Essay on Beowulf is an Epic Hero - 1415 Words

Epic battles, terrifying monsters, extraordinary strength, and great leadership; these characteristics and encounters are what make up the epic hero that is Beowulf. The heroism exemplified by Beowulf is defined by many different qualities. Beowulf is truly a hero because he is willing to put himself at great risk for the greater good. Beowulfs defeats of Grendel and Grendels mother establish him as a hero because he did it to save his people, rather than for his own glory. Beowulf is brought from his homeland to Heorot as an aegis for Hrothgars people. This illustrates the point that he was willing to put himself at risk because he fought the monster with his bare hands and put himself in peril just for the sake of saving†¦show more content†¦If this combat kills me, take care of my young company, my comrades in arms (Heaney 1475-1481). Even though Beowulf knows that he could lose his life, he is concerned about what will happen to his people should he die. Beowulf makes Hrothgar promise him that if he dies he, Hrothgar, will look after his warriors and make sure no harm comes of them. Lastly, Beowulf is offered a position of leadership by Hrothgar for his courageous efforts at saving his people. In all things you are even-tempered, prudent, and resolute. So I stand firm by the promise of friendship we exchanged before. Forever you will be your peoples mainstay and your own warriors helping hand (Heaney 1705-1708). Beowulfs ability to protect his people without any care of losing his own life made him a true hero and also gave him the qualities of a great leader. Beowulfs warriors praise him after his death as being a hero and a gracious and kind king who always defended his people with honor and minimal pride. This is an especially difficult thing to accomplish. The hero follows a code that exalts indomitab le will and valor in the individual, but society requires a king who acts for the common good, not for his own glory (Leyerle 56). These two characters, the epic hero and the mighty king, often conflict with each other. Each one has different characteristics. The hero acts solely out of pride for his accomplishments, while the king does everything for the betterment of hisShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Beowulf As An Epic Hero1519 Words   |  7 Pagesaway following a journey, you have most likely read an epic. An epic by definition is â€Å"a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation†. Every epic has a main character that undergoes the same archetypal journey as all other heroes, an epic hero. There are specific qualities one must have to be considered an epic hero. Each epic hero possesses superhuman strength, displays a strong sense ofRead MoreThe Epic Of Beowul f As An Epic Hero711 Words   |  3 Pagesthan the writer. These â€Å"epic heros† are protagonists that fulfill their potential of greatness through using their bravery, strength and humility for good. The near ancient tale of Beowulf is a classic example of an epic story that contains an epic hero. In this tale Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, has been terrorized by a beast known as Grendel. This beast has been murdering the king’s people and no one has come close to stopping this killer. A Geat warrior named Beowulf hears of the King’s predicamentRead MoreBeowulf : An Epic Hero930 Words   |  4 Pages The story of Beowulf shows its reader many characteristics of why this Anglo-Saxon poem is an epic. First of all, Beowulf is a warrior of epic renown by the time he formally introduces himself in the poem. Next, Beowulf is the warrior that many strive to be in life. In addition, Beowulf finds himself tackling many quests that involve dangerous beasts, or as he might call them, demons. The next quality shown by Beowulf is his bravery and honor. The reader is able to easily identify this characteristicRead MoreBeowulf, The Epic Hero1373 Words   |  6 Pages 2015 Beowulf, The Epic Hero In Anglo Saxon times, Beowulf is considered a well known epic hero. â€Å"Epic heroes are literary characters from ancient mythology and other stories, which were written down in the form of long, narrative epic poems. The hero is the main character, or protagonist of the poem†(Epic Hero: Definition, Characteristics Examples.). The epic hero usually battles for accomplishments to a set of tasks to complete important goals. Beowulf is described as an epic hero becauseRead MoreThe Epic Hero Of Beowulf866 Words   |  4 PagesAn epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. TheRead MoreBeowulf : An Epic Hero894 Words   |  4 Pages The character of Beowulf demonstrates several characteristics that make a great epic hero. Throughout his lifetime he displayed several characteristics such as honor, bravery, physical superiority, leadership, and glory. These characteristics all formed how the Anglo-Saxons believed one should live their life. Along with the valorous deeds that Beowulf accomplished he is considered to be a prime example of an epic hero. Beowulf would have even been considered a model human to the Anglo-SaxonsRead MoreBeowulf : An Epic Hero978 Words   |  4 Pages Beowulf is a character that exudes the qualities of an epic hero. Throughout this epic, Beowulf is seen as a hero to many and a major threat to the evils he encounters. The values of the Anglo-Saxons, who would have read and admired this poem, included loyalty, bravery, and honor. Beowulf’s character exemplifies all of these qualities to the highest degree. The values and traditions of the original composers of this story cause Beowulf’s character to be the perfect example of an Anglo-SaxonRead MoreBeowulf, the Epic Hero1431 Words   |  6 PagesBeowulf, the Epic Hero There have been many grand stories about great warriors, and champions; those about epic heroes however, are the truly exceptional tales. One such tale, over a thousand years old, stands out from all the rest: Beowulf, the tale of a great warrior, on his quest to achieve eternal glory, defeating great opponents. Throughout the whole story, Beowulf demonstrates most –if not all- of the qualities that an archetypal hero possesses. He embodies the highest ideals of his cultureRead MoreBeowulf: an Epic Hero983 Words   |  4 PagesGauvain British Literature Beowulf Essay 9/22/04 Beowulf: An Epic Hero According to Abrams, the heroic poem is a long verse narrative on a serious subject, told in an elevated style, and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race. Beowulf fits Abrams description of an epic, exhibiting all of the characteristics listed throughout the book, thus defining Beowulf as a hero and making the book an epic through its elevatedRead MoreBeowulf : The Epic Hero960 Words   |  4 PagesPotter, and Beowulf all have in common? They all demonstrate the qualities of epic heroes. Beowulf represents several characteristics of an epic hero and demonstrates the values of the Anglo-Saxons. He is the main character of his story, he has a main goal, he travels and fights with a group of people, and he accomplishes many valorous deeds; the values of the Anglo-Saxons are also shown through the actions of Beowulf, such as courage, loyalty, and fame. For example, when Beowulf heard a cry

The Lost Symbol Chapter 58-61 Free Essays

string(113) " the playing field was tipped so heavily in his favor that he would not even need his goggles to track his prey\." CHAPTER 58 The coyly nicknamed explosive Key4 had been developed by Special Forces specifically for opening locked doors with minimal collateral damage. Consisting primarily of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine with a diethylhexyl plasticizer, it was essentially a piece of C-4 rolled into paper-thin sheets for insertion into doorjambs. In the case of the library’s reading room, the explosive had worked perfectly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Lost Symbol Chapter 58-61 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Operation leader Agent Turner Simkins stepped over the wreckage of the doors and scanned the massive octagonal room for any signs of movement. Nothing. â€Å"Kill the lights,† Simkins said. A second agent found the wall panel, threw the switches, and plunged the room into darkness. In unison, all four men reached up and yanked down their night-vision headgear, adjusting the goggles over their eyes. They stood motionless, surveying the reading room, which now materialized in shades of luminescent green inside their goggles. The scene remained unchanged. Nobody made a dash for it in the dark. The fugitives were probably unarmed, and yet the field team entered the room with weapons raised. In the darkness, their firearms projected four menacing rods of laser light. The men washed the beams in all directions, across the floor, up the far walls, into the balconies, probing the darkness. Oftentimes, a mere glimpse of a laser-sighted weapon in a darkened room was enough to induce instant surrender. Apparently not tonight. Still no movement. Agent Simkins raised his hand, motioning his team into the space. Silently, the men fanned out. Moving cautiously up the center aisle, Simkins reached up and flipped a switch on his goggles, activating the newest addition to the CIA’s arsenal. Thermal imaging had been around for years, but recent advances in miniaturization, differential sensitivity, and dual-source integration had facilitated a new generation of vision enhancing equipment that gave field agents eyesight that bordered on superhuman. We see in the dark. We see through walls. And now . . . we see back in time. Thermal-imaging equipment had become so sensitive to heat differentials that it could detect not only a person’s location . . . but their previous locations. The ability to see into the past often proved the most valuable asset of all. And tonight, once again, it proved its worth. Agent Simkins now spied a thermal signature at one of the reading desks. The two wooden chairs luminesced in his goggles, registering a reddish-purple color, indicating those chairs were warmer than the other chairs in the room. The desk lamp’s bulb glowed orange. Obviously the two men had been sitting at the desk, but the question now was in which direction they had gone. He found his answer on the central counter that surrounded the large wooden console in the middle of the room. A ghostly handprint, glowing crimson. Weapon raised, Simkins moved toward the octagonal cabinet, training his laser sight across the surface. He circled until he saw an opening in the side of the console. Did they really corner themselves in a cabinet? The agent scanned the trim around the opening and saw another glowing handprint on it. Clearly someone had grabbed the doorjamb as he ducked inside the console. The time for silence was over. â€Å"Thermal signature!† Simkins shouted, pointing at the opening. â€Å"Flanks converge!† His two flanks moved in from opposite sides, effectively surrounding the octagonal console. Simkins moved toward the opening. Still ten feet away, he could see a light source within. â€Å"Light inside the console!† he shouted, hoping the sound of his voice might convince Mr. Bellamy and Mr. Langdon to exit the cabinet with their hands up. Nothing happened. Fine, we’ll do this the other way. As Simkins drew closer to the opening, he could hear an unexpected hum rumbling from within. It sounded like machinery. He paused, trying to imagine what could be making such a noise in such a small space. He inched closer, now hearing voices over the sound of machinery. Then, just as he arrived at the opening, the lights inside went out. Thank you, he thought, adjusting his night vision. Advantage, us. Standing at the threshold, he peered through the opening. What lay beyond was unexpected. The console was less of a cabinet than a raised ceiling over a steep set of stairs that descended into a room below. The agent aimed his weapon down the stairs and began descending. The hum of machinery grew louder with every step. What the hell is this place? The room beneath the reading room was a small, industrial-looking space. The hum he heard was indeed machinery, although he was not sure whether it was running because Bellamy and Langdon had activated it, or because it ran around the clock. Either way, it clearly made no difference. The fugitives had left their telltale heat signatures on the room’s lone exit–a heavy steel door whose keypad showed four clear fingerprints glowing on the numbers. Around the door, slivers of glowing orange shone beneath the doorjamb, indicating that lights were illuminated on the other side. â€Å"Blow the door,† Simkins said. â€Å"This was their escape route.† It took eight seconds to insert and detonate a sheet of Key4. When the smoke cleared, the field- team agents found themselves peering into a strange underground world known here as â€Å"the stacks.† The Library of Congress had miles and miles of bookshelves, most of them underground. The endless rows of shelves looked like some kind of â€Å"infinity† optical illusion created with mirrors. A sign announced TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT Keep this door closed at all times. Simkins pushed through the mangled doors and felt cool air beyond. He couldn’t help but smile. Could this get any easier? Heat signatures in controlled environments showed up like solar flares, and already his goggles revealed a glowing red smear on a banister up ahead, which Bellamy or Langdon had grabbed on to while running past. â€Å"You can run,† he whispered to himself, â€Å"but you can’t hide.† As Simkins and his team advanced into the maze of stacks, he realized the playing field was tipped so heavily in his favor that he would not even need his goggles to track his prey. You read "The Lost Symbol Chapter 58-61" in category "Essay examples" Under normal circumstances, this maze of stacks would have been a respectable hiding place, but the Library of Congress used motion-activated lights to save energy, and the fugitives’ escape route was now lit up like a runway. A narrow strip of illumination stretched into the distance, dodging and weaving as it went. All the men ripped off their goggles. Surging ahead on well-trained legs, the field team followed the trail of lights, zigging and zagging through a seemingly endless labyrinth of books. Soon Simkins began seeing lights flickering on in the darkness up ahead. We’re gaining. He pushed harder, faster, until he heard footsteps and labored breathing ahead. Then he saw a target. â€Å"I’ve got visual!† he yelled. The lanky form of Warren Bellamy was apparently bringing up the rear. The primly dressed African American staggered through the stacks, obviously out of breath. It’s no use, old man. â€Å"Stop right there, Mr. Bellamy!† Simkins yelled. Bellamy kept running, turning sharp corners, weaving through the rows of books. At every turn, the lights kept coming on over his head. As the team drew within twenty yards, they shouted again to stop, but Bellamy ran on. â€Å"Take him down!† Simkins commanded. The agent carrying the team’s nonlethal rifle raised it and fired. The projectile that launched down the aisle and wrapped itself around Bellamy’s legs was nicknamed Silly String, but there was nothing silly about it. A military technology invented at Sandia National Laboratories, this nonlethal â€Å"incapacitant† was a thread of gooey polyurethane that turned rock hard on contact, creating a rigid web of plastic across the back of the fugitive’s knees. The effect on a running target was that of jamming a stick into the spokes of a moving bike. The man’s legs seized midstride, and he pitched forward, crashing to the floor. Bellamy slid another ten feet down a darkened aisle before coming to a stop, the lights above him flickering unceremoniously to life. â€Å"I’ll deal with Bellamy,† Simkins shouted. â€Å"You keep going after Langdon! He must be up ahead some–† The team leader stopped, now seeing that the library stacks ahead of Bellamy were all pitch-black. Obviously, there was no one else running in front of Bellamy. He’s alone? Bellamy was still on his chest, breathing heavily, his legs and ankles all tangled with hardened plastic. The agent walked over and used his foot to roll the old man over onto his back. â€Å"Where is he?!† the agent demanded. Bellamy’s lip was bleeding from the fall. â€Å"Where is who?† Agent Simkins lifted his foot and placed his boot squarely on Bellamy’s pristine silk tie. Then he leaned in, applying some pressure. â€Å"Believe me, Mr. Bellamy, you do not want to play this game with me.† CHAPTER 59 Robert Langdon felt like a corpse. He lay supine, hands folded on his chest, in total darkness, trapped in the most confined of spaces. Although Katherine lay nearby in a similar position near his head, Langdon could not see her. He had his eyes closed to prevent himself from catching even a fleeting glimpse of his frightening predicament. The space around him was small. Very small. Sixty seconds ago, with the double doors of the reading room crashing down, he and Katherine had followed Bellamy into the octagonal console, down a steep set of stairs, and into the unexpected space below. Langdon had realized at once where they were. The heart of the library’s circulation system. Resembling a small airport baggage distribution center, the circulation room had numerous conveyor belts that angled off in different directions. Because the Library of Congress was housed in three separate buildings, books requested in the reading room often had to be transported great distances by a system of conveyors through a web of underground tunnels. Bellamy immediately crossed the room to a steel door, where he inserted his key card, typed a sequence of buttons, and pushed open the door. The space beyond was dark, but as the door opened, a span of motion-sensor lights flickered to life. When Langdon saw what lay beyond, he realized he was looking at something few people ever saw. The Library of Congress stacks. He felt encouraged by Bellamy’s plan. What better place to hide than in a giant labyrinth? Bellamy did not guide them into the stacks, however. Instead, he propped the door open with a book and turned back to face them. â€Å"I had hoped to be able to explain a lot more to you, but we have no time.† He gave Langdon his key card. â€Å"You’ll need this.† â€Å"You’re not coming with us?† Langdon asked. Bellamy shook his head. â€Å"You’ll never make it unless we split up. The most important thing is to keep that pyramid and capstone in safe hands.† Langdon saw no other way out except the stairs back up to the reading room. â€Å"And where are you going?† â€Å"I’ll coax them into the stacks away from you,† Bellamy said. â€Å"It’s all I can do to help you escape.† Before Langdon could ask where he and Katherine were supposed to go, Bellamy was heaving a large crate of books off one of the conveyors. â€Å"Lie on the belt,† Bellamy said. â€Å"Keep your hands in.† Langdon stared. You cannot be serious! The conveyor belt extended a short distance then disappeared into a dark hole in the wall. The opening looked large enough to permit passage of a crate of books, but not much more. Langdon glanced back longingly at the stacks. â€Å"Forget it,† Bellamy said. â€Å"The motion-sensor lights will make it impossible to hide.† â€Å"Thermal signature!† a voice upstairs shouted. â€Å"Flanks converge!† Katherine apparently had heard all she needed to hear. She climbed onto the conveyor belt with her head only a few feet from the opening in the wall. She crossed her hands over her chest like a mummy in a sarcophagus. Langdon stood frozen. â€Å"Robert,† Bellamy urged, â€Å"if you won’t do this for me, do it for Peter.† The voices upstairs sounded closer now. As if in a dream, Langdon moved to the conveyor. He slung his daybag onto the belt and then climbed on, placing his head at Katherine’s feet. The hard rubber conveyor felt cold against his back. He stared at the ceiling and felt like a hospital patient preparing for insertion headfirst into an MRI machine. â€Å"Keep your phone on,† Bellamy said. â€Å"Someone will call soon . . . and offer help. Trust him.† Someone will call? Langdon knew that Bellamy had been trying to reach someone with no luck and had left a message earlier. And only moments ago, as they hurried down the spiral staircase, Bellamy had tried one last time and gotten through, speaking very briefly in hushed tones and then hanging up. â€Å"Follow the conveyor to the end,† Bellamy said. â€Å"And jump off quickly before you circle back. Use my key card to get out.† â€Å"Get out of where?!† Langdon demanded. But Bellamy was already pulling levers. All the different conveyors in the room hummed to life. Langdon felt himself jolt into motion, and the ceiling began moving overhead. God save me. As Langdon approached the opening in the wall, he looked back and saw Warren Bellamy race through the doorway into the stacks, closing the door behind him. An instant later, Langdon slid into the darkness, swallowed up by the library . . . just as a glowing red laser dot came dancing down the stairs. CHAPTER 60 The underpaid female security guard from Preferred Security double-checked the Kalorama Heights address on her call sheet. This is it? The gated driveway before her belonged to one of the neighborhood’s largest and quietest estates, and so it seemed odd that 911 had just received an urgent call about it. As usual with unconfirmed call-ins, 911 had contacted the local alarm company before bothering the police. The guard often thought the alarm company’s motto–â€Å"Your first line of defense†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ could just as easily have been â€Å"False alarms, pranks, lost pets, and complaints from wacky neighbors.† Tonight, as usual, the guard had arrived with no details about the specific concern. Above my pay grade. Her job was simply to show up with her yellow bubble light spinning, assess the property, and report anything unusual. Normally, something innocuous had tripped the house alarm, and she would use her override keys to reset it. This house, however, was silent. No alarm. From the road, everything looked dark and peaceful. The guard buzzed the intercom at the gate, but got no answer. She typed her override code to open the gate and pulled into the driveway. Leaving her engine running and her bubble light spinning, she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. No answer. She saw no lights and no movement. Reluctantly following procedure, she flicked on her flashlight to begin her trek around the house to check the doors and windows for signs of break-in. As she rounded the corner, a black stretch limousine drove past the house, slowing for a moment before continuing on. Rubbernecking neighbors. Bit by bit, she made her way around the house, but saw nothing out of place. The house was bigger than she had imagined, and by the time she reached the backyard, she was shivering from the cold. Obviously there was nobody home. â€Å"Dispatch?† she called in on her radio. â€Å"I’m on the Kalorama Heights call? Owners aren’t home. No signs of trouble. Finished the perimeter check. No indication of an intruder. False alarm.† â€Å"Roger that,† the dispatcher replied. â€Å"Have a good night.† The guard put her radio back on her belt and began retracing her steps, eager to get back to the warmth of her vehicle. As she did so, however, she spotted something she had missed earlier–a tiny speck of bluish light on the back of the house. Puzzled, she walked over to it, now seeing the source–a low transom window, apparently to the home’s basement. The glass of the window had been blacked out, coated on the inside with an opaque paint. Some kind of darkroom maybe? The bluish glow she had seen was emanating through a tiny spot on the window where the black paint had started to peel. She crouched down, trying to peer through, but she couldn’t see much through the tiny opening. She tapped on the glass, wondering if maybe someone was working down there. â€Å"Hello?† she shouted. There was no answer, but as she knocked on the window, the paint chip suddenly detached and fell off, affording her a more complete view. She leaned in, nearly pressing her face to the window as she scanned the basement. Instantly, she wished she hadn’t. What in the name of God?! Transfixed, she remained crouched there for a moment, staring in abject horror at the scene before her. Finally, trembling, the guard groped for the radio on her belt. She never found it. A sizzling pair of Taser prongs slammed into the back of her neck, and a searing pain shot through her body. Her muscles seized, and she pitched forward, unable even to close her eyes before her face hit the cold ground. CHAPTER 61 Tonight was not the first time Warren Bellamy had been blindfolded. Like all of his Masonic brothers, he had worn the ritual â€Å"hoodwink† during his ascent to the upper echelons of Masonry. That, however, had taken place among trusted friends. Tonight was different. These rough- handed men had bound him, placed a bag on his head, and were now marching him through the library stacks. The agents had physically threatened Bellamy and demanded to know the whereabouts of Robert Langdon. Knowing his aging body couldn’t take much punishment, Bellamy had told his lie quickly. â€Å"Langdon never came down here with me!† he had said, gasping for air. â€Å"I told him to go up to the balcony and hide behind the Moses statue, but I don’t know where he is now!† The story apparently had been convincing, because two of the agents had run off in pursuit. Now the remaining two agents were marching him in silence through the stacks. Bellamy’s only solace was in knowing Langdon and Katherine were whisking the pyramid off to safety. Soon Langdon would be contacted by a man who could offer sanctuary. Trust him. The man Bellamy had called knew a great deal about the Masonic Pyramid and the secret it held–the location of a hidden spiral staircase that led down into the earth to the hiding place of potent ancient wisdom buried long ago. Bellamy had finally gotten through to the man as they were escaping the reading room, and he felt confident that his short message would be understood perfectly. Now, as he moved in total darkness, Bellamy pictured the stone pyramid and golden capstone in Langdon’s bag. It has been many years since those two pieces were in the same room. Bellamy would never forget that painful night. The first of many for Peter. Bellamy had been asked to come to the Solomon estate in Potomac for Zachary Solomon’s eighteenth birthday. Zachary, despite being a rebellious child, was a Solomon, which meant tonight, following family tradition, he would receive his inheritance. Bellamy was one of Peter’s dearest friends and a trusted Masonic brother, and therefore was asked to attend as a witness. But it was not only the transference of money that Bellamy had been asked to witness. There was far more than money at stake tonight. Bellamy had arrived early and waited, as requested, in Peter’s private study. The wonderful old room smelled of leather, wood fires, and loose-leaf tea. Warren was seated when Peter led his son, Zachary, into the room. When the scrawny eighteen-year-old saw Bellamy, he frowned. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Bearing witness,† Bellamy offered. â€Å"Happy birthday, Zachary.† The boy mumbled and looked away. â€Å"Sit down, Zach,† Peter said. Zachary sat in the solitary chair facing his father’s huge wooden desk. Solomon bolted the study door. Bellamy took a seat off to one side. Solomon addressed Zachary in a serious tone. â€Å"Do you know why you’re here?† â€Å"I think so,† Zachary said. Solomon sighed deeply. â€Å"I know you and I have not seen eye to eye for quite some time, Zach. I’ve done my best to be a good father and to prepare you for this moment.† Zachary said nothing. â€Å"As you know, every Solomon child, upon reaching adulthood, is presented with his or her birthright–a share of the Solomon fortune–which is intended to be a seed . . . a seed for you to nurture, make grow, and use to help nourish mankind.† Solomon walked to a vault in the wall, unlocked it, and removed a large black folder. â€Å"Son, this portfolio contains everything you need to legally transfer your financial inheritance into your own name.† He laid it on the desk. â€Å"The aim is that you use this money to build a life of productivity, prosperity, and philanthropy.† Zachary reached for the folder. â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Hold on,† his father said, putting his hand on the portfolio. â€Å"There’s something else I need to explain.† Zachary shot his father a contemptuous look and slumped back down. â€Å"There are aspects of the Solomon inheritance of which you are not yet aware.† His father was staring straight into Zachary’s eyes now. â€Å"You are my firstborn, Zachary, which means you are entitled to a choice.† The teenager sat up, looking intrigued. â€Å"It is a choice that may well determine the direction of your future, and so I urge you to ponder it carefully.† â€Å"What choice?† His father took a deep breath. â€Å"It is the choice . . . between wealth or wisdom.† Zachary gave him a blank stare. â€Å"Wealth or wisdom? I don’t get it.† Solomon stood, walking again to the vault, where he pulled out a heavy stone pyramid with Masonic symbols carved into it. Peter heaved the stone onto the desk beside the portfolio. â€Å"This pyramid was created long ago and has been entrusted to our family for generations.† â€Å"A pyramid?† Zachary didn’t look very excited. â€Å"Son, this pyramid is a map . . . a map that reveals the location of one of humankind’s greatest lost treasures. This map was created so that the treasure could one day be rediscovered.† Peter’s voice swelled now with pride. â€Å"And tonight, following tradition, I am able to offer it to you . . . under certain conditions.† Zachary eyed the pyramid suspiciously. â€Å"What’s the treasure?† Bellamy could tell that this coarse question was not what Peter had hoped for. Nonetheless, his demeanor remained steady. â€Å"Zachary, it’s hard to explain without a lot of background. But this treasure . . . in essence . . . is something we call the Ancient Mysteries.† Zachary laughed, apparently thinking his father was joking. Bellamy could see the melancholy growing now in Peter’s eyes. â€Å"This is very difficult for me to describe, Zach. Traditionally, by the time a Solomon is eighteen years of age, he is about to embark on his years of higher education in–â€Å" â€Å"I told you!† Zachary fired back. â€Å"I’m not interested in college!† â€Å"I don’t mean college,† his father said, his voice still calm and quiet. â€Å"I’m talking about the brotherhood of Freemasonry. I’m talking about an education in the enduring mysteries of human science. If you had plans to join me within their ranks, you would be on the verge of receiving the education necessary to understand the importance of your decision tonight.† Zachary rolled his eyes. â€Å"Spare me the Masonic lecture again. I know I’m the first Solomon who doesn’t want to join. But so what? Don’t you get it? I have no interest in playing dress-up with a bunch of old men!† His father was silent for a long time, and Bellamy noticed the fine age lines that had started to appear around Peter’s still-youthful eyes. â€Å"Yes, I get it,† Peter finally said. â€Å"Times are different now. I understand that Masonry probably appears strange to you, or maybe even boring. But I want you to know, that doorway will always be open for you should you change your mind.† â€Å"Don’t hold your breath,† Zach grumbled. â€Å"That’s enough!† Peter snapped, standing up. â€Å"I realize life has been a struggle for you, Zachary, but I am not your only guidepost. There are good men waiting for you, men who will welcome you within the Masonic fold and show you your true potential.† Zachary chuckled and glanced over at Bellamy. â€Å"Is that why you’re here, Mr. Bellamy? So you Masons can gang up on me?† Bellamy said nothing, instead directing a respectful gaze back at Peter Solomon–a reminder to Zachary of who held the power in this room. Zachary turned back to his father. â€Å"Zach,† Peter said, â€Å"we’re getting nowhere . . . so let me just tell you this. Whether or not you comprehend the responsibility being offered to you tonight, it is my family obligation to present it.† He motioned to the pyramid. â€Å"It is a rare privilege to guard this pyramid. I urge you to consider this opportunity for a few days before making your decision.† â€Å"Opportunity?† Zachary said. â€Å"Babysitting a rock?† â€Å"There are great mysteries in this world, Zach,† Peter said with a sigh. â€Å"Secrets that transcend your wildest imagination. This pyramid protects those secrets. And even more important, there will come a time, probably within your lifetime, when this pyramid will at last be deciphered and its secrets unearthed. It will be a moment of great human transformation . . . and you have a chance to play a role in that moment. I want you to consider it very carefully. Wealth is commonplace, but wisdom is rare.† He motioned to the portfolio and then to the pyramid. â€Å"I beg you to remember that wealth without wisdom can often end in disaster.† Zachary looked like he thought his father was insane. â€Å"Whatever you say, Dad, but there’s no way I’m giving up my inheritance for this.† He gestured to the pyramid. Peter folded his hands before him. â€Å"If you choose to accept the responsibility, I will hold your money and the pyramid for you until you have successfully completed your education within the Masons. This will take years, but you will emerge with the maturity to receive both your money and this pyramid. Wealth and wisdom. A potent combination.† Zachary shot up. â€Å"Jesus, Dad! You don’t give up, do you? Can’t you see that I don’t give a damn about the Masons or stone pyramids and ancient mysteries?† He reached down and scooped up the black portfolio, waving it in front of his father’s face. â€Å"This is my birthright! The same birthright of the Solomons who came before me! I can’t believe you’d try to trick me out of my inheritance with lame stories about ancient treasure maps!† He tucked the portfolio under his arm and marched past Bellamy to the study’s patio door. â€Å"Zachary, wait!† His father rushed after him as Zachary stalked out into the night. â€Å"Whatever you do, you can never speak of the pyramid you have seen!† Peter Solomon’s voice cracked. â€Å"Not to anyone! Ever!† But Zachary ignored him, disappearing into the night. Peter Solomon’s gray eyes were filled with pain as he returned to his desk and sat heavily in his leather chair. After a long silence, he looked up at Bellamy and forced a sad smile. â€Å"That went well.† Bellamy sighed, sharing in Solomon’s pain. â€Å"Peter, I don’t mean to sound insensitive . . . but . . . do you trust him?† Solomon stared blankly into space. â€Å"I mean . . .† Bellamy pressed, â€Å"not to say anything about the pyramid?† Solomon’s face was blank. â€Å"I really don’t know what to say, Warren. I’m not sure I even know him anymore.† Bellamy rose and walked slowly back and forth before the large desk. â€Å"Peter, you have followed your family duty, but now, considering what just happened, I think we need to take precautions. I should return the capstone to you so you can find a new home for it. Someone else should watch over it.† â€Å"Why?† Solomon asked. â€Å"If Zachary tells anyone about the pyramid . . . and mentions my being present tonight . . .† â€Å"He knows nothing of the capstone, and he’s too immature to know the pyramid has any significance. We don’t need a new home for it. I’ll keep the pyramid in my vault. And you will keep the capstone wherever you keep it. As we always have.† It was six years later, on Christmas Day, with the family still healing from Zachary’s death, that the enormous man claiming to have killed him in prison broke into the Solomon estate. The intruder had come for the pyramid, but he had taken with him only Isabel Solomon’s life. Days later, Peter summoned Bellamy to his office. He locked the door and took the pyramid out of his vault, setting it on the desk between them. â€Å"I should have listened to you.† Bellamy knew Peter was racked with guilt over this. â€Å"It wouldn’t have mattered.† Solomon drew a tired breath. â€Å"Did you bring the capstone?† Bellamy pulled a small cube-shaped package from his pocket. The faded brown paper was tied with twine and bore a wax seal of Solomon’s ring. Bellamy laid the package on the desk, knowing the two halves of the Masonic Pyramid were closer together tonight than they should be. â€Å"Find someone else to watch this. Don’t tell me who it is.† Solomon nodded. â€Å"And I know where you can hide the pyramid,† Bellamy said. He told Solomon about the Capitol Building subbasement. â€Å"There’s no place in Washington more secure.† Bellamy recalled Solomon liking the idea right away because it felt symbolically apt to hide the pyramid in the symbolic heart of our nation. Typical Solomon, Bellamy had thought. The idealist even in a crisis. Now, ten years later, as Bellamy was being shoved blindly through the Library of Congress, he knew the crisis tonight was far from over. He also now knew whom Solomon had chosen to guard the capstone . . . and he prayed to God that Robert Langdon was up to the job. How to cite The Lost Symbol Chapter 58-61, Essay examples

Sherlock Holmes Essay Paper Example For Students

Sherlock Holmes Essay Paper Examine The settings which the writers have chosen for their stories in The Signal man, The man with the twisted lip and the red room. Consider the effects that each writer has created and how they contribute to the atmosphere  I have chosen three separate stories out of 6 stories that i read, each mysterious and attempting to grip the reader till its ending. All use mystery but in a variety of settings. two using the supernatural, The red room and The signal man, the other using crime and murder, the man with the twisted lip. The red Signalman keeps the reader in suspense by developing the spector through out the story and slowly revealing the Signal mans experiences with the spector. The end is a dramatic anti climax as the Signal man is killed, The story has led us on a path but yet we never find out who or what the spector really is, Only revealing that it appears when an accident is going to happen. The Red room also uses the supernatural in its mystery and suspense. This story as well as using a developing sequence of spooky events during the night to keep the reader, uses the characters own mind to scare him. Discovering that the only thing to fear is fear its self.  In The man with the twisted lip the reader is sucked in to a missing persons enquiry and the dodgy dealings of a dark opium den. The story is developed up to a point where the reader has reached one conclusion when there is a complete twist in the tale. When the suspect turns out to be the missing person. Historical background can help to show why each writer made their choices of settings.  During the Victorian period Tales of mystery and suspense where extremely popular, especially ones telling of ghosts and spectors as this was another world not understood by the Victorians but yet they were still embroiled in a superstitious and religious culture, half way between modern science and ancient superstition. Charles Dickens wrote the signal man in a time when The steam engine was a relatively new creation and because it was not so well understood by the general public this could have added to peoples fear. Because of Dickenss personal encounter with trains and a train accident where ten people were killed. The story is fuled, in my opinion by his distrust of the railway and modern technology as well as an understanding of the what the public at the time wanted in a story. This tail cleverly uses class division, ghosts and mystery to identify and enthral the Victorian reader. Arthur Conan Doyle wrights about Sherlock Holmes, drug addiction and crime in the man with the twisted lip. At this time crime was prevalent in London as this was the time of the industrial revolution and the streets were covered in smog so criminals were rife and often went un-caught. Much like jack the ripper who terrorised the streets of London and was killing prostitutes and women at this time. For These reasons Sherlock Holmes had become a literary Hero at the time and had gripped the hearts and minds of people all over the country. Probably because of the high levels of crime, High levels of mistrust in a incompetently seen police force and high levels of murder and missing persons this story was extremely relevant to a scared and worried public of the time. At this time Opium was a commonly used drug by many people and even wars where fought over it. Around this time The British Conquered Honk Kong of the Chinese in the Opium wars of the 18th century. This story is embroiled with Opium addiction and debt, where even Sherlock Holmes finds he needs to go under cover in an opium den where Watson finds him you may imagine i have added opium smoking to cocaine injections.but it is soon revealed that he is on to something I am i the midst of a very remarkable inquiry. .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .postImageUrl , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:hover , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:visited , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:active { border:0!important; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:active , .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue6cade70d7d1763610313a425918c69f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: War and Peace and Anna Karenina Comparison EssayIn The Red Room Wells Bestows a timeless aura to the story. Never actually once mentioning the time period that it is set, sure enough the language is mainly Victorian but this is so the reader could understand properly at the time. The setting of this story is a castle which bares no clue to the time frame of the story, and the characters never mention times, dates or places either. At this time ghost stories and the neo- Gothic style was very popular. Including the revival of Gothic architecture. This would have probably provided great inspiration for Wells. I also believe that Wells was a very clever man playing on what i earlier mentioned on that Victorians were still embroiled in a superstitious and religious culture, half way between modern science and ancient superstition. This kind of intelligence for the human mind and how to play on many of the fears of the human condition was illustrated in later works such as The war of the worlds and its radio broadcast. The signal man begins in a dark railway trench, and the setting is described to be steeped in the glow of an angry sunset, This sets the tone of the story by using something usually beautiful and relaxing as something that will intimidate and menace. at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole, This creates a picture in the mind of the reader and introducing the signal man to this tale. It is made apparent that the signal man does not trust the man the calling to him, this is apparent in his initial refusal to reply to the narrator. In The signal man Dickens distrust of the railway, probably owing to the crash he was involved in, is made apparent by comments such asa violent pulsation. This is not just Dickenss resentful rantings about the railway but a clever literary trick to set the mood of the text and to put negative and frightening thoughts in to the head of the reader. The intended psychological setting of the story is made quite clear through the narrators voicings about the railway trench as he enters it I found a rough zigzag descending path notched out which I followed and left the natural world. This suggests that the narrator has descended in to some sort of dark underworld because there is so little sunlight and that it is unnatural and ungodly.

Research Proposal on Workplace Bullying Essay Example

Research Proposal on Workplace Bullying Essay Workplace bullying is a phenomenon of the negative and even harmful treatment of the certain employees making their work complicated and often unbearable. The bullying is often conducted in the harsh form and the attacker has the aim to abuse the victim and make her feel neglected. It is obvious that the problem of workplace bullying has always existed in the human society, because interpersonal conflicts are quite natural for people. In fact, it is important to reduce the frequency of such actions and reduce their impact on the employee and the quality of his work. It is a big problem for employers if there are conflicts among his employees, because as a result the victim can give up the job and he would have to spend extra time and money to select and train the new employees. The most frequent reason of workplace bullying is the lack of tolerance and poor level of manners. So, workplace bullying is generally caused on the racial grounds. Very often employees can not tolerate the different people and become angry just because the person looks differently. The next reason is age. It happens that the elderly employee is bulled by the younger one, who wants to demonstrate his priority and energy. Next, bullying is possible on the basis of the level of education. Both uneducated and well-educated people can be abused depending on the level of education of the majority. Finally, the gender issues are also important in the case of workplace bullying. Both women and men are the targets of bullying depending on the dominating gender of the staff. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Workplace Bullying specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Workplace Bullying specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Workplace Bullying specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Workplace bullying is a very serious and shameful problem which requires rapid solutions. The student can prepare a good workplace bullying research proposal and try to explain the problem in detail. In the proposal the student should present the current situation of workplace bullying in the world, present he motives and factors of bullying, say whether employers punish the radical employees for their harmful behavior. One is supposed to prove to the professor that the topic of bullying is relevant and requires profound research. In addition, the student should prepare the list of the methods for the research the share the sources with the professor in order to win his approval. In order to complete a worthy research proposal the student will have to work hard and at least look through a good free example research proposal on workplace bullying to get to know about the successful way of paper writing. A good free sample research proposal on workplace bullying is a valuable piece of advice for students who need reliable help of the real experts in their field. At EssayLib.com writing service you can order a custom research proposal on Workplace Bullying topics. Your research paper proposal will be written from scratch. We hire top-rated PhD and Master’s writers only to provide students with professional research proposal help at affordable rates. Each customer will get a non-plagiarized paper with timely delivery. Just visit our website and fill in the order form with all proposal details: Enjoy our professional research proposal writing service!

Photosynthesis Equation What Is It How Does It Work

Photosynthesis Equation What Is It How Does It Work SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The word photosynthesis comes from two Greek words: photo, meaning â€Å"light†, and synthesis, meaning â€Å"put together.† Looking at that those two roots, we have a good idea of what happens during the chemical process of photosynthesis: plants put together water and carbon dioxide with light to create glucose and oxygen. In this article, we’ll break down what photosynthesis is, why photosynthesis is important, and discuss the chemical equation for photosynthesis: what it is and what each part of it means. What Is Photosynthesis? Put simply - photosynthesis is how plants, algae, and certain types of bacteria harness energy from sunlight to create chemical energy for themselves to live. There are two main types of photosynthesis: oxygenic photosynthesis and anoxygenic photosynthesis. Oxygenic photosynthesis is more common - that’s the type we see in plants and algae. Anoxygenic photosynthesis mainly occurs in bacteria. In oxygenic photosynthesis, plants use light energy to combine carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). This chemical reaction produces carbohydrates for the plants to consume and oxygen, which is released back into the air. Anoxygenic photosynthesis is very similar - but it doesn’t produce oxygen. We’ll be focusing on the more common type of photosynthesis, oxygenic photosynthesis, for the rest of this article. Why Is Photosynthesis Important? Photosynthesis is important for a few reasons: First, it produces energy that plants need to live. The resulting carbohydrates provide plants with the energy to grow and live. Second, photosynthesis helps take in the carbon dioxide produced by breathing organisms and convert that into oxygen, which is then reintroduced back into the atmosphere. Basically, with photosynthesis, plants are helping produce the oxygen that all living things need to breathe and survive. Photosynthesis Equation Here is the chemical equation for photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 12H2O + Light Energy C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O Photosynthesis Formula Breakdown Now that we know what the photosynthesis equation is, let’s break down each piece of the photosynthesis formula. On the reactants side, we have: 6CO2 = Six molecules of carbon dioxide 12H2O = Twelve molecules of water Light Energy = Light from the sun On the products side, we have: C6H12O6 = glucose 6O2 = six molecules of oxygen 6H2O = six molecules of water As we learned earlier, the glucose will be used by the plant as energy. The oxygen and water will be released back into the atmosphere to help other living things. What You Need to Know About the Photosynthesis Formula During photosynthesis, plants use light energy to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose, oxygen, and water. Photosynthesis is important because it provides plants with the energy they need to survive. It also releases needed oxygen and water back into the atmosphere. What's Next? Are you studying clouds in your science class? Get help identifying the different types of cloudswith our expert guide. Working on a research paper but aren't sure where to start?Then check out our guide, where we've collected tons of high-quality research topics you can use for free. Need help with English class- specifically with identifying literary devices in texts you read? Then you'll definitely want to take a look at our comprehensive explanation of the most important literary devices and how they're used.

A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom Essay Example for Free

A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom Essay ? This paper draws from the understanding that cultural differences and imbalance has extensively repressed the process of learning as well as literacy development. This factor is evident by the continual differential treatment of teachers on white and black children thus affecting the progress of colored children in literacy development. Learning literacy encompass the efforts employed by the teacher to help the child develop reading and writing skill in the second language. As such, this process occurs within the threshold of culture and is influenced by social factors ranging from the belief of the teacher and the ability of the children to literary skills. The evaluation of methods of literacy practice help in deigning validity and reliability of the instruments of instruction used in literacy acquisition and development amid cultural differences and conflicts reflects an element that formulates an important factor in situations where the teacher and his beliefs as well as the literacy practice extensively leverages the varying degrees of the whole language. Literacy acquisition and development is a pedagogical aspect that begins long before children commence their formal education as well as formal school instruction. During these years, children acquire skills and knowledge that are typified by literate behavior in a setting that is guided by socio-cultural manifestations. The whole process is influenced by a number of factors ranging from cultural implications, the beliefs of the teacher and the instruction methods for literacy practice. The teacher should emphasize on the development of literacy as a process that is ongoing, and through a classroom learning environment. This means that for the efficiency of literacy acquisition development, all aspects of literacy must develop simultaneously, with the language and literacy sharing similar features hence allowing students to encounter a natural hierarchy to the stages of development. The complexity of literacy development rests on the pedestal of the children’s ability to effectively read and write in English as the formed literate culture. Delpit argues that our cultures and communities lay the basis on which differences in instructing children as they learn new language is evidenced (Delpit, 2006). This cultural bias and weakness presents a conflict which should be resolved by the teacher’s attempt to maximize the educational potential of children from colored racial background.   The teacher and his belief about literacy development play a significant role in the entire process of literacy and language development.   There is an interrelationship between literacy and language such that, the teacher should base his instruction on language; which plays a key role in building the foundation for reading and not on the racial backgrounds. Accordingly, the teacher should use the method of immersion to enable children develop literacy by being surrounded by spoken language. In so doing, children will not only learners to talk but will also encounter print language in charts labels and stories and an organized library which enables students to read and write in areas of the   print language. In addition, it is plausible to note that as a teacher, it is vital to use   a practical method of   instruction that help children demonstrate the literacy skill being learned in a context where the teacher uses good classroom management to root out racial power imbalance that exist in classrooms. As such, this should be done both in classroom and outside classroom situations. For example, Delpit contends that when people around children use language positively, things happen positively. Ideally, language, which the backbone of literacy, become part of life around children (Delpit,2006). This out of classroom situation means that a teacher should emphasis on the importance of language which is mirrored through books, literacy events and writing and thus children will learn the language at home, in town and in the villages where they are. In a classroom setting, demonstration of literacy skills should be enhanced by the teacher through modeling where children learn the four skills of language such as reading skills, writing skills, speaking skills and listening skills throughout the day. In this way, children will acquire and develop literacy skills by observing purposeful literacy in a myriad of ways. Furthermore, the teacher should advise parents to highly expect their children to talk thus relieving the whole process the pressure and tension of literacy development from learning in an environment that is cultural conflict. The teacher works on helping the students to learn literacy skills by working on these skills at appropriate levels. As a result, a teacher should provide children with enough materials that match their literacy levels and by catering for individualized differences; a teacher sets the pace of developing literacy skills thus structuring the class with expectation of leaning. To illustrate, the ways by which people respond and react during a conversation influences the behavior of a child and usually non verbal expressions such as smiles, cuddles and other remarks creates a verbal interaction that shapes the development of literacy. Therefore, acquiring and developing literacy skills does occur anywhere; at home, in groups, with relatives among others and this natural way should be used in helping the process of literacy acquisition and development. With the classroom, the teacher should create a collaborative learning environment where children have the opportunity to provide positive feedbacks to their peers which specifically is encouraging and constructive in terms of learning literacy skills. With regard to this, little children should be engaged in learning whether at home or in school the teacher should help the children to aim at better speaking skills, reading skills, writing skills and listening skills at school in activities that help them to make sense of their acquired literacy knowledge and skills. Racial, class, ethnic and gender conflicts influence the quantity of literacy instruction in a racially mixed class. However, a teacher should influence children and parents from disfranchised cultural groups to develop measures of subverting negative pressure dominant group. Delpit notes that the community environment as well as home leverages the literacy development of a child. As such, schools, homes, families and classroom are learning environments situated in the community. In this case, the out of class element extensively influences learning opportunities and gives a chance to take part in the process of literacy acquisition and development of their child (Delpit, 2006). Significantly, this narrows down to a cultural aspect in learning and impacts on the literacy development children acquire. For example, a child from a poverty stricken neighborhood encounters a disintegrated learning environment and owing to the fact they are likely to be face social emotional and behavioral conditions that are strong makes them develop non Standard English hence their literacy skills being interfered with. In addition, Delpit contends that the culture and environment directly relate to the ability of the child to develop vocabulary skills and thus the literacy development at kindergarten should be well structured because it determines how the child’s academic achievement varies in school and classroom. Children’s, socio behavioral, emotional self regulations are viewed within the precincts of cultural orientations   and all these are influenced by homes, families, schools and society at large. On this ground, Delpit postulates that the development of a child’s literacy skills should be allowed to take place at all times and in every place (Delpit, 2006). Accordingly, literacy is construed to be composite of varied dimensions that transcend the boundaries of classroom and society and this interplay strongly affect the learning opportunities that children are presented with both at home and in school. In light of this, there is considerable evidence that shows that proficient literacy obligate that children must have strong foundation in oral language; an element that borders phonological and vocabulary skills as well as the overall language skills which is basically determined by the cultural orientations. This falls in the wider dimension of influencing how a child demonstrates systematic and explicit ways of decoding, comprehending and writing language which is greatly impacted by the cultural base of the child. Due to the cultural influence in learning language and literacy skills, the preschool experience forms an important factor in the acquisition and development of literacy skills. Therefore, it has been speculated that achieving this learning element depends on the social economic status of the child’s family. Accordingly, children form less fortunate families begin their literacy levels late and without financial ability to buy literacy resource, many children from such backgrounds become literate very late. As such, the teacher should come to the aid of this group of children by working out a correlation that will improve home and classroom learning environment through what is inarguably called direct parent training and education. In essence, Delpit portends that parents from such economic thresholds should strongly embrace the concept of early preschool interventions in a bid to socially and academically make a vital difference in the literacy acquisition and development of their children. Similarly, the classroom environment influences the belief and mindsets of a teacher in their literacy development instruction. In essence, the attitude of the teacher over the children he is instruction posses a shared characteristic that   is marked by a safe and orderly environment high expectations for the literacy achievement of the students, strong educational leadership, the amount of time given to literacy instruction classroom management and available methods of evaluations and instructions. Accordingly, a flexible and homogenous literacy skill provides a more successful effect on reading, speaking and writing thus making the instruction children receive in the class more substantially. However, in the event of a heterogeneous literacy skill, it becomes difficult as the teacher to have clear cut expectations on the literacy achievement thus his beliefs may not allow him to substantially provide instruction that enhances literacy awareness. For the most vulnerable children in the black American community, the development of literacy skills is under certain progression challenges such as underachievement but Delpit shows that the social and motional support offered by the teacher creates a climate that leads to the efficiency in building literacy levels of children from multicultural backgrounds. The classroom setting should provide a highly social, emotional support and the teacher should therefore come in with a n instructional support which will systematically a stronger child literacy development and social outcomes. Particularly, such learning environment become important for children from the back community because they are typical of social problems and during the development of literacy skills, they may exhibit weak social skills. The engagement of children in different learning environment helps boots their motivation to learn and this contributes to their literacy growth. From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the type and amount of literacy instructions that a teacher should give to children in classroom and the continuous learning of literacy skills at home and in the society facilitates a constant and systematic literacy growth. Accordingly this involves a combination of methods that range from code focused strategies o holistic and meaning strategies prove to be the effective models of enhancing literacy development. Teachers therefore should use sustained interventions that range form intensive and balanced pedagogical aspects in literacy acquisition and development. Teachers therefore need to structure the instructional designs on the structure of the language and other social cultural elements that aids in the acquisition of literacy skills.   Delpit, L (2006) Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in Classroom. New York: News press A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom. (2016, Sep 27).

Auditing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Auditing - Assignment Example The research delves on five of the major areas of heightened audit risk of Havelock Europa Plc (Havelock Europa, 2013). The basis for including the accounts as heightened risk involves two factors. The two factors are internal control and inherent risk (Messier, 2011). Certain financial report accounts have higher probabilities of errors or frauds. The current research centres on five such financial report accounts. The accounts are sales, receivables, payables, cash, and inventory. There is an audit risk that there is error or fraud in the  £ 100,778 thousand Revenue amount during 2012. There is a probability that sales completed during January of 2013 were included in the 2012 sales figure. This can be fraudulently done in order to present a falsely higher sales figure, improving the company’s financial report image (Lyn, 2011). Similarly, there is a probability that uncompleted sales transactions were included in the 2012 financial reports (Dauber, 2009). The uncompleted sales amount includes customer’s promise to purchase the company’s products and services that were never completed. Another possibility is that products returned by customers were not recorded as sales revenue reductions (sales returns). Similarly, discounts given to customers who pay early or pay in case are not reflected as deductions from the gross revenue amounts. Further, sales allowances given to customers to satisfy their complaints concerning poor product and service quality may not be deduction from the gross revenue amount. Further, another possibility is recording a Revenue transaction when there is actually no sales transaction started, processed, or completed (Dauber, 2009). Likewise, there is a possibility that the sales amounts were erroneous recorded or fraudulently recorded. In addition, the financial reports may erroneously or fraudulently not include some realized

Impact of international field experience on agricultural Education Article - 1

Impact of international field experience on agricultural Education - Article Example It is sometimes a manifestation of the human natural instinct to save one’s own race that leads to discrimination against international students in America. The international students coming to America are not disadvantageous to the country but rather they contribute to the economy, society and culture in many ways. So it is the prime duty of the country to protect the international students from bias, prejudice and discrimination. As Poyrazli, Thukral and Duru (2010) maintain â€Å"The international students face considerable difficulty in making new adjustments initially due to lack of social support, communication problems, and homesickness†. First and foremost, every educational institution in America should be bound legally to be answerable to the government regarding the mishandling of the international students. Secondly, as a protective measure, the government should give a chance to the international students to report to the institute regarding their experience in their new

Women and feminism raised in The Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

Women and feminism raised in The Handmaids Tale Essay Margaret Atwoods novel The Handmaids Tale was written in 1986 when the feminist movement was happening, the word feminism is hard to really define into one term but it is usually recognised as meaning equal rights for women. The first wave of feminism happened in the 19th century and this was about sexual division in the workplace then the second wave of feminism started in 1960s and this was known as the Womens Liberation Movement this aimed to create a women centred world by making their voices heard through the demonstrations such as burning pornography (which Offreds mother was a part of. ) In this essay I will be concentrating on the women and the issues of feminism in the handmaids tale. In the society of Gilead the women are grouped into categories concerning their age, fertility and their marital status. Although these women do have their own separate roles in the regime they all share the same theme which involves staying within the household. Such as the Marthas who are responsible for the domestic side who keep the house clean and tend to the cooking where as the handmaids have only one specific role and that is to reproduce they are known as only womb on legs to give birth to children for the commanders wives who are unable to have children and their role is to raise these children after they are born. We can see that handmaids are like shadows amongst the house quiet and replaceable as Rita claims about the last handmaid She didnt work out showing that they are treated as products that can be easily replaced if they dont work out for the purchaser the handmaids are just like property and this is shown in their names such as OF-FRED they belong to the commander of the household although their role is one of the most important in this patriarchal system they are however not treated this way, they are treated as one of the lowest class. Even the roles of the commanders wives have little importance they are given trivial meaningless tasks such as tending to the gardens as this is their domain which they can control and care for maybe a replacement for the children, they also knit scarves for the Angels upfront however Offred claims that Maybe its something to keep the wives busy, to give them a sense of purpose. There is also the role of the aunts which could also be seen as very important as well because it is these older women who brainwash these teachings into the handmaids to let them fulfil their duties. The womens roles are also represented in the colour of the clothes they wear for the Marthas it is green for the commanders wife it is blue and lastly the handmaids wear a red nun-like uniform where the red represents their function suggesting the blood of the menstrual cycle and giving birth to a child, the colour can also represent their imprisonment in the Gilead society the colour of blood, which defines us. The roles of the women are very dependent on their relationship with the men in the regime and their ability to have children which effectively steals the womens individual identity being categorised gives the society much more control over them. The colour of their clothing makes the women easy to recognise which group they belong to, dehumanising them completely treating them more like machines than human beings. It could be seen as some kind of sisterhood with the different roles that the women play and how they co-operate with each other because this could be seen as a feminist world with women appreciating their roles and helping the other women however the use of the roles of women just creates more power for the regime as having a hierarchy of women just creates conflict amongst them so they dont really see the true enemy which are the men. Womens status before Gilead was completely different, women were allowed to have education Psychology, English, Economics. We studied things like that, then. Giving them a chance to have a career of their own, which earn them their own money allowing them to have choice of what they wanted to buy. Women had much more independence allowing them to think for themselves and make the choices they wanted which I will elaborate on later. There were women who were feminists in the time before, fighting for their rights and having a voice to rebel against the treating of women because in them days they were seen as sex objects but in a different light through pornography magazines or by seeing them in certain outfits which screamed out sexuality, Offred remembers this because when she walks away from the guard at his post she purposely sways her hips knowing that the guards are staring after her in a sexual sense. However now the status of women in Gilead is defined by their ability to reproduce, they are treated as objects, all their rights have been stripped away from them they are denied an education, not allowed to have a job, they cannot vote and they are banished from writing or reading. What I put into them: my own clothes, my own soap, my own money, money I had earned myself. They have no family or possessions they dont even have their own identity as they are mentioned only with their male owner even the wives are only known through their title as the commanders wife. Rebellion and independence is not in the question, the women should never undermine the men or act against the system of the society the only thing that a woman is worth is for the use of her reproductive system and their only job they have is the function they must perform. The body that women once used to express their sexuality, the body they used to feel comfortable in which defined who they were as a person has now become the thing they are now afraid and ashamed of My nakedness is strange to me already. My body seems outdated. They are ashamed of their body because it is now what defines them and keeps them trapped in this wretched society. Although it is the Aunts that have achieved high status as it is up to them to show the handmaids their new way of life and the rules they must abide by, it could be seen that these women have some power of the handmaids but they are not permitted guns like the men do which shows that although the Aunts do have a powerful role with authority it is still men that obtain the ultimate power because women cannot be trusted with guns.

Julius Caesar :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome from 61-44 BCE. He was born in the year 100 BC into a patrician family who claimed decendancy from the kings of Alba Langa. At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. Caesar made his way to praetorship by 62 BC and many senate felt him a dangerous, ambitious man. The senate did their best to keep him out of consulship. He finally became consul in 59 BC.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caesar was at the pinnacle of his power when he returned from Spain in 45, yet within a year he was once again facing problems with the Optimates, and had seeming lost the support of the ever fickle populance of Rome. The problem was himself and his absolute power. With his impatience, he often denigrated the Republic as a shadow without a body but the majority of the conservative aristocracy failed to understand this. In Caesar they saw only the threat of a king, a word which was linked with the word â€Å"tyrant† in Roman history which is cruel or unjust rule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that Caesar had control over the lands of Bituriges, Vercingetorix started to lead his army to the Boii oppidum of Gorgobina whom Caesar had settled under the protection of the Aedui after he had defeated them in battle. Caesar sent word that he was going to help them. On the way he stopped his troops at Vellaundunum, oppidum of the Senones, and set up siege. He didn't want to leave any enemies behind him who might get in the way of the grain deliveries and supply. His siege lasted three days before a deputation was sent out to surrender. The Carnute had only jus heard of the siege at Vellaundunum. They gathered troops to garrison Cenabum, the Carnutes stronghold. The Carnutes had expected the siege to last longer than it had and were suprised to see Caesar camped outside of the town. The Carnutes decided to escape over the bridge at the back but Caesar predicted they would try that and sent troops to guard the bridge during the night. When Julius heard of the escape, he set fire to the gates of the Oppidum and entered because the bridge and roads were so narrow, that few inhabitants escaped.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Julius Caesar stated that â€Å" cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.

Asperger’s Syndrome Research Paper Essay

Approximately 947,570 Americans have Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), however, it is not an easy disorder to explain (Bashe 19). With multiple conditions and characteristics in each case, AS is not an easy disorder to diagnose. Asperger’s Syndrome was named after Hans Asperger, an Austrian physician, who first described the disorder in 1944 after studying a group of children with similar, unusual characteristics. However, AS was not made an official disease until 1994. Consequently, Asperger disease is just now becoming published and popular so there is still research and questions being answered. Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, is noted by above-average intellectual skills but severely impaired social skills with repetitive patterns and interest. There are several other disorders that are related to Asperger’s. These include other autism spectrum disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Oppositi onal Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Syndrome and others (Bashe 68). Since Asperger’s is a recent disorder, the cause of AS is not clear. Scientists are still investigating why Asperger’s occurs. Nevertheless, few theories have surfaced. Some believe brain abnormalities or a hereditary component result in AS. The cause could also be factors that include brain development. Nevertheless, scientists have eliminated child immunizations, lack of intelligence, or â€Å"bad parenting† as the cause for Asperger’s. (Weiss) AS is also not due to emotional deprivation or other psychogenic factors that originate from a person’s thinking. A possible reason for an unidentifiable cause is the symptoms for Asperger’s Syndrome are nearly unlimited. Furthermore, with AS one can exhibit few or multiple symptoms. Still, the core symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome are poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive behavior, and physical clumsiness (Weiss). With communication skills, vocabulary and syntax is in normal range for people with AS, a formal style of speaking is evident. For example, they might say â€Å"beckon† instead of â€Å"call.† The symptoms of Asperger’s that are most noticeable are the ones that are displayed by social awkwardness and their inability to pick up on social cues. Thus, people with AS often engage in one-sided conversations with a monotonous voice, give very precise information, and believe the point of a conversation is to exchange information — that is it. It is hard for them to communicate and explain their thoughts and ideas through speech. Additionally, AS individuals take a literal interpretation of everything and display awkward nonverbal gestures such as lack of eye contact, inappropriate starring, signs of boredom, short attention span and odd facial expressions. Those with Asperger’s would struggle with â€Å"reading† others and understanding nonverbal communication. A person with Asperger’s lacks the Theory of Mind. The Theory of Mind is the ability to reconginze and understand thoughts, desires and intentions of others. Basically, it is nearly impossible for a person with Asperger’s to have empathy for others and can be extremely insensitive. They have a distinct sense of humor and have difficulties expressing their emotions. Because AS causes them to perceive the world differently, their â€Å"rudeness† is not intentional. The symptoms and characteristics of people with AS vary, resulting in a remarkably challenging diagnosis of the disease. No two cases of Asperger’s syndrome are identical. Each case presents its own characteristics and challenges, for Asperger’s syndrome does not describe a single behavior but a specific combination that are present to a certain extent. (Bashe 75)Of course, it would be easy to attribute the strange behavior and lack of social interest to just being â€Å"different.† The diagnosis is usually done after age three and between ages five and nine. A boy is three to four times more likely to be diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome than a girl. (Nemours). The actual diagnosing is a lengthy process, beginning with a thorough â€Å"psychosocial† evaluation. Then the doctors do a history and ask when the parents first began noticing symptoms such as limited social interactions, special interest and lack of eye contact. The doctors will look at the development of motor and language skills and compare them with the average skill level for the particular age of the patient. Following this, the doctors will ask about any favorite activities, if there are any unusual habits or preoccupations. Next, the doctors will look at the social development and any social interactions and friendship development. Then a test for communication skills is given. After ascertaining all this information, they compile all the findings and see if the patient meets the criteria for Asperger’s Syndrome. Besides the poor communication skills and resulting in awkward social behavior of Asperger’s Syndrome, there are also the physical aspects. People with Asperger’s Syndrome have a heightened sensitivity to loud noises, lights, or even certain colors. For example, they may not be able to wear certain kinds of materials because the fabric will irritate the skin. Often, they have strong taste buds and are sensitive to different textures. Additionally, they may have a rigid walk or an odd posture. Likewise, motor coordination is usually lacking making simple tasks such as handwriting, opening a jar, or catching a ball a struggle. The lack of motor skills makes it difficult to play team sports. Conversely, they may excel in sports requiring precision and practice such as golf, swimming or tennis. Even though poor communication skills and physical aspects may be evident because of AS, the most distinguishable symptom is the obsession of one particular subject. The obsession will consume any free time and dominate conversations of those with AS, making them experts on their particular subjects. Some examples of specific infatuation include baseball statistics, snakes, stars, etc. As people with Asperger’s age, the topic usually becomes odder and more specific. The negative consequences of having an intense interest about a specific topic are that this interest could be dangerous, illegal or possibly misinterpreted. However, possible benefits to this is the subject often provides a source of entertainment and enjoyment. In addition, there are also several functions to the special interest. It may overcome anxiety and help cope with fears. For example if the Asperger’s child is afraid of witches he or she may immerse himself or herself in that topic to learn about it and overcome the fear. Consequently, witches become their special interest. (Healthwise) In some cases the specific knowledge may even provide employment and an income. For example if person with AS has an interest in technology, may be able to have a job as a computer technician. (A common field for those who have Asperger’s is engineering.) Topics may change occasionally but with all cases of AS the subject is studied with an intense passion. Alongside the core symptoms of the disorder, there are also distinct characteristics shared by people with Asperger’s. Children and adults that have Asperger’s have a different way of thinking, not necessarily defective. People with Asperger’s have a strong desire to seek knowledge, truth, and perfection. With a fear of failure, people with AS have a unique learning style. They refuse to try anything if the end result is not absolutely perfect and meet their standards. People with this disorder depend on routine and consistency and strongly dislike their routine changed. They have single-minded determination and a creative way of thinking and looking at the world. This is a positive because it can produce an original perspective and resolution. Nonetheless, they have troubles distinguishing between what is relevant and redundant, usually focusing on detail instead of looking at the â€Å"big picture.† Furthermore, they may be able to solve complex math problems but are unable to explain the process they used to solve the problem. People with AS are uninterested in following the social â€Å"norm.† They may also have trouble with time management and organization. Those with the disease would rather explore the physical world such as objects, machines, animals and scientific concepts versus social events, friendships and relationships. Consequently, they prefer solving a problem than satisfying the emotional needs of others. Their concept of friendship is immature and at least two years behind their peers. If they have any friendships, they are often unusual, such as with much younger children or older adults (Atwood). A problem with forming relationships is that they may become too trusting which can lead to bullying and teasing, especially during their early years in life. One frustrating part of Asperger’ is that the people with the disorder usually want to make friends but it is incredibly difficult with their condition and behaviors. Dealing with these struggles can cause chronic frustration leading to other conditions such as depression. Therefore, they more than likely have a secondary mood disorder such as anxiety, sadness or anger. Unfortunately, no overall â€Å"cure† exists for Asperger’s Syndrome. However, symptoms can be treated. Having an early intervention and the right program is essential. No â€Å"typical† treatment is followed, for treatments depend on the strengths and weaknesses of each particular case (Nemours). Each treatment plan must address key issues: health, wellness, sensory issues, processing problems, visualizing, concepts, fine and gross motor skills, speech, language, behavioral and social issues. Acquiring new skills and monitoring the nutrition and medication may change some functions, but if neurodevelopment foundations are not established, then the results will be limited (Doman). Since the core problem of Asperger’s is social, the main treatment is working on social thinking skills and social settings. Individuals with AS must learn to â€Å"think social† before they will be able to act social. The key social thinking skills that must be practiced are perspective, flexibility, curiosity, self-esteem, big picture thinking and communication (Notbohm). Another social treatment is called â€Å"Social Stories,† where they will learn relevant social cues, thoughts, feeling and behavioral scripts by writing social stories. This treatment can benefit more than just those with Asperger’s but also the family and friends, for social stories will help others understand people with Asperger’s are socially confused, anxious, aggressive or defiant. People with Asperger’s also may benefit from language therapy and psychotherapy. Similarly, younger kids may do sensory integration training, where the stimuli in which they are overly sensitive about is desensitized. In older kids, treatment may include behavioral and cognitive therapy. Besides therapies, a person wi th Asperger’s may have a specialized diet to help with the disorder. Dietary supplements can even help certain symptoms. For example, vitamin B6 helps with brain development. Other vitamins that are recommended include magnesium, vitamin C, and omega three fatty acids. Other studies have found the avoiding certain foods and taking the hormone secretin has improved symptoms. Treatments to AS may also include prescription medicines. Some medications that can help with the symptoms may include Abilify, Intiniv, SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), Resperdal, Zyprexa, and Revia (Mayo Clinic Staff). Much of the time, treatment for Asperger’s Syndrome is not just medication or just therapy but a combination of the two to fit the individual. To treat Asperger’s effectively, though, there must be proper education, support and resources. Although Asperger’s Syndrome is not considered the most severe autistic disorder, it still presents challenges and troubles for the people with the disorder. Often described as â€Å"oddballs† or â€Å"loners†, people with Asperger’s have distinct qualities and characteristics. While there are many negative aspects of having Asperger’s Syndrome, there are a few positive notes. People with Asperger’s can be very loyal and caring friends. They say exactly what is on their minds with no filter. Those with Asperger’s tend to be more accepting and like people for who they are, and are easily content with what they have and are not interested in buying the latest fad. Their rules and honesty lead them to excel in the classroom and as a citizen. With treatment, people with Asperger’s begin to better understand their disorder and are able to learn and adapt to social cues. Many people with Asperger’s get married and have children. Their attention to detail and focused interest leads them to a career. Asperger’s Syndrome is a lifelong condition that tends to stabilize and improve with treatment. Although no cure exists treatment helps people with Asperger’s live â€Å"normal† and healthy lives.

Policy Analysis on Dementia Care

Abstract The policy ‘Improving Care for People with Dementia’ aims to increase diagnosis of dementia, improve health and care services in hospitals, care homes and communities, create dementia-friendly communities and widen research on dementia care. This brief aims to analyse only the aspect of improving health and care services in communities and the patients’ homes and relate this to the district nurse’s role of bringing care to the patient’s home and community. With an ageing population, the London Borough of Hackney, and the rest of the UK, is experiencing increased incidence of dementia. The costs associated with dementia care are approximately ?23bn annually in the UK. As a district nurse, this policy is important since it seeks to improve the care received by patients in community settings or their own homes. My caseload demonstrates a disproportionate number of patients suffering from dementia and the resources channelled to their care. Dementia is a chronic and complex condition and requires interventions from different health and social care professionals. However, informal carers bear most of the burden of caring. As a district nurse, I have to address the patients and the carers’ needs. Patients need to receive interventions to improve their nutrition, health and wellbeing. Carers need to receive training on how to feed their patients, ease their anxiety, regulate their sleeping habits or improve their mobility and independence. Meeting all these needs require additional training and collaboration between the district nurses and other health and social care professionals. The Department of Health and the Royal College of Nursing have a cknowledged the district nurses’ role in meeting the needs of patients with dementia in hospital settings. These nurses are tasked to prevent admission of patients and promote positive experiences for families during end of life care. However, the politics and economic context of this policy could all influence the care received by the patients. Ethics also play a role in delivery of care. The state’s apparent withdrawal of minimum service and delegating most of the task to home care could have ethical implications. Safeguards to quality care most commonly seen in wards or hospitals are missing in home care. This might do more harm for the patient than good. However, district nurses still have to weigh if choosing to provide care at home would be more beneficial for the patient or otherwise. Finally, this brief shows that community care for patients with dementia is possible if district nurse teams are dedicated and the workforce increased to respond to the increasing workload. Introduction The Department of Health Public Health Nursing (2013) has recognised that care for patients with long-term conditions often continue in their own communities and in the people’s homes. This type of care would require sustained relationships with district nurses (DN), who are responsible for managing the patient’s healthcare conditions. This brief aims to critically analyse the policy Improving Care for People with Dementia (Department of Health, 2013) and will relate this with the Department of Health Public Health Nursing’s (2013) Care in Local communities- District Nurse Vision and Model. The Department of Health Public Health Nursing (2013) has acknowledged that this new vision is a response to the growing needs of the ageing population in the UK. Specifically, it has recognised the growing incidence of dementia amongst the elderly population and this vision sets out the contribution of DNs and other healthcare teams in meeting the challenge of dementia. The first part of this brief justifies the choice of this policy and the focus on dementia care. A community in Hackney is chosen in this brief to represent my nursing caseloads of dementia. The second part discusses political, economic and philosophical context of the policy. The third part critically appraises the ethical and moral implications of this policy for practice. Policy on Dementia Care and the Community of Hackney With an ageing population, the London Borough of Hackney, like the rest of the UK, is faced with a rising incidence of the long-term conditions associated with old age (Office for National Statistics, 2013). According to the Alzheimer’s Research UK (2013), more than 820,000 elderly individuals are affected by dementia. The rate of dementia in Hackney is four times higher than that of the general population’s rate (Public Health England, 2013). In 2010, approximately 1,350 elderly people were living with dementia in Hackney (NHS, 2012). This policy aims to increase diagnosis rate, improve health and care services in hospitals, care homes, communities and homes, create dementia-friendly communities and widen research on dementia care. This brief will only focus on improving health and care services in communities and homes and relate these to the DNs role in providing care to patients in their own communities and homes. Implications of the Policy on Current Practice The policy on dementia care has an important implication in my practice as a district nurse. Providing holistic interventions to improve the quality of care in community settings require collaborative efforts of health and social care professionals (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2007). As a district nurse, I take the lead in provision of healthcare in community settings. On reflection, patients with dementia have complex needs that require collaborative care from nurses, physical and occupational therapists, dieticians, social care workers and other healthcare professionals. My role extends from planning care to coordinating care with other professionals. The King’s Fund (2012) explains that multidisciplinary teams are needed to provide quality care to patients. However, the quality of care could be affected if there are fewer nurses caring for patients. I observed that the number of registered nurses in my practice is declining. This observation is similar in a survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (2011), which reported that almost 70% of district nurse respondents claimed that registered nurses in their staff have dropped out. In my current caseload, a third of my patients in our team suffer from dementia. The incidence of dementia in Hackney is four times higher compared to the UK’s average (Public Health England, 2013). However, due to the nature of the condition, the care of this group of patients requires a disproportionate amount of time and resources. One of the duties of DNs in addressing the policy on dementia care is to ensure that carers also receive appropriate support. Carers have the right to h ave their needs assessed under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 (UK Legislation, 2000). In my experience, CBT has been show to be effective not only in reducing anxiety in my patients but also depression in the carers. It has been shown that joining support groups has been associated with reduced incidence of depression (NICE, 2006). Implications of the Policy on Future Practice With the increasing focus on community care, there is a need to strengthen the district nurse workforce. Based on my experiences and observation, the quality of care could be compromised due to the decreasing number of DNs (Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2010). There is increased pressure to provide quality care at the least cost and with reduced number of nurses (Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2010). Establishing a therapeutic relationship is difficult when the continuous decline of healthcare workforce in the community is not addressed. Sheehan et al. (2009) argue that a positive relationship between healthcare professionals and the patient is needed in order to make healthcare decisions that would dictate the future of the patient. Based on these observations, the policy on dementia care would require additional workforce of registered nurses who would be willing to work in community settings. At present, the issue of sustainability of the DN workforce in meeting the present and future demands of elderly patients has been raised (Royal College of Nursing, 2013, 2011). Unless the issue of reduced workforce is not addressed, meeting the demands of the dementia policy would continue to be difficult. The policy would also require additional education and training for nurses. The Royal College of Nursing (2013) has acknowledged that the present DN workforce is highly qualified. Many have met the qualifications of nurse prescriber or district nurse while the rest of the staff either have completed qualifications for nursing first or second level registration or at least hold a nursing degree. However, the Royal College of Nursing (2013) also notes that the workforce number is still low. A small workforce could not adequately meet these needs. Further, the ageing population in the UK would mean that the NHS would continue to see a rise in the incidence of dementia in the succeeding years. The issue of recording performance data is also raised with the recent policy on dementia care. This would be a challenge since a community or a home does not present any safeguards commonly found in a controlled environment such as wards in hospital settings (Royal College of Nursing, 2013). There is also a need for DNs to be trained on how to give education and training to caregivers. In a systematic review conducted by Zabalegui et al. (2014), suggest that the quality of care of patients with dementia living at home could be improved if caregivers receive sufficient education and training from healthcare providers. Political, Economic and Philosophical Context The Alzheimer’s society (2014) states that in the UK, approximately ?23 billion is spent annually to manage patients with dementia. However, the same organisation is quick to observe that a large portion of this cost is borne by carers of the patient rather than social care services or the NHS. To date, there is only one study (Alzheimer’s UK, 2007) that investigated the cost of managing patients with dementia in community settings. The report shows that in 2007, the cost of managing one patient with mild dementia within one year in a community setting amounts to ?14, 540. For an individual with moderate dementia, the annual cost is ?20,355. This increases to ?28,527 for a patient with severe dementia. If a patient is sent to a care home, the annual cost of managing the condition amounts to ?31,263. It should be noted that all these costs were calculated almost 7 years ago. The individual cost of treatment is now higher. The same survey also shows that majority of the costs of dementia care is channelled to the carers. However, these costs do not account for the informal carers. Alzheimer’s UK (2007) estimates that the number of hours informal carers devote to caring run up to 1.5bn hours each year. This translates to ?12bn in cost, which is higher than the combined health and social care cost for dementia. Patients with severe dementia living in their homes or communities need at least 46 hours of paid carer support within a week (Alzheimer’s UK, 2007). However, the changing dynamics of families, with children living far from their parents or loss of spouse due to divorce or death could limit the pool of family carers. This issue could all influence the impact of the service provided by informal carers of dementia. The ageing population of the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2013) could further drive up the cost of caring for patients with dementia. The policy on dementia care increasingly depends on homes and communities to support the care of patients with dementia. Since many informal carers manage patients with dementia, the burden of caring is now channelled to the patient’s family. The main stakeholders then for this policy include informal carers, patients, DN staff and multidisciplinary team. This increasing reliance on home care and management could even be viewed as a strategy of the NHS to reduce the cost of caring for patients with dementia. There is also a concern on whether the quality of care is maintained at home, especially with fewer DNs supervising the care at home. Apart from the economic cost, politics could also influence DN practice. As with other policies, the policy on dementia (Department of Health, 2013) bring care close to home and care at home. These gradual changes are projected to empower patients, lower costs of healthcare while empowering communities to take care of their own health (Department of Health, 2013). The withdrawal of the state in providing minimum services for patients with dementia in favour of care at home should be evaluated on whether this would cause harm to the patient. If care at home would be possible with supportive carers, my role as a DN would focus on coordinating care with other healthcare professionals. However, if the patient does not receive sufficient support, the Mental Health Act 2007 (UK Legislation, 2007) mandates the appointment of a carer for the patient. The consequences of the political context of moving care closer to home for patients with dementia would be felt in the succeeding years. On re flection, making this policy work would require DNs to provide adequate support to the informal carers. The philosophical underpinning of this policy focuses on tackling health inequalities. Social determinants of health (NHS, 2012) have long known to influence the health outcomes of many individuals. In the London Borough of Hackney, incidence of dementia is higher amongst the older black elderly compared to the general white population (Office for National Statistics, 2013; Public Health England, 2013). Yaffe et al. (2013) argue that genetics do not account entirely on the disparity of incidence between black and white older populations in the UK. Instead, Yaffe et al. (2013) maintain that socioeconomic differences appear to have a greater influence on the higher incidence of dementia amongst black older people. Related risk factors for dementia such as poorer health, less education and literacy are higher in the black elderly and might account for the variation in dementia incidence. A number of earlier studies (Haas et al., 2012; Thorpe et al., 2011) have pointed out the relationsh ip between socioeconomic status and cognitive outcomes. The dementia policy not only brings care closer to home but also addresses socio-economic disparities of patients with dementia by allowing DNs to provide care in home settings. However, this is still challenging since carers and family members would provide care on a daily basis. The limited financial capacities of families with lower socio-economic status could have an effect on the nutritional status and physical health of the patients (Adelman et al., 2009). It has been stressed that poor nutrition and health could increase the risk of cognitive decline (Adelman et al., 2011). Ethical and Moral Implications of the Dementia Policy for Practice Approaches to ethics include the Deontological approach, Justice, Virtue and Consequentialism. Fry (2010) explain that in deontology, individuals should perform an action because it is their duty to do so regardless of the consequences of the action. The Dementia Policy in the UK is underpinned by ethical approaches. Using deontology, it is moral for nurses and carers to provide care for patients with dementia. In rule-deontology, decisions regarding the care of patients become moral when these follow the rules. Fry (2010) emphasise that the actions of individuals following deontology is usually predictable since it follows set of rules. A second approach to ethics called the Results of Actions (Fry, 2010) is opposite to deontology. In this ethics approach, an action becomes moral when its consequences produce more advantages for the patient than disadvantages. The third approach to ethics or the virtue approach states that there is an ideal that should be pursued by individuals in order to develop their full potential (Jackson, 2013). This approach is more encompassing than the deontological approach since it seeks to make a person moral by acquiring virtues. A review of the policy reveals that the virtue approach is followed since it seeks to provide holistic care to the patients. The policy emphasises providing psychological, social and emotional support not only to patients but also to their carers. Meanwhile, Beauchamp and Childress (2001) have set out four principles of ethics. These are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC, 2008) code of conduct has stressed that patient autonomy should always be observed in all healthcare settings. A review of the dementia policy reveals that allowing patient’s to be cared in their home settings would likely increase patient autonomy. Patients in the early stages of dementia or those with moderate forms of the condition could experience cognitive impairments but still have the capacity to decide for themselves (Department of Health, 2009). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (UK Legislation, 2005) states that only when patients suffer significant cognitive impairments should representatives of the patients be allowed to make decisions in behalf of the patient. Since the policy focuses on patient-centred care even in home settings, patients or their family members are allowed to decide on the best treatment or management for the patients. District nurses are encouraged in the policy to always seek for the patient’s interest. The emphasis of the policy on allowing patients to decide about their care is consistent with the ethical principle of autonomy. It is also important that nurses should first do no harm to the patients as embodied in the ethics principle of non-maleficence (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). The policy supports this principle since DNs are available to provide support and lead the care of patients in home settings. However, there are several barriers in implementing the full policy. Although the policy specifies that DNs should rally the support of patients in home settings, there is the growing concern that the standards of care seen in hospital settings might not be transferred in home settings (King’s Fund, 2012). For instance, DNs could not regularly supervise carers on a daily basis on how they provide care to individuals with dementia. These patients need to receive sufficient nutrition, engage in exercises that increase their mobility or regularly receive pharmacologic medications for their conditions (Casartelli et al., 2013; Hopper et al., 2013; Cole, 2012; Bryon et al., 2012). It would be difficu lt to determine on a regular basis if all these tasks are carried out according to standards if patients are cared in their own homes. In a recent King’s Fund (2013) report, the quality of care received by patients from their nurses is highlighted. This report observes that not all nurses are compassionate to their patients and often, basic care such as feeding or giving water to the patients are often neglected. While this report was based on a study in only one hospital setting, the results are important since it showed that basic care might not be observed. In contrast, DNs would only visit the patients in their homes and would not be around to provide long hours of care. If patients receive poor quality care, this could result to poorer health outcomes and faster deterioration of the patient. The ethics principle of non-maleficence might not be observed if the volume of DN staff in the community remains low. There has been an association of high volume of work and low staffing amongst nurses with poor quality care (King’s Fund, 2013, 2012). The policy also observes the principle of beneficence since its primary outcome is to improve the quality of care received by older patients with dementia in their own homes. Although providing care in home settings would drastically reduce healthcare costs for dementia care, it is still unclear if this would benefit the family more. The cost of informal carers remains to be high, and yet is often discounted when approximating the cost of care for dementia (Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). This policy might put undue burden on families who lack the capacity to provide care for patients in advanced stages of dementia on a 24 hours basis (Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). Despite this observation, the policy is beneficial to patients with moderate dementia. A home setting might provide them with the stability and familiarity that is absent in hospital settings (Sheehan et al., 2009). It has been shown that when patients are admitted in hospital settings, they often manifest aggressi ve behaviour that is suggested to be a response to the changes in environment (Sheehan et al., 2009). The ethics principle of justice is also observed since the policy requires all patients, regardless of race or gender and socio-economic status, to receive equitable healthcare (Department of Health, 2013). On reflection, the moral implications of the policy might come into conflict with the state’s increasing reliance on informal carers or family members to provide care for patients with dementia. The issue lies on whether it is moral to delegate most of the care to informal carers who might also need additional support when caring for patients with progressive chronic conditions. The National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (2007) stress that informal carers also need support to help them manage depression, stress or burnout from providing care to patients who would never recover from their condition. While the NHS continue to practice innovation in delivering care, an evaluation on whether there are enough resources to implement the innovation should be made. Conclusion In conclusion, the recent policy on dementia in the UK sets the direction of care in community or home settings. District nurses are in the position of following this direction since they lead patient care at home and in the community. However, this brief highlights some issues that should be addressed. These include the decreasing workforce of DN and their staff and their need for additional training and education. The political and economic context influencing the dementia policy should also be taken into account. 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