Hardwork

In the many million years of human history,man has been immensely successful in making his today better than his yesterday. Elf he had not shown the capability of uplifting and aggrandize himself,he would have not had the right to call himself the Crown of Creations and God's Viceroy on Earth. Halls prodigious Journey from burning fire with stone to building up huge dams for generating electricity,from living In caves to constructing skyscrapers and unimaginably comfortable residences are all the exult of his unflinching struggle and hardwood.Respected Listeners, Man has developed a tremendous ability of bringing the floods,the storms and even the earthquakes under his control. He has brought the laborious Journeys on foot to an end and has invented ships,cars,trains and amazingly high speed airplanes. Just by his struggle and diligence,man has enabled himself to accomplish these outstanding miracles alongside many more baffling ones. Mr†¦ President,The luxuries and comforts whi ch we are enjoying today are unquestionably the result of those hardworking benefactors of humanity who burnt the midnight oil,ignoring their rest,forgetting their sleeps,putting aside their physical and even spiritual needs. Someone has rightly said, â€Å"The heights which great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, For when their friends and family slept they worked Ann toiled throughout the night† making his today better than his yesterday. He had not shown the capability of Crown of Creations and God's Viceroy on Earth.

How the study of stylistics can help improve one’s English Language Essay

Write an essay that discusses how the study of stylistics/language in literature can help improve one’s English language. (1500-2000 words) To answer the question of how stylistics improves one’s English language is to understand the question itself. The word ‘improves’ in the question entails that the person or student already has at least a basic knowledge and understanding of the English Language and he/she wants to make that knowledge better. There are many disciplines that learners of the English language can venture into to help them improve their literacy competence. One of those aforementioned disciplines is in fact: The study of language in literature or Stylistics. Hence, this is where stylistics as a branch of study from the main trunk of the English Language and Literature tree plays an alternative role in enhancing one’s English Language capabilities. This paper will attempt to explain the logics of how stylistics can help in improving students’ English with an analogy. Studying stylistics is just like the process of language learning and the subsequent discipline that comes with it. Language learning is particularly challenging for most people especially to those who are trying to acquire it at a later age. Just like any other language, the English Language requires the learner to read English books extensively, try their level best to understand the language with the help of teachers and dictionaries, and practice speaking the language as much as he/she can. In regards to this essay, there are several ways how the study of stylistics can help improve students’ English language. Firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. Secondly, it improves their skills of English and finally, stylistics propels students’ to act as a linguist and literary critic at the same time which in turn make them competent users of the language. Before diving into the content, one needs to comprehend the definition of stylistics first. Stylistics is understood as that part of linguistics, as Turner describes in Stylistics (1975), which concentrates on variation in the most conscious and complex uses of language in literature. According to A.J. Jassim, it is possible to say that stylistics means the study of literary discourse from a linguistic orientation which offers an area of contact between literary criticism and linguistics. Therefore one can define operationally that, the word â€Å"stylistics† is basically made up of the  components of â€Å"style† and â€Å"–istics† and that â€Å"style† refers to literary criticism and â€Å"–istics† refers the general make-up for the linguistic component of the study (2006). Now, moving onto the discussions, firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. It is universally acknowledged that language s erves many functions and one of it is to communicate meaningful expressions. In written text, language is seen, as Eifring and Theil asserts, a communicative system based upon words and the combination of words into sentences and this is known as linguistic communication (2005). One way how stylistics specifically plays a role in enriching students’ ways of thinking about language is for example, when poets write poetry, they are not writing it without their active consciousness of language. Sometimes, they deliberately incorporate deviations and parallelism in their works to serve a specific function. Through this ‘unconventional’ use of language, they are attempting to convey a deeper meaning within the text and most â€Å"Stylisticians† argue that only through stylistics, these literary devices can be observed, analysed and understood. Where some advocate extensive or authentic reading almost for its own sake, Hall explains (2007), as a result of which the language will be absorbed, the advocate of stylistics as a means to develo p language proficiency is committed to the value of conscious attention to details of linguistic features ‘foregrounded’ in a text, whether through ‘deviance’ of some kind, or simply as the consequence of repetitions, parallelism or other such salient patternings seen to contribute significantly to meaning. Students in turn become more sensitive in utilizing English especially when attempting to read and comprehend literature better. Secondly, stylistics improves students’ skills of the English Language. This is because in order to apply stylistic analysis or criticism on a literary text, students need to first master the language from the onset. This entails that students need to, as mentioned earlier, read extensively which in turn heightens their vocabulary and mental lexicon. They also need to understand the language very well; especially in regards to grammar and tenses. For all the arguments that are presented, it is rightfully so that students need to be competent users of the English Language so that they can apply their knowledge of grammar and lexicon in interpreting literary texts. This is because according to Katie Wales in A Dictionary of Stylistics (1990), the  goal of most stylistics is not simply to describe the formal features of texts for their own sake, but in order to show their functional significance for the interpretation of the text; or in order to relate literary effects to linguistic ’causes’ where these are felt to be relevant. This means the knowledge of grammar and tenses are very important elements for the student to get a strong grasp on because in some poetry, poets intentionally use deviations to foreground important features in their works. Researchers such as Van Peer (1986) have found that readers [or students] do indeed pick up on the smallest details of a text and use them to construct meaningful interpretations. A good example can be seen in the stylistic analysis of ‘(listen)’ taken from E. E. Cummings’ 1964 collection 73 Poems, of which it is number 63. The poem ‘(listen)’ is typical of Cummings’ style and contains striking irregularities of form in comparison to ‘traditional’ poetry. There is a high probability to those reading this poem, whom are not partial towards stylistics, will consider it as a complete mess and an overall ‘bad’ piece of poetry because of the strange use of punctuation and the seemingly odd structure of particular phrases. An excerpt of the poem is displayed below: (listen) this a dog barks and how crazily houses eyes people smiles faces streets steeples are eagerly tumbl ing through wonder ful sunlight – look – selves,stir:writhe o-p-e-n-i-n-g(line 1-12) One of the reasons for Cummings’ use of deviation is not simply for shock value, as Shaikh debates, and the linguistic choices he makes are by no means arbitrary (2012). In the past, some critics have even disregarded his  eccentric use of language, claiming that it is of no interpretative significance. What these critics overlooked and not aware of is that one will be able to explore and experience the beauty and depth of the poem hidden within the ‘mess’ once they apply stylistic criticism unto it. ‘(listen)’ is not a, for the most part, difficult poem to analyse in terms of the complexity of the subject matter. It is the process of making sense of the grammatical ‘mess’ in the text that is the sole source of ‘headache’. What is most challenging is to relate the various atypical stylistic features that Cummings’ has chosen to use to one’s overall interpretation of the text. Finally, stylistics propels studen ts to act as both linguists and literary critics at the same time. In fact, the purpose of stylistics is to be the bridge of linking the two disciplines: linguistics and literary criticism. Nevertheless, it is rather unfortunate as McIntyre (2012) states that since the emergence in the 1960s of English Language as a university subject in its own right, the relationship between the study of literature and the study of language has often been one of bitter rivalry (p. 1). Experts in the literary field criticize against the ‘cold’, ‘scientific’ approach that is adopted by linguistic scholars in their analysis of literary texts. At the same time, similar critical judgements are imposed by linguistic scholars towards literary experts because they are too subjective and vague in the analyses they produce. Despite the feud between the clashes of these two spheres of language studies, there lies exquisiteness when one can merge the two fields and use their respective theories and means of analyses to understand a literary text well . Since stylistics is neither pure linguistics nor sheer literary criticism, a stylistician is, thus, intended to act possibly as a linguist and as a literary critic as well. To link both, the job of the linguist and that of the literary critic, stylistics emerges as a connective means to demonstrate how the linguistic elements act significantly in a text to produce a communicable message. The function of stylistics is to help the reader stimulate, the significance of a literary text by analysing the interrelations between its linguistic items. This approach is essentially selective. It aims to identify the stylistically significant, or stylistically distinctive, features in a literary text and to study their function in the text as a whole. Stylistics occupies the middle ground between linguistics and literary criticism and  its function is to mediate between the two. In this role, its concerns necessarily overlap with those of the two disciplines. It is for this reason that stylistic analysis shades indiscernibly into literary appreciation. Therefore, literary analysis seeks the assistance of stylistic analysis which is of a complementary nature to it. Stylistic analysis usually seeks to identify what stimulates and guides the reader or listener in the literary work. But there is no specific and restricted technique to follow (Fairly, 1979). Despite it all, this act of propelling one to act as both linguist and literary critic stretches his or her potential to the maximum towards being a very competent user of English language hence whether they like it or not, it will improve their English. One needs practice a great deal so that they get the stylistic analysis On the grounds of how learning language is similar to how learning stylistics help can improve one’s Englis, as reiterated throughout this paper, both disciplines require the students to read extensively, understand and practice the skill in order to improve their language competency. In conclusion, with all the arguments which is presented in the above discussions, stylistics does help in improving one’s or students’ English language. Firstly, stylistics enriches students’ ways of thinking about language. Secondly, it improves their basic skills of the language and finally, stylistics propels students’ to act as a linguist and literary critic at the same time which in turn make them competent users of the English language. Students especially can use stylistics to sustain and defend an interpretation of a poem, or any literary texts for instance, and they can also use stylistics to highlight elements of a poem that we might otherwise fail to notice . References Abdul Jalil Jassim Hejal (2006) Stylistics : A contact between Linguistics and Literary Criticism. J. of Col. of Basic Education. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=69572 Eifring, Halvor & Theil, Rolf (2005). Linguistics for Students of Asian and African Languages. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from : http://www.uio.no/ Fairly, Irene R. (1979). â€Å"Experimental Approaches to Language in Literature: Reader Responses to Poems† in Style. Vol. 13 , no . 4 . Hall, Geoff. (2007) Stylistics in Second Language Contexts: A Critical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, New York Wales, Katie. A Dictionary of Stylistics. London: Longman, 1990. McIntyre, D. (2012). Linguistics and literature: stylistics as a tool for the literary critic (Vol. 1, pp. 1-11). SRC Working Papers. Naushad Umarsharif Shaikh. (2011) Role of Stylistics in Learning English as a Second Language. Pdf. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.languageinindia.com/aug2011/naushadstylisticslanguagelearning.pdf Turner , G.W. (1975). Stylistics. Benguin Books. London.

Ecumenical Christain Responses to Islam in Britain Essay

Ecumenical Christain Responses to Islam in Britain - Essay Example Consequently, the move has resulted to strained relationship between the two factions which is hindrance to religious unity. I am also against the assertion by Islam that Jesus is god meaning he is in charge of Christian doctrines because disagrees with the realms of pastoral and theological perspectives. Unlike the urge to downplay Christianity, the false argument has caused the dialogical attitude of investigating the theological motifs of partnership, competition and even isolation amongst Christians. Conversely, generational influence emanating from Muslim fundamentalism and being outside the Gospel causes the existing ecumenical Christian responses. Contrastingly, the relational ideology that guides British Christians, Islam is concerned with ideological isolation that often is opposed to any present secular opinion (Ipgrave 19). It demonstrates that persona identification of the guiding personalities in the ecumenical Christianity is missing extensively amongst Muslims in Britain than other places. Another vital information regards the pastoral nature of ecumenical Britain churches that is supported by a secularized society accompanied by what Michael Ipgrave calls a Christendom model. Secularization of society signals the urgent need for churches and mosques to relax their strong theological doctrines that are not in tandem with the current dynamics (Loosley 240). Contrastingly, while Islam emphasizes on an isolationist ideology in to strengthen its faithful, it only suppresses rights and liberties enshrined in the British life. Overall, the missing emotional connection amongst the Islam religion is propagating the hostility image that defines Christian attitudes and religious systems. Over concentration on the community rather than on the individual is another pertinent contention that drives ecumenical Christians in their responses. This is

Creative Thinking Profile Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creative Thinking Profile - Assignment Example Whiles, I desire for there to be solutions to the problem, I always try to avoid rushing out on problems to come out with half-baked solutions. For this reason, I always put together alternative solutions and adequately weigh the viability of each of these solutions. There are also weaknesses with my creative thinking profile as a developer because the quest to come out with viable alternatives has been associated with possible instances of getting stuck with perfect solutions (Puccio, Mance and Murdock, 2011). Because of the weaknesses, I have always embarked on the constant training of my competences to ensure that I am not disadvantaged with decision-making processes. This way, I am always assured and guaranteed of effectiveness with practising my personal creative thinking profile. It can be said that my current professional role which entails that I work as a project team leader and project manager relate perfectly to my personal creative thinking style as a developer. This is because as a team leader, I work with people who are assigned different roles and tasks that are aimed at achieving specific goals for the organization. After the ideas have been put together by those members who are ideators and clarifiers, I come in as a developer to put the various ideas together and construct alternative solutions out of the ideas. After this is successfully done, I go back to my team to take part in a brainstorming process that is used to select the best solution out of available alternatives and options. In effect, there is sufficient evidence that my personal creative thinking profile is very much suitable for my role in the workplace. As Digman (1990) notes, developers work best when given sufficient independence to operate within a workspace. As a team leader in stead of a member, I am able to get this benefit to the fullest. Within the organizational setup, working with people with similar creative thinking styles as we have is as important as working with those with different creative thinking styles. For those with the same creative thinking styles, we are able  to coordinate well with them to ensure that much is achieved through shared practice within a very short time frame.

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas Term Paper

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas - Term Paper Example Particularly for the offshore company, it requires to perform several checks and researches into the preferred offshore financial center to ensure that investing in that market can guarantee fruitful financial returns (Zorome, 2007). It is against this background that periodic environmental assessment analyses are performed for various offshore financial centres to test their financial viability for specific offshore companies and offshore countries. In the current paper, the spotlight is put on Bahamas as an offshore financial center to critically understudy the viability of that financial market as a preferred entity to use to raise capital Intel Corporation prior to doing an initial public offer. The profiling of Bahamas as a viable offshore financial center is done along six major parameters as outlined below. Secrecy and Views In the financial market, such as the offshore financial center, issues of secrecy and views are very important for the determination of financial transpar ency of a given center. It is for this reason that the need to study the secrecy and views that prevails on the Bahamian offshore market, such as financial secrecy is very important for making decision on the selection of the country as an entity for raising capital for an initial public offer. Nyangosi, Arora and Sing (2009) has explained that situations of financial secrecy exists when financial institutions refuse to disclose crucial financial information to the appropriate authorities for tax decision making and other criminal law enforcement policies. In effect, a higher scoring on financial secrecy index is a negative indication for satisfactory financial transparency. Meanwhile according to the Tax Justice Network (2011), the scoring for Bahamas in financial transparency is 83%, indicating an unacceptable level of secrecy and suppression of views. From the graph below, it will be noted that from a 15 financial secrecy indicator, Bahamas scored negative marks for most of the i ndicators. Source: Tax Justice Network (2011) For investors wanting to choose Bahamas as a preferred entity to use to raise capital for Intel Corporation prior to doing an IPO, the risk of not knowing the legitimate financial values and figures for most indicators that will be necessary for taking stock market decisions prevails (Breiman et al, 2009). Having stated the above however, it is important to stress the point that new policies and reforms have started emerging in Bahamas that make incumbent upon the country to have a free economy and exchange information as specified in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidelines (Riyadh, Akter and Islam, 2009). Proximity to US Proximity has always been said to be an important factor in the determination of an offshore financial center destination for raising capital for Intel Corporation ahead of an initial public offer. This is because most offshore companies that operate in offshore financial centers do so b y operating parent companies that govern and run the key organizational

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 19

Strategic Management - Essay Example According to him, this is the â€Å"VRIN† resource based view of a company. Cohesive leadership, brand equity, brand value, trademarks, patents and copy rights are certain types of VRIN resources of a firm (Srivastava1, Franklin and Martinette, 2013). These resources of the companies should be coupled with proficient â€Å"capabilities† for generating the best outcomes from the operational activities of a concern. Through acquisition of rare resources and capabilities, companies can generate significant entry barriers within its industry. The differentiation strategies of the firms can be successful only with the help of extraordinary resources and capabilities. Sustained competitive advantages of giant multinational companies can be attained only through acquisition of unique productive factors.VRIN resources and its internal capabilities are strategically valuable for a company for certain special features. These resources helps an organization create value for its customers and this value exceeds the cost of its operations. The value of the consumers depends on prices of a product or a service of a company (Srivastava1, Franklin and Martinette, 2013). Through VRIN resources a company can lower its product or service pri ces more than that of its competitors and hence tap a wider base of customers. By achieving greater competitive advantages, a company can earn more profit than its market rivals. The factors causing commercial prosperity of successful multinational companies as Apple, Amazon and Ikea can be effectively analyzed through VRIN analysis model. The tangible and intangible resources of Apple Inc. are its valuable to its business. The land buildings acquired the company, its capital resources and equipments types of its valuable resources in business. The brand reputation of the concern, its trademarks and patents are also types of insubstantial factors. High social and commercial prosperity can be achieved by Apple Inc. only

Do violent video games cause behavior problems Essay

Do violent video games cause behavior problems - Essay Example This paper will analyze the studies that have been carried out and try to illustrate their connection with the proposed issue. There has been an ongoing controversy regarding the influence video games have on aggression. The term has been debated and widely discussed in scholarly literature. A study by Barbara investigated current knowledge on the matter by analyzing the theoretical explanations and empirical evidence related to the connection between aggressive behavior and violent video games (Krahe, n.p). It also analyzed the effects video games have on behaviors and cognitions. The article reviews cases when violent activities occurred after a view game experience. It also provides an analysis of experimental, longitudinal and meta analytic studies that were carried out. The study concludes that violent video games enhance one’s readiness in engagement of violent activities. Playing video games considered one of the numerous risks associated with aggression development (Krahe, n.p). The strength of this study lies in the fact that it utilized different experimental methods and a randomly sampled population to attain its results on behavioral changes after playing violent video games. Though experimental procedures were carried out appropriately to determine the above mentioned correlation, there are other aspects of violent behavior that may have been neglected by the experiments. For example, the individuals mood prior to the video games was not assessed and their social background and other influential factors on their behavior. Though video games may have some influence on an individual’s mood the study does not determine what extent the video game has to play on the development of aggressive behavior in the absence of other factors (Schulzke, 127-127). As mentioned above, there are several other studies that have been carried

Poetry Comparing and Contrasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poetry Comparing and Contrasting - Essay Example From the two poems, To His Coy Mistress and Those Winter Sundays, both Marvell and Hayden use narrators as opposed to giving their own thoughts, to portray the prevailing state of affairs. In the case of To His Coy Mistress, Marvell uses the title of the poem to outline the state of affairs of a young man who writes a plea to a young woman. In this case, the young man seduces the young lady to love him. However, Marvell has incorporated the possessive pronoun ‘his’ to describe the young man and his desire to acquire the love of a young mistress. The term ‘coy’ reveals to the audience that it is not possible for the young man to interact with the young woman as she resists his advances. It also refers to the female equivalent of a master. In the poem, the term â€Å"Coy† appears similar to a sweetheart or a lady who the young man is seducing to win her heart. Similarly in his poem Those Winter Sundays, Hayden portrays an adult male speaker who has grow n up, and shows memories regarding how his father showed the love he had for him based on his actions. In particular, the persona remembers how his father used to wake up on Sundays early in the morning to light the furnace fire. He awakened his son after the room was warm enough for him. Line 12 states that the boy’s father polished the â€Å"good shoes† that belonged to his son, an indication that he will take his son to church. This is the case because he used to make his son wear his â€Å"good shoes† on Sunday. Therefore, it is true that the boy’s father took moral upbringing of his boy seriously. For the two personae, the difference between them is evident when in the case of Those Winter Sundays, the persona’s father makes a lot of sacrifice for him, but the boy only realizes later in life that he failed to appreciate his efforts. It is now too late, as the boy cannot go back in time to show appreciation to his father based the sacrificed

Please discuss the following question with philosophy knowledge and Essay

Please discuss the following question with philosophy knowledge and ethics - Essay Example All societies have an established and well defined moral code of conduct that governs the people’s behavior. This code of conduct is agreed upon and adhered to by all members of that society. Failure to uphold this moral code of conduct gives rise to the disruption of the social order of a society. This is followed closely by social chaos and social unrest. Insecurity in a society will also be rampant if the upholding of morality is not in an individual’s rational self-interest. Insecurity gives rise to vices such as theft, rape and violence. In an insecure society, people lack respect for one another. This is the reasoning behind the occurrence of most of these vices. The perpetrators of these vices do not care whether what they are doing is right or wrong. They simply commit them for their own self-gratification. Societies are governed by moral law whose main objective is to ensure the well-being and peace of its members. When the moral law is not adhered to, peace demises and insecurity flourishes. Morality is considered to have an innate value. This is why people ought to be morally upright. An individual or society that does not adhere to the laid down moral principles would easily destroy this innate value. The society will not achieve its goals and it will always lag behind in developmental issues. The individual will also be filled with guilt and lack focus in

Education Essay Example for Free

Education Essay It seems that the recent trend toward online education has created a severe deficit among students. Part of the fundamental goal of any learning environment is the development of skills related to team-building and cooperative work. These are real-world skills that are important to have in almost any real-world situation. The student’s comment about cooperative learning is a common complaint, but the troubles cited by the student are typical of real-world cooperative situations. The usual complaints by students about cooperative learning projects include logistics issues, gaps in vision and leadership, difficulties in equitable workload assignment, and other elements. All of these problems are ones that may be encountered in the modern working world. I would design the curriculum with group projects integrated. I would also include a learning objective that emphasizes the importance of the cooperative learning, given its application to the real world. If the quality of the projects suffers as a result of the learning format, the learning gap(s) that may have developed may be resolved by reinforcing exercises that are individually-based. In this manner, the subject matter will be adequately addressed, and the important group-work skill can also be practiced. I would also recommend additional courses on team-work and the cooperative dynamic be added to the curriculum. Whether for a school or a work environment, it is vital that students be taught or trained to appreciate the importance of effective teaming, as this will be a key element in any real-world work environment. This course could incorporate coping and procedural skills that address the typical difficulties involved with cooperative projects. Objectives might include how to divide labor, how to determine a vision, how to organize leadership, and how to handle logistic difficulties. The sooner students learn these skills, the more productive and successful they will be.

Age and Gender Differences on Fear of Crime

Age and Gender Differences on Fear of Crime The current study aimed to investigate age and gender effects on fear of crime and their relationships with attitude towards prisoner and crime, life satisfaction, living arrangement and religion in a Chinese sample. 170 undergraduate and postgraduate students, with a mean age of 21.9 years, participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on fear of crime. In general, women reported significantly greater fear of crime than men. A factor analysis was performed and two factors were extracted: fear of being cheated and fear of physical harm. An age-gender interaction effect was found after controlling the variable of attitude towards prisoner. Results indicated that older females had higher levels of fear of being cheated than males. Yet, gender and age differences in fear of fraud victimizations are a largely unexplored area. Additional research is needed to examine how womens fear of being cheated varies with age. Introduction Fear of crime has received considerable attention in the criminological studies. Over the last few decades, research has been carried out to explore how fear of crime is explained and handled by society. Information about fear of crime not only help us to understand and interpret what fear of crime meant for individuals and societies, but also facilitate government to develop active plans to tackle publics fear. Anxieties about crime may lead to behavioral adaptation, e.g. taking precautions against crime and avoiding certain places. Nonetheless, public anxieties about crime may also have negative consequences for the individual and for society. For example, they may exacerbate the impact of crime by damaging an individuals quality of life or may affect the community by deteriorating a shared sense of trust, cohesion, and social control (Jackson, 2006). The concept of fear of crime and its causation is widely examined in the criminological field, but there is a lack of agreement on the definition of fear of crime. Fear of crime may involve two different concepts: an evaluative component and an emotional component (Skogen, 1984). For instance, Hollway and Jefferson (1997) referred crime fear as irrational response in which the rational, calculating individuals who routinely miscalculate their true risk of crime; whereas Ferraro (1995) suggested that fear of crime is an emotional reaction of dread or anxiety to crime or symbols that a person associates with crime. Past research has identified a number of factors which appear to make a contribution to fear, such as age, gender, race, vulnerability, neighbourhood cohesion, personal knowledge of crime and victimization, confidence in police and criminal justice systems, perception of risk, and assessment of offence seriousness (Box, Hale and Andrews, 1988). However, the current study wil l focus mainly on age and gender effects on fear of crime. Gender and Age Effects It is well-documented that women are more fearful of becoming a victim of crime than men despite the fact that they are less often victimized by serious violent crime (Pain, 2001; Fetchenhauer and Buunk, 2005). Over the past decades, researchers have proposed different approaches to resolve the fear victimization paradox: (1) hidden victimization of women; (2) gender tendencies of women to recall victimization experience, and to generalize fear from one context to another; (3) vulnerability of women; and (4) male discount of fear. Most crime surveys have shown that the levels of violence against women (e.g. domestic violence) are far higher than men; therefore it has been argued that women are not irrationally fearful of crime. It is because women and elderly under-report their actual victimization, and thus they appear to be less victimized (Pain, 2001). However, some have suggested that women tend to generalize the actual experience of victimization across spatial contexts than men (Pain, 1995; Farraro, 1995). Warr (1984) found that fear of sexual assault operated as a master offense among women and their fear of sexual assault influenced fear of nonpersonal crimes, such as burglary. Yet, still others reported that males often discount their fear of crime (Smith and Torstensson, 1997). Previous literature has demonstrated that males are suppressed by the perception that it is not socially acceptable to express ones fear; and when men are being perfectly honest, they may actually be more afraid of crime than women (Sutton and Farrall, 2005). On the other hand, the vulnerability hypothesis suggested that women are physically weaker than men and therefore they are less able to defend themselves against (typically male) perpetrators. A considerable amount of studies have also shown that that gender difference in fear of crime often reflects gender difference in physical vulnerability (e.g. Smith and Torstensson, 1997). Apart from gender, age is another important factor that predicts fear of crime. However, the definition of elderly varies across different studies (Chadee and Ditton, 2003). For example, Sundeen and Mathieu (1976) defined elderly as 52 years or above, whereas Warr (1984) suggested 66 years and over. Yet the most common definition of old is aged 65 or above. Since there has been no agreement on the definition of what constitutes old, mixed results were found on age. Some researchers argued that older people report higher level of fear than young people (e.g. On and Kim, 2009). In contrast, others suggested that elderly people are less likely to be victimized and thus they have the lowest level of fear (e.g. LaGrange and Ferraro, 1989; Chadee and Ditton, 2003). On and Kim (2009) explained that older people (aged 65 and over) often experience a drop in social networks (e.g. withdrawal from work, loss of close family members, increasing physical and psychological fragility), and their so cial isolation or feeling of loneliness intensifies fear of crime. Recently, it has been proposed that the relationship between fear of crime and age is non-linear and varies with crime type (Moore and Shephred, 2007). Past research has shown two different inverted U-shaped patterns in fear of property loss and fear of personal harm. Fear of property crime peaked at some time during middle-age, whereas fear of personal harm decreased with age (Chadee and Ditton, 2003; Moore and Shepherd, 2007). The oldest age group (75 or above) exhibited the lowest levels of fear for both property crime and personal crime (Chadee and Ditton, 2003). Prior research has shown that gender and age often interact with one another in producing the fear of crime differences (Ortega and Myles, 1987; Haynie, 1998; Pain, 2001). Significant gender differences in fear are observed among younger people. Nonetheless, this gender-fear gap has narrowed as mens reported fear of crime has gradually increased over tim e while womens has remained stable (Haynie, 1998). Attitude towards prisoner and crime and life satisfaction Much research on fear of crime has been focused on the perceived risk of crime; little is known about how peoples attitude towards prisoners and quality of life link to their fear of crime. Informal social control, trust, and social cohesion are important factors that contributed to the feelings of security; hence, one might argue that fear of crime often reflects individuals life satisfaction and their perceptions of social control. Jackson (2006) puts forward the view that public attitudes toward crime raise fundamental sociological problems but with a twist: public perceptions of deviance, social order and social control (p.253) and he claimed that public perceptions of crime reveal how people conceive social order (including the norms, values, and morals that bind communities and constitute social glue) and what they see as hostile to that social (maybe specific groups or wider social changes regarding values and morals, ethnicity diversity, and transformations in the political a nd economic arenas) (p.261). Therefore, it has been suggested that high levels of community efficacy, social cohesion, and a tight social structure (with low levels of anonymity and distrust) might inhibit fear of crime (Farrall, Gray and Jackson, 2007). In the last decades, researchers have questioned the validity of previous studies on fear of crime. LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) criticized that the experimental designs of previous studies were problematic. First, it has been suggested that measures of crime risk are often mistaken for measures of crime fear. Second, several widely used crime survey do not measure fear of crime, in which implicit questions are used in crime survey to measure fear (e.g. how safe do you feel or would you feel being out alone in your neighborhood at night?) instead of explicit questions. Hence, LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) have developed an 11-itemed crime fear survey to overcome the above shortcomings. The current study aims to use LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) crime fear questionnaires to examine gender and age effects on fear of crime in a Chinese sample. Method Sample A total of 170 participants (77 males, 92 females and 1 without specifying gender) were recruited in this study. The sample consisted of both undergraduates and postgraduates. Participants aged from 18 to 48 year-old (M = 21.94; SD = 4.07). Descriptive statistics of the sample were presented in table 1.They joined this study on a voluntary basis. Instrument Attitudes towards Prisoners Scale (Melvin, Gramling, Gardner, 1985) This scale contains 36 items. Participants were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scale had a satisfactory reliability level, with overall alpha = .91. Life Satisfaction Scale. Life Satisfaction Scale, a five-item-scale developed by Diener and his associates measured general satisfaction towards life (Diener et al., 1985; Larsen, Diener, Emmons, 1985; Pavot Diener, 1993). It was validated locally (Wang, Yuen, Slaney, 2009). Participants were asked to rate the items on a 7-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The overall alpha is satisfactory at .88. Fear of Crime Scale (Ferraro, 1996) The ten items of this scale were rated on a 10-point Likert scale, raning from 1 (not afraid at all ) to 10 (very afraid). Unlike the Attitude towards Prisoners Scale, the Fear of Crime Scale had not been validated locally, thus prior to any analysis, a set of validation procedures was performed. First, two items that could not match the current research purpose were removed: while the item being raped or sexually assaulted was removed due to its gender nonequivalence, the item having your car stolen was also removed because not many college students in Hong Kong owned their own cars. After removing the two items, the Kasier-Meyer-Oklin (KMO) and the Bartletts Test of Sphericity were performed to see if the originally factor structure could be employed in this study. The KMO value of the eight items was 0.80 and the Bartletts Test of Sphericity was significant (p Results Checking for Covariates Based on previous studies, life satisfaction, religion, and living arrangement are all possible covariates. In order to be classified as a covariate, these variables should correlate with a) any of the independent variables (age and gender) and b) any of the dependent variables (total fear of crime, fear of physical harm and fear of being cheated). Preliminary analyses indicated none of these variables satisfied the above conditions, so they would be excluded in subsequent analysis. Testing of Hypothesis Prior to analysis, all variables excluding gender were mean-centred. This was done to reduce any multicollinearity and to facilitate model estimation when main effects and interactive effects were both present (Aiken West, 1991). To compare the relative influences of age and gender on total fear of crime, fear of physical harm and fear of being cheated, three sets of hierarchical regression were performed. Attitude towards prisoners was first entered into the equation as a covariate, followed by age and gender; the Age X Gender interaction term was entered afterwards. Gender Difference in Fear of Crime: There was a main effect that gender had on all three types of crime fear, where female was always significantly more fearful than male (see Table 2). See table 3 for the mean and standard deviation of the three dependent variables in each gender group. Age Effect on Fear of Crime: While age positively correlated with fear of being cheated, no significant correlation was found between age and the other fear of crime constructs (see Table 4). Yet after controlling for attitude towards prisoner as the covariate, the predictive power of age on fear of being cheated disappeared (see Table 2). Age X Gender Interaction Effect on Fear of Crime: Significant Age X Gender interaction effects on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated were found. However, such interaction effect did not happen for fear of physical harm (see Table 2). To further investigate these significant interaction effects, two sets of hierarchical regression on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated were performed after splitting the sample into male and female subgroups. Attitude towards prisoners was first entered into the equation as a covariate, followed by age. After controlling for the covariate, age was no longer a predictor of total fear of crime for both gender groups. Yet for fear of being cheated, while it could be predicted by age for female (ÃŽÂ ² = .14, p Discussion The present study aimed to look at age and gender effects on fear of crime and their relationships with attitude towards prisoner and crime, life satisfaction, living arrangement and religion in a Chinese sample. In general, women reported higher average scores on fear than men among all aspects of crime, indicating that women were always more afraid of crime than men regardless of how fear of crime was measured. Women in our sample also reported that they were most afraid of being raped or sexually assaulted, followed by fear of being murder and fear of being attacked by someone with a weapon. This pattern of results were in line with previous findings that women were more fearful than men because they were particularly vulnerable to crime and were less able than men to defend themselves physically; therefore, women perceived themselves to be at greater risk of crimes than men (LaGrange and Ferraro, 1989; Smith and Torstensson, 1997). The results were also consistent with previous s tudies that fear of sexual assault operated as a master offense among women, which in turn heightened their fear of other victimizations, e.g. murder, attacks, or burglary (Ferraro, 1995). On the other hand, fear of being murder was most common among males, followed by fear of being attacked by someone with a weapon and fear of being raped or sexually assaulted. Interestingly, the current results replicated the findings of LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) in which men reported that they were afraid of being sexually assaulted (presumably by other men). In the second part of the study, a factor analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between gender and age of participants and their various crime perceptions. Results of the present study showed a gender effect on fear of crime, in which women had significantly higher score on total fear of crime, fear of being cheated and fear of physical harm than men. These findings were consistent with previous research in which females might have lower threshold for fear than males. An evolutionary approach has been put forward by researchers to explain this gender difference in fear of crime (e.g. Campbell, Muncer and Bibel, 2001; Fetchenhauer and Buunk, 2005; Sidebottom and Tilley, 2008). In a Dutch study, Fetchenhauer and Buunk (2005) showed that females were significantly more fearful than males when presented with scenarios (both criminal and non-criminal events) that resulted in physical injury, and they proposed that gender differences in fear of all kinds of events that inv olved physical injury may be the result of sexual selection that favoured risk-taking and status fights among males, and being cautious and protecting ones offspring among females (p.111). The current study also found a significant positive correlation between age and fear of being cheated, suggesting that older people were more afraid of being cheated than younger people. The result reflects the varying importance attached to material wealth with age: the costs of property loss might have greater impact on middle-aged group since they are more likely to have accumulated property and have dependent children compared to younger age group (Moore and Shepherd, 2007). Based on data derived from the 2001 British Crime Survey, Moore and Shepherd (2007) concluded that fear of property loss was greatest at around 40-60 years, peaked at around 45 years, whereas a lower level of fear was observed at about 16-25 years. Another possibility for the age differences in fear might be due to socialization. Past research has shown that socialization may increase the amount of contacts with others, and thus people who socialize more often may increase their likelihood of fraud victimizat ion (Van Wyk and Manson, 2001). In a recent study, Schoepfer and Piquero (2009) demonstrated that risky behaviour and age were important factors that predicted the likelihood of fraud victimization: individuals who were open to financial risk-taking and engaged in more risky behaviours were more likely to be a victim of fraud (e.g. free prize fraud, credit or bank account fraud and being billed for more than what the product is worth). It should also be noted that older people in our sample are postgraduate students who might have higher income and socialize more often and thus they have greater opportunities to be victimized than younger people. Results in this study also showed that the relationship between age and fear of being cheated was influenced by individuals attitude towards prisoner. Since not much research has been done on fear of being cheated, more studies are needed to look at the relationship between age and fear of deception. Nonetheless, no significant correlation was found between age and fear of physical harm, indicating that that age was not associated with levels of fear of being physical harm. Further analysis was performed in the next section to look at gender and age effects on various constructs of fear. Significant gender-age interaction effects were found on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated. After controlling the variable attitude towards prisoner, age was a significant predictor of fear of being cheated in females, but not in males. There was a positive correlation between age and fear of being cheated among females, suggesting that older females were more fearful of being victimized than males. This may be due in part to the fact that personal victimization can have more serious consequences for women than men. Past research has indicated that crime fear involve both emotional and evaluative components and it is shaped by the vividness of the image of crime and perceptions of the severity of the consequences of crimes, together with feelings of personal control and perceptions of victimization likelihood (Jackson, 2006). It has been found that some vict ims of fraud may experience more harmful long-term effects than those victimized by conventional crimes, and many of them continued to suffer from lasting problems with finances, self-esteem, embarrassment, and self-blaming even ten years after the incidents (Shover, Fox and Mills, 1994). Recently, Schoepfer and Piquero (2009, p.210) argued that some fraud victimizations have even been equated to those of rape since both crime are rarely reported by victims and both involved victim facilitation, and questions of guilt and responsibility are the burden of the victims; hence, this makes females more fearful of being cheated than males. However, the current results did not support some of the past findings on fear of fraud victimization. Mixed results were found in previous studies concerning gender difference on fear of property loss. For instance, LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) found no gender different on fear of being conned or swindled out of money and fear of being approach by a beg gar; whereas Moore and Shepherd (2007) showed that men were more fearful than women of property loss. One of the possibilities for the discrepancy in these findings might be due to the cultural difference in crime rates. Since fear of crime also reflects actual crime rate in society, results in the present study might also suggest that older women are more vulnerable to minor crimes, e.g. street or telephone deception, than men in the local area. Yet, no interaction effect on fear of physical harm was found in this study. Additional study might be needed to investigate how womens fear of being cheated varies with age. There are two possible limitations in the current study that should be taken into account. The first one relates to variables that were not included in the questionnaire, namely the mass media effect, crime prevalence and previous victimization experience. Due to the limitations of the standard questionnaire used in the present study, these factors were not included. It is well-established that the mass media plays an important role in shaping individuals attitude towards prisoner and the perception of crime and fear. According to the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), people may attend to information about criminal activities from a series of amplified stations (e.g. mass media and interpersonal communication), and the risk signals may interact with a wide range of psychological, social and cultural processes in ways that intensity their actual risks (Kasperson et al. 2003). Researchers have demonstrated that tabloid readers who have an extensive level of crime media exp osure are about twice more likely to be worried than those who have limited exposure to crime source (Smolej and Kivivuori, 2006). Previous literature on media consumption and public attitude toward crime has also shown that offenders are often portrayed as different from the general population and viewed as psychopaths that prey on weak and vulnerable victims (Dowler, 2003). Recently, Reiner (2008) argued that crime stories often exaggerate the crime risks faced by higher-status people and always disproportionately representing women, children, or older people as victims, and this might heighten publics fear of crime. Over the past decade, researchers have attempted to integrate fear of crime into macro and micro levels of analysis (Ferraro, 1995; Jackson, 2004). At the macro-level, publics fear of crime is related to crime prevalence in society and local communities; whereas, at the micro-level, neighbourhood characteristics and personal characteristics (e.g. previous victimization experience, anxiety and everyday worry) may interact to produce differential perception of risk which, in turn, produces either fearful or adaptive reactions to crime (or both) (Farrall, Gray and Jackson, 2007). In future research it might be interesting to examine how these factors interact with age and gender to produce different levels of fear of being cheated. The second possible limitation is that the current findings could not be generalized into diverse cultures with different age groups. In this study, subjects were undergraduates or postgraduates recruited from a local university and they might have similar ag e, background, living situation, and ethnicity; therefore, their crime experience will be alike. In the future study, participants from various age groups and cultures are needed in order to generalize the results outside the Chinese society.

Essay --

The Day of Infamy By Spencer Niemann December 7th, 1941. This was the date of one of the most important attacks on the United States in the history of America. This was the date of the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor was the last straw that led to the United States joining World War II as part of the Allied Power. The bombing was in reaction to many economic sanctions that were placed on Japan, so the bombing was not just to make the United States mad. We can see many reasons as to why Japan would bomb Pearl Harbor. There were many events that led up to Japan making the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor. It all started with Japan wanting to expand their power. Japan started trying to take over Asia, they landed in the east coast of China in Manchuria and stationed troops there in order to try and take over northeastern China. ("Japan Launches A Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941"). In reaction to Japan’s landing and hostility towards China the United States, who wanted to keep the open-door policy with China, placed economic sanctions of Japan to slow down Japan’s advances in China. (Higgs). President Roosevelt hoped that these sanctions that the united states put on Japan would lead them to making the mistake of declaring war on the United States (which would also bring Italy and Germany into the attack too since they were all allied) the reason why Roosevelt would want to go to war was that Roosevelt didn’t like the Japanese and the Germans. However Roosevelt d id like China, although we don’t know for sure why but many think it was because his ancestors made money in China . (Higgs). Japan was angered by the United States putting these ... ...ly men began to form long lines at army and navy recruiting centers to enlist for the army and navy, mainly for the need to get revenge on Japan. (â€Å"Pearl Harbor Attack.†) Although Pearl Harbor was the main naval base to be attacked on December 7th 1941, it was not the only base attacked, the Japanese government launched an attack against Malaya, and Japanese forces also attacked Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island and Midway Island. (Rose 213-215). The Japanese attacking these islands were important because they were allies to the United States and also if Japan was to take over these islands they would have a lot of control of the Pacific and of course the United States didn’t want this to happen. So the Americans knew that they didn’t have many options other than engaging into war with Japan, which lead to the United States joining World War II.

The Drug Codeine :: essays research papers

The Drug Codeine We used several different sources to gather our information. We go information from Jay Moser and Sue Peterson, our two local pharmacists. We researched medical encyclopedias, journals, and magazines. Codeine is known medically as methylmorphine. It is a drug derived from opium, a poppy plant. It was discovered in 1832 by French chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet. Codeine constitutes about 0.5 to 2.5 percent of this plant substance. The drug has been in use since the early 1900's and it shares most of the pharmacologic characteristics of morphine, the other alkaloid in opium. Codeine is classified as a narcotic, it has the same painkiller effect as morphine but is only one-sixth to one-tenth as strong. Codeine occurs as a colorless or white crystals or as a white, crystalline powder and is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol. The phosphate and sulfate salts of codeine occur as white, needle- shaped crystals or white, crystalline powders. Why is it used? Codeine is most useful in the relief of mild to moderate pain. It is also used as a cough remedy because it suppresses the part of the brain that triggers coughing, and as an anti-diarrheal drug, because it slows down muscle contractions in the intestinal wall. There are possible adverse effects. The most frequently observed adverse reactions include lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea, vomiting, and sweating. These effects seem to be more prominent in ambulatory patients and in those who are not suffering severe pain. Other adverse reactions include the following: (1) Central Nervous System- Euphoria, dysphoria, weakness, headache, insomnia, agitation, disorientation, and visual disturbances. (2) Gastrointestinal- Dry mouth, anorexia, constipation, and biliary tract spasm. (3) Cardiovascular- Flushing of the face, abnormally slow heartbeat, faintness, and syncope. (4) Genitourinary- Urinary retention of hesitancy, anti-diuretic effect. (5) Allergic- skin rashes. Most drug manufactors list specific warnings to be aware of when taking codeine. (1) Codeine sulfate can produce drug dependence of the morphine type, and therefore has the potential for being abused psychic dependence, physical dependence and tolerance may develop upon repeated administration of Codeine. (2) Codeine may impair the mental and or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery. (3) Patients receiving other narcotic painkillers, general anesthetics, tranquilizers, or other central nervous system depressants, including alcohol with codeine may exhibit an additive central nervous system depression. Who shouldn't take codeine? Pregnant women should not use codeine because safe use in pregnancy has not been established. Children below the age of three shouldn't be given this drug for that age group hasn't been established. Codeine should be given with caution to certain patients such as the elderly or

Comparative Analysis of Economic and Political Cleavages in South Afric

Comparative Analysis of Economic and Political Cleavages in South Africa and Zimbabwe Introduction Comparative politics is concerned with examining the characteristics or qualities of two different political entities to discover resemblances or differences. These entities can be general in nature, for example, the comparison of two countries, or more specific in nature, comparing two different systems of government. But, whether general or specific in nature, comparative politics tries to determine what caused the governments to form in the way that they did. One way to do this is to look for the cleavages that affected each of the countries in question. A cleavage is a split that occurs within a culture and can cause conflict Cleavages can be in the form of : Economic divisions between two or more groups based on financial considerations. Ethnic divisions between two or more groups based on cultural beliefs. Political divisions between two or more parties involving conflicting ideologies. Racial divisions between two or more races. Regional divisions between two or more groups based on geographical concerns. Religious divisions between two or more religious groups with differing beliefs. This paper intends to demonstrate that the comparative method may be used to better understand the socioeconomic and political cleavages within two specific countries, and that this study may lead to a clearer understanding of the issues within the chosen countries that are causing those divisions. The countries that will be examined in this brief study of cleavages are Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. It is hoped that by examining specific socioeconomic cleavages of the two countries in th... ...izer. Mbeki should do something similar. The health of a country ultimately resides in the well-being of its citizens. Works Cited Dunn, Kate. "Learning from Zimbabwe's bitter lessons." Christian Science Monitor. 09/15/2000, Vol. 92 Issue 206, p 8. Dunn, Kate. "Surfeit of Ideas, But still no land reform in Zimbabwe." Christian Science Monitor. 11/08/2000, Vol. 92 Issue 243, p 7. The Economist, "South Africa's anxious eyes on Zimbabwe." 04115/2000, Vol. 355 Issue 8166, p 39. The Economist, "Zimbabwe's tighter belts, and shorter tempers." 0/28/00, Vol. 355, p 41. Meldrurn, Andrew. "African leaders criticize Mugabe for farm seizures." www.guardianunlimited.co.uk, 12/01/2000. Owen, Danielle. "Land reform overdue in South Africa," Progress Report. www.progress.org UNAIDS. www.unaids.org. Statistics of AIDS on a country by country basis.

Pressure Ulcers

Feature Strategies to improve the prevention of pressure ulcers Judy Elliott describes a project that sought to improve tissue viability during the patient journey from admission to discharge Summary This article outlines the actions taken by one acute trust to implement evidence-based, best practice recommendations for pressure ulcer prevention. Initially, an exploratory study identified specific areas for practice development, particularly improving early risk assessment, intervention and focus on heel ulcers.Further actions included recruiting tissue viability support workers to promote a pressure ulcer campaign. Prevalence audit results demonstrated improved prevention and reduced prevalence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by 6 per cent and heel ulcers by 4. 9 per cent. Further work is required to ensure prevention strategies are consistent and documented. Keywords Best practice, evidence base, pressure ulcer prevention ( Institute for Innovation and Improvement 2009), there fore it is important to seek further initiatives to eliminate avoidable pressure ulcers from NHS care.Tissue damage A pressure ulcer is defined as (European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) and National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) 2009): ‘†¦ localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear. ‘ Healthy individuals are continuously moving and readjusting their body posture to prevent excess pressure and shear forces. Reduced mobility or sensation interrupts this natural response, rendering an individual vulnerable to tissue damage.Eurther susceptibility is influenced by an individual's intrinsic risk factors reflected by their tissue tolerance (Bonomini 2003). Individual risk factors include immobility, malnourishment, cognitive impairment, acute and chronic ulness (National Institute for Health and CUnicad Excellence (NICE) 2005). Pressure ulcer preventio n involves the modification of an individual's risk factors by the whole multidiscipUnciry team (Gould et al 2000). Risk assessment Identification of vulnerable individuals can be challenging.Designated risk assessment tools have been found to lack reliability and validity with a tendency to overestimate risk (Pancorbo-Hidalgo et al 2006). The NICE (2005) guideline emphasises the importance of early assessment, within sbc hours, using clinical judgement. Vanderwee et al (2007a) found skin inspection more reliable compared with an assessment tool, with 50 per cent fewer patients identified as requiring intervention cuid no significant difference in patient outcomes. The skin should be assessed for early signs of tissue damage, which November 2010 | Volume 22 | Number 9PRESSURE ULCERS have potentially devastating consequences for patients, hospitals and the overaU hecdth economy. An estimated 5 to 10 per cent of patients admitted to hospital develop pressure ulcers, resulting in incre ased suffering, morbidity and mortaUty (Clark 2002, Redelings et al 2005) and depleting NHS budgets by 4 per cent, or more than ? 2 billion ? mnually (Bennett et al 2004). Prevention is a complex, multifactorial process and although it is accepted that some pressure ulcers are unavoidable, most are considered preventable.Acknowledging the difficulty in establishing national comparative prevalence data because of variances in methodology and settings (Calianno 2007), a prevalence of 21. 9 per cent of patients affected was reported in a pilot study of UK acute hospitals in 2001 (Clark et al 2004). Pressure ulcer prevention is a nursing quality indicator and high impact action for nursing and midwifery (NHS NURSING OLDER PEOPLE Feature Figure 1 I Illustrations showing a correctly fitting chair to ensure sufficient I pressure redistribution and poor sitting posture 1.The patient should be seated with hips and knees at right angles, feet flat on the floor and arms/shoulders supported. Th e patient's weight is evenly displaced through the feet, thighs and sacrum. 2. The chair is too low; the patient's upper legs are not supported, and weight is increased onto the buttocks leading to greater risk of pressure damage. include observable discolouration and palpable tissue changes such as localised bogginess, heat or cold (NICE 2005). International guidelines (EPUAP/NPUAP 2009) advise a structured approach to risk assessment using a combination of all three techniques.Ecirly intervention Once risk is identified immediate action is imperative to minimise risk of pressure ulcer development. As evidence is weak for specific interventions a number of areas should be addressed, involving ecirly initiation of preventive action, improving tissue tolerance and protecting from the adverse effects of pressure, friction and shear (Calianno 2007). Nutrition and tissue loading are two areas of nursing influence. Strategies to ensure optimal nutrition should be used and the provision o f oral nutritioneil supplements has been associated with reduced tissue breakdown (Bourdel-Marchasson et al 2000).Tissue loading may be addressed by manual and mechcinical repositioning, mobuisation and exercise. Strategies to minimise shear forces include addressing posture, moving and handling techniques and use of electric profiling beds (Keogh and Dealey 2001). Positioning and repositioning Research has not established an optimeil frequency of patient repositioning (Defloor et al 2005). Repositioning should be undertaken on an individual basis in Une with ongoing skin evaluation, avoiding bony prominences (NICE 2005).The skin shoiUd be closely monitored to ensure effectiveness of the regimen and further actions taken if ciny signs of tissue damage occur. November 2010 Volume 22 Number 9 A flatter position distributes body weight more evenly. Semi-Fowler (semi-recumbent) and prone positions yield the lowest interface pressures with sitting cind 90-degree side-lying the highest (S ewchuk et al 2006). Repositioning using the 30-degree tuted side-lying position (alternately right side, back, left side) or prone position is advised (EPUAP/NPUAP 2009).The repositioning regimen should be agreed with the patient and will require adaptation to ensure concordance with comfort, symptoms and medical condition. Prolonged chair sitting is impUcated with greater risk of pressure ulcer development (Gebhardt and BUss 1994). Chair sitting should be Umited to less than two hours at ciny one time for the acutely ul at-risk individual (Clark 2009). A correctly fitting chair is important to ensure sufflcient pressure redistribution (Figure 1).Poor sitting posture may cause posterior pelvic tilt (sacral sitting) or pelvic obUquity (side tUting onto one buttock), with the ideal chair allowing feet to sit flat on the floor, with hips and knees at 90 degrees and arm/shoulders supported (Beldon 2007). Support surfaces High specification foam mattresses have demonstrated improved perf ormance in pressure ulcer prevention (Defloor et al 2005), leading assessme Low risk †¢ Use static foam mattress. †¢ Reassess if patient's condition changes. Medium risk †¢ Use static foam mattress. †¢ Implement repositioning regimen. Check skin at least daily. †¢ If any signs of pressure damage request dynamic (air) mattress. †¢ Reassess if patient's condition changes. High risk (contraindicated if patient weighs more than 39 stone (refer to guidelines), has a spinal injury (refer to trauma and orthopaedics) or unstable fracture). †¢ Use dynamic (air) mattress. †¢ Implement repositioning regimen. †¢ Check skin at least daily. †¢ If any further signs of pressure damage increase repositioning programme. †¢ Reassess and step down onto static mattress as patient's condition improves.Remember to apply heel protector boots for patients at risk or with heel pressure ulcers. NURSING OLDER PEOPLE Feature to replacement of standard mattr esses by most hospital trusts. There has also been considerable investment in mechanical (dynamic) support surfaces, where air is pumped through the mattress via alternating pressure or low air loss. However, the benefits of these devices remain unclear in terms of clinlccd and cost effectiveness (Reddy et al 2006). Pressure ulcer incidence rates of 5 to 11 per cent have been reported in studies, with longer use associated with greater risk (Theaker et al 2005).These devices should be considered m conjunction with other support surfaces as delayed or inconsistent use may negate the benefits. Multiple strategies A number of studies have attained favourable outcomes using multiple interventions. Examples include introducing a multidisciplinary working party, improving management of pressure-relieving equipment, educational programmes and developing new guidelines (Gould et al 2000, Catania et al 2007, Dobbs et al 2007). Variations in approach suggest the commitment of practitioners is vital to success. For example, a support surface . howed improved outcomes only when used In conjunction with an educational programme for registered nurses (RNs) (Sewchuk et al 2006). Factors identified as impeding pressure ulcer prevention include lack of time, staffing levels and staff knowledge (Moore and Price 2004, Pancorbo-Hidalgo et al 2006, Robinson and Mercer 2007). Skill mix may also influence outcomes. Horn et al (2005) investigated staffing levels in a nursing home and found fewer pressure ulcers were associated with more direct RN care for each resident. heels' protocolj Apply heel protector boots to patients at high risk of heel ulcers when on bed rest.Assessment criteria include limited mobility and: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ I Is patient immobile, heavily sedated or unconscious? Can patient lift his or her leg up in bed? Is there any evidence of heel tissue breakdown, blistering or ulceration? Does the patient have diabetes, vascular or renal disease? experie nces highlighted the challenges in delivering timely, optimal preventive care. Opportunities to improve preventive care during the patient journey from admission to discharge were identified. These processes were influenced by the level of communication and collaborative care.Practice development recommendations included: †¢ Improve early risk assessment and intervention. †¢ Direct resources to the start of the patient journey. †¢ Prevent heel ulcers. Further actions were taken during 2009/10 to develop practice in line with these recommendations. Method Tissue viabUity support workers were recruited for each hospital site to focus on pressure ulcer prevention, in particular managing pressure-relieving equipment. They reclaimed dynamic mattresses and recurected them to admitting areas to enable immediate access ‘at the front door'.They were entrusted with keeping a ‘float' of mattresses in a clean library store and helping with maintenance, decontamination eind training. In September 2009 a trust-wide pressure ulcer campaign was launched. This focused on three Interventions: support surface, positioning and repositioning and heel offloading: 1. Risk assessment within six hours and appropriate support surface (Box 1). A simple flow chart was disseminated highlighting a structured patient pathway, based on NICF (2005) best practice recommendations.Initial risk assessment was encouraged using clinical judgement to help early assessment in the emergency admitting areas. A more detailed assessment was requested during the following 24 hours using the Waterlow assessment tool (Waterlow 1988) to provide risk status confirmation and identify individual risk factors. Patients were assessed as low risk (fuUy mobile and minimal risk factors/Waterlow score 20). All trust static mattresses consist of high specification foam offering protection to all admitted patients. The trust has purchased November 2010 Volume 22 BackgroundAn exploratory study of pressure ulcer prevention was undertaken in the project hospital trust during 2007/08. The trust includes three acute sites covering a large geographical area consisting of more than 1,200 beds and serving a predominantly ageing population. A case study meth(3dology was used to consider the topic from a range of perspectives using quantitative zind qualitative data (Yin 2003). A reduction in overall and hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevcdence since 2001 was found. Steady reduction in sacral ulcers was observed with the heel emerging as the most common site for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by 2008.Increased prevalence observed in 2009 reflected revised data collection methods and improved reuabuity with thorough skin inspection. Data were also generated from focus group interviews with multidisciplinary clinicians. Their NURSING OLDER PEOPLE Feature more than 350 dyncimic mattresses and local recommendations prioritise patients at high risk, unless contraindicated. 2. Im plementation of revised positioning cind repositioning documentation. Revised documentation included a visual care plan/ regimen, repositioning chart and skin evaluation for all vulnerable patients. 3. F*revention of heel ulcers.The ‘hecilthy heels' project ran concurrent to the Ccimpaign cind was undertaken from October 2009 to March 2010. Funding was procured for regular provision of heel protector boots that ‘float the heel' and offload pressure to augment the repositioning and positioning programme. A protocol was disseminated aiming to protect patients with high risk factors such as diabetes or early signs of tissue damage located at the heel (Box 2). The annual prevalence audit methodology was revised to improve reliabUity of data collection cind undertciken in Februcuy 2009 and repeated in February 2010.Data was collected by tissue viabibty nurses at the bedside including skin inspection eind related preventive interventions. Previously, ward nurses supplied the d ate using vcirious collection methods. Data analysis was undertaken by the trust's clinical audit team. ulcers as some patients hav e more than one pressure ulcer. Audit results from Februciry 2010 showed a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevcilence by 6 per cent and a reduction in total pressure ulcer prevalence by 4. 7 per cent (Table 1). Prevalence of patients with pressure ulcers had reduced from the previous audit by 2. per cent to 13. 4 per cent (Table 1). More than half of the total inpatient population was assessed as vulnerable to pressure dcimage. This information enables comparison with similar populations and indicates a 2 per cent increase in the population at risk from the previous year. There was also a reduction in all grades/ categories of hospiteil-acquired pressure ulcers (Table 2). The grade (category) of ulcer is used to assess depth of tissue damage, with grades 1 to 2 affecting the top skin layers and grades 3 to 4 including the deeper underlyin g tissues (EPUAP/ NPUAP 2009).The origin of some pressure ulcers was not fully established, mainly because of lack of documentation and appearance of the ulcer (Table 2). There were observable improving standards in best practice and patient comfort and care on the wards. Repositioning care plcinning documentation had improved by 7 per cent but ongoing documented repositioning had reduced by 1 per cent (Table 3). Further improvements are required to meet best practice standards in both cases. Although the heel remained the most common site for pressure dcimage, there was a reduction in hospital-acquired heel ulcers by 4. per cent. Results Benefits beccime apparent during the campaign with observable improvements in patient access to equipment cind eeirly intervention. The results were analysed in terms of patient prevalence (percentage of patients with one or more pressure ulcer) and pressure ulcer prevcilence (percentage of pressure ulcers). The prevalence of pressure ulcers is usu ally greater than the prevalence of patients with pressure Prevalence of pressure ulcers Discussion The tissue viability support workers were instrumental in raising awareness of prevention 009 Number Number of patients Population at risk Prevalence of patients with pressure ulcers Prevalence of pressure ulcers Pressure ulcers acquired in hospital Pressure ulcers present on admission Origin not known (unsure/not completed) Percentage Number 2010 Percentage Change Percentage 976 497 151 242 132 930 51 15. 5 24. 7 13. 5 492 125 186 53 13. 4 20. 0 7. 5 6. 8 5. 7 T2. 0 i 2. 1 J. 4. 7 J. 6. 0 i 0. 8 I2. 2 70 63 53 75 35 7. 6 3. 5 1 November 2010 Volume 22 Number 9 NURSING OLDER PEOPLE Feature in the admitting areas and improving early access to dynamic mattresses.Previously, dynamic systems were often a late intervention, once pressure damage was appeirent, cind competing demands from the wards impeded availability. A structured approach supported fairer allocation, prioritisation by pat ient need and improved availability. The support workers also improved processes by fostering good teamwork with support staff, hospital management teams and nursing departments. Their presence in the ward areas improved preventive care, related protocols and provided a link with the tissue viability nurses.Our experiences suggest that further education and communication are essential to reach a staff. The ‘healthy heels' campaign demonstrated the effectiveness of heel protectors in a prevention strategy. These devices were used for prevention and treatment to ‘float the heel', with resolution of superflcial tissue damage often achieved through continued use. This included the treatinent of superficial necrosis (black heels), which in many cases were kept dry cind allowed to slough off retaining viable deeper tissues, as recommended by EPUAP/NPUAP (2009).The audit results mirror previous reports of less than 10 per cent of hospiteil patients having documented adequate pr eventive care (Vanderwee ef al 2007b). Some nurses expressed concems over time constrEiints and extra paperwork, which may have contributed to a reluctance to adopt revised positioning and repositioning documentation. Communication and education Achievement of best practice standar Best practice standard quired pressujmJceyar^ajeiKe by grad Grade of pressure ulcer Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Total 2009 Number 59 54 7 12 2010 Number 35 24 6 5 70 Percentage Change Percentage Percentage 6,0 5. 3,7 2,5 0,6 0,5 i 2. 3 4-3. 0 0. 7 1. 2 i 0,1 1 0,7 132 Origin not known (unsure/not completed) Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 16 15 2 2 1. 6 1. 5 0,2 0. 2 23 23 7 0 2,4 2. 4 0. 7 T0. 8 i 0,9 IO. 5 _ Total 35 † 1 issues were other possible factors. The trust operates a link nurse system for tissue viability education that may limit dissemination to all nursing staff. In an audit of 44 UK hospitals Phillips and Buttery (2009) also found a lack of documentary evidence of risk assessment on admission and C2ire planning, together with the need to improve immediate allocation of appropriate resources.Early risk assessment and immediate intervention may also be hcimpered by the focus on emergency care in admitting areas. Robinson and Mercer (2007) identified contextual barriers to pressure ulcer prevention in emergency departments as use of a stretcher and a lack of basic care provision for older Patients having a documented pressure ulcer risk assessment within six hours of admission. Patients with documented risk assessment at time of audit. Patients nursed on appropriate mattress.Patients with a high or medium risk of developing a pressure ulcer with documented evidence of a positioning and repositioning regimen. Patients with a high or medium risk of developing a pressure ulcer with documented evidence of repositioning. Use of heel protectors and offloading techniques (of total number heel ulcers). Ulcers with resolving/treated infection. Prevalence of patients wit h hospital-acquired heel ulcers. 75 79 88 13 T9 11 33 2 7,9 10 4. 1 36 0. 2 3,0 I3 Improved by 1. 8 i 4. 9 NURSING OLDER PEOPLE November 2010 Volume 22 adults.The improvement of resources and processes in admitting cireas is crucial to prevention. Technological advances may cdso have created a culture focused on dynamic systems as the primary intervention. Eurther difficulties may cuise in maintaining individual repositioning schedules in busy hospital Wcirds where competing demands often require a more immediate response. Hobbs (2004) demonstrated improved outcomes when regular repositioning schedules were re-established. Eurther work is required to place the emphasis on patient mobilisation and prevention and away from equipment and treatment.Education and leadership are peiramount to generate this culture shift and rebalance these nursing priorities. Conclusion A comprehensive review of previous and current prevention activity was invaluable in identifying appropriate areas for i mproved intervention. The recruitment of tissue viability support staff assisted with early risk assessment and intervention, particularly in terms of pressure-relieving equipment. A pressure ulcer campaign was useful in raising awareness of three interventions: early risk assessment and intervention, positioning cind repositioning regimens eind ‘healthy heels' project.Audit results from Eebruary 2010 showed a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence by 6 per cent and a reduction in total pressure ulcer prevalence by 4. 7 per cent. Heel offloading using heel protector boots was an effective strategy for prevention and treatment of heel pressure ulcers. Although the heel remained the most common site for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, there was a reduction in prevcilence by 4. 9 per cent. Improvements are indicated in the provision of documentary evidence to support prevention, particularly in terms of risk assessment, positioning and repositioning programme s.This project has demonstrated that responding to organisational specific factors can produce encouraging results in pressure ulcer prevention and identify' areas for continued effort. Dedicated leadership, education, teamwork and commitment are fundamental to continue to improve standards and ensure best possible patient outcomes. Online archive For related information, visit our online archive of more than 6,000 articles and search using the keywords Find out more Copies of the positioning and repositioning regimen can be obtained by emailing the author at: Judy. [email  protected] nhs. ukThis article has been subject to double-blind review and checked using antiplaglarism software. For author guidelines visit the Nursing Older People home page at www. nursingolderpeople. co. uk Judy Elliott is lead tissue viability nurse. East Kent Hospitals NHS University Foundation Trust, Canterbury References Bcldon P (2007) Silting safely to prevent pressure damage. Wound Essentials. 2, 10 2-104. Bennett G, Dealey C, Posnetl J (2004) The cost oi pressure ulcers in the UK. A^e and Ageing. 33, 3, 230-235. Bonomini J (2003) Effective interventions for pressure ulcer prevention. Nursing Standard. 17. 32. 4300.Bourdel-Marehasson I, Barateau M, Rondeau V el al (2000) A multicenter trial of the effects of oriu nutritional supplementation in critically ill older inpatients. Nutrition. 16, 1, 1-5. Calianno C (2007) Quality improvement strategies to prevent pressure ulcers. Nurse Practitioner. 32, 7, 10, 13-I5. Catania K, Huang C, James P et al (2007) PlIPI'l: The Pressure Ulcer Prevention Protocol Interventions. American Joumai of Nursing. 107, 4, 44-52. Clark M (2002) Pressure ulcers and quality of life. Nursing Standard 16. 22, 74-80. Clark M (2009) Guidelines for seating in pressure ulcer prevention and management.Nursing Times. 105, 16, 40-41. Clark M. Defloor T, Bours G (2004) A pilot study of the prevalence of pressure ulcers in European hospitals. In Clark M (Ed) Pressu re Ulcers: Recent Advances in Tissue Viability. Quay Boolcs. London. Defloor T, De Bacquer D, Grypdonck M (2005) The effect of various combinations of turning and pres. sure reducing devices on the incidence of pressure ulcers. International Joumai of Nursing Studies. 42, 1, 37-46. Dobbs N, Spanbauer P, Datz D (2007) Continuous automated pressure ulcer monitoring. Journal for Nurses in Staff ue-elopment. 23. 3, 132-135.European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (2009) I're. ‘^sure Ulcer Prevention Quick Reference Guide. NPtJAP, Washington DC. Gebhardt K, Bliss M (1U94) Prevention of pressure sores in orthopaedic patients: is prolonged chair nursing detrimental? Journal of TLisue Viability. 4, 2, 51-54. Gould D, James T, I^rpey A et al (2000) Intervention studies to reduce the prevalence and incidence of pressure sores: a literature review. Joumai of Clinical Nursing. 9, 2,163-177. Hobbs B (2004) Reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers: implementation of a tum-team nursing program.Joumai of Gerontological Nursmg. 30, 11,46-51. Horn S, Buerbaus P, Bergstrom N et al (2005) RN staffing time and outcomes of long-stay nursing home residents: pressure ulcers and other adverse outcomes are less likely as RNs spend more time on direct patient care. American Joumai of Nursing. 105, 11, 58-70. Keogh A, Dealey C (2001) Profiling beds ver. sus standard hospital beds: effects on pressure ulcer incidence outcomes. Joumai of Wound Care. 10,2, 15-19. Moore Z, Price P (2004) Nurses' attitudes, behaviours and perceived barriers towards pressure ulcer prevention. Joumai of Clinical Nursing. 3,8,942-951. NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (2009) High Impact Actions for Nursing and Midwifery. NHS Institute for Irmovation and Improvement, Coventry: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2003) The Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers. Clinical Guideline 29. NICE, London. Pancorbo-Hidalgo P, Garcia-Femande z F, Lopez-Medina I et al (2006) Risk assessment scales for pressure ulcer prevention: a systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 34, 1,94-110. Pbillips L, Buttery J (2009) Exploring pressure ulcer prevalence and preventadve care. Nursing Times. 05, 16, 34-36. Reddy M, Gill S, Rocbon P (2006) Preventing pressure ulcers: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 296, 8, 974-984. Redelings M, Lee N, Sorvillo F (2003) Pressure ulcers: more lethal than we thought? Advances in Skin and Wound Care. 18. 7. 367-372. Robinson S, Mercer S (2007) Older adult care in the emergency department: identifying strategies that foster best practice. Joumai of Gerontological Nursing. 33, T, 40-47. Sewcbuk D, Padula C, Osborne E (2006) Prevention and eari> detection of pressure ulcers in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.AORN Joumai. 84. 1, 75-96. Tbeaker C, Kuper M, Soni N (2005) Pressure ulcer prevention in intensive care – a randomised control trial of two press ure-relieving devices, . ‘ aesthesia. 60, 4. 395-399. Vanderwee K, Grypdonck M, Defloor T (2007a) Non-blanchable erythema as an indicator for the need for pressure ulcer prevention: a randomized-controUed trial. Joumai of Clinical Nursing. 16. 2, 325-335. Vanderwee K, Clark M, Dealey C et al (2007b) Pressure ulcer prevalence in Europe: a pilot study. Joumai of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. 13, 2, 227-235.Walerlow J (1988) The Waterlow card for the prevention and management of pressure sores: towards a pocket policy. Care Science and Practice. 6, 1,8-12. Yin R (2003) Case Study Research, Design and Methods. Third edition. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks CA. November 2010 Volume 22 I Number 9 NURSING OLDER PEOPLE Copyright of Nursing Older People is the property of RCN Publishing Company and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

What Make’s Up One’s Identity

There are a great deal of factors that altogether form one’s identity, the most relevant and main ones are culture, which includes nationality as well as religion, intellect, personality, and world exposure. I. Culture is a crucial factor when it comes to forming one’s identity. A. The characteristics of our country of origin. * The power that our nationality has on our person. * The language, our culinary traditions, clothing etc. B. Religion. * The values. * The traditions. II. Ways of interpreting situations and our personality, strongly mirror who we are.A. The elements that formed our intellect. * Education and upbringing. * Political views, as well as other ideas concerning society’s organization. B. The social attributes we gain. * The individuals in our surroundings. * The experiences we go through. III. The strong impact of travelling on our identity. A. Eye-openers that broaden our minds. * The new cultures we integrate. * The new people we meet and the ir influence on our personality. B. Developing a sense of belonging to more than one culture. * The process of becoming a â€Å"halfie†.Merriam Webster’s online dictionary defines identity as â€Å"the distinguishing character or personality of an individual†, which is undoubtedly true. Firstly there is culture, in other words, the land we feel we belong in and the characteristics that come with belonging to this particular country. Seldom do people remember to include one’s personality in the definition of his or hers identity. However, it is extremely important because it is precisely what distinguishes us from our compatriots; otherwise our identity would not be uniquely ours, but the one of everyone from the same land.Moreover, it should not be forgotten that identity is permanently subject to change, whether it be through travelling or new experiences. The combination of all these factors are what forms one’s identity. Culture probably consist s of attributes that form more than half of our identity, and it is mainly formed of our nationality and our religion. It is essential, that one feels a strong bond between him and his country; this is the reason why nationality is so often spoken about, when the topic of identity is being discussed.An individual needs to feel as if he has a homeland, meaning a place where he can relate to others because they live in the same environment, have the same climate, the same state regulations, duties, as well benefit from the same rights. To that effect, one feels a sense of comradeship between him and his â€Å"soil†. This is why individuals sometimes voluntarily join the army, because they feel obliged to defend their country. And some soldiers today, in particular the ones of the American army, are sent all the way across the world to Iraq for the sole purpose of fighting for their state.Individuals feel a strong need to be patriotic, and some are willing to go to great lengths to show to others why they believe their country is â€Å"best†. A British character in Oliver Goldsmith’s text â€Å"National prejudice†, who is â€Å"cocking his hat, and assuming such an air of importance as if he had possessed all the merit of the English nation† (Goldsmith), clearly illustrates this point because he makes discriminatory statements in the name of his nation. All of the above goes to show the fundamental impact one’s nationality has on his or hers identity.Moreover, our country of origin also imparts to us certain characteristics related to it, mainly a language to communicate amongst each other, local food, outfits, dances etc. They are basically the elements we see displayed when establishments such as schools or universities, prepare â€Å"international days†, when individuals build stands showing the particularities of their country. They also contribute immensely to the formation of our identity, they add to the con cept of nationalism. Our language gives us a unique way we can use to communicate with our compatriots.Each and every country has its own language or dialect that makes up its people’s identities. Furthermore, there are local recipes that we learn which even as used as â€Å"comfort foods† to cure homesickness. There are traditional dances, for example the flamenco in Spain, the â€Å"dabke† in Lebanon or the French Can-Can, outfits and holidays the country celebrates, especially independence day. To sum up, all of these elements make up one’s nationality, which contributes to one’s culture. Culture is not only formed through one’s nationality, but also by his religion.Even though some individuals believe that religion is not really a very significant part in one’s identity, I believe that it is crucial and that it is present in most of our decisions. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or even Atheist, this is a major character istic of your identity. Religions first of all come with a set of values and rules we should follow. For example, a Muslim woman, should refrain from wearing revealing clothes, and preferably should wear an â€Å"abbaye† and headscarf, in order to respect her and others; she should not have sexual relations before marriage.Men or women are not allowed to be homosexual, which actually is a value for many religions, they should pray five times a day, go do a pilgrimage in Mecca once in their lifetime, Buddhist are to consider the cow as sacred etc. The values are, like many other religions; not to sin, to pray and be good to one another. On the other hand, religions also provides us with traditions to follow, for example the famous Christian holiday Christmas, or the Ramadan for Muslims, having Bat Mitzvah’s for Jews and Easter.Our religion really helps in terms of giving us a path to follow in our lives. The aim in our lives is to respect it as much as possible; therefo re it is part of our culture. The last elements discussed, refer solely to the parts of our identity that are formed and settled at birth, we should not forget the impact of how we develop as a person, in other terms, our family, our type of education, and the experiences we go through. A person’s education is an integral part of his identity, and education involves what one is taught in school, as well as at home.Family has an important role in making you a legitimate member of society, firstly they give you a name which identifies you, and afterwards, they provide you with a mandatory set of guidelines to follow throughout your childhood. These guidelines give you certain values and rules you should follow, just like religion does. Whether the individuals raising you are strict or lenient, they need to provide you with moral grounds in order for you to grow up to be a valuable citizen.Robert Coles in his text â€Å"I listen to my parents and wonder what they believe† , overviews this point concerning morals, he says that children are lost emotionally without the guidance of their parents. Moreover, he criticizes the latter for disregarding their children’s maturity and choose to turn a blind eye towards this issue; â€Å"this issue is not the moral capacity of children but the default of us parents who fail to respond to inquiries† (Coles).Therefore, we notice that the role of one’s parents is crucial in developing the kind of individual he will grow to be. Moreover, our parents decide to which type of school to send us, which is the other major part of our education. Depending on if they send you to a Catholic school, a boarding school, a French Lycee, a British or American high school, you will receive a specific kind of education. Henceforth, you will be raised with their particular values and probably base your future decisions on what they have taught you.In the end, these two major components of our education will form who we are as adults, in other words, our political and social views. For example, do we support the left or the right, the republicans or the democrats, the conservatists or liberalists etc.? These ideas place us in society. All of the above are the elements that form our intellect, which in itself is an important part of our personality. We simply cannot deny the impact that the people surrounding us throughout our life, have on our identities.How you behave strongly reflects who you are, and obviously, in order to integrate a community, it is mandatory to act like them, henceforth; you begin to acquire certain characteristics that are similar to the ones of others. Let’s say one is raised in a racist community, unfortunately, this individual will probably grow up to be a racist, because this is what the people around him told him was the right way to think. On top of that, another important factor in forming how we think, are our experiences through life. For example, in Edward T.Hall’s â€Å"The Arab World†, his particular meeting with an Arab gentleman, in which he was sitting on a couch in a hotel lobby and assumed this gentleman was invading his privacy, when the latter was simply being his normal self. He comes to certain conclusions about Arabic people, stating they have no respect for personal space or important moral values. This is an experience he went through, which forged the way he thinks, and forevermore, these ideas are part of who he is. The impact that travelling has on the formation of our identity is undeniable, it gives us priceless characteristics that make us better people in the end.The previous factors evokes, culture and personality, are bound to impact every single citizen of the world, however, unfortunately, we do not all have the luxury to travel, but those that do, are able to experience new cultures, and meet new people through living abroad. I personally, have lived in various countries, surrounded every time by three distinctly different cultures; I was born in London, I spent the first fifteen years of my life in Nigeria, afterwards I transferred to a boarding school in Switzerland, and at the moment I am finally living in my land of origin, which is Lebanon.And I can proudly confirm, that being exposed to all these cultures have made me the open-minded and well-rounded individual that I am today. Thanks to that, I no longer abide to prejudices, nor agree with stereotypes, because I have been lucky enough to be aware of the different types of people and be able to understand them. Therefore finally, it is this combination of changing where I lived and development of my personality that I believe forged my identity. Afterwards, your identity is subject to change, you begin to feel a sense of belonging to more than one culture.This is what Amin Maalouf illustrates in his story titled â€Å"Deadly Identities†. He says â€Å"I have been asked many times with the best intentio ns in the world, if I felt more French or more Lebanese. I always give the same answer â€Å"Both† † (Maalouf). Or even in Ethar El-Katatney’s article â€Å"Identity Crisis 101†, the young El-Gohary claims that â€Å"she is balanced in her love for both countries†(El-Katatney), and it is the same author that introduced this idea of being a â€Å"halfie†.Individuals are no longer able to consider themselves belonging to one culture more than the other. They do always feel a strong sense of attachements to their routes; however their true identity has altered, and therefore so will their state of mind. All of the above truly portrays the strong impact of traveling on one’s identity. To conclude, we notice that it is one’s cultural exposure, which lead to the elements contributing to the formation of his identity. We are not born with an unchangeable identity, actually quite the opposite, it never cesses to change.Individuals will always be exposed to new places, new people, new ways of thinking and these will transforms who they are. It all depends on culture and personality.Works Cited; â€Å"Identity†. Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online, 2008. Web. 14th Nov 2010. Coles, Robert. â€Å"I Listen to my Parents and I Wonder What they Believe†. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Gilbert H. Muller. Ed. McGraw Hill 8th edition Boston: 1982 El-Katatney, Ethar â€Å"Identity Crisis 101†. Egypt Today online. May 8th 2008. Egypttoday. com. Web. 3rd Nov 2010. Hall, Edward T. â€Å"The Arab World†. Shades of Gray: A reader for Academic Writing. Ed. Zane Sinno, Rima Rantisi, Ghassan Zeineddine, Natalie Honein, Jasmina Najjar. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited, 2008. (pages 89 to 90). Print. Maalouf, Amin â€Å"Deadly Identities†. Shades of Gray: A reader for Academic Writing. Ed. Zane Sinno, Rima Rantisi, Ghassan Zeineddine, Nata lie Honein, Jasmina Najjar. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited, 2008. (page 1) Print.