Evidence based practice Essay Example for Free

Evidence based practice Essay American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. [Clinical practice guideline:]. (2004). Source Of EvidenceThis evidence meets the criteria for a filtered source. It was sourced online from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Family Physicians. Specialists from multi medical disciplines assembled to create an integrative systematic study and review of the current evidence- based literature available for the treatment and management of Acute Otitis Media (AOM). The conclusions and findings were utilized to devise guidelines and a practice protocol that recommended early diagnosis and makes recommendations for the management of AOM in children aged between 2 months and 12 years old. Quantitative data such as randomized, controlled trials and comparative cohort studies were to ensure quality of the evidence. The guideline was reviewed by a number of professional peer groups prior to introduction and publication. Appropriate For Nursing Practice The evidence in the article is applicable and appropriate for nursing practice. The guideline clearly defined the care and best practice treatment options for children with AOM and also the situations when the guideline is not appropriate, like children with a reoccurrence with in 30 days. The recommendations act as a template to guide clinician’s treatment options using evidence based standardized protocol, which can be shared with anxious patients to give validity to help understand their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Source of Evidence Classification This articles source is classified as evidence-based guidelines and research. Specialist and peer recognized experts jointly convened and defined the subject for the study and developed a theoretical framework to review the literature and developed a guideline for standardizing the diagnosis, treatment and management of pediatric AOM using research based knowledge. Block, S. L. (1997). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media Source Of EvidenceThe source of this article is classified as unfiltered and was retrieved from a medical database -PubMed. The article published in The Pediatric Infectious disease Journal offers a synopsis of the research of the author on  identifying the common the bacterial pathogens isolated as the causative agents in children presenting with AOM. The author also discussed traditional treatment with antibiotics and the problem of microbial resistance and the availability of newer antibiotics as treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThe evidence in this article is a ppropriate for nursing practice, as it raises awareness of increased incidence of microbial resistance to the traditional first line management and treatment of children with AOM and offers treatment options with newer more effective antibiotics. Source of Evidence ClassificationThis article is classified as a research evidence summary. The author collected quantitative data related to the incidence of the pathogens that most commonly caused AOM infectious in children and the microbe demonstrating increasing resistance. The article made recommendations for treatment of AOM based on the findings and made recommendations such as increase antibiotic doing for certain bacterial strains of AOM. Kelley, P. E. , Friedman, N. , Johnson, C. (2007). Ear, nose, and throat. In W. W. Hay, M. J.Levin, J. M. Sondheimer, R. R. Deterding, Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. Source Of EvidenceThis source is classified as general information. It was sourced from the Ear Nose and Throat chapter of the textbook â€Å"Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment†, which discusses the general presentation, signs, symptoms and course of AOM infections. It also details the management, treatment and prognosis. Appropriate For Nursing Prac ticeThis source has relevance to nursing practice as it clearly gives an overview of AOM in pediatric setting. Although given in medical model format, nurses need to have knowledge of the pathogens, symptomology, treatment and course of the infection to be able to formulate nursing care plans and actions. They need to have an awareness of the most current treatments to be able to advocate for their patients. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. There is no primary research, literature review, experimental studies or clinical trials. The authors are experts in the field of Ear Nose and Throat specialty and provided an accepted general overview of the care and management of AOM as appropriate in 2007. McCracken, G. H. (1998). Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in an Era of Increasing Microbial Resistance. Source Of Evidence This article can be classified as an unfiltered source. The article was sourced from the medical database, PubMed and published in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, a professional peer reviewed journal. The researcher conducts a search of the data base and screens and evaluates primary research related to the topic. The article discussed the common pathogens that cause AOM and distinguished between simple and complicated presentations and made recommendations for differential diagnosis and antibiotic treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis article is appropriate to nursing practice, as provides a very good overview AOM in particular related to the history and incidence of the problem and the difficulty for providers in diagnosis and the pressure to prescribe antibiotics. Treatment recommendations are made and rationales for when antibiotics is not the first line of treatment in view of rising rates of microbial resistance Source of Evidence ClassificationThis source of evidence is classified as an evidence summary, the author reviews the research on AOM pre 1997 and evaluates the data to make a recommendations and provides a guideline for AOM treatment and diagnosis. The author cites multiple sources and references. Parent Interviews: Source Of EvidenceThis source of evidence is unfiltered, general information gathered from parents with children with AOM. It is retrospective, anecdotal accounts of signs, symptoms and course of the illness that they observed and related to the nurses. It can’t be quantified or validated but is useful to gain insight into the experience and perceptions of parents coping with a sick child Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis data while appropriate information for nurses to gather, does not meet the criteria for research. There is no framework or theoretical model that was designed and followed and no uniformity of information collected. Interviewing the parents can give some insight into activity of the child and the onset of the symptomology that could lead to observing some commonalities and then research could be instituted. Interviews are also appropriate clinically as parents can offer insight in to coping or lack of coping skills with their sick child and can lead to parent education on care of the child with AOM. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. Parental interviews can’t be classified as evidence and is not a legitimate source; It does not meet the criteria to be called evidence or research. The parents’ responses are personal and anecdotal and are not objective and the interviews were conducted informally with no structure framework for data collection. B1. Watchful Waiting: Acute Otitis Media, (AOM) an ear infection commonly diagnosed in children and by age three, 50% to 70% of children will have had at least one incidence of the infection. In the year 2000 sixteen million visits to doctor’s office with thirteen million prescriptions at indirect cost of $1. 02 billion were attributed to AOM. (Diagnosis and management of acute otitis media, 2004) The rise in resistant strains of bacteria has made the medical and nursing profession search for answers on the appropriate use and dispensing of antibiotics. For many years family practitioners and pediatricians have spoken about parental pressure to prescribe antibiotics for self-limiting viral illnesses. Many doctors, who refused, could be frustrated by colleagues who bowed to the pressure to prescribe. (Marcy, 1999) It was recognized that there was a need for research and guidelines to develop a standardized approach. Evidence was needed to formulate what was best practice that would deliver rational evidence based care in a cost effective reasonable manner. In response to these concerns, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians convened a panel of experts to review the research and data available and to analyze and summarize the facts and statistics to create a guideline for the management, diagnosis and treatment of AOM in children from 2 months to 12 years. The data collected indicated that an observation protocol was needed if the use of unnecessary antibiotic therapy was to be curbed. Results from controlled clinical trials that were done with placebo control groups validated the data collected over a 30 year time span. They found that in 75% of cases, the condition resolved without prescribing antibiotics, within seven days. They also recognized in certain incidents that observation and symptomatic management of fever and pain was not appropriate and treatment should be immediate, and an exclusion criterion was included in the guideline. These included children who represented with AOM that was obviously severe and there were certain clinical signs that lead to a certainty or severity of the diagnosis or if there was a reoccurrence within 30 days of initial consultation. The guideline was not designed to supplant the clinical judgment of the practitioner but to support it and provide validated evidence to corroborate the observation protocol, AKA ‘Watchful Waiting’ It gives practitioners rational for treating uncomplicated AOM and preventing the masking of other symptoms more serious conditions by unnecessary antibiotics. In addition doctors have validated information to share with parents to reassure them that the illness will resolve without antibiotics and educate them on symptomatic management of their children symptoms. C. Application of Findings: There are many reasons why healthcare organizations are motivated to introduce new practices procedures or guidelines some of these reason include to achieve certification, like Magnet status or become compliant with health regulation. Sometimes changes are for cost savings are to improve market share of certain health consumers. Nurses look to research to improve patient care or the effectiveness of practice. Most hospitals and organizations use certain change management models like Six Sigma or DMAIC to introduce new policies, procedures and practices. Clinical practice councils or shared governance councils identify issues and staff has the opportunity to bring forward practices identified that could be improved. Some people find change difficult and are offer resistance and put up barriers. How a process or suggestion is framed and managed is vital to success if the change is to be achieved and sustained. In the case of a multidisciplinary group in a clinic, having research based evidence to support getting group support for the introduction of the guideline is fundamental. Getting physician buy in and agreement would be an important element. Barriers at clinic level have been recognized by other change adopters including â€Å"a lack agreement about the care process changes desired and little engagement of physicians† (Horscikoski, 2006). The efficacy and the credibility of the sources such as the of the research by American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians lends standing to the proposal for adoption of the guideline. Once the nurse leadership had reviewed the research and the team approves the findings as best practice, the next step is to have the other disciplines review and approve and provide input in to translation of research guideline into a workable clinic protocol that has the support of all stakeholders. A plan, a time line and education are formulated prior to implementation of the guidelines and follow up and data is gathered post implementation to monitor success. D. Ethical Issues: Ethical considerations in healthcare research have been sensitive subject in the research community for many years. Unfortunately wise and ethical choices have not always been exercised. Few can be unaware of the case of the Tuskegee syphilis study (1932–1972), a study by the United States Public health Service, that knowingly did not treat a group of poor African American men for syphilis. When this was discovered it led to the founding of The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) under the provisions of the 1974, the National Research Act. (NRA) Its role is to deals with ethical oversight of human clinical trials and studies in conjunction with the National Institute of Health. (Wikipedia, 2014) Unfortunately even today ethical concerns continue to be of concern. Recently the OHRP found that â€Å"23 academic institutions authorized a research project that failed to meet the most basic ethical standards :†(NYT Editorial Board, 2013). The NRA mandated that research participants must give informed consent. They must be told of any risks and benefits. If there is a control group they need to know that they may not receive the investigational treatment. They must be aware that they have the right to leave the study at any time. Their privacy and health information must protected at all times. To meet NRA ethical requirements, the study should be to benefit patients and the knowledge should not be available by other means. Unnecessary mental or physical suffering is not permitted; it should do no harm, and be for a laudable purpose.D1. Ethical Issues in Vulnerable populations: Ethics in research is always of special concern but it is heightened when the target participants are unable to speak for themselves or give consent. In these vulnerable populations like the children, the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled or developmentally delayed the risk of abuse and the desire to protect is equally strong. Other grou ps that are considered vulnerable are the poor, the illiterate, non-English speakers and prisoners which sometimes are discounted as vulnerable. Special considerations are needed when these populations are the subject of research studies. As these populations can’t not give consent for themselves another entity or person consents on their behalf be it parent, guardian, institution or state. It raises moral questions about the motivation of those who have the power to consent for others to be in experimental trials and other forms of research. For this reason the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed special safeguards for children. The parents must give informed consent and the child must give age appropriate assent. Confidentially is another complicated issue, the Health Information and Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule instituted in 2003 states that records from research studies are confidential and release to subjects need be done if the conditions are justified. Parents have the right to receive information and reports on all their child’s records but often do not know about the 2003 laws provision. In addition, when a child reaches 12, State and Federal law limits parental access to certain medical information, which can cause conflict, discomfort and conflict of interest. Institutional review boards, to which research proposals must be submitted prior to the approval of any study, holds researchers to higher standards regarding the necessity and benefits of studies on the more vulnerable groups in society. They must ensure that risks to subjects are minimized and rational in relation to expected benefits and that the choice of participants is impartial.

Hong Kong Proposal Essay Example for Free

Hong Kong Proposal Essay INTRODUCTION and BRIEF BACKGROUND Hong Kong was a Crown Colony of the United Kingdom from 1842 to 1997, when it was returned to the People’s Republic of China.  Ã‚   This handover of Hong Kong back to China is supported by two governing laws: the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Both laws uphold the policy of â€Å"one country, two systems,† which requires that Hong Kong will operate on its own until 2047, which is fifty years after its reversion back to China.    This means that the Central People’s Government will be responsible for the strategic defense and foreign affairs of Hong Kong while Hong Kong will retain control over its legal system, police force, monetary system, and policies on customs, immigration and delegates to various international organizations and events. The return of Hong Kong to China was received with different reactions both from its own citizens and from the international scene.   As to any situation, there are always two sides to a coin: the advantages and disadvantages of the Hong Kong handover.   This paper will present the positive and negative effects of the handover on the political, social, cultural and economic spheres of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2002.   The conclusion will deal with POLITICAL SCENE There were growing concerns with regard to the integration of a democratic system of government into the political culture of Hong Kong.   The international sphere remained skeptic about the effectiveness of democracy in Hong Kong and the number of local supporters have then declined as well. These concerns are mainly caused by the failure to solve domestic problems through democratic means and the inability of various democratic factions to come up with enticing operations to attract more supporters.   It is submitted that if the foundations of democracy cannot be held strongly by its political advocates, then democracy in Hong Kong may be even more difficult as expected, if not impossible at all. Tied with the difficulty of evolving into a democratic system is the challenge to have an independent judicial system.   There has been a loss of faith in the judicial system of Hong Kong with the rampant overruling of the decisions of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong by the courts of Mainland China.   Such loss of faith leads to the loss of credibility of the Hong Kong judicial system, which worries the locals and some international organizations. HUMAN RIGHTS The term â€Å"human rights† is not limited to rights against self-incrimination, warrantless arrests, searches and seizures.   The term â€Å"human rights† includes freedom of speech and of the press.   Although human rights is highly regarded by Hong Kong, its local policies and practices cause   its own decline. The government of Hong Kong is so high strung on preventing factors that may cause social instability that it already contributes to the unprotection of human rights within its territory.   There had been reports of arrests of overstaying citizens of Mainland China, and the arrests of people who are campaigning for various social, economic and political issues by using the Public Order Ordinance to clothe such arrests with a faint tint of legality. There has also been the censorship of the media, whether by the government or by themselves, often called â€Å"self-censorship.†Ã‚   Media practitioners are so wary about overstepping the boundaries of local news that they, themselves, censor their own news on political affairs so as not to offend or stir any commotion with the leaders of the Mainland. ECONOMIC The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 was actually twinned with the great Asian Financial Crisis.   And the handover did not improve the economic situation of Hong Kong during the said crisis.   Despite the recovery of EU-US relations, improvement of the Mainland economy, and high-valued activities, there is still an increasing unemployment rate.   And this unemployment rate has been present even prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China.   It seems that there is little change in the economic life of Hong Kong. SOCIAL It cannot be discounted that for over a century, Hong Kong was influenced more by the British than by their Mainland people.   This is due to the obvious fact that Hong Kong was run by the British and not by the Chinese.   But since the handover, official visits of Mainland officials to Hong Kong paved way for a greater integration for both societies. Even the adoption of Mainland of development plans, which, in great part, includes Hong Kong has caused an opening of good relationships between the two.   Moreover, the loosening of travel restrictions allowed Mainland citizens to explore Hong Kong, and vice versa, so as to realize that there is no more British barrier and that they are all just from one culture.   It must be noted that apart from Mainland China, Hong Kong is building ties with Taiwan as well. CONCLUSION It’s been almost ten years since the reversion of Hong Kong back to China and with the fifty-year program of â€Å"one country, two systems,† it is quite early to tell whether or not the reversion is purely advantageous or disadvantageous to Hong Kong, and to China as well.

Halfway House Allows People Criminology Essay

Halfway House Allows People Criminology Essay Institution based correction is largely practiced in the American correctional systems. Institutional confinement has been used in America since the ancient times as history describes it. Early punishments for criminals were directed more at the criminal`s body and property as well. The main goals were to humiliate the offender, inflict pain and also deter onlookers from crime. Modernity in incarceration strives to change the character of the offenders and this takes place away from the public view. Sentences are majorly imposed upon offenders and range from probation to serving a time in prison. Intermediate sanctions include sentences to a halfway house. Sanction use can be described as either positive, which is known to be rewarding or, negative which is a punishment. This forms the basis of all criminal theory alongside the main goals of social control and deviant behavior deterrence. Facilities operating in the United States of America, many of them adhere to certain correctiona l theories (Byrne and Taxman, 2005). Halfway house allows people to start off a period of reintegration with the society. The primary function of halfway houses is to provide criminals who have no place to go and also those who have no one at their backs to support them. The halfway house there caters for all their needs as inmates. They are offered food and a place to rest their bodies. It is important to note that the halfway is not a dormitory despite its primary functions states above. It must facilitate discharged offenders. The halfway staffs, together with officers who are on probation provide the inmates with instructions and guidance on various programmes undertaken (Latessa and Lowenkamp, 2006). Halfway house residents are divided into two different groups. The first group is composed of the supervisees meaning probationers and parolees. The second group is composed of the discharged offenders who are not under supervision. This is the group of criminals who left prison when their term expired or their execution sentence was suspended. The first group of halfway house residents is required to live in such facilities by the requirements of the parole or probation. They have no obligation to change their residence without the permission of the relevant probation office director. Individuals of the latter group are free to go anywhere they feel like going. Non-supervisees are known to stay in the halfway house for six months after release. The period can still be extended if necessary for additional six months (Bussert, Golderger and Price, 2006). Treatments of different nature are offered in a halfway house. Each house bears its on way of practice in offering the various treatments as required by the needs of its residents. The social Skills Training (SST) and Substance Abuse Programme, for example, are the popular kinds of treatments offered in most of the American halfway houses. These two kinds of treatment address the major needs of the criminal residents of the facilities. The two biggest needs are those of interactive skills and substance addiction. Interactive skills include the tactics of finding a job and retaining it while substance addiction involves alcohol addiction. Some of the halfway houses go to an extent of inviting external speakers, supervisors of facilitators to take part in some of these treatment interventions. A variety of other programmes also exist in these facilities. Some of the houses give some kind of financial diary to monitor the way the handle their finances; others provide health education, h ygiene education while others provide collage therapy (Bussert, Golderger and Price, 2006). Halfway houses are generally overlooked as facilities that are an important part of the safety of the public. They serve to offer crime prevention efforts and it is also hard of members of the public to describe the activities that take place in their various communities. This paper will stress on the fact that, halfway houses are a requirement in presenting a transitional environment for individuals initially involved in criminal offenses, have finished their sentence term and are ready to join the rest of the community as well as ensuring public safety (Byrne and Taxman, 2005). Dramatic growth in the number of inmates has brought forth a large increase in the number of individuals legally entitled to receive various services. This dramatic growth has also created changes in the characteristics of inmate population that are of relevance to the programming decisions. Emphasis on the safety of the public point out that the scarce program resources are concentrated on a certain group of offenders. Such are those inmates that present a threat to the society outside prison and posses treatable crime related problems. This has led to a wide variety of initiatives. The most notable initiatives have been the evaluation of program effectiveness and privatization of some of the correctional activities. Programs have also been developed and their strategies implemented towards addressing the ways of holding offenders such that future crimes are prevented. This specifically, after the detainee is released form detention (Bussert, Golderger and Price, 2006). The past decade has seen live debates covering the importance of halfway houses as a measure of controlling crime cases in America. These debates have focused their purposes on investigating and assessing the effectiveness of these facilities. Debates on the effectiveness have been largely related to the intended impact of a criminal punishment, the necessity of improving the safety of the public and reduction of future crimes and lastly the requirements of the states and localities in ensuring cost-efficient correctional programs. Many of these debates bring out several points inclined to the positive side of these facilities as a component of American correctional agencies (Latessa and Lowenkamp, 2006). Regarding punishment, most individuals think that halfway houses are less punitive as compared to prison or jail. Research tends to prove these groups of persons by revealing that most offenders view halfway houses as very stringent and more punitive since they require changed behaviors. Some of the criminological debates have diverted their focus to determining whether involvement of halfway houses in correcting offenders is effective. The findings in many of the researches prove the effectiveness of such facilities as potential intermediate punishment. Offenders make public preparations, resolve the conflicts with other victim, and undertake public services and stay connected to their communities without the isolation of punishment based in prison (Bussert, Golderger and Price, 2006). Halfway houses shorten prison terms and also help to alleviate pressure on crowded jails and prisons belonging to states and various localities. This transitional programming can also be followed by a home detention period and the offender is carefully monitored for compliance (Bussert, Golderger and Price, 2006). Most evaluations of impact of halfway houses to the rehabilitation of the offenders focus on program components regarding their relationship with recidivism. The Massachusetts Furlough and Pre-release Program evaluation of over 15 years demonstrated that returns to custody were reduced. This was deduced from a study of 13,000 cases of placements of persons who were returning from prison. Recent research findings underscore the existence of benefits for a certain group of offenders rated high or medium risk based on the risk predictive screening. A large case study was once conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons on the offenders released through halfway houses in the United States of America. The findings of this study revealed that the residential as well as the employment components of halfway houses were related to the improvement in recidivism (Latessa and Lowenkamp, 2006). Many of the halfway houses share information on case management with their referral and oversight agencies. Ways of attaining client health care and behavioral attention have been developed. This has been done with much consideration towards respecting confidentiality if the clients and the needs of the oversight agency. Integrated case management systems and electronic networking has had several advantages in this institutional based correction facility. This is because; the transfer of information is accurate and more efficient between the programs serving halfway house clients and the agencies (Byrne and Taxman, 2005). Researches on impact of halfway houses have, over a along time have proved that, halfway houses have no negative impact towards crime. They have always pointed out that they are of advantage to the neighborhood safety incase a person that was under detention is released back to the community (Byrne and Taxman, 2005). Halfway houses are known to be developed in the response to a need for stable housing for persons involved in the criminal justice systems. Criminal justice professionals have also deduced that there is need for certain services more than stable housing. These services are aimed at reducing criminal behaviors in future. Agencies collaborate to come up with a target group of offenders. These group can be screened and identified incase they have contact with other criminal justice agencies and police. Criminal justice agencies have developed a screening process used in the selection of persons who are more likely to benefit from a halfway house situation. More often, they examine histories of repeated crimes related to alcohol or drug. This is an indication of the need to stay in a more structured living situation. Focus on the mental needs of an offender, special assistance in the cognitive skills and addressing the victim`s impact are also among the criteria for isolating offenders f or placement in halfway house facilities. Courts consider such cases as where there is need to garnish wages in order to pay fees, fines, restitution and child support. Halfway programs act as a funnel of the payments earnings belonging to the offender and advisors to help him or her stabilize financially at the end of their supervision period (Latessa and Lowenkamp, 2006). In conclusion, several trends have been seen to affect the correction systems in the United States of America. The unprecedented growth in the populations of inmates owe to changes in police practices and sentencing practices. The society has become of much concern with regard to the type of inmates released from prison or jail to join the other members of the community. The dark side of the offenders poses worrying situations about possible future harms. Halfway houses are facilities of great importance in ensuring the safety of the public. It is also important to remember that they are of positive impact to the offenders life after finishing the sentence term. They are able to go through at transitional stage through which they experience a different life from that in prison in preparation for the real life in the world outside jail or prison (Byrne and Taxman, 2005).

The Red Badge of Courage :: essays research papers

The Red Badge of Courage Henry Fleming, also called the youth, is the main character in The Red Badge of Courage. He decided to enlist in the army in hopes of gaining experience and being a part of the war. Although his mother was against him joining the army, Henry wanted the adventure and glory of being part of the war. Henry had many battles to fight within himself. He put off the facade that he was a very confident and strong soldier. But in actuality he was very unsure of himself. He always would question his own masculinity and whether or not he would run or fight in battle when the time came. Henry meets two men in is regiment that he calls the tall soldier and the loud soldier. They all go through the new experience of being in war together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later on when they get into battle Henry still has fears of fleeing the battle field. When the time comes to face the enemy Henry ended up running into the woods like many others. After he finds his way back to the regiment he sees what the battle has done to the soldiers. Many of his friends, including the tall soldier, died. Others were wounded. He in a way felt jealous because he didn’t have that wound, â€Å"red badge of courage† that they had to show. Henry continued on in the woods and came across a soldier. He tried to help him but the soldiers wouldn’t let him. In the disagreement the other soldier struck Henry with his gun. Henry went back to his camp and all of the men thought he had been wounded in the battle. He went along with this and many thought of him as brave.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next day Henry had new insight and was not afraid of the battles.

Causes Of The Great Depression Essay -- Great Depression History Econo

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1929 the stock market crashed, triggering the worst depression ever in U.S. history, which lasted for about a decade. During the 1920s, the unequal distribution of wealth and the stock market speculation combined to create an unstable economy by the end of the decade. The unequal distribution of the wealth had several outlets. Money was distributed between industry and agriculture within the U.S.; in social classes, between the rich and middle class; and lastly in world markets, between America and Europe. Due to the imbalance of the wealth, the economy became very unstable. The stock market crashed because of the excessive speculation in the 1920’s, which made the stock market artificially high (Galbraith 175). The poor distribution of the wealth, excessive speculation, and the stock market crashes caused the U.S. economy to fail, signaling the start of the Great Depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1920’s were a time when the American people and the economy were thriving. This period of time was called the â€Å"Roaring Twenties†. Unemployment dropped as low as 3 percent, prices held steady, and the gross national product climbed from $70 billion in 1922 to nearly $100 billion in1929 (EV 525). However, the prosperity of the 1920’s was not shared evenly among the social classes in America. A study conducted by the Brookings Institution stated, â€Å"78 percent of all American families had incomes of less than $3,000. Forty percent had family incomes of less than $1,500. Only 2.3 percent of the population enjoyed incomes of over $10,000. Sixty thousand American families held savings which amounted to the total held by the bottom 25 million families.† (Goldston 26). The 40 percent of Americans at the lowest end of the economic scale received only 12 percent of the national income by 1929 (EV 549). This maldistribution of income b etween the rich and the middle class increased throughout the 1920’s. A major reason for this large and growing gap between the upper class and the working class Americans was that the manufacturing output increased throughout this period. As the production costs fell, wages went up slowly, and prices for goods remained at a constant. The majority of the benefits created by increased productivity fell into the hands of corporate owners. The federal government also helped to make the growing gap between the upper and middle classes. President Calvin ... ...yers were available at any price (EV 549).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This speculation and the resulting stock market crash acted as a trigger to the already unstable U.S. economy. Due to the poor distribution of wealth, the economy of the 1920’s was one very much dependent upon confidence. President Hoover stated, â€Å"†¦the crisis has been isolated to the stock market itself.† (Docs Hoover). The market crash proved this confidence to be wrong. The rich stopped spending on luxury items, and the middle and lower classes stopped using credit in fear of losing their jobs and defaulting on their loans. As a result, industrial production fell by nine percent causing people to lose their jobs and default on loans (Galbraith 42). Industries started to fall apart around the automobile and radio industries. The rich refused to make loans to foreign countries for fear of going bankrupt. Foreigners stopped buying U.S. goods. Banks started to go under, stores closed up. President Hoover did not act in time to stop the count ry from going further into a depression (Docs Hoover). Unemployment had reached 13 million in 1932 (EV 549); the country went quickly downhill. The start of the Great Depression was setting in.

Free Narrative Essays - Making Plans :: Personal Narrative Essays

Making Plans It was a gorgeous summer morning as I, my brother David, sister Marcia, mom, dad, and baby girl were traveling home to Laramie from Colorado Springs where we had gone to visit my grandma. The atmosphere in the car was fun and filled with laughter. We were glad to be together. Our chatter was constant and our conversations often overlapped. One learned young that if you want to be heard in my family, you must merely speak louder than everyone else. Or, you might simply say, "Would you please shut up for a minute so I can say something important?" We all understood that such a plain and politely spoken command was not meant to be offensive or at all disrespectful. We were a bit louder than usual that morning as we had great plans for the day. Since we had to travel through Denver, we all agreed that we should eat at a nice restaurant and then go to the zoo where we could eat some more and see the animals then probably eat some more. Daddy was a bit tense and growly, his usual demeanor when traffic was thick as it was on that Friday morning. "Everyone and their Grandma is on this one road to Denver," he grumbled. My Daddy is claustrophobic. He hates traffic which is the main reason I think we moved long ago to Wyoming, the land of wide-open spaces. "You can drive more than a hundred miles on a Wyoming highway without seeing another car," Daddy would often brag. That was not the case, however, in Colorado. The cars were lined up one after another, traveling 75 miles per hour, to the horizon and beyond. We passengers paid scant attention to the outside world as we were involved in a thought-provoking discussion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the highly educational hit movie of the summer, Independence Day. The movie answered the question: Are we alone in the Universe? with a loud no when aliens arrived and began demolishing major cities all over the world. We all gazed out the windshield as we laughed at my sister's comment about the president in the film: "He was so broken up over the

How does Bennett present different teaching styles in ‘The History Boys’?

Bennett presents three contrasting teaching styles in the History Boys through the characters of Hector, Mrs Lintott, and Irwin. All three of the characters have their own unique attitude towards the boys' impending Oxbridge examinations, putting the boys in the difficult position of having to keep a reasonable balance between teaching and learning styles whilst making every effort to maintain the good-humoured relationships they have with each of their teachers, as well as striving to achieve well in their examinations. Whilst Hector brands the boys' Oxbridge aspirations as ‘silliness', he has a dedication and love for knowledge which he imparts during his lessons, and generally, to his students. While on the subject of General Studies, he quotes ‘All knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use', which encapsulates, in one phrase, how highly he values any kind of knowledge as well as how he tries to teach the boys. It shows that Hector sees knowledge as precious- he has an unconventional kind of teaching style which he sees as vital to the boys' education of life in general, and of particular importance is that the boys are aware of this. As Timms says, ‘Mr. Hector's stuff's not meant for the exam, sir. It's to make us more rounded human beings. ‘ when the boys are questioned by Irwin on Hector's teaching style. Furthermore, Hector believes in giving the boys the ability to defy the education they have been given- ‘You give them an education. I give them the wherewithal to resist it' he says, in conversation with factual Mrs. Lintott. Hector's teaching style is lively and compassionate, teaching the boys to love what they do. In contrast, Irwin, who is hired to prepare the boys for their exams, is totally centered on exam techniques. When reflecting on the essays he has just marked, he remarks that the other boys and girls who ‘have been to Rome and Venice, Florence and Perugia' will ‘know when they come to do an essay like this on the Church on the eve of the Reformation that some silly nonsense on the foreskins of Christ will come in handy. And doing so he advises the boys to make their essays controversial so they stand out, regardless of what is true or what is considered correct or disciplined- in fact, Irwin approaches History in a rebellious and oppositional way to spark questioning. Iriwn's bold stance on education is summed up when he says that ‘truth is no more at issue in an examination that thirst at a wine-tasting or fashion at a strip tease'- yet again reinforcing the idea that if the boys want to get in to Oxford and Cambridge, they need to make their essays contentious and different rather than ‘Dull. Read also History Quizzes Dull. Abysmally Dull. ‘ His idea that ‘silly nonsense' will catch the examiner's eye comes into conflict with Hector's teaching style and the ‘token' of Hector's trust when Irwin finds out that the boys have acquired countless ‘gobbets' from Hector's lessons that he believes would be useful for the exams- ‘Don't tell me that's useless knowledge', he says, pointing out that any piece of knowledge or quote or ‘gobbet' could help them get through their exams. Hector's compassionate teaching is at complete odds with Irwin's edgy style, and even though he disagrees wholeheartedly with the way Irwin approaches learning- ‘call them what you like, but do not call them ‘gobbets'- he is willing to help Irwin do his job- ‘However, if you think it will help, I will speak to them. ‘ Mrs Lintott, the boys' history teacher, has a very factual and straightforward approach to teaching which sees the boys through their A levels- ‘Their A levels are very good. And that is thanks to you, Dorothy. She is more concerned with facts than anything else, and her belief is that ‘Plainly stated and properly organised facts need no presentation, surely. ‘ But the headmaster of the school is looking for something different, rather like Irwin- ‘Think charm. Think polish. Think Renaissance Man. ‘ Mrs Lintott is frustrated by the need for ‘presentation' and the fact that the dons fall for the tactics employed by people like Irwin, however, and compares it to ‘A sprig of parsley, you mean? Or an umbrella in the cocktail? outlining her dry, sarcastic, cynical humour, and showing her disrespect for jazzing up facts to be acknowledged and noticed, as Irwin does. As Rudge puts it, when speaking to Mrs Lintott about Irwin, ‘You've force-fed us the facts; now we're in the process of running around acquiring flavour. ‘ In conclusion, Bennett presents three different teaching styles in the play by showing the audience not just the teachers' lessons but by giving the audience an idea of what the teachers' personalities and outlooks on life are, showing that teaching and learning involve so much more than exam res ults.