Columbine High School Essay Example for Free

Columbine High School Essay You are a sociologist who is interested in studying school violence. Describe how you might approach the study of this phenomenon as a functionalist, a conflict theorist and a symbolic interaction’. â€Å"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.† Martin Luther King Jr. The problem we are facing today with violence in the schools is a major concern with communities everywhere. School violence has escalated from one-on-one weaponless fights for personal disagreements with said person; this is no longer the case. Due to the outward influences of media, video games, and society in general, this has escalated into all-out, deadly weapon assaults on innocent lives for reasons they themselves are usually unaware for example Columbine High School massacre and Montreal, Canada shooting. Sociologist; however have developed different approaches to evaluate the phenomenon through different perspective; functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic integrationist, which would be aptly discussed in the proceeding paragraphs. Functionalist look at the implications of crime and control polices rather than directly trying to explain the causes of the behavior. According to Parson Model a social system consist of mutually dependant parts, parts contributing to functioning of system and moving equilibrium. However pertaining to the issue of school violence, I would, following the functionalist perspective look at school violence as way to return to stability within a society thus keeping proper balance . Therefore I would view it as a positive, because the disturbance (school violence) exists more dangerously it encourages the society to come up with better solutions to elevate the problem so it encourages progress. For examples the Columbine Massac with occurred lead to new ideas to combat school violence .A number of new programs were introduced, emphasis was placed on better parenting skills, keeping guns out of hands of kids ,better school security, more counseling programs and bett3er preventative measure, etc. When these methods were implemented no action to that extreme occurred within that society so their fore the youth violence was reduced and the society moved and the society in return became a better place and progress was made. Conflict perspective holds that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful in society, with inequality  perpetuated because it benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. As it results to school violence using the conflict theorist approach, I would say the violence will only exist at level of exploitation and unworthy or treated unfairly compared to other children they felt a level of inequality and they reacted in a way to gain power over the people who inflicted pain upon them. For example let’s take the Columbine shooting, according to the conflict theorist perspective say that the shootings were inevitable as the exploited, bullied kids eventually had enough and rose up against the bourgeoisie, or the kids that did the bullying. Eric Harris one of the boys who participated the shooting opened his journal with the words I hate the fing world. Showing high levels of hatred to which he portrayed, he wanted to get back at every one who did him wrong. After analyzing the two individual’s journals it was clear cut that they both had problem with society and somehow they did them something which infiltrated this hate for them. So we can see the reason for them to perform these atrocious acts were to gain a sense of dominances in their mind over these people. When doing the act we see the boys smiling while people were being hurting showing a sign of relief in their face and sense of happiness to them that they revenge to the world for inflicting so much of pain upon them. Analyzing them for a conflict theorist point of view I would say the reason for the boys committing suicide after was to get away from everything they already accomplished the goal they wanted so they decided to end their life what more is there to live for when victory was served? Symbolic integrationist view relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. Symbolic interaction view school violence as

Gamification of the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Gamification of the Workplace Essay The paper examines a new trend in workplace design called â€Å"gamification†. Gamification is defined as using concepts derived from video games and applying them in businesses to enhance motivation, raise productivity and lower turnover. The areas of effect discussed are motivation, cooperation, productivity and employee happiness. The text looks at which characteristics of video games make them so engaging and translates them into examples from the workplace. It presents real examples of companies that have implemented similar techniques. Gamification in the Workplace: A New Way to Think About Work Georgi Ivanov American University in Bulgaria The workforce of today is composed of young, talented and creative people, who despite their potential are less loyal and are always on the lookout for the job that better suits their qualification. As managers continue to search for ways to attract, motivate and keep them they ask themselves what makes this generation different from the previous. One of the things that separate us from other generations of workforce, video game addiction, has become increasingly relevant in the last decade. The college graduates that enter the labor market have played them since kids and consider them a hobby. The older generations learn about them as because of the app store which is a platform for easily accessible casual games. There is something in video games that makes people play them and create them and that something has made the video game industry the fastest growing entertainment industry today. With millions of people playing video games and investingmoney in their hobby, many companies implement video game concepts in an effort to make work more engaging, raise productivity and motivation and lower turnover. The process is known as â€Å"gamification†. To understand why managers would look to video and computer games of all things to improve the work life of their employees we have to understand what makes a video game so appealing to the modern employee and what part of that appeal is relevant to their productivity and satisfaction on their job. We know that some games have bigger audiences than prime time television shows, which means that these people prefer to do something, to be involved, than just sitting there and taking it in. In his book The Game of Work: How to Enjoy Work As Much As Play (1984) Charles Conrad leans on the fact that people will often work harder or even pay money to improve their performance outside of work. He outlines five principles that would transfer part of this to the business environment and empower employees – better scorekeeping, clearly defined goals, frequent feedback, better scorekeeping and consistent coaching. When the book was issued video games were not the object of the author’s discussion, however the concepts are present in today’s most popular video games. It is common have a score number in a corner of the screen showing how you are doing and every action you take changes that score. Taking this one step further is a ladder system that shows your score in comparison to other people’s score. With the popularity of video games today it is evident that people are respond very well to such a system. Through extension, if people are willing to devote so much time and energy into improving their game scores so they can climb the ladder and win intangible rewards, then, if they knew where they stood among their colleagues, they would be more motivated to do better. In her WSJ article Latest Game Theory: Mixing work and play (2011), Rachel Silverman gives a couple of examples of successful â€Å"gamification† of tasks. Live Ops Inc. runs a virtual call center. Th e company awards employees with virtual badges and points for keeping calls short and closing sales with leader boards that allow agents to compare their achievements. According to the vice president, since the system was implemented call time was reduced by 15% in some employees and sales have gone up by between 8% and 12%. I saw this in myself when I worked as a sales representative. When I joined the company it was evident who the top sales people were. Everybody’s numbers were available every day for everyone to see. From the first day that I saw that I imagined my name on the firs position of the day end report on the cash register screen just like I did on my computer screen while playing a favorite game of mine. It helped. I was always eager to keep track of my sales and strive to improve and my boss nurtured that friendly competitive atmosphere in which I thrived. This helped me in the beginning a lot because I did not feel intimidated by the more experienced members’ numbers. One of the most popular types of games today is the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG). The model is basically putting millions of players from all over the world in one universe and to let them progress in this world by developing their skills and handling challenges alone or in teams of other players who have diverse skill sets for different situations. There are player rankings and guild rankings. To climb up the ladder, players need to accomplish tasks or â€Å"quests† and apart from the regular points, they get badges, if they complete the quest not in an efficient or creative manner. As you play your character increases in strength by gaining levels. Each level requires more effort to achieve than the previous and the conditions that have to be met to advance are set in stone and they never change. You know ahead of time what you need in order to progress. Every task you’ve made has an effect on the completion and your progress is clearly visible. If we take this concept to the business world, we’d have a clear employee ranking system and a company ranking system. Each employee will aim for the top places on the scoreboard, but keeping in mind that success is only possible with cooperation. This would motivate employees not only to do their best but also to be more accommodating to newcomers because they know that the better the people in your team/ department are doing, the better they would do. We do have a leveling system in the workplace – raises and promotions – but the conditions are not always as clear. If employees do not know what the requirements are and they have no guarantees that they would reach that threshold why should they work harder? Vendor invoice transactions are a tedious task, but now, with the new reward system, employees can earn points and raise their status among other SAP teams. At the end of the month, a dollar amount is awarded to a charity of the winning team’s choice. This is all done through an upgraded version of their clerk software. It adds extrinsic value to the work, makes employees contribute to a cause they can relate to. We play games because they are fun. Play is not the opposite of work as entrepreneur Steve Keil tells us in his speech â€Å"A Manifesto for play†. It is also supported by Byron Reeves, a communications professor at Stanford University and author of the book Total Engagement (2009), who says that â€Å"The idea that work is work and play is play and never shall the two meet is melting quite a bit†. Games are fun which makes them engaging and we want our employees to be engaged in their work. One of the ways we can do that is by taking down factors that restrain and choke the individual. Once our goals are clearly defined and a scoring and reward system is set up as a frame, why do we need to keep restrictions in the workplace? Changes like making workday more flexible and eradicating fear by establishing an atmosphere of trust and cooperation instead of an authority. Like the millions of gamers around the world we want our employees to feel good when they come to work because that is going to translate into better quality of work, customer service and engagement. In a MMO there is always a comfortable social network system. No matter what they are doing, a level 1 player can contact level 60 players and ask questions. There is a strong sense of community and presence, because it is easy to form contacts. When there is a task that requires 5, 10 or 20 people, the task is divided into smaller tasks and everyone’s progress in visible from start to finish. That accessibility and transparency is not always available in businesses but they would go a long way to improving communication. In his book, Byron Reeves takes this one step further saying that some people will soon do their jobs inside a game. He draws a scenario where a woman would sit on her home computer and log on to a virtual world, in which she is represented by an avatar which she herself customized with badges and clothing, earned as rewards for completed tasks. Then she would take a look at her team’s progress by meeting their avatars. This is gamification in the modern business. When implementing the strategies from above, however there are a couple of things to be mindful of. First of all, managers have to make sure that the atmosphere of friendly competition does not go out of hand. With regard to the company’s mission statement, they have to recognize at what point employees stop working for the company and start working for themselves. The goals to reach thresholds have to be balanced. A task is engaging when it is challenging, yet accomplishable with the skill set that the employee possesses. Some business may not be well suited for gamification concepts. The data on employees will make promotions and layoffs more fair and transparent but it may also undermine the importance of a manager. Certainly the concept of gamification is still young, the interest that companies show towards implementing them points to a new trend. In her article, Silverman quotes the tech industry research firm saying that â€Å"by 1214, some 70% of large companies will use the techniques for at least one business process†. What was until recent years though to be a massive waste of time now changes the way we think about our jobs. Works Cited Rachel Silverman (October 10, 2011) Latest Game Theory: Mixing Work and Play; Retrieved from online.wsj.com Charles Coonradt (September 1, 1984) How to Enjoy Work As Much As Play; Steve Keil (January 2011) â€Å"A Manifesto of Play†; Retrieved from tedxbg.com Byron Reeves (November 2, 2009) Total engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete

The Concept Of Medicalization: Shifting Ideas

The Concept Of Medicalization: Shifting Ideas Medicalization is term for the erroneous tendency by society-often perpetuated by health professionals to view effects of socioeconomic disadvantage as purely medical issues. It is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions and problems, and thus come under the authority of doctors and other health professionals to study, diagnose, prevent or treat. The process of medicalization can be driven by new evidence or theories about conditions, or by developments in social attitudes or economic considerations, or by the development of new purported treatments. Medicalization is often claimed to bring benefits, but also costs, which may not always be clear. Medicalization is studied in terms of the role and power of professions, patients and corporations, and also for its implications for ordinary people whose self-identity and life-decisions may depend on the prevailing concepts of health and illness. Once a condition is classed a s medical, a medical tends to be used rather than a social model. Medicalization may also be termed pathologization (from pathology), or in some cases disease mongering. The term medicalization entered academic and medical publications in the 1970s, for example in the works of figures such as Peter Conrad and Thomas Szasz. They argued that the expansion of medical authority into domains of everyday existence was promoted by doctors and was a force of social control that was to be rejected in the name of liberation. This critique was embodied in now-classic works such as Conrads The discovery of hyperkinesis: notes on medicalization of deviance, published in 1973 (hyperkinesis was the term then used to describe what we might now call ADHD). Medicalization explains a situation which had been previously explained in a moral, religious or social terms now become defined as the subject of medical and scientific knowledge. Many years ago for example some children were deemed and regarded as problematic, misbehaving and unruly. Some adults were shy and men who were balding just wore hats to hide it. And that was that. Nevertheless, nowadays all these descriptions could and possibly would be attributed to a type of illness or disease and be given a diagnosis or medicine to treat it in some cases. Medicalization explains this. Likewise, medicalization has been applied to a whole variety of problems that have come to be defined as medial, ranging from childbirth and the menopause through to alcoholism and homosexuality (Gabe et al. 2006: 59). Furthermore, the term explains the process in where particular characteristics of every day life become medically explained, thus come under the authority of doctors and other health professionals to study, diagnose, prevent and or treat the problem. Originally, the concept of medicalisation was strongly associated with medical dominance, involving the extension of medicines jurisdiction over erstwhile normal life events and experiences. More recently, however, this view of a docile lay populace, in thrall to expansionist medicine, has been challenged. Thus, as we enter a post-modern era, with increased concerns over risk and a decline in the trust of expert authority, many sociologists argue that the modern day consumer of healthcare plays an active role in bringing about or resisting medicalisation. Such participation, however, can be problematic as healthcare consumers become increasingly aware of the risks and uncertainty surrounding many medical choices. The emergence of the modern day consumer not only raises questions about the notion of medicalisation as a uni-dimensional concept, but also requires consideration of the specific social contexts in which medicalisation occurs. In this paper, we describe how the concept of m edicalisation is presented in the literature, outlining different accounts of agency that shape the process. We suggest that some earlier accounts of medicalisation over-emphasized the medical professions imperialistic tendencies and often underplayed the benefits of medicine. With consideration of the social context in which medicalisation, or its converse, arises, we argue that medicalisation is a much more complex, ambiguous, and contested process than the medicalisation thesis of the 1970s implied. In particular, as we enter a post-modern era, conceptualizing medicalisation as a uni-dimensional, uniform process or as the result of medical dominance alone is clearly insufficient. Indeed, if, as Conrad and Schneider (1992) suggested, medicalisation was linked to the rise of rationalism and science (ie to modernity), and if we are experiencing the passing of modernity, we might expect to see a decrease in medicalisation. The idea of medicalization is perhaps related only indirectly to social constructionanism, in that it does not question the basis of medical knowledge as such, but challenges its application. Nettleton continues and states that is draws attention to the fact that medicine operates as a powerful institution of social control (Nettleton 2006: 25). It does this by claiming expertise in areas in life which previously were not regarded as medical problems or matters. This includes such life stages such as ageing, childbirth, alcohol consumption and childhood behaviour moreover, the availability of new pharmacological treatments and genetic testing intensifies these processesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ thus it constructs, or redefines, aspects of normal life as medical problems. (Conrad and Schneider 1990 as cited in Nettleton 2006: 25). Medicalization can occur on three different and particular levels according to Conrad and Schneider (1980). The first was explained as conceptually when a medical vocabulary is used to define a problem. In some instances, doctors do not have to be involved and an example if this is AA. The second was the institutional level, institutionally, when organizations adopt a medical approach to treating a problem in which they specialise and the third was at the level of doctor patient interaction when a problem is defined as a medical and medical treatment occurs (as cited in Gabe et al 2004:59). These examples all involve doctors and their treatments directly, not including alcoholism which has other figures to help people such as the AA. The third level was the interactional level and this was where the problem, social problem, becomes defined as medical and medicalization occurs as part of a doctor-patient interaction. Medicalization shows the shifting ideas about health and illness. Health and illness does not only include such things as influenza or the cold, but deviant behaviours. Deviant behaviours which were once merely described as criminal, immoral or naughty before have now been labelled with medical meanings. Conrad and Schneider five-staged sequential process of medicalizing deviant behaviour. Stage one involves the behaviour itself as being deviant. Chronic drunkenness was regarded merely as highly undesirable, before it was medically labelled as chronic drunkenness. The second stage occurs when the medical conception of a deviant behaviour is announced in a professional medical journey according to Conrad and Schneider. A prominent thinker in the idea of medicalization was Ivan Illich, who studied it profusely and was very influential, in fact being one of the earliest philosophers to use the term medicalization. Illichs appraisal of professional medicine and particularly his use of the term medicalization lead him to become very influential within the discipline and is quoted to have said that Modern medicine is a negation of health. It isnt organized to serve human health, but only itself, as an institution. It makes more people sick than it heals. Illich attributed medicalization to the increasing professionalization and bureaucratization of medical institutions associated with industrialization (Gabe et al 2004: 61). He supposed that due to the development of modern medicine, it created a reliance on medicine and doctors thus taking away peoples ability to look after themselves and engage in self care. In his book Limits to medicine: Medical nemesis (1975) Illich disputed that the medical profession in point of fact harms people in a process known as iatrogenesis. This can be elucidated as when there is an increase in illness and social problems as a direct result of medical intervention. Illich saw this occurring on three levels. The first was the clinical iatrogenesis. These involved serious side-effects which were are often worse than the original condition. The negative effects of the clinical intervention outweighed the positive and it also conveyed the dangers of modern medicine. There were negative side effects of medicine and drugs, which included poisoning people. In addition, infections which could be caught in the hospital such as MRSA and errors caused my medical negligence. The second level was the social iatrogenesis whereby the general public is made submissive and reliant on the medical profession to help them cope with their life in society. Furthermore all suffering is hospitalised and medicine undermines health indirectly because of its impact on social organisation of society. In the process people cease to give birth, for example, be sick or die at home And the third level is cultural iatrogenesis, which can also be referred to as the structural. This is where life processes such as aging and dying become medicalized which in the process creates a society which is not able to deal with natural life process thus becoming a culture of dependence. Moreover, people are dispossessed of their ability to cope with pain or bereavement for example as people rely on medicine and professionals. (Illick 1975) Sociologists such as Ehrenreich and English had argued that womens bodies were being medicalized. Menstruation and pregnancy had come to be seen as medical problems requiring interventions such as hysterectomies. Nettleton furthered this notion and discussed this in relation to childbirth. The Medicalization of childbirth is as a result of professional dominance. She stated that the control of pregnancy and childbirth has been taken over by a predominantly male medical profession. Medicine can thus be regarded as patriarchal and exercising an undue social control over womens lives. From conception to the birth of the baby, the women are closely monitored thus medical monitoring and intervention in pregnancy childbirth are now routine processes. Childbirth is classified as a medical problem therefore it becomes conceptualized in terms of clinical safety, and women are encouraged to have their babies in hospitals. This consequently results in women being dependent on medical care. Nevertheless recent studies and evidence have shown that it may actually be safer to have babies at home because there would have been less susceptible to infection and technocological interference (Oakley 1884, as cited in Nettleton 2006: 26) Medicalization combines phenomenological and Marxist approaches of health and illnessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in that it considers definitions of illness to be products of social interactions or negotiations which are inherently unequal (Nettleton 2006: 26). Marxism discussed medicalization and linked it with oppression, arguing that medicine can disguise the underlying causes of disease which include poverty and social inequality. In the process they see health as an individual problem, rather than a societys problem. Medicalization is studied in terms of the role and power of professions, patients and corporations, and also for its implications for ordinary people whose self-identity and life-decisions may depend on the prevailing concepts of health and illness. Once a condition is classed as medical, a medical model of disability tends to be used rather than a social model. It constructs, or redefines, aspects of normal life as medical problems (Nettleton 2006: 26). Medicalization has been referred to as the processes by which social phenomena come to be perceived and treated as illnesses. It is the process in by issues and experiences that have previously been accounted for in religious, moral, or social contexts then become defined as the subject of scientific medical knowledge. The idea itself questions the belief that physical conditions themselves constitute an illness. It argues that the classification and identification of diseases is socially constructed and. It has been suggested that medicine is seen as being instilled with subjective assumptions of the society in which it developed. Moreover, it argues that the classification and identification of diseases is socially constructed and, along with the rest of science, is far from achieving the ideals of objectivity and neutrality. The medical thesis has much to recommendà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦including the creation of new understanding of the social processes involved in the development and response to medical diagnosis and treatment To understand the level of social power that the medical community exercises through medicalization, Conrad explains that physicians have medicalized social deviance. They accomplish this by claiming the medical basis of matters such as hyperactivity, madness, alcoholism and compulsive gambling [Conrad, p 107]. By medicalizing social matters, medical professionals have the power to legitimize negative social behavior, such as the case of suspected killers in judicial courts who claim temporary insanity and are, therefore, exonerated on medical basis [Conrad, p 111]. In extending this concept, the Endocrine Society may have medicalized social deviance in men who reduce their work motivation or become characteristically unpleasant because they are experiencing andropause. In effect, despondency in older men might become an indicator of male menopause rather than a possible indicator of social deviance. Physicians also play a direct and significant role in the medicalization of social experiences. In analyzing the doctor-patient interaction of medicalization, Kaw argues that medical professionals have medicalized racial features by encouraging cosmetic surgery among Asian American women, for example, in order to avoid the stereotypical physical features of small and slanty eyes that are often associated with passivity, dullness and lack of sociability [Kaw, p 75]. Kaw asserts that plastic surgeons use medical terms to problematize the shape of their eyes so as to define it as a medical condition [Kaw, p 81]. Their use of technical terms and expressions should be questioned, especially since the power of such language influences Asian American women to pursue cosmetic surgery, when it is not necessary [Kaw, p 82]. Analogously, the Endocrine Society medicalized testosterone deficiency by defining it as Andropause; this helped perpetuate the notion, among older individuals, that if the y lack sexual drive or sense depression and fatigue, they should seek medical attention because they are experiencing an acute medical condition rather than a stage in the physiological cycle. The role played by the health care structures in medicalizing conditions is enhanced by that of the pharmaceutical industry. In order to achieve implementation of a drug in the market, the medicalization of a problem is critical [Conrad, p 111]. Once a medical definition for male menopause was established, the pharmaceutical company further medicalized the problem by launching strong advertisement campaigns aimed at older men and physicians alike, so as to popularize the drug among the general public and medical community [Groopman, 2002]. In a Time magazine advertisement, the industry appealed to the emotions of older men by linking low sex drive to the decline of testosterone levels rather than to a life process [Groopman 2002]. In this manner, the pharmaceutical industries profit based ideology facilitates the medicalization of testosterone deficiency by popularizing conditions that may be exceedingly common among health product consumers. Medicalization also changes patients ideologies of biomedicine and leads them to believe that biomedicine must not only offer cure for illnesses, but also offer life enhancements. Similar to the way that impotence and hair loss was medicalized by promoting drugs like Viagra to enhance sexual performance, and solutions like Rogaine for hair re-growth, male menopause has been medicalized because it causes low sex drive among other general symptoms [Groopman, 2002]. As a consequence, older men will opt to not only seek but demand life enhancements achievable through medicine disregarding the fact that such treatments can be detrimental to health. In fact, Groopman states that known side effect of testosterone therapy include abnormal enlargement of the breasts, testicular shrinkage, congestive heart failure and enlargement of the prostate gland [Groopman, 2002]. Medicalizing a problem can be harmful and deadly, yet medical professionals perpetuate this dangerous behavior by medicalizing conditions that patients may seek to treat for their personal wellbeing It is important to realize that medicalization is not merely the result of medical imperialism but rather the interactive process that involves society and the health community; [Conrad, p 115]. It includes patients and doctors alike. Nonetheless, awareness of the mechanisms by which the medical community affects society is important because medicine pertains to all health consumers. Male menopause only serves as one of the many examples of life experiences that have become medicalized by the healthcare community. Concluding this essay, the concept of medicalization started with the medical dominance which involved the increase of medicines influence and labelling over things regarded as normal life events and experiences. However in recent time, this view of a submissive lay populace, in thrall to expansionist medicine, has been challenged. As a consequence, as we enter a post-modern era, with increased concerns over risk and a decline in the trust of expert authority, many sociologists argue that the modern day consumer of healthcare plays an active role in bringing about or resisting medicalization. Furthermore Such participationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦can be problematic as healthcare consumers become increasingly aware of the risks and uncertainty surrounding many medical choices. Moreover the emergence of the modern day consumer not only raises questions about the notion of medicalisation as a uni-dimensional concept, but also requires consideration of the specific social contexts in which medical isation occurs (Ballard and Elston 2005). In addition they suggest that as we enter a post-modern era, conceptualizing medicalisation as a uni-dimensional or as the result of medical dominance primarily is insufficient.

Dr. Faustus Essay: Satirizing Renaissance Humanism -- Doctor Faustus E

Satirizing Renaissance Humanism In Dr. Faustus       In Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe has vividly drawn up the character of an intelligent, learned man tragically seduced by the lure of power greater than he was mortally meant to have. The character of Dr. Faustus is, in conception, an ideal of humanism, but Marlowe has taken him and shown him to be damned nonetheless, thus satirizing the ideals of Renaissance Humanism.    M. H. Abram's A Glossary of Literary Terms defines Renaissance Humanism, stating that some of the key concepts of the philosophy centered around "the dignity and central position of human beings in the universe" as reasoning creatures, as well as downplaying the "'animal' passions" of the individual. The mode of the thought also "stressed the need for a rounded development of and individual's diverse powers... as opposed to merely technical or specialized training." Finally, all of this was synthesized into and perhaps defined by their tendency to minimize the prevalent Christian ideal of innate corruption and withdrawal from the present, flawed world in anticipation of heaven. (p. 83)    The character of Faustus is reasoning and very aware of the moral (or immoral) status of what he is undertaking. His opening speech is devoted to working out logically why he is willing to sacrifice both the road to honest knowledge and his soul in favor of more power. (I, 1-63) He exhibits, in his search for power, anything but animal passion; he indeed exhibits a chilling logic as he talks himself out of the possible delights of heaven. Not only is he intelligent, he also demonstrates a broad base of learning, another quality admired and upheld by humanists.    In several sections of the play, F... ... with the world hereafter. (p. 83)    Christopher Marlowe was not a Humanist, as evidenced by how clearly the tragedy that was Dr. Faustus exemplified the downfall of a humanist and reinforced themes which conflicted with the basic tenets presented by Renaissance Humanism. If this reading is to be believed, the man was in fact violently and intelligently opposed to it. It is difficult to imagine a more effective and thorough attack on the mentality and methodology of the humanist than Dr. Faustus.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.    Marlowe, Christopher Dr Faustus in ed. WB Worthen. The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd edn., Texas: Harcourt Brace 1996.    Steane, J.B Marlowe Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1965.   

Al Capone Essay -- essays research papers

Alphonse "Scar Face" Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899, to an immigrant family. He was born with type O blood. People supposedly born with O type blood tend to have the drive to succeed in leadership quality. They are strong, certain, and powerful, as will be seen later. However Al Capones leadership was taken to the extreme. (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets Eat Right 4 Your Type) Certainly many Italian immigrants like immigrants of all nationalities, frequently came to the new world with very few assets. Many were peasants escaping lack of opportunity in rural Italy. When they came to America they ended up as laborers, because they could not speak or write English. This was not the case with Capones family. Gabrielle Capone, Alponse’s father was one of 43,000 Italians who arrived in the United States in 1894. He was a barber by trade and could read and write his native language. He was from the village of Castellmare Distabia, sixteen miles south of Naples. (Encyclopedia Of World Crime) Gabrielle who was thirty years old when he arrived in America brought with him his pregnant twenty seven year old wife Teresina, his two year old son Vincenzo and his infant son Raffaele. Along with thousands of other Italians, the Capone family moved to Brooklyn near the Brooklyn navy yard. (Encyclopedia Of World Crime) Gabrielle’s ability to read and write allowed him to get a job in a grocery store, until he was able to open his own barber shop. Teresa in spite of a growing bunch of boys, took in sewing piece work to add to the family helpings. Her third son Salvatore was born in 1895. Her fourth son and first to be born in the new world was born on January 17, 1899. His name was Alponse. The Capones were a quiet, conventional family. Laurence Bellgreen says "The mother†¦ kept to herself". Her husband Don Gabrielle made more of an impression(Blood Letters and Bad Men). Nothing about the Capone family was inherently disturbed. The children and parents were close, there was no apparent mental disability, and no traumatic event. In May of 1906, Gabrielle became an American citizen. Within the family his children would always be known by their Italian names. Shortly after Al was born, Gabrielle moved the family to a better area in an a... ...s sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. He was fined fifty thousand dollars and charged seven thousand six hundred and ninety two dollars for court costs. In addition to two hundred and fifteen thousand plus interest due back on taxes. The six month contempt of court sentence was to be served concurrently. While awaiting results of appeals, Capone was confined to the Cook County jail. Upon denial of appeals, he entered the United States penitentiary at Atlanta, serving his sentence there at Alcatraz. Following his release, he never publicly returned to Chicago. He had become mentally ill. In 1946, his physician and a Baltimore psychiatrist concluded that he had the mentality of a twelve year old child. Capone resided on Palm Island with his wife and immediate family, in a secluded atmosphere, until his death due to a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947. In conclusion, Al Capone was a very strong, powerful, and deadly man which was seen in many of the cases stated. Al Capone influenced people back then and he will continue to influence people forever.

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Introduction As the number of Americans covered by managed care plans grows, it becomes more important to understand how managed care organizations (MCOs) control costs and how these controls affect access, quality, and health outcomes. This paper will examine patterns in referrals from primary care physicians (PCPs) to specialists in order to evaluate physicians’ satisfaction with this inter-physician communication and to identify problems in the referral process. Prior authorizations will also be studied in order to learn the criteria considered when deciding if a treatment or medication is medically necessary and appropriate. The reasons prior authorization systems are utilized and their effectiveness in controlling costs and constraining access will also be examined. Case management as a function of utilization management and methods for measuring quality and patient satisfaction will be discussed. Historical patterns of case management will be studied in order to evaluate the effecti veness of case management in managing costs. The implications of referral and prior authorizations systems for all stakeholders, MCOs, purchasers, providers, and consumers will be considered. Background/Understanding In MCOs, there are a variety of processes that are used to influence the practice style of a PCP. The method that causes one of the most controversial and frustrating aspects of managed care for the members and their PCP is the use of referral systems (Grumbach et al, 1998). A referral system is the process in which PCPs determine whether services that are performed outside of their office are medically necessary and appropriate. These referrals are used to send members to other physicians in order to gain the excess amount of care t... ...spects of care including, rehabilitation, home care, and health education. MCOs can also utilize disease management, which is a specialized form of case management to monitor and control certain individuals with specialized needs. Like case management, disease management is targeted at specific high risk and high cost medical cases but with a focus on diseases. Disease management is unique because it offers patients access to not only physicians but also other types of health care professionals including pharmacists and dieticians. The idea behind this is to provide each patient with all available resources to help control or eliminate their disease. Pharmacists can provide specialized knowledge on medication techniques and types while dietitians can provide information on healthy eating habits that can help ease symptoms of particular diseases (Kongstvedt, 2009).

Katherine Mansfield Essay

How is the link between Mansfield’s personal views and experiences and the characters in her short stories reflected in her writing style? Today I will be talking about the similarities between Katherine Mansfield’s personal views, experiences and short stories. The portrayal of characters and their interactions in her short stories mirror many of her own relationships and experiences. I will be explaining how these parallels are reflected in the style of writing Mansfield uses. Although the stories were not completely identical to her real life experiences they were based on them and were strongly linked in the underlying themes. â€Å"At The Bay† is a brief insight into the relationship of Mr and Mrs Kember, focusing more so on Mrs Kember. Mansfield’s rebellious attitude is seen in her character development of Mrs Kember as an exaggerated, more unrefined version of herself. The character is described by other women as being â€Å"very fast† and she â€Å"treated men as though she were one of them† creating the impression that she does not behave like a conventional woman was expected to in those days. She uses negatively connoted language to demonstrate the disapproval of the other women towards Mrs Kember which could symbolize how Mansfield disappointed her mother and eventually became estranged from her. Her unconventional behaviour is reflected in her use of contrasting imagery when she draws comparisons between Mrs Kember and the other women of the bay, such as Beryl. This contrasting imagery is portrayed through the women’s clothing and mannerisms. Beryl â€Å"steps out of her skirt and shed her jersey, and stood up in her short white petticoat, and her camisole with ribbon bows on the shoulders† whereas Mrs Kember â€Å"rose, yawned, unsnapped her belt buckle, and tugged at the tape of her blouse.† The way in which Beryl undresses shows she is graceful and proper while the image of ribbon bows gives alludes to her femininity. The way Mrs Kember undresses is brash and her clothing is much plainer; the unsnapping of her belt and tugging of her blouse is related to manly gesture. The juxtaposition of the characters, Mrs Kember and Beryl, acts as a metaphor of her own incongruence to society’s norms and expectations of what it is to be a woman. During Mansfield’s life, she had her fair share of relationships and sexual partners. She had two lesbian relationships which were famous for their significant presence in her journal entries and stories however she also continued to have male lovers. Her bisexuality is explored in the stories â€Å"At the Bay† and â€Å"Bliss† perhaps using her characters as mouthpieces for her own feelings towards women or her intimate experiences with them. Like in her real life, both the characters she portrays as being attracted to women, already have men in their lives and believe themselves to be heterosexual despite their apparent feelings for other women. In â€Å"At the Bay† she uses dialogue between Mrs Kember and Beryl to establish a sensual under tone and express Mrs Kember’s attraction to Beryl. Remarks such as â€Å"what a little beauty you are† and â€Å"it’s a sin for you to wear clothes, my dear† coupled with Mrs Kember touching Beryl’s waist could be interpreted as flirtatious especially when combined with Mrs Kember’s masculine nature. It also felt as if Mrs Kember was corrupting innocent, naà ¯ve Beryl and yet Beryl seemed to welcome it. She â€Å"felt that she was being poisoned by this cold woman but she longed to hear it† which reinforces the impression of forbidden feelings and sexual tension between the women. â€Å"Bliss† is about a woman Bertha Young who is attracted to a female friend, Pearl Fulton. She has everything she could ask for, a husband, a baby and a beautiful home. She is overwhelmed with joy at the thought of her wonderful life but this takes a turn for the worst when it is revealed that her husband is having an affair with Pearl. Bertha’s state of mind is established within the first paragraph of the story; she is â€Å"overcome, suddenly, by a feeling of bliss-absolute bliss!† and feels like she has â€Å"swallowed a bright piece of that late afternoon sun†. The fragmented sentences used by Mansfield reveal the erratic behaviour of not only the character Bertha but of her as well. Through the repetition of words like â€Å"†¦deeply, deeply† and â€Å"..passionately, passionately† to describe even the most ordinary action of breathing Mansfield’s impulsive behaviour and passionate outlook on life is shown. Again Mansfield shows her dislike for conformity through the phrase of â€Å"oh, is there no way you can express it without being drunk and disorderly? How idiotic civilisation is! â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† is centred on Frau Brechenmacher who is a mother of five and the wife of a postman. The story is written in third person omniscient, focusing on Frau, and Mansfield uses the omniscient narrator to comment on her dislike for the patriarchal society in which she lived. She uses Herr Brechenmacher as an example of a typical man and by using short, abrupt sentences to express himself she shows the demanding, controlling nature of men. His dialogue mostly consisted of orders and claims like â€Å"Here, come and fasten this buckle† and â€Å"No. I’ll get my feet damp-you hurry!† She also likens men to animals through her vivid description of him â€Å"gesticulating wildly† with â€Å"saliva spluttering out of his mouth† when h e is drunk. The carnal imagery underpins her views that society’s expectation of gender roles was quite primitive. Furthermore she depicts Frau Brechenmacher as a victim at the mercy of her husband. Her repeated use of the words â€Å"her man† alludes to Herr Brechenmacher being her master which reflects Mansfield’s perception that society believed a woman, was like property and belonged to a man. The first image Mansfield introduces at the beginning of her story is that of the character Frau Brechenmacher carrying out the stereotypical duties of a women in the home; putting her children to sleep, polishing buttons and ironing her husband’s clothes. She also shows her daughter helping and learning from her. Mansfield uses the interaction between Frau Brechenmacher and her daughter to show how engrained the idea women are bred for domestic life is. It is a continuous cycle and that notion is passed on from generation to generation. The bride in the story is wearing a â€Å"white dress trimmed with stripes and bows of coloured ribbon, giving her the appearance of an iced cake all ready to be cut and served in neat little pieces to the bridegroom beside her†. The description Mansfield uses to equate the bride to cake that is to be served to the bridegroom is delivered with an air of disdain. She shows signs of pitying the bride. It also illustrates the purpose of women as objects of pleasure. The link between the cake and bride is indicative of Mansfield’s interpretation of marriage; a woman is consumed by her husband and loses her sense of self. Overall the tone in many of her stories is sombre, with very brief moments of joy mimicking the ups and down’s of Mansfield’s life as well as her feelings of being constrained by society. There are also strong themes of restlessness between the person she is and the person she portrays to the world. This is exhibited in her writing style through the differences between how the dialogue presents a character and how the omniscient narrator presents them. The endings to her story always appear incomplete as if there is unfinished business that the character has left to resolve much like Mansfield’s own experiences where she unresolved feelings for her lovers. The lack of closure in the endings leaves the audience with a sense of yearning and dissatisfaction. In parts of her stories where the mood is depressing her pace of her writing is quite slow with lengthy sentence structures. In parts that are positive and optimistic her pace of writing switches between succinct, bursts of bubbly language and sentence structure to ornately descriptive verses reflecting the sense of fulfilment and ecstasy. After analysing Mansfield’s writing style I have come to the conclusion that her use of imagery, sentence structure and use of narration are her most utilised devices. Her ability to develop her characters and relationships between characters so in depth, so quickly is a credit to her writing abilities and the way her personal experiences and views are communicated through her writing strengthens her connection with the audience.