Preventing Blood Stream Infections Health And Social Care Essay

Preventing Blood Stream Infections Health And Social Care Essay National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) were introduced in 2002 in order to help address some of the issues that were responsible for causing a majority of the situations that were responsible for creating patient safety issues. These goals were implemented in order to put focus on what were deemed to be the most preventable of these issues. One of these goals is the prevention of central line-associated blood stream infections (Lyles, Fanikos, Jewell, 2009). Literature Review Central venous catheters (CVC) are indispensable in the care of critically ill patients. However, their use is not without risk. Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSI) are common healthcare-associated infections in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and have been estimated to occur in 3%-7% of all patients with CVC (Warren, et al., 2006). It is well documented that intravascular catheter related complications are associated with extending hospital length of stay, increasing direct costs and increasing ICU mortality. Clinicians insert approximately 7 million central venous access devices (CVAD) annually in the United States, and of these, 1 in 20 is associated with a CA-BSI, despite the use of the best available aseptic techniques during catheter insertion and maintenance. Overall, an estimated 250,000 CVAD-related CA-BSI occur annually, with an attributed mortality of 12.5% to 25% per occurrence. The national cost of treating CA-BSI equals $25,000 per infection, respecti vely, or $296 million to $2.3 billion in total. While the number of CA-BSI has remained relatively steady, vascular access device use has drastically increased, especially in nonhospital settings (Rosenthal, 2006). A vast amount of research is directed toward reducing these complications in an effort to improve patient outcomes. A review of the literature provides an overview of current recommendations concerning intravascular catheter care and research regarding the use of education programs to promote recommended practice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections in 2002, which is the benchmark for all intravascular catheter care recommendations. The guidelines for CVC suggest the replacement of dressings every 7 days or when soiled or loosened, intravenous tubing changes every 72 hours, and the replacement of tubing used to administer blood products and lipid emulsions within 24 hours of infusion initiation (East Jacoby, 2005). According to the CDC, approximately 53% of adult patients in intensive care units have a central venous catheter on any given day (Rupp, et al., 2005). Skin cleansing of the insertion site is regarded as one of the most important measures for preventing catheter-related infection. Historically, povidone-iodine is an antiseptic that has been used during the insertion and maintenance of the intravascular devices. It works by penetrating the cell wall of the microorganism. More recently, chlorhexidine has been studied and found to be more effective as a skin antiseptic to prevent catheter-related infection. It works in less time, retains its antibacterial effect against flora longer, is not inactivated by the presence of blood or human protein, and causes minimal skin irritation. Chlorhexidine works by disrupting the microbial cell wall. It is active against many gram-positive and to a slightly lesser degree gram-negative bacterium (Astle Jensen, 2005). A multistep process is recommended to prevent CA-BSI that includes: educating staff, using maximal barrier precautions (e.g. a sterile gown and gloves, mask, cap, and large sterile drape), performing infection surveillance, and replacing occlusive dressing every 7 days or when needed (Buttes, Lattus, Stout, Thomas, 2006). Other strongly recommended practices include proper hand hygiene, use of chlorhexidine gluconate for insertion site preparation, and avoidance of routine catheter changes. Catheters impregnated with antimicrobial agents are recommended when infection rates are high or when catheters will remain in place for a considerable time (Krein, et al., 2007). Education of staff on the proper care of CVC is paramount in reducing the amount of CA-BSI. This is perhaps one of the most cost-effective methods of reducing CA-BSI (Ramritu, Halton, Cook, Whitby, Graves, 2007). Implementation A staff education program was initiated for the nursing personnel that primarily deal with CVC. This education program was aimed at training the ICU and step-down unità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s nursing staff proper care and maintenance of the CVC. Education focused on proper care of the CVC, including when dressing changes should be performed e.g. every 7 days or when the dressing is soiled. Nurses were also trained in how to appropriately assist with CVC placement and the documentation tool that infection control utilizes to evaluate adherence to insertion guidelines. Posters were also placed in the nurseà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s break and conference areas that had educational material related to proper care of CVC. Documentation was also placed in the physicianà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s lounges that encouraged utilization of maximal barrier precautions during CVC insertion. The facility that was observed currently utilizes a few different means of measurement with regards to CA-BSI. First, a checklist is utilized during CVC insertion that evaluates adherence to insertion guidelines by the staff. This checklist is sent to infection control and entered into a database which is correlated with patient data regarding CA-BSI. Second, in patients that are identified as having a CA-BSI, after catheter removal, laboratory microbiological studies of the catheter, blood, and insertion site swabs are performed to identify causality of the infection. Implementation Compared to Literature Suggestions Practices that reduce the risk of CA-BSI include the following: (1) use of maximal barrier precautions during CVC insertion (i.e., a surgical mask, sterile gown, sterile gloves, and large sterile drapes), (2) placement of the catheter in the subclavian vein rather than the internal jugular or femoral vein, (3) changing catheters only when necessary, and (4) changing dressings on CVC exit sites when they become nonocclusive, soiled, or bloody. These practices have been incorporated into national guidelines. Currently, the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that hospitals implement comprehensive educational programs that teach proper CVC insertion and maintenance techniques (Warren, et al., 2006). These practices are mostly in line with what is implemented at the observed facility. One difference, which is not in line with these recommendations, is that the observed facility has a high nu mber of internal jugular insertions rather than utilizing the subclavian vein. When asked about this, many of the physicians stated that access was easier to identify utilizing ultrasound during insertion and they preferred this method over subclavian insertion. Recommended Changes First, implementation of an education program for providers that is focused on infection control, especially the recommendation of utilizing the subclavian vein insertion for CVC placement as a first choice in patients that have no contraindications to this placement. Second, procuring the second-generation antiseptic catheter, coated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine on the internal and external surfaces, to more effectively prevent microbial colonization in patients that are identified as being at risk. Decreased bacterial colonization, a critical step in the pathogenesis of catheter-associated infection, may correlate with prevention of catheter-related bacteremia (Rupp, et al., 2005). Third, education and training needs to be expanded to any nurses that may be responsible for caring for a patient with a CVC. These areas include non-critical care areas such as pediatric and medical floors. Larger numbers of patients with CVC are now found in non-ICUs than in ICUs and that CA-BSI rates in those settings are higher. Catheter types and insertion sites vary greatly among settings. For example, jugular and femoral insertion sites are common in ICUs; subclavian and peripheral sites are more common elsewhere. So strategies for reducing CA-BSI must be tailored to the setting (Hadaway, 2006).

External Influences on Child Development

External Influences on Child Development Divina Hale 1 Referring to lecture and the course reader describe both how the following factors are interrelated and how they can influence concepts of childhood: religion or culture education economy/socioeconomics healthcare *Be sure to discuss these factors as they relate to each other, not independently A+B) Culture heavily influences education during childhood. Different cultures have values that they want to instill in future generations. I think this is seen through subjects that are taught in childhood education. For example, in class we discussed how Americans advocate for basic education, but when it comes to higher education there’s a theme of only going far enough to have the skills to gain a financially secure future. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) In American culture it’s expected that you’ll have a good job and be able to support yourself and a potential family. Originally, this notion was geared more towards men, which is common in many cultures. Men are historically thought of as being the provider for the family. This sort of cultural gender bias has shaped the education of children in many countries. For example, Lee(2010) stated in the article Parental Educational Investments in Japan, that Japanese parents prefer to educate their sons more because they are ultimately the ones who will be the successors of their families while daughters are married out into other families. (p. 1582) It’s not to say that daughters don’t receive any education, but when resources for education are scarce, sons will be the ones to receive education instead of daughters because it gives greater benefits to the parents in the long run. Often this is because the family is short on money or they find that giving their daughter higher education is a waste, so they choose to educate their sons, who will inevitably take care of them when they get old, instead of educating their daughters who will use those skills to provide for a different family. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) C+D) The state of a country’s economy plays a huge role on the availability of healthcare for its population. In North America, for example, it is relatively easy to get some kind of care for even if people don’t have money or healthcare. This is because the economies there are able to support programs that advocate for nationwide medical care. Then there are those economies that aren’t healthy enough to support such programs. For children this can lead to early death or health problems that could have easily been prevented with proper care. The â€Å"Factors in health initiative Success: Learning from Nepal’s newborn survival initiative† article by Smith and Neupane(2011), says that many of the neonatal deaths that occur in Nepal could easily be prevented if the mothers had access to care. (p. 570) For people in these countries, even the most simple of illnesses can be deadly. Something so simple like diarrhea can be deadly when in places like the United States, medication to stop it can be found in almost any store. This shows how not having enough resources in an economy can affect the population and prevent it from flourishing. During one of the lectures we learned that only twenty percent of healthcare posts offer twenty-four hour service. (E. Miller, personal communication, February 18, 2014) Those that have the money for the care they need are limited to when they can receive treatment making it much more dangerous to develop an ailment outside of the hours of operation. Also some of these clinics may take many days to reach if people do not have proper transportation allowing their health problems to become that much more severe and in a child’s case they may not make it to the clinic. These clinics also do not offer care aimed solely for children. The Nepalese government has only established a healthcare system for children in Katmandu. Education From a global perspective, refer to lecture and at least two of the three articles in the reader (Hannum et al., 2009; Lee, 2010; and Lohani et al, 2010) to describe some of the specific challenges associated with educational equality or lack thereof. Referring to lecture and the reader, discuss the unique factors of Nepal in terms of how they influence Nepalese children’s current access to education. A) Two of the most prominent factors that prevent equality of education are gender and financial status. In the United States gender is usually not a factor in education equality, but financial status is. Recently in class we discussed the importance of education in our families and in the United States. We discussed how families with greater wealth are able to send their children to private schools or public schools in better neighborhoods because they have the money to do so. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) Those who are not able to afford such schools are likely to send their children to the nearest school to them regardless of quality. It’s also common for the parents in that family to have received a poor education and so they may not value it as much as they should. This can lead to children not valuing education either and they could lack the drive to do their best in school or decide to drop out. In places such as Japan and China, gender and financi al status play a role in education inequality. The article Parental Educational Investments in Japan says that when resources are low, parents are forced to choose which of their children will receive higher education. The level of education a child receives in Japan is largely dependent on their parents because of little public assistance. Women are also limited by little opportunities to advance and cultural incentives to stay home and care for the family. (Lee, 2010, p. 1582) These problems stifle a woman’s ability to get a better education. According to Hannum, Kong, and Zhang’s(2009) article â€Å"Family sources of educational gender inequality in rural China: A critical assessment†, in China gender differences in education are concentrated in rural areas because children are competing with their siblings for too little resources for education. (p. 475) Educating girls is also considered a waste because their future incomes do not come back to their familie s. B) In Nepal there is a struggle to provide better educations for children. Quality of Nepalese schools depends on the area and the amount of funding the school receives from the government. According to the article â€Å"Universal primary education in Nepal: Fulà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ lling the right to education† by Lohani, Balak Singh, and Lohan(2010), eighty six percent of students attend community schools. Two of the three types of community schools receive little or no aid at all. (p. 356) This leaves financially strained areas around those schools to fund the materials needed for each student. In class we learned that many of the schools are poor in quality and many students of different grades must be taught together. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) This lowers the quality of education that students receive. Students are also encouraged by parents to work instead of attending school. Only seven out of ten Nepalese children make it from first grade to fifth grade and over fifty percent drop out before lower secondary school. Of those who drop out most are girls. Some of the high dropout rate for females is caused by the girls going through puberty. In some areas of Nepal, menstruating females are temporarily exiled and are unable to go anywhere until the end of their cycle. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) This causes female students to fall behind in their studies every month which makes it hard to continue on in school. There are also few female teachers and there are no separate bathrooms for females which can be influence them to dropout. Financial status plays a role in retention too and causes some students to be unable to attend school due to the costs. Many of those who attend are also undernourished and are distracted by hunger during the day, making it hard to retain information. They are often punished by teachers because of their lack of concentration. (E. Miller, personal communication, March 13, 2014) Children in Antiquity Referring to lecture and at least one of the articles in the reader on childhood during antiquity: analyze how families and children were conceptualized during that time and discuss how we know this today. describe what factors determined how much or how little children were valued. *Be sure to differentiate between male and female children as well as ancient Rome or Greek city-states A) According to the â€Å"Children in Antiquity† article by Valerie French(1991), families in antiquity consisted of the normal mother, father, and children plus midwives, tutors, slaves, nurses and many other adults. (p. 13) This shows that child rearing was important in antiquity and was viewed as being a job that extended outside of immediate family. Wealthier families also seemed to control the amount of children they had through family planning in order to restrict the number of heirs to their fortunes. Poorer families also had controlled sizes through limited resources and poor health. Families tended to have two or three children. Occasionally the restrictions on the number of children became a problem, when there were fears that two or three children were not enough to maintain the population. The Romans were much more concerned about not being able to have enough heirs to keep up the aristocracy and not having enough soldiers for their legions. For Romans and Greeks, mothers were often the more lenient between the parents while the fathers were harsher. Romans also had family welfare plans for those in poverty to promote health and family growth. Information about the family and childhood in antiquity are not hard to find. According to our lecture, when historians analyze the information they find they must try to do so in the mindset of the author by making assumptions about their experiences and beliefs about children. (E. Miller, personal communication, February 4, 2014) This allows them to get the most out of the poems, plays, essays and biographies they find. B) For Rome children didn’t seem to have a lot of value. According to Veyne’s(2003) From Mother’s Womb to Last Will and Testament, the head of the family decided whether or not any children born into their household would be raised, abandoned or killed at birth. Abandoned children could be taken by anyone who wanted them and all of these practices were common. (p. 12) This seemed to be a common practice for Greece as well. It seems that in both Greece and Rome, male children had more importance than female. Males were thought to be the ones who would take over the family and in Rome’s case power the legions. According to â€Å"Children in Antiquity†, in Greece female children barely had an adolescent stage because they were married off so soon after hitting puberty. (French, 1991, p. 17) Their education was also very different from that of male children. Usually, after marriage it was up to the husband to complete his wife’s education. Educat ion was thought to be important by Greeks and Romans in order to ensure a good future. According to one of our lectures, Greeks tended to treat females like slaves and they were not permitted to engage in anything related to politics. (E. Miller, personal communication, February 4, 2014) From the articles cited above and class lectures, it seems that Romans and Greeks didn’t value their children as much when they were babies, potentially because of the high rate of neonatal death, but seemed to derive a lot of pleasure from their childhoods. It seems that children only really became of use when they were able to start their own families and take on higher roles in society. Even their education seems to be toward making them useful for the community instead of for the advancement of their minds. Value of children for Greeks and Romans seems to have been really situational. If a child was born and was displeasing to the head of household they were simply cast away or even sold into slavery. Female children seemed to be thought of as expendable child bearers that were not very important in the community and were left to simply care for their families. Renaissance and Puritanism Referring to class lecture and the Sommerville and Greven (i.e., Cotton Mather) articles: describe the cultural context of the Renaissance and how it set the stage for the Puritan view of childhood and emphasis on educational reform. describe Puritan practices and goals associated with each of the following: education, piety, and parenting. Discuss why the Puritans pushed for a more practical school curriculum and how Puritan values have influenced contemporary American culture. A) During the renaissance it seemed like parents became gentler towards their children and began to value them as more than just a way to continue their families. During this time parents began to shy away from so much physical punishment, as had been done in earlier times, because they believed that God was watching them. According to Sommerville’s(1990) article, Childhood Becomes Crucial: The Religious Reformations, reformers became more interested in children because of their concern for the future of the church and the children’s spiritual welfare. (p. 101) It seems like parents became aware that how they treated and taught their children would decide the future of their society. Children were taught more about what was right and wrong which began to set the stage for the wholesome childrearing tactics used by Puritans. Reformers made parents believe that their children could save the world. These reformations gave way to educational that were more rewarding for chi ldren instead of the before used tactics of fear and discipline. The structure of education changed into the system that would be used by the Puritans and one that modern education is based off of. B) Piety: According to Greven’s(1973) article, Cotton Mather: One the Education of his Children, children had to learn at early ages how to practice religion in order to be pious. (p. 43) Children were also encouraged to pray alone to develop their own tactics for prayer. Though adults believed that children had favor with God, they were taught at young ages of His watchful eye and how to stay in God’s favor. According to our lecture, puritans believed that everyone was entitled to a basic education regardless of class or economic status. (E. Miller, personal communication, February 27, 2014) Everyone was taught arithmetic, writing, and reading. Puritans also favored government assistance for schools. These two characteristics are still the base of the modern education system. Class does not determine whether we are educated or not, it only determines the quality of education. Puritan parenting methods have resemblance to methods used in modern times. Today children are encouraged to rely largely on their parents for everything and usually do so without question, until a certain age at least. According to Greven(1973), children should fully rely on their parents to guide them and know that they have their best interests at heart. (p. 44) Puritans wanted to encourage children to trust their parents instead of fearing them as they may have in the past. I also think they wanted to dissuade children from rebelling against their parents as well. According to Sommerville’s(1990) Childhood become crucial: the religious reformations, education became important because puritans believed that without a proper education their children would not be able to properly understand and teach scriptures from the bible. Even girls would be included in this primary education, which was uncommon in earlier times. (p. 105) Puritans only believed in primary education for religious purposes which are similar to America’s views that education is for making mo ney. It’s interesting that in neither time periods is education considered important as a way to increase knowledge. References French, V. (1991). Children in antiquity. In J. M. Hawes N. R. Hays (Eds.), Children in Historical and Comparative Perspective (pp. 13-29). New York: Greenwood Press. Greven, P. J. (1973). Cotton Mather: Some special points relating to the education of my children. In P. J. Greven, Child-rearing concepts, 1628-1861 (pp. 42-45). Itasca, IL: Peacock Publishers. Hannum, E., Kong, P., Zhang, Y. (2009). Family sources of educational gender inequality in rural China: A critical assessment. International Journal of Educational Development, 29(5), 474-486. Lee, K. S. (2010). Parental educational investments and aspirations in Japan. Journal of Family Issues, 31(12), 1579-1603. Lohani, S., Singh, R., Lohani, J. (2010). Universal primary education in Nepal: Fulfilling the right to education. Prospects (Paris, France), 40(3), 355-374. Sommerville, J. (1990). Childhood becomes crucial: The religious reformation. In J. Sommerville, The rise and fall of childhood (pp. 100-110). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Smith, S. L., Neupane, S. (2011). Factors in health initiative success: Learning from Nepal’s newborn survival initiative. Social Science Magazine, 72(4), 568-575. Veyne, P. (2003). The Roman Empire: From mother’s womb to last will and testament. In Aries, P., Duby, G. A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium. (pp. 9-32). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Corporal Punishment :: essays research papers

The whip that a lion-tamer uses is the single most important tool that will assists him in successfully taming the lions. To demonstrate his point clearly to the beasts, he must thrash the lions with his blood-sucking whip whenever they perform an incorrect act. This is the only way that he can communicate with these low-intelligence animals, because lions cannot even understand the most indecent word in the English language. But as for humans, most of us are able to understand the language that the people around us speak. Therefore whipping, caning, strapping, or any kind of corporal punishments are not necessary -- they are reserved for animals only. Not too long ago, teachers at school and parents at home use various forms of corporal punishment on their students and children -- there are also several techniques associated with each of them. But as our society becomes more civilized, these savage acts are now looked upon with disdain and contempt. What used to be considered as corporal punishment is now considered as physical abuse. It should be thought of that way long ago. Physical abuse as penalty surely works. It arouses resentments and bitterness, but it works. If a student does something wrong and gets a whipping for it, he or she will cease doing the same erroneous act again. Though it will not change the way he or she thinks, but it WILL work. The student will not understand why he or she should not behave in that particular manner, and will continue to think that he or she is right, but physical abuse can stop them from doing it again -- it definitely works. But in long-term, some people are inclined to rebel against the authority who impose corporal punishments on them. Once they can overpower the authority, they will challenge their masters. Others, like Duddy Kravitz, they get used to their punishments and cannot care less for them. Duddy gets strapped so often that he virtually asks Mr. MacPherson for it. "So when he led Duddy Kravitz into the Medical Room that afternoon, breaking with a practice of twenty years, the actual blows were f eeble, and it was Duddy who emerged triumphant, racing outside to greet his classmates." Duddy also excitedly announced to his peers: "Hey, look! Look, jerkos! Ten on each. Mac strapped me. Mac, of all people." Obviously, Duddy is no longer intimidated by strapping. Corporal Punishment :: essays research papers The whip that a lion-tamer uses is the single most important tool that will assists him in successfully taming the lions. To demonstrate his point clearly to the beasts, he must thrash the lions with his blood-sucking whip whenever they perform an incorrect act. This is the only way that he can communicate with these low-intelligence animals, because lions cannot even understand the most indecent word in the English language. But as for humans, most of us are able to understand the language that the people around us speak. Therefore whipping, caning, strapping, or any kind of corporal punishments are not necessary -- they are reserved for animals only. Not too long ago, teachers at school and parents at home use various forms of corporal punishment on their students and children -- there are also several techniques associated with each of them. But as our society becomes more civilized, these savage acts are now looked upon with disdain and contempt. What used to be considered as corporal punishment is now considered as physical abuse. It should be thought of that way long ago. Physical abuse as penalty surely works. It arouses resentments and bitterness, but it works. If a student does something wrong and gets a whipping for it, he or she will cease doing the same erroneous act again. Though it will not change the way he or she thinks, but it WILL work. The student will not understand why he or she should not behave in that particular manner, and will continue to think that he or she is right, but physical abuse can stop them from doing it again -- it definitely works. But in long-term, some people are inclined to rebel against the authority who impose corporal punishments on them. Once they can overpower the authority, they will challenge their masters. Others, like Duddy Kravitz, they get used to their punishments and cannot care less for them. Duddy gets strapped so often that he virtually asks Mr. MacPherson for it. "So when he led Duddy Kravitz into the Medical Room that afternoon, breaking with a practice of twenty years, the actual blows were f eeble, and it was Duddy who emerged triumphant, racing outside to greet his classmates." Duddy also excitedly announced to his peers: "Hey, look! Look, jerkos! Ten on each. Mac strapped me. Mac, of all people." Obviously, Duddy is no longer intimidated by strapping.

Canola :: Botany

Canola Canola, the term that is used to distinguish edible rapeseed oil, is the major oil crop in Canada, Western Europe and Asia. It is now drawing a major interest in the United States because of the movement towards a healthy lifestyle. In 1985 the U.S. Drug Administration labeled rapeseed off as "Generally Regarded as Safe" and since then United States imports of rapeseed off have risen to over 300 million pounds per year. In 1988 when the FDA approved the name "Canola" alone in product labeling, the final barrier was removed for widespread acceptance of this oil (2). The great interest in canola oil stems from its great nutritional qualities and its competitive cost compared to other vegetable oils. The interest in canola is not recent. As early as 2000 b.c. rapeseed was noted in ancient writings. This paper is going to cover the historical, economic, agricultural and taxonomic perspectives on this subject. References to oilseed rape, called sarson. were found in ancient Sanskrit writings as early as 2000 b.c. (1). The variety Brassica campestris is thought to be the oldest variety of rapes and mustards grown in India. In China the use of rapeseed cultivation is cloudy. However, old Japanese literature indicates the rapeseed was introduced about 2000 years ago directly from china (1). In Europe, populations of rape are reported in several different areas depending on the species. Turnip rape or Brassica campestris was more prevalent than Brassica napus, which was found in more restricted areas. The domestication of these two species occurred when the "weeds" in other fields were collected accidentally which happened to be rapeseed and value was found for these oily seeds. It is thought that rapeseed was cultivated in Europe to use for oil in places where the olive tree and poppy were unknown. Thus, it was never used by the Romans (5). Seeds from these two Brassicas have been found in very old German settlements in close proximity to millstones. The cultivation of rape in Europe supposedly occurred in about the thirteenth century. The oil was widely used in the latter part of the middle ages as lamp oil where it was later replaced by petroleum oils. Seeds were also used for illumination and soap making. Reports are conflicting but some reports say field cropping occurred as early as the 17th century. In Belgium the occurrence of rape started as an annoying weed until its oil began to be used.

Hamlet Essay: The Unlike Characters of Gertrude and Ophelia

Hamlet -- the Unlike Characters of Gertrude and Ophelia      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet features two ladies who are very unlike in character. Queen Gertrude, denounced by the ghost as faithless to King Hamlet, is pictured as evil by many, while Ophelia is seen as pure and obedient and full of good virtues. Let’s explore these two unlike people.    Rebecca Smith in â€Å"Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother† presents an unusually â€Å"clean† image of the present queen that is not consistent with that of the old queen presented by the ghost:    Although she may have been partially responsible for Claudius’ monstrous act of fratricide and although her marriage to Claudius may have been indirectly responsible for making a â€Å"monster† of Hamlet, Gertrude is never seen in the play inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous. . . . When one closely examines Gertrude’s actual speech and actions in an attempt to understand the character, one finds little that hints at hypocrisy, suppression, or uncontrolled passion and their implied complexity. . . . She speaks plainly, directly and chastely when she does speak [. . .]. (81-82)    The biggest difference between the two ladies is perhaps the moral difference. Who can deny that the Queen has done some very serious sinning? Who can deny that Ophelia is a shy, obedient, innocent daughter? Lilly B. Campbell comments in â€Å"Grief That Leads to Tragedy† on Queen Gertrude’s sinful state:    Shakespeare’s picture of the Queen is explained to us by Hamlet’s speech to her in her closet. There we see again the picture of sin as evil willed by a reason perverted by passion, for so much Hamlet explains in his accusation of his mother:    You cannot call it love, fo... ...Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"Gertrude: Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother?† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilson, John Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Internship Experience for an ESL Teacher Essay

As a foreign student with a degree in Informatics and Library and currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Adult and Community Education Program, I have a vision of teaching English as a second language in Saudi Arabia. To this effect, I have been on an internship project at the Communications Media department at the same university between January and March this year. The main purpose for the internship was to give me an exposure to the kind of environment I will find myself working in as an ESL teacher. ESL is a course that is offered to people who wish to learn English as a second language. Thesis Statement For my internship, I was attached at the Communication Department at the University of Pennsylvania where my duties included but were but not limited to coordinating activities between students taking English as a Second Language (ESL) and conversation partners at the American Language Institute. Also in the line of my duty was the task of overseeing how the two groups have been progressing together. The internship was time well spent and it played a very important role in familiarising me with the classroom set up at an ESL teaching centre. I also had the opportunity to learn much about the job and what it entails as well as the kind of challenges that I may encounter in the course of my career. Taking my internship course at University of Pennsylvania was the most convenient choice that I made. The communications Media Department where I was attached is right on the campus and I was therefore able to operate from my residence without any hustles of commuting from one place to another. It was also convenient in that I was able to coordinate between my classes at the Adult Community Program centre and the training on the internship. The convenience made life a little more comfortable for me because of reduced costs of transport. The internship kept me in good relations with the law because being in one place helped me avoid any instances of breaking immigration rules set for foreign students. The convenience of having all my activities centralised on Campus has played well in helping me to develop my social skills. This is because it has been easy to have extra interaction with some of the students when the opportunity allowed and as a teacher, this was very helpful in that I could closely get to know more about the challenges that ESL students face in their social life as foreign students. Since we were all from different social backgrounds, the interaction helped to improve my social relations with others considering the diversity of culture represented in the ESL class. A close bond between teacher and student is very important as it helps students to learn better and also helps the teacher to improve their skills. Knowing students a little bit more beyond the classroom set up is very important for teacher-student relations. Interaction with the volunteers from the American Language Institute helped me learn more about American society. With these two groups, I was able to share my challenges as a foreign student in America and also listen to theirs and suggest possible solutions. This helped learning easier and more interesting for the students. The sole purpose of learning an extra language is to aid the learner in communicating easily through the desired language. Despite the fact that I speak the English language, the experience I got from the internship greatly helped to improve my skills in conversing with others. The interaction I had with the students as well as the volunteers in the ESL learning programme exposed me to those who were learning and others who were there to assist in learning. It was a learning experience for me as I was able to improve on my fluency and using correct grammar when conversing in the English language. By identifying the students’ challenges in learning to converse in English, I was able to polish my own language especially in using of proper tenses, right statements and remarks. The ESL program brings together people from different cultural backgrounds. Students come here with the aim of learning English that will help them to adapt to their new environment and they are helped through this process by communication partners. Through interaction with this group at the ESL program, I got exposed to a diversity of cultures and it was interesting to get to learn about different cultures and practises of the world. It is interesting to note how the world can meet in such a small set up as a classroom. This knowledge is very important for me in my pursuit of a career in ESL teaching as it will help me adopt to any new culture that I may be exposed to. Objectives were set to enable me achieve the goals of the internship. They were supposed to guide me in carrying out activities that internship period. This would enable me acquire knowledge and skills that are required for one to become an effective ESL student’s teacher. The experience would give me an opportunity to give my suggestions and ideas in order to improve students teaching techniques and materials. In this essay, there will be a reflection on the meaning of the internship experience for my intellectual development and career planning. The internship experience was necessary in equipping me with new learning. It would offer me knowledge and skills required in future teaching work with the language students. Suggestions and ideas that can improve teaching techniques and materials for the students would contribute in achieving my new learning objective. Engaging volunteers achieved this in sessions on curriculum and teaching methods, recommending improvements in class handling discussing organizational concerns with volunteers, drafting lesson plans and evaluating them and discussing educational techniques with volunteers. My objective to teach volunteers on how to interact with English was achieved by carrying out the following activities; directing English lessons in the classroom, engaging the volunteers on curriculum and teaching methods, evaluating their performances and recommending necessary changes in class. The assignments that were offered to the students is a sure evidence that this objective was attained. Creating organizational system to allow educators to organize volunteer schedules and paper work effectively was enhanced by meeting and discussing organizational concerns with the volunteers, organizing schedules to avoid confusion, handling volunteer and class paper work and documentation as well as getting program feedback from the student Creating lesson plans for the volunteer teachers was achieved by; drafting lesson plans for teaching, adapting the teachers according to the class needs, discussing the quality of lesson plans and suggesting their changes, incorporating volunteer opinions in final lesson plans and finally implementing the lesson plan. I managed to work with the students and volunteers of presentation materials, decided upon educational techniques and ensured students follow guidelines in presentation. This assisted me in acquiring skills in creating presentation materials. As a teacher, I accommodated a certain number of students when my time allowed, graded and encouraged students and understanding the students’ need. The current challenges and problems in the classroom were discussed with fellow teachers. This in turn, ensured the students were taught as require by the instruction formal program. Additionally, experience at the ESL classes helped me to learn about other methods used in communicating apart from mouth language. These other methods are important in that as a teacher, knowledge of different methods of communication helps one to assess whether you are communicating fully or as desired by the students. Such methods include but are not limited to using parts of the body to express ourselves or gesturing and also the use of facial expressions. It was interesting to learn that a lot of communication can take place through non-verbal methods. At the end of the internship, I had developed a lot of confidence in conversing with students, being able to interact freely and easily with them as well as understanding diverse cultures and the styles they used to converse non-verbally in the different cultures. My internship was even more helpful as a master’s student in the Adult Education and Community programme. There was much more to learn from the experience at the ESL classes than I had earlier imagined. Interacting with students and volunteers from different cultures of the world helped me to grow as a person as well as to acquire intellectual improvement. I got exposed to diversity of cultures at very close range, something I had not encountered before and after such an experience, it becomes easy to be able to teach English anywhere in the world. This is because of the ability that I have gained to assess student issues anywhere. The ESL students mostly constitute of foreigners who wish to learn English so that they can be able to adapt to their new environments. Such students obviously encounter several challenges in the process of their resettlement and my experience with them enlightened me on ways in which I can be able to evaluate and understand their problems and the approach I can take in helping them to settle such problems. The ESL classes also constitute of people of different ages and as a future adult teacher, the internship has offered me great help in best ways of handling adults at different age categories. It is now easy to identify with their emotions and to know how well to help them cope with learning. Through this experience, I have realised that my own problems as a foreign student were not unique and that I have a lot to share in common with other foreigners that I shall encounter in the course of my career. I now have a burden to offer as much help as I can to make learning comfortable for foreigners. It made me feel even luckier that I could speak the language myself and made me realise that it was easier for me to adapt to my environment than those that cannot speak the language. Internship enriched me with methods of teaching that can be highly effective such as creating the right atmosphere for free teacher and student interaction and getting the students to give feedback on the way that they are fairing in their learning process. I learnt the essentiality of making the environment conducive for the students as it makes learning easier for them. Students can only learn successfully if several of these factors are pooled together. The internship was a good ground to put into practice what I had learnt from my course work.. Getting the chance to utilise my knowledge created a feeling of confidence in me as well as helped me to rectify and improve on areas that appeared weak. It is now possible for me to be able to come up with new ideas that can be applied in the ESL teaching program. This internship has surely given me the right exposure for my future career. Teaching at an ESL class is no longer a new encounter for me and I can affirm the fact that it is only through practice that one is able to assess whether you are ripe for a career. The challenges encountered in an ESL program set up are no longer strange to me. The internship has given me good experience in handling adults in a classroom set up and has helped to build confidence in me as an adult teacher. I believe this experience will assist me a great deal in planning and writing my thesis for the course that I am undertaking. Knowledge is only useful if it is put into practice. The internship offered me an opportunity to put into practice a lot of knowledge both academic and otherwise and gave me good direction on best ways of detecting, identifying and getting solutions to any challenges that may cross my path in the course of my career as an ESL teacher. By offering my own suggestions and contributing ideas on how teaching at ESL classes can be improved, my own personal growth in the career is advancing. I now have the confidence to handle adults in a learning environment and to be able to identify with their emotions, weaknesses, likes and dislikes and to handle such factors without interfering with the learning process. The students were taken out to become conversant with various aspects of the country. Supplementation of students’ knowledge on English by informally speaking with them aided their learning on the English language. On the other hand, not all objectives were achieved fully. There were several problems and challenges that made the achievement of these objectives difficult. The problems that were experienced included; volunteer delayed easy interaction with the students, and volunteers could not identify and understand concerns of all students fully. Though it took some time before they interacted easily with the students, they later managed to do it. There were few communication and organization problems that arose but were sorted out with time. It was also a bit difficult to develop lesson plans containing all relevant information for the course at one particular time. This experience assisted me to improve my conversation skills. This was due to the interaction with both the volunteers and the students. During this interaction conversations between me and then assisted me to gain fluency and correct grammar when conversing. The use of correct tenses, remarks and statements in order to pass the necessary language enabled me to identify their needs in their classes. Conclusion Internship has proved to be a very helpful undertaking and I would recommend it to anyone that wishes to develop and pursue a successful career. It offers a good opportunity to learn so much about the pros and cons of a job. From the experience that I have had at the internship, I believe that I have fewer challenges to face in my future career as an ESL teacher in Saudi Arabia. This is because the internship has prepared me on almost every aspect of human interaction is it personal, social or cultural that I need in my career. The exposure to people from different social backgrounds and different cultures will serve to help me adapt to new cultural backgrounds as it gives the right psychological preparation for such an encounter. The ESL class encounter will help me to adapt in a situation where I may find myself learning a new language. The whole experience was worth the time and effort. References Dolores, La Guardia. , Guth P. H. , (2000). American Voices. Culture and Community. Toronto, Mayfield Publishers.

Irony in the Scarlet Letter Essay

â€Å"Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge. † When reading a story, the events that have already presented themselves, lead a person to perceive what is going to happen, but when that person encounter an unexpected event, as commonly experienced through irony, it changes what the person perceives is going to happen. The Scarlet Letter exemplifies this use of irony to challenge truth. Hawthorne provides details about a specific character, but then creates an event which stands in contrast to these details. Hawthorne’s uses irony, portrayed through characters’ names, the first scaffold scene, and the Puritan community, to express the truth throughout the novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses characters’ names to contrast to their actual characteristics. He uses the name Pearl, which means purity, as a nickname for a mischievous character. He portrays Roger Chillingworth as a doctor, while Chillingworth’s main purpose involves causing the deterioration of Arthur Dimmesdale’s health. Arthur Dimmesdale, a saint-like figure to the Puritan Community, indulges in a great sin. Being a minister, his life elucidates hypocrisy. He has committed one of the greatest sins that he condemns in his sermons. Hawthorne uses these evident labels to contrast to character’s true characteristics. The scaffold scenes each reveal a truth through use of irony. The first scaffold scene connotes not only a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale, but also Dimmesdale’s wishes in regard to their sin. At the beginning of the novel, while the reader’s main question involves Pearl’s father, Hawthorne asides other characters by emphasizing Dimmesdale’s questioning of Hester. This emphasis exposes Dimmesdale as the prime suspect to be Pearl’s father. Dimmesdale speaks curiously in third-person about what Pearl’s father should do. He also stresses that Hester should tell who she had an affair with, and that her partner will accept being exposed, as if trying to convince her that he wants to be revealed but is to scared to do so on his own. This event causes irony, as the focus on Dimmesdale and Hester in this scene foreshadows their relations later in the novel. Hawthorne portrays the Puritan Community as a body that lacks the ability to recognize truth, while their ideals involve creating a â€Å"city upon a hill† that has achieved the ultimate truth. When Roger Chillingworth arrives in Boston, the community falsely believes that he has been sent from God to cure Arthur Dimmesdale. When Chillingworth wishes to house with Dimmesdale, few question Chillingworth’s intent. Even as they see Dimmesdale’s worsening condition, few blame it on Roger Chillingworth. The community also fails to recognize Dimmesdale’s attempts to confess his sin. In his sermons, Dimmesdale states that he is â€Å"altogether vile, a viler companion of the vilest† and that he should be â€Å"shriveled up before their eyes by the burning wrath of the Almighty. The community, still believing that he has not committed any serious sin, thinks of him even the higher. The community’s inability to recognize evil characters and sin overshadows their wishes to perceive the ultimate truth. Characters’ names, the first scaffold scene, and the Puritan Community act as a means of expressing truth through Hawthorne’s use of irony. Hawthorne provides evident details on characters, allowing the reader to obtain truth through an ironic event. Hawthorne meets the quote in the beginning by the requirement that irony should regard every simple truth as a challenge.