Anti-Discrimination legislation Essay

In hospitals and your local GP people come in each day with health problems asking how the doctors or nurses can help them. With this, the government needs to find a way to protect the workers and patients from any discrimination being made towards them. This is why the government ha made something called legislation where as no one is allowed to discriminate anyone based on the genre, sex, race or disability. There are different types of legislations made based on the different types of discrimination they are. The two legislations that mare made are: The sex discrimination Act 1975: This legislation means that no one, no care worker doctor or nurse is allowed to discriminate anyone based on their gender even if they are female or male no one is to discriminate anyone inside or outside the health and social cafe industry. The race relations NI order 1997/Act 2005: This Is another legislation which means that no person is allowed to discriminate a person based on their skin colour. This is a very common discrimination as people are judging others based on their skin colour and this is why there is a legislation being made against this. This does often happen in the health and social care industry so here are a few examples to explain the legislations in a bit more detail.   For example: The sex discrimination Act 1975: A nurse is giving medication to a patient, but the patient is refusing the medication from the nurse. By now the nurse is getting annoyed with the patient and is now asking why the patient is refusing the medication and the patient replies by saying ‘I do not respect women as I believe men are the stronger sex and women should be our slaves’ by now the nurse is feeling judged and discrimination. For example: The race relations NI order 1997/Act 2005: A care worker has brought in a new person in the care home. This person is new and he wants to get to know the people but every time he/she tries to he/she is ignored and pushed to the side by now he/she is wondering what he/she did wrong. Then one person comes up him/her and says ‘we do not tolerate coloured people and we certainly do not want to be friend’s with you. ’ By now he/she is feeling depressed and upset about hi/her colour. Code of practice: This is the same as legislations, rules being made but however these are rules being made by the organisation like bullying rules and etc. There are laws made by the government to help protect patients and clients from any harm. Despite the fact that these are rules made by the workers themselves and what they think would help the work base. Despite the fact that there are two main types of code of practice in the health and social care industry and those are.   The general social care council (GSCC) / Northern Ireland Social care Code of Practice:   Nursing Midwifery Council(NMC) Code of practice: There are different types of codes of practice made in the health and social care industry and the workers need to make sure that these rules are to benefit the patients and clients. Here is an example of how a code of practice can help the way a nurse may work with her patients. For example: A nurse is going to dress her elderly patient in a residential care home. She is now barking at the elderly lady to get up and now she is bullying her and telling her she is to slow. By now the elderly lady starts to cry and become upset and now the nurse is telling her to shut up and to listen what the nurse has to say. Charter: This is when a patient or client expects something from a care worker. Like a local GP says that each patient will wait 15 minutes each for their appointment. By saying this, this is what the patients/clients will expect from the local GP. There are different policies made by this and here here are a couple of them: For example: A patient has come to the doctors and she is pregnant 7 months. Because she is pregnant she sees a sign that says ‘pregnant women can wait 10 minutes limited for their appointment with their doctor. ’ She expects to be waiting 10n minutes limited for the doctor. She does not intend on waiting any longer. Policies: This is when an organisation works with a individual to ensure that this individual is getting the support he/she is required and his/her health is good. Different organisations make different policies to help make sure that each individual is treated with respect and honour. There is a bullying policy and there is also a sexual harassment policy and a lot more to help make sure that each patient is treated with respect and no one is being treated differently. For example: A patient is in a office making a complaint about the work in the health and social care industry. Whilst picking up his/her medication he had to wait over 20 minutes to pick up his medication. Whilst waiting he told the workers to hurry up, he was getting late for work, but the worker shouted at him and told him to shut up. Now he is speaking to someone. The lady now understands and is making sue that the patient meets his needs and ensures him that she will speak to the workers and something would be done. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Health and Social Care section.

Boiling point of water Essay

Over time, numerous applications for the addition of salt in water have been established and the process of adding salt in water has become a regular exercise wherever water has to be boiled around the world (Bradley, 2006). Purpose The purpose of this project is to study the implications of the addition of salt in the reaction of water to heat. Theory & Hypothesis Upon the addition of common salt (NaCl) in distilled water, it causes the boiling point of the water to rise. As a result, water has to be heated for longer intervals of time as the amount of salt in the water is increased. The hypothesis of this study is to validate whether or not the addition of salt in water causes the boiling point of the water to rise. Apparatus used The apparatus that was used for this experiment comprised of table Salt (NaCl), distilled Water, measuring spoon, stirring spoon, thermometer, electric stove, kettle. Experimental procedure implemented In the first step, the kettle is filled with distilled water and is placed on the electric stove. It was filled with approximately two teacups of water. It is allowed to boil continuously and the thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the water after every few minutes. The water was observed to begin boiling at approximately 213 Â °F in normal conditions when no additions had been made to the water. In the second step, the initial sample of water was allowed to cool down until it had returned to room temperature, after which one leveled measuring spoonful of salt was added to the water and the kettle was once more placed on the electric stove to boil. The salt had been mixed into the water using the stirring spoon before it was put to boil. The water was once more allowed to boil continuously and the thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the water after every few minutes. The water was observed to begin boiling at a higher temperature than 213 Â °F after salt had been added to the water. In the third step, the water was once more allowed to cool down until it had returned back to room temperature. Once the water had returned to room temperature, a second addition of salt (NaCl) is made. The measuring spoon was used to add another leveled spoonful of salt to the water and was stirred thoroughly using the stirring spoon. The kettle was then placed on the stove once more and was allowed to begin heating up. The water was once more allowed to boil continuously and the thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the water after every few minutes. The water was observed to begin boiling at a higher temperature than that which had been observed in the readings taken in step two of the experiment. At all times, special care was taken to ensure that the thermometer did not touch the walls or the base of the kettle and that it was not held above the stove for too lon.g in order to prevent the readings from being altered unintentionally. Observations recorded. The readings that were recorded during the three phases of the experiment can be observed in the following table. Phase Phase Attributes Boiling Point Observed 1 Boiling point for control sample 212. 9 Â °F 2 Boiling point after first addition of salt 215. 6 Â °F 3 Boiling point after second addition of salt 218. 3 Â °F Table 1: Observations made during the experiment If a bar chart was to be made of the three stages of the experiment that were taken during the experiment. We would have the following bar chart at hand. Chart 1: Comparison of observations made during the execution of the experiment Conclusions. From the above experiment, we can conclude that when common salt (NaCl) is added to water, it causes the boiling point of the water to increase. As the amount of salt in the water was increased, a proportional increase was also observed in the temperature that the water required to attain its boiling point. The increase in boiling point was therefore established to be directly proportional to the amount of salt in the water. This also explained the fact that before any salt was added to the water, the water boiled at its standard temperature. We can therefore state that the hypothesis of this experiment stands valid. This would also explain why everyday uses of salt in water such as those recommended in the culinary arts perceive the addition of salt in water (McGee, 1984) as a necessity to ensure that the end result is prepared to perfection through continuous heating. References Bradley, D. (2006, December 27). Salt and the Boiling Point of Water. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from Science Base: http://www. sciencebase. com/science-blog/how-does-salt-affect-the-boiling-point-of-water. html McGee, H. (1984). On food and cooking: the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner’s. List of Tables Table 1: Observations made during the experiment.

Negative Aspects of the SAT

The SAT requirement should be completely phased out from the college admission. The SAT has been used as the primary means of assessing students. The SAT is commercially published test that contain a number of items and have a uniform procedure for administration and scoring. The problem with the increase in SAT is that the tests present many challenging obstacles for students and teachers. The message being sent to students is that the only thing that matters in their whole educational experience is their test score. Rather than attacking the ‘root problem’ of academic failure, attention is being focused on comparing scores among schools. Fratt (p. 17) found that 62 percent of the states in which the SAT exams have been adopted to assess the students’ abilities have experienced a high and continuously increasing drop out rate. The high-scoring schools become models, and the low-scoring schools are seen failure (). As test scores are relied on for important educational decisions such as college admission, questions need to be raised about the validity of the SAT. Negative Aspects of SAT The SAT provides worthwhile information, but lacks realism and undermines the educational process. The U.S. is the only nation that relies upon SAT for college admission. Countries such as Europe and Asia use essays, oral exams and exhibit of students’ work. These assessment measures tend to measure students’ skills and knowledge in a more meaningful way including high-order thinking and problem-solving skills, whereas the SAT tend to focus on concrete, isolated skills (Black & Duhon, p. 90-98). An assumption of the SAT is that if a student is able to perform a skill in the test, he or she is able to perform that same skill in his or her own work. For example, if a student can perform de-contextualized editing on a SAT exam, he or she will be able to edit his or her own work. The SAT tends to focus on isolated skills, encourage low-level comprehension, rely only on multiple-choice formats, and produce scores at times that are not useful in planning instruction. Students are not involved in their own assessment. Labels may cause educators or parents to inappropriately alter the treatment towards these children. Children who receive low scores usually are placed in special classes wher the curriculum involves drill and skill worksheets. They fail to learn what their advantages peers are learning. School personnel often have lower expectations for students placed in lower tracts or remedial classes due to low-test scores. These children are more likely to receive an inferior education and they do not get admission in good colleges (Buell & Kralovec, p. 17-18). Using test results can be harmful to students receiving low scores as well as high scores. The SAT exams are used to identify the academically gifted and talented. Children identified as such as usually given additional material and resources in school. The students who score high on standardized tests show stress-related symptoms and a fear of failure. This heavy emphasis on scores can devalue teacher judgment and seriously affect a student’s self-esteem. Test-induced stress can lead to increased anxiety in all students. Low performing students especially feel that they have already failed, and the test just adds to their feelings of low self-worth. The greatest disservice a formal test can have on a student is the depletion of a student’s self-esteem. Students perceive themselves as failures when they receive labels such as ‘behind’, ‘at-risk’, ‘immature’, and ‘remedial’. Children who do poorly on tests tend to feel poorly about themselves and possess negative images. When students are labeled slow learners because of the SAT exams, their educational opportunity becomes narrowed and unchallenged. These students begin a lifetime of drill and skill worksheets. High portions of these students come from minority groups or special classes. Every test reflects the background of the people who construct the test, who are mostly white, upper to middle class professionals. Most of the experiences they are questioning come from their background leaving out the background of many of the potential test-takers (Heriot & Wonnell, p. 467-483). The SAT exams are also biased in favor of English-fluent pupils only. Many limited English proficient (LEP) students are improperly assessed and decisions about their placement are made incorrectly. Language dominance seems to have a negative effect for students of different cultural backgrounds, and non-English speaking students have trouble with interpretations of test language. Tests are written with complex grammar and oftentimes are hard to understand. As test results are shown, students who are more likely to fail include the disproportionately poor and African American students, which undermine the mission of offering all students an opportunity to learn. Children from low income and minority groups are often harmed for life because of low test scores. The curriculum is ‘dumbed-down’ for these students because the educators feel they cannot handle the regular curriculum. This leads to a boring curriculum for these students (Stahlman, p. 242). Civil rights and parent advocacy groups are challenging that these tests penalize minority and at-risk students who have been short changed education. African Americans and Latinos are usually forced into the bottom tracks solely based on their low test scores. Another negative impact to low-income students is the fact they have not had some of the experience as other students. If children come from affluent families and stimulus-rich environments, they are more apt to score higher on the SAT exams. On of the chief reasons that a student’s socioeconomic status is highly correlated to scores on the SAT exams and college admission is because many questions on the tests measure what is learned outside of school. Some students are offered more experiences than others, thus affecting their scores (Ullman, p. 18). Conclusion Assessment is needed in the public schools that benefit all students and focus on improving learning instead of ranking and labeling students into specific categories. The SAT exams are not perfect or absolute measures of what individual students can or cannot do. For instance, paper-and-pencil tests give teacher only part of the picture of a student’s strengths and weaknesses. A student’s scores on a particular test may also vary from day to day, depending on whether the student guesses, received clear directions, follows the directly carefully, takes the test seriously, and is comfortable in taking the test. School personnel must not limit assessment to the SAT exams or allow them to dominate the assessment. Assessment is definitely multidimensional and must take into consideration multiple measures to evaluate a person’s full capabilities. Without a more inclusive assessment process, those who can contribute to and benefit from society will be forever excluded from the opportunities to do so. The researcher after reviewing the literature that has been published in past and that has been discussed in this paper that the SAT requirement to get admission in a college should be phased out in order to make the process of college admission fair and transparent. Works Cited Black, H. T. & Duhon, D. L. Evaluating and improving student achievement in business programs: The effective use of standardized assessment tests. Journal of Education for Business, 79 (2) (2003), 90-98. Buell, J., & Kralovec, E. High-stakes testing, homework, and the gaming system. Humanist, 65 (3) (2005), 17-18. Fratt, L. Graduation exams under the microscope. District Administration, 41 (4) (2005), 17. Retrieved May 17, 2007, http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=1052. Heriot, G. L. & Wonnell, C. T. Standardized tests under the magnifying glass: A defense of the LSAT against recent charges of bias. Texas Review of Law and Politics, 7 (2) (2003), 467-483. Stahlman, R. Standardized tests: A teacher's perspective. Childhood Education, 81(4) (2005), 242. Ullman, E. Study: High-stakes tests have no effect on achievement. District Administration, 41 (11) (2005), 18. Â  

A Current Crime Prevention Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Current Crime Prevention Program - Essay Example A simple question that can be asked by a layman is why does crime exist? A set of individuals or a certain group of people can answer it very briefly, saying that it exists because criminals commit crimes. But on the other hand another group of individuals can relate it to the law and order of the government. They might have an opinion that because there is a law of everything and as a responsible citizen of the country, a person is bound to abide with that law, so people who de-track from the right path, intentionally or un intentionally commit crimes and become criminals in order to challenge the rules and regulations of their country. The word crime has become a daily part of our lives with every person experiencing it in one way or the other. Every country, every state, every town and every street has become a target for the crime seekers. In order to prevent, overcome or minimize this calamity from our society, the people have to be alert and the local authorities have to be on their toes. (James Q Wilson 1983). Lately Crime prevention programs have been set up by many authorities with collaboration with the local residents. One thing is very clear, that the government or the law enforcing agencies cannot work alone to minimize the effects of crime or criminals in a certain area. They need the help, cooperation and association of the locals. As they are also part of the community so their input and advice matters a lot to the authorities. DISCUSSION Crime has had hold of every part of this world and has spread like an infection across the globe .With street crimes on high, productive preventive measures have to be taken to safeguard the lives of the people. For this purpose many Crime Prevention Units work hard to reduce crime and improve the surrounding areas of the society to be friendly and safe for living. (National Advisory Committee). Their major aim is to improve the quality of living with the help of the local residents of that area by preventing s treet crimes like theft, robbery, bullying, child abuse, burglary, kidnapping, shop lifting and many more. In order to maximize the input and minimize the occurrence of a particular crime the Crime Prevention Units must seek help from the residents, shop owners, famous personalities and make them their co-partners in the prevention of this unethical activity. By doing this, with their collaborators in street it will be much easier to govern the area as they can inform the required department about any crime almost immediately or at the time it is taking place. In this way it’s easy and helpful to safeguard even if the area has a vast expansion. The Crime Prevention specialists, working as their members would deliver and support ever-evolving prevention and safety programs, and maintain close partnerships with organizations and community members. Specialists would work out their strategies that will range from personal safety of a human being to self defense techniques. They w ill try their best to stay aware with the latest residential security practices, and hence process the trends in case of any crime taking place. In this way it will also help them to stay alert of any future un-happenings. ANALYSIS Without the introduction of the Crime Prevention Systems to reduce the street crimes, it would be extremely difficult for the law enforcing authorities to bring the rate of crime under control, plus without the local residents taking part as volunteers in this program the authority may come to a halt in resolving these criminal acts as Businesses and business men would get affected, shopping malls, banks, petrol stations,

Does North Korea truly desire war with the U.S Research Paper

Does North Korea truly desire war with the U.S - Research Paper Example 4. Ever since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, North Korea has suffered the consequences of dire economic straits2, which, in turn, would most likely lead to the collapse of its totalitarian government; hence directing the tensions outwards would prevent such an event. 5. The apparent development of nuclear devices and the ballistic missile tests, both accompanied by menacing rhetoric and unyielding behavior3, seemingly speak of North Korea’s intention of going to war with the US. CONS: 1. Despite decades of isolation and obviously overestimating the strength of its armed forces, Pyongyang is well aware of the risks of eventual war against the US; moreover, it’s not that clear whether North Korea actually possesses a deliverable weapon4. 2. It’s pretty unlikely that North Korea’s establishment, most notably the dictator, Kim Jong Un, will risk everything in a destructive armed conflict with the US. 3. The threat of nuclear and ballistic missiles tes ts proved to be a very effective maneuver so far5. 4. China’s patience is about to come to an end, which would adversely affect the Sino-DPRK alliance6. 5. What the regime in Pyongyang is really aiming for is its own survival, i.e. ... Eventually, China’s intervention and the overwhelming American naval and aerial superiority brought the war to a stalemate, which, in turn, made both sides to go to the negotiation table8. On the one hand, the present-day North Korean regime – personified by Kim Jong Un – seemingly based on precedents from the 1950 war which didn’t turn fatal for their predecessors, and encouraged by the size of the contemporary North Korean armed forces, might seek a historical revenge. Obama administration’s policy of restrained pressure in regard to saber-rattling regimes, like North Korea and Iran, is probably considered a weakness, which would also boost Kim Jong Un’s desire, if any, to strike the US. On the other hand, Pyongyang is well aware that the regime would pay the price if embarked on such an adventure; as well as should be able to understand the difference between the American military capabilities and those of their own. Somewhere at that poin t of the equation appears the people’s perception of war in both countries, hence the number of eventual casualties that the general public would swallow; which, in turn, would make the war no option for the American public opinion. An act of aggression, however, changes the whole equation; therefore, the regime in Pyongyang probably takes into consideration that could not stake on this card. In case of war between North Korea and the US, Pyongyang would understandably hope for Chinese support, just as in the 1950s; moreover, Beijing’s assistance is currently of vital importance for the North Korean regime. China, for example, goes to great lengths to ameliorate the effects of the extreme UN sanctions on North

Marriage in Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marriage in Crisis - Essay Example After this, the next step is to analyze the families based on the multi-generational transmission concept. Since it is generally accepted that those who were abused generally repeat the cycle by becoming abusers, this is probably the case with Luis. By allowing him to understand this and reviewing his own feelings as a child, he can develop empathy for what he is putting his children through. Furthermore, some of the issues Jessica is causing also need to be addressed. Jessica's relationship is unstable, as Bowen argued that many two-person relationships are. Therefore, to bring about stability, she tends to involve her older son. This is unhealthy for her son, since he is too young to understand fully the repercussions of what is going on. Therefore, this situation needs to be addressed, and Jessica needs to be taught alternate methods for handling her issues. Genograms cam be a very helpful tool in a number of situations. In the situation of Jessica and Luis, it can provide a helpful visiual chart that may help to make them more aware of their bad situation. Jessica and Luis are undergoing many relationship issues, and genograms can be helpful in providing awareness in issues like this. The genogram itself "is a visual representation of an individual's family of origin and is similar in concept to a family tree" (Daughhetee, 2001, p. 21). It has been used for many decades in family therapy and was initially created by Murray Bowen. The genogram allows the counselor and the family to take a look at the relationships, roles, patterns, and functions that are common within the family. This can therefore allow the counselor to gather important data, cover levels of functioning, create hypothesis, and increase the awareness of the family regarding the emotional processes and repercussions their family structure may be undergoing (Daughhetee, 2 001). Genograms can be quite helpful as far as many theoretical models are concerned. Genograms have been seen as a very effective way to analyze marriage and family relations. However, genograms have also been healthy in other areas as well; health care being one, and addictions treatment being another. Genograms can be useful for people of all ages and across the lifespan, and therefore can also be used with all ages. In this case, it can be used for Jessica, Luis, and the children (Daughhetee, 2001). The genogram, with its emphasis on patterns and relationships, is therefore a relevant and appropriate intervention tool for use with a struggling family. When a genogram is used in counseling, the counselor gains a abundance of information concerning systemic patterns within the client's family of origin. Although a genogram is advantageous simply as a method of gathering and analyzing information, it is also capable of deepening client awareness and insight. The family history that comes alive on a genogram can often explain disturbing or confusing behaviors of family members, and the insight and understanding that are realized through discussion of these insights can promote healing and growth. As the client perceives the connection between systemic patterns and behavior, the tendency to same is diminished, and healing can begin (Daughhetee, 2001). In the case of Luis and Jessica, the genogram can be used to track the

Sociology Human Services Review 1200words or less - Materials Provided Essay

Sociology Human Services Review 1200words or less - Materials Provided - Essay Example In the business of caring, the first phase – caring about - involves the recognition that there is a need to render care for somebody. Someone who is suffering from AIDS, for example, may be too debilitated in the latter stage of the disease to be able to do things on his own. At this stage, that person will need another to do things that he would have normally done personally like shopping for his basic needs, prepare his food, and do his laundry. The first stage of caring involves the recognition and understanding that the AIDS victim is helpless and needs caring – a stage called caring about that person. The next stage called taking care of involves deciding and assuming the responsibility of taking care of a particular person in need of caring. In the illustration of the AIDS victim, the second stage would involve deciding to take on the responsibility of taking care of the needs of the victim like doing his grocery and shopping, preparing his food and helping him g et on with the his daily basic chores. The third stage or care-giving involves the actual care being given to the person identified as needing care. Thus, the person or group who has decided to assume the responsibility of helping the AIDS victim at this stage now actually and physically renders the necessary help. And the final stage which is care-receiving, involves the recognition and the acceptance of the object of the care of the care being rendered to him (Tronto 1993 pp196-107). Normally, the different caring phases come one after the other and interconnect smoothly. However, there may be instances and cases when these phases conflict with each other. In the care of the aged for example, there are issues which complicate care for the aged although it is understood and accepted that these sector of society really need care. Some of these issues include the participation of the labor force and the maintenance of

Week 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Week 9 - Essay Example One should consider the project objectives, timeline, and cost. (Lewis, 36) Prince is an approach which was released in 1996 as a generic project management. it focuses on the delivery of products to be specific their quality requirements. It helps define a successful project as being output oriented through creating an agreed set of products that define the scope of the project and provides the basis of planning and control. Prince2 provides a common language for all participating in a project. Critical chain project management is a method of planning and managing project execution designed to deal with uncertainties in managing projects while considering limited availability of resources. It is an application of the theory of constraints to projects. Event chain methodology is another method which compliments critical path method and critical chain project management methodologies. Event chain methodology is a network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project schedules. (Denis, 89) Project control is the incorporation of process-based management. It is driven by the use of maturity models such as the capability maturity model integration. Agile project management is another approach based on the principles of human interaction management. Lean project management is another approach that uses the principles from lean manufacturing to focus on delivering value with less waste and reduced time. Due to unnecessary costs and low maneuverability in many cases the extreme project management, which may be used in combination with process modeling (Dennis

Materials in Construction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Materials in Construction - Essay Example This has two components namely: direct and indirect. Direct energy is the energy used to transport building products to the site, and then to construct the building while indirect energy is the energy used to acquire, process, and manufacture the building materials, including any transportation related to these activities. Different materials have different embodied energy. It is measured as a quantity of non-renewable energy per unit of building material, component or system. It may be expressed as megaJoules (MJ) or gigaJoules (GJ) per unit of weight (kg or tonne) or area (square metre). Some embodied energy of common materials are presented in the table below. Embodied energy in construction has important connection to environment since CO2 emissions are highly correlated with the energy consumption. Literatures show that on average, 0.098 tonnes of CO2 are produced per gigajoule of embodied energy. Therefore, the higher the embodied energy of a specific construction material the higher its environmental effects. The external envelope is the primary and critical component of a building that serves as insulator and a protective physical covering for the occupants. The envelope consists of the roof, walls, windows, and the doors. Design of a building’s external covering is based upon several performance objectives such as: structural integrity, moisture control, temperature control, and control of air pressure boundaries. Common measures of the effectiveness of a building envelope include physical protection from weather and climate (comfort), indoor air quality (hygiene and public health), durability and energy efficiency. In order to achieve these objectives, all building enclosure systems must include a solid structure, a drainage plane, an air barrier, a thermal barrier, and may include a vapor barrier. Moisture control is essential in cold climates. Since the building enclosure is

Free Will. What is Free Will and do we have it Essay

Free Will. What is Free Will and do we have it - Essay Example If one chooses to rob the bank, then he or she should be ready to take the responsibility for the action. These actions are in one way or the other is determined by free will. This paper will discuss free will, determinism and compatibilism. It will also depict whether or not we have free will. Free will is also a philosophical term used to choose an action to various alternatives. When one act in a way that depicts free will, one satisfies metaphysical requirements by being responsible for your own action, whereby there are also alternatives to one’s action and moral significance. Free will significance is not exhausted by its moral responsibility, but a condition of one’s accomplishments, dignity of persons and value, all accumulates to free will (Campbell 65). Determinism is where the facts about the past in the law of nature have the truth about the future. So given the past having the law of nature, only one future is possible at any one time. Those who say free wi ll is a freedom from determinism make them  incompatibilist. Those who say free will is without reference of determinism automatically qualify them as  compatibilists. Compatibilism is not merely the claim that some events (e.g. actions) are free, and some events are determined. This is consistent with indeterminism. Rather, compatibilism is the stronger thesis that the very same act may be both free and fully determined. Incompatibilism is the denial of compatibilism. Compatibilism, incompatibilism, and free will skepticism come in various forms. Hard determinists are incompatibilists who endorse determinism but deny the free will thesis, so they are also free will skeptics. Libertarians are incompatibilists who deny determinism and endorse the free will thesis. Soft determinists are compatibilists who accept both determinism and the free will thesis. Developments in physics, specifically in quantum mechanics, have led many to reject determinism, so examples of soft and hard de terminism are rare though not impossible. A better classification of the three main contemporary views is libertarianism, compatibilism, and free will skepticism (Campbell, 127). Philosophers look at the freedom of will and freedom of action because one's success depends on factors beyond one's control, and there are external constraints on options we undertake which  is not one's  responsibility. As a conceptual matter, free will depicts a subset of willing, but not all philosophers accept that. According to Campbell, freedom of will is by its nature and never constrained (Campbell 121). Majority of people view a will as not free indeed debates about it centers on if human beings has it. The main threats to freedom of will become evident on physical, psychological, biological and theological determinants. For every determinism, there are philosophers who deny reality on either independent grounds or free will, there those who accept reality and deny its compatibility with free will or argue its compatibility. In actual sense, free will has many dimensions; it can be a choice on one’s desire in that it can be selected as a way of fulfilling desire. According to the will Joseph Campbell defines liberty as â€Å"power of acting or not acting†. Free will relates to desires and values, which include the ability to judge what is worth pursuing, and evaluating them though satisfying them can be hard for us. We act with free will when we consider the judgment this may seem restrictive because many people are held responsible for their actions. There are two theories of free will that rely on possible actions; there are people who get motivated to choose to act by desires and secondly a person’

Critical review of Antonio Damasio's theory of core consciousness Essay

Critical review of Antonio Damasio's theory of core consciousness - Essay Example Each convergence zone handles a category of objects (faces, animals, trees, etc): a convergence zone does not store permanent memories of words and concepts but helps reconstructing them. Once the image has been identified, an acoustical pattern corresponding to the image is constructed by another area of the brain. Finally an articulatory pattern is constructed so that the word that the image represents can be spoken. There are about twenty known categories that the brain uses to organize knowledge: fruits/vegetables, plants, animals, body parts, colours, numbers, letters, nouns, verbs, proper names, faces, facial expressions, emotions, sounds." (Damasio, 1999). Damasio is the firm believer of the theory that the reasoning area of the brain and the area of the brain responsible for generating emotions virtually overlap each other. As a result and thus he derives the hypothesis that emotion and reason cooperate. He believes that this is the neural, or better to state physical evidence in favour of his theory. Damasio also implies that this is the proof of the brain-body communication that is so much essential for the survival of a species. In his current neurobiological work 'The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness' Damasio states that evolution developed two different levels of consciousness. One is 'core consciousnesses and the other 'extended consciences'. "Core consciousness is what we share with some nonhuman animals - a simple biological phenomenon, the scope of which is the Here and Now. This basic, integrated representation of one moment and one place is independent of language, reasoning and memory" (Metzinger, 1999). Damasio states this as a organism builds up its memory of its biography, or in other words, a flow chart of its core self each part of this memory bank induces and enhances the core consciousness by becoming a portal of each function submitted in the autobiography of its mind. This core consciousness also enables this organism to draw reference and induce conclusion from this autobiographical memory bank. In accordance to the ability of the organism the autobio graphical memory bank stores data for an extended period of time for usage in times of need. The need can be the ability to define itself processing the collective data available or to interact with outsiders in favourable and inauspicious circumstances. The autobiographical memory bank creates a mental map where the self image of that organism is stored. But the perimeter of this core consciousness ends here. After that the domain of extended consciousness begins. Thus it is obvious to state that "active scratchpad" of mental life (Baars, 1988) is absent in this regard. It could be termed that the domain of core consciousness is specified on the usage where there is nothing called tomorrow. Core consciousness only deals with the immediate present and 'now'. It has no functionality in the hyperspace of time. It should be noted that core consciousness does not overlap the idea of space either. In other words core consciousness is not worried about what happens outside the perimeter o f its own existence it is only aware of the area where it is present physically. For core consciousness, everything is 'here' as in the context of time- 'now'. Damasio states that at this point

Egyptian Sculptures Essay Example for Free

Egyptian Sculptures Essay The Metropolitan museum of New York for Egyptian collection houses a wide array of Egyptian sculptures that carry with them the history of the Egyptian people that also reflect the background of ancient civilization. Examples of prominent Egyptian sculptures include the Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra and the Plaque with Greek dedication to Isis, Serapis and Apollo by Komon. The statue of the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra is originally from Egypt and is reported to have been in existence around the Ptolemaic period or later. It dates between 170 B. C or later. It is made of medium limestone with a dimension of 62. 2cm in height, 19. 7cm in width and a breadth of 14. 6 cm. The statue is also credited by the museum to be a gift of Joseph W. Drexel in 1889 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). The statue of the Ptolemaic Cleopatra embodies a queen, probably Cleopatra, holding a cornucopia. The third daughter of King Ptolemy the 12th Auletes, Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in January of 69 BC and died on the month of August 30 BC (Greek Bible Study, para. 1). She was the queen of ancient Egypt and the last member of the Ptolemy Dynasty who marked the last Hellenistic monarchy of Egypt. The Greek Bible Study explains that despite the fact that many other queens of Egypt were known by the same name, she is simply referred to as Cleopatra as the identities of her predecessors have been forgotten with time. Cleopatra is a Greek word that means â€Å"father’s glory†. On the other hand Cleopatra Thea Philopator stands for â€Å"The Goddess Cleopatra, Beloved of Her Father† (Greek Bible Study, para. 2). In the entire 300 year old dynasty that saw the rule of Cleopatra, she was the only one able to learn the Egyptian language (para. 4). Cleopatra ruled Egypt with her father and later on her brothers whom she ended up marrying before gaining sole leadership as Pharaoh (Greek Bible Study, para. 5). Together with Caesar, a Roman ruler, she bore a son, Caesarion who ended up being co-ruler. She took her own life when Caesar’s legal heir Octavian led Rome against Egypt (Greek Bible Study, para. 6). She clearly demonstrated great dedication towards leadership and created a lasting impact to not only Egypt but also the world. The Egyptian plaque containing Greek dedication to Isis, Apollo and Serapis by Komon is alleged to have come from the Macedonian and Ptolemaic period during the reign of Ptolemy the fourth and fifth between 210 and 204 BC. The plaque is made of marble and measures 27. 95 by 17. 5 cm. It is also claimed to have been a gift of Joseph Drexel in 1889 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). The Greek inscription on the plaque reads â€Å"In behalf of King Ptolemy, the great god, Philopator, savior and winner of victory, and his son Ptolemy, to Isis, Serapis, Apollo; Komon, son of Asklepiades, oeconomus at Naukratis (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). Cleopatra is a household name in the analysis of leadership in Egyptian dynasties. She lived her life as a tough ruler and was elevated to the position of Pharaoh despite being a woman which shows her great leadership abilities and the added zeal to rule over Egypt. This is seen by her becoming co-ruler beside her father despite having brothers. She is an icon of great leadership and bravery to Egyptian culture and the rest of the world. The existing short distance and apparent interactions between Greece and Egypt made it necessary for Ptolemy, a Greek King to create good relationships between the Greeks and the Egyptians (Norfleet, para. 1). The dedication of King Ptolemy through Komon to Isis, Apollo and Serapis by means of his writings of the marble plaque is an indication of good will around the Ptolemy reign between King Ptolemy and Isis, Serapis and Apollo. It can also be explained to be a declaration of power through his annunciation of his powers. Such initiatives may be claimed to have brought tranquility between the Ptolemy reign and other kingdoms. At around 120 AD, Ptolemy introduced the Serapis religion that improved the ties between Greek and Egypt. Works Cited: Greek Bible Study. A Brief History of Queen Cleopatra. (2010). Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from: http://www. biblestudy. org/biblepic/cleopatra. html Norfleet, Phil. Platonism, Paganism and Early Christianity. (2010). Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from: http://www. mozilla. com/en-US/firefox/central/ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Works of Art, 2010. Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from:http://www. metmuseum. org/works_of_art/collection_database/egyptian_art/listview. aspx? page=2sort=0sortdir=asckeyword=fp=1dd1=10dd2=0

Consumer Buying Decision Process Marketing Essay

Consumer Buying Decision Process Marketing Essay Behavior is defined as any activity, physical or mental, performed by an individual. Studying consumer behavior can help enterprises understand what consumers need, so they can create, develop, and improve their products and marketing strategy. The basic questions that the marketers have to understand about the consumers are what products they want to buy, where they buy, when they buy, and how much they want to buy. Moreover, they would understand what factors that impact to consumer behavior and their buying decision (). Purchasing goods and services depends on the consumers needs, preferences and purchasing power (Kahn, 2007). According to Solomon (2004), the consumers also buy products as an experience (emotive or aesthetic reaction), as an instrument of integration, as a classification scale (how we are ranged in the society), or as a game. Voice of the customers is very important because businesses do not know all what consumers want to get from their products and services, and it can lead products fail. So product research would help businesses improve existing product and to identify gaps in current products (). However, the businesses need to concern in the long term, because the opportunity of today for a trend is not necessarily than tomorrows (). 2.5 Consumer buying decision process The decision-making process starts from the mind of consumers. This process includes the consumer first understanding what they need. Then, they will search for information while considering internal and external factors. Next, they will have an evaluation and make a selection, and eventually make a purchase (see figure 1). The post purchase behavior can give companies information about whether or not their products are successful. Sales and after sale services can also have an effect on consumer satisfaction and lead to repeat purchases (see figure 2). It shows that the purchasing process starts from the consumers needs and finishes with their satisfaction. The marketing strategies will be successful if they have the best solutions to solve the consumers problems (Kahn, 2007). Companys total product Competitors total product Consumer decision process Superior value expected Sales Perceived value delivered Consumer satisfaction Fig. 2 Creating Satisfied Customers (Source: Kahn 2007) Problem recognition Information search External and internal Evaluation and selection Store choice and purchases Post-purchase Behavior Fig. 1 Decision Process (Source: Kahn 2007) Consumers have different shopping behaviors. There are many stores and many goods and services that consumers can choose from while they are shopping. The places to buy products are different, and consumers choose where they want to buy based upon what kind of products they want to buy. Some consumers are loyal to certain stores, while others are considered store switchers because they are willing to buy similar products in more than one type of store. There are many factors that can affect the consumers decision to select where to buy products. Price is one of the main factors that influences buying decisions with some consumers preferring to shop in stores that have everyday low prices (EDLP), and others that like promotion prices (HILO) (Bell, Bucklin Sismeiro, 2000). Stavkova, Stejskal, and Toufarova (2008) studied about the factors that influence consumer decision to buy various products. From their study, they found the most important factors that influence consumer behavior for 10 different types of products. Each of the product types showed different factors. For example, for food and non-alcoholic drinks, the most important factors are necessity of need, quality, and former experience. For clothing and footwear, the factors include quality, products characteristics and parameters, and design of product. For transport, the important factors are necessity of need, price, and quality. Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009) studied about factors that influences consumer decision on carbonated soft drinks consumption, and the result of their study showed that, flavor is the most important factor that influences consumer decision. Trademark and price are also important factors, but health and speed of purchase are not really important for them. Basically, food and drink are related to what is important to the consumers such as their survival, health, life expectancy, personality, lifestyle, and family (European Commissions, 2009). According to the (), there are 3 factors that influence the consumer food choice decision making-process; Properties of the food, person-related factors and purchasing environmental factors, while communication is related with all these factors. It is highly influence by social factors and increasingly motivated by necessity (European Commissions, 2009) However, we can still assume that consumer food choice is influenced by prices, quality, and income, but quality of consumers perception today are impacted from sensory, heath, process and convenience (Grunert). Sensory are taste, appearance and smell. However, the consumers would know taste of products only after purchase, so they use signals from brand, price, and quality to predict the taste experience. Health is related to information communication, signals, and learning history of the consumer. The consumers are interested more in process of making products such as GMO-free and Organic. And convenience is related to saving time and energy of consumers. 2.6 Factors influence consumer behaviors Consumer behaviors influence by socio-demographic characteristics of the individual consumer or marketing activities (). According to Kotler Armstrong (2009), there are external factors and internal factors that influence consumer behaviors. External factors are cultural and social, while internal factors are personal and psychological (see figure) Cultural Culture Sub-culture Social class Social Reference Groups Family Roles Status Personal Age life cycle stage Occupation Income Life style Personality Psychological Motivation Perception Learning Beliefs Attitudes Buyer behaviors Source: Kotler Armstrong (2009) 2.6.1 Social and Cultural Factors Each market may be unique in term of social norms and tradition. Culture is a key determinant of the consumer behaviors (Wallance, 1965; Jung Kau, 2004). Culture provides us with what we know to be true and knowledge of how things are (p.25). They are usually support by learning from generation to generation, changing only slowly over time. According to Jung Kau (2004), brand loyalty and decision making are found difference in consumers across sub-cultures. Food products are particularly sensitive to sub-cultural influences, it cans differences between nations or groups of nations. Difference cultural and countries might influence difference in knowledge, information, and attitudes on acceptance of foods (14). A group is defined as two or more individuals who share a set of norms, values, or beliefs (p.199). Reference groups influence consumer behavior by their information of knowledge, experience, recommendation, communication, and word-of-mouth. According to Riedl et al. (2002), word of mouth promotion leads to successful and high margin of consumer products. Primary group are friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family (e.g. family size and age of children) while secondary groups are more formal such as social and sports clubs (p. 199). According to (p.299), the family is a major influence in the learning process for young people. It also can be comparative influence such as teenagers want to accept to peer groups and to be a part of their groups (). For teenagers, it is also comparative influence that they want to accept from their peer groups or wish to be a part of them. Stead et al. (2011) found that young people used foods and drinks choices for judging others, accepting friendship and peering norms. According to Sylow Holm (2009), more than its nutritional and calorific content, food also can be a socio-cultural product. In many groups and cultures, choosing or rejecting foods and drinks depends on their individual, status, society, and image (eg Fox Ward, 2008; Tivadar Luthar, 2005). Society influences healthy eating (Stead et al, 2011). The respondents of their research cared about their image and peer groups. One group of respondents who play sport said that healthy eating can increase their sporting ability. Most of groups know that if they become obese it would damage their image. So it lead some of them have unhealthy behavior like skipping meals. However, some of respondents showed that healthy eating did not important for their image, because they prefer junk and other unhealthy foods. They also found that some respondents think that people who selected healthy foods such as fruits, yoghurt, and water in their meal are untrendy. 2.6.2 Personal factors According to Kotler Armstrong (2009), personal factors which influence consumer behaviors are age and life cycle stage, occupation, income, lifestyle, and personality of the consumers. In this study we will focus on the consumer lifestyles. Lifestyle is the way an individual choose and uses possessions (p.23) (Engle, Kollat Blackwell, 1973) or also means personals pattern of living as show in their opinions, interests, needs, activities, and value which can show who they are, and also can show their self image and their culture (Reynolds Wells, 1977). Lifestyle is closely related to consumer behavior. It is as motivator of consumer behavior and basic source of the information (p.23). The consumers consume products which can respond their needs and it also can change to their lifestyles. Socio-demographic impacts to consumer behaviors ( ), According to (), age is related to buy of different kinds of functional foods and difference in consumer views(6,7,8). For gender, men and women tend to buy different types of products and use different criteria when choosing want to buy. They found that women are willing to pay a higher premium of products with health benefits. Also they found that age, gender, education, occupation, and income, can show purchasing pattern. For example, young-single spend more on clothing entertainment, fast food than other groups, while couples, families paying for food. According to research of Safe food (2009), they found that smoothies were more popular among women, younger age group and higher social classes. 2.6.3 Situational influences Situation is defined as set of factors outside of and removed from individual consumer as well as removed form the characteristics or attributes of the product (p.58). Managers and marketers should beware about consumer situation also. There are many kinds of situations that can influence consumer behaviors. According to (), situation variable are physical surrounding, social surrounding, temporal perspective, task definition, and antecedent states (p.58). For example, generally consumers prefer low price of products but sometime they want what is more convenient and willing to pay in higher price. The table below shows the sample of situations in nonalcoholic beverage consumption, they show that in different situations they might consume different kinds of drinks. For example, during the summer, they would prefer water-based waters which sour and can quench their thirst. Situations Context-specific ideal beverage clusters Desired Attributes During the summer Water-based drinks Not relaxing Sour Thirst quenching During the winter Hot adult drinks Served very hot Good for my health Energy giving For breakfast Juices Primarily for children Good for my health Energy giving For lunch Hot adult drinks Served very hot Best with food Not thirst quenching When friends com for dinner Hot adult drinks Primarily for adults Sour Light When you are thirsty Water-based drinks Not relaxing Sour Thirst quenching When you wish to relax Water-based drinks Relaxing Sweet Not thirst quenching When you need a pick-me-up Milk-based drinks Served very hot Good for my health Energy giving Source: Hustad, Mayer, Whipple (1975); Hawkins, Coney, Best (1980) 2.6.4 Psychological Factors Psychological factors that influence consumer behaviors are motivation, perception, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. (See figure). Studying about consumers helps businesses improve their marketing strategies by understand consumer psychological that how the consumers think and feel. Consumer knowledge and information influence decisions. Knowledge and interested about health and nutrition is very important. () show that level of consumer knowledge about food ingredients and consumer understanding of relationship between nutrition and health are important to consumers attitude towards of functional foods. Studied of () showed that tendency to read the nutrition information on food products was found to be important factor affecting the purchase of omega-3 products (9). Learned in their lives, personal experience, experience of others, this opinions lead to beliefs can lead positive or negative attitude which can be difficult to change. Beliefs and attitudes believe in benefits of functional foods was found to be the main positive determinant of acceptance of functional foods (15). Moreover, Perception of healthiness products and health and nutrition claims found in positively influence purchasing choice (). Perception of information consists of facts estimates predictions and generalized relationships that are used by consumers to recognize and solve problem (p. 264). 2.7 Consumer Motivations Motivation is viewed as an inner force and refers to wish, feeling, and need (p. 305). Consumer motivation is known as a driver of behavior that brings consumers to purchase the products (Kim Jin 2001). Consumers are motivated to buy products when they believe that those products will satisfy their most immediate (). Consumers start to look for more than just basic functions from their product differentiate by adding value. They can add value to their products by changing or transforming their products from their original to more valuable state (Coltrain, Barton Boland, 2000) to reach more consumer satisfaction. They also can increase the products value by services. Consumer motivation and decision making process are influenced by products and services, level of importance or interest ().Motivation is an important factor that impact to consumer buying decision of certain types of products especially healthy food (). According to Hoo Munusamy (2008), there are four factors that can influence consumer motives: social factors, situational factors, psychological factors, and marketing mix. (see figure) However, this research the researcher will only study about marketing mix factors. 2.8 Factors influence consumer motivations Social Culture Sub-culture Social class Reference groups Families Situation Physical features Social features Time Task features Current conditions Psychological Product knowledge Product involvement Marketing mix Products Price Place Promotion People Consumer Motives Figure: Factors influences Consumer Motives 2.8.1 Marketing Mix The marketing mix in this study is defined as 5 Ps which are products, prices, places, promotions, and people. Each element of the marketing mix can affect to consumers in many ways (Peter Donnelly, 2007). Marketing mix uses in company to deliver marketing purpose and control variables in a market target (Kolter, 2000). The businesses need to create a successful mix of the right products, sell in right place, right price, and the most suitable promotion. Product Product is defined as everything that the businesses offer to the consumers in an exchange process can be in a form of physical good, service or both ().According to Borden (1984), product is about quality, design, features, brand name, and size. Service are closely relates and will both contribute to consumers satisfaction, for example, buy food in super markets quality of service provide by super market will also affect their level of satisfaction and purchasing decisions. Health and nutrition claims become important factors that influence consumer buying behaviors of foods and beverages (16). Branding does not necessarily mean food products would taste better to those not used to the brand but the brains of those who recognize a brand tell them other wise. However, taste is very important for them also. According to Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009), they found that if the consumers like the flavor of products such as carbonated soft drinks, they do not care about health, even they aware that it is unhealthy, and aware of its potential and negative physiological impact. Safe food research (2009) agreed that most of people drink smoothies because they like the taste more than healthy and increase their fruit intake (Safe food, 2009). The businesses need to concern what product means to the consumer. Physical appearance, packaging and labeling information of product also can motive consumer buying decision. Moreover, Peter Donnally (2007) show that differentiate their products from competition and create consumer perception that product is worth purchasing. In term of specific products, consumer motivations seem highly dependent on the situation (p.325). Adding value to products can enhance famers businesses (). The consumers concern more about nutrition of products and convenience, so it is an opportunity for businesses to create or improve their goods and services. One of the samples of adding value from fresh fruits and vegetables is transform them to other kind of products such as jams, jellies, and other preserves, cut and frozen vegetables, including dried herbs which made for medicinal. The businesses need to concern about consumers needs in quality, packaging, and variety of products which are more important than price (Connor et al.; Benny, 2005). Branding and packaging also can increase value and market development for businesses. Benny (2005) agreed that value added goods provide better handling and results, he studied about value added products from green tea extracts and found that the standardized extract of green tea can reduce obesity and prevent the disease and it can change in a form of capsules, but it has a bitter taste and can consume not much. However, they can expand the green tea extracts by transform it to a component of cosmetics, ice-creams, and others and can add some vitamins and herbal to have more value and nutrients. Value-added also can be production methods such as organic, grass-fed, hormone free and others. It showed that creative, knowledge, and differentiate can motive consumer interest and buying decision. However, value-added products can fail if the products can not respond to consumer needs and consumer satisfaction. Price Price is related to satisfaction, brand loyalty purchase frequency of the consumers (Kalyanaram Little, 1994). The consumer become more knowledgeable as to its quality and value (Zeithaml, 1988), consequently when the consumers better understands the value of the product, they are more sensitive to changes in value (e.g. if the price were to increase) which may affect the intention to purchase (Chang Wildt, 1994; Lodorfos, Mulvana, Temperley, 2006). According to Lin, Li, You (2011), a profitable price made by businesses to match segmentation target, create enough attraction and competition. Effect of price can increase on consumer behavior (Klaus et al., 2009; Lin, Li, You, 2011). The higher price is, the less we want to buy it in case of normal goods (Lorinczi, Bacs, Nagy (2009). Perception of the price determines what the consumers are willing to buy (Lin, Li, You, 2011). However, consumer Place Place or distribution channel is a set of interdependent institutions , for delivery of good and services to the consumers. Promotion Marketing and advertising managers should strategically place their product prominently in promotion in order to guarantee the desire impact (Van Der Waldt et al., 2007; Lin, Li You, 2011). According to Pedraja Yague (2011), the consumer use information from advertising, and information provided at the restaurant when searching for external source of information, used information and advertising as a source to reduce perceived risk and uncertainty. Kasikorn Bank (1997) studied about consumer behavior of supplement foods. They found that, the factor which influence in choosing supplementary food consumption is advertisement. At first the consumers might consume supplement foods just because they want to try. But after they concern that it is good for them, they would retain to purchase. However, the respondents of this study comment that most of the businesses advertise the products more than their properties. Sale promotion such as discount, special offer, can act as short term to motive consumers to choose (Mill, 2007). According to Jackson, Titz DeFrance (2004), high price restaurant, benefited from coupon promotions to a greater extent than low price restaurant (Sriwongrat, 2008). According to European Commissions (2009), free trial and price promotions can help the businesses promote their food products, and trying to take up healthier food is likely to be more effective than trying to convince them to give up unhealthy food. Sometimes a persons awareness and preference for product can result from repetitive brand advertising (European Commissions, 2009). People

Placement Reflection With Memory Service Health And Social Care Essay

Placement Reflection With Memory Service Health And Social Care Essay This essay will include an introduction providing an overview of the placement undertaken and the relevant client group who access the service, a critical evaluation of three assessments that have been used within the service, one being Occupational Therapy specific, a discussion and examples given of how risk is assessed and managed within this practice setting, a discussion of the models of practice used, one intervention plan used with a particular client with an analysis of how the interventions were identified and prioritised, appraisal and justification of other potential intervention strategies, identification and evaluation of the impact of relevant legislation upon service provision within the practice setting, finally an evaluation of own performance as a student Occupational Therapist, and a conclusion. The practice placement setting was a city-wide Memory Service situated in North Yorkshire. The Memory Service is made up of a multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals, working alongside the Alzheimers Society. The service facilitates early detection, diagnosis, and assessment of needs for older people with a memory problem, as well as giving support to their carers. Group support is also provided. Clients who are referred to the Memory Service are generally older adults who are experiencing early-stages of dementia. This essay will focus on one service-user who has been referred to the service diagnosed with Alzheimers Dementia, we will call him Max. The NHS website defines Alzheimers as being the most common form of dementia, which is a group of symptoms associated with a decline in mental abilities, such as memory and reasoning (NHS.uk, 2010) Max is in the early/forgetfulness stage of dementia (Schneck, Reisberg, Ferris, 1982) This includes mild impairment in memory and language, personality alterations, increased depression and anxiety, although there is no significant deterioration in ADL and is still able to live independently, however, it is apparent that Max is in need of some support. Moniz-Cook Wood (1997) suggest that psychosocial interventions are more effective in the early stages of dementia and memory services have great potential to provide early interventions for the service user. Max is experiencing difficulties in certain areas of his occupational performance, such as cooking/social isolation ASSESSMENT Identify and critically evaluate 3 Axs that are/could be used with the client group. The first step toward intervention is to assess the cognitive level of the client. An example of a standardised assessment is the Mini Mental State Examination 27/30 (MMSE) Folstein et al (1975) but in Memory Service the Addenbrookes cognitive examination (ACE-R) is used. The ACE-R is a brief cognitive test that assesses five cognitive areas: attention/orientation, memory, verbal fluency, language and visuo-spatial abilities. The total score is 100 of which Max scored 85/100. The ACE-R is easy to administer and only takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. The ACE-R results can vary depending on the intelligence of the client and their previous education, and also how literate they are. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was used to find out if Max was anxious or depressed. The results proved that Max was very anxious with him scoring 9/10 anxiety, however only 2/10 for depression which is not significant, therefore this score was discarded. it was highlighted that Max was anxious about beginning social contact again and integrating into the community A kitchen assessment was undertaken with Max and the Occupational Therapist to assess and observe any risks to Maxs well-being. It was highlighted that Max often left pans on the gas cooker and ended up burning them, therefore setting off the smoke alarm, worrying the neighbours. The unstructured observational assessment took place in Maxs kitchen at home which is a familiar environment and in keeping with his daily routine. Max decided to cook scrambled egg on toast as he felt comfortable making this. At the time the Occupational Therapist was also asking Max questions relevant to his daily routine and cooking, therefore also making it an informal interview. Although unstructured assessments cannot provide the reliability that structured assessments can, Kielhofner (2002) mentions several reasons that can justify the use of unstructured assessments, such as, to add to information previously gained through a structured assessment, lack of time, unacceptability of structured assessment by a client, lack of an appropriate structured assessment. The negative points of carrying out a kitchen assessment are that quite often each client has a certain time of the day when they may function a lot better, Jack functions well around midday once he has taken his pain medication for arthritis and he is more able to focus on tasks. The client may also know that they are being assessed and may do things differently to how they would if they were alone. The evidence gathered from these assessments showed the Occupational Therapist that Max is only slightly cognitively impaired and is still able to function relatively well and therefore it is important to support Max as much as we can in his own home. Discuss relevance of risk AX and provide examples of how risk is assessed and managed Risk assessment and management is an important part of professional processes in Occupational Therapy practice. Legislation and policies have been implemented to guide practice such as Alzheimers Society The risk profile section of the Functional Assessment of the Care Environment (FACE) assessment and outcomes system (Clifford, 1999) is used to allow the Occupational Therapist to assess and document any clinical risk that an individual may pose. FACE provides outcome data that enables a patients progress to be followed and also compared with other individuals. The FACE risk profile comprises of a front sheet that summarises a patients contact details, and ratings of risk which are placed on a five-point scale ranging from 0=no apparent risk, through to 4=serious and apparent risk. The second sheet is a checklist of historical and current indicators of risk grouped into categories e.g. clinical symptoms indicative of risk and treatment-related indicators of risk. The third sheet comprises free text boxes where a description of the specific risk factors, both current warning signs and risk history, can be fully describes and individualised for the patient. The fourth sheet comprises r elapse and risk management plan which can be specified and tailored for an individual. Some specific events from Maxs past were documented: Social isolation and exclusion. Max hardly ever left the house apart from to do a weekly shop on a Saturday morning; his wife died two years ago and has since been living alone. Max had very few leisure interests apart from painting, and there was no close family support. As the course of Alzheimers progresses, the global function of individuals with Alzheimers decline. (Kuo, 2009) Max may therefore become increasingly unable to look after himself which could pose a risk in the future i.e. self-neglect? Thom and Blair (1998) describe the role of Occupational Therapy in identifying actual risks to the individual through the use of functional assessment based on observation and interview. (MENTION ABOVE AX) It was observed that Max has limited mobility due to arthritis in his knees, this poses a physical risk of falls. Max is aware of his limited mobility, however does not walk with a stick unless outside as he feels a stick inside is a hindrance. All loose rugs have been removed and the access to Maxs house is flat. He is aware of falls prevention techniques but has requested a pendant alarm from Telecare, as he feels this is appropriate in case he has a fall at home. The furniture is placed so that Max can use this as an aid for walking from the lounge into the kitchen if he feels the need. It was also highlighted that there was a risk operating household appliances safely after the Occupational Therapist carried out a kitchen assessment with Max. It was noted that once Max had started cooking he left the pans on the hob and went off to watch television because he got bored and then consequently forgot about the pan. From the kitchen assessment the Occupational Therapist was able to intervene and reduce the potential risk by suggesting Max engage himself in an activity in the kitchen whilst the food was cooking. Therefore Max could watch over the food but also read a newspaper, or do a jigsaw puzzle to keep himself entertained. Explore application of a model of practice and a therapy approach that were/could be used The Model of Human Occupation (Kielhofner, 1995) is founded on the belief that meaningful occupation is central to our well-being and that human occupation can best be understood as a dynamic system. (Duggan, 2004) This looks at physical and social environments, habituation, skills, and personal causation. As dementia is a progressive disease, the physical environment may become less accessible. Dementia may also cause disorientation, making it harder for the individual to make their way around places they are not familiar with. Occupational Therapists focus on Occupational performance, therefore we are interested in how individuals function on a day-to-day basis with their work, leisure, domestic life, and personal care. We follow a person-centred approach A person-centred and holistic approach.; A holistic approach:leisure, personal care and occupation in relation to the physical, psychological, social, economic spiritual aspects of life, (Reed Sanderson, 1992) Creek, 2002. Kitwood describes: Personhood promotes older people as having the same basic rights to dignity, privacy, choice, independence fulfilment as people of any other age group. Social interaction will help maintain well-being (Kitwood Bredin, 1992), preventing deterioration of mental function. People in a state of well-being are active occupationally engaging by nature (Turner, 2001). . INTERVENTION PLANNING Provide 1 intervention plan which you have implemented and justify this with evidence and clinical reasoning Following Maxs assessment, an occupational strengths and needs list was drawn up for Max and from this an intervention plan was made based on Maxs desired aims, including long-term goals. Goals are targets that the client hopes to reach through involvement in occupational therapy (Creek, 2002, p.129) STRENGTHS NEEDS Insight into condition Socially isolated although Max is very easy to get on with Enjoys drawing/painting-expresses interest in joining a local group Lost wife 2 years ago-feels as though he has lost his role in life Physically functions quite well apart from arthritic knees Burnt Pans Identifies positive qualities: kind, talkative, sense of humour Appears anxious about social involvement Prioritising the plan involved negotiating with Max and other members of the mental health team e.g. community support team, and making sure that Maxs goals were realistic in terms of being achieved within the 6 weeks. Cox (2007) states that symptoms of dementia can significantly disrupt a persons ability to set or meet realistic goals, therefore it is important to make sure each goal is achievable within the six weeks. By prioritising which goals Max wishes to achieve first this highlights the use of a person-centred approach, although risk factors must be taken into consideration e.g. Maxs top priority is to be able to make an evening meal safely and independently without burning pans, this is obviously a potential risk to Max and should be carried out with a member of the mental health team first. To meet the following goals, SMART (specific, manageable, achievable, realistic and time specific) objectives were also established. Long-term goal 1 Max to make some of his historically favourite meals safely and independently. Week 1: Max and the Occupational Therapist will meet on Monday morning at Maxs house, to discuss the risks of cooking with a gas cooker and write these down. Week 2: Max and Occupational Therapist to discuss whether Max would like some reading material in the kitchen to engage Max whilst his meal is cooking, therefore allowing Max to be occupied but also to check his food regularly to prevent burning pans and potential fire hazards. Week 3: Max and Occupational Therapist to walk to the local shop on Monday morning, to gather ingredients for the meal Max has chosen and Occupational Therapist to write down basic instruction for making of the meal. Week 4: Max and Occupational Therapist to make the meal together at 5.30 pm on Tuesday, using the gas cooker and ingredients that were previously bought Due to the nature of dementia, cognitive abilities decrease over time, the environment must be adapted accordingly. People with dementia may be unable to learn new skills; however old skills and habits remain deeply ingrained, and these can be used long into the disease Basic Living skills can be of more purposeful and value to the older person than leisure, PADL skills have been found to be important in the goals of treatment with early onset dementia as they value their independence, dignity privacy (Willard Spackman, 2001) It is important to facilitate plenty of praise and encouragement, through positive reinforcement. It is easier for Max to complete a cooking task when it is broken down into sections, so putting out the ingredients on the worktop in the order they need to go in the pan. Achieving only one or two steps of a task may help to give Max a sense of achievement. Max has a short attention span and finds it hard to remember instructions, so writing down a list of short instructions on how to make his favourite meal will facilitate him in the cooking process. When making the meal for the first time the Occupational Therapist gave tactful verbal reminders and simple instructions to encourage Max. Long-term goal 2 Max will attend creative community based activities and social groups every week for 10 weeks. Max is a friendly and sociable person once he is around people, and he shows a strong interest in art and has many paintings around the house. Aims of the art group: to meet new people and develop social interaction through art work. Week 1: Provide Max with information about his local neighbourhood network, available Memory Service groups, and provide transport information so that Max can attend. Week 2: Accompany Max to attend a local art gallery, and establish a therapeutic relationship with him. Allow Max to socialise with other people at the Art Gallery and start to build up his confidence whilst getting him to talk about his favourite interest. Week 3: Support Max to access the service for the first time; attend a Memory Service lunch club on a Wednesday morning for two hours accompanied by the Occupational Therapist. Week 4: Max to attend a local Memory Service Open Art group for service-users once a week on Monday morning for two hours for 10 weeks. Week 5: Max to continue attending the open art group and aim to achieve a higher level of occupational performance, by grading activities. For an occupation to have any therapeutic benefit it must have purpose, value and meaning to the individual (McLaughlin-Gray, 1998). For Max, this is taking part in Art based activities, in his past he was a strong artist and spent most of his free time outside painting, therefore attending a local art group with similar people with memory loss this is an ideal chance for Max to express his creativity and becoming more socially integrated into the community. It is important that we find out what Max wants to do and what he would enjoy, otherwise there will be little therapeutic benefit. This is an example of Person-centred care: we look for the client to lead us into an understanding of what is good and right for them. Perrin May (2000, p.77) Research is beginning to indicate the value of providing educational and supportive memory groups for people in the early stages of dementia. This can be seen as a cost effective, successful intervention that provides an alternative treatment for people in the early stages of dementia (Knapp, 2006) When looking at the College of Occupational Therapists online dementia clinical forum, there was evidence by Graff et al, 2006, for community based occupational therapy for people with dementia and their caregivers. It found that ten sessions of community occupational therapy over five weeks improved the daily functioning of patients with dementia. Creative activity in groups has also been shown to reduce depression and isolation, offering the power of choice and decisions. Non-verbal therapy methods, such as painting, are able to influence the well-being of the patients positively. (Hannemann,2006) The role of the OT with general goals is in promoting occupation, health well-being taking into consideration that dementia is progressive when making intervention plans (Pedretti, 2001). Analyse how the interventions implemented were identified and prioritised Appraise and justify other potential intervention strategies Another potential intervention strategy was to install Just Checking, a web-based activity monitoring system that provides a chart of daily living activity via the web, allowing the Occupational Therapist to track (via sensors in each room) where the individual has been, for how long, and at what time. A Just Checking system could be used for Max to establish his daily routine and activity levels during the day/night. Max states that he is anxious and sits on the sofa most of the day, Just Checking can monitor what he gets up to on a daily basis for 2-3 weeks and then the Occupational Therapist can be sure that the care plans and interventions that they put into place are based on objective information, rather than on supposition. They can be confident that the plan more closely meets Maxs needs. It may highlight that Max needs extra support which can be provided by the Community Support Team. It was suggested to Max that he try a dosset box for his daily medication, as it was noted that Max was not always compliant with his medication. However, Max refused this idea as he was happy taking his medication from the packet, and he felt that a dosset box would upset his daily routine. Another suggestion for Max could be for him to keep a diary so he can note down everything that is important like taking medication at a certain time, and attending any necessary appointments. The Occupational Therapist also gave Max some information about a Reminiscence group that is starting in the New Year. On nearly every visit Max would get round to talking about his past or photographs that he had on the wall, so it seemed like a good suggestion for Max to attend this group. When searching the Cochrane Library database, Woods et al (2005) looked at the effects of reminiscence therapy for older people with dementia and their care-givers. The results were statistically significant for cognition (at follow-up), mood (at follow-up) and on a measure of general behavioural function (at the end of the intervention period). The use of reminiscence therapy with people with dementia has been linked with improvements in behaviour, well-being, social interaction, self-care and motivation (Gibson 1994) Although there is little specific evidence for the effectiveness of reminiscence in dementia care (Carr, Jarvis and Moniz-Cook 2009) Max has expressed an interest in joining because he feels as though he would gain some therapeutic benefit being able to talk about past events with people of a similar age and with memory problems. The Cochrane review concluded that there was inconclusive evidence of the efficacy of reminiscence therapy for dementia. However, taking studies together, some significant results were identified, including improvements in mood and cognition, lessening of care giver strain and improved functional ability. No harmful effects were identified. Identify and evaluate the impact of relevant legislation, health and social policy and clinical guidelines upon service provision overall It is important that Occupational Therapists have a clear set of principles to work alongside when working with a person with Dementia. Also it is important to follow the Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct (COT, 2010) The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is underpinned by 5 guiding principles which all staff must follow These are an assumption of capacity supporting people to make their own decisions people have the right to make eccentric or unwise decisions where someone lacks capacity staff must act in the persons best interests where someone lacks capacity any action we take on their behalf must generally be the least restrictive option The National Dementia Strategy for England (DoH, 2009a) is a five-year plan which has three main aims: to ensure better knowledge, to ensure early diagnosis and to develop services. The strategy has put a focus on improving support for this large and growing group of people. It sets out a vision to raise the standards of care for people with dementia and is of great significance to Occupational Therapists working in the Memory Service. Occupational therapists can ensure that both the clients and their carers have a better understanding about the impact of dementia. Occupational Therapists working in the Memory Service get to see clients performing various activities that are directly or indirectly affected by memory and other cognitive functions through observation and assessment and are, therefore, able to identify early signs of cognitive impairments and raise awareness about the functional implications of memory and other cognitive impairments. In the UK, the National Service Framework for Mental Health (DoH, 1999) has been the main guide for how services should be run. It is now being replaced by the New Horizons strategy (DoH, 2009b), which aims to promote good mental health and well-being whilst improving services for people who have mental health problems. Occupational Therapists need Includes early intervention: to improve long-term outcomes, personalised care: ensuring that care is based on individuals needs and wishes, leading to recovery New Horizons sets out an intention across a wide range of agencies to move towards a society where people understand that their mental well-being is as important as their physical health if they are to live their lives to the full. It describes some of the factors that affect well-being and some everyday strategies for preserving and boosting it. It is important that Occupational Therapists specialising in the field of dementia ensure that they have a copy of the National Service Framework for Older People and use it a guide for the minimum level of service provided. EVALUATION Analyse how evaluation of interventions was completed Analyse your own performance as a student OT Having completed this 7 week placement I feel as though I have grown in confidence and learned so around the field of Dementia. I have had the chance to observe and assess many people with different diagnosis of dementia and every single person has been different and unique, with different goals they want to achieve and what they wish to receive out of the service. I have learned that communicating with a person with dementia can be a slow process, it is important to be able to actively listen not only to the service-user but to the carer as well as they provide so much valuable information and they are usually so much involved in the care of the service-user. Reflective practice has been identified as one of the key ways in which we can learn from our experiences. It helps to develop knowledge and skills towards becoming professional practitioners. (Jasper, 2003)  Ã‚   It is important that as a student Occupational Therapist I learn from my experiences on placement in order to understand and develop my practice, this involves consciously thinking about things I am doing, actively listening and making decisions. From what I have observed I can then start the reflective process and describe the experience and analyse it. I used Gibbss reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988) that consists of six stages of the reflective process and asks cue questions to prompt the memory. CONCLUSION Provide summary of key points Every individual has certain strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, emotions and habits, needs and preferences, and this makes them unique. People with dementia are often denied these things as their disease progresses, therefore it is important to try and maintain as best as possible the individual characteristics that makes up that person. As Occupational Therapists we need to acknowledge the uniqueness of the person and realise that even if they have dementia they are still living their life. Structure and predictability are important aspects of the environment in which people with dementia live. Summarise how the interventions improved or maintained health and well being for the individual Brooker p.44 (2007) states that It is important to and appreciate that all people have a unique history and personality, physical and mental health, and social and economic resources, and that these will affect their response to dementia. There is good evidence that people with dementia can learn, and respond to their environment, and through groups they can experience an improvement in the quality of life. It may not be possible to reverse the effects of dementia, but some of the major difficulties for Dementia sufferers are caused by under-stimulation, withdrawal, depression, and anxiety, and these can be reduced. This can make a real difference to the person. Max has lost his motivation and he was anxious about leaving the house and becoming socially involved again because of his memory deficits and it took some gentle persuasion to get him involved again. However, the Occupational Therapist described to Max what was going to happen, and what he would be doing, and reminded him when to attend the group sessions so he did not need to worry. The Art Group is a closed group, and the same people meet for a number of sessions and they get to know each other and become familiar with the routine of the group. This is good for Max as he is able to make some new friends, return to a familiar environment each week, and start to establish a routine. The leaders of the group get to know the members and are able to plan activities according to each member. Max expressed a strong interest in watercolour painting, and the art group leader was able to accommodate this. The achievement of leisure goals helped Max to sustain his self-esteem and morale.

Economic Conditions Essay -- essays research papers

To analyze an economy, certain statistics can be used to predict the economy’s future. This is important because it helps prepare people for prosperity or hard times. Certain indicators can be used to determine the future of aggregate demand and others can be used to determine aggregate supply. Using eight aggregate demand indicators and four aggregate supply indicators we developed a prediction for the economy in the near future. Changes in aggregate demand are reflected in changes of GDP. To find valuable indicators of the future aggregate demand is to find statistics that tell about change in the components of GDP (C+I+G+Nx). Aggregate supply is influenced by the costs of production to producers and the advent of new or better factors of production and technologies. The indicators we chose as meaningful are also ones used by the Federal Reserve to determine interest rates, automatically validating them as important. The trade deficit is one of the aggregate demand statistics. It shows the balance between imports and exports of the United States. This is the Nx part of GDP. Recently imports have risen while exports have remained constant, making the trade balance more negative and draining GDP. Consumer Confidence is an important indicator of GDP. This is an index created to reflect the sentiment of consumers and how likely they are to spend. This is the C in GDP. The index of Consumer Confidence has fallen for a fourth month in a row and is at a four year low. This sharp...

Job Interviews :: essays research papers

Questions: Wat is th company vision? how would you describe the culture in the business? wat attracted you to the company and how long have u been there? how long do people stay in their roles? wat develeopment opportunities are in the role? 1 I have read the job description, can you expand on the job I will be doing? 2 What type of training is provided? 3 How do you see me in the role? 4 Do you have performance targets? 5 How will I know that I am doing well? 6 What are team members achieving? Ask questions that are focused on embodying your enthusiasm, as well as your willingness and ability: 1 What is the team working on at the moment? 2 Can I meet the team? 3 Can I look around? 4 What are your strategies for growth? 5 How soon do you want an employee in place? 6 If there was one major achievement that you would like to see happen within the role from the outset, what would it be? 7 Can you describe what made the last person successful in this role? 8 What are the immediate improvements or priorities that need to be applied to this role? 9 What changes would you like to see in the way the job is performed? 10 To ensure I would be able to hit the ground running would you be able to supply any procedures, literature or other supporting information in preparation for my first day in the role? "Why do you want to work for us?" Explain why you see the company as an attractive employer. Financial package should never be given as a reason, but think about things like the company culture, training program, company structure, the ability to cross-train into different technologies, or the company's ethic. Obviously these need to be relevant and well-researched. "Where do you see yourself in five years' time?" Think about where you really want to be within a company: in a lead role with a team under you; or a lead consultant; or a director of the company. Be ambitious but realistic and have direction in your answers. "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Talk specifically about the positive things you've achieved to illustrate your strengths rather than generalising and make them relevant to the role you are going for. Try to show your weaknesses in a positive light and give examples of where you have addressed and overcome your weaknesses. "Why did you apply for this job?" The candidate should be careful not to mention a desire for promotion or money.

Euthanasia: An Informative Essay Essay

The first person to be legally voluntarily euthanised in Australia was Bob Dent in the Northern Territory, in the year of 1996. This controversial issue has raised many dilemmas throughout society, and so far it seems there is no clear solution. The implications of euthanasia will be discussed herein. Defining the issue and exploring both sides of the controversy has proven to be a difficult task. The word ‘euthanasia’ comes from the Greek words ‘eu’ and ‘thanatos’, together translating as ‘good death’. The Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary defines euthanasia as the ‘act of taking life to relieve suffering’. In practice euthanasia proves to be far more complex, as it comes in a variety of forms. Passive euthanasia is the deliberate withdrawal of treatment and nourishment for the terminally ill patient. Active euthanasia is on the authority or for the best interests of the patient who perhaps is unable to speak for him or herself. For example, a hospital could decide when to take someone off a life support machine. Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient makes a request to have their life terminated, through the administration of a drug or other means. There is also involuntary euthanasia, which is when a life is taken away without and individual’s consent and against their will and is one of the many causes for the sensitivity and distress surrounding this matter. Euthanasia is also known ‘mercy killing’ (Bachman 1999) or ‘physician assisted-suicide’. The word ‘mercy’ means ‘compassion’, yet combined with the term ‘killing’ becomes a juxtaposition of contrasting meanings. Such terms as these are very strong in the image they reflect, and perhaps the frequent use of them is what makes euthanasia even harder to comprehend and to be accepted as a legitimate practice. Where do you start or stop euthanasia? The Voluntary Euthanasia Society wants the law to allow people â€Å"with a severe illness from which there is no relief known† to be put to death. Those in favour of euthanasia feel that terminally ill patients should not have to endure the slow process their bodies’ deteriorating, being incontinent, pain-racked and totally dependant on life-supporting machines. As such patients lose control over bodily  functions; either by being in a comatose state or vegetative state, dignity is lost also as with the ability to control events. Requests for euthanasia are not always because the patient is giving up in the face of suffering, but that they are positively asserting their desire to control events. Modern medicine has brought about surgery, immunisation and anti-bodies. Inadvertently these have all increased life expectancy in general in comparison to society’s predecessors. This means that the possibilities made available by the modern world should not be completely disregarded. Too often advances in palliative care are protracted, painful and undignified. This paper has examined the human dilemma, which arises when technological advances in end-of-life medicine conflict with traditional sanctity-of-life values. Society places high value on personal autonomy. To conclude, allowing autonomy for the terminally ill, within legal bounds, would result in fewer ethical contradictions and greater preservation of dignity.