Nursing, current health developments to improve the risk of deep vain Essay

Nursing, current health developments to improve the risk of deep vain thrombosis for patients in hospital - Essay Example They are reliable in their field of practice and in researches related to their field of practice. The research is valid in terms of ethical processes, especially in ensuring that the research gathering process is voluntary and gained through informed consent (Hucker, 2001). The research is paid for by the authors, not by any private corporations. Hence, the validity of the results are not overshadowed by private funding (Friedman, 2004). Most of the materials used present unbiased and reliable results (Davies and Dodd, 2002). This study is significant in terms of establishing the importance of adopting and prioritizing preventive measures for DVT. Dennis, M. (2009) Effectiveness of thigh-length GCS to reduce DVT after stroke. 2518 patients Quantitative/experimental Outcome-blinded, randomised controlled trial Non-significant absolute reduction in risk of 0.5% (95% CI -1.9% to 2.9%). Skin breaks, ulcers, blisters, and skin necrosis were significantly more common in patients allocated to GCS than in those allocated to avoid their use. Results do not support use of thigh-length GCS in patients admitted to hospital with acute stroke. The author is a highly qualified expert in the field of medicine, most especially in cardiovascular medicine and in the clinical management of thrombus issues. He is reliable in his field and has carried out different researches in related studies (Williams, 2010). The research is valid in terms of the statistical processes applied, and different methodology applied (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). The research has been paid for by the author, not by any private corporation. The analysis and data results are based on thorough analysis of results (Glesne and Peshkin, 1992). No logical fallacies are seen from the author’s conclusions (Ethridge, 2004). This study is significant because it reviews the use of which length GC stockings in patients at risk for DVT Falanga, A (2005) To review the clinical significance of VTE in patients wit h cancer and the strategies for management of VTE in these patients, including the potential role of low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs). 49 studies Quantitative Clinical review The use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) therapy instead of VKAs may be beneficial in patients. This agent offers an effective alternative to VKAs in the long-term management of VTE, that is free from the practical problems associated with the use of VKAs and without increasing the risk of bleeding. Alternative means of managing DVT among cancer patients present with advantages which assist in their long-term care. These alternatives must be considered for patients. The author is also a highly qualified expert in the field of medicine, specifically in oncology and cardiovascular diseases. She has published several studies in cardiovascular diseases and in cancer management. She is highly respected in her field and has published numerous researches on cancer management, including thrombus management. This makes her a highly reliable author (Williams, 2010). The methods applied truly measure what they intend to measure (Joppe, 2000). The authors in the reviewed studies outline some of their methodology which is within ethical parameters of reliability and

Las Meninas Essay Example for Free

Las Meninas Essay The aim of this paper is to analyze Diego Velazquez’s painting â€Å"Las Meninas†, one of the most impressive and controversial art pieces in history. The content and the message of the painting â€Å"Las Meninas† provides much food for thought. On the picture we can see the artist himself as he works at a canvas, but we can’t see what exactly he is painting; he is not alone in the studio. A group of seven is situated in the front part of the studio. Infanta Margarita is in the centre of the group. Infanta is accompanied by two maids of honour; one is serving her a refreshing drink. We also see Margarita’s playmates – a male and female dwarfs; one of them is teasing a sleepy dog. Two grave adults stand slightly farther than Infanta. The interior of the studio is also rendered with great attention and mastery. Velazquez is an unsurpassed master in light and shadow and delicate harmony of colours. There exists a variety of possible interpretations of this brilliant picture. The enigma of â€Å"Las Meninas† is connected with the following question: what painting is Velazquez working at? One of the possible interpretations suggests that the royal couple sits for the portrait, because we see them in the mirror on the opposite wall. But such an explanation contradicts some important facts. From history, King Philip IV and her second wife Marianna do not have any portrait where they would be portrayed together done by Velazquez. Therefore we may consider the hypothesis that Infanta Margarita herself sits for the painting. Velazquez caught the moment when the King and the Queen were entering the room as the mirror restores visibility to that which resides outside our view. Some personages have already noticed them – Infanta Margarita, the maid of honour standing to the right from Infanta and also the painter who interrupted his work to greet the royal couple. The symbolism of the painting is complex. The figures on the painting form a circle which is traditionally considered a symbol of the devotion and service. Scholars believe that a horoscope is concealed in â€Å"Las Meninas† (Vasilakis, 1997). French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, one of the most influential public figures of the 20th century in European and American intellectual circles, has always been fascinated by the painting. His interest in Velazquez’s â€Å"Las Meninas† is associated with the painting’s preoccupation with exploring two philosophical concepts Foucault explored extensively in his works, namely the concept of the gaze and the concept of representation. The fact that the painter (a self-portrait of Velazquez) is looking at something that is supposed to be invisible to the spectator invites those regarding the painting to apprehend themselves. Thus, spectators are prescribed an active rather than passive role in observing the painting: â€Å"We are observing ourselves being observed by the painter, and made visible to his eyes by the same light that enables us to see him. And just as we are about to apprehend ourselves, transcribed by his hand as though in a mirror, we find that we can in fact apprehend nothing of that mirror but its lustreless back. Foucault’s exploration of the process of observation is based on the interactionist approach to knowledge creation. As OFarrell (2008) informs, â€Å"Foucault uses the word [gaze] to refer to the fact that it is not just the object of knowledge which is constructed but also the knower. † The painting represents spectacle-as-observation, given that the painter and other figures look at the painter’s models that should remain invisible to the spectator. Yet the spectator can see the painter’s models, King Philip IV and his wife, in the mirror that is placed at the wall in the back the room. While spectators can see the figures in the mirror, the painter himself or anyone of his posse are not looking at the mirror, so it remain invisible for them. Foucault (1994) notes that â€Å"[t]here are, it is true, some heads turned away from us in profile: but not one of them is turned far enough to see, at the back of the room, that solitary mirror, that tiny glowing rectangle which is nothing other than visibility, yet without any gaze able to grasp it, to render it actual, and to enjoy the suddenly ripe fruit of the spectacle it offers. † This phrase calls into the question the foundations of solipsism – whether objects actually exist if not regarded, observed, gazed at by a living being. Foucault’s statement that the mirror is not rendered actual by anyone looking at it suggests that the painting implicitly probes the concept of solipsism. The notion of gaze, central to the analysis of the painting, is linked to a variety of other, more substantial philosophical issues. For example, Foucault’s interest in the problem of representation stems from his conviction that representation is inherently linked to knowledge. Las Meninas,† by virtue of its spatial organization, allows application of deconstructive techniques to analyzing the painting itself and critically reflecting on concepts that are employed in this analysis. As Denzin (2007) notes, â€Å"a deconstructive reading engages four paired terms: (1) the real and its representations in a text; (2) text and author; (3) presence and lived experience; (4) subjects and their intentional meanings† (p. 69). The painting offers an opportunity to reflect on all these relationship in order to arrive at the correct judgment about the nature of representation. Foucault believes that Classical representation as defined in pre-Renaissance period based on equating thought and representation (i. e. the process of thinking was defined as using ideas to represent objects) was limited in its inability to explore the real meaning of representation. The problem of the relation between reality and its representations is solved differently under different epistemological regimes. Classical representation implies that the relation between reality and its representations is not the one of resemblance, since there are no characteristics of the idea that are themselves the representation of the object. Classical representation suggests that knowledge means having ideas that represent what a person knows. Descartes in his exploration of representation uses the concept of objective and formal reality for counterpositioning the object in the real world and the idea of that object in human thought. He discusses the sun as an example of interrelation between the two realities: the representation of the sun in human thought is a small two-dimensional circle in the sky, while the formal, or real sun is huge and spherical (Berreitter, 2000). Foucault poses a question of how can humans verify whether representations of objects are adequate. It is an impossible task since for the reason it will require comparing idea with the object independently of its representation. However, humans do not know object – only their representations. As Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2008) informs, â€Å"[t]he only possibility is that the idea itself must make it apparent that it is a representation. The idea represents the very fact that it is a representation. † This is precisely why Foucault (1994) believes in the exceptionality of â€Å"Las Meninas. † Due to the spatial organization of the painting, â€Å"the necessary disappearance of that which is its foundation of the person it resembles and the person in whose eyes it is only a resemblance. This very subject which is the same has been elided. And representation, freed finally from the relation that was im ¬peding it, can offer itself as representation in its pure form. † Therefore, â€Å"Las Meninas† is a unique painting that is able to provoke an in-depth exploration of core philosophical concepts. The fact that the painter is gazing at something that is visible to spectators in the mirror which the figures at the painting do not observe implies that the painting goes beyond the limits of Classical representation and calls for a deconstructive reading of the artwork.

Urban Legend of Glenn Dale Hospital :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Glenn Dale Hospital Many urban legends get passed down to others from information people hear, read, and experience on their own. Stories get manipulated and exaggerated over time and reasons for the story’s existence can vary. The true story of Glenn Dale Hospital appears to be rather clear according to credible sources – but this does not stop people from creating their own myths and legends and believing what others tell them is true. The story was told to me by a white female college sophomore that I have known for many years. We happened to be back home over the same weekend and I happened to be on the hunt for an urban legend; luckily she was eager to tell me about her experience trying to visit Glenn Dale Hospital. The following is the story I was told, as close to verbatim as possible: I remember it was Freshman year [in high school] and all the upper class lacrosse girls told us to meet at one of the girl’s houses because we were going to go to a party. We met up there, and got into three different cars and started driving. The van I was in had 6 other girls in it and I was pretty good friends with the senior driving it so it didn’t take long for the senior to tell us that we weren’t really going to a party – and that we were going to go visit an abandoned insane asylum. I had never heard of Glenn Dale Hospital and the entire trip, we were told of how many unexplainable deaths used to occur at the hospital and how if you go there today, you can still hear the screams of the patients throughout the halls. I don’t remember what road we ended up on, but next thing I knew – it was all of us freshman walking through a long field seeing a large building in front of us. The closer we got†¦ the slower we walked. We started ta lking about everything we had heard in the trip up. One girl mentioned that there are still bodies and papers left in the hospital and that the place was abandoned after the workers refused to keep working there after so many inexplicable deaths. Another mentioned that there are always cops patrolling the place and you can get arrested for trespassing. Ironically, as soon as the girl finished talking about the cop, we heard a loud voice from the other side of the building.

Historical Particularism Essay

Historical particularism is a school of thought that developed in the United States during the first half of the 20th century under the leadership of Franz Boas. This school of thought evolved at a time when in history, anthropologists were busy studying the Native American cultures which were rapidly disappearing. The main reason behind the tireless efforts by the anthropologists in the studies was because they were committed to preserving their unique cultures from the integration that threatened them. On another perspective and in view of the historical context in which this school of thought involved, it is said that Historical particularism come into existence as an effort to reject the evolutionism school of thought which was earlier held by anthropologists. It is indeed a paradigm in anthropology that is widely marked by a desire to move away from theories of evolution or diffusion. This school of thought criticizes them of being non scientific in their methods of cultural analysis. The main idea behind the Historical particularism school of thought was that it maintained a strong focus on cultures themselves. It calls for a holistic approach to understanding culture in their terms. This meant that detailed studies had to be done on cultures in their own terms. This was in consideration of certain aspects that were specific to the culture and community under study especially in considering their unique histories. It calls on anthropologists to avoid theorizing but instead get down to studying seriously and carefully the way culture is formed in respect to the environment or history. This is the holistic approach that seeks to fully understand culture as opposed to any form of evaluating one culture against the other. According to Boas, the main proponent of this school of thought, he argues that each society’s culture is a collective representation of its unique historical past that shows a lot of connection with the present culture. As such he was opposed to the use of assumptions in addressing the development of the kin system and religion in society over history as presented by the evolutionist perspective. The earlier ideas held that since it was a progressive move from one state to another, some societies were well ahead of others in their systems. But it was held that each would have to pass through the same stages as they progressed from primitive stages to the most civilized stages. Although there is the existence of general laws of human behavior in societies, these behaviors can well be understood from proper studies conducted on a specific society. He held that cultures of different societies can have similar traits due to a variety of reasons and not specifically due to the general laws of human behavior, some of the reasons could be as a result of invention, adoption from others through interrelationship in trade or cultural contacts while others could be results of historical accidents. Therefore it would not be right to argue on the basis of similarities in traits in different cultures but it calls for proper study and understanding of culture in its full context. The movement of historical particularists is seen to put more value on field work and history as the critical methods of cultural analysis. As such they collect vast amount of first hand cultural data upon which they gain information to base their descriptions of particular cultures as opposed to general theories that are given to apply to all societies (www. mnsu. ed) Ideas of major contributors in historical particularism Franz Boas (1858-1942) is the major proponent of this school of thought and the main contributor alongside other scholars most of whom were his students. They contributed to the advancement of this school of thought either by supporting him or at time by criticizing him on his work. These major figures include: Alfred Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Robert Lowie, Margaret Mead, Edward Sapir and Paul Radin. The major idea presented by Boas was that the ordering of societies by the evolutionism was not valid. He criticized this method as being based on assumptions since it did not have any historic evidence. Concerning the method of gathering and organizing data he said that it was not based on first hand experiences concerning the societies which they were describing. This is because they mostly used secondary data and did not visit the societies they were studying. Instead of the use of secondary data to describe a society, Boas advocated for the use of first hand information which the researcher/anthropologist obtains from the society. This was to be collected during fieldworks in the community. He said that the researcher should act as a participant observer. In addition he should also learn the language of the society and think like its people so as to collect the information that will help to describe the people’s interrelationship. This is usually done by recording life histories and folklore and then connecting them with the historical data of the society. He held individuals to be very important as they formed the basic component of the society. He therefore gathered data from them and used such data for cultural analysis. Alfred Louis Kroeber (1876-1960) He was a student to Franz Boas and it was under his influence that he developed interest in ethnology and linguistics. He is mostly noted and recognized for his use and development of the idea of culture as a superorganic entity. He went ahead to suggest that culture had to be analyzed through methods that were specific to the super organic nature. It is on this issue that he differed with Boas on the importance of the individual. While Boas held that the individual is the basic component of a society and therefore used data and information gathered from individuals to analyze the culture, Kroeber on the other hand did not find the individual to be an important element of the society. Instead he said that the society evolved in line with internal laws that did not originate from its individuals. Therefore one would not analyze the individual since the two were entirely different phenomena and needed to be treated as such. In spite of the fact that he was mentored by Boas, Kroeber disagreed with him in that while Boas emphasized much on the gathering and organizing of data showing much concern on the causal process and their description (abstract phenomena), on the other hand Kroeber was concerned with concrete phenomena and their development over time something that his mentor did not put much emphasis on (www. as. au. edu) The other notable figure in the historical particularism school of thought is Ruth Benedict (1887-1948). She was Boas’ student who took most of her time to conduct the extensive fieldwork in gathering data on different groups in United States. She is most noted for developing concepts like culture configuration and personality. She used the concept of culture configuration to refer to the sum of all the individual personalities of a society. She said that differences in cultural configurations were not in any way representing higher or lower capacity for cultural development. Instead they were just but alternative means by which society and experience could be organized. Robert H. Lowie (1883-1957) is another notable figure in this school of thought. He studied under Boas. He was greatly influenced by Boas on the issue of the need to collect and analyze as much data as possible. The main sources that he advocated for were the historical documents that he used to gather data with during his studies on societies. The other figures we will consider are Edward Sapir (1884-1939) and Paul Radin (1883-1959). Each of them made a significant contribution to this school of thought. Sapir’s most notable point is the disagreement on the issue of the place of the individual in the society. He disagreed with the proposition by Kroeber that culture was separate with the individual. Paul Radin’s criticism of Boas methods and the concept of culture are the most notable point and contribution to this school of thought. Radin argued that it was the individual who introduced change in religion, technology and innovation into a culture. This is the position that he held and supported that it was the individual who shaped culture and not culture shaping the individual as earlier held. Almost all the major figures mentioned in the historical particularism approach disagreed on the definition of culture. Franz Boaz viewed culture as a set of customs, social institutions and beliefs that characterized any particular society and were defined by the environmental conditions and other historical events. In his view which was different from Boas’, Kroeber viewed culture as a separate entity from the individual that followed its own laws (super organic). When we consider Benedict’s view, culture was described as the basic ways of living by a group of people. Sapir on the other hand argued that culture was not contained in the society itself but consisted of many interactions between the individuals and the society. It is Radin who stressed on the role of the individual as an agent of cultural change. In his argument he said the culture is molded by the individual through innovations. As such it was dependent on the individual for progress and change. Historical particularism and relationship to other schools of thought Historical particularism developed as an alternative approach to the socio-cultural theories that were proposed by both evolutionists and diffusionists and were judged by this school as being unprovable. The evolutionists held that human beings shared some set of characteristics and modes of thinking which transcended individual cultures. This meant that cultural development of individual societies would move through similar series of development. This led to comparison between societies on their development levels which were based on their mental development. In order to explain what happened over history diffusion was used as an approach to accomplish this. This thought argued that all culture and civilization developed only once and spread out to the other places in the world through people’s migration. In simpler terms, this school held that cultures were tied together in form of common origin. This idea was not fully convincing especially in explaining own inventions and other forms of cultures that were in different places in the world. It was in view of these different schools of thought and their inability to explain and prove all that happened over history pertaining to cultural change that historical particularism was developed. According to this school of thought, detailed regional studies of culture had to be done in order to discover the distribution of culture traits and also the processes of cultural change. It mostly seeks a reconstruction of their histories. Data is collected on all aspects of different human societies so as to be able to make accurate generalization about cultural development. According to the historical particularists, racial implications in defining cultural development in line with mental development were to show the European society as the end of the sequence in development. This was not in order since it would be hard for one to interpret cultural change unless observations are first done. These observations should be based on the perspective of the society they are describing. This made the major stand for historical particularists that it was necessary for the investigation to examine all available evidence for a society before beginning of an investigation. There are so many different stimuli that contribute to the development of culture and as such development can only be understood by first examining the specific culture in order to identify the sources of stimuli. It is only after doing this, as advocated by the historical particularists that theories of cultural development can be constructed. An important fact is that these theories should be based on studies that have been carried out over a period of time. Historical facts are also very important and should be considered in the studies. Lasting contributions of historical particularists According to the historical particularists each society has its own unique historical development and should be understood based on its own specific cultural context. A major emphasis is placed on the historical process which is a major determinant of a society’s culture and level of development. Therefore, any attempts to understand a society based on the idea that all cultures and societies follow the same trend in their development process is misguided. As such, particularists contributed so much on the basis upon which societies were evaluated. This school of thought hold that each society should be looked at individually based on proper studies and enough information if any judgment is to be made. It advocated for ethnographic fieldwork in order to collect first hand cultural data from which information is gained to help describe particular cultures. This has gone a long way in changing theory formulation about culture and society. This school of thought helped to abolish the use of established general theories for all societies since it takes fieldwork and history as methods of cultural analysis. It also called for an end to ethnocentrism in the field of anthropology and instead advocated for the anthropologists to use ethnological fieldwork to gather sound evidence that can be used when analyzing culture. This has helped in understanding of culture in its full context and in their terms. This is because this school of thought has not favored the evaluation of one culture against another. This school of thought has also succeeded in excluding racism from anthropology and issues that have to do with judgment of cultures and societies as regards development issues. This is because it has advocated for the full understanding of the culture under judgment including its language and way of thought. Once this is done by the anthropologists, then racist judgments and use of pre-conceived ideas will not influence the judgments made. It was also as a result of the work of the influence of this school of thought that research began to focus on differences rather than on similarities between societies( Moore 2004) a turn that remained in the field of study for a long time.

Rabindranath Tagore Essay

Rabindranath Tagore] ( 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), sobriquet Gurudev,was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region’s literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its â€Å"profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse†, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric personality, flowing hair, and other-worldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation in the West. His â€Å"elegant prose and magical poetry† remain largely unknown outside Bengal. Tagore introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India.[5] A Pirali Brahmin from Calcutta, Tagore wrote poetry as an eight-year-old.[10] At age sixteen, he released his first substantial poems under the pseudonym BhÄ nusiá ¹Æ'ha (â€Å"Sun Lion†), which were seized upon by literary authorities as long-lost classics. He graduated to his first short stories and dramas—and the aegis of his birth name—by 1877. As a humanist, universalist internationalist, and strident anti-nationalist he denounced the Raj and advocated independence from Britain. As an exponent of the Bengal Renaissance, he advanced a vast canon that comprised paintings, sketches and doodles, hundreds of texts, and some two thousand songs; his legacy endures also in the institution he founded, Visva-Bharati University. Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: the Republic of India’s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla. The composer of Sri Lanka’s national anthem: Sri Lanka  Matha was a student of Tagore, and the song is inspired by Tagore’s style.