Manifestations of Truth in How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien Essay Example for Free

Manifestations of Truth in How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien Essay How to Tell a War Story by Tim O’ Brien has taken into account various thematic expression and he uses an unusual style to narrate these thematic expression. It a balance-mix of story and reflective essay. O ‘Brien major concern remain the reality of truth. He illustrates various manifestations of truth and manifests that imagination is the major tool to locate the truth. In addition to that he develops a criterion for narrating a war story. â€Å"O’Brien shares the criteria with which the writer or teller and the reader or listener must be concerned by giving an extended definition of what a war story is or is not. The chapter How to Tell a True War Story focuses most extensively on the features that might be found in a true war tale. (Calloway, 1995) So story is multifaceted and its narrative technique is advanced as well unique. Tim O’ Brien has critically evaluated the criterion for writing a true war story. O’Brien demonstrates that memory and reminiscence are transient in nature and one can tell a story purely based on his memory. Memory is always prone to mental faculty of creating fiction. Sometime the character or the narrator admits the elements of fictionality in a true war story but mostly it goes unnoticed and unobserved. Same is the case with How to Tell a War Story as Mitchell Sanders admits to Tim O Brien (the protagonist) that although most of his tale is based on fact but there are elements of fiction. Hew says, â€Å"Last night, man,' Sanders states, I had to make up a few things . . . The glee club. There wasnt any glee club . . . No opera,' either (O’ Brien, 1998). But,' he adds, its still true' (O’ Brien, 1998). This is not distortion of truth but it is the limited nature of memory to recall things in proper order with minute details that urges human faculties to invent certain details. Furthermore, plain truth is not interesting enough to captivate the attention of the reader and amuse. In a Vietnam War story there can be pathos and miseries, deaths and destruction, but there is nothing pure to tell in the form of a story. O Brien himself explain this; â€Å"I think exercising the imagination is the main of finding the truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Naparsteck, 1991, p. 10) So memories are true and well as invention simultaneously. In â€Å"Things They Carried†, collection short stories from which this story was taken, O’ Brien he acts as the narrator. So readers suppose that he himself was veteran of the war and observed everything on his own but his are not the first hand account of these tales. They are told by various veterans of wars and were later crafted by O’Brien. So both veterans and the writers has invented certain situations and mingled it with the real story. O’Brien says that it is not unethical or wrong to develop a story in this way. He says, â€Å"â€Å"You’d feel cheated if it never happened. †(O’ Brien). A story is developed on its own and follows a natural pattern. In this way, O’Brien implies that truth distorts when it passes through the mental processes. Various pre-conceived notions, past experiences, prejudices and men’s inventive powers cast its own impression on it. But it is natural phenomenon. O’Brien explains this in the story; In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way. The angles of vision are skewed. When a booby trap explodes, you close your eyes and duck and float outside yourself. When a guy dies, like Lemon, you look away and then look back for a moment and then look away again. The pictures get jumbled; you tend to miss a lot. And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed. (O’Brien, 1998) Readers accept this balance mix-up of reality and invention but O’Brien, however, does not allow his readers to take these things for granted and inquires the whole idea of memoirs, recollections, and the short capability of memory to communicate the reality with accuracy. As far as the narrative structure is concerned, O’Brien himself calls it a mix of essay and fiction. In an interview to Naparsteck (1991) he says that, â€Å"In a way, it’s part essay and a part fiction but in a way it’s neither†¦To me, it has singleness or unity to it. Rather than part things this and part things that, it’s all those things together. †(p. 9) This manifests his idea of truth as a whole. He does not differentiate genuine reality from perceived reality and considers them conflation of each other and they as whole constitute the truth. Unquestionably, truth and fabrication is another theme that Tim O Brien takes into consideration in the story. He is of the view that in narrating a war story, untruth is not conflicting with truth. They are the facets of a single reality. One is real and other is inventive but both are genuine. During the war, truth is unclear and mostly uncertain. It takes varies semblances band is manifested in various contradictory forms. So both true and inventive part of the story seems contradictory but in reality, they are same and equivalent. This paradoxical manifestation of truth is symbolized by the death Curt Lemon. O’Brien as narrator is familiar with the situation in which Curt was killed. He was shot dead by a 105mm round while â€Å"he was playing catch with Rat Kiley†. But as O’Brien recollect this in his mind; he perceives that Curt was killed by daylight. This narration is different from the first one. But none is untrue. 105 round was tool but sunlight also played a major role in his death. Sunlight is also chief cause thus. In this way, O’Brien differentiates between the reality that took place and the reality that appears to take place. No account is untrue but both a different manifestation of same reality i. e. one is real and other is perceived as real. Tim Obrien does not use proper literary devices to convey this dichotomy like Golding does in â€Å"Lord of The Flies† where he use symbol of fire and convey its paradoxical nature. Conventionally, fire refers to destruction and damage but Golding uses it as a rescue symbol when boys trapped in an island use fire to get attention of the passing by ship and in the last, they are saved by the aero- plane that noticed the fire signaling rescue. But mostly, it is not possible to attach two opposite meaning to a single word as beautifully done by Golding in the novel. O’ Brien attempts the same. For example, he says, â€Å"it is safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true,† he generate a contradiction but it is not a single word or a symbols that he utilizes to communicate the paradox. It is the whole context that helps him make this statement. Stephen Kaplan sums up this thematic expression of reality in his book; Understanding Tim O’Brien. He says, â€Å"[O’Brien] completely destroys the fine line dividing fact from fiction and tries to show that fiction (or the imagined world) can often be truer, especially in the case of Vietnam, than fact. O’ Bren plays with truth in How to Tell a War Story and sometimes fabricates it. The chief purpose is to highlight the paradox of truth and to demonstrate its various facets and manifestations. He leaves it to the readers to discern between genuine truth and perceived truth. The writer’s use of a narrator Tim O’ Brien in this collection of short stories is at the same time appealing as well as disturbing. The confusion deepens when it told by the author that the narrator is a middle aged man telling the stories about the Vietnam War. The use of a narrator is interesting as it forces the readers to think that the story is basically rooted in some real life experiences. It also helps in joining together the disjointed elements in the tales. This tool also helps the writer to play and employ some untruths and marvelous things without suffering from the fear of being questioned for their authenticity. The readers suffer from the problem that is the narrator is just playing the role of a mouth piece for the writer or is he an independent character. However, by using this device the writer is able to convey the message to the readers that what is discussed in the story as truth is somewhat similar to what actually happened during the war. If the reader accepts that the narrator is reliable and he is telling the truth than he faced a dilemma. As in the beginning of the stories the narrator tells that he is a real person and going to tell real stories and in the end he tells them that everything that he has just told is just falsehood. The author might be using this illusion to convey the readers a way in which a war story should be told and the basic truths that these war stories carries. He might also be trying to make a point that the story is basically true and logical though it may not have actually happened in the Vietnam War. The construction of this collection of stories is not following the traditional way of telling the stories. There are stories within a story that are linked very beautifully together in a novel way. Each story is basically an endeavor, on the part of narrator, to make a point clear. In order to explain or discuss a thought or experience the narrator start telling another story. These stories, are however, not linked in the traditional way. On finishing the book the reader is made to realize the truth as an organic whole, in a strange way, and not in the ordinary way as is the truth in conveyed to them. In this style of story telling the writer is not bound to follow the chronological flow of time. He is free to roam about according to his will. He can discus the realities and the sequence of the happening of events according to how he deems it right and not by the traditional way of doing it. The writer is basically of the view that the ‘war stories’ need to present the ‘true illustration’ and it need not to indulge in ‘analysis’ so it is important that the short stories should remain true to the reality and the long story or the parent-story need not to be something actually happened in reality. Rosemary Kings explain this phenomenon in this way; OBriens word play in the title hinges on the definition of true, a word he uses alternately throughout the story to mean either factually accurate, or something higher and nobler. He does this through three embedded narratives: Mitchell Sanderss narration of Curt Lemons death; the narrators description of hearing Sanderss story; and Tim OBriens commentary on how to tell a true war story. (n1) Each narrator claims his story is an authentic retelling of events as they occurred in Vietnam, asserting the historicity of their narratives. (King, 1999) The structure of the book is such that the chapters and the short stories are basically there to help the readers understand the real story, the real and the tangible truth. These are basically the ‘things’ carried by the parent story. The comments of the narrator helps the reader understand the organic wholeness of the story just as the chapters in the long story are connected together by the connecting views and ideas of the author thrown here and there in the long story. Rosemary King also highlights the importance of title of the story; â€Å"OBriens title delivers punch not only through the conflated definition of true but also through the distinction of what makes a war story true. He underscores the importance of manipulating what actually happened to get at the essence of truth. † Above-mentioned discussion and supported arguments and evidence clearly manifest that O’Brien has successfully asserted that truth has paradoxical nature and it can be conveyed as a whole i. e. a balance mix- of what happened and what seems to happen. In reality this pradox dissolved in a complete whole. He further illustrated that human mental processes modifies the objective reality. His own description of reality from the subjective point of view of the narrators in the story is a skillful representation of this phenomenon. Thus his story is a successful example of metafiction.

Postmodernism & history Essay Example for Free

Postmodernism history Essay Postmodernism refers to a shift in the non art components of history, particularly after the 1960s. It is marked by developments in culture, society and the economy. One drawback to postmodernism is the idea that it is concrete. Instead, postmodern society continues to go through enormous change that can be contributed to ever changing aspects of culture, society and the economy. Modernism preceded postmodernism which suggests that postmodernism is a reaction to modernism or postmodernism evolved from modernism and continues to undergo changes today (Taylor Winquist, 2001). Further, as postmodernism has gone through these many changes; it has become an extremely broad term for other philosophical disciplines that have been created. Another drawback to postmodernism comes from Michael Foucault who believed that postmodernism has caused science to become more political in nature (Schillo Thompson, 2003). The drawback to science is that certain people who oppose scientific research associated with controversial issues such as cloning and genetically modified organisms are only against scientific progress because it serves some political agenda (Schillo Thompson, 2003). This is a drawback to postmodernism because politics get in the way of important scientific research that has potential to greatly improve the lives of humans. Finally, postmodernism includes a complex style of writing that makes drawing useful conclusions challenging (Constas, 1998). This complexity often causes difficulty internalizing postmodern theories and ideas because they are hard to understand. It also causes a challenge to those who conduct educational research in order to educate others about postmodernism (Constas, 1998). Therefore, it can be determined that postmodernism causes a lack of communication among the educational community (Constas, 1998). These leads to another drawback which is the additional training educators must receive simply to understand postmodernism and its complex theories. Constas, Mark A. (1998). Research news and comment: the changing nature of educational research and a critique of postmodernism. Educational Researcher, 27 (2): 26 – 33. Schillo, K. K. Thompson, P. B. (2003). Postmodernism for animal scientists. Journal of Animal Science, 81 (12): 2989 – 2998. Taylor, V. E. Winquist, C. E. (2001). Encyclopedia of Postmodernism. London and New York: Routledge.

Fidel Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Fidel Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis The purpose of this investigation is to answer the question to what extent was Fidel Castros role in Cuba more significant than Khrushchevs role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The main body of evidence will investigate how Fidel Castro and Nikita S. Khrushchev were involved with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Evidence will include scholarly journals, articles, books, and documentaries. Documents will be analyzed in regards to their origins, purpose, value, and limitations in order to properly evaluate evidence. The book, Khrushchev Remembers written by Nikita Khrushchev and Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Warsaw Pact Nuclear Operations written by Mark Kramer have been evaluated and will be used for the evidence to formulate an analysis. An analysis of these documents, as well as the summary of evidence will be used to determine Fidel Castros significance in the Cuban Missile Crisis. B. Summary of Evidence In early 1962, an American invasion was planned to overthrow Castros dictatorship in Cuba. It was beneath these conditions when Cubans learned that the Soviet Union was very much concerned about a direct assault of Cuba by the United States and that they tried to figure out how to increase their countrys capability to defend against an assault (Zubok 9). Soviet Leader Khrushchev imagined a plan of protecting Cuban independence by installing missiles with nuclear weapons in Cuba without the United States noticing or able to discover until it was too late to do anything about it. Castro accepted Khrushchevs proposal. After hearing that Castro approved the Soviet Leaders proposal the Soviet Union began installing nuclear weapons (Allyn 3). Before the Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and Cuba, Castro and American relationships were tense because of the Bay of Pigs in 1961 (Khrushchev 29). The President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, called for a naval line of defense from Cuba and used diplomatic negotiations with the Soviet Leader Khrushchev to come to a settlement in the removal of the weapons. Numerous events took place during the negotiations that influenced the increased tensions and appeared to bring the world even closer to a nuclear catastrophe (Brenner 6). One of the numerous incidents was that the United States believed that Castro was the one who ordered Cuban artillery to fire at the U.S. planes on the morning of 27 October, 1962 (Hershberg 7). Even though Castro may have ordered Cuban artillery to fire, there was no evidence that he prepared Soviet artillery to fire (Fursenko 42). In addition, an incident that took place and influenced the increased tension between the countries was Castros letter to Soviet Leader Khrushchev which suggested that the Soviet Union should launch a first-strike nuclear attack on the United States (Kramer 126). Castro was pushed into an alliance with communist Soviet Union which left Castro suspicious of American designs in Cuba (Burr 7). The Cuban Missile Crisis came to an end on 28 October 1962 when both the President of the United States and the Soviet Leader came to a settlement which was the Soviet Union removing their weapons from Cuba while being watched by the United States and the United States removing their naval line of defense and promising that they would not overrun Cuba. Soviet Leader Khrushchevs announced a new order on the radio which was to take apart the weapons that they created (Welch 234). Castro would not contribute in the negotiations which left the situation to be resolved between the United States and the Soviet Union. Soviet Leader Khrushchevs announcement on the radio to take apart the weapons not stunned and humiliated Castro for not taking part in the negotiations (Garthoff 51). Although Soviet Leader Khrushchev was in charge during the time period of the Cuban Miss ile Crisis of 1962, Castro was still very much involved with the deployment of nuclear weapons and the shooting of the renaissance plane. Castros role in the Cuban Missile Crisis was pretty significant in the Cuban Missile Crisis; however, because he did not participate in the negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis was not as important as mine (Khrushchev 101-102). C. Evaluation of Sources Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Warsaw Pact Nuclear Operations by Mark Kramer, a researcher from the Davis Center for Russian Studies, also known as The Russian Research Center at Harvard University, presents a detailed and comprehensive account of the origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book goes into detail about how Fidel Castro visualizes Cubas troubles and what he hopes to do about it derived from this account of a unique conference held in Havana in 1992. The purpose of this source is to convey what Cuba was going through during the Cuban Missile Crisis and what Cuba has learned from this situation that took place. The value of this source is that this helps answer the question to what extent was the significance of Fidel Castros role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 because this sources helps aid the comprehension on Castros influence on Cuba. This source is also valuable because it is written by a researcher that has studied the Cuban Missile Crisis for severa l years and a multitude of information on the topic. A limitation of this source is that it does not address why Castro allowed the Soviet to install missiles. Another limitation is because this source is written in the Soviet Leaders perspective, the role of Fidel Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis not emphasized. Khrushchev Remembers written by Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Leader during the time period of the Cuban Missile Crisis provides an elaborate and inclusive description of the origins of Soviet Leader Khrushchevs experiences during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It goes into elaborate detail about his memories on the Cuban Missile Crisis and his recollections strengthen the impression of gratitude for small things won or not lost. The purpose of this source is to depict what the Soviet Leader of Cuba remembered during the Cuban Missile Crisis period. The value of this source is that this helps answer the question to what extent was Fidel Castros role in Cuba significant in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 because of the source going into detail about Castro presence during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This source is also valuable because this is told in the point of view of the man who was in charge of the Soviet Union during the crisis. A limitation of this source is that it does not help ad dress why Castro made the trade agreement with Russia. Another limitation is that due to the recently discovered facts about the Cuban Missile Crisis, all facts pertaining to the Cuban Missile Crisis may not be given. D. Analysis Fidel Castros importance in the Cuban Missile Crisis was to damage the reputation of Americans and its inference with internal issues because Cuba was concerned about the failed Bay of Pigs humiliation that they faced (Zubok 9). There was a planned invasion that to overthrow Castros dictatorship in Cuba and the United States was willing to help (Allyn 3). In addition, Soviet Leader Khrushchev installed missiles with nuclear warhead without the consent of the United States. Castro allowed the Soviets to install missiles so close to the United States which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war because the United States found out and retaliated (Khrushchev 29). Castro was able to install such weapons because Castro made a trade agreement with Russia where Cuba sent sugar to Russia in return for oil, machines and money (Brenner 6). Castros role was significant because he allowed Soviet Leader Khrushchev to follow through with the plans he created and because he made a trade agreement with Russia to be able to produce weapons of mass destruction. However, sources have stated that Cuba sent missiles out because of the strategic inequality between the United States and the Soviet Union. Cuba wanted to balance power; therefore, they felt they needed to build nuclear weapons (Hershberg 7). Castro ordered the anti-aircraft officers to gun down the United States reconnaissance plane (Fursenko 42). This demonstrates Castros significance in the Cuban Missile Crisis because he ordered that the plane was shot down and it was which conveys his significance because it was Castros decision that got the plane shot down (Kramer 126). In addition, Castro recommended that the Soviets launched a nuclear attack on the United States. This was Castros greatest significance in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Castros willingness to use violent behavior persuaded Soviet Leader Khrushchev the importance of preserving world peace (Burr 7). The United States stopped trading with Cuba due to the renaissance being shot down and Cuba nationalized all American-owned companies. Moreover, Castros lack of participation in negotiations was another big impact. Because Castro did not participate in the negotiation he was unaware of what was being compromised (Welch 234). For instance, when Soviet Leader Khrushchev removed all the weapons from Cuba, Castro was unaware of the Soviet Leader making that decision (Garthoff 51). Because the Cuban Missile Crisis was between the United States and the Soviet Union, it should have been classified as the Cuban American relation. Soviet Leader Khrushchev states that Castro was solely responsible for the shooting of the renaissance plane (Khrushchev 101). Also, he stated that Castro encouraged the Soviet Union to launch a preemptive strike against the United States. This demonstrates that Castro was a massive impact on the Cuban Missile Crisis because Soviet Leader Khrushchev confessed and states that Castro was fully responsible for the shooting of the plane and launching the strike against the United States. This also depi cts that Castro ignited the Cuban Missile Crisis because when the plane was shot down the United States wanted to retaliate immediately and now knowing that Castro was responsible for the plane being shot down we know that he ignited the flame under the United States. E. Conclusion It is possible to say that Fidel Castro had a huge impact on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Because Castro was responsible for the shooting of the renaissance plane, his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis was greatly significant. This is because when Castro shot down the plane, the United States wanted to strike back immediately; therefore, the tensions between the two countries rose after Castros decision. Also Castro encouraged the Soviet Union to launch a preemptive strike against the United States. This was another huge impact because Cuba alarmed the United States and made the United States become fully equipped for a nuclear war. Furthermore, because Castro allowed the Soviets to install missiles so close to the United States people say that he is responsible for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Because of Fidel Castros actions and decisions, the world was brought to the brink of the nuclear war which demonstrates that Castro did have a significant role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. However, Castro cannot receive full credit for the Cuban Missile Crisis because the major role belonged to Soviet Leader Khrushchev, who caused the entire occurrence of the crisis and resolved the crisis. Nevertheless, one can say that Castro had a huge impact on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Although there are many conclusions that could be made about if Fidel Castro had a significant role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, I believe that Fidel Castro had just as much of a significant role as Soviet Leader Khrushchev did because Castro helped make the decisions that were made; therefore, Castros role was significant role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. F. List of Sources Alexander Fursenko, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Soviet Command Authority, and the Cuban Missile Crisis Cold War International History Project Electronic Bulletin 3 Bruce J. Allyn, Using KGB Documents: the Scali-Feklisov Channel in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Print., 1995 David A. Welch, The Sino-Indian Conflict, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Sino-Soviet Split, October 1962: New Evidence from the Russian Archives Print., 1996 James G. Blight, Kramer vs. Kramer: Or, How Can You Have Revisionism in the Absence of Orthodoxy? Cold War International History Project Electronic Bulletin 3 Print., 1993 James G. Hershberg, More on Bobby and the Cuban Missile Crisis Print., 1997 Khrushchev, Nikita S. Khrushchev Remembers Ed. and trans. Strobe Talbott. Boston: Little Brow, 1970 Kramer, Mark The Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Warsaw Pact Nuclear Operations Print., 1997. Philip Brenner, The Crisis and Cuban-Soviet Relations: Fidel Castros Secret 1968 Speech Print., 1995 Raymond L. Garthoff, New Evidence on the Cuban Missile Crisis: Khrushchev, Nuclear Weapons and the Cuban Missile Crisis Print., 1998. Vladislav M. Zubok, Dismayed by the Actions of the Soviet Union: Mikoyans talks with Fidel Castro and the Cuban leadership, November 1962, Print., 1995 William Burr, Soviet Cold War Military Strategy: Using Declassified History Print., 1957. Case Study: Adult with Learning Disability Case Study: Adult with Learning Disability The case I have chosen involves a service user that has been with the agency for a while now. He was neglected and cut off from his family during his childhood and has since been longing for a secure attachment or contact with a family. His condition brings about a lot of anxiety and this has made him very unsettled. I am placed with the Luton Borough Council Community Adult learning disability team. The team is a statutory agency; its primary function is to provide support to adult with learning disabilities and their carers. Service users and their carers are pre-assessed or screened under the Fair Access to Care eligibility criteria. This process ensures that services are tailored to meet the needs of the individual. It ensures that potential service users with critical and substantial risk, needs and support are not lost in the system. While adults with moderate or low risk needs are given advice and provided with useful information that will help them to meet their needs. The legislation relevant to this case includes the National Assistance Act 1948; National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990; the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007), the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998. Relevant policies include the Fair Access to Care; which requires local councils to grade eligibility criteria into four bands of need (critical, substantial, moderate and low) based on the seriousness of the risk to independence if problems and issues are not addressed. Applicants for services are assessed using the new Single Assessment Process first outlined in the National Service Framework (NSF) which incorporates the eligibility assessment, care plan approach, annual assessment, placements, advocacy and referrals. (Royal College of Psychiatry Website, 2010, para. 4.10) A Pen Picture of the Service User. To protect the privacy of the service user and other individuals involved I have anonymised their personal details. This is in line with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Data Protection Policy of the agency. Section 6.2 of the Act, states that local authorities have a general duty in common law to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information which they hold in connection with their social services functions DoH (2000) p.34. This legal responsibility is managed through the Data protection policy of the agency and monitored by team managers. Specifically I have changed the service users name to Mr X and all other actors are also not named. Mr X is a 31-year- old; male with mild learning disability and a borderline personality disorder. He was born in Luton but brought up in Hastings. By virtue of his birth and the fact that he was first accessed for social care services in Luton; Mr X is deemed to be ordinarily resident in the Luton area under the National Assistant Act 1948. Section 24.1 of the Act empowers and mandates local authorities to provide residential accommodation for vulnerable people (made vulnerable by disability or age) who are ordinarily resident in their area. [OPSI (2008) p. 2] His parents divorced when he was five years old, he has had very little contact with them since then. He is the eldest of three siblings. He has had no contact with his only sister following allegations made by her against him of sexual abuse. Contact with his brother who currently lives in Hastings is limited to the occasional cards and phone calls. Mr Xs childhood was characterised by upheaval and deprivation. As a result he has found it difficult to form attachment of his own due to constant changes in his living arrangements. In 1999, while living in Hastings, he expressed a wish to move back to Luton. He secured a tenancy with a local housing association and was given intensive support by the local independent living team. This arrangement soon broke down because Mr X craved constant attention. He indulged in self-Injurious behaviour such as self-harm and a tendency to set fire to property. The tendency to self-harm is not uncommon in people with learning disabilities. Research recently carried out in a specific area of Wales by Lowe (2007 cited in Heslop Macaulay, 2009, p. 13 14) found that 9% adults and children over the age of five using learning disability services were considered to self-injure. Furthermore Heslop and Macaulay (2009, citing Haw and Hawton, 2008; Hawton and Harriss, 2007; Milnes, 2002) p.15 reports that people with multiple life problems are more likely to self-harm. Key amongst these is relationship problems with a partner or family member. Other problems reported include: problems with employment (including unemployment) or studies, and financial problems. This may explain Mr Xs tendency to self-harm. In 1999, after a series of threats to end his life Mr X was detained in a local hospital under section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. This was to allow Mr X to receive intensive treatment in a protected environment. Without immediate treatment Mr X would have been a danger to himself by reason of self-harm and to others by his fire setting tendencies. According to Rethink (2010) p. 1 4; The Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007) is the law under which a person can be admitted, detained and treated in hospital against their wishes. It goes on to state that Section 3 allows a person to be admitted to hospital for treatment which must be necessary for their health, their safety or for the protection of other people and it cannot be provided unless they are detained in hospital. Mr X was treated successfully and was reintroduced into the community in 2002. Since then he has lived in several residential and supported living settings (from Wales to Birmingham). Coping with life in the community has led to self-neglect, the accruing of debt and at times anxiety. As a result Mr X still requires intensive support. In Jan 07 he left his residential placement in Telford to look for his mother whom he hadnt seen since he was ten, with the intention of developing a relationship with her. While waiting to secure a placement, he lived with his mother and her partner. The relationship with his mother soon broke down due to his violent and threatening behaviour. On one occasion he threatened to set the house on fire and his mother had to call the police. As a result he was detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act to reassess his mental health. His condition was such that if untreated he represents a risk to himself and other around him. According Rethink (2010) p. 2; Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007) allows a person to be admitted to hospital for an assessment of his or her mental health and to receive any necessary treatment. An admission to hospital under Section 2 is usually used when the patient has not been assessed in hospital before or when they have not been assessed in hospital for a considerable period of time. Detention under this section is for a maximum of 28 days. It cannot be renewed but can be followed by a Section 3 order. In Mr Xs case, detention under Section 2 was appropriate because he was last assessed in 2002. After his assessment and treatment Mr X was released back into the community. He requested for a flat of his own close to his relations. With his approval a supported living placement that met his needs was identified and secured for him at a local address in March 2007. Contact was made with the local learning disability service on Mr Xs behalf so he could have local support, should he become anxious. The psychology team and the learning disability nurse attempted to work with him on a regular basis, however Mr X explained that he would like to move from the area and therefore their services were not necessary. As a result the services were discontinued to respect his wishes as not doing so may be viewed as being oppressive in practice and a breach of his human right. The respect principle of the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007), states that the diverse needs of the service user must be recognised and respected; their views, wishes and feelings, so far as they are reasonably ascertainable must be considered and followed wherever practicable and consistent with the purpose of the decision. There must be no unlawful discrimination. (Law Summaries, Sherwood Directory 2010, p.20) The Webster Online dictionary defines discrimination as unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. As social workers we are expected to be anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive in practices. These principles are captured in National Occupation Standard and the GSCC codes of practice. In particular Code 4; emphasises the need to respect the rights of service users while seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or the people around them. GSCC, 2010, p. 9. While value D; emphasises the need to value, recognise and respect the diversity, expertise and experience of the individuals, families, carers, groups and communities. NOS (2010) p. 8. Mr X then moved to Birmingham and lived there for just over 14 months, his skills have developed over this time particularly in handling domestic activities such as cooking, cleaning and some aspect of budgeting for healthy meal, however he is unable to know if he gets the correct change in a sale. Thereafter Mr X moved to Northampton to be close to his family. At this point a review was carried out and a care plan implemented. Mr X expressed the desire to learn to drive, do some voluntary work in the community and have a relationship. He undertook to stay in this accommodation for at least 3 years to engage in extended personal development. But he only lived at the above residential home for a year. He found it difficult to settle and found the change of staff difficult to deal with. During his regular review Mr X agreed with the support of his advocate to be part of getting life programme, where he would be assessed on what he would like to do in future; as he had a desire to return to the Luton area he refused the offer. He recently abandoned his placement in Northampton and moved in with his maternal uncle. He has been in touch with the Luton council to request a placement in the Luton area. This move is Mr Xs interest at the moment. From his records, his current support needs centres mainly around his personality disorder. He finds it difficult to get along with other residents and often complained of being scared of the people around him. This makes him anxious and restless, creating a desire to move again. Whenever he feels events are not consistent with his expectations i.e. his desire to move, he becomes agitated. This leads to numerous phone calls to social services, the police and anybody he can get on the end of a phone line. Recently he threatened to take his own life by jumping off a bridge or taking an overdose. This desire to constantly relocate has made it difficult for him to engage in extended personal development activities necessary for him to develop the interpersonal skills he requires. In addition he has not been able to establish long-term social links of his own. The Placement I was placed with the Luton Borough Council Community adult learning disability team. The team is an integrated team made up of various professionals including social workers, community care workers and community nurses. It provides a One stop shop / Single Access point for the teams target group, which are adults aged 18yrs 65yrs with learning disabilities and their carers, who live within the Luton Borough Council area. The role of the team within the social welfare spectrum is to provide comprehensive assessment of the needs of people with learning disabilities and their carers, which forms a basis for developing a package of support (care plan) to meet the assessed needs. The team also monitors the care plan through regular reviews to ensure that the plan has been properly implemented and that it is still appropriate. Changes are made to the care plan where appropriate. Other services available through the team include: Advice and referrals to other services, such as day-time activities, supported employment or residential care, specialist health services The provision of specialist nursing services Assessment of carers needs and sign posting to relevant support services. Support for young adult transiting from children service to adult services Support for service users to access community based services. Coordinating the safeguarding of venerable adults process etc. (Luton Borough Council website.) Referral is a very important part of what the team does. Many service users come to the attention of the team by way of referral from other professionals such as GPs, teachers etc. Also the team refer service users to other support agencies. For instance; service users who require employment (paid or voluntary) are referred to D4; a career support team within the Luton Borough Council. They assist service users to write their CVs, carry out job search, prepare for interviews and provide on-going supporting for service users in employment. The team promotes anti-discriminatory practice and is committed to continuous improvement in the delivery of its services. The Legal Mandate of the placement Agency The legal mandate of the Luton Borough Council Community adult learning disability team derives from the National Assistance Act 1948 and the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. The National Assistance Act 1948 gives à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦local Authorities the powers and duties to promote the welfare of people ordinarily resident in their area that are blind, deaf or dumb, mentally disordered or substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity (sec 29) (Sherwood Diaries and Directory (2010) p. 11). The NHS and Community Care Act 1990, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ signified an important development in the philosophy of community care and in the delivery of service called for in other legislations (Sherwood Diaries and Directory (2010) p. 16) Unlike previous legislation the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 lays emphasis on an assessment led care management approach (CPA) that is shaped to fit individual needs; in contrast to previous practice of categorisations of service users to fit pre-defined service packages. To succeed this approach requires a partnership between professionals (social workers etc.) and carers in assessing the needs and designing individualised / person centred care programs. The Act also requires service providers to take into consideration the wishes of the service user in determining the type and level of any service required. This can lead to several conflicts some are discussed later in this paper. According to Powell (2001 para. 15); the Act gives legal backing to the concept that the primary function of the public services should be to design and arrange the provision of care and support in line with peoples needs. That care and support can be procured from a variety of sources. There is value in the multiplicity of provision, not least from the consumers point of view, because of the widening choice, flexibility, innovation and competition it should stimulate. In this arrangement, it is vital that social service authorities see themselves as arrangers and purchasers of care services not as monopolistic providers (Griffiths Report 1988: para. 3.4). The current delivery arrangements adopted by the Luton Borough Council have a more recent history. Its origins can be traced to the Health Act of 1999 which sought to remove the Berlin Walls hampering collaboration and cooperation between various agencies by introducing a number of flexibilities into health and social care delivery. One such flexibility is the One Stop shop or integrated provisioning concept, through which health and local authorities provide a combined service through a multidisciplinary team. Initial assessment of potential service users is carried out against a set of eligibility criteria known as the Fair Access to Care Services (FAC). There are four eligibility bands under FAC. Namely critical, substantial, moderate and Low. Each band represents a level of need. Priority levels are assigned based on the likely consequences if the needs of the service user are not met. The amount of help available from family and friends are also taken into consideration. After the initial assessment, a care plan is prepared for people who meet Luton Borough eligibility criteria. The care plan documents what the service users needs are and the way in which these needs will be met. The care plan is agreed with the service user, their family and all those involved in providing care to the service user such as, nursing home, residential home etc. The Legal Status of the Subject Mr X is an adult with mild learning disability and personality disorder. Having gone through our eligibility criteria / screening; a care plan was developed for him. His care plan is reviewed regularly and his input is sought to ensure that the plan is relevant and continues to meet his needs and aspirations. Sometime in 2007, he was detained under section (2) of the Mental Health Act, due to his violent and threatening behaviour to his mother and those around him. He threatened to set her house on fire and to kill himself. The aim of the detention was to carry out an assessment and provide the necessary treatment. He has since been discharged back into community care. As his behaviour in recent times have not been violent or of any serious concern; there is currently no plan to detain him unless there is a serious deterioration in his condition. Critique of the Social Policy Initiatives Relevant To My Placement Agency and the Subject As mentioned above the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 marked a watershed in the development of social care policy in the UK. It was the first attempt to bring in the concept of marketisation into the provision of social care services. (Brambleby 2009, para. 15) According to Powell (2001) para. 18, Community care was to be used as a vehicle for the marketisation of the public sector. Thus, a contract culture was applied to the provision of personal social services and social services departments would need to develop processes to specify, commission and monitor services delivered by other agencies. (DoH 1989: p. 23). The prevalent wisdom at the time was that marketisation will encourage improvement in the quality and scope of services provided, promote innovation, lead to reduction in cost and provide greater choice for the service user. The policy which is based on the triumvirate of autonomy, empowerment and choice was endorsed by many commentators as the political and philosophical panacea for alleviating the deep and destructive problems confronting the community care system in the UK (Levick 1992, cited in Powell 2001, para. 1) Many commentators have raised issue with the NHS and Community Care Act. For one many of the advantages advanced for the marketisation of the Community Care services were not achieved immediately as the process of these organisational changes were immensely complex (Powell 2001 para. 20). Another flaw in the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 was that the specific grant diverted to local authorities in order to implement the outcomes of individual assessment and encourage the generation of services in the private and voluntary sectors was only ring-fenced in the short term. (Powell 2001, para. 18) This has had specific and wide reaching effect on people with mild learning disability as local authorities are required by law to address available resources to those with greatest need. In situation where there is high competition for resources those with mild learning disabilities are often neglected. Eligibility criteria are another area where the law is a bit unclear. According to Spencer-Lane (2010 para. 7); Once a local authority has completed an assessment, it must decide whether or not to provide services. Under the current law, eligibility for services is determined by reference to statutory guidance (Fair Access to Care Services (DH 2002) and Health and Social Care for Adults (WAG 2002) and often-overlapping statute law, such as the National Assistance Act 1948 and the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. In our view this structure is complex and at times impenetrable. According to the Law Commission Report (2008 p. 28) this has led to two main criticisms of this framework: it produces wide local variations in eligibility for services: for example in 2006-07, a report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection found that 62% of councils in England operated at the highest two levels of substantial and critical; 32% included moderate needs; and 6% included all four bands; This has led to local authorities increasingly restricting services to those with the highest levels of need. According to the same report: 4% of councils confined their help to the critical band only; councils raising their eligibility thresholds to substantial increased from 53% to 62% in 2006-07; and the trend is expected to continue as 73% of councils anticipate that they will be operating at substantial or critical levels in 2007-08. The National Assistance Act mandates local authorities to provide accommodation for people with learning disabilities who are ordinarily resident in their area. This is good in the sense that it protects vulnerable people from becoming homeless. This is particularly true in the case of Mr X. However, Mr X may be viewed as taking advantage of the system by refusing to settle and engage in the community. He is aware that the agency is mandated to meet his housing needs and therefore uses that as a weapon whenever he wants extra attention. This type of behaviour has significant implication for services delivery. According to Dobson (1999) p. 2, many patients can not get the treatment and care they need partly because the system has found it so difficult to cope with the small minority of mentally ill people who are a nuisance or a danger to both themselves and others. One way to check this problem is to ask the more able service users to sign a charter which gives them certain responsibilities, such as the attending day centre and other developmental activities in return for certain privileges. Failure to abide with the charter should result in the withdrawal of these privileges. The additional cost associated with providing these privileges will be paid for by the time and resources freed up to deal with other cases. Human Rights and Data Protection The Human Rights Act (1998) effectively gives legal bite to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. The major rights relevant to the agency and the subject are The right to life; every life is equally important. A disability does not make a service users life less important than anyone elses. The right to respect for private and family life; guarantees each individual the right to live as part of a family. For instance this gives gay and lesbian couples the same rights as other couples. The right to dignity and being part of the community; guarantees each individual the care and support they need to have a good life. This means that people with disabilities should be able to join community activities along with everyone else. (Sherwood Directory, 2010, p. 23) The Act is there to ensure that statutory bodies such as local authorities, schools, the police, the courts and hospitals can and actually protect the rights of people with disabilities. The right to dignity is relevant to decisions about placements, accommodation and other services; it requires service providers to as far as is possible take into considerations the wishes of the service user. This concept of choice is central to Valuing People a government white paper published in 2001 and updated in 2009. The proposals in the White Paper are based on four key principles: civil rights, independence, choice and inclusion. Valuing People takes a life-long approach, beginning with an integrated approach to services for disabled children and their families and then providing new opportunities for a full and purposeful adult life. It has cross-Government backing and its proposals are intended to result in improvements in education, social services, health, employment, housing and support for people with learning disabilities and their families and carers. MKADHD (Undated) para. 15. As a result Luton Council is duty bound to continue to consider Mr X wishes to move even though it is costing the council a lot in terms of money and time. Another important consideration is that under the Human Rights Act 1998 victims are allowed to bring action against a local authority if it has acted in a way which is incompatible with the terms of the articles of the European Convention on human rights (Brammer 2007, pg. 110). Applying this to the case; Mr X left the residential placement provided by the council deliberately making himself homeless. He refused to wait for the team to secure another suitable placement before leaving his current placement. He currently resides with his uncle (somewhere in Luton) but claims to be homeless. Mr X has threatened to harm himself and is now threatening to sue the local authority for not providing him with another accommodation. As far as the Agency is concerned Mr X made himself homeless deliberately because he is deemed to have capacity; having been assessed under the criteria set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The assessment was carried out to ensure that Mr X had capacity at the time. Under the Act, a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain. It does not matter whether the impairment or disturbance is permanent or temporary (Beresford and Sloper, 2008, p.40) The Data Protection Act 1998 provides individuals with new right of access to their personal data and imposes new obligations on data controllers; such as local authority social services department to operate good data storage practices and this applies to both electronic and manual records. (Brammer, 2007, p. 114). However, the Act gives the agency the right to retain information about the service user to be able to carry out its statutory duties and obtains the consent of service users or their carer to do so. The agency is required to appoint a data controller whose duty is to ensure that personal data is only used for authorised purposes and data not required is destroyed in the prescribed manner. Applying this to the case I have not used Mr Xs original name. Information personal to Mr X have been made anonymous. Electric and manual information obtained in the course of putting this work together were duly authorised by the appropriate authority and manual documents have been destroyed in the prescribed manner. The case has been put together in such a way that it does not create any link to the actual service user. The service user raised a few SOVA (Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adult) issues. The Care Direct Factsheet (2007, p. 1) defines abuse as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a violation of a persons human and civil rights by any other person (s). It may: be a single or repeated act(s); be physical, verbal, psychological, sexual, institutional, discriminatory or financial; or may be an act of neglect or failure to act. The fact sheet defines a Vulnerable Adult as someone aged 18 or over who is, or may be: In need of community care services because of mental or other disability, age or illness and Unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation. When an abuse is reported local agencies are required to treat each case with the utmost urgency to ensure the alleged victim does not suffer any more abuse. The agency has a multi-agency protocol that is followed in each case; to ensure urgent and appropriate action is taken. The police are almost always involved to ensure a record of the abuse is maintained for future reference. Advocacy, community support team etc. may also be involved. Each case must be dealt within 24 hours of the receipt of the report. Thereafter a strategy meeting of the relevant agencies is called to review the situation and agree a coordinated approach to deal with any outstanding risks. In the case of Mr X, the Police were invited to investigate his allegations. No further action was taken as none of the allegations could be verified. Advocacy was involved to ensure that his worries and concerns were well communicated to the Police and his service providers. He was also advised on the steps he can take should he feel unsatisfied or unhappy with the outcome. A critical analysis based in a policy critique of services provided by the Agency. The agency policy on assessment and residential placement is very well structured; they define the agency duties, responsibilities, roles and boundaries. Initial assessment allows the agency to gain a clear picture of the service users condition and situation. The assessment includes detailed personal information regarding the service users relationships, any significant events and current situation. This provides the baseline for the assessment against the fair access to care services eligibility matrix. One critic of the process is that it is open to abuse. The more able service users can master the process and thereafter exploit the lope holes in the process. In some ways one can argue that, Mr X has reached this critical point. He is very much aware that whenever he raises a red flag someone gets into trouble; as such this has become one of his favourite games. He makes up stories and keeps changing his stories as long as they lead towards his desired goals. I believe that having a detailed long-term plan is critical to maintaining the support required by the service user. One short coming of this process is that not much seems to have been done in addressing the underlying issues i.e. his desire to move regularly. Perhaps Mr Xs care plan could be designed in such a way that he is allowed to change placement every 18 or 24 months. Putting this plan in place will allow the agency to plan ahead and ensure continuity of his development plan. One approach maybe to make sure that each successive placement has the facility to continue his development from where he left off at the previous placement. This approach is in line with the Valuing People Now white paper (DoH 2009, p. 6) which requires agencies to treat each services user as an individual, with the same opportunities and responsibilities. Each care plan should be individualised and does not necessarily have to fit with the norm. On the other hand the current approach is costing the agency so much in terms of time and money as every care plan review involves going out to visit his current placement and visiting new ones to pick a new placement that meets his needs. This often means that resources have to be withdrawn from other tasks to handle his situation as it is often presented as an emergency. In addition each time he leaves a placement a new budget has to be put in place; this could create confusion especially with budgeting. One of the setbacks in this policy is that while some people who need help are not reached or given enough attention others who know the system abuse it

From Rome to Columbia: A Comparison of Jesse Hall and The Pantheon Ess

For much of the last millennia many great architects have looked upon the Pantheon as a staple of classical architecture, as well as a model for many modern day buildings. Created by the Romans, the Pantheon would use many elements better than any other works of architecture to that time. No further than Columbia Missouri is this evident in the construction of what used to be known as the First Academic Building on the University of Missouri campus. The Architects Bell and Binder headed the creation of the new building after the First Academic Building burnt down in 1892. Known today as Jesse Hall, this modern day work of architecture pulls many elements from the Pantheon to create a unique work of public space. The most glaring comparison of both comes from the domes that top both buildings. Each building also shares similar characteristics in their front facades. Yet, while there are many similarities to both works, each contain unique differences in their layout and construction. One of the most defining features of both the Pantheon and Jesse Hall is the larges domes that sit atop their structures. When the Pantheon was created, there was no dome ever created to the scale or size of the one that tops the building to this day. The dome itself sits on a drum like structure that supports the structure. The top is not completely curved like many other domes today. A stepped dome is used near the bottom and begins to curve more towards the top where the oculus sits. This oculus allows any sort of element into the building including sunlight, rain, and snow. The Pantheon, being a space of religious worship when originally created used the dome for many different purposes. In Understanding Architecture, extra contributor David Wat... ...ssional work in Jesse Hall would render this oculus unnecessary if applied. The ways the spaces are used are key to the layout of the interiors of the Pantheon and Jesse Hall. With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.

Cisco Systems Essay -- essays research papers

Case Study: The Internet and the New Information Technology Infrastructure 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Describe the competitive business environment in which GM is operating General Motors, while they are the largest automobile maker, are currently going through a decline in sales. Their competition is extremely stiff. With competitors such as Ford, Chrysler, and other Japanese vehicles that have lower production costs and include better styling issues and quality in mind, this makes for a difficult struggle for GM. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  GM remains a far-flung vertically integrated corporation †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Makes 70% of their own parts While GM makes their own parts, other companies, such as Daimer-Chrylser purchases their parts from other vendors with whom they can haggle over their prices. With such advances in the automobile industry, this brought about a race for companies surrounding GM to produce more vehicles quicker and allowed for faster sales. While some may say that GM still builds quality cars, they are by no means keeping up with the competition in production areas. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Describe the relationship between GM’s organization and its information technology infrastructure. What management, organization, and technology factors influenced this relationship? GM’s organization found that its system as a whole was falling behind in technology. Their design group could not relate with other sectors of the company, as each division of the company was on their own software and hardware database. No one particular system communicated with another. In the early 80’s GM tried to integrate their system by using EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and they were able to streamline their computers together. Their current CIO Ralph Szygenda has managed to bring the company to its feet once again by bringing in several new changes. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Replaced many systems with standardized software for all computers which in turn was networked to other systems †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Created programs that would correlate with one another and enabled data sharing †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consolidated legacy systems and databases Management realized that without sharing the data and having a system that could run smoothly they would soon fall to their knees. When they began reali... ...e problem is quickly finding the car that the customer wants, which is a strategy better known as Locate-to-Order. To reach this goal, GM must create a regional inventory of the vehicle pool that will be shown on the Internet so that regardless of the vehicles’ location, potential buyers can find â€Å"their† vehicle. There is one flaw in the system that manufacturers and dealers must deal with in the business. They must realize that customers will require varying styles, colors and other options and they (the company) must be ready at the drop of a hat to have the product readied. The inventory must be stocked and ready to be sold. Internet technology could be the catalyst for GM to reconstruct its entire value chain, transforming itself into a customer-focused business that provides many different electronic services to consumers, as well as cars. â€Å"Built-to-order† has been around the auto industry for a long time, but only for very expensive cars, and it required a waiting period of two to three months before delivery. This system would greatly reduce finished vehicle inventory costs as well as generate other production cost savings, potentially saving GM $20 billion per year.

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Essay -- Biology Essays Resea

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some disagreement in the psychiatric community as to the exact diagnostic criteria. In addition, there is a great deal of debate as to the causes of the disease. While some proposed causes have been proven false, such as bad parenting and poor will power (2), there are many theories that remain. One of the most famous and most debatable is the dopamine hypothesis. The proposed hypothesis states that the brain of schizophrenic patients produces more dopamine than normal brains. It is this increased dopamine that is believed to be responsible for the symptoms of the disease. However, the is much debate in the scientific community as to the exact mechanism by which altered dopamine levels, especially in the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and limbic system, produce schizophrenia. There is much clinical evidense that provides support for the dopamine hypothesis. The first evidense that dopamine may be involved in schizophrenia came from amphetamine users. Amphetamines work by causing the brain to produce mo... ...ital Cortex: Focal Abnormalities in Orbitofrontal Cortex in Schizophrenia" From Meador-Woodruff Laboratory Homepage (University of Michigan) http://www-personal.umich.edu/~himmw/pubs/index.html (5) "Detailed Description of Our Studies" From Meador-Woodruff Laboratory http://www.umich.edu/~jmwlab/ (6) "Dopamine, Glutamate, and the Neurochemical Circuitry of Schizophrenia" From Department of Psychiatry Homepage (University of Michigan) http://www.med.umich.edu/mhri/res/95/meadorwoodruff/meadorwoodruff.html (7) "Schizophrenia 'Trigger' Described" From NARSAD Homepage http://www.mhsource.com/advocacy/narsad/trigger/html/?_requestid=1006565 (8) "Altered Neural Circuits in Schizophrenia" http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/fr51.html (9)Rosenzweig, M.R., Leiman, A.L., & Breedlove, A.M. Biological Psychology. Sinaur Associates Inc: Massachusetts, 1996

Health and Hygiene

Hygiene is an essential component of healthy living, integral to achieving health and preventing disease. Not just selecting the right food choices but also cooking & consuming them in a hygienic way is equally important in preventing the infectious diseases. Adopting hygienic practices and promoting hygiene in the community, schools and workplace prevents innumerable infectious disease. Some of the infectious diseases prevented through hygienic practices are diarrhoea, amoebiasis, giardiasis, worm infections, typhoid, jaundice, bacterial pharyngitis, skin infections, tuberculosis, conjunctivitis etc. Many chronic diseases have also been linked to infections, especially unhygienic food, gastric ulcers, certain types of cancers and there is some evidence for cardiovascular disease. Following are some points, which should be inculcated in day-to-day life. †¢ Wash hands thoroughly with soap after urination, after using the toilet and also after changing diapers, †¢ Wash your hands with soap and water after handling pets †¢ Before touching any food item, wash your hands with soap and water. †¢ Keep nails short and clean. Clean & Trim the nails of both hands. †¢ Your hair should be tied when you cook. †¢ Preferably the cooking area and the area used for washing utensils should be separate and dedicated for that purpose and not connected to the bathrooms or any other source of potential faecal matter like washing clothes. †¢ Kitchen should be well lighted & ventilated (with either chimney/exhaust fan) & with meshed windows. †¢ The cooking and eating area should be preferably elevated. †¢ Keep the cooking, washing, and utility area and kitchen clothes clean. The kitchen surface and the floor should be regularly cleaned. Additionally, clean the kitchen in the night. Kitchens left dirty in the night tend to attract pests which are carriers of infection. †¢ Cover all foods, cooked as well as uncooked, at all times. †¢ If a house fly or any insect has even fleetingly sat on a food item, then, that food item needs to be discarded. †¢ Protect the kitchen & food items from insects, pests & other animals.