Air Pollution. What is it?

Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases, which can be fatal. Conservation of our environment has been a topic of discussion and concern to many leaders around the world throughout history. There is every need and reason for human beings to talk of the environment since the life wholly depends of the ability of the environment to support it without any threat. As a result, the fight against environmental pollution is still a challenge in both developed and developing countries. This aimed at having safe and sustainable water, air and soil among other natural resources. Of great concern has been air pollution. What is air pollution? This can be simply described as the introduction of harmful materials into the atmosphere which cause harm to human beings and other living things. The question has always been the understanding of the causes of the causes of air pollution without addressing relevant control measures. Air pollution is mainly caused by exhaust gases from cars, burning of low-quality coal for heating and uncontrolled factory releases. Ownership and use of cars and other automobiles has been considered as one of the greatest developments in the transport industry. Although cars are a luxury in life, many people have never given a thought to the harm they have on the environment. Research has revealed that exhaust gases from cars contribute significantly to air pollution in the world today. How exactly does this occur? It is important to mention that exhaust from cars, trucks and other engines release harmful gases to the atmosphere which severely affect life on earth. Common and dangerous gases emitted in the atmosphere include but not limited to carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. Nevertheless, the process of emission has never been understood by many people who do understand air pollution. While the levels of these emissions ay seem minute and negligible, many lives continue to suffer. Global warming which is a worldwide scourge mainly emanates from high levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. Accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere causes pores in the ozone layer, allowing the penetration of dangerous rays to the earth surface. It is painful to mention that most of the cancer related infections affecting the current generation are highly brought ab out by global warming. How economical and healthy would life be without it! In addition, Carbon monoxide causes respiratory problems in human beings. High levels of this gas inhibit proper breathing which may lead to suffocation and eventually death. Air pollution is also caused by burning of low-quality coal for heating. The use of low-quality coal and petroleum products threatens the safety and quality of air. When this type of coal is burnt, cases such as carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere causing extremely severe effects to the environment. This has been on the increase due to ever growing demand for coal as the main source of energy and its fair availability. Carbon dioxide combines with oxygen and atmospheric water vapor to form a weak carbonic acid. This means that air becomes concentrated with the acid. During the process of rain formation this acid reaches the earth surface in the form acid rain which has countless effects. Acid rain is corrosive and affects plants and animals. This corrosion causes skin cancer and scorches plants. Acid rain also destroys metals and iron sheets used for roofing. Uncontrolled industrial emissions is another cause if air pollution. This has remained a thorn in the flesh of many leaders especially those from industrialized nations. Untreated gaseous releases to the atmosphere do more harm than good to people. Gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide contribute to thousands of health and environmental problems. Like Carbon dioxide, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen also lead to the formation of acid rain which later reaches the earth surface resulting to corrosion, destruction of crops on farms and cancer related infections among others. It is obvious that the world has to do something to salvage the atmosphere from pollution. Use of refined and good uality can help in cutting down the emission of dangerous gaseous materials in air. Finally, leaders need to formulate policies which control the amount of industrial waste released in the atmosphere. These are just but among numerous solutions towards air pollution. Nevertheless, exhaust gases from cars, burning of low-quality coal for heating and uncontrolled factory releases remain key causes of air pollution. Exposure to air pollution is associat ed with numerous effects on human health, including pulmonary, cardiac, vascular, and neurological impairments. The health effects vary greatly from person to person. High-risk groups such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women, and sufferers from chronic heart and lung diseases are more susceptible to air pollution. Children are at greater risk because they are generally more active outdoors and their lungs are still developing. Exposure to air pollution can cause both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) health effects. Acute effects are usually immediate and often reversible when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some acute health effects include eye irritation, headaches, and nausea. Chronic effects are usually not immediate and tend not to be reversible when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some chronic health effects include decreased lung capacity and lung cancer resulting from long-term exposure to toxic air pollutants. The scientific techniques for assessing health impacts of air pollution include air pollutant monitoring, exposure assessment, dosimetry , toxicology, and epidemiology. Although in humans pollutants can affect the skin, eyes and other body systems, they affect primarily the respiratory system. Air is breathed in through the nose, which acts as the primary filtering system of the body. The small hairs and the warm, humid conditions in the nose effectively remove the larger pollutant particles. The air then passes through the pharynx, esophagus, and larynx before reaching the top of the trachea. The trachea divides into two parts, the left and the right bronchi. Each bronchi subdivides into increasingly smaller compartments. The smallest compartments of the bronchi are called bronchioles, which contain millions of air sacs called alveoli. Together, the bronchioles and alveoli make up the lungs. Both gaseous and particulate air pollutants can have negative effects on the lungs. Solid particles can settle on the walls of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. Most of these particles are removed from the lungs through the cleansing (sweeping) action of â€Å"cilia†, small hair-like outgrowths of cells, located on the walls of the lungs. This is what occurs when you cough or sneeze. A cough or sneeze transports the particles to the mouth. The particles are removed subsequently from the body when they are swallowed or expelled. However, extremely small particles may reach the alveoli, where it takes weeks, months, or even years for the body to remove the particles. Gaseous air pollutants may also affect the function of the lungs by slowing the action of the cilia. Continuous breathing of polluted air can slow the normal cleansing action of the lungs and result in more particles reaching the lower portions of the lung. Briefly there are three main principle strategies to solve the air pollution problem which can be categorized as energy efficiency ,reduce waste and move to non-polluting renewable of energy production. In the first place and as the simplest strategy, reducing waste can be considered. Waste products increasing day by day and they have the effect of air pollution highly. If people care to reduce waste, the problem can be solved. To begin with, people choose eco-friendly product instead of non-environmentally friendly product such as handcraft products, paper bags and notebook. Therefore they can reduce waste. Secondly people can use hybrid cars and they can become prevalent using hybrid cars. This will not only increase waste of environment but also people attend to protect nature. Finally we can recycle our products. We are grouping in the form of waste such as glass, plastic, paper. We send them to recycling. In this way we reduce waste. This in three ways, we reduce waste so we can prevent the speared of air pollution. As previously stated, the second way to deal with air pollution crisis can be solved energy efficiency. People prevent unnecessary gas emissions by using energy efficiency. If they provide energy efficiency, they can reduce using fossil fuels so that they can prevent air pollution. First of all, people can benefit from sunshine. They can install solar-powered appliances in their home and job. By doing this , they can have a very large economic saving. The energy savings in a home and job reduce energy consumption. For example, they use combining insulation, high R-value windows, weather sealing, efficient hot water heating and other that minimize energy use. Thanks to energy efficiency , they expect to see lower energy bills and lower water bills. People can be save energy with some steps. To illustrate, they can check their windows for cracks and breaks in the seals but its long way to savings energy. Another step is adjust their thermostat before going to sleep. By doing this, their thermostat doesn’t work for hours. It is only working set hours. Secondly using time efficiency is another part of energy savings. For example the sun heats day time but it coals at night so they must use thermostat for to heat their house. This is very expensive for them. Therefore if they set up their time, they can use energy much longer and they will not have to use the thermostat. Finally people can establish organization to direct people to use energy efficiently or can support existing organizations. Actually we have very important organizations that inform to people about energy efficiency. These organizations are doing very important things. We can give them at least moral and financial support by joining them. Thus we can provide energy efficiency. By this ways, people can prevent a lot of elements of polluting the environment by using energy efficiency and they would avoid breathing polluted air. The third way to move non-polluting renewable of energy production. Currently widely used in fossil fuels run out and fossil fuels pollutes the air too much. Therefore people tend to non-polluting renewable energy production such as wind, water , and sun beat. Wind power is very important source for generating electricity. According to Jacobson, the important way to improve energy security, mitigate reduce the number of death caused by air pollution to storm and bluster in the wind. It is very cheap than nuclear power plant and fossil fuels and it is cleaning. Another part of non-polluting renewable product is water rippling is another important way to product energy without polluting air. If government establish baraj, they can provide electricity for people. It is effective way to protect air pollution to people. Actually this way has been used worldwide for a long time to generate huge amounts of power from water stored. In this ways, people save energy as well as they protect nature and they don’t pollute the air. They would do something that does not harm for humans. To sum up, reduce waste, energy efficiency and move to non-polluting renewable of energy productivity are the three main ways to solve air pollution problem. Reduce waste is the easiest way to solve air pollution because it needs much less labor work than the other ways but it will be satisfied for to cleaning environment. Energy efficiency is the best way to solve air pollution because of helping by whole people that they can help and support energy efficiency. Because energy efficiency save both the environment and their money and move to non-polluting renewable of energy production is still the most difficult way to solve air pollution. The information show that people pay more attention to this issue every day and science and technology is developing rapidly people believe that experts will solve the problem. We should give more effort to solve this problem until that day.

Porfirio Diaz’s leadership tactics Essay

†¢ Diaz was able to manipulate other politicians as well as his surrounding leaders. He created great relationships with regional leaders, reminding them that the growth of Mexico’s economy would also create economic growth for them. [1] †¢ Diaz created peace among the Catholic Church supporters, and opponents. Diaz enforced new laws, reforming church privileges. [2] †¢ In order to boost the economy, Diaz looked to foreign investment. He gave tax breaks for international investors, used foreign capital to pay for infrastructure, and always encouraged trade with other countries (i.e Britain, United States, Germany, etc.). [3] †¢ To maintain political power and approval, Diaz regularly jailed those who spoke out against him or his policies, resulting in many editors and writers being imprisoned and opposing leaders â€Å"disappearing†. [4] Porfirio Diaz’s Presidential Terms †¢ Diaz served as president first in 1876, though the public realized his love of power, and elected a new president, Gonzalez, after Diaz’s first term. After a term of Gonzalez, Diaz then reclaimed presidency, and stayed in power from 1884 to 1910, a grand total of 30 years. [5] †¢ Diaz eventually lost power in 1911, after several public uproars and criticism’s about Diaz came forth, and the Maderistas took up arms against him. Soon, a revolution at the battle of Casas Grandes, took place, defeating Porfirio Diaz. [6] Juan Manuel de Rosas accomplishments †¢ Rosas walked into a politically unstable, Argentina. To fix this, Rosas believed in a greater amount of power for the governor. Through doing so, Rosas became a tyrant like leader, similar to Diaz. [7] †¢ During his reign, Rosas increased exported beef and hides, ended the ongoing civil wars, obtained much more land, and declined foreign debts. [8] Leadership Style of Rosas †¢ Rosas was extremely oppressive, not always being sympathetic or thoughtful, often showing no mercy to those whom he though betrayed him. [9] Analysis The Caudillos Juan Manuel de Rosas and Porfirio Diaz are two extremely powerful men in Latin American history, each changing different things about their country in different ways. However, one thing is consistent when analyzing both; they were masters of political power and maintained it better than most leaders. The rise and preservation of power does not come from simple charisma or character. Each leader devised strong strategies and processes, ensuring them the necessary support to rule a country for such an amount of time. After first being elected president in 1876, then losing his position to Gonzales, Diaz then reclaimed the presidency from 1184 to 1910, meaning he remained in power for a total of 30 years. [10] Diaz did this by manipulating others around him, including other authorities as well as the public. Those who did not agree with Diaz or spoke out were punished. Many were imprisoned or found disappearing[11]. Aside from the public, Diaz also took care of threatening opposing authorities by creating great relationships with regional leaders.[12] These relations, military power, and strive for strength created the everlasting regime of Porfirio Diaz. Like Diaz, Juan Manuel de Rosas grew to be extremely powerful during his country of Argentina’s, time of need. Again, being similar with Diaz, Rosas, while powerful, was also oppressive, as many Caudillos of the time soon became. Through a letter written by a citizen to Juan Manuel de Rosas, in which the man pleads for his daughter’s safety, Rosas is unmoved by the article and executes the daughter.[13] This is a prime example of the leader ship style of Rosa. Though, it does raise the question that if he was so oppressive and powerful, why was he in office for so long? When Rosas arrived in Argentina, political chaos was obvious. In order to ensure stability, Rosas implemented many changes in the government, including giving more power to the governor, which in turn, saved Rosas job for the future, allowing him to become a tyrant like leader.[14] Both of these Caudillos illustrate human’s crave for power, and the manipulation, deception, and devilish processes that can be used to maintain this power. We can see both of these men as great leaders, as they thoroughly accomplished what they decided was best. We can also see them as great lessons, teaching us of the dangers of leadership and the risks it often involves. Conclusion The view of past and present Caudillos will consistently change with the person the view is from. However, one thing is clear. Juan Manuel de Rosas and Porfirio Diaz were two Caudillos of political excellence, maintaining a long and influential regime. This was accomplished by both, through their personal triumphs over the previous government of their nation as well as a triumph over threatening authorities around and within the nation, such as Diaz regularly jailing those who spoke out against him or his policies. Rosas and Diaz both knew what they wanted and had valid processes in accomplishing this; though the moral values of their actions are up to discussion. This situation is common throughout history, including skilled leaders such as Hitler, Stalin, and Castro. Juan Manuel de Rosas and Porfirio Diaz display patterns of the past and expectations of the future.

Bancassurance Financial Project Essay

ABSTRACT The business world and specifically financial industry has become challenging and of uncertain business environment in terms of new technology, political dynamics, government policies and advanced human resources. This therefore calls for dynamic leadership that needs to be creative and innovative in creating their competitive strategies. To mitigate these challenges, some firms’ managements have designed management strategies to sustain growth, acquire new businesses or merely mitigate risk facing the business. This proposal considers strategic alliances in financial industry commonly referred to as bancassurance as a business strategy adopted by commercial banks, SACCOs and insurance companies as one of the pursuit of their diverse organizational objectives and challenges. The purpose of this research was to establish if financial organizations such as banks, SACCOs, and insurance companies can mitigate some of management problems such as high loan default leading to high cr edit risks, switching of customers due to dissatisfaction, declining profits, resistance to buy new insurance products hence minimum market growth among others. To achieve the mentioned objectives, the study used structured questionnaires and personal interviews on a randomly sampled target of 48 participants from banks, SACCOs, and insurance staff within Nyeri County to investigate the effect of this strategy on performance in the current turbulent financial markets. The data was collected and analyzed using content analysis, descriptive measures and correlation analysis. The study found out that, Bancassurance model was a good source of revenues, customer acquisition, and retention and as one of the factors that investors consider before taking the risk of investing in commercial industry. The study also revealed that Bancassurance has very minimal influence on determining the success and speed of compensating business losses, death of insured applicants among others regardless of the existence of the strategic alliances. The study will be of significance to law makers, policy makers, business entrepreneurs, scholars among others.

Education - A Way To Wisdom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Education - A Way To Wisdom - Research Paper Example Most of his quotes attract the attention of the reader towards the fact that more the man follows his heart, the more he opens to learning new things and in learning new things, he becomes an ideal human being. Some of Confucius’s quotes that give an idea about his opinion about education and the way he thought the human being should learn are discussed below.Quote 1â€Å"What does the heaven ever say? Yet the four seasons go round and find their impetus there, and the myriad creatures are born from it. What does heaven ever say† (Mou 114)? Reflection on this quote reveals that Confucius believed in education that teaches the students to make learning a natural process. In the above saying, he draws the reader’s attention towards the way the universe functions. Confucius’s students were worried about his silence and thought that if the master does not say anything, how will the students learn (Mou 114)? In response to this worry, Confucius said the above s tatement. What he meant was that when things are taught through silence, there comes a harmony in the society (Mou 114). What he meant was that the observation of the behavior and the rituals followed by the master imparts more knowledge to a human being than the words of the master and the words in the texts. Knowledge is made by man. Men who ‘experience’ certain things try to spread it through words. However, the knowledge can become wisdom only when students go beyond words and try to experience what is being taught.

Policing Functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policing Functions - Essay Example On the other hand, under the function of taking charge to policing the world, police falls into different classifications: public, specialized and professionals. Sheriff, constable and watch are in-charge of crime control. However, even if one could highly associate these responsibilities with policing, police are not excuse from various controversies. One of them according to Walker and Katz is the political influence and corruption associated with power that police carry among themselves due to their highly diversified functions in the US Law Enforcement Industry. From Industry perspective for instance, police have substantial authority and power to give substantial opportunity for the third party to gain with illegal activities such as gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking. Furthermore, for some ordinary people according to Walker and Katz, police are under in any way of positive or negative stereotyping. Walker and Katz elaborate negative stereotypes for police as being une ducated, untrained, prejudiced, brutal and corrupt. The positive stereotype on the other hand points police officers as heroic saints. Although Walker and Katz also point that police are not entirely different from ordinary citizens, the negative or positive stereotypes at some point must have substantial evidence from actual perspective of the society on policing. On the other hand, another important perspective on policing is that it is unsuccessful. Police agencies are bureaucratic paramilitary organizations that have traditionally responded slowly to change (Jones, 2009). In this matter, Jones believes that administrators fail to understand the complexity of their environment... In this paper, the proponent tries to examine various perspectives of the policing function from local, state and federal organizational levels. By looking at the hierarchy presented in this essay and different classifications of police, one could actually say that policing in the United States is highly decentralized, fragmented and diversified. The researcher focuses on describing differences and similarities of their functions on each level. Policing may have potentially gained positive or negative image for a long period of time. Reforms may be necessary in order to correct major negative feedbacks which at some point may lead to inefficient function of policing. In conclusion, the researcher also tries to address possible future changes in laws and the overall impact that these changes will have on the field of policing, such as the use of technology in policing, that is very important in order to enhance more and fulfill the essential task or function of every police officer. I n this case, the judicial system and emancipation of law must ensure in its reform programs to give substantial opportunity for policing to gain remarkable advantage in exercising the following: crime prevention, policing the world, crime control and law enforcement. All of such changes are to ensure that the execution of policing would substantially meet the prevailing needs of the society. The researcher also hopes that in some way his suggestions could increase successful policing and address the potential correction of negative image of policing.

Aristotle rhetoric Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aristotle rhetoric - Research Paper Example An overall belief of Aristotle in respect to rhetoric is that it can help in the defense of justice and truth, produce persuasion towards the individuals with limited intellectual audience with less demonstrative intellectual comprehension (Gross & Walzer, 2000). The last effect of its application is that it will ensure that all the sides are considered. In practice, there are three factors that contribute to the rhetoric and these include the individual character, the emotional induction in the audience by the speaker and the convincing power in the arguments presented. Political process is a critical aspect of the society that uses this concept to achieve its goals. In the view of Aristotle, the personal character presents a notion of credibility or otherwise to the public. The different genres of rhetoric include; Forensic rhetoric which is mainly aimed at persuading an audience that a particular action which was taken in the past was just. Deliberative rhetoric is primarily aimed at making the audience believe that a future action that is about to be taken will be beneficial (Kennedy, 2011). The Epideictic rhetoric on the hand mainly aims at making people see that a particular subject or person is noble In regard to the ethical concerns and social responsibility related to justice in rhetoric, politicians seek to establish the harmfulness of a particular course of action or propose its expediency. In other words, he will urge the public to take his side of thought on a given agenda. However, the challenge is that, in legal cases, the accuser may be denied an otherwise outright justice due to the ability of the accused to manipulate thought of the hearing committee. This the same case with politicians who may manipulate their way to elective posts on mere lies provided they convince the public. Like parties in a law-case, there is a need to establish justice or otherwise in any given action. Whichever the side the

Has the UK government engaged in the politics of panic over counter Essay

Has the UK government engaged in the politics of panic over counter terrorism If so, how has this affected its counter terrorism policy - Essay Example Even though the Irish republican army was suppressed by the UK government, its repercussions are now started to develop. Moreover the government is also faced with a challenging task to tackle the rising Islamic terrorists. The armed forces of UK have gained valuable experience and expertise in counterterrorism activities through three decades of fighting the Irish republican army. This involvement was quite surprising because the understandable preoccupation with terrorists in Northern Ireland diverted the attention of British intelligence agencies from international terrorism. Before the bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerby, the British agencies were only engaged in dealing with the Irish nationalist. But after the indictment of two Libyan nationals, the agencies reach and scope has drastically widened. During the mid 1990’s, the UK intelligence agencies and the police were quite sure that their land was used as a base by individuals and groups for promoting, funding, and planning terrorism. However these individuals were not found by the agencies as a threat to UK. Therefore they were left to continue their activities. This policy caused wide spread anger among many foreign governments including allies of the UK government. By giving low priority to international terrorism, the British authorities did not fully understand the threat from Al Qaeda. The failure of the British intelligence agencies including that of other western agencies led to the 9/11 attacks on US soil. The Al Qaeda with its deadly networks has caused headaches for the UK authorities in recent years. The threat from AL Qaeda has increased because of the participation of UK in Afghanistan and Iraq. The UK intelligence agencies have also played a major role in destabilizing the networks of the terror organiz ation as well as blocking its funding. The counter terrorism policy

The Concept of the Soul, by Plato Research Paper - 1

The Concept of the Soul, by Plato - Research Paper Example d "appetite." In an elaboration to this, it was assumed that not all the desires are part of the belief and therefore they had association with reason. All the part that form ones soul have certain desires within them, but when it comes to the appetitive or the spirited part of the soul then these desires are not merely constituted by belief or the decision making/ choices that is linked to good.The passion in these elements sprouts from independent faiths differentiating between what is good or bad. When it comes to the appetite, this is due to the arousal of desires that occur as a reaction to the hormonal or other events that take place inside the body. Lastly, the spirited part of the soul is because of the routine response that develops during the course of ones upbringing. Plato in his book Phaedrus, Plato explains this Tripartite Soul in detail. In this book he describes the human soul which is made up of three elements that follow three specific classes that prevail in the society of a fair city containing justice. If individuallyjustice comprises of balancing these three elements in such a way that the precise relationship is developed that is based on power. All this leads to a person that contains ruling with reasoning,reason that takes help from spirit, and also develop a satisfying appetite Platos Theory of the soul is the basic origin point of the Theory of the State. In this theory, Plato claims that a person who is happy is apparently a just/fair person. In the other words this canbe better explained by saying that a content person is one who is governed by reason.Thus "Plato and Aristotle each had a view of human nature that assigned reason a central role." (Kupperman, 59) Plato believed that that soul is comprised of the three constituents that enlighten the human: Reason, Emotion, and Appetite which I previously mentioned. It should be noted that Reason contains the utmost and supreme value whereas the remaining two are considered to be as

The use of the x ray machine in the medical field. And how it was Research Paper

The use of the x ray machine in the medical field. And how it was invented and how far it has come (technology wise) and also it - Research Paper Example The discovery was actually accidental. The scientist found that invisible rays were emitted from a cathode ray tube and that these could penetrate wood and also paper. These rays were able to create a glow on a screen that was several years yards away. The glow was fluorescent. The screen that was observed was barium platinocyanide screen (Assmus, 10). The tube generating X-rays, the cathode rays was Crookes tube (Assmus, 10). The scientist made use of these properties to study the structure of bone of human hand. Several years after discovery of these rays, actual X-ray machines were invented. In 1900, it was discovered that radium rays are actually dangerous to skin. Radiology began to emerge as one of the medical specialities in 1900. Skill, the technical know-how and interpretation of image improved significantly (Linton, 27) X-rays are basically electromagnetic waves and their behavior is similar to light rays (Dendy, 48). However, their wavelengths are short. One useful propert y of the X-rays is, when the rays are directed towards a target that is of low density, they pass through the target uninterrupted. In case the target is of high density, like that of parts of human beings, the X-rays either get absorbed or are reflected. This occurs because of very less space between adjacent atoms in high density targets, which do not allow short waves to pass through. When the X-rays pass through completely through the target like in case of flesh, dark areas are seen on the screen. When they are blocked by high density targets like bones, they appear as light areas (Assmus, 14). It was Roentgen who discovered that X-rays basically originate from the tube at a point where the cathode rays strike the glass and then disseminate (Assmus, 14). He found that the origin point of X-rays moves as the rays coming from cathode are moved by a magnetic field. The X-rays however, are insensitive to magnet. Based on these findings, Roentgen concluded that X-rays are distinct f rom the rays emerging from the cathode, the cathode rays (Assmus, 14). "Roentgen justified calling the new phenomena rays because of the shadowy pictures they produce: bones in a hand, a wire wrapped around a bobbin, weights in a box, a compass card and needle hidden away in a metal case, the inhomogeneity of a metal" (Assmus, 14). Two years after Roentgen's discovery, which was basically radiation secondary to artificial ionization, a French scientist by name Henri Becquerel, discovered natural ionizing radiation from certain types of rocks. The radiation rays were similar to X-rays by Roentgen. The rocks were later refined by his colleagues Marie Curie and Pierre Curie to deliver radioactive substances radium, uranium and polonium. Radium is now being used to treat cancers (Linton, 26). Roentgen won Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1901. That was the first Nobel proze in Physics ever (Linton, 28). William Coolidge from General Electric Laboratories developed cathode X-ray tube tha t was an improved version and was hot. The X-ray machine was shielded suitably to prevent scattering of radiation that harmed the technicians. Thus, X-rays emerged from the tubes, known as Coolidge's tubes, through a lead shielded aperture. This method of exposure to X-rays allowed patients to be placed within a beam of X-rays and at the same time allowed others to be kept away from the beam. A further advancement in this method of X-ray exposure

Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sports - Essay Example When fans attend a sports match, they want to feel satisfied that they have got their money’s worth. The three sports that are the most spectator-friendly are wresting, basketball, and soccer. The kind of sums paid to participants in these sports makes the price of admission go up considerably. True fans, though, do not want to miss out on any action and will thus support their sport no end. Wrestling is a sport that is not for the faint of heart. As there is no ball involved, the wrestlers must use their bare hands to overcome their opponent. For fans, this can be great because they can view two fighters slugging it out in the ring. This is a sport that relies a lot upon adrenaline. The thrill that viewers get exceeds the average sporting experience. A downside to participating in this sport is that a lot of physical damage can occur to the body. Later in life, ex-wrestlers commonly have permanent physical disabilities that result in them not being able to live a normal life. Many ex-wrestlers end up going off the deep end and doing something bad. Basketball is one of the fastest sports out there. It is played so fast that there is very little time for players to celebrate after they have made a basket, simply because the opposing team is already making their way down the court. The power and skill of some basketball players makes this sport an awesome viewing experience. For spectators, prices can be expensive because of the wealth of the sport. Similar to wrestling, although not quite as much, basketball is a relatively physical sport. The sheer physical size of some of the players means that it is inevitable that physical contact will be part and parcel of the sport. Finally, soccer is often called the beautiful game because of the nice way in which it is played. Just like basketball, soccer is known as a ball sport. Most people consider the sport to be somewhat physical,

Is Thai Airways going to bankruptcy Research Paper

Is Thai Airways going to bankruptcy - Research Paper Example uld take up shares with the business, beginning April 1, 1988, to be the major shareholder with an estimated 51.03% of the company’s shareholdings, while the remaining 48.97% is owned by investors in the domestic and foreign markets, also including the company’s employees (THAI, 2013). Through the years, the company has experienced various challenges, benefits, and implemented different strategies to remain competitive and profitable in a highly competitive international market (Shoffner, Shelly, & Cooke, 2011). There is speculation that Thai Airways may be going bankrupt, following several challenges in generation of revenue. Different scholars and publications have closely followed the progress of the company, often making speculations, and detailing the actions taken by various entities in an effort to prevent the company from going bankrupt. The impeding bankruptcy of the airline follows a number of decisions made by the company, with respect to the market forces. T he extent to which the investors are willing to get involved in the recovery efforts will determine the probability and possibility of the company failing. In this study, the aim is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the company finances and situation to establish the basis of bankruptcy claims and probabilities. Thai Airways is an entity in the transportation industry, such that the ministry of transport manages the domestic, regional and international routes. The nature of the venture means that the products and services offered include air passenger, cargo and mail transport, warehouse, ground passage, ground equipment, and catering and maintenance services. Although the company is renowned for the air passenger services, the other services serve to support this core service. Under the service, the company has witnessed growth in the customers as well as fleet of airplanes, but challenges have resulted in premonitions on the company’s bankruptcy. Improvements to the services offered and

Pedagology of the Oppressed Essay Example for Free

Pedagology of the Oppressed Essay A careful analysis of the teacher-student relationship at any level, inside or outside the school, reveals its fundamentally narrative character. The relationship involves a narrating Subject (the teacher) and patient, listening objects (the students). The contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified. Education is suffering from narration sickness. The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to â€Å"fill† the students with the contents of his narration – contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity. The outstanding characteristic of this narrative education, then, is the sonority of words, not their transforming power. â€Å"Four times four is sixteen; the capital of Parà ¡ is Belà ©m.† The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of â€Å"capital† in the affirmation â€Å"the capital of Parà ¡ is Belà ©m,† that is, what Belà ©m means for Parà ¡ and what Parà ¡ means for Brazil. Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into â€Å"containers,† into â€Å"receptacles† to be â€Å"filled† by the teacher. The more completely he fills the receptacles, the better a teacher he is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are. Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communication, the teacher issues communiquà ©s and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the â€Å"banking† concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. They do, it is true, have the opportunity to become collectors or cataloguers of the things they store. But in the last analysis, it is men themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity, transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system. For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, men cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry men pursue in the world, with the world and with each other. In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence. The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teacher’s existence – but, unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher. The raison d’à ªtre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students. This solution is not (nor can it be) found in the banking concept. On the contrary, banking education maintains and even stimulates the contradiction through the following attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole: a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught; b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; c) the teacher thinks and the students are thought about; d) the teacher talks and the students listen – meekly; e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; f) the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply; g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher; h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it; i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students; j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects. It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them. The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the ‘students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed. The oppressors use their â€Å"humanitarianism† to preserve a profitable situation. Thus they react almost instinctively against any experiment in education which stimulates the critical faculties and is not content with a partial view of reality but always seeks out the ties which link one point to another and one problem to another. Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in â€Å"changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them†;[1] for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated. To achieve this end, the oppressors use the banking concept of education in conjunction with a paternalistic social action apparatus, within which the oppressed receive the euphemistic title of â€Å"welfare recipients.† They are treated as individual cases, as marginal men who deviate from the general configuration of a â€Å"good, organized, and just† society. The oppressed are regarded as the pathology of the healthy society, which must therefore adjust these â€Å"incompetent and lazy† folk to its own patterns by changing their mentality. These marginals need to be â€Å"integrated,† â€Å"incorporated† into the healthy society that they have â€Å"forsaken.† The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not â€Å"marginals,† are not men living â€Å"outside† society. They have always been â€Å"inside† – inside the structure which made them â€Å"beings for others.† The solution is not to â€Å"integrate† them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become â€Å"beings for themselves.† Such transformation, of course, would undermine the oppressors’ purposes; hence their utilization of the banking concept of education to avoid the threat of student conscientizacÄ o. The banking approach to adult education, for example, will never propose to students that they critically consider reality. It will deal instead with such vital questions as whether Roger gave green grass to the goat, and insist upon the importance of learning that, on the contrary, Roger gave green grass to the rabbit. The â€Å"humanism† of the banking approach masks the effort to turn men into automatons – the very negation of their ontological vocation to be more fully human. They may perceive through their relations with reality that reality is really a process, undergoing constant transformation. If men are searchers and their ontological vocation is humanization, sooner or later they may perceive the contradiction in which banking education seeks to maintain them, and then engage themselves in the struggle for their liberation. But the humanist, revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset, his efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in men and their creative power. To achieve this, he must be a partner of the students in his relations with them. The banking concept does not admit to such partnership – and necessarily so. To resolve the teacher-student contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation. Implicit in the banking concept is the assumption of a dichotomy between man and the world: man is merely in the world, not with the world or with others; man is spectator, not re-creator. In this view, man is not a conscious being (corpo consciente); he is rather the possessor of ÃŽ ± consciousness: an empty â€Å"mind† passively open to the reception of deposits of reality from the world outside. For example, my desk, my books, my coffee cup, all the objects before me – as bits of the world which surrounds me – would be â€Å"inside† me, exactly as I am inside my study right now. This view makes no distinction between being accessible to consciousness and entering consciousness. The distinction, however, is essential: the objects which surround me are simply accessible to my consciousness, not located within it. I am aware of them, but they are not inside me. It follows logically from the banking notion of consciousness that the educator’s role is to regulate the way the world â€Å"enters into† the students. His task is to organize a process which already occurs spontaneously, to â€Å"fill† the students by making deposits of information which he considers to constitute true knowledge.[2] And since men â€Å"receive† the world as passive entities, education should make them more passive still, and adapt them to the world. The educated man is the adapted man, because he is better â€Å"fit† for the world. Translated into practice, this concept is well suited to the purposes of the oppressors, whose tranquillity rests on how well men fit the world the oppressors have created, and how little they question it. The more completely the majority adapt to the purposes which the dominant minority prescribe for them (thereby depriving them of the right to their own purposes), the more easily the minority can continue to prescribe. The theory and practice of banking education serve this end quite efficiently. Verbalistic lessons, reading requirements,[3] the methods for evaluating â€Å"knowledge,† the distance between the teacher and the taught, the criteria for promotion: everything in this ready-to-wear approach serves to obviate thinking. The bank-clerk educator does not realize that there is no true security in his hypertrophied role, that one must seek to live with others in solidarity. One cannot impose oneself, nor even merely co-exist with one’s students. Solidarity requires true communication, and the concept by which such an educator is guided fears and prescribes communication. Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking I authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think for his students, nor can he impose his thought on them. Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible. Because banking education begins with a false understanding of men as objects, it cannot promote the development of what Fromm calls â€Å"biophily,† but instead produces its opposite: â€Å"necrophily.† While life is characterized by growth in a structured, functional manner, the necrophilous person loves all that does not grow, all that is mechanical. The necrophilous person is driven by the desire to transform the organic into the inorganic, to approach life mechanically, as if all living persons were things†¦.Memory, rather than experience; having, rather than being, is what counts. The necrophilous person can relate to an object – a flower or a person – only if he possesses it; hence a threat to his possession is a threat to himself; if he loses possession he loses contact with the world†¦He loves control, and in the act of controlling he kills life.[4] Oppression—overwhelming control—is necrophilic; it is nourished by love of death, not life. The banking concept of education, which serves the interests of oppression, is also necrophilic. Based on a mechanistic, static, naturalistic, spatialized view of consciousness, it transforms students into receiving objects. It attempts to control thinking and action, leads men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power. When their efforts to act responsibly are frustrated, when they find themselves unable to use their faculties, men suffer. â€Å"This suffering due to impotence is rooted in the very fact that the human equilibrium has been disturbed.†[5] But the inability to act which causes men’s anguish also causes them to reject their impotence, by attempting †¦to restore [their] capacity to act. But can [they], and how? One way is to submit to and identify with a person or group having power. By this symbolic participation in another person’s life, [men have] the illusion of acting, when in reality [they] only submit to and become a part of those who act.[6] Populist manifestations perhaps best exemplify this type of behaviour by the oppressed, who, by identifying with charismatic leaders, come to feel that they themselves are active and effective. The rebellion they express as they emerge in the historical process is motivated by that desire to act effectively. The dominant elites consider the remedy to be more domination and repression, carried out in the name of freedom, order, and social peace (that is, the peace of the elites). Thus they can condemn—logically, from the point of view—â€Å"the violence of a strike by workers and [can] call upon the state in the same breath to use violence in putting down the strike.†[7] Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. This accusation is not made in the naà ¯ve hope that the dominant elites will thereby simply abandon the practice. Its objective is to call the attention of true humanists to the fact that they cannot use banking educational methods in the pursuit of liberation for they would only negate that very pursuit. Nor may a revolutionary society inherit these methods from an oppressor society. The revolutionary society which practices banking education is either misguided or mistrusting of men. In either event, it is threatened by the spectre of reaction. Unfortunately, those who espouse the cause of liberation are themselves surrounded and influenced by the climate which generates the banking concept, and often do not perceive its true significance or its dehumanizing power. Paradoxically, then, they utilize this same instrument of alienation in what they consider an effort to liberate. Indeed, some â€Å"revolutionaries† brand as â€Å"innocents,† â€Å"dreamers,† or even â€Å"reactionaries† those who would challenge this educational practice. But one does not liberate men by alienating them. Authentic liberation—the process of humanization—is not another deposit to be made in men. Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men upon their world in order to transform it. Those truly committed to the cause of liberation can accept neither the mechanistic concept of consciousness as an empty vessel to be filled, not the use of banking methods of domination (propaganda, slogans—deposits) in the name of liberation. Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of man as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world. They must abandon the educational goal of deposit-making and replace it with the posing of the problems of men in their relations with the world. â€Å"Problem-posing† education, responding to the essence of consciousness—intentionality—rejects communiquà ©s and embodies communication. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness: being conscious of, not only as intent on objects but as turned in upon itself in a Jasperian â€Å"split†Ã¢â‚¬â€consciousness as consciousness of consciousness. Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information. It is a learning situation in which the cognizable object (far from being the end of the cognitive act) intermediates the cognitive actors—teacher on the one hand and students on the other. Accordingly, the practice of problem-posing education entails at the outset that the teacher-student contradiction be resolved. Dialogical relations—indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving the same cognizable object—are otherwise impossible. Indeed, problem-posing education, which breaks with the vertical patterns characteristic of banking education, can fulfil its function as the practice of freedom only if it can overcome the above contradiction. Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student with student-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. In this process, arguments based on â€Å"authority† are no longer valid; in order to function, authority must be on the side of freedom, not against it. Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. Men teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking education are â€Å"owned† by the teacher. The banking concept (with its tendency to dichotomize everything) distinguishes two stages in the action of the educator. During the first, he cognizes a cognizable object while he prepares his lessons in his study or his laboratory; during the second, he expounds to his students about that object. The students are not called upon to know, but to memorize the contents narrated by the teacher. Nor do the students practice any act of cognition, since the object towards which that act should be directed is the property of the teacher rather than a medium evoking the critical reflection of both teacher and students. Hence in the name of the â€Å"preservation of culture and knowledge† we have a system which achieves neither true knowledge nor true culture. The problem-posing method does not dichotomize the activity of the teacher-student: he is not â€Å"cognitive† at one point and â€Å"narrative† at another. He is always â€Å"cognitive,† whether preparing a project or engaging in dialogue with the students. He does not regard cognizable objects as his private property, but as the object of reflection by himself and the students. In this way, the problem-posing educator constantly re-forms his reflections in the reflection of the students. The students—no longer docile listeners—are now critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher. The teacher presents the material to the students for their consideration, and re-considers his earlier considerations as the students express their own. The role of the problem-posing educator is to create, together with the students, the conditions under which knowledge at the level of the doxa is superseded by true knowledge, at the level of the logos. Whereas banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative power, problem-posing education involves a constant unveiling of reality. The former attempts to maintain the submersion of consciousness; the latter strives for the emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality. Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge. Because they apprehend the challenge as interrelated to other problems within a total context, not as a theoretical question, the resulting comprehension tends to be increasingly critical and thus constantly less alienated. Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed. Education as the practice of freedom – as opposed to education as the practice of domination – denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent, and unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as a reality apart from men. Authentic reflection considers neither abstract man nor the world without men, but men in their relations with the world. In these relations consciousness and world are simultaneous: consciousness neither precedes the world nor follows it. La conscience et le monde sont dormà ©s d’un meme coup: extà ©rieur par essence à   la conscience, le monde est, par essence relative à   elle.[8] In one of our culture circles in Chile, the group was discussing (based on a codification[9]) the anthropological concept of culture. In the midst of the discussion, a peasant who by banking standards was completely ignorant said: â€Å"Now I see that without man there is no world.† When the educator responded: â€Å"Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that all the men on earth were to die, but that the earth itself remained, together with trees, birds, animals, rivers, seas, the stars†¦wouldn’t all this be a world?† â€Å"Oh no,† the peasant replied emphatically. â€Å"There would be no one to say: â€Å"This is a world’.† The peasant wished to express the idea that there would be lacking the consciousness of the world which necessarily implies the world of consciousness. I cannot exist without a not-I. In turn, the not-I depends on that existence. The world which brings consciousness into existence becomes the world of that consciousness. Hence, the previously cited affirmation of Sartre: â€Å"La conscience et le monde sont dormà ©s d’un mà ª coup.† As men, simultaneously reflecting on themselves and on the world, increase the scope of their perception, they begin to direct their observations towards previously inconspicuous phenomena: That which had existed objectively but had not been perceived in its deeper implications (if indeed it was perceived at all) begins to â€Å"stand out,† assuming the character of a problem and therefore of challenge. Thus, men begin to single out elements from their â€Å"background awarenesses† and to reflect upon them. These elements are now objects of men’s consideration, and, as such, objects of their action and cognition. In problem-posing education, men develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation. Although the dialectical relations of men with the world exist independently of how these relations are perceived (or whether or not they are perceived at all), it is also true that the form of action men adopt is to a large extent a function of how they perceive themselves in the world. Hence, the teacher-student and the student-teachers reflect simultaneously on themselves and the world without dichotomizing this reflection from action, and thus establish an authentic form of thought and action. Once again, the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking education (for obvious reasons) attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way men exist in the world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of demythologizing. Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers. Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying men their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human. Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the vocation of men as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation. In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take man’s historicity as their starting point. Problem-posing education affirms men as beings in the process of becoming – as unfinished, uncompleted beings in and with a likewise unfinished reality. Indeed, in contrast to other animals who are unfinished, but not historical, men know themselves to be unfinished; they are aware of their incompletion. In this incompletion and this awareness lie the very roots of education as an exclusively human manifestation. The unfinished character of men and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity. Education is thus constantly remade in the praxis. In order to be, it must become. Its â€Å"duration† (in the Bergsonian meaning of the word) is found in the interplay of the opposites permanence and change. The banking method emphasizes permanence and becomes reactionary; problem-posing education—which accepts neither a â€Å"well-behaved† present nor a predetermined future—roots itself in the dynamic present and becomes revolutionary. Problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity. Hence it is prophetic (and, as such, hopeful). Hence, it corresponds to the historical nature of man. Hence, it affirms men as beings who transcend themselves, who move forward and look ahead, for whom immobility represents a fatal threat, for whom looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who they are so that they can more wisely build the future. Hence, it identifies with the movement which engages men as beings aware of their incompletion—an historical movement which has its point of departure, its Subjects and its objective. The point of departure of the movement lies in men themselves. But since men do not exist apart from the world, apart from reality, the movement must begin with the men-world relationship. Accordingly, the point of departure must always be with men in the â€Å"here and now,† which constitutes the situation within which they are submerged, from which they emerge, and in which they intervene. Only by starting from this situation—which determines their perception of it—can they begin to move. To do this authentically they must perceive their state not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting—and therefore challenging. Whereas the banking method directly or indirectly reinforces men’s fatalistic perception of their situation, the problem-posing method presents this very situation to them as a problem. As the situation becomes the object of their cognition, the naà ¯ve or magical perception which produced their fatalism gives way to perception which is able to perceive itself even as it perceives reality, and can thus be critically objective about that reality. A deepened consciousness of their situation leads men to apprehend that situation as an historical reality susceptible of transformation. Resignation gives way to the drive for transformation and inquiry, over which men feel themselves to be in control. If men, as historical beings necessarily engaged with other men in a movement of inquiry, did not control that movement, it would be (and is) a violation of men’s humanity. Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate men from their own decision-making is to change them into objects. This movement of inquiry must be directed towards humanization—man’s historical vocation. The pursuit of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relations between oppressors and oppressed. No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so. Attempting to be more human, individualistically, leads to having more, egotistically: a form of dehumanization. Not that it is not fundamental to have in order to be human. Precisely because it is necessary, some men’s having must not be allowed to constitute an obstacle to others’ having, must not consolidate the power of the former to crush the latter. Problem-posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that men subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it also enables men to overcome their false perception of reality. The world—no longer something to be described with deceptive words—becomes the object of that transforming action by men which results in their humanization. Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why? While only a revolutionary society can carry out this education in systematic terms, the revolutionary leaders need to take full power before they can employ the method. In the revolutionary process, the leaders cannot utilize the banking method as an interim measure, justified on grounds of expediency, with the intention of later behaving in a genuinely revolutionary fashion. They must be revolutionary—that is to say, dialogical—from the outset.

Importance of and Benefits of Active Listening

Importance of and Benefits of Active Listening Active listening skill as a way that determines patient understanding, professed need and of disseminating psychological support. Practice skill, context and stakeholders Active listening as a skill is executed in a haemodialysis component propagate within a remote General hospice where important numerals of persons suffering from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) are tended after by employing renal dialysis. Maintenance support is administered frequently to the terminally ill who return to the health centres time an time again for cognitive interception by psychologists as patients grapple with the precincts of their cure, health status and the implicit underlying their everyday undertakings. The fact that patients are dynamic accomplices in care management, their frame of reference is an imperative aspect for the running of the renal facility. Consequently, (Gobet, F. 2005) wide-ranging care of renal patients demands proficiency in care managements, this includes, a keen interest to moral, psychosocial as well as sacred concerns associated to foundation, systematic, maintenance, and terminating dialysis course of action. Persons suffering from renal co mplications expect more information as well as early intervention of care management debate. In this case, information should be inclined to focus more on the individual and how the disease and interceptions would hamper their existence as well as likeness and what they treasure the most. Hayes, B. and Adams, R. (2000) affirms that, determining supposed advantages of care management besides recognizing persons suffering from renal anomalies, in addition, to their personal empowerment is elementary for proficient framing of enhanced care management and implicitly for determining patients ability to take part in assisted care management. The declarative component Being with renal patients for almost two decades I am confident in receiving their signals of distress and their need for someone to be there for them before even they say a word. As a nurse I am aware of other symptoms of renal disease comprises of anti-psychotherapy, irritation and emotions which are constraints to chronic ailments like this in addition the symptoms will assist the nurse in actively listening to the renal patients. Indeed, Gopee, et al (2004), contents that the skilled use of non-verbal communication via silence, facial expression, touch and closer physical proximity appeared to facilitate active listening, and aided to bring up compassion. Discourse should be initiated by the health expert as this will allow the patient to express and share their emotions and incidents this requires creation of retreat and emotional break. Quietly being with renal patients and communicating non-verbally was an effective form of communication, it is suggested that effective communication is dependent on the nurses talent to listen and utilise non-verbal communication skills. In addition it is clear that manifestation on practical experience can be a significant technique of uncovering and exploring tacit knowledge in nursing. Reflective individual knowledge is the most substantive form of knowledge and must properly constitute the body of knowledge of a practice discipline. As a health care provider, I was meant to be positive as it is important in helping to comprehend and learn from patients emotions. Moreover, Howard-Jones, P. (2002), expansion practice skill involves caring for difficulty episodes as a self assessment tool and tool learning experience hence, self-assurance is the ultimate aspect in the practice knowledge. Creating records depicting the treatment of the disease is significant as it will help in the analysis, assessment and widen the comprehension of useful incidents. Consequently, in the framework of recent studies, experiences gained through demonstration should be shares with other colleagues. Demonstration offers an opportunity to learn from previous occurrences whats more to produce original thoughts or examine ideas to find out which might be harmless and achievable. The process component At these moments, I shall make use of the accessible resources; thus of mind, body as well as the spirit to vividly drum sense into the patients head, consequently, an indescribable eminence logically emerged in our rapport. As Pearson (2004), puts it plain and clear as ‘present tense concern or ‘being there, declaring: â€Å"the ability to for individual charisma, that aspect of tending after, and caring for the sick closely to a level where the shared civilization is accredited, is the basis of much of nursing as a caring custom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Besides, instinctive understanding as presence and believes that: â€Å"presence is basically affording oneself to someone as a treasure, in this case, this is approved by the nurse as well as the renal patient†¦Ã¢â‚¬ During this phase, I was more alert to patients, listening closely to their needs as well as wishes and ready to act as per their demands. I was more concern about grasping diverse perspectives of experience, the expressive; precisely, the ‘joints are paining me severely, the sequential (how things unfolded), the figurative; the patient could start enlisting about the life at home an aspect that expected my sympathy and later optimistic encouragement. Being more sensitive to the message I was conveying enabled me to create and adapt this in a more caring and individual way. Interestingly, on the other hand, nurses perceived their inter-individual style as tending to the authoritative rather than facilitative. Perhaps my inter-individual style was normally more authoritative; on the other hand, by adapting and expanding the active listening features of my communication it had become facilitative. Moreover, by abandoning professional detachment in favour of closeness amid the renal patients, and me, empathic affinities developed. Ideally this phase is all about my recognizing and blending of signs and symptoms with knowledge of the past patient. For instance, a previous patient exhibited symptoms of depression an aspect that would easily usher in suicidal syndromes. In this case a patient who portrays the same symptoms would require a psychiatrist attention that might assist in determining the impact of treatment and the side effects of the treatment on the patient. Ultimately, after a close examination, and listening keenly, on top of reviewing the patients previous accounts regarding the disease, I was able to administer the effect of the medication and determine if alternative conduits could improve the patients condition, and all this was to be done by observing the treatment protocol of the same disease. Underpinning knowledge Ian McWhinney (1989) asserts that ‘If we could all just learn to listen, everything else would fall into place. Listening is the key to being patient centered. Anyone can learn how to be a better listener; however this kind of learning is not like learning something that is added to what we know. This Kind is a peeling away of things that are get in the way of listening, like our fears, our worries, of how one can might respond to what is hear. Therefore, according to Kennedy, C.M. (2004), effective communication call for the comprehension of active listening features of nurse in connection to renal patient associated. Even though accessing the right data at the correct time seem to be difficulty. In addition, Fowler, L. (1998) states that psychological of interpersonal communication; this form of knowledge requires that listeners comprehend, construe and assess what they heard. Communication is significant in active listening as it enhances personal relationships by reducing c onflicts, supporting cooperation, as well as encouraging understanding. However, interpersonal communiquà © is hindered by in adequate knowledge mainly in the case of cultural disparities and use of scientific jargons leads to misinterpretation. Therefore, for effective emotional of interpersonal communication emotions, considerations of the patients background should be evaded during dialogue. Psychology of chronic illness and coping; it could be of great benefit if renal patient and practitioners complying with active listening sills. Practitioners need to bear in mind the emotions needs of chronic patients because in many instances they express and share their experiences non-verbally. Forte, P. and Forstrom, S. (1998) affirms that, it is imperative for medical experts to collect non-verbal information as it will them respond faster to their needs as argued by Forte, P. and Forstrom, S. (1998). As a nurse I usually focus on attaining frameworks associated to assessment of competency and not emotions to help the renal patients or even impacts of medication on the patients self-esteem, as noted by Gask, et al. (2005), because these concepts are portrayed as difficulty initiated by insufficient knowledge. In addition the performance settings are more demanding with extremely patients being treated with short period of communication. Therefore, knowledge centres can be evaluated by means of short trainings courses that where a lot will be covered in pragmatic manner. How decisions are made While its not easy working in the renal care field, it is also not easy being a renal patient. In some cases, the therapeutic dilemma (in this case, there is usually a congregation and they come chunky and speedy as the patient brazen out a series of anomalies, contagions, dialysis scientific intricacies, contacting facilities, exhaustion, malformed body image†¦) at hand represents the scariest, most earth-shattering experience of the renal patients life. According to Dowding, D. and Thompson, C. 2004, the individuals physical and financial worlds might have been shaken to the core by their therapeutic condition. Chances are, the renal patient is feeling extremely vulnerable and out of control. Therefore, if for example a patient, who is not complying with diet or therapeutic leadership, avoids cautioning the individual, this in part might serve to accomplish little part from raising defences. Then reiterate why its significant to stay on the particular diet or to take the regim en of prescribed medications. End by asking if there is anything can do to aid set up things more convenient for them. This approach wont guarantee success, but it will allow the renal patient to save enough face to stay in a game in which both desperately need cooperation (Douw, K., Vondeling, H. and Oortwijn, W.2006). In scenarios where the patient expressed their home condition was rather tricky in the sense that it required me to preclude pitiable judgements and alter precision when evaluating the patients current symptoms with the previous one. This pattern comparison is necessary. After listening keenly to the patients emotional expression, I was in a position to a variety of options ranging from what ought to be prioritised, the area that required more listening and choosing the best intervention strategy. The issues enlisted by the patient granted me the audacity to pick on ultimate decisions while I was reviewing the historical accounts of the patient, (Kennedy, C.M. 2004). With the accessible information I was able to identify indicators that would have helped me determine novel pattern of characters that reflect incredible ideas about the condition. Again, by using the accessible data and posing further query while keenly listening to the patient I grasped the technicality in summarizing the suppositions that comprehensively describe the occurrence and recommend the best prescription. The decision making phase is a stage where ethics guided me with regard to the options I embarked on. Emotions were muted off as that killer punch move was contemplated. This is the most critical phase, by which a patient might fully regain or can as well die. In short the options that an expert will take are a matter of life and death, Dornan, T. and Bundy, C.2004). Conclusions Research findings deduce that active listening is an imperative facet especially when caring for the sick. For instance, Leach, D. (2002) ideas enlisted in a case study involving patients suffering from chronic renal complexities, active listening has been enlisted as the underlying factors towards complete recuperation. This is so because; through active listening medical experts have the audacity to determine a way forward. Consequently, active listening in one way or another facilitates faster healing owing to the fact that various ailments are psychological propagated and simply require empathic response. Active listening, on the extreme end is imperative in the sense that it helps experts determine indicators with that accessible information an aspect that prompts for deep investigations to unravel the underlying issues. Grouping signals is significant, since it will help the practitioners to determine novel pattern of characters that reflect incredible ideas about the condition . On top of that, myriad aspects are associated in line to every call for vigilant assessment. Foremost, the practitioners can come up with an outline of skills which is very descriptive; this is significant since it helps in establishing the right medication for a patient. References Kendall-Raynor, P. (2007) ‘Cautious Welcome for Plans to Reform Professional Regulation, Nursing Standard, 21 (25), p.5. Kennedy, C.M. (2004) ‘A Typology of Knowledge for District Nursing Assessment Practice, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 45 (4), pp.401-409. Dornan, T. and Bundy, C. (2004) ‘What Can Experience Add to Early Medical Education? Consensus Survey, British Medical Journal, 329 (834). Douw, K., Vondeling, H. and Oortwijn, W. (2006) ‘Priority Setting for Horizon Scanning of New Health Technologies in Denmark: Views of Health Care Stakeholders and Health Economists, Health Policy, 76 (3), pp.334-45. Dowding, D. and Thompson, C. (2004) ‘Using Judgement to Improve Accuracy in Decision-making, Nursing Times, 100 (22), pp.42-44. Forte, P. and Forstrom, S. (1998) ‘Work Complexity Assessment: Decision Support Data to Address Cost and Culture Issues, Journ Nursing Administration, 28 (1), pp.46-53. Fowler, L. (1998) ‘Improving Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 14 (4), pp.183-187. Gask, et al. (2005) ‘Evaluating STORM Skills Training for Managing People at Risk Suicide, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54 (6), pp.739-750. Gobet, F. (2005) ‘Chunking Models of Expertise: Implications for Education, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, pp.183-204. Gopee, et al (2004) ‘Effective Clinical Learning in Primary Care Settings, Nursing Standard, 18 (37), pp.33-37. Hayes, B. and Adams, R. (2000) ‘Parallels between Clinical Reasoning and Categorization in Higgs, J. and Jones, M. (Editors) Clinical Reasoning in the Health Professions, Edinburgh, Butterworth Heinemann, pp.45-53. Howard-Jones, P. (2002) ‘A Dual-state Model of Creative Cognition for Supporting Strategies That Foster Creativity in the Classroom, International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 12, pp.215-226. Ian McWhinney (1989) ‘Clinical Education Facilitators: A Literature Review, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14 (6), pp.664-673. Leach, D. (2002) ‘Building and Assessing Competence: The Potential for Evidence-based Graduate Medical Education, Quality Management in Health Care, 11 (1), pp.39-44.

Power Hungry Leaders And Gullible Commoners History Essay

Power Hungry Leaders And Gullible Commoners History Essay In 1788, Louis XVIII of France summoned the Estates-General for the first time in 175 years to solve the countrys disastrous financial problems. Jacques Necker, who had recently become finance minister and put in charge of the matter, invited writers to propose how the Estates should be organized, and hundreds of pamphlets were published. Among them was What is the Third Estate?, by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes.In this powerful work of rhetoric, Sieyes pointed out the following: What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing. What does it want? To become somethingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The words gave hope to the weary commoners, and set off the bomb known as the French Revolution. The question we must ask ourselves here is this: what implications did the pamphlet actually have for the French Revolution? At first glance, this question appears to have very straightforward answers. The pamphlet, as a whole, serves as basic guidelines for a reform of social order. Liberte, Egalite, and Fraternite are what it pursues, and the ideal society it calls for is based on these values. Sieyes dreamed of a world where it was not the laws that differentiate citizens among themselves but the assets and advantages of the individual citizens themselves.  [5]  Equal opportunities, laws to protect the common rights  [6]  of citizens, and the final neutralization of the privileged orders are what he demands.  [7]  The Third Estate, for all practical purposes, was the Nation-it held everything that was needed to form the Nation, with the exception of the clergy, which Sieyes believed to be a profession charged with a public service that had all of its offices usurped by the nobility.  [8]  These were indeed compelling arguments to the Third Estate, considering that most of them spent thei r lives in utter poverty, with no hope of redemption! What other answer could there be, other than that this pamphlet envisioned a Revolution that was carried through out of genuine care for the people? Before any more is said on the subject, it is crucial to review the society of the period. It was 1789, and the Estates-General was about to convene. The procedure of selecting the deputies representing each order was different from that of the Estates-General of 1614: the number of deputies from the Third Estate was doubled  [9]  , making their number the same as those of the First and Second Estate together, and any tax-paying male over 25 could vote for deputies of the Third Estate.  [10]  Interestingly, however, many of the elected deputies of the Third Estate were lawyers, and most others came from respected professions-unusual for the representatives of an order which was, by a vast majority, constituted by peasants.  [11]  The peasants had deemed themselves inferior and chosen the bourgeois deputies to represent them.  [12]  Sieyes became one of these newly elected deputies of the Third Estate.  [13]  Maximilien Robespierre and Jacques Danton, were two othe rs.  [14]  Soon afterwards, the Third Estate left the Estates-General to form the National Assembly.  [15]  Throughout the course of the Revolution, these three, among many others of the bourgeois, remained important figures; understanding their actions and motives will help answer the main question of this paper. These public speakers and writers continued with their enlightenment. Meanwhile, on July 14th, 1789, upon hearing news that the King had removed Necker from the position of finance minister, the people of Paris understood the Kings actions as a conspiracy to close the National Assembly, and after looking where to find weapons, they laid their eyes on Bastille, which was rumored to have a full supply of firearms and ammunition; Bastille went down that very day.  [16]  The fall of Bastille marked the start of the new social order that Sieyes had written about; the rights of citizens, were finally recognized in the August 4 decrees and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,  [17]  and his theories of national sovereignty, popular sovereignty, and representation became, for the first time, legislation. Males were given universal suffrage; laws protecting property rights were established; no one was privileged.  [18]  19Although there were still many problems and is sues that needed to be solved, it appeared that the wishful thinking of What is the Third Estate? was coming true. This state of bliss did not last long. The constitutional monarchy proved to be a failure, and with the emergence of the National Convention, a republic was born. The National Convention was, as all assemblies that preceded it had been, far from united.  [20]  Political conflict was constant, and to add to the countrys problems, it was met with an outbreak of war with the counterrevolutionary countries of Europe, namely Prussia.  [21]  The war allowed the Committee of Public Safety, which had originally been established by the National Convention to formulat[e] policy and coordinat[e] the war effort, to rise to power, virtually acting as the executive government.  [22]  Under the control of Maximilien Robespierre,  [23]  it became the active government in the period known as the Reign of Terror.  [24]  Any person who supported the royalty, asked for more social reform, or spoke against the Terror was executed swiftly, without delays like trials.  [25]  Jacques Danton  [26]  was among those who tried to stop the Terror, and who was executed for it.  [27]  Eventually, Robespierre, in an effort to gain more power, accused fellow members of the Committee, and was beheaded, ending his life as well as the Terrors.  [28]   We could continue with the events that happened after the fall of the Terror until the end of the Revolution, but the information we have now is sufficient to answer the question. The political events that occurred between 1789-1795 have a certain pattern: the constant change of the ruling class. It is a cycle of men struggling to get their hands on power, justifying their causes as being for the people. What did the French Revolution-the title this cycle of power is given-achieve, as was stated by Sieyes in What is the Third Estate? It achieved, as stated previously, the following: universal male suffrage, laws protecting the common rights of citizens-a constitution, and a primitive form of democracy. Did it dispose of privileges? Members of the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror had the power to sentence someone to death with almost no evidence at all. Surely, is this not a privilege? Sieyes might argue that such privileges in post-revolutionary society was earned, not in herited, as it had been during the Ancient Regime. However, the only difference was the law; it was just as unlikely for a peasant of 1793 to become such officials as it was for a bourgeois to be admitted to high offices in 1788. They would both be exceptions. When seen from these principles, the French Revolution brought little change to the Nation; the entire period is merely a change of the ruling, or governing, order. The privileged clergy and nobility were replaced by the tier of leaders  [29]  of the Third Estate, and members of this tier had well been expecting it: they orchestrated it! This tier of leaders of the common population-let us call it the First Tier-spent their lives being ruled by, and usurped positions by, members of the higher Estates. Sieyes was one of them.  [30]  It is reasonable to argue, then, that this First Tier desired to replace the higher Estate as the new ruling Tier. They could not, however, do this alone. The First Tier was by nature, small in number compared to the rest of the Third Estate-for which we will now use the term Second Tier.  [31]  The First Tier required the help of the Second Tier if it were to succeed in becoming the ruling Tier; after all, the Tiers were, in Sieyess words, The Nation, and the Second Tier constituted most of it. How were they to achieve the task of persuading the Second Tier to join forces with them in overthrowing the government? Here, the First Tier had advantages. While the First Tier, as the elite and leaders of the Third Estate, enjoyed relatively prosperous lives, had the right to vote, and generally did not have property taken by the nobles, none of the members of the Second Tier had this luxury. This was the bait that the First Tier could use, and would use, to persuade the Second Tier of their cause. They promised a society in which the Second Tier could have all of these rights, and more. Of course, all of this was carefully written and spoken in a rhetorical fashion, so as to produce rage and a revolutionary air.  [32]  What were the results? The storming of the Bastille was the single largest incident, and it eventually took down the First and Second Estates, replacing the government with the First Tier, who now had the power they wanted-the power to lead the Nation. They gav e the Second Tier certain rights and benefits that had been promised beforehand in pamphlets like What is the Third Estate?, but that was where the fairy tale ended. Based on these observations, we arrive at the conclusion that the actual idea and concept of the French Revolution is not much more than the political protests of a frustrated First Tier that decided that the Nations rulers were not worthy, and its manipulation of the Second Tier to carry out the actual, physical overthrow of the government. In effect, the Marxist views of the French Revolution being a Revolution consisting of four smaller class revolutions  [33]  is a mere illusion, consequences of a historians foolish quest to find excessive class meaning in the incidents of history; in reality, what happened was simple. The people overthrew the government in 1789, and for the next ten years, citizens who were not satisfied with it succeeded in rebuilding it several times. In his famed book, The Technique of Revolution, Curzio Malaparte stated that the 18 Brumaire  [34]  was the first modern coup dà ©tat.  [35]  It was not. July 14th, 1789-the storming of the Bastille- was the first. What implications did What is the Third Estate? have for the French Revolution? The pamphlet was the first domino that triggered the chain reaction known as the Revolution, by no doubt. But the social order that it created was not that of which it spoke of. The Revolution did bring much social reform, the invention of citizenship  [36]  being one major change. However, ultimately it failed to create an equal society, because the First and Second Estates of the Ancient Regime were simply replaced by the First Tier, with the pre-existing privileges excluded. However, the governing First Tier had privileges of their own, one extreme example being the aforementioned privileges of the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror. The French Revolution may have started a movement that brought great change to the world, but we must all keep in mind that its original intentions were not quite as noble and philanthropic. The role the pamphlet What is the Third Estate? played during the Re volution was bait for the masses, or the Second Tier. Sieyes was an idealist. He likely believed that the world he dreamt of was possible, even with the First Tier merely replacing the First and Second Estates and taking control of the Nation, as long as those in high positions had correct motives. However, his comments on the Terror after it had deteriorated, I survived,  [37]  seem to suggest that he had lost faith in the idea. This appears to be not far from the truth, as in 1799, ten years after the publication of What is the Third Estate?, Sieyes assisted Napoleons successful coup dà ©tat, ending the Revolution, closing the door he had so enthusiastically opened a decade earlier.  [38]  

Margit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay

Margit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Kate Chopin created Edna Pontellier, but neither the character nor her creator was divorced from the world in which Chopin lived. As a means to understand the choices Chopin gave Edna, Margit Stange evaluates The Awakening in the context of the feminist ideology of the late nineteenth century. Specifically, she argues that Edna is seeking what Chopin’s contemporaries denoted self-ownership, a notion that pivoted on sexual choice and â€Å"voluntary motherhood† (276). Stange makes a series of meaningful connections between Kate Chopin’s dramatization of Edna Pontellier’s â€Å"awakening† and the historical context of feminist thought that Stange believes influenced the novel. For example, she equates Edna’s quest for financial independence with the late nineteenth century’s Married Women’s Property Acts, which sought to give married women greater control over their property and earnings. Ultimately, Stange believes, Edna’s awakening, her acquisition of self-determination, comes from identifying and re-distributing what she owns, which Stange argues is her body, much as contemporary feminist thinkers discussed what she calls women’s â€Å"sexual exchange value† (281). Additional references to reformers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as well as the legal standards of femme seule and femme couverte buttress Stange’s position that Edna’s experiences are a reflection of historical reality, even if some of the equations are a bit rough. Chopin, Stange notes, is careful to separate Edna the wife from Edna the woman – â€Å"Mrs. Pontellier† becomes â€Å"Edna† in the text, and then â€Å"Mrs. Pontellier† once more when her sense of self-ownership again seems lost. Chopin... ...alls a â€Å"moment of extreme maternal giving,† Stanton argued for women’s right to a public voice because â€Å"‘alone [woman] goes to the gates of death to give life to every man that is born into the world; no one can share her fears, no one can mitigate her pangs; and if her sorrow is greater than she can bear, alone she passes beyond the gates into the vast unknown’† (289). Chopin may have had a clearer grasp of the immense hold of the rhetoric of motherhood than Stange acknowledges. Edna at â€Å"the gates of death† may be a woman caught in an evolving conception of self-ownership, burdened by the sorrow of realizing that she can only really own what she no longer wants, because what she does want is yet beyond her grasp. Edna’s trap is indeed a historical reflection, a comment on the tumultuous, even violent, evolution of ideologies, expectations, choices, and realities.