Ethical Implications of Cloning and Stem Cell Research Essay

Bio-medical breakthroughs in the fields of genetic and tissue engineering hold great promise. However, as modern medicine advances, it often poses major ethical issues on which people are seriously divided. The argument in favor of proceeding with research at unrestrained pace is mainly advocated by scientists and medical experts who would like to see some fantastic therapeutic benefits that science promises in the form of stem cell technologies. Scientists are absolutely thrilled by the possibilities looming on the horizon (Thompson, Harrub 2001c). On the other side of the debate are people, sometimes led by religious groups, who are concerned we may going too far too fast, using unacceptable means and in unknown directions. Stem cell research has the greatest potential for saving lives, but is controversial for its research based on embryos and fetuses (Rickard 2002). Stem cells are immature and unspecialized cells that that possess both the capacity to renew themselves indefinitely as well as the capability to differentiate themselves into specialized and mature cells. Mature cells, such as the heart’s myocytes or the liver’s hepatocytes, stop dividing after several dozen divisions, while stem cells can keep on dividing indefinitely, either renewing themselves or bringing out specialized cells. There are four types of stem cells in the human body 1) adult stem cells, 2) fetal stem cells 3) embryonic stem cells, and 4) nuclear transplant stem cells. For the first three months of pregnancy, a fertilized cell, or zygote, divides and grows in the mother’s womb and is referred to as an embryo. The embryo’s stem cells are the precursors of the development of a complete human baby. They produce all of the body’s various 100 trillion cells. It should become possible to use embryonic stem cells to regenerate any type of cell that the body needs. When the embryo assumes an apparent human body form, it becomes a fetus. Because the fetus is growing rapidly, all tissues and organs, including the brain, contain stem cells. It is for this reason that stem cell researchers are interested in studying fetal tissues. Studies suggest that human embryonic stem cells have immense potential in terms of developing into multiple tissue types and long-term self-renewal. Therefore, stem cell research entails the intentional creation of human embryos in the highly artificial context of an IVF clinic, using cloning techniques, and discarding them after their use for research is exhausted (Thompson, Harrub 2001a). The question to be resolved is whether research on embryonic stem cells constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights, in particular the principle of respect for human dignity and the right of life. However, many believe that conception/fertilization is not a moment but a process, and the early development does not indicate true individuality in any sense of the word, and therefore there is violation of human rights. The promise of embryo research, liberal-minded people tend to think, is too real to ignore any longer by sticking to conservative attitudes that stand in the face of pragmatism. And yet, even they would flinch at the possibilities of reproductive cloning. The difference between therapeutic cloning using embryonic stem cells (stem cell research) and reproductive cloning is the distinction between creating cloned body tissue or organs for therapeutic purposes and creating cloned human beings. Reproductive cloning is generally viewed as morally abhorrent because it is seen as unnatural and a â€Å"commodification† of human life, and it captures public fears about the power of science to pursue a eugenic agenda. When governmental organizations of today debate ban on human cloning, the main issue in such debates would be whether to ban outright all forms of embryo cloning, which a number of countries seem to support, or to permit the cloning of embryos for research purposes (therapeutic cloning/ stem cell research) while outlawing human reproductive cloning. Besides reproductive cloning, there is another untoward ramification to therapeutic cloning, which is cloning for enhancement. The issue of using advances in stem cell research for the purposes of enhancement, as against solely therapeutic purposes, opens up a Pandora’s box of all kinds of complications, ethical, social, psychological, philosophical and practical. For instance, stem cell approaches might help to cure Parkinson’s patients, but, in the not too distant future, they could also be used to improve brain functions. Rich people would be able to afford this therapy and poor people would not. This could create a most undesirable stratification of the society. But where does therapeutic cloning end, and enhancement cloning begin — even if cloning was advanced for purely therapeutic purposes, it would soon spread into the domain of enhancement. This is the argument of â€Å"slippery slope† commonly advanced against all biomedical research involving genetic and cellular manipulation. Last but not least, thanks to the promise that genetic engineering and human cloning research hold, the prospects of achieving capabilities for indefinite life extension even within the next twenty to thirty years are very high (Thompson, Harrub 2001b). The consequences of physical immortality for whole populations are simply inconceivable. But today, the possibility of human race becoming permanently deathless looms uncomfortably close to us. Therefore it becomes imperative that something be done to stem the advances of genetic and cloning research before the situation goes out of hand. A number of states have already enacted specific cloning-ban legislation, either banning the cloning of humans or imposing a moratorium on cloning within the state. Other states have taken action at least to consider formally similar legislation. At federal level, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003, which bans the process of human cloning for any purpose and the importation of any product derived from an embryo created via cloning, was passed by the U. S. House of Representatives on 27 February 2003. It was not ratified by the senate though. The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005 bans only reproductive cloning while allowing therapeutic cloning. To date, federal regulations only prohibit federal funding for research into human cloning (Cash 2005). Though the science of bio-medical engineering is making rapid strides, and offers the promise of unveiling radical new therapies, simply the fact that a technology exists does not imply that anyone who can pay for it can be automatically allowed to use it. This is because the emerging genetic and cellular techniques and technologies raise all kinds of issues, ethical, philosophical, social, psychological and so on. They carry with them implications very difficult even to comprehend.

Dulce Et Decorum Est

In the two poems â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est,† by Wilfred Owen and â€Å"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,† by Randall Jarrell, a common theme is expressed among the two. The expendability of life in warfare is that theme. Both poems express this theme in the same way and make readers realize the worth of life to our armed forces. In â€Å"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner† this theme is shown through the eye of a man that had to experience death in a way that no other person would understand. The writer of the poem, Randall Jarrell recollects his time spend in the air force and his duties.Of which he had to clean out the ball turret of aircraft when they were soiled. This task is what Randall speaks of during his poem. The theme of expendability of life in warfare, can be placed on this task since what Randall was really doing was washing the turret of the human remains with a hose. This action was not something that only happened once; this was his duty, an action that was performed regularly. The cleaning and repair of the turret just meant that another body could be placed in the turret with no emotion or hesitation.In â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† the theme is also shown through the eyes of a man that had to experience death on a daily basis. The writer of the poem, Wilfred Owen describes an event that occurred during service. Wilfred’s description of is that of a fellow brother drowning in gas clouds and the action or lack of taken after his death. The theme that the two poems have in common comes into play when Wilfred recalls the event of other men throwing their brother’s body into a wagon and continuing forward like nothing had happened.This action too shows the worth of ones life in the armed forces and that a life can easily be replaced. The two poems, â€Å"The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner† and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† are two works that demonstrate how fragile life is and that to some l ife can simply be replaced. The theme of the expendability of life in warfare can be placed on both of the poems since in both life is lost and replaced without reluctance. Even though the two poems were written in two different time periods they both convey the same theme, and do that so in a way that is some what understated but very direct in showing the expendability of life. Dulce Et Decorum Est â€Å"Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has never really been there before† Kosovar. This not so famous quote, tells about how blind people were to the horrors and tribulations of war due to a force we call propaganda. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori† is a controversial phrase used to describe the benefits of going to war. It has different translations but it basically states â€Å"it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country†, this is just one of the many techniques a nation could use to shade the soldiers to the harsh reality of war. In this essay I will be evaluating two poems Dulce et Decorum est and The Charge of the Light Brigade. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum† est is a poem about war written by Wilfred Owen during World War 1 in 1917-1918. He was a soldier who experienced war first hand and wrote his poem with primary information. â€Å"The Charge of The Light Brigade† is also a poem about war that was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, a poet Laureate during the 19th Century. Tennyson uses secondary information to write his poem. Both poems have a direct link to the quote but both have different perspectives of if it really is sweet and fitting to die for ones country. Within the evaluation of the poems I will be analysing Language, Form and Structure, Themes and Context for each poem and at the end I will sum up the main differences and similarities between the two poems. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† In the poem Wilfred Owen uses similes to portray the soldiers as weary, lesser beings that have aged prematurely. â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags. † The similes comparing the soldiers to â€Å"beggars† and â€Å"hags† already wipes away the thought of soldiers’ being young, strong, healthy, able bodied men. The words â€Å"knock-kneed† and â€Å"coughing† tells us that war is physically demeaning. Owen already starts to show the reality of war. This phrase also tells us about how young men could be transformed into old people. An alternative connotation may not mean that they were old physically but the phrase â€Å"old beggar† sounds like they have been scarred with the experience of seeing a comrade die, that is what has aged them. Owen tells the reader that the men haven’t taken a break from war making them exhausted. The following phrases suggest this: â€Å"And towards our distant rest began to trudge† Men marched asleep† â€Å"Drunk with fatigue† The first quotation literally tells us that the soldiers haven’t rested in a long time â€Å"Distant rest†. From another perspective distant rest may mean the soldiers are going towards inevitable death. The second â€Å"men marched asleep† are two words that contradict; marching is supposed to be full of energy and drive but modifying the meaning with the oxymoron makes it easier to understand how tired they were. Another connotation portrays the phrase as the man just doing an endless routine, in the sense that if you are used to something you could do it asleep. Although, â€Å"men marched asleep† could indicate self realisation. This suggestion comes on the basis of the title â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, the initial phrase tells that the energy that was proclaimed about war was never there and that they are realising the truth. The third quotation â€Å"Drunk with fatigue† carries on emphasising the fact that they are tired. This has some depth because by saying the soldiers were â€Å"drunk† with it tells us that they have had to much as with alcohol that can make you drunk if you have had too much. Wilfred Owens use of rhyme depicts the atmosphere of war as slow and unenthusiastic. Sludge†, â€Å"Trudge† The rhyme creates a slow rhythm this may mean that Owen is trying to tell us that war is not energetic also the word â€Å"Trudge† suggests the slow pace of the soldiers, this slow pace is a key factor in creating the atmosphere of war. Owen shows the reader that war can be unpredictable and dangerous. â€Å"Gas! Gas! Quick, boys† The immediacy and urgency of the gas attack is presented through the repetition of the word â€Å"Gas! †. The capital letter on the phrase and the use of exclamation, making it easier to see that someone is shouting out. The sharp entry to the second stanza off the back of the slow start is a juxtaposition this emphasises wars unexpectancy. Wilfred Owen compares the gas to a green sea to stress the gasses danger. â€Å"As under a green sea, I saw him drowning† The poet likens the gas to green sea not only because of the colour but because in both atmospheres it is impossible to breath fluently. The poet continues to mock the title by telling us about the â€Å"drowning† which represents chaos of a gas attack. The last two lines of the 2nd stanza do not rhyme this could be because of the slowness of death that is experienced through death from a gas attack. Owen tells that there is a loss of identity during the chaos of war. â€Å"But someone still was yelling out and stumbling† The use of the word â€Å"someone† shows that during warfare you are note recognized by an identity and the word â€Å"yelling out† suggest chaos during the war. Another connotation may suggest that the soldiers were too scared to stick together as one and help each other. The third stanza is separated from the rest of the stanzas to show his initial reflection to the barbarity of war. â€Å"In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me guttering, choking, and drowning. The poet repeats the word â€Å"my† to exaggerate that it is his reflection of the nightmare of war. The couplet could easily be a thought aloud because the word â€Å"plunges† makes us feel the soldier’s desperation as well as the poet’s helplessness. My point is also exercised within the gerunds by continuing the gerunds it suggest that after everyone he still couldn’t do anything to help the soldier. Owen uses inclusive language to make the reader feel sympathy for soldiers blinded by war. â€Å"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest† The use of the words â€Å"My friend† and â€Å"you† already tells us that we are the audience of this quote. The phrase means that we will not talk about war/death enthusiastically because nothing good comes out of it. My point is also expressed somewhere else in the fourth stanza; the poet describes war as â€Å"obscene as cancer†. The incentive behind the poem at this point in time is to enlighten readers to the effects of propaganda on soldiers during World War 1. But during Owens time, this poem was a warning to any soldier or soldier to be, to not experience warfare. Owen also wrote this poem to mock the phrase â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori† he does this in many lines of his poem. I saved this phrase for last because it is the most influential is â€Å"Behind the wagon that i flung him in† This phrase is powerful because many of the translation tell us that â€Å"it is sweet and proper†Ã¢â‚¬ it is pleasing and beauteous†and â€Å"it is sweet and honourable†; as human beings there is no logic behind saying flinging a man behind a wagon is honourable. Gathering all of Owens firsthand experience of war his preparation of war is that it is a negative unethical way of settling dispute. He tells us about a countries way of tricking people in to wasting their life on a war that has triggered current wars today and many deaths today. The first line of the â€Å"Charge of Light Brigade† already starts to contradict with â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est†, it portrays energy by the use of repetition. â€Å"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward† This burst of energy at the start of the poem already shows an energetic war. The repetition of â€Å"half a league† represents horses galloping. This contradiction is overwhelming compared to â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† start which was very stagnant. Tennyson’s perception of soldiers during war also continues to contradict with Owens views of soldiers being cowards. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' The word â€Å"charge† shows drive and bravery because not every day in a war do you see or hear about soldiers running towards guns. Here the poet creates heroes in our minds blinding us to the true atmosphere of soldiers running towards active guns. The word â€Å"charge† contradicts with Owens portrayal of war because in his poem the movement of the soldiers was slow the word â€Å"Trudge† suggests this. The poet continuously shows the soldiers fearlessness by comparing the battleground to horrific scenes. â€Å"Into the valley of death† This phrase already tells us that death is inevitable and by delving into such an atmosphere, shows their courage. Another connotation may mean that the soldiers are showing an act of stupidity because as a reader you will not expect heroes to be walking stupidly into death. A comparison between both poems is the fact that the soldiers, when in the experience of war have no identity and are regarded as â€Å"someone†. Someone had blunder’d† The use of the word â€Å"someone† emphasises my point that the soldiers identity have been stripped from them, this more or less makes them equal to the soldiers portrayed in Owens poem. Another similarity could be the fact that war causes chaos, the word â€Å"blunder’d† suggests that within all the charging and riding the war still affects a soldier mentally makin g them call out unnecessarily. Tennyson uses repetition to tell the reader that the soldiers were acting as one big unit combining and contributing as the rode straight in to death. Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die† The repetition of the word â€Å"theirs†, tells us that they were collectively familiar with each other. It could also mean they were too disciplined and had no choice but to do what they were told. Again Tennyson uses repetition but this time the poet uses it to represent the soldier’s dangerous situation. â€Å"Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them† The repetition of â€Å"cannon† tells us that the soldiers are surrounded and have nowhere to go but back, they continue march, this shows the soldiers bravery. Another connotation has a similarity to Owens poem; the soldiers being surrounded by cannons show their helplessness within war, this is the same way that Wilfred Owen felt during the gas attack in his poem. The connotation brands war as a phenomenon that renders soldiers helpless. Tennyson shows extreme professionalism in the soldiers during a time of peril. â€Å"Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell† This tells us that amidst all the chaos and fighting they are still riding good even under the pressure they were under. By pressure i mean the fact they are riding into â€Å"mouth of hell† this phrase means that even at the door of death they were still knocked. The soldiers continue to be portrayed as gallant although their opponents have the upper hand. â€Å"Sabring the gunners there† The word â€Å"sabring† tells us that the soldiers are using swords also the word â€Å"gunners† tells the reader that the opposition have guns. Logic tells us that fighting with swords against guns is stupid but doing it in a war makes it seem great. An alternative interpretation to the phrase may be Biblical in the sense that David used a sling shot to defeat a well armoured Goliath. The poet not only shows the soldiers as strong physically but mentally too this is a complete contrast to the soldiers at the start of â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† â€Å"Right thro’ the line they broke† Many soldiers will stop fighting right after seeing the guns they were facing but these bold soldiers kept of going and managed to penetrate through the opposing side’s front line the words â€Å"line they broke† suggests this. The soldiers in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† are immediately contrasted by saying â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks†. The poet glorifies the soldiers because against staggering odds they managed to return. â€Å"Back from the mouth of Hell† This suggests that they went to hell and came back, this is physically impossible but still they came out. The last stanza is similar to Owens last stanza because it is aimed at the reader When can their glory fade? The rhetorical question is in place so that it is aimed at the reader. The phrase basically means when can their glory ever be matched, ever be removed from an unseen plaque. The poet exaggerates their actions to attract a lot potential soldiers to enlist. All the world wondered This phrase is propaganda it was probably put in the poem to let soldiers now what type of fame they will get if they join the army. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s purpose of writing this poem was to glorify the war and also use enough techniques within his poem to persuade a soldier to go to war. I believe he succeeded because of the bravery shown by the soldiers that he creates and the reaction in the last paragraph. The two poems â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† and â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† are two poems that talk about war and propaganda infused into war. They are two controversial phrases that could be biased from both sides so we cannot say that one’s perception of war is right or wrong. But as for me I do not agree with the fictional book story â€Å"The Charge Of The Light Brigade† it sounds too unreal. Like I wrote in the beginning of my essay â€Å"Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has never really been there before†, it is down to poets such as Wilfred Owen and Alfred Lord Tennyson to dictate a man’s perception of warfare. Dulce et Decorum Est â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† is a poem written by Wilfred Owen the famous poet and solider, who fought and died in World War 1, who is considered one of the greatest war poets of his time. The Great War resulted in more than 40 million casualties; soldiers were originally volunteers but were increasingly conscripted into service. War poets such as Owen describe the intense horror of being a solider in the trenches. People who stayed home were blissfully unaware of the sufferings of the soldiers at the front line. They stayed in their safe homes swallowing the propaganda fed to them by the government, telling the younger generations stories of the honour and bravery of the battlefield. The poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum† addresses the issue of propaganda and the horror suffered. The poem effectively delivers the messages â€Å"Don't lie to the public through propaganda† and â€Å"The War was the pointless killing of the innocent. † The first stanza of the poem is very significant in that it uses alliteration and meter that plunges the reader into the poem. This and the fact the first stanza is in first person causes the reader to feel as if he or she is experiencing war firsthand. Owen incorporates specific imagery to into the poem in order to introduce the reader to the chaotic world of war. Owen opens by saying that the soldiers are â€Å"bent double. † This statement manages to effectively convey the exhaustion of the soldiers, who have become so disillusioned that they find themselves in a state of purgatorial numbness. Moreover, Owen describes the soldiers as being like â€Å"old-beggars. This a peculiar term to use since most the soldiers were young men when they enlisted; Owen's reason for using this simile is to demonstrate the way war ages soldiers both physically and emotionally. He also compares the soldiers to â€Å"hags† a word that brings to mind disfigurement, and thus could act as a possible reference to the mutilation of bodies so often encountered in war. Additionally, Owen describes the soldiers as being â€Å"drunk with fatigue† which seems especially significant because of the suggestion of idea of inebriation as a form of escape from reality, the only method of escape available to them. The second Stanza of the poem signifies a major transitional point in the poem, breaking down the structure and snapping the reader into a sense of panic that is similar to the fear experienced on the battlefield. Owen opens the stanza with the words â€Å"Gas! GAS! † The capital letters are important because it sets a tone of urgency and panic and makes it seem as if the author is yelling at the reader, just as the soldiers and the superiors would probably be yelling frantically. Interestingly, Owen describes the soldiers experience as an â€Å"ecstasy of fumbling. The use of the word â€Å"ecstasy† to describe an undoubtedly horrific experience shows Owens recognition and disgust at the aesthticization of war and death commonly utilized by the government at the time. Owen uses words such as â€Å"clumsy†, â€Å"stumbling† and â€Å"flound'ring† to stress the immediacy and emergency of the state in which the soldiers find themselves. One gets the sense that most, if not all, choreographed instructions and drills of procedures for this kind of emergency are discarded and that the soldiers frantically improvise to do what they can to survive. Furthermore, the ellipsis in this stanza seems vital in the understanding the poem. This is because it represents the passage of time between the frantic fumbling for the gas masks and Owen's viewing of a man â€Å"drowning† in a â€Å"sea† of gas, struggling to survive, the use of â€Å"sea† and â€Å"drowning† conveys the image of the body thrashing as one would when drowning. The third stanza of the poem is the shortest, but in some ways, it is the most vivid. Owen describes how he sees this man â€Å"in all dreams†; this is characteristic of the ongoing trauma that so many soldiers experience not only during the war, but after the war as well. The narrator describes himself as experiencing this repeatedly, watching this man, yet remaining â€Å"helpless†. This illustrates Owen's frustration, and perhaps guilt, at his not being able to do anything to save this man. Owen goes on to say that the man â€Å"plunges at me†; the man knows he is going to die, because try as he might he is aware that there is nothing to be done. It is clear that Owen is haunted by this image based on his vivid description of the man as â€Å"guttering, choking and drowning. The man slow and futile struggle to survive continues to disturb Owen for long after the incident has passed. The fourth and final stanza of the poem marks the first time that Owen employs the second person, by using the word â€Å"you. † He directly addresses and actively draws the reader into the poem. He also continues with his use of descriptive imagery by describing the man as having â€Å"white eyes writhing in his face. † As the man leaves life and enters death his eyes once full of expression now carry numbness and desensitization. Owen goes on to say that the soldiers have â€Å"innocent tongues† to further portray the injustice of soldiers killed in battle and the governments' evil for allowing the war to continue. The last stanza, especially the ending, read as if it is a final plea to the reader. Owen says that if the reader were able to truly experience the horrors of fighting in battle, he or she would never promote or glorify war to the future generations. This plea represents a reworking of the title of the poem, which literally translates from Latin into â€Å"How sweet it is to die for your country. If when reading the poem the reader interprets the title literally, by the end of the poem it is clear that Owen uses the title as a tool for making an ironic statement instead. Throughout the poem the reader is shown vivid imagery describing war which can effectively fill one with anger, pity, sadness or even satisfaction that at least someone is speaking the truth. For me personally it makes me sad. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† is tragic. Owen speaking from first hand experience of a soldier sent to the front line, hurls pain in to the reader's face, causing the reader to feel both pity and guilt for the crimes of war. Dulce Et Decorum Est â€Å"Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has never really been there before† Kosovar. This not so famous quote, tells about how blind people were to the horrors and tribulations of war due to a force we call propaganda. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori† is a controversial phrase used to describe the benefits of going to war. It has different translations but it basically states â€Å"it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country†, this is just one of the many techniques a nation could use to shade the soldiers to the harsh reality of war. In this essay I will be evaluating two poems Dulce et Decorum est and The Charge of the Light Brigade. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum† est is a poem about war written by Wilfred Owen during World War 1 in 1917-1918. He was a soldier who experienced war first hand and wrote his poem with primary information. â€Å"The Charge of The Light Brigade† is also a poem about war that was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, a poet Laureate during the 19th Century. Tennyson uses secondary information to write his poem. Both poems have a direct link to the quote but both have different perspectives of if it really is sweet and fitting to die for ones country. Within the evaluation of the poems I will be analysing Language, Form and Structure, Themes and Context for each poem and at the end I will sum up the main differences and similarities between the two poems. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† In the poem Wilfred Owen uses similes to portray the soldiers as weary, lesser beings that have aged prematurely. â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags. † The similes comparing the soldiers to â€Å"beggars† and â€Å"hags† already wipes away the thought of soldiers’ being young, strong, healthy, able bodied men. The words â€Å"knock-kneed† and â€Å"coughing† tells us that war is physically demeaning. Owen already starts to show the reality of war. This phrase also tells us about how young men could be transformed into old people. An alternative connotation may not mean that they were old physically but the phrase â€Å"old beggar† sounds like they have been scarred with the experience of seeing a comrade die, that is what has aged them. Owen tells the reader that the men haven’t taken a break from war making them exhausted. The following phrases suggest this: â€Å"And towards our distant rest began to trudge† Men marched asleep† â€Å"Drunk with fatigue† The first quotation literally tells us that the soldiers haven’t rested in a long time â€Å"Distant rest†. From another perspective distant rest may mean the soldiers are going towards inevitable death. The second â€Å"men marched asleep† are two words that contradict; marching is supposed to be full of energy and drive but modifying the meaning with the oxymoron makes it easier to understand how tired they were. Another connotation portrays the phrase as the man just doing an endless routine, in the sense that if you are used to something you could do it asleep. Although, â€Å"men marched asleep† could indicate self realisation. This suggestion comes on the basis of the title â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, the initial phrase tells that the energy that was proclaimed about war was never there and that they are realising the truth. The third quotation â€Å"Drunk with fatigue† carries on emphasising the fact that they are tired. This has some depth because by saying the soldiers were â€Å"drunk† with it tells us that they have had to much as with alcohol that can make you drunk if you have had too much. Wilfred Owens use of rhyme depicts the atmosphere of war as slow and unenthusiastic. Sludge†, â€Å"Trudge† The rhyme creates a slow rhythm this may mean that Owen is trying to tell us that war is not energetic also the word â€Å"Trudge† suggests the slow pace of the soldiers, this slow pace is a key factor in creating the atmosphere of war. Owen shows the reader that war can be unpredictable and dangerous. â€Å"Gas! Gas! Quick, boys† The immediacy and urgency of the gas attack is presented through the repetition of the word â€Å"Gas! †. The capital letter on the phrase and the use of exclamation, making it easier to see that someone is shouting out. The sharp entry to the second stanza off the back of the slow start is a juxtaposition this emphasises wars unexpectancy. Wilfred Owen compares the gas to a green sea to stress the gasses danger. â€Å"As under a green sea, I saw him drowning† The poet likens the gas to green sea not only because of the colour but because in both atmospheres it is impossible to breath fluently. The poet continues to mock the title by telling us about the â€Å"drowning† which represents chaos of a gas attack. The last two lines of the 2nd stanza do not rhyme this could be because of the slowness of death that is experienced through death from a gas attack. Owen tells that there is a loss of identity during the chaos of war. â€Å"But someone still was yelling out and stumbling† The use of the word â€Å"someone† shows that during warfare you are note recognized by an identity and the word â€Å"yelling out† suggest chaos during the war. Another connotation may suggest that the soldiers were too scared to stick together as one and help each other. The third stanza is separated from the rest of the stanzas to show his initial reflection to the barbarity of war. â€Å"In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me guttering, choking, and drowning. The poet repeats the word â€Å"my† to exaggerate that it is his reflection of the nightmare of war. The couplet could easily be a thought aloud because the word â€Å"plunges† makes us feel the soldier’s desperation as well as the poet’s helplessness. My point is also exercised within the gerunds by continuing the gerunds it suggest that after everyone he still couldn’t do anything to help the soldier. Owen uses inclusive language to make the reader feel sympathy for soldiers blinded by war. â€Å"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest† The use of the words â€Å"My friend† and â€Å"you† already tells us that we are the audience of this quote. The phrase means that we will not talk about war/death enthusiastically because nothing good comes out of it. My point is also expressed somewhere else in the fourth stanza; the poet describes war as â€Å"obscene as cancer†. The incentive behind the poem at this point in time is to enlighten readers to the effects of propaganda on soldiers during World War 1. But during Owens time, this poem was a warning to any soldier or soldier to be, to not experience warfare. Owen also wrote this poem to mock the phrase â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori† he does this in many lines of his poem. I saved this phrase for last because it is the most influential is â€Å"Behind the wagon that i flung him in† This phrase is powerful because many of the translation tell us that â€Å"it is sweet and proper†Ã¢â‚¬ it is pleasing and beauteous†and â€Å"it is sweet and honourable†; as human beings there is no logic behind saying flinging a man behind a wagon is honourable. Gathering all of Owens firsthand experience of war his preparation of war is that it is a negative unethical way of settling dispute. He tells us about a countries way of tricking people in to wasting their life on a war that has triggered current wars today and many deaths today. The first line of the â€Å"Charge of Light Brigade† already starts to contradict with â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est†, it portrays energy by the use of repetition. â€Å"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward† This burst of energy at the start of the poem already shows an energetic war. The repetition of â€Å"half a league† represents horses galloping. This contradiction is overwhelming compared to â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† start which was very stagnant. Tennyson’s perception of soldiers during war also continues to contradict with Owens views of soldiers being cowards. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' The word â€Å"charge† shows drive and bravery because not every day in a war do you see or hear about soldiers running towards guns. Here the poet creates heroes in our minds blinding us to the true atmosphere of soldiers running towards active guns. The word â€Å"charge† contradicts with Owens portrayal of war because in his poem the movement of the soldiers was slow the word â€Å"Trudge† suggests this. The poet continuously shows the soldiers fearlessness by comparing the battleground to horrific scenes. â€Å"Into the valley of death† This phrase already tells us that death is inevitable and by delving into such an atmosphere, shows their courage. Another connotation may mean that the soldiers are showing an act of stupidity because as a reader you will not expect heroes to be walking stupidly into death. A comparison between both poems is the fact that the soldiers, when in the experience of war have no identity and are regarded as â€Å"someone†. Someone had blunder’d† The use of the word â€Å"someone† emphasises my point that the soldiers identity have been stripped from them, this more or less makes them equal to the soldiers portrayed in Owens poem. Another similarity could be the fact that war causes chaos, the word â€Å"blunder’d† suggests that within all the charging and riding the war still affects a soldier mentally makin g them call out unnecessarily. Tennyson uses repetition to tell the reader that the soldiers were acting as one big unit combining and contributing as the rode straight in to death. Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die† The repetition of the word â€Å"theirs†, tells us that they were collectively familiar with each other. It could also mean they were too disciplined and had no choice but to do what they were told. Again Tennyson uses repetition but this time the poet uses it to represent the soldier’s dangerous situation. â€Å"Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them† The repetition of â€Å"cannon† tells us that the soldiers are surrounded and have nowhere to go but back, they continue march, this shows the soldiers bravery. Another connotation has a similarity to Owens poem; the soldiers being surrounded by cannons show their helplessness within war, this is the same way that Wilfred Owen felt during the gas attack in his poem. The connotation brands war as a phenomenon that renders soldiers helpless. Tennyson shows extreme professionalism in the soldiers during a time of peril. â€Å"Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell† This tells us that amidst all the chaos and fighting they are still riding good even under the pressure they were under. By pressure i mean the fact they are riding into â€Å"mouth of hell† this phrase means that even at the door of death they were still knocked. The soldiers continue to be portrayed as gallant although their opponents have the upper hand. â€Å"Sabring the gunners there† The word â€Å"sabring† tells us that the soldiers are using swords also the word â€Å"gunners† tells the reader that the opposition have guns. Logic tells us that fighting with swords against guns is stupid but doing it in a war makes it seem great. An alternative interpretation to the phrase may be Biblical in the sense that David used a sling shot to defeat a well armoured Goliath. The poet not only shows the soldiers as strong physically but mentally too this is a complete contrast to the soldiers at the start of â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† â€Å"Right thro’ the line they broke† Many soldiers will stop fighting right after seeing the guns they were facing but these bold soldiers kept of going and managed to penetrate through the opposing side’s front line the words â€Å"line they broke† suggests this. The soldiers in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† are immediately contrasted by saying â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks†. The poet glorifies the soldiers because against staggering odds they managed to return. â€Å"Back from the mouth of Hell† This suggests that they went to hell and came back, this is physically impossible but still they came out. The last stanza is similar to Owens last stanza because it is aimed at the reader When can their glory fade? The rhetorical question is in place so that it is aimed at the reader. The phrase basically means when can their glory ever be matched, ever be removed from an unseen plaque. The poet exaggerates their actions to attract a lot potential soldiers to enlist. All the world wondered This phrase is propaganda it was probably put in the poem to let soldiers now what type of fame they will get if they join the army. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s purpose of writing this poem was to glorify the war and also use enough techniques within his poem to persuade a soldier to go to war. I believe he succeeded because of the bravery shown by the soldiers that he creates and the reaction in the last paragraph. The two poems â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† and â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† are two poems that talk about war and propaganda infused into war. They are two controversial phrases that could be biased from both sides so we cannot say that one’s perception of war is right or wrong. But as for me I do not agree with the fictional book story â€Å"The Charge Of The Light Brigade† it sounds too unreal. Like I wrote in the beginning of my essay â€Å"Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has never really been there before†, it is down to poets such as Wilfred Owen and Alfred Lord Tennyson to dictate a man’s perception of warfare.

Managerial economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managerial economics - Essay Example There are also who are involved with the broadcasting of the music. With the beginning of the year 2000, the sales of recorded music started to drop. Nonetheless, the selling of live music started to increase and has been important in increasing their revenues. The fall of sale of the music can be attributed to the rise of the internet and use of CDs (Gerd 28). The recording company will thus own the recordings and this will be as specified in their contract. Traditionally, the recording company is known to provide the recording artist with an advance payment for his music. It is the duty of the AR department of the recording company to market and sell of music. When it comes to the physical media, the company will have to pay another company to manufacture and distribute the physical music recordings (Paul 31). The issue of piracy has had greater impacts in the sell and distribution of music. There have been instances where a musician’s music ends up in the internet and him or her receiving no payments for his work. The EMI group is the largest recording company in the UK. Research carried out by the Nielsen SoundScan group reported that the EMI group represented a 10 percent of the Music business in Europe (Arango 30). This was in the year 2005. The other percentage has been dominated by US based recording companies. At the end of 2004, the same research company estimated the global market value of music to be around 30 to 40 billion US dollars. The total sales of the CDs, MP3s and music videos were around 3 billion US dollars (Feinstein 72). The EMI recording company only gained 9.5 percent of that amount. According to another report when it came to the end of 2005, the EMI recording company had managed to increase its global competitiveness to 13.5 percent (The Wall Street Journal, 1). This is when compared to other big recording labels like Sony Music Entertainment (29 %) and the Universal Music Group at

Mini Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mini Paper 2 - Essay Example Moreover, detectives mostly serve as a link between a police department and other agencies used to enforce law, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A unit can be well organized and supervised if it has a good and credible supervision policy statement. This is if all members of a unit are eligible to quality supervision. In addition, communication leads to an organized unit as every member achieves development (Smith & Flanagan, 2000). A good supervisor, who is answerable for leadership toward the achievement of meeting the needs of a unit and its members, may lead to a unit being organized (Smith & Flanagan, 2000). On the other hand, when each member in a unit is issued clear guidance concerning expectations needed from their role in the unit, it makes the unit to be well organized and supervised. In conclusion, the intrepid detectives can be managed by monitoring every progress of work done in a unit. Each task done by these detectives needs to be planned, well budgeted, scheduled and the results reported by a detective need to be evaluated. This is a great way on managing the intrepid investigators in making sure that the task assignment is

Economy of Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Economy of Japan - Essay Example The country is also the largest in terms of foreign investment and has successfully sustained a trade surplus for more than five decades. As of 200, the Japanese state holds a sixth of the United States Treasury Securities, which represents about 3.5 percent of the United States' gross domestic product. It is notable that Japan's economic problems can greatly impact the global market (CIA World Factbook, 2006 and Economist Intelligence Unit (b), 2006). After the Second World War, much of Japan's industries were destroyed. Economic growth was achieved after the War with the strong work ethic of its labor force, sound economic policies and close ties between the government and business sector, efficient and technology-driven industrial methods resulted in one of the most spectacular growth rate averages of 10% in the 1960s. This trend continued in the 1970s and early to mid-1980s, posting average growth rates of 5% and 4% respectively. During the late 1980s, there was a noticeable increase in terms of real state and stock prices which was due to slackening of monetary policies in the middle of the decade and would later result to over-investment. When the Bank of Japan (Central Bank) tightened measures and increased interest rates to rein speculation of asset share prices in early 1990S, this resulted to an economic slump that would last until 2003, despite government revitalization policies and efforts. Another factor was a marked slowdown of the global economy (Economist Intelligence Unit (b), 2006). PAST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Japan's economic development dramatically slowed down as an outcome of the 1990's asset price bubble. Because of the sharp decrease in the asset prices, the supply and demand mechanisms of the country were greatly impacted. From this period, the government's response to install economic reform was passive, overlooking the need to counter the effects of the surplus in capacity build-up after the bubble economic debacle which eventually led to the sharp cut in its total factor productivity. Monetary and fiscal policies were again alleviated to revive the economy. As a consequence, the fiscal balance shifted to close at three percent of 1991's GDP and proceeded to a deficit of eight percent in the year 2000. To make matters worse, its domestic debt have increased to 130% of its GDP in 2000. There was also a steady appreciation of the yen against the US dollar in the mid 1990s but this was lessened due to fiscal measures (Grimond, 2002). The languished state of the Japanese economy that continued for more than a decade since 1990 became the focused of other world economies, for it had stimulated the continued problems related to non-performing loans (NPLs) and add to the decline of world asset and consumer prices. From 1991, the real gross domestic product has only increased by a measly fourteen percent. In contrast, the GDP of the United States during the same period was pegged at forty-four percent (Grimond, 2002). While there was an increase of 3.7 percent in terms of its consumer price index (CPI) in the particular phase, its CPI continued to drop beginning 1998, a trend that was arrested only in 2003. Accordingly, there was a marked pronouncement of the deflation of asset prices. The country's Nikkei index

Managing foreign exchange risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managing foreign exchange risk - Essay Example This sort of currency disparity amongst the loans of the financial organizations and the assets by which the organizations are funded result in a huge risk where, if at all, the local currency of the nation in which the organization functions reduces against the U.S. Dollar, then the finance organization will be burdened with a substantially huge obligation of liabilities. This paper delineates the efficacious management of Foreign Exchange Risks with regards to hedging. Moreover, we would be able to seek a practical and a prolonging solution to it by applying an affiliation between the private sector and the benevolent communes to quintessentially conquer a chief hurdle which presently holds back the private sector from facilitating risk management assistances to the financial organizations. ... For many years, the South African Development Community has been subjected to poor grain harvests, when the government of both the countries tended to import grains at high prices. Concurrently, the foreign exchange of South Africa witnessed a gradual increment in the trading values of its cereals raising a positive flag for the likelihood of hedging regional import prerequisites (Dana et al, 2006). The hedging of imports can easily be accomplished by means of future contracts and associated financial options. The buying of elongated positions resolves the consequent SAFEX amount basis which construes to the fact that hedging, by bringing into use these instruments alone in unable to defend against the transformations in transport costs and economic costs for the reason that all of them may tend to vacillate widely. This results in a significant element of risk. As a result, the hedging schemes and replication results delineate that hedging by means of various futures or options may appear to increase the import costs with time passing by, which results in reduced inconsistency and likely producing lower standard prices. These advantages augment only if hedging is brought into implementation when domestic prices are at less than the import equivalence and also, if at all the hedge is powered. Nevertheless, there are chances for problems to stay as intra-regional transport prices stay elevated (Dana et al, 2006). A

Marketing report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marketing report - Essay Example This strategy, attributed mostly to Ford Chairman Alan Mullaly, provided the firm the necessary resources to develop a very conscious and deliberate branding strategy. The continuous marketing and development of Ford Focus- one of the leading international brands of the firm shall therefore be viewed from the perspective of this new change in focus and the approach. (Daye & VanAuken, 2010). The current brand management program for the car is mostly focused on exploring the brand name of the Ford itself as well as the new and renewed strategy of managing only those brands which can be successfully marketed. The new paradigm in Ford therefore is based upon successfully managing the existing brands by cutting down those brands which cannot be successfully marketed. This report will discuss critically the current brand management techniques adapted for this brand besides performing the external environment assessment and how the firm can actually improve its CRM as well as MKIS for this brand. Ford Focus- a brief Review Ford Focus is one of the most successful brands of Ford which is being successfully marketed all over the world under the same name. ... It is also important to note that the Focus is priced reasonably however, it is still considered as one of the luxury brands aimed at consumers who are willing to afford high priced luxury cars. Due to this market segmentation strategy, Ford has been able to consistently market this product across the different markets with relative success. One of the key aspects of the overall brand strategy for this brand is the deliberate strategy for not rolling out the different brand extensions. It is generally believed that the brand extensions in automobile industry tend to weaken the existing brands and it is therefore critical that the automobile firms must engage into the practice of brand consolidation in order to ensure that the existing brands continue to perform and develop into leading market brands.(Lambin, Chumpitaz, & Schuiling, 2007). Current Brand Management Program As discussed above that the Ford has adapted a deliberate strategy of managing its current brands by discarding th ose brands which are hard to sell and manage. Due to financial crisis, most of the automobile firms faced significant financial constraints and reverted to further rationalize their product lines in order to become more efficient and effective in managing only those brands which can be successfully marketed. An effective branding strategy requires the successful leveraging of the power of the brand in order to cover the market more effectively. (Aaker, 2002) In order to effectively understand and critically analyse the current branding strategy for the Ford Focus will suggest that it is a sub-brand of the Ford itself. Given the market power of Ford as well as its overall market reputation, Ford Focus therefore tends to thrive on the strong brand image of Ford itself.

Stress Management and Its Effect on Efficient Work Performance Dissertation

Stress Management and Its Effect on Efficient Work Performance - Dissertation Example One of these is the distractions they get away from their work due to stress. In a recent study, Michelson (2004) noted that the commonest cases and instances of stress arise when the roles of employees demand that they have a lot of interaction with people as a means of serving the interest of these people. Employees whose work also put a lot of mental strain on them, as well as those who are engaged in the use of heavy and multiplex machinery have also been identified to be victims of some of the worse cases of stress (McIntosh, 2011). Sadly, even though it is generally appreciated that stress is a major hindrance to successful organisational running, not much has been done by way of managing stress among workers. Coldwater, Mohl, Denny and Mote (2012) blame this situation on the wrong identification and classification of the nature of stressors that employees are commonly faced with. In another instance, Michelson (2004) pointed to the fact that the best form of stress management can only come when there is the right identification of stress that employees are faced with. Purpose of the Study It will be noted that the Administrative Stress Index ASI ascribes five major areas of stressors namely administrative constraints, administrative responsibilities, interpersonal relations, intrapersonal conflicts, and role expectations. As part of the problem of wrong identification and management of stressors faced by employees within the labour force, this research is being conducted with the purpose of using the Administrative Stress Index (ASI) to identify the commonest forms of stressors that employees within three major labour forces namely the education, health and security sectors face in the delivery of their duties. Having used the ASI to identify the types of stress, a questionnaire that seeks to classify the stress management mechanisms used by workers will then be used. This purpose of the study can be noticed to be multi-variant in the sense that it will make it possible to collect sufficient data on all possible stressors that come with the delivery of administrative roles within the education, health and security sectors. The purpose of the study also encompasses stress management of specific stressor. This study is therefore being conducted as an opener to the issue of corporate management of stress by first focusing on the identification of stressors. Aim and Objectives The purpose of the study will be achieved with the aim of identifying different forms of stressors and how they are managed within the educational, health and security sectors. This can however be seen as a very broad and generalised goal, that cannot be achieved by performing only a single task or duty. The aim of the study has therefore been broken down into specific objectives, which signify the very specific tasks that will be undertaken to bring about the achievement of the research aim. The specific objectives of the study are thus given below. To achieve t he research aim therefore, the researcher has a responsibility of achieving all the specific objectives. 1. To identify various forms of stressors with different categories of jobs in the educational, health and security sectors. 2. To ascertain the different forms of stress management mechanisms that work best with each category of stressors identified. 3. To examine the impact and effectiveness of stress manage

Biometric Authentication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Biometric Authentication - Essay Example herefore designed several technology software which authenticate or grant an individual access to an account by virtue of a physical character such as a fingerprint. This kind of authentication is what is referred to as biometric authentication. The security of a nation is very sensitive and therefore military bases and locations of security valuables need to be under 24 hour surveillance to ensure that there is no breaching in the perimeter. Ministries of defense in various developed countries have therefore employed biometric authentication in their military bases to restrict access to only authorized people and not just anyone. This paper will be assessing biometric authentication in the context of Ministry of Defense and its necessities, alternatives, weaknesses and strengths among other pertinent issues. The biometrics technology does not go without fault as it has been termed as both a promising and disruptive technology. The main reason why a dedicated biometric solution is needed is because the current biometric authentication services are not applicable under certain circumstances. Before a biometric is chosen for use in biometric authentication, it is necessary that a suitability test be performed on the biometric authentication. Jain, Bolle, and Pankanti (1996) have identified several factors which point out to the necessity of a dedicated biometric solution. The first thing that needs to be considered is the universality of the trait; the biometric that is to be used should be possessed by everyone. The biometric needed for authentication should also be unique to a particular person. Another important factor is permanence. This is in relation to the manner in which the biometric changes over time. Role-based access

Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Obesity - Essay Example Advances in technology and processes in the last decade for transforming health food (e.g. corn and potatoes) have improved output in food manufacturing. One critical author identifies the manufacturing processes of infusing unnatural flavors into the common potato as a means of enhancing taste for customers. Schlosser offers, â€Å"taste is a method of differentiating food which is good for us from foods that are not† (Schlosser, 122). Thus, the food manufacturing industries recognize that their products are more likely to sell if different artificial flavors are infused into relatively common health agriculture. With more efficiency in these design and process systems, companies are able to add these flavors, consisting of unhealthy artificial ingredients and added fats, at a much cheaper price with faster distribution to retail shelves and fast food restaurants. Such changes in cheaper and more efficient product modification are a marketing tactic which creates a perceived better quality of food over the unmodified health agriculture, such as with the potato processing example. Businesses have learned that such additions of flavor and added fats provide much better profit margins and, in the process, longer shelf and freezer life of these enhanced products over the original agricultural output. It is because of the cheaper production processes and the higher profit by essentially fooling consumers into believing modified foods are a better alternative that enhanced and unhealthy products continue to flood many different food markets. There is also a significant over-reliance on economic models in the food system that leads to obesity problems in the United States. Food producers and agricultural industries do not have the ability to perform their systems autonomous of broader macro-economic conditions. Rising gasoline prices, higher increases in base salaries for manufacturing workers, rising costs of insurance, and other economic circumstances contin ue to raise the price of healthy agricultural output. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of consumer incomes as compared to product pricing, estimates that food inflation will continue at a pace of approximately 2.5 to 3.5 percent through the end of 2012 (Bloomberg, 1). In 2011, it was estimated that food inflation increased by 0.4 percent each month, representing a total food inflation in 2011 at 4.8 percent (Hauser, 1). In total, this represents an increase of approximately 8.3 percent in just two years. These inflationary costs are dictated by all of the aforementioned economic conditions that do not allow businesses to create healthy agricultural output without influence of multiple economic situations. What happens in this over-reliance is that fast food and other processed foods that are able to be distributed at a lower cost actually become more appealing to the strapped consumer in terms of price (Stacey, 1). As one example, the McDonald’s Extra Value Menu priced at $1 significantly outperforms the pricing of healthy grocery store substitutes by nearly 300 percent (or more). The costs of producing a home-cooked meal using health products, such as starches, proteins and vitamin rich vegetables are highly superior to the cheaper and much less healthy fast food alternative. This is why

Presences of Others Essay Example for Free

Presences of Others Essay It is shown that people have the tendency to perform better when in a group this is called social facilitation. There have been other studies done contradicting this and with more difficult experiments it actually hurts a person’s performance in a group. As Zajonc stated; a state of arousal is linked to performance without the presence of others. When an individuals is faced with a more difficult task it may lower that persons self esteem and then lead to that person not performing at his or her best. Most people are afraid of being judged and this will affect all of our normal everyday behaviors due to a low self esteem issues. Now with simple tasks a person’s performance can be a positive and a stimulating experience allowing a person to perform better and set higher goals for themselves and have higher self esteem. I am a person who can identify with these, in starting school a few years back I was very intimidated and self conscious about being in a class room with people I did not know. I watched everything I said or did and did not want to even raise my hand because I did not want to be embarrassed if I answered incorrectly or sounded stupid. At first in my class I did not perform very well with the group, but as I got to know everyone my positivity started coming out and I was able to benefit with being in a group and excelled. The article I read in the Journal of Social Psychology was about a widely accepted finding that in social psychology, that the mere presence of others reduces anxiety. Based on Wrightsman’s widely accepted findings, that his study which he originally demonstrated that the reduction of anxiety is less in the presence of others (at least firstborns). Though Epley raised some questions on the methodology of Wrightsman’s study and about the real reason there was an anxiety reduction, Epley stated that it was probably due to the distractions or social comparison and not just the  presence of others. I believe that depending on the situation the group may be in. I also found that also it depends on the situation and task at hand that a group is in and if the conditions are peaceful or hectic. The next article I read stated that the presence and type of situation and the connection between the two with the presence of an audience and how they react to the performance. Partic ipants were performing various tasks both in group settings and alone. In group settings word association was better performed compared to problem solving tasks which were more successful while performed alone. It all depends on the task at hand and in what situation the task is being performed in and under what conditions. Reference Journal of Social Psychology. Aug1978, Vol. 105 Issue 2, p301. 2p.

love is present in most

love is present in most In Monzà ³s â€Å"El perquà ¨ de tot plegat† the topic of love is present in most, if not all, of the 30 stories. However, it is represented in different ways and this is what I want to look more closely at. I have chosen the topic of love because it is interesting, intriguing, fascinating, and applies to everyone in the world. Love can be very different- for example impersonal, interpersonal, familial and platonic, romantic and even religious. Nevertheless, the type of love I want to focus on and the type of love that Monzà ³ describes in his book is mostly interpersonal and romantic. However, before starting to analyse Monzà ³s conception of love I would like to clarify what is meant by interpersonal and romantic love. Love in general is a mixture of emotions which we feel when we have a strong affection and attachment to something or someone, and it can be used to describe any feeling ranging from general pleasure to a deep attraction between people.   Interpersonal love stands for the love between human beings and it is a much stronger feeling than just liking someone, and romantic love obviously refers to passionate desire and intimacy. The general conception of love is that it is something very complex and is difficult to define because there are many different feelings and emotions involved. However, different people have different views on love and I will talk about Monzà ³s conceptions of love and the way he sees it. I will firstly investigate the existence of a perfect relationship and whether it can actually exist, and then I will look into why relationships end, because I think that Monzà ³s conception of love is based mainly on these two points. After reading â€Å"El perquà ¨ de tot plegat† I got an impression that Monzà ³ is quite critical of love and talks of it in a sarcastic way. All of his stories are about real people and real-life situations, but they are very exaggerated and I doubt that these situations can happen in the exact same way as he describes them in his book. Also, from Monzà ³s stories we get an idea that love is never perfect and that there is always something lacking. It is as if people are never satisfied with what they have, and strive for more without realising how much they have already got. Sometimes, it even goes as far as trying to change the other person although this is not the best decision. Monzà ³ demonstrates this in his story â€Å"Pigmalià ³Ã¢â‚¬  where the narrator tries to make the girl a perfect lover. Although he succeeds in this, it only brings him unhappiness as he realises that he has created a slut, and not someone he can love. This story is a very good example of w hy infidelity happens, as it proves that when people are bored in a relationship, they start thinking about cheating. In this case, it is the girl who wants to experiment and try something new with other people, so the narrator has to throw her out at the end because he cannot imagine her with any other man and he does not want her to be with anyone but him. In addition, Monzà ³ seems to believe that love cannot be pure and that something always has to be proven, given or justified. A very good example of this can be seen in â€Å"La Fe† where the female character wants her boyfriend to prove to her that he loves her. She cannot just accept this fact; she has to have a proof that he is telling her the truth. After reading Monzà ³s stories, it became evident that infidelity is one of the main ideas that he uses to define love. It seems as if for him, love cannot exist if there

Continuing Professional Development

Continuing Professional Development Healthcare professionals use of the term continuing professional development has evolved over the past decades from the narrower terms of continuing dental education (CDE); continuing medical education (CME), and continuing education (CE). Although these terms are still used interchangeably, the broader CPD, acknowledges the inclusion of topics that extend beyond the traditional scope of health care subjects such as managerial, personal and social skills, and recognises the multidisciplinary context of practice and the wide range of competences required to provide high quality patient care. It is the process by which healthcare professionals update themselves through the continuous acquisition of new knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable them to remain competent, current and able to meet the needs of their patients (Peck, McCall, McLaren and Rotem, 2000) and, their statutory obligations via their regulatory body (Mathewson and Rudkin, 2008). The underlying philosophy of CPD is to encourage lifelong learning (Griscti and Jacono, 2006). It is essentially lifelong learning in practice (Peck et al, 2000) that, post qualification and registration, now forms a continuum of cradle-to-grave quality assurance throughout a professionals working life (Mathewson and Rudkin, 2008). The aim of this literature research is to support the authors dissertation which is an investigation into the possible impact and effectiveness of mandatory CPD on the professional competence of dental care professionals (DCPS), specifically, dental hygienists. The author is a qualified dental hygienist of 27 years and is included in the cohort of PCDs who complete their first five year cycle of CPD in July 2013. A literature search found very few studies relating to dental hygienists and CPD therefore a vast majority of information has been abstracted from literature pertaining to dentists and aligned healthcare professionals such as, doctors who also undertake mandatory CPD. This assignment will refer to the applicable, generic outcomes from the literature unless the results are specific to a healthcare group CPDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a career long process required [by dentists] to maintain, update and broaden [their] attitudes, knowledge and skills in a way that will bring the greatest benefit to [their] patients European Commission 1996 cited in Tseveenjav, 2003; Bailey, 2012. As a professional healthcare worker, CPD is important in that the quality of practice is dependent on the possession and proper use of high level skills, which, if not maintained may have a serious impact or consequence for the patient (Collin, Van der Heijden and Lewis, 2012). Therefore, it is regarded as an ethical obligation and professional responsibility that practitioners engage in CPD (Murtomaa, 1984 cited in Tseveenjav, 2003) as it is an important value of professionalism (Donen, 1998). Following a literature review, Hilton (2004) identifies six domains incorporated within (medical) professionalism, three of which are the personal or intrinsic attributes. These are: ethical practice; reflection and self-awareness; responsibility and accountability for ones actions including a commitment to excellence, lifelong learning and critical reasoning. Cosgrove (cited in Hilton, 2004) describes professionalism as a state not trait which must be maintained once acquired. The General Den tal Council (GDC) concur and add that CPD, as part of professionalism, also promotes confidence in the practitioner and dental team (GDC Preparing for practice:6). This is, however, applicable to all professionals who have a moral and social responsibility to remain competent and current in their subject specialism whether this is through legal compulsion or not. Mandatory participation in CPD As a response to environmental pressures (Johnson, 2008) such as advances in technology which have led to the erosion of traditional (medical) boundaries (Pendleton, 1995); health sector reforms with a focus on prevention (Johnson, 2008); and partly as a result of paradigm shifts in societal expectations demanding increased accountability (Tulinius and Holge-Hazleton, 2010; Mathewson and Rudkin, 2008; Tseveenjav, M, and Muttomaa, 2003) mandatory CPD was introduced as a quality assurance system to reassure the public that dental professionals are fit to practice and meet the standards required to stay registered with the GDCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦without which they cannot practice (Mathewson and Rudkin, 2008). In July 2008 the GDC, the dental regulatory body, introduced compulsory registration and mandatory continued professional development for all DCPs. The GDC specified that, within a five year cycle, each DCP should provide evidence of compliance with the mandate and complete a legal minimum of 150 hours of CPD; 50 hours of which must be verifiable by certification and include the core subjects of medical emergencies, disinfection and contamination, and radiography (GDC Continuing Professional Development for dental care professionals, 2012). The rationale, specific to healthcare professionals is that effective regulation maximises positive health outcomes (Johnson, 2008). The purpose of professional regulation and mandatory CPD is twofold: firstly to ensure the patients health, welfare and safety and, secondly to protect the public from harm (Johnson, 2008). Many authors argue against mandatory CPD. Carpinto (1991, cited in Joyce and Cowman, 2007) felt that mandatory continuing education is at odds with the values and beliefs on which lifelong learning is based, cynically noting that it is targeted at those who least need it those who are already competent! Donen (1998) observed that only attendance, not learning can be mandated and that CME needs will differ for individuals depending on what stage they have reached in their careers. Mandatory CE was considered ineffective and outdated in so much as the system only requires proof of CPD attendance but is not required to demonstrate application to practice or competence and that it does not improve the quality of practice (Bilawka and Craig,2003:2). Additionally, mandatory CPD may, potentially devalue learning by affecting an individuals approach (Friedman and Phillips, 2004 cited in Sturrock and Lennie, 2009). The anaesthetists surveyed by Heath and Joness (1998) agree, commenting that it is often thought of as bums on seats and ticking the box. Despite the evidence, regulatory bodies continue to use mandatory CPD as a means of quality assurance. Prior to the introduction of mandatory CPD in the UK, Oosterbeek (cited in Belfield, Morris, Bullock and Frame 2001) offered an explanation in favour of mandatory CPD, which although not stated, may prove to be the overriding factor as to the enforcement of the mandatory model: there is some evidence that current provision of CPD may exacerbate disparities in service standards: the highly skilled appear to volunteer for more CPD. Therefore Compulsory or prescribed CPD may compress these differentials and hence have a positive equity effect in ensuring uniform patient care. Furthermore, Hibbs (1989, cited in Sturrock and Lennie, 2009) suggest that, in the nursing profession, a small minority would not update their professional knowledge, either informally or formally, if CPD was not a mandatory requirement. Evidence suggests this minority exists across the professions (Firmstone et al, 2004, Schostak et al, 2010). It cannot, however, be assumed that non participation equates to practi tioners not being competent or motivated (Griscti and Jacono, 2006). Another dimension may, perhaps, be found in competency and litigation. The GDC prescribes three core subjects: medical emergencies; radiography, and disinfection and contamination. Shanley et al (cited in Barnes et al 2012) claim that most dental mistakes are made in these areas of competency. The author could find no further references or evidence in the GDC literature but from personal experience finds this an understandable and reasonable claim, and that a wider literature search will reveal more. Furthermore, in addition to specialist, update courses, these areas are included in the list of most requested CPD topics at meetings (Barnes et al, 2012), suggesting that practitioners are aware that current practices in these areas are constantly changing and of their impact and consequences for all concerned. Therefore, it is understandable that the GDC reinforces these topics within the CPD cycle. Although, Cervero (2000) noted with caution that the trend across the professions in Am erica, was the increasing use of CE as the foundation for re-licensure when regulating professional practice; with all state medical boards requiring annual accreditation of continuing education for recertification. The GDC will soon introduce this system, called Revalidation, for dentists and is currently in consultation over its introduction for DCPs. Scientific knowledge in dentistry is currently doubling every 5 years Florida Academy of General Dentistry cited in Mattheos et al 2010 Some studies show that after ten years, there is a steady decline in the current, applicable knowledge of a practitioner (van Leeuwen etal, 1995; Day et al, 1988; Ramsay et al, 1991 cited in Donen, 1998). Several authors noted that practitioners tend to take CPD in topics of personal interest rather than areas of deficiency or what might be deemed essential (Heath and Jones, 1998; Sibley et al cited in Norman, Shannon, and Marrin, 2004; Sturrock and Lennie, 2009; Barnes et al, 2012). In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, this emphasises the importance of healthcare workers remaining current as relevant knowledge and skills have a shelf life. Eagle (cited in Heath and Jones, 1998) defines the educational process as one which results in an alteration in behaviour that is persistent, predetermined and that has been gained through the learners acquisition of new psychomotor skills, knowledge or attitudes. Whilst Davis (cited in Cantillon and Jones, 1999) defines CME as any and al l the ways by which [doctors] learn after formal completion of their training. Continuing Professional Development Intervention Effectiveness Several studies explored the various methods of obtaining CPD and their effectiveness in changing clinical practice, post event. Most were database and literature reviews, others used both qualitative and quantitative research data. All work is peer reviewed with the majority referencing and drawing from the authoritative work of Davis et al 1995, Changing Physician Performance A Systematic Review of the Effect of Continuing Medical Education Strategies. Much of their work confirms and complements Davis et als main findings that many CME interventions may alter physician performance and also, but to a lesser degree, healthcare outcomes. Concluding that these alterations are most often small, less often moderate and rarely large, adding, that CME interventions should be understood in the context of the delivery methods, nature and quality of the interaction and consideration be given to the complex, individual variables such as needs assessment and barriers to change (Davis et al 19 95). CPD activities range from the increasing use of the internet; journals and study clubs; lunch and learn events sponsored by commercial companies to regional and national conferences. Research, however, has shown that attendance at these events is usually due to personal interest rather than identification or a needs analysis of a weakness in a particular area, and that some professionals may not even perceive any deficit in their knowledge or practice (Hopcraft et al, 2010). The majority of papers reviewed are critical of the didactic, single event lecture. British consultant anaesthetists, surveyed by questionnaire, found that overall single event interventions such as didactic lectures were the least effective at eliciting change (Heath and Jones, 1998). Lectures were often criticised for their passive dissemination of information (Bilawka and Craig, 2003) with lecturers trying to impart too much information; not leaving enough time for questions and some attendees felt that they had not learnt anything new (Heath and Jones, 1998). Davis et al (1999) stated that didactic modality has little or no role to play. Contrary to Heath and Jones findings, Harrison and Hogg (2003) conducted a qualitative study which evaluated the reasons why doctors attend traditional CME programmes. They carried out in-depth interviews, before and after a course, and found resistance to the statement that traditional CME (lecture) does not change doctors behaviour, disagreeing , stating, they always learnt something new and were able to give concrete examples of their claims. The value of lectures may be that the information is broadly presented, thus enabling individuals to sift the information for that pearl of wisdom relevant to their practice (Harrison and Hogg, 2003). This may explain the on-going popularity of the traditional lecture in that individuals attend because it does enable some form of up-date; specialists or experts in their field of interest appears to be a draw, and possibly reassurance that their own practice is within current guidelines and thinking (Wiskott et al, 2000). Another dimension to the lecture is the informal interaction with colleagues, where collegial learning takes place as experiences are compared. There is also a perceived relative cost benefit (Brown, Belfield and Field, 2002). Workshops and hands-on courses, learning through participation, have shown to be catalysts for change amongst dentists although they have a greater associated cost they achieve a longer term impact on practice (Mercer et al cited in Bullock et al, 1999), which is sustainable (Mattheos et al, 2010). Interactive interventions such as journal clubs and small focused group discussions produced a greater effect than a single intervention (Mansouri and Lockyer, 2007). If used alone many CPD interventions have minor or negligible effect but when combined with other methods such as peer review, audit and feedback multifaceted interventions, may have a cumulative and significant effect (Oxman et al, 1995). there are no magic bullets for improving the quality of healthcare, but there are a wide range of interventions available that, if used appropriately, could lead to important improvements in professional practice and patient outcomes. Oxman et al, 1995 The majority of studies concentrated on formal, planned structured programme, there was little evidence of research into the effectiveness of informal CPD and its application to practice, presumably due to difficulties in assessing impact and relying on self-reporting. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦responsibility for the effectiveness of CPD lies with the learner Eraut, 2001 The effectiveness of CPD has been described, ideally, as the practitioner gaining improvements in practice through knowledge and skill and this improvement translates in to better health outcomes for patients respectively. Although Belfield, et al (2001) state that it is very difficult to conduct controlled studies to demonstrate improvements in practice, or patient outcomes after educational activities and most benefits and changes to practice are self-reported with no independent verification (Eaton et al, 2011). The literature review shows that effective CPD has many so many potential aspects to be studied, but the majority of studies reviewed focused on the effectiveness of formal modes of CPD, confirming Davies et als (1995) findings and mostly drawing the same conclusions. These conclusions, however, will be scrutinised further as tighter restrictions on CPD come into force through the introduction of Revalidation which will only accept validated certification. This would seem to discard the value or impact of informal learning which seems at odds with the much referenced Davies et al (1995) definition of CME as any and all the ways by which [doctors] learn after formal completion of their training. The systematic reviews have not drawn any firm conclusions on which intervention is the most effective stating that there is no single strategy effective in all settings (Donen 1998) due to the very many variables that impact of on the effectiveness of CPD. These areas be will be explored furt her in the authors research project. The last study relating specifically to Dental Hygienists was by Ross et al in 2005, who conducted a study of Scottish dental hygienists, briefly touching on CPD. As yet there have been no studies into the effects of mandatory CPD and dental hygienists. The literature thus far has helped to formulate the research question: What impact does mandatory Continuing Professional Development have an on the effectiveness of dental hygienists professional competency? References Barnes, E. Bullock, A.D. Bailey, S.E.R. Cowpe, J.G. Karahajarju-Suvanto. (2012). A review of continuing professional development for dentists in Europe, European Journal of Dental Education 16 (2012) 166-178. Belfield, C.R. Morris, Z.S. Bullock, A.D. Frame, J.W. (2001). The benefits and costs of continuing professional development (CDP) for general dental practice: a discussion, European Journal of Dental Education 2001, 5: 47-52. Bilawka, E. Craig, B.J. (2003). Quality Assurance in Health Care: past, present and future (Part 1), International Journal of Dental Hygiene 1, 2003; 159-168. Bradshaw, A. (1998). Defining competency in nursing (part 2) an analytical review, Journal of Clinical Nursing 1998; 7: 103-111. Brown, C.A. Belfield, C.R. Field, S.R. (2002). Cost effectiveness of continuing professional development in health care: a critical review of the evidence, BMJ Volume 324, 16 March 2002, 652-655. Carpinto (1991) cited in Joyce, P. Cowman, S. (2007). Continuing professional development: Investment or expectation?, Journal of Nursing Management, 2007, 15, 626-633. Cervero, R. (2000). Trends and issues in Continuing Professional Education, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 86, Summer 2000, 3-12. Collin, K. Van der Heijden, B. Lewis P. (2012). Continuing professional development, International Journal of Training and Development, 16:3, 155-163. Cosgrove cited in Hilton, S. (2004). Medical Professionalism: how can we encourage it in our students?, The Clinical Teacher, December 2004, Volume 1, No. 2, 69-73. Davis, D. Thomson, M.A. Andrew, D. Oxman, M.D. Haynes, M.D. (1995). Changing Physician Performance: A Systematic Review of the Effect of Continuing Medical Education Strategies,. JAMA, September 6, 1995 Vol 274, No 9. Davis, D. OBrien, M.A.T. Freemantle, N. Wolf, F.M. Mazmanian, P. Taylor-Vaisey, A. (1999). Impact of Formal Continuing Medical Education Do Conferences, Workshops, Rounds, and other Traditional Continuing Education Activities Change Physician Behaviour or Health Care Outcomes?, JAMA, September 1, 1999, Vol. 282, No. 9, 867-874. Davis cited in Cantillon, P. Jones, R. (1999). Does continuing medical education in general practice make a difference?, British Medical Journal, Volume 318, 8 May 1999, 1276-1279. Donen, N. (1998). No to mandatory continuing medical education, Yes to mandatory practice auditing and professional educational development, JAMC, 21 AVR. 1998; 158 (8). Eagle cited in Heath, K.J. Jones, J.G. (1998). Experiences and attitudes of consultant and non-training grade anaesthetists to continuing medical education (CME), Anaesthesia, 1998, 53, pp. 641-467. Epstein, R.M. Hundert, E.M. (2002). Defining and Assessing Professional Competence, JAMA, January 9, 2002, Volume 287, No. 2. Eraut, M. (2001). Do continuing professional development models promote one-dimensional learning?, Medical Education, 2001; 35: 8-11. European Commission (1996) cited in Tseveenjav, B. M, M. Murtomaa, V. Muromaa, H. (2003). Attendance at and self-perceived need for continuing education among Mongolian dentists, European Journal of Dental Education 2003; 7: 130-135. Fernadez, N. Dory, V. Ste-Marie, L-G. Chaput, M. Charlin, B. Boucher, A. (2012). Varying conceptions of competence: an analysis of how health sciences educators define competence, Medical Education 2012; 46: 357-365. Firmstone, V.R. Bullock, A.D. Fielding, A. Frame, J.W. Gibson, C. Hall, J. (2004). The impact of course attendance on the practice of dentists, British Dental Journal, Volume 196 No. 12, June 26 2002. Florida Academy of General Dentistry cited in Mattheos, N. Schoonheim-Klein, M. Walmsley, A. D. Chapple, I. L.C. Innovative educational methods and technologies applicable to continuing professional development in periodontology, European Journal of Education 14 (Suppl 1) (2010) 43-52. GDC. (2012). Continuing professional development for dental care professionals. Available at: http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Publications/Publications/CPD%20for%20dental%20care%20professionals.pdf Accessed on: 12 Oct 12. GDC. Preparing for practice Dental team learning outcomes for registration. Available at: http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Publications/Publications/GDC%20Learning%20Outcomes.pdf Accessed on: 12 Oct 12. Griscti, O. Jacono, J. (2006). Effectiveness of continuing education programmes in nursing: literature review, Integrative Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses, Journal Compilation. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pp. 449-455. Harrison, C. Hogg, W. (2003). Why do doctors attend traditional CME events if they dont change what they do in their surgeries? Evaluation of doctors reasons for attending a traditional CME programme. Medical Education 2003; 37: 884-888. Heath, K.J. Jones, J.G. (1998). Experiences and attitudes of consultant and non-training grade anaesthetists to continuing medical education (CME), Anaesthesia, 1998, 53, pp. 641-467. Hibbs (1989) cited in Sturrock, J.B.E. Lennie, S.C. (2009). Compulsory continuing professional development: a questionnaire-based survey of the UK dietetic profession, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 22, pp. 12-20. Hilton, S. (2004). Medical Professionalism: how can we encourage it in our students?, The Clinical Teacher, December 2004, Volume 1, No. 2, 69-73. Hopcraft, M.S. Manton, D.J. Chong, P.L. Ko, G. Ong, P.Y.S. Sribalachandran, S. Wang, C-J. (2010). Participation in Continuing Professional Development by dental practiioners in Victoria, Australia in 2007, European journal of Dental Education 14 (2010) 227-234. Johnson,P.M. (2008). Dental hygiene regulation: a global perspective, International Journal of Dental Hygiene 6 2008; 221-228. Mansouri, M. Lockyer, J. (2007). A Meta-Analysis of Continuing Medical Education Effectiveness, Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 27(1): 6-15. Mathewson, H. Rudkin, D. (2008). The GDC lifting the lid. Part 3: education, CPD and revalidation, British Dental Journal, Volume 205, No. 1, July 12 2008, 41-44. Mattheos, N. Schoonheim-Klein, M. Walmsley, A. D. Chapple, I. L.C. Innovative educational methods and technologies applicable to continuing professional development in periodontology, European Journal of Education 14 (Suppl 1) (2010) 43-52. Mercer et al cited in Bullock, A.D. Belfield, C.R. Butterfield, S. Ribbins, P.M. Frame, J.W. (1999). Continuing education courses in dentistry: assessing impact, Medical Education 1999; 33: 484-488. Murtomaa (1984) cited in Tseveenjav, B. M, M. Murtomaa, V. Muromaa, H. (2003). Attendance at and self-perceived need for continuing education among Mongolian dentists, European Journal of Dental Education 2003; 7: 130-135. Oosterbeek cited in Belfield, C.R. Morris, Z.S. Bullock, A.D. Frame, J.W. (2001). The benefits and costs of continuing professional development (CDP) for general dental practice: a discussion, European Journal of Dental Education 2001, 5: 47-52. Oxman, A.D. Thomson, M.A. Davis. D. Haynes, B. (1995). No magic bullets: A systematic review of 102 trials of interventions to improve professional practice, Canadian Medical Association Journal. November 15, 1995; 153 (10), 1423-1431. Peck, C. McCall, M. McLaren, B. Rotem, T. (2000). Continuing medical education and continuing professional development: international comparisons, BMJ 2000; 320, 12 February 2000, 432-435. Pendleton, D. (1995). Professional development in general practice: problems, puzzles and paradigms, British Journal of General Practice, July 1995, 377-381. Phillips (2004) cited in Sturrock, J.B.E. Lennie, S.C. (2009). Compulsory continuing professional development: a questionnaire-based survey of the UK dietetic profession, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 22, pp. 12-20. Ramsay et al (1991) cited in Donen, N. (1998). No to mandatory continuing medical education, Yes to mandatory practice auditing and professional educational development, JAMC, 21 AVR. 1998; 158 (8). Robertson,K. (2005). Reflection in professional practice and education, Austrailian Family Physician Vol.34, No. 9, September 2005, 781-783. Shanley et al cited in Barnes, E. Bullock, A.D. Bailey, S.E.R. Cowpe, J.G. Karahajarju-Suvanto. (2012). A review of continuing professional development for dentists in Europe, European Journal of Dental Education 16 (2012) 166-178. Sibley et al cited in Norman, G.R. Shannon, S.I. Marrin, M.L. (2004). The need for needs assessment in continuing medical education, BMJ, Volume 328, 28 April 2004, 999-1001. Sturrock, J.B.E. Lennie, S.C. (2009). Compulsory continuing professional development: a questionnaire-based survey of the UK dietetic profession, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 22, pp. 12-20. Tseveenjav, B. M, M. Murtomaa, V. Muromaa, H. (2003). Attendance at and self-perceived need for continuing education among Mongolian dentists, European Journal of Dental Education 2003; 7: 130-135. Tulinius, C. Holge-Hazleton, B. (2010). Continuing professional development for general practitioners: supporting the development of professionalism, Medical Education 2010; 44: 412-420. Wilson, N.H.F. Jones, M.L. Pine, C. Saunders, W.P. Seymour, R.A. (2008). Meeting Report Looking forward: educating tomorrows dental team, European Journal of Dental Education, 12 (2008) 176-199. Wiskott, A. H.W. Borgis, Serge. Somoness, M. (2000). A continuing education programme for general practitioners, European Journal of Dental Education 2000 4: 57-64.

St. Johns Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant :: Botany

St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant There is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the past with prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal "remedy" known as St. John's wort (3). St. John's wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its' popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a drug (5). In Germany, St John's wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by almost 3,000% during the past year (5)! This herbal is effective for mild to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. John's wort seems like the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it. St. John's Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its' flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its' bloom period is in July. It can be found growing naturally in Kentucky and Tennessee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum after St. John the Baptist. "Wort" is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. John's Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. John's blood (7). The active chemical in St. John's wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The purpose of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as: serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently. St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant :: Botany St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant There is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the past with prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal "remedy" known as St. John's wort (3). St. John's wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its' popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a drug (5). In Germany, St John's wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by almost 3,000% during the past year (5)! This herbal is effective for mild to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. John's wort seems like the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it. St. John's Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its' flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its' bloom period is in July. It can be found growing naturally in Kentucky and Tennessee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum after St. John the Baptist. "Wort" is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. John's Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. John's blood (7). The active chemical in St. John's wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The purpose of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as: serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently.