Using accelerometer and EMG signals to estimate arm motion Dissertation

Using accelerometer and EMG signals to estimate arm motion - Dissertation Example Using accelerometer and EMG signals to estimate arm motion This study investigates a means to overcome this degradation through use of EMG signals combined with accelerometer signals to measure the upper arm static and dynamic acceleration. Both EMG signal and accelerometer inputs are fed into an artificial neural network. The artificial neural network continuously predicts arm movement trajectories. An offline time-delay Artificial Neural network (TDANN) is employed to predict the movement trajectories of the arm. The accuracy of prediction was judged by using a set of goniometer readings which provides the changes in the angles of the upper limb. All data was processed in the Matlab environment. The TDANN deployed was developed in the neural network toolbox present within the Matlab environment. The developed neural network was optimized and trained with different sets of inputs, and the results for each of the trails was noted. The results obtained clearly demonstrated that accelerometers are able to enhance pattern recognition and thus p rovide better prosthesis control. Neural Network Optimization and Prediction Performance The neural network structure used for the study is the TDANN. TDANN is a neural network architecture whose primary purpose is to function on continuous data. The major advantage of using TDANN on continuous data is its ability to adapt the network’s weights and activation function online by use of back propagation error method. (Fougner, et al., 2011). The networks can be visualized as a feed forward neural network which is trained for time series prediction. The architecture has continuous inputs that are delayed and sent into the network. In this study, the inputs to this neural network architecture were delayed time series; that is the previous values of 10 channels for 4 for EMG and 6 channels for accelerometers. The measured goniometer signals served as desired output of the TDANN and also as the present state of the time series. The usage of one- layer time delay artificial neural n etwork which is a feed forward structure allow us to predict continuous trajectories which is advantageous for a coordinated and simultaneous control of multiple degrees of freedom in a natural manner. The use of delayed input signals enabled the neural network to capture dynamic input-output properties and account for the delay between the onset of the muscle activity and mechanical arm movement (the activation of the hardware motors in the prosthesis) (Fougner, et al., 2011). TDANN have also an advantage of rapid training time when compared to the dynamic neural networks with recurrent connections. We investigated using a TDANN to predict the elbow flexion degrees, wrist flexion degrees, wrist deviation degrees and forearm rotation degrees based on EMG information from the available intact muscles in transhumeral amputation patients. The EMG information was combined with the accelerometer information about the upper arm and the upper trunk orientations. A one layer time-delay arti ficial neural network (TDANN) was created using Matlab’s neural network toolbox; this network was used to capture the time-series data (EMG and accelerometer signals as an input with the goniometers and torsiometer signals as output). The size of the hidden layer was set by default to be 10 neurons and the network was trained then the hidden layer size was increased to 25 then to 35 and the performance of the network was monitored. TDANN with 35 neuron hidden layer size was then chosen. The network used 2 input delays to allow building a dynamic network, which has memory so

Compare two images Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Compare two images - Essay Example "Vermeer did not do a preparatory drawing to be filled in by color. The first stage of his paintings consists of a structure of clearly contrasting light and shade where form emerge without drawing," Arasse (1993, p.52). One of his celebrated paintings, Mistress and the Maid clearly expresses the suppressed motion and activity, where maid brings a letter to the already letter-writing mistress and both seem to be aware of the importance of incoming letter. The letter writer has stopped writing while gazing at the letter in maid's hand. It is a painting full of motion, activity, and both women are caught in mid-conversation. Vermeer, born in 1632, son of a silk merchant, had excess to the world of fashion and fine clothes and his paintings reflect this knowledge in a sophisticated and effective way. They grant opulence to the painting and its dcor. Exceptionally luminous figures, almost three dimensional against the dark background are highly coherent in their fashion and movements. If the mistress is showing the high fashion of the day of genteel families, maid, though representing a lower salaried class, is extremely neat, correctly attired and almost as attention-catching as the mistress in luminous yellow. It is not a mean feat, as maid is wearing almost a merging colour and she is pitted against the bright yellow full of life worn by a more beautiful woman. Still Vermeer does not fail in making them equally attractive. Many of his women were bright yellow and golden yellow. The cut and style of head dresses of those days was very different from styles of other countries. They are entirely Dutch styles of the day. Hair is kept simple without elaboration. In this painting, fashionable wardrobe helps to bring across the visual dialogue between the two women, while showing the difference in class, work and attitude. It is dif ficult to miss the intense psychological impact created by the just arrived letter. Vermeer is famous for using 'camera obscura' to view his subjects and present them in a moment of fluidity. MUSIC LESSON http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/catalogue/music_lesson.htm A famous painting of excellent composition, brilliant and uncommonly real foreground, with a double bass on the floor, Music Class reflects a tender moment between the pupil and music teacher. Some critics have mentioned that Vermeer might have immortalised love, pointing out the blue chair and untouched double bass on the floor; but this could be mere speculation. Painting catches a moment of arrested action as per the blurred reflection in the mirror. Most of Vermeer's painting colours show the costumes of rich Dutch merchant class in mid 17th century. After the execution of Charles I, Cromwell's administration was not a particular period of art's supremacy in England and France was plagued with internal troubles and hence, Holland had the centre stage for fashion in Europe and this has reflected many times in his paintings. The ebony framed mirror which reflects the girl from a rather impossible angle that cannot be noticed in her demeanour becomes the focal point of the painting. Vermeer, who had a special penchant for light and shadow display clearly gave more attention to that pleasure than to his subjects and it could be seen in both paintings that light has been used with

Film Analysis: Metropolis Women

Film Analysis: Metropolis Women Film History The first ever science fiction film, â€Å"Metropolis†, is a German Expressionism film released in 1927 that portrays women through femininity, technology, and sexuality. Science Fiction cinema, see it as a landmark film and a futuristic technological fantasy that mirrors both our fears and our fascination with technology. Even more remarkable is that the film connects the relationship among female sexuality, male-oriented vision, and technology. In this paper, I would like to examine the relationship between women, sexuality, and technology. Post World War I, German Expressionism had a strong influence on cinema. By the end of the eighteenth century filmmakers used cinema as a way to address issues relevant to culture and society by combining the arts and technology, which is seen in the architecture and techniques of film at this time (Deren). The idea of German Expressionism was that cinema was to heighten emotional and psychological states, filmmakers used exaggeration, violence, and distortion such as sharp angles, painted shadows, and twisted landscape to give films disturbing visual characteristics. Metropolis depicts a futuristic city in the year 2026 from the view of the 1920s. The wealthy ruling class lives in luxury in their skyscrapers while the working class is forced to sweat and slave in subhuman conditions under the city. The working class is a slave to the ruling class, and man is a slave to the machine. The film starts with images of massive machinery spewing smoke with their pistons churning in a continuous rhythm. The workers dressed in all black are marching in a very robotic form to the elevators that will take them down to the oppressive machines that run the city. There are then images of a shift siren sounding and very large clocks that only count to ten, which alert the workers of the beginning and the end of work shifts (Ruppert). Here is where the workers are reduced to robots in which their movements are dominated by the mechanical rhythm of the machine. Workers in this system, must adapt themselves to a functional, technological rationality; they must func tion like machines, in lockstep and geometric formation, their individual identities lost. Thus, the hands of Metropolis become, mechanical and replaceable (Rutsky). However, our first impression of the city where the elite live is that of a very modern and impressive urban landscape with the large architecture, planes, cars, and eden like gardens where the power of technology benefits human purpose (Ruppert). The story of Metropolis provides a unique view of the future. Freder is the son of the ruler or head of Metropolis, Jon Frederson who is considered of almost superhuman rationality and efficiency (Rutsky). One day, outside in the eden like gardens, Freder comes across a woman from the working class who has brought the children up to see how their brothers live. He immediately falls in love, and follows her to the depths of the city where he learns of the hard lifestyle the workers lead. It is here where Freder witnesses a violent explosion and he suddenly imagines one of the machines as a demonic beast â€Å"Moloch† to which the workers are sacrificed. Hoping to persuade his father into providing a better life and more promising future to the underground workers, Freder travels to see his father. When his father refuses, he goes and takes over the job of an overworked laborer. Upon completing the shift he learns that Maria is almost like a spiritual leader to the workers as he hears her teaching the workers about the Tower of Babel. At this point, Freder decides he wants to help Maria and he joins the underground community. Freders father finds out and was concerned about the influence Maria may have over the workers so he enlists in the help of an old rival Rotwang, to help keep the working class under control. From Jon Fredersons point of view, Maria has already cuased Freder to alienate from him and question his authority. This represents no only a potential rival to his power, but poses a threat to male domination, should the feminine values of the â€Å"heart† such as nurture, compassion, and feeling (emotions generally considered feminine) ever become dominant (Ruppert). Rotwang, an evil scientist, wants to undermine Marias leadership and create a plan to destroy the machines. He kidnaps Maria and creates a robot which he clones into her and uses it to confuse the workers. The plan works and the robot Maria leads workers to destroy machines, which causes their city to flood that almost drownes the workers children. It is up to Maria and Freder to rescue the children. Eventually the children are saved, which causes the workers to rebel against Maria who they believed caused all these problems. The workers end up burning the robot Maria at the stake. Through this, the workers and his Jon Frederson realize Freder is the connection from the brain to the hands, that Maria had always hoped for. Freder is the heart of the machine. It is evident, by the main context in the film that the images portraying femininity are threatening the male world of technology, domination, and control. â€Å"Control of the real Maria, represents a threat to the world of high technology, and its system of sexual repression; domination of the Robot Maria by Rotwang who orders her to perform certain tasks; control of the workers by the Frederson Master of Metropolis who plans to replace the underground workers with robots; and finally, control of the workers actions through Fredersons sneaky use of the machine, the robot Maria (Huyssen).† Marias threat to male dominance in Metropolis is made apparent in the sequence in which Rotwang and Fredersen observe her speaking to the workers. The two watch as she communicates her version of the legend of the Tower of Babel to the workers, emphasizing the division and destruction between the ruling classes and the workers, a situation that obviously corresponds to the conditions in Metropolis (Ruppert). She predicts eventual reconciliation and social harmony: between the brain that plans and the hands that build, she says, there must be a mediator. It is the heart, that must bring about an understanding between them. With the creation of robot Maria, came the ability for the viewer to clearly see how sexuality can be used to gain power and control. In this particular scene Rotwang presents her at an all male gathering in the upper city. Robot Maria emerges from steam and light to do a sequence of seductive belly dances stripping off more clothes at each glance. She became quite the spectacle and the object of male desire and vision, leaving all the men in â€Å"awe†. Femininity in this sequence, suggests, it is constructed by male vision and that female sexuality comes to life through male desire (Ruppert). By connecting technology and female sexuality, the film incites the viewer with polarities and opposition. â€Å"Viewing the film we are able to see doubled and mirroring patterns. These patterns link oppositions at the same time that they estrange or defamiliarize them. This is apparent in the opposition between the upper and lower worlds, linked and estranged by technology (Telotte). † However, according to Huyssen, the creation of Maria the robot, links technology and women directly. Huyssen argues that the robot Maria in Metropolis is the â€Å"embodiment of early twentieth century male fear of women and machines, both of which were perceived at threats to patriarchal control (Huyssen). In addition, technology was not always linked to sexuality in this way; the two were associated in the early nineteenth century, at the time when machines were beginning to be perceived as threatening. Huyssen also points out, that â€Å"women and machines are linked, equating male fears of powerful technologies with fears of female sexuality (Huyssen).† With the creation of robot Maria as a substitute for the human Maria, comes the division of what the film has implies to viewers to be the principles of femininity compassion, nurture, and empathy (Ruppert). And, while the robot Maria acts on her own, she also encourages aggression and destruction that eventually becomes a behavior which is self-destructing to the workers. However, there was something about robot Maria, that was able to rekindle spirit, repressed hopes, and encourage the workers to destroy the boundaries that limited their potential. Until this part in the film, women are hardly ever seen. It is in this scene, we are seeing women in numbers as they become a crowd of female hostility. In Donna Haraways reading, â€Å"The cyborg (robot Maria) should be celebrated as potentially liberating, even utopian idea- a metaphor for flexible identities, transgressed boundaries, gender obsolescence (Haraway).† In Haraways view, robots represent industrial machinery that excludes the human. However, with the creation of robot Maria comes incorporation of the human and elimination of the character distinctions, which were previously assumed to separate technology from humanity. Neither entirely human nor imitation, it is these boundaries that distinguish robot Maria. It is also Haraways view that â€Å"when the boundary between human and artificial subside, and when gender differences, for example, are no longer a question, women can then be unrestricted from their positions of inequality and equality can become possible (Haraway).† Some critics such as Telotte and Kracauer argue that the film send an anti-technology message. According to Telotte, for example, views the film as a â€Å"destruction of technology, something that makes us forget our social responsibilities (Telotte)†. And Kracauer criticizes the scene that displays the creation of the robot Maria as â€Å"unproductive to the flow of the narrative and dismisses the staging of her erotic dance as spectatorial excess (Kracauer)†. Kracauer goes on to say that the creation of the robot â€Å"is detailed with a technical exactitude that is not at all required to further the action† and he attributes the erotic dance as â€Å"Langs penchant for pompous ornamentation† and discounts the non-narrative value of Metropolis, its reflexivity and status as spectacle (Kracauer)†. On the other hand, Huyssen, sees it as pro- technology. He argues that the films threatening aspects can be eliminated and that the battle between the workers and the city dwellers could be solved by â€Å"technological progress† (Huyssen). As viewers see contradictions, viewers are also in awe of the spectacular developments in technology and see the human costs associated with that development. The severe conditions of the workers makes it more difficult for the viewer to embrace technology while resisting technology is nearly impossible because they are already shown being a part of everyones life. The fact that the film is viewed by critics both as pro-technology, and anti-technology suggests, that technology is not the final determining factor of social life in Metropolis. It is capitalism that turns the workers into machines and women into objects. Metropolis provides us with a view of Weimar culture by showing the viewer social conflicts and differences between labor and capital, feminist liberation, and the risk and the possibilities of technology. In addition, the relationship between technology and the human is made apparent in this film by Maria showing us liberating power of technology that can dissolve boundaries and the male fears of technology and the destruction of social boundaries. â€Å"If patriarchy depends on the kind of values we attribute to sexual difference, then technology, the film suggests, depends on what we do with machines, the cultural uses we make of them (Ruppert).† Works Cited Haraway, DonnaA Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist- Feminism in the Late Twentieth Centurey, in Sinians, Cyborgs and Women: The reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge (1991): 149-181 Rutsky, R.L.the Mediation of Technology and Gender: Metropolis, Nazism, Modernism. New German Critique, No. 60, Special Issue on German Film History. (Autumn, 1993), pp. 3-32 Deren, SecilCinema and film Industry in Weimar Republic, 1918-1933 Telotte, J.P.The Seductive Text of â€Å"Metropolis† Telotte, J.P. Replications: A Robotic History of the Science Fiction Film Huyssen, Andreasâ€Å"The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Langs Metropolis, â€Å"New German critique 24-25 (1981-1982): 221-237 Kracauer, Siegried. From Caligari to Hitler: A schological History of the German Film. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1947 Ruppert, PeterTechnology and the Construction of Gender in Fritz Langs â€Å"Metropolis† Reflection: Application of Leadership Skills in Nursing Reflection: Application of Leadership Skills in Nursing 1. Introduction 1.1 This report looks at my existing leadership skills and how they have developed when implementing a postnatal group within my practice. Through developing this group, I will look at how the team responds to my leadership and how I approach situations. As part of my continuing professional development, I will identify changes needed in my approach to future practice in order to provide a quality working environment and improved development of service provision. This community health care project was chosen because Hall et al (2009) states that governments are increasingly interested in community healthcare programmes because, in partnership with other agencies, they can reduce social exclusion and the inequalities within and between local communities. Support groups can relieve feelings of isolation and loneliness in a study of women with post-natal depression, the support from others meant that mothers gained in self-esteem and felt empowered (Eastwood et al, 1995). 1.2 The Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) must follow performance standards in association with health enhancing activities (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004, p12). Part of these standards state that I am responsible for applying leadership skills and managing projects to improve health and well being. Promoting partnership working and leading public health interventions through innovative and visionary approaches is key to my role as a SCPHN. Historically much of health service provision has been service led rather than needs led, designed and developed at the convenience of the providers rather than the patients (Wilkinson Murray 1998). Healthy lives, brighter futures (DOH, 2009a) and Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (DoH, 1999) highlight the importance of there being partnership between services, children and parents which must be driven by strong leadership by SCPHNs. These improvements need to be achieved through an agreement between health practitioners and services and parents, children and young people. 2 . Aims 2.1 The aims of this report are to identify different leadership approaches and my own approach and evaluate positives and negatives of these approaches to improve my leadership skills. To explore the SCPHN role as a leader and the opportunities and obstacles that may impinge on effective leadership requirements in public health nursing through leading the development of a postnatal group. All SCPHNs interventions should operate on a partnership and empowerment model of delivery, which ensures acceptability of the service by both professionals and clients. Further aims will be to understand the principles of change management and conflict management, to enable effective resolution and promote a cohesive team environment. 3. Leadership in Practice 3.1 Through my experience as a SCPHN I believe that I hold transformational leadership traits, which include communication, motivation, decision making and conflict resolution. I believe my current skills lie in communication and motivation but areas where development is required are conflict within teams and on an individual basis. Two types of leaders have been identified transactional leaders set goals, give directions and use rewards to reinforce employee behaviours associated with meeting or exceeding established goals. Transformational leaders have the ability to motivate performance beyond expectations through their ability to influence attitudes (Mcguire Kennerly 2006, p.180). I endeavoured to follow Johnsons (2005) research, which suggested that highly effective leaders need both vision as well as a specific plan in order to carry out their plan if goals are to be achieved. I have demonstrated vision by creating this idea for a postnatal group. As a transformational leader I will try to share my vision with my followers, enthusing them with a high level of commitment (ChangingMinds, 2002-2006). In previous professional roles I was a follower and therefore I need to develop leadership skills. It is important as a practitioner to be aware and incorporate the qualities of both leadership styles in practice. 3.2 In my role as a leader I need to use interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish a specific goal exerting influence by using a flexible approach of personal behaviours which is important in forging links, creating connections amongst organisations in order to promote high levels of performance and quality care (Sullivan Decker, 2009). I have approached a fellow SCPHN within the team and by recognising her individual expertise and praising her knowledge have encouraged her to contribute to the group by leading a session on womens health. As a leader I recognise Raffertys (1993) work by caring for the people I lead and I can see that by encouraging and praising my team I am able to promote high levels of performance, which therefore results in the delivery of high quality care. 3.3 In my leadership experience I have recognised the need to focus on the relationship between the people and the organisation this is described as Action Centred Leadership by Adair (1979) (Appendix 1). Adair highlighted the importance of a leader having the ability to meet three functions these where; to achieve the required task; to maintain the team and to meet the needs of individual team members. I have recognised the complexity of achieving successful leadership which requires the overlapping of these three functions in variable proportions to achieve the desired outcome. I have identified that both my team members and I have individual strengths and weaknesses and therefore task completion requires a multidisciplinary team approach, considering the organisational skill mix and resources available. Team members need to have an understanding of what is expected of them, and an understanding of how their individual contributions relate to the whole project. When developing the idea for the postnatal group we had a team meeting to share ideas and to ensure that everyone was aware of the aims of the project. Consideration of the needs of the team involved my considering training needs, communication systems and team development in order for my multi-professional team to function. Prior to commencement of the postnatal group a multidisciplinary team introduction meeting was held to ensure that every team member was familiar with their colleagues expertise and skills. As a leader it is important to recognise team members have individual skills, needs and problems, and to give praise and status to everyone. Again training and development is essential in order to maintain quality of care delivery as outlined in the benchmarks within the Essence of Care (DoH, 2006). When delegating work to others as a registered practitioner I have a legal responsibility to determine the knowledge and skill level required to perform delegated tasks. Like other public bodies, health service providers are accountable to both the criminal and civil courts to ensure that their activities conform to legal requirements. As a registered practitioner I am also accountable to regulatory and professional bodies in terms of standards of practice and patient care (RCN, 2006). If a focussed and effective group is to develop huge importance should be given to valuing all the skills and contributions of team members. As the team leader on this project I made myself available for one to one support for staff and held regular update sessions to see how their role was developing within the project and give them opportunity to raise concerns or highlight areas of improvement. 3.4 As a leader in Health Care it is my role to promote and develop partnerships between clients and other agencies, to empower and motivate individuals in order to develop services and service provision in communities. In 2006, the Essence of Care (DoH, 2006) outlined the importance of partnership working health promotion is undertaken in partnership with others using a variety of expertise and experiences. In many areas of the health service funding is limited but if individuals within my community can be motivated to take the lead on this project, they may be able to apply for extra funding (such as lottery grants) in order to be able to achieve future aims and targets. 3.5 An important aspect of leadership is having a good understanding of your team and an awareness of team relationships which includes how you view yourself as a leader and how your team view you. Having the ability to reflect on your own leadership style is essential in order to promote flexibility and the ability to change methods to suit different teams and individuals. I look to my manager to provide active displays of recognition, commitment and vision to ensure that my skills and those of other health professionals are utilised to improve the health and well being of communities, families and individuals (McMurray Cheater, 2004). I realise that vision is a key characteristic of effective leadership; it reflects the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, attractive picture of the future for individuals and organisations that grows out of and improves upon the present (Robbins, 2000). I agree with Barr Dowding (2010) who stated that you do not need to be a man ager to be a leader but you do need to be a good leader to be an effective manager. 4. Leadership styles applied to the complexity of delivery of care. 4.1I have encountered many different leadership styles in my work in the Health Care sector. Many theorists have discussed leadership styles; Lewin et al (1939) identified three main leadership styles. Laissez-faire can present as disorganised, team members not aware of what is required from them with feelings of panic and lack of time. I have worked with a Laissez-faire leader which led to stressful situations where the leader would shout and not warn team members of future roles and responsibilities. This led to a very disjointed team and high levels of absence with stress related conditions. Directive/Autocratic this mode of working generally focuses on task specific allocation which great emphasis on precision delivered in a military style. I see my own leadership style as being non confrontational and therefore an autocratic leadership technique is not my preferred choice. I aim to develop my leadership style to become a participatory leader with a quiet contributory presence, encourage a happy team spirit where each member of the group supports and values each other, and there is a sense of belonging. I aim to deliver quality patient care with effective monitoring of standards, by allocating task driven duties, which give my team feelings of achievement. To progress and develop the skills required to achieve this form of leadership style I need to be aware that different teams require flexible approaches and this style may not suit all. I will need to seek continuing professional development and take advantage of available training throughout my career to develop my leadership skills. I can continue to grow as a leader by maintaining evidenced based practice and keeping abreast of key research into healthcare leadership. I recognise that there are disadvantages to this participative style of leadership it can be time consuming when decisions need to be made quickly which can prove costly in terms of resources. 4.2 As a SCPHN I must be an effective leader, which means possessing the ability to communicate with others in such a way that they are influenced and motivated to perform actions that achieve desired outcomes (Daft, 2005). As a leader we must focus on our own strengths and use a reflective approach to access the willingness of each individual to take on board change (Barr Dowding, 2010). It is my aim to stimulate awareness of health needs and lead on such initiatives by delegating aspects of practice to other agencies and facilitating the work of relevant team members (NMC, 2004). This collaboration presents significant challenges to the success of the proposed intervention and requires me to make important professional considerations about the proper implementation of a change strategy. Effective leadership is required to ensure that various practitioners communicate with one another and provide a holistic, coordinated service tailored to local needs (DoH, 2009c). Communicating an understanding and awareness of workload, resource and time pressures for staff is important as a leader in order to delegate work appropriately to team members and to avoid further stress and aid motivational leadership. 4.3 More flexibility in service delivery has been highlighted in the NHS Plan (DoH, 2000) confirming the drive to blur professional boundaries. The resulting flexibility of approach in relation to who does what, at what time and in what setting, has changed the skill mix of teams. As a result of new flexible service delivery plans, every individual needs good leadership to be fully aware of their roles and responsibilities to avoid confusion or potential conflict. To implement the postnatal group I need to introduce a careful change management program to ensure complete engagement of the whole team. I can use the structure of a framework to shape the change process. Lewin (1951) model of planned change breaks the change process down into three stages. These stages are: Unfreezing the existing organisational equilibrium, Moving to a new position, Refreezing a new equilibrium position. The unfreezing stage is commonly greeted with guilt and anxiety and it is important that as a lead er I provide psychological safety that helps these anxious individuals to convert their anxiety into motivation to change. This did cause friction and resistance with some team members who were unwilling to adapt to their new roles therefore a detailed rationale for changes was clearly explained through discussion groups. Demonstrating my leadership skills through effective communication was of paramount importance in order to try to avoid hostility towards any perceived threat (although not actual). The moving stage needs a new role model (within the partner organisations) to champion the proposed change and help others to follow and establish the new service. This may involve convincing senior management for the need for change and responding to any suggestions for modifications. Time may need to be negotiated in order to share information and update staff on the necessity for communication between professionals perhaps through workshops or focus groups. The refreezing stage invol ves integrating the new initiative into the organisation and consolidating significant relationships. The successful implementation of this change process is crucial to the success of the initiative; this can be aided by audit of results. Evaluation of my role is vital to validate the implementation and also to help diminish the risks against conflict as professionals can feel they own a project and have the ability to make changes and modifications. 4.5 By implementing a skill mix I have ensured staff ownership from the outset, utilising a bottom up approach. Barr Dowding (2010) state that the bottom up approach is encouraged within the humanistic technique, whereby the subordinates (followers) are encouraged to share ideas with their leaders and will be involved with the decision making process. As the leader I used a full and clearly defined evidence of staff members and their relevant skill mix in order to utilise them effectively. It is vital to utilise research and evidence of best practice in relation to postnatal groups in other areas of the UK. The current economic climate challenges our leadership skills and means that all practitioners need to scrutinize their practice to organise their work and be as innovative and productive as possible within the constraints of health service budgets (DoH, CPHVA, Unite, NHS, 2009b). 5. Leadership benefits to the quality of client care. 5.1 My role as a leader is to promote and implement concepts such as joint working and partnership with the community, addressing equity and inequality issues, collective action and an empowering agenda with a new way of thinking and methods to use in order to work dynamically (Cowley, 2008). These key concepts highlight the importance of this postnatal group being effectively led and supported by multi-agency organisations and community partnerships. As a registered practitioner and leader it is my responsibility to ensure that there is a supervision system in place within an organisation to protect the patient/client and maintain the highest possible standards of care. On-going supervision is used to assess team members abilities to perform delegated tasks and capability to take on additional roles and responsibilities. Supervision will be offered indirectly or directly at set points in time and team members will be given weekly opportunities to discuss any issues, concerns or worr ies they may have. 5.3 As the leader of this project it is important to be aware of the five areas of clinical governance identified by Crinson, 1999 clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, clinical risk management, quality assurance and staff development. It is important that within the leadership role I improve services based on complaints, evaluation and feedback by both professionals and clients, while accepting criticisms of my leadership skills. Any service must involve professional groups in multi professional audit. Proactively identifying clinical risks to patients/staff should make for a sound provision and aid myself as a health professional to be an effective leader. I aim to monitor my ability to measure the capacity and capability to deliver services by ensuring that there is effective clinical leadership as stated by the National Audit Office, 2007. 5.4 As a leader I believe setting high standards of quality care for clients is a key responsibility. This can be done by identifying key benchmarks set by the NMC (2004) where it is stated that the public have the right to expect that health care professionals will practice at a high standard. The use of benchmarks can assist in identifying the need for change. Within the Norfolk PCT I believe the value of the Nursery Nurse is recognised by SCPHNs with particular relevance to their skills being utilised. Using this as a benchmark it may therefore be suggested that integrating a Nursery Nurse into the postnatal group would compliment my role as a SCPHN in addressing the needs of the client in the most effective manner. Effective delivery of information at the postnatal group is dependent on the capacity of the workforce to implement it and having the appropriate resources to support the work force. This capacity relates to having sufficient staff in place, who have the requisite know ledge, skills and confidence to undertake assessments (DoH, DFEE Home Office, 2000c). The team that I am responsible and accountable for leading is multi-skilled and able to share relevant information in order to offer help and support to each other. 5.5 To be an effective leader I believe it is an essential requirement to undertake evaluation and analysis of any intervention on a regular basis to give the opportunity to implement change, which is supported by Summerbell et al (2005). They highlight that stakeholders (families, school environments, and others) be included in the decision making and I believe this allows for a broad range of ideas to be shared to provide quality care and services that are effective and appropriate for the target client group. Evaluation is key to quality assurance and an essential part of the leadership role is to ensure that followers are actively involved in the quality control process (Marquis Huston, 2009). 5.6 As a leader by utilising this service I am able to effectively share other agency resources and the skills of professionals with similar aims and objectives. The Department of Health (2000) promotes the collaboration of services and the ability to pool budgets and resources in order for services to be maintained and obtain sustainability. I believe that shared ownership of a strategy encourages partner agencies to incorporate targets into their individual plans and to work together to provide appropriate support for children and families this is supported by Hanson, 2010. The key to successful collaborative working and partnerships is to reach a common understanding of the priorities of the community and how to best tackle them (Mitcheson, 2008). Concepts such as joint working and partnership with the community, addressing equity and inequality issues, collective action and an empowering agenda all provide me as a SCPHN with new ways of thinking and methods to use in order to wo rk dynamically (Cowley, 2008). Once the group is more established, their own personal development aims will enable some of the clients to take a more prominent role in the leadership and development of the group as peer supporters. 5.7 Within the team I believe that the consequences of poor leadership to client care could be that staff members becoming unsettled and unhappy in their position and they may transfer these feeling towards the clients resulting in a lack of motivation on both sides. I feel that if staff are not behind their leader then this will reflect into the group through misinterpretation of the service Coe et al (2007) and Smith and Roberts (2009) found that barriers to attending groups include misinformation about the organisation. This evidence highlights the importance of my supportive leadership of health professionals to be clear, consistent and supportive in the information they are giving. 6. Dynamic and flexible approaches to leadership issues. 6.1 I have found through experience that awareness of conflict management is a key area of responsibility for an effective leader. To date I have found that in health there are a huge variety of professionals all with different knowledge and backgrounds and interacting with each other giving considerable potential for conflict. Conflict can arise through the competition of different groups vying scarce resources. An individuals personal objectives may also be a cause for potential conflict. As a leader it is vital that I do not ignore any potential conflict situations and if conflicts do arise, I will plan solutions before patient care is compromised. I intend as a leader to promote a positive working environment through my leadership skills, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN, 2005) state that many professionals experience both positive and negative working environments and recommend a useful tool to explore relationships on an individual and team basis. I aim for my team members to view me as a leader who is able to collaborate and involve relevant parties to solve a situation rather than one who avoids conflict. Conflict can result in poor productivity (Barr Dowding, 2010) by being a dynamic and flexible leader who is able to resolve conflict effectively I can ensure a continuing high quality of patient care. 6.2 If I had conflict within a team I am leading, I would use a tool created by Tuckman (1965) on stages of group development. The four stages of group development Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing can be used to break down a difficult situation into manageable elements. During the forming stage of team development and development of the group it was my aim to ensure that I explained all tasks and objectives in a clear manner and to emphasise and reassure team members that I was happy to listen to ideas but decisions would be made so that everyone had a good understanding of what they were required to do. To team then moved into the storming stage of development where the group were happy to discuss ideas but showed respect if there was disagreement and communication skills to come to amicable decisions. The next stage is the Norming stage were the group began to support each other in their roles. This stage can sometimes develop slowly currently the team has not reached t he consistent performing stage as partners and team members continue to develop and learn how to work effectively together. By maintaining and developing the group further I hope to achieve consistently high standards of performance within the group. This will require effective communication, shared labour, greater cooperation, lower absenteeism and increased resistance to frustrations. If I continue to perform as a leader to a high standard I believe I can achieve the delivery of high quality care and a motivated team. 6.3 In order to maintain professional development and practice based on evidenced-based research I believe health professionals need to access relevant training, and share knowledge and skills within the team environment. Reflection is essential in order to look back at achievements. Consideration of what has been successful and what would be done differently in future practice to make a service as beneficial and effective as possible for children and families is essential. I aim to promote partnership working as I feel it is key to the implementation of this intervention in order to sustain it and continue future development within the area. 6.4 At the end of the project I aim to collect data in order to evaluate and analyse the cost-effectiveness of the intervention and identify opportunities for cost savings, which is part of my professional responsibility identified by NICE, 2007. I aim to involve service users and engage them in a simple customer feedback questionnaire to establish how well the initiative meets their needs. 7. Conclusion 7.1 I feel that further and continuing research is required on what clients require within a service. It is my responsibility as a SCPHN and a leader of a team to maintain evidenced based practice and respond to the needs of professionals and clients. I aim to continue developing the key skills of reflecting upon experiences and improving practice at the beginning, during and after action, to ensure improvement of services. From the experiences and reflection I have undertaken I have identified my leadership style and conclude that I will try to respond to individuals within the context of their understanding and community. Consideration of ideas generated by members of the team and client group are key to effective leadership. 7.2 I endeavour to share and input values such as honesty, respect, integrity and emotional strength as I believe they are essential for working with team members and clients. Promotion of my values and constructive criticism need to be demonstrated within any team. Adaptability and flexibility of leadership styles must also be developed and used. I aim to continue and develop my participatory leadership approach with both colleagues and clients. This will enable me to evaluate, question and confirm all of my actions within my role as a SCPHN. 8. Recommendations 8.1 As a SCPHN I should lead change and encourage change in a flexible and appropriate manner to aid the development of healthcare services. 8.2 I acknowledge that I need to develop my skills in applying quality care frameworks in practice to improve my quality assurance. 8.3 I recognise that my conflict management skills should be developed through experience and used effectively to promote good leadership. 9. Appendix Appendix 1 Adair, 1997 interaction of needs within the group 11. References Adair, J (1979) Action Centred Leadership. Aldershot: Gower Press. Barr, J Dowding, L (2010) Leadership in Health Care. London: Sage. Changing Minds (2002-2006) Transformational Leadership. (Online) Available at: http://www.changingminds.org/disciplines/leadershipstyles.htm (Accessed 24th June, 2010). Coe, C. Gibson, A. Spencer, N. Struttaford, M (2007) Sure Start: voices of the hard-to-reach. Child, care, health and development. 34, 4, 447-453. Cowley, S (2008) Community Public Health in Policy and Practice. 2nd Edition. London: Balliere Tindall. Crinson, I (1999) Clinical governance: the new NHS, new responsibilities. British Journal of Nursing. 8 (7): 449-453. Daft, R (2005) The Leadership experience. 3rd Edition. Canada: Thomson South-Western. Department for Education and Employment, department of Health Home Office (2000c) Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. London: HMSO. Department of Health (2000) The NHS Plan. London: HMSO. Department of Health, CPHVA, Unite NHS (2009b) Getting it right for children and families. Maximising the contribution of the health visiting team. Ambition, Action, Achievement. London: The Stationery Office. Department of Health (2009c) Healthy Child Programme Pregnancy and the first five years of life. London: The Stationery Office. Department of Health (2009a) Healthy lives, brighter futures The strategy for children and young peoples health. (Online) Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/publications (Accessed 5th June, 2010). Department of Health (2006) Our Health, Our Care, Our Say. London: HMSO. Department of Health (1999) Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation. London: HM Stationery Office. Eastwood, P. Horrocks, E Jones, K (1995) Promoting peer group support with post-natally depressed women. Health Visitor, 68 (4): 148-150. Hall, D, Williams, J, Elliman, D (2009) The Child Surveillance Handbook. 3rd Edition. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing. Hanson, S (2010) Empowering change. Community Practitioner. 83, 36-37. Johnson, S (2005) Characteristics of effective health care managers. Health Care manager 24(2), 124-128). Lewin K (1951) Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper and Row. Lewin, K, Lippitt, R White R (1939) Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology 10: 271-299. Marquis, B Huston, C (2009) Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing Theory and Application. 6th Edition. London: Lippincott, Williams Wilkins. McGuire, E Kennerly, A (2006) Nurse managers as transformational and transactional leaders. Nursing Economics 24(4), 179-186. Mitcheson, J (2008) Expanding Nursing Health Care Practice Public Health Approaches to Practice. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. National Audit Office (2007) Improving Quality and Safety Progress in Implementing Clinical Governance: Lessons for the Primary Care Trusts. London: NAO. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2007) Behaviour Change. London: Department of Health. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) Standards of proficiency for Specialist Community Public Health Nurses. Norwich: The Stationery Office. Rafferty, A (1993) Leading questions: a discussion paper on the issues of nurse leadership. Kings Fund Centre. Robbins, s (2000) Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. New York: Prentice Hall. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2005) Working with Care: Improving Working Relationships in Healthcare. London: RCN. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2006) Supervision, accountability and delegation of activities to support workers A guide for registered practitioners and support workers. London: RCN. Smith, D Roberts, R (2009) Young parents perception of barriers to antenatal and postnatal care. British Journal of Midwifery, 17, 10. Sullivan, E Decker, P (2009) Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing. 7th Edition. London: Pearson Education. Summerbell, C, Waters, E, Edmunds, L (2005) Interventions for preventing obesity in children. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Tuckman, B (1965) Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin 63: 384-99. Wilkinson, J and Murray, S (1998) Assessment in Primary Care: Practical Issues and Possible Approaches. British Medical Journal 316, 1524-8.< Community Development Plan: Hung Hom Community Development Plan: Hung Hom A Project Intervention Plan Hung Hom Li Ka Tik The following paper is going to suggest an intervention plan on the Hung Hom community of Hong Kong’s Kowloon District. It briefly introduces the situation of Hung Hom and identifies the issues about inequality between rich and poor residents. Also, an intervention strategies and empowerment plans are propose based on the social action approach. The roles of CD worker in those plan and the foreseen challenges are mentioned in the last part. About Hung Hom Hung Hom is belonged to Kowloon City Districtand bordered by Hung Hom Bay in the east, No. 12 Hill, Hok Yuen and the valley Lo Lung Hang in the north, Kings Park in the west,Victoria Harbour in the south. It is a well-resourced community with over 17 social service agencies (Social Welfare Department), 28 educational facilities, 52 health clinics (www.lifein.hk), communal facilities, recreational facilities and business activities. The location of the community is near the cross harbor tunnel and is well connected by minibuses, buses and MTR, including the link from Shatin to Central which will be constructed soon. Identifying Key Social Problems in Hung Hom The problem of inequality between upper/middle class and grassroots is one of obvious social problem in Hung Hom. According to Rawls (1971), social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Moreover, for the second principle of justice, all social goods including opportunity, income, wealth and the bases of self-respect should be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of thesegoods is to the advantages of the lease favored. Marshall (1963) indicated that equality not only mean the equality of income, but it also is a general enrichment of the concrete substance of civilized life, a general reduction of insecurity and risk as well as an equalization between the more and less fortunate at all levels so the equality of status is more important. Hung Hom includes both of public estates and wealthier neighborhoods, which imply there is a large poverty gap. The 2011 Population Census Statistics for Hung Hom indicated the level of income inequality or socioeconomic gap between the upper class and the middle and lower classes which was probably a potential source of inequality.Despite its wide range of resources in Hung Hom, the resources are unevenly distributed in various parts of estates. Therefore, there is a potential inequality between those without and with access to the enough resources and the most obvious examples arethe health clinics and the kindergartens which concentrated in the wealthier neighborhoods such as Whampoa estate. Moreover, the majority of them is privately operated and targets the middle and upper class residents. Eventually, lower income residents in KaWai and Hung Hom estate need to seek the affordable services in other nearby districts because those services charge very high fees which are beyond th e means of them. The equality of opportunity is also referring to ‘social mobility’. If there is an oppression of the education resources from the higher income residents, it is hard for the children from a grassroots family to elevate to a higher social status. Therefore, an intervention planshould be created for victims of inequality in Hung Hom, the residents with lower income, to fight for reasonable resources distribution. Rationales and objectives of using social action According to Rothman (1984), there are there models of community practice and social action is one of the intervention approaches. It is the practice of taking action and usually as part of an organized group or community. The objective is to shift the power relationships and resources, in order to create positive change and generally in the direction of greater equity of economic and social justice.Social action relies on forcing the government to change aiming at benefiting the poor, such as the lower income residents in Hung Hom, and disadvantaged the oppressed.Social action gets people moving and makes them feel strong that they less submit meekly those who oppressed them. It gives them responsibility for their own lives and actions as well as their leadership potential so it leads a long-term positive social change. Specific intervention strategies and empowerment plans In order to have an effective and impactful intervention, a confrontational organizing approach is used that a campaign is going to be organized for the social action(). The vision of the campaign is that everyone in Hung Hom can enjoy an equality community, and the goal is creating an appropriate distribution of resources, especially on the educational and medical resources. The objective is to empower the grassroots in Hung Hom to fight for resources for themselves; to make a dramatic statement that will focus public attention on the situation of them; to request the government taking action on the issue of inequality in Hung Hom. Moreover, a slogan of the campaign is â€Å"Growing in Hung Hom, studying in Hung Hom!! Living in Hung Hom, Medical consultation in Hung Hom†. Empowerment helps the populations that have traditionally been powerless or haven’t understood their potential to exercise their power. For example, grassroots residents in Hung Hom did not aware that they are oppressed to accept the limited medical and education resources and just thought that they are not rich enough to enjoy services so they should go to other nearby districts. In fact, they have the right to request the government to provide an enough public resources for them. Thus, the community education is very important, especially the Liberating education which is the most suitable method for social action, including a process of conscientization, a development of a critical thinking and an awareness of the hidden assumption of the policy. Moreover, empowerment motivates people to take other kinds of positive action, such as voicing out their collective opinions on other unequal resources allocation in their community. Therefore, at the beginning of the campaign, the focus is to gather grassroots residents in Hung Hom and promote the right which they originally have and aware them they have the choices. For instance, they and their children can enjoy affordable public medical and educational services in their own community. The second step is to encourage them to attend, as a group, a public meeting at which an issue of interest to their community is being discussed, in order to let them understand the policy related to their needs more, so that they can think more and propose the idea to the policy marker. A well communication channel and platform is very important to express the needs and requests. Thus, once they have built in the concept, communications, such as letters, phone calls, email, etc, with policy makers and others in authority (such as the Chief Executive, Secretary of Education) are organized. It is not enough to affect the policy marker if the voice is limited in the grassroots res idents in Hung Hom. Therefore, encouraging media reporting is the next step, which helps to find a support from the public for this social action, by persuading the media to cover events or to publish stories that highlight particular issues or embarrass politicians and others in power who refuse accept the reasonable suggestion advised by the grassroots residents in Hung Hom. In order to make a larger impact on public’s mind for the issues, a street theater will be held at the last part of the campaign, which is meant to ridicule the opposition and to convey profound message in a way that is easily understood and entertaining. Finally, if the social action gains an initial success, there will be aevaluation section including the effective of the empowerment, the assessment of the modified resources allocation and the situation of inequality in Hung Hom as well as the coming planning on the prospect of equality community in Hung Hom. Roles of CD worker in those intervention strategies As a CD worker, there are four roles including enhancing the social interactions and functions of individual and their groups and communities; educating public on economic and social injustice that may hinder community functioning; initiating an advocacy for policy changes in response to needs identified by the community and the society and help them to articulate their common concerns and needs to the public, the government; and formulating and implement social policies, services, and programs that support the development of human capacities. Foreseen challenges and difficulties The redistribution of resources in Hung Hom is obviously beneficial to the grassroots residents. On the contrary, the interest of residents with higher income is affected, so they will oppose the policy proposed by grassroot. Moreover, Hong Kong is a free-market society with a lower tax system that government is unwilling to spend too much money on education and medical services in Hung Hom avoiding the affecting of free-market system. In conclusion, there are lot of difficulties, created by upper class and government, on reaching an equality community. Therefore, based on confrontational organizing approach, the campaign with social action is the most suitable method and it help to empower the grassroots resident in Hung Hom and make an advocacy to ask for resources for them. References Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. 2011 Population Census Fact Sheet for Kowloon City District Council Hung Hom (G14-G20). Accessed online from http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/district-profiles/ca/kowloon-city/g19.html on 24 Feb 2014. Chui E., Ho L., Law C.K., Lee K.M., Lee V. Wong Y.C.. (2010) Report of The Study of The Future Directions of Providing Social Work Services within the New Urban Renewal Strategy to be Formulated Cox, F. M., Erlich, J. L., Rothman, J., Tropman, J. E. (Eds). (1987). Strategies of community organisation. (4th ed). ITASCA, IL: PEACOCK Publishing, Inc. Marshall, T. H. (1963) ‘Citizenship and social class’, in T. H. Marshall (ed.), Sociology at the Crossroads (London: Heinemann), pp. 67–127. Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Websites http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/ www.lifein.hk

Nursing vs. Teaching as Careers Essay -- Careers Compare Contrast Job

Nursing vs. Teaching as Careers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nursing is an exciting and challenging field to study. Nursing uses a scientific process to plan care for people in acute illnesses and teach them how to stay healthy or cope with their illness. Nurses basically the helper of the doctors. They assist the doctors by giving medicine, treatments, tests, injections, or draw blood as directed by the physician. They also observe patients for mental, physical, social and or emotional changes and record changes. There are several field of jobs that a registered nurse can go through. Nurse teachers in a community or university colleges and registered nurses who work in a hospital are two of the examples in the field of nursing job. University and college teachers of nursing provide advanced instruction to students in the field of nursing. first, to be an instuctor, a person must be a registered nurse with at least have a bachelor's degree. In today's society, teachers usually have a master's degree. Second, their working hours varies according to teaching load. They usually don't have a stable working hours. Working hours really depends on their experiences, seniority, and performance. Their job is a contract basis only. Teachers' contracts run between nine to twelve months in a year. Third, according to EUREKA, average community college instructor pay is $3,166 per month and ranges from $2,577 to $3,990 per month. Full professors and those with many years of experience may e...

Plato’s View of Justice in the Republic Essay

Having lived an extraordinarily long life (for his time), with no consistent doctrine of belief, it has become customary to divide Plato’s writings chronologically into three periods, Early, Middle and Late. The Republic, a collection of ten books, is thought to have been written after Phaedo during the ‘middle-period’ of Plato’s life. It is during this period that Plato’s philosophy becomes his own rather than a commentary on Socrates beliefs and sayings. It is important to remember that Plato’s time was an age of constant upheaval and it is this air of upheaval and constant change that led him to focus on his societies’ failings and to put forward a structured society that puts his view of justice into practice. The main theme of The Republic is to define justice and other virtues and to put forward an idea for a Utopian city-state based on his beliefs on justice and virtue to show how these ideals could be implemented. The text takes the form of a dramatised discourse between certain characters of differing backgrounds and beliefs. The use of a dramatised debate is a useful way to demonstrate the way Plato (whose ideas are represented by the character of Socrates) would handle his sceptics. It also serves to show the development of his thought through discussion and to sceptic-proof his argument by foreseeing potential counter arguments. Plato starts demonstrating his definition by taking some popular conceptions of what justice means and whether it is better to live a just life. In book one the debate starts with a statement made by Cephalus, an old, retired self-made manufacturer. Cephalus puts forward the view that as people grow older they become more aware of religious teachings regarding retribution in the afterlife for living an unjust life and therefore monitor they’re own behaviour, in the past and present: ‘And when he finds that the sum of his transgressions is great he will many a time like a child start up in his sleep for fear, and he is filled with dark forebodings.’ He is saying that idea of justice is something that is merely a doctrine enforced by the unproven premise of damnation. If fear of an unproven afterlife is the reasoning for living a just life then the argument for justice is weak and reliant on blind faith. If an individual does not believe in ‘Hades’ or Hell then what stops him from acting unjustly? Continuing on Cephalus states ‘Wealth can do a lot to save from having to cheat or deceive someone against our will and from having to depart for that other place in fear because we owe a sacrifice to a god or money to a person’. By this Cephalus means that by having ample wealth he never had the need to be unjust to anyone. He could afford to appease the Gods with sacrifice and to keep his debts paid. This first presented description of justice is flawed. Socrates gives the following example to prove this: Suppose that a friend when in his right mind has deposited arms with me and he asks for them when he is not in his right mind, ought I to give them back to him? No one would say that I ought or that I should be right in doing so, any more than they would say that I ought always to speak the truth to one who is in his condition.’ Socrates, by Cephalus’s definition just living, was acting in a just way when he returned weapons to a maniacal friend (paying his debts). The modern day equivalent of this scenario is the United Nations returning a previously confiscated nuclear weapon to an insane and potentially violent state in full knowledge that it will be used to wreak havoc (injustice). This demonstrates that Cephalus’s popular description of justice is weak and potentially unjust! Later in book 1, When Socrates criticizes Polemarchus’ idea that man should spite his enemies, Thrasymachus puts his view forward; ‘Since the established rule is surely stronger, anyone who reasons correctly will conclude that the just is the same everywhere, namely the advantage of the  stronger’ . Using this idea Thrasymachus has declared that justice is the preserve of the strong and powerful. Justice is whatever the powerful dictate to the masses. He then goes on to state that it is the duty of the poor to rise up and take what they can from the rich. Socrates refutes all these ideas. He believes that the poor should accept the true justice that is imposed on them by the government. This is an idea that is crucial to the utopia he will later describe. Thrasymachus demonstrates a sophistic belief that injustice is more profitable to the individual than justice. By restating his belief that only the powerful have control over justice and successfully canvassing for a general consensus that rulers are fallible he shows that justice (as administered by the powerful) is ‘harmful to the one who obeys and serves’ . This in itself makes a certain degree of sense since in our own modern times we consistently see examples of ‘justice’ (as administered by the powerful) being non-beneficial to the weak and subservient. The most recently highlighted example would be the recent focus on Taliban-governed Afghanistan. Justice to the population of a Taliban controlled region meant harsh punishments and draconian, puritanical laws. This is what by European standards would be called unjust. If Thrasymachus had stopped his argument at this point then he would have contributed an important element to the definition of justice that we assume in our use of the word today, that which is morally correct. However as Thrasymachus is from a sophistic background (i.e. teacher of economics and rhetoric with especially capitalistic, profit driven motivations) he continues into a less popular (by modern standards) potential consequence of his argument, injustice is more profitable than justice. Through clever debate and reasoning with Thrasymachus, Plato (through his ‘mouthpiece’ character, Socrates) arises at the following conclusion: ‘Apparently, then, injustice has the power, first, to make whatever it arises in-whether it is a city, a family, an army, or anything else-incapable of achieving anything as a unit, because of civil wars and differences it  creates, and second, it makes that unit an enemy to itself and to what is in every way its opposite, namely justice.’ This statement shows the Sophist’s argument to be a contradiction. It is impossible for a belief to be profitable if it simply leads to dissent amongst the parties seeking profit. It is impossible for injustice to serve anyone if it is an enemy to itself. Plato points out that for a collective of individuals to act out injustice and all profit from the act there must originally be some sort of justice present to prevent them all betraying each other, an ‘honour amongst thieves’ of sorts. The argument for injustice does not end with book one and returns briefly early in book two. At the end of book one Plato is no longer refuting suggestions on the nature of justice and is no speaking in a pro-active, positive manner. He begins to start to build his own ideas of justice. He believes justice to be more profitable than injustice describing the comparison like so; ‘a just person is happy and an unjust one is wretched’ . This conclusion is reached in the p receding lines when Thrasymachus to agrees that justice is a virtue of the soul and therefore that a soul cannot perform well if its particular virtue is faulty. There is another important argument that Plato addresses in book two, where Glaucon, the youth, returns to Thrasymachus’s argument with an amendment. Glaucon asserts that it is profitable for the individual to pretend to be just but live their life in an unjust manner. The idea behind this being that the individual can appear to have the virtue of justice to others without having to be burdened with the responsibilities and constraints of living a just life. To consider all of these arguments and how they are presented would take many theses and, although relevant to this essay topic, I must move on to Plato’s own decisions of what justice is and their implementation in his polis due to space and time constraints. Plato has argued that living justly is much more superior to living unjustly because justice breeds happiness and contentment. The next step for Plato, to state and demonstrate his own positive views on justice and why it is ‘profitable’, is to describe a city-state, a polis, which is an ideal Utopia where all citizens live in harmonious eudemonia. By using the macrocosm of  the state he will show how justice can be implemented in the individual. Plato believes in the immortality of the soul (a consequence of nous ) and its division into three parts, which in turn are affected by ordering powers. The three parts of the soul are the spiritual, dedicated to the devotion of honour, the rational, dedicated to reason and logical thought and the appetitive, the basic appetites of the human soul such as sex, acquisitions, praise etc. which must be controlled. This is a fiercely rational and, I would argue, flawed break down of the human character. It takes no account for the emotional aspect of mankind and it is this inhuman and extremely rational view of humanity that would lead to the immediate failure of the polis if it wherever established due to some of the constraints placed on the citizens of the polis as will be seen later on. The virtues (aretai) of the soul that Plato describes in book four are wisdom (sophia), courage (andreia), temperance (sophrosyne) and justice (dikaiosyne). It is this idea of the soul that Plato will use in to socially structure the polis . The aim of this city is to make the soul is happy because all three parts of it are moderated, doing their own jobs and nothing else. This relates to Plato’s view of justice in the following manner. To Plato justice and injustice where to the body what health and disease are in the body. This is a beautiful analogy and is very similar to basic facets of Chinese medicine were disturbance in the mind is viewed as a pivotal cause for ill physical health, one wonders were oriental factors an influence on Plato or vice versa at this time. This correlation of classical Greek and ancient Chinese science is especially apparent in 444d of The Republic when ‘Health is defined as the establishment of an order by nature among the parts of the body; disease as a disturbance of the natural order of rule and subordination among the parts (444d)’ . This reading of Plato by Voeglin makes more sense in the context of the polis, as the disease of injustice is the divisor of peoples and the cause of discontent in society. The polis must be designed in such away that contentment is valued at a premium and corruption and vice made unnecessary and irrelevant. This has parallels with the medieval belief in The Great Chain Of Being. The Great Chain Of Being was a description of the balance of power and harmony in the world that probably was inspired by Augustinian and Platonic thought. At the  top of the chain was God who was linked to the King who was linked to his Aristocracy. If any part of a the chain was broken then the natural order of the world was disrupted. An example of how this was believed to manifest would be the mysterious change of calm weather to storms and supernatural occurrences in Shakespeare’s Macbeth following the usurping of Duncan. By usurping the legitimate ruler the chain was broken and chaos and disorder in the natural world ensued. Such is the occurrence of injustice in the Polis that the natural harmony will fall apart. I will now summarise the structure of the polis and hopefully answer how the distinctive roles of State and the individual maintain a just society. The state is divided into three classes, a producer class, a guardian (military/police) class and a ruling class. Later, Plato creates a new ruling class out of the guardians and calls the military/police class auxiliaries and this new ruling class guardians. The main point of this is to have each class fulfilling a need in the city and not ‘usurping’ any other person/classes role. Again there are similarities with the great chain of being. Everybody minds their own business and keeps to the plan and eudemonia will be intact. The city is based on various natural needs and recognises that harmony starts with the satisfying of life requirements. This idea is a nearly to a throw back to Cephalus who does not act in an unjust way because he wants for nothing. The development of a citizen starts with education. Students are thought a wide range of subjects from the academic to physical. Children are taught philosophy so that there ‘will be established within them, as in a polis, a politea’ . In other words they will have the same balanced wisdom and discipline governing their souls in life with the eudemonia of the state as a living example for the individual. The education also decided what class and profession the child would fit into. Classes could be transcended as children showed an aptitude for different and subjects abilities. Once an individual was placed in his/her class they remained in it for the duration of their lives. This has distinct parallels with the education system of Ireland were an aptitude in school for the academic can raise points for a place in a college that would further train you for a position of relatively  more power than the ‘producer class’. The most apt at philosophy and reason were sidelined for the upper two classes and had their education furthered accordingly. This begs the question of what would happen if the polis were sacked and all the ruling class slain. How could the polis recover from such an event if the lower classes are conditioned and brain-washed into believing that all they can ever be or do is be the sheep at the bottom of the chain of command? Procreation was also a stage-mannered affair. Parents deemed fit to ‘marry’ (or mate) were coupled off by what they believed to be random selection. In fact, the couples were selected for their eugenic qualities and paired off like horses on a stud. Children are taken from their parents at birth. The knowledge of their parent’s identity is never revealed to them nor is the child’s identity revealed to their parents. This anonymity was meant to promote equality between young and older generations. The child, being in full knowledge that it is from a foster family, would not be subject to family pride and would have no particular loyalties to any family as its siblings and parents would be unknown. Every elder could be addressed as father or mother as every peer could be addressed as brother or sister. With no bias towards any particular individual the harmony of the polis is further maintained. As mentioned earlier, Plato’s great failure from a modern standpoint is his inability to account for emotional aspects in the polis. The idea of splitting families was doomed to failure in that likenesses between siblings and parents would be impossible to disguise and some people could find out their relatives in this way. However, it could be argued that the psychological effect of not knowing ones natural family could be a non-issue after generations of people living in this way. The eugenic selection of partners makes a sense of sorts as families with undesirable inherited characteristics could be prevented from passing them on and those with desirable ones could be encouraged to mate. This is reminiscent of a quasi-nazi formula for the Aryan race of Third Reich. If one looks closer  one can see Plato using injustice to keep justice by lying about the random selection of couples. Due to the constraints of time and space I will have to conclude at this point by summarising the above. Plato essentially defines justice in the state as the three classes staying strictly to their individual roles in order to maintain a balance of responsibilities for the greater good of all. The state does this by ruling of over every aspect of an individual’s life from birth and plotting their destiny with the greater good of the polis to mind. It does this through education, censorship and rigorous controls. Only those with a high knowledge of wisdom (philosophy) are fit to rule as they have enough knowledge to know that justice is best for all as it is an essential virtue of the soul (dikaiosyne). Injustice is considered ignorance, as someone with a lot of wisdom could not possibly see injustice as profitable to anyone. The justice in the soul is described as the virtues (aretai) controlling the appetitive parts of the soul. In this post world war two and post ‘Brave New World’ time, it is easy to take The Republic as a strange Nazi/Taliban-esque tyrannical state on a first glance. As a state the polis would most definitely have failed. As macrocosm for justice in the individual it is unsurpassed. Its influence to this day was evident recently when it was voted best philosophical work ever by readers of the web page http://www.philosophers.co.uk. Whilst it has certain ideas that maybe questioned against the standards of modern western Europeans, it will certainly provide insight and debate on many philosophical issues for many years.

Comparing and Contrasting Keynesian & Classical Economics Essay

Economics studies the monetary policy of a government and other information using mathematical or statistical calculations. Fiscal information is analyzed in order to make judgments and inferences from the information provided. There are two economic schools of thought which take different approaches to the economic study of monetary policy, consumer behavior and government spending. Basic Theory (Paragraph 2): This paragraph outlines major some of the differences between Classical and Keynesian economic theories. Classical theorist were rooted in the concept of Laissez faire market which requires little to no government intervention and allows individuals to make decisions, unlike Keynesian economics, where the public and government is heavily involvement in the decision making process in regards to economics. Classical economists also used the value of objects to determine prices in the market unlike Keynesians who believed that the demand was what influenced the market. Keynesians also relies heavily on the theory that the nation’s monetary policy can affect a company’s economy. Government Spending (Paragraph 3): Classical economists do not believe that government spending has a major impact on the nation’s economic growth, yet that consumer spending and business investments had more of an impact. Classical economists believed that government spending would stunt the economy’s growth by increasing the public sector and decreasing the private sector. In contrast, Keynesian economist did in fact believe that consumer spending and business investments helped the economy, but also believed that government spending played an important role in boosting and could possibly even take the place of the former and still continue to result in economic growth. Short vs. Long-term Affects (Paragraph 4): Classical economists focused on creating long term solution for economic problems. They take into account the effects of inflation, government regulation, taxes. They also consider how current policies and new economic theory will distort the free market environment. Keynesian economics focus more on immediate results in economic theories. Keynesians focus on short-term needs as well as policies, and consider how the result can affect the economy immediately.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Engineering Term Paper Writing

The Step-by-Step Guide to Engineering Term Paper Writing Writing a term paper is an irreplaceable element of the learning process. As a compulsory writing activity, term papers refer to the end of the term when students sum up their knowledge acquired during the half year. It is important to write a term paper as: It provides a student with an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to develop and further defend their logical arguments, yet demonstrate the knowledge on the subject to the professor. It allows the educator to assess the ability to express what is learned during a term. Besides showing the knowledge and assessing it, term paper writing is aimed at improving the writing skills, the ability to think clearly and concisely. In regards to the range of topics, term papers require a specific issue in the studied discipline to be analyzed by the student. Meanwhile, term papers are written once in a term. They are accounted for the biggest part of the grade, that is why writing a term paper becomes a highly important process. Top Writing Difficulties to Avoid in a Term Paper on Engineering The foremost explanation for the student’s dislike of writing term papers or any other kinds of academic assignments is the need for significant research to be done. The second reason for antipathy towards term papers is the need for meeting the deadlines. All that is not so difficult if you organize your engineering term paper writing properly by dividing it into simple parts. Imagine you have only two days to write your term paper on Engineering. Usually, it is a common factor that makes most students worry about this assignment. Stop worrying! Everything is achievable if you know what to face and in what way. First of all, remember that the research part is the hardest part of the whole term paper writing process. That is why the first day is the time which you may devote to research for the relevant sources of information from where you can take some useful information for your term paper. Then, you make an outline which will considerably make your process of writing easy. With that in mind, the second day is the time of actual writing. The last reason why students don’t like writing a term paper is the lack of knowledge regarding what the academic paper should look like. The next passage will explain all the peculiarities associated with good term paper writing and all difficulties you may find while writing your term paper. 7 Stages of Writing a Term Paper: How Our Writers Do The main elements involved in the writing process are known to everyone, but not everyone includes them in the term paper writing. Choose another way of dealing with this issue: Choose a topic; Doing extensive research; Create an outline and a thesis statement; Write a term paper; Create a list of sources used in the paper; Check the term paper for possible grammar mistakes and plagiarism; Read the paper out to follow the logic of writing. A Topic Choice Is Careful When You Write a Good Term Paper on Engineering The first part of any academic assignment is choosing a meaningful topic which will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge on the subject as much as possible. Nonetheless, choosing a deliberate topic is not enough as anyway, you will have to develop a persuasive, logical argument. With that in mind, think about whether you will be able to reveal the knowledge on the topic appropriately. It is common that professors offer students a list of topics and it, of course, makes the process of searching the topic for your term paper easier and faster. In contrast to this assumption, some professors believe that students are creative enough to invent the most interesting topics if given an opportunity to choose the topic by themselves. In this case, choosing a topic may seem challenging, but believe, this is even better as you can take any topic you want to write about. Just remember that your topic should resemble the class materials as any term paper aims to summarize your knowledge on the studied subject. However, if you cannot think of the topic quickly brainstorm! This is the best option to find what inspires you. Take a pencil and a piece of paper. Imagine you are drawing a sun with rays. In the circle, write the main concept associated with your topic. For instance, it can be only â€Å"engineering.† Further, write your associations regarding engineering. It can be â€Å"biomechanics,† â€Å"electric cars,† â€Å"solar energy,† â€Å"robots,† etc. In case you still struggle on the search for the topic in the engineering discipline, there is a list of topics to consider. Certainly, you may change a topic from the list and alter it in accordance with your ideas and wishes. So, try out the following topics: System Engineering Management: How to Plan a Project to Get the Desired Results? How Can Electric Cars Be Modified to Get Rid of Gas Cars Forever? The Development of the Solar Energy Panels with the Suggestions for Their Further Improvement Human Labor Vs. Machines: Will the Battle for Jobs Affect Engineers? The Future Possible Inventions by Engineers: Pros and Cons Engineering Design Tools and Their Limitation of Using Does Today’s Coastal and Waterway Engineering Prevent All Catastrophes? Genetic Engineering: Its Future Development and Significance for the Humankind. Your First Steps of a Good Term Paper Writing After you choose a topic for your term paper, don’t hesitate to research into the background information. Remember that your professor expects to see only credible sources. That is why the search for information on your topic should be conducted in the database which offers you academic sources. The best databases of such kind are JSTOR, ProQuest, and EBSCO. Additionally, Oxford Academic is a perfect database for searching the specific academic journals. Now that you have done a lot of research based on the sources that you consider the most credible (by the way, know how to examine every particular source? Follow the link â€Å"Is my source credible?†), you are ready to persuade the reader of your opinion about the engineering issue. What is the issue of your paper? What are you going to persuade your reader of? The point is that you should write your thesis statement which is your actual argument you are going to prove. For instance, if you choose to write about electric cars and defend their advantage, then your thesis may sound like the following (just an example): â€Å"In comparison to gas cars, electric cars offer a healthy future to the humankind as they do not contribute to the environmental pollution due to reduced level of emissions.† However, be ready to present controversial ideas in your paper in regards to your thesis statement as the term paper is not simply a research paper but an academic assignment wh ere you have to offer the contrary opinion. There are readers who will ask you â€Å"What if†¦?† You must be ready for answers. So, prepare your persuading arguments. When you are ready with your thesis statement, create an outline for your paper that will allow you not to lose your track of thought and provide a logical scheme of arguments for your thesis statement. First of all, think about the parts which your paper requires. For instance, the compulsory parts of any term paper are Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. However, some term papers require such additional part as Abstract. In this part, you should mention the issue you explore and the results you come to. In other words, an abstract is a part which contains a brief description of your paper. Our Experts Advise: 3 Paper Centerpieces to Pay Attention to When your outline and abstract (if needed) are ready, start writing your term paper according to the main term paper structure: The first main section is an introduction where you should familiarize the reader with your topic by providing some essential details and a kind of basic information which describes the premises for the issue you are going to explore. For instance, if you decided to write about the electric cars, then your introductory paragraph may explain to the reader why the electric cars appeared and why they are so special nowadays. Your thesis statement usually goes as the last sentence of your introductory paragraph. The second part of the term paper is usually the body which may contain a lot of sections depending on the research you have done and the way you want to organize your explanation. For instance, the topic â€Å"How Can Electric Cars Be Modified to Get Rid of Gas Cars Forever?† may contain such points as â€Å"history of electric cars†, â€Å"why electric cars are beneficial†, and â€Å"suggestions for the future of electric cars† and so on. The number of the main points also depends on the variety of aspects concerning the topic you want to enlighten in your paper. Just remember that the information which you present in your paper should be well-structured and logically connected. The last part of the paper is the conclusion which usually contains the results you come to in your research and generally summarizes the parts of your paper. In conclusion, you should mention what you aim to persuade your reader of and how you come to the results. The concluding part does not contain any new information not to confuse the reader. Post-Writing Is the Final Stage of Term Paper Writing The last points that you should pay attention to in your term paper are a list of references and checking your paper for plagiarism and all possible mistakes in grammar, syntax, punctuation, formatting, etc. While organizing a list of sources used in your term paper, follow the citation rules depending on the formatting style needed to use. The Internet will offer you a lot of literature devoted to writing academic papers. It is advisable that you use the rules from the book and other instructions which may improve your academic writing. The books will provide you with some useful information about writing a term paper and other academic assignments. Here is the list of the additional sources which will help while writing your term paper and which will properly explain all the issues associated with the writing process: Creme, P. and M. Lea. 2008. Writing at University: A guide for students. Open University Press. Oshima, A. Hogue, A. 2005. Writing Academic English, Addison-Wesley, New York. Craswell, G. 2004. Writing for Academic Success. Sage Publications. Murray, N. 2012. Writing Essays in English Language and Linguistics, Cambridge University Press. Hamp-Lyons, L. and Heasley, B. 2006. Study Writing. Cambridge University Press. Simple Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism issues in Your Term Papers Remember that the proper organization of all in-text citations and all the used materials will allow you to follow the rules of the academic integrity. The academic experience proves that unintentional plagiarism happens, and sometimes it does only because of the student’s neglect in regards to the citation rules. In case you do not want to buy a guidebook on academic writing, you may ask the writing center for help. All universities have writing centers which help with the writing process. Additionally, they will surely give you advice on how to avoid plagiarism. However, if you decide not to visit the writing center, then here are some tips on how to avoid plagiarism. As it was already mentioned, knowing the citation rules is obligatory for any student. The second step is using the anti-plagiarism software. There is a variety of anti-plagiarism programs starting from the best one which is Turnitin (it is extremely effective, however, not free) and finishing with Grammarly. The latter is an amazing option for writers as it detects plagiarism and checks your grammar at the same time. Additionally, it is free and easy-to-use! After you use the grammar/spelling checkers and anti-plagiarism software, be sure to reread the paper to detect all possible mistakes. Like any computer program, Grammarly is not ideal, and it sometimes considers some forms of words or prepositions as mistakes. That is why checking your text one more time is advisable. Certainly, your grammar knowledge should be appropriate to check the academic language on your own. Here is a list of books which will help you improve your English grammar based on the language level you have or want to have: Advanced Grammar in Use with Answers: A Self-Study Reference and Practice Book for Advanced Learners of English (By Martin Hewings). Practice Makes Perfect Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners: Advanced ESL Grammar (By Mark Lester). English Grammar in Use: A Self-study Reference and Practice Book for Intermediate Students of English With Answers (By Raymond Murphy). After reading this guide, you have more chances to start writing a term paper and finish it as required by your strict professor. Good luck!

Anthrax Vaccination Program essays

Anthrax Vaccination Program essays On May 18, 1998, Secretary of Defense William Cohen approved a plan to vaccinate all U.S. service members for anthrax. This plan has caused a fierce ethical debate over the legitimacy of this vaccination. The Department of Defense claims the vaccination is completely safe and has been in use for decades. Some doctors dispute this claim, and contend the vaccination may not be effective against weapon versions of anthrax. Many service members have refused the vaccination and have either separated or faced formal punishment for their decision. The Bioport Corporation of Lansing Michigan is the only company that produces the anthrax vaccine. According to a Phoenix Times article, the original Bioport plant had to be demolished due to quality control problems. A new plant was built, but it also failed FDA inspections in December of 1999. Subsequently, the process of administering the vaccination to all service members has been suspended. The vaccination is currently administered only to personnel deploying to high threat areas of the world. The Joint Staff has designated Korea, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen, and Israel as high-threat areas. The immunization is administered in a series of six shots over an eighteen-month period, with annual boosters. The following analysis will contain a brief discussion about both sides of this issue. To understand why the Department of Defense feels it is essential to take such precautions, it is first necessary to have some understanding of what anthrax is. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia defines anthrax as a contagious disease of warm-blooded animals, including humans, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. There are three types of anthrax diseases. The first is cutaneous anthrax, which is caused by contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. The second type is gastrointesti...

Antonin Dvorak

I particularly love the soothing sounds of the instruments and how they all create such a wonderful harmony. Symphony No. 9 is one of my favorites within the genre of classical music. The orchestra did a wonderful job with this piece. I love how they used a mixture of different parts of the orchestra throughout the entire symphony and how it only continued to get better from the start. The piece was very romantic and had a lovely classical tune to it which made the piece easy to listen to. I normally would listen to songs like this has when Im running or studying as classical music helps relaxes me.The piece, which sounds a little similar to Beethovens Symphony, was very upbeat and was never over powering through the entire four movements. The dynamics was to my knowledge Mezzo-Forte that provide a nice rich texture to the song. I truly did not like the narrative piece has I feel it greatly took away from the meaning of the song. Though enjoy the narration and learning about the history of the song the voice of the narrator was very distracting. Think that a short description before the song or afterwards would suffice but this idea of narrative music opened my mind to a new perspective of how to listen to USIA.I think maybe in a conference setting this may help the audience adapt better to the music. Though as an individual I usually listen to this song as am studying and with my reasoning the voices distract me from concentrating on what I am doing. The stopping and going every so often is a little overkill and doesnt allow you to listening to the whole movement in synchronization. However I must credit the musical narrative that if you knew nothing about the artist or the song it will greatly help you relate more to the song and the artist and the history and context of the period the music came from. Earned a lot about how the composer enjoyed African American music, which explains the use of the drums and a heavier tempo and faster beat to his music.