In disadvantaged areas around the world, young men find expressions of Essay

In disadvantaged areas around the world, young men find expressions of their masculinity through violence. discuss - Essay Example Additional factors such as social class, poverty, culture and race are also involved, and this makes it difficult to isolate the element of gender and analyse its role in society. This paper introduces recent theories about gender in society and suggests an appropriate way of approaching the subject. It then considers how far and why young men in disadvantaged areas might choose to use violence as a means of expressing their masculinity. Finding an appropriate vocabulary is an important first step in understanding how gender affects behaviour: â€Å"Talking about gender for most people is the equivalent of fish talking about water.† (Lorber, 1994, 21) A great deal of human experience of gender is taken for granted because it occurs on an unconscious level. It is not something that individuals work out themselves, but rather it is the result of repeated interactions with other people who convey the prevailing values and boundaries of society. Lorber stresses the social nature o f gender: â€Å"To explain why gendering is done from birth, constantly and by everyone, we have to look not only at the way individuals experience gender but at gender as a social institution.† (Lorber, 1994, 21). ... From birth babies are assigned to male or female gender, and this results in a whole set of traditional responses which reinforce that gender. Because there is pressure from the family, and from society at large, boys and girls internalize a lot of these notions of gender and grow up â€Å"doing gender† themselves, in ways that are defined by others. This is what it means when we say that gender is socially constructed. The dominance of patriarchy in most human societies ensures that there is a widespread tendency to accord more status and prestige to men, in relation to women. Organized violence tends to be the work of men, and this is a pattern that has been evident throughout history as successive male governments launch into wars with each other. Culture does have some influence in the way that this occurs, however, and Connell points out that â€Å"Commercial capitalism calls on a calculative masculinity and the class struggles of industrialization call on a combative on e. Their combination, competitiveness, is institutionalized in ‘business’ and becomes a central theme in the new form of hegemonic masculinity† (Connell, 1987, p. 156). Western industrialized capitalism, therefore, produces a particularly restrictive form of masculinity which has assertion of power and resistance to this power built into its fabric. Dominant males oppress females and also weaker males. This is the force that lies behind unfairness in comparative wage levels, inequality in access to jobs, promotions and all kinds of opportunities. In communities which are generally disadvantaged both men and women are subjected to prejudice from the more affluent parts of society and this brings their status closer together, at the bottom of social hierarchies. When

Post Modern Society Essay Example for Free

Post Modern Society Essay Social change is the central focus in most of the founding thinkers of sociologys work. This social change is based on the conceptualization of history as an evolution. According to these sociologists, a modern society arises as a result of the inevitable consequence of the growth of knowledge and understanding especially in the field of science and rationality. However, there are no clear indications on when a society can be viewed as having moved from one stage of modernity to the next. A characteristic of the present society which is astonishing does not lie in its level of industrialization but on its level of integration across various cultures. (Holmes, Hughes Julian 34) Social integration is a phenomenon that has received much popularity in the last decade. The entire human race has achieved a level of cultural cohesion that has not been realized before. The traditional cultural boundaries are slowly dissolving and a new universal culture is emerging. The differences in religion, color, ideology, tradition and perception are slowly merging. The society is adopting a general culture which is characterized by a uniformity in norms, values and beliefs. In all the six continents, there is a growing trend in information technology which perpetuates cultural diffusion. Today, individuals of diverse cultural background can easily interact through such mediums like the internet. Efficiency in the transport system has resulted in more people coming into contact with each other. However, it has been difficult to classify this current trend owing to its multifaceted nature. Such terms like modern, postmodern, global and cosmopolitan have been used frequently to describe this current trend. Even though all these terms may be used to describe some of its characteristics, in most cases, their use is normally interchanged. We may not be very far from the truth should we adopt to refer to the current human population as belonging to the same society and cultural orientation. In its actual definition, society can be termed as an interacting group of people with a common sense of identity and culture, living within a particular geographical region. Giddens 2)With this regard, I will consider the planet earth a geographical region. Sociologist have drawn together a number of elements that characterize a modern society. These elements are dominant in the contemporary world and they include the rise of science, the decline of religion, industrialization, mass communication, bureaucracy, division of labor, urbanization and an increasing comprehension of the various aspects of the human life. However, these characteristics fail to capture the complete picture this time. Bureaucracy was a 17th Century invention. Industrialization even though a characteristic of this society does not really distinguish it from the 18th Century ages and therefore cannot be a distinct factor in classifying this society. We also cannot say that we are experiencing the rise of science. We are actually in the midst of science. In other words, this society cannot be described by these elements that sociologists stated. Thus, we are living at a time of transition mainly characterized by a change of perception towards life. This change of perception is a universal element which has passed through every society consciously or unconsciously. The human society is living at the age of post modernism. (Hall and McGrew 13) In the present society, there is a general belief that no single universally agreed upon principle of belief and organization exists. Even though there is remarkable progress in science, there is a general position that it has failed to give explanation and control to various aspects of the society. Another characteristic of this time which is an element of post modernism is the fragmentation of academic disciplines. There is no single paradigm which explains the human condition in the society. Post modernism itself means different things to different thinkers. Being a relatively current theory of society, various sociologists remark that it is an attempt to falsify sociologys founding fathers work. As a theory of society, its basic premise is that social history has progressed in a way that the founders of sociology did not conceptualize. The founders of sociology held the view that history may end with industrialization while actually it has progressed by it. However, this progress has led to confusion about the nature and the subsequent direction of the society. The founding fathers could not conceptualize the current system which is characterized by the rise of relativity and the decline of absolute truth. With an increase in interactions coupled with the breaking of cultural and social barriers, the present society has lost purpose and direction. Post modernity best describe this time because the society has developed an attitude in which there are no certain truths about the world. This has led to modification and subsequent incorporation of various ideologies across all cultures. With regard to art, there exists a universality in appreciation and expression across all cultures. Different artistic styles are coordinated and incorporated in a single element thereby building a unique cultural system which integrates different elements in various cultural practices into one. For instance, music is a blend of various tunes from different regions, the construction of buildings follow popular designs and more different races work towards the same goals. The society has moved from state characterized by industrialization and urbanization to a state of human integration and purpose. The representation of society through multifaceted and diverse cultures has made the world to be a powerful yet confused in its understanding of life. This is the society that we live in today. The concept of post modernity is a recent one which was introduced in the arts and architecture. Today, it has spread across the various aspects of life and is yet to be accepted as the general name for this period in the history of the human society. The development of the post modern society traces its roots on the historical processes of the great transformation and modernity. Its existence in our world today cannot be denied. The period which was marked by the processes of industrialization and the expansion of capitalism saw the beginning of an era of modernity. (Krieken, Habibis, Smith, Hutchins, Haralambos, Holborn 65). This era continued through the last century and today, we are experiencing a change in the human society. The accumulation of the process of change has resulted into this period which can justifiably be termed post modernism. The society has evolved to the extent that new conceptions and structures are developing that are bound to replace the existing ones. As much as we may refer to it as global, cosmopolitan or multicultural society, one apparent thing is that it has evolved from the society that existed prior to the invention of advanced information technology. This can only be referred to as a post modern society.

Forces in Skeletal Structure of the Arm

Forces in Skeletal Structure of the Arm Bio Mechanics and Kinetics Task 1. Produce a labelled diagram showing the forces involved on the skeletal structure of a human arm as a weight is being held at a particular angle. Your report should use the principle of moments to fully describe all of the forces that are being applied at various points along the forearm through the muscle and tendons. (Assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) Skeletal muscles consist of many parallel fibres wrapped in a flexible sheath along a bone, narrowing at both ends into tendons. Some of the muscles thin into two or three tendons which are known as â€Å"biceps† and â€Å"triceps†. Muscle fibres contract after receiving an electrical signal from the nerve ending attached to them; hence the muscles shorten and a pulling force is sensed by the two bones. Primarily, the main function of the muscles is to pull and not to push. As part of this task, I am going to demonstrate the forces involved on the skeletal structure of the human arm when a weight is being held at a particular angle. The image below shows a free-body diagram illustrating the forces exerted on the forearm bar. According to the Laws of Statics such as Newton’s Law, the net force on the immobile bar must be zero, and the total torque (which will be discussed later) is also zero. Figure 1 Hence the forces acting on the forearm are its weight (W), the weight of the hand (H), force from the bicep muscle (B, which pulls upward the forearm at an angle ÃŽ ±) and the force from the humerus bone (A). The muscular system within the arm generates linear force. Linear force refers to the force that acts in straight line between the origin and the insertion. However the linear force is manifested by the rotational moment which is generated at the joint centre. This is due to the geometrical relationship between the lines of action of the muscles and the joint centre. The maximum force a muscle is able to exert is equivalent to its cross-sectional area, i.e. the legs are capable of lifting heavier load due to having greater cross-sectional area compared to the arms. Therefore the estimated maximum force a muscle can apply is about 7106 dyn/cm2 = 7 x 105 Pa = 102lb/in2. The formula to calculate the moment of force is: For example, if an arm (weighing 7kg) lifts a load of 5kg by 1cm, what is the moment of force applied on the arm? Firstly I will need to find the force of both objects, by using this formula: Where acceleration is 9.8m/s (Earths gravitational field, since it is constant). The force of the object = 5kg X 9.8m/s = 49N The force of the arm = 7kg X 9.8m/s = 68.6N Therefore the moment of a force =49N X 0.01m = 0.49Nm The moment of force of 0.49Nm is applied on the arm. The various joints in the body are known as levers which causes rotations about a fulcrum (axis rotation). This is used to figure out the forces exerted by the muscles such as lifting loads and transfer movement from one point to another. For a lever, the force F required to balance a load of weight (W) is: Where d1 and d2 are the lengths of the lever arms (illustrated in figure 2) If d1 is 5cm and d2 is 35cm, find out the force required to balance the weight of 5kg. Using the above formula: Therefore, a force of 0.71Nm is required to balance the weight of 5kg on the arm. If the load is close to the fulcrum, the mechanical advantage is greater (d12); hence if it is far away then it is smaller (d2> d1). Therefore the mechanical advantage may increase or decrease depending on the distances from the fulcrum. We can also measure torque (any point of the fulcrum), which refers to the force applied over a distance (lever arm) that causes rotations of the fulcrum. The torque is dependent on three variables: amount of force, angle of application of force and the length of the moment arm/ R. As mentioned above in figure 1, the total torque is equal to zero;. The following formula is used to calculate Torque Ï„: Where F is the force (0.71Nm), R is the distance from the location force is applied to the joint (moment arm) (35cm) à Ã‚ ´ is the angle between the force and the radial line I will now find out the torque for the same question, if the angle is 20 °; This links in with the above statement of the total torque being equal to zero. I am now going to discuss about the elbow and the forces applied to it. There are many properties which can be used to calculate the forces of the biceps: the angle of the elbow; the length of the upper and lower arm bone; and the distance from the bone to the location the muscle is attached to. I will now use this formula to find out the force exerted by the biceps (equilibrium) in holding the object, which is the sum of the clockwise moments about any points, equals the sum of the anticlockwise moments about the same point: Taking 5cm from bone to the biceps attachment; The force exerted by the biceps holding the object is 891.8N. Similarly, we can also measure the tension of the bicep/arm holding the object. The image below shows an arm being held out and elevated from the shoulder by the deltoid muscle. The forces can be measured the taking the sum of the torques (of the shoulder joint, the tension (T) can be calculated: Where W1 is the weight of the arm, W 2 is the weight of the object Using the above question; if = 20; the weight of the arm (W1) is 68.6N and the weight of the object (W2) is 49N, then calculate T: = 113.96N Therefore the force needed to hold up the bicep/arm at 20, is 113.96N. Task 2. A) You must complete the energy changes/momentum worksheet. Assessment criteria 2.3,2.4 See attachments b) You must produce a report that describes the equations of motion needed to calculate the range and maximum height that a projectile thrown by a human can achieve. This report must include examples of both the range equation and maximum height equation. You could use a sports person throwing a ball as an example. A projectile is any object that has been thrown or shot by a human (measures projectile motion). Projectiles are affected by two factors: gravity (Horizontal motion) and air resistance (vertical motion which is the force of gravity pulling down the object). As part of this task I am going to carry out various calculations to find out the range and maximum height that a golf ball can achieve when a golf player hits the ball. A golfer hits a ball so that it moves off with a speed of 37m/s at an angle of 45. I am going to calculate how far the ball goes; the maximum height it will reach; and how long it takes for the ball to get there. Firstly, I am going to use the following formula to calculate how far the ball travels; Where R is the range/resultant (how far the ball goes), V0 is the initial velocity of the ball speed (37m/s) g is the gravity (9.8m/s) also can be used as (a) since it is constant à Ã‚ ´ is angle of the ball (45 °) Therefore; Hence, when a ball is hit with a speed of 37m/s at 45 °, the ball will go far as 139.7m. Secondly, I will calculate the maximum projectile height (how high a ball will go) by using the following method; Where Ymax is the maximum projectile height that the ball will go The maximum projectile height that a ball will reach is 34.9m. The final calculation that I am going to carry out is the flight time so that I can find out how long it takes for the ball to get there. I will use the following method; Where Tflight is the time flight of how long it takes for the ball to reach there. The flight time for the ball to get there is 5.3s. Using the same question, I now want to find out how far the ball travels horizontally from A to C and the time that the ball is in the air, ignoring any air resistance and taking g = 10ms-2. Firstly, I will calculate the time that the ball is in the air for, by using the following formula; I need to find out the vertical motion from A to B first = 90 ° 45 ° = 45 ° Formula; Where v is the final velocity (0 since it is moving horizontally), u is the initial velocity (37m/s x cos 45) is 26.16m/s a is the acceleration (10m/s) t is the time Therefore; , so the time it takes from A to C is twice this I will now look at the horizontal motion from A to C. Horizontal component of velocity. This is constant during motion. Horizontal distance = horizontal velocity X time of flight Therefore the horizontal distance the ball travels from A to C is 136.8m. Task 3. You must produce a report showing how the variation of blood pressure affects the human body. Your report must include calculations to determine pressure based on area or density values. Assessment criteria 3.1,3.2 Bernoulli’s Principles explains that flowing blood has different speeds and therefore different kinetic energies (KE) at different parts of the arteries. It determines the relationships between the pressure, density and velocity at every point in a fluid. Bernoulli’s Principle was discovered by a Swiss physicist called Daniel Bernoulli in 1738. He has demonstrated that as the velocity of fluid flow increases, its pressure decreases. Flowing blood has mass and velocity. The mean velocity squared (V2) is equal to the kinetic energy. The image below demonstrates the variance of kinetic energy at different parts of the vessels and also shows the theory of Bernoulli’s Principle: Therefore KE =  ½ mV2. As we know from above that blood flows inside arteries, were pressure is applied laterally against the walls of the vessel which is known as the potential or pressure energy (PE). The total energy (E) of the blood pressure within the artery is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies (presuming there are no gravitational effects): E = KE + PE(where KE ∠ V2)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™ Therefore,E ∠ V2 + PE Similarly, Bernoulli’s Principle states that the sum of the Pressure (P), the kinetic energy per unit volume (1/2 pv2), and the gravitational potential energy per unit volume (pgy) has the same value at all points along a streamline. The equation below shows this: There are two vital theories that follow from this relationship, which includes: Blood flow driven by the variation in total energy between two points. Normally, pressure is considered as the driving force for blood flow but in fact it is the total energy that moves flow between two areas (i.e. longitudinally along a blood vessel or across a heart valve). KE is relatively low in most of the cardiovascular system; hence PE difference is the energy that drives flow. Similarly, is KE is high then the total energy increases which explains the flow across the aortic valve during cardiac ejection. This is because, as KE drives blood across the valve at a very high velocity, it ensures that the total energy (E) in the blood crossing the valve is higher than the total energy of the blood more distal in the aorta. KE and PE can be converted to maintain the total energy unchanged, which is the basis of Bernoulli’s Principle. This principle is basically about the blood vessel that is suddenly narrowed then returned to its normal diameter. The velocity increases as the diameter decreases in narrowed region (stenosis). Blood flow (F) is the mean velocity (V) and the vessel cross-sectional area (A) is directly related to diameter (D) (or radius, r2); hence V ∠ 1/D2. If the diameter is reduced by half in the region of the stenosis, the velocity increases 4-fold, due to KE ∠ V2, hence KE increases 16-fold. The image below demonstrates this: The image above shows the total energy being conserved within the stenosis (E actually decreases because of resistance), then the 16-fold increase in KE will decrease in PE. Once past the narrowed segment, KE will go back to its pre-stenosis value as the post-stenosis diameter is the equal to the pre-stenosis diameter, hence flow is conserved. Due to the resistance of the stenosis and turbulence, the port stenosis PE and E will both fall. Therefore, blood flowing at greater velocities has greater ratio of KE to PE. As we know, blood pressure is the force of fluid against the walls of the arteries, similar to how water exerts the pressure inside aplastic pipe. It is made up of systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the top figure and relates to when the heart is contracting (beating) and forcing blood through the arteries and transporting it to the rest of the body i.e. brain, kidneys etc. The normal values for systolic pressure is from 120-139mmHg. Diastolic pressure is the bottom figure and is linked to when the heart is relaxing. The normal value for diastolic pressure is between 80-89mmHg. Hence, if the values exceed these numbers, then it is considered to be hypertension. Hypertension is high blood pressure which is caused by the increased force of blood flowing through the arteries. Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Inner lining of the arteries are smooth allowing the blood to flow freely, supplying important organs and tissues with adequate nutrients andoxygen. Hypertension can gradually lead to wide range of problems such as damaging the cell’s inner lining of the arteries; hence releasing a cascade of events that causes the artery wallsthick and stiff (called arteriosclerosis), or hardening of the arteries. Similarly, the fats from the diet enter the bloodstream and passes through the damaged cells. However, plaques are prone to building up in the arteries leading to atherosclerosis. These changes lead to blocking blood flow to the heart, kidneys, brain, arms and leg. Heart: it causes coronary artery disease, which is narrowing of the arteries that doesn’t allow blood to flow freely through the arteries. Leading to chest pain, heart attack (myocardial infarction)or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Hypertension can also cause enlarged left heart as the pressure forces the heart to work harder than necessary. Similarly, overtime the strain on the heart leads to the heart muscles to weaken and work less effectively causing the heart to wear out and fail. Brain: hypertension can cause mini-strokes (Transient ischemic attack (TIA)), which a temporary disruption of blood supply to the brain caused by blood clot or atherosclerosis. Similarly, it can lead to the full-blown stroke which happens when part of the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients leading brain cells to die. Uncontrolled hypertension damages and weakens the brains blood vessels, causing to narrow, rupture or leak. Narrowing and blockage of the brains blood vessels can also lead to Dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Kidneys: filters excess fluid and waste from the blood via a process that depends on healthy blood vessels. Hypertension can damage both the blood vessels and leading to the kidneys. This leads to various kidney diseases, failure and scarring of the kidney. Eyes:- Blood vessels supplies blood to the eyes; hence high blood pressure can damage the blood vessel (retinopathy) Reference http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-blood-pressure/blood-pressure-research.aspx 22nd October 2013 http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-blood-pressure.aspx 22nd October 2013 http://www.webmd.boots.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/diastolic-systolic 24th October 2013 http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/high-blood-pressure/HI00062.html 24th October 2013 http://amazinghumanbody-prakash.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/skeletal-system.html 25th October 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/factfiles/armandshoulder/arm_and_hand.shtml 26th October 2013 http://www.cvphysiology.com/Hemodynamics/H012.htm 26th October 2013 http://www.bu.edu/gk12/kai/Lesson%206/BP_Back.pdf 27th October 2013 http://mysite.verizon.net/fvozzo/genphys/lecture.html 27th October 2013 http://muscle.ucsd.edu/musintro/ma.shtml 29th October 2013 http://www.as.wvu.edu/~rbrundage/chapter8b/sld015.htm 29th October 2013 http://www.answers.com/topic/projectile-motion 30th October 2013 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/optimizing-a-basketball-shot/ 1st November 2013 http://demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/node/28 25th November 2013 http://www.medicalphysics.org/apps/medicalphysicsedit/WebPOTB.pdf 25th November 2013 http://physics.eou.edu/opensource/physics/projectile.pdf 27th November 2013 http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=14ved=0CG8QFjANurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wooster.edu%2F~%2Fmedia%2Ffiles%2Facademics%2Fresearch%2Fhhmi%2Fresources%2Flectures%2Fhuman-arm-goniometer.ashxei=bnakUuzDC6yg7AbX5oGYCQusg=AFQjCNFMTH1EmPzRvKvptZu4R7_XUpFKPwbvm=bv.57752919,d.ZGU 28TH November 2013 Dobson et al. (2002). ‘ Collin advanced – Physics’. Collins eduction : London Rounce, J.F and Lowe, T.L. (1992). ‘Calculations for A level Physic’. Second edition. Stanley Thornes: Britain Boutal et al. (2008). ‘AS-Level physics – exam board’. Coordination group publications CGP: Newcastle Tsokos, KA. (2008). ‘Physics for the IB Diploma’. Fifth edition. Cambridge university press: united kingdom Johnson et al. (2000). ‘Advanced physics for you’. Nelson Thornes: united kingdom

How Does William Blake convey his anger in the poem London ? Essay

How Does William Blake convey his anger in the poem London ? The poem 'London' by William Blake, relfects his feelings upon the society that he was living in , and how despreratly it needed help. Blake thought that all of the poverty and misfortune that was happening on the streets were caused by the political opression in London. Blake was angered by what he saw in his homeland as other countries started fighting for their indipendence and equality whilst his country stayed dormant, eventhough he felt that there was a serious need for serious action. Eventhough Blake wasn't a typical romantic writer, he too possesed the same beliefs of fighting for what one believes in, and the urge to be liberated from the opression of society. So, by being a writer of the romantic period, watching a controlled and restricted society not showing an intent to break free and fight against the monarchy, angered him and inspired him to convey his ideas and feelings throuh the poem 'London'. In the poem, Blake travels through London and descibes what he sees. And as a result, he sees a severly opressed society that is caused by the authority, such as royalty and the church. This is as Blake sees that even the 'streets' and the 'thames' are 'chartered' and governed by the authorities. This is furthur emphasised by his repitition of the word 'chartered' which then gives the reader an image of the lack of freedom that the people in London posses as the 'streets' is a metahor for the general public while the 'thames' represents their freedom, this is as rivers are normally associated with free will while the 'streets' are gernerally associated with the lower class in society. So, by describing the streets and the thames ... ...y that the monarcy creates. I feel that the poem 'London' effectively convyed William Blakes anger towards the society and his feelings about it. This is as Blake is awear of everything that goes on in the society, and the poem clearly expresses his repulsiveness towards the political opression imposed by the monarchy. However, Blake does not soley balme the monarcy, but also the people of his country. This is because he saw all the other countries that previously suffered the opression of a monarcy, fight for their rights and equailty. Eventhough the monarcy did impose rules upon society, Blake strongly believed that people could overthrow the authorities if they were to truly try and do so. Hence, a part of Blake's anger was conveyed by descibing the self-imprisonment of the people, and how they could break free anytime, but still chose not to do so.

Deception Point Page 64

â€Å"Holy shit!† The pilot pulled back on the stick, jolting upward. The black mountain of steel rose before them out of the waves without warning. A gargantuan unmarked submarine blew its ballast and rose on a cloud of bubbles. The pilots exchanged uneasy laughs. â€Å"Guess that's them.† As ordered, the transaction proceeded under complete radio silence. The doublewide portal on the peak of the sail opened and a seaman flashed them signals with a strobe light. The chopper then moved over the sub and dropped a three-man rescue harness, essentially three rubberized loops on a retractable cable. Within sixty seconds, the three unknown â€Å"danglers† were swinging beneath the chopper, ascending slowly against the downdraft of the rotors. When the copilot hauled them aboard-two men and a woman-the pilot flashed the sub the â€Å"all clear.† Within seconds, the enormous vessel disappeared beneath the windswept sea, leaving no trace it had ever been there. With the passengers safely aboard, the chopper pilot faced front, dipped the nose of the chopper, and accelerated south to complete his mission. The storm was closing fast, and these three strangers were to be brought safely back to Thule AFB for further jet transport. Where they were headed, the pilot had no idea. All he knew was that his orders had been from high up, and he was transporting very precious cargo. 75 When the Milne storm finally exploded, unleashing its full force on the NASA habisphere, the dome shuddered as if ready to lift off the ice and launch out to sea. The steel stabilizing cables pulled taut against their stakes, vibrating like huge guitar strings and letting out a doleful drone. The generators outside stuttered, causing the lights to flicker, threatening to plunge the huge room into total blackness. NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom strode across the interior of the dome. He wished he were getting the hell out of here tonight, but that was not to be. He would remain another day, giving additional on-site press conferences in the morning and overseeing preparations to transport the meteorite back to Washington. He wanted nothing more at the moment than to get some sleep; the day's unexpected problems had taken a lot out of him. Ekstrom's thoughts turned yet again to Wailee Ming, Rachel Sexton, Norah Mangor, Michael Tolland, and Corky Marlinson. Some of the NASA staff had begun noticing the civilians were missing. Relax, Ekstrom told himself. Everything is under control. He breathed deeply, reminding himself that everyone on the planet was excited about NASA and space right now. Extraterrestrial life hadn't been this exciting a topic since the famous â€Å"Roswell incident† back in 1947-the alleged crash of an alien spaceship in Roswell, New Mexico, which was now the shrine to millions of UFO-conspiracy theorists even today. During Ekstrom's years working at the Pentagon, he had learned that the Roswell incident had been nothing more than a military accident during a classified operation called Project Mogul-the flight test of a spy balloon being designed to listen in on Russian atomic tests. A prototype, while being tested, had drifted off course and crashed in the New Mexico desert. Unfortunately, a civilian found the wreckage before the military did. Unsuspecting rancher William Brazel had stumbled across a debris field of radical synthesized neoprene and lightweight metals unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he immediately called in the sheriff. Newspapers carried the story of the bizarre wreckage, and public interest grew fast. Fueled by the military's denial that the wreckage was theirs, reporters launched investigations, and the covert status of Project Mogul came into serious jeopardy. Just as it seemed the sensitive issue of a spy balloon was about to be revealed, something wonderful happened. The media drew an unexpected conclusion. They decided the scraps of futuristic substance could only have come from an extraterrestrial source-creatures more scientifically advanced than humans. The military's denial of the incident obviously had to be one thing only-a cover-up of contact with aliens! Although baffled by this new hypothesis, the air force was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They grabbed the alien story and ran with it; the world's suspicion that aliens were visiting New Mexico was far less a threat to national security than that of the Russians catching wind of Project Mogul. To fuel the alien cover story, the intelligence community shrouded the Roswell incident in secrecy and began orchestrating â€Å"security leaks†-quiet murmurings of alien contacts, recovered spaceships, and even a mysterious â€Å"Hangar 18† at Dayton's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where the government was keeping alien bodies on ice. The world bought the story, and Roswell fever swept the globe. From that moment on, whenever a civilian mistakenly spotted an advanced U.S. military aircraft, the intelligence community simply dusted off the old conspiracy. That's not an aircraft, that's an alien spaceship! Ekstrom was amazed to think this simple deception was still working today. Every time the media reported a sudden flurry of UFO sightings, Ekstrom had to laugh. Chances were some lucky civilian had caught a glimpse of one of the NRO's fifty-seven fast-moving, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft known as Global Hawks-oblong, remote-controlled aircraft that looked like nothing else in the sky. Ekstrom found it pathetic that countless tourists still made pilgrimages to the New Mexico desert to scan the night skies with their video cameras. Occasionally one got lucky and captured â€Å"hard evidence† of a UFO-bright lights flitting around the sky with more maneuverability and speed than any aircraft humans had ever built. What these people failed to realize, of course, was that there existed a twelve-year lag between what the government could build and what the public knew about. These UFO-gazers were simply catching a glimpse of the next generation of U.S. aircraft being developed out at Area 51-many of which were the brainstorms of NASA engineers. Of course, intelligence officials never corrected the misconception; it was obviously preferable that the world read about another UFO sighting than to have people learn the U.S. military's true flight capabilities. But everything has changed now, Ekstrom thought. In a few hours, the extraterrestrial myth would become a confirmed reality, forever. â€Å"Administrator?† A NASA technician hurried across the ice behind him. â€Å"You have an emergency secure call in the PSC.† Ekstrom sighed, turning. What the hell could it be now? He headed for the communications trailer. The technician hurried along beside him. â€Å"The guys manning the radar in the PSC were curious, sir†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Yeah?† Ekstrom's thoughts were still far away. â€Å"The fat-body sub stationed off the coast here? We were wondering why you didn't mention it to us.† Ekstrom glanced up. â€Å"I'm sorry?† â€Å"The submarine, sir? You could have at least told the guys on radar. Additional seaboard security is understandable, but it took our radar team off guard.† Ekstrom stopped short. â€Å"What submarine?† The technician stopped now too, clearly not expecting the administrator's surprise. â€Å"She's not part of our operation?† â€Å"No! Where is it?† The technician swallowed hard. â€Å"About three miles out. We caught her on radar by chance. Only surfaced for a couple minutes. Pretty big blip. Had to be a fat-body. We figured you'd asked the navy to stand watch over this op without telling any of us.† Ekstrom stared. â€Å"I most certainly did not!† Now the technician's voice wavered. â€Å"Well, sir, then I guess I should inform you that a sub just rendezvoused with an aircraft right off the coast here. Looked like a personnel change. Actually, we were all pretty impressed anyone would attempt a wet-dry vertical in this kind of wind.†

Nursing and nutrition

IntroductionIn different healthcare institutions the question of feeding patients, particularly those who are seriously sick and expected to die soon, raises questions of moral and ethical nature thus making a decision making process very difficult for the caring staff. Such questions may include:–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How can decisions of giving or withholding feeding and hydration be made?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What values and assumptions underlie these decisions?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Which courses of action are in the patient's ‘best interest', and how is this ‘interest' determined?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How and when, if ever, should a decision not to feed or hydrate be made?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Can so basic a provision as food and water ever be considered as optional care?In most of the healthcare institutions whether they are hospitals or senior homes, the decision making lies within the practice of the nurses who are usually faced with dilemmas. While doctors are more advanced in professional knowledge they rarely find themselves in the difficult situation of making the decision of withholding nutrition or giving it. However, there is sometimes a differentiation between nutrition as part of the care given to the patient and nutrition as a biological life sustaining process:â€Å"In modern practice there is often an underlying tension between two different understandings of ‘nourishing' the patient. First, nourishing as an intrinsic part of giving care, which falls within the realm of nursing. Second, nourishing as a biological and technical process, a life-sustaining treatment under the control of the medical or nutrition team (from which the nurse may be excluded).† (Hunt, 1994)Yet the daily practice and the roles of nurses and doctors indicate that the nurses find themselves in the dilemma of making the decision more than other medical staff. In many cases where the withholding of nutrition is legally right and in the interest of the patient, the nurse still finds herself in the ethical and professional dilemma. She is not given the opportunity to discuss her opinion or given any information. As a result whatever decision she makes may be taken as wrong regardless of the fact that she was partially ignorant.The dilemma is even more difficult when considering nutrition as a basic need or a medical treatment. For a seriously sick person one may accept withholding medication or a technological device that prolongs life unnecessarily, but it is not easy to withhold nutrition which is the basic need for healthy and unhealthy persons.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dresser asks, ‘Ought we to regard tube and intravenous feeding as forms of medical treatment, or should we classify them with more basic sorts of care?'† (Dresser, 1985)The decision of withholding nutrition or hydration is a difficult ethical questi on that poses emotional stress on the nurses. Withholding medication or technological devices is justifiable and there is enough professional and legal guidance for healthcare staff to follow. Indeed, â€Å"Food and water are so central to an array of human emotions that it is almost impossible to consider them with the same emotional detachment that one might feel toward a respirator or a dialysis machine† (Lynn & Childress, 1983)In this research I am going to study this issue in order to confirm or rule out the possibility of establishing a professional guidance that assists the nurses in decision making. This is expected to relief them from a lot of stress and confusion that are imposed as a result of dealing with the issue on personal terms rather dealing with it objectively according to professional guidance and standards.The proposal for this research will be studied under the following headings:1.    Description of a case study2.    Literature review3.      Pro posal4.      Summary and ConclusionsDescription of a Case StudyA case study either from literature or from the records of healthcare institution is expected to illustrate the extent of the problem and its importance. In addition this will emphasise the roles of nurses, relatives and patients in the decision making process. It would also highlight the difficulties facing nurses at different stages of care giving for seriously sick persons.  At this stage of building the skeleton of this research paper very little can be said about the case study until one has been adopted.Literature ReviewThe literature generally confirms the importance of the problem and has been addressing the issues related to the problem of nutrition for sometime now. While it is suggested in the literature that in some cases of chronically ill persons the provision of nutrition is burdensome rather than beneficial, it is agreed that the interpersonal and inter-professional tensions of nurses are ignored. ( Hunt, 1994) It is also pointed out that the stressful environment in which nurses provide their professional care sometimes result in burnouts.The burnout case â€Å"evolves by a process involving three stages: (a) an imbalance between resources and demands, (b) the immediate short-term emotional response to the imbalance, and (c) changes in attitude and behavior such as negativism and emotional detachment† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992). However, it is also indicated that there are personal differences here: while one may react to stressors by becoming a burnout another with personal hardiness may find the stressors only minor irritants. Riordan and Saltzer (1992) assert:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Current literature points unanimously to a proactive approach in preventing burnout. This preserves organizational integrity by maintaining human resources and supplying cost-effective care while maintaining quality† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992).There are a number of suggestions for reducing stress and assisting nurses to cope with the environmental difficulties, though no specific guidelines or procedures are given for dealing with the problem of nutrition and hydration.  It is also indicated in the literature that nutrition and hydration in some terminal cases may only prolong the biological life which is thought to be burdensome for some patients and their families. As Hunt (1994) asserts: â€Å"Feeding may in some circumstances prolong the process of dying and may cause avoidable suffering to the dying patient.†While generally the decision of using nutrition support for the terminally ill people is discussed as a problem facing nurses, some scholars relate the decision to dietitians.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Clinical guidelines for nutrition support indicate that dietitians should be members of institutional ethics committees and should have an integral role in institutional policy development concerning nutrition support at the end of lifeâ€Å" (Langdon et al, 2002)To put it in a nutshell the literature review confirms the dilemma facing healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, and families in dealing with the decision of providing nutrition and hydration or withholding it for chronically ill people whose illness is diagnosed as terminal. It is also confirmed that the decision making involves personal feelings, ethics, and sometimes legal consideration. Yet there are no clear professional guidelines that streamline the decision making in this issue in the professional practice. Rather there are observations of some acceptable practices.Sometimes the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary is used as a means of reaching decision.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"However, there appears to be an increasing opinion that artificial feeding can be viewed as a'heroic' method of treatment and is morally optional (Meyers and Grodin 1991, Hoefler and Kamoie 1994, Singer 1995, Gillick 2000).This optional treatment is referred to as ‘extraordinary' and is more likely t o be invasive, artificial or complex. Nevertheless, the Hastings Centre guidelines, cited in Meyers and Grodin (1991), stated that decisions over whether to provide artificial nutrition and hydration cannot be made solely on the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary methods of treatment. Despite this, Solomon et al (1993) demonstrated that 74 per cent of health professionals continued to use this distinction in termination of treatment decisions. It would also seem that the decision was significantly influenced by whether it was a decision to withdraw treatment or simply not initiate it in the first place. The Hastings Centre guidelines stipulate that this distinction should not be a consideration (Meyers and Grodin 1991)† (Young et al, 2002).The problem of decision making in providing or withholding nutrition and hydration in the case terminally ill people is a dilemma for nurses until some professional steps are identified to make the decision an objective one made on the basis of professional judgement   rather than being a personal one affected by personal feelings, ethics, beliefs etc.ProposalSince the aim of the study is to justify a professional basis for decision making, in this study we will attempt to investigate the possibility of establishing professional guidelines that may relief the burden on nurses. This will involve identifying criteria that make withholding nutrition more beneficial to the patient than prolonging his biological life. It should also be essential to identify professional means that enable healthcare staff to decide that a patient is not making any sense of life and advise families accordingly to participate in decision making. This should be important especially when the patient is suffering pain or given morphine regularly.In order to be able to design a professional tool or procedure that assists nurses in decision making through this study or alternatively recommend further research on this issue, the study will be a non-experimental one designed to elicit the RN’s attitudes towards nutrition of chronically ill patients using survey instrumentation.The sample will be full time RNs employed by a healthcare region in hospitals and nursing homes of the region. It is advisable to include also a sample of dietitians working in the same healthcare institutions. The RNs involved need to be well informed about the study and its aims and should be positively motivated to participate in the study.It is also important for the study to be approved by a professional body that confirms the study question and methods are ethical.  The instruments of the study should be designed in a way that they measure the attitude of the study sample towards giving or withholding nutrition and hydration for a variety of terminally ill patients. It is also important to determine the internal consistency reliability for the questionnaires and structured interviews.Summary and ConclusionsThese will follow na turally from the analysis of data and discussions and will eventually constitute a recommendation: either a draft of a guideline for assisting nurses in decision making or alternatively suggestions for further research in order to identify a suitable professional tool for relieving the burden on nurses.ReferencesI am not going to list the references now since this is just a skeleton to discuss with your supervisor; unless you deem it necessary.  The word count may not be exactly 3500, but I think what has been written here is enough for your purposes. As soon as you give feedback on this I will start work on the proposal. Nursing and nutrition IntroductionIn different healthcare institutions the question of feeding patients, particularly those who are seriously sick and expected to die soon, raises questions of moral and ethical nature thus making a decision making process very difficult for the caring staff. Such questions may include:How can decisions of giving or withholding feeding and hydration be made?What values and assumptions underlie these decisions?Which courses of action are in the patient's ‘best interest', and how is this ‘interest' determined?How and when, if ever, should a decision not to feed or hydrate be made?Can so basic a provision as food and water ever be considered as optional care?In most of the healthcare institutions whether they are hospitals or senior homes, the decision making lies within the practice of the nurses who are usually faced with dilemmas. While doctors are more advanced in professional knowledge they rarely find themselves in the difficult situation of making the decis ion of withholding nutrition or giving it. However, there is sometimes a differentiation between nutrition as part of the care given to the patient and nutrition as a biological life sustaining process:â€Å"In modern practice there is often an underlying tension between two different understandings of ‘nourishing' the patient. First, nourishing as an intrinsic part of giving care, which falls within the realm of nursing. Second, nourishing as a biological and technical process, a life-sustaining treatment under the control of the medical or nutrition team (from which the nurse may be excluded).† (Hunt, 1994)Yet the daily practice and the roles of nurses and doctors indicate that the nurses find themselves in the dilemma of making the decision more than other medical staff. In many cases where the withholding of nutrition is legally right and in the interest of the patient, the nurse still finds herself in the ethical and professional dilemma. She is not given the oppor tunity to discuss her opinion or given any information. As a result whatever decision she makes may be taken as wrong regardless of the fact that she was partially ignorant.The dilemma is even more difficult when considering nutrition as a basic need or a medical treatment. For a seriously sick person one may accept withholding medication or a technological device that prolongs life unnecessarily, but it is not easy to withhold nutrition which is the basic need for healthy and unhealthy persons.â€Å"Dresser asks, ‘Ought we to regard tube and intravenous feeding as forms of medical treatment, or should we classify them with more basic sorts of care?'† (Dresser, 1985)The decision of withholding nutrition or hydration is a difficult ethical question that poses emotional stress on the nurses. Withholding medication or technological devices is justifiable and there is enough professional and legal guidance for healthcare staff to follow. Indeed, â€Å"Food and water are so central to an array of human emotions that it is almost impossible to consider them with the same emotional detachment that one might feel toward a respirator or a dialysis machine† (Lynn & Childress, 1983)In this research I am going to study this issue in order to confirm or rule out the possibility of establishing a professional guidance that assists the nurses in decision making. This is expected to relief them from a lot of stress and confusion that are imposed as a result of dealing with the issue on personal terms rather dealing with it objectively according to professional guidance and standards.The proposal for this research will be studied under the following headings:1. Description of a case study2.   Literature review3.   Proposal4.   Summary and ConclusionsDescription of a Case StudyA case study either from literature or from the records of healthcare institution is expected to illustrate the extent of the problem and its importance. In addition this will em phasise the roles of nurses, relatives and patients in the decision making process. It would also highlight the difficulties facing nurses at different stages of care giving for seriously sick persons.At this stage of building the skeleton of this research paper very little can be said about the case study until one has been adopted.Literature ReviewThe literature generally confirms the importance of the problem and has been addressing the issues related to the problem of nutrition for sometime now. While it is suggested in the literature that in some cases of chronically ill persons the provision of nutrition is burdensome rather than beneficial, it is agreed that the interpersonal and inter-professional tensions of nurses are ignored. (Hunt, 1994)It is also pointed out that the stressful environment in which nurses provide their professional care sometimes result in burnouts. The burnout case â€Å"evolves by a process involving three stages: (a) an imbalance between resources an d demands, (b) the immediate short-term emotional response to the imbalance, and (c) changes in attitude and behavior such as negativism and emotional detachment† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992). However, it is also indicated that there are personal differences here: while one may react to stressors by becoming a burnout another with personal hardiness may find the stressors only minor irritants. Riordan and Saltzer (1992) assert:â€Å"Current literature points unanimously to a proactive approach in preventing burnout. This preserves organizational integrity by maintaining human resources and supplying cost-effective care while maintaining quality† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992).There are a number of suggestions for reducing stress and assisting nurses to cope with the environmental difficulties, though no specific guidelines or procedures are given for dealing with the problem of nutrition and hydration.It is also indicated in the literature that nutrition and hydration in some t erminal cases may only prolong the biological life which is thought to be burdensome for some patients and their families. As Hunt (1994) asserts: â€Å"Feeding may in some circumstances prolong the process of dying and may cause avoidable suffering to the dying patient.†While generally the decision of using nutrition support for the terminally ill people is discussed as a problem facing nurses, some scholars relate the decision to dietitians.â€Å"Clinical guidelines for nutrition support indicate that dietitians should be members of institutional ethics committees and should have an integral role in institutional policy development concerning nutrition support at the end of lifeâ€Å" (Langdon et al, 2002)To put it in a nutshell the literature review confirms the dilemma facing healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, and families in dealing with the decision of providing nutrition and hydration or withholding it for chronically ill people whose illness is diagnosed as terminal. It is also confirmed that the decision making involves personal feelings, ethics, and sometimes legal consideration. Yet there are no clear professional guidelines that streamline the decision making in this issue in the professional practice. Rather there are observations of some acceptable practices.Sometimes the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary is used as a means of reaching decision.â€Å"However, there appears to be an increasing opinion that artificial feeding can be viewed as a'heroic' method of treatment and is morally optional (Meyers and Grodin 1991, Hoefler and Kamoie 1994, Singer 1995, Gillick 2000). This optional treatment is referred to as ‘extraordinary' and is more likely to be invasive, artificial or complex. Nevertheless, the Hastings Centre guidelines, cited in Meyers and Grodin (1991), stated that decisions over whether to provide artificial nutrition and hydration cannot be made solely on the distinction between ordinary and ex traordinary methods of treatment. Despite this, Solomon et al (1993) demonstrated that 74 per cent of health professionals continued to use this distinction in termination of treatment decisions. It would also seem that the decision was significantly influenced by whether it was a decision to withdraw treatment or simply not initiate it in the first place. The Hastings Centre guidelines stipulate that this distinction should not be a consideration (Meyers and Grodin 1991)† (Young et al, 2002).The problem of decision making in providing or withholding nutrition and hydration in the case terminally ill people is a dilemma for nurses until some professional steps are identified to make the decision an objective one made on the basis of professional judgement   rather than being a personal one affected by personal feelings, ethics, beliefs etc.ProposalSince the aim of the study is to justify a professional basis for decision making, in this study we will attempt to investigate t he possibility of establishing professional guidelines that may relief the burden on nurses. This will involve identifying criteria that make withholding nutrition more beneficial to the patient than prolonging his biological life. It should also be essential to identify professional means that enable healthcare staff to decide that a patient is not making any sense of life and advise families accordingly to participate in decision making. This should be important especially when the patient is suffering pain or given morphine regularly.In order to be able to design a professional tool or procedure that assists nurses in decision making through this study or alternatively recommend further research on this issue, the study will be a non-experimental one designed to elicit the RN’s attitudes towards nutrition of chronically ill patients using survey instrumentation.The sample will be full time RNs employed by a healthcare region in hospitals and nursing homes of the region. It is advisable to include also a sample of dietitians working in the same healthcare institutions. The RNs involved need to be well informed about the study and its aims and should be positively motivated to participate in the study.It is also important for the study to be approved by a professional body that confirms the study question and methods are ethical.The instruments of the study should be designed in a way that they measure the attitude of the study sample towards giving or withholding nutrition and hydration for a variety of terminally ill patients. It is also important to determine the internal consistency reliability for the questionnaires and structured interviews.Summary and ConclusionsThese will follow naturally from the analysis of data and discussions and will eventually constitute a recommendation: either a draft of a guideline for assisting nurses in decision making or alternatively suggestions for further research in order to identify a suitable professional tool for relieving the burden on nurses.ReferencesI am not going to list the references now since this is just a skeleton to discuss with your supervisor; unless you deem it necessary.The word count may not be exactly 3500, but I think what has been written here is enough for your purposes. As soon as you give feedback on this I will start work on the proposal.