other political agendas (Wohl, 1996). But at the turn of the century, psychoanalysis gained popularity under Freud, who, after observing the infamous case of Anna O., a woman who suffered from hysteria due to past experiences, pioneered the theory that all human beings are driven by unconscious urges (Boeree, 1997). The mind suddenly became much more complex than the shape of the skull and psychoanalysis called to the forefront how well a person can truly know and understand himself. Psychoanalysis and its break-off, psycho-dynamic psychology, analyse the mind as a series of unconscious layers. As a person experiences different struggles and traumas, his experiences impact his unconscious mind, which prompts him to unknowingly develop a maladapted function, or Defence Mechanism (Wikipedia, 2006). Psycho-dynamic psychology ultimately seeks to reveal the causes of an individual’s maladapted function. An example of psycho-dynamic psychology at work is in the character of Nora Helmer, of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1998). Nora Helmer is a housewife that embodies all of the outward ideals of Victorian propriety while harbouring a secret that could ruin her marriage and her family. Her relationship with her husband is complex and flawed. He refers to her as his â€Å"little lark† and his â€Å"squirrel†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ small, flighty, and vulnerable animals. Torvald Helmer seems to cherish and adore his wife, but in reality sees her as a charge or a child that must be taught and guided, and Nora not only complies with this image, but

Design Culture of china Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Design Culture of china - Research Proposal Example The developments in the design culture of the nation have also reflected in its consumer culture too as many people are lured by the prospect of experiencing the grandeur and beauty of Chinese designs. Thus, this paper tries to throw light on the extraordinary moments in Chinese design and the rise of Chinas consumer society. There is truly a sense of design frenzy in China right now. The paper also seeks to explore how the new design explosion has drastically changed the major Chinese cities beyond all recognition in the last two decades. The changes foresee that there will be a time when everyone talks about things being designed in China, not just made in China. The designers included in China Design Now are pioneers for future generations who will bring Chinese design to an international audience. The paper also explores the origin and development of the design culture in the nation and it deals with all the major designers, architects and artists of the era and pinpoints the pec uliarities of their designs. Tracing back to the origin of designs in China, one understands that the nation has a unique and traditional fashion designing from its early history which was very much in tune with the customs and traditions of the early Chinese people. The nation maintains a long and rich tradition in clothing and fashion designing. The ancient Chinese clothing demonstrated both refinement and sophistication even during the Shang Dynasty from 16th to 11th B.C. Pien-fu, the chang-pao, and the shen-I are the thre dominant traditional Chinese clothing and each of them has strong roots in the tradition and customs that prevailed in the early Chinese civilization. The pien-fu is a â€Å"two-piece ceremonial costume of a tunic-like top extending to the knees and a skirt or trousers extending to the ankles† whereas the chang-pao is â€Å"a one-piece garment extending from the shoulders all the way to the heels† (The Culture of China: Living and

US Policy towards Pakistan Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US Policy towards Pakistan - Thesis Proposal Example Hussain (2002, 7) states that it is the Taliban militants control this region. The problem has also become a regional concern. The violence and lawlessness in this region has spilled over to Afghanistan. Indeed, a report by Leonard Barry (2009) finds that the greatest challenge to long-term security within Afghanistan is the insurgents’ sanctuary within FATA of Pakistan. Eur (2203) argues that Pakistan has long meddled with internal affairs of Afghanistan, which has made the relationship between the 2 potentially explosive. The status of the region has drawn interest from various stakeholders, among them United states and NATO, following increased cross-border operations carried out by extremists groups against the United stated and NATO troops in Afghanistan ( Nelson 2010, 1-10). From an international point of view, the problem is also becoming a threat to international peace and order. Consequently, it is essential to study the larger problem because of some factors. First, it is because of the unique problem it poses to the regional as well as international security. Secondly, since this region is lawless, ungoverned, and potential power vacuum has been created, it is necessary in order to evaluate whether Pakistan is a failed state. This is because the problem has been exploited by militia, Taliban commanders, drug traffickers and terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda to establish and exercise a lot of control and create a haven for their activities. Accordingly, according to a report to the congress.

Do Children Benefit When Their Teacher Speaks Their Second Language Research Proposal

Do Children Benefit When Their Teacher Speaks Their Second Language - Research Proposal Example This report talks that biculturalism refers to a process wherein individuals learn to function in two distinct socio-cultural environments: their primary culture, and that of the dominant mainstream culture of the society in which they live. Setting these two worlds apart is their language. Language barriers not only hinder or slow down the learning process, it also inhibits the child’s socializing capabilities. There is a sense of alienation that sets in, inside the classroom that manifests in myriad ways, like aggression, extreme shyness and the eventual drop out situation. This essay makes a conclusion that teachers who understand and appreciate culturally different strengths and funds of knowledge are more likely to provide enriching and responsive learning environments that celebrate and capitalize on children’s cultural differences. As students themselves, most teachers were socialized in mainstream schools for at least 12 years and often attended teacher preparation programs grounded in the mainstream culture. Beginning the journey toward increased cultural competence requires teachers to rethink their assumptions and consider life’s issues through the lenses of people who come from cultural backgrounds different from their own. Teachers cannot hope to begin to understand who sits before them unless they can connect with the families and communities from which their children come. To do that it is vital that teachers and teacher educators explore their own beliefs and attitudes about non-white and non-middle-class people.

Comparative Analysis of I Thought the Streets Were Payed with Gold by Essay

Comparative Analysis of I Thought the Streets Were Payed with Gold by Pacita Abad and Pleasure Pillars by Shahzia Sikander - Essay Example However, as the child-observer explores his society and comes in contact with the truth of the majority of occurrences around him, he may find himself arriving at the necessity to react contrary to the previous assumptions that essentially blind him from the real picture. Having experienced life as it is in the real world, I feel that Abad’s creation of â€Å"I Thought the Streets Were Paved with Gold† is something that materializes out of an everyday discovery of life that struggles with poor economy and social aspect of living that one, like a sensitive growing child, can draw rough sketches of events that are especially poignant to the senses. Abad’s work characterizes conflicts taking place within the working class, the minorities, the domestic sphere, as well as their relation to the prevailing foreign influence. It particularly drives me to the perspective of looking at women in these scenarios where oppression or violation of human rights possibly exist an d the artist may be claimed to have special regard for women of the streets or of places which are broadly affected by the suppression of progress due to imperialism. On the other hand, Shahzia Sikander’s â€Å"Pleasure Pillars† seemingly attempts to focus on the art from a rather humanist point of view as it conveys the inner human strength derived from the significant capacity to preserve culture and religion. As a Pakistani-American artist born in Lahore, Punjab, I think I understand such inclination specifically since the painting occurs to pay worth to the essence of the middle eastern pagan tradition and beliefs. â€Å"Pleasure Pillars†, in effect, establishes an impression that calls for enlightening the mind and spirit with the goodness of religious or cultural enthusiasm through beauty and symmetry in art forms that, while it masks the truth about poverty or economic crisis, Sikander delivers through her work the underlying tone of hope toward enlighten ment despite all the sufferings of the modern times. Compared to the realistic theme of Abad’s piece of art, that of Sikander seeks to justify itself in the light of resolution to unpleasant feelings and mindfulness over sick images of reality by allowing freedom and this freedom is sought from within. A human being is capable of higher intellect and spiritual potential to surpass anything unpleasant that may affect a person in critiquing the externals as long as he keeps track of the ability to perceive delight and celebrate the value of cultural creativity as in songs and dances of worship which the artist’s craft demonstrates. Nevertheless, just like Abad, Sikander presents angles of â€Å"Pleasure Pillars† with woman as the chief object of beauty and pleasure and this exhibits a measure of power in which, even if the female gender is underrated at some dimensions, at others the same gender is treated with utmost importance. Response 1: ‘Traditional rep resentation of the Virgin of Guadalupe’ is representative of Virgin Mary as a Roman Catholic figure with physical characteristics of a Mexican so that the icon reflects Mexican traits in terms of skin complexion, clothing, and background shades typical of a native scenario in Mexico. This could mean

A Horror of not Rising Above Mediocrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Horror of not Rising Above Mediocrity - Essay Example However before I delve deeper into the dynamics of this field and why I chose this as my career, I will discuss a little about my wish to enroll in this remarkable institution. New York University - Preston Robert Tisch is one of the most prestigious institutions in the whole country and it would be an honor if I am given the opportunity to continue my education in this esteemed establishment. The center’s location is immensely unique and is found in the hub of global hospitality and tourism industry, which fills me up with the desire to be a part of this amazingly fast-paced culture. My desire to be a part of Preston Robert Tisch is further strengthened by my unshakeable faith in myself, motivation and ample amount of knowledge pertinent to the field, which according to me is the ideal recipe for a successful career. And I can clearly envision my future in this fast-growing industry, which presents a myriad of opportunities and fields for people in its billion Dollar market. My interest in the field was fuelled along the years through academic training in the in the field. My first credential pertinent to the field was my high school certification in Food, Beverage, and tourism. On an academic front, I spent two years in a Law school majoring in Civil Rights. Then a subsequent three-year internship in Boulevard Hotel, Romania was sufficient to help me gain ample amount of familiarity with the profession. In the past few years, I have worked in the capacity of a Public Relations Coordinator in a franchise that was designed to assist the Vice President. Working in the franchise untapped my potential as a leader and helped me to broaden my horizon through performing tasks such as development and execution of integrated marketing and communications plans. My responsibilities involved scheduling, recruitment, coordinating,

United States Navy Essay Example for Free

United States Navy Essay The United States Navy, a branch of the United States armed forces are dedicated in serving the nation and ensuring the safety of its citizens by guarding the nation from its enemies that may come through bodies of water or by seas. In order to do so, it is important for the USN to have a large number of marines which is one of the goals of the navy, to produce strong naval forces. There are over 335,000 personnel of the navy today operating about 280 ships. Not only is the navy strong because of its number but also because of the hard training given to every marine. For this reason, USN marines are known not only for their skills in battle but also for their discipline which is a very important and admirable characteristic of the USN. The USN ensures that their personnel are disciplined enough and went through rigorous training in every aspect of their personality, not only physically but mentally as well. Another important factor in becoming a USN marine is to have the passion and desire to serve the nation and the people of the State. USN marines are willing to sacrifice even their own lives in order to ensure peace and safety in the community that they are serving. Because of this great commitment and sacrifice that the marines are offering to the country, it can be said that there is a lot of benefits that one could get by being a member of the US navy. The Navy it self are responsible and really does take care of its sailors. It ensures that the sailors are in good condition especially when it comes to physical health by giving medical and many other benefits to its sailors. In order to become a sailor of the USN, there are a lot of things required. The very first thing that is needed is to be a citizen of the state. However, there are rules that can be followed for those who are non US citizens. A non-US citizen can be a member of the USN provided that he or she is legally residing in the United States. Also, it is a requirement that the individual has a â€Å"Green Card†. Other qualifications for US citizens must also be met such as being between 17 to 35 years of age and must meet the standard of the Navy when it comes to moral, mental and physical standard. Another important consideration is that the person must be able to read, write and speak English fluently. The Navy it self makes it sure that the requirements and their standard for accepting applicants are met. There maybe several qualifications that are needed in becoming a navy, however these requirements are to make sure that their personnel are able to protect the country and its citizens together with their interest. It can also be said that the US Navy is professional when it comes to applicants. The commitment and discipline can also be seen. When it comes to privacy, the Navy is really strict in enforcing their rules and ensuring that their personnel keep their privacy guidelines. One of the most important questions that must be addressed is the reason for wanting to be a member of the USN. The Navy also ensures that questions given to the applicant are necessary and proper. This is also a way of showing the integrity and disciplined of our Marines. This is also another distinction of the US Navy with many companies around the world. Their professionalism is maintained together with their dignity and discipline in whatever they do. It is rest assured that every question asked to an applicant is important and necessary in the field and for the evaluation of the application. Some may find the agreement to be somehow demanding when it comes to rendering service to the nation; however this is really important in becoming a member of a well disciplined and respected group. Marines are selfless in a sense since their main priority is not their own lives and sake but rather the sale of the people and of the nation as a whole. They are willing to sacrifice their own interest and lives as well to protect the people and their interest. There are really so many admirable features of the US Navy marines, their loyalty and respect for the country together with their dedication and persistence on their service to the nation. It is also a characteristic of the USN to excel in many things especially when it comes to discipline and faithfulness. Truly, the United States Navy deserves our full support and respect. Works Cited Citysearch. U. S. marine corporation. 2008. 21 January 2008 http://seattle. citysearch. com/profile/34967185/seattle_wa/us_marine_corporation. hm l Corbett, Sara. `The Womens War. ` The New York Times (March 18, 2007). January 21, 2008 http://www. nytimes. com/2007/03/18/magazine/18cover. html. Navy. Navy benefits. (no date). 21 January 2008 http://www. navy. com/sitemap/ United States Marine Corporation. Marines. 2008. 21 January 2008 http://www. marines. com/page/usmc. jsp? pageId=/forms/processLead. doflashRedirect =true

National Association of Home Builders Essay Example for Free

National Association of Home Builders Essay Purpose and Background The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is a trade association whose mission is to enhance the climate for the housing and building industry. A top goal for the NAHB is to provide and expand opportunities for all potential home buyers to have safe, affordable and decent housing. The NAHB also works with federal agencies on regulations affecting the housing industry in areas such as mortgage finance, codes, energy and the environment. According to the NAHB, about eighty percent of the homes built in the United States are constructed by NAHB members. In 1993 the NAHB and Reed Business Information, publishers of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines established the National Housing Quality Awards (NAHB website). The National Housing Quality Awards (NHQ) was modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program and represents the housing industry’s highest recognition for achievements in total quality management. The NHQ award promotes and rewards best practices throughout the home building industry. It recognizes home builders for being focused on quality for the customer in construction, business management, sales, warranty service and design. The NHQ award is open to all U.S. home builders that believe their company meets or exceeds the qualities above. The home builder completes an application process and goes through an extensive interview process that requires a high level of commitment from the company and their management team. According to the NAHB application, every applicant will receive a written report and applicants that are chosen for site visits will receive detailed reports that provide objective benchmarking for quality improvement. The program is more than an award; many home builders use the award as a process for improving their processes to build a better home for the customer and a better company for their shareholders. In the home building industry, the expectations for high performance from the customers gets higher every year. Especially in the current housing market it is becoming more critical than ever that builders look for new products and processes that help to improve  their companies in areas such as leadership, performance management, customer satisfaction, strategic planning, construction quality, trade partner relationships, business results and human resources according to Steve Carroll of the NAHB. Award Criteria The NHQ awards are judged by a qualified experts who evaluate all the applicants and selects finalists who demonstrate high levels of quality achievement based on leadership, strategic planning, performance management, customer satisfaction, human resources, construction quality, trade relationships and business results. The experts can request additional information during the application process, including customer satisfaction surveys, company references and other information related to judging the criteria. In the Leadership category the panel experts will look at the company mission and values to determine if they guide the organization toward a common purpose. They review how senior management reinforce and instill the mission, values and vision in the company as role models and through empowering employees. They will also look at how the company demonstrates public responsibility and good citizenship while improving the home building industry. In the Strategic Planning categor y the experts will look at how your company assesses and will address the key strategic challenges that the company faces in the next one to five years. They look at how the challenges are identified and analyzed and the overall plan development, deployment and feedback for the company including how the plan is tied to the mission, vision and values. They will review how the plan leverages the company’s skills, experience, knowledge and the lack of skills, experience, knowledge and resources. In the Performance Management category the experts review how the company develops, manages, measures, and improves the key processes to achieve performance excellence. The Customer Satisfaction category allows the experts to look at the company’s design and delivery of products and services with a high level of customer satisfaction. The applicant will need to address how the company identifies market segments, the level of focus on the market segments, how product features and service are selected to best serve the market segments that were identified, how the company develops customer relationships, key factors in customer satis faction and how the company obtains and utilizes  customer feedback to improve performance. The Human Resource category addresses employee selection and development practices, motivation, satisfaction and compensation as it relates to the growth and success of the company. The experts will review the work environment, the morale of the employees, the benefits and the company culture. The applicant will need to address workforce development, staff performance management, and how both align with the company’s goals. The Construction Quality category will allow the experts to review the methods that the company uses to drive quality in the home construction process and ensure high performance and trouble free products and services. Applicants will have to discuss the quality standards that are communicated and demanded from the trades and how the company continues to educate and reinforce the quality standards to both employees and trades. The experts will ask how new plans are reviewed for quality and how the customer is involved in this quality review process. Applicants should be prepared to describe the customers’ post closing experiences, quality recognition programs and the company’s warranty processes. The Trade Relationship category allows the expert panel to review how the company creates high performance relationships with the trade partners. The applicant should be prepared to discuss how the company establishes mutually beneficial relationships, trade partner selection process, problem avoidance through trade involvement and trade partner feedback. The final category is Business Results. Applicants need to present the measurements of the business benefits resulting from the company’s high performance practices in the financial, operational, customer satisfaction and warranty areas. The experts may ask for customer satisfaction results from the last one to three years including the customers’ willingness to refer other buyers, financial results, employee satisfaction, trade satisfaction and operating metrics for the last three years. Benefits of the Award Many of the home builders that prepare the NHQ application feel that the application process and the experts’ comprehensive evaluation report are valuable tools for planning change to improve their business regardless if they win the award or not. Many of the award recipients find that the greatest rate of improvement occurs in the year following their application  or win (NAHB). Shea Homes and Pulte Homes found that the NHQ award process helped them identify opportunities to improve and allowed them to perfect processes that improved the quality of their product and service. Improving total quality management can lead to streamlining processes that will reduce costs, improve the quality for the customer, reduce warranty calls and increase the bottom line for the company. The NAHB encourages award winners to publicize and advertise the achievement to distinguish the company from the competition, establish the company as a top quality builder and raise the company’s re putation as an industry leader. Winners are featured in Professional Builder magazine articles that highlight their quality management principles and will participate in a NHQ award panel discussion at the International Builders show which is the largest home builders’ convention in the United States. Benefits to applying for the award are endless for home builders that are willing to commit the time and effort needed to complete the application process. The application process forces many of the applicants to look at the processes in the company that contribute to ensuring total quality and make changes to allow the company to improve and focus on the company’s mission, vision and values. The drawbacks to the NHQ award process is that it will take a commitment of time and energy to look at the quality processes in the company to analyze if it is moving the company in the direction of the mission, vision and values. Some companies may feel that this is a waste of time and energy or can be over whelmed at what processes need to be improved to get the company on track to improve quality. Past Winners Winners are recognized in three categories: gold, silver and honorable mention. The gold award is given to companies that have achieved a national benchmark level in each area of evaluation. According to the NAHB website, gold award winners have mature, fully integrated quality management principles and consistently demonstrate high level sustained financial results. The silver award is given to companies that are industry leaders in most evaluation areas, they have refined business practices and they exhibit good financial results. An honorable mention is awarded when companies are recognized that demonstrate an understanding of quality management principles, show an improvement process and good financial  results are achieved in most areas. Below is a list of winners, the award that was received and the year it was awarded (NAHB website). Many of the applicants that have participated in the NHQ process, whether the company was awarded or not, have said that the application process helped the company by having to look at all processes critically and make changes to improve the quality management for the company overall. Scott Thistle,  president of Brookstone Homes, said, â€Å"The award is a critical component of our commitment to customer satisfaction. By going through the NHQ program for the second year, it has enabled us to continually fine-tune our quality assurance systems and see a direct positive impact on our customers and their experience (Brookstone Homes).† Home Builders that apply for the NHQ award know that the process requires a lot of time and effort prior to submitting the application to the NAHB and could involve potential changes to the operational processes of the company to keep the company focused on total quality management. Grayson Homes president, Cindy McAuliffe said â€Å"At Grayson Homes, we differentiate ourselves from others with a deserved reputation for quality homes and products, processes, service, and people. Our participation in NHQ programs keeps Grayson Homes and its trades focused on product, process and experience improvement (Mid-Atlantic Builder).† Conclusion In reviewing the NHQ award and the process involved in applying for the award I found that it was a benefit to each of the home builders that took the time, energy and efforts even if the company did not win an award. Each of the companies that applied where able to review the quality processes that were in place, review the experts written report and modify the processes to achieve a higher level total quality management that improved the company’s quality focus for internal and external customers. While I do feel that this would be a benefit for my company I believe that we would have a lot of work to do in streamlining processes to ensure that company wide we are using the same quality processes that will allow us to grow while following our mission, vision and values. The company was a small company based in two markets that grew quickly to fourteen markets prior to the housing market boom. This fast growth did not allow for the company to ensure that quality processes were being handled in the same manner from division to division. The company has in the past three years established a strategic mission for the company and continued with the values that has allowed them to achieve the ranking of the 24th largest builder in the United States. The NHQ award process would force the management team to review what processes where in place in all divisions and get on track with companywide policies and procedures so a customer buying a home in one  division could expect the same great product and service in another division. References Brookstone Homes Newsroom. BrookstoneHomes.com. 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.brookstonehomes.com/newsroom/2006_august2.asp. Carroll, Steve. Telephone interview with National Association of Home Builders Research Center. March 14, 2008. Mid-Atlantic Builder Corner Newsletter. Mid Atlantic Builder. 16 Mar. 2008. http://www.homebuilders.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/48/folder/40005/ MBX_0105_60-70.pdf. National Housing Quality Award. National Association of Home Builders Research Center. 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.nahbrc.org/technical/awards/nhqa.aspx. Stromberg, Meghan. NHQ Best Practices. Professional Builder. September 2001. 1 Sep. 2001.

Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP)

Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP) Introduction Evidence based practice (EBP) is an approach to health care in which health professionals use the most appropriate information available to make clinical decision for providing high quality patient care (McKibbon, 1998). EBP has shifted the focus of health care professionals from a traditional approach on authoritative opinions to a stress on facts extracted from previous research and studies (Sackett et al, 1997). It has been suggested by that nursing practice based on evidence enhances patient care, as compared to traditional practices (Majid et al, 2011). In addition, as nurses are increasingly more involved in clinical decision making, it is becoming essential for them to make use of the best evidence in order to make effective and justifiable decisions (Majid et al, 2011). To discuss the evidence for a clinical skill, this essay will investigate the antiseptic preparations for surgical site antisepsis. The rationale for selection of this topic is its significance for the clinical nursing practice as nurses are frequently involved in the surgical site preparation (Dizer et al, 2009). Surgical site infection (SSI) is a type of healthcare-associated infection in which a wound infection occurs following an invasive (surgical) procedure. It has been suggested by National Institute of Health and Care (NICE, 2004) that surgical site infections account for almost 20% of all of healthcare-associated infections. It has been further highlighted that nearly 5% of patients undergoing a surgical procedure develop a surgical site infection antiseptic preparations. NICE (2008) has recommended that aqueous or alcohol based solution with chlorhexidine or iodine can be used for prevention of SSI. However, it does not favour or recommend one solution over the other. This essay will explore the literature for evidence about efficacy of these preparation in comparison to one another. It is important for the nurses to be aware of the best available evidence regarding antiseptic preparations to minimise the risk of surgical site infection. Research Question and Literature Search The research question for the current essay will be formulated on the PICO framework as suggested by Sackett et al (1997): P Population or problem Clean-contaminated surgical procedures I Intervention Chlorhexidine gluconate C Comparison or comparator Povidone-iodine O Outcome Surgical site infection The question formulated for the current essay using PICO framework would therefore be: In surgical procedures, is chlorhexidine gluconate more effective in comparison to povidone-iodine in reducing surgical infections? To answer the question, literature search for the available evidence for was done. The author identified a list of key search terms and synonyms that can result in a large number of hits and combined these with Boolean terms AND/OR. Terms made up of of two words were looked for by making use of speech marks so that they were are not searched for separately, and truncation was used for terms identified to have multiple endings. The key words used were surgical site infection anti-septic preparations iodine and chlorhexidine. In order to make sure that an in-depth search was done, which would elicit the largest number of studies more than one academic search engines were searched by the researcher. Cinahal: Contains an index of nursing and allied health literature and is helpful for use in a thorough search (Glazsiou, 2001). Medline: Suggested to be used in healthcare systematic reviews (Glazsiou, 2001). NHS Information Resources and NHS Evidence: Is a widely used database resource containing evidence-based reviews and specialist research from reliable sources. NHS evidence was searched separately. Cochrane Library: Provides a list of systematic reviews and RCTS that have been published or are in a process of publishing (Glazsiou, 2010). Pubmed: It is a commonly used internet resource for healthcare professionals with a large international coverage. The results of the search generated a large number of article however these had to be reduced in order to generate an appropriate research article which can answer the question formulated. Therefore, an inclusion and exclusion criteria was set to narrow down the large number of articles generated. The guidelines from NICE (2008) in which both preparation have been recommended in 2008 hence the research was done for studies published after that. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been included as they provide the best evidence. The articles which were not in English and published before 2009 were therefore excluded. Also, the studies in which preparations for a particular type of surgical procedure were studied were also excluded as the evidence for general surgical procedures was being looked for. Abstracts of the studies generated from the search of different data bases engines were thus read so that the articles which do not satisfy the inclusion criteria of this essay can be excluded. This resulted in selection of one article which satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the current work. The study by Darouiche et al (2010) is a RCT which compared the efficacy of two surgical preparations i.e. chlorhexidine–alcohol with that of povidone–iodine for preventing surgical site infections. In order to achieve this, preoperative skin preparation was done for adults undergoing clean-contaminated surgery in six hospitals with either chlorhexidine–alcohol scrub or povidone–iodine scrub and paint in a random way. The primary outcome was any surgical-site infection within 30 days after surgery. This study will be critically analysed to identify its strengths and weaknesses. It has been suggested by Burls (2009) that critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. The critical skills appraisal programme (CASP) tool (Appendix 1) for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) will be used as the selected study is a randomised controlled trial. Screening questions 1. Did the trial address a clearly focused issue? Yes, the study addressed a clearly focused issue with clear problem to be explored, comparison groups and outcomes being investigated using a PICO framework to formulate the research question thereby increasing the rigour of the study (Huang et al, 2006). 2. Was the assignment of patients to treatments randomised? Yes, the assignment to treatment and placebo group was carried out randomly in a ratio of 2:1. This will increase the validity of the study. Literature suggests that random allocation of patients to study groups help to minimize both the selection bias as well as the impact of any confounder present (Cormack, 2000). It has also been observed in the study that in order to match the two groups and deal with possible inter-hospital differences, randomization was stratified by hospital by using computer-generated randomization numbers without blocking. This is a strength of the study as stratified randomisation can help to attain maximum balance of significant characteristics without compromising the benefits of randomisation (Altman and Bland, 1999). 3. Were all of the patients who entered the trial properly accounted for at its conclusion? Yes, the trial was not stopped early and the patients were analysed in the groups to which they were randomised. The study has done both intention-to-treat analysis for both groups as well as per protocol analysis. This accounts for the drop outs in the study an also been reported thus accounting for these drop-outs which may decrease the internal validity of the study. According to the Cochrane Collaboration (2014) intention-to-treat analysis minimised the presence of bias which may exist due to loss of participants, thus upsetting the baseline similarity attained by randomisation. Detailed Questions The study by Darouiche et al (2010) does not explicitly mention whether the personnel involved in the study were blind to the treatment groups. However, it has been mentioned in the study that the operating surgeon became aware of which intervention had been assigned only after the patient was brought to the operating room. In addition, both the patients and the site investigators who diagnosed surgical-site infection on the basis of standard criteria stayed unaware of the group assignments. This minimises the bias in the study and increases its validity as differential treatment or evaluation of participants can possibly introduce bias in the study at any phase of a trial (Karanicolas et al, 2010). Hence, it is a strength of the study. According to Berger (2006), in addition to randomisation, it is important to keep the baseline variables of the study groups similar at the commencement of the trial as it is essential for a RCT to compare groups that differ only with reference to the treatment they receive. The baseline characteristics of both groups have been reported in the study and did not show any significant difference between the two intervention groups reflected by their insignificant p values. It appears from the study that both chlorhexidine and iodine groups were treated the same way other then intervention. In order to determine the treatment effect, clear pre-defined primary end point has been given by Darouiche et al (2010). The primary outcome was defined on the basis of a standard criteria given by the CDC hence it increases the reliability of study. The results of the study found that the overall rate of surgical-site infection was significantly lower in the chlorhexidine–alcohol group than in the povidone–iodine group (9.5% vs. 16.1%; P = 0.004). In order to find the results, the study undertook multiple statistical considerations and tests. The study increased its statistical power by increasing the sample size in each group which gives the study 90% power to identify a significant difference in the frequency of surgical-site infection between the two groups, at a significance level of 0.05 or less. In addition, as mentioned above intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses were performed which further increases study validity. The study also carried out a pre-specified Breslow–Day test for homogeneity to find whether the results were consistent across the six participating hospitals. This was also a strength of the study as literature suggests that involvement of multi-centre patients can compromise the external validity of the RCTs (Rothwell, 2010). This is due to potential effect of differences between health-care systemswhich result in different treatment affects, values and confidence intervals have also been reported where required. Regarding the application of the results in the settings in UK, it has been highlighted by that the study by Darouiche et al (2010) was done in the US and used an aqueous solution of iodine. However, in the UK, the most widely used skin preparations are alcohol-based solutions of 0.5% chlorhexidine or 10% iodine (Tanner, 2012). This is because aqueous-based solutions are thought to be less effective than alcohol-based solutions. Hence, to make the study applicable to the UK settings, 2% chlorhexidine in alcohol should have been compared with 0.5% chlorhexidine in alcohol or 10% povidone iodine in alcohol. The benefits of the study are definitely superior to the harms as SSI not only causes significant unwanted outcomes and distress for the patient but also results in increased costs for the patient, the healthcare and the wider economy (Tanner, 2012). Thus, a number of factors increase the external validity and internal validity of the study including stratified randomisation, blinding of study personnel, intention-to-treat analysis, keep the baseline variables of the study group’s similar, sample size and a number of statistical tests. In addition, clear pre-defined primary end point increased the reliability of the study. The study thus has very low risk of bias and can be therefore rated as 1++ according to NICE hierarchy of evience (NICE, 2004). Hence, alcoholic chlorhexidine solution is significantly more effective in reducing SSIs than povidone iodine. However, the results should be applied to UK settings with caution. References: Altman, D.G. and Bland, J.M. (1999) How to randomise BMJ. 11;319(7211), pp. 703-4. Berger VW. (2006) A review of methods for ensuring the comparability of comparison groups in randomized clinical trials. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 1(1), pp. 81-6. Burls, A. (2009) What is critical appraisal? London, Hayward Group. Cochrane Collaboration (2014) Glossary, [Online] Available from: http://www.cochrane.org/glossary [Accessed 29 January 2014] Cormack, D. (2000) The research process in nursing, 4th ed., Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford. Crookes, P.A. Davies, S. (1998) Research into Practice. London: Balliere Tindall. Darouiche, R.O., Wall, M.J. Jr, Itani, K.M., Otterson, M.F., Webb, A.L., Carrick, M.M., Miller, H.J., Awad, S.S., Crosby, C.T., Mosier MC, Alsharif A, Berger DH. (2010) Chlorhexidine-Alcohol versus Povidone-Iodine for Surgical-Site Antisepsis. . N Engl J Med. 362(1), pp. 18-26. Dizer B, Hatipoglu S, Kaymakcioglu N, Tufan T, Yava A, Iyigun E, Senses Z. (2009) The effect of nurse-performed preoperative skin preparation on postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal surgery. J Clin Nurs. 18(23), pp. 3325-32. Glasziou, P. (2001) Systematic reviews in health care: a practical guide, Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. Huang, X., Lin, J. and Demmer-Fishman, D. (2006) Evaluation of PICO as a knowledge representation for clinical questions. AMIA Annu Symp Proc, pp. 359-63 Karanicolas, P.J., Farrokhyar, F., Bhandari, M. (2010) Practical tips for surgical research: blinding: who, what, when, why, how? Can J Surg. 53(5), pp. 345-8. Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.L., Chang, Y.K., Mokhtar, I.A. (2011) Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. J Med Libr Assoc. 99(3), pp. 229-36. McKibbon, K.A. (1998) Evidence-based practice, Bull Med Libr Assoc. 86(3), pp. 396–401. NICE (2004) Reviewing and grading the evidence [Online] Available from: http://www.nice.org.uk/niceMedia/pdf/GDM_Chapter7_0305.pdf [Accessed 9 February 2014] NICE (2008) Surgical site infection Prevention and treatment of surgical site infection, London: NICE. Rothwell, P.M. (2006) Factors That Can Affect the External Validity of Randomised Controlled Trials, PLoS Clin Trials. 1(1): e9. Sackett D.L, Richardson W.S, Rosenberg W.M.C, Haynes R.B.(1997) Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM.Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone. Tanner J (2012) Methods of skin antisepsis for preventing SSIs. Nursing Times; 108: 37, 20-22.

A Victory For Clinton :: essays research papers

A Victory For Clinton   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another four years, another new president? The election of 1996 for president moves closer everyday as the republican Robert Dole, and the president Bill Clinton fight it out. Far behind and by all means out of the race is Ross Perot. The polls show Dole-Kemp behind Clinton-Gore, and the results will stay this way for several key reasons. Clinton will serve another four years as president since Americans know what to expect from him as president. On several key issues, such as the budget, Dole has provided the voters with vague ideas on how he will tackle his promises. As three key issues are examined we find Dole to make claims that can easily be doubted. Clinton's claims and views are backed up with four years of experience. Clinton's four years as president has seen a stable economy, and he will try to keep this up for another four years. The balancing of the budget proves to stand as one of the largest issues going into the election.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dole has talked about putting up 23% of federal spending up for cuts. Dole has also said he will not touch the areas of social security, defense, interest on the debt, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits, military pensions, and the Energy Department research labs with cuts. This means under Dole we would be likely to see cuts in national parks with the number of rangers, the Border Patrol with fewer agents, the Bureau of Prisons with fewer prison spaces, NASA with fewer space shuttle flights, the FBI with fewer agents, drug interdiction with 2,960 fewer DEA agents, and education with fewer students in Head Start. On the record Dole has suggested cuts in the Energy Department, and the possibility of also eliminating the Commerce Department. These cuts alone would not achieve the goal of eliminating the budget deficit by 2002 which shows why Dole's ideas are too vague. In the reality for a balanced budget Transportation and the FBI could face cuts of up to 40%. Clinton, on the other hand, focuses his cuts on other areas in order to meet the seven years standard on balancing the budget. Clinton would plan to make the majority of his cuts on Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare. Clinton has already started dipping into these areas by passing the welfare reform act. The president's ideas are more focused on these specifics of balancing the budget which is why he will most likely be re-elected. Another decisive area in the 1996 elections exists in the area of taxes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taxes, always a big issue to voters, will be another key to winning the

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Welcome students, parents and faculty. Well, this Senior Breakfast brings us one step closer to the event we've been anxiously awaiting. We've worked long and hard to get to this point. And yet, it seems like so little time has passed since we were middle schoolers, excited to move on with our lives and enter high school. Do you remember how we were in middle school, even as freshmen? Remember what we thought of, what we wanted to get out of life, what we thought high school would be like? Now, think how we've changed. Our perception of what high school was going to be like was definitely a little fantasized. It wasn't really what we expected, though I don't think many of us were disappointed. After everything, our attitudes are a little different -- our minds maybe even a little broader. We have experienced a great deal during our high school years, thanks to the opportunities Brinkman made available to us. The French classes can go on a field trip to a play in Seattle; the band can represent the school at statewide marching competitions, complete with original music and a cou...

Disagreement with Sigmond Freuds The Future of an Illiusion Essay

To a certain extent I can agree with Freud’s views on natural instinct. Without manmade laws and â€Å"coercion† or rules that are presented by God, civilization would not survive or even have been born. Yet, as is the case with many other people, I disagree with his views on religion. I do not believe that religion was created by man, but by a higher being. It is impossible for me to believe that science will destroy religion because for every question science answers many more questions arise. The more science reveals about nature the more apparent it is to me that only a higher being could have created everything. As Freud states I am one of the unpersuadable. Civilization is not only made by technological development but also by a set of rules. The rules remove man’s foul instincts such as â€Å"killing, incest, and cannibalism†, which are the elements that work to destroy civilization. Without guidelines or laws our actions would be the same as those of wild animals. Freud says that these laws and doctrines were established so that we could unite and band against the our enemy nature. Imposing laws upon people is a necessary element, yet it causes people to resent this coercion away from their natural instincts. After being forced against their will these people begin to hate civilization but at the same time they continue to love it because it provides them with their necessities to live. Freud calls the people the â€Å"masses† because they are the majority of civilization. He says that they are ignorant and lazy, because of this, it easy for them to lapse back to instinctual behavior and into the chaos of nature. "Name" 2 Freud says civilization is founded on religion. For example, T... ...Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a good example of Freud’s envisioned civilization. Instead relying on a higher being, the state "name" 4 was to meet all of the people’s needs. When the country failed economically, there were generations of atheists with no belief system to guide them. This country collapsed because of many reasons but one of them could be the lack of religion. After reading The Future of an Illusion I wondered why Freud was so strongly set against God. Instead of basing his beliefs on faith, he invested himself in the scientific method. Since he could not conduct experiments that led him to the answer, he concluded that it was impossible for a God to exist. Maybe science will one day explain the phenomenona of today, but there will always be unanswered questions. A discovery will only lead to more questions.

Candide in El Dorado

The Meaning of El Dorado and its contrast with the rest of the world: El Dorado appears to be the perfect utopia, for others it represents an unrealistic place to live. For Voltaire this world meant his entire desire and dream about the perfect society. Many critics note that El Dorado is only a huge extravaganza because it consisted of contradictory statements. The meaning of El Dorado is a vision of the perfect society and represents a false paradise impossible to attain or approach by the destructive human nature.El Dorado contrasts with the rest of the world because at the time Candide was written by Voltaire He lived in one important periods of the humanity, â€Å"The enlightenment†. Around him, he saw many injustices perpetrated by the principle institutions that lead the society at that time. The own desire of Candide to leave El Dorado was imposed by something that he knew; In El Dorado, everybody seems to be equal and a fortune in El Dorado means nothing compare to a fortune in the world where they came from.Furthermore, he needed to recover Miss Cunegonde. The superiority and the economic power that he will gain with the fortune from El Dorado will help him to get her back. Some aspects of El Dorado appear very attractive. The deistic religion that the old man describes, the obvious economic supremacy, the egalitarian practices of the king and the absence of public encounters seem to be the perfect society to emulate. El Dorado is the perfect society for Voltaire but the real thrust is that a perfect society like El Dorado is really hard to attain.The excessive exaggeration that Voltaire expresses in Candide makes some critics to think. Why if Candide always looked for the perfect world describes by his mentor Pangloss him and his servant didn’t remain in El Dorado. The answer described for many is that the Perfect Utopia lack of the reality. Shanley and Stillman point out that Voltaire makes constant use of exaggeration to suggest the e xcess of El Dorado: Building reach to clouds. The portal of the king’s palace is 220 feet high and 100 feet wide.Food served at the inn includes a 200-pound condor, 300 colibri hummingbirds on one platter and 600 hummingbirds on another. Such exaggerated sizes appear ludicrous; they also contrast sharply with Voltaire’s initial statement that the country is cultivated for pleasure as well as for need and that â€Å"everywhere the useful is attractive. † As we can see the exaggeration by Voltaire has no limit and in a real world probably cannot exist with such excess. The visions of El Dorado of a perfect society contrast because there are extreme inequalities.For instance, Candide and Cacambo talk to the old man, and this give them a carriage with twelve servants that indicate an exaggeration and also indicate the different social inequalities, if everybody is equal why does a man has many servant. On the other hand, the destructive human nature would never coex ist in a perfect world such as El Dorado. All life beings in the nature lacks of common sense. This is evident in the nature of animals. They fight for their territory and tries to be superior in any aspect of its life.Moreover, Shanley and Stillman believe that El Dorado contains many serious defects. These defects are marked by an irrelevant economic and social inequality, material extravaganza, and stunted human emotional and intellectual capabilities. They also state it is neither a completely good society nor one that human beings can recreate elsewhere. Subsequently, El Dorado seems to be the perfect place to live despite the critics for many authors. However, El Dorado is a very straight critic to the society in which Voltaire lived.The real society in which Voltaire lived is composed for many institutions that he attacks in various opportunities such as the church and the monarchy. For example, when Candide arrived to El Dorado and he sees that all the people believe in the same thing and there’s not a priest, no hierarchy, and all the people are equal. That’s a good strike from Voltaire to the church claiming that everybody must be equal. According with Dalnekoff, â€Å"El Dorado is a foil to the societies through which Candide has passed and will pass where the inquisition imposes a reign of terror, and poverty, corruption and oppression are everywhere to be found. (Utopia and Satire)In contrast of El Dorado with the contemporary system, we found that in the contemporary system much oppression and abuses have been committed and in El Dorado the inhabitants are very virtuous; they were a society with absence of many institutions. A very questionable point in Candide and his extraordinary optimism is why if he believes that everything obeys a divine pattern and all is for the best, why didn’t he remain in El Dorado?. Dalknekoff states that the motives given by Candide for departing are hardly worthy of commendation.His desire to b e richer than all those around him is certainly deplorable. (‘Impossible dream) As Dalknekoff said, motives that move all human beings are money and the desire for superiority. Moreover, Shanley and Stillman endorse Candide; who States â€Å"If we stay here, we shall only be like others†. If they leave, they can be powerful and wealthy. They can boast of their travels, and Candide can recover Cunegonde. In accordance with the authors above Candide’s motives to leave El Dorado are typical human motives.Now beside the fact that all human beings are always seeking fortune and good position of high status, we found another important element: the love for his dear Cunegonde. The love factor is a prominent aspect that can force a human to leave a perfect society like El Dorado. El Dorado seems to be the perfect place with an extremely beauty in all aspect. Candide had an extremely urge to leave this exotic paradise because he wants to reunite with his love Miss cunengo nde who was about to get married with another man.All the riches of El Dorado it wasn’t enough to attach Candide to El Dorado. On the other hand, Dalkenoff claims to stay in El Dorado would mean to escape from the evils of the real world rather than to face and deal with them. It is not in man’s imperfect nature to find happiness in such a perfect society; the best of all possible worlds is not being suites to man as he is. (Utopia and Satire) In accordance with Dalkenoff the human nature is moved by the everyday challenges and such perfection doesn’t look to be very attractive for Candide.After stayed thirty days in El Dorado Candide wants to return as soon possible to the extremely defective world outside. The Eldorado stones will only be of value to him in the defective world, where the people were stingy and greedy and they were measured by what they had. The  Stones and beauty of El Dorado oblige to encourage avarice and ambition in Candide, whose only pr evious idea was survive and his love for Miss Cunegonde Voltaire had an idea about the perfect society and he wanted transmit the idea to the principles institutions of his time.At the time Candide was written in 1759 Europe was in the middle of the Enlightenment period: According to Bristow The Enlightenment is the period in the history of western thought and culture, stretching roughly from the mid-decades of the seventeenth century through the eighteenth century, characterized by dramatic revolutions in science, philosophy, society and politics; these revolutions swept away the medieval world-view and ushered in our modern western world. (Bristow, par. 1)

Literacy for Adolescence Education Essay

The past couple of years have seen a much more focused and concerned behavior towards the curriculum followed by the students and this has gained momentum in the last two decades where the standard movements made the education planners and developers to go over and pay further attention as to what they are teaching their students. The behavior also came into existence after the gap between the educational standards of the foreign students and the American students was perceived as getting wider. This created a wave of panic in the educators who began to fear that their own students are lacking behind in their work and educational standards which is going to have a deep and long lasting effect on the American country. As arts is also an educational field it also came under this movement and so the arts schools are also now competing for existence and focusing deeply on their curriculum. The importance of arts cannot be denied by anyone as it plays a vital role in the student’s life and without it the students are denied the importance of visualizing whatever they are studying in their text books. The knowledge containing in the books are very important for a student to get the concept but without actually visualizing what is written in the text books that knowledge is not worth anything. The art becomes a medium for the students to understand and to see what they are studying without which they would have the knowledge of the books but won’t have any clue as to why or what that knowledge is referring to e. g. take an atom for example. A student can be taught the basic definition, importance, function and parts etc of these basic building blocks but the students wouldn’t be able to grasp the full concept behind an atom without seeing a picture of it and visualizing it. And this is where the study of arts comes in and develops the educational skills of the students. Art helps in exposing the students in encouraging their skills which can be gained through various forms of arts like drama, music, visual paintings etc. The school programs require both kinds of art forms and because of this varying schools promote and focus on it in different ways. This article makes an interesting and intelligent point that the teachers, rather than just focusing on making the students learn their course books, should encourage and help the students in developing their skills on their own. The teachers should focus that their role is not only to help the students to learn but also to make them see the actual hidden meaning behind the words and various subjects. For this arts has to be inculcated into the students so that they can focus on their true potentials. Not only the teachers but the parents and the education providers should encourage them to take maximum benefit from the field of arts as they can. But all the good things have a price to them and similarly the institutions should take the cost into account and make proper financial plans so as to increase and promote the use of art studies as much as they can. Through proper planning and focusing on the importance the education providers would be giving the students maximum opportunity to develop their skills. Bibliography High School Journal. (2008). Enhancing student learning through arts integration: implications for the profession. Retrieved February 12, 2009 from

Polluter

Polluter Corp (the â€Å"Company†) has three manufacturing facilities in the United States, which produce various household cleaning products. The company has a fiscal year end of December 31 and was granted emission allowances (â€Å"EAs†) of various vintage years to be used between 2010 and 2030. To comply with The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (â€Å"FERC†) accounting guidance, Polluter recorded the EAs as intangible assets with a cost basis of zero.Each individual EA has a vintage year designation and those with the same vintage year designation are interchangeable, which allows entities to either buy or sell EAs to other entities, usually initiated through a broker. The Company has plans to upgrade its facilities in 2014 in order to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. It is anticipated the company will need additional EAs in fiscal years 2010-2014 but also believe there will be excess EAs after 2014.The Company operates in a capital-intensive industry and analysts and investors focus on important ratios and measures including working capital, capital expenditures, cash flows from operations, and free cash flow. The company entered into the following two separate transactions in fiscal year 2010 which will impact the Company’s results as presented in the statement of cash flows. . To meet its need for additional EAs in fiscal years 2010-2014, on April 2, 2010, the Company spent $3 million to purchase EAs with a vintage year of 2012 from Clean Air Corp. 2. In an effort to offset the costs of the April 2, 2010, purchase of 2012 EAs, the Company sold EAs with a vintage year of 2016 to Dirty Chemical Corp. for $2 million

Analysis of Setting in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Eric Fitzgerald Critical Essay Keith Wilhite 10/22/12 Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper In works of literature, authors tend to use various literary techniques to help the reader understand the work without an explicit explanation. In the short story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses setting to connect with the theme in order to give the reader an understanding of the narrator’s developing insanity along the common gender roles of the late 19th century.The narrator records journal entries that document the decline of her mental state throughout her progressively slanted perception of reality. Her decline in mental health, which seemingly begins as relatively steady, eventually becomes broken in a way that is exemplified through her explanation of the physical setting. Setting is used as a basis of the plot because without its unique setting, the story would have less credibility of being plausible. Gilman provides a compatible setting and theme, whi ch leads to a smooth plotline in the story.The story takes place in a pleasant summerhouse that the narrator’s husband John has rented out for three months to give his wife time to relax and recover from her illness. This setting immediately tells the reader that the husband and wife live upper-middle class or upper class lives. John, â€Å"a physician of high standing†, clearly does very well for himself financially as he lives comfortably enough to rent out a luxurious summer home for the three months of summer (316).Although the narrator refers to the rental rate of the home as cheap, it is still a luxury expense that not many families would so freely incur. This detail suggests that John makes a good amount of money and allows the reader to infer how this family lives. Because Gilman has provided this setting, the reader is able to assume these more descriptive aspects of the story. The narrator’s first entry in her diary seem sane when read superficially, h owever the way she views her living space seems all too optimistic.She referred to her bedroom as a â€Å"nursery† and assumed that it was a â€Å"nursery first, then playroom, and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls† (317). Yet when she described the so called nursery, one can have serious doubts. She mentioned that the size of the bed was that of an adult’s, and was the only piece of furniture in the room. The reader can immediately question this detail because it does not make sense for there to be an adult’s bed in a room that was for young children, or a gymnasium.The narrator later mentions that, for some reason, the bed is nailed to the floor and that there is significant damage to the legs of the bed. She explains, â€Å"scratched and gouged and splintered,† and â€Å"the plaster itself is dug out here and there† (319). The narrator blames these descri ptions on violent children. The reader develops a further understanding of the narrator’s lack of sanity when the room in portrayed with a sense of her being locked inside. She discloses that the room has barred windows and a barrier taking away her access to the stairwell.She seems to be unaware of these possibly intentional confines of the room, but the reader gains insight to the credible previous usage of the room. In actuality, it allows the reader to question her sanity throughout all of her writing. There is a chance that the asylum was deliberately chosen for the insane narrator and John led her to believe it was a nursery to circumvent disturbing her â€Å"slight hysterical tendency† (316). â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written in 1892 and takes place in about this same time period.In this century, gender roles among men and women were distinct. The men worked and played a superior role in society, while the women stayed at home to cook, clean, and ta ke care of the children provided they had any. In the story, John has the overall power in the house, while the narrator does as he says. The narrator showed her obedience when she immediately stopped writing when she noticed her husband was on his way to her room. She said, â€Å"There comes John, and I must put this away, – he hates to have me write a word† (317).Beyond the relationship of physician to patient, John is demonstrating his empowerment as a husband in this late 19th century short story when he does not allow his wife to go visit her Cousin Henry and Julia,: â€Å"[†¦] he said I wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; [†¦]† (321). The husband-wife relationship between the two is further uncovered in the narrator’s fourth journal entry. She accidentally woke up her husband in the night when she got up from her bed to explore the activity in the wallpaper and goes on to say to John that it is â€Å"a good t ime to talk† (322).Through their discussion, it is clear that John is talking down to his wife when he calls her â€Å"little girl† and cries out, â€Å"Bless her little hear! † (322). Additionally, John seems as though he declines to acknowledge the fact that his wife’s condition is not improving as he continuously reinforces the idea that she is getting better. The relationship between the two is clearly dominated by John. His wife’s reliance on him and her lowliness are highlighted by John’s condescending conduct. Furthermore, John placed his wife in an upstairs bedroom, where she ended up spending all of her time away from the rest of the house.Contrary to where the wife wanted her bedroom to be, she nonetheless endured the discomfort that the hideous yellow wallpaper brought to the room. After a detailed description of the wallpaper’s lack of attractiveness, the narrator stated, â€Å"I should hate it myself if I had to live in t his room long† (317). In this moment, John’s wife’s declaration of hate towards the yellow wallpaper in a way foreshadows her imminent insanity. Throughout the story, the narrator’s thoughts become increasingly involved with the wallpaper to the point where most readers would question her sanity.Although she often mentions that she feels her health is improving, her writing becomes progressively obsessed with the wallpaper indicating her worsening mental state. Mentioning new â€Å"developments† in the wallpaper, she states, â€Å"There are always new shoots on the fungus, and new shades of yellow all over it. I cannot keep count of them, though I have tried conscientiously† (324). She also goes on to reference various other strange details of the paper such as its smell, its color, and that she believes there is a woman behind it making it move (325).At this point in the story, it is clear that the narrator has lost her grip on reality as th e setting ultimately contributes to the plot line of the short story. Additionally, the narrator’s distance from the central areas of the house symbolizes the distance between her mental state and reality. The rest of the family resides in the common place of the house where they carry out their days – a normal reality. The author portrays the narrator’s figurative separation from the regular, sane world by physically distancing her from everyone else in the house.The narrator is also separated in terms of the social hierarchy of the house. The husband paid for the rent of the house and moves about freely in it while he requires his wife to remain in her room at all times, which also demonstrates his gender dominance in the late 19th century. Often times, the setting of a literary work can contribute much more to the reader than simply informing the time and place of the work. The reader can gain a better understanding of many different aspects of a work when th e setting is critically analyzed.The narrator’s decline in mental health begins as relatively stable to the reader but eventually becomes fragmented in a way that is exemplified through her clarification of her physical setting. Her weakening mental state can partially be blamed her already preexisting nervous tendency, but is certainly a result of her questionable â€Å"treatment† and her husband’s denial to his wife as an adult on a level social hierarchy. The setting in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† plays a crucial role in being able to thoroughly understand the literary work.

Chalice Chapter 6

She had no idea what a Chalice was supposed to offer a Master who visited her at her home. There must be a tradition, a right thing, even perhaps a rule. But it was not an eventuality it had occurred to her she needed to prepare for. And perhaps there was no rule after all, because the Chalice should have lived at the House, at the House with the Master. â€Å"Honey,† he said. â€Å"Will you offer me honey?† â€Å"Of course,† she said, still wit-scattered. â€Å"Anything – anything I can offer you.† â€Å"Honey, please,† he said politely, as if he were anyone – as if he were one of her customers. She looked at him bemusedly. Which honey? Not the sleepy. The energetic? One of the ache-soothers? Which one? One of the ones she hadn’t figured out yet (maybe they were just to make dull bread or porridge taste wonderful)? â€Å"Of course,† she said, and went indoors, as much to hide her confusion from him – but what did he see with his uncanny eyes? – as to fetch the honey. She went to the shelf where she kept the jars in use, and put her hand out blindly, choosing by not choosing: and so her hand reached itself, and took down a jar. It was one of the mysterious ones: she knew neither what it was for nor what it was made of. It was an early-summer honey, and she could taste the yellow singers and the wild cherry, but there was something else in it as well. Perhaps it’s a confusion-tamer, she thought, and the choice is really for me. She took two spoons, which is what she would normally do for a friend – or had done when she had had friends. But it was only as she picked up the second spoon that it occurred to her that this honey was also her secret favourite, and that she liked not knowing what was in it, and had silly fantasies about what it might be for, besides making dull bread or porridge taste wonderful. Would a Master eat honey straight out of the jar? She dithered a moment longer, and then made up a tray, with a half loaf of bread and a knife, and two cups, and a pitcher of water drawn that morning from the cottage well – whose water now had the faintest sweet taste, as if a little honey were leaking into its source. He was sitting in one of the stone chairs when she came back outside again. She had noticed before that he rarely stood for long; she wondered if the Hardbutt family furniture was to him any improvement on standing, but he looked, she thought, almost relaxed. More relaxed, anyway, than he had ever been during all the gatherings she had stood Chalice to. She paused in her doorway to look at him a moment longer. Even when there was not the slightest breeze the hem of his cloak stirred faintly, as if in response to some intangible air. Or flame. As she watched he raised his hands and put his hood back, tipping his face up to the sun and closing his disturbing red eyes. She’d never seen him bare-headed before and in the strong sunlight she had confirmed what she had suspected since the first time she saw him at the front door of the House, when she had given him the cup of welcome: there was a peculiar, somehow indefinite quality to his features that was not only to do with blackness seen in shadow. The lines of his face seemed strangely mutable, as if they flickered, almost like flames. But she also saw that he had hair: black and straight, pulled back from his face, and tied at the nape of his neck with something she could not see, lost in the folds of the hood. The boy who had smiled at her and her mother as he trotted past on his pony had had curly brown hair. But many straight-haired people had curly hair as children. She had to kneel to move some books out of the way before she set the tray down on the wide low stone that served as an outdoor table. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. She risked looking at him for longer than a glance. She could not discern pupil from iris – if perhaps a third-level priest of Fire still has ordinary irises and pupils – which were as lightlessly black as his skin. What should have been the whites of his eyes were red – red as fire – red as the embers that will set flaming anything that touches them. Reddened eyes in ordinary humans look sore and sick; his looked uncanny and fathomlessly deep. What might he see with such eyes? As she had done the morning he healed her hand, she heard herself asking a question she had no intention of saying out loud: â€Å"Do you see differently?† â€Å"With my red eyes?† he said, equably enough, and blinked. His eyelids stayed closed a fraction longer than a usual blink, and when they opened again that sense of burning embers was even stronger, in a face that seemed itself to flicker slightly, like a hot fire burnt low. â€Å"I’m not sure. It’s a gradual process, being taken by Fire. I still see the leaves of the trees as green, and a cloudless sky as blue. But I see heat, in a way I remember I did not, when I†¦before I entered Fire.† â€Å"You see heat,† she said, not understanding. â€Å"You are warmer than the surrounding air,† he said. â€Å"I see – or read – that. I read Ponty as a warm space too. A warm solid space – a Ponty-shaped space. His heat outlines him, and inside†¦within that outline there is movement, swirls, billows, like a stream in wild country over a rough rocky bed†¦the movement of his life force. It moves clearly and strongly in him, like clear water. It is rarely so strong or so clear in humans. There is a rabbit in the brush over there; I see the curled and curling shape of its warmth, its body, behind the leaves, which screen it, I think, from your sight.† He looked around. â€Å"You can probably pick out the singing birds in your trees by tracing the sound; I can see the silent ones. I can see the ones invisible on their nests, and I can see how many eggs they sit on, for this late brooding. I can see where there is no life inside a shell, that it will not hatch.† â€Å"And the bees?† she said, fascinated. â€Å"Yes. The bees are tiny golden sparks, as of fire.† â€Å"Of honey.† â€Å"Yes. Of honey. The hives glitter with the movement of the bees.† â€Å"I wish I could see them like that,† she said wistfully. â€Å"It must be very beautiful.† He made no answer and – again as she had done that morning before he had first asked her to stand by him – she suddenly recalled to whom she spoke, and looked at him quickly, her mouth already open to apologise. But he was looking at her with what seemed to her was surprise. Her mouth stayed open, but no words came out. â€Å"It is very beautiful,† he said. She looked down, at her tray, at the little lopsided jar of glittering honey. â€Å"I don’t know much – I don’t know as much as I should – about Chalices,† he said. â€Å"Isn’t their usual susceptibility to water?† â€Å"Or wine,† she said. â€Å"Occasionally beer or cider or perry. Perhaps once every other century a woman who is pregnant or nursing when the Chalice comes to her finds that she holds her Chalice in milk, but that is not considered lucky for the demesne. Occasionally in a demesne near the sea it has been brine. I’ve read about the finding and naming of many Chalices now and I’ve not read of another one whose gift was honey. Never honey. I suppose that’s one of the reasons that it never occurred to me what was happening, in the beginning, after†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She knew she was talking too much, but it seemed to pour out of her, like honey from a jar: it wasn’t only the overwhelmingness of her life that made it lonely; it was that she had no one to share with how enormously interesting it also was. â€Å"And the coming is not usually so†¦melodramatic. That will have been the unsettled state of the demesne, I know, but†¦. You do get thing s like wells overflowing, but it was mead and honey everywhere here, and my goats were fountaining milk, and usually it’s not quite so†¦You know the Lady of the Ladywell was our first Chalice – that was her house well originally – her well overflowed, but all that happened, according to the records, is that it was the herald of a drought ending, and so very welcome. â€Å"This demesne has usually had water Chalices – maybe because of the willows. The last Chalice, the one who – who died† – she glanced up at him briefly and away again – â€Å"she was a water Chalice. I think that may be part of why†¦and part of why I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She had babbled on too much already, but she did not want to stop there. â€Å"There’s a very old story about a blood Chalice. She must have had a horrible time. But she brought her demesne through a series of wars that destroyed the demesnes around her, according to the story, so maybe it was worth it to her. I’ve never found any record of her, though, only the story. In the story her demesne is called Springleafturn, and there isn’t one.† â€Å"‘Part of why,'† he said. â€Å"Part of why she and my brother died?† â€Å"I don’t know,† she said. â€Å"I should not have mentioned it.† â€Å"You have the right to know how your predecessor died.† â€Å"I have the right to have been apprenticed to the Chalice I was to succeed! I have the right to have known I was her heir! You have the right to have lived here and supported your brother as Master and learnt what you needed to know as his acknowledged Heir! Our land has the right to be cared for by a Master and a Chalice who know what they’re doing and – and are able to do it!† â€Å"And Willowlands is in trouble because these rights were not honoured.† â€Å"Yes,† she said wearily. â€Å"Yes.† She did not say, And it is why two – lame, faulty, unfit, what do you call a priest of Fire exiled from his Fire? What do you call a small woodskeeper suddenly ordered to be great? – unsuitable, unready people were made Chalice and Master, and why they cannot make a damaged land whole. It is all wrong; and the frame, the pattern, the yoke that holds us all, is not yet broken, but it is breaking. â€Å"Tell me why you said what you did. That being a water Chalice was part of why they died.† She was silent a moment. At last she said, â€Å"They died of fire and wine. I – I guess – and it is only a guess – she might have shaped the way better if she had had more strength for wine. Willowlands has always been very – † She tried to think of an adjective that would fit. The only ones that came to her were â€Å"pure† or â€Å"clean† or â€Å"clear† or â€Å"simple† and she could not say any of them to the brother of the man who had made it not so. There were other demesnes whose strength was not in clarity or purity, but she did not know how to make her own another of them, even to heal it. She thought, If the land chose me, then it cannot want to go that way. The only thing I have to offer is simplicity – dumb, harassed simplicity. â€Å"He was holding one of his – parties – I guess. Yes, he had begun them before he sent me away; indeed it was because of them that he did send me away, because I could, or would, not keep silence about them. No, no one has told me this, but it was the old pavilion that burnt, and it was there I know he held his first assemblies, because it suited his purposes. How can a Master and his Chalice be so insensible as to be overcome by fire, in their own demesne, unless they are drunk – or drugged?† Quickly she said, â€Å"At least we did not lose the House.† â€Å"The House would not have borne such usage as his carouses were,† he responded just as quickly. â€Å"He had to hold them elsewhere. I am sorry the pavilion was not stronger.† â€Å"But – † she said. â€Å"The – the old magic, before the demesnes were made, the old magic still lives close under the earth there. You know this – you must have felt it too. The pavilion was power to use, for good or ill, without rule.† Another silence, while he looked at his hands. â€Å"I apologise for the violence of my words. I did not – do not – hate my brother. The bitterness I feel is the bitterness of my own frustration – my own lack of power to pull our land together again. Or rather, the power is still there, but it has been turned to, or into, Fire, and I cannot turn it back, however I try.† Savagely he clapped his hands together, and when he opened them, a pillar of fire roared up from between them – he closed them again and the fire disappeared. â€Å"That is only a trick to frighten children, here. Here I cannot be sure, if I reach out to grasp a goblet, that I won’t miss, and grab the air, or burn the hand of her who holds it out to me. It is the same when I reach for the earthlines. I miss, or do harm.† â€Å"You healed the burnt hand of the woman who held the goblet for you. It is not all tricks to frighten children,† she said, hoping he had not seen that she had been frightened just now. â€Å"I hear the earthlines too – I not only must, as Chalice, but by being Chalice I cannot help it – and I have felt no harm done lately.† He raised his eyes and looked at her. â€Å"Would you? Would you feel it? Could you say to yourself, ‘Yes, here is a break – a roughness, a troubling – that was not here a sennight ago’?† She returned his look and refused to look away. â€Å"I don’t know. That is what you are pressing me to say, is it not? I don’t know because I don’t know what the earthlines should feel like, should sound like – what they would feel like if the land were settled and content – whether their constant plaintive murmur would at last fall silent. I don’t know. It is only one of a thousand thousand things I don’t know. But I know the land lies quieter now than it did a year ago – than it did six months ago. I know the earthlines lie softer than they did.† He shifted his gaze away from her, as if looking through the woods to the House and then beyond, across the long leagues of the entire demesne. She sat staring at him, and was so far away in her thoughts that when he looked back at her she did not move her eyes quickly enough. â€Å"What do you see?† he said. Chalice Chapter 6 She had no idea what a Chalice was supposed to offer a Master who visited her at her home. There must be a tradition, a right thing, even perhaps a rule. But it was not an eventuality it had occurred to her she needed to prepare for. And perhaps there was no rule after all, because the Chalice should have lived at the House, at the House with the Master. â€Å"Honey,† he said. â€Å"Will you offer me honey?† â€Å"Of course,† she said, still wit-scattered. â€Å"Anything – anything I can offer you.† â€Å"Honey, please,† he said politely, as if he were anyone – as if he were one of her customers. She looked at him bemusedly. Which honey? Not the sleepy. The energetic? One of the ache-soothers? Which one? One of the ones she hadn’t figured out yet (maybe they were just to make dull bread or porridge taste wonderful)? â€Å"Of course,† she said, and went indoors, as much to hide her confusion from him – but what did he see with his uncanny eyes? – as to fetch the honey. She went to the shelf where she kept the jars in use, and put her hand out blindly, choosing by not choosing: and so her hand reached itself, and took down a jar. It was one of the mysterious ones: she knew neither what it was for nor what it was made of. It was an early-summer honey, and she could taste the yellow singers and the wild cherry, but there was something else in it as well. Perhaps it’s a confusion-tamer, she thought, and the choice is really for me. She took two spoons, which is what she would normally do for a friend – or had done when she had had friends. But it was only as she picked up the second spoon that it occurred to her that this honey was also her secret favourite, and that she liked not knowing what was in it, and had silly fantasies about what it might be for, besides making dull bread or porridge taste wonderful. Would a Master eat honey straight out of the jar? She dithered a moment longer, and then made up a tray, with a half loaf of bread and a knife, and two cups, and a pitcher of water drawn that morning from the cottage well – whose water now had the faintest sweet taste, as if a little honey were leaking into its source. He was sitting in one of the stone chairs when she came back outside again. She had noticed before that he rarely stood for long; she wondered if the Hardbutt family furniture was to him any improvement on standing, but he looked, she thought, almost relaxed. More relaxed, anyway, than he had ever been during all the gatherings she had stood Chalice to. She paused in her doorway to look at him a moment longer. Even when there was not the slightest breeze the hem of his cloak stirred faintly, as if in response to some intangible air. Or flame. As she watched he raised his hands and put his hood back, tipping his face up to the sun and closing his disturbing red eyes. She’d never seen him bare-headed before and in the strong sunlight she had confirmed what she had suspected since the first time she saw him at the front door of the House, when she had given him the cup of welcome: there was a peculiar, somehow indefinite quality to his features that was not only to do with blackness seen in shadow. The lines of his face seemed strangely mutable, as if they flickered, almost like flames. But she also saw that he had hair: black and straight, pulled back from his face, and tied at the nape of his neck with something she could not see, lost in the folds of the hood. The boy who had smiled at her and her mother as he trotted past on his pony had had curly brown hair. But many straight-haired people had curly hair as children. She had to kneel to move some books out of the way before she set the tray down on the wide low stone that served as an outdoor table. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. She risked looking at him for longer than a glance. She could not discern pupil from iris – if perhaps a third-level priest of Fire still has ordinary irises and pupils – which were as lightlessly black as his skin. What should have been the whites of his eyes were red – red as fire – red as the embers that will set flaming anything that touches them. Reddened eyes in ordinary humans look sore and sick; his looked uncanny and fathomlessly deep. What might he see with such eyes? As she had done the morning he healed her hand, she heard herself asking a question she had no intention of saying out loud: â€Å"Do you see differently?† â€Å"With my red eyes?† he said, equably enough, and blinked. His eyelids stayed closed a fraction longer than a usual blink, and when they opened again that sense of burning embers was even stronger, in a face that seemed itself to flicker slightly, like a hot fire burnt low. â€Å"I’m not sure. It’s a gradual process, being taken by Fire. I still see the leaves of the trees as green, and a cloudless sky as blue. But I see heat, in a way I remember I did not, when I†¦before I entered Fire.† â€Å"You see heat,† she said, not understanding. â€Å"You are warmer than the surrounding air,† he said. â€Å"I see – or read – that. I read Ponty as a warm space too. A warm solid space – a Ponty-shaped space. His heat outlines him, and inside†¦within that outline there is movement, swirls, billows, like a stream in wild country over a rough rocky bed†¦the movement of his life force. It moves clearly and strongly in him, like clear water. It is rarely so strong or so clear in humans. There is a rabbit in the brush over there; I see the curled and curling shape of its warmth, its body, behind the leaves, which screen it, I think, from your sight.† He looked around. â€Å"You can probably pick out the singing birds in your trees by tracing the sound; I can see the silent ones. I can see the ones invisible on their nests, and I can see how many eggs they sit on, for this late brooding. I can see where there is no life inside a shell, that it will not hatch.† â€Å"And the bees?† she said, fascinated. â€Å"Yes. The bees are tiny golden sparks, as of fire.† â€Å"Of honey.† â€Å"Yes. Of honey. The hives glitter with the movement of the bees.† â€Å"I wish I could see them like that,† she said wistfully. â€Å"It must be very beautiful.† He made no answer and – again as she had done that morning before he had first asked her to stand by him – she suddenly recalled to whom she spoke, and looked at him quickly, her mouth already open to apologise. But he was looking at her with what seemed to her was surprise. Her mouth stayed open, but no words came out. â€Å"It is very beautiful,† he said. She looked down, at her tray, at the little lopsided jar of glittering honey. â€Å"I don’t know much – I don’t know as much as I should – about Chalices,† he said. â€Å"Isn’t their usual susceptibility to water?† â€Å"Or wine,† she said. â€Å"Occasionally beer or cider or perry. Perhaps once every other century a woman who is pregnant or nursing when the Chalice comes to her finds that she holds her Chalice in milk, but that is not considered lucky for the demesne. Occasionally in a demesne near the sea it has been brine. I’ve read about the finding and naming of many Chalices now and I’ve not read of another one whose gift was honey. Never honey. I suppose that’s one of the reasons that it never occurred to me what was happening, in the beginning, after†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She knew she was talking too much, but it seemed to pour out of her, like honey from a jar: it wasn’t only the overwhelmingness of her life that made it lonely; it was that she had no one to share with how enormously interesting it also was. â€Å"And the coming is not usually so†¦melodramatic. That will have been the unsettled state of the demesne, I know, but†¦. You do get thing s like wells overflowing, but it was mead and honey everywhere here, and my goats were fountaining milk, and usually it’s not quite so†¦You know the Lady of the Ladywell was our first Chalice – that was her house well originally – her well overflowed, but all that happened, according to the records, is that it was the herald of a drought ending, and so very welcome. â€Å"This demesne has usually had water Chalices – maybe because of the willows. The last Chalice, the one who – who died† – she glanced up at him briefly and away again – â€Å"she was a water Chalice. I think that may be part of why†¦and part of why I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She had babbled on too much already, but she did not want to stop there. â€Å"There’s a very old story about a blood Chalice. She must have had a horrible time. But she brought her demesne through a series of wars that destroyed the demesnes around her, according to the story, so maybe it was worth it to her. I’ve never found any record of her, though, only the story. In the story her demesne is called Springleafturn, and there isn’t one.† â€Å"‘Part of why,'† he said. â€Å"Part of why she and my brother died?† â€Å"I don’t know,† she said. â€Å"I should not have mentioned it.† â€Å"You have the right to know how your predecessor died.† â€Å"I have the right to have been apprenticed to the Chalice I was to succeed! I have the right to have known I was her heir! You have the right to have lived here and supported your brother as Master and learnt what you needed to know as his acknowledged Heir! Our land has the right to be cared for by a Master and a Chalice who know what they’re doing and – and are able to do it!† â€Å"And Willowlands is in trouble because these rights were not honoured.† â€Å"Yes,† she said wearily. â€Å"Yes.† She did not say, And it is why two – lame, faulty, unfit, what do you call a priest of Fire exiled from his Fire? What do you call a small woodskeeper suddenly ordered to be great? – unsuitable, unready people were made Chalice and Master, and why they cannot make a damaged land whole. It is all wrong; and the frame, the pattern, the yoke that holds us all, is not yet broken, but it is breaking. â€Å"Tell me why you said what you did. That being a water Chalice was part of why they died.† She was silent a moment. At last she said, â€Å"They died of fire and wine. I – I guess – and it is only a guess – she might have shaped the way better if she had had more strength for wine. Willowlands has always been very – † She tried to think of an adjective that would fit. The only ones that came to her were â€Å"pure† or â€Å"clean† or â€Å"clear† or â€Å"simple† and she could not say any of them to the brother of the man who had made it not so. There were other demesnes whose strength was not in clarity or purity, but she did not know how to make her own another of them, even to heal it. She thought, If the land chose me, then it cannot want to go that way. The only thing I have to offer is simplicity – dumb, harassed simplicity. â€Å"He was holding one of his – parties – I guess. Yes, he had begun them before he sent me away; indeed it was because of them that he did send me away, because I could, or would, not keep silence about them. No, no one has told me this, but it was the old pavilion that burnt, and it was there I know he held his first assemblies, because it suited his purposes. How can a Master and his Chalice be so insensible as to be overcome by fire, in their own demesne, unless they are drunk – or drugged?† Quickly she said, â€Å"At least we did not lose the House.† â€Å"The House would not have borne such usage as his carouses were,† he responded just as quickly. â€Å"He had to hold them elsewhere. I am sorry the pavilion was not stronger.† â€Å"But – † she said. â€Å"The – the old magic, before the demesnes were made, the old magic still lives close under the earth there. You know this – you must have felt it too. The pavilion was power to use, for good or ill, without rule.† Another silence, while he looked at his hands. â€Å"I apologise for the violence of my words. I did not – do not – hate my brother. The bitterness I feel is the bitterness of my own frustration – my own lack of power to pull our land together again. Or rather, the power is still there, but it has been turned to, or into, Fire, and I cannot turn it back, however I try.† Savagely he clapped his hands together, and when he opened them, a pillar of fire roared up from between them – he closed them again and the fire disappeared. â€Å"That is only a trick to frighten children, here. Here I cannot be sure, if I reach out to grasp a goblet, that I won’t miss, and grab the air, or burn the hand of her who holds it out to me. It is the same when I reach for the earthlines. I miss, or do harm.† â€Å"You healed the burnt hand of the woman who held the goblet for you. It is not all tricks to frighten children,† she said, hoping he had not seen that she had been frightened just now. â€Å"I hear the earthlines too – I not only must, as Chalice, but by being Chalice I cannot help it – and I have felt no harm done lately.† He raised his eyes and looked at her. â€Å"Would you? Would you feel it? Could you say to yourself, ‘Yes, here is a break – a roughness, a troubling – that was not here a sennight ago’?† She returned his look and refused to look away. â€Å"I don’t know. That is what you are pressing me to say, is it not? I don’t know because I don’t know what the earthlines should feel like, should sound like – what they would feel like if the land were settled and content – whether their constant plaintive murmur would at last fall silent. I don’t know. It is only one of a thousand thousand things I don’t know. But I know the land lies quieter now than it did a year ago – than it did six months ago. I know the earthlines lie softer than they did.† He shifted his gaze away from her, as if looking through the woods to the House and then beyond, across the long leagues of the entire demesne. She sat staring at him, and was so far away in her thoughts that when he looked back at her she did not move her eyes quickly enough. â€Å"What do you see?† he said.