Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

Sand Slides Like Lambs Have you ever looked at the West Elk mountains and seen the lamb in the side of Mt. Lamborn? The reason it is called that is because of the sandy slide that resembles a sheep much like the Cantabrian mountains of Spain resemble white elephants. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† (1927), written by Ernest Hemingway, is about a young, unmarried couple, the American and Jig, who are sitting at a train station in Spain, apprehensively discussing an abortion for Jig. The story starts with Jig looking at the surrounding hills and talking about different types of alcohol.There is a following conversation between the two where they talk about their relationship post-abortion. There is not a definite conclusion to their discussion, and it is left up to the reader to infer. In â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† Hemingway utilizes symbolization, characterization, and conflict to create a tense story between a young man and lady and give a clue as to whether or not the couple proceeds to get the abortion or not. Hemingway uses dialogue to develop conflict to show that even without a lot of clues, the couple is still arguing about something.The first example is when the woman suggests that the hills look like white elephants but the man says he’s never seen one. In response she remarks, â€Å"No, you wouldn’t have,† in a way that makes it sound as if she didn’t intend for her comment to be nice. Then, further into the story, the conversation dies down and the woman says, â€Å"They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the colouring of their skin through the trees. † By saying this the woman is almost scared of being wrong in the eyes of the man, so she submissively changes her own opinion to conform with his.The woman creates a lot of the conflict but an example of the man doing this is when he keeps insisting on things until the girl is finally fed up and asks him, â€Å"Will you please †¦ stop talking? † This line is important because it shows the attitude and brashness of the man which is characterization, as I’ll talk about in my next paragraph. Characterization plays a prominent role in the story because the reader never gets to hear the thoughts of the characters, only their conversation and actions.For instance, upon arriving in the train station, the woman instantly begins to look at her surroundings, looking off at the line of hills, and commenting on them. When she does this it is like Hemingway wants readers to see Jig as a person who is more aware of new ideas and possibilities . He makes the American the opposite, however. Whenever the girl begins to look off at at something, she is quickly brought back to reality because the American wants to talk about what he thinks is important. The American is also less tactful when talking about the abortion.He constantly refers to it as an operation, â€Å"just to let the air in,† whereas Jig never even mentions it. With Jig never mentioning the operation because it is taboo and saying things like, â€Å"And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me,† makes her seem inferior and dependent on the American (WriteWork Contributors). She sounds childish and thinks that the only way to be happy is to please the American man. Hemingway’s characterization creates two conflicting personalities that raises the tension and gives the reader a sense of actually sitting at a table near them, eavesdropping.The most important element in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is symbolization because there are a lot of ideas and words that don’t have the same impact as they do when there is a concrete object resembling it. One of the most important symbols in this story was the bead curtain that hangs and separates the kitchen from the dining area. The meaning behind the curtain is to separate one thi ng from another, like the American and Jig’s opinion on keeping the baby. Painted on the curtain is â€Å"Anis del Toro† which is booze of the bull (Shmoop Editorial Team). This alludes to how meaningful alcohol is in the story.When Jig says, â€Å"That’s all we do, isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks,† it seems that they are frequent party-goers, and that may be how she got pregnant in the first place. Then they try the Anis del Toro and Jig comments, â€Å"Everything tastes of liquorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for. † Maybe after a few years of hard partying she realizes that it isn’t all that great and tastes of vile licorice. These two lines together make her think that settling down and making a family may be what she actually wants. Furthermore the very landscape that the story is set in is a symbol.The narrator mentions, â€Å"On this side there was no shade and no trees and the s tation was between two lines of rails in the sun,† implying that the current situation was very barren and dry. But then later in the story, â€Å"The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro,† which portrays a very green, fertile landscape. Hemingway uses these two descriptions to symbolize and contrast Jig’s decision of whether or not she will carry out the abortion. Hemingway’s usage of symbols helps enrich the story. Hills Like White Elephants† had several important techniques such as conflict, characterization, and symbolization to make a dramatic story about a man and woman and their differences. After finishing the story, many readers are able to infer that they did not keep the baby. This is because the last line is Jig pleasing the man and denying that she is feeling anything but â€Å"fine. † Geography can be simple landmarks, or it can b e complex symbols for taboo topics. Works Cited Edwards, Fred. â€Å"Critical Analysis. † House of Desmond. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. . Hemingway, Ernest . â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants. † Anchorage School District.Web. 15 Feb. 2013. . â€Å"Katy's American Literature Blog: Symbolism in â€Å"Hills like White Elephants†. † Katy's American Literature Blog. 29 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.. Shmoop Editorial Team. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants Drugs and Alcohol Quotes Page 1† Shmoop. com. Shmoop University, Inc. , 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. Shmoop Editorial Team. â€Å"The Bamboo Bead Curtain in Hills Like White Elephants† Shmoop. com. Shmoop University, Inc. , 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. WriteWork contributors. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants: Jig Character Analysis† WriteWork. com. 19 February, 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.

The Death Penalty

The Death Penalty â€Å"If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call. † (McAdams) The death penalty should be legalized in all fifty states, to avert from crime, keep repeat offenders off of the streets, and to reduce taxpayers the cost of keeping those found guilty of heinous crimes in prison low. The death penalty can in fact deter heinous crimes from being committed when it is lawful in a state. Social scientists have stated that the act of general deterrence, which is when the punishment deters potential criminals from committing crimes, keeps criminals from going through with crimes. However, it is more shown that premeditated crimes are usually the ones stopped by general deterrence, not crimes under passion. Heinous crimes have been reduced highly in the states that have a capital punishment law. The death penalty keeps repeat offenders off of the streets. In Michigan a case that represents this happened; â€Å"A man who was hired by Honeywell Inc. , after serving four years in prison for strangling a co-worker has been charged with killing another co-worker and a woman he allegedly stalked and threatened for weeks† (Sullum personal file). Had the death penalty been allowed in Michigan the woman’s life could have been sparred, for the male who murdered her would have been executed long before and never had the chance to murder her. The death penalty may be a long process, but it does not give those on death row a hope of parole. By having the heinous criminals in prisons on death row keeps them from repeating crimes. In five out of seven cases it is said that criminals will once again commit crimes once released from prison of jail. The death penalty keeps the criminals in jail and executes them. This protects the general public from murderous crimes from repeat offenders. The death penalty also keeps taxpayers costs low, because the prison looses members in which the state taxes would have to pay for. The citizens of the state pay for the prisoners, and my eliminating the criminals jailed for heinous crimes reduces cost by a high percent. The average cost per year per prison is about $1 billion. By enforcing the death penalty and making it lawful can reduce that cost by almost half. Half does not sound like much in such large terms, but in reality it is an immense amount of money that the taxpayers can be using somewhere else. Struggling families still have to pay for imprisoned criminals and the death penalty can in turn have more money in that home, because it would not be put towards the prison. There is another side to the death penalty, however. Most people believe the death penalty is immoral and unjust. Some say that the idea of â€Å"an eye for an eye† should not apply to the death penalty. Capital punishment is still an act of murder, which is punishable by law. This is a major argument of those against capital punishment. There are also religious views that keep many opposed of the death penalty. Christians view the death penalty as wrong because of the fact that killing a killer is still killing, which is a sin that breaks one of the Ten Commandments. The large population of Christians in the United States keeps the vote against capital punishment high, because this nation was built on that faith and it is also the highest religion in the nation. The death penalty keeps taxpayers cost low, keeps repeat offenders off of the street, and deters heinous crime, and therefore should be made lawful in all fifty states of the United States of America. The Death Penalty The Death Penalty: It is Never Justified A young man has been charged with the brutal murder of a seventeen year old girl after raping and mutilating her body. This crime was so heinous and unthinkable that the only punishment that seems to fit the crime is capital punishment; there is merely one problem†the man convicted is innocent. The public is so caught up in bringing Justice to the murdered girl that through capital punishment more injustice is brought into the world and the life of another innocent being is taken. There is no going back and undoing the mistake.There is no undoing in the matter of death. The accidental murder of an innocent person through the death penalty is Just one way in which the death penalty is a completely unethical, flawed, and unjustified form of punishment. Problems associated with the death penalty such as it being inhumane, discriminatory, and an unfair form of punishment, are reasons that capital punishment is never the answer to aggravated murder [claim]. The death penalty is extremely inhumane. Three common techniques used to perform the sentence include the electric chair, gas chambers, and lethal injection.Supporters of the death penalty argue that modern science has eliminated the factor of pain by lethal injection [rebuttal], but how can this truly be proved? The scientific journal the Nature Publishing Group [backing] reported that almost half the prisoners are still conscious although paralyzed during the lethal injection as the drug stops the heart. The NPG then goes on to state, â€Å"If suitably qualified individuals refuse to help prepare a new protocol, the state will face the prospect of continuing to use amateurs to kill people with arbitrary and outmoded technology' (â€Å"Amateur† 2) [evidence].Dying is a painful thing. The punishment of death is already extreme, but the fact that the prisoner is being put down with chemicals that aren't even provided by physicians or scientists is cruel and la cks any compassion. Andrew Stephen, the United States editor of the New Statesman magazine which reports on current affairs, [backing] also explained the inhumanity of the most humane form of capital punishment: lethal injection. Stephen explained how the potassium chloride used in the injection causes excruciating pain as it makes its way through the veins and into the heart to kill the person.Stephen follows this by stating, â€Å"The American Veterinary Medical Association even issued guidelines in 2002 saying that the mix was unacceptable for putting dogs and cats, let alone humans, to sleep† (Stephen 33) [evidence]. How can a democracy in the U. S. which stands for Justice possibly support this blatantly inhumane form of punishment that isn't even suitable for animals? There is no way to properly kill a human being, it is immoral and unjust not matter who it is done to, and therefore does not hold a place in the U. S. Jurisdiction.The death penalty can also be very arbit rary or random in the sense that there is ot a set standard for everyone who commits murder to be sentenced to death. It makes little sense how some prisoners who are convicted of terrible murders get the privilege of living while others who did not murder in cold blood do not get the opportunity for rehabilitation and redemption. The cause of such arbitrariness can be attributed to discrimination. David Bruck, who was a Harvard and University of South Carolina graduate, served as a lawyer detending those charged witn capita punishment [backing].Bruck illustrates how unfair capital punishment is in an essay he wrote for The New Republic magazine. Bruck explains how a man from Louisiana named Ernest Knighton killed a gas station owner while robbing the gas station. This is of course a terrible crime; however, the crime was not premeditated and pales in comparison to other gruesome murders, yet somehow Knighton was chosen to be executed. This may be explained by the fact that Knighton was black, the victim was white, the Jury at his hearing was entirely white, and he lacked sufficient defense.In other words, discrimination was a factor. Bruck explains this execution by stating, â€Å"Ernest Knighton was picked out to die the way a fisherman takes a cricket out of a ait Jar. No one cares which cricket gets impaled on the hook† (Bruck NPA) [evidence]. There were clearly more threatening murderers out there than Knighton, but Knighton was chosen to die. The chance that this kind of discrimination will continue is entirely possible [modal qualifier] and illustrates the faults in the system of capital punishment.However, in cases such as capital punishment where death is involved, there is no room for faults. Life is a precious gift not to be taken lightly. Money also seems to be a discriminatory factor in the death penalty, as rich eople are more likely to avoid the death penalty than are poor people who cannot afford proper defense. A rich murderer's life is no more valuable than the life of a poor murderer, yet the chance of survival for a poor man is much lower than that of a rich man. This harsh fact is unfair.Scott Phillips author for the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology [backing] writes, â€Å"As Former Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, for example, noted: ‘One searches our chronicles in vain for the execution of any member of the affluent strata of this society† (Phillips 718) [evidence]. It is efinitely plausible [modal qualifier] that the people who have money are the ones who can afford the best defense and therefore avoid the death penalty. It hardly seems fair that the rich get to live over the poor not because of innocence, but because of the size of their wallets.Two wrongs do not make a right under the conditions of murder. The system of capital punishment is obviously defective as it discriminates and seemingly picks its victims at random, risking the possibility of killing even the innocent. Advoc ates of the death penalty argue that it is the only form of punishment that is orthy of murder [rebuttal]. This is an â€Å"eye for an eye† mentality. Edward Koch, the former mayor of New York [backing], supported this mentality by stating, â€Å".. it can be easily demonstrated that the death penalty strengthens the value of human life. If the penalty for rape were lowered, clearly it would signal a lessened regard for the victim's suffering.. .When we lower the penalty for murder, it signals a lessened regard for the value of the victim's life† (Koch NPA) [evidence]. Koch's statement is a fallacy of a false analogy and is therefore not plausible [modal qualifier]. No two rimes can really be compared to each other. Rape and murder are admittedly two very horrific offenses, but are in no way the same.We do not rape the criminals charged of rape to show them how it feels, nor should we kill the criminals charged of murder. Killing the prisoner makes us no better than th e prisoner himself. Instead of capital punishment, there should be harsher punishments in Jail for those convicted of murder, Just as those convicted of rape have harsher punishments than those convicted ot tnett. Another argument supporters of the death penalty like to utilize is that killing a uman being is okay because it is done by the state, which has more rights, rather than an individual [rebuttal].Koch makes the point when he writes, â€Å"The execution of a lawfully condemned killer is no more an act of murder than is legal imprisonment an act of kidnapping†¦ Rights and responsibilities surrendered by the individual are what give the state the power to govern† ( Koch NPA) [evidence]. This is once again a fallacy of a false analogy. Of course legal imprisonment is not kidnapping, because it is an agreed upon punishment by the people of a democracy for those who have roken the laws of society. On the contrary, capital punishment is not entirely agreed upon because this punishment is too harsh.Capital punishment is not necessary to govern its people; if the state must resort to the killing of individuals by the death penalty which has already been proven faulty, there are greater issues at hand. In the end, those who wish for capital punishment aren't really wishing for Justice, or to keep order. Justice and order can be achieved with without the killing of prisoners. It is rather unjust to inflict the death penalty, its only purpose to serve as a orm of bitter revenge that one can only hope will avenge the death of the lost person.However, it is not the place of the state to take revenge, but to bring Justice. Justice needs to be fair, humane, morally sound, and it needs to be reasonable. The death penalty in no way fits into any of those descriptions. This is a topic that should concern everyone. If the people of the United States allow for the death penalty, and the legal system makes a completely possible and at some point probable [modal qualifier] mistake and wrongfully sentences an innocent man to death, that death is on each and every person who advocates the death penalty. The Death Penalty The Death Penalty: It is Never Justified A young man has been charged with the brutal murder of a seventeen year old girl after raping and mutilating her body. This crime was so heinous and unthinkable that the only punishment that seems to fit the crime is capital punishment; there is merely one problem†the man convicted is innocent. The public is so caught up in bringing Justice to the murdered girl that through capital punishment more injustice is brought into the world and the life of another innocent being is taken. There is no going back and undoing the mistake.There is no undoing in the matter of death. The accidental murder of an innocent person through the death penalty is Just one way in which the death penalty is a completely unethical, flawed, and unjustified form of punishment. Problems associated with the death penalty such as it being inhumane, discriminatory, and an unfair form of punishment, are reasons that capital punishment is never the answer to aggravated murder [claim]. The death penalty is extremely inhumane. Three common techniques used to perform the sentence include the electric chair, gas chambers, and lethal injection.Supporters of the death penalty argue that modern science has eliminated the factor of pain by lethal injection [rebuttal], but how can this truly be proved? The scientific journal the Nature Publishing Group [backing] reported that almost half the prisoners are still conscious although paralyzed during the lethal injection as the drug stops the heart. The NPG then goes on to state, â€Å"If suitably qualified individuals refuse to help prepare a new protocol, the state will face the prospect of continuing to use amateurs to kill people with arbitrary and outmoded technology' (â€Å"Amateur† 2) [evidence].Dying is a painful thing. The punishment of death is already extreme, but the fact that the prisoner is being put down with chemicals that aren't even provided by physicians or scientists is cruel and la cks any compassion. Andrew Stephen, the United States editor of the New Statesman magazine which reports on current affairs, [backing] also explained the inhumanity of the most humane form of capital punishment: lethal injection. Stephen explained how the potassium chloride used in the injection causes excruciating pain as it makes its way through the veins and into the heart to kill the person.Stephen follows this by stating, â€Å"The American Veterinary Medical Association even issued guidelines in 2002 saying that the mix was unacceptable for putting dogs and cats, let alone humans, to sleep† (Stephen 33) [evidence]. How can a democracy in the U. S. which stands for Justice possibly support this blatantly inhumane form of punishment that isn't even suitable for animals? There is no way to properly kill a human being, it is immoral and unjust not matter who it is done to, and therefore does not hold a place in the U. S. Jurisdiction.The death penalty can also be very arbit rary or random in the sense that there is ot a set standard for everyone who commits murder to be sentenced to death. It makes little sense how some prisoners who are convicted of terrible murders get the privilege of living while others who did not murder in cold blood do not get the opportunity for rehabilitation and redemption. The cause of such arbitrariness can be attributed to discrimination. David Bruck, who was a Harvard and University of South Carolina graduate, served as a lawyer detending those charged witn capita punishment [backing].Bruck illustrates how unfair capital punishment is in an essay he wrote for The New Republic magazine. Bruck explains how a man from Louisiana named Ernest Knighton killed a gas station owner while robbing the gas station. This is of course a terrible crime; however, the crime was not premeditated and pales in comparison to other gruesome murders, yet somehow Knighton was chosen to be executed. This may be explained by the fact that Knighton was black, the victim was white, the Jury at his hearing was entirely white, and he lacked sufficient defense.In other words, discrimination was a factor. Bruck explains this execution by stating, â€Å"Ernest Knighton was picked out to die the way a fisherman takes a cricket out of a ait Jar. No one cares which cricket gets impaled on the hook† (Bruck NPA) [evidence]. There were clearly more threatening murderers out there than Knighton, but Knighton was chosen to die. The chance that this kind of discrimination will continue is entirely possible [modal qualifier] and illustrates the faults in the system of capital punishment.However, in cases such as capital punishment where death is involved, there is no room for faults. Life is a precious gift not to be taken lightly. Money also seems to be a discriminatory factor in the death penalty, as rich eople are more likely to avoid the death penalty than are poor people who cannot afford proper defense. A rich murderer's life is no more valuable than the life of a poor murderer, yet the chance of survival for a poor man is much lower than that of a rich man. This harsh fact is unfair.Scott Phillips author for the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology [backing] writes, â€Å"As Former Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, for example, noted: ‘One searches our chronicles in vain for the execution of any member of the affluent strata of this society† (Phillips 718) [evidence]. It is efinitely plausible [modal qualifier] that the people who have money are the ones who can afford the best defense and therefore avoid the death penalty. It hardly seems fair that the rich get to live over the poor not because of innocence, but because of the size of their wallets.Two wrongs do not make a right under the conditions of murder. The system of capital punishment is obviously defective as it discriminates and seemingly picks its victims at random, risking the possibility of killing even the innocent. Advoc ates of the death penalty argue that it is the only form of punishment that is orthy of murder [rebuttal]. This is an â€Å"eye for an eye† mentality. Edward Koch, the former mayor of New York [backing], supported this mentality by stating, â€Å".. it can be easily demonstrated that the death penalty strengthens the value of human life. If the penalty for rape were lowered, clearly it would signal a lessened regard for the victim's suffering.. .When we lower the penalty for murder, it signals a lessened regard for the value of the victim's life† (Koch NPA) [evidence]. Koch's statement is a fallacy of a false analogy and is therefore not plausible [modal qualifier]. No two rimes can really be compared to each other. Rape and murder are admittedly two very horrific offenses, but are in no way the same.We do not rape the criminals charged of rape to show them how it feels, nor should we kill the criminals charged of murder. Killing the prisoner makes us no better than th e prisoner himself. Instead of capital punishment, there should be harsher punishments in Jail for those convicted of murder, Just as those convicted of rape have harsher punishments than those convicted ot tnett. Another argument supporters of the death penalty like to utilize is that killing a uman being is okay because it is done by the state, which has more rights, rather than an individual [rebuttal].Koch makes the point when he writes, â€Å"The execution of a lawfully condemned killer is no more an act of murder than is legal imprisonment an act of kidnapping†¦ Rights and responsibilities surrendered by the individual are what give the state the power to govern† ( Koch NPA) [evidence]. This is once again a fallacy of a false analogy. Of course legal imprisonment is not kidnapping, because it is an agreed upon punishment by the people of a democracy for those who have roken the laws of society. On the contrary, capital punishment is not entirely agreed upon because this punishment is too harsh.Capital punishment is not necessary to govern its people; if the state must resort to the killing of individuals by the death penalty which has already been proven faulty, there are greater issues at hand. In the end, those who wish for capital punishment aren't really wishing for Justice, or to keep order. Justice and order can be achieved with without the killing of prisoners. It is rather unjust to inflict the death penalty, its only purpose to serve as a orm of bitter revenge that one can only hope will avenge the death of the lost person.However, it is not the place of the state to take revenge, but to bring Justice. Justice needs to be fair, humane, morally sound, and it needs to be reasonable. The death penalty in no way fits into any of those descriptions. This is a topic that should concern everyone. If the people of the United States allow for the death penalty, and the legal system makes a completely possible and at some point probable [modal qualifier] mistake and wrongfully sentences an innocent man to death, that death is on each and every person who advocates the death penalty. The Death Penalty The Death Penalty â€Å"If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call. † (McAdams) The death penalty should be legalized in all fifty states, to avert from crime, keep repeat offenders off of the streets, and to reduce taxpayers the cost of keeping those found guilty of heinous crimes in prison low. The death penalty can in fact deter heinous crimes from being committed when it is lawful in a state. Social scientists have stated that the act of general deterrence, which is when the punishment deters potential criminals from committing crimes, keeps criminals from going through with crimes. However, it is more shown that premeditated crimes are usually the ones stopped by general deterrence, not crimes under passion. Heinous crimes have been reduced highly in the states that have a capital punishment law. The death penalty keeps repeat offenders off of the streets. In Michigan a case that represents this happened; â€Å"A man who was hired by Honeywell Inc. , after serving four years in prison for strangling a co-worker has been charged with killing another co-worker and a woman he allegedly stalked and threatened for weeks† (Sullum personal file). Had the death penalty been allowed in Michigan the woman’s life could have been sparred, for the male who murdered her would have been executed long before and never had the chance to murder her. The death penalty may be a long process, but it does not give those on death row a hope of parole. By having the heinous criminals in prisons on death row keeps them from repeating crimes. In five out of seven cases it is said that criminals will once again commit crimes once released from prison of jail. The death penalty keeps the criminals in jail and executes them. This protects the general public from murderous crimes from repeat offenders. The death penalty also keeps taxpayers costs low, because the prison looses members in which the state taxes would have to pay for. The citizens of the state pay for the prisoners, and my eliminating the criminals jailed for heinous crimes reduces cost by a high percent. The average cost per year per prison is about $1 billion. By enforcing the death penalty and making it lawful can reduce that cost by almost half. Half does not sound like much in such large terms, but in reality it is an immense amount of money that the taxpayers can be using somewhere else. Struggling families still have to pay for imprisoned criminals and the death penalty can in turn have more money in that home, because it would not be put towards the prison. There is another side to the death penalty, however. Most people believe the death penalty is immoral and unjust. Some say that the idea of â€Å"an eye for an eye† should not apply to the death penalty. Capital punishment is still an act of murder, which is punishable by law. This is a major argument of those against capital punishment. There are also religious views that keep many opposed of the death penalty. Christians view the death penalty as wrong because of the fact that killing a killer is still killing, which is a sin that breaks one of the Ten Commandments. The large population of Christians in the United States keeps the vote against capital punishment high, because this nation was built on that faith and it is also the highest religion in the nation. The death penalty keeps taxpayers cost low, keeps repeat offenders off of the street, and deters heinous crime, and therefore should be made lawful in all fifty states of the United States of America.

Legacy of the Samurai Essay

For seven centuries, the samurai ruled Japan as the powerful warrior class. As a class of warriors and knights, they led society in feudal Japan. The loyalty to his lord was much more important than his allegiance to his friends, family and even the emperor. Their philosophy was one liberated him from fear, and for these reasons, the samurai came to be the dominate force throughout medieval Japan. War played a central part in the history of Japanese samurai. As regional clans gathered manpower, resources and struck alliances with each other, they formed a hierarchy centered around a toryo, or chief. This chief was typically a relative of the emperor and a member of one of the two dominating clan families of the pre-samurai era. Though they were originally sent to regional areas for a fixed four year term as a magistrate, the toryo usually declined to return to the capital when their terms ended. Their sons inherited their positions instead and continued to lead the clans in suppressing rebellion throughout Japan during the middle and later Heian period. (Cook 24) One main reason why conflict between clans was so predominant was because they were typically started as a result of land ownership. Only a fifth of Japan’s land was suitable for agriculture. The struggle for control of land eventually gave rise to the samurai class. The samurai eventually became a class unto themselves between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D. They were called by two names: samurai which means â€Å"knights† and bushi which means â€Å"warriors†. The samurai came from guards of the imperial palace and from private guards that the clans employed. They also acted as a police force in and around Kyoto. These forerunners of what we now know as samurai had ruler-sponsored equipment and were required to hone their martial skills. They gave complete loyalty to their daimyo (feudal landowner) and received land and position in return. Each daimyo  used his samurai to protect his land and to expand his power and rights to more land. The first samurai were servants, yet their advantage of being the sole armed party increasingly became apparent. By promising protection and gaining political clout through political marriages they amassed power, eventually surpassing the ruling aristocrats. (Kure 10-12) In the late 12th century, the two most powerful clans served the emperor of Japan: the Taira clan, and the Minamoto clan. These two families became bitter rivals, and in 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo led his clan to victory over the Taira. The emperor, the traditional head of the Japanese government, declared Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. However, Yoritomo used his new power to strip the emperor of all political power, make his position as shogun permanent, and set up a military dictatorship known as bakufu. So, the samurai went from being servants of the land-owning daimyos to being the rulers of Japan under the shogun. (Dean 21) Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility, who were only technically under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. (Dean 22) In spite of various scheming and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the shogun and the samurai. The reign of the samurai lasted until the late 19th century. The image of the samurai that is probably most well-known is that of a sword expert, brandishing his curved katana with deadly skill. However, for the first few centuries of their existence, samurai were better known as horse-riding archers. Firing a bow while riding a horse was a demanding task, and mastering it required years of relentless practice. Some archers practiced on targets tethered to a pole, which could be swung to make a moving target. For a time, living dogs were used as moving archery targets, until the shogun abolished the malicious practice. (Turnbull 45) The amount and form of a samurai’s training depended on the wealth of his family. In  lower-class families, sons were sometimes sent to village schools for basic education, but they received most of their samurai training from their fathers, older brother, or uncles. Training in martial arts was considered very important, and often began at age five. Sons of wealthy families were sent to special academies, where they were tutored in literature, the arts, and military skills. (Daidoji, Ratti, and Cleary 6-10) Swordsmanship was taught in a similarly relentless manner. The most recognized weapon of the samurai throughout history was the katana. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. A katana was never worn without its companion sword, the wakizashi; it was a shorter sword with a broader blade. Together the two swords are referred to as daisho, meaning â€Å"large and small.† The word dai (large) represents the katana and the word sho (small) represents the wakizashi. The smiths who created the katana for the samurai are widely regarded as the finest sword makers in history. (Daidoji, Ratti, and Cleary 42) The samurai’s desire for tougher, sharper swords in battle gave rise to the curved blade. One of the biggest problems in making a sword is keeping it sharp. A weapon made with a hard metal will keep its edge, but will be brittle and prone to breaking. Japanese sword smiths solved this problem by making the core of the sword with a soft metal that wouldn’t break. This core was then covered with layers of harder metals that were repeatedly folded and hammered until there were literally millions of layers of metal laminated together. The edge was so sharp that a skilled swordsman could slice a human in half with one blow. Upon completion, the sword tester took the new blade and cut through the bodies of corpses or condemned criminals. They started by cutting through the small bones of the body and moved up to the large bones. Test results were often recorded on the nakago (the metal piece attaching the sword blade to the handle). The samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the soul of their warriorship. (Sato 28-33) In addition to swords and bows, samurai used a variety of bladed-pole arms. One of the more common Japanese pole arms was the naginata, which consisted of a sharp blade two to four feet in length mounted on a wooden shaft that  was four to five feet long. The extra reach afforded by these weapons allowed infantry to hold attackers at bay, or make a first strike before an attacker with a sword could reach them. They were also very effective against mounted opponents. (Kure 170) A big change occurred in the late 15th century because of the consistency of war and the introduction of guns into battle. In the 16th century, European traders arrived in Japan for the first time. The Japanese paid large sums for their matchlock guns, quickly mastering the smithing techniques needed to mass produce the weapons. Although the gun is not traditionally associated with samurai, it was a major influence on Japanese warfare from that point on, allowing daimyos to raise large armies of relatively untrained men armed with cheap guns. Many samurai adopted the unreliable weapons, which were best used as a backup to the more trustworthy sword. (Turnbull 73) The sword played a very key role in the methods and philosophies of the samurai. Without the samurai â€Å"bushido†, they would be considered by modern terms to be heartless killers. Bushido means â€Å"way of the warrior†. It was at the heart of the beliefs and conduct of the samurai. The philosophy of bushido is â€Å"freedom from fear.† It meant that the samurai transcended his fear of death. That gave him the peace and power to serve his daimyo faithfully, loyally and die honorably if necessary. Duty is a primary philosophy of the samurai. In order for the samurai to truly be able to serve his purpose, death must be ignored. An excerpt from _Code of the Samurai_ exemplifies this ideology: _†One who is a samurai must before all things keep constantly in mind†¦the fact that he has to die. If he is always mindful of this, he will be able to live in accordance with the paths of loyalty and filial duty, will avoid myriads of evils and adversities, keep himself free of disease and calamity and moreover enjoy a long life. He will also be a fine personality with many admirable qualities. For existence is impermanent as the dew of evening, and the hoarfrost of morning, and particularly uncertain is the life of the warrior†¦Ã¢â‚¬ _ (15) Religiously, Zen Buddhism spread among samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace Pure Land Buddhism was predominant. (Kure 12) Honor was so important to the samurai that they would frequently take their own lives in the face of failure, or if they had violated bushido. This honor-bound suicide became very ritualized, taking the form of seppuku. Also known by the more popular phrase hara-kiri, seppuku was a way for a samurai to restore honor to his lord and family, and to fulfill his obligation of loyalty even if he had failed as a samurai. (May 2) Ritualized seppuku involved the samurai wearing the proper garments while he was presented with the ritual knife, wrapped in paper. The samurai would then take the knife and cut open his own stomach, from left to right, with a final upward cut at the end. However, seppuku was not a solitary act, and few samurai were left to die a slow and excruciating death from disembowelment. Another samurai would typically stand behind the one committing seppuku, and behead him with a sharp sword shortly after the seppuku cut was made to spare him from unnecessary suffering. (May 3) The original motivations for this method of death may well have been purely practical. Cutting off one’s own head is impossible, and the spirit was felt to reside in the stomach, slitting the belly open was felt to be the most straightforward (if not quickest) way to die and free the spirit. (May 5) Although, seppuku may seem crude in modern day society, it was the only way to regain one’s honor, and looked upon as honorable even after the samurai’s decline towards the end of the 19th century. The role of the samurai during peacetime gradually declined, but two key factors led to the demise of samurai: the urbanization of Japan, and the end of isolationism. As more Japanese citizens moved to the larger urban centers of Japan, there were fewer farmers producing the necessary rice to feed the  growing population. The lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the shoguns and most daimyos started to eat away at the economic system. Many Japanese, including lower class samurai, grew dissatisfied with the shogunate because of the deteriorating economic circumstances. (Dean 37) In 1853, U.S. ships sailed into Edo Bay with Commodore Matthew Perry at the helm, intending to deliver a message from President Millard Fillmore to the emperor. Although the emperor was still considered a figurehead, the shogun truly ruled the country. President Fillmore’s message was clear. He wanted to open trade relations with Japan, he wanted shipwrecked U.S. sailors to be treated properly by Japanese soldiers and citizens, and he wanted to open Japanese seaports as a resupply stations for American ships. (Kure 167-9) In Perry’s wake, a rift divided opposing views in Japan. Some wanted to reject the American offer, continue with isolationism, and maintain their ancient traditions. Others, however, realized that Japan could never defend their country when faced with the better technology of the western civilizations. They proposed opening the gates of Japan with the intention of learning everything they could from the Americans, terminating isolationism and becoming a stronger world power. Ultimately, the bakufu decided to open Japanese seaports for American resupply, and later decided to establish trade with America. (Avakian 41) The emperor initially refused to approve to the treaty’s conditions, but because he was merely the face of Japanese government, the bakufu went ahead with the treaty anyway. Several factions of rebellious samurai wanted Japan to stay the same, and therefore supported the emperor and began a civil war against the bakufu. To much surprise, they overthrew the shogun, ending the Tokugawa period and restoring the emperor to his rightful power. Lower class samurai took positions of leadership within the administration, controlling the government from behind the new emperor, a young man by the name of Emperor Meiji. This event is known as the Meiji Restoration. (Avakian 43-48) Throughout Japan at the time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million. The samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers, people  who actually worked. With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, the upkeep presented an immense financial burden, which provoked the emperor and his oligarchy to act accordingly. Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs started a slow and deliberate process to abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was proclaimed that the samurai stipends were to be taxed on a rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the choice to convert their stipends into government bonds. Finally, in 1876, this option of conversion was made obligatory. (Avakian 49-54) Finally, in 1876, the emperor banned samurai from wearing their swords, leading to the creation of a drafted standing army. The final bell had tolled for the samurai — they no longer existed. Not surprisingly, this led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots, the Satsuma rebellion, eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly created imperial army The new army was trained in Western tactics and utilized more advanced weapons. Ironically, the core of the new army was the Tokyo Police force, which was formed largely of former samurai who had helped the emperor regain his empire. This sent a strong message to the nonconformist, rebellious samurai that their time was indeed up. (Kure 172-174) The samurai continue to impress, and serve as a model for obedience, reverence, and loyalty on so many different scales. The incredibly rich heritage provided by this elite class of warrior leaders can be linked to the foundations of numerous facets of the life we lead today. Although the samurai cease to exist, their spirit of honor and discipline has found a home in modern times. From the kamikaze pilots of Japan in World War II, to martial artists and even modern businessman who look to bushido as a guide to living an honorable life, samurai continue to positively influence Japan today. BIBLIOGRAPHY Avakian, Monique. The Meiji Restoration and the Rise of Modern Japan. Boston: Silver Burdett, 1991. 38-54. Cook, Harry. Samurai: the Story of a Warrior Tradition. New York: Sterling, 1998. 22-35. Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, and Thomas Cleary. The Code of the Samurai. Boston: Tuttle, 1999. 10-44. Dean, Arlan. Samurai: Warlords of Japan. New York: Scholastic Library, 2005. 19-37. Kure, Mitsuo. Samurai: An Illustrated History. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2001. 10-179. May, Nick. â€Å"Seppuku – a Practical Guide.† Gaijin Gleaner (1997): 1-5. 1 Dec. 2006 . Sato, Kanzan. The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide. New York: Kodansha International, Ltd., 1983. 28-80 Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Warfare. New York: Sterling, 1996. 44-73. Yamamoto, Tsunetomo, and William S. Wilson. Hagakure: the Book of the Samurai. Tokyo: Kodansha America, 1983. 17-65.

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Perception Of Interpersonal Relationships English Language Essay Learning the perception of Interpersonal Relationships the past few weeks have been a very rewarding experience for me. I have always enjoyed talking to people, listening to people, and just being around people, but I never really knew just how important communication was and being able to do it effectively. Ive learned many things in this course, but my focus for this paper is going to be interpersonal relationships. What are interpersonal relationships? Interpersonal Relationships are very important when dealing with any kind of friendship. It is interaction with another person, usually in an informal setting, and is one of the best ways to develop and retain an association. In order to do this, you must have the ability to understand and get along with others. This is known as emotional intelligence: being self-aware, managing emotions, encouraging yourself, recognize emotions in others, and managing associations. Self-awareness is having the capability to get a little distance from the emotion so that you will be able to look at it without being overwhelmed or react too promptly. Managing your emotions is expressing them in an approach that is suitable to the situation. Motivating yourself is setting a goal and disciplines yourself to do what you have to do in order to reach that goal. Recognizing emotions in others is having Empathy, which you are capable of recognizing and sharing someone el ses feelings, and its essential to human associations. In order to handle relationships, you must be capable of organizing others, and negotiating solutions when there are problems to be solved, and generally bond with others emotionally. You must also have a sense of balance and be capable of recognizing your own needs and know how to execute them. There is importance of emotional intelligence to strategic flexibility. You must have strong self-concept, which is the way you think about and rate yourself. The way you perceive people and the planet around you, and how fine you comprehend and cope with others have nonstop influence on your self-concept. Perception, emotional intelligence, and self-concept have a nonstop manner on strategic flexibility because they can either improve or weaken your capability to expect, evaluate, estimate, choose, and relate your skills and behaviors. The healthier your perceptive skills, the more probable your emotional intelligence is high and your self-concept is encouraging. While becoming familiarized to using strategic flexibility framework, you build up self-control through self-discipline. Listening to others becomes easier when you are secure in yourself. Your perceptions are more precise, your interpretation of nonverbal behavior of others and attempts to actually comprehend improves. There is a larger chance that you will be capable of managing relationships more productively. Managing relationships is not an easy job. It is a learned behavior, and by having emotional intelligence can help you launch and prolong enduring, significant relationships. Physical attraction is paying attention to somebody for the reason of the way they look. The attraction can also be sexual. It can be a reason for wanting to get to know someone, but is not usually the foundation for a durable relationship. Perceived gain is when we are mesmerized by someone because we assume we have something to achieve from them. We typically inquire about others in our same category, but for a moment we try to intermingle in with a higher category because we assume the awards will be of greater value. Similarities are when we are mesmerized by someone because we share our attitudes and beliefs or seem knowledgeable about topics that are of concern and importance to ourselves. Our beliefs are convictions; our attitudes are the felt beliefs that preside over how we conduct ourselves. Compatibility is having related attitudes and personality, and enjoying the same activities. Differences are when people have very different beliefs. This is usually very unlikely that a well-built and enduring relationship will be produced. But it is possible for people with different personality characteristics to be mesmerized by each other. Proximity is the close contact that occurs when people share an experience with each other such as work, play, or school. Another type of attraction is cyber attraction, which is when we depend on cues such as verbal communication, mode, time, tempo of text, and utilization of punctuation and emoticons. This gives us the chance of interacting with others exclusive of the influence of physical attractiveness stereotype and the less significant number of cues has larger importance. A motive for interpersonal communication varies from person to person for the reason that each person has their own personalities and moods. When we take on a lot of interpersonal communication for pleasure, it is because it is fun. Affection is very important to happiness, whether it is articulated verbally or nonverbally. It is a heart-to-heart emotion. Inclusion is your association with others and is the most powerful human need. Belonging is everyones sense of well-being. Escape is used when we try to avoid doing something that we need to do. The newest form of escape is by computer. Chat rooms, e-mail, and surfing the net are ways of escaping without actually going anywhere. Relaxation is done to relax and unwind after dealing with the various activities of the day. Control is when you are capable of making choices. When it comes to health, it has been researched and shown that people with strong social ties live longer than those that isolate themselves. People whom are lonely are encouraged to join local clubs or organizations because of health-protective things. Cyber motivation is usually an amplified motivation because engaging in CMC is pleasurable and stimulating. It also has the capability of boosting self-esteem, and you are able to self-disclose with little risk of losing face. Relationships are governed by roles that the participants look forward to each other to play. They are for a time firmly clear; and at other times the participants have the flexibility to identify them. The foundations for conversations are usually started with small talk. This allows a person to continue contact without making deep commitments. Some tips for the foundation of conversations are as follows: introduce yourself in a way that allows the person the opportunity to respond to you; give him/her a way to remember your name; and personalize your greeting. Bids and the bidding process is what hold relationships together. Bids are questions, gestures, looks, touches, or a distinct look so as to say I would like to feel attached to you. Responses to a bid can either be a positive or a negative answer to the call for emotional connection. Owned messages are acknowledgements of subjectively with the use of first person singular terms (I, me, my, mine). Self-disclosure is when a person tells another person something that they wouldnt typically make known to just anyone. Social penetration is the development of escalating both disclosure and intimacy in a relationship. It is the majority of the most extensively studied process in relational development. The process of self-disclosure is divided into four sections, know as the Johari Window. The first section is the open pane, which includes information about yourself that you are willing to communicate with others, and you are unable to hide. The second section is the blind pane, which is kind of an accidental disclosure area. These are things that you dont know about yourself, but others know about you. The third section is the hidden pane, which is self-knowledge that is hidden from others. These are things you know about yourself that you dont want disclosed to others. The last section is the unknown pane, which is a nondisclosure area without any possibility of being disclosed because it is not known by you or by others. Self-disclosure is most rewarding when it leads to greater intimacy. Intimate relationships allow us to really be who we are and share who we are with another person. It should only occur in relationships that are of most importance to us. The essential elements of good relationships are: vocal skills, arousing self-expression, chatty focus, nonverbal examination, chatty support, concern and enjoyment, dedication, and adjustment. Vocal skills are having the ability to carry ongoing conversations, or dialogues with your partner about the relationship itself. Emotional Expressiveness is your ability to bid and respond to bids based on the way your brain process feelings, the way your emotions were maintained in your home, and your emotional communication skills. Conversational Focus is what you and another person agree to talk about. Nonverbal Analysis is your capability to interpret amid the lines and explore nonverbal cues of another person. Conversational Encouragement is vocalizations that reveal to someone that you are listening and interested, and prompts them to go on with talking and intricate their own ideas. Care and appreciation is a way of consistently using ways to communicate with a person whether you want a relationship with that person or whether you want to avoid that person. It is used mainly to foster a relationship. Commitment is the strong need by both parties for the relationship to go on and an eagerness by both parties to take accountability for the problems that come about in the relationship. Adaptation is the time and effort devoted to sustaining, heartening, and cultivation relationships, even the deep-rooted ones, and must be spent in both introspection and communication. It is important for you to speak, listen, agree, stay on track, and hold your relationship in an affectionate view. Another way of forming interpersonal relationships is by the internet. You can benefit from internet communiquà © because it promote vigorous contact and relations, offers stronger support systems for interpersonal relationships, allows people to be integrated into society and removes some barriers, reduces the cost of communicating with geographically distant acquaintances and strangers, increase social contacts beyond family and close friends, offers opportunities for communicating on an global altitude, and loosen the communal limitations that have traditionally protected morality and manners. Internet addiction can also be a problem. But it still affirms, reinforces, and assists in maintaining successful interpersonal associations. These are all the tools that aide in holding a relationship together. If you are not capable of adapting and adjusting your skills and behaviors, these tools are ineffective. So, it is very important to learn and develop strong communication skills so that you can be more effective in your interpersonal relationships. Communicating Effectively, Eight Edition by Saundra Hybels and Richard L. Weaver II.

Diagnosis of a Respiratory Disorder

Diagnosis of a Respiratory Disorder Introduction Respiratory disorders are the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality among children of all ages. The presentation may vary from trivial to life threatening symptoms. While a carefully conducted history and physical examination are vital for a correct diagnosis, various laboratory and radiological investigations aid in finally clinching the diagnosis. This chapter focuses on clinical assessment of the respiratory system in children. There is much overlap between the respiratory examination and that of other systems, and it is assumed that the reader has mastered basic physical examination skills. History The evaluation of a child with respiratory disorder should start with the history of present illness, significant past history, family history as well as antenatal and birth histories. The parent should be asked the chief complaint that prompted the consultation, along with the circumstances at onset, frequency, duration, and severity. History of prior treatment should be obtained. History of past illness will include all previous respiratory and other complaints. These include history of recurrent pneumonia (suggesting immunodeficiency, cystic fibrosis, anatomic abnormality, or bronchiectasis) known allergy and malnutrition. The family/ environmental history will provide information about history of contact or that suggestive of asthma in relatives, nutritional and financial status of the family, and history of exposure to allergens. Following are important clinical pointers in the history: Recurrent pneumonia: points towards immunodeficiency, cystic fibrosis, anatomic abnormality (gastroesophageal reflux), dysfunctional swallowing, or bronchiectasis. The child with a history of tracheoesophageal fistula repair is prone to tracheomalacia and gastroesophageal reflux–related disease. Atopy: eczema, atopic dermatitis, hay fever, or known allergies, may be important in the child with chronic cough or recalcitrant asthma. Failure to thrive, frequent infections, blood product transfusion, parental substance abuse, or poor growth may be a clue to an underlying immunodeficiency. History of contact with a case of tuberculosis Environmental history: exposure to dust due to construction in the house/neighbourhood, presence of pet animals or birds, exposure to smoke, either from tobacco use or use of wood for heating, cooking, or both. Associated complaints: Headache may be a sign of sinus disease or, especially if occurring in the early morning, a result of obstructive sleep apnea. Ocular symptoms such as conjunctivitis and blepharitis, as well as nasal symptoms, may indicate an atopic predisposition or in the young infant a chlamydial infection. Recurrent mouth ulcers or thrush can be associated with immunodeficiency, as may chronic or recurrent ear drainage. Poor feeding, edema, shortness of breath, and exercise tolerance can be clues to the presence of congestive heart failure. Stool characteristics, abdominal bloating, and fatty food intolerance are important features of cystic fibrosis. Neurologic symptoms such as seizures or developmental delay are important in evaluating the child with apparent life-threatening events or suspected chronic or recurrent aspiration. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION A thorough general physical examination is extremely important in the approach to a child with respiratory disorder. Recording the anthropometry is as important as are the presence of cyanosis, pallor and clubbing. Use of accessory muscles of respiration may indicate severity of respiratory distress and intercostal recession may point towards airway obstruction and a non-compliant lung. Supraclavicular and cervical lymph nodes should form part of the exanination routinely. Upper Airway An examination of the upper airway will indicate presence of nasal foreign body or infection, tonsillar enlargement, or narrowing of the glottis. The position of the trachea should be noted during examination of the neck. Deviation to one side may be seen with pneumothorax, neck mass, unilateral pulmonary agenesis or hypoplasia, or unilateral hyperinflation (as seen with foreign body or congenital cystic lung disorders). Chest Inspection Inspection forms the first component of chest examination. Presence or absence of any deformity should be noted, as should the general shape of the chest. A barrel chest (increased anteroposterior dimension) denotes obstructive lung disease. The severity of this deformity shows increased lung volumes (functional residual capacity, residual volume, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity/total lung capacity ratio, and residual volume/total lung capacity ratio) and is associated with radiographic findings of hyperinflation in children with poorly controlled asthma. Pectus carinatum (â€Å"pigeon breast†) or pectus excavatum (â€Å"funnel chest†) may be seen in patients who have chronically increased work of breathing, as in pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, or poorly controlled asthma. The respiratory rate, preferably noted with the child at rest or asleep, is a very important indicator of pulmonary illness (though fever and metabolic acidosis can have an inc reased respiratory rate in the absence of pulmonary disease). Nasal flaring to reduce nasal resistance to airflow and the use of accessory muscles of respiration such as the sternocleidomastoid muscles indicates respiratory distress as do retractions or indrawing of the skin of the neck and chest. Respiratory distress may also be seen in children with neuromuscular disorders. An objective way of assessing the degree of dyspnea is asking the child to count and noting the highest number reached in a single breath. The respiratory pattern and depth may also point towards a particular pathology. Shallow and rapid respiration is seen in children with restrictive lung disease. Similarly, rapid and deep respiration (hyperpnea), can be seen in children with hypoxia and metabolic acidosis while alkalosis results in slow, shallow breaths. Hyperpnea alternating with apnea (Biots respiration) is associated with central nervous lesions involving the respiratory centers. Cheyne-Stokes respirations seen in comatose patients is marked by gradually increasing and decreasing respirations. Likewise, the relative length of the respiratory phases (the inspiratory/expiratory ratio) is important. As the inspiratory and expiratory phases are roughly equal, a prolonged expiration may indicate obstructive diseases such as bronchiolitis, acute exacerbations of asthma, and cystic fibrosis. While some abdominal breathing, is normal up to 6 or 7 years of age, conspicuous respirations of this type in a child, however, generally reflect a pulmonary abnormality such as pneumonia, or respiratory muscle weakness. Palpation: Although more generally thought of in terms of the abdominal examination, palpation is important in the respiratory examination as well. It is used to confirm the visual observations of chest wall shape and excursion. Palpation is performed by placing the entire hand on the chest and feeling with the palm and fingertips. Friction rubs may be felt as high-frequency vibrations in synchrony with the respiratory pattern. Tactile fremitus, the transmission of vibrations associated with vocalization, is at times difficult to assess in children because of a lack of cooperation and a higher-pitched voice; lower-pitched vocalization is more effectively transmitted. It is best felt with the palmar aspects of the metacarpal and phalangeal joints on the costal interspaces. Decreased fremitus suggests airway obstruction, pleural fluid, or pleural thickening, whereas increased fremitus is associated with parenchymal consolidation. Occasionally a â€Å"thud† can be felt high in the chest or in the neck, a finding suggestive of a free tracheal foreign body. One can also assess chest excursion by placing the hands with the fingertips anterior and thumbs posterior and noting the degree of chest wall movement, comparing excursion of one side with the other by noting the movement of the thumbs away from the midline (the spinous processes). The point of maximal impulse, frequently shifted to the left in cardiac disease, may be shifted inferiorly and to the right in severe asthma, a large left-sided pleural effusion, or a tension pneumothorax. With massive left-sided atelectasis, it may be shifted to the left. Percussion: Percussion should be performed with the child upright with the head in neutral position, and using the indirect method (a single finger from one hand strikes on a finger of the other hand placed on an interspace). A gentle force should be used so as to avoid causing injury, especially in a young child). Sounds commonly elicited by percussion of the chest are as follows: Tympany : Normally heard with percussion of the abdomen, is seen in the chest with a massive pneumothorax. Resonance: This is the normal state in the chest; it is sometimes called vesicular resonance. Hyperresonance: Accentuation of the normal percussion is seen with states of hyperinflation like emphysema, asthma, or free intrapleural air. Coin test: A resonant metallic sound heard with a stethoscope when tapping a coin that is held flat against the chest with another coin; it indicates a pneumothorax. Dullness: A flat, thud-like sound, this sound is associated with pleural fluid or parenchymal consolidation. Flatness: This sound can be mimicked by percussing over muscle; its presence in the chest suggests massive pleural effusion. Auscultation: Auscultation of the chest should be performed with the age appropriate stethoscope (with chest pieces for premature infants, infants, children, and adolescents/adults). The diaphragm of the chest piece (pressed tightly against the skin) is used to filter out low-pitched sounds, thereby isolating high-pitched sound, and the bell (held lightly on the chest) is used preferentially to isolate low-pitched sounds. The upper lobes are best heard by listening anteriorly in the infraclavicular regions, the lower lobes by listening posteriorly below the scapulae, and the right middle lobe and lingula by listening anteriorly lateral to the lower third of the sternum. All lobes can be heard in the axillae. It is also important to specify the timing (continuous, early, or late), pitch (high, medium, or low), and character (fine, medium, or coarse) of sounds. These sounds can be divided into breath sounds (produced by the movement of gas through the airways), voice sounds (modifi cations of phonation not heard distinctly in the normal state), and adventitious sounds (neither breath or voice sounds). Breath Sounds Vesicular breath sounds are the sounds heard during respiration in a healthy individual. They are low-pitched, with a relatively longer inspiratory phase and a shorter expiratory phase and are louder on inspiration. These sounds emanate from the lobar and segmental airways and are then transmitted through normal parenchyma. Bronchial breath sounds are usually louder than vesicular sounds and have short inspiratory and long expiratory phases. They are higher pitched and louder during expiration. They may be the result of consolidation or compression (i.e., airlessness) of the underlying parenchyma. A similar sound can be heard by listening directly over the trachea. Bronchovesicular breath sounds, as the name implies, are intermediate between vesicular and bronchial sounds. The respiratory phases are roughly equal in length. This sound is felt to be indicative of a lesser degree of consolidation or compression (airlessness) than bronchial sounds. Bronchovesicular (and sometimes bronchial) breath sounds can occasionally be heard in normal individuals in the auscultatory triangle (the area in the back bound by the lower border of the trapezius, the latissimus dorsi, and the rhomboideus major muscles) and the right upper lobe. Wheezes are continuous musical sounds, more commonly expiratory in nature, and usually associated with short inspiratory and prolonged expiratory phases. They can be of single (monophonic) or multiple (polyphonic) pitches, which are higher pitched than vesicular sounds. These can often be very difficult to distinguish from snoring and upper airway sounds such as stridor. Stridor is a musical, monophonic, often high-pitched sound, usually thought of as inspiratory in nature; it can be expiratory as well, such as when produced by partial obstruction of a central, typically extrathoracic airway. Its presence in both inspiration and expiration suggests severe, fixed airway obstruction. Voice Sounds The normal lung parenchyma filters vocalization so that whispered sounds are not usually heard during auscultation and normally spoken syllables are indistinct. Bronchophony is the distinct transmission of spoken syllables as the result of an underlying consolidation or compression. More severe consolidation or compression results in the transmission of whispered sounds or whispered pectoriloquy. Egophony is very similar to bronchophony but has a nasal quality as well. It may reflect an underlying effusion, consolidation or compression, or both conditions. Adventitious Sounds Fine crackles are thought to be the result of the explosive reopening of alveoli that closed during the previous exhalations. These occur exclusively during inspiration and are associated with conditions such as bronchitis, pneumonia, pulmonary infarction, and atelectasis. They can also be normal when heard in the posterior lung bases during the first few breaths on awakening. They may be imitated by rolling several strands of hair between the thumb and forefinger in front of the ear or by pulling apart Velcro. Hamman’s sign, also called a mediastinal crunch, is the finding of crackles associated with systole and is suggestive of pneumomediastinum. Coarse crackles are popping sounds likely produced by the movement of thin fluids in bronchi or bronchioles. They occur early in inspiration and occasionally in expiration as well, may be audible at the mouth, and may clear or change pattern after a cough. They can sometimes be heard in the anterior lung bases during exhalation to residual volume. An example of these sounds is the crackles typically heard in patients with cystic fibrosis. Rhonchi (sometimes more descriptively called large airway sounds) are gurgling or bubbling sounds usually heard during exhalation. These sounds are the result of movement of fluid within larger airways. In individuals with pleural inflammation, a pleural friction rub may be heard. This loud, grating sound may come and go over a short period of time. It is usually associated with a subpleural parenchymal inflammatory process. OTHER SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS Clubbing: Clubbing is the broadening and thickening of the ends of the fingers and toes that occur as the result of connective tissue hypertrophy and hyperplasia and increased vascularity in the distal phalanges, in response to chronic hypoxia. It can be confirmed clinically by checking for Schamroth’s sign. Causes of clubbing are as follows: Bronchiectasis Severe pneumonia, lung abscess, or empyema Interstitial lung disease (autoimmune and infectious) Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation Hepatopulmonary syndrome Pulmonary malignancy Cyanotic congenital heart disease Bacterial endocarditis Inflammatory bowel disease Thyrotoxicosis Familial Cyanosis: The use of cyanosis as a clinical indicator of hypoxemia is confounded by a number of factors such as skin pigmentation, poor lighting, the presence of nail polish, or hypothermia. Cyanosis occurs when the concentration of reduced arterial hemoglobin exceeds 3 g/dL. Clinical impression of cyanosis should be verified by arterial blood gas analysis or pulse oximetry. Pulsus paradoxus: Pulsus paradoxus (fluctuation in systolic blood pressure with respiration) may sometimes be associated with obstructive pulmonary disease. The arterial pressure falls during inspiration and rises with exhalation. It is quantified as the difference between the systolic pressures measured during inspiration and expiration. Pulsus paradoxus is useful in evaluating children with cystic fibrosis and asthma, in which a value of more than 15 mm Hg has been found to INVESTIGATION:

The Importance of Inclusive Education in Australia Essay -- Special Ed

As a child It was constantly stated to me by my family and teachers â€Å"If everyone was the same, what a boring place the world would be† a famous quote by an unknown author about celebrating individual differences. Difference is defined by Ashman and Elkins; as varying levels of social, emotional, physical and intellectual qualities that make us all different from other people (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). In today’s world this is viewed as society’s version of normality (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). Inclusion involves the incorporation of all types of differences into a mainstream classroom (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). It is unfortunate that even in the 21st century that the policies and legislations related to inclusive education are different between all the different states and territories of Australia as well as between the public and private school systems. These current differences in policies in legislation between the states and different school structures in my opinion don’t encourage the students’ with diverse needs. As a nation Australian authorities do promote and encourage inclusion into their mainstream classrooms (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). But this promotion cannot and does not ensure that this as a policy will be accepted by all individual classroom teachers (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). As a whole teachers with bad attitudes towards inclusion impact their own views onto their pupils and onto their students general level of educational outcome (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003). As time moves forward more and more schools are becoming involved with the idea of inclusive education (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). One of the negatives or variations as seen by a school with inclusion is that if the child has high... ...ther diverse the new generations will become. Works Cited Ashman, A & Elkins, J. (2009). Education for Inclusion and Diversity (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Campbell, J., Gilmore, L., & Cuskelly, M. (2003). Changing student teachers’ attitudes towards disability and inclusion. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 28, 369-379. Carpenter, L. (2010, March 4). Developing an Inclusive Curriculum 4030EPS. Lecture presented for the Griffith Education Lectures in Inclusive Curriculum, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD. Lachlan, F., & Boyle, C. (2007). Labels and Special Education: Is the use of labels in special education helpful?. Support for Learning, 22, 36-42. Queensland Government. (2005). Inclusive Education Statement (Reference Information paper ). Queensland Government Department of Education.