Empire by purchase or rental, like the acquisition of property in a Research Paper

Empire by purchase or rental, like the acquisition of property in a Monopoly board game, remains a neglected but highly su - Research Paper Example Imperialism has existence since time immemorial taking different forms. In the ancient times, imperialism was in the form of one type of civilization or ethnicity having control of all then other around it. A good example is the Roman Empire. The earliest form of modern imperialism was in the form of colonial expansion overseas in the 14th to 19th century1. Countries in Europe were fighting over territories in Asia, the new world and Africa. The main aim of this form of imperialism was to be in control of trade and raw materials from its colonies thereby monopolizing the benefits from the transactions2. In the 19th century, there was a new form of imperialism which came with free trade. In this, countries would have control over others through diplomacy and economic agreement. Most formal empires came to an end after World War II. This did not last long but have been replaced by neocolonialism. This is the situation where the economic powerful countries such as the America have a lot of influence of third world countries. This article reviews the significance of empires, the motives behind empirial expansion and finally compares Alaska and Guantanamo. Significance of Empires Imperialism has had both positive and negative impact on the countries or people who were incorporated into the powerful states or nations depending on the form of imperialism. ... This ensured that the members of the weaker nations could now have better living standards, with reduced mortality compared to their earlier lives. However, Imperialism in the form of colonialism had several devastating impacts on the colonies. This I despite the fact that the mother countries invested in the development of these countries, their main focuses was in development of those areas related to the specific raw material that eh countries were interested in and not the others4. These developments did not therefore benefit these colonies but benefitted their master. In the end, this form of relationship ended up benefitting the mother colonies booting the development of these economies at their expense. A major significance of empires is that it results in the bringing together of people from different backgrounds. As a result, wealth from the different people and land is amassed and this creates an empire which now becomes more economically powerful5. This has been the case i n American which is made up of different states. Some of these states were bough for instance Alaska was bought from Russia. Because of this union of states and use of a common currency, America is today the most economically powerful nation in the world. Other important empires whose contribution has been significance to the world today are the British Empire which introduced the parliamentary democracy to countries around the world6. The Greek empire has had a lot of legacy in the present day society in terms of academic contribution, culture and art. The Roman Empire has also contributed to the development of the contemporary society7. Other empires whose impacts are felt today are the Muslim and Christian empire which dominates two thirds of

Compare and contrast at least two anthropological interpretations of Essay

Compare and contrast at least two anthropological interpretations of the term culture - Essay Example Their vision of culture influenced anthropological thinking for at least fifty years. Culture, as a guidance system, leads society to notice important differences between humans and other phenomena that get directed. Humans and their guides are often in conflict. Humans, or peculiar primates, create a peculiar guidance system, one that is praised, died for, evaded, avoided, and taught to young children. Intuitively, all we know about culture makes sense. C. Geertz represents a symbolic anthropology school which underlines a key role of symbols (thoughts) in society and its culture. Geertz develops and discusses the main ideas about culture and its meaning in The Interpretation of Culture (1973) and Local Knowledge: Further essays in Interpretive Anthropology (1983). It is important to note that this school of thoughts is also called an interpretive anthropology, paying a special attention to semiotic nature of culture. Under the leadership of Clifford Geertz, culture generates considerable excitement as a semiotic concept. Ideas and concepts used in his theories, Geertz took from the work of Gilbert Ryle and translating his philosophical ideas into notions usable by anthropologists, Geertz is revitalizing an old link with philosophy. This revitalization movement has its own vision of culture. According to Geertz, culture is no longer a map lodged in human minds; it is no longer plans, recipes, and rules. Culture, now, is traffic in things which impose meaning. More completely, and in Geertz's words, culture is traffic in anything "that is disengaged from its mere actuality and used to impose meaning upon experience" (Geertz 1973, p. 45). Within this context, human activity is well described as a "text," and a culture as an assemblage of texts. In presenting texts to interested publics and in interpreting their meanings, anthropologists assume old roles with some new labels, observers, scribes, translators, and interpreters. The documents anthropologists present must be deeply embedded in the contextual richness of social life; a text, that is, must be a "thick" description. Geertz defines culture as "a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life" (Geertz 1973, p. 89). The problem is, it is quite easy to write a text that is thick, but it is very difficult to write a text that is valid. The problem has not escaped Geertz. He admits that it is difficult to fathom "what our informants are up to and what it all means." Also, he settles rather cheaply for "doing the best we can" and using a lot of guessing. In his words: Cultural analysis is (or should be) guessing at meaning, assessing the guesses, and drawing explanatory conclusions from the better guesses, not discovering the Continent of Meaning and mapping out its bodiless landscape. (1973: 15) Guessing, a fundamental strategy in science, generally passes under the more prestigious name of hypothesizing. And hypothesizing, in traditional science, is but part of the opening moves. In the middle game and the end game scientists (1) build and use models and (2) utilize verification procedures. Instead of formal models, Geertz provides two general and rather strange images. Humans, for Geertz, are like spiders "suspended in webs of significance"

The Making of the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

The Making of the Middle Ages Essay Personally, when thinking of the middle Ages, I tend to have the misconception that it is a period of darkness with no progress. However, R.W. Southern’s book, ‘The Making of the Middle Ages’, offers an in depth study of the development of history in the world today. Observing that this book was published during the 1950s, Mr. Southern’s interpretation of the ‘Middle Ages’ was very distinctive in comparison to other historians of his time. He explores the significance of the Middle Ages as a separate sector in the study of history by which the audience will notice that previous categories of studied history is set aside, as we are no longer focusing on the usual ‘Classical Greece’ and ‘Rome’ in shaping the modern world, but the ‘Middle Ages’ as an entity on its own. The ‘Middle Ages’ are regarded as of equal importance in the understanding of making the modern world since the Enlightenment. Setting this book in the 1950s when traditionalist views are still the core study of history, he attempts to justify the study of the Middle Ages as important to understanding. I find myself puzzled by his misleading use of the book’s title as it does not describe the actual ‘making’ of the middle ages which is suggests, but the actual ‘formation of western Europe from the late tenth to the early thirteenth century’. It is clear that Mr. Southern acknowledges the problems during the Middle Ages and examines them in two sections. He states that these divisions in Latin Christendom and its neighbors arose from the lack of communication and the tension caused from social disorder. Another trigger of tension was the division of the two main languages in Europe. He also emphasizes that those were the main factors and that areas of authority and political divisions were too artificial and ‘too fluid to count for much’ which also suggests that ‘political boundaries didn’t survive’. Opposed to the traditional view of history, he insinuates that the middle ages have been hindered as a ‘secret revolution’. This implies that Southern’s argument tries to reaffirm the status of the middle ages as a legitimate topic of academic discourse. Of course in his attempt to convince his academic peers, he seems to be very selective in his choice of sources. When examining the index, it clearly shows that there is little written about other themes. Southern conveys a very Eurocentric attitude towards the topics that are discussed in his book, as he mentions very little of the developments in Africa, the role of women and children and when compared to people of the upper classes and serfdoms, the ratio seems bizarre. There is a large list of various Saints that Southern mentions, as well as many powerful men with high social statuses that claim more pages and notice about serfdom which concludes to my point of Southern’s poor demographic as there isn’t a chapter on women. Southern’s ‘Making of the Middle Ages’ is a history of men and powerful political men. Southern also uses imperial terms that show that his book was written for the upper classes if placed in the wider context with the books published at the same time. Mr. Southern uses five main headings for each of his discussions and it is obvious that his main interest lies within the role of religion. ‘dark ages’ no progress? Regression he argues that there are things and events that happened which form Europe as it is today †¦ Not just shaped by classical rome in shaping modern Europe. About the book in the wider context about the books in the same time about the same topic because books are not published isolated- When the book was published and then how does it compare to the books published now- outdated? Why? Compared to modern literature and then the books published at the time. Index: always a noun but mentions none in themes, another flaw in the writer as the impression it gives shows that there aren’t any interests in wider themes. Eurocentric attitude to history isn’t as important- maybe ignores development in Africa? Role of women, children or slaves (under classes) but does have ‘serfdom’ only one chapter? Imperial terms; Sort of model of Thucydidean history (which is history of political leaders) military generals none of underdogs. (power politics) theme of Enlightenment-inspired medievalism and protonationalism with a study of legendary heroes Guy of Warwick and Bevis of Hampton in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literary circles, while articles by Helen Phillips, John Marshall, and David Mills examine gender in Chaucer’s writings, Robin Hood’s embodiment of pageantry, and the Chester Plays, respectively. Andrew Wawn expands on his earlier work by examining Victorian makers of the Viking Middle Ages active in Merseyside and Edward Morris surveys early nineteenth-century Liverpool collectors of illuminated manuscripts, devoting considerable attention to restituting the scholarly reputation of Sir John Tobin, a retired seaman, former slave trader, and pioneer in the acquisition of medieval manuscripts whose collection, amassed between 1823 and 1835, was â€Å"perhaps the most important small group of late medieval illuminated manuscripts ever assembled by a private individual† (166). Revival of secular Gothic aesthetics, a must-read for anyone interested in appreciating the urban development of one of England’s most important cities during industrialization. serves as a useful reminder that medievalism can hold historical implications as interesting and important as the Middle Ages themselves.

The Different Roles Of The Registered Nurse

The Different Roles Of The Registered Nurse Registered Nurses (RNs) provide many different services to health care consumers in a variety of settings. Some things nurses do on a daily basis offer a unique contribution to health care, whereas others can be done by other health team members. Professional nursing offers a specialized service to society. Professional nurses use a broad approach when considering holistic health need of the people they serve. Because of the broad nature of the discipline, nurses assume multiple roles while meeting health care needs of clients. For this reason, this paper would be discussing the role of the registered nurse in health care delivery. We would also discuss the professional standard and expectations for registered nurse. The quality assurance and confidentiality issues would then be discussed. In addition, this paper would explore the responsibility of the employers in hiring new health care staff. This would then include the employers expectation regarding competencies. Finally, a conclusion would be provided in order to highlight important details discussed in the paper. Different Roles of the Registered Nurse Primary Caregiver As a caregiver, the nurse practices nursing as a science. The nurse provides intervention to meet physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and environmental needs of patients and families using the nursing process and critical thinking skills. The nurse as a caregiver is skilled and empathetic, knowledgeable and caring. RNs provide direct, hands on care to patients in all health care agencies and settings. They also take an active role in illness prevention and health promotion and maintenance (Chitty, 2005; Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2006; Masters, 2009). Nurse Leader/Coordinator The Nurse Coordinator role is unique. It is a vital part of the multidisciplinary care team for patients and contributes to improved patient outcomes. The core functions of the Nurse Coordinator role centre around the patients physical and psychosocial assessment, care coordination, education and support, from coordinating the patients diagnostic work-up tests to assisting them to navigate the hospital system, and referring them to allied health professionals. The Coordinator is an important resource for the patient and family and acts as a focal point of contact throughout their time in the hospital (ANMC, 2006; Hood Leddy, 2006). Incorporated in this advanced practice role, the Nurse Coordinator is responsible for maintaining clinical competencies and participating in those activities that contribute to the ongoing development of self and other health care professionals. The Nurse Coordinator contributes to the educational needs of clinical nurses and participates in both informal and formal education programs at a national and international level (ANMC, 2006; Hood Leddy, 2006). Patient Advocate The purpose of this role is to respect patient decisions and boost patient autonomy. Patient advocacy includes a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship to secure self-determination, protections of patients right and acting as an intermediary between patients and their significant others and healthcare providers (Blais et al., cited in Masters, 2009). A patient advocate is mainly concerned with empowering the patient through the nurse-patient relationship. The nurse represents the interests of the patient who has needs that are unmet and are likely to remain unmet without the nurses special intervention. The professional nurse speaks for the patients interest as if the patients interests were the nurses own (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006; MacDonald, 2006: Masters, 2009). Nurse Educator Nurse educators teach patients and families, the community, other health care team members, students and businesses. In hospital settings as patient and family educators, nurses provide information about illnesses and teach about medications, treatments and rehabilitation needs. They also help patients understand how to deal with the life changes necessitated by chronic illnesses and teach how to adapt care to the home setting when that is required (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006). Nurse as Collaborator Collaboration is important in professional nursing practice as a way to improve patient outcomes. Multidisciplinary teams require collaborative practice, and nurses play a key role as both team members and team leaders. To fulfill a collaborative role, nurses need to assume accountability and increased authority in practice areas. Collaboration requires that nurses understand and appreciate what other health professionals have to offer. They must also be able to interpret to others the nursing needs of patients. Collaboration with patients and families is also essential. Involving patients and their families in the plan of care from the beginning is the best way to ensure their cooperation, enthusiasm and willingness to work toward the best patient outcome (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006). Nurse Practitioner A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse educated and authorized to function autonomously and collaboratively in an advanced and extended clinical role. The nurse practitioner role includes assessment and management of clients using nursing knowledge and skills and may include but is not limited to, the direct referral of patients to other health care professionals, prescribing medications and ordering diagnostic investigations. The nurse practitioner role is grounded in the nursing professions values, knowledge, theories and practice and provides innovative and flexible health care delivery that complements other health care providers. The scope of practice of the nurse practitioner is determined by the context in which the nurse practitioner is authorized to practice. (ANMC, 2006; Carryer, Gardner, G., Dunn, Gardner, A., 2007). Professional Standards and Expectations for Registered Nurses Standards within a professional practice are known as statements of an authoritative nature through which the profession to which they relate to provide a unique description of the responsibilities of all practitioners within that profession (Campbell Mackay, 2001). Further, the standards and expectations are in place to ensure that all practitioners are also accountable for the work and duties they perform. When it comes to nursing, this is done in order to create boundaries and to provide a level of care that is equitable for all patients. Further, the priorities and values of nurses must be common to each nurse within the profession, and the standards and expectations outlines this as such (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, Fitzgerald, Wash, Borbasi, 2002; American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Schiemann, 2007; Furaker, 2008). While standards will vary in specifics across nursing specializations, and across countries, there is a general mindset as to what is expected of nurses in terms of expectations and standards. They are intended to provide daily guidance to nurses as they practice. Accountability, ethics, competence, knowledge, and the practical application of knowledge are key elements that are common to all nursing standards and expectations (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, et al., 2002; AACN, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Schiemann, 2007; Furaker, 2008 ). Nurses are required to be held accountable for every action that they take on a daily basis. This requires constant documentation of every element of their daily job, and following a chain of command within their select position. They are also required to maintain ethical standards within their practice, and to follow all ethical guidelines as set forth by their governing body of nursing. Furthermore, nurses are expected to have a set amount of knowledge before they enter the field of practitioner work, and with that knowledge set come an expectation of competence and practical application. Nurses are expected to be competent in their knowledge base such that they know and understand what they are supposed to in the medical field, and also, are supposed to know how to apply that knowledge in a practical manner (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, et al., 2002; AACN, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008). Quality Assurance Quality Assurance is another issue that is common across all standards and expectations for nurses. Through this, quality assurance standards ensure that nurses are practicing with quality efforts which in itself promote their competence and practical applications. This will require continuous education on the part of the individual nurse, as quality assurance standards across many medical centers, cities, and countries are in a constant state of evolution. It is the responsibility of the nurse practitioner to understand their quality assurance expectations at all times (Ellis Hartley, 2004; Hood Leddy, 2006). Confidentiality Confidentiality is another element of most standards and expectations for nurses. This is a requirement that nurses do not have an option to practice or not. Legislation and privacy concerns are in effect all across the globe, and nurses have the expectation that they will maintain confidential and private information for their patients within the patient doctor realm. Patients use medical services under the understanding that their information and medical records are not being seen by the wrong person, or found in the wrong hands, and because nurses have the most contact between patient and doctor, these are standards of paramount significance to the nursing profession (Deshefy-Longhi, Dixon, Olsen, Grey, 2004, Ellis Hartley, 2004; Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Masters, 2009). Employers Responsibility in Hiring New Health Care Staff The employer of an organization has an inherent duty to employ competent staff. This is not only cost-effective on the part of the employer but also guarantee in some ways that the products and services provided by the organization are competently given to the end-users. In the context of health care employees, such as the RNs there is an accreditation scheme to ensure the capacity of the RNs to carry out his/her job. In this manner, the employers responsibility to screen the professional capacity of the RN is significantly simplified. Seeking only the certification of the newly hired RN will guarantee that he/she has satisfied the minimum requirements of training, licensure, and communication proficiency to carry out his/her role as health professional. Having the employer check the credentials of the newly hired RN as well as his/her certification with authorities will allow the employer to measure the RN capability to perform his/her jobs in the organization (Ellis Hartley, 2004; Hart, Olson Fredrickson, McGovern, 2006). Â   Employers Expectations Regarding Competencies Registered nurses should appraise their strengths, weaknesses and preferences. The RNs must ensure that there is a good match between their abilities and employers expectations. Ellis and Hartley (as cited in Chitty, 2005) suggest that RNs examine themselves in seven areas in which employers have expectations. Theoretical knowledge should be adequate to provide basic patient care and to make clinical judgments. Employers expect RN to be able to recognize the early signs and symptoms of patient problems, such as an allergic reaction to a blood transfusion, and take the appropriate nursing action, that is, discontinue the transfusion. They are expected to know potential problems related to various patients conditions. (p. 212) The ability to use the nursing process systematically as a means of planning care is important. Employers evaluate nurses understanding of the phases of the process: assessment, analysis, nursing diagnosis/outcome identification, planning, intervention and evaluation. They expect nurses to ensure that all elements of a nursing care plan are used in delivering nursing care and that there is documentation in the patients record to that effect. (p. 213) Self-awareness is critically important. Employers ask prospective employees to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. They need to know that new nurses are willing to ask for help and recognize their limitations. New graduates who are unable or unwilling to request for help pose a risk to patients-a risk that employers are unwilling to accept. (p. 213) Documentation ability is an increasingly important skill that employers value. Employers expect RN to recognize what patient data should be charted and to know that all nursing care should be entered in patient records. (p. 213) Work ethic is another area in which employers are vitally interested. Work ethic means that prospective RN employees understand what is expected of them and are committed to providing it. Employers expect new graduates to recognize that the most desirable positions and work hours do not usually go to entry-level workers in any field. In the nursing profession, a nurse cannot leave work until patient care responsibilities have been turned over to a qualified replacement; therefore, being late to work or calling in sick when not genuinely incapacitated are luxuries professional nurses cannot afford. (p. 213) Skill proficiency of new graduates varies widely, and employers are aware of this. Most large facilities now provide fairly lengthy orientation periods, during which each nurses skills are appraised and opportunities are provided to practice new procedures. In general, smaller and rural facilities have less formalized orientation programs, and earlier independent functioning is expected. (p. 213) Speed of functioning is another area in which new nurses vary widely. By the end of a well-planned orientation period, the new graduate should be able to manage the average patient load without too much difficulty. Time management is a skill that is closely related to speed of functioning. The ability to organize and prioritize nursing care for a group of patients is the key to good time management. (p. 214) Conclusion Through time nurses have advanced their roles into various spheres of practice, and this progression seems set to continue as healthcare continues to evolve. Whatever the reason, central to role extension should be the delivery of safe care to all patients, with the support of the multi- disciplinary team to ensure good standards of patient care. Nurses should ensure that each activity performed when advancing a role should complement the current job, one which they are competent in. Nurses should guard themselves against litigation and carefully consider what they really want to do, as each practitioner is accountable for their actions and should be aware of the legal implications of practice within the process of advancing professional practice.

The Race to Understanding and Manipulating DNA :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Early 1953. Three labs, two in England and one in California, raced to discover the structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid. At Cal Tech in Pasadena, California, Linus Pauling had recently discovered the alpha-helix. Now he was turning his attention to DNA. At King's College in the University of London, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, although hampered by their inability to get along with one another, had taken actual pictures of DNA using x-rays and were hot on the trail. The most unlikely pair in the race, a 24-year-old American biologist and a 36-year-old English physicist, were also close to identifying the elusive molecule, although they were forbidden from directly working on it. And so the race intensified for the secret of life itself. Get Ready, Get Set... Mendel and Pea Plants The events leading up to this race actually began with an Austrian monk named Johann Gregor Mendel. Although in reality Mendel wanted to be a high school teacher, he failed the mandatory examination three times and decided to become a monk to pursue his studies in the peace of a monastery (Asimov, Genes 11). Interested in the inheritance of characteristics, he began working with pea plants in 1857. He crossed true-bred plants and then their offspring and recorded the results. From these results he established general rules or laws for inheritance. He worked for eight years and with over ten thousand different plants (Arnold 20). Looking for a sponsor for his work, Mendel sent his paper to noted botanist Wilhelm von Nageli. Nageli sent it back after barely glancing at it (Nageli died in 1891 and would be remembered, not for his own vast scientific work, but for his failure to pay attention to Mendel) (Asimov, Genes 19-20). Mendel finally did publish his results in the magazine of the National History Society of Brunn in 1866 (Arnold 7). Other botanists paid little or no attention to his work, and his ideas about inheritance became lost for thirty-four years. Mendel became the abbot of his monastery in 1868 and was too busy and discouraged to continue his experiments. He died in 1884, never knowing that he would be touted as the "father of modern genetics." The Early Work on DNA In 1869, just after Mendel had quit working with plants, a 25-year-old Swiss chemist, Johann Friedrich Miescher, discovered a substance called nuclein inside cells. This substance was later found to be attached to a protein which was named "histone" from the Greek word meaning "cell.

Choice theory

The term choice theory has originated from the work of Dr. William Glasser, MD, an American psychiatrist from Cleveland, Ohio; and which was popularized through his book of the same title released in 1998. Choice theory is the culmination of Glasser’s research work on psychology and counseling spanning 50 years. It used to called control theory, and is the foundation of Glasser’s Reality Therapy, a particular approach used in psychotherapy and counseling which was developed in the 1960’s. This approach focuses on the present emotional status of a person and the possible ways on creating a better future, instead of concentrating on his past.Reality therapy establishes a person’s ability in making decisions, taking actions in his life, and being able to control his life. This approach allows a person in discovering what they really want in their lives, and learns whether their current activities are actually leading them to their actual goals. Reality therap y has gained a decent following in the United States and is now widely used in the field of education. Choice theory considers that behavior is the center of human existence. Human existence is further determined by the five genetically driven needs, which includes survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun.According to Maslow, survival includes man’s basic biological needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The remaining four are the fundamental psychological needs. This theory considers that among the five, the most important need is love, or belonging, due to the fact that a person’s closeness to the people he love and care about is an essential factor in satisfying all the five needs. Choice theory also includes the â€Å"seven caring habits†: supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting, and negotiating differences.Against these habits are the â€Å"seven deadly habits†: criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, threateni ng, punishing, and bribing or rewarding in order to control. Choice theory and the seven caring habits are aimed to replace and counteract the so-called external control psychology and the seven deadly habits, which is believed to be the present state of mind of most people in the world. The seven deadly habits are believed to be destroying relationships because it ruins a person’s ability to find satisfaction in his relationship.This further results to people getting disconnected from the people they care about, and which would prove to be the cause of most problems in the society at present: illnesses, depression, substance abuse, and uncontrolled violence, and rising crime rates. Choice theory then presents ten axioms, and these are: 1. The only person whose behavior we can control is our own. 2. All we can give another person is information. 3. All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems. 4. The problem relationship is always part of our present life . 5.What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future. 6. We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World. 7. All we do is behave. 8. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. 9. All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think. 10.All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable. The idea of the existence of a â€Å"quality world† is presented by choice theory, which states that a person, beginning at birth and throughout his life, places everything important to him, including people, his beliefs, materials things, and other valuables into this world. The person then b ehaves throughout his life to achieve a real world based on his quality world. Related to the ideas of a person’s real and quality worlds is the â€Å"comparing place† where the real world is compared to the quality world.With the idea of â€Å"total behavior†, Glasser believes that among the four components, a person can only exert control over two, which are acting and thinking; and have limited capacity to influence the other two, feeling and physiology. As these four are interconnected, the manner by which a person acts and thinks has tremendous impact on his feelings and physiology. Glasser’s choice theory is one that is based psychology. The theory further states that most mental illnesses being experienced by most people in the world are caused by unhappiness.Mental illness is actually brought about by a person’s unhappiness and dissatisfaction in life. Although contested by most mainstream psychiatrists, Glasser’s theory is now used in a wider range of social issues including education, family, management, and mental health. His theories have gained popularity not only in the United States where they are most commonly used in education, but also in the global arena. Glasser’s choice theory is all about being able to choose how to live happily, how to make better decisions that satisfy a person’s need, how to responsibly take action, and how to take control of one’s life.This theory is all about living satisfactorily in order to lessen unhappiness, promote better relationships among people, and therefore eliminate mental illness in the world today. Sources: Furr, Lee W. and W. Hugh Furr. (2006, March 14). Choice Theory Psychology. [Electronic Document]. http://www. choicetheory. com/ The William Glasser Institute. (2006, May 11). Choice Theory. [Electronic Document]. http://www. wglasser. com/whatisct. htm Schneller, Peter L. (2005, August 30). Choice Theory. [Electronic Document]. http://ra ider. muc. edu/~schnelpl/Control Theory – Overhead. html

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Grandmother Is the Central Character

A Good Man is Hard to Find The grandmother is the central character in the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† by Flannery O’Connor. She is also a very well rounded and dynamic character. She shows various characteristics and reveals various remarks as they story progresses. Some of her qualities include selfish and a pushy person. She is also kind of manipulator in a way that she insists her family to change the plan. At the beginning of the story when we first realize her desire to visit her childhood house, she is being a very selfish person. Examining her conversation with her son Bailey, the grandmother is moreover a pushy person. She is convincing Bailey to change the trip plan according to her need only and which will benefit her only. She is trying to manipulate her family to do what she thinks is best. She is also a bit of criticizer at points in the story. Her characteristics remain same throughout the story that is even when her desire was ignored, she still kept praising it. The story opens up with a conversation between the grandmother and her son Bailey about their trip to Florida. Instead of going to Florida with her entire family, she insists on visiting her relatives up in Tennessee. In spite of everyone’s choice, she just wants to go where her mind is set. It is very obvious that she is only concerned about her gaining and nobody else’s. Her selfishness occurs when she says â€Å"The children have been to Florida before† (O’Connor 345). It sounds like the grandmother is being stubborn and childish, and trying to change their mind about going to Tennessee. She is persuading the family to change their vacation destination to Tennessee. â€Å"Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward the Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did† (O’Connor 345). She is trying to scare Bailey and also saying that going there could also be dangerous. She lies after she seems to not get any reaction from previous attempts by trying to say out that it’s not about her, but in fact it’s about the children. â€Å"The children have been to Florida before,† the old lady said. â€Å"You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to east Tennessee† (O’Connor 345). She is critical of the children’s mother and persuades Bailey by telling him that it can be an educational experience for his children. Truthfully, she wants to go to Tennessee for the benefit of her own only and fulfill her needs. One of major selfishness occurs when she first tries making her son Bailey change the whole vacation plans including the destination. She had always treated her son Bailey as if he was child still and expects him not to make his own decision for himself. After the family ignores the grandmother’s attempts of persuasion and her desire, they decide to go on their own way. She is urged to travel with her family. Subsequently the grandmother shows characteristics as if she were a follower. â€Å"The next morning the grandmother was the first one in the car, ready to go† (O’ Connor 345). At this moment in the story, her movement shows that she has been ignored and becomes the first one to get ready as if she has been forced to do so. In spite of knowing that her son Bailey doesn’t like taking cat onto their trips, she hides her cat, Pitty Sing, into the basket. †¦ and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing, the cat, in it† (O’Connor 345). She is avoiding her son and doesn’t want to leave the cat home alone. At the end of the story, the grandmother shows a very obvious selfishness act where is only concerned about her life only and shows zero concern about the rest of the family. When the family encounters the Misfit and his gang, the grandmother recognizes him as the Misfit. â€Å"I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got! † (O’Connor 355). She is pleading the Misfit for her life only by saying the word lady repeatedly and offering him the money. She is also praising the Misfit by calling him a good man and trying to save her life. She was also careless about her family. When her family is taken down into the woods, she continues to talk to Misfit. She ignores the sound of when her son and rest of the family were being shot. She is apparently oblivious to many things. She was ignoring everything but the Misfit. â€Å"The shirt came flying at him and landed on his shoulders and he put it on. The grandmother couldn’t name what the shirt reminded her of† (O’Connor 354). The grandmother doesn’t even realize that shirt was her son Baileys. She had no interest in knowing where that shirt came from and what happened to my family. For the concern of her life only, she tries to persuade the Misfit the same way she tried with her family. â€Å"I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people! † (O’Connor 352). She is trying to manipulate the Misfit and hopes that he will bear her. She is thinking about no one else but the sake for herself. However she fails once again to influence the Misfit. One of her characteristics in the story is being a very pushy person. Even when she is not heard by her family, she continues to praise her homeland hoping that Bailey would change his mind still. After they had left The Tower, â€Å"a part-stucco and part-wood filling station and dance hall†¦ † (O’ Connor 348), the grandmother recapitulates â€Å"an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when was a young lady† (O’Connor 349). Regardless of the consequences, the grandmother finds an alternative way to manipulate Bailey for changing his route to the old house she wanted to see. She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose anytime looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once again† (O’Connor 349). She is being a very pushy person here trying to convince Bailey and makes it sound even interesting telling the children. â€Å"There was a secret panel in this house,â €  she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, â€Å"and the story went that all family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Connor 349). The father concedes to visit the house after his kids start to yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with secret panels (350). She persuades the children about telling them a secret panel in the house which makes them grows their excitement even more in seeing it. However she is not telling the truth about the house but just making the children want to see it right away and would compel their father to take them there. She is not only being pushy to Bailey but also to the children. She seeks a way to gain Bailey’s attention. â€Å"It’s not far from here, I know,† the grandmother said. â€Å"It wouldn’t take over twenty minutes† (O’Connor 350). The grandmother later realizes that the house with secret panels she told the children is in Tennessee not in Georgia. Her desire to visit the old house from childhood results in an accident when her cat Pitty Sing sprang onto Bailey’s shoulder (350) losing the control of the car and resulting into an accident. If the grandmother had not pushed her son to detour to see the old house, which she later realized was in Tennessee not in Georgia, they wouldn’t have met with an accident. She is the cause of her entire family when they encounter the Misfit and his gang who shot everyone at the end of the story including the grandmother. Throughout the story, her various remarks reveal that she wants to achieve only for the benefit of her own and won’t let anything come in her way. At the end, during her conversation with the Misfit, the grandmother says that she knows him from good people trying to save her own life. She carried out herself as a very selfish person especially at the end of the story. In my opinion she remained a static character as her characteristics didn’t transform. She remains egocentric throughout the story and seeks to gain everything that will benefit her only. The grandmother shows various personality traits that brings families down fall at the end of the story. Her act of selfishness shows when she tells her son Bailey the benefit of taking their children to Tennessee. She wants the children to visit different part of world and be broad. But truthfully, only she will gain everything by going on vacation in Tennessee. She persuades her family by stating that this trip could be an educational experience for the children. As the story ends, she faces a death as her punishment for self-serving doings. Along with her, the entire family faces with death. Works Cited Updike, John. â€Å"Pygmalion. † Literature for Composition. 8th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.