Evidence based case study on hyperosomar hyperglycaemia state patient Essay

Evidence based case study on hyperosomar hyperglycaemia state patient - Essay Example Hyperosomar hyperglycaemia state is a state whereby alteration of sensation may often be present without comma, and it may consist of moderate to variable degrees of clinical ketosis. Therefore, Emergency Department nurses should be keen when assessing for diabetes because older patients may in hyperosomar hyperglycaemia condition. This paper reflects the aspects of care that were provided to a patient, Mr. B, in the Accident and Emergency department, while applying triage, A-G assessment, ECG and fluid management competencies. Triage Triage involves the separation of a patient who requires prioritized care because of the severity his or her condition. This applies most in the Emergency Departments, where doctors and nurses have to determine who gets care first. According to the English Dictionary, the term triage refers to the process of determining the most important people or things from among a large number that requires attention (Oxford University Press, 2013). In medical use, triage is the assignment of degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to decide the order of treatment of a large number of patients or casualties. Since every day, Emergency Departments have to attend to a large number of patients who suffer from a wide range of problems, it is essential to have a system that ensures that these patients are seen in order of their clinical need, rather than in order of attendance. Triage manages a patient flow safely when clinical needs exceed capacity. It involves identification of the problem, determination of the alternatives and selection of the most appropriate alternative (Manchester Triage Group, 2008, p, 7). Identification of the problem involves obtaining information from the patients, their careers and any pre-hospital care personnel. (Manchester Triage Group, 2008). The Emergency Department acts as a transfer station through which the casualties should pass, as quickly as possible, on their way to surgery, intensive care, or a ward (Nutbe am & Boylan, 2013, p, 181). In this case, the patient was triaged by an experienced emergency nurse who has undergone specialist training. In the problem identification phase, information was collected from the patient’s son who provided past history of the patient. From the history, it was established that the patient experienced sudden onsets of lethargy, strange behaviour such as waking up at three in the morning to have a shower, reduced frequency in mitcuration and reduced drinking. When the patient was examined, it was found that the patient was alert, did not exhibit limb weakness, and was quiet, which is unusual. Besides, the patient was not clammy or sweaty. The vital signs awarded an early-warning score of 1, given that a tachycardia of 112 beats per minute was exhibited. Consequently, the patient was placed into priority category three, as per the Manchester Triage System. This required the patient to see the doctor within one hour. However, the patient was seen by a doctor, four hours after triage, which is against the requirements of priority three allocations, at triage. Furthermore, due to lack of trolleys and large volume of patients in the department, the patient was allocated on majors’ chairs instead of trolley. A-G Assessment A-G assessment is essential in facilitating the diagnosis and administration of severe and chronic primary health problems that are found in adult clients, especially the aging

Controllers for Marine Engineering Systems Essay - 1

Controllers for Marine Engineering Systems - Essay Example Time was calculated with that device by regulating the water level in a vessel and ascertaining the quantum of its flow out of it. (Australian Maritime College, department of maritime time engineering lecture notes on instrumentation and process control. (http://academic.amc.edu.au/hnguyen/IPC/IPC01-06.pdf, viewed on 23rd August , 2007) Development of instrumentation and control systems were very slowly till the Second World War. It progressed and accelerated with tremendous speed after the war. Initial progress was in single loop control systems. These contain a single feedback channel and this technology was elaborated since then for acquiring multi-loop systems In recent years marine vehicles are designed in swift progression. There are unmanned underwater vehicles, surface ships and high-speed crafts with integrated bridges. These marine vehicles and their engines are controlled with the aid of computer science. But designing and producing a computer-based automatic control system were challenging in marine control engineering till recently. Several types of control are used now. They are control applications in marine and offshore systems like CAMS (Control Applications in Marine Systems) and MCMC (Maneuvering and Control of Marine Crafts), maneuvering, control and ship positioning systems, robust and reliable control systems, optimization methods in marine systems and modeling, underwater vehicles and robotics, offshore systems, traffic guidance and control systems, fault tolerant control, detection and isolation in marine systems, engine and machinery control systems, machinery surveillance, condition monitoring and quality control systems, networking and IT for marine control. (http://academic.amc.edu.au/hnguyen/IPC/IPC01-06.pdf, page 1, viewed on 23rd August 2007). The history of automatic process control reveals that the PID controller heralded all the mechanical devices used in the marine engineering. Earlier these mechanical controllers used a lever, spring and a mass. Compressed air activated the system and 2 such pneumatic controllers were treated as the industry standard. Times have changed then and likewise the techniques. Proportional Integral Derivative, abbreviated to PID controller is a generic control loop feedback mechanism. It is extensively applied in industrial control systems. This controller rectifies errors occurred between a measured process variable and a set-point by calculating and outputting corrective action which could adjust the process. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller, viewed on 23rd August, 2007). The calculation is based on three elements viz., the Proportional, the Integral and Derivative values. The first one considers the reaction to the present error, while the second regulates the reaction on the sum of recent errors and the third determines the reaction to the rate of error change. The sum of these three is taken as output to a control element. By adjusting the proportional, the integral and the derivative values, the PID can give control action for specific requirements.

Comparative Essay Between Movies and Books Essay Example for Free

Comparative Essay Between Movies and Books Essay In 2003, David Foster Wallace said â€Å"Reading requires sitting alone, by yourself, in a room†¦I have friends—intelligent friends—who don’t like to read because there’s an almost dread that comes up about having to be alone and having to be quiet†¦When you walk into most public spaces in America, it isn’t quiet anymore. † Although the collective amount of time spent by people reading has declined with our minds, moving pictures with sound continue to further embed themselves in culture. Ask a group of fifteen year olds how many books they have read in the last month, and the likely answer will be that most of them have not finished a book since a month ago. But ask the same group the last time they saw a movie, and a week previous (or less) will fail to be an uncommon answer. A question then poses itself: why is it that one source of entertainment and art is falling out of favor while another is becoming more and more common? One could ascribe the comparative quality of the two, implying that movies are superior to books. However, a more accurate, yet less popular affirmation would be that books are superior to films and that superiority is not necessarily synonymous with prevalence. To go into detail in a movie the same way as one might in a book would be painfully difficult. The resulting abomination would be torturously monotonous due to movies very nature, which panders to the short attention spans of the average person by constantly moving and embellishing ideas with pictures and music. It would also be horribly long, the length of, or longer than an audiobook. For evidence, one could look at documentaries and nonfiction books. The former are far less informative, although one may wish to believe otherwise because a documentary film takes less work to enjoy and is, to some, more pleasurable. Take two lectures, both approximately an hour and twenty minutes in length (approximately the running time of a movie) and both by two highly acclaimed authors. The first, by Thomas L. Friedman, was on his book The World is Flat, and the second, by Temple Grandin, was on her book Animals in Translation. In either lecture, one could see the speaker constantly speaking and cramming more information into their allotted time. Yet neither covered even close to what was in their books. A documentary trying to do such a thing is even more preposterous, demanding copious amounts of time for a garnish of pretty images and smooth transitions. This is the reason scholars do not publish their findings in case-study documentaries but in texts. Long, arduous texts the average person would rather die than pick up. Further evidence is in the quality of film adaptations of books. If one went to see the recent movie Life of Pi after reading the original novel by Yann Martel, a period of misanthropy and depression may not be a completely unrelated concept. The movie was one hundred twenty-seven minutes long and left out numerous important facets, such as Pi’s connection with a Suffi man in part of Pondicherry, his grade-school teacher Mr. Kumar, and the training of Richard Parker. The content of the film was not, however, wanting when compared to others movies of its length. It might take several weeks to finish the book; how could a film-maker be expected to fill all of the information in it into one hundred twenty-seven minutes, with exposition, visual stimulation, and graphic theatrics as obligations? Life of Pi is art as a book, but as a movie, is a source of mass-market entertainment. Although film’s quantitative flaws of constriction are more than surfeit to deem texts as the more valuable mediaform, ample also are its qualitative stiflings. For example, if a movie character began to speak the way Jean Genet does in his books, the production would come across as contrived and pretentious. For a moment I was no longer a hungry, ragged vagabond,† wrote Genet in The Thiefs Journal, â€Å"whom dogs and children chased away; nor was I the bold thief flouting the cops, but rather the favorite mistress who, beneath a starry sky, soothes the conqueror. † Using words like â€Å"vagabond† and â€Å"flouting† in everyday speech is incredibly uncommon, and even english teachers will tell you that using the conjunction â€Å"nor† will get one beat up. Genet, however, is widely regarded as a brilliant artist for, including but not limited to, his beauteous prose. A stark contrasts between books and movies shimmers here. The language in a movie is only of characters, who are constantly in a mode of speech too casual for grace past a certain point, while a book is free to use English (or whatever tongue it is written in) freely. The confinement of characters as one of the only modes of expression—and almost always the most utilized—is also a problem when expressing greater themes. Compare most classic cinema achievements to esteemed novels, and an underlying trend will emerge: movies repeatedly project something about humans, or the nature of man, while books are far ore diverse, sometimes delving deeply into the emotional lives of characters without the chains of lengthy exposition and making discourse seem natural, while some dwell extensively on philosophical musings such as the meaning of life and the cyclical nature of history. One of the biggest reasons books dominate movies is also one of the biggest reasons books are becoming significantly popular. That is, books effect mental wo rk. Culture as a whole has become increasingly fast paced, and the instant gratification of movies fits in with the utmost dexterity. The interactive experience one has with a book is a glorious cradle for the type of deep thought about a topic that lasts maybe thirty minutes rather than thirty seconds. To read a novel by James Joyce, one must spend a significant amount of time trying to process the underlying themes and meanings, often rereading even a small portion several times until it makes sense. Many people loathe James Joyce for the daunting density of his work. But to watch a James Cameron movie, a two hour slot of time is all that is usually given up before a person begins eulogizing or bashing the piece. When one challenges one’s brain, it becomes more powerful, like a exercising a muscle. All aforesaid is meant not to bash movies, but simply to expose how they are surpassed by books. Many people who would argue the converse position are not without reason. Some may sight â€Å"art films† like Citizen Kane and Nosferatu, arguing that despite how these are very different in nature than books, they are greater and more beneficial media. Others would assert that there are more options in film. That there are new dimensions to work in when visuals are added into the mix: lighting, filters, cinematography, etcetera. And an entire other artform is said to be a fundamental part of movies but not books: acting. What a character says on paper can be extremely affected by what the inflection and tone of the speaker is. For example, the phrase â€Å"I wanted to kick his ass† can have a huge shift in meaning when emphasis is put on â€Å"I,† â€Å"wanted,† â€Å"kick,† â€Å"his,† or â€Å"ass. † Books, falling in the numerical eye of statisticians as a great form of media, are truly better and more diverse than the silver screen. Books are far freer to paint with complex detail and long topics, while most movies re tied to a certain length, making books better beacons for information. Freer still are books in the possibilities of both subject matter and ways to express that because they are not stuck on characters so severely. With their richness comes an opportunity for the reader to exercise the brain to a greater degree, enriching all parts of their mental life. Although some people disagree, using great old films and the unique opportunities filmmaking does provide the artist with as talking points, books remain the prevailing art the face of a shrinking audience.

Lysistrata and the Peloponesian War Essay -- essays papers

Lysistrata and the Peloponesian War Many comedies of this time period explore issues that were of importance to those people. Lysistrata is no different. It explores issues relevant to the time period in which it was written. Aristophanes uses the Peloponnesian War to illustrate the differences between the men and women of the time period. As Lysistrata begins, the women are gathering for their meeting with Lysistrata. They gripe and complain about how late the others are for the meeting, while Lysistrata begins to clue them in on her plan. Once all have arrived who will be arriving, she gives them the details of her plan to stop the war. That plan being that they with hold sexual favors from their husbands or lovers until the war is over. For the most part, only one other woman, Lampito, is in agreement with her. The others cannot fathom doing such a thing. After all, they cannot go without sexual pleasures, could they? Eventually, Lysistrata and Lampito convince the others to go along with the plan. Finally, the women who did not give up and go home manage to seize the acropolis. The elders and magistrates try their best to smoke the women out, but to no avail. The women dump water on the men and stand their ground. Eventually the men of both sides had enough of being denied sexual pleasures and came together to si gn the treaty. They were reluctant at first, but they gave way to the women’s wishes and signed the treaty ending the war between Athens and Sparta. The references to the war in the text are actually quite blatant. The war is openly referred to during the course of the story. The women do what they do because they are sick of their men being gone at war. The women did not like the idea at first. They ... ...superior to the women, and that the women believe themselves to be subservient to men. The Peloponnesian War was important in Lysistrata in that it enabled Aristophanes to have a context within which to describe the attitudes and personalities of men and women of this time period. People are not always as they seem. The men of Athens and Sparta knew their women were bothers at home, but they found out that their actions at home were nothing compared to what could happen when a whole group got together and decided to accomplish something. Lysistrata show’s us all the value of working together as a team to accomplish a goal. As it was put by Magill Book Reviews, â€Å"LYSISTRATA is high comedy, as popular and timely today as it was when it was written. The humor is broad and bawdy. Like much good comedy, the play holds up to ridicule contemporary conditions and situations.†

Cultural Research Interview

This study seeks to explore the culture of Luo community in Kenya. It is not easy to study Kenya as a culture on its own due to its multi-cultural dimension. Therefore, one can only study it from the many cultures there are. It will explore Luo culture in various domains. The study will provide concrete examples to support the findings in each domain. It will also carry out a one-on-one interview with a Kenyan citizen and especially from Luo culture. The findings in the literature review will be compared with the data collected from the interview.This study also seeks to propose few recommendations and suggestions on applications to practice. Luo Culture in Kenya Kenyan as a multi-cultural nation has got forty two tribes with different cultures. Therefore, one can only explore certain aspects of Kenyan culture. This study narrows its scope to Luo Culture, whose community takes about 25% of the Kenyan Population hence being the third largest ethnic group (Ochieng, 2007). It is believe d that this community originated from the Southern part of Sudan, getting into Kenya through Northern Uganda and settled in Nyanza Province (Ochieng, 2007).It is also believed that their migration was in search of higher and cooler regions with adequate rainfalls (Isak, 1972). Today, they are popularly referred to as River-Lake Nilotes (Ochieng, 2007). This study chooses to explore on Luo culture due to its peculiar elements. In fact, it is considered to be one of those complicated cultures in Kenya especially on the issue of â€Å"wife inheritance† (Gay, 1981). When Kenya was still under British colonialism, the Luo people managed to defend their land; more so, they played a fundamental role in fighting for Kenya’s independence.It is also worth noting that this tribe produced and continues to produce a number of scholars and other educated men and women who have attained high levels of education from prominent universities all over the world (Liyong, 1972). Luo profes sionals are present in most parts of Kenyan economy; for instance, they serve in business and government ministries, educational institutions as professors, doctors, engineers and lawyers. Literature Review Communication The Luo community has got three languages.Two of the languages are widely used by all other Kenyan tribes, for instance, English and Kiswahili. English originated from the British colonial era and was declared by Kenyan government as the official language while Kiswahili is the national language (Sinaiko, 1995). The indigenous language of Luo community is referred to as â€Å"Dholuo† which is commonly used at home and in their everyday conversation (Sinaiko, 1995). In their culture, naming of children relate to where they were born, the exact time of day or the day of the week. This also includes the kind of weather at that time (Ocholla, 1980).For instance, the name Akoth (female) or Okoth (male) is given when one is born during a rainy season. In general, t he Luo culture names children on three formats, for instance, a Christian name like Peter or James then a second name like â€Å"Okoth† then a sir name like â€Å"Omondi† (Ocholla, 1980). Nutrition Luo community grows maize (corn), millet and sorghum. It also grows cash crops, for instance, tobacco, coffee, sugarcane and cotton. They also keep animals such as goats, sheep, poultry and cattle, which are later used to settle dowry prizes.Most importantly, fish in Luo culture means a lot; in fact, fishing is a major economic activity in Luo community (Parker, 1989). It is also worth noting that this community’s staple food consists of ugali (kuon) and fish. Ugali is prepared from maize meal mixed with boiled water until it becomes a thick porridge where fish becomes its preferred accompaniment. Additionally, the ugali food can be accompanied by green vegetables, meat or stew. Maize is a common food all over Kenya and most families grow it and sell it for a better i ncome (Parker, 1989).Luo culture abhors foods like rice and mixture of boiled maize and beans (Mboya, 1986). But sometimes, this mixture of boiled maize and beans which they refer to as (nyoyo) is typically consumed when the community members return from a hard day of work in the fields. The nyoyo can also be eaten with tea, porridge or stir fried vegetables (Mboya, 1986). This community likes traditional beer known as busaa which is prepared during special occasions or celebrations. Normally, they mix flour and water and leave it for sometime until it turns sour after which they heat it in a big pot.Men drink from the pot using long pipes while seated and women can join them or have their share on big mugs. They also feed on a mixture of milk and blood from slaughtered animals like cows or sheep. Family Roles and Organizations The Luo culture values family life and especially the gift of children. This culture believes that children belong to the father even in cases where both par ents separate (Mboya, 1986). In most cases, the father is left to take care of the children. The culture also expects men of great wealth to settle for many wives as a sign of social responsibility (Liyong, 1972).This notion is what has led to the issue of wife inheritance which is going to be explored later in this study. Once women get married they live in their husbands’ homesteads. Thereafter, married women are expected to build strong relationships between their family members and those of her husband. It is the women’s responsibility to nurture a warm and mutual relationship among all the in-laws. It is expected that married women will bear children for their husbands’ lineage (Southall, 1952). The more the wife bears more children the more she enhances her influence in the lineage of her husband.These children later take care of their interests. As indicated earlier, men pay the bridal dowry which allows women to maintain ties with their loved ones throug hout their lives (Southall, 1952). Polygamy is also acceptable in the Luo culture so long as traditional practices and regulations are adhered to, for instance, a special recognition of the first wife (Mboya, 1986). Normally, the husband has to separate the wives where the first wife’s house and granary are constructed behind the homestead opposite the main gate (Mboya, 1986).The rest of the wives’ houses and granaries are positioned to the right and left sides from the first wives’ premises and in the order of their marriage (Mboya, 1986). The same case applies to the sons who are given homes adjacent to the main entrance of the compound and in the order of their birth (Southall, 1952). The husband builds himself a house at the center of the compound (Southall, 1952). Luo culture believes that once the dowry has been paid in full and that the spouses have born children, divorce can no longer take place. Even if the two separate they are still considered to be m arried.In case the wife does not bear children, the husband can divorce her or replace her with another wife. The wife receives the blame in cases of infertility. Young girls are expected to help their mothers and their mothers’ co-wives in tilling the land owned by their fathers, brothers and paternal uncles (Ocholla, 1980). It does not matter whether the girl gets to school and attains good education she still has to help in tilling the land. On the other hand, boys and youthful men spend more time with livestock and engage in lots of social labor (Ocholla, 1980). Biocultural EcologyLuo community, just like many other communities in Kenya, consists of black people with strong physical structure. Malaria is considered to be a major killer in Luo culture. Moreover, kwashiorkor which derives from lack of enough proteins in the body, affects most children (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). Most families do not afford to prepare a balanced diet neither do they have knowledge abou t nutrition and health standards (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). In villages, preventive medicine is preferred and in fact most communities in the rural settings have clinics with medical workers.The medical workers try the best they can to help the communities maintain good sanitation, nutrition, prenatal care including other practices that can help reduce the risk of diseases (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). Luo culture faces great challenges from HIV/Aids pandemic which has left many children orphans. Relatives to bereaved children adopt them with the hope that the enormity of HIV crisis will come to an end (IPAR, 2004)). It is however believed that the rate of HIV infection is very high in Luo Culture.Moreover, it suffers from food shortages and records the highest rates of infant mortality in Kenya (IPAR, 2004). It does not have good facilities for clean water supply a situation that has led many residents succumb to water-borne diseases, for instance, typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery and common dysentery including diarrhea (IPAR, 2004). Most girls suffer from teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (IPAR, 2004). High-Risk Behaviors As indicated earlier, Luo culture faces great challenges from HIV infections. This has been attributed to irresponsible sexual behavior among the youths.As such, Luo culture does not value male circumcision instead they remove their young men six front teeth both from the upper jaw and the lower jaw. Unfortunately, this right of passage does not meet dental health standards since it is done manually and in a very rough way (Stein, 1985). Wife inheritance is another strange cultural practice whereby a widow is remarried by the deceased’s brother who must meet all her marital requirements, for instance, conjugal rights. According to Luo culture, adolescent period should prepare a girl for marriage and family life.In the traditional settings, girls obtain tattoos on their backs and having their ears pierce d as well. The unfortunate thing is that the materials used to carry out these practices are never sterilized (Stein, 1985). Girls come together among peer groups where they get to share their sexuality, for instance, discussing boys and their personal attributes. On the same note, older women provide sex education to the teenage girls. Lovers secretly meet near these huts although pregnancy outside marriage is strictly prohibited (Southall, 1952). Fertility and Childbearing PracticesLuo culture discourages people from noting when a woman is pregnant for they believe that it would bring problems and troubles from jealous ancestors (Mboya, 1986). Older women and wives accompany expectant mothers throughout their pregnancy and during nativity. In this community, twins are not received very well. They believe that twins originate from the evil spirits and so they treat such cases with special attention. The twins’ parents are required to assume certain taboos. In order to preven t the calamity that may befall the twins’ parents, the community members engage in obscene dancing as well as using foul language.Only in this way can the burden of giving birth to twins be lifted (Gay, 1981). As mentioned earlier, women receive much of the blame in case of infertility in marriage. This culture believes that infertility is as a result of blasphemy in the ancestral lineage of the woman. They believe that unless the spirits and ancestors intervene, the woman will never give birth (Gay, 1981). As can be seen, it can be argued and justifiably so that control of fertility is attributed to the mercy of the ancestors. In other words, Luo culture believes that fertility is given by the ancestors to the favored ones.In a more traditional setting, incest has been associated with most pregnancy complications. However, the husband including other relatives should make sure that after the woman gives birth they slaughter a goat or sheep for her where she gets to eat it at intervals. This ritual is compulsory and if one fails to honor it either the mother or the child can experience more complications even to the point of dying (Mboya, 1986). Men shouldn’t watch women giving birth unless on serious conditions. They are supposed to be far away from the scene.If a woman gives birth traditionally, she has to sit on a stone with her legs apart where other women support her to give birth. Immediately she gives birth the child is rushed in the hut for other rituals which involve cleaning the umbilical cord and cutting part of it to be buried. This is believed to be a sign of appreciation to the ancestors (Liyong, 1972). Death Rituals It is worth noting that Luo culture performs about fourteen rituals for the dead (Wakana, 1997). Table 1 in appendix A summarizes the rituals from the first step to the last.Whenever a person dies women come out with long, quivering wail which is seconded by sound of drums. Strictly, the death announcement has to take p lace either in the morning or in the evening. Luo culture prohibits death announcement during the day although this varies across persons, age, sex and occupation (Wakana, 1997). If, for instance, a child dies in the morning the announcement follows immediately but in the case of elderly men, women have to wait until sunset to start wailing (Pritchard, 1965). The bereaved family stays throughout in the compound of the deceased until the burial day.Other members of the community gather to console the family (Wakana, 1997). Digging of the grave takes place at round 9 p. m. and goes until 3 to 4 a. m. of the burial day (Millikin, 1906). One or two weeks after the burial cholla begins where several relatives to the deceased take their cattle to his compound at around seven o’clock in the morning. It is however important to note that this ritual is only performed for dead men. The men gather there, kill a cock without using a knife and share its pieces of meat.They then blow horns of buffaloes and rhinoceroses (oporro) and play drums (bul) as well. These men later attract a long procession composed of more men, women and children; it becomes longer and noisier as communities sing and play the instruments even louder (Milikin, 1906). Spirituality It is believed that Christianity has penetrated the lives of Luo community hence changing some of their traditional religious beliefs. However, a greater part of Luo culture still engages in traditional rituals (Ocholla, 1980). The new Christian movements in this community are Catholicism and Protestantism.Despite their Christian beliefs, they still belief in the intercession of their ancestors in their lives (Ocholla, 1980). Traditionally, it is believed that the ancestors reside in the sky or underground and their souls undergo transmigration either through animals or new born babies (Themes in History, 1990). In actual fact, they carry out ceremonies whenever naming of a child takes place to determine if a particu lar spirit has been reincarnated (Themes in History, 1990). Additionally, it is believed that the ancestral spirits communicate with the living in their dreams (Ocholla, 1980).Luo Culture believes that failure to remember or respect the spirits may have adverse effects in their community (Sinaiko, 1995). It is worth noting that they refer to spirits as jouk which means â€Å"shadow† and they refer to God as Nyasaye which translates as â€Å"he who is begged† and also Were which translates as â€Å"certain to grant requests† (Sinaiko, 1995). Ancestral worship plays a predominant role in their traditional religion. Ancestral spirits are believed to be actively involved in the world. This strong belief is very evident in the belief system of many Luos (Sinaiko, 1995).Health Care Practices It is unfortunate to remark that Luo culture does not have elements that can promote community health. In other words, it is not a culture that motivates the Luo people to maintai n healthy standards. Most of the beliefs and practices are geared towards appeasing the ancestors and thus forget the well being of the entire community at present. This is why this culture cannot be regarded as a past or present oriented culture because many of its emphases lay on their destiny (Isak, 1972). Even in matters regarding health, they call upon their ancestors to intervene.It is also important to note that they believe that being healthy is a favor from their forefathers and being unhealthy is a curse from the same forefathers. It becomes complicated to guide them through a causal health understanding of their diseases. Inasmuch as healthcare practitioners would want to address the why of their health issues the big challenge would be to convince them out of their traditionally held beliefs. The elders who serve as traditional doctors are revered by this community and they rely on their guidance in curing certain diseases (Southall, 1952).However, with the HIV endemic t hat has swept away many families leaving most children orphans, has led Luo culture to seek other better ways to deal with their health issues. Obviously, given that HIV/Aids has no cure they started realizing that traditional practices cannot address the problem (IPAR, 2004). Although their folklore practices do not directly address health issues, they got some moral stories that can be useful in giving care to the sick. For instance, among the commonly told story is refereed to as â€Å"Opondo’s Children† which talks of a man who gave birth to monitor lizards instead of human babies (Mboya, 1986).With time, the parents decided to throw them away due to their inhuman conditions. One day, they decided to retain one of their babies who at the age of adolescence loved to bathe in the riverside. In the process of swimming the child turned into a fully functioning human being. Passers by noticed and ran back to the village with this news which pleased the community members . The child was accepted in the community and received a lot of love and support. From this story, Luo culture believes that they have a duty towards the sick especially the physically handicapped (Mboya, 1986).Client Interview Data This section discusses some of the findings established during the interview process. The participant is a Kenyan citizen and from a Luo culture. The impressive thing in this study is that much of the ideas established in the literature review were re-affirmed during the entire interview process. However, the interviewee was assertive that Luo culture has changed tremendously and that Luo people are becoming more scientific in their thinking. Communication According to the interviewee, communication in Luo culture just requires respect and clarity.In general, young ones should not scold their parents and the same case applies to husbands in respect to their wives. However, this study leant that Luo culture prohibits pointing another person using an index finger; to them it means fate to the pointed person. He confirmed that Luo culture has become an interactive one where people can share their feelings with one another. It had been mentioned that men could not interact with women or children could not interact with their elders, today things have changed. The format for giving names is still evident where children are given names according to seasons, events or calamities.Nutrition This study learnt that Luo culture will never have other preferred staple foods apart from fish and ugali. The interviewee confirmed that this is not only a matter of culture but it is also because of the meaning of such food to their lives. He believes that Luo has many intelligent people â€Å"genius† because of feeding on fish. Moreover, they are healthy and strong because of combining fish with ugali which is actually a carbohydrate. Family Roles & Organizations The interviewee remarked as follows, â€Å"if there is anything that Luo culture has failed in, it is its perception on family†.This study learnt that modern Luo families want to treat their family matters as personal. In fact, most families have begun migrating to urban places just to experience peace and autonomy. However, the interviewee remarked that most parents still uphold cultural values meant to discipline their children. In other words, most families still hold to those traditional ways of bringing up their children. Husbands still remain the heads of their families and with the duty of educating their children. But all the same, wives are supposed to help financially especially if the spouses are both working. Workforce IssuesThe interviewee remarked that Luo culture has evolved where traditional practices have become a collective responsibility. Today, men and women can go fishing and even engage in its selling. Moreover, all genders have become professionals in different fields. High Risk Behaviours Indeed, the interviewee confirmed that Luo c ulture still engages in high risk behaviors which in the interviewee’s opinion are backward. First he sighted the â€Å"wife inheritance issue†; here he said that most women or men contract HIV Virus due to this practice. He said the following, â€Å"I still do not understand why Luo culture has to push for wife inheritance.Somebody dies of HIV/aids and the community very well knows about it, but the brother to the deceased goes ahead to have intercourse with the woman. † He also said, â€Å"This does not apply only to HIV/Aids only but it also extends to other diseases like diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and meningitis†. This study learnt that there are women who get re-married to their in-laws who have terminal illness hence affecting their health both physically and psychologically. This study also learns that Luo culture still faces serious problems with HIV/Aids due to unsafe sex among the youths and commercial sex workers where most of them are young g irls.The interviewee had this to say, â€Å"Sex is deeply entrenched in the Luo culture such that it cannot be comprehended in isolation†; he also said â€Å"females who are poor resort to sexually irresponsible behavior just to get money which is not even more than five dollars. † The interviewee also mentioned the issue of polygamous marriages where men engage sexually with many women hence contracting serious sexual transmitted diseases. This study also learnt that consumption of illicit brews and drugs and the growing establishments of entertainment houses have left many youths with poor health conditions hence dying at a very young age.As mentioned earlier, female genital mutilation and removal of teeth poses great risks. The interviewee had this to say: â€Å"these practices are very risky since they are carried out under unhygienic conditions and even the equipment used is never sterilized. This is why they keep on contracting germs and HIV virus†. Pregna ncy and Childbearing Practices The interviewee believes that causes of teenage pregnancies are as a result of ignorance on the side of the girls. According to him, most girls do not know how to go about their productive life.But, he was very happy to remark that nowadays women give birth in the hospitals and rarely will women give birth in traditional settings. There are no taboos associated with marriage in the Luo culture today, only that the husband should take very good care of the wife. He also remarked that among the most improved health practices among Luo women is care for the mother before and after birth. Apart from traditional food, anything to do with the medication of the mother and the child is as prescribed by a qualified doctor. Health Care Practices & PractitionersThe interviewee was very optimistic that in few years to come Luo culture will have the best medical practitioners ever. According to him, most Luo men and women have undertaken courses in medicine and oth er health care modules. â€Å"Today, Luo culture has evolved from a culture of traditional doctors to a culture of serious surgeons, physicians and mid-wives†. He informed this study that traditional medicine men cannot carry out any practices on complicated issues like pregnancy, eye-problems, heart failure, diabetes et cetera. They instead encourage the patient to seek professional help from a hospital.They only get involved in the treatment of minor illnesses like cold, flu, chicken pox, normal diarrhea, sore throats just to mention a few. Here, they prepare medicine from traditional herbs from different plants. Moreover, they make medicine for children using fat substances from the fish products. In fact, the interviewee remarked that Kenya’s medical sector borrowed from the Luo traditional doctors how to prepare medicine to prevent children from coughing. The medicine is popularly known as â€Å"cough syrup† which is a by product of fish in Luo culture. Res earch QuestionsThe research method selected for this proposed research study follows a qualitative approach. The qualitative method will be implemented because it follows the approach that allows for the collection and analysis of data that could not described through a quantitative approach. This approach is descriptive and inquisitive in nature, which is selected because of its relevance to the type of data collected and because of the purpose of the study. Contrary to the quantitative research method, participants from this study will be encouraged to use their personal experiences to interpret and answer interview questions.Their demographic background will also be significantly considered for the interpretation of the test answers (Leed & Omrod, 2005). Any form of quantifiable data that can be found in this study, will be analyzed according to descriptive statistics. Alise (2008) pointed out that under the qualitative research method, there is an interaction between the researc her and the participants. The following are the research questions: 1) To what extent does Luo culture hinder effective health safety measures? 2) How does Luo culture affect health care practitioners? Is there any competition between healthcare practitioners and traditional doctors?Recommendations for Research Based on the findings of this study, it further recommends that: a) There be an empirical investigation carried out in this community in order to ascertain the findings of this research b) Health agencies to study this culture more closely in order to help it improve on community health c) To explore other cultures in Kenya that might be having similar challenges Applications to Practice In order to carry out ethnographic fieldwork among Luo Community and generate information based on qualitative analysis, it would be beneficial to learn more from medical anthropologists and professors.Moreover, there should be more research from the libraries to gain more insight on Luo cult ure and to familiarize more on the best methods to gather and record information. Medical volunteers are traveling to work with the Luo community to cooperate with the traditional healers and record their conversations about herbs. They should make sure there is an interpreter available. The team can take pictures and identify herb clippings for their easier recognition. The volunteers can carry out prior research to compare with the current clinical use of the herbs and their dosages.Summary/Conclusion This study has established that Luo culture has got three languages namely: English, Kiswahili and Dholuo. However, Dholuo is commonly used. Luo culture gives names according to seasons, events, calamities or time. Luo are mixed farmers since they grow crops and keep animals at the same time. Luo culture values ugali and fish which serve as their staple food. Marriage is regarded in high esteem and especially when children come by. Children remain with the father even in cases of sep aration or divorce for that matter. Luo community constitutes of black people.Among the most common diseases affecting this community are malaria, malnutrition, kwashiorkor, typhoid, amoeba and HIV/Aids. The high risk behaviors include removal of teeth, tattoos, genital mutilation and other rights of passage that use non-sterilized equipment. Luo culture has got fourteen death rituals although their applications vary from age, sex, or occupation of the deceased. Moreover, this culture does not promote community health per se. Traditional doctors have an influential role although they recognize the role of professional medical practitioners.The folklore activities provide wonderful moral stories that encourage the community to take care of the sick and especially the physically handicapped. The client interview data strongly brings out Luo community as a changing culture, and in deed, for the better. However, the high risk behaviors still pose a great challenge to the health well bei ng of its members. References Alise, M. (2008). Disciplinary differences in preferred research methods: A comparison of groups in the Biglan Classification Scheme. Retrieved from North Central University website: http://learners. ncu. edu/library/ncu_diss/default.aspx. Pritchard, E. E. 1965 (1949). Luo tribes and clans. In (E. E. Evans-Pritchard, ed. ) The Position of Women in Primitive Societies and Other Essays in Social Anthropology, pp. 205-227. Faber and Faber Ltd. , London. Gay, D. (1981). Modern Kenya. New York: Longman Isak, D. (1972) Out of Africa. New York: Random House Institute of Policy Analysis & Research (IPAR), (2004). HIV/Aids Scourge in Nyanza Province: Poverty, Culture and Behavior Change. Journal of African Medical Care, Vol. 10, Issue 11. Kenya in Pictures, (1988). Minneapolis, Minn. : Lerner Publications Co. Leed, P. D. and Ormrod, J. E. (2005).Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Liyong, T. (1972). Popular Culture of East Africa. London Mboya, P. (1986) (unpublished). Luo Customs and Beliefs. , translated by Jane Achieng (1938, Luo Kitgi gi Timbegi). Millikin, A. S. (1906). Burial customs of the Wa-Kavirondo of the Kisumu Province. Man, 6 (35): 54-55. Ocholla-Ayayo, A. B. C. (1980). The Luo Culture: A Reconstruction of a Traditional African Society Ochieng, E. (2009). History of Luo Culture. Journal of Kenya’s Heritage, vol. 2 (22-45) Parker, S. (1989). Bitter Money: Cultural Economy and Some African Meanings ofForbidden Commodities. American Ethnological Society Monograph Series, no. 1. Washington, D. C Sinaiko, L. (1995). Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students. Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Stein, R. (1985). Kenya. Chicago: Children's Press Southall, A. (1952). Lineage Formation among the Luo. Memorandum of International African Institute, No. 26. Oxford University Press, London. Themes in Kenyan History (1990). Athens: Ohio University Press Wakana SHIINO, (1997). Death Rituals in Luo N yanza. Journal of Africa Study Monographs, 18 (3, 4) 213-228, Department of Social Anthropology, Tokyo Metropolitan University,

Capital Punishment in the US - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 837 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/03/11 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Capital Punishment Essay Did you like this example? Introduction Capital punishment is being put to death by lethal injection for commiting a capital crime. They use to have methods such as hanging (Abolished in 1996), firing squad (Abolished in 2010), electrocution (Abolished in 2013), but they did away with those and went with lethal injection since the person receiving it does not have a chance of being tortured while being executed. There are six states that still use the gas chamber as a method if the injection cannot be given, those states are, Arizona, California, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri and Wyoming. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Capital Punishment in the US" essay for you Create order A capital crime can be different things such as treason or espionage, but the most common capital crimes is premeditated first degree murder. Capital punishment is a controversial topic throughout the United States. Some people like the death penalty, some do not. I personally am for capital punishment being used for capital crimes. Capital punishment is a controversial topic in the United States, it is legal in 31 different states across the United States, for example a few of them are, Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Texas. The death penalty is illegal in 19 different states across the United States, some of those states are, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Michigan and New Jersey. It is easy to see that the majority of the country are for the death penalty. The death penalty is a good thing to have because anyone that can commit such horrible crimes, like capital punishment, and not have any remorse for what they have done, do not deserve to get off easy by just spending the remainder of their life in jail. Saying that a murderer getting off easy by spending the rest of his life in prison may sound odd to some people, but they took the life of an innocent person and they get to have a life, even if it is in jail, they are granted to still walk the Earth? Any decision that a pe rson makes throughout the course of a day could have a possibility of leading them to death, and death is the most feared thing in the world. Having even just the potential threat of the death penalty could possibly help bring a decrease in the number of capital crimes that occur. And in my opinion, our society today is so big on trying to prevent murder, then the death penalty is the more suitable punishment to give someone who commited the capital crime. How can you help bring down crime rates, if there is nothing to give a person who plans to murder a reason to maybe not go off and kill someone? This could even be represented as a more modern â€Å"An eye for an eye† (A life for a life) way of looking at the topic of capital punishment because the person who commited the crime would be paying a price that matches up to the harm he brought into the life of the victim and the lives for those around the victim. Families of victims would probably feel a lot better even after the tragedy because justice was served to a person that destroyed the order and peace in their lives. Another reason to be for the death penalty is to free up space in the jails and lessen the costs that it takes to keep prisoners in the jail. Some prisoners spend an average of 15 years or more on death row waiting for execution, some over the age of 50. The cost to keep a prisoner on death row from the beginning of the case to execution is 1.26 million. That is a lot of money and time for a prisoner to be kept in a cell. In the United States, there are over 2.3 million prisoners in cells right now which is causing the facilities to become overcrowded. Conclusion If the amount of time on death row was lower for the inmates that commit capital crimes, it would bring the amount of prisoners down and not have the jails overcrowded. What most people do not see is that when prisons and jails are overcrowded, it is hard for the people who are working there to maintain order and control, especially if they are undermanned. Some states such as Louisiana and Delaware have a very hard time keeping officers on the job because of the large amount of time spent at the prison and how little they get paid drive them away. A man named Gefforey Klopp said that at Vaughn Correctional Facility, they would lose 57% of their hires within 3 years which does not help bring any effectiveness to the place due to the high turnover rate. It is already hard enough to control prisoners with a solid team of officers let alone not being able to make any effective progress when employees constantly come and go. Having the death penalty and freeing up space in our jails coul d help being back control into overcrowded facilities that have a hard time maintaining control of the inmates they have to spend pretty much everyday with.

Analysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay

ntroduction: James Baldwin, author of Sonny s Blues, once said, I grew up with music...much more than with any other language. In a way, the music I grew up with saved my life (Session 3 Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin, 2015). Blues becomes Sonny s drug and his addiction to it his salvation. Even though the adults refrain from lamenting their sufferings directly to the children and telling them about the darkness, the child-narrator still intimates its marks in their faces and responds with fear.These haunting marks of darkness hail the child into the black community at a pre-cognitive, affective level that precedes the child’s grasp of this darkness in its narrative form: he feels the inevitable suffering before he knows what it is. At a distinct moment in the flashback, the child-narrator internalizes the darkness (Claborn, p92 2010). These words are dark, but as you will see soon, so is the world of Sonny s chosen art form of music. Symbolic ice that began the story and from the very beginning music plays a important role in the story often defining the characters or their personalities, as well as the culture of Harlem itself. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is the story of a young man who decides early on that he wants to be a musician. Sonny s brother does not want him to be a musician, but Sonny persists and he is influenced by the jazz musicians of that time, including greats like: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie who each had their own distinctShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 916 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin’s story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† tells the tale of two African-American brothers trying to survive in 1950s America. Both struggle with darkness in their lives, from drugs to bottling up emotions. The following sources were found Literature Research Center’s website. Each of the four sources will be evaluated for the quality of their in formation, as well as their usefulness on the topic of darkness in â€Å" â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. Flibbert, Joseph. Sonny s Blues: Overview. Reference Guide to ShortRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 933 Words   |  4 Pagesstory. Blues is a genre of music that is often used to express a sad mood. The contradictory lives of the two brothers contribute to the theme of being safe and take risks. In this story, James Baldwin writes about two brothers who were raised together. As time passed, they separated from one another and lived completely different lives. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin addresses the themes of finding comfort in music, dangers of addiction and the suffering of two brothers. First, Baldwin uses theRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1578 Words   |  7 PagesJames Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† was a great tale of the struggles shared between two brothers in Harlem in 1957. This story is about two African American brothers who, unfortunately, grew apart as the aged. The plot shows the struggles the two brothers faced as they grew up in Harlem, and in return, the two drastically different paths they perused. James Baldwin was an African American who grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s. Baldwin was the oldest of nine children, and grew upRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesSeveral dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Har lem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. We follow the narrator and his brother Sonny as they traverse the complexities of their individual and interconnected Harlem livesRead MoreAnalysis Of Sonny s Blue By James Baldwin Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin is a story about two brothers who grew up in poverty. One brother went on to become a teacher, while the other pursued his dreams to become a musician and finds himself in prison due to drug use. The story begins with the narrator finding out about Sonny’s arrest. It’s easy to see his shock and almost disbelief. It takes the narrator a while to write to Sonny, but eventually he does, and they regain communication with one another after over a year of silence. Sonny is releasedRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1366 Words   |  6 Pagesand dark ultimately guides Sonny and the narrator in their journey to overcome their internal struggles. In the short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses darkness and light to show struggles and, transformation as both brothers teeter between the different shades of the blues, using music as a way to bring them both to redemption. Often times, when light is used in stories, readers can very easily relate the idea to happiness and following the right path. Baldwin uses light to illustrate whatRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Sonny s Blue `` By James Baldwin1474 Words   |  6 Pages Music can be the lead to freedom from darkness. The story â€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin takes pl aces in Harlem around the 1950’s. The story is about two brothers. One of the brothers is the narrator of the story whose name is unknown. The narrator tells the story of the struggles in Harlem but mainly the struggles of his brother with drugs, and his passion for jazz music. Through out the story the narrator avoids giving a sense of his own struggles with himself. However, in the end the readerRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny Blues 1753 Words   |  8 Pagesiniquity, gloom, or without light. In the short novel Sonny Blues by James Baldwin, the word â€Å"darkness† appeared frequently throughout the reading. I think the significance of darkness of this particular situation of this book that Baldwin is trying to present is fear and suffering. It shows how the characters are in the state of panic and fear, of the situation they are in and all the sufferings they have to go through. Connecting the Baldwin to the novel, Harlem; where the story takes place isRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1292 Words   |  6 Pages James Baldwin was raised in poverty in Harlem where, at the age of fourteen, he became a preacher in the Fireside Pentecostal Church. After high school he decided to become a writer and with the help of the black American expatriate writer Richard Wright, won a grant that enabled him to move to Paris, where he lived most of his remaining years. He wrote a variety of novels mostly about the intellectual trials of black men in a white, racist society and homosexual themes. James Baldwin wrote â€Å"Sonny’s