August Wilsons Fences essays

August Wilsons Fences essays It is easy to make the case that August Wilson's play Fences is a tragedy and that Troy Maxson is its tragic protagonist. Few comedies end with a funeral, and there is no denying that Troy's character and life are the stuff of tragedy. But Wilson's vision is much larger than Troy's heroic side, his deeds and omissions. Troy, for all his strengths, is flawed humanity in need of grace and forgiveness. Such grace and forgiveness are the spirit of true comedy, and a case can be made for viewing Fences as a comedy or, perhaps, a metacomedy. The term is taken from Christopher Isherwood, who took it from Gerald Heard: "I think the full horror of life must be depicted, but in the end there should be a comedy which is beyond both comedy and tragedy. The thing Gerald Heard calls 'metacomedy' [...]" (421). Metacomedy, then, is a vision that transcends the immediately comic or tragic. It is not evasive and it has room for pain, for heartache, for alienation, even for death, because it affirms the values of mercy, forgiveness, and sacrifice, which adversity calls forth. For a religious person, metacomedy is what Christopher Fry called a "narrow escape into faith" and a belief in "a universal cause for delight" (17). Fry's metaphor for life is a book of alternating pages of tragedy and comedy. As we read (that is, live) the book, we are anxious about what the last page will be. The comic vision holds that on the last page all will be resolved in laughter (17). The essence, therefore, of metacomedy is hope, and Fences is a lesson in hope. First there is hope for a better future for African Americans and by extension, for all humankind. If we view Troy's earthly life as an autonomous whole, we are looking at an ultimately tragic book of life. But if we view Troy's life as a page in an ongoing saga, perhaps we can see it not only as a prelude to a happier time but as a success story of itself. George Meredith advises us that to love comedy...

Terrifying Tales of Terrible Terror! (4 Tips on Writing a Scary Story)

Terrifying Tales of Terrible Terror! (4 Tips on Writing a Scary Story) Terrifying Tales of Terrible Terror! (4 Tips on Writing a Scary Story) If you’re too old for trick or treating but want to have fun on Halloween, trading ghost stories with friends is a great alternative (it’s also how Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein). I feel so pretty. But what if you and your friends are all too brave for old yarns about ghosts and ghouls to rattle you? Well, you could invent a scary story to set spines tingling using these (terrifying) writing tips. 1. Not Peanut Butter! Anything but Peanut Butter! We’re all scared of something, whether it’s the dark, giant spiders or getting peanut butter stuck to the tops of our mouths. (We’ll confess that the last of those is quite niche.) The horror! The horror! A good place to start with a scary story is therefore your own fears and anxieties, since it’s far easier to find the dark corners of a situation when it’s based on something personal. 2. Don’t Panic, Guys, It’s Just a Kitten. What? No! Get Off Me! AAAAARGH! Another possibility is to make something familiar from everyday life threatening. Examples include Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and roughly 75% of Stephen King’s written output. Try considering things in your environment that you usually take for granted, then use â€Å"what if?† style questions to come up with a situation in which they suddenly become deadly! Questions like: What if kittens had laser eyes? 3. We’re Trapped! One very effective way of adding tension to a story is to trap your characters somehow, such as being locked in a haunted building or lost in a forest with something that is hunting them. Alternatively, you could â€Å"trap† your characters by stripping them of something they rely on. Being chased by a serial killer? It’d be a terrible shame if your phone didn’t work and you couldn’t call for help. Something wicked lurking in the shadows? I’m sure you’ll be fine as long as the lights don’t go out†¦ *fzzzt-pop!* Oops. Should have changed that bulb before opening a portal to the dark realms, shouldn’t you? 4. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! An important aspect of telling a scary story – and storytelling in general – is â€Å"show, don’t tell.† This means that you shouldnt be too direct, like openly stating that a character is scared: â€Å"Upon feeling the peanut butter on the top of his mouth, Duncan started to panic.† Instead, you should try to bring situations to life by describing them as they are experienced by the characters: â€Å"Duncan bit into the sandwich and immediately froze. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as he felt the sticky, nutty evil spread through his mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Open wide! Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Telling the story this way can also make your characters seem more real, thereby encouraging your audience to care about them and what they’re feeling. Get this right and you should have a scary story that will haunt the dreams of even the bravest reader!

Wynn Las Vegas Functional Strategy Audit Assignment

Wynn Las Vegas Functional Strategy Audit - Assignment Example The latter will build on the initiative of the corporate stage to align the strategies. The strategies at the business level mainly center on navigating within the market systems whereas, at the corporate level, the strategies concentrate on defining the market. In addition, the policies at the functional level are responsible for complementing the strategies at the business and corporate levels. The strategies at the enterprise level in Las Vegas will mainly address issues on performance. Entities focus on a particular market, product or even an industry. The unit has strategies as well as competitors. The strategies here will center on a particular line of service or product for that matter. They involve decisions in regard to these services or products. To achieve this, the business will analyze the target customers. These persons exist either as groups or individuals. Getting to understand their needs and suggestions is at the core of the strategies. They are the end users and know best how they need the service. That goes hand in hand with the plan on pricing of the products. It should be wholly inclusive to accommodate discounts, bonuses, variations on premiums and promotions. Having a favorable deal will increase customer trust as well as reliability. Issues of strategies of operation culminate around the choice of locating the business and embracing technology in the delivery of the services. For example, is the current location of the Wynn suitable to meet its future aims? A proper location will include one that is accessible to the consumers, to the workers and has an affordable network of transportation. The integration of information technology will ensure accurate delivery of services in a shorter while. Further, there is need to have people well acquainted with the use of the new technologies (Consultants, 2015). The preceding couples with the use of the internet for communication with customers on new products and

News Article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

News Article - Assignment Example very essential in determining the STD that one may be infected with as both viral and bacterial STDs have different treatment methods and some have may have no symptoms, but attack when it is too late. The issue on STD transmission, treatment, and prevention is covered in the biology concepts and connections chapter 27.7. As the article notes, a part from the viral and bacterial STDs, fungi and other organisms can csues some STDs. The article suggests that knowing the cause of the STD would make it much easier to treat, with the most common STD cause being bacteria that affects over 90 million people globally. The article reports that one advantage of bacterial STDs is that they are curable, comparing the viral STDs such as AIDs that has defied any treatment methods. Gonorrhea and syphilis are examples of bacteria transmitted STDs. Therefore, knowing the actual cause of the STD makes it much easier to and prevents cases of misdiagnoses. Lack of enough knowledge about these diseases may be fatal and lead to complications in late stage of some such as syphilis that may attack that nervous system. The article has some scientific facts. The article assesses the main pathogens of many STDs and tries to differentiate them through elaborating on the nature of STDs. Similarly, the article calls for care when dealing with STDs; some are contagious and finally stresses on the need to go for necessary test to determine the actual STD in question. Understanding STDs and the Importance of Regular Testing, Mod to Modern, 24March, 2013 http://www.modtomodern.com/understanding-stds-and-the-importance-of-regular-testing/ (accessed, 12th April,

The price at the gas Essay Example for Free

The price at the gas Essay The price at the gas pump seems outrageous as the national average price per gallon hits $3. 09, but the real tragedy of the rising prices is in the unseen affects across the spectrum of daily life. While several surveys have said people are not changing much due to the rising cost of gas, they are doing some things and the rising cost of gas has affects that people do not even realize. In some cases, the effect of the effect is the real news. At the grocery store, people are not even equating the rising cost of groceries with the cost of fuel, but it is a major factor. Consciously or not, people are traveling less and putting off other expenditures because they are spending so much more on gas. The rising cost of gas is affecting the amount people spend on groceries, the amount they travel and the amount they spend on other things. It’s easy not to think about the rising cost of gas as it relates to the rising cost of groceries, but in some markets the increase has been dramatic and the cost of gasoline and other fuels are a factor in the price increases. Last week, the U. S. Department of Agriculture estimated that the cost of making a Thanksgiving dinner was up 11 percent over the same dinner last year. With some items the price increase is only a few cents, but over the course of a holiday meal or a month’s worth of groceries, the difference is very noticeable. Strangely, efforts to reduce the cost of gasoline may also be contributing to the rise in prices at the grocery store. Many of our food products are animal based, eggs, milk, cheese and meat at the very least. All of these products rely on the animal being fed, usually a mixture of corn and other things, but because of the demand for corn to make ethanol, the price of feed corn has skyrocketed. An effort to reduce the cost of fuel in one area passes it on in another means. Based on personal observation, costs of dairy products are up an average of 25 percent over last year. While consumers realize it or not, the cost of gasoline is affecting them at the grocery store. Another effect of the high price of gasoline is the choice to make fewer trips. This means that people are not simply running to the store for every little thing they need or are going to only one store instead of shopping around. It means a late night snack attack will usually have to be met by whatever is in the house and it means that people are planning their spending more wisely. By taking fewer random trips to the grocery store and other stores, impulse shopping is reduce and the entire economy is affected by the price of gasoline. Furthermore, people take fewer random pleasure trips when the price of gasoline is high. Deciding to drive an hour or so to go to a concert or another event takes on a new dimension when the cost of actually getting there has to be considered a major expense. When people do decide to travel, they are travelling to areas closer to home. This has an interesting economic effect. Smaller, more out of the way travel destinations may see an increase in business as people try to find vacations close to home, but traditional resort destinations may see significant reductions in the number of visitors because of the cost of travel. Additionally, some people may elect not to have a vacation at all. With the rising cost of gas and its effects on the costs of other items, many people are choosing to forgo vacations and luxury purchases because their disposable income level is dropping. People are choosing more fuel efficient vehicles over luxury cars and many are choosing to eat at home instead of having dinner out. Even the important things, like oil changes and other car repairs are sometimes being put off indefinitely because people are spending more on gas. It may not seem like a few cents more at the pump would make a huge difference, but when added to the other things that are affected by the price increase, it means people simply have less money. The first visible effect of having less money was the move to more fuel efficient vehicles. It meant that the ultra big sports utility vehicles which had been in their heyday were suddenly being traded in mass for smaller, cheaper and more fuel efficient vehicles. Suddenly, Americans were more concerned about where every penny was going, some without even realizing why. Ultimately, it doesn’t seem like a big deal – a few extra pennies per gallon at the gas station, but then it began to build. The rising cost of gasoline and the devotion of corn to ethanol production drove up the price of food. Then, people stopped driving as much, making fewer trips to the store and other places because they wanted to save money and that meant fewer impulse purchases. Finally, the impact of rising gasoline prices made a significant dent in the average pocketbook and Americans had to find other ways to save, by cutting back on luxuries, forgoing unnecessary expenses, or putting off necessary expenses in hope that a time would come when things might be more affordable. Suddenly, in the big picture, that few extra cents hurts a lot.

Significance of the Attire of Men and Women in the 18th Century Essay

Significance of the Attire of Men and Women in the 18th Century The attire of men and women in the eighteenth century cemented the roles they were supposed to play. The style of made dress belied his nature as somewhat more free from restrictions whereas the woman, bound by corsets and strict dress-codes found herself held back in clothing as in society. A sphere of influence, behavior and conduct was assigned to both sexes; each was valued for different qualities. These gender distinctions do not allow any overlap between the two sexes. (Marsden, 21) In light of this, society viewed cross-dressing (the practice of one gender dressing themselves in the attire of the other) as a threat to its own structure. For a woman to forsake the clothes and character of women for that of men sounded monstrous. Such a practice would create sexual ambiguity - a woman would assume the clothes of a man and thus the manner and actions of a man, yet her physical nature denied her that right. Cross-dressing creates monstrations - a woman ceases to be a woman after she has assumed male garb and can never hope to be a man. An aversion to cross-dressing has its roots in the Bible: "The women shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God" (qtd. in Garber, 28). On August 13, 1597 Queen Elizabeth announced a sumptuary (dealing with attire) proclamation which defined the "separate categories for men's and women's apparel: each took the form of a long list of proscribed items of dress with an indication of who alone was permitted to wear them" (Garber, 26). This law sought to prohibit the rise in classes that was transpiring - ambitious ind... ...both may wear the prototypical shirt and pants}, the gender distinctions become blur. Men feared the idea of women as sexually aggressive as men - or perhaps worse, women who pursued other women. mite simply, the idea of 'gender-swapping' caused fear and anger. Individuals designed the practice to work outside of the uniform social structure; such actions were seen as threats to the social structure. Thus, society acted strictly towards those who thought themselves 'above' social gender laws. Works Cited Garber, Marjorie. Vested Interests: Cross Dressing and Cultural Anxiety. New York: Routledge. 1992. 21-41, 211-215. Marsden, Jean I. "Modesty Unshackled: Dorothy Jordan and the Dangers of Cross-Dressing." Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture vol. 22. Ed. by Patricia B. Craddock and Carla H. Hay. East Lansing, Michigan: Colleagues Press Inc. 1992. 21-36.

Walking Dead Syndrome

THE WALKING DEAD SYNDROME English 150 Instructor: S. Jone November 7, 2011 The Walking Dead Syndrome Introduction The Walking Dead syndrome is considered a rare disease. I believe everyone in this existence has a purpose on this vast place we call earth. However, there are people diagnosed with a syndrome who believe they have no soul or convinced themselves they are dead. The â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome† is also commonly known as â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. In this paper, I will refer this syndrome as â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome†. Cotard’s syndrome is linked with other mental illnesses which could explain a person’s state of mind of feeling non-existent in society. I will further discuss eight aspects of this syndrome: defining the Walking Dead Syndrome, defining mental illness, description of several mental illnesses associated with this syndrome, classifications of Cotard’s syndrome, analysis of patients, diagnosis of syndrome, and types of treatments available for patients. Defining Walking Dead Syndrome or Cotard’s Syndrome Many people I discussed this topic with never heard of the â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome†. The Walking Dead Syndrome was first created by French neurologist, Jules Cotard, hence, named the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. He was a French neurologist who first described this psychiatric condition. First reference to the syndrome was made in the year 1880, when Jules Cotard gave a lecture in Paris. In this lecture, he described various degrees of the syndrome, while he said that a person who resorts to despair and self-hatred begins in the early stages of this disorder. With deterioration, the person might go to the extent of denying the very existence of himself or herself. There are detached from the sense of existence of self (â€Å"Cotard Syndrome† 2010). Patients portray themselves similar to the concept of â€Å"zombies†. Hollywood has portrayed horror and science fiction based movies on â€Å"zombies† or the â€Å"walking dead†. In the movies, zombies are typically mean and fond of human flesh, they groan and cannot talk, have incredible strength, and display rotting flesh. A zombie is physically identical to a normal human being, but completely lacks conscious experience. If we suddenly lost our minds, or consciousness our bodies might continue to run on for a while, our hearts might continue to beat, we might breathe while asleep and digest food. But without the contribution made by minds, behavior could not show characteristically human features. In the Urban Dictionary, 1999-2011, a zombie is defined â€Å"as deceased human being who has partially returned to life due to undeterminable causes. The brain retains base facilities, namely gross motor function. In its near-mindless state, it grasps no remains of emotion, personality, or sensation of pain. In rare cases, some of the reanimated have reflexively preformed routine activities from their past lives†. The people diagnosed with Walking Dead Syndrome have similar portrayals including not having internal organs and smelling of rotting flesh. A hypothetical analogy can be explained when most of us have woken up after a really good night out. Our first drive in the morning was motivated by a desire for food and coffee. If we as a society experience a chemical or radiological contamination, we might be experiencing the hangover from hell. Our higher thought would be destroyed, the neural system would be degraded, and leave just the body running on its primary functions. Defining Mental Illness Since the beginning of man, I think there has been mental illness, and chemical imbalance generates a huge part, and some people just do not have the ability to use parts of their brain for reason and logic. According to to Sorrentino, Wilk, and Newmaster (2009), a mental illness can be: â€Å"caused by a combination of genetic, biological, personality, and environmental factors, is a disturbance in a person’s ability to cope with or adjust to stress; the person’s thinking, mood, and behaviours are affected, and functioning is impaired †¦mental illnesses affect people of all ages, culture, and educational and income levels. The onset of most mental illnesses occurs during adolescence and young adulthood† (p. 641). Most mental illnesses are brought on by the stresses of life, money, property, and consumption. Having a mental illness varies from person to person and if you cannot go about your day as you normally would due to a condition then it is a mental illness. An example would be having an â€Å"anxiety disorder†, and if you cannot leave your house anymore due to petrifying fear, then there is clearly a problem. Unless of course you cannot recognize that you are having problems and you are posing a threat to yourself or others, then you can be forcibly placed under the guidance of a psychologist. Mental illness can be contributed to either biological, psychological, and environmental factors. The biological factors can be attributed to genetics or â€Å"mental disorders tend to run in families, suggesting a hereditary factor†¦the number of close relatives a person has who suffer from depression or other mood disorders is the best predictor of the likelihood that the individual will develop a mood disorder† (Boyd, Johnson, Bee, 2009, p. 385). In addition, psychological aspects can be contributed to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, and the environmental causes can be defined as a person living in poverty or substance abuse. Mental Illnesses Associated with Cotard’s Syndrome People diagnosed with the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome† have been treated for a mental illness or combination of bi-polar, delusions, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder, to name a few. The major mental illnesses are painful, pervasive, disruptive and usually disabling. Firstly, a â€Å"bi-polar disorder† is defined as â€Å"a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 651). Whereas, â€Å"delusions† are the â€Å"false beliefs that are firmly held† (Purse, 2011). An example is a person who has grandeur delusions or has paranoid tendencies. In the grandiose subtype, the person is convinced that he has some great talent or has made some important discovery, they have an inflated sense of self-worth. In addition, their delusions center on their own importance, such as believing that they have done or created something of extreme value or think they have a â€Å"special mission†. There is reference to another type of delusion known as â€Å"nihilistic delusions†. This type of delusion describes a person â€Å"focused on the individual’s body, including loss of body parts, being dead, or not existing at all† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). Furthermore, Cotard syndrome created a new type of depression which â€Å"is described as anxious melancholia, ideas of damnation or rejection, insensitivity to pain, delusions or nonexistence concerning one’s own body, and delusions of immorality† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). This type of delusion is a major attribute of Cotard’s syndrome. Thirdly, â€Å"schizophrenia† which â€Å"is an extremely complex mental health disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disturbances in thinking, and withdrawal from social activity† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 55). News and entertainment media tend to link mental illnesses including schizophrenia to criminal violence. Most people with schizophrenia, however, are not violent toward others but are withdrawn and prefer to be left alone. Lastly, â€Å"schizoaffective disorder† is described as a â€Å"person having symptoms of both schizophrenic and bipolar disord er† (Purse, 2006). Some disorders will cause parts of the brain to stop performing their normal functions. These can leave people out of control and disoriented (not knowing what they themselves are doing). Classifications of Cotard’s Syndrome In its early stages, Cotard’s syndrome is characterized by vague feeling of anxiety with a varying time span from weeks to years. This anxious state gradually augments and can result in nihilistic delusions where denial of life or denial of body parts are the prominent features. The patient loses sense of reality. Despite the delusion of being dead, these patients show an increased tendency to automutilation (self harm) or suicidal behaviour. (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). A case studying involving 100 patients, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, (2009) reveal three types of Cotard’s syndrome. The first is a form of â€Å"psychotic depression† in which anxiety, melanchonlia, delusions of guilt, and auditory hallucinations are the more prominent features. The second class is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type I†, which is associated with hypochondriac and nihilistic delusions. The third type is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type II†, which includes anxiety, depression, delusions of immortality, nihilistic delusions and suicidal behaviour are characteristic features†. However, in Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011, a case study conducted in 1999, identified three stages of Cotard’s syndrome. The first stage, germination stage, is characterized by important hypochondriac cenesthopathy and depressive mood. A diagnosis of Cotard’s syndrome cannot be made in this stage yet. In the blooming stage, the characteristic features of Cotard’s syndrome (nihilistic delusions, delusions of immorality together with anxiety and negativism) are seen. The last stage, the chronic stage is differentiated in two forms: one with persistent emotional disturbances (depressive type) and the second where depressive symptoms are less prominent (paranoid type) (as cited by Yamman, 1999). The two classifications described above have assisted in diagnosing of Cotard’s syndrome. The similar features displayed are nihilistic delusions, depressive mood, and anxiety. Analysis This syndrome does not affect a specific category of people. A study of 100 patients, revealed that â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome was diagnosed in 2 of 349 patients†¦taking into account only severely depressed older adult patients. In addition, the average of age of person studied was 52 years of age, however, the study also suggested that Cotard’s was occasionally described in children and adolescents (Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009). Furthermore, according to Wani et al. , (2008), â€Å"this syndrome is typically related to depression and is mostly found in middle-aged or older people. In the analysis the following results were displayed: â€Å"depressive mood (89%), nihilistic delusions (69%), anxiety (65%), delusions of guilt (63%), delusions of immortality (55%), hypochondriac delusions (58%)† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Diagnosis The diagnosis reveals a psychological and neurological aspect of Cotard’s syndrome. The â€Å"depersonalization phenomenon† as described in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009, is referred to using German erminology leib (body for me) and korper (body as such), korper becomes more prominent than leib and the body less associated with the self (leib), depersonalization onset can then occur. However, in depersonalization, the patient feels as if he or she is dead (in difference of affect), whereas in Cotard’s syndro me, the patient is convinced that he or she is dead (lack of feeling). Cotard’s syndrome is often associated with parietal lobe lesions. Compared with controls, patients with Cotard’s syndrome have more brain atrophy in general and more median frontal lobe atrophy in particular. Cotard’s syndrome may be associated with multifocal brain atrophy and medial frontal lobe disease. Neurological assessments were performed and findings resulted in patients affected by â€Å"parietal brain dysfunction† and structural brain abnormalities. Recent discoveries have indicated that Cotard’s syndrome was associated with multifocal brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement. The interhemispheric fissure enlargement means â€Å"parietal lobe lesions† (Joseph and O'Leary, 2011) or bending in the frontal and occipital regions and this abnormality also been observed in schizophrenic patients. Others have described and enlargement of the third and lateral ventricles. In one patient, the patient was diagnosed with a schizophrenia disorder and a left sided hypoperfusion in the temporal, parietal and frontal lobes. The medical term of hypoperfusion is defined as a â€Å"decreased blood flow through an organ† (Meriam-Webster, 2011). In addition, the patient experienced improvements of the inferior frontal and left hypoperfusion and there was evidence of decreased hyperprofusion of the left temporal lobe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (cited in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009). Treatments There are several methods utilized to treat mental health struggles. A patient can seek professional assistance by psychology or psychiatry therapy and/or the utilization of medication. If you lived in the 16th century with any undefined mental disorder, you were considered as â€Å"possessed by the Devil† and cast away to some godforsaken monastery dungeon in which monks would constantly pray for and exorcise you. The Catholic Church they used a methodical guidebook to describe all behavioral aspects and associations of witchcraft, satanism, etc. nd utilized this upon people who were suffered with mental or behavioral maladies, and it was not commonly understood in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. In the medieval ages, they were burned because they thought demons haunted the mentally ill. In later years, we willfully experimented on them, cutting into their bodies and brains to â€Å"fix them†, this was called, trepanation. The â€Å"evidence of trepan ation has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times onward. Cave paintings indicate that people believed the practice would cure epileptic seizures, migraines, and mental disorders† (Wikipedia, 2011). It is really disgusting and is the major reason that even today it is to some a badge of humiliation instead of just an illness. Complete recovery may occur spontaneously and suddenly as onset of Cotard’s syndrome. There are several reports of successful pharmacological treatment of Cotard’s syndrome. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is considered an important treatment option in Cotard’s syndrome. It is noted, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009, that young patients use of mood stabilizers should be considered because Cotard’s syndrome in this population is often part of a bipolar disorder. Successful treatment with ECT and the patient with underlying major depressive disorder resulted in recovery of left and right temporal hypoprofussion and normalization of profusion in the frontal cortex was reported after treatment with antidepressants (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Please be aware that people who have true mental illnesses do suffer. They want more than anything to be able to feel and function like other people and they will actively seek help. The reality is that certain medications and treatments help those who are suffering from these conditions. Conclusion Mental illness is not a modern invention. The mentally ill have been recognized in one form or another by every culture we have a record of. How they were perceived and what their value is what has largely changed. Some people do not retreat into their minds as much as they are supposed to, while others spend all their time there. What we eat and breathe and drink affects our health and our brain, and a healthy individual's brain tends to have more to work with and develop all the right chemicals and nerve sheaths. A good parent with their strong sense of empathy realizes that their child is a thinking, growing human being and will always need that light touch that points them in the â€Å"right direction† and prevent them from getting â€Å"lost†. The right nature and nurturing are essential for a healthy development. Some cases of these disorders I believe could be a simple lack of the ingredients to solve this chemical imbalance. Given that our brain is constantly changing accordingly with the times, a chronic chemical imbalance quickly becomes more than just that, as the brain has grown and changed around this shortcoming. The kind of understanding you wish people had for those with mental disorders would be a universal understanding for all if people would look into themselves and observe their own thoughts and behaviors. We are our best test subjects since we have full access to all the â€Å"data†, and by observing ourselves totally (mentally, developmentally, chemically) we can apply our understanding to others and learn from the experience. People need to care about how people's minds work in general, understanding â€Å"you guys† would come with the turf, and communication with our angry neighbors would be much more effective since we'd all see where everyone is coming from. Philosophers have long contemplated human happiness, and how to live a â€Å"good† life, in harmony with our own nature. The problem is that humans do not really know what makes them happy, and what they think will, or will not, and instead they find contempt and superficial pleasures they believe will satisfy them. As a result, some people will not live a good and peaceful life that satisfies the majority of people. The fact is not everyone needs medication, but there are those who do. Some need it temporarily, some for a lifetime. Some simply need therapy, and some benefit from dietary changes. I believe understanding is the highest ideal we should seek to attain. Understanding and being honest with ourselves about ourselves and applying our own understanding to others may help us see that we are not as different as we'd like to believe. I believe that sense of commonality with all human beings can generate empathy, compassion and ultimately peace in all of us. It is when we categorize each other, ourselves, and place value on those categories then we breed hatred, ignorance and fear. References Boyd, D. , Johnson, Paul, Bee, Helen (2009). Lifespan Development. (4th Canadian Edition). Toronto: Pearsons Canada Inc. Cotard Syndrome. (2010). Disorders Central. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://www. disorderscentral. com/cotard-syndrome. html Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. Peremans, K. , ; Audenaert, K. , (2011). Mind and Brain The Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://content. yudu. com/Library/A1t5r8/MindampBraintheJourn/resources/73. htm Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. , Van den Eynde, F. , ; Audenaert, K. (2009). Cotard’s Syndrome: A Review. Current Psychiatry Reports. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from University of Calgary On-line Resources: http://www. springerlink. com. ezproxy. lib. ucal gary. ca/content/f43j790n7161432m/ Hypoperfusion. (2011). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/medical/hypoperfusion Joseph AB, and O'Leary DH. (2011). Brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement in Cotard's syndrome. PubMed. gov. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/3759917 Purse, Marcia. (2011). Delusions. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. com/od/definingbipolardisorder/g/gl_delusions. htm Purse, Marcia. (2006). Schizoaffective Disorder. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. om/od/glossary/g/gl_schizoaffect. htm Sorrentino, Sheila A. , Wilk, Mary J. , and Newsmaster, Rosemary (2009). Mosby’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker. (2nd Canadian Edition). Toronto: Elsevier Canada Urban Dictionary. (1999-2011). Zombie. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. urbandictionary. com/define. php? term=zombie Wani, A. Z, Abdul, W. Khan, Aijaz, A. Babe, Hayat, A. Khan, Qurat-ul, A. Wani, and Taploo, Rayneesa (2008). Cotard's syndrome and delayed diagnosis in Kashmir, India. International Journal of Mental Health Systems.

Bookbinders Book Club Essay

About 50,000 new titles, including new editions, are published in the United States each year, giving rise to a $20+ billion book publishing industry. About 10 percent of the books are sold through mail order. Book retailing in the 1970s was characterized by the growth of chain bookstore operations in concert with the development of shopping malls. Traffic in bookstores in the 1980s was enhanced by the spread of discounting. In the 1990s, the superstore concept of book retailing was responsible for the double-digit growth of the book industry. Generally situated near large shopping centers, superstores maintain large inventories of anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 titles. Superstores are putting intense competitive pressure on book clubs, mail-order firms and retail outlets. Recently, online superstores, such as www. amazon. com, have emerged, carrying 1–2. 5 million titles and further intensifying the pressure on book clubs and mail-order firms. In response to these pressures, book clubs are starting to look at alternative business models that will make them more responsive to their customers’ preferences. Historically, book clubs offered their readers continuity and negative option programs that were based on an extended contractual relationship between the club and its subscribers. In a continuity program, popular in such genres as children’s books, a reader signs up for an offer of several books for a few dollars each (plus shipping and handling on each book) and agrees to receive Copyright  © 2008 by DecisionPro, Inc. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, go to www. decisionpro. biz. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the permission of DecisionPro, Inc. a shipment of one or two books each month thereafter. In a negative option program, subscribers get to choose which and how many additional books they will receive, but the default option is that the club’s selection will be delivered to them each month. The club informs them of the monthly selection and they must mark â€Å"no† on their order forms if they do not want to receive it. Some firms are now beginning to offer books on a positive-option basis, but only to selected segments of their customer lists that they deem receptive to specific offers. Book clubs are also beginning to use database marketing techniques to work smarter rather than expand the coverage of their mailings. According to Doubleday president Marcus Willhelm, â€Å"The database is the key to what we are doing†¦. We have to understand what our customers want and be more flexible. I doubt book clubs can survive if they offer the same 16 offers, the same fulfillment to everybody. 2 Doubleday uses modeling techniques to look at more than 80 variables, including geography and the types of books customers purchase, and selects three to five variables that are the most influential predictors. The Bookbinders Book Club The BBB Club was established in 1986 for the purpose of selling specialty books through direct marketing. BBBC is strictly a distributor and does not publish any of the books it sells. In anticipation of using database marketing, BBBC made a strategic decision right from the start to build and maintain a detailed database about its members containing all the relevant information about them. Readers fill out an insert and return it to BBBC which then enters the data into the database. The company currently has a database of 500,000 readers and sends out a mailing about once a month. BBBC is exploring whether to use predictive modeling approaches to improve the efficacy of its direct mail program. For a recent mailing, the company selected 20,000 customers in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio from its database and included with their regular mailing a specially produced brochure for the book The Art History of Florence. This resulted in a 9. 03 percent response rate (1806 orders) for the purchase of the book. BBBC then developed a database to calibrate a response model to identify the factors that influenced these purchases. For this case analysis, we will use a subset of the database available to BBBC. It consists of data for 400 customers who purchased the book, and 1,200 customers who did not, thereby over-representing the response group. The dependent variable for the analysis is Choice — purchase or no purchase of The Art History of Florence. BBBC also selected several independent variables that it thought might explain the observed choice behavior. Below is a description of the variables used for the analysis: Choice: Whether the customer purchased the The Art History of Florence. 1 corresponds to a purchase and 0 corresponds to a nonpurchase. Gender: 0 = Female and 1 = Male. Amount purchased: Total money spent on BBBC books. Frequency: Total number of purchases in the chosen period (used as a proxy for frequency. ) Last purchase (recency of purchase): Months since last purchase. First purchase: Months since first purchase.

Biography of John Gibbon, Heart-Lung Machine Inventor

Biography of John Gibbon, Heart-Lung Machine Inventor John Heysham Gibbon Jr. (Sept. 29,  1903–Feb. 5, 1973) was an American surgeon who was widely known for creating the first heart-lung machine. He proved the efficacy of the concept in 1935 when he used an external pump as an  artificial heart  during an operation on a cat. Eighteen years later, he performed the first successful open-heart operation on a human using his  heart-lung machine. Fast Facts: John Heysham Gibbon Known For: Inventor of the heart-lung machineBorn: Sept. 29,  1903 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaParents: John Heysham Gibbon Sr., Marjorie YoungDied: Feb. 5, 1973 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaEducation: Princeton University, Jefferson Medical CollegeAwards and Honors: Distinguished Service Award from International College of Surgery, fellowship from Royal College of Surgeons, Gairdner Foundation International Award from University of TorontoSpouse: Mary HopkinsonChildren: Mary, John, Alice, and Marjorie Early Life of John Gibbon Gibbon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 29, 1903, the second of four children of surgeon John Heysham Gibbon Sr. and Marjorie Young. He earned his B.A. from  Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1923 and his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1927. He completed his internship at Pennsylvania Hospital in 1929. The following year, he went to Harvard Medical School as a research fellow in surgery. Gibbon was a sixth-generation physician. One of his great-uncles, Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, is memorialized by a monument to his bravery on the Union side in the Battle of Gettysburg, while another uncle was a brigade surgeon for the Confederacy in the same battle. In 1931 Gibbon married Mary Hopkinson, a surgical researcher who was an assistant in his work. They had four children: Mary, John, Alice, and Marjorie. Early Experiments It was the loss of a young patient in 1931, who died despite emergency surgery for a blood clot in her lungs, that first stirred Gibbons interest in developing an artificial device for bypassing the heart and lungs and allowing for more effective heart surgery techniques. Gibbon believed that if doctors could keep blood oxygenated during lung procedures, many other patients could be saved. While he was dissuaded by all with whom he broached the subject, Gibbon, who had a talent for engineering as well as medicine, independently continued his experiments and tests. In 1935, he used a prototype heart-lung bypass machine that took over cardiac and respiratory functions of a cat, keeping it alive for 26 minutes. Gibbons World War II Army service in the China-Burma-India Theater temporarily interrupted his research, but after the war he began a new series of experiments with dogs. For his research to proceed to humans, though, he would need help on three fronts, from doctors and engineers. Help Arrives In 1945, American cardiothoracic surgeon Clarence Dennis built a modified Gibbon pump that permitted a complete bypass of the heart and lungs during surgery. The machine, however, was hard to clean, caused infections, and never reached human testing. Then came Swedish physician Viking Olov Bjork, who invented an improved oxygenator with multiple rotating screen discs over which a film of blood was injected. Oxygen was passed over the discs, providing sufficient oxygenation for an adult human. After Gibbon returned from military service and restarted his research, he met Thomas J. Watson, CEO of International Business Machines (IBM), which was establishing itself as a premier computer research, development, and manufacturing firm. Watson, who was trained as an engineer, expressed interest in Gibbons heart-lung-machine project, and Gibbon explained his ideas in detail. Shortly thereafter, a team of IBM engineers arrived at Jefferson Medical College to work with Gibbon. By 1949, they had a working machine- the Model I- that Gibbon could try on humans. The first patient, a 15-month-old girl with severe heart failure, didnt survive the procedure. An autopsy later revealed that she had an unknown congenital heart defect. By the time Gibbon identified a second likely patient, the IBM team had developed the Model II. It used a refined method of cascading blood down a thin sheet of film to oxygenate it rather than the whirling technique, which could potentially damage blood corpuscles. Using the new method, 12 dogs were kept alive for more than an hour during heart operations, paving the way for the next step. Success in Humans It was time for another try, this time on humans.  On May 6, 1953, Cecelia Bavolek became the first person to successfully undergo open-heart bypass surgery with the Model II totally supporting her heart and lung functions during the procedure. The operation closed a serious defect between the upper chambers of the 18-year-olds heart. Bavolek was connected to the device for 45 minutes. For 26 of those minutes, her body totally depended upon the machine’s artificial cardiac and respiratory functions. It was the first successful intracardiac surgery of its kind performed on a human patient. By 1956 IBM, well on its way to dominating the fledgling computer industry, was eliminating many of its non-core programs. The engineering team was withdrawn from Philadelphia- but not before producing the Model III- and the huge field of biomedical devices was left to other companies, such as Medtronic and  Hewlett-Packard. That same year, Gibbon became the Samuel D. Gross professor of surgery and head of the surgery department at Jefferson Medical College and Hospital, positions he would hold until 1967. Death Gibbon, perhaps ironically, suffered from heart trouble in his later years. He had his first heart attack  in July 1972 and died of another massive heart attack while playing tennis on Feb. 5, 1973. Legacy Gibbons heart-lung machine undoubtedly saved countless lives. He is also remembered for writing a standard textbook on chest surgery and for teaching and mentoring countless physicians. Upon his death, the Jefferson Medical College renamed its newest building after him. Over his career, he was a visiting or consulting surgeon at several hospitals and medical schools. His awards included the Distinguished Service Award from the International College of Surgery (1959), an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in England (1959), the Gairdner Foundation International Award from the University of Toronto (1960), honorary Sc.D. degrees from  Princeton University  (1961) and the University of Pennsylvania (1965), and the Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association (1965). Sources Dr. John H. Gibbon Jr. and Jeffersons Heart-Lung Machine: Commemoration of the Worlds First Successful Bypass Surgery. Thomas Jefferson University.John Heysham Gibbon Biography. Engineering and Technology History Wiki.John Heysham Gibbon, 1903-1973: American Surgeon. Encyclopedia.com

The one way publishing start-ups can look to thrive

The one way publishing start-ups can look to thrive One big way that book publishing startups can succeed now Our co-founder Ricardo was invited as a guest contributor on GigaOm to share his thoughts on publishing startups. Why have major publishers failed to carry the digital disruption started by Amazon? What can startups do to step in successfully? All answers are below!It’s been more than seven years since the introduction of the first Kindle. Ebooks market share seems to be stabilizing at around one-third of total books sold in the U.S. according to the latest reports. But ebooks are just the beginning–the detonator, in a way, of a decade-long disruption of the traditional publishing landscape.Publishers and agents have certainly â€Å"adapted,† but have largely failed to carry innovation forward; distribution channels have been disrupted, but the creative process around books and the business model of publishing remain, for now, unchanged.As it often happens when technology erupts in a non-tech-heavy industry, numerous opportunities have emerged for smaller players : namely authors, freelancers, and startups. To take advantage of the changing industry landscape, however, those small players will have to grasp the delicate mix of strong technology and intuitive user experience (UX) needed to succeed in a tech-unsavvy industry.Read the whole piece on GigaOm!

National Service Framework - Standard 5 The role of the nurse Assignment

National Service Framework - Standard 5 The role of the nurse - Assignment Example What measures can be taken to prevent this and in such cases how the patients should be treated. The goal of National Service Frameworks to deal with older adults in stroke pathway. The aim of this to report is to identify the health policy on care delivery from practical life. To ensure that the public and the professionals understand the cause of stroke, the symptoms of a stroke and what measures should be taken if someone gets an attack. The discussion of the report will follow the description on stroke and related issues, how efficiently NSF works towards its perspective to take care of the patient and their family. The main objective is to get the clear idea of the role of nurse, post stroke nursing care along with the inter-professional team. Apart from this other various health promotion to raise awareness also would be the part of the discussion. 2. Introduction to National Service Frameworks 2.1. What is a National Service Framework (NSF)? National service frameworks (NSFs) and strategies provides efficient quality requirements for care. These strategies are based on the available facts on which treatments and services can be effective for the patients. These strategies have various strengths that include building relationships with health professionals, patients, carers, health service managers, voluntary agencies and other experts. The historical perspective of NSF is to make a better world for the older people. England is said to be known as an aging society. Since the early 1930s the number of aged people was over 65 years. According to a recent survey, it has been found that every fifth population of England is over 60 and which will increase to 80 between 1995 and 2025. Thus the concept of NSF to build a better world for older people raised and they form this unit to take both social care and health care services. The National Service Framework is pioneer to ensure fair, high quality, integrated health and social care services for older people. T his is a long term planning program which NSF ensures. It frames 10 year program of action raising awareness to promote good health, to support independence, special acre and services for any conditions and cultural change so that all older people and their carers so that they get respect and can live with dignity and equality. We need National Service Frameworks because it will give us support from every perspective to deal future condition of old age. It will help to create awareness for good health and making people conscious about stroke and hazards. The experts and hard work of NFS had led the way in developing the standards. The Goals and Purpose of NSF To improve standards of care To help older people to stay healthy Better long term funding Extending access to services The NFS will shape its services depending on individual patients, their families and their carers. [Standard 2] The NSF will support and value its staff. The NSF focuses on conditions like stroke, fall and men tal health problems of older people. They have made 10 year framework to deal with arthritis, respiratory diseases in older people. To respect every individual Promoting healthy and active life 2.2. Introduction to National Service Framework for Older Adults- Stroke National Service Frameworks (NSFs) were established to improve various services by setting up national standards to check quality and care services. The main aim of this specific NSF Respecting the individual is