Religious Ethic Essay Example for Free

Religious Ethic Essay Discuss the view that only a religious ethic can provide an acceptable basis for medical ethics. Medical ethics concerns many areas of ethical debate. Including such controversial issues such as euthanasia, abortion and human cloning, medical ethics sparks lively debates. The issue of abortion is a very relevant and controversial issue. There are opposition and supporters from both a religious ethical background and a non-religious ethical background. Those who come from a Christian ethical background tend to have a similar argument, that of the sanctity of life. Roman Catholics oppose abortion using the Christian ethical theory of Natural Law. Abortion would be going against natural law as it interferes with Gods will. Abortion is right in no circumstances, in other words it is intrinsically evil, as it involves the murder of an innocent life. Protestants do, in principle, oppose abortion on the ground that murder is wrong, as stated in the bible; Thou shalt not kill (Exodus) and as abortion is in effect murder, abortion must therefore also be wrong. However, some more liberal protestants allow abortion in certain circumstances, such as before the nervous system has developed (before the foetus can feel) if the mothers life or health is threatened or if the pregnancy is from an exceptional situation, such as the result of rape. There seems to be no reason however, as to why these two standpoints could not be from a non-religious ethic. The appreciation of life is not something that is exclusive to religion, and therefore the view that abortion is murder could stand with anyone who believes that the foetus is a person, and this need not be a religious standpoint. Equally the Liberal protestant view could again apply to anyone who believes that murder is wrong, yet as circumstances differ, the things to be considered also differ. This is a relativist situationist standpoint but again does not have to be religious. In fact many non-religious people do tend to be situationists as they judge decisions on their consequences and not on the action itself, as no action is considered intrinsically wrong, as it is not deemed by any higher being or book, as it is in religion. These arguments also apply in relation to euthanasia. Roman Catholics view murder as wrong and as euthanasia is essentially murder, it must also be wrong. It would also be considered as going against Natural Law as it interferes with Gods will, just as abortion does. Protestants would claim that the bible condemns euthanasia as it is murder, yet come more liberal Protestants again claim that all factors should be considered in order to make a decision relative to that persons individual situation. Many people would argue however that without a religious ethic there are no clear rules and boundaries. Deontological ethical theories, that are absolutist theories that apply in all situations, provide these boundaries as the answer will always be the same. Yet not all religious ethical theories are deontological, such as Fletchers Situation ethics, which is teleological. This means that religious ethics do not always provide a clear cut answer, just as non-religious ethics may not. Many religious fundamentalists would argue that atheists, for example, cannot have a similar appreciation of life as they do. Atheists do not believe in God, and some would argue that as they do not believe in anything, they cannot have the same appreciation of life. Yet it appears that without a belief in anything religious, life becomes even more precious. Without the promise of an afterlife, which is provided by Christianity, this current life becomes even more precious and amazing. As you only get one shot at life from an atheist perspective, the feeling to preserve it as much as possible, along with do the same for others would seem to be even stronger. Without the excuse that the person/foetus will go to Heaven, murder seems to be even more wrong, as it would take away the one life that that person has been offered. In conclusion I think that a religious ethic is by no means the only acceptable basis for medical ethics. Although some Christian ethics will provide a stable answer for every situation, an answer that will never change and therefore will have clear-cut boundaries, not every person in the world will ever be of the same religion, and therefore it cannot be universal. Therefore a non-religious ethic which everyone could agree on seems more acceptable, such as one that allows situations to be considered, because therefore a religious ethic could be used in certain circumstances if the people involved would like to do so, as that happens to be their own situation; similarly if someone does not want to apply a religious ethical theory then they are not obliged to do so, because again this option would apply to their situation. Therefore situationist ethics that are not based on religion can be made universal, allowing religious ethics to be applied or not according to the wishes of the people involved and this seems to me to be the only acceptable basis for medical ethics, an ethic that will allow for everyones personal beliefs.

Death And Paralysis In The Sisters

Death And Paralysis In The Sisters In order to recognize that Joyces Dubliners is a work unified by death, it is necessary for one to return to the beginning, where a meticulous reading is paramount, and start again. The opening story, The Sisters, is concerned with death and its impact upon the living individuals left in its wake. If the reader considers its function as essentially an introductory chapter, one will start to detect a palpable semblance of unity throughout Dubliners, as this story establishes the overarching theme of death and its associated motifs: paralysis, silences, and epiphanies-the latter of which are inextricably rooted in the poetics of modernity. The Sisters is a story that is concerned with youth, which represents the beginning of a progression from childhood to maturity. In this regard, the storys form parallels the narrative for the reader, as the story at its heart is concerned with the young narrators developing awareness; at the same time, the reader starts to acquire a simultaneous awa reness of the afore-mentioned themes and motifs. As we shall see, The Sisters functions as a gnomon for the entire collection of stories, as its narrator is but one of many more who are stifled and subjugated by their environment-like a patient etherized upon a table, as the ubiquitous J. Alfred Prufrock might say (Eliott 1). The Sisters ushers the readers into the world of Dubliners through the eyes of a child narrator. The narrator, along with the reader, confronts images of death in the opening paragraph through a lighted square of window-analogous to the window-panes of J. Alfred Prufrock. It is here, at the very beginning, that the narrator introduces the word paralysis, heralding a theme which reoccurs with death throughout the entirety of Dubliners. In A Beginning: Signification, Story, and Discourse in Joyces The Sisters, Staley emphasizes the beginning paragraph as an overture for the themes, conflicts, and tensions that were to be evoked again and again à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ throughout all of Dubliners (20). Furthermore, Staley affirms that the initial sentences tone of finality and certainty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ begins the circle of death for Dubliners (22). If one were to accept Staleys claim that the opening paragraph acts as an overture for the novel, it could then be argued that death and paralysis ar e not to be seen as separate entities in the context of Dubliners, but that the two are directly related, if not intertwined. Father Flynn, through his physical paralysis, comes to embody many of the characters in Dubliners, the majority of whom are paralyzed to some extent, whether it is physically, mentally, or emotionally. Later, the reader witnesses the manner in which death interrupts or arrests the living, as the narrator lays in the dark of [his] room and imagines that he sees the heavy grey face of the paralytic (Joyce 11). Already, one can intuit that the dead play a haunting role in Dubliners, as Gothic elements are common to modernist literature. This is evidenced here, as the narrator feels that he is smiling feebly like the paralytic priests cadaver (11). Indeed, at this point the living and dead start to merge as a single image, with the narrator mirroring the state of an immobile Father Flynn. In his critical essay on The Sisters, Corrington states that the boy and the old man fuse briefly through this smile, which contrasts elements of youth and death (24). The innocence of youth is tainted early in Dubliners, as death and Father Flynns deathly influence permeate The Sisters, looming behind both reader and narrator like an ominous shade. The child narrator may very well be a reflection of the reader, mirroring the thought processes that lead to a simultaneous realization of deaths paralyzing nature in the world of Dubliners. The narrators epiphany on deaths paralyzing quality is inadvertent, even ironic, as he calls attention to a sensation of freedom as if [he] had been freed from something by his death (Joyce 13). His actions in the story are contrary to this supposed sense of freedom; it becomes apparent that Father Flynns influence fills the silence that he left behind and acts as an interrupting force. Such a force bears similarities to the dead Catherines effect upon Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, where the latters life is dominated by her memory. Indeed, the narrator goes so far as to anthropomorphize paralysis as a maleficent and sinful being that fill[s] [him] with fear, yet he long[s] to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work (Joyce 9). The boy is both repelled and oddly compelled by the paralysis he experiences here, which exposes his inability to be truly free from Father Flynns death. Therefore, paralysis can be regarded the work of death, as both the boy and his sisters find the mselves utterly torpid in the wake of Father Flynns passing. The boys inability to find any fraction of freedom from Father Flynns death becomes more evident as his mental haunting persists. Here, the child imagines the heavy grey face of the paralytic and feels the apparition follow [him] (Joyce 11). Father Flynn is referred to synecdochically here, defined by a heavy grey pallor that suggests death incarnate, further melding themes of death and paralysis. More importantly, perhaps, the narrator has rendered Father Flynn incomplete, a gnomon by definition. Joyce employs the Euclidian definition of gnomon: a remainder after something has been removed (Joyce 9). This depiction of Father Flynn becomes significant later when one considers who is left more complete by the end of the story, and further relates to Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, who is left incomplete by his loss of Catherine, making him a gnomon of sorts as well. Nonetheless, this point illustrates the narrators inability, or perhaps reluctance, to be freed by Father Flynns passin g. Indeed, it seems significant that he imagine[s] Father Flynns face rather than dreaming about it, which would indicate a sort of conscious rejection of letting the dead be truly dead. In Dubliners: A Students Companion to the Stories, Werner states that when contemplating the word paralysis, the boy attributes to it an active presence that he wishes to observe rather than evade, and the same can be said about the concept of death for the narrator, as both themes are interlaced throughout the story (45). The development of consciousness in regard to death and its paralyzing quality is central to The Sisters. This development points to the storys role as a beginning, as the maturation, or lack thereof, of the various narrators consciousness and perception later becomes a major issue throughout Dubliners. Epiphanies are abundant in Dubliners, as they are in Virginia Woolfs To the Lighthouse, T.S. Eliots The Wasteland, and other modernist literature; nonetheless, as Werner notes in Dubliners: A Students Companion to the Stories, Joyce only gradually focuses his attention on the experience of revelation (47). Furthermore, the increasing complexity of his epiphanies is basic to the mature voice capable of articulating the contingent experiences of truth as an ongoing process for character, author, narrator, and reader (55). Such a development can be seen in the various protagonists encounters with death in Dubliners. In particular, The Sisters represents a beginning for both reader and na rrator. Just as the boy is experiencing his first encounter with death, the reader is experiencing his first bitter taste of life within the world of Dubliners. As a result, there is a simultaneous introduction to life and death. The moment of realization in the penultimate paragraph displays the narrators perception of death, as he states simply that the old priest was lying still in his coffin as we had seen him, solemn and truculent in death (Joyce 18). Here, the narrator still attributes a certain sense of hostility to Father Flynn as if to further affirm the haunting qualities of his death. The detached style in which Joyce imparts this realization is important, as it indicates that the narrator is barely cognizant of anything beyond the dead body. As Beck states in Joyces Dubliners: Substance, Vision, and Art , this realization communicates no incredibly precocious philosophical breakthrough, but the verisimilitude of a dawning awareness, a gradual, hushed, yet decisive epiphany (Beck 43). More importantly, the boy does not seem conscious of his paralysis as later narrators, such as Gabriel Conroy and Duffy, are. If the opening story is essentially a framing device, one can assume that the child narrator in The Sisters exhibits the start of a vicious cycle of internalizing paralysis. Werner claims that the narrator of Araby represents the first stage in the development of a destructive solipsism portrayed in adult characters such as Duffy, but one can argue that this stage actually begins with the narrator of The Sisters (54). Furthermore, Beck notes that the narrator of the Sisters eventually realizes his identity just that much more, and with it his secret isolation (43). Indeed, the core of the story is the boys beginning to see into himself as to the life around him, specifically the impedance of death upon that life. Death is the catalyst for epiphanies in both The Sisters and A Painful Case. In the former example, death triggers an emotional paralysis in the living, while in the latter story, death causes a realization of Duffys pre-existing emotional paralysis. Here, it is important to expound upon the significance of the narrators youth in the story. As Werner notes, the stories of childhood in Dubliners picture early confrontations of young boys with their corrupt environment (41). In The Sisters, such an environment is marked by an inevitable convergence of the living and the dead wherein the latter haunts the former. The young narrator is paralyzed by the external circumstances of his life, as Werner would argue. In fact, Werner goes on to claim that such a suffocating experience encourage[s] even the more sensitive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ children to accept and internalize paralysis, which leads directly to adult counterparts who have surrendered utterly to paralysis (41, 42). James Duffy, the protagonist in A Painful Case, exemplifies the adult Dubliner who has repressed his emotional paralysis for entirely too long, measuring his life in coffee spoons in the same manner as J. Alfred Prufrock. Silence is introduced in the opening paragraph as yet another motif to be associated with death. As mentioned, the narrator of The Sisters characterizes the very presence of Father Flynns corpse with an antagonistic silence. However, one should note the relationship between Father Flynns silence and the sisters referenced in the title, as the two entities are almost at odds with one another. As the story progresses, the sisters keep attempting to break the persistent silence with their patter, but the dialogue is only ever about Father Flynn. In this manner, the dead haunt even the speech of the living. Corrington remarks that the old man has had a certain degree of ascendance over [the sisters] and even in death, he is their primary concern (22). Corringtons comments are primarily concerned with the sisters as a symbol of devoted service to the Catholic Church, the notion of Father Flynns ascendance and enduring presence speak to the haunting nature of the dead. Father Flynn is neve r more than a cadaver in The Sisters, yet his influence is undeniable. He looms over the environs silently, but to such an extent that the silence becomes a malevolent force. Rabate comments on the nature of silence in the context of Dubliners, writing that silence can finally appear as the end, the limit, the death of speech, its paralysis (33). If one works within the notion of silence as an antagonistic opposition to speech, the final moments of The Sisters can be seen as the ultimate paralysis inflicted by the dead Father Flynn. Joyce ends with Elizas speech, interrupted by ellipses before it finally trails off, imparting a paralyzing silence upon the reader. It is as if the characters, like J. Alfred Prufrock, are left wondering the same: how should I begin? Joyce extols little intimation of hope within the world of Dubliners, where the living portray an emotionally paralyzed life equivalent to that of the dead. It is only upon further examination that one can argue that Joyce actually glorifies death to some extent and indicates it as a more amenable condition. Although the eponymous sisters dialogue throughout the story is rife with clichà ©, a particular assertion is striking. Eliza declares that Father Flynn had a beautiful death, which brings to mind Joyces claim that death is the most beautiful form of life (Joyce, Dubliners 15; Joyce, James Clarence Mangan 60). She goes on to say that Father Flynn make[s] a beautiful corpse, which contrasts the paralyzed depiction of his earthly life. In fact, Father Flynn is marked by a certain incompleteness from the opening paragraph of The Sisters, when the narrator associates the priests paralysis with the word gnomon (Joyce 9). As mentioned, the narrator only represents Father Flynn symboli cally-by his face-which further suggests an incompleteness. Finally, the broken chalice symbolizes the beginning of Father Flynns broken state-his burgeoning madness. Another definition of the word gnomon is applicable to Father Flynn; as discussed in lecture, it is a shadow cast as on a sundial (66). Father Flynns influence as a deathly shade is undeniable, as he lingers throughout the story. On the other hand, his being, or lack thereof, serves to illuminate the partial, reduced lives of Joyces Dubliners, which seems to be Joyces ultimate goal here (66). The storys explicit concern with the dynamic of life and death is a deliberate one, as Joyce carefully arranged the order of stories in Dubliners (Beck 42). Indeed, the exploration of life and death is both central to modernity and the major crux upon which Dubliners is unified. Thus, Becks concern with the meaning and interpretation of the story are secondary to revealing the manner in which it functions as an overture to the novel (42). Ultimately, The Sisters establishes a pattern of the dead impacting life to the point of paralysis that is not altered until the final story. The Sisters makes it possible to explore the later stories of Dubliners in the context of themes and motifs set forth from the very beginning. Werner states that the remainder of Dubliners fulfills [the narrators] longing to be nearer to paralysis and its deadly work, which is an accurate assessment, as Joyce continues to develop this particular theme throughout the work (35). It is this inexplicable, paradoxical longing that harkens back to the poetics of modernity and notions of the sublime. The Sisters functions as an overture for Dubliners, introducing the themes and motifs that serve to unify the novel. Death and paralysis are intertwined throughout Dubliners, as they are in many other modernist works. Paralysis is present not only in The Sisters, but in A Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock, in which the titular protagonist wonders endlessly, do I dare? The impact and implications of death can be seen as well through the influence of Father Flynn. Like Catherine of Wuthering Heights, he hovers over the lives of others like a shade, lending Gothic elements to an otherwise realistic, if stagnant depiction of Irish life. These themes provide an appropriate context-a modernist context-in which the rest of the novel can not only be enjoyed, but properly engaged.

The Changing Personality of Kurtz in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness   - The Changing   Personality of Kurtz      Ã‚   Kurtz's character is fully facet (in Conrad's Heart of Darkness), not because of his conventional roll of antagonist, but for his roll in a historical fiction as a character with important roll in society, influenced by those close to him. Kurtz makes some key developments in the way he interacts with others, in large part due to the words and actions of society and Kurtz's acquaintances.    Heart of Darkness is a novel based on European imperialism in the late nineteenth-early twentieth century. During the turn of the century in 1900, the more significant countries in Europe (i.e. England, France, Germany, et al.) had gotten to a point where expansion within Europe was no longer foreseeable, so for financial, political, and egotistical reasons, these countries looked south to their neighbor Africa, the "black continent." "God-forsaken wilderness." Marlow says of Africa. (Page 73) Trade routes were established and the home countries found reliable executive willing to travel and develop relations in the country. In Conrad's novel, Kurtz was this man. He started out with a noble goal, i.e. to modernize Africa, but suffered the effects of a deadly disease, greed. "It was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage." Said Marlow (of what Kurtz and the ivory company had done to Africa.) (Page 102.)    Kurtz's characteristics are best seen through his work as an Ivory trader in the territory known as Congo. He got this position after being dubbed as a genius, partly because he worked as an orator, poet, writer, musician, politician, and artist in addition to the ivory business. Many would take this ... ...ributed to Kurtz loosing track of his life emotionally, and later physically. Kurtz loved her, and his heart went cold as she was separated from his life. This can be seen in the story at the conclusion in a dialogue between the intended and Marlow, where she asks Marlow what Kurtz's final words were. Marlow lies, not because of his friendship with Kurtz, but because he recognizes the importance of him to her (and visa versa.)    The change of Kurtz's personality is not solely because he is the antagonist, but because he is so self-conscious of his appearance that he allows society to overwhelm his character.    Work Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. 17th ed. New York: Norton, 1988.    Notes 1. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of darkness. Page 73 2. Ibid. Page 102 3. Ibid. 107 4. Ibid.138    The Changing Personality of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness   - The Changing   Personality of Kurtz      Ã‚   Kurtz's character is fully facet (in Conrad's Heart of Darkness), not because of his conventional roll of antagonist, but for his roll in a historical fiction as a character with important roll in society, influenced by those close to him. Kurtz makes some key developments in the way he interacts with others, in large part due to the words and actions of society and Kurtz's acquaintances.    Heart of Darkness is a novel based on European imperialism in the late nineteenth-early twentieth century. During the turn of the century in 1900, the more significant countries in Europe (i.e. England, France, Germany, et al.) had gotten to a point where expansion within Europe was no longer foreseeable, so for financial, political, and egotistical reasons, these countries looked south to their neighbor Africa, the "black continent." "God-forsaken wilderness." Marlow says of Africa. (Page 73) Trade routes were established and the home countries found reliable executive willing to travel and develop relations in the country. In Conrad's novel, Kurtz was this man. He started out with a noble goal, i.e. to modernize Africa, but suffered the effects of a deadly disease, greed. "It was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage." Said Marlow (of what Kurtz and the ivory company had done to Africa.) (Page 102.)    Kurtz's characteristics are best seen through his work as an Ivory trader in the territory known as Congo. He got this position after being dubbed as a genius, partly because he worked as an orator, poet, writer, musician, politician, and artist in addition to the ivory business. Many would take this ... ...ributed to Kurtz loosing track of his life emotionally, and later physically. Kurtz loved her, and his heart went cold as she was separated from his life. This can be seen in the story at the conclusion in a dialogue between the intended and Marlow, where she asks Marlow what Kurtz's final words were. Marlow lies, not because of his friendship with Kurtz, but because he recognizes the importance of him to her (and visa versa.)    The change of Kurtz's personality is not solely because he is the antagonist, but because he is so self-conscious of his appearance that he allows society to overwhelm his character.    Work Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. 17th ed. New York: Norton, 1988.    Notes 1. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of darkness. Page 73 2. Ibid. Page 102 3. Ibid. 107 4. Ibid.138   

Tuesdays With Morrie :: essays research papers

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tuesdays with Morrie is a short narrative dealing with the last few months of an amazing man’s life, Morrie Schwartz. Mitch Ablom, the author, has written this novel documenting his experience of spending every Tuesday, during his last few months, with Morrie. It is a sad yet inspiring chronicle concerning the great relationship built between the two men, Morrie Schwartz and Mitchell Ablom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the beginning, as the novel opens, Mitch Ablom writes as if he were speaking to the reader. By using this first person point of view, Ablom is able to connect, and communicate, easily with any that picks up this book. In addition, Ablom is also able to become close and almost personal with the reader. With this type of narrative, where one is documenting an entire day spent with another, it is necessary for the author to write in this fashion in order to convey his message clearly. Ablom does not, however, write the entire novel in first person. In instances where Ablom is describing the memories of Morrie, he uses a third person point of view in which Morrie engages in a dialogue. Using the first person point of view, and toggling back and forth with a third person point of view, Ablom’s style is effective in presenting his thoughts and ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Ablom is â€Å"talking† to his reader, he also displays his thoughts. Many of these thoughts set the tone of the novel by providing an image of exactly what he is thinking. â€Å"It cracks me up. The whole time I know him, I have two overwhelming desires: to hug him and to give him a napkin. (p.31)† Without these thoughts shown to the reader, one cannot understand how much love Mitch Ablom has for his teacher, Morrie. The relationship between the two is an everlasting one that will last forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The entire narrative is in a very quick pace. Many different things contribute to this. First of all, being the obvious, the plot and story of this novel is engrossing and absorbing. Secondly, the structure and way in which the book was written contributes to its fast pace. The novel is broken up into short chapters. A novel that contains short chapters always seems to move in a quick tempo. However, although there are many chapters, there are no breaks in which the reader can get lost in. The novel is extremely fluid and continuous. Tuesdays With Morrie :: essays research papers TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tuesdays with Morrie is a short narrative dealing with the last few months of an amazing man’s life, Morrie Schwartz. Mitch Ablom, the author, has written this novel documenting his experience of spending every Tuesday, during his last few months, with Morrie. It is a sad yet inspiring chronicle concerning the great relationship built between the two men, Morrie Schwartz and Mitchell Ablom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the beginning, as the novel opens, Mitch Ablom writes as if he were speaking to the reader. By using this first person point of view, Ablom is able to connect, and communicate, easily with any that picks up this book. In addition, Ablom is also able to become close and almost personal with the reader. With this type of narrative, where one is documenting an entire day spent with another, it is necessary for the author to write in this fashion in order to convey his message clearly. Ablom does not, however, write the entire novel in first person. In instances where Ablom is describing the memories of Morrie, he uses a third person point of view in which Morrie engages in a dialogue. Using the first person point of view, and toggling back and forth with a third person point of view, Ablom’s style is effective in presenting his thoughts and ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Ablom is â€Å"talking† to his reader, he also displays his thoughts. Many of these thoughts set the tone of the novel by providing an image of exactly what he is thinking. â€Å"It cracks me up. The whole time I know him, I have two overwhelming desires: to hug him and to give him a napkin. (p.31)† Without these thoughts shown to the reader, one cannot understand how much love Mitch Ablom has for his teacher, Morrie. The relationship between the two is an everlasting one that will last forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The entire narrative is in a very quick pace. Many different things contribute to this. First of all, being the obvious, the plot and story of this novel is engrossing and absorbing. Secondly, the structure and way in which the book was written contributes to its fast pace. The novel is broken up into short chapters. A novel that contains short chapters always seems to move in a quick tempo. However, although there are many chapters, there are no breaks in which the reader can get lost in. The novel is extremely fluid and continuous.

Journal Reading :: essays research papers

Introduction: Journaling is a powerful thing; there are many different uses for a Journal, everything from personal thoughts to keeping an expedition written down for later resource. Many people don’t use Journals which is unfortunate, my focus in this paper is to show the different areas of Journaling and to possibly make it a part of your life. Thesis: My thesis statement is to show the importance of journaling in leadership and other positions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Getting started, it doesn’t take much to get started, all you need is a pen or pencil, preferably a pencil incase you need to change something, but a wise teacher once told me that his mom asked him a very interesting question, â€Å" What do you use on crossword puzzles, a pen or a pencil,† she then later stated â€Å" I always do mine in pen,† now the reason behind her always doing it in pen is so you know you did it write the first time, and you feel confident in that. The next thing you would or should need is something to write on, this can be anything from a purchased store journal to napkin from a restaurant, although having a booklet of napkins may seem absurd, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s something to take your thoughts down on. The other thing that you should have is a positive attitude, trust me it is helpful in all aspects of life, a great man once said, â€Å" The greatest discovery of my generation is that hum an being can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind by William James.† (Pg.88 John Maxwell The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a leader). That’s about all it should take to start a effective journal, so stay focused as we will be going through the Purpose of Journaling. The first area I would like to delve into is the thinking aspect of Journaling. I don’t know about you, but I like to think, it makes me feel like I’m the smartest man in the world. I took this class called Practicum Seminar Leadership and for the class we had to go on a solo trip for about 3 days, by ourselves, and I thought a lot while I was out there and I wish I had, had a journal to keep all my thoughts down in, because some of them were lost, but I came out of there with a deep understanding of what it means to be positive.

Gore-Tex Case Study Essay

1) Explain what happened to the Gore-Tex brand after the patent expired. What activity can firms use to try to maintain any advantage developed during the patent protection phase? When a patent expires, generally around 20 years after the original filing; the inventor no longer has the exclusive rights to his or her invention thereby opening up the said patent to everyone to use. At this point other companies can offer comparative products at reduced prices. Gore-Tex was smart to take advantage of their own patent and expand the product line to include other products using the same technology. The company is overall smart by also not just relying on only the Gore-Tex technology but also expand into other areas. 2) List some of the wide range of products where the Gore-Tex fabric has been applied. Some of the wide range of products where the Gore-Tex that has been applied are breathable fabric for coats; advanced the science of regenerating tissues destroyed by disease or traumatic injuries; developed next-generation materials for printed circuit boards and fiber optics; and pioneered new methods to detect and control environmental pollution. On their website they even offer they offer Raincoats, coats, back-packs, shoes, trousers, soft shell jackets, gloves, socks, hunter hats, baseball hat, gaiters, and bike hats all for men, women and kids. 3) It seems that Gore Associates is heavily oriented towards technology; what are some of the dangers of being too heavily focused on technology? Some of the dangers of being too heavily focused on technology are, losing employees to competitors, creating products that can cost your organization to lose money if it is not selling, and the product being created could be too complicated for the targeted audience. When too many projects are going on based on technology the costs can become astronomical and can weigh down the company by tying up resources, both physical and monetary. Sometimes in developing more and more companies will lose sight of the initial goal and/or come up with too many variables and loose the opportunity. 4) Cooperatives and share-ownership schemes provide many attractions and benefits, but there are also limitations; discuss these. The limitations of cooperatives and share-ownership schemes are that, any decrease in performance and fall in value of the shares can cause enormous resentment within the firm as they see the value of their savings decrease. 5) What has been the Gore strategy to achieving success in its markets? How is this strategy now being challenged? The Gore strategy to achieving success in its markets has been its diversity of the product and allowing employees to have opportunities to invest. Being creative in branding also helps the company’s image.

Classical Approach Essay

These clinics provide a range of primary health care services with eye care often being a neglected component. The personnel at this level of the health care system are expected to be multi-skilled with eye care skills being one of their range of skills. The eye care personnel are usually primary health care nurses who have completed a course in eye care. Vision screening and treatment of basic acute eye conditions such as  conjunctivitis, is the main role of eye care personnel at this level. In addition they should be able to engage in health promotion activities by developing eye health education tools and communicating these messages to the community the clinic serves. District health clinic Primarily responsible for primary health care services and serves or receives referral from a number of primary health care clinics. These clinics are generally staffed by primary health care nurses with medical doctors on a permanent or part time basis depending on the number of people in the catchment area or remoteness of the clinics. Furthermore ophthalmic nurses (ON), ophthalmic clinical officers (OCO) and/or ophthalmic medical assistants (OMA) are deployed in some countries to these clinics. THE DISTRICT HEALTH SYSTEM (CONT.) District Hospital Secondary level of care is provided in these hospitals. These hospitals serve a number of health districts, which refer patients to them. Ocular disease diagnosis and management, refraction and low vision are usually provided at this level. The district hospitals can be staffed by ophthalmologists, optometrists, ON, OCO, OMA. REGIONAL HOSPITAL Secondary and tertiary level of eye care is provided at these hospitals, which are often the referral site for a group of district hospitals Eyecare staff may include ON, OCO, OMA, optometrists and ophthalmologists PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL Tertiary and quaternary care is provided at this level. Serves a few regional hospitals which refer cases that cannot be managed at a regional level Eyecare staff may include ophthalmologists, optometrists and ON DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES It is critical that there be a clear definition of roles within the health district. Duplication should be avoided and a clearly defined referral system should be developed as in a climate of limited resources and overworked staff, duplication is illogical and wasteful. There are various participants of the eye care teams. The following are the possible roles that the different personnel play within health districts. These roles can vary across districts and are often not consistent, in the sense that their job descriptions could change periodically depending on resources and challenges at the district level: COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS The key roles for community health workers are usually screening, case finding, health promotion and health education. Key tasks for eye care include case finding and/or screening for ocular disease and refractive errors. While the primary health care nurse is well trained and ideal for ocular health and vision, case finding and/or screening, outreach from clinics is usually very difficult due to the plethora of tasks and patient numbers at this level. The community health workers therefore constitute an ideal cadre for community based eye care activity. They can be particularly useful in health promotion activity. This is necessary in rural areas in particular due to the high usage of alternative approaches to managing eye diseases e.g. urine being used as a treatment for conjunctivitis resulting in patients presenting at clinics with gonococcal conjunctivitis (Naidoo K  2006, pers. comm). PRIMARY HEALTH CARE NURSE (PHCN) The Primary Health Care Nurse is based at the primary health care clinic. The primary health care nurse is primarily responsible for case finding and for the basic therapeutic management of a broad range of diseases. Eye care is but one of the many tasks that they engage in. In terms of eye care they usually screen for eye diseases and visual loss and refer to the nearest clinic. However, they could also be responsible for the prescribing of presbyopic glasses after having ruled out the presence of any potentially blinding disease.Given the lack of knowledge about eye care their tasks can also include liaising with local community structures to promote eye care activities and uptake of the clinical services. The PHCN should address community groups and schools regarding the promotive and preventive approaches to eye care. An example is the alarming number of diabetic and hypertensive patients who are never informed about the impact of these systemic diseases on their eyes, usually du e to the hectic schedule of clinicians who diagnose these patients. This leads to diabetic and hypertensive patients only seeking eye care services when visual loss has occurred. Such patients can benefit tremendously from preventive and promotive efforts. DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES(CONT.) OPHTHALMIC NURSE (ON) / OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL ASSISTANT (OMA) / OPHTHALMIC CLINICAL OFFICER (OCO) ONs / OMAs / OCOs are mainly allocated to the district hospital but can also be deployed at the district clinic. In many health districts the ophthalmic nurses are the foundation of the eye care system as optometrists and ophthalmologists are unavailable. The ophthalmic nurses manage all ocular disease as well as conduct refractions in instances where they have been  provided with the additional training. OPTOMETRISTS Optometrists at the district hospital level are a very valuable resource in providing ocular disease management and refractive services. However the current limited number of posts as well as the unavailability of optometrists for the public sector often prevents these appointments from occurring. Given the current remuneration scales for optometry and the lack of posts in many countries insufficient number of optometrists are mobilised to take on positions at district hospitals. The role of the optometrist at a district hospital level in such circumstances should therefore be one of a visiting clinician to provide support for the ophthalmic nurse in the form of training and mentoring and managing complex cases. The optometrist’s primary location in such circumstances will be at the regional hospital level handling referrals from different district hospitals. At this level the optometrist should provide refraction services, low vision services and ocular disease diagnosis and co-management/management. OPHTHALMOLOGIST Ophthalmologists provide treatment and management of ocular disease, and surgical care. The lack of ophthalmologists as well as the attractiveness of the private sector makes it difficult to deploy ophthalmologists to district hospitals. They are therefore usually located at regional hospitals or large district hospitals. In order to significantly impact on the cataract surgical rates in the developing world it is necessary to increase the role of the ophthalmic nurses and optometrists in disease management and co-management of post surgical patients. DISTRICT HEALTH MANAGER The district manager is an integral component of the human resource team of the district. A supportive manager can enable enormous developments in terms of eye care, as the allocation of resources in the public sector is usually centrally controlled. The decentralisation of tasks to the district managers from the provincial government level creates an opportunity for greater  success with district level planning. THE TEAM APPROACH The public health system is often under-utilized due to the lack of a team effort in the delivery of health care services. The different personnel work independently and are often engaging in a duplication of tasks. Territorial approaches by professionals are quite common with a â€Å"my role† mentality predominating rather than an â€Å"us† mentality (Croasdale A 2006, pers. comm).In order to effectively generate cooperation team training in the form of clinical and planning workshops are important. Further there is also a lack of integration between the eye care personnel and other departments. This hinders the effective management of patients e.g. diabetic patients should be co-managed between the physician and the eye care personnel. DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES (CONT.) CIVIL SOCIETY INTERVENTIONS The LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in India has developed an innovative model for the delivery of eye care in the developing world (Fig. 2-1), which has been implemented very successfully (Rao, 2005). In this pyramid model, basic eye care screening is done by â€Å"Vision Guardians† at the village level, at a ratio of 1:5,000.â€Å"Vision Technicians† in Vision Centres at the community level provide primary eye care (1:50,000), while advanced tertiary care takes place at the Centre of Excellence level (1:50 million).Tasks are thus divided amongst the available workforce, so that the relatively few individuals capable of high-end tasks are freed to deliver those. Local communities should always be involved in the establishment of eye care services, and educated about eye care – since available facilities are not always accessed spontaneously.The WHO recommends that the minimum target for mid-level eye care personnel be 1:50,000 populations.